[IC] Feathers | 1x1 [Ambra and Ragnarokkr]

[Ragnarokkr]

"WE... We are the remnants of a great cause! We are the dying wishes of our forefathers!" The cloaked man lowered his gaze onto the assembly before him and lowered his voice. " We will be this worlds savoir when our plans are complete. So until then, brothers and sisters , remain stalwart. We are stronger then ever before. We more well connected then ever before. Soon, Those filthy beasts will die once and for all!" The assembly hall shook with the cheers and clapping of the few thousand hunters before the cloaked man. Soon a chant came forth like a gentle wave. " Death to beasts." Was repeated over and over again until the cloaked man rose his hands, quieting the room. " There is still much to accomplish. First now we must make ourselves known. Start by killing some mongrels and put them on display in every capital in this country. Those who bring heads to us Overseers will get a nice gold reward... Now go!"

As soon as the word was spoken the hunters began to file out of the massive hall and return to there bases and begin a long sought after quest. A few minutes pass and the only hunters to remain in the great hall were the Overseer, his guards, and Eincrad. The veteran hunter looked up at the imposing figure above him with a faint smirk. " So after all this time, Now you make your move. Tired of selling us to the highest bidder?"

The overseer let out a low chuckle that was followed with a throwing knife sticking out of the seat next to Eincrad." Remember who you are talking to, boy, and you will still get your money. We are a holy cause and you...you are besmirching our name." Eincrad took the nice bone carved knife from the dark wood seat and examined the fine craftsmanship of the blade. " Dragon skin grip? Nifty." With a brief pause he balanced the knife between his fingers, then just as quickly as it came to him, it went back to the Overseer. " Anyway. I'll have some fun." Eincrad left the hall with a playful smirk on his lips as he fingered the hilt of his sword in anticipation of the coming payday.

"Now I have to kill one that isn't well noticed...or maybe I should do the opposite just to please the old man." With a sigh he subconsciously checked his holsters for all his weapons before looking down an alley way and saw two homeless shifters shuffling through the garbage like gold panners of the olden days. Both had brown fur covered ears that perked up at his entrance to the rather disgusting alley. "Wolf? This works..." Now the twin shifters covered in makeshift clothing and all sorts of unsavory liquids were looking at Eincrad with a mix of fear and hate. One of them growled at Eincrad so he rose a black gloved finger and shook it. " No no. No growling at me." The shifter continued to growl at the hunter who finally just sighed and drew two pistols firing both into the first shifter, making the shifters chest a macabre display of blood and bone. The second wolf shifter reacted by jumping back further into the garbage pile and managed to get halfway through shifting before Twin rounds puntured his skull, splaying the wall with his brains.

Eincrad didn't even blink at the slaughter he just committed, rather he sheathed his guns and sliced the tails of the wolf morphs. " I am definitely not carrying around heads all night." He muttered to himself before walking back out of the alley with only the faint tinge of blood and garbage staining his clothing. " Who shall be next!"

[Marlowe]

It was a rather nice day, to say the least. Even though the sun had begun to set, the weather was still warm, and the sun's dying rays were not blocked by thick clouds. To the edge of the horizon was a dark, purple-ish blue hue that signaled the beginning of dusk. The sun's rays could not even reach that far to scare away nightfall. Soon, the moon would rise, and the sun would not be present for another few hours. Some said that the moon gave power to creatures such as unicorns and pegasi, whose blood was as silver as their pelts. But to beasts such as griffins, the sun warmed their hearts and gave them hope.

The people of New York City were used to animals such as her. It was not uncommon to find a shifter stalking the streets after dark or a dragon landing on one of the skyscrapers that the city was known for. The people didn't mind; they knew that dragons and things like them were benevolent until they were provoked, unless they were hatching a nasty plot in their big skulls. They also knew that they were smart and understood the human language-- they had even gone so far as to learn how to communicate with humans in the first place. Though, dragons were one of the types of fauna that had become rare throughout the years. The winged beasts, such as dragons, griffins, cockatrices, and pegasi, were some of the most hunted. Perhaps it was because of their colorful plumage or interesting anatomy.

New Yorkers were also accustomed to seeing human-like people with pointed and furry ears or swishing tails. Shifters, they were called. Back then, they had a more proper name, but people decided that calling them shifters was easier. The most common were feline or canine shifters, and then came the winged and scaly ones. Dragon-class shifters were hunted down until they almost became extinct, and so, they retreated to more mountainous and isolated areas. Griffin-shifters are slowly following suite, but some could still be sighted on the streets of the city.

Kaethe was one of these shifters. She stayed to herself, and hardly ventured out after dark. She also lived by herself, which meant that she had to do her own groceries and work shifts at a local restaurant. It was unusual that such a creature would have an active lifestyle, but no one ever bothered her much. Her mother had once told her of hunters that went after mythological creatures, things that didn't have a place in this world, but she never encountered one. And so, she decided that it wasn't necessary to be too wary of her surroundings as she walked to the grocery store to pick up a last minute item.

Her tail swayed gently as she walked down the light-bathed streets. The brunette's dark eyes remained focused on the streets as her ears flicked away the gnats that buzzed around them. The grocery store was just another block away... she would probably be home in time to watch some television. Maybe she would even be able to fly above the clouds. Kaethe loved doing so, but unfortunately many people found it annoying for no apparent reason. She didn't understand why the New Yorkers were so grouchy...

[Ragnarokkr]

Eincrad had always hated the meeting spot for the Hunters society. The run down monolith of a church always appeared as a silhouette against the soft white light of the moon. The cold time stained walls of the church stretched up into a once beautiful mosaic window. The walls gave off their own soft almost comforting light as a sign that it was warded against malice and anger towards the hunters if any mythical beings got inside the church. The runes also made the building look like a fire gutted corpse of an apartment. It was also centered in possibly one of the most annoying spots of the city. Run down apartments were all around the block, mostly housing shifters that didn't make it big int he criminal world. There were also a few small human run stores around the block.

As he passed one of the small grocery stores he noticed several more homeless shifters that wouldn't be missed as well as a few walking through the thinning crowds of poor. A few caught his interest, but one more then the others. A griffon shifter, Her hair parted by a pair of cat-like ears and a rather bird-like tail the griffon shifters were known for. " I wonder how much she would be worth intact?...Hm. First observe, then hunt." Eincrad always had a habit of talking out his plans so one or two passerby's looked at him with worried looks before moving on and deciding it wasn't their business.

A thin smile playing on his lips he took the cigarette from his lips and flicked it to the curb before slipping into one of the alleyways and leaning against the grime and filth covered wall, letting the darkness cover his features as he watched the female griffon shifter meander her way somewhere up the street from him. As she got closer he saw more of her features. " What a shame, a curse not to be born human I suppose. But we all have to make money somehow." A chuckle escaped his lips before his attention was diverted when a homeless shifter, even more foul smelling then the other two, approached him and looked at the tails hanging off his coat before looking at his eyes " H-Hey man...do you have any food? or money?"

Half tempted to just leave him alone and continue to watch the girl, he instead slipped a thin dagger from his coat and spun on the heel of his foot planting the silver lined blade into the mans chest, slipping between the ribcage and puncturing the poor souls lungs. He placed his free hand over his mouth to block any cries for help or pain and began to lower him onto the ground. " You will be dead soon, then I'll take your tail and add it to my paycheck, Okay?" Eincrad smiled down at the shifter who was choking on his own blood before looking out of the alley to see if he garnered any attention.

[Marlowe]

The grocery store was within her sight now. Or maybe it was because she had pretty good eyesight in the first place. Her sense of smell was dull compared to others, but her hearing and eyesight were much better than a human's. Her ears picked up almost anything that was within a broad radius, except for rather low pitched sounds or sounds that came from extremely tiny animals such as mice or bugs. Kaethe was happy that she wasn't that good at hearing; all the noises would torment her more than they did already. Thankfully, she had slowly learned how to block specific noises out and only tune in to one or two of them. The headaches that plagued her when she wasn't used to her adept hearing left when she was around her midteens.

Her dark gaze had slowly made its way to the floor as she walked. She grew tired of watching the streets, as seeing the poor shuffle around without aim depressed her greatly. The homeless were mostly made up of shifters, who stalked the alleyways in search of food. Kaethe didn't know why the people disliked them so, but she guessed that she was in no place to argue or question things. She was grateful that she was one of the few known shifters who acquired a human job and worked with normal people. It wasn't common that such a thing happened. Many of her kind would have been kicked out of the place if they came looking for work. Perhaps it would have been better if all of us were killed way back when, just like the stories say.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, and she closed her eyes as she ran her hand through her hair. Her ears had flattened slightly in distaste, but she still caught some rather... concerning sounds coming from an alleyway. Kaethe's lips curled downwards as she slowly approached the alley, taking delicate and quiet steps as to not let anyone find out that she was getting closer. Once she reached it, she caught sight of something extremely troubling. A man had plunged a knife into the chest of a shifter. Fear razed her heart, taking a step back and staring at the killer with wide eyes. Was that one of the hunters? Or was it just a killer?

Either way, Kaethe didn't take a chance by staying. The young griffin shifter sprinted down the street as soon as the man caught sight of her. She couldn't risk shifting in the middle of the street, especially when there were people around to give her a bad name for shifting. And so she ran, hoping to get away from the man before he could gut her just like he did with that other shifter.

[Ragnarokkr]

His cold eyes narrowed when he saw the griffon shifter at the edge of the alley. They then closed when she bolted up the street in an attempt to escape. A slight sigh escaped his lips as he turned his attention back to the now dead shifter on the floor and removed the knife from his chest. He wiped the silver tinged blade on the dirty coat before sheathing it into the folds of his coat. " Why couldn't it be some useless shifter. Not one that could be big pay..." With one last look down at the still warm body, Eincrad spun on his heel and bolted out of the alley. He crashed into an older male and without a second glance started after the griffon shifter.

His steel plated boots tapping loudly against the concrete floor as he pushed past assorted humanoids. His senses barely picking up the plethora of curses and attempted grabs. His mind was only on one prey and he wouldn't rest until he got what he was hunting. With every step he got closer to her, and with every step he began to wonder why she didn't just shift if she was so afraid of what might and will happen to her. Eventually one rather large human male grabbed Eincrad's shoulder forcing him to stop. " Hey buddy, Watch where you are going. You should also apologize. You made me spill my beer." The man's breath reeked of alcohol and his body language painted him as drunken. Eincrad looked up at the big man and let out a sigh as his hands tightened around the cold steel grip of his pistols inside of his coat as he drew them and fired two rounds into the air, causing most of the other people to scream in terror and fall to the ground in hopes that they wouldn't be killed. The big man also dropped to the ground as Eincrad planted the butt of the gun into the other mans throat." I do not have time for this."

With practiced motions Eincrad replaced his guns and resumed his pursuit of his prey. His effort considerably lightened as the number of people on the street lessened after the initial gunshots. "At least people are smart enough to stay out of the way now." The hunter grumbled under his breath as the girl shifter came back into his sights.

[Marlowe]

The man was fast. Too fast. He was catching up to her in almost no time, and she dreaded being caught by such a vile fiend. Kaethe didn't even spare a glance behind her; she just knew that he was practically at her heel. But she didn't want to take a risk and shift in the middle of the crowd. If she did, she would probably cause some damage with her wingspan and body mass. Yet, she guessed that she would have to. The man was too fast for her, and if she kept on running, he would catch up in no time. She would exhaust herself before she could get away, and then she would have no escape.

Gunshots roared out behind her, and her ears flattened against her skull. She thought that she had been shot, but no pain streaked her torso. The man was getting way too aggressive for her comfort. Perhaps it was better if she just shifted and flew the coop. Kaethe sighed, her brows knitting together as she thought for a second more. She didn't care what the humans thought about her. She could just say that she was running for her life. They would understand... Right?

The change was instantaneous; there was no tearing of clothes or cracking of bones, but instead a glowing light that enveloped her form. She became quadrupedal and wings sprouted from her back as she ran down the street. Many people were pushed down by her brute force, screaming in shock and fear. The griffin knew that she had to leave the narrow streets, and so, she decided to take flight. She leapt on top of one of the cars parked near the curb of the road and sprang into the air, her wings picking up dirt and grit as they carried her off the ground. She would be fine. The man couldn't reach her from all the way down there.

[Ragnarokkr]

The shifter girl was almost within his reach, just a few more seconds and he could grab her by the neck. His breath picked up as he felt her hair between his gloved fingers and just as he grapsed at her head a flash of light enveloped her form and he was pushed back from the force of the change. As other people screamed in terror from being pushed to the ground by the sudden beast among them, Eincrad was merely silent, His mind's eye taking in her human and shifted forms burning it into his memory. " No one gets away from me, little kitten. Now I know your appearance, There is no where you can hide. Soon you will be mine." He mumbled up at the shrinking form of the griffon flying away for her life.

A small grimace escaped his happy facade as he drew out his phone and brought it to his ear. " Blitzkrieg here, cleanup ordinance 4b." He waited for a few seconds as the confirmation order was processed. He hung up the phone after he heard the mechanical voice tell him the media head and police chief were notified of a now suppressed crazy drunk by local police. The next day the newspapers would read a headline of crazy drunk killing homeless, both shifters and humans."

He breathed out as his clothing changed from their normal red into a dark grey of a businessman or rich fellow. He then turned down an alley way to hide from the encroaching sirens and any potential people that may have saw him. After a good thirty minutes he emerged from the filthy alley and made his way back to the origin of where he saw her. As he passed the grocery store he stopped and smiled before pushing gently on the glass door and it swung open with a happy ding sounding his entrance. The old man looked shaken from the commotion outside but luckily kept the door open. " M-may I help you?" The old man shakily said. Eincrad smiled warmly. "Yes, I'm with the NYPD special investigations unit and I was wondering if you know of any griffon shifters in the area. Cat ears and bird like tail." He did imitations of both to lighten the mood a little." The old man's eyes widened slightly at the mention of Kaethe and nodded a little bit. " H-her name, I don't know it but she comes in here for groceries and the likes...I know she works at a restaurant nearby. Nice girl, Might I ask why you are asking about her?"

Eincrad's smile dropped a little bit and he narrowed his eyes at the old man. " She was last seen fleeing the crime scene with another man, who killed several other people. If you see her, call my cell and I'll come pick her up. Don't alert her that you know of what she is involved in. Okay? I thank you for your help, and try to have a good night." He left a solid black card with the number on it and disappeared into the night planning to visit the restaurant in the morning.

[Marlowe]

She did not sleep at all during the night. All she dreamt about was the man's frightening complexion and the smell that enveloped him. Kaethe was not often plagued by nightmares, especially ones about people wanting to hunt down and kill her. But the strange man left an impression on her; she felt like she was no longer safe, that there was someone after her. Knowing about killers due to the movies that she watched on the television, she knew that he would not give up easily. What exactly did he want to do with her? If he wanted her dead, he could have just shot her. Maybe he was some sort of freak who just wanted to kidnap her?

A shudder blazed up her spine as the young woman walked to work. Kaethe had to be there at around eleven due to the fact that that was when the people mostly came in for lunch. She could tell that it was going to be a busy day that early Thursday morning... maybe she would be faced with taking the orders of more people than she was used to. A groan escaped her lips as she entered the restaurant, rubbing the back of her head as she found herself face to face with one of her male co-workers.

"You were almost late again," he sighed down at her. "Thankfully the noon rush hasn't come yet."

"Sorry about that." she mumbled as she pulled on her apron. "I'll get to work right away."

[Ragnarokkr]

With the morning well on its way and the sun reaching it's apex signalling the start of the afternoon the bright blue sky stretched like a canvas for all the skyscrapers to be painted on. There was something oddly beautiful at what mankind had created over the years, but now these concrete and steel monoliths choked the sky, destroyed humanities connection to nature, and somewhere cut them off from their own mystical roots. Few humans could still use what would effectively be called magic and most of them were in the grasps of the Hunters society. This control over one of the worlds most hidden secrets gave the Hunters society more power then any could believe. It also allowed all the hunters who attended the meeting the night before return back to their cities rather quickly. Thus the next day all over the news was stories of shifters and other mythical beasts being hunted, with the bodies being displayed with messages written proclaiming the return of the Hunters society and beginning of a new era.

The news outlets however tried to calm the masses by calling it a 'fanatical cult' and all culprits were killed as they resisted arrest. This allowed the message to be spread over the country and world, but at the same time hid the Society from the public. It was a good scare tactic, or at least Eincrad thought so. He casually read the newspaper from his corner table in the restaurant, his hunter's attire replaced with a worn pair of blue jeans and a simple black hoodie that hid any weapons that he carried. As the time wore on, he ordered some food and ate in mock peace as his eyes were constantly flicking up at the door whenever it opened. Just as he was about to stand up and go back to the grocery store his prey walked in.

She looked tired, probably from the lack of sleep, however she was definitely his prey. A thin smile formed on his lips before he returned his gaze back to the newspaper hoping she didn't see him, and if she did she didn't cause a major scene. Situations like this had always amused Eincrad as the temperament of living, thinking, beings could not be judged unlike an animals. This is what made hunting shifters so much fun. They had the ferocity of an animal but the logic of a human.