"Ah, another beautiful morning, eh Karen? ... ...Aw, come on, I apologized, didn't I? I couldn't see that one, it was behind us, and you didn't tell me you were trying to blast it! Besides, a bite in you is the same thing as a bite in me." On a lonely stretch of road in Luce's Upper City, a very strange creature was having an argument with itself. It had the vague proportions of a human, with flowing, indistinct arms and legs, a slender torso and what could be called a head, but instead of walking, it was floating a foot or so above the pavement. In addition, its face didn't seem able to make up its mind. For a split second, it could be the face of a man, but then it had feline features, and then reptilian, and then no features at all, on and on and on.
To survivors, it was a monster, no different from the dozens of other grotesque creatures that were always trying to kill them. To the Heartless, who attacked from the darkness of the Blind, it was unusual, didn't quite have a heart, and they never fought with the same fervor as they did when they could smell humans. It was more exploratory, attempting to figure out whether the being had a heart or not, then retreating if it got ugly. To beings like itself, the creature is an outcast, not accepting the rule of their leader, not willing to become a lackey in her schemes, not willing to give up its freedom. And so, alone, beset by most everything it came across, the being floated. It didn't need sustenance, not really, so the only thing it did most days was run. It tried to go somewhere, anywhere that it could be safe, but never seemed to make it out of the city. It would forget which direction it needed to go, forget where it was in the first place, forget where it had been for the past week.
But that was about to change. This day, some twist of fate would put the creature back into contact with one of the only people that hadn't tried to kill it (though they could barely remember her). And meeting that girl would change its meager existence for good. "I'm not talking to you, Bob. I'm just not. I'm done with you. I hate you more than I've hated anything in our entire life. Well, why don't you just leave, then!? Hmph. I think I will. I'll take half of them, you keep the other half, and we'll never have to talk to each other again. Fine, take them!" A second creature, much more transparent and insubstantial, emerged from its chest, and began to float away. The original seemed to stare after it, the ever-shifting face belying no emotion, as it didn't have time to do anything more than change into something else. After around fifteen minutes, there was a massive sound, as one of the many fissures in the street opened just a bit wider, and weakened an old building's walls enough that they collapsed in a plume of dust and grit.
Immediately following the collapse, there were two nearly-identical and very quiet screams, one from each of the two creatures. If anyone had been there to hear it, the might have picked out the words "Better together" within the screams, and at breakneck speed the strange beings collided back into each other, forming a single body once more. "I'm so sorry, Bob, please forgive me! It's so scary out there when we're alone... So dangerous. It's better together. Better... Together... That's right, don't worry, honey, I'm back. I won't leave you again, I promise." Despite Karen's promise, this was a daily occurrence. They did not remember any of the times it had happened before. They didn't want to. Being alone like that, truly alone, was more than they could handle.
Suddenly, though, the creature heard something it hadn't heard in long time: voices. Other than themselves, friendly voices had been very few and far between, and they weren't about to pass this chance up. "Eyes that aren't," it muttered at last, as two people came into view on the other side of the collapsed building. It seemed only a small section of it had crumbled on this side, but that wasn't where they were looking. A girl, eyes closed, next to a boy, eyes open. "Eyes that aren't," one of them repeated. "What does that mean? Shouldn't we remember? That voice wasn't hers, it was the boy's... But she... Do we know her? We do. She's the girl with eyes that aren't. I... She didn't try to kill us. We didn't have to run. Oh, it was so long ago, though.... What if she forgot us? What if she tries to kill us? We have to take the chance, Bob. We have to know."
Tentatively, the creature floated forward out of the shadows between the partially collapsed building and the shop the two humans were standing in front of. It attempted to solidify its appearance as much as possible, and moved closer to the ground, so that it would hopefully look more like they were walking, rather than floating. Indistinct tendrils became silvery arms and legs, and a harder outline formed around the creature, though its face would never be able to stop shifting. It stopped a safe distance away from the two, and called out, "Eyes that aren't! We... know you. Do you know us? Please.... Say that you do...."
Imperfectionist Member
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- Last Seen: 9 yrs ago
- Old Guild Username: ^-^ Still the same old Impy.
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Yes, indeed. It'll be up in a little while, as long as I don't get distracted.
Tatsua Aiisen said
Just thought I'd point out for Impy, it's not a big deal, but Beatrice's eyes are still covered. No need to edit, since it seems your character has rather good perception, but it's just worth mentioning.
Oops... Well, she can be looking where she thinks the eyes would be, considering that the hat is part of the illusion. As long as the message is conveyed, that's all that matters.
:) In the past, I've shortened it to HOAL, but you still have to say "HellOfALife" in your head. It's just that cool of a name.
(To throw in my two cents)
(To throw in my two cents)
0.o It seems he was modifying more than nouns. Maybe it isn't my place, but a three-day bender just can't be healthy.
Quite.
Seriously, though, he/she'll probably turn up soon.
Seriously, though, he/she'll probably turn up soon.
And, there you are.
:) Noor's prep work gives us all a good foundation of knowledge to build upon. The basic picture laid out in her notes and crime scene tests is that whoever the murderers were, they were good. These were apparently very skillful, very experienced killers, and they cleaned up after themselves well. Just so you know, the other supernatural victim was a mage (her body is in Noor's makeshift "morgue"). There's an autopsy report for her on the laptop, but it isn't very conclusive, as Noor isn't the best M.E... Hopefully when Frank gets a look at her, he'll be able to glean a bit more?
:) Noor's prep work gives us all a good foundation of knowledge to build upon. The basic picture laid out in her notes and crime scene tests is that whoever the murderers were, they were good. These were apparently very skillful, very experienced killers, and they cleaned up after themselves well. Just so you know, the other supernatural victim was a mage (her body is in Noor's makeshift "morgue"). There's an autopsy report for her on the laptop, but it isn't very conclusive, as Noor isn't the best M.E... Hopefully when Frank gets a look at her, he'll be able to glean a bit more?
Bowing slightly as Beatrice breezed past him, Michael followed her into the private room with the smallest of smiles on his pale face. He liked this one. She had... class. Definitely a far cry from the usual rowdy werewolves. Taking his eyes off of her rather supple form for a moment, the vampire glanced around the room and raised a dark eyebrow. "Hmph," he said at last. "An acquiantance of mine was supposed to be waiting in here to speak to you all, but it seems she has seen fit to make herself sca-"
As if in response, there was a massive sound from behind a sofa in one of the poorly-lit corners. A thundering snore. "Oh my dear sweet Lord," said the bartender, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That's her." Sure enough, when he went to check, a dark-haired woman in a long brown coat was asleep on the floor (and still snoring). "She sounds like a jet engine," Michael muttered to himself, before giving her several vigorous shakes. "Wake up, goddamnit!" he finally shouted, and slowly, one dark eye cracked open.
"You bite your mother with that mouth?" Sighing in exasperation, the vampire stood up. "You're one to talk. Didn't you eat yours, or something?" Suppressing a yawn, his "friend" pushed herself upright, and peered across the room at Beatrice. "Something like that. I had just hatched, though, and you can't blame a baby dragon for being hungry..." Rather hastily, she wiped the drool off of her face with the sleeve of her coat, got to her feet, and walked over to the Chaos Witch without a second glance at Michael. Something about the young woman was... off.
For a split second, the dragon's eyes flashed bright gold, and the nature of the witch's blurry edges was revealed: an illusion, and a powerful one at that. She couldn't even see through it, at least without taking the time to prepare a Truth spell, and there was only a single mage in Blackbury who had that kind of power. Blatantly staring, she looked directly at the indististinct outline of the witch's head, and nodded. She knew exactly who it was, illusion or no. In fact, she had been hoping to run into this particular witch... After a moment, she noticed the other four, the boys, and realized that she still hadn't introduced herself.
Mustering a hard smile, the woman looked at each of them in turn, committing their faces to memory as she spoke. "Now then, I daresay it's time I introduced myself. Noor Dhahabi, at your service. Unless you've been in Blackbury a while, like our friend Cyrus here, you probably haven't heard of 'the Constable'. Well, to put it mildly, I'm the one that gives the wolves the scent, and tells them to, er, 'fetch'. Whenever there's a body, a murder involving one of us, I'm there, investigating, determining whether it's serious enough for a bounty (many times I just take care of it all myself). A couple innocent supernaturals in the humans' jail? I'm there, sweet-talking and bribing those poor bastards to get our people out before they rip someone in half... And a case like this? Well, I'm all over it! -yawn- Let's just say I'm the best person in Blackbury to help you get to the bottom of this mess."
Michael interjected from behind her, his face still a bit sour. "Indeed. Despite Ms. Dhahabi's less-than-professional manner, she's been in the game for centuries, and has definitely pulled my arse out of the fire more than a few times... With Cyrus and the Constable both, I couldn't leave you in more capable hands. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I've got to get back to the bar. You don't want to see what happens when a werewolf can't get a drink." The old vampire nodded, and briskly left the soundproof room, closing the door behind him.
"Alright!", Noor roared, rubbing her hands together excitedly and running back to her corner to retrieve her briefcase. "I've got a good amount of preliminary evidence from the crime scenes which I'm sure you're all itching to look at, including..." For a moment, it seemed that the dragon's arm had disappeared much too far into the case, and it came out holding a large plexiglass urn that couldn't possibly have fit inside. "This! You see, one of the victims was a vampire, and this is what's left of him. Notice the places where the ash is blackened? Holy Water. Nasty way to go, I've heard. Anyway, here, you hold it," she said absently, tossing the urn at random to Frank. "What else, what else... Ah." Next was a slender laptop, which she booted up, and opened a folder on the desktop labeled "A Weird One". "There you are. All of my pictures from the crime scenes, including quite a bit of data from the human detectives, all of my notes and speculations so far, it's all there. Go hog wild. Too bad they were smart, and barely left any trail to follow, or I might not have needed any help... Anyway, once we all know the basic facts, we can put our heads together and figure out how we're going to go about catching these bastards. Any questions, new bloods?"
As if in response, there was a massive sound from behind a sofa in one of the poorly-lit corners. A thundering snore. "Oh my dear sweet Lord," said the bartender, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That's her." Sure enough, when he went to check, a dark-haired woman in a long brown coat was asleep on the floor (and still snoring). "She sounds like a jet engine," Michael muttered to himself, before giving her several vigorous shakes. "Wake up, goddamnit!" he finally shouted, and slowly, one dark eye cracked open.
"You bite your mother with that mouth?" Sighing in exasperation, the vampire stood up. "You're one to talk. Didn't you eat yours, or something?" Suppressing a yawn, his "friend" pushed herself upright, and peered across the room at Beatrice. "Something like that. I had just hatched, though, and you can't blame a baby dragon for being hungry..." Rather hastily, she wiped the drool off of her face with the sleeve of her coat, got to her feet, and walked over to the Chaos Witch without a second glance at Michael. Something about the young woman was... off.
For a split second, the dragon's eyes flashed bright gold, and the nature of the witch's blurry edges was revealed: an illusion, and a powerful one at that. She couldn't even see through it, at least without taking the time to prepare a Truth spell, and there was only a single mage in Blackbury who had that kind of power. Blatantly staring, she looked directly at the indististinct outline of the witch's head, and nodded. She knew exactly who it was, illusion or no. In fact, she had been hoping to run into this particular witch... After a moment, she noticed the other four, the boys, and realized that she still hadn't introduced herself.
Mustering a hard smile, the woman looked at each of them in turn, committing their faces to memory as she spoke. "Now then, I daresay it's time I introduced myself. Noor Dhahabi, at your service. Unless you've been in Blackbury a while, like our friend Cyrus here, you probably haven't heard of 'the Constable'. Well, to put it mildly, I'm the one that gives the wolves the scent, and tells them to, er, 'fetch'. Whenever there's a body, a murder involving one of us, I'm there, investigating, determining whether it's serious enough for a bounty (many times I just take care of it all myself). A couple innocent supernaturals in the humans' jail? I'm there, sweet-talking and bribing those poor bastards to get our people out before they rip someone in half... And a case like this? Well, I'm all over it! -yawn- Let's just say I'm the best person in Blackbury to help you get to the bottom of this mess."
Michael interjected from behind her, his face still a bit sour. "Indeed. Despite Ms. Dhahabi's less-than-professional manner, she's been in the game for centuries, and has definitely pulled my arse out of the fire more than a few times... With Cyrus and the Constable both, I couldn't leave you in more capable hands. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I've got to get back to the bar. You don't want to see what happens when a werewolf can't get a drink." The old vampire nodded, and briskly left the soundproof room, closing the door behind him.
"Alright!", Noor roared, rubbing her hands together excitedly and running back to her corner to retrieve her briefcase. "I've got a good amount of preliminary evidence from the crime scenes which I'm sure you're all itching to look at, including..." For a moment, it seemed that the dragon's arm had disappeared much too far into the case, and it came out holding a large plexiglass urn that couldn't possibly have fit inside. "This! You see, one of the victims was a vampire, and this is what's left of him. Notice the places where the ash is blackened? Holy Water. Nasty way to go, I've heard. Anyway, here, you hold it," she said absently, tossing the urn at random to Frank. "What else, what else... Ah." Next was a slender laptop, which she booted up, and opened a folder on the desktop labeled "A Weird One". "There you are. All of my pictures from the crime scenes, including quite a bit of data from the human detectives, all of my notes and speculations so far, it's all there. Go hog wild. Too bad they were smart, and barely left any trail to follow, or I might not have needed any help... Anyway, once we all know the basic facts, we can put our heads together and figure out how we're going to go about catching these bastards. Any questions, new bloods?"
Fabulous. I need more time anyway.If everyone is okay with the location change (to the safe room), then I could post next. Are any of the mages against that?
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