kapuchu

The Crucible - Winner Take All

The sound of hurried footsteps coming from above, and between Brucie’s jumps, stopped Lily from taking her third jump before the awkward voice did. Above her, Brucie was seconds from taking his second leap when someone called out to them, prompting him to turn and come nearly face-to-face with a… man.

In the time it took Brucie to tilt his head in mild confusion the air had become balls of fire, each cobalt orb as dangerous as the next. “Who are you?” Lily said with dangerous calm. “James Teller, or Smiley?” The blue, inhuman eyes of Lily met the green of the newcomer. Behind her, covering for Mouse who was now on the ground, her tails moved rapidly; twisting and churning.

Samuel stopped in his tracks, though he made sure to keep trembling. He had to sell the act. It certainly helped that there were glowing orbs in the air now, ones which probably threatened his life for real if he pissed this woman off. Threatening someone unprovoked. Punish her. Terrorize. His soul called out in hunger, demanding action. No, he would resist. Even if the horror within him could justify the action, he had no intention of starting a fight. As fulfilling as it would be to terrify the bizarre duo below, it would be just as wrong. Not wrong. Teach her a lesson. Knock her into the hole. Sweet, delicious fear. No.

“T-teller? Smiley? W-who?” he stuttered out, looking between the energy orbs, forcing himself to sweat. “I don’t understand. Who are they? And who are you? M-my name is Justin. I just want to know how I got here. Why do you have tails? Why are you a robot shark? Please don’t hurt me!”

Lily’s eyes narrowed, suspicion clear as day on her face. “Justin, then,” she said, speaking slowly, and making it clear just how little she believed him with just those words. “Let me be clear that the only reason I am not in the process of burning you to cinders, is because that prick of an announcer has not signalled the beginning of yet another round.” The tension in her body loosened, and she adopted a less threatening posture, though her tails still moved behind her like the currents of an ocean. Her fire, however, remained. “That means that you are not a contestant. Or, at the very least, not my current opponent.” Her eyes didn’t move from Justin as she added, “Brucie, would you kindly see if he has a phylactery?”

The shark in question grinned as only a shark could, rows of razor teeth suddenly becoming much more prominent. “Aye sir,” he said and reached out with one, large claw. While not gentle, he was definitely not rough either, as he grabbed hold of an apprehensive Justin and pulled him down beside him, holding him fast with a hand around his shoulders and neck. With the other he poked around his torso, pulled open pockets and the like.

After a few minutes, Brucie was left with nothing, and Justin had acquired a few new pricks and bruises, where the metallic fingers had accidentally broken his skin.

“Nothing?” Lily asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Nothing,” Brucie echoed, then hesitated. “Well, except for a bunch of random junk. And playing cards. No rubber-heart.”

Lips pressed together in thought, Lily looked over this Justin as he nervously stood before them. “So you’re not a contestant,” she finally said, the number of flaming orbs gradually decreasing as the movement of her tails lessened. A dozen, however, still remained afloat around them. “Then how did you arrive here?” She added, even as a thought occurred to her. He’s not a contestant, nor a college member. Is he from the third faction? If he is, then he must know of the things happening in and around the city. Her eyes narrowed imperceptibly, one ear flicking in irritation. It doesn’t make sense for one of them to act so afraid at the sight of Brucie and I, not with the level of backup he must have. Let’s try to see what’s behind the facade. “And for the love of Inari, drop the act. I’ve seen proper fear. Yours is not it.”

Samuel trembled and recoiled as Brucie reached out for him, but he allowed the shark man to grab him and search his person. He put up only the minimal struggle one should expect from a frightened man being restrained by a hulking creature from the depths, confident that his more dangerous items were well enough hidden. After a couple minutes of being poked and prodded, Samuel was proven correct, though he found himself highly agitated that half a deck of cards had spilled out onto the rocky outcropping. Phylactery, huh? That’s an object liches use to trap and feed on souls. Do these two hunt liches?

Samuel listened to the kitsune’s questions, hiding behind wide eyes and a slack jaw. He had fully committed himself to the act. That’s when she brought his behavior into question, and a fire lit within his mind. Seen fear? You have seen fear? I am fear! No, keep it in. Do not act on impulse. Just act.

“I don’t-I don’t know where I a-a-aaaam!” Samuel forced himself to cry. This woman was sly, so he’d have to make this an experience unforgettable to sell it. Show business required sacrifices, so that is what he’d have to do for this particular piece of art. The magician moved his body around, struggling against Brucie’s grip until he got what he wanted. Samuel’s movements caused one of his many hidden knives to stab lightly into his side, piercing the skin and coming to a rest against a rib. He was thankful for the thick clothing he always wore.

“P-p-pleeease! Don’t hurt meeee! I j-just w-want to know w-w-what’s happening!” Use that pain. Force it through your emotions. He winced as the blade scraped along the bone, and used that to express a large sob.

Something… changed. Lily couldn’t quite tell what it was, but something had definitely changed. He was still acting, of that she was certain—nothing else made sense—but parts of it had taken on a more realistic quality. Can’t see well enough from here, she thought, then gave Mouse a quick command to stay where he was. Five metres was a tall order for a normal human. Most could hardly jump two. However, Lily was no normal human. Running at the speeds she could required, not only fast reaction speeds, but stronger muscles than normal. And though she could not jump five metres straight, she could take the less impressive approach of jumping from foothold to foothold, never staying in the same place for more than a moment before jumping for the next.

She landed in front of Justin seconds later, finding that though he looked small compared to Brucie, he was ever so slightly taller than she was, if one did not count the few centimetres her ears added to her. “Provided that you are telling the truth,” she said slowly, eyes never leaving his, “then I can tell you this: You are in the city of Echoes. You do not have a phylactery, so you are not a contestant in the tournament.” She clicked her tongue, and started slowly circling him, her movements sleek and graceful like a predator stalking its prey. “And if you are not a contestant, that means that you are with them—” with one hand she points towards the sky, and the black helicopters occasionally passing by “—and that is why I don’t believe that you are this wimpy little pile of tears and snot.”

City of Echoes. That sounded rather ominous. Ok, so something supernatural was definitely happening, then. Some kind of tournament was going on, and the contestants had phylacteries. So this was a tournament for liches? He could believe the kitsune was a lich, but doubted the cybernetic shark could possibly be one. Perhaps her thrall? Fascinating. So it was likely a tournament that involved taking the souls of your opponents, Sam concluded. Such an event was ripe with sin to punish. His soul cried out in legion, hundreds of individual and distinct voices singing in a choir of the hungry. She had committed this crime. He could see it within her, see the sin of soul stealing. Maybe this kitsune was worth the effort then. Still, he’d have to be certain. Just because the Murder within saw her as punishable, didn’t mean that he couldn’t justify her actions rationally. That thought aside, he didn’t care for how she was circling around him. Raven was predator. Ugallu are the ultimate predators. Maybe she’ll learn that. Time would tell.

“I h-have no idea who th-they are, I swear! I don’t know how I got here! I had a show last night in New York, went to bed, and then I I I woke up in this place!” Samuel took a moment to open the blazer jacket of his suit and produced a deck of playing cards, then held it up for the other two to see. “I’m a magician, not a… Soldier or someone that’d be in a helicopter! Let me show you.”

He spread the cards out, showing off the different suits and numbers of the full deck. Grabbing one at random, he made sure that he never saw which card it was, showing off the six of clubs to Brucie and his fox-like companion. Then Samuel crumpled the card in his hand, making sure to ball it up real good. Next he tossed it aside, into the massive hole. It clearly fell beyond line of sight. A moment later and the magician placed his hand behind Brucie’s back, then pulled from it a single playing card. The six of clubs. He held it up for Lily to inspect, and sure enough it was folded and creased randomly, as though it had been crumpled.

Unimpressed was about the only word to describe the expression on Lily’s face. To Samuel’s credit, however, Brucie did seem somewhat impressed. Even then, he was the only one. “A card trick?” She asked, stopping in her track in front of him, watching him with as deadpan a stare as she could.

She sighed and turned her back to him, ears still twisted backwards to hear him. “I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t believe you for a second. You don’t arrive here without a reason. But in the off chance that you’re telling the truth, then I have no need for you.” She took a step towards the edge of the small platform, “let’s go, Brucie,” she added and let herself fall down to where Mouse waited.

“I, uh, heh, I admit it’s not my best trick, but I don’t, uh, you know, have much prepared since I just sorta appeared here…” Sam feigned sheepishness at the criticism. It was something he could expect. A kitsune should be, according to the legends, a very powerful magical creature. If she were also a lich participating in a tournament to steal souls, then it was only natural that she’d be unimpressed by simple sleight of hand and basic tricks. He briefly wondered how she’d react if she knew the full extent of his real magic, but focused on the task at hand.

The kitsune deigned to release him and carry forward with Brucie, down into the hole. That, he thought, was probably that. Following would be pointless and make no sense if he wanted to keep up the charade, and there was no way in hell he’d be revealing his true nature. “Oh, ok. Uh, well then I uh… I hope someone can tell me what’s going on…” he trailed off, mumbling the last few words. With both Brucie and the fox woman gone, he shed the persona of cold, scared, confused Justin. His entire body language shifted into a more comfortable, contemplative one.

You don’t arrive here without a reason. Those were her words. Then something chooses to take people here. Interesting. He spared a glance upward at the helicopters. And these people are apparently uninvited, meaning they are not part of this contest. A separate group with a stake in this city. But what is the goal? A contest has a prize, so what does that lich want?

Samuel Raven grinned to himself, adjusted his top hat, and began to slowly walk away from the massive hole. He held a single lump of bread up to his face, nicked from Brucie’s backpack while he was performing that simple card trick, and ate it. He would have preferred something more enlightening, but it’d do. If I choose, we will meet again, kitsune. For now, I had better see if there are any other “contestants” out there. I’m getting… Hungry.

---

Below, Lily had stopped briefly when she knew a normal human could not pierce the darkness. She looked up, watching the man that had claimed to be named Justin. She did not need supernatural senses to see the change in his posture and expression; to see the lie unravel at the seams, whether intentional or not.

A slow, self-satisfied smile spread across her lips. Never try to trick a Trickster, “Justin”. The piece of bread he’d snatched, she decided, was inconsequential. His primary trick she had seen through.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

He's most likely exaggerating, but if even a fraction of what he says is true, then... She was loathe to do something that Oren asked her to do, for the simple reason that Oren had asked her. But as much as she disliked the man, she did not want to be the one who doomed everyone in this city to death, just because she was too proud to listen to the announcer. She sighed, resigning herself to accepting the request. Standing up, she unceremoniously dropped the defunct drone and picked up the small box it had held. She would have to inspect the contents later.

Already she could hear the sounds of another drone approaching, her sensitive ears allowing her to pick up the sound much earlier than a normal human would. She turned to where it was coming from, keeping her ears pointing straight forward, hands on her hips as she waited. Nearly a full minute passed before the new drone appeared, giving a mock salute to the pile of scrap at Lily's feet. Her eyebrows rose as the projector turned on, showing Oren in a purple cape and with a golden arrow not far from him. Most people might have assumed the arrow to be nothing but an ornamental piece, but recent events had made the Kitsune more suspicious of seemingly innocent items. Oren did not strike has an impulsive man who would carry random items that were of no use, but to look pretty. Moreover, he was also the one who sent out the prizes for winning a fight. It would be a very logical conclusion that he had a small hoard of enchanted items, some of which he doled out to the victors of the various fights, and others which he might find a personal interest in and keep for himself. That arrow was not just a decoration, she was certain of that. What it was for, however, she hadn't a clue. She wasn't one of the Fae Class capable sensing magic easily.

Her eyes flicked to his image as he began speaking, laying out the details of the task she had begrudgingly accepted. As it turned out, the request was not the only reason she had to go to where he directed her towards, as her next opponent would also be in the very same area. The unveiling of this particular piece of information left her gritting her teeth, and fighting not to let her temper get the better of her. Rather than just tell me where my next opponent would be, he made it into a game of manipulation. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes, and forced herself to relax. She wouldn't let him see her get riled up. Would not give him the satisfaction. He would get what was coming to him. That much was certain. Her thoughts cleared, she opened her eyes again and went about digesting the rest of the information he had provided. There was a city underneath, lit up by purple lights that seemed to her, to be more than just electrical lighting. What's more, however, was that the opening had been caused by the explosion she heard earlier that day, and that whoever triggered it was likely actively searching for something in the city. At least, that was her guess. She could find few other reasons for why someone would blow a giant sinkhole in an abandoned city, than to find something underneath it.

She ler her eyes rise to the sky, the giant shadow of a bird still visible above the clouds. So that thing was moving towards he sinkhole? It would be easy to find, then. Huge and slow-moving as it was, the shadow of its beak was easily distinguisable from the rest of it. Far sleeker than any part of it. But just following it would be one problem solved, out of several potential issues. There were the unknown helicopters, and whoever piloted them. If Oren was to be trusted, there were other factions at play here; factions of which she had no knowledge, or even an inkling of an idea as to what their purpose or intent was. They might be simply scholars, in which case any danger they possessed was negligible. On the other hand, if they were a militaristic organisation then they could prove a significant hindrance. Even if she was fast enough to dodge a bullet, a hail of them would prove about as plausible to avoid as staying drain during a downpour would. It was a situation she would have to assess first, she decided, glancing off towards the east. She couldn't render herself invisible while moving, but she could mask herself, and make it more difficult to spot her while moving. She blinked and eased her thoughtful frown, turning to where Brucie was currently digging a hole in the middle of the road, using something that might have once passed for a shovel.

"You are mistaken, Oren," she said as she took the first, slow, step towards the impromptu funeral. "Volition is very much at play. I am not here, doing what I do, because someone forced me to. I chose to come here." She stopped after her third step, looking over her shoulder at him. "Now, finding yourself a thrall of someone else, because every thought is saturated with them. That would warrant the use of that phrase—" she smiled sweetly at him "—wouldn't you say?" Without missing a beat she faced forward again, walking unhurriedly towards Brucie and Mouse, leaving the drone behind her.

---

Lily sat inside the remains of an old bakery, chewing slowly on bread that, by all rights, should probably have been moldy by now, but wasn't. Everything she found just told her that this city was only recently abandoned. Sure, there were parts that were more decrepit than others, but for the most part she found that everything was in a decent condition. Nature had yet to reclaim the city, as it were, which only reinforced the idea that something had happened just a short time prior to the College discovering this place. But what?

She looked out the window, tearing a piece off of a particularly dry piece of bread and stuffed it in her mouth. The street was cobbeled, and filled with small shops on either side. Clothing stores, bakeries, cafes, and the odd jewellry shop. And, most importantly, it was empty. She had scouted the place for a good half an hour before deciding that it was safe enough to be out in the open. Relatively speaking. Overhead the helicopters still flew to and fro, picking up and dropping off Inari-knew-what, if they did that at all. On the other side of the table sat Brucie, tearing into days-old pas tries that couldn't possibly be healthy. It's his stomach, she mused. On the ground by her feet, lay Mouse and quietly snoozed, resting his head on one of her feet. She dropped what remained of her bread on the plate and sighed, bending down to run a hand along Mouse's back.

"You sounds annoyed," Brucie offered between bites, eyeing her inquisitively.

"I am," she grunted, glancing at him. "It's that Announcer... He grates me with every word."

Brucie swallowed the last of his cinnamon roll whole, clacking his teeth loudly in some form of chewing. "Really?" He stood up and went for another from the counter. "I think he's funny. Hah. Ya know his puns? Gotta love 'em!"

In that moment, the privacy of Lily's mind, she congratulated him for getting his pastry between her baleful gaze and his head, or the intensity of her glare might very well have burned a hole through his skull. "You are allowed your opinion," she said with forced calm, resuming her petting of Mouse, "but I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't try to copy him." She straightned up, her tails moving just a smidgeon quicker than before. "Understood?"

The Shark paused his eating to momentarily look at her. "Alright," he said slowly, drawing out the first syllable for several seconds. "Will remember that." He then went back to gorging himself on sugar-topped bread.

Lily was about to say something more when a distant sound caught her ears, making them unconsciously flick towards the outside. She turned to fully face the window to the outside, ears flicking this way and that, trying to pinpoint the sound. A second later Mouse was at her side, doing much the same thing. He jumped up on his hindlegs, balancing with his front paws against the windowsill, and looked out. Following his gaze, Lily found the sound of the noise: Birds. A murder of crows, she thought, watching the black shapes spread out across the city. From the big one? It was something to be considered. Sometimes size was more than just the obvious, but signified a status and power. It was not impossible that they were scouts sent by the giant one above the clouds.

She waited silently with Mouse as the ravens dissipated, though Brucie continued eating noisily behind her. When they finally did, she allowed herself to breathe again. "It's clear outside," she said. "I'll find a bag and pack some food, then we'll go. And, Brucie?" She extended one of her tails toward him, revealing the empty Flask held in its coils. "Fill this up and put a cork or something in it. I think we might need it."

"Will do," Brucie said and took the flask, already working on starting a flow of water from his broken water cannon. Meanwhile, Lily went about looking for a backpack to put some food in.

---

It was huge. As in, gigantic. Even Draco could fit in this, it was that big. And probably with room to spare.

She had searched for the train track, deciding that following that would be the quickest way to her next fight in the tournament. Whatever else Oren had wanted her to do, it would come as a side effect of her trip down into this underground city.

"Deep," the shark beside her muttered, to which she could only nod.

"It is," she replied. "For the record, I will most likely be the one fighting, so take this." She handed him the small backpack, no more than one for a kid, which they had filled with as much bread and pastries as they could. "We don't know what's down there, so stay close," she added. "And Mouse?" She looked down, meeting the inquisitive eyes of the dog she had accidentally adopted. She knelt down and scooped him up into her arms. "I'll carry you until we're down there. Follow me, Brucie." And then she jumped, hitting the first outcropping of contrete and stone not five metres down. She continued like this, followed closely behind by the sound of metal on stone as Brucie hurried after her.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

I am also working on a post! Already told Lug, but informing the rest of ya.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@BCTheEntity
Overmorrow is a word? I didn't think English has a single word for "The day after tomorrow".

Also, Lug: I think I can start writing again in a day or so. I'll be taking it slow, most likely, but I'll get started on it soon-ish.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Lugubrious
Hit a rough patch with my wrists just recently. I have ups and downs, and just so happened I hit a down. Am getting better and should be writing fit within the next two days or so. I know it sounds like a poor excuse, but it is the primary reason I Haven't written anything since last <.<

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

@QuinEldritch
Yes, but those are women. By all rights, Lucie and Aleksandra should be shorter than your dude is, but they're not xp I just find it funny.

Also: discord.gg/zWCt7g
Have a link invitation to the Discord server I set up for this RP. Much easier to communicate.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@ProPro
Indeed. Although, I'd like to see someone super powerful, but clumsy as fuck, being trashed by someone far weaker, but far more experienced xp

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@ProPro
In a way you're right, but unless they reach a level of power equal to a God, then they are still at a disadvantage. Even Pithy and Sylvestre who, by the standards of this tournament, are rather weak, would still have the means to defeat some OP fucker if they didn't know how to use their powers.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

So they are going to doublecross the participants... That's a bad idea. Like a really bad idea. They might get new and awesome powers with that arrow, but they have no experience with them. They're gonna get wrecked if they try to fight :P

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

@Sho Minazuki
Yep!