Maran
♫
"Adria, what are you doing?!" August hissed after the Thanatologist as she moved past him to open the door and descend the staircase. He knew he'd seen that door slam shut in Adria's face, clearly it was not the wind, clearly something was behind that door, but she had went in anyway without him so suddenly. "Damn it," he swore. Metis would not appreciate him cursing so much. It was unbecoming of a Knight, or at least the makings of one. But in this situation, that was all he could manage to say. "No splitting up," he scoffed. Like in horror movies.
There was no choice but to follow. August went through the door after Adria, with a frustrated sigh. Upon hearing the commotion below he rushed down the staircase. Finally on the base floor, he turned, flashlight in hand, to see Adria's form, bloodied; the grey of ashes strewn across the floor; and the hunched form of the Imperator Draugr, in all of its insanity and office clothing. The smell of kerosene entered his nose, being in a closer proximity to Adria, and August increasingly felt the nausea return.
His eyes wobbled between both figures, his gaze as hazy as his mind was getting. Not that he needed to think. There was no time to think. He just needed to end this quickly and get the hell out.
The draugr, catching sight of the Enforcer, lifted its head with an amused "hm?" It seemed to settle its attention on August then and there, its uncanny stare causing his fists to ball up. He remembered what Serah taught him, to will the blood to do his bidding, and with that he felt a surge of strength flow through his body. Grimacing, he braced himself as the draugr closed the gap between the two with preternatural speed, claws at the ready. August took a step back as the draugr reached with its right arm to claw at his neck -- and catching its arm, August yanked down with a loud grunt, raising his knee to meet the draugr's stomach.
+~+~+~+~+
"Richer folk stay up north. Better neighborhoods, not much crime," Ray replied. They had entered a small living area, sparsely decorated save for a rather odd-looking chartreuse sofa at one end of the room, and a coffee table in front, a Bible laying atop it with dog-eared pages.
"Sensible hunters go south to feed. You can be more reckless down there," Ray noted. A sad but unfortunate truth. Just as it was centuries before, the impoverished remained the invisible. Ray had been one of them. It did not sit well with him, taking advantage of the poor -- but he acknowledged the hunt was much easier there, as most kindred in Chicago knew. Much less of a chance for investigation if something went awry. He sat and reclined on the sofa. It was good to be inside.
"As for the bodies," Ray continued to recall, "majority of them have been turning up around the Dunning neighborhood. Ditches. Woody areas. Online, they say that most of them looked as though some animal mauled them. Claw markings, cuts, bites, bruises everywhere. Nearly unrecognizable." He frowned at the description. It brought unpleasant things to mind. "Were it a draugr, then word of an investigation by the Lex Legis would have spread by now. They hold domain over the city." It struck him as odd that such an investigation was not heard of yet. Typically such a threat would have been dealt with by now, the Lex Legis were usually good at that.
Ray pointed to a staircase at another end of the room. "By the way. Upstairs is your room. The other door in the kitchen goes to the basement. My lab and study."
There was no choice but to follow. August went through the door after Adria, with a frustrated sigh. Upon hearing the commotion below he rushed down the staircase. Finally on the base floor, he turned, flashlight in hand, to see Adria's form, bloodied; the grey of ashes strewn across the floor; and the hunched form of the Imperator Draugr, in all of its insanity and office clothing. The smell of kerosene entered his nose, being in a closer proximity to Adria, and August increasingly felt the nausea return.
His eyes wobbled between both figures, his gaze as hazy as his mind was getting. Not that he needed to think. There was no time to think. He just needed to end this quickly and get the hell out.
The draugr, catching sight of the Enforcer, lifted its head with an amused "hm?" It seemed to settle its attention on August then and there, its uncanny stare causing his fists to ball up. He remembered what Serah taught him, to will the blood to do his bidding, and with that he felt a surge of strength flow through his body. Grimacing, he braced himself as the draugr closed the gap between the two with preternatural speed, claws at the ready. August took a step back as the draugr reached with its right arm to claw at his neck -- and catching its arm, August yanked down with a loud grunt, raising his knee to meet the draugr's stomach.
+~+~+~+~+
"Richer folk stay up north. Better neighborhoods, not much crime," Ray replied. They had entered a small living area, sparsely decorated save for a rather odd-looking chartreuse sofa at one end of the room, and a coffee table in front, a Bible laying atop it with dog-eared pages.
"Sensible hunters go south to feed. You can be more reckless down there," Ray noted. A sad but unfortunate truth. Just as it was centuries before, the impoverished remained the invisible. Ray had been one of them. It did not sit well with him, taking advantage of the poor -- but he acknowledged the hunt was much easier there, as most kindred in Chicago knew. Much less of a chance for investigation if something went awry. He sat and reclined on the sofa. It was good to be inside.
"As for the bodies," Ray continued to recall, "majority of them have been turning up around the Dunning neighborhood. Ditches. Woody areas. Online, they say that most of them looked as though some animal mauled them. Claw markings, cuts, bites, bruises everywhere. Nearly unrecognizable." He frowned at the description. It brought unpleasant things to mind. "Were it a draugr, then word of an investigation by the Lex Legis would have spread by now. They hold domain over the city." It struck him as odd that such an investigation was not heard of yet. Typically such a threat would have been dealt with by now, the Lex Legis were usually good at that.
Ray pointed to a staircase at another end of the room. "By the way. Upstairs is your room. The other door in the kitchen goes to the basement. My lab and study."