Fantasy Kendall, Night of the Hunt

[DoughGuy]

Announcement to all Waystations


“In the last few days we have noted increased activity by what we believe to be a new cult around the city. We warn all hunters to take extra precautions this night, as even if there is no curse there may be additional dangers on the streets.”


Squad Shaw, Upper West Waystation


The upper west Waystation was the standard sort. A few different rooms for the squads to arm up and prepare themselves for what was coming, a central area where they could gather to hear the night’s announcements and a final room with all the amenities the waystation keeper would need to get through their shift. The volunteer was a young man who was clearly on his first night, acting a bit jittery and going on constant rounds making sure everyone had their flare and was logged into the station book. He was nice enough sort, though getting on some of the experienced hunters nerves with his constant interruptions.


In one of the preparation rooms squad leader Reisha and her hunters were meeting up. She’d had her own rifle and pistol ready for the last hour and had been constantly rechecking them since then, showing her obvious nerves. With two of her squad in the room and the other squads starting to leave she finally spoke. “Hello friends. My name is Reisha and I’ll be your squad leader for tonight.” She smiled at the group. The two of them seemed rather young and she doubted they would have done any hunts in the past. She herself had been doing them on and off throughout her twenties and into her early thirties so she wasn’t surprised to see some youths. The organisers in charge of the squad’s distribution would know her experience would cover for them. “We should all get to know one another, it will be a long night after all. And a dangerous one no matter what happens it sounds like. We’ll need to have each other’s backs. Neither of you would happen to know where our final member is would you?”


They were briefly interrupted by a well-groomed man who stuck his head into the doorway and winked at Reisha, “Good luck tonight mademoiselle.” he said in a French accent, before disappearing. The leader’s smile widened a bit at the encouragement but wasn’t quick enough to reply before the man was gone.


Squad Baker, Slums Waystation


The Slums Waystation was both the second largest and second most fortified waystation in Kendall, only behind the one in the upper estates section of the city. The large number of people in the slums, and thus large number of cursed, required a stronger presence from the hunters. It was also the only Waystation staffed by two volunteers with their own Gatling gun defensive platform each. The two on staff tonight were both middle aged men, large, though mostly fatty tissue rather than muscle, with looks that conveyed boredom. They were old, they’d been through this plenty of times before, and the group of young hunters before them didn’t do much for them. Especially not the arrogant snob in the fancy red cloak and gold chain. The other squads were already out on the hunt, but it had taken him so long to arrive from his fancy pants house that his squad had been delayed.


The snob wasn’t looking too happy himself at the squad he’d been given, though their location had more to do with it than that. He was the son of an important businessman, and he’d been assigned to the slums. His boots were covered in muck and his cloak was adorned with a new brown lining around its base. Lugging around his heavy weapon hadn’t made things easier and keeping his balance had been difficult. Fortunately he’d kept it and more importantly the focussing lenses clean. He wasn’t too impressed with his squad either. Two fresh faced teenagers who’d probably never even peeked outside during a full moon. And while the third looked impressive he was a foreigner from far off and didn’t fill the man with hope.


“Alright you three. I’m your squad leader Richard. Tonight we’ll be trekking through these ramshackle suburbs and doing our duty to protect these people.” He hoisted the long metal tube off the bench and swung it around onto his back using the strap attached. “Now what are your names?” he demanded.

 

[TerraBooma]

Arthur's rifle was being held over his shoulder, grapple ready to go at moments notice. It was Arthur's first hunt...something he was keen on doing his best to come back alive from. The people who gave him his weapons were kind enough, and being on the same squad as Tai was good news to say the least. Having someone he'd know watch his back was good. Partially out of camaraderie, and partially because his sister would probably strangle her if she let him die...and Artur knew his sister wasn't one to joke about that sort of thing. He figured that was worth something at least. Still, Arthur wasn't sure what kind of squad leader they'd get, and someone as green as them would be problematic.


Needless to say Arthur was a little nervous nervous, to say the least. His first hunt...it was going to be intense. He'd spent the last couple minutes looking at his revolver, examining it for faults. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but it made him feel a bit better. He looked up as his Squad leader entered the room, a merchant...the kinda guy his dad made deals with all the time, which meant he probably wasn't the nicest guy around. Still...he looked somewhat experienced, which meant he hopefully wouldn't be leading them to their deaths. "I'm Arthur. Arthur Bakerson, pleasure to meet you sir."

 

[Athenian]

Tae grumbled quietly to herself, the whetstone she was using the sharpen her sword ringing dully in the stagnant air, eventually becoming monotonous as she continued. It was surprisingly difficult, whetting a toothed blade with a portable whetstone, but she couldn't afford to be picky. Giving it a smooth one over and dusting grains of stone off of the sword and her clothing, she slid it into a hardened leather sheath on her back, a simply thing that didn't actually cover the sword and more just held it in place with two straps.


Stretching and relieving the ache in her shoulders and neck from her position curled over her handiwork added on to her poor, hunched posture in general, Tae let out a few pleased sighs as a couple of quite loud and sickening pops echoed around the room, followed by smaller, more muted cracks. Hardened leather padding creaked along her shoulders and torso, her neck guard restricting her movement somewhat as she struggled to pop the bones there.


Turning slightly to face Arthur, she paused for a moment before giving him a rough mix between a rub and a tap on his shoulder. She was probably trying to be comforting, or simply trying to remind him that she was there; she had never been that great with physical shows of affection. "You'll be fine." Se muttered, nodding solemnly as if she was agreeing with herself. She hadn't been on too many missions herself, but enough to be pegged a regular hunter, or perhaps something close; nothing had really ever gone that awry; Arthur would be fine. besides, if she did let something happen to An's younger brother the latter would probably strangle her, or something. She gave Arthur one last rub-pat, scuffing his hair slightly as she moved to do the same thing with his mop of blonde hair, before slouching back in her seat and moving to check her[already loaded] revolvers[for the second time]. A series of soft, rhythmic clicks filled the air as she calmly sun through the chambers, taking out and reinserting bullets, running fingers over the delicate designs on some of the bullets and tapping her nails against the tough metal sheen of others.


Her expression when their squad leader first came in was a myriad of faint fear and general distaste, dulled memories of previous times surfacing as this man greatly resembled some of the merchants who would come in and "take stock" of everything they were doing. Her expression was quickly schooled into indifference, and she glanced at him with a sort of curiosity.


"Tai Rutherford. Call me Tae. Why's a rich merchant been assigned to the slums?" She said smoothly, blunt as ever and truly seeing nothing wrong or abrasive about her question as she finally tucked her two guns away.

 

[LocoMetal]

Facing away from the group with a hunch as he looked down at his large war hammer sized weapon, Mal slowly squeezes his grip on the pole. The creak of leather from the straps tightening has always, and oddly, been a soothing sound for the manic man. He quietly and almost motionlessly converses with himself while the assembled group behind him have their own conversations. He spins the hammer around with a few flicks of his wrists to get yet another good look at every detail the make-shift weapon has. His eyes stop at the engraving and he runs a thumb over it. A rare calming sensation washes over him as he is able to remember past the blood, the screaming, the bullets, the fire, the pain... he remembers their significance but the tranquility is not to last.


A strangers voice from behind gets his attention and, once again, the mania creeps back into his brain. "Richard" he quietly reminds himself. Mals breathing is slow, his chest and shoulders rise and lower slowly, and his breaths areaudible from a very short distance. His head jolts to the much younger man who replies to Richard who says his name is "Arthur" which, again, he repeats to himself quietly. He takes quick note of Arthur's appearance before his attention is then grabbed by "Tai" he echoes.


It takes a good few seconds for him to realize he was also asked the question hence Richard stating "you three". An eye twitches for a moment, he straightens his posture, sorta, and hefts the big spiked hammer over a shoulder with some ease "Mal" he says out loud in a calm, quiet but gruff tone and almost without what should be his foreign accent "I don't smell blood yet. Mine or theirs." theirs referring to the beasts but could easily be mistaken for anybody else. And the second it leaves his mouth his shoulders drop and head hangs and he almost smacks himself in the head for letting a abnormal sentence escape.

 

[AiDee]

“A cult!" Mari mused out loud as the announcement blared into her ears. The newly appointed hunter perked up at the idea of people following the curse. The announcement echoed a warning and was promptly cut out. Mari glanced around the upper west Waystation, searching for her squad. She would poke her head into different rooms, leave a few comments before going back to her search. Blowing away a wisp of hair, Mari finally found her squad leader's room. She entered and grinned at her leader. A few moments later, another teammate entered the room. Mari brushed her hair with a few of her fingers and tapped her fingers on the flamethrower strapped to her back, “Hello friends. My name is Reisha and I’ll be your squad leader for tonight.” Reisha had a curious smile on her face.


“We should all get to know one another, it will be a long night after all." Mari enjoyed talking about herself, it was another attribute that was passed down to her, "And a dangerous one no matter what happens it sounds like. We’ll need to have each other’s backs. Neither of you would happen to know where our final member is would you?”


"Final member? That's--"


Mari's voice died down as a man partially entered the room, “Good luck tonight mademoiselle.” He winked at the squad leader.


Mari's face brightened up as she stared at Reisha, "Ooh la la, mademoiselle!" She faked an accent, "Does our leader have a lover?" Having a reason to tease, Mari twirled around her squad, "Unless it's a crush! Well...You're pretty, but not as pretty as me.." Mari spoke in a hushed voice, "You can become prettier! I'll do my best." Mari spoke too fast for Reisha to respond back or even stop the plans she had set in motion. In a haughty tone, she pronounced her name for the group, "My name is Mari Agreste." Mari rested her flamethrower at the shoulders, behind her neck, "It is pleasant to meet everyone!"

 

[Ironrot]

"Has my uncle signed in yet? Isaac Renshaw?" Theresa asked the young man, accepting one of the flare which he was distributing.


"Uh... No, I haven't seen him." The boy replied. Theresa felt a little weight drop in her stomach. She had hoped that her uncle would be here by now. She didn't mind meeting hunters without him, but the danger of the night was starting to dawn on her a little. Distracted, it took a moment for Theresa to process what the boy was saying as he continued to talk. "You've been assigned to Squad Shaw. Everyone but your uncle is here. They are the... third door down."


"Thank you" Theresa said, giving him a quick smile before she walked away to find her cohort.


Upon entering the room, Theresa undid the buckles holding her equipment. Her shoulders were already sore from the weight and she worried if she could carry them all night, but truth be told, she hadn't been wearing the harness correctly on the walk to the waystation. Theresa checked over her railgun again. Her father had paid a lot for this kit. More than a man of his (admittedly above average) wealth should. He had said it was worth it to keep his daughter safe.


Having had conversations with random hunters carrying exotic weapons on her way in, Theresa now found herself nervous to start a conversation with the other two girls in the room. She didn't want to say something foolish on her first hunt and a little, paranoid part of her wondered if there wasn't a reason for their silence. She was relieved when their leader began to speak.


Theresa sat awkwardly through Mari's dialogue. It seemed rude to talk to openly about someone else's relationship, but maybe that was just who hunters were. Her uncle's manners left something to be desired.


"I'm Theresa. We are waiting on my Uncle Isaac but I don't know where he is."

 

[Whisker]

"I'm Theresa. We are waiting on my Uncle Isaac but I don't know where he is."


The door to the main room swung open on its hinges, a man wearing a long black overcoat atop his hunting attire stepping into the squad room in the same instance.


"Don't bother. I'm already here."


A pair of cold grey eyes traveled from Theresa, the only familiar figure in the room, to the raven-haired girl sitting on her other side, and finally letting them settle on Reisha from where she sat at the front. He needed no form of introduction to discern from her posture that she was to be the leader of their little group of newbies.


"Isaac J. Renshaw, Heavy Class."


Though the latter addition was probably a little redundant. The metallic thud of an over large yet menacing black case being set upon the ground was enough to drive home the point even without him saying anything at all. From there, he claimed the last empty seat among the group and settled into it, the long overcoat leaving his shoulders to reveal a drab storm-gray duster behind. It hardly stood out from a normal suit, but was significantly more padded in certain places that hinted at extra protection being included within the coat.


For a moment or so, the male said nothing, but eventually ventured a pointed question regarding some late news he had heard from the nervous looking youth at the door.


"I heard mention of a cult on the way in. What is the latest word on that?"


The words were calm, but Isaac was much more troubled below the surface. Fighting the curse was trouble enough in and of itself without added complications to it that could seriously hinder their fighting power if left unchecked.





@DoughGuy @Ironrot @AiDee


A bit rusty, but finally got something up.

 

[DoughGuy]

Squad Shaw, Upper West Waystation


Reisha was taken aback by the sudden influx of mocking and complimentary words that burst from Mari. Her mouth dropped open as if to reply, before shutting as she tried to compose herself. “Gaston is a friend of mine who I have been with on many hunts before. There isn’t any romance between us.” she stammered out, still a little off balance. With that said she turned away from Mari to look at the uncle and niece, letting the silence stretch for a bit after the former’s arrival.


She was glad to have him in her squad though his gaze unnerved her slightly. He looked to be a solid presence whose posture and tone indicated he was a veteran of the hunt. He’d also be keeping an eye on his niece which would make her job easier. The downside was she didn’t necessarily want to spend more of her attention on Mari. She was glad for the additional question from Isaac to distract her from her own thoughts and break the quiet. “We don’t know much about them. They’ve been noticed all around the city so they must have large numbers. But they haven’t done anything of note yet. They suspect it might have been foreigners scouting for tonight.”


There were more sounds of movement from outside the room as the other squads began leaving the waystation. “Oh we should probably get going. We don’t want to be late. Let’s go everyone.” She walked to the door then waited for the others to join her before moving to leave the building.


Outside the building the group emerged onto one of the city’s main streets. The other groups were splitting up and heading down each of the nearby minor streets and would further disperse through the individual streets. Their area of the city was populated by single storey houses that allowed the moonlight to fully illuminate it. And with few houses using wood as a primary building tool the lanterns on each door posed little risk of sparking a disastrous fire. “Where would you guys like to head?” Reisha asked.


Squad Baker, Slums Waystation


Richard sneered at Tae as she bluntly asked her question. “You will address me as sir for this night, respecting the station I hold girl. Just because we are in the slums does not mean you may act like a gutter orphan. Regardless, I was still answer your question, I am here because it is where my duty requires me.” his tone was sincere in its answer.


One boy who knew his place, one rebellious girl and one foreigner who Richard had to assume wasn’t right in the head from his first sentence to the group. Terrific. At least they were all armed and ready. If they listened to orders they might make it, though he was more inclined to think he’d have two coffins by the end of the night. The foreigner looked big enough that he doubted a few cursed ones would take him down.


“We’re behind schedule so we’re moving out now squad.” he said, putting his authority into his voice. Without waiting for their response he marched to the door and threw it open. Outside the moon was clearly visible in the cloudless sky, the rooftops of the city illuminated by its light. Down below the second storey most of its radiance was blocked and Squad Baker would be relying on the lanterns lit on every door as their main source of luminescence.


The buildings around them were exactly as one would expect of the slums. Dirty, packed closely together and small. Many buildings had expanded into one another forming large apartment complexes filled with people. Those in the immediate vicinity were two stories tall to fit more people into the same amount of space, a pattern that continued throughout much of the area. Wood was a popular materials due to its low cost and the slums were a constant fire hazard. It made the lanterns a bit riskier, but it was a law in the city and the poor couldn’t afford better lights. Thus, for their own safety, the inhabitants of the slums would barely put any oil in their lanterns so breakages were less likely to start fires. It meant the slums went dark much earlier than the rest of the city.


The other hunters were gone and the street was quiet. The flickering lantern lights caused any shadows to dance on the wooden walls and cobbles underfoot. Gutters were choked with rubbish and there was filth covering the ground. In their current position the group had options to go north, south or east with the Waystation to west at their backs. Richard made a grunting noise with his mouth, then turned to his group, “I am completely unfamiliar with this area, where do we go?”

 

[LocoMetal]

Mal simultaneously cracks his neck to the left, and rolls his left shoulder a few times as he straightens his posture while he walks outside with slow but confident strides. He hefts his big make-shift hammer off of his shoulder and into both hands. His eyes shift from place to place as he scans around to see what he is able to. His breathing is deep and audible, a subtle grown accompanies the odd exhale here and there.


He reminds himself why he's here, why he needs to do this and who to do it for. He turns his head enough so he can see the younger hunters behind him. For a brief moment the eagerness on his face turns to sentiment. Almost as if he feels bad for them, perhaps a part of him does. He looks back at the slums and further steels himself.


He hunches again as he looks down at the spiked face of his hammer, staring at it. He sees himself as a monster but not like the one he has slain. He is a special breed of monster. One who finds satisfaction in slaying beasts, albeit for a short time, but his hammer would never under any circumstances puncture the flesh of a fellow hunter unless he knew with absolute certainty that it would be for the greater good of the hunters overall. Even if the others were to, for whatever reason, turn on him now he wouldn't fight back. The guilt of bloodshed from innocents would eclipse his turbulent hatred for beasts and the curse overall. Any nihilism he knew fades away with these thoughts, the thoughts of making this place safer for his team even though he doesn't know anything about them save for names.


Looking up from the hammer and to the moon; "Well, it was nice change of pace from violence. I knew it couldn't last long though" he says quietly to himself but could be easily overheard. His tone is noticeably more calm and smooth compared to his previous little statement "I'll lose my mind again and scream about violence and blood soon enough. But this. This feels.... nice". His grip on the hammer pole tightens as the lust of death's possession slowly creeps and crawls up his spine and into the black matter of his brain

 

[TerraBooma]

Arhur wasn't quite sure what to think of Richard. Sure he was kind of a jerk but he'd seen his father deal with snobbier nobles back in the shop when they came around to negotiate for rations. Normally it was a better idea just to go along with what they said, but through spying on all the dealings he'd learned that for all their talk and their highspeak nobles were just people who were really sure of themselves...Richard wasn't exactly trying to prove them wrong. Still, Arthur was going to do his best to be useful to the team. He did his best to shake his nervousness aside, although his clenched fists shook slightly as he left the door in the back of the group. He briefly glanced at Mal after Richard pointed out he had no idea how to navigate the slums. Arthur almost laughed but wisely managed to hold his tongue, laughing at your superiors isn't exactly the way to make allies in a fight of life or death. Mal also was a bit weird, the forienger had to have known they were going to fight right? Arthur frowned, but again held his tongue. People were weird sometimes.


But which direction to go? Arthur wasn't sure...He'd spent his evenings inside during the curse until tonight, he didn't exactly know how things went or even many stories or rather which were true. But going somewhere had to be better than sitting around doing nothing...Arthur pulled out his map of the town and continued mulling over his options. "What about going west? We could start on the outskirts of town and comb east from there....clear out streets as we go?" Arthur looked up at the squad leader, then remembered who he was talking to.


"U-uhh sir!"

 

[Whisker]

“We don’t know much about them. They’ve been noticed all around the city so they must have large numbers. But they haven’t done anything of note yet. They suspect it might have been foreigners scouting for tonight.”


Issac grunted sourly, his arms crossing his chest. Like many of the Kendall natives, he wasn't fond of outsiders butting their way in. He supposed it couldn't be helped with the situation at hand ... but that wouldn't stop him from putting a bullet or two in a cultists chest if they happened to get in his way. But before they could talk about the situation any further, there came a flurry of footsteps in the hall outside. Clearly, the other squads were beginning to make their way out to begin the Hunt.


"Oh we should probably get going. We don’t want to be late. Let’s go everyone."


With a nodded affirmative, he reached down and picked up his case, slinging it absently up and over his shoulder. He didn't move out immediately, but rather waited for Theresa to leave before sidling out directly behind her. Though he wouldn't intervene directly as it was strictly unprofessional, it was his own way of informing her that he had her back without letting any of the others know.


Once they made it out from the halls and into the alley beyond, the squad was silent for a moment. The other groups were breaking off and moving in different directions, their heads bowed as they discussed tactics and supplies. Soon, they were one of the few groups remaining in the area; a sign that they were a bit less prepared than the others. At long last, however, Reisha turned around and brought up the topic at hand.


"Where would you guys like to head?"


There wasn't even a moments hesitation for Isaac as he turned to answer Reisha's question.


"It depends."


He pulled out a map from his waistcoat and dawdled over it for a moment, his eyes scanning each of the zones before glancing up at the leader again.


"Normally, I would suggest we make for the closest way station in order to keep our supplies constant through out the night. However, I don't think that will work for us this time considering the composition of our team."


Turning away, he glanced back at his niece and the black-haired girl with the flamethrower and odd-looking teddy bear. To be honest, she more than disconcerted him, but he knew better than to remark on such when it could unbalance them before the hunt.


"We're mainly comprised of close-range heavies. It could work against us if we venture into the wrong areas. Plus, we need to consider in the case of the flamethrower that we have to be extremely careful in using it. One wrong move and we could set entire districts aflame."


Which leaves us ... ?





He considered the map a final time before looking up at Reisha for a final time, the indecision still a bit clear.


"South ... I think, keeping away from the crowded market district."


But of course this was only a suggestion. He wasn't familiar with many of the areas surrounding Kendall and the map, while helpful for most things, wasn't exactly the best for picking out tactical locations to set up in. He was all for making sacrifices as needed ... but even in this, caution was needed until they located their quarry.


@DoughGuy @Ironrot @AiDee

 

[Ironrot]

Theresa beamed when she saw her uncle's large figure enter the room. She wanted to run to the door and wrap her arms around him but she stifled the impulse for the sake of professionalism. As much as she was glad to have him here, she did not want the others to think of her as a child being led around by an adult. Instead, while the others talked about a cult Theresa donned her gear, harnessing the heavy battery into the small of her back. Thumper sat above it, just below her shoulders and she carried the long railgun on a sling.


As they walked outside, Theresa was surprised by how much much lighter the gear felt when worn correctly. She caught sight of her shadow, cast by a lamp. With the silhouette of her coat and rifle; This was what hunters looked like. She grinned to herself and slide her thumb over the priming switch for the railguns array of capacitors, eager to power her weapon.


"South ... I think, keeping away from the crowded market district."


Theresa considered remaining silent. This was her first hunt; Planning and strategy was best left to those with experience. She leant around the side of her uncle to see the map. South would take them into the slums. Theresa hated the slums. People tended to cat call or try to convince you to follow them into dingy tin shacks. It would also contain some of the tightest 'buildings' which her gear was not well suited for.


"I think we should head north to stay in the residences. Then west." She traces a line clockwise around the maps northern section, "We will be able to cover more ground in the residences and we can check in with the way station on the northern edge of the markets."


@Whisker @AiDee @DoughGuy

 

[AiDee]

A meek girl spoke up from behind Mari. She introduced herself as Theresa and talked about the fourth group member. On cue, the man in question came through the door. His gaze traced over the other girl, Mari and then her squad leader, "Isaac J. Renshaw, Heavy Class." The man dropped his black case down and cracked a shot at starting up a conversation, "I heard mention of a cult on the way in. What is the latest word on that?" Did he happen to hear it from Mari? She clearly forgot that the announcement were still blasting on in the background. Narcissistic as ever, her ego showed on her face.


“Gaston is a friend of mine who I have been with on many hunts before. There isn’t any romance between us.” Reisha spoke up, clearly expressing troubles while saying it.


Mari shrugged and brushed off her hair, "Of course there isn't." She grew more interest in her nails, not believing Reisha one bit. The girl blew off strands of her hair away from her framing her face. The squad leader continued to speak, taking no mind to Mari's words.


“We don’t know much about them. They’ve been noticed all around the city so they must have large numbers. But they haven’t done anything of note yet. They suspect it might have been foreigners scouting for tonight.” Mari lowly hummed at that. It must be easy to spot them or something, “Oh we should probably get going. We don’t want to be late. Let’s go everyone.”


Mari popped her lips and swung her weapon back on her shoulder. After the girl and her uncle left, Mari followed behind, taking large strides out. The group traveled onto the city's streets, as other groups left, Reisha glanced over to the group and asked, "Where would you guys like to head?" Mari glanced at the houses with tiny lanterns lit. It was admirable, they were lighting up a small fire for the hunters, despite the full moon looming above it all. Could anyone fall asleep anymore?


"It depends." The man pulled out a crumpled up map and unfolded for the group to see, "Normally, I would suggest we make for the closest way station in order to keep our supplies constant through out the night. However, I don't think that will work for us this time considering the composition of our team."


Mari raised an eyebrow at the older man, glaring back at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"


"We're mainly comprised of close-range heavies. It could work against us if we venture into the wrong areas." Isaac glanced over to Mari, "Plus, we need to consider in the case of the flamethrower that we have to be extremely careful in using it. One wrong move and we could set entire districts aflame."


"I'm not an idiot, I can handle it." Mari brushed her hair back and turned her back to them.


"South ... I think, keeping away from the crowded market district."


His niece seemed to disagree, "I think we should head north to stay in the residences. Then west." She explains that they would be able to cover more ground.


"Does it really matter where we go? Honestly it's all the same to me." Mari crossed her arms and picked a direction to head to. She pointed east and turned to the group with a snarky remark, "Let's go already!"

 

[Athenian]

Tae merely frowned, Richard's attitude still slightly abrasive but slightly easier to stomach now that the initial surprise had worn off. She tensed slightly when the man called her a "gutter orphan", teeth clenching and grinding as the insult hit a little too close to home. "Yes sir." She deadpanned, not looking to start anything despite the irritation prickling her skin, ducking her head and going back to fingering her weapons.


Standing up with a sigh and cracking her back again, she ambled after the group, shoving her hands into her pockets and assuming her heavy slouch, footsteps heavy as she scanned the area with a watchful eye. She had gotten used to the scent of mould and charcoal permeating everything -not really a good thing, but still- so the filth surrounding her didn't bother her as much as it did Richard; she was surprised he had gotten his coat dirty in the first place, judging from how posh he seemed to be. She directed a glance at Mal, a peculiar and slightly perturbed expression on her face at his strange, accented commentary, but she chose not to comment.


"Arthur's got a pretty good plan. I dunno." Tae said, shrugging. "Working from the outside in seems to work pretty well." She paused. "Did no one give you a map or debrief you about this area? Sir?" She asked, brow crinkled in honest confusion. It was strange that they would send a man into a sector completely blind, but it was apparent that Richard knew next to nothing about the area.

 

[DoughGuy]

Squad Shaw, Upper West Waystation


Reisha nodded along happily as Isaac talked his way through their situation, working towards a logical explanation of where they should head. “We are lucky to be one of the residential districts.” she replied to his final answer, “The streets have some width to them but there’s nothing too valuable to damage if we do miss. As long as we avoid the houses that is.”


Unfortunately the rest of the group had their own ideas. And by the time everyone had finished speaking three different direction to go in had been chosen. Theresa had proposed a second path that would take them to the next waystation, while Mari had picked a direction probably just to disagree with the others. It wasn’t a situation Reisha liked, they were forcing her to take charge.


“We’ll go south.” she said after a few seconds of ‘hmmm’ filled deliberation, “Following the main road until the first side street pops up”. Isaac’s decision as the only one with an experienced mind behind it. She was hopeful Mari wouldn’t make a big deal that they had gone against her choice, though the girl’s attitude wasn’t promising.


“So do you have any questions about the hunt?” she asked the group, directing most of her attention at the two youngest members, “If you need any advice I’m sure Isaac or I can give you what you need.”


Squad Baker, Slums Waystation


The crazy foreigner was creeping Richard out with every sentence he spoke. He was more like an animal than a human. He involuntarily moved his hand down to a more secure grasp upon his own gun, wondering whether he’d need to put the man down by the end of the night as the bloodlust turned him upon the rest of them.


As Arthur spoke up, outlining something that sounded like a plan, Richard began raising a judgemental eyebrow until the boy remembered to add on the ‘sir’ at the end of his sentence. A little sloppy but the boy was catching on. And the girl was trying as well, no hesitation from her. Though he wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t being insulting with her question. “I doubt any respectable man knows about this area enough to debrief me.” he replied to Tae, “Nor do I expect any map about this ramshackle tinderbox is accurate to a sufficient degree for what I require.”


He turned to the north and set off at a brisk pace, “We will travel north until we hit what passes for a road here and then continue west from there. As we walk tell me about your skills as a hunter. If I am to lead you I will need to know what you are fully capable of. I will not fail this city because of your incompetence.”


All


The silence of the night was broken by a sudden scream that erupted from the west, an inhuman howl of suffering and pain. Before it could fade away the earth was rent asunder as the sound of stone shattering dominated the ears. And then, for a few precious seconds there was silence. Before the process was repeated to the southwest. And then from the south. From the southeast. From the east. From the northeast. And from the city’s north. Finally after seven screams it was over and there was no more.

 

[TerraBooma]

Arthur's hands gripped his revolver as the screams echoed around him. It was easy to come up for a reason as to why sudden screams tore up the night, it seemed the hunt had truly began and the job felt like it had become much, much more perilous. Arthur took some shakey breaths and looked down at his hands, both shaking lightly in the pale moonlit night. Was this normal? Arthur forced himself to wonder. He could die...was he really willing to do that? Arthur looked around at the rest of the group with unease, but they all seemed relatively less disturbed. Was this just par for the course? His worries eyes locked with Tae for a moment, and he seemed to relax. Things would be fine, he had people watching his back after all.


After acquiring permission from his squad leader to ascend, Arthur put his grapple-rifle to good use. He knew he needed to get a bird's eye view of what was going on. With a hiss of uncoiling coil Arthur fired up at the roof, and a few moments later was on top, binoculars in hand as he alternated between looking normally and with his tools. Arthur knew his squad needed info, that was his job after all. So they were going to get it.

 

[Ironrot]

Theresa had begun walking south, as instructed, when the howls began. She tensed and raised her rifle, flipping the switch to charge the capacitors. A low hum momentarily resonated from the body of the railgun though it didn't do much to calm the young woman's nerves. She had heard these noises before, but they were much louder when you weren't hearing them from inside a sealed room.


"Are there usually this many?" Theresa asked, backing up a couple of steps to stand closer to the group, Isaac in particular.

 

[LocoMetal]

Mal looks in the general direction where the screams come from. He stops breathing as he listens to every little sound they make. His eyes shift from place to place as if panicked, but he was not panicked at all, no, it was more out of excitement to begin the song and dance of blood and combat. When the screams fall silent he exhales slowly and growls of a delicate balance of satisfaction and impatience. His eyes more open now whereas before they were not quite half closed, but anybody could tell he was feeling mighty bored just from locking eyes.


He chuckles something menacingly, like a hunter taking slow steps towards its injured prey that struggles to escape "Such a symphony of feelings." he says with a manic tone in his voice, like a madman reading over a book he has taken obsessive interest in "so beautiful but so far. I want to get close... mmm-no I need to get close..." his grip on his hammer tightens even more. He glances over his shoulder at the others. He eyes all of their subtle facial expressions, gathering what he can based off of what they show "...so they don't have to." he says quietly to himself although he feels the need to address them directly for once. He turns his body half way while hefting his hammer over a shoulder. He points to them lazily with his opposite, free hand and hesitates to speak. He has a quick internal struggle of what to say, what not to say.


After what is roughly a three second wait and argument with himself, he finally says... what some part of him thinks is reassuring "We'll open them up like presents, and find the goodies inside". Immediately after it leaves his mouth he regrets ever saying anything. The sane side wishes he could just keep his mouth shut and follow orders, but with the thrill of the hunt on his mind, well, that's near impossible at this time.

 

[Athenian]

Tae was about to reply to Richard(aptly named, really) when the chilling wails tore through the air. Whipping her sword out of its sheath with a high, echoing ring, she shifted a bit closer to Arthur, eyes narrowed and watching. It was his first mission, after all; he was probably terrified. She turned to look at him once, giving him a small nod and squeezing his shoulder as reassurance as she took a small step forward, eyeing the gloom.


Still, nothing stirred after that. And Tae slowly started speaking, voice a murmur to stop from shattering the fragile atmosphere. She couldn't help but feel like something was going o jump out, any second now.


"That's not a good idea. At least right now we're close to the base, so if we really did run into something bizarre we can make our way back. Never run to the noise." She shot Mal a warning glance, shaking her head slightly. She missed the last part, as she had turned away to address Richard.


At this point, every other sentence out of good ol' Richard's mouth was a jab, so Tae resolved to simply ignore his prickly filler and pick out the important bits from the white noise. "Well... I'm good at repairing weapons, and making 'em, I guess; I don't need good metal or materials, either. I can take quite a few punches, and I've got an amazing weapon, here." Tae paused, fondly stroking the teeth of the sword for a second. "I'm a pretty good shot and I've got some good bullets; half o' em, these jacketed ones, I use to maim 'em, cause one of these is enough to render a limb useless if I can line up the shot. I'm best up close and personal; my blade's made for tripping up them monsters, catching their claws and teeth and shoving them off kilter. Can't say I'm real good for a killing blow, though. Not unless they fall on my sword or i get a gilded bullet through the eye or the heart. Sir." She continued, frowning as she struggled to come up with things to say.