Slayer x Pyre 1x1

[pyreshadow]

Tahra Casey
​

Age: 24
Height: 5'7
Physical Characteristics: Tan, Lean, Wiry, Fair-skin, Nimble
Personality Traits: Protective, Strong-willed, Calm, Hands-on, Dependable.
Element: Earth
Type of Dragon: Wyvern

Kaito Iwasa

Age: 27
Height: 5'11
Physical Characteristics: Athletic, Sinewy, Lightly tan skin, Tall
Personality Traits: Empathetic, Intuitive, Loyal, Artistic, Compassionate.
Element: Water
Type of Dragon: Chinese Dragon​

​

Livia Hayes

Age: 25
Height: 5'8
Physical Characteristics: Fair-skinned, Lithe, Wiry, Pale Skin
Personality Traits: Daring, Hardheaded, Willful, Reserved​

 

[StarryKnights]

Sophie Stolts
​

Age: 21
​

Height: 5'6
​

Personality: Curious, Energetic, Bubbly, Mischievous, Witty, Caring
​

Physical Characteristics: Pale skinned, Tally, Agile
​

Element: Air
​

Dragon Type: Amphithere
​

 
​

Niko Medina
​

Age: 25
​

Height: 6'1
​

Personality Traits: Intelligent, Laid Back, Cunning, Thrill Seeking, Occasionally Cold
​

Physical Characteristics: Tall, dark skinned, lean, athletic, tattoos (flower/ vines down his arms)
​

Element: Fire
​

Dragon Type: European
​

 
​

Sahara Cephres 
​

Age: 27
​

Height: 6'1
​

Personality Traits: Cunning, Calculating, Unmotivated and lazy at times, Excitable
​

Physical Characteristics: Tall, Nimble, Athletic
​

 
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[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes
​

It was early in the morning, just past dawn when Livia first woke to begin her morning routine. The first thing she did was go for a run around the west wing of the 'research facility' known as Lann Chalon; a place dedicated to scientific advancement in all regards, whether it be cybernetic technology for computing, weaponry, communications, or prosthetics, it was all a cover really for what was really going on. Thus the four different wings so that way it made it seem like there was much more than what was really going on. It was true that the scientists really were doing on of tha research on top of what their real goal was though but the fact remained it was all a cover. At least half of the people that were employed here really worked for a man by the name of Antonio Michael Vaughn, one of the most powerful men in the city. He led a group of eight dedicated people that acted as his council and most trusted men that helped to oversee everything. Lann Chalon was really an organization that hunted a species thought to be long since extinct, especially in this day and age: dragons. Most thought they were but a myth, a fairy tale meant to scare children but Livia knew the truth. The beasts were real and though she had never encountered one herself, her father had and she'd heard the stories. She knew how fearsome they were and worked her hardest to be able to eliminate the threat should she ever have the chance to come across one of them. They still existed, living among the humans as if they were a part of regular society when they didn't belong. Soon though, very soon it would be so much easier to hunt the beasts down. The scientists were almost done with creating a device that should be able to stop the creature from being able to shift into its natural state and from there it would be easy to fell the beast.


Within the organization, there were two types of employees and very few that fell in-between: the scientists and the hunters. Those that created the weapons and the relics used to hunt and kill the dragons and those that did the hunting. Livia happened to be a hunter, though her father had yet to actually let her go out on any real missions as of yet. Not that anyone knew she was the daughter of Antonio Michael Vaughn, given how they had different last names but that was how he preferred to keep it. It meant she couldn't be used as leverage should anything happen in the future and that was the main reason why he never actually married her mother in the first place. There was only one person that knew of her blood and that was one of the council members, a woman named Victoria Garrison. A sweet old woman that probably needed to step down at some point due to her age but even in her brittle state, the woman could kick any person's ass to the other side of the facility if she really needed to. A scary woman that earned a lot of respect from even the fiercest of hunters. It was her idea to call a meeting so early in the morning, which cut in to Livia's work out but she wasn't going to say anything either. Instead, she made her way back to her simplistic, white-walled dorm-like room and showered so that she could change into her uniform like the rest of the cadets. Only a few were selected for this meeting and she was fairly sure that her father didn't quite like her being chosen as one of them. With her high rank in both academic and physical test scores, there was no way they wouldn't have not chosen her though and that was the point she was trying to make. Once she was fully ready, she headed to the main meeting room on the third floor and took a seat near the back of the room. Only Victoria was there in the front, eyeing each of the eight cadets that were in the room before she began to speak once everyone was settled.


"Good morning. I will make this short as I don't like to waste time going in to long speeches or anything. One of our scientists, Georgina, has created a device that should be able to track a dragon's location based on its heat signature. As they are different than a human, it shouldn't be too difficult to actually tell although we have not yet had to luxury of testing it out. That is where you all come in." As she spoke, a man in a navy uniform walked over to each cadet and handed out a small cell phone like device. "Your task is to go out in pairs that I have assigned to each of you and survey the city. We have done this already but seeing as these creatures take on the shape of humans now, we have no way of knowing for sure whether or not they're actually among us. This could very well be the chance we've been waiting for. Should you pick up a dragon's trail, send the information back to HQ right away and tail it but do not engage. A more experienced team of hunters will be dispatched to capture it..." there was a small pause before she continued. "Yes, you did hear me correctly when I said capture. There are some things that we need to test with some new developments that Georgina is working on and to do that, we need a dragon. Alive." There was another pause as she emphasized the words before she picked up her clipboard and began to read off the names of the pairs that would be working together. "Kristof and Thompson. Johnson and Cooper. Hayes and Cephres. Nikolai and Montgomery. Those are your new partners from now on so you'd best get comfortable with them. Any questions?"

 

[StarryKnights]

Sahara Cephres 
​

Sahara was never a go getter. While others might've woken at the crack of dawn to get in a morning run, go some rounds in the gym and maybe have a cup of coffee.... Sahara slept in, pressing snooze she rolled over in bed. "Five more minutes" she mumbled softly.


A couple of hours later, she was woken by a knock at the door. "Uh...Sahara, are you up?" a male voice called. "We're heading to the meeting, uh, you should too" Sahara's eyes flew open at the knocks, but she pulled the blanket over her head. "Noooo" she groaned. She didn't have anything that morning, she'd moved back her training session so she could catch some more zs....


Wait...meeting? The woman shot up and scrambled to get out of bed and pull on her uniform. Fuck fuck fuck she was going to be late....


In spite of her laid back nature, Sahara was a intelligent and cunning young woman. She was never the type to push herself above and beyond, but she was naturally skilled, both in school, and in the field. Her high marks had earned her this meeting, where she was supposed to briefed on some important mission... All the big wigs would be there...


And Sahara showed up late, skittering in at the last moment and taking a seat in the back as Victoria  started talking. She took a seat by Hayes, who Sahara was pretty sure was the top of her class....


Flashing the other cadet a smile she turned her attention to Victoria, this was a serious mission and Sahara had no intentions of messing it up...


Once the partners were announced, Shara sighed. it figured she wound up with Hayes... Looking to the woman, she offered her a smile. "Looks like we'll be working together on this..."she smiled. "Let's make the most of it"


Sahara probably didn't look like much, her uniform was wrinkled, her wavy dark brown hair was tied back in a messy bun. Her dark complexion hinted at her international heritage, and her dark brown eyes showed a level o intelligence and depth that was at odds with her haphazard appearance. 

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes
​

In a way, Livia was a bit disappointed with her partner assignment but she knew there wasn't really a choice in the matter for that. The other woman seemed friendly enough but her presentation was...lacking. Seeing as Victoria wasn't done speaking, Livia just gave Cephres a nod of acknowledgement for the time being before turning her focus back to the older woman. She was still waiting to see if anyone had any questions and when it seemed like there weren't any, her mouth opened to continue. "Are we going to be assigned areas to look too or are we just looking randomly?" It was Nikolai that spoke up, a taller man with a heavy accent that told where he hailed from much like his features gave it away.


"No, you will be dropped off in an area to start with and you'll go from there."


"We'll be walking?" Johnson spoke this time in surprise but the stoic gaze that was placed to her immediately caused her to sink into her seat some. "Sorry, ma'am. I was just thinking that being in a car would cover more ground and-"


"Would also hinder the results as it would not be as accurate. A lot of walking will be involved yes but that's why you'll be in heavily populated areas. As I stated earlier, you'll be testing these devices to see if there's results at all. We don't know if there are any beasts out there to begin with so we don't even know if there will be any results but that's why this is crucial. Now, if you find something you report back right away; if you don't find anything, head back here by 1800 and make your report in person. Parking lot B has the cars waiting for you to take you to your locations so go on and gear up. You've got thirty minutes." Victoria turned and was about to head out of the door near her but she paused for a moment. "Oh and Cephres." She turned to look at the woman as she spoke. "The next time you're called to a meeting, best you show up early. Your uniform is a mess on top of you being late, you're lucky I don't reprimand you for it. A little warning to think about for next time." With that said, she left the room without another word along with the men dressed in the navy uniforms that had been with her. Some of the cadets stared at the door after her but Livia just ended up chuckling as her attention turned to look over Cephres.


"Charming, as always." The device was tucked away into the pocket of her uniform for the time being before she stood up and eyed her new partner. Johnson was already complaining to her new partner about how much the mission sucked, mostly due to all of the walking they would have to be doing today. "Livia Hayes, good to be working with you." She offered a hand out to the other woman with a friendly smile, figuring it best to keep on those terms since she wasn't sure just how long she'd be partners with the woman. The last partner she had only lasted the one mission but she never knew with the organization. "Guess we should get to the supply room since we only have thirty minutes to get what we want." It wasn't a lot of time at all and Livia sure wasn't going to be walking around in uniform all day long if she could help it.

 

[StarryKnights]

Sahara snickered as the older woman laid into Johnson, who was notorious for being a bit of a whiner. Sahara wondered why they ever involved themselves in this risky business... Sahara had her reasons... Her father was a proud military man, who had served in the army and gone over seas multiple times fighting. Sahara waited at home, with her grandmother, who was the first of her fathers family to come to america from Egypt. Sahara spent many months with her grandmother, who taught her to speak Egyptian Arabic fluently. her father was retired now, and her grandmother had passed, Sahara had to stand on her own, her father could no longer support her. as far as he knew, she had a cooperate job with the company. She couldn't tell him the truth... His daughter was a fighting machine, combat was Sahara's best field, and her high marks there were most likely the reason she'd been selected for this mission. The woman was chasing down a dream, and she wanted to be prepared. 


Though no one would believe her, Sahara saw a dragon, least she is pretty certain she did. She was young and visiting Egypt with her family, out in the great desert, the young girl could've sworn she saw a large scaly beast roaming around a forgotten ruin. To this day, the woman's curiosity was pushing her forward, it was what brought her here. She wanted to find these creatures and help study them... as a hunter, she wouldn't do much of the studying, but she had a friend in the research department who she could go to... assuming Mai was willing to let Sahara pick her brains. 


Caught up in her thoughts, Sahara snapped to attention as she heard her name. 'Yes ma'am?" she perked up as Victoria scolded her for being late. "Sorry Ma'am...it won't happen again..." she said with a smirk, it more than likely would, Sahara was never in a rush to do something that she didn't want to. This meeting had been an inconvenience, but this mission... "sounds like fun..." she said with a smile, looking to Livia. "Pleasure's all mine love" she said in response to the greeting. "We should get going, this is going to be...interesting, I can feel it" she grinned. 


Sahara hopped to her feet, and headed for the door, a few of the other cadets backed off as she approached them. Sahara was usually very calm and level headed, but she'd given a few of her fellow cadet's broken bones in hand to hand combat training. They left her alone after that. 


flashing a pleasant smile at her comrades, Sahara left and headed for the equipment room, assuming Livia would follow. 

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes
​

Livia just nodded her head in agreement, finding that there wasn't really much need to say anything else on the matter. So she just followed the other woman down the familiar corridors until they reached the armory so that they could get ready for the mission. There were bags already waiting for each of them, marked by a single white tag on the duffel that had their names on it. Inside were a few things that they'd need for the day but mostly it was just a change of clothes to help them blend in. Livia's happened to be a pair of dark skinny jeans, a form-fitting v-neck tee with a random rock band on it, a leather jacket, and some boots to go with it. Fairly perfect to hide the guns that she was planning on bringing with her so she wasn't going to complain any. Normally they had such horrible taste that she figured they'd...oh. Her eyes darted over to Johnson for a moment who was complaining now about the puke green dress she was given and how she didn't want to wear it. Nope, Livia certainly wasn't going to say anything. Instead, she changed in a part of the room to be out of the way and then went about trying to find the guns that she wanted to bring with her. She got distracted along the way though and ended up grabbing a couple of butterfly knives to hide in her boots first.


Most of the weapons were under lock and key: the rifles, the shotguns, the machine guns. Pretty much anything other than a handgun had to go through approval before it could be authorized for anything. Livia had her own personal gun on her at all times, one that was tucked away at her side in its holster but she could always use a second as a precaution. Not that she was expecting to go against a dragon but if they did run into trouble she didn't want to go unprepared. However, if they were supposed to be actually capturing it alive then they needed to do something else instead. So seeing as she had her gun already, she moved past the regular handguns and went to the pistols with the tranquilizer bullets in them instead. One of those was set in the other holster and secured until it was hidden within the leather jacket before she turned to her partner to see how the other woman was fairing. "If you're ready, we should probably get going."


Right as she said that, the doors opened and one of the men in the navy uniforms stepped inside the room with a clipboard clapping his hands together to get their attention. "Hurry it up, you've got less than fifteen minutes left. Miss Victoria wanted me to inform you that along the way, you'll be briefed on where you'll be dropped off and how to set up the device you were given as well. It isn't exactly a click on and work device like a cell phone, there's a bit more to it than that. It'll only be explained once so make sure you pay attention when it's explained to you." He let the warning hang in the air for a moment before making a motion to the group. "Well come on then, follow me."

 

[StarryKnights]

Sahara Cephres


Sahara grinned, rummaging through the bag she was assigned she pulled out a light pink floral dress. She frowned. "Not the most practical thing for a mission but" she shrugged. She'd stash a few blades on her person, she preferred knives to guns anyway, though she was skilled with both. Sahara found that there was less red tape around the knives, swords and other blades kept in the armory, people seemed to think they posed less of a threat and needed less guarding. Sahara thought that was ridiculous, grabbing a butterfly knife she twirled it around her fingers expertly before snatching a garter and making a bee line for the dressing room. Slipping by Johnson as she trudged over with her hideous dress, Sahara snickered as she shut the door on the other cadet, enticing an angry string of words from the other cadet. Stripping off her uniform, Sahara revealed her dark skin and slender, toned body. Being the daughter of a navy seal meant she learned from a young age to fight and protect herself, and her body bore scars from matches she'd had with her father and some of his service buddies. Humming softly Sahara pulled the dress over her head, it fell just passed her knees, making it easy to hide the garter of knives on her left thigh. 


Sahara wasn't expecting to run into too much trouble on a surveillance mission, but fate favors the prepared. 


She pulled her long dark curly hair into a pony tail and let it fall down her back. By all accounts, she looked like an average woman, who would be out and about with a friend, if anyone asked, they were shopping. Sahara stepped out as Livia was grabbing the tranq gun. "Oh, good idea" she said as she walked over. "We are supposed to be capturing after all" she said, eagerly. This was all so exciting, Sahara wondered what the odds of finding a dragon actually were... Probably not good, but still... The usually laid back woman was very excited, which was unusual for her fellow cadets to see. They looked at her, confused before snapping to attention as the men in the navel suits walked in.


The group fell in step behind the men and Sahara smiled at Livia. "Well, shall we?" 


Niko Medina & Sophie Stolts


Looking up from his cup of coffee, Niko sighed tiredly. He sat across from a bubbly young woman, with light brown hair and sky blue eyes. She was currently prattling on and on about a dog she'd seen in the park walking over here. Niko didn't particularly care, but he didn't have the heart to tell Sophie this. The two checked in every month or so, to touch base and share information. In a world of humans, the few dragons that remained were better off sticking together. 


"Sophie..." "And then, it's tail started wagging and it was just so cute" "Sophie" Niko sighed. "Sophie!" The woman jumped and stopped short. "What?"She asked, confused.


 Niko rubbed his eyes. "This is a fascinating story, but I didn't ask you hear to listen to you talk about dogs". Niko gave the woman a stern look, his light green eyes bore into her blue ones. 


"Oh...right..." Sophie nodded and took a breath. "things have been...pretty quiet. I haven't noticed anything unusual, though..." she leaned forward and whispered. "I did hear see what I thought was a patrol the other day...three people, one in uniform, two in street clothes..." 


Niko nodded. "that's fairly normal"


Sophie sighed. "Made my skin crawl to see them, I was sure to double back and go to my apartment rather than stay out, but I don't think they made me..." she cocked her head to the side. "What about you?"


Niko shook his head. "Outside of usual patrols, i haven't noticed much out of the ordinary, but we still need to be cautious"


Sophie relaxed as Niko confirmed what she already thought. There wasn't anything going on...they were safe. For the moment. 

 

[pyreshadow]

Tahra Casey
​

Green eyes shifted from side to side, waiting for the opportune moment. It wasn't like there was much that needed to be done in the first place but considering how long Tahra had waited for the chance to actually be able to attempt this she wasn't going to let the chance slip by. Now in most cases, there would be many who would think her daft for doing what she was doing: namely, hacking and 'treasure hunting'. A nicer way to put burglary since she didn't quite see it that way when the rich didn't deserve to have what they did when the poor could put it to better use. What they didn't understand was that it was the humans fault in the first place for putting her in this mess to begin with. On a normal basis, she could be the sweetest, nicest person one could meet in the entire world. With everything that was going on with the hunters though, a girl had to make a living and maybe this wasn't the best of ways she could have gone about it but it was certainly the easiest. Cracking codes of firewalls, vaults, even just passwords was becoming like second nature to her. In all honesty, it was one of the main reasons why she'd been able to stay off the radar of the hunters for as long as she had; because she'd been able to stay two steps ahead of them for so long. No, she hadn't been able to manage to crack in to their system yet because it was constantly changing and she wasn't confident enough to be able to crack all the firewalls fast enough. Despite that, she was able to hack into the security system of some of the employees and keep tabs on them. They were just some kind of researcher though so she didn't really get much information by watching them but she did get some peeks into what they were cooking up every now and then.


That was besides the point though, she needed to focus on what she was doing now. It wasn't like she had a lot of time to get in to this vault to get this necklace she'd heard so many stories about. Holding her breath, she inputted the final number of the code and only released her breath when she heard the click of the lock opening. A smile of satisfaction grew on her lips as she opened it more and quickly began searching through the mounds of paperwork. It didn't take long to find a silver box tied with a red bow on the bottom shelf with her prize inside; a necklace etched in diamonds and emeralds that glimmered even in the darkest of light that she was in. Placing the necklace into her pack, she closed the vault and locked it back up. She wasn't stupid enough to not wear gloves so she didn't have to worry about dusting for prints. The only clue that they would know it was her would be the trademark that she left, her calling card so to speak. A simple business card with a lionheart tango lily flower on the front. She placed it right on top of the vault with a smile before fixing everything else the way she had found it. Once that was all done, she snuck out of the house with a pep in her step and began to make her way stealthily towards her home.

Livia Hayes
​

One by one each of the cadets fell in line and followed after the man that called their attention. They were being led down the familiar corridors of the west wing but soon stopped by a door that was normally sealed tight. He held his hand over a part of the wall that scanned his hand and the door opened for him, allowing them access to a part of the building that none of them had been in before. Curious eyes looked around but Livia kept her focus ahead of them. It wasn't like there was much in this room to begin with as it was just one of the rooms that the scientists used as a lounge type area to relax in after a day's work. Or so she gathered based on what she saw through her peripherals anyway. There were two other doors on the opposite walls, each leading to another area and likely sealed the same way as the last so it was probably some top secret thing that only the researchers were allowed to know about. Regardless, it was a short trip as they were soon passing through another corridor that led them right into the end of a hall in the east wing right near the parking lot they needed to be in.


Four all black Chevrolet Suburbans were waiting for them, each with a man dressed in a nice black suit as the driver. Their tour guide, as Livia decided to call him, named off the pairings once more as he pointed to the cars that they would be driving in. Once she and Sahara were named off, he made the motion that they were dismissed and headed back inside as if that were the end of it. Which meant that any other information would be given by the driver she supposed. A glance towards her partner followed by a shrug ensued before she headed to the car that was designated to them. Once both of them were inside, the driver glanced back with an almost cheeky grin and gave them a half-assed salute of sorts. "Name's Rufus, I'll be yer chauffeur fer th' day." The redhead in the front had an odd accent that Livia had a hard time placing but he seemed friendly enough. "We be headin' ta Crystal City, th' artsy district er whatever. So once yer buckled up n' stuff we can head out." He made a motion to the seat belts and gave each of them a stern look to show he wasn't playing around about buckling either. Livia did as she was told if only to stop from having to cause an argument so he turned to watch Sahara and make sure that she did as well. Only once she did, he went back to facing proper and started the car to head off in the direction they needed to go. It'd take roughly twenty minutes to get there but that was plenty of time for him to actually tell them how to use the device they just received. He sure didn't get it but he knew how to explain it well enough since Victoria had smacked him around enough to make sure he knew at least that. When he turned on to the main road, he began to explain to them how to power up the device first and foremost before he even got into the details of how to read the had signatures.

 

[StarryKnights]

Sahara Cehres
​

Sahara walked along in line, humming a tune under her breath. She, like everyone, was familiar with the west wing, they all walked through it daily as they went to and from meetings, classes and the like. It wasn't until they stopped in front of a sealed door that the woman snapped back to attention. she'd never been in this room before, it was always locked, and only those with a high security clearance, or the scientists, could get in. It was one of the places that the scientists relaxed between shifts, as the group walked through Sahara spotted a short pale woman with dark hair and rimmed glasses. "Pssst, Mai, hey!" she waved at the woman, who was sitting on a couch, reading through a robotics magazine. Mai looked up as Sahara spoke, but her stoic expression didn't change, she simply nodded her head in greeting before going back to her magazine. Sahara chuckled. Mai was always reading those things, she had a talent for building robots...
​

The group didn't stay long, soon they were through a different door, down a hall, and at the eastern parking lot, where four dark  Chevrolet Suburbans were waiting. The standard in company transportation, these cars were often used to transport agents around the city. Sahara felt her heart flutter when she saw them, her excitement was growing. Looking to Livia, she flashed a grin. "Isn't this exciting?" she whispered softly, as the group leader named off the pairs and assigned them to a car. Sahara took Livia's shrug as a yes, and followed her to the vehicle they were assigned, which was being driven by a cheeky red haired man named Rufus. Sahara smiled at the driver and buckled her seat belt as he'd asked. safety first, she heard her father say in her head. she chuckled softly and stared at the window, she was only half paying attention as Rufus spoke. They were off to Crystal City, oh this was going to be exciting..
​

Sahara's attention never left the window as Rufus drove, though she did listen as he explained how the device worked. it was fascinating to think that they could track the dragons by their heat signatures... she wondered what they'd find... Perhaps there were dragons in the city, just waiting to be found...and captured. 
​

 
​

Niko Medina & Sophie Stolts
​

Niko sighed and stood. It was about time they went their separate ways, staying together could make them easier to target. Sophie frowned, she hated leaving, she always thought it was better to stay close. Niko never agreed with her, he was always so stubborn. She stood and left some money for the check, as she always did. Niko never had steady work and was always bouncing from one place to the next, so Sophie always treated him when they got together. "stay safe" she said with a small smile, Niko nodded. "...you too kid" Sophie scowled. "i am 21, i am not a child" Niko chuckled and pat her on the head. "Sure, you keep thinking that" Sophie held her scowl as he turned and walked away, only when he disappeared around the corner did she drop it. "Moron" she chuckled before heading back toward her place. 
​

Living alone wasn't exactly fun, but it made keeping secrets all the easier. Sophie lived in a fairly nice apartment, and she only had to pay utilities because she helped out the land lady, an eldery woman named Maria who didn't see very well. it was a nice arrangement, and the building was a short fifteen minute walk from the cafe she'd met Niko at. It was easy for the direction impaired Sophie to find, and meeting in public was a great way to fly under the radar. The best way to blend in was to act normal and be one with the crowd. It wasn't easy for Sophie, who always got a bit nervous when she saw black vehicles driving around town, especially SUVs, as she knew this was what the hunters drove. But staying calm was key, so she carried a stress ball in her purse to help keep her relaxed. 
​

Lately, she hadn't seen many hunters, and wondered it maybe they'd given up. It was a nice thought, but highly unlikely, they were probably cooking up a new plan or device to hunt them... The idea sent a shiver down Sophie's spine, she didn't know why these people chased after dragons. Niko always said it was because humans were violent, irrational beings, but Sophie knew so many good people that didn't fit that mold... Of course, these people didn't know she was really a feathered serpent that breathed acid... 
​

And ideally, they never would...
​

Shaking her head, Sophie put a smile on her face. There was no sense in worrying, at least not right then. "everything is fine Sophie, just enjoy the beautiful weather and your walk home" she said softly to herself. 
​

 
​

 

[pyreshadow]

Kaito Iwasa
​

"Kaito! Kaito, hurry up, would you?" An older woman with thick, purple-rimmed glasses motioned towards the dark-haired male that was lagging behind her as she scurried along ahead. It wasn't that he was intentionally dragging behind but after spending the past three days working with hardly any sleep it tended to take its toll. Not that he was going to complain any since the painting itself he had finished turned out to be phenomenal. The woman before him was his manager and she kept repeating how it was his 'best work yet' and she'd already managed to get it displayed in one of the top art galleries already. How she managed that, Kaito would never understand; just like he'd never understand why she had to take him out to breakfast right this very moment when he could have been sleeping. He'd only gotten an hour in to sleep before she had started banging on his door with the news and wouldn't stop pestering him until he agreed to go. "I just need to stop in here real quick."


"What?" Kaito glanced up at the building that she made a quick detour to before letting out a small groan. "More work? Don't you know when to stop, Ma-chan? Ack!" He ended up getting whacked upside the head with her purse for the nickname before she pointed a finger at him.


"I told you stop calling me that." As much as she said that, there was hardly any sort of animosity in her tone at all nor was there any sort of sign that she didn't like it.


"Manager is too long to say and so is Marianna. Ma-chan is easier." Kaito chuckled as he said this, mostly because it elicited another half glare from the older woman before she grumbled something about being right back. When she disappeared into the building, Kaito let a small sigh leave his lips before he turned to look around him. Crystal City was always bustling in the mornings....hell, it was bustling no matter what time of day it was. In a way he was glad he didn't live in this part of the city like some of the other artists that were striving to make it to the top because then they'd probably not make it as big. Sure his name wasn't big yet but he'd make it one day. They wouldn't know him as Kaito Iwasa but that was just fine with him; he had to have another name, otherwise it'd make things that much easier for them to be able to pick up his trail. He knew they were still around, those hunters. Every time he saw the black Chevrolet Suburbans driving through the city, his eyes followed them as he wondered if they even knew he was there. Not that he ever gave himself away entirely but it was a thought that crossed his mind. He was never one to let them rule his life though. Painting was something he loved to do and he'd be damned if he was going to let them stop him from doing it. They already took away everything else from him.


"All right, let's go." The older woman came back with a small briefcase in hand and a smile on her face as she began to lead the way once more deeper into the art district where the restaurant was. Kaito gave her a small nod of his head before following after her, shaking the thoughts from his mind. The least he could do was enjoy breakfast, then he could think about sleep. Not them.

Livia Hayes
​

Once the explanation was finished, the rest of the drive was supposed to have been in silence. Rufus wasn't the type to be in silence however, so he ended up turning on the radio to some heavy metal station. Livia rose her brow at that but she couldn't really complain either. The noise was a nice distraction to be honest and it actually helped her gather her thoughts together. She felt the device was easy enough to work so her thoughts went to the day itself and how it could possibly go. Whether they'd just walk around for nothing, which would be fine since it was cardio and getting out of the facility would be nice too. Or if they actually found a dragon...that thought was just exhilarating. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips the more she thought about it being a possibility. She also wasn't going to get her hopes up though. The first option was the most likely scenario as they had been hunting dragons for centuries and it was more likely that they were near extinction at this point in time. The beasts were rare, which was why the scientists wanted them captured alive to do more research. Why they couldn't have done that years ago when there were more of them Livia hadn't a clue but whatever.


Here thoughts stopped when the car slowed down and the music quieted. "A'ight, 'ere's ya stop. Ya know when ya call, only if ya find sometin' or if it be 1800 only...or 1600...whateva. Ya know what time Vicky said. Out ya go." Clearly Rufus hadn't been paying too much attention to when he should be picking them up. The way he spoke so casually about Victoria caused Livia to stare at him for a second but he ended up turning around and started shooing them out more. So she hurriedly opened the door and climbed out so she wouldn't get pushed out by him. Once both women were out of the car, he took off a bit faster than when he was driving with them and all that could be heard was the sound of the bass caused by the drums of the music playing. Livia stared after the car for a moment before turning to her partner with a look.


"Well he's...interesting." She shrugged lightly before pulling out the device she had been given so she could begin to power it up, expecting Sahara to do the same with her own. "Which way do you want to start? I figure we could probably get the whole district done by the evening even with stopping for food and such." It was all just one big square anyway just about so they'd eventually end up right back where they started no matter which way they went.

 

[StarryKnights]

Sahara Cehres
​

The ride was supposed to be quiet, but once the explanation was done, hard rock was put on. Sahara smiled as she examined her device, she liked this guy, he was spunky. Herr thoughts raced during that short drive a thousand thoughts competed for attention. would they find a dragon? Was this all a waste of time...? what experiments would be conducted if a dragon as caught...? This was the question that held Sahara's attention. For all her skill as a hunter, Sahara held a vested interest in the research side of their organization. She wanted to know what was going on behind the closed doors, Mai would only tell her so much. The scientist often worked on the top secret projects...in fact, Sahara wouldn't have been surprised of she'd helped develop the tracker they were using. Mai was a smart cookie, but she would only share so much about her work, mostly because she wasn't supposed to. Sahara knew that, but it didn't make things any less frustrating. She wondered if they did manage to find a dragon if they'd be told what was being done to it... "Probably not" she muttered to herself, aloud. Lost in thought, the drive seemed to take ages, as they passed through Crystal City and entered the ritzy, downtown arts district.
​

There were shops, restaurants, cafe's and galleries down here, each more ritzy than the last. It was a hot spot for the local 20 somethings, who would come downtown at night to eat shop and drink away their cares. It must've been nice, Sahara had little time for such things. Though it would be fun, perhaps once they finished their mission she'd try to get away for a few hours... She was snapped from her thoughts as the car came to a stop, and the music was turned down. 
​

 "A'ight, 'ere's ya stop. Ya know when ya call, only if ya find sometin' or if it be 1800 only...or 1600...whateva. Ya know what time Vicky said. Out ya go." 
​

Sahara blinked and grinned. "Thanks for the lift Rufus" she said with a smile before climbing out. What a strange and interesting man, Sahara hoped he'd be their driver more often. 
​

Once out of the car, the tall woman stretched, happy to be out of the backseat. Being six foot tall had it's disadvantages, as her knees popped she winced. "Ow..." she groaned and pulled out her device. It looked like a cellphone, so using it would remain discrete. The device scanned the heat signatures of people around it, they showed up as red blotches on the screen. if it detected a dragon, the signature would be blue. At that point, they were supposed to call into head quarters so they could send out a team to capture the beast... Of course, Sahara would do that...after following the creature around some... Looking to Livia, she decided to keep this thought to herself. Livia seemed like a straight laced solider, she doubted she'd approve. 
​

"Hmmm, why don't we go this way" Sahara pointed to the left and started walking. The arts district was one big square, that was several blocks long in each direction. Walking around would be a good cardio work out, and give Sahara a chance to see what new shops and galleries were here. There was pep in her step as she walked, she was excited. 
​

 
​

Niko Medina
​

Niko hated the art district. It was always bustling and crowded, which was good for hiding in plain sight. It was bad when one factored in that Niko was a bit jumpy and hated bumping into other people. He was always on guard, Sophie called it paranoia, he called it preparedness. currently, Niko was walking to work, he had a gig as a bus boy at some fancy restaurant, that was always busy since it was by a fancy art gallery. Patron from the gallery came and went as they pleased, and they often went next door to eat. The money was good, but the crowds and loud noises grated on Niko's nerves. When he saw the black chevys driving through the district, Niko's guard flared up. He knew those cars, any dragon in this city knew those cars, though Niko only knew of Sophie. In spite of his racing heart beat, Niko appeared calm and kept walking the same direction as the cars went by. They turned and disappeared down a block. once it was gone, Niko changed directions entirely, not wanting to be tracked. 'Work will have to wait' he thought as he disappeared into the crowd. 
​

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a flip phone,a relic in this day and age, but Niko was never good with technology. He only carried the damn thing because it was how he contacted Sophie. dialing her number, he held the phone to his ear as the line rang and rang.
​

"Damnit Sophie pick up" he swore, he knew Sophie liked to linger in the open and today was not the day for that. The bus that Niko rode back to his place, a run down apartment a few miles from the art district, wouldn't be by for another hour or so...
​

So, he ducked into a restaurant, he used to work here and he and the owner were on good terms. in fact, the owner was standing at the hostess station, he was a tall, burly man, but god could he cook. His eyes lit up when Niko walked in. 
​

"Niko my boy, it's been a while" Niko jumped and hung up the phone, he left Sophie a message. Gerald was the owner of this establishment, which was open for breakfast lunch and dinner. Niko had worked here for a month or so before moving on, but the man had a soft spot for the twenty five year old, who as far as he knew, was down on his luck. 
​

Niko went stiff as the man walked over and hugged him. "Uh, Gerald, let go" the older man laughed and stepped back. 
​

'So, what brings you to my doorstep?" he looked the drifter over. "You look like a ragged orphan" Niko cracked a smile.
​

"And you look like you put on a few pounds" 
​

Gerald laughed and gestured to a booth that wasn't being used. He doted on Niko on occasion, which was why Niko kept coming back. A free meal was always nice. "order what you like, within reason" Gerald called before returning to the hostess booth. 
​

Niko sighed and sent Sophie a quick text message. 
​

'The vans are back, be on your guard'.
​

He didn't want to call her here, in public, where someone could be listening in. Instead, he grabbed a menu and looked through it, but honestly, he wasn't very hungry. Seeing those cars always made his stomach twist. 
​

 

[pyreshadow]

Kaito Iwasa
​

The rest of the walk didn't take too long, though Ma-chan still ended up stopping by another store despite her saying they were only going to the restaurant next. Kaito didn't mind since it was helping him wake up the rest of the way. Coffee was definitely on his mind though but there was something else that was pulling in the back of his mind that was telling him to be on alert. It wasn't until they actually arrived at the restaurant itself that he caught wind of what it was: a Suburban was driving down the road towards him. He was casual about the way that he went into the building but his movement was still swift to get him in just before the car could notice him. Even if they did, he doubted it would do them any good since he looked just like everyone else with all the clothing he wore. So long as they didn't find his heartscale then it was fine. "-to."


"Hm?" Kaito turned to the older woman in time to see her swing her purse at his head again for him not paying attention to whatever it was that she had been saying. The hostess at the counter ended up giving her a rather odd look but Ma-chan chose to ignore the look.


"She was asking if you'd prefer a booth or a table. Jeez, you really need to stop zoning out all the time. You're never like this whenever we're with people either, it's just me. What am I, your mother too?" She was grumbling at this point, so Kaito ended up grinning a little as he stepped closer.


"Oh come on, Ma-chan. You're too young to be my mother, you're like my overly protective aunt." He was trying to get her to stop being so flustered over something so silly and the compliment seemed to work. "We'll take a booth, if one's available." The hostess nodded and grabbed the menus before leading them to one of the booths that were lined up along the wall. Kaito ended up eyeing the window that was towards the back but since they weren't all that close to it, he didn't say anything about it either. "Thanks." As the hostess left, the two of them started looking over the menu but all the while he couldn't help but have a bad feeling starting to grow in the back of his mind.

Livia Hayes
​

A glance in the direction that Sahara suggested, Livia ended up nodding before she followed after her. It wasn't like it mattered much but she was still trying to keep things between the two of them. The last partner...didn't go over so well since he liked to do things his way and his way only. Livia didn't like that and ended up putting him in the infirmary for a week because of it. Sure she got reprimanded for it but it was worth it. He shouldn't have been trying to act like it was a solo mission when it was supposed to be about teamwork. With the device fully functioning and the volume up, she put it in her pocket for the time being since it would beep at them should anything unique or different pop up on the radar within a certain distance. Or so they claimed. Livia wasn't so sure the device would even work the way it was supposed to or if there were dragons or anything but that didn't mean she wasn't happy to be out here.


Not even five minutes of walking went by before there was an odd beep that sounded in the air that caught her attention. Livia glanced over to Sahara for a moment, thinking that maybe she was hearing things but she ended up hearing it again after a few seconds. When she realized that it just might actually be coming from the device, she quickly pulled it out and stared at the screen with wide-eyes. There wasn't anything on the screen to indicate that a dragon was nearby at all so the excitement was starting to fade. However, in the corner of the screen a small blue icon was blinking every few seconds and that was what caused the noise to begin with. "Hey, Sahara." Livia's tone was quiet as she ended up stopping in her step, her eyes glued to the screen. She wondered if her partner's device showed the same thing or if it was just a glitch? "If this is really working...then it's saying that one of them is within the next two blocks." Her last few words were breathed out with excitement heavy in her tone as it was hard to actually contain but there was no way in hell she was passing this chance up. With a quick glance down to get the right direction, she turned the volume down on the device so it wouldn't constantly beep anymore before she started for the direction. Only she paused after a couple of steps and glanced back to the other woman. "I know they said to report back anything but it could be a glitch, right? So we just need to be sure...yeah." That was her excuse for it and that's what she was going to say to Victoria if the other woman tried to say anything too. "You coming?"

 

[StarryKnights]

 
​

Sophie Stolts
​

Sophie got a missed call, and then a text, after checking her phone she saw it was from Niko. She'd stopped in a store on the way home and hadn't heard her phone vibrating, but as she read his text she paled. "Oh god..." They were back...and close by... A shiver ran down her spine as she turned and left the store. She needed to get home, and quick. She hoped Niko was doing the same. Being out with hunters on the prowl was never a good plan...
​

She could only hope her friend was hidden. As she headed home, she couldn't help but feel that she was running away... Perhaps... she stopped and looked back. Perhaps she should find Niko, knowing him, he was at that restraunt he liked so much...
​

 
​

Niko Medina
​

Niko looked up and saw another black suv drive by. He shook his head and sighed. They were out in force, and that made him nervous... They always had their patrols and the like, but there seemed to be a lot of them out and about at the moment. For that to be happening, there must've been some sort of change. He didn't want to think about what that might be... 
​

"Niko?" he jumped as a familiar voice interupted his thoughts, it was Sophie. He blinked and glared at the girl as she took a seat across from him. 'The hell are you-" "Relax" she said softly, cutting him off. 'Act natural, elsewise we look suspcious" Niko sighed and went back to his menu. "I told you to go home" he whispered softly. Sopie looked at him over her menu. "I tried, but I got worried and wanted to make sure you were okay"
​

Niko gave her a look and shook his head. 'I'm fine, but neither of us will be if they find us"
​

"And how will they do that, so long as we act natural, we'll be fine" she took a breath, and ordered a water as a waitress approached the table. After they left, she looked back to him. "We're safer if we're together..." 
​

Niko shook his head. "We're easier to catch together..." 
​

Sophie offered him a smile. "Maybe, but safety in numbers trumps that...if...we were to get caught, then you have a better chance of...fi- fighting them off if your not alone"
​

Niko knew that was true, but he also knew Sophie had never fought a day in her life. She was lucky and had escaped the radar of the hunters. Niko on the other hand...
​

He scratched at his left arm, where there was a brand. 
​

He was on their watch list...
​

He wouldn't let himself be captured again. 
​

 
​

Sahara Cehres
​

Sahara looked down at her device every few minutes, and frowned when she didn't see anything. She knew the odds of a dragon being near by were slim to none...and yet. 
​

'Huh...?" she squinted, for a split moment there was a hazy blue dot on her screen, and it beeped. "it beeped..." she looked to Livia, who's own device seemed to be reacting as well. A smile lit up her face and she nodded eagerly. "We have to make sure its the real deal...Victoria would be angry if we called out the troops over a malfunction right/' she fell in step beside Livia. According to the devices, there was a dragon within two blocks of their current location. Sahara looked to Livia. "This is incredible, of all the luck" she bet the other teams were just wandering and complaining that the mission was boring and pointless. and here they were, tracking down a dragon. 
​

she couldn't wait to tell Mai when they got back to HQ. 
​

"So, what kind do you think it'll be?" she asked, looking to Livia. "European...? Wyvern maybe?" she was trying to think of the other types they'd learned about, but was coming up black. "there was one that was a serpent..." she paused, as her device started beeping again. Pulling it out, she could see two blue blotches on her screen. "...oh my god" she showed it to Livia. "There's two of them, and one is moving..." Or at least it was, but for then it stopped. "who...i got two on my screen, close to one another" she looked to Livia. "What luck"
​

 

[pyreshadow]

Kaito Iwasa
​

Food was ordered, mostly from Ma-chan as Kaito didn't really have much of an appetite at the moment. Not that the older woman would let him get away without eating anything so he had ordered something besides the coffee that he was sipping on. His eyes never left the window though, watching the people that passed by on the streets. Each one of them could very well be the hunter that was in the Suburban that passed by earlier. Or one that he hadn't seen even since there were so many prowling the streets now more than ever. He'd seen at least three in the span of the past fifteen minutes and that meant that something happened. Whatever it was, he couldn't be sure but it was something big and it was something not good for him or the rest of his kind should any happen to be around. He knew there were others, he could smell them every now and then but he tended to just steer clear since staying in groups was always a bigger target for the hunters.


Kaito's eyes drifted over to Ma-chan when her voice stopped suddenly and he realized she was looking at him expectantly. Shit. What did she say? "Sure, sounds like a plan to me." He spoke casually as he leaned back in the booth chair before taking another sip of the coffee.


"Perfect! So I'll set up the meeting then for...next Friday? Then you two can work together and..." there she went again, off on whatever tangent she had been going on. Some partnership with another artist, good to know. Now that she was talking again, he brought his gaze back to the window and felt the breath catch in his throat for a moment. Two dark-haired women, one abnormally tall for a woman, were standing across the street looking like they were just on their cell phones talking. The only problem was that bad feeling that Kaito got worsened when he looked at them, especially when the shorter of the two ended up looking as though she were looking directly at the restaurant he was in. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe his luck was about to start running dry real fast. If he ended up leaving now though it'd look really suspicious so he couldn't do anything but watch them and try to pick up their scents if they got closer to remember for later.

Livia Hayes
​

"There's so many possibilities...what kind of abilities would it have?" Livia felt herself growing more excited the more that they speculated about it but there wasn't much chance in dwelling too much on it either. As much as it was all fun and games right now, they did have a job to do. A serious one that could very well cost them their lives. Right now they were being pretty stupid for just trying to rush in without having made a report too...not that Livia cared too much since she just wanted to make sure the device was actually accurate. When Sahara's device ended up beeping and showing a second one, she looked to her own and didn't actually see that at first. "Odd." There was a bit of skepticism in her eyes but it only lasted a moment before her own showed the same as her partner's. Maybe there was just a delay since they were near each other or something. Or..."Wait wait wait." There was a smidge of shock in her voice now before she ended up reaching out with her free hand to nudge Sahara and show her the device again. She ended up stopping dead in her tracks as the blue dot that had just shown up was darker than the rest and thicker, showing that it was close. In fact, it was right across from them and Livia's gaze went to the restaurant across the street.


"This is impossible." Her words were breathless and her gaze went back to the device with a half glare. "There's no way our luck is good enough to pick up three dragons within the span of five blocks of each other. That's as likely as you winning the lottery or something, the chances are so slim. The devices must be wonky because they're so fresh or-" she paused when her actual cell phone dinged to let her know that she got a message from headquarters, which Sahara likely received as well. Giving her partner a quick look, she pulled out her cell to quickly read the message before her face went a little pale. Not because of fear or anything of the sort but because of the shock of the news. "One of the other teams...they reported finding a dragon as well near 15th and Broadway. They didn't pursue or anything but HQ is dispatching a team already to try to detain it if possible." That was on the other side of the city, which meant that the devices really were working. Which really meant that there were three dragons around them now, with one right across the street from them and two a couple blocks away. Livia again glanced at the restaurant and nibbled her bottom lip as she contemplated just going inside to find the dragon herself before looking to her partner. "What do you want to do, report it or go find this one? If the other two are near each other we'd probably be outmatched if they were to end up helping each other. But I don't think we should let this one slip through our fingers just to wait for the experienced hunters to get here. They may not make it in time, so observing it a bit may not be a problem. What do you think?"

 

[StarryKnights]

Sophie Stolts
​

it was hard to act casual. it was easy to tell yourself to remain calm, to act normal. it was another thing to put it into practice. Sophie couldn't help how jittery she was, she kept looking over at the window, half expecting an armed battalion of soldiers to come marching in. Niko had told her stories...of his time in captivity. They'd sent a shiver down her spine. Cages, people in white coats... he'd been a kid...and they... 
​

"Sophie"
​

She jumped as Niko's voice cut off her train of thought. "Huh, what?"
​

Niko was giving her a frustrated look, he must've been talking this entire time. "Sorry, guess I spaced out there..." she said with a nervous laugh, looking back to the window. 
​

She couldn't help it, she'd never faced such a situation before. Sophie was raised by two loving parents, in a small town far from Crystal City. A place where a dragon could hide and grow up without worry. That was all her parents ever wanted for her, to keep her safe. When Sophie grew older, she resented her parents over bearing nature, and decided to move to the city to get a chance to be on her own. She knew the risks, her parents had talked her ear off about the hunters and the dangers of humans in general. Though they were sad to see her go, her she was, three years later, wishing she'd listened to them. 
​

"Niko...what do we do now?" 
​

The man sighed. "Well, I was telling you that, but you weren't listening" he snapped, clearly annoyed. 
​

Sophie took a breath, and looked to Niko. "Okay, I'm listening, whats the plan?"
​

 
​

Sahara Cephres
​

Sahara's gaze was glued to her screen, which was showing the other two dragons, which were a couple of blocks away. She wondered why she wasn't picking up the one Livia had, but it hardly mattered. This was crazy, three dragons within three blocks of each other. Perhaps there was a nest...or...a coven...? what would a group of scaled magical lizards be called. Sahara looked to Livia excitedly. "I think we should pursue them all, at least try and get a physical description of their human appearance"
​

Livia was right, taking on the pair would prove difficult, but the one that was alone could be handled. Sahara was hardly thinking of the mission, she wanted to see a beast up close and personal. "we should stake out this one, and then see about these other two, then we call it in...oh, wait" her phone was beeping again, one of Sahara's dots was on the move. 
​

It was growing thicker and darker, it seemed the beast was walking toward them. 
​

There was a large crowd of people walking down the sidewalk, so she couldn't be sure which one was the dragon, but it turned and headed into the restaurant across the street. There, it was accompanied by the dragon Livia's scanner was picking up. She grinned at her partner.
​

"We are the luckiest hunters alive today, you know that?"
​

 
​

Niko Medina
​

She wasn't going to like this plan, that much Niko knew for sure. Sophie didn't seem to do well on her own, but this was no time to be coddling someone. 
​

"The plan is simple. I am going to walk around the block and try to identify the hunters. Once I find a safe location, I'll text you the information, and we will meet up later"
​

Sophie paled at his words, as he'd expected. 
​

"Niko, i don't think we sho-" "Sophie" he cut her off with a stern word. "I am already an identified dragon..." 
​

There was a chance these people were here looking for him. Scratching at his left arm, he continued. 'if we are seen together, it looks more suspicious. I promise, we will meet up later" he stood. 
​

"Keep your head down and remain calm, and you should be fine, alright?"
​

He offered the girl a smile, which Sophie returned after a moment. "Okay...be careful..."
​

Niko nodded, and headed out the door, joining the crowd as he walked down the block. 
​

 
​

He wasn't sure why there were hunters in the art district, but they wouldn't be about if something wasn't up. though he looked as cool as could be, Niko was scanning the crowd, looking for anything or anyone suspicious. 
​

If there was a hunter, then he'd spot them. if they somehow could find him, or at least the crowd he was in, then he'd know. Hunter's wouldn't send a fully armed unit into a public area, these were likely lone agents working recon. he'd have time to get away before the unit showed up.
​

After going two blocks, he caught wiff of a familiar scent. it was strange, it made him pause for a moment. That was an undeniable smell. "Dragon" he said softly. His feet carried him to the right and through the doors of a restaurant, along with a small crowd of twenty somethings. 
​

Standing off to the side, he scanned the room, until he spotted an Asian man and an older woman at a booth. 
​

that was where the scent was coming from. The guy was a dragon. And now, they were both being watched.
​

 
​

 
​

 

[pyreshadow]

Kaito Iwasa
​

So far the hunters weren't doing anything but talking to each other and looking at their cells. That seemed a little odd to Kaito considering that wasn't something that they usually did. The food had been brought to the table a couple minutes ago and all he'd done was pick at it once. A bacon strip actually, which had tasted really good. His stomach was yelling at him for having postponed eating for as long as he had since he didn't remember the last time he had properly eaten. It wasn't his fault he had wanted to finish that painting...but now wasn't even the time to be thinking about that! Ma-chan was still talking about the meeting that she was setting up and to make her not feel bad that he was only half listening, he nodded every now and then and mumbled out an 'oh really' or 'uh huh'. Things to make it seem like he was listening when he really wasn't. He felt bad but this was something really important that could cost him everything. It could-


A scent wafted in through the door that caused his thoughts to stop abruptly, his nose wrinkling at the general familiarity of it. A dragon. Though he did not know the dragon itself, he was shocked that there was another dragon in the area as he was. He'd been living in the city for more than seven years now and he hadn't come across the scent at all. Yet right when he has a bad luck day with hunters, all of a sudden there's another dragon? The irony behind that seemed a bit great but he wasn't going to say something about that. "I'll be right back, sorry." Kaito gave Ma-chan an apologetic look but she didn't seem all that worried about. She probably thought he was using the restroom or something when the fact was, he was going to that dragon. He already placed the man too, it hadn't been too hard to spot the tall, dark-haired man standing off on his own watching the crowd. In truth, Kaito knew who it was that the man was watching since in this day and age two dragons coming across one another was a rare thing unless they were family and grew up together. Taking one last sip of his coffee, he got up and eyed the hunters again. The shorter one was looking at the window as though she were looking right at him; then she looked down at her cell, then at him as he walked, and then her cell again. Curious. What was even more curious was that she pulled out another cell after that to do something else. It wasn't uncommon to have to cells, one for work and one for yourself but he hadn't seen a hunter with multiple before.


"It's good to see a familiar face for once, here I thought there wouldn't be anyone living in the city too. I've been here a while and haven't come across anyone." Kaito spoke in a friendly manner when he neared the other dragon, putting on a smile as well. He wasn't near the window any more so the hunters wouldn't be able to see either of them now thankfully. Not unless they actually ushered up the courage to come inside themselves. "There are two women outside, dark hair, across the street with their phones out looking for someone. Is it you or are they on the prowl for something new?" That should be enough of a hint towards the hunters stepping up their game but it was also just trying to see if the other dragon knew anything or not.

Livia Hayes
​

"Sounds like a good plan to me. If we can..." Livia paused in her thoughts when Sahara said there was movement again and ended up looking at her device. They really needed to calibrate these things because Livia's device didn't show any sort of movement at all. They were supposed to be the same, right? Or...was it different types of dragons? That would be something she would have to remember to ask Victoria when they got back but she didn't want to speculate anything for the time being. For now, her eyes just went right back to the restaurant and she quickly nodded her head in agreement. "I know, I know. I can't believe this. Our first recon mission and this is happening. Victoria might scold us for not reporting it but we have to make sure the devices are actually accurate and not just picking up random people. She'll have to understand that." As much as Livia was talking, her eyes went to an Asian man that just stood up from a booth. The beeping on her device was quiet but it was still loud enough for her to her. When she glanced down, the blue dot was moving as the man was moving and she quickly put two and two together. "That's the dragon!" Her free hand pulled out her cell phone in that second so that she could snap a couple of pictures even if they weren't the best ones. She ended up getting at least one shot that would be able to be blown up enough to be used for scanning purposes whenever they needed to find him again or figure out exactly who he was claiming to be. It also made following him so much easier as well.


Soon he disappeared from sight though and there was a small sigh that escaped her lips before she turned to her partner. "Well, we know what one of them looks like but now there are two in there and only one a couple blocks down. Should we go after that one instead since that's the one that's alone now? We can track him a lot easier now that we know what he looks like and once we get the analysts to look into him, we'll be able to find out where he lives too. So capturing him will be easy." Which just left the other two pretty much but the one that was still in the restaurant was another story entirely since two together could cause problems.

 

[StarryKnights]

Sahara Cephres
​

Sahara grinned at Livia. "You got a decent pic?" she wished they could identify the other dragon, but the restaurant was crowded, and the Asian man moved away from the window, so they couldn't see who he was talking to. Looking to her screen, Sahara could see the other dragon hadn't moved. Perhaps they were waiting for something... she looked to Livia's screen, which still only showed the one dot across the street. "Wonder why yours isn't picking up the other two...?" it was strange, the devices still had their bugs it seemed. 
​

'I'll be sure to tell Mai, bet she could fix it" Sahara chuckled and looked down the block. "The lone dragon is still easier than the two, especially if their in there, talking" she looked back to the restaurant. 'it's amazing isn't it. Maybe their a little team" she chuckled and looked both ways. "Well, we should get going, in case this one decides to up and move on us" she grinned at Livia. 
​

"Who knows, maybe this one will put up a fight"
​

Sahara couldn't hide her excitement as she crossed the street, she gave the restaurant one last look before continuing down the block. 
​

She figured Livia would follow, but if she decided to stay and recon some more, that was fine. They could always hook up later. 
​

 
​

Niko Medina
​

Niko stepped away from the window, and turned every now and again to spot the hunters. One was staring at her phone, the other looked from the phone to the window. she was on to them... or at least... "You" Niko said as the Asian man approached. 'I'm pretty sure they spotted you..." Niko sighed. "Don't know how, but they wouldn't be so excited if they didn't know their prey was here..." he was talking softly. "In fact, I think the shorter one took your picture"
​

That would make things difficult for this guy, who he assumed had a life set up in the city. Niko lived off the grid, so if they did identify him, it wouldn't be easy to track him. he was already in the system, so it wasn't game changing if they identified him. 
​

They might be surprised to find he's alive... But that was beside the point. 
​

"I have a friend a few blocks down who's..."
​

Niko trailed off as the taller woman crossed the street and walked past the restaurant. Niko paled. "Oh shit' he swore and looked back to the man.
​

"...Their going after Sophie...fuck" he got some strange looks from other patrons, but Niko didn't care. he pulled out his phone and sent Sophie a text. 
​

'Move, carefully, they are heading your way. one is tall, dark hair and skin, wearing a dress. The other is shorter, wearing jeans and band tee shirt. Be cautious'
​

Taking a deep breath, he looked to the man. "...So...what would you like to do now? I have to help my friend..." Staying here wasn't the best option, if they called for back up, then they were sitting ducks. They could only do so much in public, trapped in their human forms. Niko looked to the man expectantly. 
​

 
​

Sophie Stolts
​

Sophie looked down as her phone buzzed. It was a text, from Niko. She breathed a sigh of relief, that meant he was okay... 
​

She paled when she read it though. Oh god...oh god... she looked around, frantically, trying to spot someone matching Niko's description. Her heart was going a mile a minute. She stood, slowly, and made her way to the restroom. Once there, she sat in a stall and tried to calm down. Breathe Sophie, breathe, she said to herself softly. It'll be okay, Niko won't let them hurt you...just do as he said and stay calm. Out here, they could only do so much... But if they got a picture of her... If they identified her. Then they could find her parents. The thought made Sophie's heart skip a beat. 
​

 

[pyreshadow]

Kaito Iwasa
​

Kaito blinked in surprise for a moment before it clicked that the other dragon had to be right; it made sense why the hunter kept looking up and looking so excited, then with the other phone. She actually might have gotten his picture because he was trying to act casual. Bringing his hand up, he scratched the side of his face in thought before letting out a soft hum. He couldn't dwell too much on it though as the other male brought up having a friend nearby. "A friend?" Kaito repeated, bringing his gaze back to the other dragon but the hesitation caused him to bring his gaze back to the window. Sophie must be the name of his friend and it was clear by the cursing that one of the hunters must have just walked by. Smart move on their part to steer clear of two dragons in one vicinity, although not so smart to try to go off for the one that's alone.


"What would I like to do? I'm going to help you protect your friend. No matter what clan we hail from, we're all brethren now and we should stick together if at all possible. I want to help you." Kaito replied simply as he glanced back over his shoulder towards Ma-chan. He felt bad about leaving her so suddenly but there wasn't anything he could do about it right now. "Come on." With a nod of his head, he headed out of the restaurant and pulled out his cell at the same time. He ended up texting Ma-chan a quick apology saying he'd explain later but there was an emergency so he had to leave. Then he shut off his phone so he wouldn't get any interruptions after that. "My name's Kaito, by the way." As he introduced himself, he spared a quick glance to the other dragon with a smile before he turned his attention forward again. He could see the taller hunter ahead of them and was keeping her in sight. The shorter one was still there too but there was something off now as they were beginning to talk a bit more. "Since she already took a picture of me, I'm going to do something that might be pretty stupid since there's a crowd that's coming. It'll give me some cover though and I think it might give me a chance to keep my identity hidden just a bit longer, if I'm successful. Where exactly is your friend, this Sophie?" His mind was already playing out how this could work out, some scenarios being much better than others. He could only hope that it worked in his favor.

Livia Hayes
​

"Here, I'll send it to you so you can have it too just in case. That way if something happens to my phone when we report in either one of us can send the file." Livia sent the more crisp picture of the Asian male as she was talking and only put her phone away once the image said that it was sent. She was far from being a paranoid person, she just liked to be prepared for the worst case scenarios. Like what was going to happen if one of the devices fell on the ground and broke? Victoria would probably take it out of their pay or something. If it was stolen though...? That was something a thought that came and went as it was one of the most unlikely things since the thing looked just like a cell phone. "Well...I was thinking that maybe it has something to do with the dragon types? I have no idea but if these are calibrated for only certain species of a dragon then it'd make sense that yours picks up different ones than mine does. But that's definitely something you could ask Mai and I'll bring it up to Victoria as well when we make our reports." Livia wasn't too worried about it since it would be talked about one way or another. Once they had both agreed to actually go after the lone dragon, this time the one that was further away, Sahara went first as Livia glanced the restaurant over once more. Only for a few seconds before she followed after her partner a couple steps behind her.


"I wonder what that other dragon looked like, the one they found in the other part of the city." Livia was more than a little curious since they looked like everyone else, just like any other human. There was only one real difference between them. "You know, back in training one of the classes we took mentioned something about them having only one thing that differentiated them from a human. Something called a heartscale somewhere on their body and it was different for every dragon. There wasn't much information about it or what it looked like or even the importance of it but every single one of them has it. I wonder what it looks like." Livia mused out loud, though she was also partly talked to Sahara as well. At least until her device began to go off again so she pulled it out and let out an annoyed huff. "Hey, mine's on the move. It looks like he's now following us....you don't think they're trying to meet up with the one that we're heading to, do you?" The urge to look back over her shoulder was ignored and instead the device was placed back in to her pocket. Just as a dragon needed to act natural when it was being hunted, it was the same as when the hunter became the hunted as well. It felt odd being on the other end for once but Livia knew it wouldn't last for long. All she needed to do was send the file in to say the male was a dragon and a team would be on him within minutes.

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina
​

Niko blinked, somewhat surprised at the man's answer. Most other dragons he met were out for themselves, though he couldn't blame them. It was a dangerous world, with only a few dragons and a abundance of humans. It paid to be on alert,  and on your own. Niko knew this well, but the one time when push came to shove, being alone had gotten him captured...
​

S shiver ran down his spine at the thought of Sophie being taken away. She was a sweet girl, bubbly and caring, she wouldn't last a day in captivity. She'd been spared the hardships most dragons faced in their lives... She also had a clan, or at least a family... If they caught her, they'd be all over her parents...
​

"We need to hurry" He said as he followed Kaito out of the restaurant. "...Name's Niko" he said softly in response to the introduction. He followed after the pair of woman, suppressing the urge to jump them and bash their heads into the pavement. It was the least they deserved, he doubted they truly knew what hell awaited any dragon in their custody... 
​

Niko remembered all to well. Being caged and drugged so he couldn't resist. Needles and scalpels advancing toward him, carried by people in white lab coats and face masks. Whispering and bright lights...
​

He spaced off, and didn't hear Kaito until he asked about Sophie. 
​

"She's in a coffee shop a few blocks down, I sent her a text, hopefully she'll act casual..."
​

There were ways out of this, but if she wasn't careful, she wind up with her identity compromised...
​

That could spell doom for her, and her family. 
​

"What are you planning?" he asked Kaito, looking to him curiously. Niko's plan was to cause a diversion and let Sophie escape, but he was curious what this man would do. 
​

 
​

Sophie Stolts
​

Sophie sat in the stall, crying softly for a few minutes. After a bit though, sh bucked up and took a deep breath. "Quit sniveling" She could hear Niko's voice in her head, and see the scowl he'd have if he could see her. This was no time to panic...
​

Sophie thought of what Niko had told her about hunters. They always surveyed the area, and called in a unit as back up. They would try and find some way to identify her, thankfully her heart scale was hidden, under her shirt. He scale rested just below her breasts, in the middle of her sternum. Niko's was actually above his heart, but from what he'd said, a portion of it had been removed. The thought sent a shiver down her spine.  
​

In this day and age, they would probably try and take a picture of her on a cell phone... If that happened...
​

"Mom...Dad..." she shook her head, got out and went to the sink. After splashing some cold water on her face, she looked to the mirror. What would she...do...?
​

Perhaps her best option was to walk outside, and  just try to leave. What could they possibly do...? Drag her to the ground kicking and screaming? That would cause a scene. 
​

"Okay Sophie...just take a deep breath"
​

After a few more minutes to prepare herself, Sophie sent Niko a text message. 
​

'I'm coming outside, pray for me'.
​

 
​

Sahara Cephres
​

Sahara looked to her phone and smiled as the picture popped up. She frowned. "Too bad he's a dragon, he's kinda cute" she giggled, looking to Livia. "Our best bet is to get a picture of this one to" The dot was on the move, it seemed it was in the coffee shop ahead of them. The other dot was following them, perhaps these dragons were all friends. 'We need to be careful" she whispered softly. Sure, they could have a team here in minutes, but the dragons could also kill them in that time. They were cornered animals, and that was when animals tended to be at their most vicious.  Sahara doubted the decives were calibrated for different types, that was silly. Odds were they were glitching, but that didn't matter so long as...
​

"Wait" Sahara paused a moment, as her dot grew darker and bigger. "its in front of us" she said, looking to the crowd of people walking toward them, a portion of them had jsut walked out of the restraunt. Sahara scanned the crowd, but didn't spot anything or anyone unusual. 
​

There were a bunch of people, and the dot being larger didn't help her decide who was who. It was coming toward them however.
​

 
​

 
​

 

[pyreshadow]

Kaito Iwasa
​

Kaito gave a nod when the other dragon gave his name in return, Niko. Sophie and Niko. It was still a wonder how they had been in the city for however long they had and Kaito hadn't caught their scent even once. Sure the city was pretty big and there were tons of people but a dragon's scent was distinct. They could pick up each other's scent easily, which was what made the clan wars so long ago extremely gruesome. Or so he heard anyway. It wasn't like he himself lived through it but he had known a dragon once that had. The women were eyed once more as his thoughts went to the coffee shop the other dragon was in. There was only one that was in the direction they were heading that he knew of so his plan would work out pretty easily. When Niko asked about it, all he ended up grinning a little before pointing to the shorter hunter.


"Just be ready. I have your scent so I'll meet up with you soon." It should be clear by his words that he was going to create a distraction but he didn't want to give away that part of it was a really, really stupid idea. He knew it was stupid because he was going to be getting really close to the hunters too. It wasn't like taking her phone would do anything if she already sent his picture to her headquarters either but there was a chance that she hadn't yet. "Tell Sophie to be ready too." With that, he quickened his pace to match the couple of people that walked by and hid himself beside them. His hand went parallel to the ground as he walked, his pupils dilated to a thin slit like a cat's would in the light. The ground began to shake slightly, causing the people around them to stop all of a sudden and look around nervously including the hunters. The fire hydrant across the street suddenly burst open, water shooting out from the top hard followed closely by the one down the street and then another. Inside the coffee shop was a couple of screams of complaints as the water in the bathrooms and the kitchen began to shoot out from the pipes as well. Due to the hydrants bursting, the cars driving down the streets swerved and crashed in to each other and soon a four car collision happened right in front of them.


All the while that this was happening, Kaito took the chance as some of the people were already trying to get out of there in a panic. He used one of the men as cover and went over to the shorter hunter, bumping in to her and stealthily picking her pocket of the device that felt like a cellphone. By the time she looked around, he was already gone in the crowd following the scent of the other dragons.

Livia Hayes
​

Livia gave her partner an 'are you serious?' look for calling the dragon cute before shaking her head. She wasn't even going to get into that conversation since there wasn't a point. So long as Sahara knew the that it was off-limits then it was fine. A nod was given as she knew they needed to be careful, more so if all three dragons were just trying to close in on them. The truth was, now they should be calling it in but they were both being stubborn about it. Or at least it seemed like they were being stubborn about it to her anyway; maybe it was just her. Either way, she wanted to get the picture of at least one other one so they could give an excellent report back and Victoria wouldn't be able to reprimand them for anything. Hearing Sahara say to wait, Livia paused in her step and glanced to the other woman with a raised brow. Her eyes instantly went to the crowd and one of her hands went instinctively to her gun. When she realized it was her normal handgun she had to quickly change it over to the tranquilizer one though.


"Where are you?" The question came whispered out as she tried to pinpoint which person it would be even though she knew it would be impossible to do that way. Only, she didn't get very long to do it when the ground began to shake beneath their feet. Glancing down with a confused look on her face, she jumped slightly when all of a sudden the top shot off of the fire hydrant across the street near them. One by one others on the street did too and it ended up causing a pretty severe car accident too. "What the shit?!" The curse left her lips before she turned back to the coffee shop when some screams of surprise and even more people came rushing out. Some were shouting about how all of the pipes had burst in the back so water was getting everywhere. Just what the hell was going on? Did an earthquake happen that caused the pressure to be too much or something? Or...her thoughts stopped when someone bumped in to her and when she turned around to try to see who it was, there were too many people scrambling about to actually tell. They were all just trying to get away from the area. Tsk'ing in annoyance, Livia turned back to Sahara while still trying to scan the crowd for at least the dragon they could identify.


"We messed up." They should have reported in when they had the chance. "This was probably caused by one of them using their power. Cornered beasts will do anything to get out of being killed." As Livia summed up her thoughts, she reached in to her pocket to pull out her cell but felt herself pale. Her hand dug in her pocket again and again, feeling her cellphone but not the device that Victoria had given her. "Oh shit." The curse left her lips as she checked each of her pockets before she looked around once more and let a slew of other curses leave her lips. "Do you still see the dragons on your radar? I think one of the little bastards have my device. When the chaos of everything was going on, someone bumped in to me but I couldn't see who it was. Now I'm thinking it was one of them."

 

[StarryKnights]

Sophie Stolts
​

Sophie took a deep breath and did her best to act casual as she walked toward the woman Niko had described. One was watching intently, looking for her. It made Sophie gulp, but she had to stay calm. If she could walk right past them, then maybe she could get out of this in one piece .  Her eyes lit up when she thought she spotted Niko, who was talking to a taller, Asian looking man. a very attractive one at that...wait no Sophie that is not the point here...that guy smelled like a dragon, even with the distance she could pick up his scent. As an air dragon, sophie's snese of smell was even more adept at picking up different smells,, as she walked passed the girls, she picked up each of their scents as well. That way they could be tracked... She breathed a sigh of relief as  she passed the woman, but then the ground started to shake. the asian man walked passed her, and she knew it was him making the water erupt from the hydrants. He must've been a water elemental. It was hard to keep from looking back, but soon she found Niko. 
​

Unable to hide her relief, sophie headed straight for him. "Niko!' she said, relieved to see he was unhurt. 'Sophie, we need to go, now" he grabbed her by the arm, and the two started walking, away, quickly. "Who was that Niko?' Sophie asked. "A fellow dragon...water one from the looks of it" he replied. 
​

Sophie blinked. "is he following us?"
​

"Yeah, we're going to find a safe place to regroup, and go from there...good job by the way, staying calm and stuff..."
​

Sophie nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. She just wanted to put this day behind her. 
​

 
​

Sahara Cephres
​

Sahara grinned as Livia gave her a funny look. She knew a relationship with a dragon was more than forbidden, but it was fun to try and get a rise out of fellow hunters. She hadn't been lying, the dragon was cute. But it was also a scaly monster, one Sahara was commissioned to track down and bring in. And she was very good at her job...usually.  they should've reported the dragon as soon as their devices picked up on one, but this was too fun to just hand over to the other team.  As her device beeped again and showed movement, she scanned the crowd, looking for anyone suspicious. It was hard to tell which person this heat signature belonged to, and therefore she didn't know which one was the beast. "here little dragon" she smiled. This was too much fun to hand off to the elites. 
​

but then, the ground started shaking, and people started panicking as water erupted from the hydrants. people ran out of shops, sopping wet, indicating the pipes had burst. Sahara's eyes lit up. "Water dragon" she said as she looked back down to her device. Their was a water dragon in their midst... And... "Oh shit"
​

Sahara exclaimed as a panicked passerby nearly knocked the damn thing out of her hand. She ducked down and managed to catch the cell phone like device before it hit the ground, and as she did, she spotted a familiar man walking away and disappearing into the crowd. "Livia, that was..." she stopped as Livia realized her device had been stolen. Oh Vicky was going to be pissed... 
​

"It was that Asian guys, pretty sure...but anyway..." she held up her own device. "i still have his picture...its not a total loss" It was time to call in the unit though, this was officially out of hand. she pulled out her phone and dialed the contact number. "i think its time we called in the big guns, don't you?"
​

The two dragons were still on her radar, but their dots were light in color. "their moving away, do you want to chase them?"
​

 

[pyreshadow]

Kaito Iwasa
​

The crowd was splitting ways but with the fast glance Kaito spared behind him, it seemed the hunters weren't following them any longer. That was just fine with him. Maybe it had to do with what he did and them having to report it. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that he got his hands on one of their cell phones. Either way it was good news for them since it meant they could put some distance between the hunters and themselves. It didn't take him long to catch up to the other two dragons but he didn't stay behind them for very long either. "Follow me, I know of a place that's safe to lay low." He told the pair in passing so that he could end up leading the way down the street and to the right. Sirens could be heard in the distance, both from the police and the fire trucks as they were coming to the scene of the accident as quickly as they could. As much as it would be better to get as far away as possible that wasn't really an option for them on foot.


About a block and a half down, Kaito stopped in front of a five-star hotel with two men in black suits standing guard in front. The moment that they saw Kaito coming, each of them grabbed a handle of one of the double doors and opened them for the trio to enter. He gave them a nod as thanks before glancing over his shoulders to make sure Sophie and Niko were still following. Right as he was about to say something to them, a high-pitched voice rang out in the air instead. "Iwasa-san!" There was almost a giggle in the tone and since he was facing the two dragons, he ended up rolling his eyes for a moment before putting on a fake smile as he turned to face her.


"Ana-chan, how are you?" Kaito greeted the skinny, almost frail looking blonde model that came rushing over to greet him by giving him fake kisses on each cheek.


"Fabulous, darling. I just came back from France last week, such a beautiful place. You need a room for the night? You and your...erm..." The blonde ended up eyeing Niko and Sophie with a tilt of her head as she questioned the two of them.


"They're friends, Ana-chan. Treat them with respect or you'll find my business goes elsewhere." The warning was quick to change the woman's attitude to a bright smile and she laughed with a wave of her hand.


"O-oh of course, of course. I wouldn't dream of treating them any other way, Iwasa-san. Just wait over there and I'll get you a room ready, okay?" She was off before he could even reply so he turned back to the two other dragons with a light shrug of his shoulders.


"You can ignore what she says, I do half the time since she's a bit stuck up. No one gets in to this building unless they've stayed here before or they're with someone so we'll be safe here for the time being at the very least." Even if the hunters wanted to try to get in, the guards wouldn't let anyone in that didn't belong. Kaito was lucky that Ma-chan had gotten him in here once before. Did it eat a lot out of his savings? Sure but it was worth it for the extra cover it provided. "So have you two always been in this city?" He added curiously after a moment, though he did end up eyeing the counter where the blonde was talking rather loudly to get the room ready for them.

Livia Hayes
​

Sahara was probably right, it had to have been him. If he found out somehow that they were tracking him and that Livia had gotten a picture of him, then he could have been trying to retaliate. That didn't make her feel any better though and just caused her to let out another sigh. "Yeah, I have his picture too on my phone but...that doesn't help with losing the device." Livia grumbled out, the worry of what Victoria was going to do already growing in her mind. Or worse yet, what her father might end up doing. He stayed out of her affairs for the most part but if it ended up compromising a hunt, Livia was almost sure he'd step in. The thought caused her to start getting a headache so she had to quickly shake the thought away before focusing on what Sahara was saying. It was smart to call it in now but they really should have just called it in when they first got the signal. All well, no point in dwelling on it too much.


"No, we've done enough damage as it is. Right now we've got one that can be identified once we bring his picture back to HQ and we can confirm that there are two others within the city as well. We'll be in enough heat with getting a device stolen and this mess to have to clean up, best to not add more by following them further. As much as I'd like to." The last part was added with another sigh as Livia turned her attention to the direction of where the dragons had last gone before her arms crossed over her chest. The day had started out so well too and now it just felt like it was ruined; not completely since there was still perks to it that were good, like having a picture of one but losing that device...a groan left her lips as she just kept imagining the kinds of punishments that her and Sahara would have to go through because of it and none of them were going to be very pretty. "Did you report it in yet?"

 

[StarryKnights]

Sahara Cephres
​

Sahara lowered the phone. "no, not yet" They were in so much trouble when they went back to headquarters, she didn't even want to think about it. Things had been going so well, but now they'd gone to shit. "Those were some crafty dragons..." she sighed and looked to Livia. "Perhaps we underestimated them" She hadn't expected the dragons to be so crafty... Cornered animals are always dangerous, but these guys went beyond that. One of them seemed to have some decent knowledge on them too... "Hmmm" Sahara looked down to her phone, the blue dots were stopped at the moment. 'They're not far you know" she said, showing Livia her phone. "we should at least see where they went to, then we can call it in...I mean..." she looked around at the accident scene. "They really fucked this place up, one of them must be a water dragon"
​

She texted Mai about the discovery, knowing that she'd find out later anyway.
​

"Mai's gonna laugh at me when this is all said and done" she said as she tucked her phone back into her pocket. 
​

 
​

Sophie Stolts and Niko medina
​

Sophie's eyes lit up when they paused in front of the massive five star hotel. 'Whoa..." she'd walked by this place a dozen times, and rarely ever saw people coming and going. It was for the elites of the elites...and now, she was entering it. 'Oh my god" she grabbed Niko's arm excitedly. "who is this guy man/" she asked as they stood in the lobby. Kaito was dealing with some ditsy blonde, who gave her and Niko a dirty look, one Sophie returned with a look of her own. "Bitch" she whispered under her breath. Niko arched an eyebrow, he'd never seen Sophie get so riled up. she seemed excited, but places like this always made Niko feel uncomfortable., given his shabby appearance, it wasn't really a question of why. He looked out of place, and he knew it. 
​

"so...why are we here/" he asked Kaito as he returned to the group. he paused at the man's question, but Sophie was quick to respond. "I moved here three years ago...and met Niko..." she smiled. "It's  such a big city, but its crazy to think there were...more of us living here" she looked to niko, who had a uninterested look in his eyes. 
​

"...I wound up here after..." he stopped, unsure if he wanted to share this story here, in the middle of a hotel lobby. "...Escaping my cage" he scratched at his left arm and sighed. "...So...whats your story...mister big shot"
​

 

[pyreshadow]

Kaito Iwasa
​

Three years...so she hadn't been here for too long but still, for Kaito to not have crossed paths with her before was a disappointment. It would have been a wonder to know that there were others in the city besides himself. Thinking he was one of the last, if not the only one left, tended to put a damper on his spirits at times. He tried his best to keep a positive outlook but there were times where it showed through his work. Lucky for him those just so happened to be some of his best work so he couldn't really complain. Ma-chan certainly didn't. His eyes drifted to Niko and seemed to soften with understanding when the other man mentioned being caged; though he hadn't been caught by hunters before, he heard stories about it when he was younger. He vaguely knew what became of the dragons when they were caught and it wasn't a pretty sight either. To think that Niko managed to escape was a miracle in itself.

"I'm far from being a big shot, it was just luck that got me a chance to come here before. I'm an artist and my manager is one that likes to put me in awkward positions, sort of throwing me to the dogs in a way. As in putting me in places like these with people like Ana thinking that it'll help my image." Kaito shrugged his shoulders again before a small sigh left his lips. "I'd rather not have to spend my time with people like them when all they care about is their money but..." trailing off, his nose wrinkled when he caught whiff of the perfume the blonde was wearing so he turned around in time to see her walking back towards them.


"Unfortunately, the room you had last time is taken but since your with your....friends-" it was clear Ana had a hard time saying the word as she wasn't comfortable with Niko or Sophie despite trying her hardest to put on a fake smile, "-we set you up in one of the two bedroom suites. If you'd follow me, I'll take you to your room." Without waiting for a response, she turned and headed towards where the elevators were located on the opposite side of the room. Her actions just caused Kaito to shake his head before giving the two other dragons an apologetic smile on her behalf. Then he followed after her, glancing back just to make sure the other two were behind him still every now and then. The elevator ride took a couple of minutes, with the cheesy elevator music playing softly in the background that was the only noise save for the ding when the doors opened on their floor. Ana led them to the third door on the left, then handed the key over to Kaito before taking her leave rather quickly. Inside the room was about as lavish as the hotel itself and was furnished in the fashion of a modern-styled home. It even had a fireplace, the kitchen had pure white marble top counters, everything just looked so...perfect. It was odd in a way but that was probably just because Kaito was used to his own apartment. This was so not his style.


"If we're actually going to spend the night, you two can take the bedrooms. I can sleep just about anywhere so I don't mind taking the sofa." Which truth be told was calling to him so much right now but he had to resist a bit longer. "To answer your earlier question Niko, we're here to keep out of the hunters' reach for the time being. It's just a safe place for us to talk without having to worry about what they're going to do or if they'll catch us. Worst case scenario, the quickest way to escape would be right there." Kaito pointed to the window closest to him where there was a slightly shorter building nearby, indicating that they could just jump to the other building and escape that way. It would be easier than trying to leave by the front door of this place anyway. That was a just in case though.

Livia Hayes
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Livia tsk'ed lightly when Sahara couldn't get a hold of anyone yet before rolling her eyes. That must mean their focus was on the other dragon then. They probably thought there was no way another group would be finding a dragon so quickly after all was said and done. Well they thought wrong, those idiots. A sigh left her lips before she shook her head slowly, the feeling of a headache coming back already. "It doesn't matter how far they are or not anymore since we're in deep shit whether we're near them or not. Unless one of them ends up in our clutches, there's no way out of it at this point." Despite saying that, Livia began to walk in the direction of where Sahara's device said that the dragons were. Her curiosity of it all was too much sometimes and really, she saw it only one way. "But if we're going to get in trouble, we might as well just see it to the end." The police and ambulances were already on the scene of the accident at this point so it was now being handled, so they could continue doing what they needed to do: find the dragons again.


After walking almost two blocks, they stopped near a very fancy looking hotel where two men dressed in suits eyed them with a look that almost dared them to get closer. Livia knew that if they tried to get closer, the man closest to them would just kick them away without a second's thought; the way he looked them over said it all. This was the type of hotel where you had to be someone or know someone to get in and the bodyguards had to know you. There was no way her or Sahara would be able to get in but...she knew a certain hunter that could. "I'm calling it. They won't let us in but the team that'd be closest to us would be Conor's. He can get in anywhere so he'd probably be able to get access into this place too." As Livia said this, she pulled out her phone and dialed Victoria's number directly. It didn't take long for the other woman to answer the phone and for Livia to explain the situation of what happened. How they spotted the first dragon, then the other two, the picture, then the accident....how the device got stolen. Livia nearly dropped the phone when Victoria started shouting so loud she was fairly certain people on the fourth floor of the hotel could hear the old woman. Victoria ordered the two of them to come back and to let the real hunters handle it from there, which in a way bugged Livia since she felt they were hunters too. They just hadn't had their first hunt yet.


"Well...that wasn't fun." The phone was tucked away and there was a hidden pout in her eye before she looked over her partner. "Guess we should call Rufus now before things get worse."