Slayer x Pyre 1x1

pyreshadow · Jan 15, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

Maybe. Well, Tahra supposed maybe was better than a flat out no. Even if it was in working order and wasn't the best of things, it should be enough for Tahra to work her magic so to speak. She had everything she needed with her anyway, she never left home without some of her things...oh. Right. She was really glad that her apartment wasn't actually registered under her given name right now. Covering up her tracks was necessary so it'd just make finding traces of her that much harder when they were actually looking for her. Try as they might, she was like a ghost and they wouldn't be able to find much of anything of her; the thought of the hunters squirming a bit caused a smile to grow on her face before she peeked an eye open when Kaito stopped moving. The trailer they were outside of was run-down and dingy but she couldn't say she was very surprised. They were in the type of place for that but the man that came to greet them seemed friendly enough? She supposed anyway. Kaito put on an equally friendly smile while Tahra turned her head more to hide her face than anything against his chest. He figured it was because she wasn't feeling well but it was more because she just didn't want to deal with someone else in her current state.

Niko took care of all the explaining, keeping it as simple as could be even when it came to Tahra. It wasn't until the older man seemed to imply that he actually had a computer that the redhead turned her head to eye the man a bit curiously. Now she really needed to hurry up and get better. Kaito gave a small nod in agreement to sitting down before following the man to a similarly run-down house near the trailer. The smell was a bit...well, nasty but it would just have to be dealt with for the time being. The inside wasn't all that great either and Tahra was quick to eye the couch that was being offered out for her. She had half a mind to ask to lay on the floor instead but it was a sacrifice for the greater good; she needed to get to that computer and that meant she couldn't be rude. Plus, this was far from the worst place she'd ever been in before. "It's kinda good since it'll mask our smell too." Tahra spoke quietly with a giggle only once she was sure that Stal wouldn't be able to hear her speak.

"I...don't know if that's a good thing or not but as long as we aren't found, I'm all right with hiding out here for a while." Kaito sat himself down in one of the other chairs across the way and rested his arms on his legs. "Tahra." The redhead turned slightly so she could look him over, still smiling just a bit despite how she wasn't feeling up to par yet. "How do you know about them?" The thought was a troubling one in a way even though she said she only knew of them. Kaito felt like she wasn't completely telling the truth on that.

"Kaito." Tahra repeated his name the same way that he had said her name not too long before, almost in a teasing manner. It made his brow raise slightly, more so when she ended up grinning. "Sorry, that's classified. I can't tell you." Then she laid herself back down properly and looked over to where Sophie and Niko were. "So, how long have you three been together?" She hoped by changing the subject, it would let the last one die down for now because she really didn't want to get in to things with them. Or maybe Stal would be back with the water to keep things from getting heated because she couldn't say, one of the two.

StarryKnights · Jan 15, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Niko wans't going to press tahra,at least not at the moment. he did want to know what she knew, he wanted to know how she knew antything, and most importantly, he wanted to know if maybe, just maybe, they shared the same contact... assuming what she had was a contact on the inside, like he had. He was lost in thought, so Tahra's question flew right over his head. Sophie, who was sitting in a chair to the right of the couch, answered. "Niko and I met Kaito today...but we've known each other for the last three years give or take". she said, turned back and looking to the man. "We just sorta bumped into each other one day and made it a point to continue doing so..." she chuckled. "Right Niko?" "Right right" Niko said though it was clear he wasn't paying any attention to the conversation. Sophie frowned and sighed, looking back to KKaito and Tahra, she shrugged. "Sometimes he gets all lost in thought and stuff..."

It was here Stal walked back in, with three glasses of some surprisingly clean looking water. here ya go" he said, setting them on the table in the center of the room.

"Niko" the old man looked to the only other person still standing, who snapped out of his day dream as he was addressed. "What old timer?' "I'll grab that laptop for ya want" Niko looked to Tahra, and back to the oldman., "Maybe give us like ten more minutes..."

he wasn't sure how clear headed Tahra was feeling, but staring at a screen wouldn't do her much

good with the drugs in her system. Stal nodded and headed back into the other room, leaving the four dragons alone.

Sophie took her water glass and sighed. 'So...what do we do now guys...' she asked, looking to the group. she was hoping at least one of them would have some sort of plan. Niko crossed his arms. "That depends on how long it takes for Tahra to be feeling better"

pyreshadow · Jan 16, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

"Wow, you must be good friends then." Tahra didn't really have that sort of luxury with her type of job but she was all right with that. She loved what she did and was good at it too so there wasn't much more that she wanted; at least not that she knew of before anyway. Being around people had always been harder for her since she never really knew what to do or say in certain situations. It seemed to be going all right so far though, which was a bit of a surprise. When the old man came back in with the waters, Kaito got up to take one of the cups with a quick thanks and walked over to hand it to Tahra. There was a bit of a disappointed look that crossed her features when Niko denied the laptop for a bit longer but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she waited until Stal left the room again and then rolled off of the bed so she could drop gently on to the ground. Her fingers searched the ground until she found a crack in the flooring and quickly her eyes closed as she concentrated. Kaito was watching what she was doing curiously but Sophie and Niko bringing up their next move brought his attention over to the other pair momentarily.

"We have to lay low for a while, that much we know for sure. The hunters are on high alert and are looking for myself and Tahra as they have our pictures. They also know that there are two others within the city, they just don't know anything about them. Whatever we decide to do, we'll need to just be more cautious in our movements and make sure we're messing with our body temperatures to throw off the devices." Kaito spoke his thoughts on the matter before he heard a chuckle from Tahra.

"You don't have to worry about those things." Turning his gaze to her, he saw her plucking a couple of leaves from some vines that had sprouted from the crack in the ground before it disappeared right back into it. The leaf was crushed up and sprinkled in to the water and when she looked over to him, it was clear Kaito was waiting for an explanation. As she sipped on the leafy water, she reached in to her hidden pocket and pulled out the device she had taken from the hunter that was trying to take her and set it on the table in front of her. "I told you I wanted to do something with that computer. I can't tell you what I'm going to do or how, just know I'll be messing with the devices and making it so they don't work like they're supposed to."

"How is that-"

"I just said you can't ask about that, do you not listen?" Tahra's tone was a bit more firm and Kaito really looked like he wanted to argue with her still. After a moment of the two staring, he ended up conceding and let out a small sigh before running a hand through his hair.

"Fine. How did you get your hands on the device when you were all dosed up with that tranq?" Making sure to keep his tone as low as possible, Kaito moved so that he could grab the chair and pull it closer.

"Oh that's easy, I got caught on purpose; I needed to see something and this was probably the only chance that I'd get to actually test it so that's why I did it. I didn't think they'd hit me with that many darts though. But that's besides the point. One of the first ones I took out, I nabbed the device from without them realizing it. They were kind of stupid too since they didn't realize I start stalking them instead of them stalking me. Buuuut that's enough about that." Tahra paused to down the rest of the water in her cup before setting the empty glass on the table before pulling herself back on to the couch. "I'll feel better shortly, I just gave myself some medicine to help. So the sooner I can get that computer to work with, the sooner things can really be done." She looked to Niko as she spoke this time since Stal was his friend; she wasn't going to be rude and ask for the laptop when she didn't even know the old man.

StarryKnights · Jan 17, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Niko was intrigued by Tahra, getting caught on purpose, just to steal one of the tracking devices? That was both genus, and incredibly stupid. had they not come along, who knew what might've happened. She was clearly a capable fighter, and she came around from the drugs faster than anyone, especially the hunter's might've thought possible. but it was still risky. It was the sort of stupid thing Niko himself would do, if he didn't have Sophie around to keep him from doing crazy stuff. Sophie chuckled at Tahra's words. "Oh...not really...but we uh, have to stick together right...so" she looked to Niko, who nodded his head. 'A lone dragon is as good as dead...eventually..." That being said, Niko was a loner, he'd only teamed up with Sophie to keep her and her family safe. he preferred working alone, there were less things to worry about that way. However, he was discovering that having allies could be useful. Tahra herself was an asset if she could hack and destroy these devices. Niko assumed Tahra was some sort of computer whiz, and that was how she'd be able to alter these devices. He didn't need to know more, and he wasn't going to push the issue.

Niko arched an eyebrow as she sipped her leafy water and spoke to him. "...So..." his gaze went over all of them for a moment before settling on Tahra again. "...Earth" he said, pointing at the red head. "Water" his gaze and point moved to Kaito. "Air" Sophie smiled. and nodded, confirming what he already knew. "And lastly...an...impaired...fire..." he said, pointing to himself. He chuckled. What were the odds of having all four clans represented within the same group? He'd thought the air dragons were extinct before meeting Sophie, it seemed the world was full of surprises. Sophie looked to Tahra curiously, that explained the leaf water... "...never thought i'd meet an...earth dragon' she whispered softly, this was so exciting. She'd met a water dragon once before, but never an earth, or a fire, Niko had been her first. She didn't like how he described himself as impaired...she felt he was perfectly capable. Fire dragons were known for being strong and proud, and Niko fit both of those categories, when he wanted to. Sophie had seen him pick up a truck and throw it at a man once...

"So Niko, why don't you grab Stal and get that computer for Tahra" Sophie spoke up. Niko nodded and headed out of the room, voices could be heard as he chatted with Stal about getting the laptop. Once he was gone, Sophie sighed and looked to Tahra and Kaito. "...Niko can be a bit dramatic, but..." she wasn't sure if she should tell them this, as it was very personal. However, if they saw it first before being told, it could make both Kaito and Tahra very...uncomfortable. Niko had said that his condition had driven away dragons before. "...When Niko was...captured...the uh....hunters...took off a piece of his heart scale. It's why he calls himself impaired..." She looked to the both of them. "if you do happen to see it...try not to freak out, he's sensitive about it..."

pyreshadow · Jan 17, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

When Niko called out her element, Tahra sat up a bit straighter and tilted her head to the side with a small grin. Her eyes darted over to Kaito next when it was announced his was water, then to Sophie as she was said to be Air, and then Niko himself to be Fire. Although the added comment of him being impaired caused her brows to furrow slightly together. What exactly did that mean? Normally she wasn't one to pry into someone else's affairs but she was rather curious about him. It had been quite some time since she'd been among other dragons, although the last time it had been Fire and Earth dragons. That was so long ago though and almost felt like a dream in comparison to how things were in today's day and age. "Supposedly our two clans were wiped off the face of the planet, or at least that's what the hunters like to believe. They like to think our elements extinct but that's because they're ignorant." Tahra commented offhandedly with a shrug of her shoulders after hearing Sophie's whisper; whether the other woman had meant it to be to herself or for the others, Tahra still felt the need to say something on the matter.

"I wonder if they're even aware of the elements in this day and age or if they just assume we're all the same. Or even the different species of dragons for that matter." Kaito mused out loud, to which Tahra shrugged her shoulders as she couldn't begin to understand the mind of a hunter. She could certainly get the information though...once she got her hands on that computer; or at least she could attempt to, after she changed some things around on the devices to be able to help them not work properly. Tahra's eyes ended up following Niko as he left the room to go speak with Stal about the computer before she turned her attention back to Sophie. Kaito too focused on the other woman as she brought up the reason why he considered himself impaired. "They did what?!" It took a bit of self control on Kaito's part to not let out a shocked shout from Sophie's announcement but somehow Tahra didn't seem all that surprised by the news. Almost as though she knew.

"Why would we be freaked out by such a thing?" She ended up asking questioningly, not really understanding that part. "He still has a part of his heartscale, which means that he's fine. So long as it's still attached in some way then he won't die. Why doesn't he just get it back?"

"You can't just go into a research facility operated by the hunters and search for a piece of a heart scale, Tahra. You don't even know which facility it's at or how much protection it's under. Or if it's even still in existence at this point. With the amount of research they've probably done on it, it could very well be too damaged to even get back." Kaito glanced at her as he spoke with an apologetic look, not liking the fact that he was thinking on the more negative side but it was the most logical as well. If it had been a while since Niko was captured then it was doubtful the scale was still in tact.

"Hmm." Tahra shrugged again before turning her attention to Sophie once more. "Regardless, there's nothing to be freaked out by about a partial heart scale. Niko is still Niko no matter what so if I see it, it won't make a difference to me."

"Same goes for me as well, Sophie. From what I've seen, I don't think he should be calling himself impaired at all but...I can see why it'd be a sensitive topic for him." Although Kaito had to admit he was a little surprised to hear that coming from Tahra since she hardly knew them at all. Maybe she was just a friendly person behind that secretive nature of hers? Kaito found it hard to read her but he certainly wanted her to say with them. She'd be a valuable person to have with them, they all would.

StarryKnights · Jan 18, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts Sophie was surprised at Tahra's...mundane reaction. She didn't seem shocked at the slightest, however kaito reacted as Sophie had expected. Still though, she wondered why tahra took the news so well...SDhe supposed it didn't really matter, it seemed they were both willing to accept Niko for all he was., though Kaito's words were a bit depressing. But they weren't wrong, the odds of Niko's scale being in tact were slim, especially given what they were doing with it. "...niko had told me, they were using his scale for weapon development...an anti dragon weapon...." she shook her head. She didn't like to think to much about it, it made her imagine how agaonizing it must have been for Niko. The fact he was alive was a miracle."...Thank you guys....and...don't tell him i told you. I'm sure he wanted t keep it asecret but..." She looked from kaito and Tahra. "I want to trust you two...I like to think this little group will be sticking together...and secrets..." her eyes settled on Tahra. "...tear people apart..."

She wondered where Tahra got her knowledge on the hunters, Sophie could only hope one day in the near future, she'd be willing to share it. She wanted this group to stick together, she didn't want to hear about Kaito or Tahra being captured or worse...killed. Though she wondered which would be considered worse...
Things had gotten awful tense,it was a lot for the younger dragon to handle. She could feel the weight of the world on her shoulders."...Guys...does this...whole thing...ever get easier...' she looked to her fellow dragons.

"Well, that depends on what "it" is missy" Stal's laughter made Sophie jump, looking up she saw the old man was standing in the doorway, with Niko behind him. "I got that computer all fired up, should work like a charm, itf not, i find smacking it around some does the trick" stal said as he wsauntered over and plopped the laptop on the table in front of Tahra. "Now, don't be lookin up any..." Stal looked left, then right, and then leane din close. "Dirty pictures or the like" he winked, laughed, an left the room again. Niko returned to his wall, shaking his head. "Old man has a couple of screws loose...well, maybe more than that. But he's a computer whiz...so to speak"
Sophie chuckled and looked to tahra. 'Looks like you can do...whatever it is you need to do now tahra"

pyreshadow · Jan 18, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

"Anti-dragon weapon..." Kaito repeated the words, his hand coming up to rub at his chin as his eyes dropped to the ground. The thought was quite troubling and it really meant there was a low probability of Niko's scale still being intact. Regardless of the circumstances of that, Niko was still alive and as well as he could be. So long as he kept the remainder of his scale safe then he should be fine. The heartscale was the most important part of a dragon's body and also the key to their survival, in a roundabout way. He wouldn't die instantly from not having it but he wouldn't be able to last long without one. Though how long a dragon would last with a partial one was something else he didn't know either. Maybe there was a way to mend it? A sigh left his lips as he really wished at times like these that the elders were still around to offer guidance to them. "Don't worry, I won't tell him that I know. When he's ready to speak about it, he'll come to us on his own." Kaito realized after a moment what Sophie had said and he gave her a reassuring smile before looking to Tahra.

"Sorry, kid. There's certain things that are better left unsaid for your own safety. Everyone has secrets for a reason." Tahra wasn't going to budge on that either, no matter what any of these people said or asked of her. They couldn't know about her hacking jobs and they couldn't know about her treasure hunting either. Sure they could try to piece it together themselves but they'd never get the full story out of her. It'd be safer that way for themselves should anything actually happen in the future.

"Kid?" Kaito repeated with a chuckle before leaning back in his chair some.

"What? She looks younger than me." Tahra replied innocently as she made a motion towards the other woman. That just caused another chuckle to ensue before Kaito shook his head slowly; really, they were becoming an interesting group of dragons, that was for sure. If this was back in the times when dragons were prominent, this sort of thing would have never happened due to the species conflicts as well as the elemental conflicts that happened often.; but Kaito was honestly glad for the chance of it now. His mouth opened to answer Sophie's small whine but closed it promptly when he heard Stal's voice. Tahra ended up laughing quietly at his comment before saluting him as he walked out of the room. Once he was gone, she dug in to her pockets once more and pulled out her cell, some headphones, and a couple of different cables. The laptop was pulled closer as she slid to the edge of the couch as well. "Do you always carry that with you?" Kaito asked as he pointed to the cables she was plugging in to the side of the laptop.

"Course I do. I never know when I'm going to need to do something." Tahra replied evasively as she hooked one of the cables in to the device and the other in to her phone. The headphones were also hooked in to her phone before she put them on and added, "I need to concentrate." With that, she turned on some music on her phone -which happened to be some psy trance and dubstep music- and went straight to work on the computer. All that was heard was the fast sound of clicking of the keyboard for several seconds before Kaito turned his attention to the other two.

"Well...we likely won't be figuring out what she's doing until she's actually finished." He eyed the redhead again for a moment, watching her type as fast as lightning it seemed before shrugging his shoulders slightly. "What should we do in the mean timet?" He asked them curiously, looking over each of them. "This might be a good chance to actually take a breather but I think it might be best if we get some food. I don't know when you two last ate but I never actually got to eat the meal I was eating at breakfast. It's not good to skip out on meals is what my manager always nags me about." Which she had every right to since Kaito often forgot to eat whenever he got in to his work. "What do you think?"

StarryKnights · Jan 20, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Sophie frowned and crossed her arms as Tahra called hr kid. Sure, she was probably the youngest person here, but that didn't make her a kid. She was twenty one, and didn't liked being looked down on like a child. That had been part of the reason why she;d left home. She was never going to get a chance to be an adult so long as she stayed in her home town, where her parents would be watching her carefully... It wasn't there fault, given the state dragons were in, but Sophie had been looking for independence and the chance to be her own woman. "I am not a child" she said simply with a sigh. Once tahra got her computer, her attention was immediatly absorbed,, leaving Kaito Niko and Sophie to decide what to do next.

Kait made a good point, Sophie was rther hungry, her last meal had been breakfast. She wasn't sure if Niko had eaten at all, it wasn't unusual for the guy to skip meals, usually due tolack of food. niko thought for a moment and then blushed a little as his stomach growled. ...i think food would be a good idea..." He said, looking to Kaito. He was far more interested in what tahr was doing with her computer and stolen device, but he supposed there would be no answers on that front. The woman seemed intent on keping her secrets, which didn't bother Niko any. They all had their baggage and their secrets, he wasn't going to try and force someoneto share. Little did he know Sophie had already shared oneof his secrets, niko didn't talk about his scale often, and normally hid it when his partial scale caused hom any discomfort or pain.

That would be difficult now that they knew, but seeing as Niko didn't know, Sophie hoped that nothing bad would come of her sharing. She didn't want Niko to be angry at her...though she beleived that she'd done the right thing. At the moment, finding ameal was more important than thinking about secrets, Sophie stood and dusgted herself off. 'Niko, where can we get some food?" she looked to the man in question. Niko thought for a moment and then looked to kaito. "Food around heremight be an issue, we are in the poorest side of toiwn. it will come with a price...not necessarily money..." he scratched the back of his head. "here, i'll see if Stal hs anything for us' Niko walked back into the other room, leaving the three other dragons to their own devices. Sophie sighed and stretched, her back popped loudly as she did. "owww" she sighed. She wondered how long they would have to hide here, how long wuntil it was safe to go bck. Sophie didn't want to hide in this shanty town forever...

"Kaito,,,do you think we'll be ablke to go back to the city again?"

pyreshadow · Jan 20, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

So they were all in agreement about the food, the next question was where to get some. Well, except for a certain redhead too engrossed in what she was doing to even know what they were talking about. Which was fine, Kaito wasn't going to interrupt her or anything to ask if she wanted something too. It'd be better to just get her something really. Sophie asked the next question that was coming to his mind, so Kaito's eyes drifted over to he other man. That was going to be another problem staying here for too long; anything that they needed, not all of it could be bought with money given where they were. Not just with food. The less time they spent here, the better but they had to be absolutely sure they were safe first. He gave a quick nod when Niko excused himself to see if the older man might have anything for them. There was a bit of silence that ensued for a few seconds, not even the sound of typing even in the room. It caused Kaito's brow to raise slightly as he glanced over to look at Tahra, whose own gaze was in the direction of where Niko had gone. She looked as though she were contemplating something but it didn't last long before she went right back to typing away. Every now and then, some of the thoughts of what she was typing would be muttered out loud and Kaito had no idea what she was talking about. It sounded like pure gibberish to him even though he knew it had some to do with coding and firewalls and...something like that. So he didn't know completely but he knew it had to do with that.

Sophie's voice brought him from his thoughts and he shifted in his chair so he could get a better look at the other dragon. The question was one he wasn't so sure that he could answer given the circumstances but... "Honestly, I don't know Sophie." Kaito gave her a gentle smile as he tried to at least sound reassuring despite saying what she probably didn't want to hear. "Maybe you can but Tahra and myself can't. If Niko is in their system already, it would be wiser for him not to. The hunters know our names and they'll learn all they can about what our lives were. They'll get to whomever was closest ad try to force information out of them. If we're in the city, they'll keep coming after us. Especially now that they have devices that can pinpoint us while we're in our human forms. It...might be safer if we moved on to another town or city instead."

"You could also just take down the main headquarters of the hunters, scramble them up a bit, and in the chaos of things wipe them out like they did to us." Tahra's voice speaking up caught him by surprise so Kaito glanced over to her to see her still engrossed in what she was doing. The only thing that confirmed he had indeed heard her say such a thing was her eyes darting up from the screen to meet with his for a brief moment before going back. How could she even hear them when her music was playing so loudly?

"That would lead to much needless death and that's not something I think I could do even if most of them do deserve it. Not all of them actually know what they really do." Tahra just shrugged her shoulders at his response before glancing at her phone; there was a bar showing she was downloading some files that was about halfway done at this point, so she went right back to typing after checking it. Taking a quick breath, he turned another smile to Sophie although this one was more of an apologetic one. "You never got to enjoy that hotel. Maybe if we do get to go back, I can get us a room again just for a night so you can actually enjoy it for all that it has." That way he wasn't saying there was no chance of not going back but he also wasn't giving too much hope either. Not unless something was done about the hunters.

StarryKnights · Jan 21, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Sophie frowned at Kaito's words.It sounded like something a parent told a child when they had bad news but didn't want to break it to them...at least not...all the way. Odds were, they could never go back, if these devices continued to work, and worse, of something better came out, then Sophie would be found out as well. Once she was found, they would get her parents, and Sophie couldn't have that. She had to protect them, even though they didn't know that's what she was doing. To be safe, she'd probably need to avoid seeing them for a while...possibly forever. The thought depressed the little air dragon. She didn't want to think to much about it, thankfully Tahra's words gave her a distraction. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. "That would be...awful, for us and them..." Sophie said softly, looking to Tahra. Like Kaito said, needless death and hardship, even if they wanted to harm her, Sophie doubted she could ever bring herself to harm a living person. It wasn't that they didn't deserve it, it was the fact Sophie was not a strong person, both in strength and will. Even now, she was just going along with the crowd, knowing full well if she was on her own she wouldn't know what to do.

Without Niko, she probably would've been found out a long time ago. She sighed and just shook her head, it was best to focus on one issue at a time. At the moment, the issue was finding something to eat. it wasn't like they could walk down the street and get fast food like they could back home. Kaito's idea of staying st the hotel brought a smile to Sophie's face, though it was clear she knew that wasn't very likely. "...That sounds fun...maybe someday we'll get to go..." She chuckled.

"Probably not" Niko chimed in from the doorway. Sophie frowned at him. "Well, I can dream can't I?" Niko shrugged. "I mean you can, but it won't do you much good..." he walked back into the room. "Stal has some food he'swilling to share, but a lot of it is likely expired canned goods, he said the best place to find food here is the dump...so..." he shrugged. "If we don't mind garbage, we can eat here..." He looked from Kaito, to Sophie, who clearly wasn't thrilled at the idea, and then to Tahra, who was still wrapped up in her computer work. He wondered again what she was doing, and more importantly, how she was doing it. Niko had never been good with technology, but in this digital age, it was a good skill to have.

Maybe she could teach him a thing or two sometime...when they were't in danger. "...Once we sort out our stomachs, well need to sort out where to go next. Skipping town would probably be best for Kaito and Tahra..." he didn't mind staying, as he was somehow unbder the radar, in spite being on the list. He had a sneaking suspcion that Mai had something to do about that. Maybe Tahra could find a way for him to contsct her, he'd have to ask her about it later on.

pyreshadow · Jan 21, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

The idea was instantly shot down by Niko as he came back in to the room; a frown formed on Kaito's lips a little but Tahra was grinning even though she didn't look up this time. Kaito knew though it was because of Niko. Even if it couldn't happen in this city, it didn't mean it wasn't possible so it wasn't good to shoot down a dream so quickly. Despite thinking that, he kept his thoughts to himself as the topic of food was brought back up. The idea of eating expired food was almost as bad as eating from the garbage, both of which spread a look of discomfort across his features. No, he'd rather wait until they were able to actually go somewhere else than have to eat that. Though if there really wasn't any other choice then he would but he definitely wouldn't like it. "There's really nothing else, huh." A small sigh left Kaito's lips at the thought as he wondered if maybe he could just go hunt for something instead. It wouldn't be the smartest idea to shift into his dragon form to find something easier but it would taste better. His mouth opened to add more but before he could, Tahra unhooked the device from the computer and tossed it towards him.

"Check it, see how it's working." The smirk on her face only widened into a satisfied one as she pulled out the headphones while checking her phone as well.

"Check it?" Kaito repeated before looking over the device for a moment. Then it clicked that she probably meant for him to check the readings of it so he turned it on and tilted it so that the entire group could see. At first there were four blue dots indicating themselves but not even moments later did more blue dots start circling around the screen. They were closing in on the other dots at a fast rate, spinning around until nothing was left on the screen except for blue. Then, a flash of red and orange that looked like flames smashed through the blue of the screen and a dragon peeked its head through the cracks. The little pixel looked like it was laughing on the screen before the entire thing when black as the device shut down. "What was that?" Kaito asked, still staring at the screen as if he hadn't actually just seen what he did.

"A virus. Whenever they power up the device, that'll happen and it'll shut down. Try it more than three times and it'll fry the device. So for the time being, we're safe from those things." She made a motion to the device before hearing a ping on her phone. A glance towards it showed that whatever she was downloading had finished, so she quickly went back to the computer to close up whatever she had open. "Hey Niko." Tahra called the other dragon's name, unattaching the cords and placing them back where they belonged as she did so. "I need to talk to you for a sec. Privately." Her eyes darted towards Sophie for a moment as she knew the other woman wouldn't like the idea at all. So, the best way to solve that was to just not involve her or Kaito. He might have been willing to help but he also probably wouldn't want to leave Sophie alone. Either way, Tahra preferred working alone so this was going to be interesting to see how things played out if Niko agreed.

"Are you not going to eat?" Kaito asked curiously as he set the device down on the table.

"It can wait a few more minutes, this is important. If you're really that hungry, just get some of the food from Stal or go hunting. You don't have to settle for expired things or trash just because of where we're at. Stop being lazy." Tahra spoke in an almost scolding manner that surprised Kaito enough to keep him quiet for now. It had nothing to do with being lazy...but he could see why she thought that. Somehow he had the feeling that her life was very much like this all the time; always on the run from something or someone. She probably didn't think about what would happen if someone saw him in a dragon form...unless she was talking about him hunting like this? He supposed he could do that too. Tahra eyed him for another moment before turning her attention back to Niko and nodding towards the door.

StarryKnights · Jan 21, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Sophie settled for scowling at Niko and ignoring him. He was also such a debbie downer, she could have her dram. It wasn't hurting him. The preospect of eating rotten food did not sit well with her, she figured she could wait. "I'm not that hungry, I think I'll just wait" They had to go back to civilization eventually, and when they did, she'd go to the first burger king she could find. The conversation switched from food to Tahra, as she stood and handed Kaito the tracking device she'd been fiddling with. Sophie wondered what she;d done to the thing. Niko wondered how she'd managed to do anything with the beat up computer Stal had given her. They both moved closer so they could watch as the virus played out on the screen in front of them.

Niko and Sophie both watched the device as Tahra's virus took over. Sophie seemed transfixed, but every now and again, Niko looked to Tahra. This was all very, very impressive, but also very risky. he didn't know much about computers, but he knew hacking when he saw it. And most places now had something that could alert them to such a thing. Not that Tahra seemed to be...hiding, as the ending played and the little dragon appeared. it was a taunt a taunt to the hunters. That was both amazing, and risky. It seemed Tahra liked to walk the line, and Niko could appreciate, and keep up with such a mentality. However, he didn't think Sophie and Kaito could, or wold want to. This new dragon was quite interesting indeed. Sophie could hardly believe what they had just seen, the device went nuts and then shut itself down. If this stopped them from working, maybe they would be safe to go home sooner than they'd thought. she didn't voice these thoughts however, because Tahra stood and asked Niko to step outside with her.

She arched an eyebrow as Niko looked to the other dragon. "...Yeah, we can step outside" he looked to Sophie, who immediately looked away."...Stay put" he said, sternly. Sophie rolled her eyes. "i'm not a child, i don;t need you ordering me around" Niko shrugged and gestured to the door. "Well, let's just..." he stepped out of the room and through the front door. He waited on the remains of the front porch, wondering what this was all about. Once he was gone, Sophie looked to Tahra. "...he's waiting" she said stiffly. It wasn't until the other dragon left that Sophie grabbed a pillow and threw it across the room in a huff.'I don't like her' she snapped, crossing her arms. She was acting like a child, but she was annoyed. Tahra had upset the nice little balance that had existed between herself, Kaito and Niko. Realizing Kaito was in the room, she took a breath and tried to calm down. Looking to the older dragon, she spoke. "...Do you think we can trust her...?" Sophie wasn't so sure, given her secretive nature.

pyreshadow · Jan 21, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

There was a grin on Tahra's lips as the other woman was ordered to stay put; if she didn't want to be treated like a child, she should just grow up some and be done with it. How these two put up with her, Tahra couldn't be sure but in the small span she'd been here she found out a couple of things: for one, it was fun to tease Sophie. For another, the girl pretended to be all 'grown up' when she didn't have a clue as to what life was really like. Kaito was...questionable as he was neither here nor there. It was hard to get a read on him since he seemed the type to go with the flow of things in a way. The only one that Tahra could say she really wanted to know more about was Niko, but that was only if she stayed with them after this little adventure. Green eyes followed Niko outside before moving back to Sophie when she spoke so stiffly. A quick chuckle left her lips before she brought her hand up and blew a kiss to the other woman. Oh she knew that Sophie didn't like her, it was oh so obvious. That was fine with her, it wasn't like she was trying to make any friends. After that, she turned on her heel and left the room without another word.

Kaito kept quiet during the exchange, a bit surprised more as he wondered just what she wanted to talk to Niko about. More importantly, why did it have to be a secret? As much as he wanted to think on it some, a pillow whizzing in front of his vision towards the door caused him to blink in more surprise before following it. He stared at the pillow for a long moment then turned to look at Sophie when he heard her snap. "Clearly you don't." Kaito watched her for a moment, wondering why she didn't like the other woman. She was a bit...eccentric sure but he felt she meant well. "I think we can, yes. As much as she has her secrets, I don't think she means any harm to us. She probably has her reasons for acting the way that she is but we should try to give her a chance. She already helped us greatly by taking care of the devices." Even if Kaito didn't have a clue as to how she had done it. Curiously, he got up and walked over to the laptop to look it over. The screen was black with some words flashing across the screen whenever something had been installed. Did she reset the computer? His brows furrowed slightly at that before shrugging as he realized he wouldn't get any information from that. "Why don't you like her, Sophie?" Kaito asked, bringing his curiosity to Sophie as he walked over to sit in the chair next to her.

Outside of the house, the door was closed tightly as Tahra stepped out and looked over Niko for a moment. She could go about this a couple of ways, either by being upfront about what Sophie said or by easing in to it. "I had heard that the hunters had caught someone some time ago. Just some rumors really that I clarified after hearing them." Not that she had known back then that Niko had been the dragon, nor was she anywhere near this city at the time either. "I clarified something just now too while I was looking implanting the virus." Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through a couple of pages until she found the picture of what she wanted. Tahra stepped closer and held out the phone, showing a picture of a heartscale that had detailed information underneath of the kinds of tests that were done and still needed to be done on it. It also showed the most up to date information, which was about a week ago saying how the weapon the heartscale was supposed to be set to had been delayed. Again. Up at the top of the screen was the symbol of the hunters organization. "You said that you're impaired. Does it have something to do with this?" She paused, watching his face for his reaction. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I have a feeling I already know. It's still intact you know. Why not go get it and complete your scale again?"

StarryKnights · Jan 22, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Niko had no clue what Tahra would want with him and him alone. It didn't seem out of her character though, she was clearly the type that kept things close to the vest. Niko could appreciate that, he was the same, leas he was before meeting Sophie. It had been rocky at first, but he had opened up to the younger dragon some, she had a funny way of setting him at ease. Perhaps it was her innocent nature, or maybe it was just how clueless she was about the real world. Either way, Niko had grown fond of their time together, and she was one of the few people he'd ever come to trust completely in his lifetime. Even if she was a bit of a child, he knew Sophie was loyal to a fault and would be there when he needed her to be. However, it wasn't Sophie who'd dragged him aside for a private conversation. As Tahra walked outside, he eyed the red haired woman curiously. "So, what's this all about?"

Sophie sighed and crossed her arms. "i just don't...she seems...reckless" she frowned. Tahra reminded her of girls she went to high school with, the kind that had their heads firmly lodged up their own butts, so much so they couldn't see, or didn't care, about the trouble they caused others. "...I just don't want her to drag Niko into something dangerous" she looked to Kaito. "...Like...she wants to attack the hunters...that's crazy right? I can't be the only one who thinks so..." But she knew Niko would probably go for an idea like that, and that scared her. he was a good friend and she didn't want to see him get hurt. "She doesn't seem the type to lay low...and isn't that what we're supposed to be doing/" she sighed. There was also the fact Tahra definitely looked down on her, and that would rub anyone the wrong way. Sophie prided herself on her ability to be friendly with anyone, but some people saw her open minded optimism as silly. Niko did, and she knew it, but at least he wasn't openly smug about it...usually. Sophie shook her head and chuckled softly. "Oh what does it matter what I think..." she smiled sadly. 'it doesn't really matter...i have no clue what to do....if I didn't have you guys.,.." then she'd be in a cage somewhere...

Niko's eyes went wide as tahra explained. How could she have known that he was....well, it was probably in the records...plus he had called himself impaired. he supposed it didn't take much to put two and two together... "H-how d-did you" he grabbed the phone and just stared at the picture for a moment, not even caring about the words underneath.The jagged scar left behind from losing his scale ached, knowing that somewhere, after all this time, the rest was in tact. Niko felt his blood burning, he'd given up hope on ever finding his scale some time ago. And now, here was the proof he'd been craving oh so desperately. After a few minutes, he handed back tahra's phone. "...I won't ask how you got this..." he said with a sigh. he was suddenly antsy, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He wanted to go after his scale, but knew doing so was suicide. "your clearly a smart girl. So you know what your suggesting is near suicide"

pyreshadow · Jan 22, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

"Hm. Maybe she is reckless, maybe she's just dauntless. We've only seen little tidbits of her so far so it's hard to actually say how she actually is. To top it off, she has her guard up around us despite the fact that we're dragons. It could very well just be a cover for how she really is." Kaito more thought out loud on that one as he'd been trying to figure Tahra out since she woke up. She was a strong fighter, a smart woman -clearly-, secretive, and was likely mixed up in something dangerous other than the hunters. That much he knew but the rest was all speculation. He could see why Sophie would be worried though since it involved Niko. Sophie didn't agree with the idea of fighting the hunters at all but Kaito couldn't agree with that either. If they never fought back, then they'd be on the run forever. There were pros and cons of both sides. Bringing his hand up, he scratched lightly at his cheek for a moment as he glanced towards the door. A small sigh left his lips and the smile he gave to Sophie after was one that was more reassuring than anything.

"Sophie, your opinion is just as important as the rest of ours. Just because you don't know how to live this kind of life doesn't mean you should be so hard on yourself. The life you lived is one that most survivors would be envious of. Living with your actual blood family, being able to have that life of comfort. Most of us aren't that lucky." Kaito's eyes darted to the side as he was one of the ones that wasn't so lucky on the family side but he couldn't say his life was bad. He knew there were those much worse off than he was. Quickly shaking his head, he brought the smile back to her as he leaned back in his chair some. "If you want such a life back though...you will need to learn to fight and survive in this kind of life. I can't agree with going directly to their headquarters but...I do agree with Tahra on fighting back against the hunters. If we don't, we'll be on the run from them until our last breath or until we're caught. Fighting gives us a chance of proper freedom." It was better than searching for the one place dragons could still live peacefully in this world; a land hidden away from most civilization, off all charts and radars. It was like a fairy tale really and Kaito didn't really believe in it.

The reaction Niko had given was the exact one that Tahra had been hoping for; the scale really did belong to him and he had been the one that was imprisoned before. She kept quiet and gave him all the time he needed to look over the scale, not once letting her gaze fall from him. A hand went to her hip while the other took the phone back after a few minutes of silence. A nod was given as thanks for him not asking any questions about the how of her information, which she wouldn't have explained anyway. It was better he didn't know. The question he did ask though caused her to grin a bit mischievously. "If you went by yourself then yes, it would be suicide." Slowly she leaned a bit closer to look him in the eye better. "But since I'll be going with you, the chances of success are much higher. I'm sure you can piece together some of what I do, considering how I changed the algorithm of the device. All I can say is that I'm a hacker of sorts but that's all you need to know. This isn't the first and probably not the last 'suicide' mission I'll be doing either." Stepping back again, her arms crossed over her chest some before continuing. "I can get us in and we can get your scale back but I don't think it's a good idea for you to tell Kaito or Sophie. The less they know, the better since they don't really seem the type to care much for taking risks like this. I'm going to help you, partly as thanks for saving me and partly because I need to see something when we're there."

StarryKnights · Jan 24, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Sophie shook her head. "your just saying that..." she frowned. Her life hadn't prepared her for this, and now she wasn't sure of she'd be able to hack it. All she could do was try, but right then she didn't know what she should be doing. It felt like they were stuck in a vacuum, just waiting for something else to happen. Kaito wanted to fight back too, though not nearly as directly as Tahra wanted. She wondered who Niko would agree with, though she could guess. he was the type to fight tooth and nail after all. She didn't think she'd ever be able to do that, shed been raised to never harm a fly. The idea of her fighting anyone was enough to make her chuckle. Standing, she peeked out the window and saw Niko and Tahra talking, both looked very excited, they were also very...close. She scowled at that and sat back down in a chair beside Kaito. "Well, they seem to be getting along" She rolled her eyes. Those two were probably up to something no good, but Sophie didn't care enough to go out and interrupt them.

Niko arched an eyebrow and took a step back, he wasn't comfortable being so close to people. "Okay, so you and I get me scale back...what about them" he looked to the window, catching a glimpse of Sophie as she moved away. "Your right, this sort of thing is too dangerous for them...but we can't just ditch them" As much as he hated to admit it,Sophie's idea about sticking together wasn't all bad. They had a better shot at survival if they acted together,most of the time at least. This sort of operation would be better off with fewer players though. And if something went wring, then Sophie could stay with Kaito, at least she wouldn't be all on her own. Niko put his hands in his pockets and looked back to tahra. "...i have someone who might be able to help us with this...but I need help getting ahold of her"

it had been some time since his last contact with mai, and her number was no longer working. "She could tell us more about the layout of the place, and the staff numbers..." he also wanted a first hand recount of what had been done with his scale. Tahra's reports touched on it, but Niko was the kind of person who preferred to get his infomation in person, if possible. He was itching to get started, after so many years, he had a tiny glimmer of hope at being whole again. this wouldn't be without its dangerous, using his powers was a great was to exhaust the impaired fire dragon, leaving him open to capture. he figured he'd tell tahra more about that later though, all they weere doing was planning at the moment.

pyreshadow · Jan 24, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

"No I'm not, I'm telling you how I feel. If I was just going to say something to try to make you feel better, I'd talk about how you're fine the way you are and you don't need to change anything. But I don't want to talk just for talking, which is why I'm telling you the truth of things. You may not like it very much but you'll need to learn some things to make being on the run easier for all of us, not just yourself." Kaito still spoke in a gentle tone, hoping that he was somehow getting to her. He didn't want to sound like he was telling her what to do though so a small sigh left his lips shortly after. "I'm just giving you friendly advice, take it as you will. I personally would like it though if nothing happened to you." Which truthfully, between him and Niko, that should be enough to protect her from the hunters. More so if Tahra ended up staying with them since it was clear she was a fighter. Seeing Sophie get up, his eyes peeked in the direction that she was looking before he ended up letting out a small chuckle. "Are you jealous, Sophie?" He asked her in a slightly teasing tone more to try to get her to calm down some than anything. "It's fine that they're getting along, that means Tahra will be more likely to stay with us. Our chances of survival would go higher if she did so I'm not opposed to it. But you know...maybe she just needs time to open up to us. If you start hating her now, then she'll definitely keep herself closed off and it'll stay this way. Why not give her a proper chance?"

The mention of 'them' caused Tahra to glance over her shoulder towards the window for a moment, knowing he was referring to Kaito and Sophie. Ditching them had crossed her mind but she also knew it wasn't an option for Niko even before he said it. "I have a safe house on the outskirt of the city that they can stay in for the time being. It's fully stocked with proper food and has the works; bed, bath, yadda yadda. Security's tight there too so no one would be able to get in. They can stay there until we come back." Tahra suggested as she brought her gaze back to Niko. Although when he mentioned having a contact that might help, she eyed him up and down curiously before the smile on her face grew a bit more. If that was the case, that would make it much easier to get in and out of the place without having to worry about finding those blueprints she was going to look in to. "That can also be done at my safe house. The computer here was good for what I wanted to do but I'll need my proper equipment to get in contact with this person without being traced. This shanty town is good for cover but if we want to get things done, it'll be better to go to my safe house."

StarryKnights · Jan 24, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Sophie went bright red at Kaito's comment, she crossed her arms and shook her head. "NO! I'm not jealous, I just..." she scowled. Why did she have to explain this to him? She didn't like Tahra and so she didn't like the fact that Niko was talking to her. Sophie found her reckless and rude...calling her a kid... She wasn't a kid. She tapped her fingers against her arm rest. Sure, Tahra staying with them meant they were all safer, but Sophie couldn't see the two of them ever really getting along. "...I will do my best to be polite..." she said, looking to Kaito. "...but I don't think we'll be friends...I'm not..." she didn't know how to say it exactly. "...I'm not rough around the edges like her..." and she didn't want to be. What Kaito was saying was true, she would have to adapt to this new life on the run, but she would never be as...experienced as Niko, or any of them for that matter. She pulled her knees up and rested her head on them. Right then, she was wishing she could go home and forget this whole mess, but she couldn't leave the others behind, if something happened to them Sophie would never forgive herself. Thinking of home made her feel a bit better, she chuckled, softly, as the memory of her parents cheating at cards came to mind. It was an odd thing to be remembering at a time like this, but Sophie was willing to let her mind wander from her unfortunate circumstance.

Setting her feet back to the floor she peeked out the window. "i wonder when they'll be done with this little meeting"

Niko smirked. "You seem to have all your ducks in a row...so tell me, how far is it to this safe house?" It sounded like the ideal place to plan out their assault on the hunter's headquarters, and to keep Sophie and Kaito safe. He didn't doubt the older man could handle himself, but once Niko was gone he'd be looking after Sophie. She wouldn't like being left behind, but it was for her own good. She was going to be learning how harsh this world could really be, but that was no reason to drag her straight into the fire. If this went bad, Niko would be fine with paying the price, but he could never ask Sophie, or anyone for that matter, pay that cost with him. He knew Tahra had to be outlining the attack as they spoke, he wondered if she factored in the probability of failure. Niko was always ready for it, it was foolish to always assume you would have the upper hand. If someone had to go down for all of this, he'd rather it be himself than Tahra.

Niko looked to the window again and smirked when he saw Sophie peeking out at the two of them. "We should probably tell them we're heading out, no sense is sticking around and pestering Stal" the old man would get cranky if they stayed to late, and no one wanted to deal with that. he motioned to the door and smirked at Tahra. "Ladies first"

pyreshadow · Jan 25, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

The blush made Kaito curious if she was being honest with herself or not but he wasn't going to say anything else on that. Clearly Sophie had her reasons for not liking Tahra and whatever they really were, it was going to be hard to get her to change her mind about them. She was still willing to be polite though, that was the important thing. "You don't have to be rough around the edges like her, Sophie. You each had your own lives and you are two different people. No one is asking you to change, we're asking you to adapt. Your innocence is cute, and I do like it, but it won't help you should something happen to us or we're separated." Kaito was just worried that she might not be able to fend for herself should they not be around. He wasn't going to assume that something was going to happen to himself or to Niko but the possibility was always there. With his piece said, he let the silence hang in the air as Sophie seemed to be thinking about something good. The way she chuckled was enough to tell him that. Finally, she stood again and looked through the window. "Soon? I don't know what they're discussing but it must have been important for Tahra to want that privacy. Maybe she knows a better place we can hide out in." It was wishful thinking at best but he was still hoping something along those lines.

Tahra shrugged at the comment and gave Niko an innocent look. "With my kind of work I have to be prepared for anything. It won't take too long to get there from here, maybe twenty minutes? Unless I drive, then it'd be less but that's because I tend to speed." She admitted with a chuckle since she was used to her babies; two cars that she absolutely loved as they were perfect for her. Thankfully by going back to the safe house for now she could get one of them at least. The other was still at the apartment further in to the city so that she probably wouldn't be able to get to for a while. It would also be the fastest way to get to the facility his scale was in too since her car was by far better than the car they had come in. Once they were there, it'd be an in and out type of job so long as she was able to maintain the security; which she needed to look into once they got back to her place. A glance over her shoulder towards the window was given when Niko spoke about them before she gave a small nod. "Sure, I think we're all set anyway until I get more information from my computer." Her eyes darted to the door for a moment after she spoke before she let out a small laugh. "Why, thank you." Tahra playfully curtsied even though she wasn't wearing a skirt before she went back inside first. Dark eyes went to her when she was back in the room and she ended up just giving Kaito an innocent smile. "We're heading out."

"To where?" Kaito was a bit surprised by the sudden news as he eyed first Tahra and then Niko.

"A place that's better than this and far more protected. A safe house. It's also got food that isn't expired either so you'll be able to eat a proper meal once we get there." Tahra explained simply enough, leaving out the fact that she and Niko had other plans as well. As much as Kaito was still a bit surprised by that, he turned his attention to Sophie as he wondered what she might think of the news. To him, the thought of being able to stay in a place that was more protected was ideal; especially if it had proper food too, that killed two birds with one stone.

"And you couldn't have told us this as a group?" He asked after a moment, bringing his gaze back to her. Her own didn't falter but instead a more playful look crossed her features.

"I could have, sure. But then I wouldn't have been able to spend a few minutes alone with a cutie like Niko." Even her tone was playful as she said it and really it was a partial truth; she did think he was some nice eye candy but that wasn't her reason and he knew it. The other two just didn't need to know.

StarryKnights · Jan 25, 2017

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Niko wondered if Tahra's plans ever held a small margin for error, no matter how good someone was, eventually, thing would go bad. It was just how the world worked. "It never hurts to be prepared for a set back" he said with a shrug. Niko had back up plans on top of back up plans, the real issue he had was most of those plans didn't involve another person. He was making a lot f things up as he went since meeting Sophie. That aside, she had a god idea at the moment, so there was no sense in thinking to hard about the odds of failure. Once they were relocated, they could worry about their next steps. Niko stood behind Tahra, with his arms crossed as she addressed the others. Sophie perked up at the idea of leaving this gross place. Wherever Tara had in mind, it sounded way better than here. Food, beds and real shelter, it was almost a dream come true. Maybe Sophie had been judging her too harshly, she was offering them all her home and here Sophie was, judging her for something as petty as name calling. Perhaps Sophie just needed to give her another chance...

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Tahra smirked and made her comment about wanting to send time with Niko, and that thought went up in smoke. That partially a lie, and an attempt to annoy Sophie, who just scowled at the older woman. Taking a breath, Sophie pushed back her growing irritation. "Well, you two are cute together..." she looked to Niko, who wasn't even paying attention. "The grungy, half put together look Niko rocks suits you Tahra"

Niko blinked and looked to the group as he heard his name. "Uh...what are you talking about.../" He looked from Tahra to Sophie, who shot him a dirty look before looking away. Had he done something wring? What in gods name did he do in the last five minutes to upset Sophie? He had a bad feeling she'd tell him, later. "Whatever, why don't we pack up and leave...I'll drive" he looked to Tahra. "We don't need to be pulled over for speeding" It was too risky, Niko had no idea how deep the reach of the hunters went If they had any contact with the police, a simple traffic stop could spell doom for all of them. "You guys head to the car, I'll let Stal now what's going on, poor old man gets confused otherwise..." Niko headed for the other room leaving the three of them alone. Once he was gone, Sophie stood and dusted herself off. "...So...where is this place exactly...?" she asked, looking to Tahra. Sophie wondered how one girl could afford such a well stocked home, Sophie could barely afford to eat after paying all her bills and rent.

The thought made her realize that she was going to have to pay her rent soon, or else her land lord would be pissed. All her things were back home, and she couldn't go there now. She 'd just have to use a computer after Tahra was done with, whatever it was she dd with the things. Niko walked back out a few minutes later, and headed out to the car and got in the driver's seat. Sophie was sitting in the spot behind him, looking out the window. "Buckle everyone" Niko said as he clicked the belt into place.

pyreshadow · Jan 26, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

Tahra had unintentionally pissed of Sophie again, not that she particularly cared. The words from the other woman just caused her to let out a small laugh as her arms crossed over her chest. "Aw, don't be jelly Sophie. You're pretty cute too you know, with all that innocence you've got going on. You're my type too, you know." Tahra was teasing the other woman still, even though it was actually still the truth also. She doubted that Sophie would piece that together and probably thought she was just purposefully trying to annoy the other woman. It was fun, sure, but not exactly on the top of her things to think about.

"Okay, Tahra. Hold back on the teasing, all right?" Kaito interjected, causing the redhead to flick her gaze to him curiously. She just let out a hum as she thought about how it was funny he was trying to protect Sophie. If she wasn't so easy to rile up then it wouldn't be so easy to tease her. She ended up shrugging lightly, her attention moving to Niko as he mentioned packing up. It wasn't like there was anything to grab since they didn't bring much to begin with. Tahra had all her things on her already and none of the others seemed to have brought anything.

"Sure, that's fine. Better safe than sorry." A saying that she didn't quite like but in this case it was true. They didn't know if the hunters had their clutches on some of the police so it would be better to not get caught. He walked off, so Tahra let herself stretch a little more as she was finally feeling more like herself again now that the medicine she had given to herself was kicked in. Her eyes darted to Sophie for a brief moment before she focused back on what she was doing. "It's about twenty minutes from here, on the outskirts of the city. You'll see it soon enough." Since it was a small warehouse-like building, it'd be hard to miss; on the outside, it would look like a completely abandoned building until they got to the side of the place. Tahra was already thinking about some of the questions her security would ask her after the first two layers of security were gotten through. She didn't notice that Niko had come back until Kaito stood up and gave a nod to show they were ready. They followed him out to the car, Kaito settling in to the back seat next to Sophie while Tahra went to the passenger seat up front. Her phone was pulled out and she started playing a game on it, one of those fantasy adventure type ones.

"From where we're at, go on to the main road that the shanty town has and follow it until you reach the tower that's near the unplantable field. From there, turn right and stay on that dirt road for a while." Tahra instructed in a polite tone even though her focus was solely on the game now. "There's a couple of turns that'll be easy to miss but I'll let you know those when we get closer."

Livia Hayes

Livia was laying on the king-sized bed in her room, staring at the ceiling as she recalled the events of the day. Their luck for finding three dragons had run dry as they hadn't been able to do much of anything about it. Then not reporting it in when they first needed to. The device being stolen by one of the dragons. Even worse was the accidents that had been caused by one of the dragons, which was blamed on Livia and Sahara since they hadn't done what they were told to do. Needless to say, the lecturing had been endless and tiring. They were both put on cafeteria duty for two weeks as punishment, along with a dock in pay, and not being able to go on any missions for the two weeks. It was a bit much in Livia's opinion but she wasn't going to argue with Victoria. That was the main reason she had been in her room to begin with was to try to sleep or at least get her mind to shut off; no matter what she tried to do though, it didn't help. A heavy sigh left her lips as she rolled over on to her side and closed her eyes, ready to try again. In that moment, an alarm went off in her room before she heard Victoria's voice on the intercom.

"Hayes, report to the meeting room on the second floor. Immediately." There was a hint of annoyance as much as there was the slightest bit of panic in her voice that caused Livia to furrow her brows in slight confusion. Weren't they just suspended pretty much? Why was Victoria calling for her? It didn't make any sense but she got up nonetheless as she didn't want to make the other woman wait any longer than needed. Her boots were thrown on as she hadn't bothered to change yet, so she was walking the halls in normal attire. Some stares were shot her way since it wasn't a normal sight for in the building but they were all ignored as she made her way to the second floor. Already she could see some of the other candidates that had been selected for this mission filing in to the meeting room. So that meant anyone that had a device had been called on...which meant Sahara would be here too. Livia tried looking for the other woman but she didn't see her quite yet. Silently, she settled in one of the seats near the back and watched Victoria pace a little in the front of the room. It was...quite nerve-wracking to see the usually stoic woman pace like that. What happened?

"Take your seats. Once everyone is here, I have an announcement of dire importance. So no dilly-dallying." The woman barked out, quickly earning the rest of the candidates' attention so they could settle faster than they had been.

StarryKnights · Jan 29, 2017

Sahara Cephres

"It was sooooo much fun!" Sahara sad cheerily to the shorter, dark haired girl beside her.

The two were walking through the lower halls, the research ward. Usually only scientists and researchers were allowed down here, but Sahara visited often to see Mai. Mai was a gifted scientist, and despite her young age, had made a number of break through during her time here. her father, Dr. Acantha, had been the head of the anti dragon weapon, a coveted position that earned him a lot of enemies. When his health failed, the project was handed over to a different researcher, and Mai was appointed to it. She studied the heart scale sample and worked won a team f others to uncover how it was connected to a dragon's vitality and powers. Mai was young, barely sixteen, but she was smart beyond her years. She worked full time for the organization, while attending school. She didn't have a lot of free time, and therefore, not a lot of friends. She wasn't particularly popular with the other scientists and the like, who often thought she rode her father's coat tails to get in. Sahara and her had met a few years ago, when they both joined the company. And despite Mai's best efforts, Mai hadn't been able to chase the other woman away. Deep down, she enjoyed having someone to talk to, but right now, Sahara's prattling about how her mission had gone was giving the younger girl a headache.

When the loudspeaker crackled to life, Mai winced and rubbed her aching temples. "Cephres, report to the meeting room on level two, and do not be late" Victoria's cross, yet disturbed intrigued Sahara, who normally would've taken her sweet time getting upstairs. Smiling to Mai, Sahara spoke. "Seems like I'm needed...which is odd, given my recent suspicion...ah well" she tousled the younger girl's hair before waving goodbye. "Talk to you later" Sahara called as she took off toward the stairs, she took them two at a time as she responded to her summons.

Once she was gone, Mai breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that everyone was on alert, given the recent hacking. The devices were trashed, a sophisticated virus was causing them to short circuit once they were turned on. Honestly, Mai was impressed with the level of coding, but it was only a matter of time before the virus was fixed. The devices would be better for it too, with buffed defenses against cyber attacks. It would make Mai's self appointed task to destroy them all the harder. If they could track dragons, it meant they'd get more live samples. And live samples meant they would get access to more heart scale...which would allow them to complete their weapon, and Mai's project. The teen frowned. She couldn't allow that to happen.

Sahara slipped into the meeting room, spotting Livia she plopped down in the seat beside her. "Hey...so uh...why does Victoria look so uh....upset?" she whispered softly, looking to her comrade. "Never seen any expression aside from anger and disappointment"

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Niko just chuckled as Sophie got all riled up. Her reactions only made it more fun to tease her, though he knew it was cruel. Sophie was a bit on the sensitive side, so it wasn't hard to get a reaction out of her. Why she got upset at the notion of Tahra jokingly suggesting that he was attractive was beyond him. Sophie had never displayed any outward sign that she was interested in him, at least none that Niko had picked up on. Even if she had, she was a bit young for him, and she was too innocent. Niko both loved, and hated this trait, it could be refreshing at times, but it also made her borderline unbearable. Sophie was a good friend, but Niko doubted their relationship would ever move past that stage. Honestly, with how Sophie acted around Kaito, Niko had figured that Sophie had a thing for him. The way he stuck up for her as Tahra teased Sophie only furthered Niko's assumption. Sophie smiled as Kaito chimed in to defend her, though he didn't have to. "It's alright Kaito..." she said with a sigh.

Tahra was annoying, Sophie would do her best to just ignore the red head. It would probably make this all easier for everyone. She wondered about Tahra's comment though, perhaps the dragon sung both ways? That would be....unusual, but if that was the case, she supposed Tahra's teasing had been a backwards compliment of sorts... Sophie had never fathomed being with a woman romantically, but somehow the idea didn't sound terrible. Sophie pondered this as Niko drove, following Tahra's directions. It was a quiet drive, as Niko left the radio off. He drove right at the speed limit, and did his best to avoid anything to attract the attention of law enforcement. A few patrol men passed by, but none so much as look twice in their direction. For the moment, the group of dragons were back to flying under the radar.

pyreshadow · Jan 29, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

The drive itself was peaceful for Tahra, it gave her the time to gather her thoughts while she played the mindless game of hers. Being around other dragons after so long was quite shocking still but none of that showed through. She didn't allow it to as she had to keep up the persona of someone that didn't take things quite so seriously. Although she really did, she imagined that they wouldn't take her so well if she let on how she really was because of her job. That was one of the main reasons why she played the game in the first place. Every now and then she'd glance up and tell Niko to turn or keep going, whichever happened to be the right way to go. Eventually, after about twenty minutes of driving, she put her phone away and pointed to an abandoned looking warehouse that was nearing them. It was small but bigger than a one story single family home. The large double doors were ignored as they were chained off, along with other security measures that the others didn't really need to know about. The redhead told Niko to park on the side of the building, where a few stairs led to a single door with some kind of scanner on the left of it.

"This is your home?" Kaito asked in surprise, eyeing the building with a growing curiosity.

"Yeah...well, sort of. I have an apartment in the city also but this is where I frequent the most." Mostly because of her work but she couldn't really say that. Her phone was put away as she got out of the car and twisted her back in both directions to stretch it. While she was heading to the door, Kaito got out as well and followed her towards it. Of course, he stayed back a few paces because the door didn't really look like an ordinary door. Which was just made even more obvious as Tahra bent slightly in front of the panel on the left; a light came out and scanned her eyes for a few seconds before dissipating. A click was heard, followed by the panel shifting so Tahra could place her palm on it.

"You weren't kidding about security measures." Kaito mumbled out as he watched her palm being scanned, though the most she did was glance at him to acknowledge him.

"Please say 'I want to be your cat' in Arabic." A computerized woman's voice spoke from the door itself.

"Arabic?" This time Tahra actually turned to look at Kaito with slight surprise of her own.

"Yeah, Arabic. Don't they teach you that in school?" She spoke as though it was the most obvious thing in the world before saying the words in what had to be Arabic. Kaito wasn't sure since he didn't know the language but he had to admit, this was pretty impressive. Impressive but also scary in a way. He ended up glancing at Niko and Sophie as he wondered what was going on in their heads before a louder click caught his ear. Tahra opened the door and then made a motion for the others to go through first. "If you head straight down the hall and take the first right, that leads to the 'living room' of sorts. It's got a tv and couches and the works. I'm going to get something to drink for you guys, so please make yourselves at home. Anyone want anything in particular? There's beer, soda, water...the juice is probably bad though so don't count that." She looked them over as she waited with the door opened, not really phased by Kaito still trying to process how secure the place was. In a way he kind of wished he knew Tahra earlier because this kind of security would get them pretty far. Even if he didn't know why she needed all of that, he had to imagine it had something to do with how she put that virus on the device.

Livia Hayes

Livia glanced over to her partner as the other woman sat down before shrugging her shoulders lightly. They weren't told anything about what was going on, not because they were on suspension, but because anything that happened was usually kept secret unless it pertained to them directly. "I don't know but it's the first I've seen her look so distraught too." Livia couldn't really say much else on the matter as the woman in question turned to look the group over with narrowed eyes. She stepped to the side after a moment to allow two pictures to show up on the white board behind her; one was the Asian that Livia and Sahara followed and the other was the redhead that they were supposedly bringing in.

"Today was supposed to be a good day, one that we go to test out our new devices and see if there are any beasts within the city. Thanks to our reports, we have confirmed that there are four of them, not just the two that you see before you. The male, going by the name of Kaito Iwasa, we are almost done gathering his information as we speak. The female, we know nothing about as it seems like she's erased from any database we can get our hands on. All we know of her is what you see. The other two are not confirmed except for a written description that has been e-mailed to each of you, along with the information we know of these two." Victoria pointed to the pictures before her eyes went from Livia to one of the members that had been in the group going after the redhead. "Two of you fucked up today but I'm being forced to overlook it. Our devices have been hacked in to by one of these dragons and a virus has been implanted in to them. For the time being, you are not to use them until I give the order otherwise you'll risk destroying the device. The creators of it are already working hard to get rid of the virus but it'll take some time. So you'll be going blind." There were some murmurs from some of the people in the room but the fierce glare from Victoria shut them up real quick.

"You will be going out in pairs but will be teaming up with experienced hunters. The redhead was supposed to have been in our hands right now but somehow, she escaped and took out most of the unit that was supposed to bring her in. Cooper is the only one left." There was a bit of solemness in her tone as she eyed the man, his own expression grim and tired. "They are dangerous and I fear they might be working together now, all four of them. Hayes, Cephres. As much as I feel this is going to be a mistake, orders are orders. You two are being reinstated and will be going out with the rest of them. Don't fuck up again or you're punishment will be worse off than what it was this time around. You'll find your assignment and whom you'll be working with in your e-mail as well. Be mindful of your surroundings since you can't track them with the heat signatures right now. And if you find these beasts, bring them back. Unconscious but alive. Any questions?"

StarryKnights · Jan 29, 2017

Sahara Cephres

Sahara memorized the appearance of the two dragons before, her but once again she couldn't help but note the male dragon, Kaito, was rather attractive.She kept this thought to herself, as this was a serious matter. With the devices hacked, tracking these beasts would be difficult, especially given that two were yet to be identified. All they had was a basic description, one was a male, the other female. There wasn't a lot to go off of right now, and the creatures had proved that they were dangerous. Her gaze flickered to Cooper, the only one to escape unscathed from the red head's assault. Cornered beasts always fought back the hardest, it was a basic survival instinct. When the beasts were dragon, that meant anything could happen. Sahara the situation was s dire, otherwise she and Livia would be stuck on toilet duty. Sahara got out her phone and checked her email, looking to Livia she grinned. "Seems today wasn't a total loss". They had a chance to catch the dragons that had slipped through their fingers, and they were working with an experienced hunter. Sahara was excited.

Mai was not. The girl watched the briefing through the building security cameras. She'd hoped with the devices inactive, she'd have some time to plan her next move. She needed to contact Niko, but lacked the ability to do so. Niko lacked a device she could contact him through... However... Two of their training devices had been stolen, most likely by the dragons. One of them had hacked their device, so tracking it would be troublesome... However, that still left another one unaccounted for. Switching off the security feed, Mai set to work. Perhaps she could contact Niko and his new found friends through the stolen devices.

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts

Niko arched an eyebrow as they drove up to the warehouse. It wasn't a little shack like he'd been anticipating, however, he didn't know why he expected any less of Tahra. Niko parked where he was told and followed Tahra and Kaito up the stairs to the door with the scanner. Whatever Tahra did for a living, it was dangerous enough to warrant all this security. He figured it was some sort of high stakes thief sorta thing, but it didn't really matter. Kaito and Sophie would be safe here, while he and Tahra got his scale back. Assuming all went well, they would be able to hide here, after taking back what was rightfully his. The fact she could speak Arabic was surprising, as Niko had never heard of any school teaching it. Of course, he never went to school himself. "...Sophie...did your school teach Arabic?" he asked as Tahra opened the door. Sophie shook her head. "...No...it offered French and Spanish..." Niko chuckled. He wondered what other surprises Tahra had for them.

Sophie's eyes went wide as they all walked inside. The place was huge, how one person could use all this space was beyond her. She barely registered Tahra's offer of drinks as she headed up the stairs to the "living room".

She was just thrilled to be in a place with a proper roof over her head, and real food. Tahra might be aggravating, but she certainly had the best place to lay low. "...So...now what?" Sophie asked, looking to Kaito and Niko. "...Do we just...stay here or...?" Niko nodded. "For now, yes, we remain here The hunters are likely regrouping, but without their trackers, they shouldn't be able to find us out here" As Niko spoke, there was a loud ping that filled the air. Sophie pulled out her phone, only to find it had died. "...That's not me guys..." She said, looking to the boys. Niko looked to Kaito. "I don't suppose you have a cell phone...?" The ping sounded again, this time louder. Niko didn't have a cell phone, which made contacting Mai an issue. The ping sounded again, and again, more and more rapidly. Niko looked to Kaito. "...Do you still have the other stolen tracker?"

pyreshadow · Jan 29, 2017

Tahra Casey and Kaito Iwasa

Seeing as the offer wasn't paid attention to, Tahra chuckled a little. It was probably surprising to see all of what she had going on but it would be more surprising to see her computer set up. Lucky for her that was in a separate, locked room so they wouldn't get that she really was a hacker. At least not outright. The door shut tight behind them and the redhead followed the three other dragons to the living room area. It was spacious and had just enough furniture to make it seem pretty homey; a large couch that looked like it could fit four people, two smaller single person chairs that matched the design, an entertainment center with a large television and a lot of movies in the case itself, and even a couple of game consoles; the video games were in the drawers underneath. On the other side of the room was a desk, a leather swivel chair, and a laptop that was much nicer than the one she used at the shanty town. Of course, it was much newer and suited her needs for other things but it wasn't her actual computer she used for work. There were two other doors as well, one on the left wall and the other directly across from them that led elsewhere in the warehouse.

Tahra's eyes darted to Sophie when she hesitatingly asked about whether they'd be staying here or not. Kaito seemed interested in the answer as well but it also seemed like he was expecting the answer that came. His mouth opened to comment on it but paused when the ping sounded near. He pulled out his phone to check it and, much like Sophie, realized it wasn't him. "I do have one but it wasn't me." Kaito replied to Niko before looking at Tahra, who was quick to shake her head that it wasn't her. So then where did it come from...? The more that the ping sounded though, Kaito came to realize it was indeed coming from him. Quickly his hands searched his pockets until he pulled out the device and realized it was coming from that. "Yeah, I have it and it's coming from here. What-" before he could continue, Tahra had walked over to him to take the device out of his hands. "Tahra-"

"Hush. The only ones that have access to this are the hunters and the ones that created the device in the first place. But it's not tracking us, it's something else." As she eyed the device, she walked over to her desk and opened the laptop. The cord she used earlier was pulled out of her pocket and hooked into the device first and then the laptop. "I think...someone's calling from it." Typing quickly, she executed a program on the computer as it pulled up a program to record and track where the call was coming from.

"Well don't answer it if that's what it is!" Kaito said quickly as he realized that was what she had been planning on doing.

"Why? We can get more information this way if we do. The program I'm using is encrypting it so it's not like they'd be able to track us or anything. Plus..." her voice trailed off a little as her eyes looked to Niko. "This person you know...they work for the hunters, don't they? This call could be from them if they've seen my little taunt. If you want to see for yourself, here. Just push the button here to answer." Tahra got up as she spoke before pointing to the screen where the mouse hovered over the button to answer the call.

Livia Hayes

"Anything is better than what we death with earlier." Livia spoke with a small sigh but also a chuckle at the same time. As much as she knew that they should have been punished for going against orders, she had a feeling it was her father that had something to do with getting them reinstated for this. Her cell was pulled out so that she could look over the e-mail that Victoria had mentioned. Their experienced hunter was...Nicholas Thompson. The man had been with the organization for more than ten years now so that was a plus. They could end up learning a lot from him, if he was willing to share. He was kind of distant from most people and hated working with partners. Hopefully that wouldn't hinder them in the long run.

"You all have an hour to find your hunters and prepare to leave. We need these dragons alive if possible but if you have no other choice...you take them out. We don't need another repeat of Cooper's team." Victoria eyed the man again before continuing. "You've done enough for the day though, you'll be reassigned to another group but for now take the rest of the day and tomorrow to gather yourself. You need to be at your best if you want to destroy these beasts." He gave a nod of understanding, so Victoria let out a small sigh. "Some of you will be on standby near the research facilities, others will be going out for the hunt. It's all in the e-mail. Good luck to you all. Dismissed." Victoria tried to sound like her normal self but it was clear there was much weighing on her mind. She left without another word, along with the guards that she had with her. Livia followed her figure for a moment before looking down at the e-mail once more to skim through it. A sigh left her lips when she read what they were assigned to.

"Great. Of course it'd be too good to be true for us to be reinstated so easily. We're on guard duty." Not just anywhere either but the Twilight's Edge Research Facility, the one that housed the heart scale that had been taken off of that dragon that escaped. What good would it be to be there? Another sigh left her lips before she slowly stood up even though she didn't really want to any longer. "I guess it's our own fault for being stuck babysitting a facility that doesn't need it. Should we try to find Thompson first or get our gear?" Not that they'd really need anything but Livia didn't plan on going anywhere without being prepared.

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A Spastic Collection of Characters and Ideas

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A Spastic Collection of Characters and Ideas

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