Fantasy &nbsp; The Dying World Beneath (IC)

Rustic · Jul 11, 2017

Chase had awoken from a dream about his wild night last night to the sun, which had just been starting to gently filter through the wide windows. Accompanying that sight was a rare, uncanny quietness, too, that just seemed to pervade throughout the building. It was a strange contrast to the mess of memory his mind had recreated for him only moments before. His eyes even blinked open to appreciate it, finding the familiar silence comforting. For a few moments, anyway. And he'd waited patiently through those moments, because he did like to think of himself as someone who could appreciate quiet moments. But like all moments, these moments passed by quick. And it wasn't like he could sit there and waste his other perfectly good moments. If it was daylight, he needed to get work, right away. That notion in mind, he'd hopped out of bed and onto his... hands, and hurriedly started to get a move on with his normal routine. He hadn't even gotten undressed the night before - he couldn't have been bothered at the time with something so tedious - so he'd went ahead and made his way to the door to turn the knob with his foot. With a practiced fidget and a kick, he'd managed pretty easily, and kept a move on in good time across the hallway. He hadn't see anyone on his way past, nor had he expected to. Not with the early time he usually got up, anyway. But like a rooster crowing in the morning, the quiet tapping of his hands pattering across the thin floorboards was the alarm to some regulars that heralded the start of a new day.

Unaware of that, though, he'd maneuvered his way all through the guild to the kitchen, his end goal. As he'd entered, he'd stopped for a moment, to get himself into a position that could read the clock on the stove. Once he'd managed, he strained his eyes, trying to make sense of it, before his face suddenly lit up in realization.

"Personal best!" he'd declared to himself in a childishly sing-song voice, making a soft, wide smile. With that, he'd finally flipped over and onto his feet with a small exhilaration. It had been the perfect note, in his opinion, to start breakfast on, and so he had. Throughout the morning, guild members found him there working jovially, doing his usual tricks with that uniquely odd and energetic flair. With varying reactions. Some were annoyed with this eternally perky and ostentatious gesturing, and some actually found themselves vaguely amused by the antics. But, overall, the response was lukewarm. These quirks of his had worked their way into their daily life, and while newer members tended to gawk or question them incredulously, this sort of thing had mostly become accepted. This was the personality one of of their boss's sons, after all. Better to ignore it.

Due to that general indifference, Chase was able to keep his lively mood going for awhile, but it started to peter out bit by the time he finished breakfast. Things were looking a bit sluggish, and while he found himself determined not to be deterred by the fact, he still found it a bit annoying. Most people were a bit too slow, sometimes, he felt. Sometimes a lot of times. But, knowing he had nothing more to do, he almost even found himself suppressing a sigh. What now? He usually ran off about this time to find something if he had no plans to go out, but he really wanted to hunt today. So he wandered around aimlessly. By the time he'd almost given up hope for the morning, a few minutes in, he heard a familiar ding from his phone. He had had the app already open and refreshing automatically, so he rose eagerly from his stretching position to get a good look at the new request. He didn't really bother with reading it much in depth, though; he only took a brief look at the face he'd need to be find and zipped off search for it. He didn't even take a second glance, but when he finally came upon the kitchen again and saw Fifer, he still stopped where he stood in recognition and joyfully started to wave to her.

"Oh, hey, partner!" he gushed excitedly, taking a moment to finally confirm his join request before moving in a relaxed way toward her. Once he started to get closer, and actually got a good look, he was even though he'd seen her around before, too, though he wasn't entirely sure. She did have a pretty unique face, but even then, he didn't have the best memory. Was something about her new? Something seemed new...

Well, it was rude to stare. And what mattered more to him was her apparently go-getter attitude of having the first job of the morning! He liked that, and so was pretty sure he already liked her. She seemed serious. He brushed himself up against the table she was sitting at and put his elbows up onto it casually.

"We haven't gone together before, have we?" he asked, blinking curiously before just smiling anyway, sticking his palms out and opening his fingers to gesture. "You're in for a treat!"(

DergTheDergon ) At that comment, one of the members around sort of snickered, but Chase didn't seem to mind, just staring toward her with a naive, hopeful look.

PanOtterPus · Jul 11, 2017

Gabriel had barely arrived back at the compound from a previous hunt before he heard the familiar ding of the Guild's app. He had been working for the Guild ever since he could remember - it was something of a family trade. Gabe snuffed out his cigarette, pulled out his small phone and opened up the request page of the app, barely reading before accepting the job. It didn't matter to him who or what he was hunting, he could hunt anything at any time and had started to gain a reputation for such things. Though, not being one for attention, he usually brushed it off as sheer luck.

Gabriel sauntered into the Guild's main building and made way to meet the others. So far it was only himself and two others, which made him smile. He liked small groups. Less attention. He came across the familiar faces - he had seen them around the area before - and gave them a short wave in greeting. "Just us, huh?" was all he could muster. The young lad, Chase, was known for his... enthusiasm and Gabe was aware of Fifer's lack of such in the morning. Well, this should be interesting...

----

Down below, in the hidden city of Deepvale, a redheaded male rose from his slumber with a great yawn. Orthrus gave an almighty stretch and slipped off of his bed, shivering as his bare feet hit the wooden floor. He trundled to his wardrobe, dressed himself and headed out for the day. He had been approached by the Organisation's leaders to help watch over the day's Gala, taking him away from his usual Gate Guard duties - a job he took seriously. Was he hell going to let his brother, Cerberus, have all the glory. Orthrus had accepted with honour and as such, he made his way to the town centre, waving a hello to the familiar faces that passed.

His job required that he maintain balance to entry and exit from the hidden city, which meant he knew each and every face, even if he didn't know the person behind it. If nothing else, the citizens all knew Orthrus. He was a young looking man - despite his incredible height - with almost flaming red hair, black eyes to match his soul, and the cheekiest grin on a man you could imagine. The man did his job well, usually scaring off any unwanted "tourists", and had become known for getting his job done any way he saw fit. So it was no surprise to him when he was asked to help out today.

In all honesty, Orthrus wasn't sure of the appeal to this whole love thing, but he figured he'd accept the job and go check it out anyway. If nothing else it would be amusing, right?

Rustic · Jul 12, 2017

The morning had come again. The first thing Naomi felt as she her mind came into focus was the comforting press of a body against her own, a soft but firm grip as close to her as the thicket of covers all around. She roused for only a moment, before letting her body just melt again to indulge in this tender touch. It was almost strange, to enjoy this. As she lazily laid there, she considered less pleasant times, less pleasant people. This was too intimate a position to be in with just anyone, at this time of day. But she wasn't worried. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and her head tilted up to smile at the familiar features of the woman next to her, her sister, Delilah. Deliliah smiled sleepily back, her own eyes drifting open too. As she seemed to become more alert, her smile stayed, but shifted into something almost pitying.

"You didn't go out last night," she said, a hint of sadness to her voice. It was a statement Naomi might've otherwise thought to contest, but it was just that - a statement. The two of them knew as much without having to say it, just from the fact they were together at the moment. Instead of troubling either of them by bothering with some fake, unconvincing pretense, Naomi just tiredly tucked herself closer in her sister's embrace.

"You are just... trying really hard with this dating thing," Delilah said again, softly. She broke the embrace for a moment to readjust, to move her arm back a ways so she could reach her hand over. Then, she gently brushed back the hair from Naomi's eyes. In a way, to Naomi, it felt almost like she was using her eyes to say what her mouth wouldn't; her sister had a concern that Naomi still hadn't acknowledged. The implicit accusation was a little hard to face, but Naomi stared back toward her anyway, knowing this moment was deserved. All of the succubi she considered 'sisters' had had worries that Naomi hadn't been going out enough lately - that she wasn't consuming enough energy. If she was honest with herself, they were sort of right. But... she was busy. A big part of that was being awake and nowadays making time to 'date', but, with other things, too. Other things was obligated to do. She just didn't have time like the others to spend interloping into the human world.

But the two of them knew this. Though Delilah especially disputed just how much time she should be giving to other people, they both knew the reasons for her busyness. And instead of trying to push the point in either direction, they had settled into this - just soaking in each other's company while it was available, trying to keep their words to themselves letting their eyes talk. It was good, for a few minutes, just to lie still and to feel safe. But, the real world called.

"Well, come on." It was not Naomi, but her sister, who broke the silence between them and started to pull herself up and out of bed. "You've been waiting for today. Once you get it out the way, you'll spend more time on you." Naomi wasn't sure if that statement was a speculation or a demand, but either way, she let it be, pulling herself up from the covers, too. Once she was out, she made her way over to a mirror, for what was maybe the only thing that qualified to her as a morning ritual. On the stand nearby, she picked up a magazine and began to flip through it, hearing her sister continue talking behind her, pacing.

"This whole thing should have been about you in the first place. I guess this is always how it works out, though, isn't it? If a lady doesn't protect herself, she's always the one holding the bag..."

"It'll be done soon," Naomi quietly said, poking her head out of the pages to reassure her. She wasn't sure if it was true, but the words fell out of her mouth anyway. She wasn't trying to pacify her sister, either, she knew. She wouldn't dare. The effort would be an insult to both of their competencies. So, maybe it was an attempt at optimism? Whether she was trying to give it to Delilah or herself, though, she couldn't say. They both wanted this to be over soon, for their own reasons. Her sister seemed to know this as well, as her temporarily dark expression softened again as she looked back over to her. Delilah blinked for a moment, but gave a thoughtful, reluctant nod.

"I hope so," she finally said. It was a more restrained than Naomi ever imagined to hear her sister sound, but she knew she heard an ounce of optimism there, too. That was enough to set her at ease. This was a just a temporary setback, even if it had her sisters worried. The harder she tried, the sooner this program, and it's repercussions, would be past them. In the meantime, it would be okay. In the meantime, her sister walked over and touched a hand to the page Naomi was reading.

"That's a good look for summer this year," she commented. Naomi couldn't see her sister's face, but she knew, somehow, that there was a smile on it. And that was more than just okay.

It had been a surprisingly tense morning, everything considered, but once she had gotten the earliest part of it out of the way, things had almost seemed normal. Her sister had helped her with her makeup again, and had even gone out of her way to help her decide what she should wear tonight. She hadn't expected that sort of support, so she'd appreciated the gesture that much more. So, when Naomi had finally gotten herself out the door, she'd done it with her head held uncommonly high. Today was a day of action, she had decided. On behalf of her sister's generosity. Today, she would do something for herself, even if it wasn't necessarily cavorting with humans. That was the mindset she tried to adopt as she started making her way through Deepvale, an unmistakable figure in her printed pair of tights and her tiny, horned set of head-wings.

Though, all around her were eyes. People were around her, everywhere, watching as she passed. But, she always felt like that in crowded places. She was not worried about it, too much, but it's something that always nagged her. It was important to blend in in human crowds, but in Deepvale, succubi were supposed to stand out. They weren't a liked or disliked species on the whole, but everyone had some kind of opinion of about them, and it was usually harsh one. But they usually enjoyed the attention either way, just happy to be free to be be noticed and admired in a society where they could truly be recognized for what they were. Naomi couldn't say she usually felt the same sense of empowerment from all of it, but today, it actually felt kind of nice. She looked around at everyone in view, curious of what the world had to offer.

So it now, when she otherwise wouldn't have, when she spotted two passersby on her way to the MPA office. Both of them had very tall, human-ish figures, that was where their similarities ended. One was a woman, who was vaguely familiar; a dragon she didn't know well, but who she would almost certainly see at the Gala tonight. But even more curious was a tall, bright haired man, who's face she knew all too well. She hadn't ever spoken too extensively with him before, nor would she have bothered him on any other day, but she couldn't help it. She had always been overwhelmed with curiosity about him. Today she would know more.

"Hello - Orthrus?" The words dropped a bit unexpectedly out of her mouth, despite her thinking hard before she said them, but she continued on strongly with them as she came to walk beside him. She lightly touched him on his shoulder.

"Sorry to bother you, but ah - are you going my way?" (

PanOtterPus ) she asked with a timid smile, the wings on her head readjusting themselves self-consciously. With a succubi's naturally dulcet intonations, her small talk could've sounded like flirtation to any passerby's, but she imagined the man had heard enough lilin speak in job to know how they sounded. No, she was more so crossing her fingers that he wasn't the type to assume she was trying to schmooze him to get past the usual paperwork, or something like that. It'd... definitely could've have happened to him before, but still, she hoped it wasn't what he'd come to expect.

DergTheDergon · Jul 13, 2017

Fifer tapped her feet in impatience, tossing down another entire cup of coffee and finally feeling some semblance of wakefulness, thus slowly phasing out of her previous bear-like mood as she watched the screen. Very astute timing as well, as suddenly a familiar face appeared on the app along with a ding to signify another hunter had joined. She sighed, knowing enough about Chase to know it was going to be a long day. Rumor has it he was quite skilled though, and she was admittedly curious to see just how well those rumors held up in person.

As an energetic young man, Chase, called after her with his unmistakably intense and persistent cheerfulness, Fifer barely kept herself from rolling her eyes at his jovial utterance of "Oh, hey, partner." 'I don't need this first thing in the goddamn morning' she thought, even as she kept a straight face and nodded at the boy. "No, we haven't," she replied. Once again, at Chase's next fcomment, she barely kept from rolling her 'I don't know about that... I think I'm more in for a headache' she thought, but still ended up smirking a little at the comment. "We'll see about that," she replied snarkily. "Guess it depends on if you're really as good as people say ya are.'If not like this when shit gets serious, it might not be too bad, and depending on how good he is, he might be a valuable asset. 'Sides, his food ain't half bad.' She found herself thinking about the last thing he made for the regulars, which tasted absolutely divine, before she caught herself, bringing herself back to the present just in time for another ding to appear on her phone, followed shortly by the man who issued it.

'Hmm, another prodigy,' Fifer thought, stroking her chin as she looked at the screen, and then at him as he entered. 'Not half bad-lookin' either... but you can only look now, Fifey. Goddamn dragon..." Willing herself to pull out of these negative thoughts, she smirked again at Gabriel's blunt question. Straight to the point. Now this man spoke her language. "Yep, just us. Looks like we aren't getting any more, so," Fifer promptly stood up and stretched. "Unless you two need anything, let's get going." Not a further word and she turned her back towards the men, walking out the door, one hand loosely on her trusty smg at her hip, said hips swaying confidently as she strode out the door. "I'll be waiting outside," she said without even turning around. Once outside, she waited near one of the guild's trucks. They were specifically designed for going offroad, and carrying tons of gear if need be. She already had this one loaded up with some explosives and smg ammo, since people knew not to touch her stuff or face her wrath. The moment her two partners were here, she said "I'm driving. And don't give me shit about being a woman, you'll see I'm perfectly capable."

True to her word, the moment the two of them were in the passenger's seats, she was off, and she drove very precisely and mindfully. She followed the gps, linked to the guild app of course, to the apparent sighting location. Once there, a forested area near the lake, she stopped a fair distance from the place in order to keep the element of surprise and got out, grabbing her gear then turning to the others. "You two spot anything yet?" She asked quietly. She hadn't seen anything, but she could sense that there was something here. "How we doin' this? Splitting up? Going in as a group?" her eyes darted between the two of them as she awaited their answers.

PanOtterPus · Jul 14, 2017

Gabriel cocked an eyebrow at Fifer's demeanour. This was a woman he could work with - to the point and knew her strengths. He dutifully followed to the truck they'd be travelling in, and didn't dare say a word about her driving. Gabriel was a quiet man, he knew better than to run his mouth, especially when it came to woman. In truth, he found them rather intimidating. Given the fact that most of the women he knew worked for the guild, it wasn't all that surprising.

Once at their destination, Gabriel climbed out of the vehicle, sniper rifle in hand. He was aware that they didn't have too much information to go by, but he always felt his rifle was his best weapon. He had tweaked it himself so it packed a rather nasty punch. Though he always carried his close ranged hand-guns for back-up. Gabriel scanned the area, not seeing more than the trees that surrounded them and some standard animal tracks on the forest floor. "Nothing out of the ordinary so far," he stated to Fifer. "My vote is we stick close for now, scout the area. If we find anything we can split up and flank from there. We've got the ear-pieces, may as well make use of them." At this Gabe pulled out the standard issue comms piece, ready to sync to the other's channels. These were useful tools for teams to stay in contact at distance without the worry of bulky walk-talkies, something Gabe could approve of. He hated carrying more than was necessary.

--------

Orthrus was making his merry way towards the gala when he heard his name being called. Spinning, he laid eyes on one of the town's local succubi, Naomi, coming towards him. He had seen her around and knew of the reputation her kind carried around the town, but he had never been one for pre-judging. That wasn't his job. "Salutations, Naomi!" He greeted her cheerfully. "No bother, I am if you happen to be headin' to the Gala." He made a passive gesture, signalling that it was ok for her to continue by his side.

Orthrus continued in silence for a short while. He wasn't used to the residents actually talking to him, other than the simple thank yous he received as he let them in and out the city. Trying to make conversation, Orthrus decided to just say what first came to mind. "Lookin' mighty pretty today, you must be in this for real, huh?" He had heard the local chatter and disapproval of having "her kind" take part in the Gala, everyone worried that she may be looking for "targets" and what not. Orthrus knew she wouldn't have been allowed to take part if that were the case, but he found himself curious nonetheless - it was his job to know people after all.

PanOtterPus · Jul 14, 2017

If you were to wander deeper into the inner caverns of the wondrous hidden city, you would discover two things:

1. You may not be as brave as you boasted before entering the dark depths of the tunnels within. Perhaps that bet you made with your friends wasn't worth it after all.

2. You would come across the cawing of a raven, sitting on the shoulder of a shifty young lady. A young elf, to be exact.

This young elf found herself once more wandering around the forgotten tunnels, hunting for food for her clan that lived in this particular section - it was the tunnel that could be found in the far north-west part of the city, the clan itself could be found after taking two lefts, a right and another left. Her clan had been given permission to live within the tunnels rather than the city, as tradition saw them living within their own small villages in the darkest of dark places when the supernaturals still had freedom to live on the grounds above. Not to mention their cruel nature towards other creatures playing a strong role in the quicker than normal acceptance of their request to stay segregated.

Aeryn, this was the name of this particular elf. She had become weary of her kind - as many dark elves became weary of any kind - and had decided that, upon this day, instead of tending to her hunting duties (which wouldn't be missed considering it was all anyone did anymore) she would travel to the main city and scope out this Gala she had heard whispers of from the local spies. She didn't hold any hope for finding love or anything of the sort, but she figured anything was better than spending the rest of her long life with a clan full of thieves and cheats. She herself had become rather adept at the stealthier things in life, but she always saw this as a means of survival against her own kind. Cheating twats.

Corvus, the aforementioned raven, took a small nip at Aeryn's ear - his was of telling her she wasn't paying the pretty birdy enough attention... Yup, she thought to herself, it's either the Gala or the rest of my life will see a raven as my sole companion.

Rustic · Jul 14, 2017

Chase kicked his feet cheerfully as Fifer replied, undeterred by her tone and unfazed by her expectations for results. He didn't have a strong idea of what people were saying about him exactly, but he was pretty sure that he could give her what she was looking for! In fact, most people were usually surprised by his competency. Though, he'd never quite understood why. In any case, before he could say as much, their third made his arrival on the scene. As much as someone who was already as alert as Chase could, he perked up at the sight and straightened his posture in his seat to attentively look the guy over. Normally, he wasn't very good with faces, but when he saw this man, he had was already pretty sure of who he was. It was hard to forget some of the stories he'd heard - Gabriel, they guy who supposedly sniped at things before his team ever sees 'em. The type of stories that might've stretched other peoples' belief. But to him, they just seemed like further proof of human excellence. Among this guild, no less! More than a little starstruck with what he knew, he waved even more enthusiastically than before and gave a wide, knowing grin. Now this was going to be cool! He couldn't wait.

Though, as that thought comes and goes, he realized he'd meant it in a more metaphorical sense. Fifer had seemed to have meant it quite literally, because almost as soon as Gabriel had appeared, she was already to her feet. By the time Chase had even turned back to her, even, she was already halfway out the door.

"Are we - huh, okay!" he chirped with confusion in response to her sudden proclamation. Without even bothering with consideration with what he might be leaving - and surely it could anything with how forgetful he was - he eagerly wandered out the door with the two of them. Once he did, he found himself immediately interested with the car they were taking. His arms flew out in a sort of silent triumph just looking at it. He knew it was there for people to use, but he didn't usually bring all the fancy stuff this thing usually had equipped with it. And not being able to see exactly what was inside only made him more excited. He was too wrapped up to notice the seating arrangements, so when Fifer's announcement came that she would be taking the driver's seat, he did find himself a little disappointed. Only for a moment, though, before he seemed to come to a realization.

"Oh, Dad doesn't want me driving anymore anyway, so that's fine!" he trilled, before unceremoniously hopping in the back seat, apparently more happy now to spend the ride over practicing his stretching.

He was pretty happy, too, when they had arrived, and he had managed to hold back any comments that he'd wanted to make about how long it took. She was a good driver, but sometimes 'good' translated to 'boring', he'd learnt. Still, he didn't like to be rude when he knew how not to be, so at the first opportunity, he instead popped out of the truck, and immediately got to focusing all his energy on the open space. Once he'd finally touched his feet to the grass, he took in a large breath of fresh air, and wasted no time in getting a good look around. He quickly began to look distracted, actually, as he progressively got more into it. He had to blink furiously once Fifer spoke up again, asking them a question. He let Gabriel answer for the two of them nodded in agreement. He did much the same with Gabriel's other answer, but this time, suddenly more emphatically.

As if he had been waiting for his cue, he began to dig into his pockets to find his own piece. It made things feel all the more... official, so of course he liked wearing it on at any opportunity. Once he got it strapped on, he tapped the small microphone experimentally. While he did, he looked a little further out into the distance, as if suddenly curious. He squatted down to get a better look and then tilted his head.

"Hey... that's a fairy circle, isn't it? Pixie ring?" he asked quietly. He blinked curiously and pointed off to where he could see something resembling one, just off in the northern distance. After, he turned his head up toward the other two. "Did we ever decide what made those?" Actually, was it just some fungus that grew in a weird pattern in the woods? Sometimes he forgot what supernatural stuff was real and what stuff was just exaggeration from the mouth of dumb old dead guys.

Naomi's eyes lit up in response to hearing her name, her heart lifted with a small feeling of triumph. She hadn't thought he'd know her name, too. Someone not only noticed, but remembered her. She nodded, looking a tad more confident than she had before. "I am, yes!" she confirmed, her walk slowly and subtly adjusting to his more. She had been reluctant, but once she noticed his small welcoming gesture, she quickly fell in line with him. "Thank you," she told him softly. Naomi still found herself worried that the man might be thinking she was selling him some sort of pitch, but that only made his willingness to invite her in that much more significant to her.

So, she really didn't really mind the momentary lapse of conversation that came afterward, either. At least, on his side of things. She felt a little sheepish at her own perceived awkwardness, but she let it be. It wouldn't be right to let herself get caught up about small stuff like that right now. Her mind was still a bit occupied, however, when managed to catch her off guard when he did eventually comment. Her face showed her surprise a bit plainly, though she hadn't meant it to. Her eyes widened a bit, before she decided on it having been flattering. She looked away, then, trying not to make it too obvious that that's how she'd taken it.

"I'm... thank you, again," she simply said, her hand delicately reaching up to cover smiling mouth. "And, I am," she confirmed. Cautiously at first, but then resolutely, she dropped her hand firmly back down to her side.

"To do this means a lot to me, actually," she said. She clasped her hands together and stared up toward him meaningfully. "I'm just hoping my efforts pay off." She paused, slowed down for a moment, and turned her head to stare ahead, seemingly to further gather her thoughts. "That, well... I'm worth picking to someone," she finally said. Her lips purse a little after doing so, however. It might be that's she's said too much, or because she's simply found herself wondering, but when she looks back over to him, it's with a sudden curiosity.

"Are you...?" she started to ask. She continued to mouth a few more syllables, but she seemed to think better of them, taking a moment to apparently change her line of thought. "Is this a job for you?" she finished, her still intertwined hands somewhat pulling themselves apart so as to press her pointed index fingers together thoughtfully.

DergTheDergon · Jul 15, 2017

In a ploy to get a little bit of fresh air, Yseri wandered about the streets aimlessly just before the Gala. Well, mayhaps not aimlessly in exacting terms; she was more or less hoping to find and converse with someone she found compelling whilst uncharacteristically remaining aware and keeping her head raised as she trudged along. She was surprised, however, by whom she eventually ran into: a female Elf, clearly a Dark Elf at first sighting, seeming to be heading towards the town hall of all places right before a social event the likes of which one would never expect a Dark Elf to typically attend.

Then, the white-haired faun, now staring at a vastly different, yet still female creature as she trudged down the nearly empty streets, remembered. She remembered the one dark elf that had singled herself out and joined the program by sending a raven with her application. This must be her. Aeyrn, she remembered; that was what this somber, aloof-seeming woman had called herself in her unexpected application letter.

Yseri was very curious now; curious to get to know her. Seeing how beautiful she seemed in person, she was a little disheartened now that in her letter, she had specified interest in males only. However, it was unprofessional to let that discourage her from getting to know someone who was going to be attending the Gala she was organizing beforehand, perhaps to make it more enjoyable for Aeryn, maybe even more fruitful in matching her with someone as per the underlying goal of the event.

Once that particular thought process of hers had completed, Yseri began to approach the woman, walking with as much perceivable good intention, yet determination, in everything from her facial expression to the way she walked, as she could muster. She had been refining her posture, body language, expressions and such to get what she wanted out of a conversation almost tirelessly for years, an endeavor that had certainly paid off at least a little.

Confidently (or, more accurately, appearing as such), she strode up to the dark elf smiling warmly and bowing slightly. "Sorry to bother you, but I am Yseri, the dating program's director. May I have a moment of your time, miss Aeryn?"

DergTheDergon · Jul 15, 2017

Fifer stayed wholly focused on driving, even as Chase distractingly performed various calisthenic exercises in the back seat, visible in the rear-view mirror. It was an onerous phenomenon to ignore, mind you, but in the end, she managed to do so. A fleeting moment of speculation also passed as she drove in which she wondered if his near-constant practice of such things contributed to his rumored success. In Gabriel’s case, his get-it-done-anytime reputation, which Fifer greatly respected, seemed simply due to experience.

Regardless, this train of thought eventually passed through Fifer’s mind as all thoughts do, and soon they had arrived on the scene of the recent sightings, at a ( hopefully) advantageous viewpoint on the surrounding land and nearby lake.

Nodding twice at Gabriel’s reply, once for confirmation that all seems clear to her as well and a second time to confirm agreement with his plan, she then deftly dug her own comm piece out of one of her coat’s inner pockets in near unison with the other two. Fifer had a good feeling about these two… maybe she’d finally found a team she could consider herself working with often. She didn’t feel that she melded well enough with every other guildmates she’s worked with in the past, and the three of them haven’t even started yet. Maybe she had some kinda sixth sense; she had a sense of dread from the moment she woke up on the day she had have her face burnt clean off by dragon fire anyway. Maybe this was a more positive manifestation of this odd intuition she seemed to have. She’d have to observe and rest that theory.

After syncing to the others’ channels, the facially-scarred hunter then acknowledged Chase’s apt observations of the forest stretching out before the trio. Indeed, in the distance a fair ways, Fifer saw that there was an oddly perfect circle of mushrooms. It was barely visibly from here to her, though that was likely due to the fact that her left eye was quite higher in function than her right for obvious reasons. ‘You’re right… if there are Fae down there, it’s common knowledge that they can’t stray too far from their circles. Be damn careful though. They can play tricks on your mind.”

The fae were natural tricksters, and one of the few species that has, for the most part, been able to survive on the surface. To do so, however, they had to employ some nasty tricks that were not going to be pleasant for these three whatsoever. Unbeknownst to them, these fae were unseelie, evil creatures that feel no need to join the underground city as all they wanted was to cause calamity among mankind… and they had larger friends to help them out. These were exactly the sort of creatures that were the reason humans feared and despised all monsters.

The trio moved in with a silent gesture from Fifer, the woman herself holding her smg in a well-practiced fashion, the sight carefully positioned so that her good eye could see through it whenever she needed it.

Soon, she began to feel that telltale tingle… Fifer had a rare condition; well, rare amongst humans anyway. She could sense magic. All hunters had their secrets for success, and that was one of hers.

“They’re here, and hostile. Be ready,” she said, with as much steadiness and determination as she could muster, despite the lingering fear that came up every time; the lingering thoughts of excruciating, burning fire seeming to consume her body. She took a long, deep breath through her nose and steadied herself, carefully bringing her attention back to her senses, her surroundings.

Suddenly, the three of them saw it. A tall, lumbering, stag-horned beast with a bloody jaw. It had just had a recent meal.

“Dammit… Wendigo…” Fifer whispered breathlessly, the whisper echoing into the others’ comms. The beast had unusual glowing-purple eyes; a sign, most hunters would know, that it was charmed by an Unseelie Fae. They were controlling it. Fifer swore she heard small, sinister giggles coming from somewhere nearby, though the Fae had likely made themselves invisible, or hidden away behind trees or in bushes.

Without another thought, she fired her Smg as the beast began to charge. It’d take a lot of firepower to kill this thing, but all three of them would know it was possible. Its only weak points were the eyes and inside its mouth, neither of which Fifer could get a clear shot at right now… but maybe the others could. It charged directly at her in particular, causing her heart to race as she struggled to keep focused. It knew. Beasts tended to know if a human had the gift fifer did. Still, she remained focused as a laser on her task: kill, or be killed; the only thing she’d been certain of ever since that encounter with the dragon.

PanOtterPus · Jul 16, 2017

Gabriel had been observing the circle Chase had found, nodding in agreement with Fifer's observations - this was fae territory and that meant they were in for one very weird afternoon. He had dealt with them before, though they pretty much always had "back-up", namely weaker minded supernaturals that could deal some mean damage. And, as Fifer had pointed out as soon as she clocked it, this lot had taken control of a nasty looking Wendigo... Fantastic.

The beast spotted them , though seemed particularly focused on Fifer, perhaps due to her rather unique ability. Each member of the guild had their tricks - he himself had almost abnormal hand-eye co-ordination, giving him pretty decent reflexes - and hers was exceptional as far as Gabe was concerned. This sparked an immediate fire within his brain and he began calculating every possible move. He knew the creature's weaknesses, but they were difficult to pinpoint unless they could get the damned thing to stop moving, which would be no easy task. They calculated their moves as much as he did, always sure to keep their weaker points moving and difficult to hit.

Gabriel made his calculations in less than a few seconds, turning suddenly to the others. "Keep it distracted, I'll take a vantage point and try to get a shot." It was the best he had for now, knowing that they'd have the added issue of fae hiding all around them, interfering with their plan. Crafty little devils that they were. He waited for approval before carefully making his way off to the side, out of the view of the beast. Gabriel kept constant observation of his surroundings, anticipating one of the fae to sneak up on him, and awaited an opening for his trusty rifle.

-------

Orthrus found himself enjoying the woman's company, something he wasn't used to. As gatekeeper, however, he was used to "reading" people, as it were - noticing their small quirks and signs, the defining details that separated their kind from those above trying to sneak past him. Stupid Guild and their stupid spies. Returning from his inner rant, Orthrus picked up on Naomi's ticks and smiled to himself. He enjoyed making people feel good about themselves, and it seemed it was working.

He was a little surprised at her sudden prideful stature. He knew she had been picked to do this specifically, and Orthrus felt a sense of his own pride washing through him that she was in fact invested in this Gala. Though he did chuckle a little at her almost question. "I was approached by the leaders to lend a hand. They reckon I'll be a good help to keep out any potential "riff-raff" - their words, not mine. I reckon they just think there's gonna be a fair few jealous folk out there that may try to cause a ruckus and they want me to step in." Orthrus shrugged. He'd do what he was asked, simple as that. "Though, I think it'd be nice to see who turns up, who finds love. And I'll keep everything crossed for ya." He gave her his best grin and a wink, truly hoping she'd find what she was looking for. He had no idea why he cared in any case, but he was rooting for her.

PanOtterPus · Jul 16, 2017

The tunnels seemed to go on forever. Aeryn specifically remembered being informed that it was only a few turns until the main city, yet here she was after the supposed last corner, still walking and still listening to Corvus squawking impatiently for food. Their rations were few and Aeryn was now beginning to fear that they'd be lost in these dang tunnels for the foreseeable future, and so she found herself reluctant to give the bird the last peace of food. Then, finally, she began to see the beginnings of light at the end of the tunnel - a thought she found funnier than it should have been, which she put down to delirium from their trek.

Corvus nipped her ear again, a small "I told you so". Finally giving in, Aeryn had been fighting with him, trying to make the raven eat the scrap of meat she offered slowly - as he had decided he was going to try and swallow it whole - when she heard a voice, presumably speaking to her. She spun to face the culprit, coming face to face with a faun. She had never seen one before - though this was no surprise given that she had never left the tunnels before. The woman was actually rather mesmerising, white hair and all.

Suddenly remembering that she had in fact been addressed, Aeryn mentally shook herself, handing the meat in defeat to the bird and answered. "Uh, hi. Um, sure? What can I do for you?" It wasn't in a Dark Elf's nature to be charitable so the sudden manners almost made the girl choke, but she had figured before she came here that to take this seriously it meant being.... Ugh, nice... If her clan could see her now, she could only imagine the mocking calls that would follow. On her shoulder the bird choked a little, coughed up the meat and prayed to Odin that no-one had noticed his misfortune. Gods forbid Aeryn be right.

Rustic · Jul 17, 2017

Chase looked more alert at Fifer's affirmative reply and popped back up at her warning for them all. He'd never seen fae himself, but he'd heard plenty of stories of all the interesting stuff they could do. Of all the catastrophe they could wreak. It was an fun prospect, the idea of facing one, but he still moved closer to the group with a more neutral look, eyes intently scanning the leaves above them. Most hunters probably would've naturally assumed they wouldn't see anything, what with their ability of invisibility, but he still looked anyway, still let himself be hopeful. When the effort proved fruitless, though, he turned back to face Fifer intently. At her prompting to do so, he steadied himself and shifted into position. Everything was so quiet, something which he could usually not bother himself with, but now, he waited, just as keenly as a runner crouched at the starting line of a race. Just the same, he anticipated the smoking gun - the loud call to action that could, at any moment, spur him into motion. It's not quite as he expected - there's a moment where the three of them could only stand, breathlessly, as they saw their new target come into view - but it's almost better that way. All it takes is the confirmation of their sight quietly whispered over the intercom and he took out two long, tactical knives. And a smile. And then things really got good.

The forest becomes a cacophony of noise as Fifer's submachine gun whired into motion and the bullets started flying out. The beast immediately responded in turn, moving forward toward the three of them with menacing bulk. Fear would've rushed through most - Chase was well aware of that - but all that flooded through him then was a rush of exhilaration. He could sort of appreciate a quiet moment, he knew - but this was what got him out of bed in the morning. He had been about ready to happily start firing off knives towards the obvious targets before he hears Gabriel pipe up with his plan. 'Distraction' is pretty much all Chase needed to hear before happily getting to work. Shooting knives from behind Fifer's line of fire sounded boring to him anyway - and comparatively ineffective, since he himself wasn't any kind of sharp shooter. No, at the prompting for a distraction, he did exactly what he wanted to do - be direct. Directness, to him, started with confrontation; the Wendigo was straight ahead, so while it was busy with Fifer, he quickly moved through the woods and around them, focused only on the approach.

Then he arrived behind the Wendigo. There's an idle thought, before he goes through with it, if the two of his teammates could see his amazing plan from behind this thing, but even if they couldn't, they certainly were about to. With no hesitance, Chase leaps up as high as he can and simply digs the knives in each of his hand into the Wendigo as hard as he can. 'Ingeniously simple!' he enthused to himself gleefully as he hung himself on, propping his feet up onto the monster's back only so he could dig into it harder. He knew how hard the hide was to penetrate - the bullets rushing around hadn't even, themselves, been enough to get through it, and he himself had only barely gotten in - but still, he had come determined to get this thing to squeal. This was also stupidly dangerous, he knew, but that had really never been a deterrence to him for anything, really. The circumstance only made him start to laugh, and gleefully, throughout the heightened chaos that this scene had prompted. He knew he had been a sufficient distraction as the thing started to shake around, trying to get him off, but he wanted to try to cause this thing enough pain to break it's charm and get it's mouth open.

"Scream, scream, scream!" he cried, his grin as wide as it could go as he began to cackle like a hyena. "It'll be over faster! Hahahaha!" He lets the whole thing last less than a few seconds, but past that point, even he gets wise to the danger. No matter the outcome, he happily lets the creature sling him off, still cackling - and then, out of sight. Off into the woods surrounding.

DergTheDergon · Jul 18, 2017

Fifer nodded at Gabriel’s words, the gesture followed and accentuated by a terse “Roger that.” ‘Hard not to distract ‘em though, in my case,’ she thought in addition. Her sixth sense of sorts really was a pain in the ass at times. She liked Gabriel's’ straight-to-the-point attitude, and he seemed to have quite the head on his shoulders when it came to combat. She felt a frustration well up inside of her behind her appreciation of Gabriel’s talents as she thought about this.

‘Dammit, more attractive things about him. You aren’t allowed to catch feelings anymore, Fifey... Not with this face…’ She sighed. Even with the modern advent of plastic surgery, she had been told by numerous practitioners that the damage to her face was far too great for her to ever look normal again. So, instead of going in for a half-assed and ludicrously expensive procedure in order to look a little less hideous but still a fair bit as such, she hadn’t gotten any work done. ‘This isn’t the time to be thinking about that,’ she mentally reminded herself, bringing her mind back to the present at that thought.

At the sight of Chase barreling past her into the underbrush, Fifer narrows her eyes at his back. 'What in the hell is he...' she began to think, only for her thoughts to be cut off as she then saw the young man just as quickly latch himself onto the beast's back via his knives. Her eyes went wide and her mouth agape as, for just a split second, she forgot to fire, only to continue firing the next moment, yet only at the lower sections of the beast now. She took a moment to step back a little to take advantage of the distraction Chase so kindly (and insanely) provided for her. "Holy shit..." she mouthed. "I had a feeling he wasn't all there before but... damn..."

The beast had indeed ceased its constant advancement towards Fifer, however it now seemed angrier than ever before, and rightly so, crying out in a squeal of pain that turned into an angry, ear-piercing snarl as it frantically tried to pry or throw Chase off of its neck.

Grabbing him by the back of his neck with one gnarly hand, it tossed the young man fiercely into the nearby canopy. Wherever Chase landed, be it caught up or perhaps gracefully having caught himself among the branches of a tree, or on the forest floor, he’d hear spiteful snickers filling the forest, seeming to have no direction. A cacophony of sinister, gravelly feminine voices filled his ears saying “You’re not dead yet? Let’s fix that.” A few sinister giggles later, he would begin to see and hear two large spiders, each about his size, crawling towards him on either side and trying to flank him. The good news was, they were fleshy and had many weak spots; The bad news was, he would know that they were lethally poisonous: one bite meant instant death.

Meanwhile, the Wendigo was still trying to pry the knives out of his neck, still for just long enough for Gabriel to get a good shot in. Fifer reached for her grenade with one hand, while her other remained holding her SMG steadily towards the beast, which was thankfully beginning to bleed from some of the wounds she had caused. Her plan was, if Gabriel hit and it disrupted the beast’s movements, she’d try to aim a frag grenade right down its gullet, hopefully wide open as it screamed in pain.

DergTheDergon · Jul 18, 2017

Ysera smiled her usual warm, vibrant and well-practiced smile in response to the dark-elven woman turning around in a little bit of a tizzy, an amused and curious glint in the faun's eye as she spotted the Raven on the exotic, violet-skinned woman's shoulder. She took a few moments to admire the magnificent pitch-black bird and his eagerness to chow down on the meat his Master gave him before turning back towards Aeyryn, her voice soft and gentle as she spoke. "Greetings. I promise I'll only take a few short moments of your time. I was mostly wondering what exactly you are aiming for. A long-term relationship, or more of a testing of the waters, so to speak? I ask because I foolishly left that out of the applications and had to ask everyone, and it's a rather important question for the Gala. We are trying to arrange so that everyone is surrounded by prospective dates that carry similar goals and values going into this, you understand." The entire time she spoke, she made jovial hand movements, leaning in close. This was one of the rare times that she forgot to tone down her natural enthusiasm because she was just so excited to be meeting the brave Dark Elf among the attendants of the Gala.

Smiling again, she waited for the woman's answer. The faun consciously made certain, as best she could, that she wasn't making clear to Aeryn her inner thoughts of just how beautiful the woman was. She seemed like a flawless thing of beauty to the Faun, so much so that the moments during which she was asking her question, explaining herself and then waiting for her conversation partner's answer, normally moments which felt like they drug on near-endlessly, sped by rather quickly to the Faun's perception this time.

Rustic · Jul 18, 2017

Naomi listened intently throughout Orthrus' explanation, but lit up again at his easygoing wellwishing. She couldn't help but chortle a bit at it, his composure sort of serving to relax her, too. "I'd appreciate that!" she said lightly. If she was honest, had not expected someone with such a serious appearance to be so charismatic. Not in a way that felt inauthentic or cheap. Just... genuinely compassionate. It was simultaneously as endearing as it was saddening. She couldn't help but wish, being around someone like him, that she could carry even half the amount of grace that seemed to come so innately to him. Maybe he had derived it from his constant encounters? No matter the case, she doesn't let the thought drag her down any. She had gone through this thought process enough to know it possessed no satisfying end result. Instead, her thoughts unfortunately find herself returning to a former point of concern, and her mouth suddenly gave a frown.

"But, still, malcontent...?" She winced, just slightly, at her own choice of words, but her concern still obviously lies with the subject of her thoughts, and she continues with them thus. "I just hope it doesn't come to anything serious." She's not interested in getting too serious or deep about the matter, especially considering what she felt was her tenuous position in the program in first place, so she tried not to let her concern appear anything other than surface level. However, a bit hard not to let her mind drift to some of her species own concern, and the overall feeling of disaffection that was starting to plague other species of similarly ill repute with the program. She couldn't help but wander to herself: would her sisters be nearly as ambivalent about the program if she was not participating? Could there just as well be some people thinking of terrorizing the event tonight? In any case, knowing her troubled look and momentary silence had stretched on a bit too long to be inconspicuous, she decided to be honest.

"I can understand some unrest..." she trailed out carefully, warily. He'd been friendly, for the duration of their talk, but still, she knew how important caution was in admitting something potentially controversial. "But, I hope for everyone's sake that it doesn't boil over into something regrettable, especially today of all days." Try as she might, she couldn't help the sad look that fell over her face as the thought. She relished people's joy just as much as she empathized with their anguish over difficult events. Something happening tonight would not only effect her already strained efforts, but it would also hurt a room full of genuinely hopeful others in a way that was hard to let herself imagine. In a way that would only be rendered tragic, in light of the potential circumstances. That's exactly why she tries to quickly push away such thoughts. She didn't want to let this weight her down, either; as Orthus had suggested, even though he had been requested to be present, any major event happening was a faroff prospect. She let those odds comfort her, so to speak, as she continued to move forward.

Though, strangely... the unease persisted. At first, she takes it as a small bout of anxiety, and tries not to let it creep in, but as she continued to walk, the feeling only began to fester. Trying to avoid it, she couldn't quite pinpoint what was eating at her until it suddenly dawned on her. The feeling she usually had, like she was being watched, didn't just feel like a feeling anymore. She tried to subtly look around, to sort of regain her confidence in her safety, but once she did, she only found herself more distressed. Now she was almost sure of it; someone behind her was staring. She tried not to look directly at them, and had only had caught a glimpse, but she could not help but worry on it as she moved forward. From what she had seen, the figure behind them a ways, and comparatively, made her seem diminutive; she only just about broke the five foot range and had a body type that accentuated that smallness, while the figure was much her opposite - a large, stocky being much bigger in comparison, maybe even in the range of seven or eight feet. While it still seemed her companion had not noticed, she very lightly nudged his palm with her own, and lightly twitched her head upward, to try grab his attention. She moved toward him and leaned in, giving the two of them what was effectively the intimate distance of a couple.

"Do you mind if we walk a little faster?" she asked, quietly. There was no note of fear on her voice; in fact, she asked rather plainly, despite the obvious physical effort for discretion. Though, whether her neutral tone was true to how calm she was actually feeling, or if it was rather a calculated response to the situation, she made it hard to tell. She wasn't sure herself, really - how should she be feeling? What was actually going on? But she just kept her head down, her expression neutral but rigid as she continued to walk in an calm manner. With any luck, this would just... pass. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened to her, and one time, it did. Some people were just inconsiderate gawkers. And yet sometimes - and this was what was making her antsy, despite this situation still possibly being benign - sometimes it didn't. Sometimes, it just didn't.

PanOtterPus · Jul 18, 2017

Gabriel had taken up residence in nearby underbrush, out of the way enough not to be noticed by accident, but possibly (and unknowingly) sitting atop one of the fae. He cared not. They needed to deal with this monster qui-

What in the heck was that man-child doing? The dude was insane - but it was working. The creature stopped its charge towards Fifer and had stopped to take care of it's attacker, latched to it's back and screaming wildly. Gabriel even allowed himself a small chuckle at the maniacal shouting coming from Chase. He may have a screw loose but at least he was enjoying himself.

Gabe watched as the creature, shrieking in rage, threw Chase from it's shoulders and off into the distance. He only hoped he wasn't hurt - no time to waste any more thoughts for the guy unfortunately. In it's rage, the monster began to grab for the still embedded knives, forgetting that it had two more enemies in the field. Mistake.

The sharpshooter smirked as he saw Fifer launch a 'nade in the direction of the monster. Clever woman. He clocked on to her plan almost immediately. He knew if it stayed on course, he could shoot the 'nade, possibly do some damage to an eye, hopefully causing a scream from the monster and an opening for them. Gabriel hadn't known what to expect from this team when they first met up, but so far it was working just fine. They seemed to bounce off of each other, without a need to question each other's motives. Gabriel admired this. Too many times had someone made the mistake of asking him "are you sure that'll work?" Why would he suggest it if he doubted its odds? No. These guys were good. Chase was crazy enough to take risks that worked in their favour and seemed happy enough to follow orders. Fifer was clever - she knew what to look for, knew her stuff. She clearly did her homework. Gabriel liked these people. Something he couldn't say often.

With these thoughts in mind, Gabe brought the site to his eye and followed the movements of the flying grenade. He took a breath. He steadied himself. Then he shot.

PanOtterPus · Jul 18, 2017

Aeryn tilted her head a little - a gesture that was now automatic any time she had to think. One brave male elf had once told her she looked like a puppy while she did this. In response, she pulled an arrow from her quiver, sunk it into his knee and stalked past, throwing over her shoulder - "Would a puppy do that, pray tell?" In truth, she didn't know what she was looking for exactly, she just knew she couldn't live in the tunnels, surrounded by the same thieving men for the remainder of her extremely long life. As such, she gave the most honest answer she could think of.

"Well, I'm not sure. I've never even dated before - according to my kind it's not practical. Just make the bairns and get back to work. So I guess I'm just, uh, dipping my toes?" Dipping her toes? Seriously? She had to get her head together. Even Corvus laughed at this term... as much as a raven could anyway. She didn't know why she was so nervous, it's not like this was the be all and end all. It was just one option of many to get her away from the clan - and this faun was going to help her! Which was already more than she'd get at home.

PanOtterPus · Jul 18, 2017

Orthrus could sense the unrest in her. It was something gatekeepers had a knack for - not just reading people, but reading their emotions. He wasn't the best at it but he could always get an inkling. Then there was that look that would pull at his heart, if he believed he had one to pull at. Not wanting her to worry too much, he decided to brush it off. "No, ma'am. I'm sure it ain't much to worry about - just talk is all. Some folk are just a little sore at not qualifying for the program. It's just that some species are in more danger than others and the higher-ups had to find the most compatible people to help out. All there is to it, on a basic level. I guess others just don't see it that way. See it as favouritism or some such." He had even heard talk of eventually opening the program to more species later, given this all worked for the better, but he wasn't one in the know so he couldn't say for sure.

Orthrus, caught up in his own thoughts on the matter, didn't notice Naomi's eye movements. He had, however, snapped back when her hand touched his, her body getting close enough to feel the heat that naturally flowed from his own. In his daze, unused to close contact other than brawls, he could only nod his submission to her request, picking up his pace a little.

He began to scan the small area around them, trying to notice anything out of the ordinary which would provoke the odd stiffness in her, the forced casual tone of her voice. There was something he was missing, and this irked him. Orthrus felt a presence behind them, walking the same path and in the same direction. Orthrus had no way of knowing from this distance the intentions of their follower, but his instinct told him that this was the cause of his new friend's unhappiness. This irked him even more.

He made the decision to find out first if they were indeed being followed. Taking her hand - an act he performed as casually as everything else he did in life - Orthrus pulled Naomi around the next corner, knowing his way around the town enough to know they could still reach the centre if they took any number of paths. Sure enough, their pursuer followed. The irking began to put a frown on the man's face, his black eyes narrowing. Orthrus hadn't thought of further plans of attack, but he let his thoughts be known to his companion. "So, looks like we've been entered into a game of... Cat and Mouse is it? Our cat needs to check their zoology - this man's a hound and it don't like cats."

DergTheDergon · Jul 19, 2017

Yseri’s genuine smile widened a little as Aeryn suddenly tilted her head, as if deep in thought. She thought it very endearing, but it didn’t seem wise to comment on that. She had heard that, among dark elf society, any notion that someone is cute, especially a female, was not taken the pleasant way that those of most other races often would. So she simply listened intently, nodding along with her hand to her chin as if in thought. She had honestly predicted the answer the Dark elf then gave.

“I see, I see,” she said, pausing for a moment to then consider what best to say next for this woman’s needs. “This is perfectly acceptable. In fact, many of the others are going into this tentatively… after all, if there was less unease among the people about relationships, especially the necessity at this point for the interspecies variety, this program wouldn’t exist.” Yseri then realized that others were beginning to pass by the pair on the way to the town hall, which made her realize the Gala was starting soon. “Ah, let’s continue this on the way,” Yseri said, gesturing for Aeryn to follow her towards the great hall.

Walking with her, Yseri then seamlessly continued her earlier train of thought. “Now… what sort of partner would you say you’re looking for? Any particular qualities that you desire in a man?” Yseri often and seamlessly switched between looking respectfully towards Aeryn’s eyes and watching where the pair was going as they headed towards the steadily populating town hall. She felt this sense of unease about her, the same kind she usually got before something bad happened, but she let the feeling pass by in favor of focusing on listening to Aeryn for now. She’d have to flag down Othrus at some point for a report on any suspicious activity he might have seen, however.

PanOtterPus

---

Fifer thought, fleetingly, about Chase and the possibility that he could’ve died. Then, she stopped herself, refocused on the moment, by reminding herself that if so, his death was not in vain. Besides, assuming he was always pulling stunts like that one, which seemed likely, since he wasn’t dead already perhaps Fifer should have more faith in the guy. Regardless, after glancing towards the nearby underbrush and barely noticing Gabriel having set up there, she took the chance, pulled the pin on the ‘nade and chucked it with all her might towards the monster’s head, sprinting and rolling behind a nearby boulder for cover. Peeking her head out from behind it, her emerald eyes widened as she saw a bullet impact her explosive perfectly, setting off an explosion more potent than the ‘nade would originally have put out directly in front of the wendigo’s face. Needless to say, it roared in pain, and a moment later it collapsed, the majority of its head scattered about the clearing with its blood. She took a deep breath, then stepped out from behind the boulder.. “Nice shot,” she called, her words aimed in Gabriel’s direction. She was entirely unphased by the blood and monster brains now littering the place. She’d become desensitized to such a sight long ago. Now wasn’t the time to celebrate either, or she’d probably lay on the compliments a little thicker, in her own way.

“Now we’ve got a madman to find… who hopefully isn’t a corpse yet,” she added. Her tone was nonchalant, yet deep down she was admittedly a little worried about him, if only because his kind of crazy was clearly a damn effective trait to have for a hunter. She liked how this team melded and she’d rather not lose of of them so soon. In light of that, she reloaded her SMG before waiting for gabe to emerge, afterwards leading the way for him in the direction chase had been thrown off the wendigo’s back.

Rustic · Jul 20, 2017

Chase had given them all quite a show, if he did say so himself. Unfortunately, after he'd had such a legendary ride, there wasn't really anywhere for him to go but down. Down and way to the left. That is, at least, where he thought the Wendigo was throw him when he felt it's leathery hands close around his throat. What trajectory he ended up taking was hard to tell at the high speed he was lobbed, but his wondering comes to an abrupt and anticlimactic end with a singular thought of 'Whoops!' as he felt himself take off. The flying was spectacular, of course! A great experience! There was the prickly matter of how he might land to consider, but instead of wasting his high on that, he decided to otherwise think about the viability of preforming some sort of mitigating landing. There wasn't much to be done in the end, though, so the best he managed is thinking a happy thought and letting himself go limp, waiting for the inevitable impact. It ended up going a little better than he anticipated, thankfully, but there's definitely some pain once he falls into some bushy underbrush and keeps rolling, the forest floor beneath him doing no favors in hitting and scraping him up along the way.

But all of that only said to him that when he hit the ground, he wasn't dead. And that was a pretty good look. When he finally stopped rolling, and could feel his appendages still attached, he was ready to jump up reach triumphantly into the air like he'd won something, but for some reasons, his limbs didn't seem to want to accommodate that plan. While they at least twitched in response, he did notice that they were resistant to the idea of moving much. Had he hit a log or something on the way here? He felt like his ride had been a bit bumpier than just some sticks and pebbles, but through his adrenaline, he couldn't really remember. In any case, something as insignificant as 'soreness' or 'injury' wasn't going to be enough to stop him. He lifted his arms to the sides and pulled them up at the joints, but before he was going to try pushing himself up, he started to hear a racket of little voices clamoring for space in his ears. Soft at first, like a faint buzzing, and then a deafening scrape across his eardrums. "You're not dead yet?" they asked. He gritted his teeth. Dumb pests. Of course not. He wasn't dying here.

"Let's fix that." The threat was enough of an incentive for him to whip his head up from the dirt it was planted in and to pull it above the brush, to reassess the situation. And boy howdy, had things changed. To the either of his sides were two giant looking bugs, both gnashing their big ol' pincer teeth at him. Ew. He didn't waste any time scrambling on to his feet, if only just to get a better look at their mugs. He usually liked spiders, but these two specimens were so nasty. Had these been two naturally occurring bugs that had been made big for the occasion, or some weird, supernatural bugs that were always so gross-looking? Either way, he didn't have time to get consider their quizzical existence before he recognized his need for a decision, and quick. After all, it didn't take genius level inference of context clues to guess these things would kill him if he got bit,, and if these fae were especially benevolent, that'd be the only thing they'd do. That in mind, he slowly pulled for more of the knives in his clothing, and brushed his fingers across their handles. The fae were waiting to be entertained, so they would wait him, he knew. Oh, eyeing the trees ahead, he thankfully knew.

He took one more glance to each of the bugs before he released his grip on one of the knives he'd reached for and gunned it with the other. He knew that they'd probably throw other things at him if he tried running away, and he wasn't about to give the fey the satisfaction of that chase anyway. The idea of scurrying off in the face of some bugs was unbecoming. Instead, he had another idea. The two spiders gave pursuit and crawled side by side behind him like he'd expected them to, and made good pace while they were at it. That fact wasn't too concerning, though; it was, in fact, rather fortunate. It gave him a moment to train. As he came upon the tree limb of a perfect height he'd seen while looking out over at the trees, he made his mount. As an even younger, dumber kid, he used to climb trees a lot, so he already knew tree limbs weren't much like uneven bars - they weren't smooth enough, and wood bars had a habit of breaking, he'd heard - but just as well, they were adequate enough for this.

"Hup!" He used his forward momentum to grab onto the branch with his free hand, pushed his body upward and upside down into the air. The motion he was trying to preform didn't come as easily as it normally did; normally it happened automatically, like a hand around a clock, but this branch really didn't want to cooperate in the same way. There was friction, and a bit more than he'd expected to have. To compensate, he stuck his knife-wielding hand down and gripped the branch with the ends of his fingers as best he could, and with some further readjustment and some blind luck, he managed to roll his body back around and down in time. As quickly as he could, he made his dismount and dropped straight down, onto one big bad spider boy. Or was it a girl, he wondered? He wouldn't really know. While he's at it, though, his landing doesn't go quite as expected, and just as he came down onto his knees, he was already falling off the spider's right side. Luckily, this spider of some gender's pal was in front of him, still trying to figure out what'd happened, so falling off completely wouldn't be the worst possible thing right now, but still, falling off something this big still wasn't ideal, either.

He fumbled, then, for a critical moment, trying to get a hand in place, before getting it right by stabbing into the side of the spider's outer skeleton. Fortunately, lady luck had deigned this spider a pushover, and his knife sticks in like through butter. Which was insanely satisfying. He might've just broken down in excitement right there if he had had the opportunity and just started gutting this thing like a seamstress putting pins in a pin cushion, but sadly, he wasn't yet done here. He had a good grip on this thing's side now with the knife sticking out of it, but that didn't mean much when he was having to hold onto it just to not fall off. As potential ways of rectifying this situation quickly started popping into his head, he heard a definitive bang into the distance. Not some wimpy bang of a gun, either; the real wrecking crew had come. If one of those two sticklers he'd came with had actually bothered to use a grenade, than he knew now it was as good as dead.

That was good news, then, but again, he was annoyingly still hampered by this sudden death match he'd fallen into. Which were a lot more entertaining when he entered into them willingly, he felt. This fight was really just starting to become grating. He focused in on continuing back up the spider, though. He took a knife from his shirt as best as he could manage, still gripping with one hand onto the knife he was holding onto to stay on, and stuck the one he'd just pulled out in higher on the spider, for good measure. It made the spider's limbs twitch and spasm a little for a bit, but considering the size of arachnid, he imagined the impact he'd made overall was probably insignificant. He needed to find something more substantial to do this thing. With his two knives firmly in place now, he could finally lift himself up, so he clamored on the bug's back, his intial target. 'Now, where's the off switch?' he wondered cheerfully, thinking of all the fun places he could try stabbing. He was about to get a fun glimpse into spider anatomy!

In his excitement, as he stabbed a knife in, he almost forgot the friend of the spider he'd climbed on. That one was actually getting dangerously close now, and beyond just trying to dodge it or something, Chase had no real plan to deal with it. The fae were known to like games, was it a real game if they had to cheat this much to lose? Maybe all supernaturals really were just liars. Typical. Still, the sight of the other insect makes his eyes widen a bit in curiosity. His two partners were still not in sight, and not even knowing which direction he should be looking for them, he decided just to take a shot in the dark by calling out to them.

"Hey, you guys still busy? I could use a hand! Or some bullets, actually!" Actually, now that he considered it, bullets were probably the thing he needed. This spider had been much softer then he'd expected, but it was big and had a lot of guts, and it was round enough to hold them in, he figured. Even if he wasn't right, he couldn't stick around here much longer to figure out. As the other spider began to climb up onto the spider he was on, he dropped back down to holding onto the knives on the side he was holding from before, readying himself for whatever he'd have to do next. Assuming this wasn't it.

Rustic · Jul 21, 2017

Naomi had almost jumped when, on becoming closer to Orthrus, she was struck suddenly by the heat that he seemed to emanate, but already under duress, she held onto her composure and traipsed forward. Every thought that was fighting for space in her head at the moment felt sickening to think about, and she didn't want to consider any of it. As she moved ahead, she felt her thoughts just slip farther away from her, her senses. She was also still, paradoxically, inescapably present in the moment; she felt all too aware of the all the mundane, the feeling of him beside her, the slight strain in her legs as she kept up with the man, everything they were passing that she tried not to see. She just... didn't want this to be happening right now. She had no idea what it could even mean. Why would this follower be so bold as to follow her now of all times? This shouldn't be the end of the world to her, she felt. As regrettable as it is, she isn't alone; someone is with her, someone who wouldn't let something happen to her like this is broad daylight. Right? Her thoughts threatened to spiral like that uncontrollably, but before they had the chance, she felt a sudden grip on her hand, and a tug to a different direction.

The abrupt change of pace was enough to make her heart jump, but as Orthrus took the lead, and lead her down a new path, she quickly figured why. She struggled for a moment to keep pace with him as her attention moved backwards, to try and find once and for all if they were being purposefully tailed. Her heart sank, then, when she caught the figure as they started to move around the corner. The second glimpse didn't really relieve her confusion any; it wasn't as if this was someone she knew. From what she could tell, this person was of a more bestial race - silvery fur lined their exposed, muscled arms, and though she didn't catch a good look, their jaw seemed far more like an animal's muzzle than a human's mouth. As she's mulling it over, trying to think deeper for anything specific that might have prompted this, she finally noticed her acquaintance's growing discontent. She readjusted her posture a little bit before she heard his unamused remark. It was funny, in it's own way, and under a normal circumstances, she might've choked out a laugh, but her eyes lidded somewhat. Pensive, but also, remorseful.

"This was a bad time to be pursued..." she sighed, running her hand lightly through her bangs. At another time, had she the energy, she could've changed her look. Ducked off somewhere into the crowd or just made it so she looked a little more imposing. But right now, this was about all she could manage. She gritted her teeth. There wasn't much to be done, like this. At the rate they were going, it didn't look like the follower had any intention of stopping. It was either try to keep escaping or confront this situation head on, and if Orthrus' comment had been any indication, neither of them liked the idea from running away from this. There would be no telling what this person came for if she didn't do something now, and if they were to come back at a different time, when she had no company here... she shuddered to think about what might have happened otherwise, had she decided to walk alone today. At any rate, the thought is enough to force her hand. Without thinking much further about it, she slowly lets go of Orthrus' hand and delicately stops to turn around toward their follower.

Their is no change in the figure that she can notice. They only stop in turn and stared with narrowed, slitted eyes. It was pretty clear now; their follower was a wolfman. Or a wolfperson. A supernatural creature, standing tall with the silhouette of a human, and the anatomy of a wolf. Sometimes confused with werewolves. They calmly removed the cigarette they had been smoking from their mouth and cleanly stubbed it against the wall beside them, and placed their now free paws into the pockets of their jacket. Naomi took a reluctant step forward and stretched out her back wings as best she could manage.

"You've been following us," she said quietly.

The figure scoffed and stood their ground easily, a paw irrelevantly moving to their hip. "You're a perceptive one, huh?" they asked sarcastically. Their voice isn't especially feminine or masculine; it just had a low, somewhat scratchy rumble. To their comment, though, she couldn't help but blink confusedly in response.

"I- I spotted you," she challenged. It might've otherwise sounded confident, but there's a slight stutter still a slight sutter, giving away her apprehension. In response, the wolf just shakes their head.

"That's not what I meant, hun." There's a small pause, before they simply sighed. "You'll be easy." The audaciousness of the statement made Naomi's wings twitch and her eyes widen somewhat.

"But, look," they said frankly, putting their paws up dismissively. They don't look directly at Orthrus, but they did give him a quick, curt glance before their eyes look back at Naomi. "I haven't been following anyone. So don't worry about it." Their statement was so sardonic and flippant that it made the hair on the back of Naomi's neck bristle. They were surprisingly brazen. They were obviously lying, and yet, they didn't seem to care. The wolf took one last look up and down at the both of them before apparently deciding their work was done. Without a word, they began to try to casually walk off.

PanOtterPus · Jul 21, 2017

Gabe allowed himself only a moment of awe at the sight of the beast going down - nothing satisfied him more than seeing his target killed. Then, reminded that they had a teammate to find, he emerged from his vantage spot after his ritual soft touch of the ground, thanking that particular spot for aiding him. It was weird, he knew, but it was a habit he just couldn't break. Jogging after Fifer, Gabe reached for one of his handguns, aware that this was no longer sniping time.

Just as he caught up with her, Gabriel heard Chase's distressed call from through the trees and took off to find him. He could only assume that his partner's situation was nothing less than uncomfortable from the sound of his yell. And he wasn't wrong. Emerging from the trees, Gabriel saw two large arachnids, one with Chase upon it with a knife dug into it's flesh. Deja vu from the Wendigo incident... "Chase, there's such a thing as personal space you know!" Chuckling slightly, Gabe aimed his gun without thinking and began to lay shots into the free spider, aiming for the face and abdomen. The creature slowed, screeching in pain, sounding like something straight out of hell itself. And then there was one.

----------

Aeryn liked the way this faun spoke about the program - with a sense of pride and duty. It made it seem all the more worth it to the elf. Following her lead, Aeryn began to answer. "Well, I don't know much about your world in that city, but from what I've heard some species are seriously in danger. I mean, us elves don't like each other enough to make kids much anymore, we tend to mix with other races - stronger races mostly. I guess I just wanted to get away from all that. I'm not quite like the others - I just have the temper." Corvus nodded at this to which Aeryn just rolled her eyes.

Aeryn, without even noticing, pulled a rather unattractive face at that next question. What was she looking for? Heck, who knew? She simply shrugged. "I mean, I don't even know what I'm looking for. I need someone who can keep up with my personality. I need someone who's not some wimp, I need a challenge. That's the issue with the men in my clan. Pushovers and thieves." She made a "tsk" noise at this.

Corvus began to shift uncomfortably, sensing a strange unease in their new companion, a sense he now began to feel himself. Aeryn absentmindedly raised a hand to stroke the bird, trying to calm him. She watched Yseri closely, still worrying if this was a good idea after all, but not willing to go back to a life in the tunnels either. Sure, she preferred the dark, but the men? Ugh.

PanOtterPus · Jul 21, 2017

Orthrus could practically hear the cogs turning in Naomi's head as she decided her next move. Neither of the pair appreciated the situation and wanted it taken care of swiftly. They had a gala to attend after all. Then Orthrus slowed as he registered his suddenly empty hand. He spun and saw that Naomi had stopped, aiming to challenge their pursuer. Well, shit.

The hound took a few steps back to line up behind her again and glared over at their "friend". A wolf. Perfect. Most seemed to believe they owned the joint, with having some of the highest numbers due to their tendency to create packs, much like the vampires and their hives. Wolves and vampires, they seemed to cause the most bother around the city, sick of being forced to hide while listening to great tales of their monstrous ancestors. Sure, Orthrus had been right up there with some of the best of 'em but he had accepted that this was their life now, and it just had to stay that way for a while, but some folk just couldn't accept it. He had been wondering if this was one such wolf when they began to talk. So, lies was it? Orthrus simply gave an unamused, cold chuckle at the blatant lie, but was satisfied enough to see their retreating back.

"Well, I call bullshit on their story, but looks like they're leaving well enough alone for now. I'll keep a good eye open for 'em at the Gala though. Don't want 'em showin' up and ruinin' a perfectly good day. C'mon, let's get to the festivities." Orthrus laced a large, gentle hand on Naomi's shoulder and led her back towards their destination, though he kept scanning their surroundings, worried their wolf buddy might come back.

DergTheDergon · Jul 22, 2017

Near London, England, on The Surface...

Leading the way past the bloodied and lifeless monster corpse, kicking it derisively as she passed it and headed into the trees, Fifer listened to ensure that Gabe was following. She found her muscles relaxing slightly when it was clear by the sounds of things that he was right behind her. She felt safer knowing such a dependable and quick-thinking hunter was watching her back. Willing herself not to daydream about him like some sensitive teenage heartthrob, Fifer kept trudging steadily and carefully, yet with a sense of urgency towards the direction she remembered Chase being thrown off into by the Wendigo, gun steadily held at chest-height while she kept her breathing as steady as possible.

Suddenly, a feint sound carrying just far enough to reach her ears caused fifer’s legs to carry her faster through the forest; Chase’s cry for help in his trademark, unmistakable carefree choice of words and lilting tone of voice.

“Hear that, Gabe?” She said, tilting her head back so he could hear her, but still keeping her gaze alertly forward, uttering a short chuckle while shaking her head a bit while she now all but sprinted towards the direction Chase’s cry had come from. “The lunatic’s still alive.” There was a fair amount of relief in her voice that she did not intend to show, betraying her concern for others that, out of a ploy to appear as mentally and emotionally tough as she can, she constantly endeavored to keep to herself.

Barreling through the trees while ignoring the unnaturally dark and gloomy atmosphere coupled with occasional haunting, directionless cackles as best as she can, Fifer came to a halt within a smaller clearing surrounded on all sides with thick trees. In the midst, Chase was making it clear that he enjoyed very… bold approaches to fighting even the deadliest of monsters, to put it politely. Chuckling at Gabe's apt little quip, then seeing him take the sight as a cue to run in guns blazing, quite literally, Fifer followed suit, taking a deep breath and narrowing her gaze as she focused on precisely shooting at the legs of the spider Chase was making an impromptu monster rodeo performance out of, effectively destroying about 5 of its legs so that it could no longer scurry about, though it was still trying with all its might to throw him off as well as get at Fifer in the process, as it sensed her sixth sense. In the end, it had managed to scurry just inches away from her, its deathly toxic mandibles nearly able to pierce her skin before she, just in the nick of time, stepped way the hell back from the beastie. Taking another precise burst shot, the already bloodied second spider hissed in pain before collapsing next to its friend. Fifer let out a deep breath, closing her eyes for a second to collect herself before opening them again and leveling her green gaze at chase.

“There ya are, chase, a shit ton of bullets, just like you ordered,” she said with a grin, mechanically reloading her gun simultaneously.

Then, she closed her eyes again and felt out her surroundings, imagining her consciousness expanding to fill the surroundings.By doing this, she felt the steadily fading magic auras of the now-dead spiders, and then, somehow behind her already, she felt a few rather potent, yet very tiny, magical presences. Those goddamned pixies, no doubt.

Whirling around, she stared straight at where she remembered feeling them. “Alright, come the hell out. Your deaths will be quick if you don’t pull any more bullshit!” She called out.

For a moment, there was silence and stillness… then, the gloomy hue around the forest began to shift, conveying a sudden unease, as well as the rage of the unseelie fae. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a flame, feeling and appearing as real as can be, suddenly sparked right in the middle, of the group of three hunters, spreading quickly. “How about instead, you scurry away before you burn to a crisp?” An angry, no longer amused cacophony of eerie voices sounded out. Despite all this, Fifer grinned. The fae knew they were cornered now. Now moving from where she stood even as the flame moved closer and she felt the burning heat, she brought her right forefinger up to her earpeice and spoke into it authoritatively. ‘The fire isn’t real,” she reminded them, as well as herself. With those words, the fire stopped burning her, and she looked down at her arm to realize she was fine, grinning even wider. “You should be able to see purple specs of light now… give ‘em hell.”

These were the fae’s true forms, round dancing violet lights with tiny winged creatures at the center. Making sure to avoid her friends, she fired after them, and a good chunk of them were caught in her spray. Others retreated like the wind, and once the three of them were finished, the forest was still. Fifer sighed, shaking slightly. “Well, we didn’t get ‘em all but they’re fast, we shouldn’t expect to. I’ll mark this place on the guild map as a den. The other hunters’ll flock to this place and snuff out the rest of the little bastards, but they know us now so they’ll keep hidden from us.” It was clear that Fifer had spent many hours studying these sorts of creatures, and it helped that she’d dealt with unseelie fae before. Fae, so easily able to hide and disguise themselves as well as having a naturally mischievous nature made up a large percentage of the creatures that have evaded the MPA’s grasp, making them quite the nuisance for humankind.

Fifer then met each of her companion’s eyes. “Alright, let’s get back. Job's as done as it can be for now.”

Verdas