Realistic or Modern The Markings

[FaithWynters]

This Roleplay is reserved​

"I'm not who I was one year ago
and maybe,
just this once,
change is good."​

Please find characters here.​

 

[Tenebra]

From above, the cityscape was a peaceful, mesmerizing sight, rather than the bustling crowd of people and vehicles traveling from place to place below. Adriana perched herself on top of a tall building, peering through a pair of binoculars and keeping an eye out for any new markings across the city. A few days prior to this moment, she had received her latest job, and it was slightly out of the norm for her. She was not given a specific target, but instead an area to maintain watch over until she found an unfamiliar piece of artwork, or better yet, a marker spraying those cryptic codes. She was nearly clueless as to why so many people had their hearts set on destroying those markings and any who created them, but didn't question the jobs since they paid just as much as any other. Still, she was curious, and had a secondary goal of discovering the meaning of it all.

A sigh of disappointment left her lips as she set down the binoculars, unsuccessful. She then placed them in a black bag, which she swung over her shoulder before standing up and taking in the view of the midnight skyline. The gentle breeze blew through her silky, crimson strands of hair and brought a chill to her pale skin, making her shiver instinctively. A dark, leather jacket with white fur on the hood covered her body, and concealed the small pistol and knife holstered on her belt. After gazing at the vibrant lights and towering glass skyscrapers for a while, she turned towards the ladder she climbed up from, then slowly slid down it all the way to the base of the brick building. Deciding that this night of work was completed, she began to head towards her car, but stopped short as a shadowy figure of a woman appeared in the corner of her eye.

 

[FaithWynters]

It was a chilly night. The wind forced itself between the unmoving buildings. Dark thick clothing wrapped around the thin figure that shot out of the stone fortress that seemed almost out of place nestled between the skyscrapers of glass. With face hidden and body warm, she started making her way toward the closest train terminal. It had been a long one for her. The past few late nights had reduced her patience with the guys in her team to almost nothing. She was just glad to be out of there for the day, and would enjoy being able to just relax at home. She could enjoy a nice little dinner and relax in front of the television. Still, she knew that it was going to still be a little while before she could make it home. She needed to run a few errands before she made it anywhere.

It was an important message to be sent tonight. It was a warning. Markers were targets now. They were like the Navajo code talkers—without them, the messages couldn’t be securely sent to others. The young woman couldn’t count on a single hand all the friends she had lost. The organization had become a sort of family for her. They were people that she could relate to, that understood her, and she could go out and have a drink with every now and again. It was…strange, although she had only been part of the organization for almost a year, that some of them were gone.

That’s why she had been entrusted with this job, and she had taken it gladly. She was the fastest—not only at tagging but also at running, and she was careful. Her art was cleaner and the messages could be easily spotted between her trademark candy-floss colors.

Twenty minutes had passed, and after taking a few trains and walking, Carly found her way near the target. No matter what, being careful was the top priority; being captured wasn’t an option. She had to make it back to where someone had dropped off her pack earlier in the day. Down a nearby alleyway, she would pick up the cans, and walk it through some of the back alleyways to a nearby storefront. The location was important, so she pulled out her phone to double check and kept walking into the darkness of the alleyway.

 

[Tenebra]

Adriana turned to face what seemed to be a person, hidden by the lack of illumination within the alley. A hand swiftly reached under her coat and clutched the gun by her waist out of reflex, but her legs didn't move a muscle. Her mind didn't carry any fear, but several thoughts ran through her head as she tried to figure out who it might be and what her next move should be. As the person came closer into view, Adriana leaned against the bricks and maintained her focus, pulling her hand away from the pistol and back out into the open air.

The assassin was overly confident at times in her abilities, and had a habit of toying with her victims instead of finishing the job quickly and efficiently. "What are you doing here?", she asked the unknown figure in a harsh, monotone voice. She suspected it might've been a marker, and at the thought of completing her task in such a timely manner made her lips curve into a devilish smirk. Although, in the darkness, her face was nearly completely invisible, despite her colored hair and pale skin.

 

[FaithWynters]

After clearing the message after one final read, Carly was able to return her attention to her surroundings. Still she kept the phone out, just so that her figure appeared to be much more worried about the phone than the things around her. It was then, as she neared the darkening bend in one of the alleys that she saw the thin silhouette. Whether male or female, it could not be determined from where she was walking. Still, she acted as if she hadn’t seen the figure. Not knowing their intentions, she didn’t know if she could get past them. For a moment, she stuffed her hands in her pockets, deposited the phone, and relished in the little bit of warmth.

It wasn’t until she grew closer that the figure spoke. Although harsh, she could tell the voice was female. Even after these few months of marking, she hadn’t completely gotten the hang of walking around in the darkness with complete confidence. She jumped and, with the contraction of her chest, let out a quiet little noise. She needed to be careful and play into her youthful frame and unmeaning demeanor.

“Jesus!” She let out a quiet little giggle. “You right scared me there.” She stopped for a moment, placing a gloved hand on her chest and bending slightly. It was a rougher neighborhood, but she couldn’t be too careful. Any person lurking in the shadows could be out to kill her. She could defend herself if needed, and run in the blink of an eye. By the long red hair, she could tell that she was speaking to a woman, but anything further than that she couldn’t see in the darkness; she hoped the same could be said about her. “Maybe you can help me?” She didn’t take a step closer. “I got stood up tonight on a date—can you believe it? Some guy on 87th told me I could cut through these alleys to make it to the train station, but I think I’m really lost.” Carly knew the closes station was in the direction she needed to go—and they were all pretty far away to boot. “I came from Bubble and Brews, and I think he sent me the wrong way.” The train station by Bubble and Brews—a cute kawaii bar that Carly had wanted to go to—had been a block from the bar, but in the opposite direction they were now.

 

[Tenebra]

Upon hearing the feminine giggle, she raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised, as well as amused. She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger as she listened intently, analyzing every word. "Lost? I doubt it, no everyday person would be this at ease, talking to someone in a dark alleyway. Still, her story's convincing, and it's too early to come to any conclusions just yet," Adriana thought to herself, taking a moment to process what the woman before her just told her.

"Stood up, huh? Well, I'm sorry to hear that, I guess it's been a long night for both of us. And.. Yes, if my memory serves me correctly, you're definitely going the wrong way," she replied, this time in a slightly more gentle tone. She had only recently discovered Bubble and Brews, but after seeing it day after day as she took the same routes through the city on her current mission, she was all too familiar with its location. "On the off-chance this girl really is just lost, I might take her to that train station seeing as my job's done for today." Adriana was heartless, but mostly to her victims, and enjoyed whatever social fun she could get. It was a rare, but welcome change of pace from her solitary lifestyle.

However, for now, she decided to question the girl further in order to verify what she was truly there for. "Why'd you plan such a late date? Not a good time to be meeting up with people, especially at bars."

 

[FaithWynters]

Red flags. They flicked on silently in the back of Carly's mind. With each moment, she liked less and less this quiet little conversation with the shaddowy figure in the dark. Not even a normal person could be alright with this;no one was so naive. Glancing around her, she made sure that the figure did not have e companions lurking somewhere at the corners of her vision. That would be a whole other problem entirely.

The voice had softened, which to Carly meant any immediate threat was gone. If anything, the figure was still trying to sum her up. It was a step in the right direction at least, and one more moment closer to getting out of this conversation.  While trying not to get too close, the young woman took a few more steps down the alleyway, toward her destination and toward the figure.

"Just my luck." Now she was disappointed. Someone had "told her wrong directions" but even then, it looked like she wasn't going to get out of this conversation so easily. No. No. No. This wasn't right. No normal person would just have a conversation like this in the darkess. She was being interrogated. This couldn't just be normal, could it? Either that or this girl was quite strange.

"Me being pathetic and saying I waited outside the bar for over two hours probably doesn't help me land dates either I suppose." Pulling one of the hands out of her pocket, Carly squeezed her nose. "Look, could we-uh talk about my failing dates on the street or something? It's like I'm talking to Gollum or something." She let out another quiet giggle and started walking down the alleyway and toward the light. Either she would get out of this without this person following her, or she could at least see the face she was talking to.

 

[Tenebra]

The woman suggested to venture out of the alleyway-Not a problem for Adriana, she could maintain a friendly demeanor as long as she needed to, and it wasn’t as if she couldn’t reveal herself. To everyone wandering the streets, she was just an everyday girl, and she took several precautions in order have the luxury of being completely free in public.

She chuckled, shoulders shaking in amusement. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense, for all you know I could be some lunatic- I’m not, by the way,” she told the figure, chuckling once again. “Can’t say I like this place either, and I certainly wasn’t expecting someone else to pop up.” Her eyes darted around the alley for a brief moment, looking for anything that could explain why she was there herself. “This store put me on garbage duty, was just about to head back when I heard your footsteps. I’m not one to run away from scary people, but luckily you aren’t one of them!”, she said cheerfully, jutting her thumb out and pointing towards a nearby dumpster.

Adriana wanted to make herself seem convinced, for several reasons. As the unnamed woman further approached her, she hopped off of the brick wall and began to walk, keeping a short distance behind until they escaped the shadows.

 

[FaithWynters]

So she was going to be followed. Damn it. That probably meant she wouldn’t be able to complete the mark. It needed to happen. At some point she would need to get the word out to her contact to let them know their message could not be sent. If this person was the assassin then she wasn’t about to just walk away from them. An uneasy half-laugh escaped her list. Yeah, she probably would have had better luck with a mugger or thug than someone seemingly normal. Normal and asking questions. That was the worst combination.

“I guess it’s good that I found someone.” She pause for a moment, kept her head tilted toward the side so that she could see the woman following her as they neared the mouth of the alleyway. Carly hoped that her face being covered wouldn’t be too much of a flag. Even through the cloth, she knew her cheeks were rosy from the ever—cooling breeze. She could hardly feel her nose, which poked out from the two-inch space between her mouth covering and her hat. That should have been excuse enough. “I was sure that I wasn’t ever going to find the station.”

Carly carefully ran over the plausibility of her story. Did stores really have people watch over their garbage like that? It made sense to keep the homeless from making a place behind their stores. It was obvious to her that it was in these moments that being even the littlest detached from the world like she was probably hurt her. She wasn’t a professional, and she surely couldn’t see through all lies like some in the organization.

“Yeah. Luckily you weren’t either.” She let out another muffled giggle. “I wasn’t too sure when you spoke to me at first.” Taking her hands out of her pockets she rubbed them together and clasp them over her nose for a moment. It was the littlest reprieve that was welcomed.

“So.” She stopped when her boots landed solidly on the sidewalk. “Which way is the train station then, and I can be on my way.”

 

[Tenebra]

The assassin emerged from the shadows of the alley with a kind expression on her face, one that conveyed passiveness. Her hair split over her shoulders, reaching down to her chest and the middle of her back. Snowflakes scattered across the red strands like stars among a crimson sky, and unlike the woman directly in front of her, her face was completely uncovered. Adriana’s icy blue eyes had a gentle appearance, accompanied by a warm smile. Of course, this friendly demeanor was completely fake, and she needed to find out who this lost girl really was before letting her go.

Placing an index finger across her chin and lips, she stared blankly at the floor, several thoughts running through her mind. She needed to stall in some way, but at the same time she was judging the unknown woman’s appearance. The hat and mask immediately raised suspicion, but it could be forgiven much more easily on this cold, slightly snowy day.

“Sure, um... That way,” she replied, shifting her hand from her face to point in the general direction of the station as she looked back up. “But, before you go, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name? It’s not often I get to meet new people.”

 

[FaithWynters]

Carly was incredibly conflicted. With each moment, she thought back and forth between what she should do. There were only really two options. Either she could make the call in once she got on the train—she had possibly been made and needed to make it out without looking like a marker, or she could try to make her way to the bags that were a little farther down the street and in the direction that the young woman had pointed. There was a risk. Either she was made or she wasn’t. Either this was a real stranger or the person killing off the markers. No one had ever made it out with a description so they were mostly flying blind. The job was important, but with every day more and more markers were falling.

“That direction? Great. I’ll hopefully be able to find my way.” She let out another laugh that was lost in the dampening sounds of the city around her. With the breeze, a chill ran up her spine and threatened to freeze her to the bone. Carly was caught off guard by the woman’s question. She wanted her name? That was suspicious. Usually people didn’t go around asking for stranger’s names. This conversation hadn’t been something incredibly thrilling. It wasn’t anything important. That being said, she didn’t look like an assassin. While the young woman was quite beautiful, she didn’t cover her face. Usually people who were doing things wrong usually covered their faces, didn’t they? The two were far too close to the line.

“I’m Elizabeth.” She smiled. It wasn’t a truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. A middle name wouldn’t help the young woman find out anything if she was an assassin. “And you? Maybe if we see each other again, we can get drinks or something?” She smiled and stuffed her hands back into the warmth of her jacket pocket. It was a bust. She would either be told to come back later to tag, or someone else would have to do the job. All she could try to do was secure the paints and get on the train. That would leave no trace of the markers on this side of the city.

 

[Tenebra]

Adriana needed another way to stall. Clearly, small talk wasn’t going to stop the potential marker from boarding the train, or whatever she was actually up to. As she listened to the words, half of her mind was focused on getting ‘Elizabeth’ to stay longer. She decided that she had a few options to choose from, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. First, she could try to keep the woman away from the train, by offering a ride. It’d certainly be a wonderful opportunity to discover more about the mysterious lady, but there was a chance of her rejecting the offer. Second, she could leave her be for the night, and try to find her again the next day. Again, a substantial chance of failure. Third, she could force an answer from her, probably by apprehension and pushing a pistol to her head. No, that’s not going to happen, not here.

Letting out a halfhearted giggle, she nodded, deciding to go with her first option. “I’m Claire,” she answered, gazing into the brown eyes before her. It was a name she often used, and a complete lie. Only a few of her victims actually found out her real name before their death, and few people in general actually knew her as Adriana. “Drinks sound nice, I’d love to meet up sometime. This is really a strange place to meet a new friend, but.. Guess it just happened.” She raised her eyebrows, eyes twinkling as if a lightbulb flicked off in her head. “Hey, if you’re heading home, how about I take you there? This is pretty much when my work shift ends, had to stay late to fill in for someone. I know we just met, but it’d be a lot easier for you.”

If Elizabeth really was a marker, she knew the offer would most likely be declined. She didn’t even know if those spraypainters had homes, or just lived together in some kind of secret base. Still, at the time, it was probably one of her best options if she wanted to steer clear of aggression.

 

[FaithWynters]

Shit.

This had been the one way she hadn’t wanted this conversation to go. It had placed her in the tightest of corners. Carly truly wasn’t sure if she knew how to react in this situation. She knew what the protocol was, but that didn’t mean she was believable at lying. One thing she was believable at was being awkward as hell. That’s what she always seemed to fall back on too.

“Uhhh” She let out a light noise into the ever-chilling air. Any woman would debate with herself about taking the ride or not—there wouldn’t be immediate acceptance or denial. It was just too hard to tell and too large of a risk to take. If this Claire was actually the assassin then she would easily track her to the train station, to the nearby alleyway, and would almost certainly put a bullet in her head. If she wasn’t, then Carly was wasting so much time. No…. It had been made very clear to her that mistakes got you killed. The young woman was certain she preferred keeping her life than marking. Someone else would have to do it—while she kept this possible killer busy.

“What the hell. That would be awesome.” She smiled at the young woman. “It is pretty cold out here, and it would be a lot safer that way.” The pink of her cheeks was becoming very apparent under the black face covering. She just needed to act normal; if she gave this woman no reason to believe she was different than any other unknowing civilian, then things would be fine. “I’m trusting you aren’t some crazy emotionless murderer.” Another giggle, and hopefully a prod for areaction. Readjusting her hands in her pockets, she looked around to the sidewalk—the whole street was abandoned. If the young woman really worked in that small store, she was certain that the car would be parked in the garage across the street. It wouldn’t be a far walk, but the cold was starting to really sink in on the street. “Man, I wish it was summer.” She spoke simply as she absently started walking in the direction she assumed the car was.