Realistic or Modern Vampire Hunter's Oath [CrowOuttaHell, Maki]

[CrowOuttaHell]

CHARACTER B'S BIO:

Spoiler

V.R.T CLASSIFIED INFORMATION: HUNTER PROFILE X-009

NAME: KOHAKU INADA

AGE: ???
GENDER: FEMALE

BEHAVIOR: Appears to keep to self on most operations, and deals with targets quickly and efficiently. Has established a friendly rapport with certain hunters [X-008 and X-002] and shows proper respect and etiquette towards higher-ups. Any more behavioral patterns will be reported in by her squadmates in Alpha.

BACKGROUND: [REDACTED = V.R.T HAS CHOSEN NOT TO DISPLAY TO THE PUBLIC]

EQUIPMENT: Uses standard V.R.T silver bullet revolver and silver dagger. Also carries around a tachi received from her mentor back at headquarters.

A dark alley and uneasy footsteps- stumbling through with soft, untrained hands pressed against the damp rocks of the alley.

Hunger. The small morsel of food a random passerby had given her seemed like a far-away memory now. She had already eaten. Why was she still hungry?

Her eyes burn red. She collapses, coughing, getting weaker and weaker.

And then, a hand.

Rumble...rumble...

"...haku--! Hey, Kohaku!"

Her eyes snap open, and she's back in the truck, heading for their next mission. If the rumbling of the truck hadn't already awoken her from her dream, then the hand shaking her shoulder repeatedly probably did. Still, she forces herself to stay awake, the grips of sleep still tugging her back.

Memories come flooding back, and for a moment, almost on instinct, she reminds herself.
"That's right. I'm Hunter X-009 of the Vampire Response Team. X-009--"
Her own yawn snaps her focus, and she rubs at her eyes tiredly.

"Honestly...how long did you plan on sleeping? The whole journey?" The man beside her is her teammate, X-008 Ashton. A good friend of hers, who she had met the moment she was in V.R.T. Though they had been here for a bit already, she swore that sometimes, the guy still acted like a total rookie to the job.

"Probably." She tilts, ever so slightly, and steadies herself. They are Alpha Squadron- 12 hunters sent to the dreary town of Bridgestone, in the middle of nowhere and in the freezing cold. The request for the V.R.T to investigate the town surprisingly didn't come from the government- rather, they came from an awful lot of concerned families and friends.
"That Bridgestone place is haunted. People come in there and never come out!"
...In more serious terms, Bridgestone had suddenly cut all contact with the outside world, for an unknown reason. It was the perfect time to take new recruits on their first mission. Or, at least, new recruits to Alpha Squadron, such as the new one sitting just across from Ashton.

"Hey, recruit!" Ashton called, pausing to smile sheepishly at the rest of the hunters that looked over at him- his voice had been a little loud. Keeping his voice a bit more quiet, he turned back to the new recruit.

"How're you holding up so far? Things might be a bit overwhelming at first, but it's just like any job...probably." He glanced at his seatmate.

Maki

 

[Maki]

Spoiler

V.R.T CLASSIFIED INFORMATION: HUNTER PROFILE X-012

NAME: ELA CALLISTO
AGE: 24
GENDER: FEMALE

BEHAVIOR: A sharp shooter and a quick thinker, Ela is a good asset to have in a squadron. She tends to along well with other members and can follow orders well. However, as many recruits tend to be, she has a tendency to try and prove herself to higher ups. Due to her lack in field experience, a more seasoned operator should keep an eye on her, so that she doesn't compromise a mission.

BACKGROUND: Ela decided to join the V.R.T after an incident where a childhood friend had an encounter with a vampire. Fueled by a wish to prevent events like this from happening to others, she signed her contract to join. Ela passed boot camp with exceptional skill, especially in shooting. Upon graduation she was assigned to Alpha Squadron as X-012. Currently she is en route to the town of Bridgestone on her first assignment.

EQUPIMENT: Ela is equipped with a standard silver bullet revolver and dagger. Her main weapon is a PDW-9 submachine gun, with two 51 round drum mags, and three 30 round magazines. In her breast pocket she carries a cross, and in her back pocket she carries a small clove of garlic.

The car ride seemed like it would never end. In the back of a V.R.T convoy say Ela Callisto, newest member of Alpha Squadron. She was fresh out of boot camp and was already being sent off on a mission. Things were moving so quick and she didn't quite know how to keep up with it all. Her first instinct was to fall asleep, hoping that by the time she woke up Alpha Squad would've arrived at their mission site. But she was a rookie and sleeping on the first day wouldn't reflect well on her. Besides, one of the senior members might try to mess with her.

She sat silently most of the way, fiddling around with the silver dagger in her hand. CQB wasn't her strongest skill but she knew how to use a knife effectively. Shooting was the area that she succeeded in. There was something about guns that clicked with her, and it really shined through during training. As much as she didn't want to run into a vampire today, she figured it'd be a good opportunity to prove herself useful.

Ela's eyes shot up by the sudden voice calling out for her, the silver knife nearly tumbling out of her grasp. It was X-008, his actual name slipping her mind. Was it Austin? Allen? Alex? It was on the tip of her tongue yet she couldn't call it to memory. She doesn't know the names of anyone on the squad. "I'm doing just fine." She began, sliding the knife back into its sleeve and giving Ashton a small smile.. "Although I'm tired of this damn bus ride. I don't think we've stopped for a bathroom break once..." In all honesty she wasn't fine, she was filled with plenty of different emotions. The recruit was excited to finally get out on the field and potentially see some real action, but at the same time her stomach was filled with anxious butterflies. What if this whole thing went wrong? Back in camp a common superstition that ran rampant was the "Newcomer Curse". Trainees would tell stories of prestigious, battle hardened squads who unfortunately perished after gaining a new recruit. Of course, Ela didn't buy this at first, but after some drill sergeants confirmed a few cases of this happening, she became worried. What if the curse was real, and she was its vessel? The mission would go wrong and they'd all die! The girl shuddered at the grim thought and shook it out of her head. "Do you have an estimate as to how far out we are? Or would it be better that I didn't know?"

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

"I reckon we're not too far from the destination now. Look at that--" Ashton craned his neck to peer past the other members of Alpha Squadron, to stare outside. "Endless fields of white. Suffice to say, we're now in the middle of nowhere."

"I'll say. It's damn freezing out here!" Another voice piped in, this time from somewhere near the end of the convoy. X-004, Goro, was a hulking mass of tattoos and ammunition. A weapons expert...though not so much when it came to anything written on paper.
"And the lil' lass is right. I need a loooong break after this ride! Not even our old trip to that swamp was this bad."

"You literally stopped the truck to go for a bathroom break on one of the trees, Goro." Kohaku spoke up, feeling herself wake up a little more. The man just laughed. "Well, it was either this whole truck floods with--"

"--Hey, it's normal to be swimming in excitement on the first mission," Ashton cut Goro's bawdy joke off by addressing Ela again. "It sure beats being nervous. Everyone on Alpha's been through it."
He laughed, calling up a few memories to lighten the exhausted mood of the convoy.

"When I was a new member and the higher-ups gave me a rifle, I dropped it on my leg the moment we were sent marching. It was an instant 50 push ups for the whole squad," Ashton recalled.
"Yeah-- and you can go to hell for it, Ashton. And one time, the guy leading one of our operations assigned me to watch over the rest of the squad. He said, 'Goro, I'd better not see a single drunken man on our team.'" Goro flashed a toothy grin. "And, well...let's just say I was the first one drunk!"

"Only woman here that hasn't been through that is X-009 here." Ashton joked, punching Kohaku lightly in the shoulder. Kohaku, slightly rattled, glared at him weakly. "Then again, nothing's fazed you so far right?"

"...During CQB training, I made a mistake and cut my own palm. It needed stitches. It also earned me a scolding." Kohaku admitted with a heavy sigh, causing a few around to chuckle. It was strange enough to see the normally quiet hunter talking- much less admitting her own weakness.

"Now, now, I can see the town up ahead!" The driver of the convoy, X-001 Maxwell spoke up. "I feel like pushing this thing to its maximum speed just to keep you guys from telling any stories about me at this point!" The man also happened to be the assigned leader to the squadron currently.

"Pardon me, Maxwell, but you practically have the most stories out of everyone here."

"I know...hey, Ela, was it?" Maxwell called from the front. "Once we make ourselves comfortable over there at Bridgestone, we're gonna introduce the crew to ya. Since you're a part of Alpha now, best to get along, aye? You're gonna be dealing with our faces for a while. We'll be stuck here for...a month, according to HQ."

 

[Maki]

Ela glanced out the window, and just as Ashton described it was pure white. She grew up with snow so it was nothing new or surprising, however never before has she seen this much snow. It was almost gross... How could people live in a place like this, where its always cold, dark, and empty? Another voice spoke up, this time coming from someone she recognized. This man was Goro, or X-004, the weapon nut of the group. X-012 still wasn't fond with him but had a feeling that he'd be easy to connect with. He liked guns. She liked guns. It was a friendship made in heaven. She couldn't help but let out a little giggle at his dumb joke, knowing very well where it'd go before he was cut off. X-009 also spoke up, catching Ela off guard. The entire ride here, that girl never said a word. But now she was telling tales and talking with the others!

Now that the squad was alive and talking the trip seemed a lot less dull. All these tales seemed too good to be true. She had a few stories of her own from back at training, but they were mostly of other trainees. However this didn't mean she got off scotch-free. "I have one story from back at boot camp. It was our first day on the range with live ammo, and I was really feeling myself. I picked a pretty big rifle just to show off to everyone. I put my face a little too close to the scope and the recoil sent it flying back at my eye. It left a big ass black eye for a week! On my shooting eye too." That was definitely the lowlight of her training, yet a good conversation starter.

Ela's heart sank when it was revealed that they'd be stationed at Bridgestone for a month. An entire month in this snow filled town that probably no one outside of Alpha Squad even knew about. "An entire month!?" She lamented, her head falling back and letting out a groan. "I'm gonna lose my mind by the end of this, staring at white all day..."

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

Ashton visibly cringed at the mention of a black eye, groaning. "Oh god, black eyes take me all the way back to grade school." He spoke with a slight grimace, though his tone remained playful. "Still got them in high school, but in college I managed to give this big, tough guy one. And that was the day I decided, 'Yep, I'm gonna join the V.R.T!' Boy, did I not know that vampires are harder to deal with than jocks..."

"And what about vampire jocks?" Maxwell joked. Ashton laughed. "Well-- I'd probably be the first to run!"

Upon hearing Ela's comment on being stuck in Bridgestone, Maxwell allowed a tired sigh to fall from his lips. "Not that we can do much about it. HQ said we were the 'best for the job'...whatever that means."
"Sheesh! What gives, anyway? Why couldn't they just station Beta Lookout out here instead of sending us?" Goro was quick to voice his own disapproval at the mission.

"It's the snow."

Kohaku spoke up again, lazily trying to smooth out her hair. "Morale would probably drop if they had nothing to look at but fields of white and vampires. Better to have an active group than a passive one out here."

She paused for a little. "...Not to say I like being out in the winter. At the very least there's a little less sun in your eyes."

"And that's why everyone thinks you're nocturnal," Ashton snickered. "You woke up late and slept practically the whole trip!"

"I'm awake now, aren't I?" She said with a small smile.

"It's a sign! A sign at last!" Maxwell called excitedly- for a leader figure, he was professional only in front of the seniors and towards the citizens of towns they investigated, but was almost like a young, hot-blooded teenager around his squad.
"Start getting ready with your stuff, ladies and gents- we'll be at Bridgestone in just a few!"

(OOC Note: Would you like to play a few NPCs of your own or should I go ahead and flesh out the citizens and the squadron myself?)

 

[Maki]

Ela chuckled at the thought of a vampire jockey. It sounded like it was something ripped out from some teenage love story; the cute quiet girl falls for the star quarterback, only to find out he's a vampire. "Don't let them catch you. They might shove you into a coffin, or give you a swirly in human blood!" She teased, her foot tapping happily on the ground. Maybe being stuck for a month with these guys wouldn't be so bad. If vampire activity was low it'd pretty much be a vacation. But instead of the Bahamas it was the polar opposite.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at their reasoning for Alpha Squad to take on this mission. "Best for the job", wasn't the most in depth answer. But of course, grunts like them couldn't ask for a better explanation. The biggest thing in a military is following orders, and that's simply what they had to do. Her frustrated gaze was casted over to Kohaku as she tried to shine some light on the situation. Snow. That was the reason they were sent and not another group. "You know what? As long as we have a warm place to sleep, I really don't give a shit about the snow. But if we have to sleep in igloos or camp out in a field, it'll be a different story. I'm a vampire killing machine, not a girl scout!"

Ela's mood quickly lightened up once Maxwell exclaimed that they would be arriving soon. Her hand did a little fist pump in the air, the rookie quietly expressing her excitement. However following her excitement came a great feeling of anxiousness. Bridgestone has gone dark, so really they were going in blind. They could be ambushed the moment they stepped off the convoy. Her hand slid down to the trigger of her PDW, flicking the safety off just in case. She didn't want to be caught with her pants down in an ambush. "So, what's our first order of business once we have boots on the ground?" Ela asked the group, the faintest hint of worry in her voice.

(I wouldn't mind taking some stress off your back and take control of some NPC's, but I don't want to mess up anything you might have planned)

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

"I think V.R.T set us up with a place to stay at, owned by an ex-hunter." Maxwell spoke, scratching at his chin.
"Ex-hunter?" Kohaku seemed to be intrigued, raising an eyebrow. Ashton nodded.

"Yeah. Maybe the guy just retired due to old age. HQ said he was a veteran."

Kohaku reached down, picking up the tachi lying at her feet. She lightly dusted off the sheath, securing her hand around the hilt. It was times like this, as the sun was going down, that she felt the most alive. She needed the feel of stingray wrapping under her palm to keep herself sane...otherwise, she'd end up just like them.

The convoy finally stopped. Before they climbed out, Maxwell turned around in his seat to address the squadron.

"Alright, gang. The moment we're in the town, V.R.T said some of the locals would lead us to the ex-hunter's place. After we're comfortable, we get out and get as much information as we can out of the locals before the sun completely disappears. And after that..."
Maxwell took a deep breath to steady himself.
"Well, we'll get a little rest and patrol in pairs the minute it hits midnight."

As the squadron stepped out, Kohaku drew a breath- she could practically see it with how cold it was. And with this cold...
"There won't be a lot of small animals..."

Nevertheless, as Ashton nudged her off, she quickly drew the hood over her head and tied the tachi to her side.

"Look alive, ladies and gents. I think I see our welcomers approaching." Maxwell quickly fixed himself into a more professional look as the hunters followed behind him.

(No worries! I haven't planned as much for the NPCs, anyway.)

 

[Maki]

In the midst of uncertainty about the mission, it was nice to know that they'd have a place to stay, ran by a trusted ex-hunter. Ela felt much safer now, knowing that a professional was going to be sheltering them. "He probably has the place vampire-proofed' she thought to herself, trying to estimate how safe the place would be. In reality they'd probably be fine, but of course her mind drifted towards the worst possible outcome. "We get to the shelter, only to find out that the ex-hunter is actually a vampire overlord, and he lured us to his den where we are overwhelmed and torn apart by his minions!'

Ela nearly jumped out of her seat as she felt the convoy come to a halt. She was so eager to get out and stretch her cramping limbs. Their plan seemed simple so far; just meet up with some locals and get comfortable at their temporary base of operations, then take night patrols. A pretty uneventful day at that, but it was better that way. "Yes sir!" She said to Maxwell, standing up with the others. The doors opened and the blonde girl was blasted by a gust of cold winter air causing her to flinch at the surprising chilliness. "I wish I brought another layer..." She grumbled, gripping her gun tightly and hopping out into the snowy street. With an exhale she saw the steam from her breath manifest in the air, causing her to smirk. She couldn't help but recall silly memories from her childhood. Memories from winters long ago, where she'd pretend to put a cigarette to her mouth, her breath acting as a fake snow. Her mother would always scold her if she got caught, saying how if she kept pretending to smoke she'd end up doing it for real, and that she would die early. Of course these morbid warnings never stopped her from making the stupid joke.

Just as planned a small group of locals bundled up in thick winter clothes approached Alpha Squad, stopping within talking distance. The middle aged man leading the group reached up and pulled the scarf away from his mouth. "Are you the V.R.T fellas we've been expecting? If so, get your stuff and lets get going. I don't want to be out at dark." He told them, a few of his acquaintances nodding in agreement. He only waited a few minutes before turning face and walking down the street, his hand beckoning them to follow.

(I hope you don't mind me taking control of those npc's~)

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

Maxwell nodded, straightening his posture and motioning briefly with a hand for the others to be at ease. Ashton took a hint, lightly nudging Kohaku. "But," The hunter whispered to his friend, "be prepared to draw it."
"Then I need my hand on it, Ash," Kohaku replied, smirking slightly. Nevertheless, she allowed her hand to loosen a bit on the hilt of her tachi. It wasn't long until Maxwell was leading the rest of Alpha Squadron through the wintery streets of Bridgestone.

Despite the thick snow covering practically everything, Bridgestone seemed like a normal enough town. It seemed that electricity was still working, as a few shops and houses had their lights on. While there were still people out and about, they seemed to talk quietly and kept glancing to and fro. As the telltale forms of vampire hunters came through, the group caught onto a few whispers.

"Aren't those vampire hunters?"
"V.R.T sure took a long time getting here."
"Can those hunters even handle the ones here...?"

"Bloody hell, Max." Goro whispered harshly. "How are we gonna work in a place where so few people believe in us?"
"Don't let your heart rule your head, Goro," Maxwell replied sternly, glancing at the weapons expert. "We're here to do a job given to us by V.R.T. The tribes back at the swamp we went through didn't believe in us that much, either."

A little kid ran up to the hunters, jumping. His small hand caught on Kohaku's hood-- or at least, it touched the fabric before he found himself suspended in air by pale fingers wrapped around his wrist. "W-Whoa...!"

Ashton was quick to catch on the familiar presence Kohaku was emanating, her eyes focused firmly on the vein running down the little boy's wrist. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and slowly, Kohaku set him back on the ground. "See, my friend's really quick," He joked to reassure the kid. "We all are. We'll deal with the vampires here as quickly as that."

"C-Cool!" The kid seemed awestruck, already forgetting his fear due to hearing Ashton's comforting words.
"But," Ashton smiled, motioning with his head to Kohaku and keeping a firm hand on her shoulder to keep her from joining up with the others. The black-haired girl gave a little grunt as she was tugged back. "You have to apologize to my friend for pulling down her hood."

"Sorry, miss, my friends dared me to." He explained sheepishly. "But my name's Lucas! If you wanna hear all about Bridgestone, I'm sure Papa will be able to tell you!"

Maxwell caught onto the talks, and stepped over. "Is that so, Lucas?" He knelt down to the boy's level. "Well, where's your Papa?"

"We own the gun shop over there," Lucas pointed. Goro's head immediately swivelled to look at it, his eyes shining- much like a kid in a candy store. "He's probably working there right now, to keep the vampires away!"

"I see. Thank you, Lucas. Run along now, and be careful of vampires!" As the young boy ran off to rejoin his snickering friends, Maxwell glanced at the rest of the squad. "We got a lead, this early. I'd say this is a good sign, isn't it lads?"

 

[Maki]

Ela walked with the group through the snowy streets, her green eyes cautiously scanning all of the shops and alleyways. It was astonishing that a place so far out with cut communications and a supposed vampire problem could be this lively. There was electricity, people ran their shops, and although mostly empty, the streets had others roaming around. For some reason X-012 expected the entire place to be shutdown like a ghost town. As the group trekked along she noticed that people were watching them, talking about them.

"Do they even know what they're up against?"
"They should've sent an entire army..."
"They look confident, but I wonder how long it'll last."

Needless to say the words were disheartening. It gave Ela the urge to storm over to fhrm and give them a good chewing, or a good beat down. Unfortunately these were the people she had to help, and couldn't lay a finger on them unless threatened. Or at least that's what she thought the rule was until Kohaku quivkly grabbed the wrist of a young boy, yanking him up into the air. The move caught her completely off guard, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. "Damn..." she muttered, amazed by her squad mates lightning fast reflexes. They almost seemed supernatural.

Fortunately the situation ended peacefully and even led to a lead on their case. The kids dad seemed to be enlightened on what was going on and wouldn't let them down. On top of that, he owned a gun shop! "I assume we're going to talk to him right now?" She asked Maxwell, glancing in the direction of the shop.

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

"Probably," Maxwell replied, addressing Ela's question. "If our guides allow us to stop by." He motioned to the men leading them, smiling a bit sheepishly. "Not that I can do anything about it if they refuse. We can always come back later after we're settled in."

Seeing the looks on everyone's faces, a young man with curly black hair walked over to the hunters. "Forgive us for the...cold greetings, no pun intended." He spoke up, addressing Alpha Squadron. "Everyone's been on edge ever since some of our best young men got killed just a few nights ago."

"And sorry for my little brother, Lucas." He smiled wistfully. "He'd been scared of people with their hoods on after our mother went insane."

"Insane?" Kohaku seemed to be taken aback. The man nodded. "My name's Graham. After the attacks on some of our men, our mother went insane. She had supposedly seen one of the vampires in action- only thing we've deciphered from her ramblings was that the vampire had a blade and red eyes."

Kohaku seemed on edge, her grip on her tachi's hilt tightening. "Then-- Max, there's our lead. We'd better start asking questions now." She addressed the squad leader, as if temporarily forgetting her etiquette. Once this fact became known to her, though, she immediately dipped her head into a small bow. "Just suggesting."

"Yeah. Seems like this family's got information on the vampires we're dealing with," Maxwell agreed, walking over to the group of men that led them there- presumably to ask if they could stop by the gun shop for the time being. Kohaku rushed to his side, a hand on her hood to keep it from blowing back.

In the meantime, Ashton walked over to Ela's side. "That's something that's always bothered me about her, y'know." He mused aloud. "The moment Kohaku hears about a vampire that has red eyes, she's always onto it. Whenever we'd take down one with red eyes she'd look so disappointed, mumbling under her breath and all that jazz. It's kind of a thing that Alpha Squad just got too accustomed to." He chuckled. "Then again, it could be just a prey preference."

 

[Maki]

The men up front we're listening in our their conversations but refraining from speaking quite yet. They simply muttered under their breath or looking at one another as if they were talking telepathically. It was obvious hat they were trying to decide if they wanted to stay or go.

Their little party kept growing as a new member approached them, this time a young man. He quickly apologized for his brother's behavior and gave a snippet of information about what was going on. There were confirmed vampire attacks it seemed, and no one here could compete. If their best men were killed then that must mean that there's a lot of vampires! Yet with the way he spoke it seemed as if there was only one. She scratched the back of her head in deep thought, trying to think of the most logical answer. The recruit was only snapped out of it as Ashton spoke to her about Kohaku. "I didn't even notice her get fired up." She said, carefully eyeing her fellow hunter. She was now noticing how upset she seemed. Kohaku was gripping the hilt of her sword tightly, her muscles were tense, and she could've sworn there was a strange look in her eye. "Maybe its deeper than that... Maybe she had a traumatic experience with a red eyed demon, and justice was never served? She probably wants to serve that justice. Or it's kinda like what you said... a fetish."

The guides saw Maxwell approach and finally spoke up. "We heard what you want to do." The head man said, crossing his arms. "We will let you visit the owner, or whoever else you wish to speak to. However we require at least one or two people to escort us home. After the other night we can't afford to go wandering around alone."

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

"Thank you." Maxwell lightly dipped his head. "I'll send X-012 and X-009 to help you get home then."

"Max?" Kohaku looked up, incredulous- and even a bit frustrated. The unit leader shook his head firmly. "I'll find out as much as I can, 'Haku. In the meantime, you should probably go calm down. Getting too excited might get you in trouble when we go on patrol later on."

"I..." Kohaku trailed off, though Maxwell's stare brought back memories. There were a few precious moments where Maxwell really seemed to be the authority figure V.R.T wanted him to be- it seemed only yesterday there were only 9 members in Alpha Squadron, all face down in the snow as the sharp, barking commands of their superior officers ringing in their ears. The unit leader's words came like a bullet to the head.
"If you can't feel the same pain as your comrades, you'll never be able to work with them!"

It was those words that earned her respect, and even now Kohaku demonstrated it by backing off, loosening her grip on her weapon. "...You're right."

Maxwell relaxed, his friendly demeanor coming back. "Hey, no sweat. Besides, some people say you're the token 'silent and deadly' person in Alpha right? You should probably go over and prove to her that you're not unsociable."

"That's...a weird reason. You usually send Ashton with new recruits."

"I have a hunch and I'm following it." Maxwell laughed, punching Kohaku lightly in the shoulder. "Now, go on!"

Steps slightly stumbling, Kohaku managed to steady herself and walked over. "Ah, speak of the devil!" Ashton chuckled. The few steps along the way, the young hunter had been trying to think of a friendly way to state their assigned job...but all that managed to come out from her was--

"Maxwell said the new recruit and I have to deal with escorting the guides back." Though she kept a cool, quiet facade, the hunter lightly fidgeted with the blade at her side to calm herself. Talking with new recruits- despite her being here for a little longer than the other girl- was always an awkward thing to deal with.

"No, scratch that. Talking with anyone that's not part of my squadron immediately becomes awkward. Or in this case...new to my squadron." She thought to herself as she straightened her posture in an attempt to look even the slightest bit more confident.

 

[Maki]

The guide nodded his head, pleased that the two parties came to an agreement. You could see it on their faces that they were excited to make it back before dark. "Great, grab us when you're ready and we will go on our way." He said to the two.

Meanwhile Ela was still conversing with Ashton, their conversation cut off as Kohaku approached the two. She nearly had a heart attack when the girl came up from behind. She didn't notice her until Ashton pointed her out. 'Damn, its like she appeared out of the shadows.' she thought to herself turning slightly to face her with a small smile, hoping to ease the atmosphere. Ela was trying her best to figure X-009. There was just so much to her character it seemed impossible to explain how she could be who she is. She didn't seem to speak much, always seemed on edge, always wore a hood even during a sunny day, hates red eyed vampires, the list of quirks goes on.

Kohaku broke the news that the two of them would team up to escort the guides back home, an order that Ela was happy with. It gave her a good opportunity to hopefully clear up some things about the soldier. "Just us two? I don't know if that's the best idea... If you lot get ambushed by some vampires we wont be around to save your asses." She joked, a big grin plastered on her face. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. X-009, since you're more experienced than me, would you like to take the lead?"

(I'm sorry if my posts seem kind of lackluster, work has just been hard lately and I've been drained. I promise that they'll improve soon)

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

"Don't worry, lil' miss," Goro laughed heartily. "You'll hear our manly screams from thousands of miles away!"

"With someone as big as you, Goro, we'll be sure to." Kohaku cracked a light joke at their weapon expert's expense- Goro shook his head, chuckling and returned to Maxwell's side. The other hunters soon joined in as Maxwell issued his orders. It wasn't long until the new recruit asked her to lead the way, and Kohaku gave a small nod and turned to the guides. "All ready here."

As soon as they were on their way, the two hunters walking only a short distance away from the guides, Kohaku let her breath go. Conversation topics...conversation topics...
"Apologies if everything's a bit overwhelming-- or underwhelming." She spoke, adjusting her hood. "Alpha Squadron is- unluckily enough, thanks to the first letter of our squad name- the forefront of most V.R.T missions. While we get the most 'big-time' missions, some of them can be pretty high-risk."

She walked a bit closer to the other hunter, lowering her voice so that only the other girl could hear her.

"If you ask me, they sent Alpha Squadron just to give the citizens here a little peace of mind. It's the most well-known unit, so they expected morale here would go up. Judging from how the town reacted though...doesn't seem to be working."

(Don't worry about it! Don't want you to sacrifice personal health for the roleplay, after all.)

 

[Maki]

Ela couldn’t help but laugh at Goro’s comment, her head shaking followed by a roll of her eyes. “Please, your screams would be a higher pitch than mine!” She said teasingly.

After their little jest the two groups split ways, Ela and Kohaku breaking away to escort the guards back, who were waiting patiently at the end of the street. The recruit followed the veteran as they met up with the civilians, who once again bowed graciously. “Thank again you two, for helping up home.” They said, giving the two a smile. “It’s no biggie, we’re here to help.” Ela replied, trailing behind the small group as they walked.

She glanced down at Kohaku as she began to talk, slowly nodding along with what she said. In all honesty Ela wasn’t under or overwhelmed yet. Things had just started to pick up meaning it could go anywhere. “It’s all going good.” She said, occasionally checking on the guides. “Everyone is surprisingly nice and easy to get along with. I’m not complaining! I just expected them to be super strict like camp.”

Kohaku’s theory of why their squadron was stationed here made a lot of sense. Even if there was no vampire inhabitants and there was just a mass plague of paranoia going around, it would be nice to have trained professionals on hand to quell things. “Yeah, I could see that being the case.” She said simply, shrugging slightly. “Although part of me hopes we get to see some action. Id hate for my first real mission to be babysitting a town...”

(I’m sorry it took me so long to reply. I had that bad day, took a day to relax, then injured myself and couldn’t find the energy to post.)

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

Kohaku managed a small smile at the recruit's remark about the strictness of Alpha Squadron. "We're only ever formal when we're in front of the higher-ups or anyone important. Most of the time, Alpha Squadron reminds me more of a college dorm than a vampire hunting brigade."

She paused for a moment at the other woman's remark about getting some action in. Kohaku shrugged, adjusting her hood as she nodded sympathetically. "I don't usually like telling Ashton this, but I am, too. He's X-008 so he thinks he has to look out for everyone that's a higher number than he is. But since we get sent on high-risk missions, you'll be sure to see some."

She glanced at her from her peripheral vision. "This might sound strange coming from me- considering what I just said before this one-, but when I was a new recruit myself, I got teamed up with a few more recruits to take down an underground ring of vampires who lured people in using drugs. We had two casualties and us remaining three were split into different squadrons. I guess the reason they decided to make this Alpha's mission is also to keep feistier recruits from rushing into combat."

"N-Not that I take you as a reckless person though." She coughed into her hand awkwardly.

(No worries! Take all the time you need.)