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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 28, 2018 2:01:13 GMT
How long she had been running, how far she had ran, Molly didn't know. Her lungs were on fire, her face was drenched with sweat, and her eyes were dialating and stung, but she couldn't afford to stop running, not until she was safe.
The crowds of people in the streets of Mival looked at the woman with a strange, confused look, but to Molly, they looked sinister, predatory, silently mocking her and waiting for her to exhaust herself and tire. Were they human, or were they monsters in disguise, devils or doppelgangers masquerading as ordinary human beings?
Was anything in this city as it seemed? Was it all truly just a city, or was it some heinous abomination in disguise? Was this continent she was on even real, or just the shell or eye of some larger entity ready to devour every living thing on a whim?
As the thoughts and fears continued to cascade into her mind, the harder she ran, and the louder she found her voice becoming with scream after scream. Everything around her was becoming blurry, colors and shapes melding together, the ominous voices of thousands echoing in her mind, all too similar from the voice in her dream, chanting in unison as one:
"EVERYTHING YOU KNOW AND LOVE IS A LIE, CHILD OF MAN."
The next thing Molly knew, her momentum was stopped as she collided with a wall. "OWWW!" She cried, and she toppled onto her back. She could feel a nice new gash on her forehead, and wet blood dripping down. With the pain, the blurred images and colors began to normalize, and Molly saw she was deep in an alleyway, the only light being from the sun above. A pair of ravens, each half her size, were perched over a spilled garbage can, and ripping into a bag of trash. Each of them had four venomous eyes, and double pronged serrated beaks.
With her appearance, the two birds looked over at her, and let their forked tongues slither out of their beaks to taste the air. Molly froze in fear, her skin running cold and heart in her lungs. She had no way of knowing where she was, or how to even get back to Demmy or Alex...
"H-Help!" Molly cried out, finally managing a step back. Both the enormous birds snarled, and hopped forward. A loud THUD behind Molly betrayed the presence of a third bird, and Molly, looking back to see the giant avian fiend glaring at her, realized she was trapped.
Were these... were these spawn of that monster Alex had talked about, the one with the strange children? Or were these something else, some demonic unnatural entity? Molly's throat ran dry, and her mind raced, trying to think of something, anything to help herself out, but there was nothing for her to grab, nothing to throw at them, nothing to distract the ravens as they slowly approached, their obsidian claws tapping against the concrete beneath them...
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Post by Stage on Apr 28, 2018 4:48:35 GMT
As the unnatural ravens closed in, talons raking the ground like the reaper's scythe, a sharp object suddenly protruded from the throat of the bird that had thumped down last. The raven paused, as if only then realizing that had been shot through the neck by something. Its beak clicked as it tried to comprehend what had happened, and blood bubbled past its serpent tongue. Its wings raised weakly, but did not have the strength to flap. With a gurgle, the monstrous bird fell over.
"Annoying," a quiet, cold voice said.
A human figure blocked the entrance to the alley. It stood only slightly taller than the ravens. A cloak fell around its shoulders, hiding its body aside from an extended arm, which held a miniature crossbow, and its tanned face. Underneath its pale, red hair, blue eyes glared. Not at the ravens though, but at Molly.
"So loud," reiterated the female voice.
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 28, 2018 5:09:36 GMT
Molly turned, slowly, to face the new arrival. Was... Was this someone to... someone saving her? Or, just another monster to kill her? Salvation, or another predator?
Friend... or Foe?
A venomous snarl from behind her reminded Molly she was caught between two dangerous parties, and the woman had to throw herself to the side as the two remaining ravens charged at the newcomer and barreled past her. One ran across the ground, while the other took to the air, and tried to divebomb the crossbow user...
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Post by Stage on Apr 29, 2018 1:57:31 GMT
Sighing, the stranger flipped her other arm from beneath her cloak, skewering the jugular of the charging raven with the dagger that danced from her fingertips like an extension of her body. Flicking her wrist upwards and bending her waist back, the diminutive warrior, with a strength that was not overly impressive but belied her size, lifted the limp bird above her to act as a shield against its diving companion...
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 29, 2018 22:36:38 GMT
The final raven couldn't divert itself in time, and the full force of its dive hit the crippled bird. The limp raven screeched, before it went silent.
The last remaining bird flew back, blood dripping from its beak, and eyed the newcomer. In a moment, it snarled, before it took off out of the alley. No meal was worth such a dangerous fight...
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 1:27:36 GMT
The impaled bird was unceremoniously thrown to the side. The stranger sneered and wiped her dagger clean on the front of her shirt. The dirty article of clothing was dappled by many other, older smears. In her other hand, she had had replaced the crossbow with a rapier. She had apparently planned to pierce through the dying bird to attack its companion, but now that it had fled, her blade was idle. Her cold blue eyes looked to Molly to occupy it.
"I just saved your life," she noted, approaching the much taller girl while twirling her rapier. She made no sound as she moved.
The tip of the sword, however, whistled as it was swung through the air to rest at Molly's throat.
"How many Mites would you say that's worth?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 1:34:55 GMT
Molly's eyes were just as full of fear as they had been from Alex's explanation and the raven attack.
"I... I have... I have no money." She weakly stammered. Quickly she reached into her pockets, and pulled them out. "I-I juust a-arived in th-this world a few d-days ago, and I haven't h-had the chance to e-even start a job! Th-thank you for saving me, b-but there's nothing I c-can give back to you right now!"
In her mind, with the weapon aimed at her throat, she was crying out to Demmy for help, for Alex, for anyone to save her. To be spared of the ravens, only to befall a bandit...
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 2:58:34 GMT
The stranger was quiet for a moment. Her bright blue eyes stared mutely into Molly. Then she leaned forward on a heel and pressed the tip of the rapier into her throat, drawing a single drop of blood.
"Then get one. And make money. And when your pockets are nice and fat and filled with Mites, I'll return and we can work out a payment."
The tiny person leaned in. "Don't try to skip town. I know your face. And I know this area. You won't get away. Understand?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 5:23:41 GMT
"Y-yes, of course." Molly meekly gulped. She barely even felt the blade draw blood. All she felt was fear and a desire to try and survive. "U-understood!"
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 5:56:01 GMT
The rapier fell away. "Good. Don't tell anyone about me. Or what happened here."
The stranger began to withdraw. She glanced down at the raven she first shot dead. Crouching, she plucked the bolt from its throat, loosing another spurt of blood. Then, from her cloak, she produced the dagger that killed the other one.
"Say you did it," she said, tossing the weapon to Molly's feet. "That a kind stranger worried a girl with your..."
She looked Molly's body up and down with a distasteful sneer.
"Padding would be assaulted and armed you."
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 6:39:20 GMT
Molly, at a loss for words, could only quietly nod in response, even if her heart said no.
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 7:16:06 GMT
"Good," the stranger said. Her thin, colorless lips rose into an unfriendly smile. "I'll be watching."
With a gesture, the small stranger faded from sight, leaving empty air in the spot she had been in.
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Post by Executus Gira on May 1, 2018 3:09:17 GMT
It took Molly several moment, after blinking several times to make sure the strange woman was gone, to finally dare move out of the alleyway. Each step she took was slow and weighed down by the terror that remained in her heart. Her head shot upward at frequent intervals of every three steps, just in case the last remaining bird or that woman dived down to attack her.
At long last, she staggered out of the alley, and nearly fell onto her hands and feet. Her face had gone pale and cold, and her irises shrunken as small as humanly possible. "I'm... I'm a dead man walking." She gasped, the knife firmly in her grasp. "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm so very dead. And I can't tell anyone..."
"Tell anyone what?"
Molly nearly collapsed as she realized there had been someone right next to her. It wasn't Demmy, but rather a woman about as tall as Demmy, with two long blonde ponytails, and a strange european military jacket in red, with a white small shirt beneath that. She had her arms crossed over her chest and the double breasted buttons there. " Good god, you look sick. You seemed so lively back at the Library, but... what the hell happened to you?"
"The... Library?" Molly stammered. "And, nothing happened, really. I just took a wrong turn on my way back to the hotel and I nearly got ambushed by a bunch of four eyed ravens the size of dogs, and I fended them off with this knife and-"
The woman placed a hand over Molly's lips, and silenced her. " Well, you're not as loud as your friend, but you sure talk a whole lot." The woman glanced over into the alleyway, then back at Molly. "Also, you're a terrible liar. Your face soured when you tried to say that last bit, so what actually happened?"
Molly mouth was dry, and she tried to speak, but nothing came out. All she could do was let out a weak squeal, before looking away.
"Swore to silence or something?" The woman asked. When Molly nodded, she placed a hand over her head. "Good grief. Chalodna's going to have a field day with this report. Look, I'll take you back to your hotel, but first we need to make a little stop at my place..."
"Chalodna?" Molly asked. She recognized that name. When it clicked with her, she said, "Wait, you know Chalodna? That dark haired woman at the baths?"
The other woman smiled gently. "Of course. We're partners here in Mival, exiles from our maiden people, but glad to be so. And why am I not surprised to hear that's where you met her? I swear, if she's not on work, she's either in the shower, in a lake, or in the baths. Water addicted-"
She cut herself off, and took a deep breath. " Anyways, you're in safe hands. Let me just look and see what happened in that alleyway, and we'll be off. I'm sure your friend is worried sick about you."
"She is..." Molly meekly answered. SHe had regained just enough of herself to at least answer calmly, yet her eyes still darted around, in case she was being watched. "She really is."
The other woman's eyes followed where Molly was looking. "Guess we'll make this quick, then." She said...
_______________
Meanwhile, back near the Bar, Demmy was scouring high and low. "Come on, Demmy. This is where Molly would most likely run to. So where on earth is she?" She asked herself. She was disheaved after running all the way from the library to the bar, and her eyes were starting to strain with red, especially the right one.
She had ran in earlier and gone to their room, but there had been no sign of the girl there. Then she had gone back over to the baths, only to be told not only that Molly wasn't there, but to be kicked out by that old woman, who had even tried repelling her with a prayer and a cross shaped amulet! Was she mocking her, trying to piss her off?!
Yet, Molly hadn't been there, nor anywhere in this city Demmy knew she had been to before. That had been when fear began rooting into Demmy's heart, and now she was one step away from shouting out for her, but she stopped herself. There was no need to draw in necessary attention in this matter.
She gritted her teeth. Damnit! If Molly wasn't here or in any of those places, that meant one of two things: Either Molly had been so worked up in her paranoia she had gotten herself lost, or someone had intercepted her and kidnapped her! No, neither case was acceptable! She still had a debt to pay to the girl, and at this rate, it would never be paid!
In that moment, a realization struck Demmy's mind. She had gotten herself so worked up over this, she had nearly forgotten a very easy way to solve this, a solution she should have gone for from the start.
When she was sure no one was around to watch, Demmy held out her left hand, and concentrated. Ever since she had arrived in this planet, she had felt her powers slowly recover from the crippling effects of what had happened three months ago. She wasn't near full power yet, but already, many of her powers she hadn't been able to use prior were now at her disposal... including the ability to sense netheral particles from herself attached to others. Given the contact between herself and Molly, there was no doubt the highest concentration of these particles would be on that girl.
She finally picked up the location. "Well, there's a good girl. And how far away you ran. Good gods, I'll need to put a leash on you..." She said to herself, before she headed off to get her friend back...
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Post by Stage on May 1, 2018 3:45:24 GMT
On a rooftop above Molly and the red-clad stranger, a formerly still puddle was disturbed by the outline of a small boot.
"Idiot," someone unseen whispered. The voice was tiny and hoarse, but large with disdain.
As the militantly dressed woman began to lead the frightened girl away, the boot-shaped impression vanished, allowing the puddle to slosh back to its former shape, and dark, wet footprints followed the pair across the rooms above...
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Post by Executus Gira on May 1, 2018 20:25:35 GMT
It didn't take too long for Molly to be lead to her destination: A large four story wooden home just outside the wall of the city. The wood wasn't painted as far as she could tell, and it still bore its golden brown coloration from when it had been prepared. A stone chimney sat at the back of the home, and smoke billowed up from its opened end. It looked surprisingly antiquated to Molly, but then again, everything in this city was from all sorts of different cultures and timelines.
The uniformed woman walked up to the front door, and opened it. "Come in with me, and try not to freak out any further. I don't like loud noises." She told Molly. When Molly nodded, the taller woman smiled, and led her inside, before closing the door behind her.
"Micah, is that you?" the distinct voice of Chalodna called down from the upper floors. "I'm just about to end my bath-"
"No, no you were not." Micah shot back. She didn't yell, but her voice was more than projected enough to reach that same volume. " You lie just as bad as this girl here. If I didn't keep an eye on you, you'd just soak in there all day and become a raisin. Please hurry up, because we got an interesting incident. It might be our strange friend Unish at work."
"Unish?!" A loud crashing noise reached Molly's ears, as did the sound of dripping water. " For fuck's sake! I'll be down for this report, I swear!"
"I know you will." Micah whistled. "Plus, you might recognize this victim."
There was more sounds of crashing and heavy impacts above, and Molly couldn't help but let a light-hearted chuckle escape. "Is she always like this?" She asked.
"Less than you'd think, and more than I'd like to admit." Was the answer she got from Micah, she took a seat on a large leathery couch against the wall. Molly noticed there was only one window on the floor, and it was directly across from where Micah was facing. "Chalodna's a real piece of work. She can work hard, bu-"
"Uh, how many windows are there?" Molly cut her off. Her eyes were nervously looking over at the window..
"Just that one, and one on both the second and third and fourth floors. Fourth floor's just bedrooms, third floor's restrooms and showers, and the second is more office space. No need to worry, we got cameras all over, and barbed wires around the windows. We put them in after a thief tried breaking in once. They tried it again, and got a nasty 150,000 volt surprise."
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Post by Stage on May 3, 2018 7:20:57 GMT
Unseen and unheard, an invisible presence waited outside the very window Molly was staring at. It would be irritating to have to deal with all three voices she hear from within at once, so she would wait until the girl was alone again.
One way or another, she would be compensated for saving her. She did not work for free. She did not do anything for free.
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Post by Executus Gira on May 5, 2018 2:17:13 GMT
Soon enough, the dressed and dried form of Chalodna came down the stairs. Her face was rosy red, which Molly guessed had to do with being in the hot bath for so long, or probably from a drink or two she had in there, yet there was no other hint to possible drunkenness or stupor. Her attire was almost as formal and militaristic as Micah's, with a large brown fur coat over a creamy striped uniform and black striped leather pants that stopped just above the ankle. She had already seemed rather intimidating back in the baths, yet her solemn face and attire set a true air of authority around her, one barely undermined by what Micah had said about her.
What did undermine it, however, was when she noticed Molly. "O-oh! I remember you!" Chalodna seemed to freeze as she fully processed the girl's presence. Her foot went one step too far, and she cried out as she almost tripped down the stairs, only saved by a well timed grab from Micah. "T-thank you. Just a little too at ease, I guess."
"This is why you need to stop drinking whenever you're in the shower. You almost put another hole in the wall."
"Almost... but didn't, because of you." She whistled, before quickly going back to Molly. "You're name... it was Mary, right? Or Marisa, or Minerv-"
"Molly." Molly cut her off. "Just, Molly."
"Oh right... Methuselah." Chalodna let a lop-sided grin creep along her face as she pulled away from Micah, and staggered over to her desk. She plopped down onto her seat, which groaned from the heavy impact, but stayed intact. " For fuck's sake, why is it so cold all of a sudden? Is it winter already?"
"Chal, focus." Micah said. Otherwise, I'm taking your beer from you and giving it back to Xero."
"Nu'uh!" Chalodna pouted, and she tried to stand back up, only to fall back into her chair. "... fine, bitch."
She bent over so her elbows were on the desk, and cleared her throat. " Okay, Misai Mogan..."
"Molly."
"Right, Migan..." She shook her head, and the scar faced woman groaned. "You had a run in with Unish in an alleyway, right?"
"Well, not quite..." Molly said. "Well, I don't think it was her. This was... someone else."
That seemed to sober up Chalodna. " Wait. So it's some other short girl who...?"
"Killed three abnormal ravens and threatened her into silence." Micah said. "And I had a feeling you were playing up the whole drunk thing."
"Because it's the best way for me to escape from the bullshit that seems to be piling up in this city as of late." Chalodna snorted. "And because I love you."
"Hopefully not in the creepy way, because that's not how I swing." Micah, face starting to be flustered, turned back to Molly. "The details on your assailant, please?"
Molly nodded. "Um, I think she was just below four feet in height. Large blue piercing eyes, flayed hair, cloak she was covered in. Had these arrows she was flinging with high precision with a small hand crossbow." As she mentioned the woman's traits, both Micah and Chalodna began to note them down.
" A possible partner to the gremlin? Or an old business rival of hers?" Chalodna mused. "Still, I don't think I've heard of anyone like this before."
Micah, however, put down her notepad. " Let me check on something in the files upstairs, because this might be who I think it is..."
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Post by Stage on May 5, 2018 3:52:33 GMT
Outside the window, a stare, cold as ice, clear as air, roved the room, searching for points of entry.
That idiot girl. All she had to do was keep quiet, earn some cash, and hand it over. Now she would have to kill all three. She would rob the home afterword of course. They would not need money in their next lives after all.
The invisible glare settled on the fireplace. It was alight, but not yet roaring. It would be easy enough to endure its flames briefly with the help of her cloak. There was also quite a bit of smoke, but perhaps she could make that work to her advantage.
Had either of the two homeowners or Molly been outside and alert, perhaps they would have noticed a subtle scratching and scrapping sound as the invisible entity began to scale the wooden house...
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Post by Executus Gira on May 5, 2018 4:39:30 GMT
Micah's eyes snapped to the far wall at the faint, subtle noise that came through.
"Something wrong, Micah?" Chalodna asked, as she finished taking down notes. "Trying to get some inspiration from outside?"
The pony tailed woman shifted her gaze back to her co-worker and to Molly. "This woman... what exactly did she tell you once she saved you?"
"U-uh, she said... She wanted me to give her all the money I had. I-I told her I had none, so she wanted me to stay silent, and work until I had enough to pay her off..."
Micah stood up. "Chal, take her up to the second floor, and keep asking her questions there, preferably in Jesse's old office. You know, the one with a locked door."
"But, why-" Chalodna began to ask, before she noticed a glint in Micah's eye, a special wink. "Sure. There's snacks and a drink or two you can enjoy, Moby."
"It's Molly." Molly said, now getting annoyed. "And, why are we shifting locations?"
"I need to think, and the files I have are around here." Micah explained. "They're sensitive, so I can't have you be watching, but I can't just leave you alone either. Chalodna will keep you company while I search."
Molly, not thinking anything else of it, gave a nod, and she walked off after Chalodna up the stairs. This wasn't as stressful an interrogation as she had expected it to be. Rather, it was almost formal, even if she felt sorta uneasy around the two women, especially Micah, and her serious, almost feral gaze...
Once the two were up the stairs, Micah glanced back over at the fire place, then went over to the drawers. Sensitive hearing had its advantages at times, but it was also a double edged sword, especially with how noisy Chalodna could be. It was why Micah preferred to be at the library so often... it was usually quiet there.
The noise she heard, though. It could have just been a bird on the side, but given what Molly had said, she wasn't taking any chances, especially if she could pinpoint the identity of this thug...
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Post by Stage on May 5, 2018 5:00:27 GMT
Once she was atop the roof, the stranger uncloaked herself. Not literally, but figuratively, dispelling the illusory magic that rendered her invisible. Her cloak was still firmly draped across her shoulders, and was in fact integral for her plan. Sitting down and pulling out as much of the cloak as she could before her, the small, dirty woman ran a hand across it. The hand, sunkissed and scarred, crackled with sheer cold. Under the hot jungle sin, cool mist rose off of it. Every part of the cloak she touched became icy, frosting over. She hardly felt it as she stood and let it swing back over her back. The cold did not bother her, but it would be handy for negating the heat of the flames as she rolled through them.
Negating the sound, however, was another matter altogether, she decided as she glanced down the chimney. After mulling it over for a moment, she determined it would be best to cover it up.
She could weave a distraction herself, but at the cost of not being able to hide herself from sight. Her magic could only do so much at once. Unwilling to sacrifice the versatility of remaining unseen, she, with a gesture, willed an echoing cackle to rise from the opposite side of the roof. It was not the distraction, but a signal. Another cackle soon answered it. Like a crimson shadow, an animal that was like both a bird and a reptile appeared, its black-masked face peering about as it scraped up atop the wall. It had apparently walked up the narrow horizontal surface offered by a thick jungle vine creeping up the exterior of the wall, like a goat tiptoeing up a mountainside. It honed in on the wave the stranger gave it. The miniature highwayman made a fist, then spread her fingers as if they were exploding outward.
Recognizing this to mean, "Cause a racket," the scarlet animal began to jump and kick wildly, its crossbanded tail raised high and winged arms spread wide. It cackled and hooped loudly as it thrashed about, the sickle claw on its feet raking the top of the wall. It, on its master's command, was trying to draw attention to itself and away from the chimney...
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