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Post by Executus Gira on Jan 1, 2019 1:29:31 GMT
Arnett looked over at the retreating form of the Rhea. Oh, how could she had forgotten about HER?! The grip on her scythe tightened. Making fun of her was one thing, but insulting her style of weapon was begging to die, and this smug otherworld asshole was going to get her just desserts.
"Don't even think about it." Micah shot down the idea. " We have more important stuff than petty grudges."
"Petty? PETTY?!" Arnett shook her head. " Micah, this isn't some petty grudge. This is my craft, my job and my lifestyle being insulted. I can't even just defend it?"
"If by defend you mean pick a fight and cause even more collateral damage, then no I won't let you." The taller woman glared down at her. "And even then, do you want to argue with the Master over this?"
Arnett's eyelid kept twitching, and for a moment, it seemed like she was about to lash out against Micah, and the taller woman was expecting it, when she simply sighed, and turned away. "Of course. You have to be the perfect little angel, the role model for everyone to follow. Honestly, it makes me sick seeing a former outsider be the voice of reason, but that's just how the cookie crumbles. Fine, have it your way."
She began to limp off, and Micah could only stare at her in disbelief. That woman... What did the Master see in her to keep her around? It was the most poorly kept secret that Arnett was a loose cannon, a warmonger barely kept on a leash by the powers that be. If this fight had been left for her to decide, she would have kept it going as long as possible just to enjoy the bloodshed, whoever she was fighting be damned.
As Micah herself began to go and look for survivors, she suddenly felt a strange sense of irony, that the just revealed demon among them was apparently less of a threat than an established member of their ranks.
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Post by Stage on Jan 1, 2019 3:41:43 GMT
The quivering Vesyka was pulled to her feet by strong arms. Lora forcibly spun the tiny woman around, facing her towards the barren street outside the alley. Ash swirled on the wind, so thick it was visible even against the night sky.
"No," the lebran chided her firmly. "Look. They are all disappeared. It can not have been you."
-
Leslie crackled back over the radio. "Just that. All turned to dust. Or less than that. Some are just... gone. Nothin' left. Anyway, we'll head back and meet you there. Or do you need help moving the weird girl?"
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Post by KayKay on Jan 1, 2019 7:46:39 GMT
Lora's grip seemed to still Vesyka as she watched the flowing ash sail through the silent star-filled sky.
"Y-you are right," she replied finally. The girl seemed no happier, however. Her gaze once again fell to the empty armor at her feet. What would she tell Adra?"
–
"I can manage."
Though her reply was collected, Kyra had gone numb the moment Leslie had elaborated about the fates of the other creatures. The knight she and Adra had worked to save was among them. She glanced up into the doll-like eyes of the strange girl. This news could devastate her. But Kyra knew she had no other choice. Adra would find out soon enough – the streets were littered with ash and the knight would not be present with the others.
She pushed those thoughts aside. Right now she had to get Adra back. The wounds on her legs were a terrible sight to behold, and Kyra did not want to imagine how much pain she had to be in.
Slowly, Kyra urged the girl to fall back gently into her arms. She proved heavier than expected, but it wasn't an uncomfortable weight to bear. Carefully, as to not jostle her long limbs and cause any more pain, Kyra made her way to the station. Perhaps it would be better to tell Adra there, with Vesyka's help.
Until then, the Fox could only walk in grim silence.
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Post by Stage on Jan 1, 2019 21:43:47 GMT
Halfway through the quiet trek, narrated only by Adra's occasional hisses of pain, a lone figure came into view on the side of the street.
Unlike most survivors of the attack, who stayed inside and clung tight to their loved ones, living or dead, the figure, short and not quite human and covered in deep crimson fur, stood strong like a sentinel, a vastly oversized halberd in hand.
As she drew closer, a heavy scent of metal stuck Kyra, oppressive as a wave. This figure was not scarlet, it was drenched in blood.
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jan 1, 2019 22:24:56 GMT
A lone figure emerged from the wreckage of a nearby building, pushing aside the door - now little more than charcoal and ash - that quickly collapsed into nothingness. The figure threw aside an ashy, mangled overcoat and observed the burned city around him. His face seemed to be a mixture of ire and grief as the weight of the situation finally caught up to him.
"This isn't what he promised would happen," Boris murmured to himself quietly. He slouched down, every inhale burning his chest from all the ash in the air. Boris bent down and collected a handful of ash in his hand, before pressing it against his face in shame. "I'm so stupid..."
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Post by KayKay on Jan 18, 2019 5:25:52 GMT
Kyra slowed as she drew closer to the blood-soaked creature. Suspicion had not yet left her system, and she eyed the halberd carefully as as she made sure to stay a respectable distance away. If the creature were to charge her, she would need to drop Adra to reach her guns.
"Are you okay?" she called out across the nearly empty street. "Do you need help?"
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Post by Stage on Jan 18, 2019 19:46:14 GMT
"I will manage," the bloodstained creature answered in a low, flat, feminine voice. Now that she was closer, Kyra could see that the creature was some sort of extremely human-like primate. Its dark eyes bored into her fearlessly. "Is the attack over?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Feb 6, 2019 1:33:43 GMT
"Not what was promised?"
Micah rounded the corner, and her eyes bore into Boris. She grabbed the chain mace that was attached to her left hip. "You seem to know the details of this attack. As a member of the city guard, I ask that you come with me for questioning. Any resistance will be to your detriment."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Feb 6, 2019 6:23:35 GMT
Boris was taken aback, darting his eyes about. This is EXACTLY what he didn't want to have happen. Now he had a decision to make: would he let the guard take him in and risk the ire of his superior... or take his chances with escape?
Ultimately, Boris chose the latter.
Though not particularly quick, Boris turned tail and attempted to dart back into the darkness of a nearby alleyway, hoping he could evade the guardswoman in there...
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Post by Executus Gira on Feb 7, 2019 1:54:24 GMT
Micah's eyes narrowed. Why wasn't she surprised? Her heels digging into the earth, the guardswoman bolted after Boris. As fast as the man was going thanks to adrenaline and fear, Micah was simply on another level. Her mace flew through the air, and wrapped tight around one of the man's legs. With a sharp yank, Boris found his face reuniting with the ground.
"Poor decision." Micah planted her boot into the man's back. "Want to try again?"
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Feb 7, 2019 2:02:14 GMT
"W-wait!" Boris said, putting his hands up to the best of his ability. "Just let me go! I-I don't mean any trouble!"
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Post by Executus Gira on Feb 7, 2019 2:07:57 GMT
"After some questioning, we'll decide on that." Micah took the mace chain and wrapped it around the man's wrist so they were tied together. "You said what happened tonight wasn't what was promised. Explain fully. Your answers will decide what happens to you."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Feb 7, 2019 2:13:21 GMT
The man's mind ran at 100 miles per hour. He wanted to talk, tell the guard everything, spill the beans on his master's plan... but at the same time, he didn't know what would happen if he did. He wasn't sure what would be his fate if he told the truth, one way or another. Would he stay in prison here forever? Would he be taken to...
Boris's lips briefly pursed, before he closed his mouth and lowered his gaze toward the ground.
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Post by Executus Gira on Feb 7, 2019 2:23:39 GMT
Micah's eyes followed Boris's own. She stepped off of him, and yanked him to his feet. "If you're worried about your own well being, don't be. You'll be treated humanely until you are either released, or judged. Those you worked with will also be tracked down and tried for what they did. For now, follow me. And please, don't try to escape."
She turned, and began to drag Boris back to the capital building. Given how nervous the man seemed, how scared he was... she had to assume those he had worked with would be out to silence him if they knew he was dead weight. That she couldn't allow to happen. Any lead on the cause of this demon invasion, and how to prevent such an incident from occuring again, was far too important to pass up. Especially when innocent lives were at stake.
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Feb 7, 2019 2:35:21 GMT
Boris followed in Micah's wake, keeping his head lowered toward the ground. He struggled to hold back the urge to cry, his nose beginning to get runny and his eyes beginning to feel moist.
He sincerely hoped that wherever the guard was taking him was safe. Otherwise, he feared the worst was only beginning...
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Post by KayKay on Feb 7, 2019 3:50:59 GMT
Kyra nodded back to creature. "I think it's over," she replied. "The rest turned to ash. Don't know why."
She resumed her walk down the street, through she kept a close watch of the creature's halberd. "What's your name?" she called out.
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Post by Stage on Feb 7, 2019 15:23:37 GMT
“Baerbel,” the short, human-like simian replied. “Or Adar, if you wish.”
While the small humanoid's tone was conversation, if not especially energetic, she promptly turned her back on Kyra, fixing her dark, metally eyes on the building directly behind her. It was a small, though two-story, and mostly wooden structure, modest next to its more modernly constructed neighbors. A simple, heavy door and large display window, now sadly shattered, filled the lower half of its face. Streaks of blood laced with the ashes of the vanished infernals ran down the jagged edges of the remaining glass and narrow mirrors shone from within, standing thankfully untouched before spinning chairs bolted to the ground.
Its second story was adorned by two tiny widows bearing garden boxes, one wilting, the other thriving, flanking a simplistic depiction of open scissors; above it, a name: Careberry.
The twisted halberd fell from the primate's hands and clattered to the ground, flecking the cobblestone with blood, as she called out.
“Renee. Gabriela. It is safe now.”
The thick door creaked open. A woman, nearly or as tall as Kyra, with an angular, fair face and dark, narrow eyes below brown, feathery hair that did not quite manage to cover her studded earlobes, emerged from the vandalized building. Clinging to her leg was a pigtailed child, six or perhaps seven years of age, with identical features excusing rounder, bright blue eyes which quickly locked onto Adra. The younger woman stiffened against Kyra's back.
“Oh, Baerbel,” the woman gasped, covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “Your beautiful fur.”
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Post by KayKay on Feb 7, 2019 16:06:10 GMT
The sight of the small girl brought a warm smile to Kyra's face, in spite of everything that had happened tonight, and she allowed her tense muscles to relax. It seemed clear to her that Baerbel was good natured, and she carefully made her way over to the three, moving slowly as to not startle the little girl.
"There's a public bath a couple blocks from here," she told Baerbel as she approached, nodding her head west. "I don't think the attack got that far. It won't be open right now, but maybe tomorrow?"
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Post by Stage on Feb 7, 2019 16:28:48 GMT
"And I'll trim whatever doesn't wash out," the woman offered, placing her hand on the smaller primate's shoulder. Her thin eyes looked gratefully to Kyra. "Thank you. And you, Baerbel."
"You and your shop had no place in their conflict," the sapient simian offered plainly. "Stranger, may I ask what manner of creature you carry on your back? She is unlike any being I have seen, even here."
Two pairs of dark, inhuman eyes met over Kyra's shoulder. Adra did not seem comfortable being examined by the damon, but she apparently preferred it to being scrutinized by the curious child hugging her mother's leg.
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Post by KayKay on Feb 7, 2019 16:41:43 GMT
"I don't know," Kyra answered craning her head back to glace back at Adra. She could feel her body tensed behind her, and she offered Adra a comforting smile.
"Her name is Adra. She doesn't speak English. Only met her tonight, but she's got a good heart."
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