[System]
Age: 27

Race: Aranok

Homeworld: Spacer.

Appearance:

7'1"
Personal History: Elik was born and raised on a starship, as expected from someone that lives on a ship he is a fairly good engineer having been taught by the crew. The ship's crew were Nomads usually wandering the outskirts of league space but occasionally they would be hired by the league to aid in exploratory expeditions. Elik learned to fly some of the ships used to go down to the surface when they were gathering resources or salvage, even some small fighters used to fend off pirates. Eventually they were approached by a DefCom captain about another exploratory mission. During the expedition this Captain, A Captain Wayland Hayle, was impressed with his technical aptitude and offered him a place in his crew, which Elik gladly accepted. Rather than bring him through the academy however, Hayle called in a favor and had a few records changed, Making Elik a pilot under his command.

Elik served on Hayle's ship for sometime until he received a transfer order to a squad known as "Wylde Fyre". In order to avoid suspicion he went along with the order. In the time before he arrived Hayle provided him with some files on some of the squad's known members. He found himself attracted to the squad's leader and upon seeing that a hobby of her's was archery, and looking it up to see what it was, he decided to give it a try himself. He found he enjoyed it and would practice whenever he could in the few months it took to get to the Heart of Valour, even designing a bow for field use.

Personality: Elik is carefree and friendly but a bit of an odd one, he rarely observes the formalities of ranks within the DefCom navy and can sometimes be found in strange places, not attempting to hide rather simply being there, he was once found taking a nap in an air vent. While he does fine aboard ships, when he is in a large crowded area he will get nervous and quiet and may move closer to a friend for comfort. if he is left alone in a crowd of people that are strangers to him he might panic.

He seems to have a thing for Erien, often referring to the squad leader as "Fluffles" and finding ways to sneak into her quarters. the latter he does for two reasons: 1.) The bed in there is insanely soft and 2.) It smells like her, it's a plus for him.

Gear and Equipment: * Modified Aranok flight suit
* M54 ABR
* M8 Kenaz Sidearm
* M47 TacSword
* Custom collapsing bow - Something of Elik's own design, This bow can collapse down to allow for easy stowage and carry. Fully collapsed it can hold 8 arrows with it, due to this limitation he uses it more for recreation than combat

Fighter Customizations:

[User]
Erien looked up at the polite knock at the door and cut off her music with a tap at a control before calling out a clear 'come in'.
Nyx entered the room, and the Isorlai stood as she entered, waiting for her to take a seat before she did the same, moving to sit opposite her on the other sofa around the small coffee table.

"Actually," she replied with a slightly amused smile, "Given our last conversation, I wasn't entirely convinced you'd turn up if I didn't make it clear you had to," she said, the humour creeping into her voice as well. "Would you like some tea, lieutenant?" she asked, standing up to make a cup to herself, and talking as she prepared the drinks and placing one in front of the pilot-engineer as she returned to her seat. She held the mug in both hands as before, feeling the heat seep through to her palms, Her right felt it more as always. The prosthetic left hand was never quite as good, but she could still feel something. She considered her words before speaking, studying the human opposite. Graysons' words about her came back, and she also wound her mind back to what she'd read in Nyx's file before she continued.

"I think I might not have made the best first impression," she began, with a slight smile. "Boring lectures aren't especially my thing. And while I might be the C.O., I'm not exactly one for sticking to the minutiae of the rules either, believe it or not. I'm certainly no martinet, and from my experience in your position, I know that there's a lot of useless crap that goes out the window when you're in fighting conditions. Hell," she gave a dismissive wave and the Isorlai equivalent of a sneer, "most of the more fiddly crap in the book is there to keep us from going bored when there's nothing to do, and to practice muscle memory, to instill good discipline. Going along with all of it is much easier than making a fuss and getting in trouble," she said, taking a sip from her tea, before looking over at Nyx again and raising an eyebrow. "Although, walking away from me in the middle of a conversation was quite rude on a personal level, let alone a professional one, Lieutenant," she admonished with a slight chiding tone. The smile on her face remained, however.
She sat back and gave the pilot-engineer a critical glance as she did so, before speaking up once more.
"Let's get down to basics," she said after a moment. "I've dealt with Lieutenant Wallon. The way he blew up at you was unprofessional and discourteous. Not to mention dangerous in an environment like a fighter bay. And quite aside from that, if he had a problem he should've come to me first, rather than trying to take things into his own hands". She looked over the rim of her cup at the human, her eyes hardening a little. "Hangar bays really aren't a good place to sleep, Lieutenant Miles," she added with a more stern tone. "Admittedly, perhaps I should've given you a chance to rest before setting you to work, given the distance you had to travel. Nonetheless, if you feel you are unfit for duty for any reason related to health and fatigue, it's your responsibility to inform me of that; what if you'd made a mistake while working on someone's fighter that caused a much greater problem later on?" she shook her head. "Not that you need me to tell you that. Chief Grayson told me that your work was exemplary," she added. "Which brings me to another question for you, and what I want to say: You're quite clearly an excellent combat mechanic and engineer, and you could've graduated OCS in a fine position for maintenance. And had to deal with a lot less of the bullshit that pilots have to go through, if rules and regs are the thing that bothers you."
She tilted her head and gave a quizzical look to the female pilot. "I don't really care if you like me or not, Miles," she said evenly, and not unkindly. "I'm actually informed from reliable sources I'm not a complete bitch and that I can be a lot of fun, believe it or not," she added with an amused smile and a sidelong glance, before she continued. "I don't have a problem with you- No, wait, let me rephrase that. I don't want there to be a problem between us, and I'm pretty sure we'd all have a better time living in each others' pockets and working together if we got on with each other. So, how do I let that happen, while all of us remain within the regs and not have toolboxes kicked at you, or having to have meetings in my office with you. Or any more boring speeches", she added with a smirk.

***

Meanwhile, in the hangar bay, one of the engineering staff had approached Chief Grayson after seeing the odd sight of Elik setting up a picnic next to his fighter, and beginning to fiddle with bits of machinery alongside it. Perturbed, and clearly recalling the order from Erien for the squadron's pilots to go into crew rest following their mess hall vist, the Cetanui approached the fighter and stepped up alongside the cockpit, leaning on one side of the cockpit with his boots in the toeholds on the side of the fighters' nose.
"Lieutenant," he began, "The hangar bay is a no food area. Too much chance of FOD and too many hazardous chemicals in the area as well. Also, food stays in the mess hall, in quarters, or the bar. Not anywhere else. And seond... didn't Major Bellioch order you into crew rest? Or don't you wanna be flyin' when the order comes out". He looked at the bow and frowned. "An' also, personal weapons aren't permitted outta the armoury unless you're kittin' up for a mission. That's a pretty serious violation, Lieutenant... you better put that bow back, or at least take it up to the armoury if you're gonna mess around with it like that".

[Assistant]
Well, this was starting out better than Nyx had hoped. She held the tea mostly for comfort, and she found that tea kept her up when she needed to sleep. So she could accept it properly, but she could at least look like she was accepting the warm cup. Nyx wondered what her Co would say next, because the scene in the hangar clearly hadn't gone unnoticed. Instead, Eiren put the blame on herself with her first impression and the lecture. Nyx didn't mind letting others take the blame for the stupid things she did if it meant she got off scot free, but this time it felt wrong.

Then Eiren mentioned that Nyx walked away in the middle of a conversation. When did she do that? Was it earlier when she was supposed to be admonished with Gurjen? Maybe she did need to sleep more after all, if her memory and manners were getting this bad. The worst part had to be that Eiren kept staring with that smile, and Nyx felt like she was in the crosshairs of something far worse.

"I-I know. It's not your fault, I got used to working while tired, and I figured it'd just be small jobs. But when you're laying down or just on autopilot you just... fall asleep. I try not to sleep in the hangar, but I was so excited that I just forgot to sleep before coming onboard." Nyx tried to explain, still feeling like a child who was being told off by their parent. "The regs don't bother me, I'm just not used to being so... regulated, if that makes any sense.

"Growing up, it was kind of easy to be ignored. I mean, there were just so many of us that every so often if one went missing, someone else would just replace them and life would move on. There was no investigation, or SOP, it just moved on and we were expected to find our way on our own. My whole existence boiled down to: find parts, fix parts, and not to get killed for good parts. So, now everyone has rules and tries to know where I am, and before it just wasn't like that, but I want to try and do it because I want to be a pilot. I've been an engineer my whole life, but I want to try being a pilot. But... if you want to reassign me, I understand."

You wouldn't be the first to tell me that I'm a poor fit for this line of work...

Blade

[User]
"All right, people!" she called out loud to the squadron. "You're done here; chief Grayson's team can handle the rest. We've given them the leg-up they needed. Fall out; head to the Mess Hall and grab yourselves some chow. Then you're all on crew rest until we come outta the jump. Get moving, folks".

"Yes Ma'am." Nick said, before thanking his tech crew for all their hard work. "I promise, ill do my best to keep her under 55, only use premium, and no showing off." Earning a few smirks and a groan from the lead tech, he turned and headed down the halls to the mess hall, glanced towards Gurjan as he left, frowning in contemplation.

following the crowd heading towards mess, he stood in line, as they filed in, and waited even more as fellow shipmates awkwardly flip-flopped over choices. "several Thousand years, and mess halls are the same as they were in the stone ages." Nick muttered, receiving a dark glance from the indecisive folk, and several chuckles behind him. Grabbing some dark oat bread, and some other essentials, he found a relatively empty table and assembled his master crafted sandwich.

molasses oat bread with black forest ham, cheddar cheese, pickles and mustard, a simple, but easy to ruin sandwich.

it was short lived.

having finished his meal, he managed to unpack, shower, and dress down into a more comfortable T-shirt, and cargos before returning to the mess to find a oil slicked and famished Gurjan. Grabbing two bottles of water, he wandered over to his area, and took a seat across from him, passing a bottle to Gurjan.

"well, I admire your dedication to orders, but I do believe the colonel would understand if you took a shower first." he said, drinking from his own, then diving headfirst into what was bothering him.

"so... what was all that about in the hanger?"

[Assistant]
Kilian had followed the whole exchange that had happened in the hangar between the squad from his cockpit. He had not been able to hear what had been said but a few of them had seemed to be quite upset as a toolbox had been sent flying and then Eiren had stepped in chewing some people out. He had overheard a bit of that as they had finished up the calibrations on his fighter and he had climbed out of it. As he put his feet on the hangar floor they had been told to head to the mess for chow and rest. Kilian had waited a bit for everyone to leave and followed in silence behind the rest of the squad watching and assessing every member as best he could. Well he could say he did not dislike any of them and they all seemed to have their own quirks and habits. And that was how a squad should be but they needed to be able to work together if they where to survive in the battlefield.

In the mess hall he took his time and he still sat at the table when Gurjan took his place next to him and just a short while later they where joined by Nick. Kilian looked up from his plate as the newcomer asked the question that was on Kilians mind as well. Slowly he put down his fork and looked at them both with curiosity. He had not wanted to ask that question yet but now it was out and he really wanted to hear the answer to it. Not that he would hold it against Gurjan what ever had happened but it was good to talk about it so the squad could bond better and not get the wrong idea from rumors or gossip.  "Yes what did happen there?" He added with a slight smile towards the oil covered Gurjan.

@Natsucooldude

[User] Elik nearly jumped when Grayson started talking, having been focused on what he was doing, and nearly scattered what he was working on. Flustered, he quickly murmured a "yes, chief Grayson" and hurriedly gathered up his things, collapsing the bow and slipping it on his back and collecting up the last bit of his food, and made his way out of the hanger bound for the squad's quarters. Once there he went over to the room he shared with Gurjan and tossed the bow on his bed before sitting down on it to finish eating his food there. He was about to get his bow again when he was done but thought some rest did sound like a good idea. So, laying the bow to the side to be dealt with later, he laid down on his bunk for just a bit of sleep, his tail hanging off the side and swaying back and forth.


[System]
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian

Appearance

Alias: Melion

Costume: Due to his powers he does not really wear a costume. In his default form he tends to stick to finely made clothing that is most often a dark colored suit.

Meta-Human Power: Felix's power is Shapeshifting which allows him to transform his own form into that of another person's. He is able to imitate a person's voice and even the appearance of clothing. His body mass is not fixed due to his powers and he is able to imitate a wide range of people as long as they are human beings. The catch being that he has to have actually seen the person, he can't shapeshift into someone he's never seen.

Weaknesses or Side-Effects: He automatically reverts back to his original form if he is asleep or unconscious. While he is able to imitate appearances and voices personalities are a different thing. If he were to encounter someone who knows the real person he was shifted as then he would be outed quickly. If he ever shapeshifts into a well known person than he makes sure to prepare ahead of time by studying the person extensively, this however is not perfect.

The shapeshifting process itself is also incredibly painful for him. If he is hit hard enough while in another form then the power of the attack will cause him to forcefully revert back to his original form. Due in part to this he strongly avoids close range combat while in another's form.

Personality: Felix is quite the narcissist, boasting delusions of grandeur, an incredibly high sense of self importance and a near total lack of empathy. He is selfish and always puts himself first, rarely even considering other people unless he has to use them in order to advance his own goals. He's manipulative, ruthless but intelligent, often creating plans ahead of time.

He's a flirt who can't resist a pretty face and will vigorously try to hit on the target of his affections until they give him an answer. Felix will sometimes crack jokes, often in the most improper situations. He enjoys explosions and creating chaos, but only if they involve him getting what he wants. He also enjoys playing tricks on people. He can't stand when he doesn't and just despises the thought of losing.

Background:
Felix very rarely talks about his past, especially his life before he gained his powers, but he did in fact have a life before becoming a shapeshifter. He was born into a middle class family, the only child of a plumber and high school teacher. He also wasn't born in Modern City, actually hailing from Brooklyn, New York. He had a boring, typical childhood, finishing high school as a solid student, having a girlfriend, occasionally partying, nothing odd.

It was after graduating college that he moved to Modern City, accepting a job offer for an accounting firm in the area. He was a different person before he powers, much kinder and far less of a narcissist. His life changed permanently when the accident occured, Felix jogging on the beach when the accident occurred and he like many others was overcome by the chemicals.

He was overcome by extreme pain as he felt his skin literally crawling, feeling his form changing rapidly into a multitude of people. The incident was incredibly traumatic and put him down the path which lead to his personality change, after he began to coup with his powers and realize that he could do whatever he wanted, his power allowing him to commit all kinds of acts.

He started off small, pick-pocketing, shoplifting, getting a small thrill from the criminal deeds, as well as a profit, his powers allowing him to escape any suspicion. Eventually he got into larger crimes, most notably a bank robbery. That lead him to get involved with other criminals, which would lead him to establish a reputation, this in part created from his newly minted person, Melion, a name taken from an old Breton lai in which a knight named Melion who served King Arthur transformed into a wolf after a promise to his wife who left him for his squire. He felt it was a fitting alias to take.

Other:
- He's a fan of old literature, poetry and fairy tales. Particularly the work of William Shakespeare.
- Is a capable marksman and a decent brawler, though he prefers to use guns.

[User]
"No man, please. I don't know shut about what you're lookin' for." the gangster pleaded as he tried to escape the monster in front of him.

Average height, and black haired the meta human was almost normal, except until he took off his sunglasses. The same gaping maws of teeth had greeted the gang in their hideout. They were part of the sudden influx of criminals that had immigrated into the city after the explosion. They primarily focused on the burgeoning drug trade in the now abandoned port area.

"Sorry buddy, but you and your chucklefuck pals have caught the interest of the police department," the meta human replied, surrounded by the broken corpses the criminals comrades, "'sides, it's your fault for getting involved the drug trade." Then, stopping low, the monstrous man retrieved his knife from the neck of one of the gangsters, and began prowling towards the man on the ground, who was attempting to crawl away. He immediately began wetting himsel in fear.

"Relax," the bloodied T-shirt clad man knelt to eye level to the gangster, and brought the knife down on, "It's for a good cause." Slitting the man's neck, the man began his grisly.collection of the dead men's eyes. Popping them leaders eye into his socket, and learned that there was going.to be a drug deal that evening. Quickly, the survivor called a special number, and reported his findings.!?

[Assistant]
"Wake up, boy. You have work to do. " Oozed the voice inside of the young man's head. The man looked up to the ceiling of his bed room. He was still wearing his jeans from the night before. He must have collapsed after whatever he had done. Sometimes he could not remember his times walking the streets trying catch as many scumbags as he could. Course the voice did not seem to care. It was furious about something. Jack got up and walked towards one of the mirrors in his room. He thought he looked pretty good but the Whisper thought otherwise.

"You are fragile, child. If you want to help in the city you must be stronger than this. You are weak. We can do this if you work. " The voice said being helpful. It seemed to switch between trying to drive Jack insane. Other times it tried to mentor him. Sometimes it demanded he kill every thug he find while other times it said to think of their children. Jack gave up months ago in his struggle to understand the voice. All he knew was that it was connected to his powers.

"Well I don't have work today so I could work on that?" He offered seemingly talking to the air. That seemed to shut the Whisper up. He needed an outlet for all his anger. It was either an outlet or thugs would be found impaled on wrought iron fences around the city. He wanted to try boxing but that seemed out of the question. There had to be another way.

Jack grabbed his headphones and quickly changed up so he could go run. Five minutes later he was heading towards downtown. His powers did give him a great deal of stamina. He had his mask in his pocket should he need it.

[User]
Elliot had to shower at the boat shack the university owned down at the docks to service the two large cutters that served as ocean going classrooms for the school. They were gone at the moment the Savanna up at the Grand banks studying the fishery and it's troubling rate of decline. Her sister ship the Numa was in Barbados working a sunken ship thought to be an English warship named the "Terror" which had been sunk by an American Privateer named the "The Faithful" in 1813. Elliot would have loved to have gone with the Numa but was still busy with her study of the disaster's effect on the life in the bay for her Masters as well as curiosity.

Once she'd washed up Elliot sat down and labeled her samples and put them away, some she'd do the work on and others would need to go to the state fish an game labs. She enjoyed her chosen field but now found herself distracted by her alter ego and demands on her time. Her worst problem was that she'd found that as a volunteer crime fighter as she euphemisticlly called herself she had new expenses.

Night Vision Goggles, her neoprene suits, Cameras that could be used to gather evidence and extend her range of eyesight among numerous other things that helped her. She had find creative ways of earning extra money and had resorted lately to being a pet finder. She had a good record for finding lost pets so long as they were still alive and sometimes even took in some cash.

She thought "Carter would laugh his rear off if he knew"

Eli couldn't help herself, even when they put down they'd pay $2,000 or $200 a lot of these people couldn't really afford it, they just wanted the pet back.

"Oh well good vibes are as good as money" she giggled as she finished up her work

[Assistant]
Four men sat at a circular table at the back of a small restaurant in the quieter part of Modern City. A fifth empty chair at the table, cold from waiting for its occupant. The joint itself was closed to the public, these men having reserved it all to themselves for their meeting. One of them also 'convincing' the owner to not have any of the employees go to work when the meeting took place. The four figures were similarly dressed, suits of varying expensiveness. One of the men had a cigarette in his hand which he took a smoke of as unbeknownst to the group the fifth man entered the building through the side kitchen door flanked by two accomplices. Truthfully the two were nothing more than grunts, but reliable and trustworthy ones, the kind you'd like to have with you if the meeting went to hell.

The fifth player appeared in the dining room, his eyes scanning the room for moment until he found the table in the back. His two grunts flanking off to another table in which more of their type that had accompanied the other men were playing cards. As the man approached the table he felt the eyes of the four already seated glance up at him, one of them moving his lips to speak.

"Rocco, what took you so long? We've been sitting here twiddling our thumbs." One of them said, an older man, his hair gray, eyes honest.

"Traffic." The one the others figured to be Rocco replied as he took his seat in the empty chair, all five men at the table now, the meeting ready to commence.

"So, between the cops and the super freaks business has gotten a lot harder of late. Ever since that tanker sank those punks have been a thorn in our side. Getting involved in our deals, dragging people to the pigs. It's a mess." The cigarette smoking man at the table said, a pair of sunglasses over his face, he capped the words by putting out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

"What do they think they are? They've been reading too many of those comics, real life ain't anything like that stuff." Another man at the table replied, the youngest looking one there, his arms folded, a glass of whiskey in front of him.

"At least you can pay off the cops. Haven't been able to pay off the supermen, they're acting all heroic out of boredom I think." Another added.

"Now you all know that I have a shipment of guns coming into the port, but it's at risk with those freaks running around," The man who addressed Rocco pitched in, then glanced over at Rocco. "They've been giving you trouble too?"

"Yeah, but I think I have a plan for them." He said, his voice unusually calm like the topic of their conversation wasn't even an issue to him or his dealings.

"It's not that easy, Rocco, they're freaks, you can't just shoot them, some of them are so fast they dodge bullets, others don't even get hurt by them." The man who poised the question said, almost lecturing Rocco.

"Oh I know."

"What does that mean?" The sunglasses wearing man asked, one eyebrow raised. Now was the time for Rocco to disappear.

"Experience of the personal type." Rocco said, then rose from his seat and changed form before the criminal's eyes, turning from a shorter, middle aged man with a thick goatee to a clean cut, almost pretty man of impeccable style. The four men all reacted in different ways, all forms of surprise at the act they had witnessed, one of which had rose to his feet, pointing a pistol at the shapeshifter.

"You're one of them! You're not Rocco, he's not one of those things. What the hell is going on? What did you do with him?" The man said as the shapeshifter gave him a glance, the others not yet having made a move, though another at the table had his hand on the revolver tucked inside of his jacket. The display had also drawn the attention of the other men in the room, their eyes set firmly on the table, some of them too clenching firearms, waiting for the signal from their bosses.

"Oh don't worry, he's fine, well, not dead, let's put it that way. You are right though, I am one of those things, but a more refined breed who sees the potential for my gifts. I wouldn't have let you bask in my presence if I didn't, you might have heard of me. The name's Melion." The shapeshifter said, having raised both arms to show he was not a threat.

"I say we put a bullet right in this guy's head, he can't possibly survive that." Another man at the table said, his gun drawn, he now out of his seat.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." Melion said, his facial expression a straight one.

"The hell does that mean?"

"Those 'freaks' you were having a chat about? They know all about you all, maybe not me, I hope not me, but many of them want to stomp you out, see you in chains. I do not want that, I can help each of you, my powers allow me to become anyone I want, I could turn myself into the mayor and run the town in his place, the President and run the country, the possibilities are endless." Melion said, a smirk forming on his face.

"Why do you want to help us? What's in it for you?" One of them asked, one of them men still seated.

"Well, we share the same interests, I too do not like the others like me, they don't realize what they can accomplish. We can work something out, if not then I'll quietly leave and release Rocco back into your hands, you'll never hear a peep from my beautiful mouth again." Melion said, taking a seat once more, one of the men still with his gun pointed at the meta-human.

"I don't like it, what if he's working with the cops?" The man in shades asked the others.

"Would I have exposed myself if I was?" Melion asked back.

"He's not wrong. I never liked Rocco anyway, guy was an asshole." One of them said as two of the others nodded in agreement.

"We'll give it a shot, but you'll be watched like a fox. One bad move and you'll be 100 feet underwater with cinderblocks tied to your ankles."

"I assure you, I will be of the greatest assistance." Melion said with a smile, hiding more complicated intentions, unbeknownst to the gangsters.


[System]
"Shut up, I'm not that short!"
Gender:
Male
Age:
16
Sexuality:
Bisexual
Personality:
Aubrey is very thoughtful, kind, and passionate, though he has a short fuse. He enjoys the company of others and isn't very particular about who he talks to. Although he seems a little bit shy at times he has a wicked attitude when he is upset. He is immensely stubborn and hot-headed and often makes snap decisions based solely on emotion. The best way to set him off is to tease him for his small size or girly name.
Appearance:
Considerably small for his age, not only in height but build as well. His brown hair is short and curly, almost always hidden by his favorite snow cap. His vivid blue eyes stand out against his pale skin. Small, almost unnoticeable scars crisscross his arms and shoulders, though he doesn't say what they're from.
Weapon of Choice:
A small curved dagger with a simple but pleasing design.
Other:
Absolutely adores cats. Cannot shoot worth a crap. Really good with maps. Does not currently remember his last name.
Revealed History:
+ Been on board the Leviathan about four months.
Stats:
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 5
Social: 5
Crafting: 3
Fighting: 3

[User]
Winter

Winter had gotten most of her errands done and was now walking aimlessly through the city, stopping at little shops every now and then for clothes or books. It'd been what, almost an hour since being in Ballard? Someone had probably already kicked up a ruckus. That meant she had a limited amount of time to herself before –

Guess my time's up.

Just as she'd turned the corner, she came upon three dead bodies. Winter sighed and looked up to the sky for patience. Setting down her bags away from the pooling blood, she walked over and kneeled over the bodies to inspect them. From the long, clean slashes, this was Levi's work. The blood was still fresh and had yet to clot, so the girl was probably still in the area. Winter sighed, getting slightly annoyed. Really, to kill in such a flashy way and then just leave the bodies for anyone to stumble upon? She shook her head at such sloppy work.

Her ears perked up when she heard voices reverberating off of the alley walls. People were coming. Straightening up, Winter stepped away from the bodies and backed herself up against the wall where she'd left her bags. She tore at the seam of her dress and pushed her sleeve off her shoulder a bit and then reached down to get the water bottle she'd had in her bag. Opening it, Winter dabbed some onto her fingers and smeared it across her face. She closed her eyes and got into her character. Two patrol officers rounded the corner to find a shivering, fragile girl, staring wide-eyed at the dead bodies.

Their voices halted immediately when they saw everything. Winter's head snapped up to look at them and she flinched away, her hands coming up to clutch at her chest, her knuckles white.

"I –" her voice broke and she just continued to stare at them. The two men glanced at each other, and one of them came forward, approaching Winter like she was a wild animal.

"Hey," he said in a gentle voice. "You're ok, we're not gonna hurt you. Can you tell us what happened?" His hand reached out to her, but he seemed to think better of it and pulled back.

Winter pulled her native accent around her voice, thickening it until her words were a broken, stilted version of what they usually were. "There was… men, and they try to…" She bit back a sob and pointed down the opposite alley. "A man come, he defend me, but one ran away. They chase down there." The two officers straightened immediately at hearing that there was still an altercation going on.

"Stay here, ok," the officer commanded her, "we'll come back to get you." With that, the two took off, weapons drawn.

Without an audience, Winter dropped her act and straightened up. At least now she didn't have to do cleanup work. She tidied herself up and wiped the water from her face. Walking over to the bodies again, Winter picked up their weapons, cleaning them on their shirts and tucked them neatly in her bag. Now she just had to deal with Levi. She looked around, spying an art store and remembered the young girl's drawings. That was a likely place to look then.

And sure enough, when Winter walked through the door, there she was.

"Levi," she said, voice stern. When she had the girl's attention, she raised her hand and curled her finger in a 'come here' motion.

[Assistant] Angelo sighed as he heard the familiar voice of the twins nearby and as a result Angelo soon went to the end of the bar waiting on them to do what they did best and cause a commotion and as if on cue Sakuya gave anyone man enough an open pass to come over to them and give them the tour around town. even the guys that he beat up earlier got up at the thought of taking them out however this time "shut up!" when he said that everyone didn't question it or tried to argue about it as they all shut up and Angelo looked at them "why is it wherever you go theirs going to be nothing but white noise crowding the place" Angelo said to Sakuya knowing how Angelo felt about peace and quiet rather then the eruption of noise the both of them make wherever they go. Angelo felt like peace and quiet could let him think and relax anywhere but such noise just pissed him off...

[User]
"Oh yeah, it would be good for one of them, you're right." Aubrey took the offered cup from the coffee lady. It was in a little white ceramic mug. The top of the coffee was covered in some kind of foamy stuff, something he had never seen before. He stuck his pinky finger in it and tasted it. Wow, it was sweet alright. He brought the little cup to his lips and sipped it carefully, making sure it wasn't too hot.

 He nodded his head. "Yeah, you're right. It's really nice here." He was going to add something about it being too nice, that he was starting to twitch from being in such a calm, laid-back atmosphere. But he didn't, and instead just finished his coffee in a few more greedy mouthfuls. Even Levi seemed to have gotten bored with it. Aubrey returned her wave as she left. When Jax asked if he wanted to go after the others with her, his whole face smiled. "I thought you'd never ask! I can't stay still this long, it's making me crazy."

 He passed his mug back to the counter-lady and thanked her. The lady waited for Jax to hand in her cup, and then Aubrey led his friend back out of the little cafe. Once more, the little bell jingled softly. For some reason, he really liked that bell.

 "Okay, do you know which way the were going?" He asked, turning to look at Jax. "Taran said something about some fancy place..." He looked up, peering through the smog. In the distance, he could barely see the top of a large building. It's baby blue walls stood out amounts the rest of the rusty, brownish buildings. "That looks promising. Let's head that way."

 The streets were not particularly crowded anymore. The sun had long since disappeared, and a sickly yellow glow was cast by the old lights lining the streets. The city was definitely worse at night. They walked for a few minutes through the shady place, only passing a few people here and there. "I wonder where everyone went." He said, partly to himself, turning to walk backwards for a second so he could look back to see how far they'd gone. "You'd think that-"

 Aubrey was cut off when felt a hand grasp the back of his neck. Immediately, he struck back with his elbow, but he missed his assailant, his arm grazing harmlessly across their side. The person pulled Aubrey against them, wrapping a think arm around his neck as the boy squirmed. Based on the strength of the person, Aubrey identified them as male. It felt like the world was moving in slow motion, but the whole exchange happened in about two seconds.

 He stopped squirming when he felt a blade agaisnt the skin of his neck. He froze, his hands still gripping the arm that was around his neck. "Little girls shouldn't be out at this hour." Someone said. From the shadows of the ally next to them another man appeared, addressing Jax. Aubrey would have kicked him for referring to him as a girl had the circumstances been different.

 "Now, we don't want any trouble." The man said, "But see, we're sort of running low on cash. I'll make you a deal; hand over your wallets, and we won't hurt your little friend. Unless, of course, you have other services to offer..." The sly way he said it made Aubrey's blood boil, and he gave Jax a look that said 'You better kick his ass'.

[Assistant]
Jax

Jax had finished her coffee a little bit before Aubrey and was unnoticeably admiring the somewhat cute way he drank his sugar filled coffee. The internal struggle between the boyish her and the girlish was relentless. She wanted to like Aubrey but felt it was too girly to feel the way she did, all warm and fuzzy inside. Rolling her shoulders a bit she shook it off, waving her hand a little to Levi as she left. "Sweet, let's go" Once he returned his white mug to the woman across the counter she returned hers, smiling mischievously as they headed out. "Yes, I'm pretty sure they were going looting. That building there has got to be our ticket to them, hopefully we're not too late"

Once the sun had begun to go down the streets got darker, their were few lights lighting their way and the pollution didn't help their sight either. Aubrey had started to walk backwards for reasons she didn't know and spoke, "you think that-" His words were cut off when a large hand grabbed the back of his neck. Jax's eyes grew wide at the sight of the man behind Aubrey. She hadn't even noticed him creep out of the darkness and grab her crew mate. Now her eyes were narrowed and her hands balled into tight fists. "Bastard" Jax muttered under her breath.

The man put a knife to her friend's neck and her own blood boiled as they spoke to her like a child, a girlish child who couldn't fend for herself. Desperate or not they had no right to do such things. Other services? What freaking creeps. Jax cracked her neck and spoke calmly but with a hint of anger and sadism. "Pardon me, I am not a little girl, and that is my friend you have there" She removed the wrench from her back and spun it over her head in one hand, a smirk forming on her face. "Now, if you do not release him I will have to bash both of your skulls in. Find cash and other services elsewhere, will you?"

Now trembling with rage, she didn't give them time to reply, no one touched her friends, especially not the boy she liked, and that was final. The pirate girl dashed forward and slammed one end of her wrench into the man's stomach, the one who wasn't holding Aubrey. As he was falling backwards she threw the thing at his head and blood could be seen spewing out of his bashed forehead and broken nose. "No one threatens my friends and gets away with it!!!" Jax than turned with ease and moved behind the other man, rapidly pulling out her flintlock, spinning it and placing it too the man's head. "Now, you will release him or I will have to dislocate your brain, do we have an understanding?"

[User]
As soon as Jax moved, the man tightened his grip on Aubrey's throat. Aubrey winced as his air supply was cut off and he felt a trickle of warmth run from where the knife was pressed to the soft skin on his neck. He struggled to turn his head towards the man's elbow, knowing if he could wriggle into the softer flesh he would be able to breath. The man's grip was too strong, and in those vital moments with no oxygen Aubrey's muscles felt useless. Instead of trying to free himself, he managed to bite down on the man's wrist. Simultaneously, he kicked one heel up in between the man's legs and felt a rush of satisfaction when his attacker groaned.

 Aubrey's feet left the ground as the man lifted him, taking away any leverage the boy had. But then Jax whipped around and slung out a pistol, aiming it at the back of the man's head. He froze, but kept his hold on Aubrey. He stood there for a second, looking at his comrade laying bloodied on the ground, as if contemplating his options.

 Aubrey's kicks had gotten weak, until he was just hardly moving. He heard Jax speak in a threatening tone, but the words were lost. "Who are you kidding, girly." The man sneered. A confident smirk played across his face as he spoke, as if the sight of his buddy on the ground had no effect on him. "You wouldn't have it in you to actually kill someone, would you?"


[System]
UserName: Konan375
Age: 25

Mageblood type: Aqua

Favoured Magic Class: Hydromancy

Previous Magic training: None

Race: Naerse Human

Appearance: Leith was born with albinism, so his skin is about as white as it can get. His eyes are a very light blue, and he has no hair. There is a scar that runs horizontally across his right cheek to almost his ear. He stands at 6 feet tall and is very skinny. He usually wears dark green pants and a hooded cloak of the same colour. The cloak has a clasp on it, and it was given to him as a gift. There is a silver ring on his left index finger and he currently has a gauntlet fused to his right hand that goes up to his elbow. It is roughly five times the size of his left hand.

Short Bio: Leith did not have a nice childhood. the other children were afraid of him. They had heard stories of vampires and what they looked like, and in their minds, Leith was a vampire. He had learned quickly that fear could turn to violence, and had gone home with bruises, and one time, a black eye.

As he got older, the fear disappeared, and he made some friends. He discovered his ability to control water, and started to try and figure out what he could do with it.

When he was twenty, Leith Heard about Twilight College and decided to go there and get a better grasp on his hydromancy. He figured it wouldn't take that long. A few weeks at most.

He got there five years later.

After a few days of travelling, he encountered two men who immediately apprehended him and tried to kill him because they'd "be doing Eania a favour. The only good vampire is a dead one, right?"

Leith tried to explain that he wasn't a vampire, and that the men were making a mistake, but they wouldn't listen. The men took him into a small clearing off the road. He stumbled and fell into puddle of purple liquid, which disappeared almost as quickly as he landed in it. His head was buzzing when the men picked him up, tied him to a stake and one of the men went to set him on fire. In his panic, the buzzing increased, and Leith felt water nearby and pulled at it. He was splashed by something warm and lost consciousness.

He was found by a herbalist who was restocking his inventory. When Leith woke up, he felt like he needed to repay the old man, and decided to become his apprentice. The buzzing in his head didn't go away, and his hair started falling out days later.

Near the end of Leith's fourth year of being an apprentice, the old man got sick, and quickly died. After burying him, Leith stayed at the little hut in the forest that they lived for a few more weeks, and then started out for the Twilight College for a second time. Fortunately, the second time was uneventful, and he arrived the day they were accepting a bunch of new mages. And who knows, maybe somebody there might know what's making his head buzz.

Good Attributes: Very knowledgable. He has a love of learning and can learn more quickly than other people would. He is a very kind person, and will try to help people when he can. After working with the herbalist for four years, Leith knows quite a bit about Earnia plant-life and can usually tell which ones are harmful, and which ones are helpful. He has a good sense of humour, and he doesn't let what other people say to him bother him.

Bad Attributes: He never was a strong person, but after his encounter with the men, he was weakened physically, and when he feels that his weakness stopped him from helping someone, he can get very depressed. There is a constant buzzing noise in his head that started when he was almost killed, and it can get to the point where it is distracting. Sometimes the buzzing gives him insomnia. He also trusts people too easily. He doesn't like to let other people know if he has a problem because he doesn't like to bother people with his issues.

Secret Word: Fade... wait a second. Rebirth

Yellow Ring
Name: Illuminating Ring
Description:
Type: Non-Combative/Combative
Range: Individual to up to five meters
Duration: Depends on the mode
Other information:
This ring, unlike the other two, has three different uses depending on how many taps you give the gem. One tap actives the first mode called Search, two taps active the second called Illumination and three taps actives the final mode called Flash.

Search mode is just as it sounds where the ring casts a soft, nightlight like glow to locate hidden items. The ring will flicker off and on when something is close by that the user is focusing on finding. When hot, the flickers increase rapidly to give a general and foot by foot area it is located within. However, when cold the blinking will cease into a steady, faint light much like a firefly would cast making it useless for a light source.

Illumination creates a light strength much like a campfire, lighting up several meters from the source. It is useful to see in most dark caves not affected by magic or unnatural reasons. Though unlike Electromancers who can increase and alter their light source, the ring is set at one level only at all times making it possible to be seen by others easily.

Flash is a sudden, blinding light that can affect both ally and foe alike if the user isn't careful. When tapped, it makes a small hum for a warning to the user to protect their eyes then pops, shrouding everything within the scene in bright, white light. This will stun enemies, or allies, for a brief time unless they are knocked out of it prematurely by outside influences.

[User]
☆ Helena ☆
Nox Mission

Helena started to back up again, but the beast was taken down before she had to worry too much about it. Once it was crumpling to the ground, she hurried over, retrieving any knives she passed on the way, and went to help Darell back onto even, solid footing again. "C'mon, let's get you back into the fight." Not that she wanted to do more fighting, but she'd also wanted to get out of their alive. He came up and got onto his feet, she took that moment to look around again, see where Annabeth and Collete were and if Athalus was handling the one that had gone for him. She was sure that he was, he'd been the one to actually kill any of them, she'd only distracted and wounded.

Which she did again, once she let go of Darell's hand, lighting up the one going after Drake and the others, helping them out as she could so they all could get out of there. But when she was done, she was panting a little bit. It was pushing at her limits now, at the very least her limits of control. They needed to get out of there soon.

[Assistant]
Veretu&Salem

---

Veretu was walking at a decent pace when he heard someone approach. Approach then fall, but that was not here nor there. He hoped that that would've meant the person would leave, but no...apparently not. His dragon wings pulled around him to create more of barrier between them. He turned, but the full view of him was blocked out by his leathery wings. "He's not a cat" it was said matter of factly and it did not seem to be ready to explain in full detail what he meant.

Salem however turned and seemed somehow more egotistical. "Im much better then a cat. Im special" The cat waved his tail and beamed at the girl before looking up at veretu and rolling his eyes.

Before either could continue however, veretu caught sight of the dwarf woman. It would seem impossible for his wings to shut anymore and him still see, but he managed it. He was fully taken from sight on his front and it was clear he did not handle social interaction well. Though, he was at least facing her direction.

Salem however once more proved that he was the more social of the two. The cat waved his tail once more and instead of outright speaking gave a rather innocent sounding meow. He was testing to see how the soot covered woman would react to him. Giant green eyes and all.

[User]
---

At the Twilight College, Elise blinked at the response from the tall man in front of her. She did notice he tried to shroud himself with his beautiful wings and her eyes were sparkling in awe. "W-What d-do y-you m-mean h-he's n-not a-a k-kitty c-cat?" Elise asked, curiously to the man who had awe inspiring wings. She heard Black Kitty's response to her and giggled cutely towards the talking black cat. "Y-You a-are v-very c-cute," Elise said, looking at the kitty cat. She had cute little eyes looking at the black kitty, she had always wanted a kitty cat.

Elise noticed ahead of them, a dwarf woman covered in soot from working at a blacksmithing forge. She walked forward to greet the woman, even though she stays away from forges in her hometown because they craft swords mostly. "I-I g-guess, I-I s-should g-greet m-myself," Elise thought to herself, nervously but she didn't fall on her face again. She gently smiles towards the woman who's approaching them. "H-H-Hello…," Elise stuttered, nervously because of the fact she's nervous around new people. She cutely and gently sighs and tried to become calm around new people.

Elise had stopped walking right next to the man with beautiful dragon wings at closer inspection. She only wanted to get closer to the black kitty cat. "I-I s-so w-want t-to p-pet t-the k-kitty," Elise thought to herself, while looking at the black cat in awe of his' adorableness. She was looked up for a bit and had a smile on her face. She waited for the person who approached them to speak since she wanted to introduce herself unless, she's already known for coming here.

[Assistant]
Leith hissed in frustration as the rope tangled around his feet. It didn't help that the rope had wrapped his cloak around his feet. His right arm was now trapped between the cloak and his body, and unfortunately he didn't have the leverage to free the arm. Worse yet, it seemed that his fall had been noticed. As a figure walked towards him with a trident, Leith's mind raced. There wasn't much he could do from his position except wait.

As the person stood over him with their trident raised and poised to strike, Leith had an idea. He needed to be precise. Any mistake and he would be skewered by the trident. On the down-stroke Leith tucked his head down and moved his right arm upwards to cover his head.

CLANG

The sound of metal hitting metal rang throughout the room and the trident struck Leith's gauntlet. He sighed at the sight of the holes in his cloak. "That was my favorite cloak." He muttered under his breath. He moved his hand to grab onto the trident and keep his assailant from retrieving it and with his free hand he held it out and tapped the yellow-stoned ring on his ring finger with his thumb three times.

As the ring started to hum, Leith shouted out to his friends.

"RING!"

During their ride in the carriage, the group had developed a few strategies for if their diplomatic mission ever turned sour. One of them had been for Leith to shout a word to potentially distract their opponents and warn his allies at the same time. He covered his eyes in the crook of his arm, and hoped that his friends had heard him as a bright flash erupted from the ring. He then gave a tug on the trident and then pushed back on it. There was a ripping noise as his arm tore free of the imprisoning cloak.


[System]
Aliases: Salmu Pulhu (Sumerian), Shasheuss-Throth (De Vermis Mysteriis), The Sleeper of the Clandestine

Gender: Male

Species: Elder Horror, Primeval Vampire

Lifespan: As long as it can continue drinking blood. It doesn't age when it sleeps for years in-between large meals.

Age: 1,907

Appearance: A piebald monstrosity with slime slicked flesh and no hind legs. Its only limbs are two long, winged arms and a powerful tail. It has four claws on each forepaw, with the middle one being eight inches long and capable of slicing through muscle like tissue paper. The beast's head is mostly a jagged maw with oily, unseeing eyes on top. It has a sharp, hollow tongue which can extend three feet from its mouth and act as a siphon to suck in blood. From snout to tail base, it is over eight feet long. The tail is fourteen feet. It weighs in at about two-hundred and ninety-five kilos, as much as a siberian tiger.

Abilities

~Limited flight. Due to its wingspan and body weight, it can only fly for a maximum distance of ninety meters and remain aloft for little more than a half minute.

~Ectothermic: It's body temperature adjusts to match its surroundings. It can withstand the hottest or coldest environments.

~Tremendous strength and speed.

~Keen hearing and sonar. It's echolocation has a maximum distance of 6,700 meters and can detect objects moving at half the speed of sound. Anything faster than subsonic it can detect via air pressure gradient.

~Heat pits: Can detect the heat of organisms.

~Tongue: Can draw in blood through a wound like a vaccuum. It can also squirt or spray blood and bile. The bile is not highly acidic.

~Can squeeze into any opening that it can fit its head through.

~Capable of entering a state of metabolic stasis which can last for decades. It retains spatial awareness during this "hibernation" and can awaken at will.

~Sense of smell: It can track down others thousands of kilometers away just by smelling them on the clothing of its prey.

~Intelligence: Is far more clever that it looks. Can grasp (but not speak) all languages.

~Can quickly regenerate from wounds by consuming blood and flesh. The amount of mass healed is proportionate to how much is consumed, I.E one pound of food to replace one pound of damaged tissue.

~The membrane of its wings is tougher than Kevlar.

~Its body mucous and saliva contains anticoagulant, cytotoxic, and bufotoxic properties. Those whom it bites or claws will suffer gradual necrosis, unstoppable bleeding, and fast-acting, nightmarish hallucinations.
The speed at which the bufotoxins take effect depends on how close the wound is to the head, ranging from several minutes to several seconds. It is immune to its own toxins.
The viscosity of the mucous can be regulated, allowing the Magna Pater to be extremely slippery or adhesive.
The mucous functions also to mask its scent.
It can convert and excrete up to twenty percent of its body weight in mucous. It becomes significantly faster when empty, and can regain the weight by eating.

~The Alpha:
Though it would never allow its young to live unless driven to desperation by an immense threat to its existence, for it is a selfish thing that dislikes sharing its hunting grounds, it is able to impose its will upon its brood of lesser vampires via shared split-consciousness. By forcefully breeding with another organism, it can produce in one month a litter of four juveniles. The juveniles mature after a single month and become fully capable of killing and breeding, weighing at that time around 100 kilos each. The brood will never grow to more than 200 kilos. Each one can have a litter of four young, and can breed with as many victims as are available.
At such a rate the number of mature brood would grow exponentially as follows, assuming the lowest estimate of each one breeding a single time per month.

Month One- The Magna Pater breeds and the young emerge.

Month Two- Five mature brood counting the Magna Pater.

Month Four- Twenty brood.

Month Six- Eighty Brood.

Month Eight- 320 brood.

Month Ten- 1,280 brood.

Year One- 5,120 brood.

Year Two- 26,214,400 brood.

Year Three- Planetary Extinction.

~Malocchio:
It may use its "true eyes" by shutting down its other senses. Before it uses the Malocchio, the intended victim(s) will have a brief premonition of the danger to come. Those who see the true eyes will, each time they go to sleep, enter a trance and begin moving in the direction of the Magna Pater, wherever it may be. They will awaken at the time they normally would, such as a few minutes for a nap and several hours for deep sleep. It also allows the Magna Later to see through the eyes of its prey at any and all times, even at the same time if there are multiple victims. By using the Malocchio on one who is already cursed, the victim's sight will be replaced with that of the Magna Pater's until it deactivates its eyes.

It is a passive curse that has no immediate negative effects unless the victim is entirely under the influence of the Magna Pater's hallucinogens, in which case the victim will immediately lose their mind from fright. If the bufotoxins haven't taken full effect then the victim will feel an intense fear which escalates in accordance to the strength of the already terrifying hallucinations.

Looking into its "true eyes" for too long can result in the victim's body becoming riddled with cancer at a later period in time, I.E developing prostate and skin cancer two years after the encounter. It takes roughly seven seconds of eye-to-eye contact (does not have to be constant) before the dormant cancer cells begin taking root.
The Magna Pater can only keep the Malocchio active for at most sixteen seconds, and cannot use it again until the same amount of time has passed. As an example, if it only uses it for ten seconds and then deactivates, then it must rest its eyes for ten seconds.

~Those that are consumed by the Magna Pater whilst cursed by the Malocchio have their consciousness eternally bound to their physical state of matter. They gain a horrific form of immortality, doomed to live on forever in boundless agony as inert particles bequeathed unto the earth, lost to time and memory beneath the weight of the ages.

(A lesser, juvenile vampire)

Behavior: The Magna Pater is what one would first think of when the word "monster" comes to you in the dead of night.
It may be called if one completes a forbidden ritual detailed within the ancient tome of black magic known as De Vermis Mysteriis, but nary a being would consider doing such an obscene thing. It makes no noise, has no mercy, cannot be reasoned with, and lives only to drain the blood and devour the flesh of all living things it can bind within its greasy wings. It enjoys all manner of prey and is especially inclined to go out of its way to find children, but it is shy and despises the light. It prefers to remain in damp pitch-blackness, where no eyes can spy it and no light can fall upon it. When outside of its primary lair it lurks around graveyards, occasionally squirming through the wormy soil to feast upon the dead and decaying when no live meat is available.
It will frequently impregnate victims with its brood, keeping them alive until its malformed young are birthed. It will eat both the victim and the young, doing these things not for food but to purposefully inflict prolonged torment.

The few who come into contact with it and live may never be the same as they had been before, for above all else it is a creature of persistence. Even if one leaves the Magna Pater, it will never leave them. A variety of lifelong physical complications and psychological ailments can stem from a meeting with it and it never stops pursuing its prey, even if they move far away. It will also track down any living thing that leaves its scent on a victim. This leads to the it consuming the families of those it hunts, along with anyone those families had come into recent physical contact with. Though one may travel often and abroad, once the Magna Pater has chosen a victim their fate is inevitable. It could take days, weeks, months, even years, but eventually on some cold and moonless evening one will awaken to see a sticky face with dead eyes peering through their bedroom window.

History:

Once in a millennium is a creature born, a living horror known as the "Magna Pater". The progenitor of monsters, the true genesis, the harbinger of loss, ancient and terrible. Only one has ever lived at a time, for it is greedy and does not abide its own kind, but always has one lived. It is the alpha of its virtually nonexistant subspecies, devouring its own young at birth. Only when the lone alpha dies is a new alpha conceived. It travels far and with little preference, drawn to whatever realm has foolishly called it via black magic. It has seen and ended countless civilisations. In Sumeria it was worshipped as a cruel deity to which many sacrifices were made. In this lifetime does a special one exist, the most dreadful of its kind to have ever been. Even the most vile of devils would balk at associating with it. Like each Magna Pater before it, it wields the unique capacity to share the sight and manipulate the will of its subspecies, an apocalyptic power which it does not abuse only for the sake of preserving its food supply.

Though it lingers not permanently in this world, it is anchored here during times of inactivity. It haunts the secret places deep below ground, amidst a lichen hellscape of death and graverot. It slumbers upon a towering mountain of soggy bones, reigning over its decaying empire on a haphazard throne several thousand lives thick. Those who enter this wretched domain, where the blue sky transitions into a black void, do so at the risk of becoming yet another skeleton upon which the Magna Pater may sleep, with their loved ones soon joining them.

Theme Music:

[User] The Magna Later remained immobile as the fire obliterated the entranceway just four yards in front of it. It had picked the metal thing's right side, and had been damn clever in not having been any closer. It waited for its foe to fully enter and perhaps be distracted by the decoy, for even a second. A second would be all it needed to emerge in the metal thing's blind spot and slip quietly unnoticed up the machine's broad, unfeeling back.

[Assistant]
The dust and rock was taking some time to settle properly as the Mech ejected its spent HEAT round from underneath the tank-rifle on its shoulder. Higan ensured the A.S.P would load its anti-personnel round for the next shot, which would take about half a minute to prepare. There wasn't much to be done while he waited for the dust to settle properly and the round to load, so he swapped over to electric vision to see if anything was visible through the cloud. Earlier engagements had taught him thermal vision was unsuitable for chasing Slimy, unsurprisingly considering its cold blooded nature, so electric vision was all that was available for perceiving through the smoke and dust.

There didn't seem to be anything directly through the recently widened entry point that could be considered alive. At least, nothing that lit up the electric sensor. That left Higan with the question of whether the monster had passed through the great cavern he perceived ahead and moved on, or if it had found a way to avoid detection again. There was also a simpler solution, it may be that the solid rock that still stood on either side of the destroyed entry-way could be concealing the lurking form of the Magna Pater. In many ways that would be the worst case scenario, it would be difficult to react in time if it were waiting just beside the door.

The more Higan thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Slimy was waiting for him on the other side. However, would it be to the left of the doorway, the right, or directly above? With its injuries that had thus far seemed to render it grounded, striking from above seemed unlikely. Unless it could stick to the solid rock walls, though the shaking eruption of the HEAT round would probably have destabilised it if that were the case. That left the right or left. Fortunately for Higan, his A.S.P could perceive up to 180 degrees, so on entering the room he would have peripheral vision of both sides of his Mech until he moved properly inside and a blind spot formed. Not only that, but he was equipped with two weapons, secondary and tertiary armaments, one on each of the Mech's arms. In that way, he had the capacity to cover his corners while the cannon on the shoulder covered the front. So, he could cover three angles of attack on entering the room, should Slimy be awaiting him.

Tentatively, which would seem somewhat ridiculous from an outsider's perspective, the Mech strode forward. The heavy clunking sound of the anti-personnel round loading echoed through the chamber as the fearsome form of the A.S.P stepped through the dust and rock strewn doorway, just about entering the cavern as both its arms were flung wide, outstretched in each direction. Higan's senses went into overdrive as he prepared to unleash hell should anything pop up on his sensors.

"Come on then Slimy, let's dance!"

[User]
Nothing happened. Hogan's voice reverberated off the walls and throughout the massive chamber, fracturing into a hundred intermingling imitations that would take nearly a minute to die out. The acoustics were amazing. But after that there would be nothing but heavy silence.

At least, silence to Higen. The Magna Later could hear everything. The stone groaning with age, the bones slowly turning to dust, perhaps even a faint heartbeat somewhere within the metal thing. It knew what it wanted to do. Wait until the metal thing moved further in, and then oh-so skillfully and quietly slip its long tail out and use the tip to deftly flick a skull past the metal thing's hindquarters. The clatter on the other side would draw attention, perhaps but for a fraction of a second, but that was all the monster needed... The brutal silence could make one jumpy...


[System]
Garris has chestnut hair, light green eyes, and skin tanned from lingering under the sun. He is medium weight with lean muscles, the kind that come from walking far and wielding a bow instead of heavy lifting. Light scars can be found over his body, including the most prominent one, a scar that runs from his left temple to just above his left eye. His traveling clothes are died forest green. Leather strap and a few metal facets hold his bow and traveling sack in place.

Gender: Male
Age: 25
Class: Apprentice Ranger
Hometown: Kendalia (large city)
Alignment: Neutral-Neutral

[User]
Garris reached out and took the offered vegetables but gave the knife back to the woman. "You keep it. I've got my own." he said and reached for pouch on his leg. The knife he withdrew was about the same length and width as his ring finger, unlike the larger one he'd used earlier that day to slice the deer's throat. Rinsing his hands and the produce off with water from his skin, Garris searched around in his sack until he produced a clean cloth. Settling himself on the ground, he laid the cloth over his lap and began peeling away the outer skin of the potatoes revealing the light silky texture underneath. It was difficult to keep his mouth from watering at the prospect of food.

"Alright." the ranger said when Kaylia announced she was going to go get more water for the soup. "Just shout if you need anything." Out of the corner of his eye he watched her melt into the shadows of the trees. He wasn't too keen about her wandering off in the dark. His gut told him she wasn't a fellow ranger and he could only guess how she'd ended up alone in the middle of the woods after sunset.

Finishing up the potatoes with a speedy accuracy, Garris fished out the carrots Kaylia mentioned earlier. "So do you want one?" he said in the direction of his silent companion, setting the other carrot aside for Strom, "They look tasty." Violet eyes regarded him, seemingly void of any emotion. A few moments later the beast stretched and lay down. Resting her cheek one a giant paw, her eyes fluttered closed. It was a clear sign of disinterest. "Suite yourself," Garris said, and began to peel the bright orange vegetable, "More carrot for the soup then." He wasn't sure why the Cainmere had treated the food with disinterest; she certainly hadn't scoffed at vegetables or even the occasional acorn before.

Kaylia appeared in the ring of light again, her water skin now full. Garris watched her work out of the corner of his eye while he peeled and chopped the remaining onions. The woman seemed a little flustered but unhurt from her excursion. It wasn't until the newly peeled vegetables were back in the sack and he began cleaning up his area that she broke the silence.

"So, Garris, why did you decide to become a ranger? And how did you come to find a partner in Cainmere?"

The ranger stood up and walked over to the fire, handing everything back to Kaylia except for the carrot he'd set aside for Storm. That, he delivered to the horse himself.

"Good question," Garris replied, using his movement as an excuse to give himself time to think of an answer. "I'd say it sort of found me. I've always been observant and curious. Plus I have a penchant for getting myself into trouble. You know, the kind of qualities you'd find in a person who is willing to brave the wilderness alone." he paused meaningfully but before the woman had a chance to respond he continued on, "Kandalia is a large town still surrounded by untamed wilderness. I got myself into trouble one to many times until my father finally gave up me ever being a blacksmith and handed me over the master ranger. As for Cainmere, well she was a parting gift. I'm sure you know there's a kind of… sickness… going around. I was asked to investigate its effects on the surrounding countryside and then bring my findings to the king. Apparently she's supposed to aid me in my endeavors… but most of the time all she does is that." He pointed at the wolf, which for all intents and purposes seemed to have settled in for a nap. At the end of his talk, however, one eyelid opened and regarded him passively before shutting again. "And what do you do, Kaylia Vandilla?" Garris continued, "Surely you don't always travel around in the woods alone, saving wayward travelers from their hunger?"

[Assistant]
Emptying some of the spices and salt into the water as she waited for it to begin to boil, Kaylia retrieved a bag with a handful of dried meat strips in it before folding herself down into a sitting position close to the fire. From the looks of it, Cainmere hadn't been too excited about the carrots after all, so she dug out one of the dried strips and offered it politely to the canine as she listened to Garris's response to her questions. She tried not to let him see the blush that colored her cheeks at his hinting words that she had purposefully gone wandering alone in the woods. He didn't give her the chance to refute the assumption, continuing on with his explanation. She let it go, there would be time later to correct the idea. Instead, she listened to his words and the happy crunching noises coming from Storm is he excepted the offered carrot. That was, until he mentioned the sickness.

 The rumors are true! Her thoughts tangled around that revelation, her numb fingers dropping the meat with her astonishment as her eyes widened and her mouth partially fell open. Hurriedly, Kaylia attempted to cover up her reaction, smothering The sudden urge to scream and closing her mouth with a quick snap. She wasn't entirely sure that she had hid her reaction fast enough. But Garris had moved on to asking her about what she did for a living, so maybe...

Clearing her throat and snatching up the bag of vegetables to begin adding them to the simmering water to try and focus on something normal that would calm her down, she answered as naturally as she could, though her voice sounded a little high even to her ears. "I mostly deal in the breeding and selling of horses. I live on a ranch with a family that took me in and I return the favor by helping out with the livestock. I was out delivering a team of horses to a farm and foolishly thought I could make it back home before the sunset..." She waved her hand at the surrounding darkness. "My being here shows how well that plan turned out."

[User]
Garris nodded at Kaylia's explanation as he scooped another spoonful of the tasty soup into his mouth. "You sure you don't want any?" the ranger said turning to Cainmere, "It's been… a while since we've had anything half as good."

The wolf sniffed at towards the bowl and slowly got to her feet. She took a few steps towards him. Suddenly her ears pricked and her head turned away from them as if she'd detected some sound. Without warning the Cainmere turned and bounded off into the darkness. She'd offered no word of explanation but Garris felt a sudden sense of unease across the back of his neck and he was suddenly reminded of the black blood pouring from the deer's throat earlier.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Garris said to Kaylia, trying to explain away the canine's odd behavior. "She does that sometimes. Maybe she heard a squirrel or something." Nevertheless, it was a few more moments before he looked away from the area Cainmere had disappeared to and even longer before he released his grip on the knife at his belt and started eating the soup again.

"We're headed west"Garris announced after swallowing a few more spoonful's, "So if your ranch is in that general direction we could travel together for a bit." The ranger considered for a moment. "It isn't that I don't think you can't handle yourself out here. It's just that the woods… they don't seem…" Garris stumbled as he fought to come up with a good explanation that wouldn't frighten the woman. "The woods are too quiet, if you know what I mean." He finally continued "And only a few hours ago we stumbled upon a deer that had been taken in by the sickness."

[Assistant]
The carved wooden bowl was comfortingly warm against the inside skin of her palms and fingers as Kaylia wrapped her hands around it, The smell of the soup curling up from the surface of the liquid in tantalizing curls of steam. She found herself taking several deep breaths of The fragrance, the combined use of her senses somehow giving her an inexplicable feeling of comfort. Scooping out a mouthful of broth and potato, The young woman then savored the flavor of the vegetables and rehydrated meat on her tongue, focusing once again on working the tension out of her shoulders that had crept up without her noticing. Cainmere's suddenly bounding off alone into the forest quickly shattered that attempt however.

Eyes widening with surprise, Kay cast A questioning glance to the man sitting across from her, noting The way that his hand gripped the hilt of his knife tightly long after he had spoken words of reassurance at the unexpected behavior. Needless to say, she didn't feel the least bit reassured. Feeling almost as if something inside of her stomach was thrashing about in an attempt to escape, The young woman slowly lowered her bowl to the ground in front of her folded legs, swallowing against the taste of acid at the back of her throat. She almost missed Garris's next words as she struggled against the unexplained feeling of panic, though she focused just in time to catch his offer of traveling together.

"I wouldn't say no to the company." She admitted with a sheepish smile. "All the stories I've heard about this sickness going around has me spooked." And for good reason it seemed. A shiver of apprehension ran the length of her spine as she then listen to the Ranger recount his experience with the deer earlier that day, putting truth to the rumors that she had hoped had been nothing but superstition.

"so the stories are really true then..." Kaylia whispered, unconsciously rubbing her hands up and down her arms. The idea that the farmers and travelers hadn't been making up tall tales was rather frightening. ... What do you think is causing this to happen?" She asked, turning her head to focus on Storm as the stallion lifted his head from his grazing, ears swiveling this way and that as he listen to the sounds of the forest.

Somewhere in the darkened woods, a creature moaned unexpectedly, the sound low and mournful, resonating for only a few seconds, but seemed to take an eternity to finish. The sound made the hairs all along Kaylia's arms and the back of her neck prickle uncomfortably, her head instinctively jerking around as she searched for the source. But nothing moved other than the flames and her horse, the stallion tossing his head nervously. "do you think that Cainmere is alright?"

[User]
Garris nodded as Kaylia accepted his offer to escort her back to her farm. His eyes focused on her only briefly during the conversation however. He wasn't look at her. He wasn't really looking at anything. The light coming off their fire made him night blind, so instead he was focusing on listening to the woods around them.

Garris shut his eyes, straining to hear.  Insects. A few night birds. Distant. A toad? No. Frog. Something else. It was just out of his…

"What do you think is causing this to happen?" The woman asked, interrupting his train of thought.

Garris sighed both out of frustration from being interrupted and because he'd been trying to figure out that question himself over the past week and had gotten nowhere. "I'm not really sure," he said, pausing briefly, "It seems to be contagious between different animals, like hoof rot. But plants can get it too. No one I've met was sure whether animals and plants can get the disease from each other. It also seems to strike randomly. I met a farmer a few days ago who had lost all of his pigs. Without warning, one member of the group got sick. Up until then, noting was unusual with her. She hadn't been any strange places and hadn't eaten anything different from the other group members. As soon as he discovered her illness, he separated her from the group and had her slaughtered." Garris paused again and shook his head, "Within a few days, more members of the group were ill. On the elder's urging the farmer kill the rest of them- healthy, sick, it didn't matter. They were all afraid it would just keep spreading."

That's when they head it, the low mournful sound echoing through the air in the distant trees. Instinct brought Garris quickly to his knees. He was reaching behind his back to grab his bow and take an arrow from his quiver when he discovered they were not there. Looking around, he saw he had placed them against a nearby tree, along with the rest of his heavier belongings.

"Do you think that Cainmere is alright." Kaylia asked, breaking the tension.

"I'm sure she's fine," Garris said, he voice sounding more sure than he actually felt, "She's strong and she knows to avoid the sickness." Another pause. He waited to hear something else, but around them was only silence. Even the insects seemed unwilling to sing.

Walking over to his pack, Garris began putting his equipment back on. In a small pockets sewed into the side of his bag, he fished out a tiny cylindrical object. Pressing a series of buttons, he unlocked the device and studied it silently before closing it and putting it back in his bag. "If you're not too tired I'd recommend heading for that farm of yours now… Cainmere will be able to catch up with us later if she needs to." Fishing in the larger pocket this time he pulled out the map from either. Just as before, the scrollwork lit up with a faded, but still legible internal light.

Walking over to Kaylia, Garris presented the map to her. "We're about here," he said, pointing to the spot with his finger. "West unfortunately is in the direction of that noise. I suspect we only have two options. One, we could stay here and hope whatever that was is dead and isn't attracted to the fire. Or we could start out in that direction and try to skirt around it. I don't relish the thought of traveling through a strange wood at night but I like sticking around here even less."


[System]
Age
16
Place of Residence
242 Everbrook Circle
Personality Traits
One has to spend just half an hour with Amy to see that she is the typical "good girl" type. Amazing grades, respectful, and always does her best to avoid any sort of confrontation. Growing up, Amy was disciplined as a young child, and thus she's knowledgeable enough to know when there's trouble and more importantly, how to avoid it. As an only child, her parents made sure she wasn't the least bit spoiled unless she deserved to be.

Amy loves to have a good time around her close group of friends. They will sometimes encourage her to drink or do whatever any teenager in a small town usually does to occupy time, but she always turns them down. They don't treat her any differently nor does the relationship with one another changes. Around strangers, however, Amy usually listens more so than she speaks. She's a bit shy around people she doesn't know very well and it takes some time for her to open up to them.

With that said, the girl does have her flaws. She naturally sees the good in people which leads her to misjudge their true intentions. She's gotten in trouble a few times as she's been suckered into being part of minor illegal activities due to her naivety, and that's something she knows she has to work on.
Family History/Backstory
Amy and her parents moved to town from London a few years ago to care for her grandmother's health. She has a couple of family members from her mother's side living in Everbrook. Her father, on the other hand, was raised in England and has most of his family there or back in India. Due to her loved ones being spread out throughout the globe, Amy has had a chance to travel quite a bit despite her young age. Money isn't an issue as Amy's father is a surgeon and her mother's an attorney.

Despite being able to buy practically anything she wants, Amy much prefers to spend money on activities as well as her hobbies. She loves music and has a grand piano in one of the rooms in her house which she uses nearly every week both during her private lessons and on her free time. Aside from being able to play the keyboard, Amy also loves to swim. Her home has an indoor pool, and albeit not all that big, she uses it to stay somewhat in shape. She's been told she could try out for the high school team, but she's turned down the offer as she'd much rather focus on her academics.

All in all, Amy doesn't mind the small-town life, but she certainly misses her life in London. She wants to spend the summer there with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. She's definitely excited as they're going to travel to Australia as well for a couple of weeks, the one place she's been wanting to visit but has never had the chance to go to.
Other Info
Some days, Amy tutors after school. She's flexible and she makes home visits, so she has a good clientele. Her Tesla Model 3 is not at all extravagant compared to what some of the kids on her block drive if they're licensed, but her friends who aren't exactly wealthy always love asking her for a ride.

[User]
---

 Everbrook Public Library
Entrance, May 28th 2020.

---

 Two things surprised Will as he entered the library: the first was there were a lot of people his age coming to the library at the end of the month. Probably to return books or check out a DVD to watch, nothing too strange. What was weird to him that apart from Jenny Emerson, the Mayor's youngest daughter who interned at the library, the place seemed devoid of anyone else. Jenny was busy with her left arm cradling her cheek as she listlessly watched a Netflix show on her laptop. Will wondered if he could just walk off with half the furniture before the girl noticed anything.

Still, messing with a stuck-up senior like her wasn't something Will did. Not that he did much of anything. He barely had any friends besides Kim Wilson and Barry Wang, and they only really talked in school. This was how it had always been, and how he expected it to always continue. It was why he needed to get out of this fucking town, away from his parent's constant arguing, away from the small-town small-mindedness, and away from the memory of Sarah, constantly following him around like a creepy reminder that the dead never come back.

The library was stuffy, like always. Poor ventilation even after the huge refurbishment 15 years ago meant that the less-open areas like the book stacks were stifling at times in the summer. At least today's high temperature was going to be 72 degrees Fahrenheit, a nice comfortable temperature. Meaning that with any luck, the stacks would only get up to around 80. Not that Will needed to spend too much time walking around the stacks, he already knew where he was going: Mystery and Horror.

The section was deeper in the stacks, as the Young Adult Fiction and Romance sections were the most well-traveled. There was always a demand for The Hunger Games or Fifty Shades of Gray from bored students to sex-deprived housewives. The DVD section was also near the front; showcasing a lackluster mix of classic films and the previous year's blockbusters. Most of the popular stuff, the Marvel movies, action flicks, and your teen romances, they'd get rented out in a flash and you'd never get a chance to borrow a copy. The only good DVD in Will's opinion was the Masters of Horror collection, something that he and his sister had watched when he was still quite young.

The horror section wasn't even on the first floor of the library and instead was on the lower level of the stacks, in the basement. This was always nice since it was a good five degrees colder in the basement year-round, meaning that you never sweated your ass off searching for a good copy of Poe or Lovecraft. The basement was one of the few sections of the library that had been spared in the extreme refurbishment of 2005. The stone walls were original to the old courthouse, and there was always an air of tension down there that the first floor lacked. Will walked to the door leading to the library's staircase, to find that it wouldn't budge. He didn't see a key to lock the door either. Was something wedged in the door to keep it from opening?

There was still the elevator. The librarians loaded their book carts onto the elevator to move between floors; the children's library on the second floor, the main floor, and the basement. Even though it was reserved for staff, Will felt that if a door was jammed, that constituted enough need to try it. Plus talking to Jenny Emerson was like having your teeth pulled for as many "likes" as she added to every sentence she spoke. He'd rather do things alone.

He walked around to the other side of the first floor, as more people his age filed in. He recognized some; he'd seen them at school or shared a class with them. There was the rich girl, Abbie Prescott. He'd never really spoken to her, even if they'd had classes together. He recognized another girl. Her name was something to do with a gem. Emerald? Diamond? Ruby? Something like that. The gem girl was talking to another one of the school's rich kids. Astrid something or another. Family-owned most of the local fisheries on the coast. There was that redhead girl from Canada, talking to Danny, the football guy. Will had never really had any run-ins with the football team, and Danny seemed nice enough. But it wasn't like he'd had a huge amount of trust for anyone around town. Another underclassman had also walked in. He didn't know her name but the fact that anyone of mixed heritage stuck out like a sore thumb in the mostly-white city was enough to make her memorable.

There was the British underclassman. She'd gotten a lot of attention for her accent. And probably a lot of annoying comments about sounding like she belonged in the Harry Potter movies. He'd recognized nearly everyone at the library, either on their way in or being inside now. They all went to the same school after all. But he didn't recognize one person, the blonde girl holding a pair of rollerblades.Who the hell rollerblades anymore? Was she new? Did she just arrive? It made his theory of being trapped in town feel a little less weighty. He noticed another familiar figure making their way towards the doorway as well: Walter Dawson. He'd never talked to the guy, but he knew him all the same. Fifth-year senior, class clown. It seemed nice enough.

Still, this was no time for talking, especially not to people he knew. He felt a well of anxiety build as teenagers his age were all here. That voice in the back of his head, reminding him that he was weird and had a dead sister and was probably seen as a creep echoed around in the chamber of his mind, and he quickly made his way to the elevator. He pressed the button, but it didn't light up. No sound, no nothing. "Seriously?" He muttered to himself. Was everything out of order or broken in this damn library? He steeled himself because NOW he had to talk to the Emerson girl about getting into the basement.

---

Background Music

---

Walking back into the front of the library, everything felt colder. It was like the air conditioning was on full blast and then some. He shivered slightly, looking around the room, before musing out-loud, "Did it just get really cold in here?"

Jenny Emerson couldn't hear anything and didn't seem bothered by the air. It was what followed that made him jump, and made the hairs on his arms stand up. A loud slam came from the back of the library, and the loud creaking sound of a door opening up. The cold air was starting to get a bit stifling now.

[Assistant]
---

Location: Court Street, Everbrook Public Library

Date: May 28th, 2020

---
Contrary to what Asélie had expected, the local library had been buzzing with activity as she wheeled her skateboard towards the building. Cars and bikes lined the library exterior, sometimes with faces Asélie recognized from her short career at Everbrook High; faces she expected to be out riding their bikes to the park for a game of baseball or to some other place that teenagers would hang out in a boring town like Everbrook. They all had three months to do whatever they wanted after all the bullshit they put up with, and everyone wanted to visit the library?

"Talk about old-fashioned," Asélie uttered, out loud and to no one in particular.

Stopping momentarily to hop off her board (she didn't want to be yelled at again for riding her skateboard inside the library), Asélie walked up to the front steps of the building, and was greeted by one of the many familiar faces she had recognized seconds ago. "Seems today is full of surprises. I hadn't expected Everbrook High's star wide receiver to be a man of the books." Asélie smiled back, tossing a friendly jab at Danny as he held the door open for her.

"So, how about that football season, huh? Sucks that it was canceled because of quarantine." Asélie commented as she walked inside digging through her bag for the books she needed to return. She didn't particularly care about American football, instead being sucked into the Canadian craze of ice hockey and lacrosse because of her Quebecois roots and—though she would rather die than admit it—her parents, some small talk wouldn't hurt anyone. "I'm sure the Everbrook Grizzlies will be the regional champs next season, though."

As she pulled the library books from her school bag, however, their conversation, and seemingly everyone else's, was suddenly interrupted by someone who said "fuck off" to the old adage of being quiet in the library and announced himself to everyone that had been in the front of the building.

"Cold? I guess it's a little cold in here. But more importantly, Bill? Will? You look like you've seen a ghost. You okay?" She asked, paying little heed to the door slam and creaking—old buildings always had old building issues from wear and tear.

[User]
A sigh escaped her lips. Amira did not appreciate being stood up last minute, not when she had to leave the comfort of her home. Well, it wasn't so much leaving her house as it was having to get cleaned up and dressed to head out to meet someone in the first place. She reread the message again. Sorry can't make it mom is having car trouble. The girl bit her bottom lip, a tinge of guilt suddenly creeping up on her. Damien didn't exactly live in the wealthiest of families. In fact, him and his single mom were barely keeping their heads above water, so to speak. Amira had noticed that the senior boy had attempted to conceal just how poor he was a few times. But in a town such as Everbrook, that small detail wasn't easily overlooked.

It's okay, some other time! she wrote back before putting her phone away in her bag. She'd already made the drive, and Amira figured she might as well stay in the library for a bit. She could check out a few books, maybe scan through some magazines to catch the latest gossip based on the rich and the famous. Not that the tabloids reported factually accurate information, but nonetheless they made for a fun read. It was one of those guilty pleasures of hers, because every now and then, she needed a break and peel her eyes away from something other than the textbooks required by her classes.

Amira entered the library, noticing that quite a number of kids were already inside. She recognized the majority from school, and she knew the names of only a few of them. Either they were feeling studious to start off the summer break, or they didn't have any alternative plans. She figured it was the latter, not seeing any good reason to be there. Hell, she herself didn't have to be there at the moment, but that didn't stop her from staying. Amira eyed the No Food or Drink Beyond This Point sign, and she hurriedly placed her bottle in her bag. As she did so, she noticed an e-mail notification from her phone. She was curious, and reached for the device to read the message.

To say she was disappointed was an understatement. As she read through the e-mail, Amira tensed up; her grip on the phone tightening. The airlines had postponed her flight until further notice. The reasoning was extremely vague, something about traveling restrictions, and the girl was definitely not happy. She had been looking to visit her family for some time now, to go back to the city and see old friends she hadn't seen in a while. It was her time to get away, and the airlines were now telling her she wouldn't get to do that any time soon. Amira placed the phone back in her bag and decided to use a computer to log into her parents account for the airline. Maybe she'd get a better explanation, or at least be able to rebook for a later date. Not that she wanted to do that, but at that point she had no other choice.

The girl signed her name in the computer log before making her way to one of the stations. She didn't need to contact her parents as she was the one who had initially set up the account. Her parents were smart people, but never really bothered to become tech savvy. They had her to handle any technical matters that may arise. Amira placed her bag on the desk adjacent to the desktop and made herself comfortable on the seat. She was about to click open the browser when she was startled by a door shutting close very loudly from the other side of the library. Then, and just as loudly, another door or possibly the same one creaked open. Instinctively, Amira grabbed her bag and pushed back on the chair, trying to see what had created such noise.

"What the hell was that?" She stood up and took a few steps away from the desk.