[System]
Appearance:
Age: 25

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Role: Cook

Personality: Normally friendly and polite, but she's easily irritated and snaps/talks back a lot. She makes a lot of food that would be considered exotic (bushmeat, strange plants, insects, grubs) and hates it if anyone complains. In the event that there is a complaint...well, you're going to have to go out and forage, because she won't feed you unless she's forced to. When she is not cooking or directly planning meals, one can usually find her testing the plants on the island to determine whether they're poisonous. Finding natural salt deposits makes her practically swoon! Although she usually just gets it from distilling seawater. She likes cookbooks with strange recipes. Funny enough, her favorite food is fish (uh oh!). But she wouldn't be unfriendly to a mermaid; she might make a joke about calamari.

Bio: Luz grew up on the main continent, and she was a preteen when the dictator took over. Her mother, the only parent she had, after a year of this madness, told Luz of her plan: they would commit suicide together. Luz, too terrified to say no, agreed to the plan, but when it came to it she didn't have the courage to drink the poisoned water. Her mother, having already downed the whole glass, died slowly in front of her, so she just left.
She lived a few years on the street after that, carefully avoiding other people, and was very nearly recruited into sex trafficking at 16. Luckily, a few rebels picked a fight with the shady creep who'd found her sleeping under a bridge, and they got Luz out of there. Not wanting a useless new teenage crew member, they taught her multiple trades; the one she loved the most and was best at was cooking, and she's been getting better and better ever since.
She made sure to obtain plenty of books on nutrition, and steal a good number of citrus fruits, before setting sail with the Phoenix Pirates.

[User]
Luz nodded without missing a beat at Balon's question. "Absolutely. I just want to get dinner made. No human-flavored sushi involved, promise." She cast a nervous glance toward the mermaids and determined not to look weak, standing up a little straighter. She addressed Leo, who appeared to be the strongest of the mermaids.

"If the Captain has no objection, I invite you and your friends here to stay for dinner. As a peace offering."

[Assistant] Balon nodded with a smile, hearing Luz' response. "Yes! A peace offering! We're not here to hurt anybody, right cap'n?" he said, putting his hand on his hips somewhat triumphantly. He was starting to feel like maybe this huge misunderstanding would clear up and forgotten... Eventually. His gaze lingered on the mermaids. They all looked different... Like they weren't the same, but still they were. For some reason his gaze lingered a little longer on the white haired one. The one the smaller mermaid had called "Leo"...

[User]
Gwendolyn Blatin

Ugh... Bright lights... People talking... Gwendolyn tried to stand up with a groan, but promptly fell on to someone. "Leo?" she whispered. "What's going on? Where are we?" Slowly her vision was coming back to her. She could make out figures standing around her. Please by the Holiness of Poseidon, by the laws of Helena, let them not be humans... she thought. She could make out the figures now, and did a headcount - Leo, Amphi, oh no, a girl wearing wolf skin, a tiny guy, a scoundrel who seemed to be interacting with Leo and a right looker. Dammit! Why did they always turn up at this time, the despicable humans. Gwen extracted herself from Leo and began visibly shrinking till she was huddled on the ground at Leo's feet.

[Assistant] Blythe started to laugh trying to ease any tension among themselves. "Great idea Luz, you can join us for dinner tonight so you'll know for sure we are not bad people." Drake scoffed. "We may be good guys but one of their kind stabbed my leg and tried to run off with me." Blythe laughed. "See? He's the toughest of us all and if you can take him on your safe." Drake pouted with his arms crossed. Blythe started laughing again. "I mean look at us, I'm an idiot, he's a child, here we have lover boy, and finally... ok maybe you should fear Luz a little... How about it Leo, Amphi, Net girl?" Still in Balon's arms Drake got back on his feet wanting to look more like an adult but ended up stumbling to his knees with his leg.

[User] Leo grabbed ahold of Gwen as she stumbled, "Take it easy, hun." She mumbled softly. Gwen seemed to crumble in front of her, curling into a ball at her feet. She lowered herself down with her. "Gwen." She whispered soothingly."It's going to be okay. I know you're scared. but I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. I just need you to be strong for me." She looked up at Balon as he made his peace offering and the rest of the human crew seconded it. She stood up, tilting her jaw up. Fighting between getting Amphi and Gwen to the safety of the ocean, getting more information on these mysterious humans and...Her eyes strayed to Balon, but she quickly looked away. The only one of the current group she was worried about being able to overpower her was Balon and the leader. Leo felt like she could take 'Luz' if needed and she wasn't too worried about the already injured small human. "I accept your invitation," She said setting her shoulders. "But i cannot speak for all of us", She turned towards Amphi and muttered,"Maybe you should go home...?"She leaned down to run a hand through Gwen's hair affectionately,"You too honey, maybe you should just head back?

[Assistant]
"Great! At least one of them accepts, ay cap'n?"Balon said with a smile and nudged Blythe. "You should all stay, if you ask me, but that's up to you of course!" The feeling he felt earlier about this maybe clearing up slowly started to fade, however. He couldn't help but think that if this island was populated with suspicious and maybe even hostile mermaids, sooner or later one of these "misunderstandings" might turn into a conflict. Meaning Balon would have to use his sword to harm those he wouldn't want to harm. Maybe even these girls. He shuddered at the thought. He remembered his service with the royal guard... His superior had ordered him to execute a woman for stealing. He was as mad as the dictator, Balon had thought. He had no choice then. He slew the innocent woman and left at the first available opportunity.
Her teary eyes still haunted him to this day, and now he saw them in the eyes of the mermaids. They all had beautiful eyes, Balon thought... But the memories lingered. He thought about what it would mean if he would have to slay the white-haired girl... Would he be able to? And if so, afterwards would he still stay at this island? Would he flee again, run away from his own wrong-doings?

No. He wouldn't let a conflict break out between them and the mermaids. There has to be a way to live in peace. There must be!
Realizing he had been looking at Leo for a little too long, Balon blinked, stood up straight and hoped she hadn't noticed. He cleared his throat quietly and resumed his smirking. Hopefully nobody had noticed at all...

[User] "I agree, you should all stay with us. It'll be fun and we can put all this behind us." In truth Blythe did not trust the mermaids to separate. While these ones were easier to handle in a fight Blythe had heard of giant merfolk. Some were crossed with whales and others with colossal squids. If were to retreat back to their kingdom and bring reinforcements then he couldn't promise a low number of casualties. Even the normal sized merfolk were known for their admirable fighting skills. "Luz I'll let you start dinner. I'll head back home and wait for you there." Blythe started to walk home and Drake sat in the dirt listening to everyone's conversations.

[Assistant]
"Now, I could use a little help gathering some ingredients for dinner," said Luz. "I figure that since you mermaids are familiar with the island, you know what plants are edible and what ones aren't. Would I be right in that assumption?" She was still quite nervous, especially with the one named Leo around, but a little glancing from her to Balon told her that they were at least on good terms. Hopefully then it was safe to say that the white-haired woman wouldn't attack one of his crewmates.

She spoke at Gwen, now. "I'd love to make up for my very stupid decision of hauling you over here in a net. So if you'd like to stay for dinner, you get extra dessert. And surprisingly, my desserts don't involve insects or their larvae."

[User] So, Blythe was their leader, that explained a lot. They weren't malicious, they were just ignorant. "I accept." Amphi always accepts food. food doesn't do confusing things, food is too busy being delicious. She looked to Leo "I am the only one of us here who isn't injured, and I AM the mermaid who knows the island the best." Amphi had calmed down, now that she had a goal and something to do. It was always her belief that talking something out was the best way to go about things anyways. "I'll go get some things to add," She glanced around...seeing all the humans there." Though I might need help carrying things back...there are a lot of people to feed." Amphi felt more at ease now, They seemed sorry enough, especially Luz. That and they outnumbered them greatly but still haven't tried to hurt them really. Amphi looked but to Leo" You should really go see the doctor...You look awful."

[Assistant] Gwen relaxed a little at Leo's soothing words. "You should all stay, if you ask me, but that's up to you of course!" Sensing peoples emotion was the thing Gwen was best at, and she could sense a hint of suspicion in the one she learned to be Balon's words. Then their 'leader' spoke up. "I agree, you should all stay with us. It'll be fun and we can put all this behind us." Here, too, she could hear uncertainty. She began to squirm; she was feeling uncomfortable, even more so when the red-headed woman spoke directly to her. "I'd love to make up for my very stupid decision of hauling you over here in a net. So if you'd like to stay for dinner, you get extra dessert. And surprisingly, my desserts don't involve insects or their larvae." Great. What was she supposed to say, 'Sorry I don't trust you so I won't come'? Come on, Gwen, think. Amphi spoke up and of course she accepted at the mention of food. Trust her. She began twiddling her fingers, took a deep breath and muttered, "I can't come. I... I... I must meet Queen Helena, but let Poseidon bless you all." Smooth, Gwen. She smiled quickly at Leo and Amphi before walking away and diving into the ocean. Assuming her tentacles again, she swam surprisingly fast. As she swam she prayed, Sorry Helena if you heard my excuse, but it saved my skin. Those humans are dodgy, and I don't want involvement. Gwen swam near the surface, flipping and jumping as she went. She got out at an island, and with a pop, assumed her human legs. She jumped into a hot spring, leaned back and relaxed, shutting her eyes and blocking out everything apart from nature's sounds.

[User] Leo brushed off Amphis concern, stubbornly scrubbing the back of her hand across her forehead to defer the blood from getting in her eye. She frowned as Amphi as she happily agreed to go off with Luz to help her gather food for dinner scowling at her best friend she wanted to tell her how much of a not good idea she thought that was but she didn't want to offend the humans. She watched as Gwen shoulders stiffened, standing up suddenly she blurted an excuse flipped around and stiffly walked to the beach, Leo stepped over, covering Gwens exit. Good atleast she was out of harms way!! Leo glanced over at Balon, he was looking at her but he had a far away look in his eyes and she could tell he was a million miles from here, suddenly he blinked and his eyes came into focus and he looked away. She looked at him curiously and then looked at the humans surrounding her wondering what would happen next. what would she do while Amphi and Luz took off to find food? She took a deep breath and tried not to be too worried for her friend, it didnt help that she feared that Amphi would be too over trusting with the female human and tell her all about the merefolk.

[Assistant]
Drake grabbed a long stick and used it to support his leg. "What do you make of these people Balon? You don't think they'll force us back to the dictator's clutches, right?" Drake dreaded the thought of going back there watching his friends be slaughtered for breaking petty laws such as not bowing in the leader's presence or being short on taxes. He didn't care if this land did belong to the mermaids, he wasn't about to give it up. Looking up at Leo he frowned before saying, "I can take you to our doctor if you'd like. Balon will even carry you there." He really hated having to be hospitable to his enemy, but captain's orders.

"What? They have been discovered by the humans? Oh dear me, what if they are knights of the dictator? They could be filleted or raped or worse!" Helena was pacing back and forth. "Even if they aren't knights they could still be in grave danger. Humans are all disgusting creatures. I have no choice... Dylan, save our girls and crush all the pirates." Dylan had been listening to her through a window in the underwater castle. He was the cross between the extinct shark Megadalon and one of the few merfolk willing to kill.
"Are you sure that's a wise choice my queen? Seems a bit early to~"
"I said go Dylan!" Flashes of her old days of being a slave converted her reason into fear.

[User]
Luz gave a friendly half-smile to Amphi and stood, clearly impatient at the conversation. Addressing the mermaid, she said, "If you're not comfortable being alone with me--which I completely understand--I wouldn't mind at all if you wanted to go off and collect things on your own. Just be sure to tell me how to identify them, if it isn't too much trouble." She was obviously very eager to get started learning the tricks of finding good food on this island, and this was shown when she set off at a brisk pace. The truth was that the living things here, mermaids included, fascinated her. In fact, not surprisingly, she thought that all of the mermaids here, despite the injuries and hostility of Leo and the unfortunate mistake of bagging Gwen in a net, were quite beautiful.

But she wasn't going to admit that, yet.


[System]
Age: 15
Sex: Male
Hair: Auburn. Couple inches long, tends to curl out as it grows.
Eye: Greenish, though they're discolored like fogged glass, indicating his blindness. If you're up-close in his face, you can notice the bright amber limbal rings around his eyes, rune-scribing that marks him as an Astral Conduit.

Family: Morgen has a twin sister named Morwen, and five younger siblings who he hasn't seen in two years. His younger siblings and parents are believed to be living back in their old home village.
Affiliations: He was briefly part of the Miraculum for about a year after he and his sister were taken from their home village.
Home: Morgen was born and raised in a small village in the far reaches of the Wastelands. The village was known for harvesting petrified wood and trading with nearby outposts, and was known as Stonework.

Magic: He's an Astral Conduit, though still fairly knew at it. He can easily project himself into his dog, Spot, and is comfortable and skilled at controlling her. He's also found he's able to see through Morwen's eyes at times, though like most Astral Conduits, he's unable to "control" her as she is human. He hasn't tried his hand at other animals as of the start of our story.
Inventory: He carries a ratty old knapsack around, but it's usually empty unless his sister finds something of use to stow away in it. He carries a canteen and a small hunting knife on his person, but otherwise nothing else of real note. The only real treasure of his is a silver coin with a crude carving of a dog on it kept on a leather cord around his neck.
Combat: Morgen isn't much of a fighter, considering his blindness. When forced into a combat situation, he relies on shifting to his dog, Spot, for defense of himself and his sister. Spot is a large dog with pointed ears. Despite her name, she has no spots on her body at all, and is a solid black, dark as pitch. She stands about three feet high at the shoulder, with a broad chest and a matted, bushy tail.
History: Morgen was born in Stonework a few short minutes after his twin sister, Morwen. They are the eldest of five other children, born to a couple of loggers who worked the petrified woods around their hometown of Stonework. Morgen and his sister were bought by the Miraculum from their parents when they were twelve. Trade was doing poorly in their hometown due to a nearby elemental mutant wreaking havoc on the forests, and their parents needed coin to support the other children. The twins fled the organization when Morwen overhead them wanting to dispose of her brother, thinking he was incapable of Astral projection when he failed to demonstrate his abilities over the course of a year.
Other: Morgen is completely blind and relies on his newfound abilities as a conduit and his sister to survive.

[User]
Morwen wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead, her other hand holding Morgen's. The air was heavy with the prospect of rain. The market itself swarmed around the two, adding to the intoxicating heat of the storm. Morwen took a slow breath, it ending in a harsh cough as dirt was kicked up from the travelers ahead of her. She reached over and wiped the sweat from her brother's forehead as well.

While the twins moved swiftly to the Inn at the end of the rode. Morwen paused to stare into a particular stand. Clothing aligned the rickety wooden walls, they were bright, clean, and stood out in the dusty market. Morwen let out a soft sigh, "Morgen, we…" She looked to her brother, "I think we can afford new clothing. And a hot dinner. We have to look good for our parents." She squeezed his hand again, grinning a bit now. The chance to get new clothing, it made Morwen's heart raced a moment. She moved quickly away, other expenses needed to be handle.

Morwen kept her head down, only to glance up when a sign caught her attention. A circle with an M painted in read, and a harsh "x" was carved into it all.The twin swallowed hard, the red of the sign didn't quite look like paint. She squeezed her brother's hand tightly "Keep your head down." She whispered softly, "Close your eyes. It's one of those towns."

The market ended abruptly, a small barely kept courtyard is what signified the Inn was near. The inn, was a glorified wooden shake. Made of a combination of petrified wood and actually lumber, it looked like it would fall apart in a good bit of wind. Morwen raised an eyebrow. She lead the two inside.

[Assistant]
Morgen kept his head low, not needing to be told twice. While more often than not he wasn't given the time of day (literally and figuratively speaking) by people they encountered, the risk was always there. While one would need to be close enough to kiss him to notice the odd limbal rings in his wasted eyes, all it took was one person to recognize that they were unnatural, scribed by the skilled and merciless hands of an enchanter, marking him as a conduit. He closed his eyes, allowing Morwen to assist him in meandering through the market. All the conversations seemed to roll into one murmuring, nonsensical noise. The only sounds he really picked up on where the occasional exclamation of shock or disgust when someone got to close to Spot, or noticed her skulking through the crowds. Lots of people liked dogs, he knew, but Spot was big and bullish and unwavering. She didn't flinch away from people, remaining steadfast at Morgen's side.

"Get that mutt outta here!" It was the first clear words that rang out across the room to them as they made their way into the inn. Morgen gathered that the common room must have been mostly empty, as the shouting didn't seem to interrupt much discussion. "We're a establishment, not a feckin' kennel!"

"Sorry missus!" Morgan said hastily and lifted a hand to Spot's head. His brow knit as he tightened his grip on Morwen's arm, briefly shifting to the beast to visualize for the dog, images of where to go, to wait. Spot was retreating back out the door before it even had a chance to fully close behind them, and Morgen worried for her safety. She was big, lots of good meat on her for a desperate man... and simple sport to beat and kill, for the cruel man. Nothing he could fret over now; she was on her way out, and he hoped she would either hunker down around the building side somewhere, out of sight, or make her way clear of the outpost, away from those who might wish her harm simply for the sake of harm. He always felt naked when the dog wasn't near, defenseless, and he edged closer to Morwen.

The inn was single-story, a large common area sprawled out in front of them from the only entryway. There were two windows along the side walls, covered crudely with ratty curtains that flickered with the occasional breeze. A short hall stretched out just to the right of the bar with seven doors, presumably leading to seven rooms available for patronage.

The woman behind the bar who had snapped at them upon entry was eyeing them as if she expected trouble. And why not? Two kids like that were bound to be up to no good. Likely pickpockets, either ducking in to avoid a pursuer or looking to steal something from her. She was old, but it was a fair bet that she looked much older than she truly was. Her dark hair was streaked with strands of dull grey, piled into a haphazard bun atop her head, and while her eyes were sharp, a brilliant shade of ice blue, the flesh around them was heavily wrinkled, likely from too much time spent in the sun, squinting against it. Her skin was darkened, splotched with spots that were even darker, mottling her features. Perhaps she had spent much of her youth working at inhospitable crops in the wastelands; perhaps she did still.

"If ye ain't got coin for a room, git back out there. Ain't desp'rate enough to be servin' no kids any moonshine."

[User]
Morwen jumped at the immediate shouting, she gulped, letting Morgen talk a moment. She scanned the room, hunching her shoulders and gripping the edges of her dress. She took a shuddering breath, reaching a hand into her a sewn pocket slowly and producing a coin purse. It was frankensteined like her dress, various patterns and fabrics tied together with a ratty piece of thread-bare rope. Only this time, there was a color theme. She had seem to taking a liking to the color green. All the fabrics ha da splash of the verdant degree to it.

She held onto Morgen as she moved closer, only he could feel that she was trembling. It's always this way with the first interaction in a new outpost. The innkeepers were normally the gossip of the outposts, the ones who know the regulars and the wary of newcomers. They already made a commotion. If the Miraclum was truly following them. This innkeeper could remember them, the black dog, the patchworked outfits. They stood out too much. The short walk to the counter was filled with heart-pounding, worst-case scenarios. Torture, recapture, death, those were just some of the scenes going on in her head.

A clink of her coin purse on the desk ended those thoughts, at least for now. Morwen looked up to the aging innkeeper. The twins eyes were a little too big for her sunken face, hair wild and frizzed from her days in the elements and lips chapped. She huffed, "Do you have vacancy?" Her voice did not waiver, but only spoke loud enough for the innkeeper to hear. She gripped tightly to her brother's hand.

[Assistant]
Morgen kept pace with his sister easily enough, hoping his own... somewhat confident movements would lend her some courage. He knew that she was afraid of being memorable, she was always afraid of that. In the beginning, when they had first run away, he had been the one fearful, always asking his sister what if they got caught, what if they found them? As the days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and months into almost two years, he had slowly but surely lost that fear. The Miraculum were a large group, and surely they didn't have the time for a couple of kids who happened to bail late one night. They likely had runaways fairly often, and he doubted they cared enough to spend the time or resources on tracking down every last deserter. It was the Bloodhounds that worried him more, and their notorious reputation for being rather merciless. They wouldn't see a couple of kids; they'd see targets for elimination. He took some solace in the fact that the hunters tended to target real threats: mutations in the Wastelands, cells of the Miraculum, Enchanters or Conduits who were actually wreaking havoc. All he and his sister wanted was to get back home.

The barkeep narrowed her eyes down at Morwen; apparently even the sight of coin did not lessen her suspicion. "Whar'd ye steal this from, then?" It must have been a rhetorical question, because one hand darted out with rattlesnake speed to snatch up the coinpurse. She dumped the contents carelessly on the counter top and scrutinized the cores. "Three fer a room," She said, matter-of-fact, and pinned three of the poorly-milled coins down with ink-stained fingertips. She didn't replace the rest of the coins in the pouch, leaving that to Morwen... but at least, hard as the woman seemed, she wasn't about to rip off a couple of kids. She was honest.

Morgen gave his sister's hand a reassuring squeeze. His eyes were open again, but his head was still bowed, sightless gaze downcast. They'd get away from this old buzzard and into a nice room. Even if it wasn't really all that nice, any room was nicer than having to spend another night out in the Wastelands.

[User]
A small wave of relief came over the older twin. Only three coins, compared to the last inn this was a steal. No over charging for the dog, or having s brother, or some version of an age charge. An honest inn so close to home, that was a good sign. Was trade finally good again? Did the money their parents got from selling her and her brother get them to survive the oncoming winter? Maybe they were at the market right now!

Morwen kept her face passive, she hurriedly scooped the remaining cores into her bag. She took the key, "Thank you." She bowed her head to the elder inn keeper.

The door creaked loudly as it was pushed open. The room was basic. A bed, a desk, a chair and a small opening in the wall that could be called a window. Morwen dropped her things and tested out the bed. It was a shoddy four post bed, the mattress a flimsy sack filled with hay and the pillow was missing. There was a thin blanket folded on top. Morwen giggled. She let go of Morgen's hand and flopped on top of the bed.

She rolled to her back to stare at the rickety ceiling. "Morgen." The twin sat up quickly, "Morgen we're almost home!" She giggled again, "Just one more day, then, bam. I can finally show you what Mom's flower garden looks like!"

[Assistant]
Morgen smiled as he listened to his sister flop about on what must have been the bed in the room. He took a few careful steps away from her, one hand extended to feel for the wall. Hands hard and scarred from a lifetime of discovering the world by touch brushed lightly against the stony wood wall and he began to pace about the length of the room, with the walls as his guide, determining how big it was.

"Forget the garden," He turned his head a little in her direction. "I can't wait to see what mom'n dad look like. What Micah and Mordred and Myles and Maaria and baby Maddy look like. I guess maybe she isn't really a baby anymore though..." It occurred to him that their parents might have even had another child while they were away, and this excited him, too. He loved being a big brother; the more the merry, right?

His hands felt a sudden absence in the wall, and a stale breeze fell across his face as he turned to the "window". There were no curtains here, but on either side of the window were poorly-crafted shutters so that patrons might close themselves off from the sounds and smells of the market beyond. Morgen stood at the window for a while, relishing the breeze, the noises and scents he caught wafting their way. The market would be winding down soon, he knew; the sun would be setting, and the storm still loomed, threatening to strike, in the distance. Rain would come overnight.


[System]
Age: Appears around 19, is actually at least 400 years old.

Race: Vampire

Appearance:
Black hair and amber eyes, around 5'8" with a relatively slim build.

Ability: Hypnosis, retractable fangs, immortal.

Personality: Alex is a friendly guy. He enjoys the company of humans and, since he has been able to, has always blended in. He isn't overly social, but doesn't mind spending time with his few friends.

Bio: After around a hundred years, Alex built up a resistance to sunlight, meaning he could easily spend time outside during the day, without being harmed. Since then he has done his best to blend in, taking life force rather than drinking blood, and learning to do so from a distance. Now he takes small, unnoticeable amounts of life force from various people in a small area, so that he can survive and they don't receive any negative effects. He currently attends college and one of his closest friends was starting soon. His only issue was that she seemed to know when someone wasn't human, but she hadn't seen through him... Yet.

[User]
Victoria shouted and stumbled to a halt when Alex all but appeared in front of her. In her haste to keep from running into him, she slipped on the loose gravel and fell backwards. She caught herself on part of the fire escape and just managed to keep from hitting the ground.
 "...But there's something in this alley..."
 "Yeah," she said in a shaky whisper as she pulled herself up and backed away from him, her eyes wide and glistening. "You."
 She shook her head at his request to come with him and his claim of an explanation. She would hear none of it. No more excuses. No more lies. She had chosen to let someone in, and it backfired in the worst of ways. Like it always did. That it was to one of his kind…
 "I don't ever want to see your face again," she interrupted before he could get past "I'm sorry," her voice an octave high than normal even in its quietness. "Leave. Me. Alone, filthy bloodsucker!" She managed to shout the last, then turned once more to leave the alley, searching for anything she could use as a weapon to fend him off if he tried to stop her again.

[Assistant]
Alex sniffed the air. The something that was in this alley was a Shade. Hidden in shadow. He only realised that's what it was as it lunged.
"Victoria look out!" He shouted as he darted between her and the Shade, which slashed it's claws down his chest, as he blocked Victoria from harm.
The Shade, thwarted, melted back into the shadows and slithered away, leaving Alex bleeding.
Alex gasped, trying to take in as many deep breaths as possible. He healed quickly, but Shade wounds took longer than most. They had a light poison that coated their claws. It wasn't lethal, at least not to vampires, it just meant the wound would take much longer to completely heal.
"Damn Shades. I thought they were extinct." He growled as he pushed his hand against the gashes in his chest, trying to slow the bleeding.

[User]
Victoria glanced over at her name. Movement in the dumpster's shadow drew her attention. The world seemed to go in slow motion as the hideous, skull-like face of a creature lunged out from the shadow itself, bony, clawed fingers reaching for her.
 Her scream stuck in her throat, and she tried to throw herself away, but it was too close, and, in the split second it took to register the grotesque face coming at her, she knew it.
 But then Alex was standing there between her and it, the monster's claws slashing him instead of her as she landed on the concrete. She pushed herself away until her back hit the wall as the beast shied away from him. It bore its mouthful of fangs, then fled.
 Victoria let out a heavy, squeaky breath. She gasped at the blood soaking into the tears in Alex's shirt.
 Part of her wanted to help him, to thank him, but the other, louder part urged her to take advantage of the situation and run. She got to her feet, one hand gripping her bottle pendant as tightly as she dared, and inched down the alley, but the weakness in her knees made at least part of that decision for her. No matter how badly she wanted to leave, she doubted she would get far.
 "A... what?" she breathed, taking another couple steps away, her hand sliding along the rough bricks. She glanced between Alex and the shadow the dumpster cast.

[Assistant]
Alex sighed, struggling to his feet after being knocked down by the attack. "A Shade. They lurk in the shadows and attack unsuspecting humans before dragging them back to their hideouts and eating them." He said, gritting his teeth slightly as he moved. "They were wiped out a couple of centuries ago. They aren't very intelligent, so they aren't very subtle. Evidently though, at least one escaped."
Alex leaned back against the wall a second and looked toward Victoria. "Look, I know you've lost your trust in me, and I completely understand that, but Nyaira will be heading this way any second and trust me when I tell you she is dangerous. I can protect you from her, but not out in the open, and especially not like this." He told her, gesturing at his bleeding torso.

[User]
Victoria looked away when Alex shifted his gaze to her. She gave a mirthless chuckle as he continued.
 "She's here for you, not me." She shook her head slightly and swallowed hard, her thumb rubbing the pendant.
She dared a glance at him when he gestured to his wound, but looked back to the ground between them when the pang of knowing what he was hit. Her heart beat impossibly faster from the fear, panic, and hated vampires had instinctively instilled upon her since she was a young child.
 "I can't do this right now," she said in a pained whisper. "I-I have to go." She rushed from the alley. She cast a quick glance behind her, a glimmer of concern for him in her eyes, before she pressed on, trying to recall the few streets and directions she had memorized that lead to the college.

* * *
 Nyaira stood near a building, absently messing with her phone. She had contemplated calling Luc, but thought better of it. No, she would make absolutely certain she had found the one he wanted. The girl had definitely figured out what Alex was, but whether from deduction surprising for a human, or 'the sight,' she could not say for sure.
 She had easily tracked the two into the alley, and now waited out of view, the alley's opening always in her sights. When the human left at long last, Nyaira pushed from the wall and pursued, careful to keep her scent contained and remain unseen in case Alex was close behind.

[Assistant]
Alex sighed. He knew Nyaira. Enough to know that she always targeted the weaker link to get what she wanted. Vampires, when unable to convince people, would threaten the people they cared about to get what they wanted.
He had to go after Victoria, but he knew it would be difficult with his chest in this state. He cursed himself under his breath. His chest was healing, but not fast enough.
"Illyad!" He called out. "I know you can hear me!"
A figure emerged from, seemingly nowhere.

"What is it?" Illyad asked rather shortly. Evidently Alex had disturbed him from something important.

"Victoria. The girl. She's in danger. Nyaira, an old acquaintance of mine, is pursuing her. I can't go after her in this condition. I need your help." He admitted, though reluctant to do so.

"You want me to protect the girl?" Illyad asked.

"Please." Alex begged.

"And what do you offer me in return?"

"Anything." Alex told him. "Whatever you want. It's yours if I can give it to you."

"You know what I want, vampire. I am a warlock, and your essence is particularly rare. A remorseful vampire is a rare find indeed."

"Fine. You can have it." Alex told him, knowing it meant further injury, but not caring at this point. "But not until she is safe."

"And I have your word?"

"I promise you." Alex told him. "As soon as Victoria is safe from harm, you can take it."

"Okay then. I shall return for you." And at that, Illyad disappeared like a mirage.

Alex began moving toward the mouth of the alley, wincing as he did so. He knew he needed time to heal, but he wasn't sure Illyad would be able to protect Victoria for long, and he needed to make sure she was safe. He would heal on the way to finding her.

[User]
When Alex did not follow, something between relief and concern for him settled heavily in Victoria's heaving chest. He had found her once, and she did not want him to find her again. He knew her well. Too well. Patterns, behaviors... from what little she knew, his kind were rather attentive at the worst of times.
 When her legs started to protest, she slowed to a brisk walk. She had to act different, opposite. So, despite every instinct telling her to run and hide every time she caught a glimpse of a supernatural, she kept to the crowds, carefully steering clear of every shadow she could. When she finally found a main street she recognized, she hurried down it, hoping she went toward the school.
 Her fingers never released her pendant. The feeling that she had let her parents down made her stomach churn. After all, she had let one of the very things that killed them into her life.
 He saved me from that... that shade, though, a small voice reminded in the back of her mind.
 She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. But I wouldn't have even been in that alley in the first place if it wasn't for him.

* * *
 Nyaira slunk easily behind the girl, suspicious, yet thankful, for Alex's absence. She watched the girl as they went, a vulture waiting for its prey to die. Then, she noticed Victoria's behavior toward a few people; she moved away, fear crossing her face as she looked toward the ground.
 Nyaira made it a point to walk near them, and every time, their scent told her they were one kind of supernatural or another.
 She had found the one Luc wanted. Of that, she was certain.

* * *
 "Well, hello!"
 The darkly cheerful voice made Victoria's blood run cold. She choked back a sob when she turned to see Nyaira approaching her. She stumbled back and looked around at all the other people walking the sidewalk. Though not as crowded as the square, a few handfuls of people, both alone and in groups, passed by.
 "Victoria, right? Alex's friend." Nyaira gave her what looked like an attempt at a friendly smile, but the sadistic glimmer in her eyes made Victoria shrink back.
 She turned to run, but the vampire was beside her in an instant. Nyaira locked Victoria's arm in hers, her grip painfully tight.
 Victoria whimpered as she placed an arm around her shoulders. She tried to push away, to stop, but Nyaira easily forced her forward.
 "You and I have some things to talk about, peu mortel." Nyaira pulled Victoria tighter into her side, all but dragging her along with her as a small group of men in suits passed by. "Come. Take a walk with me."

[Assistant]
Illyad remained hidden, watching and waiting. He didn't want to announce his presence too soon, as vampires had a keen ability to adapt very quickly to their situation. Or at least the ones he knew did. They tended to be resourceful, and Nyaira was no exception.
Of course, the difference was, Illyad had some powerful magic behind him. With a flick of his wrist he could reduce Nyaira to a pile of dust. Of course, that wasn't what he was going to do. His promise was to protect Victoria, not destroy her attacker.

[User]
Victoria struggled against the woman's hold, but her efforts were rewarded only by Nyaira digging her nails painfully into the girl's arm.
 "A friend of mine's rather interested in your..." Nyaira paused and looked around the street, her eyes narrowed. "Gift," she finished.
 Victoria was sure her heart stopped for a moment as Nyaira turned down another street.
 "W-what gift?" Victoria managed in little more than a frightened whisper. She looked pleadingly toward a couple walking down the street, trying to catch their eye, but neither noticed.
 Nyaira threw her head back and laughed. "Playing dumb won't do any good, enfant pathétique." Her sweet voice and vicious smile made Victoria squirm. Nyaira glanced to the couple. "Don't even think about calling for help. Even if someone did come, I would snap their necks before they even blinked."
 Victoria swallowed hard, and looked back to the sidewalk, her heart pounding in her chest with a vengeance.
 "This is me!" Nyaira nodded to a car and single-handedly pulled a set of keys from her purse.
 Victoria could not help but gawk at the LaFerrari sitting in the parking space. Its red paint glistened in the sunlight. Her mild admiration of the car ended when Nyaira forced her to it and opened the passenger door.
 "In you go." Nyaira shoved her to the open door, carefully blocking any chance of escape. "Run, and I'll break your legs."
 Victoria entered the car with deliberate slowness. As soon as she was in, Nyaira shut the door.
 There has to be a way out of this, she thought as the vampire headed to the driver's side, her thoughts frantic and hot tears making her vision swim. There has to be!

[Assistant]
Illyad materialised in the back of the car, making sure that he was still cloaked to Nyaira, but visible to Victoria.

"Ssssh." He whispered. "Alex has sent me to protect you. Only you can see or hear me, do NOT let Nyaira know I am here." He told Victoria. "As long as you keep quiet, I will make sure that whatever happens, you will not be harmed." He kept his eyes on Nyaira as he spoke.

Alex eventually managed to find himself back in his apartment, where he bandaged himself up tightly, slowing the flow of the bleeding. Within a few hours he would be fully healed, but he couldn't deal with not knowing until then, so he began making his way elsewhere. Nyaira would want to bargain with him, and therefore would be holding Victoria somewhere. He could find wherever the base she had was easily.


[System]
Age: Happens to be 709. Looks around 27.
Gender: Male.
Species: Vampire

Appearance: Mithias an pass for human, but definitely draws attention if anyone pays attention for too long. He is around 6'2" with a fit build. His skin is as you can imagine very light. He has unique long, straight black hair that ends unevenly around lower-back, and his eyes are a flashy, gold-yellow. Usually he keeps his eyes hidden, but if seen briefly, one might think they are probably just a bright genetic variation of hazel color... it's probably related to his apparent skin disease. *person goes back to whatever they were doing*
Other than that, you really don't expect Mithias to hang out in the daylight. In a public place, he'd probably be wearing a modern suit. Humans usually don't bother a busy businessman. He changes with the common fashion of the times. Shirt and tie, t-shirt and ripped jeans, leather jacket and riding boots... whatever is acceptable to the creatures around him, although he prefers to be the one better dressed. Top hats were nice, but they've been out of style for a long time. If Mithias is intentionally avoiding humans, he'll probably wear a long back jacket and jeans. Jeans are an amazing material.

Background: It was the decline of the era of the Templar knights. The holy land had been lost, more than once, and the Turks had forced the order entirely out of the Middle East. Despite a blackening name and recent losses in war, the Templars were actually quite successful on another front. It was back home in what is now modern western Germany where Mithias and his order served God, King, and Pope by defending humanity itself. Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, The Templar Knights had a secretive sect that was specifically charged with hunting down supernatural beings. Witches, undead, abhorrent spirits, werewolves (or shifters), and of course vampires, were their targets. These occult hunters took their orders directly from His Holiness. Their ranks were usually filled by family members alone, yet rarely a gifted outsider would pass initiation. It was this inheritance and line of work that brought Mithias across the path of the vampire that would change him forever.

Mithias was a young man, a hunter, a knight, and also soon to be a father. He lived in a small town near the boarder with France. One day, he attracted the attention of a particularly powerful vampire, by comitting an unexpected act. He questioned his purpose. Rather than killing a young vampire, as his order commanded of him, he secretly let her go. Witnessing that incident, the elder vampire took an interest in him, leading him on futile chases into the wilderness several times and playing games with him. Mithias never had any chance of catching him, not really, and eventually, they began having conversations. The human was an interesting subject. One day, the vampire tricked him into enthralling himself and manipulated him. The conclusion of this little dance however was rushed the day the Templars were abolished.

It was Friday the 13th, October, when Mithias' life was turned upside down. The Pope had denounced them. Knights and anyone associated with them were being attacked, killed, their lands and gold confiscated, and their families imprisoned on suspicion of heresy and treason. Mithias fled but could not stop his pregnant wife from being taken. Knowing she would be tortured and imprisoned he was desperate for help. He turned to the only one he knew who might aid him, the mysterious one in the woods at night who existed above all this human mayhem.

In short, the vampire delighted in Mithias' plea. The formed an unwritten pact of blood and Mithias was given the power to save his family. He rescued his wife and saw her to safety and protected her. He killed anyone in his path.

Time went by. Evelyn soon died of disease and his orphan son had to be raised by a church with nothing but a name given to him. It was difficult for Mithias to be a father looking as he did, needing blood, but Mithias was still ever grateful to the vampire that had changed him. He was able to oversee his family lineage from the shadows for many, many generations. He literally spent hundreds of years following them, keeping track of the ever growing tree and paying little attention to the rest of the world. A lot of his energy was spent on assuring their survival and success, protecting them from the supernatural forces he had become so familiar with but also with keeping himself fed and settled and closely monitoring the corruption of the large human organizations in the area. Kings and Popes and wars came and went. Plagues, the Renaissance, the colonization era and industrialization... Mithias bore witness and influenced here and there. If Mithias could have taken out Hitler, he would have, but he had already relocated to the US and traveling overseas as a vampire was a bit difficult, not to mention the army Hitler was surrounded by. Same goes for other evil dictators. Humans, Mithias concluded, bore an innate evil that was just as bad if not worse than the witches and vampires etc. that they despised.

After 30 generations or so, following all members of a family becomes impossible, even for a vampire. Mithias had to give up. He had spent an unlife in love and had learned a lot. Now it was time, he felt, to take his place as the immortal supernatural entity that he was, an overseer, a watcher, and a protector of balance. All humans became in his eyes his potential descendants, and yet, he could not bear the threat they posed in their ever growing population and power in technology and science to what little remained of magic and other species. Internally, he struggles with morality and defining his new role.

Current Life: Mithias has established himself in a small private mansion in the upstate wilderness of NY where he runs an investment firm using multiple aliases and primarily online only interactions, and he's got a big charity thing going with the red cross. That keeps him going while he attends to his other, actual interests.

Mithias studies the arcane. His first interaction with magic was as a young naive knight back at his initiation ceremony in 1298, which mind you was very poorly done by over-zealous religious fanatics in the middle of the night while high on psychedelic mushrooms and alcohol. Ahem, but some of it was real. Human arcanists and alchemists were only in their earliest stages of understanding in their fields back then, and granted, Mithias was only the equivalent of a soldier, not a bookworm. Once he became a vampire, Mithias realized immediately that he had some kind of unexplained inclination to magic that he hadn't realized before. He could charm and mesmerize others. It took a few centuries for him to quit worrying about his family before he officially began to study it, but I'll cover what he's learned in the spells section. His sources of study have been other supernaturals, books, personal experiments, and historical research. He did do a stint of world traveling in the era of world colonialism, around the 1500's, to further his knowledge.

So of course it attracted his attention when he became aware of a private investigation firm that focused on magic and the occult. After looking into them for himself, Mithias was shocked at how much knowledge they had discovered and collected and how advanced their team members were in their specialties. Keeping a lot of his own knowledge and past private initially, he approached them with a letter explaining that he wanted to offer his services, but that they would have to accept that he wasn't human. His true goal was twofold. He wanted to learn more about magic, just out of natural scientific curiosity. Mithias is the kind to grow and change with the times. But also, the guardian in him wanted to make sure this human organization didn't amass too much power and fall to corruption down the road. He had to keep an eye on them.

I'd be ok with having Mithias know anybody's characters or have a history with them if anybody wants.

Personality: Mithias is moral, protective of the innocent and weak, vivacious, and curious. He was a knight, afterall. Unlike many other vampires, Mithias is comfortable with his nature and has accepted it. He pretty much drinks only human blood, but feeds exclusively on the wicked and they dying or donated blood. He cares very much about where his meals come from, but will chose to survive if he is forced to feed on an innocent or an animal. Is he evil? Is a lion evil for eating a baby waterbuffalo? That alone can't define him. He isn't decided whether or not there's a god, but in all his years no god has made itself evident to him. He considers that perhaps vampires are gods who just don't realize it, stewards of humankind, judges and cullers, rulers of the night. But not everything that lives is human and not every being with magic is vampiric. There is so much more to know, and curiosity drives him. He would like to know where arcane power comes from, what vampirism is, and what are the heights of such power.

Schools of Study: Arcanology, Hunter.

Specialization: Pyrokinesis/heat manipulation, plus his vampiric ability to ward his mind. Maybe that's a form of psyonics?

Spells:

Charm and Mesmerize - Personally, I'm not big on this, but it seems to be an inherent ability for vampires.

Mind Ward - Can resist attempts by other vampires, or witches, fey, whatever, to try to influence his self control. This includes possession, domination, control, emotional manipulation, suggestion, telepathy, and illusions. This power is very strong, and so far, Mithias believes it cannot be overpowered, but there could be a being powerful enough to get through it.

Fire Starter- Can start and stop fires.

Flame Shield - Mithias can redirect intense heat or flame away from him, bending it to avoid burning himself should he get too close.

Heat Sink - An offshoot of his pyrokinesis is heat manipulation. Mithias can concentrate or disperse heat in any location he concentrates on. He can boil water, or freeze water. He can do this through walls, even though he may not be able to see what he is affecting.

Abilities:

Vampire - Vampire speed and strength and senses.
One with the Machine - Likes to drive cars, motorcycles, big machinery, and small planes.
Ex-Knight - Can ride horses, but doesn't.
Voice of the Soul - Vampire-level good at violin.
Twin Fangs - Vampire-level swordskill.
Undead Tasebuds - Terrible cook.
Too-old-for-this-shit - Speaks a few European languages, but not all equally well. (German, English, French, Spanish)
Secret Sadist - Knows how to use a whip.

Weaknesses: Judeo-Christian holy stuff. Holy water. Weakened by holy ground. Slowed, pained, and half-blind in sunlight.

Equipment:

He wears a necklace with a small silver cross under his shirt that actually burns him constantly.
He has access to some guns or weapons.
Has a motorbike.
His books and computers would of course be at his primary home. He's memorized the little magic he knows so far.
Cellphone.

Other: Mithias had some involvement in stopping Dracula, he's not sure he doesn't regret it. His vampire sire was extremely good at mental manipulation.

[User] Already through the portal to the front lines, Drake's thirst for adventure was soon vanquished by the harsh conditions of the snow around him. If he wasn't so prideful about his own equipment perhaps he would have grabbed more winter gear back at the office, but it was too late now. In the middle of a blizzard, Drake's body would begin to smoke and steam up rapidly, trickles of embers falling from his armor's cape and caps in the metal. The harsh wind and snow made it difficult for his fire to grow, and as such he had to expend even more magic to keep it from burning out as he casted the flames off of his body. Within minutes he was a walking inferno, flames burning off of his form and swirling a bit around him, being carried briefly by the wind and most of his form would appear as a silhouette surrounded by bright fire. The snow around him would rapidly sublimate around him, the heat too intense for the snow to simply turn to water. Despite being shrouded in flames Drake was still cold, and had already expended much energy to keep his fire up. With his axe in hand he tried to get a better look at his surroundings and look for his teammates.

[Assistant]
Max shook his head at the offer to enchant his shovel, then stopped because of the way it made the flaps on his hat whip about. "In my experience, it's not wise to depend on magic for mundane things. There can be a steep price tag."

He considered for a moment, fully aware of how dangerous this situation was, before sighing. "I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Remind me not to tell my mother about this." With that, the tall man bent his head and stepped through the portal to the snowbound street, shovel tightly clamped in his gloved hands.

The cold hit him immediately, the wind feeling like a gale of needles against his skin. He breathed in involuntarily in shock, then regretted it immediately- the air itself was so cold that just breathing it in felt like a knife in the lungs. The worst winters in Seattle were never this bad. Hell, the winters when he was studying in Minsk and Saint Petersburg hadn't been this bad (though the haze of vodka and Baltika might have colored his memory). Max' teeth began to chatter, and he instinctively hugged himself as the cold cut through even his heavy clothing. Though his head felt absolutely fine. Maybe there was something to be said for the foxy hat.

Still, he was here to do a job. Lifting his scarf to cover his nose and mouth, Max unfolded his shovel and began the work of clearing a path through the drifts towards the house they had been shown in the scrying crystal. Too much was at stake for him to stand there and shiver- with unlit furnaces and coats deep in closets, it seemed likely unsuspecting locals might freeze in their homes if this went on. Max eventually fell into a groove with the digging and began to make slow but steady progress towards the house, edging towards the front door.

[User]
Mithias appeared through the portal all too near to Drake and immediately backed away from the heat, stepping into a half-puddle of melted slush. "Gyah..." He remarked, holding his hands up against the blazing aura Drake was giving off. "Thank you for melting the landing point, Drake my friend, but you should refrain from expending so much energy, particularly magical energy, for there are those who might notice such a thing."

The wind whipped over the edge of the trench of snow that surrounded them as they waited for the rest of their group to arrive. Mithias looked around, extending his senses to detect any sounds, movements, or scents that might be relevant. Seeing Drake still shivering, he commented, "Did you fail to bring adequate clothing? I don't mean any insult. It's just that I myself can no longer feel the cold to judge." That was only half true. Mithias wasn't completely insensitive to it. He had to keep his own blood from freezing at least, or even he would have problems.

Extending a hand, the vampire offered a minuscule taste of his own brand of magic, heat manipulation. Softer, gentler, and more slowly, he caused some warmth to build up within Drake's own body. Carefully he concentrated, making sure that only the barest rise in temperature occurred so as not to harm this delicate life.


[System]
Slick Drake

Basics
Epithet: "Oilburn" Slick

Race: Human

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Appearance: Slick is 5'5 with green hair and green eyes, typically wears simple single color shirts along with a green jacket over it, black pants, fingerless gloves, and black boots when on deck. When fighting in enclosed quarters he wears a gas mask on top of all this so he doesn't inhale smog from his fires, otherwise he just keeps it clipped to the waist of his pants. Somewhat pale, has lots of burn scars on his hands.

Position: Cook and Weapon Repairsman.

Bounty: 5,000,000 Beris, wanted for Serial Arson

Jolly Roger: A charred skull dripping oil with green flames surrounding it in a circle.

Background
Ambition: To find the gun and sword of Gol D. Roger.

Likes:* Fire
* Weapons
* Cooking
* Gol D Roger
* Money

Dislikes:* Marines
* Wasting Food
* Bees

Quirks: Slick regularly obsesses over any new weapon he may come across, studying the weapon and taking notes immediately upon seeing it even if the user is in the middle talking. His unique laugh is "Kekekekekek!" Slick is also a bit of a kleptomaniac and will regularly steal stuff just to see if he can get away with it.he has actually built up a small hoard for himself. If he thinks something would be interesting to light on fire he will try to light that thing on fire with the matches he always carries with him. He also believes his fires are works of art.

Personality: Slick is a pretty jovial guy, rarely in a bad mood unless something actually bad is happening. Tends to laze about when there's nothing important to be done or he'll go through his stash of stolen items to make sure everything is in good condition. He is afraid of drowning as most Devil Fruit users are, but his more prominent fear is of bees. If he sees a beehive or a swarm of bees he will likely go for his flamethrower immediately. Slick is also a very curious person, whether it be how flammable something is or how a device works. He likes helping people out but he won't go out of his way to help others if it's gonna be a long arduous task, not unless everyone else decides to. And the most important thing of all, Slick loves fire. He loves fire so much, fire is one of his favorite things ever really, which is why he always carries matches with him.

History: Slick grew up on a small island in the South Blue, born to a pair of blacksmiths and repairmen. He was raised on learning how gun barrels were made and how to clean a cannon, basically everything a child should never know. One day when he was 6 a group of drunk pirates had come to his parents to have their guns and swords repaired after a hard battle with the Marines, when they left they forgot some of their treasure on the island, the most important one being a mysterious Devil Fruit they had planned on selling. Now Slick was a hungry 6 year old, not knowing how valuable it was he took a bite of it. It was absolutely disgusting, it tasted like gasoline (not that he knew what that was) but he had already taken a bite of it and he had been taught to never waste food so he swallowed it down like a champ.

This was a horrible idea, for this was the Oiru Oiru Fruit, a Logia type Devil Fruit that turned you into an Oil man. Slick began to melt into a puddle of oil immediately, which was quite terrifying for a 6 year old. As he panicked and flailed his arms about he splashed highly flammable oil everywhere and knocked over a lantern, setting his home on fire. He struggled to maintain his human form and ran outside, his parents did not make it out with him. Orphaned at the age of 6 he was horribly traumatised by the whole incident, mentally locking away the ability to physically become oil so he could never kill someone close to him like he killed his parents. Instead he sought to control what killed them, fire.

He spent the next 13 years of his life tinkering with various ideas and mastering the use of his powers in conjunction with fire, he also rebuilt his parents business and began repairing weapons for pirates. Over the years he became enamored by tales of Gol D Roger and his prowess in battle, some stories had him destroying entire armies with one placed bullet while others would make him out to be a master swordsman. Either way, Slick wanted these legendary weapons, he wanted to be just as strong as Gol D Roger was. but to do that he needed to get a hold of his weapons. So he set off on his journey at the age of 19.

Combat Specialties

Skills and Abilities: Talented repairsman in regards to all different types of weapons, is somewhat skilled in the art of inventing new weapons. Great cook, spent a lot of his life learning to cook for himself. Very fast and somewhat strong, he built up muscles from hammering metal.
Devil Fruit: Oiru Oiru Fruit (Oil Oil Fruit): A Logia with the ability to let the user turn into oil and endlessly produce oil, Slick has currently mentally handicapped himself so he can only use it like a Paramecia.

Haki: N/A

Gear: Custom Flamethrower, built to be fueled directly by Slick even in the middle of combat.

Fighting Style: Slick likes to stay away from his opponent and control the battlefield, either by covering it in oil or covering it in oil and the lighting said oil on fire.

Techniques: Oil Oil Skate: Slick covers the bottom of his shoes in oil and skates around the battlefield at high speeds, leaving a trail of oil behind him as he does so.
Oil Oil Getaway: Slick covers the ground in oil and then lights it on fire, leaving no way for the opponent to reach Slick as he runs away. Also applicable to deadly effect in sea battles, pouring oil into the ocean, waiting for the enemy ship to sail through the oil and then lighting it all on fire.

Nakama
Crewmate Name:
Captain Boone - Slick only kinda respects Boone, sure he's the captain but he hasn't done anything quite memorable enough for him to be truly worth respect. They get along pretty well, but Slick doesn't quite respect Boone despite his status as captain. If it really came down to it, Slick would actually take his position in a heartbeat. He does enjoy his stories though and likes to ask several questions to get details.

Caesar Inu - Caesar and Slick get along, mainly because Slick likes to talk about fire during his therapy sessions and Caesar appreciates that Slick knows how to relax unlike most members of the crew.

Bonesword - Slick likes Bonesword for 3 reasons. One he can make a lot of flammable stuff which is super great, he can make ingredients for cooking which is nice, and he really wants to see how milk affects a living skeleton. Whenever someone is arguing about stuff with Bonesword he'll generally take Bonesword's side, something about the little dude is endearing to him.

Lily Merrycure - Slick gets annoyed with her occasionally when she offers to take over cooking, but does his best to remember that she's just trying to help. He was talking about fire once and she mentioned lighting the fires in people's hearts, Slick took this a little too literally and now thinks she wants him to light people's hearts on fire. Not that he has a problem with that, he quite likes the idea. He finds it a little weird that she tries to mother him considering they're only two years apart, but he takes it in stride. He's very interested in her strange symbiote and wonders how flammable it is. Final note, Slick bugs her from time to time about creating more flammable oils and compounds for him to use. When she doesn't he will either back off for the day or just try and swipe some stuff from her to try and figure it out himself. He has caused more than one explosion on the ship.

Feya - Slick hates hearing about the food pyramid so much, he occasionally sees the food pyramid chasing him in his nightmares. Slick tries to avoid her as much as humanly possible, not out of hate but out of pure unadulterated fear. No human should eat so much every single day. Occasionally he steals from her but after the 3rd time he found his door broken down and the protein powder gone he stopped. Now he just lays down oil in front of her door every now and then. Whenever she starts nagging Bonesword about working out he'll side with Bonesword, but is strangely silent when milk gets brought up. He really wants to see Bonesword drink milk.

Dirk - Slick is kinda indifferent to Dirk, he recognizes the guy doesn't like him too much but doesn't mind. Dirk likes his cooking so he's alright in Slick's book.

[User]
Meeting the New Crew II
Bonekid sat down at the table, only to find his face barely met up past the thing. A few vines rose slowly out of the seat of the chair as they lifted Bonekid up to sit properly at the table, acting as a sort of makeshift booster seat. The Shroomblade sat right beside him as he stared at the bowl in front of him, the spoon beside it intimidating him beyond belief. Ignoring the bowl presented to him immediately, Bonekid looked around the room at everyone in it.

There was the pirate ninja, who looked incredibly dope and super cool. Bonekid could learn a thing or two from him in regards to stealth, it seemed like.

There was the muscular and hairy man who had caught Feya's attention. Was he a fruit user? His appearance bore striking resemblance to what was described as that one fruit he read about in his encyclopedia. "Model - Lion" was all he could remember.

There was the drunken doctor. He reminded Bonekid of Boone, unsurprisingly, but it was more like a cross between Boone and Mom put together.

There was the badger, which caused Dirk's eyes to twitch. She seemed really frickin' badass for a badger, and Bonekid wanted to learn about her. Heck, maybe she was a fruit user too.

Then there was K. Runch, the captain of the crew and user of the Bori-Bori-no-Mi. Bonekid had his encyclopedia nearby so he could draw the captain and chronicle the details of the Bori-Bori-no-Mi for after he handled the task ahead of him.

Shooting a look at Dirk, Bonekid responded to his question first. "Y-you I guess...?" Honestly that was a white lie. Bonekid's truest friend was the Shroomblade, but there was one person who came before it, that being his Mom. She was a bit sleepy right now, but he wasn't afraid. She'd be back up and happy again in no-time flat!

Now for the real problem. Bonekid took a bit of the cereal in his spoon as he put it into his gullet, the cereal obviously trickling out of his jaw and into his shirt along with the milk from the spoon. It... tasted like nothing. Of course it would. Bonekid couldn't eat anything and taste it with how his body worked. Still, he didn't want to upset the captain. "I-I'm sorry Captain Runch, but I'm not hungry. It tastes great, but I'm just... not hungry." Honestly it probably did taste better than Slick's cooking. Everything he made was just so... greasy. Bonekid always took milk, though, so it made Slick hap-

Wait what the what.

Is that TASTE?

Bonekid sat there in the seat for a good minute after he said he couldn't taste the cereal, realizing that he finally could taste it. It was horribly delayed, but it actually made him feel the sensation of taste. It was a long time since he lost it, but now that it was there, it was... really freaky. In a good way.

Still, he couldn't force himself to eat it despite it being amazing since he could actually taste it. He wasn't even sure if it was good.

[Assistant]
Captain Cedric D. Boone - New Friends

As Slick completely misread the situation, Boone could only grit his teeth in annoyance. His own crew attacking their hosts was not a good sign of friendship. Boone yelled out to Slick, "Wait, Slick! Its not what yo-" Just then, a shadowy figure pinned him to the ground in a flash! Boone stood mouth agape, Lilliana in arms. He shook his head and continued forward, "Just a misunderstanding sir, dont kill him, he just...likes to burn things."

Cedric set Lilli down at a spot at the table and sat next to her. Their hosts were quite eccentric to put it mildly. Then again, the Red Rums weren't exactly normal either considering one of them straight up assaulted their hosts without warning.

In Boone's bowl laid large red pellets. Once the milk was poured the white liquid became almost blood red. Cedric eyed it cautiously and then chuckled, "I suppose if you wanted to turn us in you would have beaten us already, Bawhahahaha!" Boone took a large bite with his spoon and tasted an intoxicating cereal. One the likes of which he had never experienced before. Alcoholic cereal. It was a very high percentage of alcohol.

Within a few short moments Cedric was slurping up the final remains of the red milk. "Ahhh..that was delicious. *hic* You have got to get me the recipe!"

[User]
Slick was taken by surprise when an invisible blur pinned him to the ground, he was completely unseeable to Slick's trained artistic eye. "I'lL mAkE yOu InTo ArT iNvIsIbLe MaN!" He cried out as he felt a very sharp something poke into his forehead. The situation soon deescalated as Feya pulled Slick up and began yelling about the food pyramid or something, but apparently from what the limited grasp on reality he had told him, these people were not art. Not yet anyways, there's always five minutes from now.

Soon enough people were seated at the table, or in Slick's case he was sitting on the table. Slick's bowl was quickly filled and then emptied even faster than Smith had managed to finish his food. "TASTES LIKE ART!" He exclaimed with joy as his bowl was refilled and emptied just as fast. What that meant only Slick knew, but it was probably something that would give anyone else horrible crippling nightmares. Anyone looking at Slick would see him looking at Smith, but closer observation would let them realize he was actually just looking in his general direction of Smith as he searched for the invisible ninja. "-where is he, where's the invisible canvas, the art can't be made if the artist can't find the canvas-" He mumbled under his breath, ignoring everyone else in his search for the clearly visible and poorly disguised ninja.


[System]
Appearance:

 She's 5.8 ft tall.

Age: 29

Sex: Female

Class: Mercenary Engineer

Psyker Powers: None

Equipment

Armor:
 -Reinforced leather jacket, pants.
 -Custom Armor plating – Created by using parts of salvaged imperial power armor. Multiple modifications and corrections were made for it to fit its new role. Barely resembles its origin.
 -Armored leather boots with inbuilt powerful electromagnets.
 -A pair of armored gloves.

Weapons:
 -'White Skull' Las Pistol – a heavily modified version of the standard issue laspistol, this work of engineering has been created by Vala herself. It has almost triple the power draw of a normal laspistol, making it more useful than it's original, but it depletes powercells quickly and the wear on the weapon is increased, making the need for replacement parts quite frequent. She has created only 3 of these with the other two now destroyed. It's kept on a holster on her right hip.
 - MAG Autogun MkIV(Shelly) - An autogun that fires hexagonal solid projectiles. The projectiles are about 6 cm in length and 0.7 cm in diameter. She acquired this specific gun or at least what was the remnants of a gun while on one of the many lawless space stations scattered across the fringes of Imperium space. After a lot of tinkering and experimentation she managed to create a workable and actually useful variant of it. It has the same range as a standard autogun. Its flat projectiles/slugs are propelled using a system of incredibly powerful electromagnets. The rifle uses standard powercells. Devastating against lightly armored targets as causes both blunt and puncture damage with each slug. Lacks penetrating power against heavily armored targets, though still hits like a hammer. The rifle has 10 slugs per clip. Held on the right side of her back with a magnetic buckle.
 -'Nova' LAS Heavy Sniper. - This a custom made las sniper, she made in the last year. It's strength stands in both it's incredible power and armor penetration plus great range. It's almost entirely custom rigged from both original and standard technology. Instead of one great emitter like the standard heavy las weapons, this one uses 4 smaller ones. The first three fire slightly before the fourth which is arranged in between the other 3, thus at impact the first 3 create a weaken heated spot in the middle, which allows the fourth to more easily puncture through the armor. This weapon can hold 2 power cells for las cannons, allowing for 2 shots at a time, before needing reload. The barrels and powers are cooled by 2 other special slots where she puts old depleted power cells that serve as sinks for the heat generated during a shot, thus lengthening the lifespan of all parts. Still for safety purposes, the required waiting time between shots is at least 10 seconds.
 -Autopistol – Held in a holster on her left hip.
-Short straight sword – She keeps it for when she's out of all her other weapons. Kept in a sheath across the left side of her back.
 -4 small frag grenades.

 Other equipment:
 -A forearm mounted grappling hook launcher – uses same electromagnetic tech as her rifle.
 -Known to also carry portable set of tools during missions.

Notable Deeds:
 As a merc Val cannot really boast with deeds such as those of the soldiers of the Imperium, but she has stacked up a small list of accomplishments non the less.

 The Kroozer Gambit

 Hired by a Rogue Trader, away from the notable trade routes, Vala and her crew were tasked with bringing down a ork Kroozer that was discovered waiting in ambush for an unsuspecting transports. The Trader didn't want to damage his own vessel so he hired mercs to be his scapegoats while his ship would pass the sector, hoping to escape paying.

 Her crew immediately got suspicious of it and forged a plan to both do the job and get paid. Since what they had was a old modified transport ship, they pretended to be a random unsuspecting pray while a Vala and 4 of her crewmates took an assault boat. When the Kroozer moved to intercept their transport along with it's fighter escort, the assault boat rammed to the engine room. Following a lightning fast gunfight, they set 5 heavy explosives across the engines and left the ship just in time for the bombs to explode and cripple the vessel. During that time, their transport had led the escort wing straight to the Rogue Trader's vessel. Without support from the Kroozer, the trader managed to deal with the fighter escort. Their transport ship had susptained medium damages, but they got paid non the less. She later heard that an imperial Dauntless stumbled upon the Kroozer and destroyed it. Surely the Rogue Trader had taken all credit for disabling it…

 3 days of darkness.

 Vala's crew had been forced to land on an uninhabited world when they came into confrontation with a light corsairs pirate vessel. Luckily for them the elder ship wasn't heavily armed and after an incredible accurate hit on their part, both vessels were forced to crash land.

 Vala's armed transport had taken a serious beating and given the degree of the damage it would have required at least a week to repair. Without given much choice in the matter they were forced into a fight for their lives. After 3 days of almost constant battling with the corsairs, Vala's crew managed to repel the enemy and grant her enough time to finish the repairs in a record time of 3 and a half days! They lost 5 people in that event, but finally managed to escape the planet.

 Death to the Infidel.

 While on a break from missions and traveling towards a nearby lawless space station for refuel and repair, Vala's transport suddenly shook heavily from the impact wave of an immense explosion. By the time they saw what was going on, the transport was knee deep in a chaos attack of two Infidel class escorts on the pirate station.

 The station's weak shields were quickly down, it's frankly old weaponry couldn't match the two escorts. As the transports around it were destroyed, Vala's ship found itself with no place to run. She and other 5 of her 15 crew members barely managed to get to the assault boat that also doubled as a escape capsule before their transport was blown to bits by 2 torpedos. With the destruction of the station, one of the Infidel class ships left to chase some ships that managed to escape the initial barrage while the other one stayed behind to finish wiping the place from anything that moved. Without place to land anywhere in the assault boat's range there was only one option left. They used the debris as cover from the batteries, they boarded the Escort's engine compartment like they had done in the past with the orks.

 It was a slaughter against the chaos marines their weapons didn't really carry much punch. It took Vala mere 2 minutes to set all the explosives and move back to her assault boat, but by the time she pulled the boat away from the chaos ship, she was the only one left. Alone and heavily wounded she watched with a big smile as the explosions took place, rendering it motionless in space… She laughed loudly as Imperial ships started warping about the place, probably having noticed the chaos presence.

[User]
"Good work on the Servo-Skulls Vala, let's just hope they can do their job and return to us in one piece." Andromedai had been pacing back and forth inside of the Warehouse, keeping an eye on its exterior while the mercenary engineer worked to convert Adrianne's Servo-Skulls. She ended up by Vala's side a few moments before she finished her work.

"All I need to do is to connect to their interface and tell them where to go and what to do." A small wire that came from the side of her data-pad was now plugged into the first Servo-Skull while her right hand worked tirelessly across its surface to enter in its new directive. "The information I am entering into the Servo-Skulls should be simple enough for them to not mess up. Basically their orders are to head to a safe vantage point of each remaining anti-aircraft canon and transmit a number of important details not only back to us, but also the Imperial Guard headquarters. Once that happens, our artillery cannon's will take care of the rest for us."

Andromedai would pause as the sound of a thundering engine in the distance that grew, she knew Adrianne had been trying to get the Ork Warbike to work but seeing her on the xenos vehicle, bothered her. "Adrianne! Get off of that Warbike before I decide to do something I'll probably regret. Riding on that Ork machine is Techno-Heresy, and I will have none of that."

Shortly after Adrianne had parked the bike and gotten off of it, the Warbike fell apart right before their eyes and ended up a pile of scrap metal. Andromedai looked at the mess of metal before nodding her head in approval at its current condition and demise. "That problem fixed itself, a fitting end."

After a short while of searching, Andromedai found a chair to sit in before dragging it back downstairs and into the middle of the warehouse, where the rest of her squad was waiting. Taking a seat, she pulled out her data-pad and pressed a button on its screen, sending the two Servo-Skulls out and towards their destination. She watched them leave then fade into active camouflage, disappearing from sight.

"We should keep an eye on the one that is heading the furthest into enemy territory, if it fails to reach its objective, we will have to go there ourselves. That goes for both of them actually." This was not what she wanted to happen, and hopefully the mission would go smoothly.

[Assistant]
Adrianne watched as her servo skulls slithered off at Aviza's command; the black steel bionic skeletal spines slithering around in the air behind them as they moved like an underwater snake; before they vanished in a glimmering as active camouflage was activated.

"Wait! I didn't know they had that utility!"

Behind her mask, Adrianne's violet eyes (un)visibly widened as she just realized she had been missing out on such an incredible feature of her servo skulls! She had had them for at least three months! How had she not realized that feature until now?!

"I knew I should have read the instruction manual... " Adrianne mumbled with a sour tone under her breath, before turning towards the rest of the group as it gathered beneath the ancient gothic hallways and cathedrals of the mechanicum storage depot. Everywhere she went, imperial architecture, even that of the mechanicum, always oozed with religious symbolism; to the point that if anyone had simple removed the metal storage containers and random workbenches scattered around the storage house, one could easily have confused the building as a place of worship.

"My servo skulls should be able to get the mission done in but a faction of the time it would take us to get there!" Adrianne proclaimed as she removed her skeletal mask with a click and a hiss, letting her long, ashen white hair flow free as she eyed the rest of the group with her violet eyes.

"But... even though I am certain they will succeed, we will still need a place to reconvene with our aerial pick up once the the mission is done. The Greenskin are not known for their tactics, but they will converge on this area once the remaining artillery bombardments strike. I can feel the very air around us simmer with excitement... and it isn't our excitement."

She finished, throwing a look at the rest of the group and letting her gaze pass over them. For most of the group, it was a matter of looking down; with the one exception being of course the group's resident human-main-battle-tank Nergui who was the only one to tower above her.

"If the servo skulls complete their mission, then the safest thing would be to leave now. Then we would have a headstart on the Orks once the fun starts!"

[User] -Overpostie-

[Assistant]
Ansgar watched the servo skulls pass by his position, watching them fade into invisibility, his position didn't change beyond bringing the scope up to his eyes, checking to see if he could detect them as they departed through the scope. No luck, which was unfortunate, he would have to rely on other means for detecting the servo skulls whenever they deployed whatever was making them invisible. Of course, he put that to the back of his mind, focusing on the task at hand while the Psyker decided to run her mouth off about beginning to withdraw, ever so certain in her modified tools that had not been tested in this kind of situation yet, not with their new modifications. No, that would be both arrogant and foolish to just withdraw under the assumption that they would complete their job before completing it.

"Ma'am, beginning extraction movements before the mission is completed based on the assumption that equipment, untested with its current modifications, will complete the objective is reckless and foolhardy. Should they fail, that places us even farther away from the target, with the Orks alerted to the fact their other position is targeted already. Which means a fight, which they will swarm, to my understanding." Leave it to be that, for the Krieger, the most he had spoken in a given period of time was admonishing another for what he saw as a foolish suggestion. He still remained opposed to the idea of having relied on modified mechanical tools to do their job, but the Celestian had decided to go through with it, so that was that and he would not be saying anything further on the matter in that regard.

Glancing back to meet the Psyker's violet gaze, Ansgar narrowed his eyes slightly at the fact she had gone and removed her helmet already, like this was some training expedition on a pleasure world instead of in an abandoned storage building in the rain. Though the fact that he had insulted both the handiwork of their resident Tech Expert, for lack of better terms, and the Psyker meant little to him. He said what he saw was necessary, and left it at that. Turning back to his scanning of the approach to the main door, he would do several checks with his eyes, before bringing the scope up and using its low light settings to amplify the shadows that he could not readily make out with his own natural vision. The only noise that could be heard now from the Krieger was the slight wheeze that was tell tale of the Krieg issued rebreather, not loud enough to alert their surroundings however, as they would have not been issued then.

[User]
"Unless the technology that I have NOT modified fails, my modifications will hold. It's entirely different matter if an ork stumbles upon one of the servo skulls by coincidence. It's doubtful, but the chance exists." Vala casually mentioned while hte others were discussing the possibility of the servoskulls failing their given task." Next time I will create some drones in advance that will do better job in recon an search and target tasks such as this one... Once we get some access to time and parts that is." She added, casually leaning on a wall nearby now, as she moved to reload her weapons.

 "We should devise a diversion just in case." Vala eventually said." Maybe rig an explosive or anything htat creates big noise that's in the oposite direction of our heading for when the orks go into crazy battle state. It would buy is a lot of time in event of imminent retreat from the area. Could even rig one of hte nearby building's support pillars to go at a switch of a button."