Jacquelyn
**'Drinks on the house!'**

An uproared cheer broadcasted from the direction of the bar keeper, raising a mug of ale in joy as the room lifted its spirits. Shouting, yelling, drinking and dancing as the night faded away in the ambience of heavy liquor. A lone kitsune found himself on a stool adjacent to the window. From outside of the solitary bar we're the lush out lands of vast green planes and ovaled hills. Covered in the shroud of darkness for the moon gazed at the glistening surface with its shite haze. The Rey of the room was much more quaint and quiet, old folks who had watched many before them pass and leave a thousand times over. Locals from nearby farms who had settled and taken over the farms of their predecessors. This part of the Elven kingdom was faraway from the capital, from the politics and the violence. It was a peaceful residence in which a drink at night was shared by all ages, big and small. Through it all the ambience was encapsulated by the light melodies of a lone piano man. The same tunes he would play every night, taking requests for free and refusing tips.

**Scream!**

The wholesome atmosphere was shattered by a chilling yelp. Disturbed many patrons found themselves falling over and shocked as they each got onto their toes and rendered whatever alertness they could. The piano man collected his hat and rushed outside, the man then called the room outside; each scrambling like a swarm of bees coming out of one hive. The piano man held the panicked woman as she pointed to the distance over a rolling hull. They all looked and stood awestruck as in the distance a raging torrent burned and pillaged.

The night was still young, but the sun had come out through the inferno of a distant fire. 

*'What was that..'*
*'Should we help-'*
*'That thing's burning up.'*

This moment was his to decide. Everyone around him was flabbergasted and frozen, the unruly hardy men too drunk to stand and the tendered women gasping in shock. Perhaps there were people there, no it didn't matter if he knew; someone had to go. So,some had to be the hero to rescue the damsel in distress from the raging dragon that kept her in a tower. This moment called to him, and was ready to be received by a daring adventurer or a fearsome warrior. The piano man then collapsed, laying into his knees as he came to the realisation it had been from his homestead's direction. Suddenly tears swelled from his face as he caught them in his hands.

*'Oh please, no- Please don't be home my daughter.'*

That was the final string, a pleading call from a desperate father who was helpless to save their stranded kin. After an uneventful stride through open countryside and even through farm plots he would arrive not too late. The kitsune found himself in the horrifying scene or an isolated house set ablaze. The burning crisp embers dancing like a kindred wildfire, seldom can their beauty be found in destruction but it didn't allude to the atrocities. Black smoke seeped to the air to become all but invisible in the darkness, yet it's chocking intensity swept the area just as harshly as it would in broad daylight. Surely he had to do something, as the reading wooden house began collapsing. Floorboards buckled and ceilings loosened as piece by piece the lively settlement was being devoured by smog.
Dennis
*Ishikawa stared into the roaring blaze the dark bags underneath his eyes contrasting starkly against the ominous firelight in front of him. Moments ago he had been relaxing, moments ago he had finally gotten a break, but no, here he was again. He of course wasn't bitter about helping. Ishikawa wouldn't allow himself to turn away a stranger in such dire need, but at the same time, he just wanted have a peaceful night for once. The Kitsune tied a piece of cloth around his face, wheezing as he inhaled a bit of the tainted air. Ishikawa understood that he was racing against time itself in this endeavor, that there may be in fact no one still inhabiting this place, but he to make an attempt.. Yes, he had to.* 

*The young man quickly approached the building, wrapping his head in yet more cloth to shield his face from the heat of the flames. It was thick enough to hopefully stay off burning for a good minute if need be, while he figured how to enter with the least harm done to himself. His ears twitched, the man attempting to pick up anything besides the roar of the flames with his sharp hearing. Even while he listened, the Kitsune tested the waters by sending out a blast of Frost Mist into a part of the blaze that wasn't as high as the others, hoping to clear a temporary path into the wreckage of the homestead.*
Faye
The raging Phoenix soared high to the night sky as it burned through the darkness and the abyss. Having followed the sight of the hellfire a mysterious black knight appeared from behind him, himself being unaware all together as he doused the flames with magical incantations. *Pathetic waste of time*. Never would she tend to investigate 'accidents' such as this, however her curiosity drew her toward the scorching heat. If nothing else there was a homestead with potential haul, and outside appeared the onset of a small timid boy. She walked over, *Silently* As her sabatons were muffled by the weaving grasses; being quick to observe the situation.

The kitsune expelled his icicles to minimise the flames, but after casting the roaring thunder consumed it and melted it almost immediately; it was too much, too strong. It seemed suicidal to go inside, nevertheless he was met with the entrance mere meters away from the flames. Suddenly the Kitsune was grabbed, feeling a weighted arm pressed against his shoulder before thunderously being pulled back. Luckily too, as an internal explosion flew a debris of wood straight toward his former place. Having been chucked to the floor turning back the man could see the ominous image of a raven clad warrior, smashing the collapsing debris with a closed punch that split the wooden beam into two with her left. Her image rendered a dark knight, contrasting like a black hole stepping towards the all consuming sun. Taking a step forward a large circular shield formed on her left bracer as the woman entered the building.

*Thud*

*Thud*

*Thud*

Through the scolding inferno a deafening aura pierced itself from within.

The mysterious warrior had been gone inside for half a minute, her footsteps only being prevalent at this moment whilst the Kitsune stood guard outside; unable to pierce the flames. Floorboards etched and creeped under her weight as revealed the dark silhouette of a knight and a body in her arms. Once more the house roared as loud as the flames as the final supports began to give in, like a collapsing cave it was falling in on itself. The warrior seemed Como,telex unscathed but it all, walking casually with her hands blanketing the woman's face as her exterior rendered her immune from the consuming wrath, The shadowed knight exited, laying the scorched woman outside the burning house as she knelt beside it. Placing one hand over its neck the woman kept its attention to the wounded daughter. The warrior then spouted to him, and in a mocking voice her tone made clear of her temperament and intense prove hostility toward himself.

'What are you supposed to be?'
Dennis
*Ishikawa tensed as he prepared to spring into action once the aftermath of the Frost Mist had cleared, desperation showing in his eyes as he readied himself for what he was going to do. Was he really going to jump into a raging inferno for the sake of a girl who may or may not even be inside? No, it was decided, as the short man was yanked back unexpectedly. Ishikawa grimaced as he hit the ground with a thud, the rather unpleasant smell of burnt hair filling the air. While he had been saved from the heat, the fur of his tails had come out of it singed.*

*Ishikawa didn't move for a good moment as he watched the woman tear her way into the inferno, partially from the shock of the explosion mixed with the sudden jolt, and partially to avoid any further debris that may go flying out of the structure. Eventually, he stood up with an almost composed grace, waiting. There wasn't much he could do except wait. Partially he was relieved that there had been another there to enter the building, but he still didn't exactly like the foreboding air that this new-comer brought along with them.* 

*Ishikawa quickly padded over to the scene of the woman and injured girl, taking out what little he could to aid in caring for the injured... If there was a way to help, even. He wasn't confident as he saw her laid out on the ground, the Kitsune hastily rifling through his things to grab some sterile cloth and water. As he kneeled next to the girl, he looked up at the shadowed knight, replying rather dryly, despite the urgent nature of what he was doing.* 

"Was that a jab at my race, or at my profession?"
Faye
'Simply a question of your mere existence.'

Placing her hand around the neck of the woman, the dark knight seemed completely unaltered and disregarding his presence. Forcing his own self to lean backwards otherwise he would be met with her shoulder. Having swayed him away the lady took a brief pause as the atmosphere around them gathered. The flames glistening in the background danced as yet large pieces of roof finally fully collapsed, a giant sway of wind gusting out and pushing away to his direction. It was like the sound of a tremendously large tree collapsing, fast and intense. Soon the darkness seeped in once more as Ishakawa was again thrown back by the intense ferocity of the burning building. The dark knight laid beside her unresponsive and unremarking at the scene beside her, fixated on the woman and glaring a faceless helmet straight down.

'This one won't live.'

The callous deathly words left her mouth to his disbelief, what was she saying. He wouldn't be given the chance to respond for even a brief meme to however.

To his horror a shocking image transpired, the woman began lightly coughing and yelping as the dark knight had her gauntlets wrapped around her throat. It took no less than but a few seconds for her neck to crack, a brief gasp leaving her mouth as her last struggle before passing. There was no way for the man to have stopped her, even if he had tried for a brief moment in stagnation all that he could do was watch frozen in disbelief of what he saw. Why did she suddenly kill her, why would she have saved her only to kill the girl herself.

Against all principals and morales one could grow up with this was a spit in the face of all of them. What could she possibly say to justify her actions, Nay; it was impossible to justify. She had to be brought to justice, she had to pay for her crimes. This was not morale, it was evil, heresy. The sudden mood spurted our every wrath of vengeance and judgment seeped into Ishikawa. It was his choice now on what to do, was he the type of person to let it all go, the evil, the sin, the corruption.
Dennis
*Ishikawa grunted indignantly. Who did this woman think she was? Some sort of towering paragon of darkness? Above others because she lived in a world of shadow or some sort of crock like that? Ishikawa was a man who preferred the night sky, but he did not make that a core part of his identity, the night was simply that, the night. Not some sort of symbolic force that determined his moral compass. Ishikawa stumbled back as the sharp sound of the building collapsing hit his ears, the Kitsune covering them as he attempted to regain his balance. His ears, being quite sensitive, did not appreciate the sound in any which way or form.* 

*Ishikawa stared at the woman, and then looked at the form in her arms. She was save-able, he could see it clearly, if taken to a healer... No... It was at times like these that Ishikawa reminded himself of what he was. A monster hunter. Ishikawa stepped further back away from the woman, a glare forming in his icy blue eyes. It was the only part of his face that was visible as a silvered rapier formed in his left hand. He realized that he would likely lose this fight, but it was the principal he clung to, the morality.* 

"You asked what I was, and I shall tell you." 

*Ishikawa braced himself for what was to come.* 

"I am a Monster Hunter by trade." 
"***I have found that I hunt men more often than I do beasts.***" 
*His voice dropped low, the hunter preparing to strike.*
Faye
*"Shutup."*

Ishikawa felt a sudden jolt of pain etched on his left arm. A dagger, slivering of silver pierced his flesh and found itself embedded in his bone. His spell naturally dematerialised with the loss of concentration and sudden trauma. Hynes revealed but another blade collected from her bandolier, held up by her left arm as she stood up and faced his direction.

Powerless from every step she took toward him the woman expected to face no such resistance. Whereupon she wrestled his throat into her gauntlet, and single handedly lay slammed himself down to the ground. The force alone led him to choke for a brief moment as Hynes lay atop the man disappointingly down. A race of thoughts would bring him back to reality, whereupon the stinging pain of the dagger in his bone seared more than the flames of the very building he refuted from.

'Just shutup for me for a second, or else I'll present to you your scalp as a hand knitted scarf to a flock of orphans. You're not that enthusiastic are you?'
Dennis
*Ishikawa dropped his sword as he grabbed his shoulder, hissing through his teeth. The magical weapon imbedded itself into the ground, but still remained. He would have to de-summon it for it to truly disappear. He would weakly reach for it with his uninjured arm as she approached, before gasping for air, finding the wind knocked out of him as he was slammed to the ground. While he was expecting to lose this encounter, he had figured he would stand at least a small amount of a chance against the behemoth that held him down.* 

*Ishikawa gritted his teeth, trying to find reason behind the callousness of this... *Thing* Before him. For all of his hatred of the undead, of vampires, he found the woman before him to be much more revolting than either. The lack of emotion was what disturbed him the most. Ishikawa didn't say anything, but it was more from an inability to than lack of words.*
Faye
Hynes grabbed the man with his hair, straining it and pulling him across the ground as he was dared to resist her. Walking to the direction of the burnt lady she threw him towards her, forcing him to cushion his lading with his own hands lest he cradle the corpse. Curiously she turned back, collecting the icicle which he has formed but failed to arm himself accordingly with. Inspecting it closely she remarked.

'There are two kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you strong..'

Throwing it with a flick of her hand to the fire the weapon fell to the ash and began melting. She followed her remark seamlessly as then her hands were held back and rested behind her.

'*Or useless pain. The sort of pain that's only suffering.*'

It sizzled for a brief pause until it all but burned, for a brief stagnation it appeared to almost be fighting to survive; yet finding the inevitable. To the shock of Ishikawa he felt his hand grabbed, the woman beside him desperately clinging as tears ran down her eyes and onto her cheeks. Her ashy tender skin half seared and half burnt lip was a spitting image.

Hynes took disgust in it, not the body itself but the needless suffering. She upheld one desire for most, a simple, painless and quick death. It was born between a mix of pragmatic death and one without suffering. Only those who would wish to inscribe further unnecessary harm onto others rendered for her desire to return it tenfold to themselves. Otherwise a quick death was all she needed to satisfy her craving to spill blood.

'I have no patience for useless things. Moments like this require someone who will act, who will do the unpleasant thing; the **Necessary thing**.'

Turning to face Hynes a levitating spear drew out from her back case as it slowly began tilting its spear down toward himself. The eerie image that his life could flash before his eyes a mere instance of her throwing it gravitated the situation. The levitating javelin then shot itself toward the head of the lady. 

'*There, no more pain.*'
Dennis
*Ishikawa suppressed the urge to help as he was dragged by his hair, the Kitsune clenching his fists as he bided his time, rolling across the ground as he was thrown, attempting to avoid touching the body of the dead woman. He wasn't disgusted by her, but he refused to touch her, out of a respect for the dead. He watched as Hynes attempted to pick up his weapon, but she would find it enchanted to be nigh unpickable.* 

*Ishikawa glared at Hynes, until he felt something grab his hand, turning back to the woman he had believed to be dead. He would make an attempt to sit up, turning his back on the woman in black armor behind him. Thoughts raced through his head. If he could grab this woman and run off, if he could just find a healer... Ishikawa murmured softly to the dying woman, knowing in the end he would likely end up a liar, but of no fault to his own doings, but rather because of the mysterious woman. He murmured softly,* 

"I'm sorry this happened to you..." 

*Ishikawa turned back to glare at Hynes, realizing what she was about to do. There was nothing he could do about it, and he hung his head, quietly stewing in his own emotions. Ishikawa didn't do anything for a good amount of time, before slowly standing, gently letting go of the now dead womans hand.* 

"Useless things? A life is not useless. I'm not sure if your skull is as thick as your **Fucking** Armor, but that woman could damn well have lived if you hadn't stopped me from helping her in the first place!" 

*Ishikawa looked at his sword which was still imbedded in the ground, clenching his fist. Ishikawa was angry. In the past he had felt strong emotions in times like this, fear, pain... But here he was consumed by a righteous anger.* 

"A burn can be healed. Pain fades with time, it always does..." 

*Ishikawa shielded the body of the woman with his own, though she was dead. He didn't trust Hynes to not try and desecrate it further.*

"What you've done is needlessly kill someone who full well could have recovered..." 

*Ishikawa paused,* 

"Initially, at the very least."