[Nexus] Riverside X: Take a Walk on the Wildside

[Gullara]

[A Location In Northside]

After a while the two can see two figures, one woman and one man exit the building. They are both dressed conventionally by modern standards and don't really have any notable aspects about them. They just seem to be two friends talking to each other quietly as they quickly leave the building.

[A Location In Northside]

Once it seemed that they had arrived, Ghoul gave a small nod before 'idly' scanning the area. She still didn't like the lack of information but if this was all that was available..

Noting the small group leaving the building, the muse lightly moved the tow of her foot to try and tap the end of Samona's shoe and gently nod in the direction of the people in question. The question of if it was any of them they were looking for was implied but not outright stated given the muse's paranoia. Given that her hands were still in her pockets, there wasn't much she could do to sign with her hands and 'ask' any secondary questions. It would be rather likely, though, that Samona wouldn't understand any of it so it was probably for the best at the time anyway.

[A Location In Northside]

Samona looks toward the two for a moment and nods. They'd do just nicely. She gives them a bit of a head start but not letting them get so far away they can't be caught up to with ease. The vampire nods to Ghoul and starts walking after the two. She moves with stealth, slinking through the shadows and pulling them around herself to stay hidden.

[happyturtle]

Dio-Day Alley

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Dio-Day Alley



As if Scooter has ever mattered in the slightest. As if there's anything Galiana can offer that What couldn't take for himself, loot right off her worthless corpse.

He approaches slowly, biding his time as he walks towards Galiana. He only stops for a moment, quickly stooping down to dab his fingers in Scooter's blood, before sliding his fingers across his head. The word DEATH painted across the pumpkin makes it quite clear that hope is a privilege Galiana will just have to do without. It's over, meatsack, and here comes a twisted parody of the reaper himself, here to finish things.

His two weapons are hooked together, he swings the two, and attempts to bury the jagged hilt of the outstretched blade in the poor elf lady's skull.

And so hope is gone. Galiana crouches behind her makeshift shield, sobbing quietly and holding in her mind the faces of her family. Of the husband she had never stopped loving, but had been in the process of cheating on - the worst decision of her life. Of her parents. Her elder sister. But most of all her two children. Please let them understand how much I love them, that I loved them until the last moment of...

The arc of the swing bypasses the trashcan lid shield completely, though a bit of thin metal would have caused very little impediment. There is a sickening (or delightful) crunch as the hilt impacts the elf woman. The wound is a horrific bloody hole in her skull, leaving bone shards digging into her brain, one half of her face destroyed. The other half splattered with blood and gore.

Worst of all, she still lives, her lips moving silently, her remaining eye staring up at the spectre of Death, her unwounded hand raising itself to her face as if it could hope to somehow staunch the wound. She still lives, but only in the abstract. Only in the desperate way that life sometimes refuses to yield to death at the proper time, and so prolongs suffering.

The killer can stand and watch as his prey spends her last minutes in agony. Or he can speed up the process. The result will be the same. Galiana Lightfoot will never leave this alley.


((Billie post will come after Slii's next.))

[Lord Magtok]

Dio-Day Alley

What leaves, taking only a moment to loot her sword and remove his own weapon from her dying carcass before heading off on his way. There are a great many others that still need to be killed, an entire Nexus full of loathsome living, breathing, thinking beings, and What Pumpkin can't afford to waste another moment on a project that's clearly already finished.

[Morty]

[Malechenar, Living Room]

Outside the room he finds himself in some sort of living room, in a green coach a dark skinned young woman dressed in a simple white dress is sleeping. The dress is stained with milk and other liquids and the rest of the room is a mess. Looks like she might have collapsed from exhaustion.

There is another door which seem to lead out to the corridor if Michalson have any desire to go there. Or maybe he should kill this woman in case she might be one of his intended victims.

Michalson isn't going to go about slaughtering everyone he runs across in this place in case it's someone he's supposed to scrag. He's acing on woefully incomplete information. He weaves a quick spell to try and read the woman's surface thoughts and learn her name.

[Lost_Deep]

[Exbourne Manor - Eadelain's Room]

A smile grows on Cynthia's face as they hug. She gives her an extra squeeze before they move apart again. "Astrana can definitely figure it out. She's smart about this kinda stuff."

"Yes, she's highly intelligent. My problem is different, yes, but I bet a lot of problems she's dealt with have been different. We'll just have to wait and see."

Eadelain goes back to the bed. "Well, let's play some while we're waiting. Not like there's much else to do. Maybe if my headache clears up, I can get some work done, but until then..."

And if Cynthia is for the idea, they can play for a bit.

[Slii Arhem]

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Billie's Boat

Fade will vormit the water out. Not that he really wants to keep it. After all is out he seems to change. His eyes go back to the normal yellow color and his stand is less aggressive than it was before. He replaces his scarf and hood so that his face is covered again. He looks around seeing Billi leaving and most of his creatures destroyed by the vines. He holds his hand up using a bet mana against the portal. The portal close after the last four mechanical creatures leave.

The last four seem not to atack anyone, but also they don't rust. They will try to cut through the vines and then split up two heading up the river and two heading down the river.

Fade in this time looks up. His shadow who has gone back to normal slides away trying to follow Billie unnoticed, sliding from shadow to shadow where it can't be seen.

"I'm glad you removed that curse, but we aren't even right now."

After a moment a door appears next to Fade. He goes through it and it dissapears the moment he close it behind.

[Building Roof]

A bit away of the whole scene on a building's roof the door reapeares and Fade walks out. He takes a seat and waits. Waiting for the right moment to enforce payment.

Billie's Boat

Billie is more inclined to stay and fight, but with Dio's words, she leaps from the boat at once. Even drunk, she knows that she's no match for the power Fade is throwing around.

Billie's Boat

Once in the water, Billie should be able to see a porpoise swimming alongside the boat just under the surface, that will quickly swim up beside her and allow her to grab hold of its fin so that it can pull her to shore away from the crazy murderer.

The musicians, so long as they aren't threatened by the myr, continue to play their jaunty tune and leave Fade and his metal men alone as they disperse.

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[QUOTE=ThirdEmperor;13843684]Eastside

I wouldn't be so sure. It isn't an understatement to call Francium a supersoldier; He's a fair bit stronger than a normal human can be, without magic at least. The 'drunk of his ass' part of the assessment, on the other hand, is entirely accurate and likely trumps any amount of brute force. Not to mention Brody's experience brawling far outweighs Francium's mere training for battle.

Snorting with laughter, Francium nods his head dumbly at the ringleader's speech. "Yeah, I'llll help ya wi' that." A hand is extended for Brory to shake, and the Robin Hood-esque bandit might find himself suddenly being pulled into a one-armed hug should he accept. Drunk drunk drunkity-drunk drunk, that's what Francium is. Yep.

I have no clue how drunk people are supposed to act >.>

Eastside

Brody grins broadly as he's pulled into the hug and claps a meaty hand against Francium's shoulder, "The name's Brody. What say we go break some things?"

From behind Brody, a massive cheer rises from the throats of the assembled crowd as they raise their makeshift weapons to the sky. Someone ambles up drunkenly and tries to hand Francium a pointed stick that looks like it was once a table leg.

Wildside

Despite many delays and snags involving taking care of her father's screwups, Lenai has finally had the time to track down one of the interlopers in her forest. And so here she is, traveling through the earth silently and sneaking up on the dryad that she was certain didn't exist until this point. The main problem she's had with tracking them is that the trees only respond to their movements some of the time, and the rest of it treat them as one of their own. Now she's only found one, but it will have to do until she can pick up on the location of the other.

[happyturtle]

Wildside

It's a few days after Cole's first taste of mead.

The savagery has left him. The consequences have not. He lies on his back on the forest floor looking up at the beehive thinking about women. The Mother Bee. The Duchess. Din. Edda. Lenai. Even his dog, Mori.

The only male influence in his life had been a succession of governors, who taught him needlepoint and etiquette. Until the mead. Until Wolfy.

That feeling had been undeniably male and yet so utterly alien to everything he knew of as male. He didn't understand it. But it had been enough to finally tear him free of his loyalty to his former world. There had been some part of him that had thought it was his duty to return one day, after Mori's lifespan had ended. But he felt that no longer. The Duchess didn't own him. He would never see her again. He couldn't even remember her face.

But Lenai... she was something different. If he left this forest today and never say her again, he would always remember her. But he didn't know what he felt towards her. She didn't act like women were supposed to act.

How are men supposed to act, in this new world he is in? How is he supposed to find out?

In the River

Billie laughs as she's pulled along to shore, then climbs up and shakes some of the water off of herself.

Time to move on and find a new party, unless Dionysus has new instructions for her. She doesn't notice the shadow flitting along behind her.

[UncleWolf]

Wildside - Lenai

The wolfish looking dryad is seated on her haunches near a stump, ears flicking and eyes watching the massive bees fly around. She's completely oblivious to the world at the moment, too caught up in watching things.

Wildside - Cole

The young man may not notice it right away, but a new presence is suddenly next to him, laying down. Wolfy doesn't make himself fully known until he holds up a small coin in Cole's sight. "Drachma for your thoughts?"

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside - Lenai

"Now what do we have here? I certainly never expected one of you to pop up, let alone two." Despite the inherent oddities in the wolfish looking fey, Lenai manages to recognize it as a dryad, and her voice is tinged with consternation. Just what is she supposed to do with this? She'll never find the trees these two were spawned from while they were being so uncooperative, so she can't very well transplant them and pretend they weren't her problem.

She sighs lightly as she rises from beneath the roots and soil. This was why she always tried to nip potential dryads in the bud in all her previous orchards.

[happyturtle]

Wildside

Cole sits bolt upright. "Are you the Wolf? Lenai's Wolf?"

[UncleWolf]

Wildside - Lenai

The dryad's ears perk up instantly and her eyes widen a bit before she rolls backwards, instincts taking over instead of letting her be shocked into stillness by the surprise. The roll takes her over the stump, getting it between her and the nymph, and afterward, she peeks back over it. "S-Sorry?" She asks, unsure what she's done wrong.

Wildside - Cole

Wolfy smiles, paw still offering the coin, and he nods. "I am. Your father in a way I suppose."

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside - Lenai

Lenai smiles, the moonlight streaming past and highlighting her crumbly, earthy hair.

"Perhaps you should be, but perhaps not. How did you come to be little one?"

[happyturtle]

Wildside

"I haven't known what to do since I tasted you," Cole admits. He looks at the coin doubtfully. "I have no use for money, or even anywhere to keep it." All he is wearing is a loincloth. His robe he lost in his savagery, and even if he wanted it again, it's probably irrecoverable.

[UncleWolf]

Wildside - Lenai

"I don't know." She admits. She was just born a few days ago. Not like she knew everything there was about being a dryad. "How about you?" She asks, eager to deflect the conversation from herself for a moment to try and regain her courage.

Wildside - Cole

"What if I said it was more than just a mere coin?" Wolfy asks with meaning in his voice. "As you might know by now, things aren't always what they seem to be."

[Shadowcaller]

[Suncrest Manor]

"Oh fine, but no pants!" Nadia tries to grab hold of Irena's hand with both of hers, and then pull the naiad through the house and outside.

[Malechenar]

"I don't get it, Astrana. I mean, I know that things have changed, but I thought you said that you missed me and wanted me back." She'd gotten his hopes up that things would be bale to be somewhat normal between then again. What was he supposed to do now, though? Some grand, sweeping gesture? He's pretty sure those only work in the movies.

[Suncrest Manor]

Irena, not finding it in her to protests follows Nadia along outside to set up the rest of the cameras.

[Malechenar]

"I did! It's just now that you're here I'm not sure what to do. What to say... I know what happened between you and Ilpholin, Valente. I'm not stupid. It's what makes this so hard."

[A Location In Northside]

The pair don't notice them as they are walking right towards an ice cream stand, apparently planning to get a snack together while not talking about anything particular.

They act like they are worried about anyone spying on them, or if they have any special goal in mind. Ghoul and Samona might notice they act pretty much like tourists in the city however and looks in wonder at the buildings around them.

Eventually they will start walking towards a restaurant.

[happyturtle]

Wildside

Cole looks into the Wolf's eyes and sees the wildness within - the same he's seen in Lenai's eyes. The same he's felt within him on the few times he's channelled his true power. He reaches out to take the coin.

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside - Lenai

"I don't know." She admits. She was just born a few days ago. Not like she knew everything there was about being a dryad. "How about you?" She asks, eager to deflect the conversation from herself for a moment to try and regain her courage.

Wildside - Cole

"What if I said it was more than just a mere coin?" Wolfy asks with meaning in his voice. "As you might know by now, things aren't always what they seem to be."

Wildside - Lenai

Lenai sits, content to stop looming over the dryad now that there's little point to it, "Let's see, I was born to Dionysus the wine god, and if I had to guess I would say that you were born from one of my trees. I don't think I can hold you at fault for that though. Non of us can help our birth. The only question is, what should I do with you?"

[UncleWolf]

Mask Temple

"What?!?!" Jezebel shrieked to her sisters in shock. "Why can't any of you do it?" She asks.

Bellan winced at the shout, however accustomed to such things as she was, and gave a sigh. "If you'd let me finish, I was getting to that. The others..." she states, gesturing towards the other two. "Are simply too inhuman now, and my god demands particulars that would make me finding a suitable partner more than a little difficult." She admits. "As the oldest, I will try first, but should I be unsuccessful, it falls upon you." Bellan says with meaning.

Jezebel, slightly calmer by this point, scowls and settles once more into her chair. "I'd ask about the risk of mutation, but I have a feeling you've covered that already. I suppose father knows?" She asks.

When Bellan gives a nod, the youngest of four raises an eyebrow. "Who do you think helped orchestrate half of this? Corruption in our family has been there for generations, but we need an heir to the Line. You understand that, don't you?" Bellan replies, looking at her with a glance that tells Jezebel she has no real choice in the matter.

"I suppose I do." She answers carefully.

Wildside - Cole

Wolfy drops the coin into Cole's hand, and after a moment it seems to seep into his flesh. Oddly, Cole won't feel any different. Wouldn't a gift from a God leave some mark or feeling telling Cole that it was accepted?

You are as if my own son now. Says a stony voice in Cole's head. The gifts I have given you will reveal themselves in time, but first, something small. Now all you need to do to speak to me is simply reach out for me with your mind and I shall answer.

Wildside - Lenai

The name of the god makes her ear perk for some reason unknown to her, but after a moment, she makes a small offer. "Let me go? I promise I won't be any trouble."

[happyturtle]

Wildside

Did I do the right thing, removing the betrothal anklets? Cole asks. Was I wrong to speak the nymph's name when she is not my sister or wife? How am I to know how to act?

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside - Lenai

"I'm not going to hurt you, but I don't think I'll let you go either. There was another one of you, yes? Do you think you could find her for me, and bring her here? I wish to speak to you both."

[UncleWolf]

Wildside - Cole

"I can't tell you what is right or wrong." Wolfy admits. "If I did, that would defeat the purpose of your growth. All I can say is that there will always be choices and many of them will be difficult. Just follow what you believe in your heart and your soul. Sometimes you'll choose the harder path, but it is what is necessary."

With that, Wolfy stands and looks Cole in the eyes. "Just remember. All that matters is that they are your choices." With that, unless stopped, Wolfy vanishes from sight.

Wildside - Lenai

"What are you going to do and ask?" The dryad asks, still cautious. She knew she'd been caught, but she didn't want to get her sister in trouble either.

[Gullara]

[Malechenar]

Valente winces. Yes, he remembers that too. Very vividly in fact. He opens his mouth to say something, but just closes it again. Instead he opts to just look at his hands.

[Exbourne Manor - Eadelain's Room]

"Yay!" Cynthia hurries to set up the first of the board games. She'll be perfectly happy to play as long as Eadelain wants to. They have a few games to occupy them after all.

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside - Lenai

Lenai frowns for an instant, and the maple tree directly behind the small dryad bends a branch down to try and grab her by the scruff of the neck and hoist her up into the air, "My trees might accept you, but they still respond to me and me alone. If I ask you to do something, I don't expect to be questioned. This one time, I'll allow it because you are new to the world and don't know its rules. I wish to tell both you and the other of your place here at once, to save myself from repeating the same speech twice. I do not intend to harm you, but that may change it you test me."

[Mr. Moon]

[Malechenar - Fourth Tower Compound]

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"What? No! This is outrageous. I-" Enu starts, sounding rather upset at the devil's sudden shift before the woman raises her hand to silence him.

"Quiet Enu, let me speak." She declares while staring at the devil from underneath her hood.

"But I-"
"Enough! The woman exclaims which finally causes the summoner to go quiet, his pride taking quite the blow.

I believe you rather want the boy as most of my soul is already signed away to various entities. When I die whatever is left of me will be quickly devoured by various hungry demons and other entities. I'm already damned, just like every higher ranking member of our organization. I started off just like Enu after all." She calmly explains to Mercutio.

The devil watches the exchange between Enu and his master impassively, his only outward reaction a quirked eyebrow when the woman silences the boy. Now wasn't that interesting. An organization - presumably a rather structured organization - with so few qualms about meting away their souls. Terribly short-sighted if you asked him, but then short sighted mortals were the source of Mercutio's business.

"Disappointing," Mercutio says, calmly tucking his hands together behind him. "Why should I trust you not to consider this child expendable? A boy who trips over incantations is far less useful than this creature." He nods curtly towards the clone.

[Terumitsu]

[A Location In Northside]

Samona looks toward the two for a moment and nods. They'd do just nicely. She gives them a bit of a head start but not letting them get so far away they can't be caught up to with ease. The vampire nods to Ghoul and starts walking after the two. She moves with stealth, slinking through the shadows and pulling them around herself to stay hidden.

((Sorry for not getting to this earlier))

Trailing behind her sire, Ghoul's own form became more in tune with the ambiant darkness, wearing it almost like a winter cloak. She kept silent but was of the mind that either her sire needed to communicate more or that she should at least make a plan for something like this as 'just following the lead' did have its limits. Still, there was little that she could do about it for the time being rather than follow the lead anyway although she would prioritise incapacitating the target or possibly targets in question and knock them out if possible rather than go for the kill. Ghoul was quite certain that Samona would be quite displeased if that were to happen

In any case, until Samona took the lead on this, Ghoul would be unable to do much aside from provide whatever support that she could at the moment.

[Shadowcaller]

[Malechenar]

The tiefling looks up at the vampire, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't your fault." She wasn't even sure what had happened, nor had she dared to ask him. "Valente... I think you need to tell me what happened. The day you disappeared."

[Malechenar - Fourth Tower Compound]

The clone does not meet the devil's gaze, instead it looks around the room with keen interest as the rest of the figures watches it wearily. At the moment they seem far more worried about it then Mercutio.

"Since he starts just like I did." The woman says with a gesture at Enu who seriously seems to be considering leaving the room. "This is a part of his training to become a full-fledged warlock. He might as you pointed out be inexperienced but that's how most of us start out. If we lose him, we lose a valuable student, a rising potential. If I really had wanted someone expendable, I would just have forced one of the insufferable dregs we have here to summoned you or just sacrificed one of them. We like to avoid human sacrifice if possible however, why squander a perfectly good soul like that?"

[Malechenar, Living Room]

Her name is Arcania and she is currently watching her little brother while her parents are out exploring Riverside. This is the first time she's babysitting however so she have pretty much messed up everything as visible by the room around them. Michalson probably did her a great favor when he put the baby to sleep.

[Morty]

[Malechenar, Living Room]

She's not on the list, so time to move on. Trying to interrogate her would be far too risky. Michalson starts walking along the corridor quietly, hoping he'll run across a map or plan of some sort.

[Gullara]

[Malechenar]

"...Right." The vampire says reluctantly. "I was walking down the street when I heard her. She was in an alley and there was this huge spider going after her. So I ran over and drove it off. She was perfectly nice, just someone that needed help. I offered to walk her where she was staying. She was telling me about how she was married before, and that her husband died. When we got to the hotel I walked her up to her room, and then, well..." He looks down at his feet, making what happened obvious. "After she told me she needed to get Rot away from Tenebras so she could take her own revenge for her husband. It seemed like such a good idea to help her then. I couldn't think of a reason not to. So I did, and then we went back to AMEN."

Valente sits silently for a moment before looking at Astrana. "You got to believe I never would have once thought about cheating on you. I don't know why it happened, or what I was thinking... I'm sorry."

[A Location In Northside]

I'll post here after school most likely.

[happyturtle]

Wildside

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Wildside - Cole

"I can't tell you what is right or wrong." Wolfy admits. "If I did, that would defeat the purpose of your growth. All I can say is that there will always be choices and many of them will be difficult. Just follow what you believe in your heart and your soul. Sometimes you'll choose the harder path, but it is what is necessary."

With that, Wolfy stands and looks Cole in the eyes. "Just remember. All that matters is that they are your choices." With that, unless stopped, Wolfy vanishes from sight.

Cole thinks about that for a long time, for the rest of that day, and until his dog curls up beside him and the two fall asleep.

In the morning, he makes his first choice - the easy one. He sets a jug on the ground and sings to the bees, until they begin exiting the hive, landing on the jug, and regurgitating the honey. Bee after bee, female workers all, labour at this task - their payment to the Beekeeper for his service and protection. Those who do not practice the religion of the Mother Bee will smoke out bees to take the full hive and all the honey within. Cole's method only recovers about a third of the honey for his own use, but the bees and their hive remain, and will continue to thrive.

I will continue to serve the Mother Bee, because the Mother Bee serves me. It is a fair arrangement, beneficial to both of us.

By the time the sun is high, the jug is half full. He ends his song and tastes the offering of honey. It is sweet and wild at once, and he thinks he has never tasted honey so beautiful. His first taste of the hibiscus blood honey did not have that effect, because the wildness made him fear that something had gone wrong. But now he knows that it is meant to be. The Wolf has made it wild.

He trills a whistle of thanks, and a few bees acknowledge him, doing a brief dance for him to see. They they return to their hive and their flowers and their tasks. Cole hefts the jug up onto his shoulder and looks for Lenai. My Lenai, he thinks to himself. He isn't entirely sure what he means by that, but it feels right to put those words together in his thoughts. My Lenai.

[ThirdEmperor]

Eastside- Day 8

Grabbing the makeshift weapon, Francium stabs it towards the sky and joins his slurred, too-loud voice with the rest in cheer, without even fully knowing what they're cheering for.

It feels good to have a pack again. And breaking stuff? Breaking stuff he can do.