Dayrise

[padfoot]

(((Going to drop a post here today. Don't fret guys)))

 

Skinner scanned the gloom of the bar searching for his underworld contact. There! The huge anthropomorphic owl sitting alone in a booth along the back wall. Skinner nudged Namina and glanced around, Only one labeled exit, there should be one around the back through the kitchen. There always is. Windows are too thin for me or Namina to fit through. Cerin could make it if he shifted. Walls are partially underground so blasting our way out is impossible his mind raced as they drew closer to the table. The owl man's head swiveled around to watch them approach with huge, solid black eyes. He smiled with a strangely human mouth, "AH! I was afraid you had been eaten Skinner. The man said, rising from his seat to hug the stiff man, "I suppose I'll have to pay up. I bet a man that you would be dead two months in

Skinner chuckled awkwardly and frowned when the owlman hugged him, rolling his eyes at Namina. He turned to Waltz next, "Oh! This is Soren Sephiran. Soren this is-

"Namina Waltz! I would recognize that beautiful face anywhere" He purred, kissing the woman's hand, "Now what is a high rate thief hanging around someone like Skinner?"

Not the point Soren. I need to know if you have come in contact with anyone selling a very hot sword Skinner said sliding into the booth across from Soren and getting down to business. The copper coin dangling around his neck was rattling on the end of it's chain and it was making Skinner uneasy. He glanced around the bar as the owl spoke.

Actually yes. A magic user much like yourself came to my office a few days ago looking for a buyer for a very powerful artifact. Oh, Skinner you should have seen it, old as the hills and throbbing with magic. Anyway, the fellow refused to sell it to me when I demanded to know what it was and where it came from. All he said was that he didn't want it on him anymore

Skinner glanced over at Nimina with a look of hope. That meant that Fette might already have the sword on him from visiting the man that killed the serket.

That sounds like what we are looking for

Skinner said with a curt nod.

That seemed to get the man's attention, Oh! So your searching for Excalibur too?

Skinner froze, How did he know that?

 

Across town, Elfte and Fette were hot on the trail of their magical murderer. Actually they were sitting outside the trail waiting for the coffee shop to close. She sat on a park bench with the slender man and surfed the net behind her gray eyes. This was the stuff she hated, waiting. Elf had spend a third of her life waiting so one could say she had a bit of a patience problem now. She was occupying her time learning about her partner. A basic search of Fette's name didn't bring up anything notable but a few off shore companies that build smartphone parts and tea kettles. It wasn't until she hacked into the NFPD network that she got a digital nibble. Apparently Fette was on a few watch lists for illegal contraband and illegal fae smuggling, distributing of narcotics and other restricted goods, as well as several accounts of breaking and entering, immoral voodoo, tourtre and assault and battery. Elf resolved to start searching the NFPD database for all of her friends' information.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

When night fell and the action began, the pair had already moved around the side of the building to the ally entrance. At Fette's command, the android stepped forward and placed both hands on the steel door. Her instruments detected a drop in electrical usage in the coffee house and she went into action. Her elbows seemed to detach and extend far past the back of her head. With a blast of white steam, her elbows rocketed forward and the resulting kinetic energy caused the door to fly completely off it's hinges and vanish to the other side of what appeared to be a storeroom. Oops, it wasn't suppose to make that much noise. Without warning, a man brandishing a twisted branch of oak stepped from the shadows, "huhu ciwon the man yelled. A ball of writhing smoke shot across the room and hit Elf dead in the chest. She shook her head and shrugged off the mass of smoke trying to find a way to get inside the girl. A burst from her vents disipated the spell the man tried on her. She wasn't human so most effect spells didn't have effect on her, including that weird lung cancer thing this guy tried on her. She rolled her eyes and jerked her head to Fette for proceed with the kidnapping as the man turned to run. She couldn't partake in such roughhousing, but the dick in the shop didn't need to know that.

Edited January 21, 2015 by padfoot

[shadow_claw]

Namina couldn't help but grin upon being greeted. She took a seat beside Skinner and rested her elbows upon the table. It's good to see you too, Soren. He replied warmly. As she was basically a crime lord in the area, she knew most everyone in the dealings of taboo artifacts. Soren was no exception. Though, they had only met once or twice. Halfway through the conversation did The woman stiffen. Something brushed against her legs. Before she could react, a scarlet canid leaped onto the table.

Inari will surely have my tails if she discovers I've spoken with a demon without killing it. Cerin, although irritable about this fact, didn't seem at all hostile. He leaped into Skinner lap to make room on the table. Brilliant yellow eyes remained locked on Soren as they spoke. Although his time killing demons and sending messages for Inari had long since been on haitus, it was still hardwired into his system. After all, it was what he had been created for.

 

---

 

Let me go! I didn't do this to him! The Bauchan struggled as it was pushed over the hood of the police car. Once the cuffs were on, however, he knew it was over. The police officer scowled and shook his head.

"You know, we wouldn't have had to arrest you if you didn't try to run. We were just going to bring you in for questioning." Guding the Fae into the back of the car, the officer glanced back towards his colleague. In the other officer's arms was a young teen. Even in the dim light of the evening, it was clear the boy wasn't well. His scales were off-colored and dim, and he seemed barely conscious. "Let's bring them both in. There's no telling what got the kid in this condition and it could easily be foul play."

 

By the time the police arrived back at the station, the fae had gone silent. Any attempts at explaining what had happened would do no good. The first officer led the Bauchan inside, and the second carried the presumed victim. "Jeez, what are we s'posed to do with a kid?" The first officer asked his partner. The woman in response shrugged.

"If I knew, I would tell you. We need to find his parents before we can take him to the hospital, you know that."

"Yeah, but he don't look like any o' the fish-folk in Nightfall! Who's t' say he's even got family here?"

[ValidEmotions]

[[sorry. Catching up. I'll post soon.]]

[ChildeRolande]

Fette rolled away from the blast as the heavy door jetted inwards; followed a moment later by a rush of exotic matter. If he'd been standing just a foot to either side, he would have been hit by the buzzing cancer cloud.

Apparently this guy meant business.

Fette took advantage of the moment of silence, swinging around the doorway and sprinting through; aiming for the area the mans' voice had originated from. The man didn't know there was more than one attacker, which was fortunate, of course. Unfortunately, he now knew that Elfte was impervious to magic... fette only hoped he could catch the guy off guard before he could use more traditional backup.

*BLAM*

Fette ducked and jumped forward as bits of wood and kitchen appliances splintered behind him; catching the shadowy figure around the waist. The two men crashed to the tiled floor, and fette heard the gun skitter away. Fette felt the stranger reach up, scrambling around fette's face, seeking to gouge his eyes. Panicked, Fette fumbled inside his coat, removing a glass jar and bringing it against the side of the mans head with a crack.

The man went limp, a tiny trickle of blood gleaming in the dim light, and Fette sat up, relieved. "Elf, you can come in" fette said, rising to his feet and inspecting the new buckshot sized holes in his coat. "Hand me the rope now, will you?"

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A few moments later, Fette and Elfte stood staring at their handiwork. The strange wizard, now revealed to be a young blonde man; his sandy hair not quite covering a corkscrewed scar across one cheek, sat tied tightly to a folding chair. The mans' coat and wand sat out of reach, already fully catalogued by Elfte.

"So, are you willing to spill your little guts to us, or are we gonna need to spill some guts for you?" Fette asked pleasantly, tossing a glass jar casually in one hand.

The stranger gave his answer in the form of spitting defiantly at Elfte's feet.

fette gave his own answer by dropping a lock of the mans hair in the jar; a small glass creation containing coffin nails, graveyard dirt, pins and needles. With a smirk, Fette shook the makeshift bottled voodoo doll, watching calmly as the stranger writhed in pain. A flash of tattoo appeared beneath the mans' collar, and fette stopped shaking the jar and stepped closer.

A lions paw, surrounded by a crown of thorns, was tattooed against the mans' neck.

" Hey elf, do you happen to have a photo of our corpses' tattoo with ya?"

[ValidEmotions]

[[i will post tomorrow morning before class, after homework. I swear.]]

[ValidEmotions]

Catching the fake ID, Dae nodded faintly, stuffing it into a pocket. Drinking down the liquid offered to him, the demon tapped the desk with a finger. "Don't go after the twins just yet. Let them believe you haven't caught on. If you do, our killer will notice and make a quick exit," he warned, already knowing that Jonas would have figured that out.

 

Taking a detour to the closet, the demon briefly glanced at the various items to see if there was anything worth wearing. Not really. Leaving the costumes be, Dae gave an idle salute to Jonas and slipped out of the police building, making a point to avoid notice.

 

He started with the Pixies' Pot, keeping at bay but not learning anything more. The Fires' Nest yielded just as much help. A waste of several hours really. Hopefully, the Rabbit Hole would be more promising....

 

~~~~

 

The bar was always kept dark, a catering towards the more light-sensitive types and such. To be fair, he felt quite at home in this place. Silently, he walked through the bar, keeping to the sides. A glimpse of a certain being sparked his excitement. Clearly, Skinner was on a search of his own. Mindful to remain out of the man's (and his companions') sight, Dae found a seat at the bar, ordering a drink to pass the time as he listened.

 

[[so sorry, didn't know what else to do |D

Aroara, I'm waiting for your response with Juniper.]]

[AroaraAngelwolf]

((Thought I posted her))

 

Juniper shook her head. "No, if he wishes I leave I should. " She hugged Cadmi. "I will see you tomorrow. Enjoy your muffins, and crabb and goyle you two enjoy your pies..." She left.

 

 

Ash worked hard snorting as he plowed. He even had to help pull up a barn wall today.

[padfoot]

Elf remained preoccupied in the corner, searching the man's past using the information extracted from his wallet. The man's name was Drake Bendy, a 34 year old general manager of the coffee shop Fette was torturing him in. From Elfte's search the internet and NFPD's criminal data base didn't turn up anything of interest. He had a pretty boring Facebook page and nothing above a misdemeanor on his criminal record. Either Skinner's tracking rock found the wrong guy or he was working for a larger power. Elf broke from her thoughts when Fette addressed her about a picture of the Serket's tattoo, "No, But I can draw it for you She said, producing a white pen from a slot in her wrist and flipping a receipt over on the counter. With the precision of a 3D printer, Elfte scribbled out a copy of the sun tattoo she saw briefly when Bo jumped the body. It was the weird Fae ink that Skinner and herself could not see. She handed the copy to Fette and went back to her spot perched on a stack of coffee bean sacks.

 

Skinner glanced nervously between the Kitsune that suddenly lept onto the table and Soren, Now Now. No one is going to kill anyone. Lets calm down He said, placing his head on the fox's head to make his point. Soren was notorious for flying off the handle over little things. Luckily that didn't seem to be the case. He just smiled his creepy bird face smile, "No harm. Fish gotta swim, yada yada bla bla the owl/man said with a strange chuckle, Now, I ask you again. Why are you looking for the legendary sword, Skinner?"

click

With Skinner's jacked up senses he could hear the distinctive sound of a pistol hammer being locked into place. Skinner glanced at the man's hand hidden from view under the table then looked back at his wicked grin. Son of a *. Really? he asked, honestly disbelieving what the situation had evolved into. The owl nodded slowly, "Now, I ask again. Why. Do. You. Want. Excalibur? he enunciated every word carefully so Skinner would understand. Skinner glanced at Namina. There was no way he would shoot her, she was too powerful in this district. That meant that the gun was pointed at Seren and himself. He was sure the other two heard the gun's click. Skinner sighed and carefully reached in his jacket, "Do you mind If I smoke?" he asked, pausing when Soren tensed. He nodded and Skinner loaded his cigarette holder with one of his hand rolled cigarettes. He offered one to Namina and Soren before replacing the pack in his lapel pocket. The tip of his smoke ignited on it's own and Skinner exhaled a small cloud of smoke, "Alright, we'll talk" he complied, his mind racing for a plan that didn't end with them getting shot.

[ValidEmotions]

[[*kicks* Anyone else to post a response?

 

Aroara, are you exiting the thread or still wanting to be here?]]

[AroaraAngelwolf]

(I still do but I want to play Fenrir, and poler isn't on here, I also want him older too.))

[ValidEmotions]

[[Okay. I don't see an issue with Fenrir being older. Honestly, I don't think it'd affect anything. Just age him to what you want and the rest can go on as already. We can adjust so there's history being Fenrir, Kane, Luke, and the other few members of Kane's Nightfall pack.

 

Have you tried PMing Polar?]]

[AroaraAngelwolf]

(Yes and she said she'd be on later when she isn't busy, I did that and to red letting all of you know that nightfall shut down way back when this started and it would affect the pack. Older Fenrir would have a conflict with his old pack and save Jessica(the girl who give him the scarf and he had a child hood crush on) would come in. She would have been played by polar. EDIT: She joined on pc three and did a couple posts but i haven't seen her since))

Edited February 7, 2015 by AroaraAngelwolf

[ValidEmotions]

Dae frowned at the sudden turn of events. However, he rather expected it. Still, that didn't mean he might be pleased or wasn't hoping for a different path. With a gun pointing at Skinner, the demon tsk'd and rose from his seat. He left a tip for the bartender before leaving his table and turning the corner, lightly tapping the owl man on the head. "Sorry, but I need the human alive. So, either you'll put down the gun or I'll put it down for you. Okay?" Dae brought his face close, smiling broadly with a steady gaze.

 

"The man is looking for Excalibur but, really, who isn't?" Dae-tase remarked, making himself comfortable in the seat next to Soren. "So, what'll it be, boys?"

 

[[*tosses hands in the air*

Whatever. It's crap. I'm trying to push this forward.]]

[padfoot]

(((Narvix, it's perfect and exactly what I needed)))

 

Soren's head swiveled around to look at the demon with black, unblinking eyes. He swiveled back to look at Skinner "You know this guy?" he asked, jerking a clawed thumb towards Dae. Skinner locked eyes with the strange man, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. This really wasn't going nearly as well as he thought. Not only did his black market connect double cross them, but now a notorious demon bounty hunter was stalking them. On top of that, now he truly realized how many people were trying to get their hands on that sword. That was bad for business.

 

The tip of Skinner's cigarette burned bright as he took a deep breath, "Look, I know everyone wants this stupid sword. Or at least, I know he does" Skinner said, pointing to the owl man, "But who are you?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

[ValidEmotions]

"Dae-tase. Some just call me, Dae," the demon replied, leaning back in the seat. "You've likely heard the name, eh?" A smirk. Glancing at the oversized bird, he tapped his index finger against the table top. "I'll ask this last time. Will you put down your gun or will I have to do it for you?" Along his back, his cloak shifted as sections of his skin darkened, hardened, and grew jagged. Similarly, beneath his shirt, the top section of his chest became covered with the odd armor he could create. The body armor was minimal, likely going unnoticed, as he desired to keep some in reserve for a gauntlet-like piece on his right arm if needed.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

((I'm dropping out guys.))

[ValidEmotions]

[[Alright Aroara :c]]

[shadow_claw]

Girls, girls, you're all pretty. although the woman's voice was soft and light-hearted, her face didn't have the same emotions. She was ready to kill. A demon could be problematic, but there were ways to keep them down for a short amount of time. If there is blood spilt, I won't hesitate to take things into my own hands. Although brutal, she was efficient in ending fights. One hand rested casually on her lap and she spoke, and the other was wrapped around the ornate handle of her sword. Slowly did she turn her head to stare at Dae, looking beneath her long lashes for added effect. She knew the name well enough to know trouble. It seems everyone wants the sword, hmm...? I shouldn't be surprised. After all, it is one of the big names out right now. Everyone knows why you want it Dae, just like everyone knows why I want it. A girl could really duel-wield. Namina flashed a bright smile, and removed the hand from her sword. She could tell it wanted action, but she didn't. A fight could cause problems.

[padfoot]

Soren glanced between The pair across the table and the demon demanding he should lower his gun, ""Um If you don't mind. I think I'm going to keep my gun out. I'm suddenly at a disadvantage anyway" he said.

Skinner just shrugged and nodded his head, "fair enough" he said. HE was at the table with a man who can scream lightning, a demon killing fox, a ruthless crime boss, and a demon bounty hunter. It seemed reasonable that Soren could keep his measly pistol.

 

Namina's answer caught Skinner by surprise.She wanted the sword for herself? Did that mean that's she was playing him just so she could get her hands on the sword? Wait, Skinner is planning on doing the same thing. He just won't be using it. A artifact that dangerous shouldn't be in circulation like it is. Skinner wanted to lock it up so the wrong kind of stupid get a hold of it and wipe out a few cities.

 

"So where do we go from here?" he asked, his eyes darting around the gloomy bar, "I mean...none of us actually knows where the sword is" he called everyone's bluff, including his own. The only Ace him and his partners had was Fette and Elfte across town tracking town the swords current owner. Skinner just needed to get them out of there without getting anyone on his side killed.

[ChildeRolande]

It had taken awhile, Fette mused, wiping a smear of blood caught in his stubble away with the back of his hand.

Their wizard had started to talk, though, although they hadn't gotten much. Fette had to admire the mans' resolve; in the end it had taken a mixture of black dog hairs and the mans' own blood and fingernails to get him to talk. Fette had no qualms on using such voodoo, of course, it wasn't even as though he could be punished for it; but their charge was having considerable difficulty staying conscious with so many powerful hexes on him at once.

"What do you want with the sword?!" Fette bellowed, snatching the man up by his hair.

" 'Dun kn-kn-kno' ! " The man whimpered back. One of the hexes had swollen his face to nearly twice it's size, and Fette had to strain to understand his blubbering. " A muhn! T-t-two uff dem!!! Sh-sh-sh-shooooooort!!! Twehns! Dhey hairud ussss! PUH-LEASTHE!"

Fette let the man go, relaxing his grip on his hair. Short twins? Who would have the resources to hire an entire gang of wizards? Fette wasn't even sure the benefactors' were from Nightfall to begin with. He was just about to ask for a description, for some sort of direction to a hideout; when Fette felt a signature chill settle under his shoulder bones.

Corpses.

A great deal of them were going to be piled here soon, if things were left untouched. Six or more, in fact. Fette couldn't sense if any of them would actually be his, of course, it was a hard drawback designed to ensure his reliance on his liege. Damn.

Fette whirled to face the wizard again, who flinched back, knocking his chair off balance. Now that he was paying attention, he could smell it; that same sinus-buzzing electric-celery scent Skinner left whenever he'd used a spell.

The dirty little hostage had used some sort of magic. Stupid! Fette admonished himself, kicking the chair rightside up. Fette was willing to bet his next vacation the little cheat had used a spell to ping his location to anyone with half a brain.

He had no time, they'd be coming soon, and to take the wizard with him would slow him down. Fette thought quickly before snatching the length of piano wire from an inside pocket. He looped it quickly around the mans' right arm, the one he'd wrestled his wand from, and which was now duct-taped to the handrest of the chair.

"Sorry pal, but if ya hadn't been sneaky, I wouldn'ta had to do this...." Fette said with a semi-apologetic shrug. The wizards eyes bugged with realization, and Fette tightened the loop, pulling hard with both hands.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Ten minutes later, Fette and Elfte strolled calmly towards downtown Nightfall, flitting out of the street and ducking into a corner shop just as a crew of shabbily dressed men raced by; a wand of various forms clutched tightly in each mans' hand.

Fette adjusted his coat, careful to not let the arm slip to the floor, and tucking it carefully into the elastic band which usually secured his whiskey against his side. The arm was bloodless, hexed so by a quick dusting of bergamot and borax, but that wouldn't last for long.

" Elf" He hissed " Can you try and contact Skinner from here?"

Edited February 20, 2015 by ChildeRolande

[ValidEmotions]

Dae lifted an eyebrow as the woman spoke, a brief chuckle rushing past his lips. "Is that so, Waltz? If you know so much then, tell me, why do I want the blade?" he challenged, smirking sweetly at Namina.

 

At Soren's request to keep his gun, Dae shrugged. If Skinner was set on remaining at the receiving end of a gun's barrel, then who was Dae to deny the man that pleasure? Leaning back in the seat, Dae-tase rubbed the underside of his jaw. "I wouldn't be too certain about that, Skinner. I've a few clues about where the prize might be thanks to a few birds around the city. Personally, I'm just here to get your hide out of trouble. Can't have you dying on me any time soon. Ya know? Got a reputation to uphold and my contractor won't be too happy if you got killed."

[shadow_claw]

All you demons are the same. You like power, therefore you hoard powerful objects. And even if you have another motive for going after the sword, you know that deep down, adding another shiny, powerful object to your dragon hoard is euphoric. Namina spoke smoothly, a slight sneer curling on her lip. She had dealt with enough demons to know they like power and like to stay powerful. Excalibur would be a good way to get stronger. I could always use Fragarach and ask if my claim is true, but...I wouldn't want to squeeze the truth from your lips. Not while our conversation is so pleasant the way it is. Her eyes sparkled at the mention of her sword. Much like Excalibur, it was rumored that its wounds couldn't be healed. It didn't have the same effects though. Blood would clot but the skin wouldn't close. If the wound wasn't what killed, it was infection. Indeed, she was a proud wielder of a revenge sword. Oh, of course, your client. Is it another fat cat? Or are you catering to the desperate again?

[padfoot]

Skinner was losing control of the situation as it careened down hill. Skinner glanced around the gloomy bar and rubbed his eyes. The sensory boost was wearing off, he couldn't see as far as he could when he came in. He snapped back into the conversation when a contractor was mentioned. What the hell as that suppose to mean? Skinner hadn't been in Nightfall for more than two months and someone was already out to get him? At least this guy didn't want to kill him...yet. "My reasoning is a little more selfish. I just don't want anyone else to have it" she said simply. The truth was that Excaliber was capable of much more that just killing anyone the wielder wants. It was capable of much more dangerous things in the wrong hands of the right person. He liked this city, he wouldn't want to see it get wiped off the face of the earth.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Elf was on high alert as her and Fette made their way towards downtown. She had stepped out of the room when Fette's interrogation methods became a bit too extreme. That's why she freaked out so much when the man reappeared with a severed hand clutched in his fist, "What the hell are we going to do with that!?!" She had demanded. Elfte, being designed as a scholar and not a solider, had a bit of a weak constitutions for blood and gore. She kept her head low as a group of magic users charged past them, heading for the coffee shop they just left. How did Fette know that was going to happen? She would have to ask him about that later.

"Elf, Can you try and contact Skinner from here?"

Elf snorted at his request, "Contact Skinner? That's harder than finding the sword on most days. No cell phones" she said with a roll of the eyes. She really needed to design something he could use for communication.

 

She was able to call the bar though. She knew the name and searched the number pretty quickly, "Can you let me speak to Luke Skinner, please. It's an emergency"

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Skinner! Luke Skinner!" the bar keep yelled from somewhere to his left, "Telephone." Skinner Held up a finger and excused himself fro the table. Hopefully Namina wouldn't rip their interrogators apart out of rage while he was gone. He took the reviver from the man and put it against his ear.

 

Elf had been very clear. They needed to leave. Skinner slid back into the booth next to Namina and smiled, "Sorry about that. Job contact" and that was all he said. He needed a plan to get out of the bar and rendezvous with Fette and Elf. Apparently they had a lead on the sword.