screaming children || lu :: doc

[Lady_Lunevis]

"All passengers to Gate 21. All passengers to Gate 21. Thank you for riding Air France."

 

Lucianne walked from the plane with ease, her blonde hair sweeping her shoulders as the female took a look around. She was dressed in the gear of all classic CCG agents; a heavy white coat draped her shoulders, and within her hands she clutched a briefcase at her side. She could hear whispers all around, hidden glances stolen her way at the image of a CCG agent standing alone in an airport. The fact that she couldn't understand the native language unnerved her to ends, and Luci was very uncomfortable with not being able to assess her surroundings.

 

She made her way to the luggage line, shouldering past all with a stony expression. Burdened by the glances that swept her way, she picked up her luggage--a simple, small black suitcase; she had no need for excess when she was always on the move, anyways--and made her way towards the exit by following the faint red arrows painted on the tiled ground and what little English she could understand.

 

Granted, she had sent Indigo a message today, just as her flight took off, but she hadn't received a reply. No matter--she would show up at the translator's house. He was bound to show up sooner or later, after all.

 

It was nighttime when she stepped into the clearing, and a faint wind blew past her and her belongings, rustling her coat. Lucianne buried her face deeper into her collar, sharp blue eyes watching the disappearing crowd quickly. Which way was his residence? She knew the address, but did not have a clear idea.

 

Oh well. If all else came to fail, she could sleep at headquarters. She was a CCG agent, after all, and they did not back down.

 

She was just making her way down an unfamiliar road when she heard a bloodcurdling scream. The blonde instantly spun around on her heels, senses heightened as she felt her briefcase. Her thin fingers toyed with the mechanism that would release her weapon, and Lucianne felt her entire body stand on guard. A ghoul . . . ?

 

Another scream came, this time closer than she expected, and Lucianne narrowed her eyes. Immediately, she took off running in the direction of the cries, flinging herself through the undergrowth.

 

England's ghoul situation must be dire, if such an attack occurred just as she had arrived. She followed the sounds of a struggle into the open area of a back alleyway, eyes widening as she caught sight of what was obviously a ghoul--kagune drawn and blazing, an expression of extreme hunger etched on their features--facing a younger girl, who seemed to be in pain with her eyes stretched to the whites.

 

Immediately, Lucianne clicked the dials on her briefcase, and from that sprung a giant double-bladed battle axe, glowing red with lighter veins coursing through the weapon. She spun it around, slamming the weapon's flat end into the ground.

 

"This is the CCG," she addressed, grimacing at the fact she could only communicate in her native language, French. Still, she supposed the white clothes and quinque gave it away enough. "Give up your attempt and come quietly." Even as she spoke, the female's eyes narrowed. Ghouls were one and the same--all violent, bloodthirsty creatures, and she knew before the words had even left her mouth that such scum would not depart peacefully.

[HomeForFlowers]

He had stayed out for far longer than he had initially anticipated but it was worth it. Indigo had been called over to help some of clients of his settle into their new home. It was a family of ghouls: a mother, father, and a little girl no older than six. They had been in England for four months and had not experienced any problems until recently. The father got into a brawl with a CCG investigator who had been a close friend of the family. Apparently, the family didn’t realize that the had befriended a CCG agent nor did the investigator realize she was inside a ghoul’s home. Someone sent a noise complaint after hearing the father take care off investigator. The family couldn’t whip up a good excuse as to why there was suddenly so much blood in the apartment and, with CCG suspicious about their missing agent, the family had to flee.

 

Indigo was tasked with finding the family a new home and covering their tracks so the CCG couldn’t get to them. The entire process took around a month but it had finally paid off. Indigo visited the family in their new home on the other side of the country as a sort of final farewell. The little girl had scribbled a small drawing with bright crayon and had given it to Indigo. The picture was that of the entire family smiling and holding hands with Indigo standing on the side smiling as well. The adorable gift was the highlight of Indigo’s day and he promised the girl to keep it safe in his possession. Even now as he walked under the ominous streetlights, there was a bounce in his walk as he pondered where he should tape the picture up in his room.

 

A horrified shriek caught Indigo’s attention. He stopped where he stood and warily glanced down the nearby alleyway. Normally, Indigo would just keep walking. Ghouls had to eat and there was no reason for him to stop someone from enjoying a late meal. What made Indigo stop and peer into the darkness of the alleyway was the nature of the scream. The frightened wail was that of a young girl, a child no older than twelve at the most. Ghouls couldn’t be picky with their meals. Their live was an eternal cycle of throwing themselves into danger in order to survive. And yet, Indigo could not stomach the thought of a ghoul standing over the young girl, tearing her from limb to limb. Perhaps he was just too soft. Perhaps the fact that his thoughts kept drifting back to the young ghoul girl smiling up at him with the biggest grin she could manage made him sympathetic. Either way, it didn’t matter. Softly cursing himself under his breath, Indigo pulled on the backpack strap slung over his shoulder and marched down the alleyway.

 

It didn’t take too long for Indigo to reach the end of the alleway. There were two ghouls advancing towards upon a young girl who was backing onto a wall. Both of the ghouls had their kagune out, a ukaku and a koukaku respectively. The ukaku took the shape of a large spiky wing protracting from the left shoulder while the koukaku appeared to be twirl around the ghoul’s right arm and end in a fine point. There was already blood on the ukaku ghoul’s mouth, most likely a result from biting down on the girl’s now bloody shoulder. Just as Indigo had thought, the human was incredibly young. She looked like a pre-teen and, judging by the tattered backpack that had been thrown to the side, she had been walking home after some sort of club or school event. The ghouls must have signaled her before chasing her down the alleyway. There didn’t appear to be any CCG officers in the area, but even if there were, they wouldn’t be able to help the girl unless the showed up immediately.

 

As Indigo walked towards the ghouls, wondering if he could lure them away from the girl, he was hit by a sudden realization. He knew these ghouls. He had helped them escape the CCG and set up a home on the other side of the country. Why had the traveled so far away from their original home? Had he CCG caught up with them? What on earth could drive them so far away from their safe haven?

 

“Ayers, Latanya!” Indigo yelled as he moved within eyesight of the the ghouls. The siblings spun around and stared at Indigo with wide confused eyes. “Your home is up north. Why are you two down here?” The siblings glanced at one another with knowing eyes. The girl was temporarily forgotten as Ayers lowered his wing-like kagune and turned to face Indigo.

“Got caught,” he said simply as quickly licked his lips. “Needed food, figured we’d come up here.”

“Surely you could have found food where you were,” Indigo protested with a forced chuckle. Ayers hand twitched and Latanya’s eyes kept drifting back to the shivering girl behind her. They hadn’t eaten in awhile. It was clear they were getting annoyed with Indigo’s interruption. His heart sank as he realized he wouldn’t be able to talk them out of attacking the girl. They were too anxious, too scared, too hungry to listen. Indigo knew that feeling well. He had spent many days wandering the streets with nothing but his desire to survive fueling him to move forward. The siblings were in the same position and although Indigo could sympathize with them, the girl’s trembling lips and haggard breaths propelled him forward.

 

“I’m not a very picky eater,” Indigo said as he took a defiant step forward. “but that girl is rather young, isn’t she? Why not let her go and find something else to eat.”

“You would deny us a meal?” Latanya growled as he glared at Indigo. “You don’t have the right.”

“I get that you’re hungry, but there are others meals you can have,” Indigo said as he took yet another step forward. “There’s no need to prey on children.” Latanya let out a shrill giggle that send shivers down Indigo’s spine.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s young or not,” Latanya spat. “She’s food. That’s all humans are, our enemies and our food. Nothing more, nothing less.” Indigo bit his lip and stared at the siblings silently. They weren’t going to back down but neither was he. The three glared at each other, all waiting for the first move. Indigo, desperate for something to say, opened his mouth but he was silenced before the first word came out.

 

Latanya, with blinding speed, slammed into Indigo and shoved him against a wall in a shadowy corner of the alley. The breath was knocked out of him and he let out a gasp for air. Latanya slammed her arm across Indigo’s neck and held him in place. A loud grunt emitted from his throat as he felt Latanya’s arm press down upon him. Out of the corner of his eye, Indigo saw Ayers stare at his sister briefly before advancing upon the girl. She let out a horrified shriek and pressed herself against the nearest wall.

“Stay away from her!” Indigo yelled as he tried to squirm out of Latanya’s grasp. Hissing, Latanya grabbed Indigo by his hair and slammed his head into the wall. Sharp pain exploded in his head as it collided with the concrete wall. His vision began to swarm and he gritted his teeth as the pain began to drift down his neck. God, he didn’t want to hurt the siblings, he really didn’t, but the weren’t listening. If things kept going as they were, then he’d have to-

 

The scent of another human drifted into Indigo’s nostrils.

A CGG officer?

The siblings obviously noticed the newcomer as well as they both turned to look in the direction of the new smell. Though his vision was blurry, Indigo glanced over at the new human to see just who had arrived. A mix between joy and terror filled Indigo’s heart as he realized who the newcomer was.

“Lucian- ack!” Indigo tried to call his old associate’s name but was caught off by Latanya burying her teeth into his shoulder. Sharp pain flashed through Indigo’s arm as he ghoul sunk her teeth in. He let out a shaky breath as he felt Latanya’s fingers tightened around his hair. He could skewer her with his kagune easily, but with the arrival of Lucianne, that was out of the question. She’d cut him down in a heartbeat. He could only hope her skills had not faded in the few months he had been apart. Ayers, who had noticed the arrival of the CCG investigator, turned away from and ran towards Lucianne with his kagune heading straight for her. Silently praying for Lucianne’s survival, Indigo struggled underneath Latanya’s unwavering grasp.

[Lady_Lunevis]

Lucianne narrowed her eyes as she assessed the situation--it was worse than she thought. There were two ghouls--an ukaku and a koukaku, she found, and filtered that information into the back of her mind for later--who seemed to have cornered a young girl. As she arrived on scene, the ukaku ghoul had the girl backed into a corner, his kagune protruding from his shoulder and glowing violently scarlet. The koukaku, to her surprise, had another person pinned to a wall, and Lucianne grimaced. If she wanted to fight off the ukaku and prevent the koukaku from eating whoever was trapped underneath her, then she would have to act fast.

 

The human stuck behind the ghoul had screamed something come her arrival, but it was too faint and cut off all too quickly for Lucianne to acknowledge. No matter--she would end this quickly enough.

 

The ukaku, upon realising her intrusion, snarled and dashed at her. This was nothing new--she understood she would be heading into battle from the start. Evading to the side, Lucianne used her momentum to spin around and raise Hyperion, her quinque. She was at a disadvantage here--her quinque was large and heavy, more suited to powerful strikes than fast combat. As for an ukaku ...

 

They attacked fast, but that just meant she had to wear the ghoul out. By the looks of it, he hadn't eaten yet, and there was wild lust in his eyes. Driven by pure hunger, then? A ghoul was at their strongest then. Lucianne scanned the area before realising that the girl was watching with big, tear-filled eyes, and the other human was struggling underneath the koukaku.

 

Well.

 

She spun her weapon around, evading another attack from the ghoul. No words were exchanged, and there was no need--why would one talk to a ghoul? What would there be to say?

This wasn't working. She gritted her teeth, knowing the situation grew worse for the moment--the girl's shoulder was still bleeding, and she herself looked as if she might faint any second now. She had to end this quickly, for there would be no other way to call for backup otherwise.

 

The ukaku ghoul drew back, his pupils frighteningly red in a sea of black. He glared at her with all the hatred she found so common in all the ghouls she had faced--were they capable of any other emotion, really? And raised his kagune.

 

Her eyes widened, but she realised too late. His kagune crystalized, and it sent a shower of sharp spikes towards her being.

She raised her arm and quinque, covering her vitals where she could. The kagune spikes sliced at her body, leaving small gashes, but nothing too important was damaged as the pieces cracked upon meeting the sturdy material of her blade.

 

She grimaced. The ghoul was already charging up another attack, and she readied herself. This wasn't working--she couldn't continue to be on the defense without a chance at offense.

 

She raised her blade just as the ghoul dashed at her--ha. He aimed straight for her chest, perhaps to slice through her heart with his ukaku, but Lucianne intercepted at the last moment.

Just as he came within reaching distance of her, a roar in his throat, she brought the heavy weapon down. Hyperion sliced through his kagune like a hot knife through butter, and the ghoul screamed. He staggered, momentarily disorientated from the loss of his primary weapon, and just as he was trying to bring back what remained of the organ Lucianne went in for the killing blow.

 

She did not hesitate. The blade was swiped across the ghoul's throat, and he fell with a soft choke. Once finished, Lucianne stepped over the body, ignoring the remains.

 

The remaining koukaku looked behind with a horrified expression on her features, one that quickly morphed into one of rage. Lucianne only steadied her blade, ready for another encounter.

 

The ghoul drew herself from her prey, crouching in a stance that signaled she was ready to attack. Lucianne narrowed her eyes, but before the ghoul's blood-red pupils could meet her own she saw the koukaku's eyes flicker to her fallen comrade and then back again, towards Hyperion.

 

The ghoul, with one last growl, turned and ran. Lucianne would have given chase--normally, had she been with a squad, she would've been hell-bent on making sure ghouls did not get away, ever, but there were other things to take care of.

 

As soon as the ghoul had departed, the crying schoolgirl immediately launched herself at Lucianne, sobbing with heaving shoulders as she attempted to regain her breath. Lucianne, feeling awkward--she usually wasn't one for embraces--patted the girl's non-injured shoulder and murmured words under her breath. As slowly as she could, steadying the girl with a hand, she clicked Hyperion back into briefcase form and approached the figure that had been previously pinned into the wall by the koukaku ghoul.

 

"Okay?' she asked, one of the few English terms she knew, before Lucianne drew back and blinked. What the--

 

"Indigo?" she demanded. What? Memories of ghoul-hunting back in her native Quebec flew back to her, and the blonde investigator was surprised. What were the chances, of meeting her former partner on a darkened alleyway in such situations.

 

"Oh mon Dieu," she breathed, realising that Indigo--and the girl--both had bleeding injuries. She only hoped Indigo was still conscious enough to translate their way into a hospital. "Where is the hospital?" she demanded of him in French, taking care not to shake his injury. "Are you okay?"

 

She gave a nervous glance. Between him and the girl ... this is why she doesn't work in the medical field. She much rather prefers the actual fieldwork than the cleaning up afterwards.