[Other FULL] Heart of Soul[IC](M)

The woman's bright red eyes widened and she tilted her head. "You can see me too?" she asked before apologizing for her ranting and then explaining why she did it. Katarina could understand where she was coming from so she wasn't too bothered by the ghost letting her emotions out. When nobody but one person you've been with all your life can see you, why wouldn't you express every thought you had? The ghost's companion walked out of the store after paying for his items and Katarina approached the register, setting her basket on the conveyor belt and putting a divider behind it. She listened to everything the woman said and couldn't seem to completely ignore her despite needing to cover up how 'weird' this was, occasionally looking at her and smiling. People who stood in the ghost's general direction thought Katarina to be smiling at them. They smiled back. The ghostly woman introduced herself as Luci and the man who had been with her as Aiden, then she held her hand out to Katarina. Katarina started to lift her arm up a little in response but stopped herself when the ghost withdrew hers. She probably realized that to most people, Katarina would be formally greeting the air.

The cashier raised an eyebrow. "Did you find everything alright today?" he asked. "Oh yes I did. These bananas look ripe but not too ripe. Just ripe enough. You guys have great bananas. Just great," Katarina said, smiling and feeling her heartbeat start to regulate itself. It had been racing since she first left home, but the sensation now seemed to be wearing off. The cashier scanned her items. "Oh, and Marlboro Reds please?" Katarina added. The ghost asked for her name but then told her to wait till they were done here.

After Katarina finished paying, she walked with Luci outside the store. 'Well, it's very nice to meet you, Luci! My name is Katarina, and you don't need to worry about anything, I don't mind your enthusiasm. I quite like it!" Katarina said, grinning. An old lady passed by and gave Katarina a confused glare that seemed like it was fighting hard against some form of fear. Katarina didn't notice, though, and continued. "Is Aiden still out here somewhere?" The rain that had been pouring hard earlier was now just a weaker drizzle. Despite Katarina's heartbeat slowing down, she still felt a heightened sense of warmth and believed she wouldn't need to wear the offensive yellow jacket right now. She took it off and draped it around her arm, her eyes searching for Aiden. She felt a sudden desire to light one of the cigarettes she had just bought, but then decided against it for now since it would be rude to just pull out a cig and light it in front of someone, especially a person she was meeting for the first time.

Luci pointed to a man halfway in an alley between the store and the next building, with a hood covering his head making him look a little creepy from a distance. Hearing his name Aiden looked up and pushed himself off the store's wall and stored the last of his raw ramen meal in his pocket. Walking up to Katarina, Aiden removed his hood as Luci introduced the two. "Katarina this is my brother Aiden, Aiden this is Katarina, she can see me too," chirped Luci in a cheerful voice.

Aiden didn't seem very enthusiastic to meet Katarina and looked her over with cautious eyes. "Aiden come on she isn't like everyone else… please be nice!" muttered Luci with a disappointed tone in her voice.

Aiden didn't drop his cautious nature as he said, "Nice to meet you Katarina." However he was still looking at her like she was a potential threat to him and his sister.

Luci deciding that Aiden wasn't going to warm up to Katarina on his own, Luci decided to take over the conversation again before it got any more awkward. "Sorry Aiden is a bit paranoid… kind of spent half of his life in an asylum after I died because he could see and talk to me. He doesn't trust anyone and likes to keep himself distant from others."

Aiden looked at Luci and said, "We just have to be careful… that one man would have attacked you if it wasn't for all those normal people in the store." Aiden then turned his gaze back on Katarina, "No offense Katarina, but I just can't put my trust in someone we have just met. Especially one who has the ability to see Luci, we have never encountered anyone else who could see her until now. I just don't know what to think about this new situation."

Luci seemed disheartened by Aiden's words and was afraid he would scare Katarina away. Looking over at the girl Luci's eyes pleaded for her not leave because of Aiden, who pulled his hood back over his head to deflect the rain. Meanwhile the rain just passed straight through Luci's ghost like form as she begged Katarina to not leave with her expression.

Thomas' Groceries
Alex Ganston​

"Hey, what happened?!" A voice boomed. Alex was had been wandering around the aisles aimlessly now, purposely trying to kill time from his shift. However, the raspy voice of his boss interrupted his train of thought. "I heard complaints from customers that there was a bunch of yelling going on, and one of my employees was threatening another customer!" His boss continued to yell. Alex turned to his boss, and just as he was about to speak, he was cut off. "You better not have resorted to violence! I knew I shouldn't have hired you. I should of just kicked you out of my office, and leave to die and rot in the streets. You do about a million things wrong a day, and your no good, 'gangster' friends al - "

Before his boss could finish, Alex interrupted him. "I ASKED him to leave, I didn't even touch the guy. If anyone mentioned anything about violence, it would be him. He just said he would hurt the security guard, so I told him to leave and stop making a scene." Alex snapped back. "And who you do you think you are, telling me I'm no good? I've seen you harass employees, and fooling around with - "

"Okay, okay!" His boss raised his hands in defeat, trying to shush Alex up. They both stood quiet for a few seconds before his boss walked closer to Alex, pushing him in the direction of the boss' office hidden in the back of the store.

"Listen, I was going to tell this to Dale over in the Deli, but he didn't even show up today." The man cleared his throat. "You know our competitor, Maxi's SuperStore?" Alex nodded. "Well, apparently, the head honcho over there has a meeting with a large chain grocery store. They originally came to me, but we couldn't come to an agreement, so they went to Maxi's." Alex arched an eyebrow.

"And...what do you want me to do?" Alex spoke softly. The boss looked around the empty aisles, and signalled him to lean in closer. He passed him a piece of paper, with what seemed like an address.

"Go to this house, and slash his car tires. Do it tonight. His meeting his tomorrow. If he bails, they'll come crawling back to me." Alex stepped back.

"Are you insane? I don't know what you think I used to do, but it certainly wasn't destroying property. Besides, if I get caught, I'm screwed for life." He said to his boss, getting a bit nervous.

"Don't worry, I'll take blame for it." Alex rolled his eyes. That still wouldn't have changed the fact that it was him that did the deed. "Plus, I'll pay in advance for this week, and you don't have to come to work. Plus a nice little wad of cash on top for some spending money." He didn't smile, but looked at Alex with an expressionless face. This is not happening...he's insane. Of all the weird things that happened today, this was the most bone chilling. But the sound of money made Alex think. He could pay the apartment rent to help out his mother, buy food, and on top of that, he would receive cash for leisurely activities. "So, what's it going to be? I'm not forcing you, but if you don't, we are going to make sure this conversation never happened." Alex frowned, and remained silent for a few seconds before nodding in agreement to the offer.

"Great. Consider your duties done for the next week." Alex immediately turned around, with the paper in his hand. "Oh Alex, before I forget. Don't. Mention. This. To. Anyone." Alex turned around, and saw a sinister look on his boss' face. It made Alex shiver, the way his smile grimaced, and his wrinkles began to furl. Quickly turning back around, Alex headed for the exit of the store.

~


Alex opened the door to the apartment, giving a greeting to see if anyone was home. "Hey, anyone here?!" He shouted. He waited a few minutes, taking off his shoes. No answer was heard, which was expected, as his sister was at school. However, he was at least hoping that his mother would be home. Looks like I'll be home alone for a while. He started opening cupboards, trying to find something to eat, until a brown package on the counter attracted his attention. Walking up to it, it was labelled for him. Without hesitation, he quickly grabbed a fold on the side, and ripped the top open, revealing a bunch of white paper. Digging through it, there was a small, rectangular black box. It looked nicely packaged, and in silver print, was labelled "Caster". attached to the small box was a note.

Greetings Reaper,

If you are reading this, then you have finally received the latest in Reaper technology. The Lucid introduce to you, the Caster! This handy device is capable of finding demons in any given area, as well as function as an instant messenger, voice calls, and even a totem! You'll soon find that this gadget is more than meets the eye, so without any more hesitation, please enjoy.

Truly,

The Lucid​

Alex gazed at the note. The Lucid? I didn't know they did this kind of stuff. He didn't have much knowledge on the Lucid, other than the fact that they were the governing force of all Reapers. Putting the note down, he went ahead an opened the box, flipping the lid over. It revealed a small phone-sized sheet of glass. It had rounded edges, and looked incredibly delicate, but beautiful. Taking it out of the box, he looked at the sheet of glass, turning it around, trying to observe it. After a few seconds of that, he tapped the glass with his finger, causing the front side of the glass to light up like a phone screen. "What the...?" He looked at the screen, which read 'Lucid Operating System'. There was a small loading symbol, but the screen soon changed into a black screen, with what seemed to be, five applications.

One had the logo of a circle with horns on the side and sharp red eyes, obviously stereotyping a Demon. Underneath it, read "Demon Scanner". Beside it, was another application with a speech bubble, reading 'Message' underneath. The third application had a picture of a phone, reading 'Voice Call' underneath. The fourth application had a picture of a generic man, like the kind one would find on a public restroom, except without the lower body. It read 'Profile' underneath. Alex looked a the last application, which had the silhouette of a totem pole, and read 'Totem' underneath.

Okay...this is weird. Why would they send me this? Alex just looked at the application, until he decided to click on the Profile Application. A blank screen proceeded, until a green loading symbol popped up, with Alex's full name on it. I didn't even type anything in! He got a little freaked out, looking around to see if anyone was in fact watching him, or playing a prank. He looked back at the Caster's screen, which was now showing some sort of 'profile' page. There was his name, age, date of birth, elemental affinity, as well as other crucial information. Alex scrolled own the page using his finger. This doesn't look like an ordinary info page. It has stuff not even my own mother knows about me. The page itself looked incredibly...confidential. The lettering was bright green against a black background, and the way the info was laid out almost made it seem like it would be found in some top-secret laboratory, for lack of better word.

He put the Caster down on the counter and rubbed his head, sighing slightly.

Iram Solis

Katarina's gaze followed the direction of Luci's finger as she pointed out where her brother was. Aiden was standing in an alley between the store and another building, his head covered with a hood presumably to protect his head from the rain. The man, upon noticing that they were outside the store, walked over but then removed his hood, revealing his features. Katarina smiled genuinely at Aiden, realizing that he didn't look very convinced with the prospect of being acquaintances with this random woman from a grocery checkout line. If anything, he looked like he wished he had never walked into that store in the first place. Luci immediately picked up on Aiden's uncertain feelings expressed in his eyes, and her voice sounded disappointed as she protested. "Nice to meet you Katarina," Aiden finally said, yet the way he looked at her it was clear he was ready to fight right then and there if she tried anything unpleasant. Katarina said simply, "Nice to meet you, Aiden," before Luci began to talk again to fill in the void of silence that would surely follow.

Katarina avoided interrupting the ghost and her brother as they talked back and forth. Aiden then said he wouldn't trust a stranger, especially not one who could see Luci when no one else they had encountered before going in this grocery store could. Katarina looked at the ghost woman's worried expression, as if she feared that her feelings were being hurt. Katarina shook her head. "Oh, never. Please don't worry about offending me, I understand that not everybody is a people person; especially when they've had it tough," she said, her voice lowering very slightly in volume near the end. She half regretted saying that, but she knew for sure she wouldn't be adding an I'm sorry at the end, because what good is it that she's sorry when she had no involvement? Her apology would not change a thing and it would convey a false feeling of pity. No, an I'm sorry was not appropriate. They seemed like very nice individuals and they had gone through enough for them to have to take a stranger's condescending attitude, intentional or not.

"You're very strong, the both of you," she said finally. The rain began to leave tiny dewdrops in Katarina's hair, coating it completely in white, shiny dots. "I'm going to need to get going soon, to put these groceries away before the rain gets into the bags and soaks my food. If it goes bad then I'm probably going to starve or something." Katarina laughed. "Is there any way I can contact you two again? That is, if you're okay with this?" she asked, looking at Aiden but trying not to stare him down like she was pressuring him into seeing her again if that was the opposite of what he wished to do. "Unless… you'd want to come with me? I mean, the place I live in is kind of a dump, but it can get homely once you're used to it." Katarina motioned her arm to pull up the yellow jacket after it gradually slipped out of her grip. It made a swish sound and showered thicker drops of water on Katarina's jeans.

"Aiden isn't very social that is for sure," said Luci with a grin, as a response to Katarina's people person comment. Aiden buried his face in his right hand at Luci's comment. Luci's grin disappeared when Katarina said she had to go, but when she asked about contacting them Luci's expression turned to disappointment. Then Katarina asked if they wanted to come with her, and Luci's face lit up. "You wouldn't mind?" gasped Luci with a huge smile before she continued, "That would be wonderful! It can't be worse than were Aiden has to sleep… we are um… kind of homeless." Luci seemed ashamed of her and Aiden's situation, but the invitation kept a smile on her face. "That would really be great. Thank you so much," replied Luci with a joyful smile.

Strangely Aiden didn't protest or say no. He looked uncomfortable with the idea, but at the same time the idea of sleeping in an apartment and having basic commodities at his disposal was too appealing to give up. Plus Luci was happier than he had seen her in a long time. "Thank you for the generous offer," said Aiden with an uncomfortable voice. He honestly had no idea what else to say, but what he said was close enough of a yes for Luci.

"Aiden can take those! Least he can do for such kindness," said Luci taking Katarina's groceries and handing them to Aiden, who took them without of word. Luci was smiling as she said, "Ok now let's get out of the rain! Which way to your place?" As they started walking Luci suddenly threw her arms around Katarina and said, "Thank you... you can't understand how much this means to me." Luci made it so she be touched and touched others when she hugged Katarina so her hug felt like a hug given by any normal person. Also this meant Luci started to get soaked by the rain as it landed on her instead of going through her.

Alex's Apartment
Alex Ganston​

"Breaking News! Various break-ins into homes have been reported on Heaven's Way. Police are uncertain whether they were targeted at random, or if they were pre-planned. Two people have been injured, and one dead, found in a homicide scene. Eye-witness reports say that the suspect was a tall, young male with blonde hair. Police are urging citizens to stay calm, as they already have a few suspects on their list. I'm Dominic Stratha, and you're watching H5 News. Up next - "

Alex turned off the television. Heaven's Way... A thought poked into Alex's head, as he took out a piece of paper from his pocket. Written on it, was Ross Way. The location and address of the guy that his boss wanted to screw over. He pondered for a bit, thinking over the situation. What if I get caught? Ross Way is sort of close to Heaven's Way... Suddenly, knocks at the door startled Alex. He quickly got up to see who it was, peering through the looking window. Oh great.. He thought, opening the door, revealing two young men, around Alex's age, wearing black hoodies. One had short brown hair, while the other had his head shaven.

"Hey, what's up?" The brown haired man, gave Alex a fist bump as he let himself into the apartment, while the other boy followed.

"Brent and Trey. I haven't seen you guys in a long time." Alex kept an expressionless face, looking a the two. The brown haired man known as Brent, simply smiled. "So, what do you guys want?" Alex said, trying to urge them to get out.

"Hey, why are you being rude?" Trey spoke up, looking through the cupboards for something to eat. Alex sighed, leaning against a wall. "Look, we need help. Alistair told us he needed to get rid of some guy. We just want to know if you willing to help us ride this guy." Alex just stared. Was he being serious? There was no way he would help these two fools beat some guy to a pulp. It was bad enough his boss wanted to slash some guy's tires, but now this?

"Get out. You know I don't do business with you guys anymore, and yet you still show up at my house." Alex grabbed Trey by the arms and shoved him against the wall, then pushed him in the direction of the door.

"Ow! Okay, okay! We're leaving!" Trey clutched his arm, and opened the door, while Brent followed.

"Sorry to bug you. Also, beware of Alistair." Brent said as he stepped out the door. Alex arched an eyebrow. "I'm telling you this as a friend, Alex. He said something about icing you, 'cus you owe debt to him that you're not paying off." Alex had enough. He gave an angry look to Brent, who quickly turned around and left, closing the door behind him. Alistair...as much as I don't want to see that guy, Brent may be right. As long as I lay low, and keep doing what I'm doing, I should stay out of that guy's radar. Alex ran into his room, and took out a small, blue box from underneath his bed. He flipped the lid, revealing a sharp knife with an ornate design for a handle. He looked at the clock, and decided he would go the owner of Maxi's house once it got dark enough. If all fails, I'll use Don and escape. There's no way cops would be able catch a Reaper.

Is everybody confused yet? Your favorite trio is back!

It had been a more eventful evening than Shear was used to, not counting the lack of demon hunting. He wasn't used to guests so the apartment was far from spotless, but it looked decent, no terrible stains or clothes lying around. He had decided on a relatively simple and common dinner so the odds of something that might disappoint either Kaya or Kallen's palates were low, but still went through the time to spice it all bring out the flavors nicely. Chicken breasts cooked in melted butter and assorted seasonings, steamed broccoli and cauliflower with thick cheese sauce, and mashed potatoes with gravy or more cheese sauce optional on the side.

He was now washing up after clearing out the dishes, whistling and feeling a certain sense of accomplishment after finally cooking for guests, however bland it may or may not have been.

As the Reapers dug into the meal, Rosa preoccupied herself with Kerayle and his small cat form, petting and playing with him.

She's been playing with that cat all day, Syr thought. Wish she would pet me like that.

I don't think she wants you near her, Kaya noted. You jumped her Reaper earlier and treated her feathers like a blanket.

I was just congratulating them for a job well done. And her feathers were so soft.~

Shear wanted the petting to stop. Kerayle's words from earlier had been getting to him, his soul being coddled and cuddled so affectionately by a cute young lady. Still, he persevered. He couldn't tell everyone that he was so unnerved by his soul being petted... and enjoying it.

"So, Shear, you said you've had Kerayle around since you were born." Kallen was the first to actually strike up a conversation during the dinner. "How long have you been demon-slaying?"

"Oh, well only a few years actually. I guess you could say Kerayle grew up alongside me. As a kid he was always like a kitten, then when I got a bit older he was a regular cat more or less. Then one day a... a little girl, a lost soul makes the jump to a demon right front of me, next thing I know my cat's a tiger, the demon's after me instead of the original victim and then the tiger's a sword in my hand and dead demon. How about you two?"

Kaya fidgeted and her fingers toyed with the folds of her clothes. What was she to say? She... she couldn't talk. Syr might do it... wait, no, she would definitely speak and most of it would be embellishments. She rather liked that word sometimes, one of those adult words that wasn't spoken in the old life. Anxiously, she looked around, looking for something to communicate with. She had been bad enough to leave her whiteboard at home, and her phone was not that good, at least not that these people could read it.

She shook her head instead, too nervous for words.

"Want something to write with?" Kallen asked her, practically psychic.

Kaya jumped and gave a hurried nod. Kallen pulled out a device from his pocket, a Galaxy Note, and handed it to her. The stylus popped out from the back, and instantly the phone-tablet lovechild launched a notepad app. Kaya took the stylus, debated biting it, and then decided against it, beginning to scribble on the page in slightly messy handwriting. She balanced the phone delicately on one knee, her ruined hand twinging as it held the phone. She would not say much, because Mister James had already warned her of telling things like that to someone who was not trusted by him, so she erased her words and drew two female stick figures with a line over their hands. Then she made a very weak picture of a dragon and a bush. The bush had caught fire, and a demon lingered over it. Then she put the phone on the table.

Technology was weird.

Shear dried his hands off and took a look at the phone. "Well, it's nice that you made it through whatever happened. But I suppose people don't become Reapers by not having what it takes to slay demons. Did you enjoy the food Kaya?" He would have tried to come up with something a bit better, but talking to someone who didn't speak back was a bit hard, so he chose something pleasant and easy to answer.

Kaya nodded, a tiny smile blossoming on her face and nothing more. Wyve expanded on the expression better. "Kyuryu!" He knew how she felt. She had enjoyed it a lot. If only Syr and her others weren't so much trouble to keep quiet.

"Glad to hear it." He smiled back. "So what about you Kallen?"

"Delicious," he answered, picking a cheese-covered cauliflower out to join the rest of his dinner. "I said it earlier, but we've been at this for about a year now, and I've had Rosa around only a little longer. I got a call from one of those Lucid guys, and—" Shear's doorbell rang. While Shear went to check, Kallen's phone vibrated on the table.

When Shear opened his door he noticed a package in front of it, somehow it was addressed to him and Kaya and Kallen. He picked up the box and called out while he carried it in to set it on his coffee table. "You guys might wanna look at this; things just got eerie."

Shear started opening the package, and Kallen read off the e-mail he got.

"Greetings Reaper,

If you are reading this, then you have finally received the latest in Reaper technology. The Lucid introduce to you, the Caster! This handy device is capable of finding demons in any given area, as well as function as an instant messenger, voice communicator, and even a totem! You'll soon find that this gadget is more than meets the eye, so without any more hesitation, please enjoy.

Truly,

The Lucid"

Shear read a note in the box that said the exact same thing out loud to Kaya before pulling out what looked like three pieces of deliberately shaped glass. "So the Lucid can keep track of when people are in my home... that's... Worse than the NSA. comforting. Looks like there's one for each of us." He handed one to Kallen and one to Kaya before fiddling with his. "Apps and everything, huh? Well I guess finding demons will be a bit easier."

"Doesn't look like it connects to regular cell towers," Kallen added. "Probably can't replace a real phone. They must just be connected to other Casters." He opened the demon tracking app, and while no red-marked results came up, two conveniently-colored blue dots appeared within his immediate vicinity on the radar-style display. Apparently they could keep track of other Casters, too.

Well, that's not very exciting, Syr griped. Kaya ignored her, fiddling with the Caster with one thumb. A few moments of toying with it had gotten both Kallen and Shear's Casters registered with hers, and vice versa. Convenient. Syr brightened up, herself, ignoring the Casters and that she could keep tabs on her new friends wherever they were. She had reached a revelation. Taking hold for just a moment, Syr whispered to Wyve, and the latter quickly joined Kerayle in Rosa's arms.

Kaya blinked a second later, and just simply decided not to question it. Syren was happy (and no one was hurt or otherwise violated) and that really was enough for her.

Katarine, Aiden, and Luci​

Katarina smiled back at Luci as she expressed her joy at being invited over her place. She hoped Luci wouldn't be too disappointed with the apartment, as it wasn't exactly a nice place. It wasn't ugly per se, but it was not very adorned with furniture, photos, or anything else, really. Sort of empty save for chairs, a sofa, a bed, and some tables. The entire apartment was carpeted yet cold, and the smell of smoke stuck to it like a baby's thumb in its mouth. Katarina was saddened at Luci's comment about them being homeless, but didn't want to talk about it because she was worried about making them feel bad. Aiden thanked Katarina as well, yet he looked uncomfortable with the idea of going to her home. Katarina suspected he felt like they were being a burden on her, but that was the last thing they were.

Oh well, Katarina was going to make sure they both slept under a roof at least tonight. There was a chance the rain would get even stronger come nighttime. Luci took Katarina's groceries and gave them to Aiden. As they began walking, Luci made herself take on a physical form and hugged Katarina, thanking her for the gesture. Katarina hugged her back. "No problem! Having you two as company means a lot to me too!" The hug made Katarina feel extreme warmth. It wasn't even that the ghost's solid body was warm, it was that the thankfulness and joy in it made Katarina happy enough to feel physically warm. It was a nice feeling.

Once they arrived outside of the apartment building, Katarina held the glass door open for the others and they walked into a small room with another glass door. On the left there were several buttons for the doorbells of each room, and on the door there was a keypad where you had to input a code in order to be let in if no one from inside would do it. Katarina punched in the code and opened the door, letting her acquaintances walk in before her. "The room is 610, so we need to climb up a few staircases," she said. "This building isn't very high class so it doesn't have an elevator," she said, mildly embarrassed. "Well, I wouldn't call it middle class, either," she muttered under her breath. Once they made it to the sixth floor, they walked down the hall and stopped in front of Katarina's door.

Luci smiled at Katarina and said, "It's better than sleeping under an underpass. Anyway I'm sure Aiden could use a good shower. I must say one advantage to being a ghost is that I never get dirty or smelly." Luci blushed a little bit and quickly added, "Not that Aiden is smelly… he tries his hardest to keep up with hygiene but I know it's difficult for him… Sorry Aiden!"

Aiden sighed and said, "I can sleep outside if you think I'm gross." It was hard to tell if he was joking or actually meant what he said because his voice was the same as always. The climb up the stairs wasn't hard for Aiden but he wanted to be careful with the groceries since they were not the cheap food he was used to getting. Every little bit of money was precious to Aiden and he was always careful to never be wasteful, and considering these groceries were more expensive than a month worth of his meals he treated the groceries like gold.

Katarina eyed the two packages which sat nestled next to each other over her mat. She kneeled down and looked at them, seeing that one was for her and one was for Aiden. Her eyes widened, and she straightened up before looking at both ends of the hall. Immediately she whispered. "One of these is mine, but the other is yours." She paused. "Whoever left these here somehow know you're with me. How?" Katarina suddenly found herself afraid to go into the room. She put her ear up against the door, but she heard nothing. Just the usual silence.

Hearing about the package addressed to him, Aiden got very tense. He carefully put down the groceries and started to look around the hall with scanning eyes. Luci's smile and light hearted demeanor instantly changed to a very serious one at the disturbing discovery. "I'll check inside," said Luci with a serious voice as she walked through the door.

Katarina watched Luci as she went inside, carefully listening for any unusual noises that shouldn't be there. The dead silence she had heard when she pressed her ear against the wooden door continued. In fact, it was so still that that was almost just as worrying.

Aiden's mind was racing and his body was tense as he looked for something or someone who could be watching them. Perhaps Katarina was in on this? He glanced over at her and quickly saw the fear in her eyes. She was either a great actor or she had no idea what was going on. "I don't like this, someone is watching us closely. Likely they have been for a while," whispered Aiden as he glanced at the box. He was going with the less cautious answer this time and guessing Katarina was not acting and was being watched by a mysterious force as well.

"The apartment seems safe, there is no one inside," said Luci as she stepped through the door again to rejoin Aiden and Katarina. She was still very serious looking and she eyed the boxes with caution in her eyes. "Well, at least we know we're not going to be hurt by anyone who could be hiding in there," Katarina replied.

Aiden picked up the groceries and handed them to Katarina and told her, "Go inside and get to the other side of your home… I'm going to open my package. I'm a tougher than any normal human so if something goes wrong I have a better chance of surviving." As Aiden said this Luci started to fade away until she was completely gone, Luci's soul had rejoined with Aiden's so she could better heal him if something went wrong. Luci was too focused on what was going on to think about how Katarina would react to Luci just disappearing into thin air.

Katarina tilted her head at Aiden as he said he was tougher than a "normal" human but obeyed regardless and unlocked her door, letting herself inside and shutting it behind her. She quickly placed the cold and frozen foods in the refrigerator and freezer respectively, then took the box of cigarettes and put it into her jeans pocket. She ran into the back room and opened a window, looking down into the fire escape. Nothing.

Once Katarina was inside and had time to get somewhere safe, Aiden started to slowly opened his box, using an old razor that he usually used for shaving. He cautiously pulled back the cardboard flaps, and then suddenly relaxed a little. Aiden let out a sigh of relief and Luci rematerialized behind him. "A cell phone?" asked Luci with a puzzled look. Picking up the note Aiden slowly read it as his sister took hold of the cell phone like device and started to play with it.

After reading the note Aiden knocked on the door to let Katarina know it was safe. When she opened the door Aiden showed her the note and said, "The Lucid is watching us and sent a device they call a Caster." He motioned toward Luci who was playing with the device. Aiden then asked their equally disturbed host, "Does the term Reaper mean anything to you?" When Aiden asked the question Luci looked up from the strange gift and looked to see what Katarina would say. Luci's expression showed she was uneasy with the situation, especially the term Reaper.

Katarina eyed the slim object, noting that it looked like one of those modern phones everyone seemed to have, yet something about this was different. She looked up at Aiden and seemed to hesitate before saying, "Come inside." Once they were all inside and settled in their seats, Katarina said, "I do know about the term Reaper. That's... something I identify as." She wasn't really sure why she was admitting this, as she did not like to talk about Reapers, at all. Katarina didn't like the sound of the term as it would make people think she was the embodiment of death, so admitting that that was what she was made her uneasy.

When Katarina mentioned she was a Reaper, Aiden tensed up a little, but he made himself relax as she continued. Meanwhile Luci continued to mess with the Caster without saying anything which was odd for her.

"I almost died one time. Was at a party, and I was mistaken for someone whom someone else apparently wanted dead. They stabbed me, and I was sent to the hospital. In that very room, I saw this deer, or what looked like a deer. It was also wolf-like in appearance, and it had a long fluffy tail. I started seeing it everywhere." Katarina's necklace began to glow and fade, glow and fade repeatedly. She was aware this was happening but she tried to ignore it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her box of cigarettes. "Want a smoke?"
"No thank you," replied Aiden trying to be polite. He hoped Katarina would go ahead and satisfy her craving.

He continued to process what Katarina said, but before he could put his thoughts into words Luci spoke. The "ghost" spoke with a serious voice instead of the cheerful one she had before they discovered the packages, "Aiden I believe you are a Reaper too. Katarina's near death experience made her into a Reaper, and my death turned seems to have turned you into one."
Aiden looked back at his sister who handed him the cell phone like device and he said, "So we are reapers… huh? Guessing that has something to do with those monsters that no one else can see."
"No YOU are a Reaper, I'm not… I'm your familiar. Whatever that is supposed to mean," replied Luci with a unhappy tone. When she said the word familiar, it was as if the word was poisonous and she had to spit it out quickly.

Aiden sighed as he looked at the device and he said while shaking his head, "This is a lot fast… sorry Katarina, seems like trouble follows me and Luci where ever we go. Honestly, I do not have a good feeling about these Lucid. No idea who they are and I don't like the idea they are watching us."

Alex's Apartment
Alex Ganston​

Beep! Beep! Beep! Bee- "Smashing the 'off' button on his alarm clock, Alex jumped out of bed, rubbing his eyes. Half-asleep, he walked over to the window in his room, peering out the blinds to look outside. It's dark…and raining still. Looking back at the alarm clock, it was nearing around 7:00pm, which was just as he expected. The added rain to the night would be the perfect cover for him, in case someone would peeking around the Maxi's owner's house. Putting on a black sweater and grabbing his phone and Caster, Alex looked at the top of his dresser, noticing his knife. Grabbing it, he put in between his pants and waist, concealing with his shirt, and then walking into the living room. "Are you going somewhere?" A female voice spoke from the couch. Alex nodded.

"Yeah, mom. I'll be home late…" He took a pause, as he reached for a slice of cheesebread covered in saran wrap on the counter. "…My boss wanted me to run some errands for him." He quietly said as he headed for the door. His mother just smiled and nodded. She never really did question Alex much on what he did, but Alex figured it was because she had enough trust in him to do the right thing. Which was ironic, considering what he was about to do was anything from being considered trustworthy. Alright. Ross Way. If I remember correctly, that's gonna take some time to get to. Shouldn't be too bad though. He closed the door behind him, and hopped into the elevator, getting off at the bottom floor.

"I see you're going somewhere this evening. Remember to stay dry!" Old lady Beth greeted Alex as he got off the elevator and headed right out the door. She always did try and help out his family, such as cooking meals when his mother wasn't around, or helping out with babysitting. With a simple nod, he pushed open the golden frame doors, just in time to see the bus approaching close. He quickly jogged over to the stop, signaling the bus driver to pull over.

"Thanks." Alex said to the busdriver, walking onto the platform, putting in the change for a ticket. Ding! Grabbing the brown and white ticket, he walked to the very back of the bus, and took a seat. It's kind of empty. He thought, looking around, only to see two other people on the bus, both of who were sitting closer to the front. He settled in and got comfortable, staring out the window.

Beep! Beep! A sudden beeping noise alerted him. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his touch screen phone. Okay? It wasn't my phone. Could it be…no… He put his phone back, and reached into his other pocket, pulling out the sheet of glass known as a Caster. The screen was lit up, with a notification, similar to a text message.

"1 new notification. Sender: Bohlda"

Alex read the message, and then proceeded to open the contents of the notification.

"Greetings Reaper. I am Bohlda, your mentor for the next little bit. This message shall be brief, so please be patient, as I'm not obligated to say anymore than I have been instructed to do so. Now listen carefully. Your first task has been loaded onto your Caster. Launch the Demon Scanner application, and find the location of the red mark, tonight. What you do after reaching that location, is completely up to you, but keep in mind, you have duties as a Reaper. Remember to stay safe, and use your magic to the best of your ability. Don't bother replying to this message, as it will only be relayed back to you.

Hope to see you soon,

Boldha
Captain of 7th Squad"

"Man, what the hell?!" Alex cussed out loud, as the Caster fumbled around in his hands. He stood there looking nervously at the sheet of glass for a few seconds, before remembering what the message said. Demon Scanner?! Touching the application caused it to load up, and after a few moments a GPS-like map appeared on the screen, with a red blip and a green hovering arrow a little ways away from it. It became immediately obvious to Alex that the hovering green arrow was him and his current location, as it was moving closer to the red blip. Oh crap…what is it?! He looked out the window, but only the sight of rain hitting the glass appeared before him. "Wait a minute." He said to himself, as he looked at the screen. From previous digital map experience, he was aware that spreading your fingers could zoom in to a location. Trying it out, the red blip got bigger, and the surrounding area was visible along with street names. Ross Way, 178th… His heart dropped, as he saw the green arrow approaching the red blip, getting closer every few seconds. There was no doubt, the red blip was indeed where he was headed to fulfill the Boss' dirty deed.

~

Ross Way
Outskirts of the City
Alex Ganston​

The bus had roared off, leaving Alex stranded on the edge of town. No cars were nearby, and all that was in front of Alex, was a whole lot of grasslands and what seemed to be some sort crops. A dirt path stretched around the crops and grass, where Alex could make out some lamp posts and lights from beyond a wooded area. However, nestled far away from seemingly everything in the middle of the crops, was a random house, which Alex assumed to be some sort of farmer, or landowner.

Okay, so this Maxi's owner lives in the middle of nowhere…now I just gotta find him. Indeed this was a more rural area of town, but that just made Alex's job easier, assuming there would be no witnesses. He looked up, noticing the rain let up, now only slightly drizzling. Taking out the Caster once again, he looked and saw the red blip, a little ways away from him. First thing's first…I should find the guy's house, then see what this 'task' is all about.

"Don, get out." Alex commanded, as a small orb of blue light popped out of his watch, and formed into small, black creature with horns on his head. Don stood on all fours, gently growling, and sniffing the ground. "We're going that way. If you see anything fishy, let me know." Alex said, pointing north, and walking down the path, shifting between looking at his Caster and in front of him every few seconds.

Dahlia Randol​

An incessant beeping sound drew Dahlia away from staring at the computer screen. She dropped her pen and glanced around in confusion, trying to find the source of the noise. She didn't have anything that made a sound like that... Did she? Her eyes came to rest on the Caster, still lying on the couch; it seemed to be where the beeping was coming from. Reluctantly leaving her work behind, she rose and walked over it. After a moment of simply staring down at it, as if that would make it shut up, she picked it up and turned the screen on. Lit up on the screen was some form of notification.

"1 new notification. Sender: Bohlda"

Who was Bohlda? She'd never heard of them. Another Reaper, maybe, or someone from the Lucid? She opened up the message and read over it. A frown had formed on her face and in deepened the more she read. Finally, she tossed the device down again. Really, now they thought she needed a mentor?! And a mission tonight of all nights, when she had commissions to finish before morning! This had better be worth her while.

Dahlia swung her now dry coat on then picked the Caster back up. She opened the Demon Scanner application, as the message had instructed, and waited for it to load. When it did, she noted the blinking red dot that was probably her target and the green arrow that likely showed her current location. The target seemed to be pretty far out there... wherever there was. She zoomed in on the red dot and red the address. Yeah, that could take awhile to get to, especially if she took the bus... She did have a car, but she hadn't used it in quite sometime as her work didn't really require her to leave the house very often and it seemed a waste of money to drive it the short ways to the grocery store.

Stuffing the Caster in her purse, she grabbed an umbrella from next to the door then went out into the rain. She hurried down the sidewalk to where her car was parked and entered it as quickly as possible to get out of the downpour. With a quiet roar and a flash of the headlights, the small white car came to life and squeaked out of the lot and onto the busy road. She drove as fast as legal law and the weather would allow. The Caster lay turned on next to her so she could watch her progress and make sure she was going the right way.

By the time she was finally nearing her destination, the rain had slowed to a soft drizzle that misted over her windows. The Demon Scanner had lead her to some rural part of town with dirt roads and growing crops on every side. She screeched to a halt when the Caster showed the red blip to be directly off to the side of the road. She peered out of the foggy window of her car and saw nothing except more fields and a single house. Well, at least this meant there wouldn't be any normal people around to see any Reaper stuff she might have to do.

Dahlia rolled her car forwards a little more so it was off to the side of the road then shut it off. Stepping out into the cold drizzle, she spread her umbrella out above her to hold it off. "Fallin, come on out. We've got work to do." The Familiar immediately came into being next to her, not bothered by the rain. Fallin looked up at her with his large eyes questioningly. Dahlia was about to motion him in the direction they were going, when she noticed a shadow moving down the dirt path to the house. She squinted through the rain, trying to get a better look at it. It seemed to be human, but she couldn't make out who it was or what they looked like from where she was. After another moment of staring, she noticed there was something else moving alongside it, something small. "Come on," she muttered to Fallin and moved cautiously along behind the other person.

Ross Way
Outskirts of the City
Alex Ganston​

With the Caster in his pocket, Alex didn't bother taking a look at it, as his eyes were locked in sight to where he wanted to go. He looked down at Don, who was trotting on all fours beside him, looking straight ahead. This is stupid…I can't believe I'm actually going through with this. I mean, what if this guy's a pyscho? He pondered. The doubts that were sitting mindlessly in the back of his head started to surface, and it was taking its toll on him. A small pain in his gut, along with the feeling of needing to use the washroom, came to him for a few brief moments. I have to snap out of it. I'm here, so I may as well just do it. He eventually came to a small lamp post, that was situated near some trees, that illuminated the path a bit. The path was more than wide enough for a car to fit through, and it split into two paths. One of the paths winded, and led into a forested area, while the other led straight where various driveways and houses could be seen down the path.

"Alright, which way?" He muttered to himself, with Don now sitting next to Alex's legs. Taking out the Caster from his pocket, he tried to see were the red blip was located. Alright. The red dot is near the guy's house, so it makes sense I just follow that dot. He looked into the forest where the path led. It was dark and dreary, and to Alex, it gave off an ominous vibe. He took one more look at his Caster before continuing, noticing a blue blip near him. What the…a blue blip?! His heart stopped for a moment. It couldn't be a demon, could it? He slowly turned his head behind him, looking past the lamp post. He stared blankly for a few moments, but it was pointless, as all he could see was darkness. That Boldha guy said that the red blip was my task…it would make sense it would be a Demon. But the blue blip… He quickly turned his head to the forest, thinking of hiding, but the thought of diving into wet foliage prevented him springing into action. Sh*t! There's someone following me, and I'm screwed! He turned his head in various directions trying to think of something to do, until he saw Don. His familiar turned his head, confused as to what Alex wanted him to do. I could tell Don to check it out…but I don't want to be left alone. In fear of what may be following him, Alex took a few steps back towards some trees and bushes, with Don following. He took a deep breath, and stood in fear, while also readying himself in case it was a stalker.

Katarina​

"No thank you," Aiden politely declined. "Ah. I'll be helping myself, then, if you don't mind," Katarina said to him. She would have opened a window to allow more air to circulate through and dilute the smoke smell, but that would make the apartment room much too cold and that was arguably worse. She opened the box, took out a cigarette and put the filter in her mouth. She looked at the box intently as she did this as if she were focusing on shaping a figurine out of marble. Immediately after, her eyes flickered back up and looked at Luci as she spoke.

"Aiden I believe you're a reaper too," Luci began, discussing her speculations. Katarina pulled out a lighter from her jean pocket and lit her cigarette, inhaling and then exhaling the smoke. She watched the two guests attentively as they exchanged words. So, Luci was his familiar. Katarina was surprised at this, since her own familiar was nothing like this ghost woman. They were vastly different from each other in appearance, manner, and their form of communication. "This is a lot fast… sorry Katarina, seems like trouble follows me and Luci where ever we go. Honestly, I do not have a good feeling about these Lucid. No idea who they are and I don't like the idea they are watching us," Aiden said with a sigh.

"Oh, don't blame yourselves. Really, this was bound to happen to me at some point. You're not a burden even if you see yourself that way," Katarina said, looking at her own unopened package which contained the new device. She hadn't been so eager to open it before because she already knew what'd be in it after Aiden opened his, but since they were all settled and calm she decided to unbox it. "I'm going to open mine and then I'll make something for us to eat," she said, taking the package with her to the kitchen. Katarina held her cigarette between her lips and pulled out a knife from her kitchen drawer, then opened the package with it carefully. She removed the device, turned it on, then pressed a button to make it go into sleep mode. Katarina hadn't even bothered to read the welcome message it gave her. It would have been better if she did, because she would probably miss some features. She put the device down on the counter.

Katarina went to the fridge and pulled out two bags of frozen brown rice, cut off a small part of a corner on each, then put them into the microwave to heat up. "I hope you guys like rice and vegetables because that's practically what I have every week," she called over to them. Suddenly, she heard overly merry music playing, similar sounding to the default ringtone you'd hear from an Apple phone. It was the device she had just gotten, no other thing it could be. She turned and walked to the cheerful little gadget, tapping the screen to have it light up and display the notification that inspired its call. The message appeared across the screen, and Katarina read it in a low whisper.

She looked up toward the door to the living room where Aiden and Luci were, then looked back down at the 'phone'. They'd probably get the same message. If not, what was this about? She opened the app the message had requested her to and then looked at the map where the red dot pin pointed where she needed to be. There was another dot, and upon zooming in she realized that was her current location. Well, then. This thing has tracking? It was one thing for the sender to just know where she lived by watching her, but the thing they sent was practically a sophisticated tracking device with communication and messaging only added in as bonuses to not appear as shady. This time they would know her every move all the time, as long as she carried this. The microwave beeped loudly three times to announce the completion of the cooked rice. Katarina looked back at the door again but said nothing. Well, she was going to go to the location it said to, no doubt about it. If someone was going to send her mysterious messages and follow her around, she would have to ask them why they thought she was so damn awesome that they had to watch her so much. If Luci and Aiden refused to go, she'd let them stay here and she'd go alone. You don't scare me. If you need a confrontation, I'll give you one.

As fun as the cuddlefest was it (and the boring 'adult' conversation Shear and Kallen were having like normal people) were mercilessly interrupted when the three casters began beeping all at once. While the reapers moved to check their enigmatic new devices Shear grumbled. "Why am I not surprised? They had to get us to go do something I bet." There was a little blinking icon and when he touched it the words "1 new notification. Sender: Bohlda" appeared. What he saw when he opened the message made him scowl and he hefted the caster as if to throw it against the wall before common sense stopped him.

"I feel like a bastard who just got a call from dear old papa asking for a favor... It's a little late for the Lucid to act like I have anything to do with them. I'm guessing they want you guys to go do something too right? There seems to be a recurring theme today."

"Looks like there's a demon not too far from here," Kallen added as he played with his own new slab of glass. Messing with the Demon Scanner's few settings, Kallen pulled up a satellite-like map to go with the radar. "Just outside the city. Must be pretty big if they're putting all of us on it."

"I guess I'd like my soul slowly draining away even less than I like the Lucid, so we better go do something about it. I'm sorry to say none of those cars parked outside were mine; it's slow going saving up to get one so far."

And that's the story of how Kaya rode on the wing-cloaked Kallen's back across the rooftops, while Shear took the bus. Sadly, someone riding a white tiger across rooftops couldn't be misconstrued for a movie being filmed very easily. (Or could it? Maybe he could be considered an eccentric rich person. :D Or he's just invisible or something whenever he goes Reaper Mode whatever BUS RIDE AHOY!)

When they all met up a short distance from the bus stop closest to the caster's destination Shear had the hood on his favorite jacket up and handed Kallen an umbrella for Kaya, the former covering his face with his own hood. "At least it's out of the way, we can be a bit more free with our actions."

"Not like normal people see much anyways."

"They might see us flailing around like weirdos... then again I've never heard anyone freak out after I killed a demon, maybe we turn invisible to them as well when we fight, or they lose their memories somehow." After his momentary rumination he noticed something out of place, a car was parked off to the side of the road and not one meant for driving around such a rural area. "You reckon it's very likely some normal person might be visiting over here while it's dark and wet? After today nothing feels coincidental to me."

Kaya took the umbrella, running her fingers along the handle. Syr made a curious noise as Kaya slid away from Kallen without a word, though obviously disappointed at having to let go. Too close for too long was not okay, even Syr knew the time limit depended highly on the paycheck, but she could feel something from the area. It was faint, but Wyve was breathing smoke and that was not a nice thing for Wyve, what if someone thought there was a fire?

Staring at the caster's screen once again Shear pointed towards a group of houses in various states of condition. "Looks like the demon we're after is somewhere over there. I'll go first, I can see really well in the dark. Kaya, if you get scared just hide behind Kallen, I'm sure he won't let anything happen to you." He only really took a few more steps of his long stride before he stopped, the caster's screen now showed two other blue dots a ways ahead of them. The other dots didn't have names like Kaya and Kallen's did after syncing up their casters.

"How big is this thing? Five? Five reapers after one demon?" There were probably more coming, too. Just how many Reapers were in this city? He shook his head before continuing on. He felt lonely; Kerayle would never come out unless it was in his weapon form while it was raining on them.

In the meantime, Kallen took a look at the other Casters in the area, keeping track of them through his own.

When they seemed fairly close to the anonymous blue dots Shear peeked around the corner of a fence and saw some woman creeping along the dirt path beside one of the houses, he could tell she took good care of herself from there but there was no time for patronizing his baser instincts. He was having a really hard time thinking of how to get the woman's attention without scaring her or looking like as much of a stalker as she did right then.

Finally he decided their way to be completely unsuspicious and simply moved a bit closer until he was a good 10 feet away from her and spoke just loud enough to be heard over the rain. "Hey! You, do you just so happen to be here because of some jerk named Bohlda?" He held up the caster hoping that when she turned around it would help her register his question quicker, before she did anything hasty like attacking him.

When Shear moved, without much thought, Kaya grabbed at Kallen's wrist. She had no idea why she had done this, but it was probably because a scary thing might happen and when scary things happened she was supposed to find Mister James and stay near him, but he was... way far away now (not dead!) so this person would be the next best thing, she guessed. At least Syr wasn't getting involved, and Kallen just flashed her a warm smile before he went back to watching his Caster. Though Fie was certainly wondering what the pitter-patter (rain) was doing. Kaya liked Fie. Fie thought in sounds and colors where a lot of the others tried words that made no sense most of the time.

Also, Fie had that luxury that meant she couldn't speak. So she could cling to Kallen and have no worry about secret spilling or plan breaking.

Dahlia Randol​

Dahlia continued walking even as the person she was following looked about them in a confused panic. They seemed to have notice she was following them, though if they didn't even see her, she wasn't sure how... 'Wait, what's that he has in his hand?' she wondered. As she go closer, she saw that the object was a Caster. So, he was a Reaper too. Something on the Caster seemed to be what had set off his panic, so she turned to look at hers. There on the map was another dot, this one blue in color, exactly where the man was standing with what she guessed was his Familiar. Dahlia's eyes narrowed as she noticed a number of other blue dots coming closer, one in particular coming nearer and nearer to her. She didn't need the small noise of warning from Fallin to know there was someone behind her now, and turned when she heard them speak.

"Hey! You, do you just so happen to be here because of some jerk named Bohlda?"

"If you're looking for Boldha," came another voice, "we may not have to wait long. He may have summoned others to this place and is simply waiting for everyone to be here."

Dahlia turned her head toward the new arrival. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the night enough to see him clearly, but when she could she recognized him and his scorpion Familiar from the grocery store. "And what makes you think he'd bother coming out to join us?" she questioned scathingly. "It didn't say anything about that in the message. It wouldn't surprise me if we were left to deal with... whatever it is we're here to deal with on our own." And she'd much prefer it that way, thank you very much. She hadn't been expecting to join up with a bunch of other Reapers and the fact that she had to work with others this time around was already irritating her enough without the "Squad Leader" there as well.

She jerked her thumb back at the man standing under the light post, the one she had been following only a few minutes ago. "I'm guessing he's a Reaper as well, if the Caster and little critter next to him is anything to go by."

Dahlia just really hoped no one asked for names. It would be much easier to unravel herself from this little group if they didn't know of a name to use to call upon her.