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[Other FULL] Heart of Soul[IC](M)

Jegretis

    • 715
    Posts
    11
    Years
    • Seen Jan 31, 2023
    [PokeCommunity.com] Heart of Soul[IC](M)


    *Note: This is a re-boot of my previous RP​

    OOC STUFF:
    Spoiler:



    Alex's Apartment​
    Alex Ganston​


    …the body of the young woman was found late last night, dismembered and cut-up in a gruesome scene. The police have dubbed the man as the "Lady-Killer", as all of his victims have been females ranging from 20-30 years of age. It is unsure if these attacks were random, or if the killer has had relationships with the women, but the police department is urging people to avoid travelling late at night, and if you must, then make sure you are not alone. My name is Dominic Stratha, the Delmar newscaster, and that is all for the morning news, and – "

    Alex clicked the button on his remote, turning off the small flat screen television that sat in the center of the living room. And yet another murder…and that trash Dominic. What a scumbag. Alex never did like the newscaster. Just something about his face tipped him as shady. But besides the point. Normally, this city was fairly low on crime, but it had seemed in the past year, things were getting a bit more heated than usual. With all this talk about some guy kidnapping people, Alex was getting a little bit on edge. He pondered for a few more seconds, before getting off of the couch, and grabbing his keys on a nearby counter. "Emelia! I'll be home later! The babysitter will be here soon!" Alex shouted, voice echoing throughout the apartment, warning his sister about his absence. From another room, he heard a "Yup!", meaning his baby sister had indeed heard him. Alex took that as a sign that she understood, and hastily walked out of the door. He always hated leaving his sister alone when his mother was at work, but sadly his douche-bag of a boss didn't care the slightest bit.

    Thomas' Groceries
    Downtown
    Alex Ganston​


    "Hey! Pick up the damn pace!" A voice boomed next to Alex. He turned to his side, and saw a short bald man, wearing a blue suit and a pair of black dress shoes. Alex just looked down at his with an expressionless face. "Wipe that stupid look off of your face, and stock these." The man spoke angrily, pointing at a green basket on the edge of the checkout counter with various store items. Alex sighed and rolled his eyes, grabbing the basket. "And make sure you wash that apron, it looks like you have sh*t all over it." The boss scolded him, before finally turning around and walking to the back of the store where his office was located. Alex stood there for a few moments, resisting the urge to slap the few remaining hairs on his boss' head clean off. But no good ever comes from hitting your boss. He remembered what his therapist had told him. No matter what was the case, if he laid a hand on his boss, then it would spell 'doom' for Alex. Not only in this job, but for anything else in his future. Nobody would want to date a guy that had been charged with not one assault charge, but two? Most girls turn away without a second thought. Shaking it off, he walked over a nearby aisle and started to find the places for the respective items in the basket.
     
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    Tony & Tabor

    The buzzing of the alarm finally roused Tony out of his slumber, who lazily slammed his hand down on the button to turn it off. As he slowly sat up from the pillow, he tried to shake himself more aware of his surroundings. He sat on the edge of the bed and noticed his arm was bandaged up. His mind finally woke up enough for Tony to remember the other night, when he fought (and killed) another demon that he happened upon. The accomplishment, though, didn't go unanswered, which explained the sliced up arm. He walked into the bathroom and unwrapped his bandage, revealing that the wound was healing. Thankfully, it was only a minor wound which didn't prevent him from using it like normal. He cleaned the wound while he showered, rewrapping his arm when he dried off, and quickly got dressed before heading into the kitchen for breakfast.

    Tabor appeared in the kitchen when Tony walked in, waving a pincer in greeting. He smiled at the familiar and nodded, peering into the fridge for food, but noticed that they were running low on food. He made a mental note to run to the store after breakfast and decided to whip up a quick meal of bacon and eggs. As he was cooking, his mind was percolating with an idea. "Tabor," he asked without looking behind him, "when we finished off that demon, how many has that been for us this week?" The chittering he heard told him that he racked up 2 so far. "Really? Normally it'd be fairly difficult to find even one to meet my quota..." he responded as his bacon started sizzling. He finished cooking and dished out his meal, sitting down and quickly started eating as his mind kept on its trail of thought. He looked towards his scorpion partner, "Do you think...there's something else going on? It seems weird that we're finding more and more demons and lost souls." He listened intently to his familiar's response, which to the normal ear is nothing but noise, but Tony learned to translate quickly since he first became a reaper. "You don't know either, huh?" Tony said, taking a large bite of egg, "Well, pal, I have no idea what's happening, but I don't like it. Not one bit."

    He finished eating and washed his dishes before looking outside and noticed that it was raining. Cursing the weather, Tony grabbed a black hoodie from the closet and wore that under his vest while Tabor quickly retreated to his totem for their excursion outside. He grabbed his keys and locked up, noticing that the damp weather wasn't preventing many people from being out in it. He straddled his bike and, after cranking up the engine, drove down to the local grocery store. He parked right under the awning far enough from the door to not inconvenience anyone and quickly headed inside, grabbing a semi-dry shopping cart from their corral as he started his errand.
     
    Iram Solis - The Wild Hero

    A casual smile decorated the pale skin of Iram's face as his crystal blue eyes curiously looked over a bag of candy near the back of a local grocery store. He glanced over it before shaking his head, his smile falling slightly on his lips. Oddly enough he was in the mood for something sour, even though normally he was a health nut.

    He eye'd his choices carefully before his eyes had found a bag of sour patch kids. The smile on his face widened even more as he pulled one of his hands from the pockets of his crimson sport's jacket and gripped hold of it. He stood up, feeling the golden bracelet on his wrist clinking against his arm as he did so.

    "Lady luck is favoring me today!" He mused. "Of course I would be so lucky as to get the last one!" He jeered to himself.

    The store was running a bit slow it seemed, not too many people was walking the lanes, besides him and couple of other casual shoppers. He walked back around the stand and onto the lane leading towards the cash registers, hoping that the employees didn't mind his drenched hair leaving drips on the floor. He didn't exactly think about putting on his hoodie when he was so close to the store; it seemed a bit wasteful during the moment and now that he was inside, it seemed utterly ridiculous.

    Approaching the cashiers he noticed it was empty, so he looked around for possible employees. One man stuck out to him, he had short black hair and didn't entirely look pleased to be there. Iram walked up to him and held the sour patch kids out to him, a slight smirk on his lips as he did so. It was a bit weird to be honest, for some reason he didn't feel quite the same about the guy at the register as he did everyone else. A feeling tugged at his gut, making his smirk turn into a passionate smile. It was like the guy was something akin to him. In fact, as he thought this, he could feel the golden bracelet on his wrist jingling lightly.

    Without fear or even a shred of hesitation, Iram spoke. "The name's Iram. Okay? I-Ram. . ." He repeated, trying to burrow the enunciation into the strangers head. "And I feel like we're going to be meaningful to each other." The confidence in his voice was clear and strong. Their was no denying that he knew it was true.

    ​
     
    Last edited:
    Shear, Kallen, and Kaya: Rated S for... Syr.Yeah, that's it.

    Her hand ached.

    Not that this was a surprise or something. It tended to ache when she was sleeping; a gentle, throbbing reminder of who she was. She didn't want to move to massage it. her head was so foggy, still full of dreams and voices and half-audible sounds that were maybe memory or maybe from her own lips. She didn't know for sure.

    Kaya decided to not find out, slowly pulling herself awake. Syr hummed at the back of her mind, and that was all. Letting her know she was still there, still thinking and making note of anything that mattered.

    "Good morning, Kaya."

    She almost jumped, tried hard to keep her lips from opening in a cry, but a squeak slipped through anyway. "Good... good morning Mister James."

    His fingers threaded into her hair. "Morning? It's past noon. Wake up and go buy some eggs, will you?"

    Kaya nodded, pulling herself up by one arm. She padded sleepily to the shower. In the sink, something crooned. "Good morning, Wyve." The dragon crooned again. "Why are you in the sink?"

    Why aren't you? Syr winked at her from the mirror and Kaya looked away, turning on the shower and wincing at the noise and the pain in her hand. She sighed with bliss as the water ran down her skin. In the back of her mind, there was a gentle purring like a young cat and Kaya shook her head. Not now, Syr... please... The purring quieted mildly, just enough for Kaya to wash her hair and body. When it was done, the tiling was sweating and Wyve was holding out a towel, eyes closed as he did. Why was he so embarrassed? He had grown up with her after all.

    Quickly dressing, she brushed her ruined hand against her. Kaya almost considered smiling at the mirror but decided against it.

    Syren and the others smiled. She was just the doll to dance with.

    "I... I'll be back, daddy."

    "Don't forget your purse!" he called from his desk.

    "I didn't..."

    So close Kaya...

    Not Mister James...


    "Thank you! Sorry for the trouble, mister," a little girl told him at her mother's insistence.

    "Just make sure not to let your cat up any more trees, okay?" Kallen rubbed the child's head, the latter promptly walking off with her mother and a kitten in hand. Scratches on his fingers and palm, Kallen didn't seem to feel a thing, though it really should have stung quite a bit. He looked to the mother and child who were a long enough distance away, then to his lovely young lady companion, Rosa, and immediately gripped his hand in pain, muttering something about cats being classified as demons.

    "It's a good thing I don't turn into a knife, huh?" Hearing his familiar's terrible joke got him to chuckle, and a quick trip to a convenience store let him deal with the stinging the cat left. It didn't seem to like the idea of a stranger catching it clear out of a two-story window.

    As they left the shop, Kallen and Rosa saw a rather large shadow pass over them, and a strand of silk landed in Rosa's hair.

    "You, um... you got a little som—I'll just take that out." Kallen examined the silk, then took at look at his familiar, who was noticeably displeased with the recent turn of events.

    "Let's go," she told him, disappearing in the blink of an eye. A white, feathery cloak immediately wrapped itself around Kallen's body, and he climbed up the wall of a nearby apartment complex to get a good view. Some civilians just thought he was freerunning or something. Fads.

    "What was that thing?"

    "Spider."

    "That was a damn big spider. I like it." Kallen spotted the giant abdomen, and off they went.


    Thump! "Mf...nrt agrn thsh crf if annerring." Shear lifted his face from the carpet and got up to check the window. Sure enough when he took the morning's first look at the outside world the sun was only just rising, at the sight of it he threw his hands up. "Ugh! Why? Why do I have to wake up every day as soon as the sun rises? I'm up most of the night for christ's sake!"

    He heard a growl from a couple of feet away and harrumphed with the excuse of blowing a strand of hair out of his face. "I'm not talking to myself; you're here you stupid furball." Another growl. "Because figments of people's imaginations don't turn into swords, or gouge claw marks in the ground when they run too fast. You're the worst cat ever. You won't even let me use you as a pillow, and why will you show kids your cute form but not me?"

    Shear sniffed the air for a few moments and coughed a few times. "Oh god, is that me? Ugh who knew a little bit of demon blood could get so bad in a single night... that's it I'm never just dropping dead on the couch again in my clothes no matter how tired or sore I am." He threw his current attire into a hamper, stepped into the bathroom, and started to clean himself up. Fifteen relaxing minutes later Shear stepped back into the tiny living room in a fresh tank top and slipped on his favorite jacket, then prodded the bundle of fur on the floor with his foot. "Come on, if I can't sleep in neither can you." With one final annoyed grumble Kerayle got up and padded after Shear as he left.

    He had a quick chat with his landlord, which put a smile on his face. She was such a nice lady she actually bothered to ask if he was alright when she noticed strange occurences caused by his unofficial profession. Shear thought to himself while he walked to make sure he knew everything he needed to get, ticking off fingers as he spoke. "Okay, a new onion, some mushrooms, cheese, butter, some basil...uhh... makre sure you pay attention buddy I might need your help remembering everything when we get there." And so he wandered towards one of the markets to restock the basics and herbs and spices, after all he had to be prepared to curb his ravenous appetite.


    "Wrong way sweetie."

    Kaya just kept walking, running her fingers over her other hand as Wyve crooned. "There... there haven't been many of them," she said softly. Wyve crooned again, flapping his wings to settle at her shoulder. She heard Syr cackle and said nothing about it. "Have you found any demons yet, Wyve?" Her dragon made a negative reply and she nodded. They had only found a few this week, what with tests and work and early nights... sometimes being a college student did not seem worth it.

    We could make it worth someone's while.

    Was Syr okay? She usually was not this chatty and overly interested n the real world, preferring to fill her dreams and bother the rest of the voices that chirped up in her mind from time to time. It could just be the idea of hunting... which for some reason Syr loved.

    Kaya hated it.

    She decided to ignore all of it, stopping by an alleyway to pull out her grocery list and examine it. not much to buy... but he always wanted her to buy a treat... so very strange of him...

    "Okay, almost there." Shear muttered to himself before patting Kerayle's head, eliciting a quiet purring noise. Make sure you stay outside while I shop unless you want to go in the totem, even if nobody can see you you might knock something over, and kittens aren't allowed in stores either. The next corner he turned would take him right to the store, but just as he was passing one of the city's innumerable alleys a chill ran up his spine and he looked into the darkness. Like always he could see very well in the dark, but there was just some girl in there.

    His relief only lasted a second though, there was some dragon thing floating by the girl. "What the hell..." What is that? It doesn't feel like a demon...

    Kaya felt a tingle in her body, resonating mostly with her hand, and she looked up from the piece of paper. Wyve made a croon of alarm by her ear and let his gaze wander towards something... strange. "Kurun..." he cried and Kaya followed his gaze.

    She then let out a soft "eep!" of fear. Why... why was there a giant cat over there? DId it... did it escape from the zoo?

    "Kurun..." Wyve repeated, taking from her shoulder to go take a look.

    "W-Wyve?"

    Kerayle froze when the girl and the creature floating near her seemed to look right at him, Shear turned around for a second to see if there was something behind him they were looking at.

    The instant the dragon-kin moved Kerayle darted around the corner of the building and practically poofed into a little white kitten.

    "Kerayle what th-oh." He smiled when he saw the cute little fuzzball walk up to him and mewl softly. He picked Kerayle up and stroked his head slowly. When the dragon thing got closer Shear almost tried to grab it but just leaned closer instead, he didn't want to scare it off. "What are you?" He tried to speak softly enough that the girl wouldn't hear since she wouldn't see what he was looking at.

    Wyve looked at Shear with suspicion. The human was avoiding looking at Kaya. Good. That might alleviate danger from her for a few moments, at the very least. But what was he? That was Wyve's question! A Reaper? Please. How? Maybe he was a demon's minion... no... he was staying too still, too focused.

    "Kukurunn..." he said simply, knowing that it would probably be futile. Only Kaya knew what he was saying, and only she mattered. As long as this human didn't try to attack him, she wouldn't come any closer.

    Kaya fidged from her place and almost moved. But Wyve was avoiding her gaze, so she stayed put. If he needed her, he would say so.

    The little white tabby couldn't resist his curiosity anymore, Kerayle wriggled out of Shear's grip and climbed onto his shoulder to reach his paw out towards Wyve. Oh come on, you're not that much of a cat.

    Wyve stared at the cat. It was freaking him out but... well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Just ahd to keep Kaya safe... He let the paw rest on his head, but that was all, and he crooned again. "Kuru..."

    Kerayle recoiled when his paw made contact with Wyve and there was no resistance or attempt to move. Definitely a dragon.

    Shear raised an eyebrow. And what do you know about dragons?

    More than you.

    Shear shook his head and pulled Kerayle back into his arms, in his curiosity about the little dragon he'd almost forgotten about the girl. She seemed to just be watching, she hadn't moved at all really. "Excuse me miss, I'm sorry for just standing here like a weirdo, I just saw something that really perplexed me, I hope I didn't scare you or anything."

    Kaya blinked and then blinked a second time. There was a big man in front of her. What was he saying. Syr crooned saying something about hunger, but it didn't quite register. A man other than Mister James was in front of her, talking. A man she did not know and had never met.

    She slid one foot back, and then another.

    The man had the cat that was once a bigger cat. Who was he? What was he?

    What did he want with her?

    Wyve squeaked at her and flapped his wings to settle in front of her face. He squeaked again and Syr squirmed. What could she do now? What did she do now? A stranger, a possibly curious stranger.

    Syr curled Kaya's lips faintly, and that was all.

    How intriguing.

    What was she thinking? She didn't reply to him, but a few seconds later she smiled and it did anything but reassure him. "Uhh, what is i-" Something slammed down onto him hard, bringing him right to the ground and making Shear wish he'd just kept walking and ignored his instincts.

    Fallen on Shear was a body wrapped in sticky silk, a white cloak wrapped around him. The cloak disappeared, and a girl joined him out of thin air, helping him rip away the crap he got stuck with and stand him up.

    All in all, he looked unscathed, but falling from the sky is never good.

    Kaya blinked, and then Syr softened her smile. "Ouch... that looks like it hurt..." Her voice purred, and she licked her lips. "Mind if I take a look at you and make sure everything's in one piece...?"

    As Syr approached him, the girl spoke up and stopped her. "Hey! You're not going to put a finger on him!"

    "What?~ I was just going to ensure he was alright. That requires that I examine him... thoroughly." While the ladies began to bicker, the odd sky-falling man helped Shear stand back up.

    Shear rubbed the scrape on his chin and thanked whatever god there was that he hadn't bitten his tongue when he fell, he'd probably need a new one. "Well thanks for at least having the courtesy to help me up. So, if I may... why the hell did you just fall out of the sky onto me?"

    "We—Rosa and I; I'm Kallen, by the way—were chasing something on the rooftops. I got caught in something and couldn't clear a jump." His reply was a little frantic and hard to keep up with. "Speaking of, we gotta get back to that."

    He turned to Kaya and apologised for any interruptions, and noted that she had a cool dragon. Rosa noticed shortly after and snatched Wyve out of the air, hugging him against her chest and squealing about how cute he was as if she wasn't arguing with Syr at the moment.

    "Rosa, c'mon."

    "Right, right! Sorry!" She let Wyve go, and in an instant she was gone again, and Kallen recovered his feathery cloak. He bent down slightly and launched into the air with a push of his legs, landing up on the roof of the building behind Shear and running off again.

    "Hey! Hold on a second!" Shear shouted after Kallen as he fled. Why can't I get one straight answer about anything today...

    Syr let out a happy hum from the depths of her throat. "I like 'em," she declared to Wyve in a whisper, almost giggling. She tried to take a step forward and failed. "Ka...Kaya?" Kaya had gone silent, and as a result, was not really listening and not really moving. "Kaya?" she repeated again. Her voice dropped to a whine. "Come on... we need to go... they'll get far away, and she was cute, come on Kaya.... let me have some fun... you take all the fun away..."

    Wyve squeaked nervously.

    Kaya didn't make a sound, but Syr felt their ruined hand twitch its fingers and smiled. "Good girl... let's go. I want to play with them; especially the girl." She cleared the wall with Wyve's help and trotted after the surprise duo, humming what could have been a lullaby. (At least, it has beds in it. Not much sleeping, though.)

    "Syr," Kaya spoke up in the back of her mind, "that girl disappeared. Isn't she his familiar?" That was weird in itself. Their familiars were supposed to be manifestations of their souls. Kallen's soul was a hyperactive, protective girl? She didn't even turn into an actual weapon. Just a mantle. While Syr dismissed the potential inability to love a soul like she does a body, they did have trouble imagining what kind of freak of a Reaper Kallen was.

    "Hmm... I wonder..." she murmured with a tantalizing smile. "That makes me all the more interested in them. What kind of games could we play if she is... might not be as enjoyable for us, but anything to please, right Kaya?" Kaya didn't reply, but Syr didn't think she really had to.

    "Okay, that's it, I've had enough mystery for today!" Kerayle had already grown back to his preferred domineering size, no words were necessary between them when it counted. Kerayle took a running start at the building behind them and Shear joined in, when they got near the wall the tiger familiar jumped as high as could towards it and the reaper held onto some fur on his back. When Kerayle reached the crest of his jump Shear scrambled onto his shoulders and leaped onto the building's roof before pulling Kerayle back into his totem and quickly letting him back out to skip the climb up there.

    With that annoying bit of work out of the way Shear ran after Kaya and Kallen, determined to get some answers. He had spent his whole life seeing ghosts and ghouls, and another big chunk exorcising or killing them, but he had rarely been this confused, and it pissed him off.

    Brought to you by Sephy, Birdy, and a Fuyu
     

    Thomas' Groceries
    Alex Ganston​


    Alex cursed under his breath, stacking some snacks onto the shelf. Seriously, of all people, he always asks me. It wasn't like he was the only employee in the store, but it kind of irritated Alex how his boss wold always pick on him to do petty tasks. He could understand if it was pushing carts or something physical, but it had seemed as if the boss was cracking down on him. "The name's Iram. Okay? I-Ram. . ." A voice spoke from near Alex. "And I feel like we're going to be meaningful to each other." Alex turned to the voice and arched an eyebrow. A skinny fellow, blond-haired fellow holding up a pack of gummies was standing right in front of Alex. Great, another crack-head. Alex hesitated for a few moments, wondering what to say in response the young man's rather creepy statement.

    "Uhhhh...I highly doubt we'll be 'meaningful' to each other, Iram. Whatever that means." Alex responded, remembering to say the customers name. He kept an expressionless face, and spoke again. "And do you want me to help you with that?" Alex pointed at the bag of gummies. "I'll call someone for you, seeing as how I'm kind of in the middle of something, and if I don't finish, my boss will be on my case." Truth be told, Alex could take all the time in the world stocking the basket of items, but he kind of received an odd vibe from the young man that stood before him. Not to mention the fact hat he was quite indeed tired of cashier duty. Meaningful...what the hell does he mean by that? I swear if he tries anything funny, I'm gonna punch his lights out.
     
    Aiden and Luci Vern
    Back Alley    ​

    Aiden drove his knee into the punk's chest, while pulling the teen's body toward his attack. The boy crumbled to the ground, and Aiden ducked while spinning around to dodge a widely throw haymaker thrown by his friend. Luci sat on a nearby dumpster with a grin on her face as she watched Aiden deliver a series of powerful punches to the other kid's face. She was wearing a dark red button up shirt with a small tie and a knee long black shirt. This kid collapsed to the ground as his friend groaned in pain.

    Luci jumped off her perch and walked over to her brother looking at the two beaten up teens with an amused look, "You taught those kids a valuable lesson. I can't believe they get their kicks out of attacking complete strangers."

    Aiden shrugged and brushed some dust off his pants before leaving the alley. "I wish you would talk to me more," pouted Luci as Aiden walked toward the grocery store to get some hard earned food.
    Aiden glanced at his sister and said, "Remember no one can see you… I don't want to be locked up again. We can only talk in when no else is around." Luci sighed in response and frowned, she was knew Aiden was right. She was grateful for her brother, but her situation was frustrating and at times she wondered if her decision to stay in this world was right. It has been a challenge for both her and her brother, who was given strange gifts thanks to her decision.

    Finding a store Aiden walked inside, while Luci looked at the sign that read Thomas' Groceries. "I hope this isn't another one of those overpriced local stores, "said Luci before she followed her brother inside. She walked around the store for a bit, accidently walking through a woman's cart as she meandered around. Finding Aiden grabbing some packages of cheap ramen noodles, she walked up toward him and in a single graceful hop landed on the top shelf above him. Her weightless form sat down on some canned products as she watched her brother make the hard decision of picking from five different flavors of ramen. Swinging her legs back and forth Luci said, "That doesn't look very tasty." She stared at Aiden's small stack of canned goods and ramen.

    "Its filling and cheap," muttered Aiden in a way that made it seem like he was talking to himself.

    "You should get some candy," cheerfully chirped Luci remembering the taste of chocolate.

    "Not this time," muttered Aiden as he grabbed his selection of ramen and turned to head to the check out. Luci shook her head and stood up. Instead of walking down on the floor like a normal person she gracefully leaped from isle top to isle top. Looking down at the mortals below her Luci wondered if she and Aiden would find anyone like them who could see the monsters that others can only dream of. Someone else who could see and interact with her, or was she doomed to only being able to talk to Aiden.

    'Well there were some advantages to being this way,' thought Luci playfully as she grinned and hopped down from the isle top on to some unaware mortal's head. She hopped from one person's head to another almost like she was dancing, completely unaware that there were others who could see her in this place.
     
    Tony & Tabor (TnT...ha!)
    Grocery Store

    Tony finally felt that he had everything he needed as he went over a mental checklist and made sure of what he had. Milk, eggs, bread, cheese, frozen dinners, a couple bags of chips...even a frozen pizza or two for later. As he started back to the front, he passed by a couple of guys having a conversation. It became clear that there was something unusual about them, something he felt inside him. He chose to ignore it, however, and soon got to the front. It was there that a most perplexing sight awaited him.

    He saw a girl bouncing or dancing on other people's heads! What was more mindbending was that no one seemed to notice. Was it because she wasn't there? Again there was that feeling that something was off about all this. His mind distracted, he didn't even know that the line he was in moved until he felt the end of Tabor's tail lightly jab him in the back of the neck. Instinctively, his hand moved to his neck, motioning that his neck was stiff. He moved forward in the line, his eyes glued to this girl, until he paid for his groceries. As he walked towards the exit, he looked up at her again and gave a nod to signify her presence. He didn't feel that she was hostile, so let it go unchecked. He shook his head, not sure what to make of what happened, as he started loading his bags into the bike's saddle bags.
     
    Iram Solis

    Iram let the man speak, his blond brow raising slightly as he looked up at him with the gummies still in hand. It wasn't as if the man had been acting weird or not. . . more so that there was a innocently looking demon leaping from person to person. The girl had long black hair, and at the time was wearing what looked like school uniform. "Uh yea. . ." Iram answered distracted from the man for the moment. "Actually I won't be needing any help with these," he tossed the gummies onto the shelf the man was currently stacking on. "I'm going to show you just how meaningful we are to each other." he declared, turning to face the mischievous demon in the store.

    Whether or not other people could see her wasn't the current problem. It was the destruction that she could cause later down the road. Usually he just attacked the demons without question, wherever he may find them. Just arriving in this new city wouldn't change that, he had made it his business to rid the world of them.

    Iram turned from the working man, his side facing him. He cracked the fingers on his left hand, the golden bracelet starting to shake erratically as a dark aura raised up under him, striking out like lightening but doing no damage to the physical environment around him; only those sensitive to shadow realms would see it.

    "Hey you!" he barked, directing his voice towards the fun-having demon. "Are you evil?" He asked, pointing towards her. She may of had the shape of human but demons never had a absolute form, he had learned that much on his travels.

    Iram glanced over at the boy, a few of the customers starting to stare at him. But regardless of there stares, he was just really curious on if the man could see them or not. Either way, he would had a job to do, right?​
     
    Katarina​

    Apartment number 610 stunk of cigarette smoke and burnt rice, and the cold was ruthless. Katarina sat quietly in a corner on a hard wooden chair, with one arm hugging her knees tightly against her body. Her green and blue arm made up of ocean waves was occupied with the task of holding her cigarette, its deadly smoke swirling up toward the ceiling and adding on to the stench. She took a puff of her cigarette and released another stream of smoke from her mouth. Katarina shivered and looked around the room, which was barely furnished with two other chairs, a couch, and a table. The hairs on her exposed arms stood on end as the cold nibbled at her flesh. There must've been a blanket or a jacket in a closet in the one bedroom, but she was too afraid to uncurl out of the chair to go check.

    Her jeans were thick and in good condition, but they weren't enough to warm her up. Better than nothing, she guessed. She was overcome with a feeling of intense sadness, as if nothing in the world mattered. This wasn't usually like her, but then she realized it had been an hour; she glanced at an antique clock that tick-tocked on the wall. Katarina took another puff of her cigarette and slowly stood up, then quickly hurried once the cold intensified.

    Looking through her closet, there was a single, ugly yellow jacket that she had once found abandoned in a public park. Why are jackets so expensive? In truth, if she dropped her habits she would have enough money to buy new clothes, but that was something Katarina would never admit. Pulling on the yellow jacket, she walked to the bathroom door and pushed it open. Removing a small container from the bathroom cabinet, she opened it and poured out a small amount of a white, fine powder. She withdrew her ID from her pocket, then formed the powder into a line and crushed any visible chunks. Katarina then bent down to the counter and snorted the line, straightening up again and rubbing the side of her nose and watching her reflection. Her reflection stared back at her and within two minutes she felt the sadness quickly lift. Katarina went out the door.

    Upon arriving at the grocery store, Katarina saw a man wearing all black biker clothes loading groceries into a chopper. She took a last puff of her cigarette, gave the man a nod, then dropped it, grinding it into the cement to put it out. Katarina walked into the grocery store, her long pale hair drenched from the heavy rain outside. She picked up a basket and smiled at some employees who were moving carts at the door. The store was brightly lit and looked very clean and organized, so finding everything Katarina needed was done simply enough. As she studied a sign that displayed the price of bananas, a voice could be heard from another part of the store yelling, "Hey you! Are you evil?"

    For now, Katarina ignored it and placed the bananas in her basket. "Okay, hopefully I didn't grab too much food because then I'll be over budget and then I'll be in trouble for sure," she said, her voice stronger than her appearance would have suggested when she was a tiny coiled up worm in the corner of her icebox apartment. The green pendant around her neck glistened momentarily. Katarina looked longingly at some packages of blackberries and sighed. "Dumb heater." Katarina walked forward while still looking back at the blackberries, then turned her head forward just as she nearly bumped into someone who had a girl jump off their head. They didn't react, but Katarina flinched. "Hey," she said, stupefied.
     
    Aiden and Luci Vern
    Thomas' Groceries    ​

    Luci was shocked someone could see her and the man's "Hey you" took her off guard and she lost balance and almost fell to the floor, but she recovered enough to hop to the floor without falling on her face. Her shock was replaced by anger when he asked her if she was evil. Luci took this as him accusing her of being evil. Her face twisted with anger as she glared at the boy. "What type of question is that?!" she replied to the man.

    Luci was standing next to Aiden who was staring at the man, along with everyone else in the store, as well ready to leap into action if this stranger threatened his sister. Her anger was rising as she continued to address the man, "Do I look evil to you?" This was the first human other than Aiden to see her, and this guy just assumed she was evil. Was trying to enjoy her situation in a harmless way "evil"?

    Aiden saw Luci's emotions getting the best of her and he spoke up, "Take your craziness outside please and stop holding up the line." Luci smirked a little as a few other people joined in to chastise the man who implied she was evil. Aiden was trying to get the man to back down using the people in the store against the man. He hoped to embarrass him so he back off and just leave before a fight broke out.
     

    Thomas' Groceries
    Alex Ganston

    ​


    The young man put the gummies on the shelf and just arched an eyebrow. "Uh yea. . . I'm going to show you just how meaningful we are to each other." The young man said, turning sideways, cracking his knuckles. Alex rolled his eyes, as he watched what the fool was about to do. Alex nearly jumped, when he saw a dark aura spark around the young man. Alex tightened his grip around the basket. There was no denying it. He could now sense mana coming from the young man. Alex quickly regained composure, acting like he saw nothing. "Hey you! Are you evil?" The young man spoke, directing his attention nearby. Alex looked, and saw a harmless girl standing near the two next to a young man.

    "Do I look evil to you?" The girl said. "Take your craziness outside please and stop holding up the line." Alex looked around and saw several customers gossiping among themselves. Alex decided to take matters into his own hands. He would kick the young man out, and act like he saw nothing. That was it. Safe and simple.

    "Okay, leave now. You're pissing me off, and everyone else here." He walked closer to the young man. "If you don't leave, I'll call security to kick you out." This was the first time Alex had ever threatened to make a customer leave, but he was instructed by the boss to do so when things got out of hand.
     
    Dahlia Randol

    The brush swished across the canvas in a swirl of color, adding a splash of splendid red to the dripping eyes of the painted figure. In little bits, Dahlia added extra dabs of color throughout the painting, giving it the final touches. After another few minutes, she sat back from her work to admire it. The image depicted a emaciated man dressed in thin white cloth, his sorrowful black eyes dribbling blood as he reached out towards the viewer. It wasn't something she would sell; more of a superficial dabble to vent her mind. "What do you think, Fallin?" she bespoke the draconic creature hovering at the perimeter of her vision. He didn't make a sound as he edged carefully around the mess within the room to get a closer look.

    Scattered around her room were other pieces of art. Some were painted on a canvas, such as the one she had just completed, while others were sketched on paper, and yet others were printed out as posters. On a desk tucked away in one corner of the room was a computer with a partially completed drawing of a horse galloping through a moonlit field displayed on the screen; the tablet used for this digital piece was carefully placed between a glass of water and the crumbs of her lunch.

    Fallin stopped to her right, leaning his large hard forward to peer at the painting with large silver eyes, his blue-rimmed pupils widening slightly as he took it in. He gave a small sound as he moved back and nodded. "I agree. Not the most sightly thing ever, but it's definitely one of the best I've done," Dahlia mused.

    A loud beeping sound startled the both of them. Dahlia cursed under her breath, growling out as she passed Fallin, "Get the example pieces out, will you? I'm supposed to be meeting a potential buyer in 30 minutes." The Familiar gave a small nod as he moved off to locate the required artwork.

    Five minutes later, Dahlia was dressed in her usual pale clothing with her dark black trench coat thrown over the outfit. Under her arm she held the collection of example art snugly next to her purse. Her necklace tinkled softly against her neck, Fallin confined safely within the totem. She could have easily caught a taxi to take her to her destination, but it was only just a few blocks away and she didn't really feel like wasting the money. As it was, she got to the cafe just in time and was quickly able to find who she was looking for.

    Over a cup of reinvigorating coffee, she showed him the art she had brought with her and the two discussed the details of the work he would be commissioning her to do. In the end, both were quite satisfied when the agreement the had come to, and Dahlia left with the promise of a good sum of money in the future.

    Fallin came out to trundle along beside her, his dragon wings folded tightly to his sides while his second pair of fairy-like wings fluttered gently in the breeze. As she was walking past a grocery store she came to a halt, remembering she needed to pick up some kind of edibles otherwise she wouldn't be eating much that night. She'd been putting off shopping for as long as she could in favor of completing her painting, but she was in need of food now. Fallin returned to her necklace as Dahlia entered the store; he didn't want to accidentally run into any of the other shoppers. There wasn't really a lot of room to move around in the aisles, after all.

    They were just in time to see the small confrontation between a few of the other customers. At first, she was just going to simply pass it by; but then she noticed the girl with the red eyes. Sure, it could have simply been someone wearing contacts or something, but these almost seemed to be glowing or something. Dahlia stopped where she was at the edge of the small crowd of scolding people, her pale blue eyes narrowed. Fallin, noting how tense she had become, emerged to stand beside her once again. While his eyes were as gentle as ever, there was an underlying sharpness to them as he took note of the reason for his companion's unease. They could both tell there was something abnormal about the girl.
    ​
     
    Iram Solis and Caligo

    Throughout the store's rambunctious berating, Iram stood firm, a closed-lip smirk still placed on his face. Maybe he had gone about the whole situation wrong, he thought. He rubbed the back of his head casually, his crystal clear eyes closing as he inwardly cringed in amusement. "Aw man, wasn't expecting this outcome." He said quietly, shrugging off the few words that could had caused any damage to his ego.

    He glanced towards the man beside him, his words especially seeming, to him at least, as if they were bouncing off the crowd's reaction. Though, he was sure the guy was something akin to him; something different at the very least. Maybe he was wrong but he seriously doubted it. The whole while he was in thought Iram's eye rested solely on the man's face, scrutinizing it with an intense glare.

    A second later and his glare soften and a smile lifted his lips. He was right, he was sure of it. The guy was definitely like him. It was just a bit confusing as too why he reacted so different. Iram backed three feet away from the man. "That won't be necessary. Besides, to be honest you'd only get your security hurt. That wouldn't be pleasant for anyone." he explained carelessly.

    Then he turned to the demonic girl. He had never seen a demon act like her, though, he was sure that no one else could see her; maybe she was something like Caligo, he thought. He rubbed his head again, this time agitated. He wouldn't exactly like doing what he knew he had to do. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and walked up to the girl, his crystal clear eyes looking down at her ravenous head. "I guess I should apologize to you." he mused, his voice naive and gentle as he bowed half-heartily to apparently nothing. "Sorry, its all my bad."

    His feather-like sandy blond hair had become dry from the concentration of mana he was going to use, so she or any of the other customers didn't get wet. But, unbeknownst to Iram another entity was going to give his own greeting.

    As Iram bowed his half-hearted bow, as his eyes remained unseen and at the floor, Caligo appeared. Standing directly over Iram, in the shape of a mass of darkness and shadows, rested four orbs of blood. His jagged, serrating jaws ripped opened and let out a demonic scream. He knew that the humans, excluding the three that had deemed it necessary to embarrass Iram and a few others, would not be able to see him but he also knew that they would feel his presence in the boy.

    He raised up from his bow and smiled at the girl and crowd. "Again, sorry about that." he repeated. He started out the store and as he left he caught the gazes of three more people that felt oddly out of whack with the world.

    He staid under the extended roof of the store, eyeing the rain with dislike. "Silly rain, you're messing with my luck." he uttered to himself. He stalked off to the side, pulling his white hoodie over his head and heading out into the street. That guy from earlier was definitely like him and that girl was pretty unique too, maybe the guy standing next to her was like him too. Hell, even the girl with the yellow jacket had a certain aura about her that he couldn't shake. . .

    Then he suddenly paused, his eyes lifting in shock, and his body shivering furiously."Oh no!" He screamed. He snapped his head back towards the store, fake tears starting to swell in his eyes. "I-I," he paused for dramatic affect. "I forgot my sour patch kids!" He wailed.​
     
    Aiden and Luci Vern
    Thomas' Groceries    ​

    When Iram walked over toward Luci she stood her ground and gave him a hostile glare. He then proceeded to give Luci a half hearted apology like he was some five year old being forced to say sorry by his mother. Luci wanted to smack Iram, but she restrained herself for Aiden's sake. However before she could respond to his half ***ed apology and bow, some sort of monster appeared behind him. Luci's eyes grew big then narrowed down to a glare as she reached out for Aiden's hand, preparing to go into weapon form. However neither the monster nor the rude man attacked, but instead they turned around and walked out of the store.

    Aiden let out a small sigh of relief as the last thing he wanted to do is get in a battle in the store and get himself in a lot of trouble. However Luci had a stronger reaction to this whole event and she quickly began to express her mind by saying, "Me a demon?! Then what was that thing? Perhaps he is a demon. Of course the only other guy in the world who can see me and talk to me is a complete jerk, and likely is a demon or is possessed by one."

    As Luci ranted about this encounter Aiden walked up to the counter and handed over the few cheap items he was buying and pulled out a few wadded up bills and various coins to pay for it all. Luci wasn't giving up on her rant yet as Aiden paid, "Did you see that thing? How dare he imply I'm a demon when he has that thing living in him, and to think I've been dreaming of the day that I would have someone else to talk to. Then this happens… why do I even bother hoping to meet others who see and can talk to me. Well others as in not monsters, demons, twisted souls, or whatever you want to call them. If that jerk really was human then of course he would end up being a complete jerk. Life can be a cruel mistress to a ghost."

    Aiden wanted to settle his sister down, but he didn't want to make himself look insane especially after that one man's actions. Luci was used to speaking everything that came to her mind since Aiden was the only one who could hear her. She had gotten used to being ignored by rest of the world, and Aiden's patience allowed him to tolerate Luci's tendency to ramble. Ironically enough when Luci was alive she was a very quiet girl who kept to herself, but as a bodiless soul she didn't have any trouble saying what she was thinking… at all times.
     
    Katarina​

    Katarina watched quietly as the woman and a blue-eyed man with raven black hair exchanged words, the woman clearly very angry at the fact that she was assumed to be a demonic presence by a random customer. She didn't seem too demon-like when she had been playfully hopping on people's heads, but... humans can't hop on people's heads. Or could they? Katarina forgot. The man accompanying the woman was not amused, and seemed to try his best at getting the other man to back down and shut his mouth.

    An employee then came in and backed him up, telling the loud customer to leave or else security would be called to escort him out. Katarina wanted to say something but she knew there would be no use in adding fuel to the fire. It didn't matter what she said. No one was particularly happy at this moment in time and just her opening her mouth would warrant some eye rolls and more yelling. She said nothing and mildly tightened her grip on the handle of her basket of food.

    More people who started coming into the store began to get curious to see what was happening. Thinking about it rationally, Katarina couldn't really see why this little confrontation was garnering so much attention. No fists were flying, no profanity was being spewed - what of it? Were they more interested in the woman herself? Could they even see her? If anything, she was pretty strange… but then Katarina wasn't feeling 'normal' right about now. She never really did. The man with the long blond hair, the one who started the whole thing, played off everything that had happened and apologized, though he didn't appear to be too sincere. Then there were orbs of blood around the man.

    At this point Katarina raised her eyebrows and walked away toward the register so she could pay for her things and then leave. That thing that had appeared with the blond haired man looked more like a demon, if anything. Even if it was, Katarina wasn't about to try fighting it here. That would end with jail time and a disaster requiring clean up on aisle four. And five. And six. Katarina was standing beside the black haired man and woman. The woman was still very angry and was ranting about how cruel life was to ghosts. For a moment, Katarina's eyes wandered away and she thought she saw a dragon-like creature. Where were all of these creatures coming from? These could in no way be demons. Why were they all here in one spot? Were they like Jupiter? Katarina looked back at the woman. "I know this probably isn't going to make you feel any better, but I think you look like a very sweet ghost," she told her with a smile, not caring whether anyone around would hear her and think of her as a nut.
     

    Kallen Kaya and Shear: There may never be a way to make sparkles manly.​


    Following the massive spider-beast easily thrice his size over rooftops, the man shrouded in white was slowly catching up.

    "Kallen, they're coming after us."

    "That must make 'em Reapers, too, right?"

    "Yes." Come to think of it, people didn't really have pet dragons. During his chase, Kallen started to wonder what kind of girl had a dragon for a familiar. And the guy he fell on? He joined the party, too. What did those two have up their sleeves?

    "Well, they're gonna have to keep up; we're not letting that thing get away. Let's get goin'." Kallen lowered his hood over his face and ducked closer to the rooftops as he leapt between them. A black light trailed across Kallen's feathered cloak and faded, and he sped for the demon. He almost left a blur behind.


    With a few boosts from Kerayle here or there Shear managed to get a bit closer to that Kallen guy even after he sped up, and when he saw what he was chasing he blinked a few extra times. That's... a giant spider, I gotta admit I didn't expect to see something that specifically related to the mundane world... that explains how he got wrapped into a lump and fell on me.

    Then he saw a blob of goopy webbing fly from the spider's rear, straight for Kallen. Shear was about to warn him, but the guy already cleared it. Shear blinked again; Kallen was at least twenty feet in the air, and he just barely slipped by the goop himself. He looked at the girl, Kaya, and she was just leisurely following along with her pet dragon in tow!

    Why did I have to get wrapped up in this? he asked himself. Oh well, it's more interesting than a trip to the store. At that he skidded to a stop on the edge of another roof and lightly smacked his own cheek. THE STORE! How will I make something delicious tonight if I don't get more ingredients!?

    When he looked again, Kallen had managed to stop the spider from roaming any further. How, he did not know. Too bad (or good?) that it wasn't dead. Maybe Shear could make a spider quiche or something. At least now he had a way to vent his frustration. "Everybody out of the way! No stupid bug gets in the way of my dinner!" He held his right hand in a cylindrical shape above him and motes of light began to gather until a haft of light formed and elongated.

    "I didn't plan on shishkebab's but it'll have to do." He took a few steps forward and threw the light spear as hard as he could, the moment it left his hand the spear's magic increased the velocity from his own strength exponentially and kept its trajectory perfectly straight. The spear moved so fast that for a moment it looked almost like a bright golden laser.

    The spear struck, eliciting a screech of pain from the spider as it felt a new hole being ripped open in its body. Standing back up, the demon spit another glob of web at Shear. Kerayle manifested as if he'd been launched out of the totem and slashed waves of bright mana through the web before letting out a roar infused with a bit more mana as Shear ran in closer and leaped at the arachnid monstrosity. The roar caught the demon off guard and staggered it just long enough to make a counter attack impossible. However, some sticky spittle managed to push Shear off his aim, making the finishing strike a failure.

    It did manage to slash away a leg, though, and the spider recoiled in anger and pain. Turning its back to Kallen, the shrouded man slipped under and his cloak unfurled into a wing, throwing the spider into the air and keeping it up with a barrage of dart-like feathers.

    Shear pulled the bit of silky mess off of his pants and punched the roof. "F***ing Arthropod piece of eight legged garbage, why couldn't it have been a crab so I could cook it?" He held his hand out with the palm open and Kerayle poofed into a small mass of sparkles and flew towards the hand to form his trademark sword. Shear traced his fingertip accross the blade, leaving a pure white gleam in it's wake, and swung the sword almost straight above him. The wave of mana hit the spider demon's midsection and completely bisected it, aided in part by the feathery flurry.

    And, of course, the spider disappeared into a mass of glitter and sparkles. "Goddammit."


    Syr, who was watching the whole thing, was nothing if not impressed. Unable to control her impulses, she tackled Kallen in an attempt to congratulate him for a hunt well done. (Shear has a kitty to cuddle.)

    Kallen's wing wrapped back around him and braced him for the fall that came, along with trying to keep the crazy girl away from him. It didn't work too well, because Syr started nuzzling her cheek into the wing's feathers.

    "So fluffy," Syr sang, going so far as stroking the wing to get a good feel of Rosa's feathers.

    This went on for about a minute before Kaya flailed a little and put herself a safe distance from Kallen and his familiar. Rosa appeared by Kallen's side as his wing vanished and he stood up. She started hiding behind him!

    Kaya wanted to cry. Syr had done something really dumb again. She pushed herself back further, clamping her mouth shut because this was a bad thing, bad timing. I just wanted to get groceries, Syr, she murmured in her head. That was really all she had wanted to do. Her eyes welled with tears and fear. She was going to get it now... no. There was only one thing she could do right now... run!

    Which Kaya then did. Because now she was horribly freaked out.

    Well, she tried to run. After a few steps, that plan was interrupted by a suspicious lack of ground. She tried to pull herself back, but she'd already gone too far. Kaya started to fall. A couple feet down, she noticed that her descent didn't speed up. Instead, for the next few seconds, she was frozen in shock during a slow glide down in Kallen's arms.

    Kaya looked up at him and flushed. Beet-red. Was he going to do something to her? Was he going to demand some kind of compensation for saving her life? It was horrible just to think about. But he was a demon killer, right? A Reaper? Maybe he wasn't all bad? Hopefully?

    When Kallen let her go, all he did was smile, half of his face obscured by the hood of his sweater and locks of hair, and a massive white wing protruding from his back. "You alright?"

    Kaya nodded slowly, and Syr purred inside her brain. She almost spoke aloud but decided against it, settling instead for reaching out and hugging Wyve.

    "Sorry to interrupt the feel fest." Shear ended his silence. "But all three of us need to talk, and I'm sure you can guess what about."
     
    Tony & Tobar
    Parking Lot

    Tony watched through the window at what had transpired, from nodding and smiling to the girl who put out her cigarette that nodded to him first to the almost-fight inside due to another guy and the ghostly girl he saw earlier. He watched all this with interest, mainly because of the other creatures near them. They all seemed to be familiars or something...so does that mean there were more reapers? And were they it? Surely having this many powerful entities in one place simply couldn't be a mere coincidence. Could it?

    He was distracted by the guy who acted out first, who said that he forgot his candy inside. Shaking his head, he decided to go inside again. This time, though, he had a thought: what if having Tabor walking beside them would clue in the others about HIS role in this? He didn't really think they'd believe him if he talked to them. "Tabor," he said quietly to his partner, "I know you don't like being around other people, but I believe these to be reapers. This will be a way to let them know that we're the same, too. So please walk with me inside and back out." Begrudgingly, Tabor coalesced on his right side, chittering his nervousness. "Don't worry...everything will work out ok," he said as they both walked right back in.

    Fortunately, he remembered where the guy was standing when all this went down. He walked down the aisle and saw an item out of place. It was a bag of Sour Patch Kids. Quickly swiping the bag, he walked up to the front, but stopped at the worker that the guy talked to. He smiled and said, "Thankfully that situation got defused, huh?" He casually looked down to Tabor, glad he was still there, and got in line again. He paid for the candy and waved to the others around the ghost girl as they both walked out. Upon exiting, he went straight to the guy who started the mess and tossed the candies to him. "Here you are," he said so only he could hear, "Don't say I ever got you anything, reaper."
     

    Thomas' Groceries
    Alex Ganston

    ​

    "Aw man, wasn't expecting this outcome." The blonde-haired man said. He turned and looked at Alex giving him a rather awkward and dirty look. Alex kept an expressionless face. I swear if he doesn't turn around, he's finished. He had to mentally restrain himself from pulverizing the smartass, until he spoke again. "That won't be necessary. Besides, to be honest you'd only get your security hurt. That wouldn't be pleasant for anyone." Alex just stood there, as the young man was backing away, and then quickly left, walking towards the red-eyed girl and the guy standing next to her. Alex sighed, and turned around, not bothering to pick up the bag of gummies. This was getting too much for him. But there's no doubting it...that idiot definitely had a presence of mana. He walked around the aisles with his basket in hand, thinking about what just happened.

    "Thankfully that situation got defused, huh?" A young man spoke to Alex, to which he just nodded and smiled. He then noticed a small scorpion-like creature walking next to him. Alex quickly averted his attention away as if he didn't notice it. Obviously that monster was not a demon, otherwise it would be hostile. No...it's definitely a Familiar. The man walked past Alex, going into the previous aisle. Alex kept walking around the aisle, just thinking, until he saw the red-eyed female and her male companion. However this time, they were accompanied by a blonde, nearly white haired girl. Alex approached slightly closer, casually putting an item randomly on the shelf. He was getting a bit double-minded if he should kick them out too, seeing as how they were somewhat related to the whole 'fiasco'. He kept acting like he was looking for something on the shelf, while also keeping an eye on the group from a little ways away. If they were up to something no good, then Alex would catch them for sure. Maybe I'll get a raise... Just the very thought of that made him drool. Maybe even employee of the month... He stared blankly at the shelf in front of him, completely cut-off from the rest of the world.
     
    Iram Solis

    Iram sat on the side walk of the grocery store's entrance, his mind too full of thoughts to actually do anything else. His eyes looked blankly at the ground while raindrops rippled in the puddles in front of him. No fair, he thought. It wasn't like I was expecting a big party or anything but they could have at least let me go back in for my candy.

    Of course security had seen the whole thing, and of course they would refuse to let him back in. Now he was bummed about it all. While he mulled over his inability to get his 'sour patch kids' his thoughts wondered to the golden bracelet resting on his left wrist. He stared at the etched runes on its thick surface, the possible meanings and archaic symbols on it. He couldn't for the life of him decipher it origins, not even months of extensive research had brought up nothing conclusive. Maybe he was just another rich family's forgotten son or something. . .

    He smiled wistfully at the thought. It would make for a much better truth than the one he was sure lurking around his corner. Besides, inside that bracelet rested a beast that wanted nothing to do with him, a being that was mainly used to slay demons. No communication needed, he mused to himself; the smile turning into a smirk.

    Iram shrugged lightly as he noticed the rain slowly transition to drizzle. The light shower was nothing compared to the downpour earlier. He cracked his neck from side to side, before pulling at the legs of his khaki jeans. He couldn't deny the deep, impending sadness that was aching at him in that moment. It seemed like his ability to always be alone was still standing strong. Even among those that might know what he was going through.

    He looked over his shoulder and through the window of the store, spotting every single person that he had felt at least some kind of familiarity with. It was no wondered his sigh felt dead; lifeless. Who would be any kind of happy when they were being rejected by the world.

    "Oh well," He muttered downtrodded , bringing his crimson jacket tightly over his chest. "I've been doing it alone for this long, this is just another bump in the long road."

    He faced back towards the drizzling parking lot, not noticing the slight, faint jingle of his golden bracelet. Quickly, he trotted out into the rain to head back to his hotel room. Like always he was a loner, so that usually meant nights at a hotel. Which weren't bad, considering he always had left over money from his various. . . souvenirs.

    As he accepted the idea of being alone, for the umpteenth time, he smiled gently to himself. "I'll find the ultimate adventure one day." he reminded himself, semi-cheerful.​
     
    Aiden and Luci Vern
    Thomas' Groceries    ​


    Aiden finished paying and walked outside the store, filling the pockets he had with the few groceries he had bought. Stepping out to the curb he noticed that one guy was walking away, but honestly Aiden didn't care. The man didn't seem evil, just slightly stupid and being stupid wasn't a crime so no sense in punishing him for it. Opening one of the packets of ramen he poured the sauce packet inside then broke it up with his hands. He started eating pieces of uncooked ramen. Many people thought this was gross, but it saved time and it wasn't like Aiden really had a refined sense of taste anyway. Aiden leaned against the side of the store and ate his lunch while he waited for Luci, who was still inside the store.

    Meanwhile inside the store, Luci turned around she Heard Katarina addressing her causing her to stop ranting and look over at the girl with big red eyes. She cocked her head to the side a little and asked, "You can see me too?" Luci already knew the answer to the question but she was a little shocked. She blushed a little then said, "Sorry about the rambling I'm used to only being able to talk to Aiden and so I've always assumed he is the only one who can hear me." She then turned and realized Aiden was walking out the door so she motioned toward her brother as the door closed. Luci's face changed from embarrassment to joy as the idea of being able to talk to someone else, especially another girl filled her mind.

    "I'm Luci by the way and that was Aiden," half said half sung Luci as she held out her hand offering to shake the lady's hand. She then continued, "Aiden only really responds to me in private since talking to ghosts makes normal people think you're insane." She suddenly withdrew her hand while half whispering, "So would shaking the hand of a ghost I guess." Luci's energy quickly returned and she continued to talk with a big smile on her face, "Sorry a bit excited that someone else can see me, who isn't a jerk. O pardon my rudeness but what is your name? Wait don't answer yet! Don't want to make you seem crazy since you seem nice. Perhaps when you're done we can talk outside. Sorry I likely sound a little crazy, just spending the last 16 years of my life being "dead" and no one but my brother being able to see and talk to me, makes me a little socially awkward."

    Aiden could only imagine what Luci was talking about with the stranger. His mind wandered to the fact that this city seemed to be a little "special." Apparently there were several others similar to him here in the fact they could see Luci and talk to her. Honestly this made him a little uncomfortable, did this mean they could also see and fight the monsters? Well Aiden wasn't sure if that was truly good or bad for him and Luci. What if there was more like that one man who would think Luci was a demon? Now that she could be seen was she in greater danger?
     
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