Armania: Revival

[Sweet Dreams]

Kay's eyes widened slightly at the sum Walter mentioned. Six million credits could buy quite a lot of previously unattainable objects which would make wandering around the city that much more bearable. She listened to the briefing with an attentive air, although she just found that the police didn't know anything about DL, and they were going to find information. As Walter started talking about tea and the Chief threw a book at him, her mind wandered, partly to search for any questions she may have, and partly because in her experience, most bounty hunters were not that trustworthy – especially the young ones with high ranks, such as the people present before her.

The innocent looking girl twisting a wire of metal into shapes was probably the most dangerous, Kay decided, having seen both criminal and bounty hunter use that tactic. The small boy, Luka, seemed to cower. He might just be an oddly meek and absent-looking child, but was more likely using it as a cover, like the girl. If he was, though, he was extremely good at it. Then, there was the other Garagna. He was probably hiding exactly how dangerous he really was as well, although he was less obvious about it. Underneath the clothes which made him look scrawny yet organized, there was probably yet another belligerent male with many skeletons in his closet.

So, they were probably all dangerous. After deciding this, she reviewed the mission.

Four C-rank hunters were going to go and find information on DL, who was obviously crafty, to say the least. The people that will give them this information have proven they weren't all that trustworthy. DL himself, or herself… or themselves, probably had armies in his control, if he was such a threat. So he probably had a lot of money to equip this probable army with advanced weapons of some sort, if this army existed.

Kay sighed in exasperation and gave up on that line of thought, although she managed to think of a question.

'Excuse me, uh, Chief; will the police supply us with better weapons, or will we have to use our own?' She asked, fine with it either way. It was good to know to what lengths the police were willing to go to, to capture this guy, however. To give C-rank bounty hunters advanced weapons on the off-shot that they may catch the new threat to the metropolis was a rather desperate bet.

 

[Scarlet Weather]

OOC: Hmm... well, yuoaman, if you are still interested, I have to say ACCEPTED on the sign-up. The "family murdered by random gang" seems a little cliched, but both being the product of rape by a soldier and being the victim of gang violence aren't out of place at all in the setting of this particular RP (kudos for also being the first person to have a character who has a history rooted in the war). Not really overpowered either, which is a huge plus. I'd say that if you want to join, hold off on posting for a little while and I'll give you the word for your character to step in. Nice going there, and sorry for dithering so long. I had told another RPer that the deadline for sign-ups was a certain date, and I felt that it might be unfair to them if I accepted you even though there was never any official announcement. :3

"What? Are you insinuating that your own weapons aren't good enough for you?" the Chief rose in his seat, breath like hot smoke pouring from his nostrils. Immediately Walter dove below his desk in order to avoid yet another of the Chief's wild swings with his ridiculously large spear. "You think we cops are made of money? Half of what we make goes into YOUR bounties, and most of the rest is used for repair and upkeep in this danged city! I CAN'T STAND IT WHEN IDIOTS LIKE YOU AREN'T GREATFUL FOR- AUGH!" The Chief had at some point during his speech leaped onto his office chair, which had just shot from under him and caused the muscular Garagna to fall flat on his face. With considerable effort the aged fighter pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his back and mumbling various complaints about rheumatism and what appeared to be some sort of tribal Garagna curse on old age. Calmer now that he had vented himself, he faced the group again. "No, we will NOT be giving you any weaponry. Even if we wanted to and had the necessary funds, most advanced weaponry is kept under wraps by those old fogies in the Council of Elders. It's the only thing I CAN'T get them to give us officers access to. And believe me, I've tried." The Chief shook his head and sighed wistfully.

Walter poked his head out from below the desk. "Sir," he ventured, "We do have those vibra-cutters in the basement..."

The Chief glared at Walter darkly before he realized his mistake. "Oops... I wasn't supposed to mention that we had possession of those, was I?"

The Chief hefted his spear ang began bearing down on Walter, who cowered beneath the mahogany desk that served as both a place for doing paperwork and a barricade. "I'm going to pull out your kidneys and shove them up your-"

WARNING! WARNING! RED ALERT! HOSTILE ATTACK ON MAIN ENTRANCE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ALL OFFICERS TO THEIR STATIONS, PREPARE FOR IMMINENT FRONTAL ASSAULT!

The Chief shook his head and lowered his spear tip, which had been hovering uncomfortably close to Walter's nose. "Alright, you all," he ordered, gesturing to the assembled hunters. "You've got yourselves an interesting little challenge. Looks like somebody's dumb enough to try an attack on the main entrance. Normally I'd have the officers deal with it and put him in a nice, little padded cell, but in this case it's a perfect test of your strength. You want updated weapons? Fine. First one to apprehend that idiot gets to take the ones we've got in the basement out for a spin."

Walter moved to the back window. "For those of you who can handle a ten to fifteen meter leap straight down, this is the fastest way out," he explained helpfully as he opened it. "I'll lead the assault, if you don't mind." With that, he was out on the window's ledge. "I wonder what kind of chi these people have if they're attacking the front door..." he muttered, before crossing his hands and leaping.

The air whistled by Walter as he fell rapidly. Then, just before he hit the ground, he stopped, and bounced for a moment. He grinned as he concentrated momentarily, causing the wires attached to each of his fingertips, which had coiled themselves around a pair of streetlights during his descent, to vanish completely. As he fell the last few feet to the ground he dusted himself off and then calmly strode to the front of the building.

It was a single perp- but he wasn't a pushover, by the looks of him. Lithe, well-built muscles, and an ornate headband bearing a star-shaped symbol that Walter dimly recognized as a graduating present to students of a certain dojo spoke of a background in martial arts. The paralell cross scars on either cheek and on his shoulders, exposed due to the missing sleeves of his tattered red shirt, said that he had entered several fights. The hairstyle, which resembled nothing so much as a curly, black ball of lint, suggested that he perhaps laboured under the delusion that it was actually thirty years earlier than the current calendar date indicated, or that he simply didn't care about fashion. Perhaps, Walter mused, that was why he had become involved in so many fights. What interested him most about the man was the fact that each time he attempted to break through the main door of the Station- a futile effort, since the portal had been reinforced with galvanized steel years ago- blue sparks surrounded his hands and seemed to lance off into the sidewalk with each blow, which was probably one of the reasons that pedestrians had given him a wide berth. Walter decided to take the initiative. He walked up to the man's back and tapped it. "Excuse me, sir? If you have an appointment with the Chief, it's best to simply show your ID to the girl at the front desk and walk in the usual way, as opposed to setting off the alarm."

The man whirled angrily, though he relaxed a bit after taking in Walter's appearance. "Oh. Who are you, the Chief's secretary? Lay off for a minute, I'm busy here." With that, he returned to pummeling the doorway, only to turn as Walter tapped his shoulder again. "WHAT'S WITH YOU?"

The man stared a moment. Where Walter had been moments before, the street was completely empty.

"Tag."

The man's hand leapt to his cheek as he felt a stinging sensation, and came away bloody. Somehow, one of his scars had been ripped open. "What?" he growled.

Walter stood several feet away from his quarry, one arm extended in front of him, with several shining wires attached to his hand, one of which was now dyed red with blood which quickly trickled to the street below. The Hunter tutted. "Dear me. I rip open an old wound and all you do is get annoyed? Most people launch some sort of counterattack by now. I must be losing my touch," he announced, in a very bored, matter-of-fact tone."

The man growled. "You want counterattacks, eh? Take some... of THIS!" With that, a blue glow seemed to radiate from him as sparks shot from his fingertips and began to travel the length of his body. A sadistic grin crossed his face as he lifted one hand and snapped his fingers.

Walter leapt to the side, narrowly evading a bolt of blue lightning which caused the lamp-post directly behind him to explode in a fountain of sparks. "I see... a destruction user who translates their chi into electric current. Interesting," Walter mused. "I suppose that attacking you while that current is being generated is just asking to be electrocuted, hmm?"

The man grinned, but said nothing as he charged for another assault.

"Nonetheless..." Walter continued, "Your attacks are no good if they don't contact me."

The man smirked. "Then I'll make sure this one won't miss."

"Whatever," Walter replied in a bored tone.

Fully charged, the strange attacker prepared to snap his fingers and launch another bolt- and stopped. He looked up, and barely managed to evade a falling sculpture, which smashed into the ground directly in front of him. He stared at the shattered gargoyle, and looked up to see the walls of the Police Station, and the neatly-sliced base of the statue, then back at the wires of his opponent.

Walter stared in surprise. "You dodged that? Well," he grinned as he lifted his hand, displaying the wires on it proudly, "This may be fun after all."

OOC: Yah, alright, couldn't resist doing something somewhat non-ditzy with Walter, but he's actually a little in over his head. Basic overview of the guy- he uses electricity to augment attacks, and charges up and fires lightning bolts. When he shoots a bolt, he's unprotected until he can gather charge. And he's a student martial artist. So... proceed with caution, yah, and have fun taking him on. :3

 

[Kansas]

Reeth sat and listened to the chief explain their mission. It was the basic run down but he couldn't help but feel that something was different about this mission. He was getting more and more excited about about knocking number 1 from his list. After taking him down, #2 and 3 would be cake. Soon enough he would be free of this terrible world he was thrust into.

The other Garagana girl sat across the room from him, she didn't look like she was any sort of threat at all... almost a disappointment but who was he to talk since he didn't have much threat to his appearance either. He looked at his nails, making sure they were up to their usual sharpness. It was then that the chief mentioned the reward. Reeth's ears barely perked at the sound of the giant reward. It was enough to live well but who cares when he still had 2 more bounties to get before achieving freedom.

"Excuse me, uh, Chief; will the police supply us with better weapons, or will we have to use our own?" the other Garagana piped up after the briefing.

"What the hell... is this girl totally new to this? Provided weapons? How did she even make it this far..." He thought to himself as he eyed her down unimpressed by her actions so far.

Suddenly the chief piped in. A small mission and test of our strength before the actual mission takes place. An assault outside of the gate... who would be dumb enough to attack this place, seems kind of random but oh well. A small obstacle before the real mission starts. A prime opportunity to show his skills and let everyone know his abilities. He instantly sprang into action and dashed through the hall ways out to the streets where one of the other hunters had already encountered the threat. This being the case, Reeth still wasted no time. He wouldn't waste the energy involved in using his best attack, that would need to be saved... his ace in the hole couldn't be revealed quite yet...

"This shouldn't require the Feral Claw.... this guy is a small fry..." He said quietly to himself as he took hold of the butt of his rifle but it was then that he saw the mass of a man clap both of his hands together as sparks began to fire wildly through the air.

Reeth jumped aside back and forth quickly while dodging the dancing bolts of lightning. That kid was definitely in way over his head. The man raised his right arm high into the air, and moved with incredible speed, about to land a lethal blow on the young bounty hunter ahead of him.

"Damnit.... am i seriously suppose to be working with these amateurs?" He thought to himself as he released hold on the butt of his gun momentarily and flexed his right arm. The tips of his claws began to glow a soft blue neon. "Ugh... here it goes..."

"FERAL CLAW!" He screamed as he bolted from his position at incredible speed, showing off his melee talents and slicing down the criminals arm, causing him to hobble to a stop as his arm fell limp from loss of nerve connection. Reeth skidded to a quick stop next to the other young bounty hunter as he quickly twirled his rifle around his neck and leaped to the side of a nearby building and dug his still glowing claws into the side of the building, placing a firm hold in the brick. He aimed the rifle with the other hand, taking quick and careful aim. With the massive temporarily crippled man in his sights he fired the bullet and snickered to himself in his mind.

"Hah...a projectile made from super compressed air through reinforcement... the sheer rarity of a 'gun' as the salesman called it with the perfect system of mechanics involved in its construction makes for the perfect piercing long range weapon..." He thought with a sinister grin as he took his one handed aim. "And with that... my criminal friend. You've caused enough trouble for me. I'll be taking the use of your right arm as collateral for wasting my time." He said with a slight tone of irritation.

With that he fired the rifle with a loud blast, the weapons only downfall. The super compressed air always let loose a loud explosion upon firing, giving away his location. He had to make every shot count. The air seemed to visually bend as the shot was fired, creating a small vacuum as it penetrated the man's shoulder and erupted from the other side. Reeth sneered as the familiar sight of a limb with no more nerve connections hung from the man's socket. Completely useless. But this only seemed to anger him more, the left arm began to charge with electricity ready to aim at the newly arrived assailant, Reeth. He could only hope the other hunters weren't completely useless as he had severely under estimated this target's strength and willpower. The next attack from the man was going to be a big one.

Reeth slid down the side of the building, carving lines through the brick with his nails as he descended. He hit the ground and dashed to the side of the other hunter.

"this is gonna be big... take cover or defend yourself...."

 

[Alter Ego]

Kin remained faithful to her cute little girl appearance during the meeting, sitting calmly in her seat with the tea cup clutched in her hands while observing the chief's antics with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. All this talk and they were getting so little done - well, unless you counted spreading the chief's neatly organized literature collection across the office as getting things done - so what it basically boiled down to was that they were to hunt down a person of unknown race, age, gender, and origin who may or may not have belonged to a criminal organization because he/she/it had sent some silly little note to the big, bad officials? The petite bounty hunter suppressed the urge to giggle at this. For all their pomp and balderdash, the council members were still nothing but a group of scared old geezers, jumping the gun at the first sign of threat to their rule.

But then, Kin conceded with an inward smirk, that was just the way she liked them; the easily scared also tended to be easily coaxed into paying ludicrous fees, as had been effectively proven by the bounty Walter mentioned.

Daintily sipping at the tea (it was rather good, she had to admit), Kin leaned back as the Garagna girl - whatever her name was - cautiously inquired about weapons. Even though she wasn't that closely acquainted with the chief, the petite bounty hunter had been around the police station long enough to hear the rumors, and as such the Chief's latest burst of temper didn't particularly surprise or impress her. The mention of vibra cutters did little to change this; after all, when you had spent your childhood looking at chi-propelled missiles capable of annihilating small towns, most tools that could be wielded with relatively small effort by a regular human didn't tend to impress much.

Even the alarm seemed to do little faze Kin, the armania girl calmly finishing her tea while the battle raged outside, placing both cup and saucer aside before getting up from her seat, only to dash off at full speed, calling "last one down is a rotten egg!" over her shoulder.

Not being in possession of handy wires or supernatural strength, Kin took a good while to make her way through the hordes of confused people running back and forth through the police station, office workers running for cover while officers scrambled for their weapons and barked orders at each other, and as such, the battle was already well underway when she stepped outside.

Well, Kin concluded at the sight of her opponent-to-be, this guy's chi class certainly wasn't any secret, what with the massive electric charge dancing around his body, smaller shocks striking the already scarred pavement around him at random intervals. A destructive user...her least favored match-up. Now, on one hand the twerp was practically crying for a blasting vein, and with the pavement as cracked and damaged as it was, the shrapnel would be more than enough to finish this, but on the other...Kin grimaced, with that single act she'd be forced to say goodbye to her 'cute little girl' image for good, and she couldn't do that, especially in such a public place, so what should she-?

"Ah-hah!"

Kin's musings were cut short as the rogue chi user suddenly dashed towards her with uncanny speed, the one, good arm grasping her waist, the electricity around it crackling so close to the girl that it made the hairs at the back of her neck stand at an end.

"Think you're so clever, HUH?!" the man bellowed, smirking smugly at Reeth and Walter from behind his newfound hostage, "Well, now I'm the one calling the shots around here, so unless you want to see the little girly here get fried to crisp, you'd better drop your weapons and stay right where you are. That stung just now, you know?" he snarled in Reeth's direction, nodding at the gun in his hand, "Well let me tell you, doggy-boy, before we're done here I'll have taken every last bit of that pain out of your flea-bitten-"

"Hey, mister, you'd better let go."

The electricity-user's tirade was briefly interrupted by the cold, emotionless voice Kin had applied, but he soon regained his previous fire "Shut up, girlie." he snarled, "Me and the hounds over there are talking things over like adults, so you just shut up and be a good little hostage or-" it was then that he caught onto it. Though they were generally regarded as rather barbaric as chi users went, practitioners of the destructive style did hold an edge over their peers; being used to handling large amounts of raw chi as they were, they also tended to grow quite sensitive to other large gatherings of such - or, failing that, get blown to smithereens in ill chosen duels with other destructive users; it was an evolutionary process of sorts - and the build-up within this little girl definitely fell under that category.

"I said you'd better let go." Kin repeated calmly, no longer bothering to hide the chi she had assembled, the energy settling around her delicate body and giving it the illusion of being in the middle of a violent fire, "Right. Now."

"You, you're-?"

The miscreant was given no time to finish his question as Kin released her attack, a blindingly bright orb of energy briefly enveloping her, accompanied by an ear-deafening bang and a powerful wave of heat and dust that obscured her from view while her would-be captor was sent flying towards the nearest wall like a rag doll. Impressively, he managed to perform a defensive roll of sorts in the air, altering his path enough to avoid the brick wall and landing in a lidless bio-trash can instead. His concentration had been broken, however, sending the giant lightning bolt he had built up crashing into the aforementioned wall, the better part of which had now dissolved into a mess of molten brick and mortar.

Breathing deeply, Kin slowly rose up from the ground, a perfectly circular crater of about two meters' radius now surrounding her. That hadn't gone right, not at all. Not only had she been forced to drop the harmless act, but in such a way too! The rage buster was supposed to be the final ace up her sleeve, a finishing attack to pull out when and only when nothing else would do, yet here she had gone and fired it off at some two-bit brawler, and right in front of her teammates too. Inwardly cursing her panic reaction, the petite bounty hunter turned to the two others.

"I told him to let go." she explained innocently, "Anyway, let's go pick that guy up and hand him over, okay? Last one there is a-"

"I'm...not...DONE yet!"

Shocked, Kin quickly spun on her heels, just in time to see the mystery assailant clamber out of the trash container, sparks of blue still dancing around the fingers of his one, good hand. As he reached a shaky foot down towards the ground, the trash mound beneath his other gave away, however, sending him tumbling forward and provoking another defensive roll - though this one was far less graceful than the one that had saved him in the air, ending with a rather painful landing on his behind. The lightning-user didn't seem bothered by this, however, gathering what remained of his pride and rising to his feet once more, energy gathering around his arm once more.

"It's going to take more than a cheap shot like that to take me down, girlie." he panted, swaying lightly, "Come on! DO YOUR WORST!"

Kin rolled her eyes at the rather pitiful sight in front of them, preparing what little of her chi had managed to regenerate for use, "Doesn't this guy ever give up?"

 

[Loki]

Luka stared down at the teacup in his gloved hands, being one of the only people left in the room. "... This is good..." He mumbled, taking a sip as he contemplated what he'd do with six million credits. Maybe he'd just retire. The doctors said it was bad for him to be out and about, after all. He stared up at the ceiling, choosing not to hear the warning about attacks, or the Chief's decision for them to show their stuff. He didn't want to fight anyone unless it was his job. He wasn't getting paid to stop the attacker, so it technically wasn't a job- it would be a favor. He took another sip. This tea reminded him of something. Maybe it was something he'd eaten earlier? Another sip. The grilled chicken sandwich that he'd had for lunch? No, he'd eaten that yesterday... right?

"Last one down is a rotten egg!"

Luka's head snapped to attention at the mention of egg- it was food, and therefore, on the same wavelength as his brain at the moment. He tilted his head to the side, his wide eyes confused, "...Am I a rotten egg...?" He looked around, "Oh." No, thank goodness. The Chief and the Garagna girl weren't down there either. He didn't really want to fight. But if he would suddenly turn into a rotten egg, it would be better if he fought, right? Well, she'd never said anything about fighting; just about going down there.

"Can I go through the front door or do I have to go through here...?" Luka wondered aloud, peering over the edge of the windowsill down at the fight, calmly drinking his tea as he watched. He pulled his neck back into the room as he blinked in surprise at a bolt of chi that had been fired into the air. Hm. That was a little close. He turned around and sat down again. Well, the Chief didn't seem like he was going to be going down, so if not everyone went down, then there wouldn't be a last person to be the rotten egg, right?

Suddenly two words that the Chief had said much earlier hit Luka like asteroids.

Padded Cell.

In the blink of an eye Luka, was sitting inside a white padded cell, his arms tightly wrapped together in a straight jacket. He looked about fearfully, struggling against the chair he was chained to. It was like all the room in the air had been sucked away- being locked up again, after working so hard to escape the people in white jackets holding clipboards and watching him day after day, night after night. And then when he blinked again, he was back in the office, with his arms straining painfully around himself in the same position as if he were dressed in a straight jacket, his back pressed into the chair as though he were chained to it. He fought to catch his breath, gulping in air as he mumbled, "S-Sorry." Pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes he slumped down into his seat, shaking violently as he searched for something to distract him.

He knew he was easily distracted- it would be easy to take the illusion off of his mind if he could just find something interesting.

"I-I'll go... see if..." Luka scrambled out of his chair without finishing his sentence, holding his head down as he rushed out of the office, using the door even though he could've easily made the jump.

Seconds later, he walked back into the office and sat back down, blushing now in embarrassment. He didn't seem to find it necessary to explain that he had no idea how to get out, other than the window, which he was sane enough to know he wouldn't be able to land in his current state.

"Ahhh, you're useless." Luke's arrogant voice echoed in the confines of Luka's mind as Luka nodded in agreement. It looked as though he was nodding at nothing though, considering that Luka was the only one who could hear Luke's belittling comments.

 

[Scarlet Weather]

OOC: Well now, I've been lazy, haven't I? XD

"I'm not done yet!" The criminal declared, pulling himself up from where he had been unceremonially dumped by the force of Kin's attack. Suddenly, he screamed in pain as five long, shallow cuts appeared along his stomach.

"Actually, you are," Walter remarked in a bored tone. "You let down your guard and forgot to channel chi over your entire body instead of just your arm. Did you want to get hit with an attack, or are you just stupid?" He flicked his hand again, sending the five wires attached to him slashing across the criminal's legs. The man cursed and then buckled, but not before releasing another bolt of electricity, which arced harmlessly over Walter's shoulders as the experienced hunter instinctively ducked. With another wave of Walter's wrist, three wires wrapped themselves around the criminal's remaining functional arm before he pulled back, causing a sickening pop as the limb was pulled from its socket. "Game over," Walter remarked, somewhat dissapointed. "And here I was thinking that a criminal who attacked the front door would be strong enough to at least withstand an attack from a C-Rank hunter. Really, you're not very good at this, are you?" His sneer provoked the criminal, who made a very dangerous mistake: despite his injured limbs, he attempted a head-on attack, much of his energy having been used up in the attack that was sent into the wall. With a simple wave of his hand, Mark sent his wires trailing out in front of him just in time for the criminal to run into them. The man collapsed, thin cuts across his entire torso.

Walter nodded to Kin and Reece. "Good job, you two," he commended them. "There might have been trouble if I had to take him on alone. Having you two here made it this much easier to deal with him." Stepping over to the criminal, at this point unconscious from shock, Walter slung the man over his shoulders. "Come on, we'd better bring him in to the Chief."

---------------​

"So, this is the guy?" the Chief asked, staring at the criminal, whose continuing unconsciousness was ensured by the fact that a sedative usually reserved for charging rhinos had been emptied into his system. Not enough to slow his heart or damage him in any way, of course, but enough to ensure that he would be kept asleep for quite some time.

"Yes, sir," Walter replied respectfully. "He tried to break through the front door with his bare hands. You'd think he could just knock."

"Interesting..." the Chief muttered, before standing up. "Alright, the five of you, move out. I believe you said you were going to Lowtown?"

Walter was startled. "But Chief," he protested, "What about this guy? If he's connected with DL, he might have information that could-"

"I'll have an interrogation team see what they can drag out of him, and get word to you all if he does know anything," the Chief replied gruffly, waving off Walter's protests. "We've wasted enough time already. All of you need to get a move on as quickly as possible." He glared angrily at all five members of the hastily-formed strike team, particularly at the two who hadn't actually participated in combat. "Don't make me regret allowing any of you to pursue this case, do you hear me?" he growled. "If any of you do something that further compromises our position, I will personally grab your hunter's license and rip it into quarters, then feed it to my pet. Now get out!"

 

[Loki]

ooc: You're not the only one. xD There wasn't much to do, so my post is painfully short. :/ Didn't want to be the one to initiate the migration to Lowtown, since I don't know anything about it. xD;

ic: Luka stared at Walter, an innocent look that was a mix between awe and confusion. How could he be so calm with such a scary person on his shoulder? Luka moved his eyes to the slumbering face of the man who'd caused the earlier commotion, keeping his face frozen in the tilted position from earlier as he registered the man's face. Luka shook his head, unable to recognize him. Feeling a little better, Luka settled back into his seat, keeping a wary eye on the unconscious man as he pulled his hat further down on his head, finally tuning into what the Chief was saying for the first time. Luka sat up straight at the Chief's threat to rip his license into pieces and furrowed his brow. Luka swallowed the contempt in his mouth and stood up at once, his arms trembling and shoulders tense as he glared at the Chief.

Luka quickly calmed down at a snippy voice in his head, his face turning from agitation to a defensive frown. His shoulders relaxed and Luka started breathing again. The Chief probably meant no harm, right? Luka chewed on the inside of his right cheek, thinking of a saying he'd heard a lot of people say. Better safe than sorry. He didn't really get it, but it probably applied in this sense.

Luka didn't want to stay anywhere near a man who had the power to take his license away. But he couldn't get to Lowtown on his own without getting lost. He lowered his gaze to the ground, and pointed at the door. The troubled teen stepped away from the Chief quietly, jabbing his index finger towards the hallway, indicating his desire to leave for their destination, and also indicating that he was actually quite aware of the fact that he become more lost in unfamiliar territory with every step he took. If his license was at stake, he couldn't go and get lost immediately, he reasoned with himself. Best to let someone else lead the way.

 

[Kansas]

Reeth stood at defense while he awaited the criminals move but it never came. One of the other hunters showed up, immediately teaming with the one who was already present and defeated the criminal with apparent ease.

"Hmpf... I guess the team knows a bit more than they appear to at least..." He thought bitterly to himself as the criminal was brought into custody. Reeth followed the others back inside.

The debriefing of the sudden incident was short but sweet and although some of the other hunters questioned, very little was found out about the scenario. It definitely gave Reeth an odd feeling. There was no time to dwell on this matter though as the Chief proceeded to boot them out of the office and on their ways to begin the mission.

Reeth wasted no time after the Chief's tirade in vacating the room. He stood up silently, tightening the buckle that held his rifle and walked casually out the room with ears drooping with disinterest in the rest of the team. Upon exiting the building, there was already a small crowd curiously gathered around the scene of the battle with many policeman attempting to control the mindless herd of pedestrians.

"You petty Armanians... so engulfed in your perfect simple lives that our life risking fight will be nothing more than a newspaper story or gossip tomorrow for you. Disgusting." Reeth commented bitterly aloud as he walked down the steps of the building. He stopped at the base of the stairs and quickly about faced with an impatient look on his face and tail wagging slowly behind him, showing his anticipation to leave. He watched the door, aggravated, waiting for the other hunters to show themselves.

 

[Sweet Dreams]

Kay nodded, satisfied with the Chief's answer. It had been expected, but she had learnt that people could be crazy. The slightly ditzy Walter revealed the fact that they had vibra-cutters and that he wasn't supposed to tell them about it. The Chief, of course, was set on disembowelling him before the alarm rang.

All the other hunters except the nervous kid and the Chief jumped up at the challenge. Kay listened to the sounds and shouts of the fight passively, her eyes wandering lazily around the room. There were three hunters out there taking on some dolt that had tried to attack the station via the front door. With their enthusiasm, she wouldn't be needed. And they wouldn't want her. Besides, her mere physical strength and agility would look rather unimpressive against the others' Chi attacks.

After some notably loud bangs and blasts, the trio of hunters that had gone out dragged in a guy and dumped him on the floor. Then, they were ordered to move out to Lowtown by the Chief. With a threat of revoking their licenses to spur them on, the canine Garagna and the still nervous kid seemed to show even more enthusiasm. Kay's tail twitched and she padded out the room and away from the short-tempered Chief to the front door.

Outside was a scene of destruction and mayhem with a crowd of mainly Armanian citizens trying to take a look and find out the interesting news. They were barely being held back by some officers. The young, canine Garagna muttered something under his breath in a repugnant tone. Idly, Kay practised retracting her claws, the sound of which resembled the sheathing or unsheathing of a knife. Ears and tail twitching slightly in impatience, she waited for those that probably considered her to be worthless and a coward.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Sheez, I've been procrastinating horribly with this RP, haven't I? >.< Gomen nassai, I've just been having serious problems with figuring out something worthwhile to write. Oh well, here goes. :3

IC:

So...just how do you tell the difference between master and pet in that one?

With well-rehearsed routine, Kin forced back the scathing retort from the tip of her tongue, slowly rocking back and forth on her heels instead as she listened to the chief's final words. The garagna's spontaneous threats and outbursts had been humorous at first, but they were starting to tire her, and as such she gladly welcomed the excuse to leave, being among the first to skip out of the office when they were sent off. Much to her annoyance, however, Reeth decided to take up the mantle of 'smelly, ranting beastman' the moment they got outside, spewing out a miniature presentation on Armanians that could be described as racist at best. Repressing a strong urge to smack her teammate across the head and tell him to stop being such a bigoted git, the petite bounty hunter spoke up in a clear, solemn voice instead, sounding very much like a school girl reciting a learned citation for the class.

"Ah, proud garagnans, you live like wildfire, raging through the forest of civilization in a desperate bid to sear your names onto it, unaware that the fruits of your struggle shall become nothing but nourishment for the trees' next saplings."

Smiling innocently, the girl tilted her head towards Reeth, "Edward LeBlaque, 'Conversation with the Garagna'." she cited with the giddy excitement of a student who had nailed the answer to a particularly tricky pop quiz question, "I didn't know you had read that book too, mister not-so-tall-dark-and-gruesome. It was kind of boring, though, don't you think? All big, fancy metaphors and no pretty pictures at all. Isn't that boring?" she turned to Luka in search of confirmation, pouting adorably, latching onto the male's arm for good measure - after all, a human shield could always come in handy should the wolf-man's temper get out of hand, "Just walking here and being all doomy and gloomy is boring too. Come on!" she tugged at her chosen victim's sleeve, "Let's get this mission staaaarted already!"

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Walter frowned. Even in somewhat of a daze, he could see the obvious tension between Reeth and Kin, and tension this early in a mission meant two things: First, the group dynamic was in trouble. In order to work together, a team of hunters had to be ready and willing to trust each other with their lives at all times, not to mention the guidance of the leader. Second, it meant that Walter was going to have a bigger headache than he thought by the time this mission was over. Resting his forehead on his right hand he sighed and muttered "Oy, vey.... why me..." before walking to the head of the group. "Well, everyone, just a question- how many of you have been to Lowtown for information before? I'll assume most of you, but just in case, I'll tell you the three places you'll probably want to hit. If you'll direct your attention to this piece of paper..." Walter fished a crumpled piece of notebook paper with a few crude directions and street names scribbled on it. "We'll be splitting up into two separate groups," he explained, pointing at the crude drawings. "Let's see...." Walter eyed over the motley crew quickly before deciding on the groups. "Let's see... you two.... who I forget the names of..." he muttered under his breath pointing at Reeth and Kay. Hopefully, by pairing the two Garagna up, he could provide a temporary fix to the tension between Reeth and Armanians. "I'll just call you Wolfie and Kitty, alright? It's easier to remember," he decided before fishing yet another crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. "You will be looking for this man. You'll probably find him in The Steel Bottle. You know that one..." Walter searched for the appropriate word for a moment before deciding on "...club." With that, he tossed the paper to Reeth.

The drawing was crude enough, bearing more resemblance to a turnip than an overweight man, but the name at the bottom was printed clearly enough- "Anderson. Age 45, Blood Type O+, speaks three languages fluently. Distinctive piercing just below left eye. Carries weapons. Extremely foul temper."

Next, Walter surveyed the rest of the team. "Now Kin and... Luka, was it?" Walter asked, unaware that his ability to remember the names of his Hiratana and Armania team members and not the two Garagna would probably damage his power base as leader even moreso than it already was, "You and I will be going to the slums," he explained, "And deep into them too. Be on your guard, though I'm pretty sure I don't have to warn you about that. We're looking for this man," and with that, another crumpled piece of paper flew out of Walter's pocket.

Once again, the drawing resembled a crude representation of a scarecrow more than it did an Armania wearing a stained overcoat with a sour expression, but the writing was easy enough to understand. "Van Schroider. Age 90, had police training, usually armed. Hair dyed different colors periodically. Probably not a good idea to surprise him."

"Alright, is everyone ready? Let's go! Remember to report in with your cell phones if you find anything," Walter finished, smiling hesitantly.

OOC: I have this feeling that Reeth is going to kill Walter one of these days. And sorry it took so long for such a lame post, I wanted to be sure everyone was on the same page before we got going.

 

[Loki]

What kind of reaction was he supposed to give? To being faced head on with a real Gargana and a petite Armanian hanging off his arm? Luka couldn't provide himself the answer, and all Luke was doing was laughing at him. Flushing in frustraton, Luka mumbled under his breath in a pitiful way, "You could at least say something..." It took him a few seconds to realize he'd said it out loud, because Luke's laughter doubled in volume. He looked wildly from the Armanian to the Gargana's, "O-Oh, s-s-sorry. Um... um..." Luka sifted through the contents of his memory, trying to remember what it was that the Armanian had asked, ".... Er..." he repeated hopelessly, pulling his hat further down as he realized that he'd probably been too proud of himself on getting out of the office without getting lost to hear anything that had passed between the Gargana and Armanian. He looked up with hopeful eyes when Walter showed up. His words were more important, right? That meant that Luka didn't have to say anything, right? Luka breathed a sigh of relief, before freezing up.

"E-E-Exc-cuse m-m-me…" Luka stumbled through his words, looking down at Kin and pointing at his arm and her grip. "Wha-" Although this time he wasn't able to finish what he wanted to say because Luke turned his attention to Walter's instructions, wrenching Luka's head to face the leader.

Lowtown…. where… was that, Luke? Oh. Luka blinked, remembering that his old frien-… er…. Master… criminal… Well, someone had taken him through there once before. Maybe he'd been there himself before. He couldn't remember if he had. What Luka did remember though, was that he had a hard time remembering things. He let a frown touch his face as Luke forcefully wrenched Luka's attention back to Walter, or more specifically, the drawing in his hand.

"I um…" Luka scratched his forehead, speaking at a barely audible tone, pushing his hat up as he looked down at the drawing with hopeless eyes, "I don't…" He grabbed both ends of his hat and pulled down, hiding a blush, "I don't do well with… drawings…"

But something else hit Luka like a frying pan. He looked up at Walter with surprised eyes, "…Cell phone?" Being one to lose things, and not really being one who'd remember how it worked, Luka didn't carry a cellphone. Right? He didn't, right? Luka carefully sifted through the pockets of his jacket, successfully finding only his plain leather wallet in his back pocket. "I… don't have a cellphone…?" Luka tilted his head to the side, unsure of himself. He could've sworn he remembered a little black thing. He'd put it in his…. He had a cellphone…? Luka replaced his wallet, being especially careful with it because it held his hunter's license.

"Luka lost his cell when he lost his sanity!" Luke sneered, goading his host to humiliate himself more.

Luka blushed hard, clenching his fists as he finally spoke loud and clearly, to someone that wasn't even supposed to be there, "I-…I did not!"

…. Luka's eyes widened at his own sudden outburst. (That sounded childish even to someone who was always among the clouds, like Luka.) It hadn't been loud per say, but it gave Luka a jolt back to reality. He crumpled back, as though trying to disappear into his shoulders, his knees buckling a little. He was obviously finished with speech for the time being. Luka nodded his head, his own silent signal that he was ready to leave anytime.

 

[Alter Ego]

Kin performed the mental equivalent of quirking an eyebrow at Luka's behavior. There were acts, she knew, acts as clever and disarming as they were unexpected, but the sheer absurdity of the hiratana's behavior completely transceded all of them. The flustered body language, the disjointed mode of conversation, the complete lack of anything even vaguely resemblant of a clue...the girl felt her earlier judgment of her teammate confirmed, either this Luka was a top-class actor or the most airheaded ditz ever to walk the face of Armania. This time around, though, Kin - in the bizarre absence of her usual cynicism on these matters - found herself leaning towards the second option. Surely, SURELY no bounty hunter in their right mind would ever go out without a cell? She shook her head. This guy was like a lost puppy, right down to the adorably helpless facial expression, and she knew all too well what happened to puppies who got lost in lowtown.

And where the locality of 'local meat specialties' came from. It hadn't been a pleasant discovery for a child with the efficient age of eight, but it shed plenty of light on how the seemingly charity-based stray animal compounds made ends meet.

Shaking off that particular line of thought, Kin decided to speak her part before their illustrious leader started taking the leadership part all too far, "That's okay." she chirped in her usual cheery tone, still maintaining a grip of the far taller bounty hunter's arm that would have made a hydraulic press proud, "We can use mine." the petite bounty hunter demonstratively pulled her own cell phone out from within the confines of her clothing, brining it up under her chosen victim's nose for inspection. It had been a standard issue police force model originally, but she had since replaced the casing with a new one, colored a particularly eye-violating shade of pink that clashed horrendously with virtually every article of clothing she had ever deigned to wear, "That's okay, right Wally?" she turned the pleading puppy-dog eyes to Walter, "Lowtown is a scary place and we're looking for a scary person, so I think I'd better go with Luka anway. You know, for safety."

'His safety.' her inner monologue clarified, the bounty hunter not releasing her chosen victim for a moment as she continued enthusiastically, "Of course it's okay, okay, great, thanks Wally! Bye-bye now! See you soon and don't let the fleas bite!" she directed the last comment to the garagna duo in particular, even as the radiant smile and the energetic wave of her hand seemed aimed towards the whole collective, the petite bounty hunter then proceeding to drag Luka towards her chosen alleyway with a simple explanation of "I want to go this way!"

Beneath the carefree smile, the inner Kin was wearing a frown of concern. Yes, Luka was definitely the biggest pushover of the group and thus the most easily controlled partner for her, but his sheer eccentricity and helplessness could prove a problem, especially since...her eyes travelled warily across the various dark recesses lining the path in front of them, all of which were perfect spots for a potential ambush. Well, suffice to say that with her...history in the district, having a larger - if only slightly more intimidating - body in her immediate presence might prove a worthwhile maneuver for all concerned.

 

[Kansas]

"Ah, proud garagnans, you live like wildfire, raging through the forest of civilization in a desperate bid to sear your names onto it, unaware that the fruits of your struggle shall become nothing but nourishment for the trees' next saplings." Smiling innocently, the girl tilted her head towards Reeth, "Edward LeBlaque, 'Conversation with the Garagna'." she cited

Reeth stopped dead in his tracks, letting his ears perk straight up on his head. The girl had definitely succeeded in striking a raw nerve and she knew it. He spun around quickly, breathing heavily, staring with anger filled eyes which slowly glossed over in a shade of blood red. His sharp canines grew slightly, overlapping his bottom lip getting sharper and sharper. Heavy breathing replaced his normally calm composure. If there was anything that struck his nerves more than an Armanian, it was a smart assed Armanian. The hair on his back began to stick out straight as it lightened to a powder white. It was only then that there was the trigger.

"Wolfie"

Reeth couldn't contain himself anymore as his body began to grow into the massive beast that dwells inside him. In attempt to regain his composure, he quickly reached into a pouch in his pocket, snatching a small pill and popping it in his mouth, swallowing it. Almost instantly, his body began to return to its original form, leaving the wolf gargana breathing heavily and staring at the two Armanians through a narrow glare while the blood red color drained from his eyes. Regaining his composure, he fixed his hair and brushed his clothes off, returning to the calm man he usually was. He turned towards the other Gargana, she seemed completely worthless. Pretending as if the half transformation had not just occured, Reeth walked to Walter, snatching the paper and turning around as he looked over the drawing.

"So... Steel Bottle? I'll be in contact. And my name is Reeth. Don't call me Wolfie. I'll kill you." He said in a sideways 'matter of fact' tone. He shifted his glance to the Gargana, Kay, once more, not waiting for an answer from Walter. "As for you. I don't need you. Stay out of my way."

He began to walk away towards his destination, leaving the company of the other hunters.

"Oh... and little Armanian girl. Didn't LeBlaque have a home in Hampshire where he did his works? Yes... I do remember something like that. A vague memory though. He was always so fascinated with Gargana/Armanian relationship. Truly a great man, the only Armanian i still respect..." Reeth paused a moment sighing heavily, then chuckling softly to himself to cope with the moment. "Well... the only Armanian I would respect. If he were still alive. Its a shame that I probably tore him to shreds in the most vicious way possible. His last and only copy of his final writing is in my pouch right now. I'll let you borrow it sometime, its all about how much Armanians THINK they know." Reeth said spitefully as he glared at the little girl before turning quickly and casually walking away and towards his destination while fixing the strap that holds the rifle on his back. Silently, he walked alone, not looking to see if the other Gargana was still following him.

"Well? You coming or not, Gargana?" He called over his shoulder to the catlike Gargana.

 

[Loki]

Luka tried not to squirm uncomfortably in Kin's grasp. It was rude, he mentally admonished himself, though having one's arm crushed by someone half one's size was certainly not the most pleasant experience Luka had been exposed to. He wanted to ask if she could loosen her grip a little, but he didn't know her name, and he was afraid that he might say something strange again if he opened his mouth without thinking. Looking down at Kin, his face seemed to speak it all; at this point, he'd long given up protesting against forces greater than him. He didn't want to go to Lowtown, in all honestly. He pulled his hat down again, though it would go no further. He didn't want anyone to recognize him, though there really was no semblance of a chance that they would. He'd been small back then, and he'd dressed in little more than rags, rather than the coat and hat he wore now. Yes, he assured himself, nobody would notice him, and besides, Kin was there, and she had a cellphone. (He failed to realize that most cellphones weren't quite so lurid in color.)

As soon as he was dragged away however, he noticed that Kin had bid farewell to Walter. Wait. Farewell? Luka looked over his shoulder with wide eyes, a trace of fear in them. Walter wasn't coming with them?! Oh no, but... but......

Luka turned back around and opened his mouth, helplessly wanting to ask Kin whether they would be okay. It didn't help that he'd already forgotten what they were looking for and where they were supposed to be going. But one thing he remembered quite clearly was that they were not in friendly territory. Luka trembled as his eyes relayed moving shadows in the alleyways, strangely shaped creatures waiting to leap out and devour him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he let himself be led blindly by Kin, but not for long. Luke wanted to see Lowtown, and when Luka opened his eyes again, (pried open by Luke, more like) the shadowy monsters where gone. Much to his relief.

"W-" Luka grit his teeth together and pressed his lips against each other before Luke could shove his conciousness out of the way. He knew that anything Luke had to say was not something he'd ever say to anyone. And he didn't want to pick trouble now. But as usual, Luka was no match for his alternative personality.

"Where are we goin'-" Luka swallowed and nervously finished the word that Luke had tried to abbreviate, "-g?"