Heart of Soul [R][IC Thread]

[Sephear]

Shear stopped running and took his steps slowly and carefully towards the little spot Kaya had wedged herself into. He had been going about this all wrong, whatever was going on in her head she was scared, now she had wedged herself into a corner, and you never get too close to a cornered animal.

Shear knelt down close enough for her to hear him but too far away to see him and spoke in the gentlest voice he could. "Hey, I'm sorry I scared you, I don't deal with girls very often other than stupid club-floosies, you seem shook up so here, I hope this helps." He took the cloth out of his pocket, took a few steps over to a pristine water fountain and ran the cloth under it's stream for a moment, rung it out from earlier then moistened it again. He didn't want her to freak out so he rolled up the cloth and handed it to Kerayle, still in his kitten form. Kerayle was still in his kitten form so he calmly bounded over to the scared girl's hiding spot and offered her the cloth.


He wasn't... coming closer.

Careful. Syr hissed, now gone from anger to protective rage. He's a man. He could just be faking it. He's a liar; a man.

Wyve whined once more and flapped his small wings to fly over to the tiny satchel on her back. Using his mouth, he dragged out her whiteboard and dropped the marker into her hand. Then he crooned at her, a long series of crooning chirps that caused Kaya to stare at him, wide-eyed.

Was the man okay? Was he going to stay away? Would he?

Slowly, she wrapped her fingers around the wet cloth. She stared nervously at Kerayle, waiting for it to move.

Kerayle tilted his head, blinked his big green eyes and let out a little mewl, being an animal his empathy was much stronger than Shear's, he could see the pain of her past in her eyes and her movements. After she grabbed the cloth Kerayle did the closest thing a cat can to a bow, and backed away from her. Outside Shear sat indian-style and waited to see if diplomacy would work. "Listen...if you want me to leave I will...I just...I just never even considered the possibilities there were others like me...that I might not be alone."

"I'm no sap but a guy gets sick of being alone...I've had friends, but that's not the same thing, they were always different from me...on a fundamental level."

Kaya blinked, holding the cloth over her ruined hand. The painful stiffness it had been in moments earlier began to ease at the touch and she made a small noise of relief. Things were supposed to hurt. Hurt was good. It was not good if the hurt was a hindrance. Hindrances were bad.

The cogs slowly turned in her mind. This man had given her the cloth. He was over there. He wasn't looking to come any closer. Was he... not a bad man then? Was he a good man? Were there many of those?

She didn't- nor did Syr for that matter- understand his words about friendship.You didn't have friends in the business. You just stuck together. It was necessary. Also, she had never been alone. Always, even when she had not sensed him, Kaya had known of Wyve. And Wyve had known of her.

Loneliness was simply something she didn't know about.

So, she carefully worked the pen into her safe hand and scrawled a single question mark onto the board. Then Kaya pushed it out for Shear to see.


Shear looked down as the dainty little hand as it pushed the board towards him with nothing but a question mark on it and found himself smiling. He had always hated kids, yet here we was trying to reassure someone acting like a scared little girl, and he found it endearing. He wasn't very good at drawing, so he drew 3 stick figures huddled together on one side of the board, and a single stick figure on the other, looking at the others. "Haven't you ever felt...excluded? Have you ever looked at someone and felt like they had something you just couldn't? Or seen somebody acting a way you just didn't...understand? Have you ever felt excluded? Kerayle is the best friend and partner I could have...but he's always felt like he was still me, it's not the same as people." He slowly slid the board back towards her.


Kaya blinked. Oh.She kind of understood that one. Of course she did. The girls had whispered about it all the time. No one liked it when they weren't being... occupied. It meant they could be disposed of.

Wyve chirped and she nodded at him. She understood exclusion... but not loneliness. One was dangerous... the other one was... unknown, a mishap? she didn't know. However, she had never hungered for companionship. She hungered for pleasure, yes, just as Syr did. However, to want the companionship for the sake of it... was a very unusual thing.

To her, it seemed foreign.

However, she pulled at the white board and erased, replacing the pictures with a simple scythe and an arrow pointing at herself. Then she drew two stick figures, because that was easier. They were hand in hand. One had a simple frown. The other held an angry smile, a psychotic smile. She drew a line between their hands.

You're telling him about me?

Kaya nodded and shoved the board over. She would have to. It wouldn't make sense if she didn't.


Shear picked up the board and scrutinized it. Two people...is she missing a sister? Wait...that line between their hands...it's like they can't let go, and that one has the same demented look I saw earlier. She has split personalities! And she's definitely a reaper. Instead of erasing what was already on the board, he drew another arrow from the scythe pointing at him. Oh man, what a time for art class...how do I illustrate this? Shear drew a taller stick figure next to the two little ones, on the opposite side of the psychotic one, the stick figure he drew was big, but had a smile on it, not a demented one but a friendly one. He drew a hand extending from the big one near the smaller ones but didn't connect them, then he drew stick figures with horns and hostile smiles on the other side of the big one, and had the other hand pushing back the 'monsters' "I just want you to know...I won't hurt you, not just your body, but your heart and...by loneliness I mean...Imagine if your little friend, your familiar...imagine if you never met him, that's loneliness."


Kaya frowned. Never... met Wyve? How? The beginning was when she had met her dragon, before she could remember! If she had never met him... what would that be like?

Well. It'd be nothing. Nothing would be missing. Nothing would have changed. We just... wouldn't be a Reaper.

Syr... naive child, this was the truth. She would have never become a reaper... and that was probably good. She would not have to fight. She loved Wyve, but she hated to fight.

Wyve crooned. Then, a thought occurred to him. Because she had been born with him by her side and Syr had formed from her, his existence never having been was too foreign. But if she had never met one person, the one who had changed her life... then...

He wrapped around her neck and said, in his own language: What if you had never met James?

He watched the confusion on her face crumple. Ah, now she got it. That was a good girl. Tears rose up and fell from her eyes and Kaya hiccupped. She pulled at the board and drew the large stick figure now next to the smaller two.

This was... what he wanted, right?


Shear smiled at the board. Well that's one victory for today at least. He moved the board to the side and moved his hand, palm-up near Kaya. "What do ya say? You can come back into the light now, I don't know what you wanna do but I'm on my way to fix a hole in my favorite clothing, are you going to be OK?"

Kaya looked at the hand... then up at Shear. Then she shyly tapped his fingertips with her good hand and Wyve crooned. She nodded slowly, remembering that, yes, she still had to go to the store.

 

[siiadams]

"Nice to meet ya, Alex," Tony said, looking down at Bunsen, who clicked his pincers at Mari in a friendly manner, "and you as well, Mari." He then took a look at his basket, mentally going over a checklist in his mind. Suddenly, he nodded his head. "I think I have everything, for now. If needed, I can come back for more." He listened as Alex invited him to stick around for a while and answer some questions. "Sure, I can do that," Tony responded, "We can head back to my place if you want. Its a few blocks away from here. We could go to the park, too. That way, we're out in the open."

Tony grabbed a last-minute bag of barbecue potato chips and walked to the front of the store, feeling uneasy about being virtually alone in the store. It felt like he was in a haunted house or something. Bunsen followed closely, surveying the area, before clicking at Tony that the coast was clear. He turned to Alex and asked, "Which register are you on?"


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[Jegretis]

"Nice to meet ya, Alex, and you as well, Mari." Tony said. He looked at his basket and nodded his head. "I think I have everything, for now. If needed, I can come back for more. "We can head back to my place if you want. Its a few blocks away from here. We could go to the park, too. That way, we're out in the open." Alex didn't respond, as he busy still thinking about the current situation. "Which register are you on?" Alex suddenly snapped back into reality.

"It's the first one right here. I'll ring you in." Alex took the basket and put it on the counter, and started to take out the items one by one, scanning each before putting it on the belt. Alex was still thinking about Tony's offer. He had just met him, and wasn't sure if hanging out with a complete stranger would be a good idea. However, they were both Reapers, which had to mean something. "How about we go get dinner later? I think I have some homework and stuff that I need to finish up first." Alex said, as he scanned the last remaining item. Truth be told, Alex just wanted some time to himself, as the whole situation baffled him a little bit. The price came up on up on the register. "That's going to be $8.23. You can just give 8 bucks, my boss doesn't really care." He said, as he grabbed a bag to put Tony's stuff in.

 

[doge]

Norris would be glad to know that the cheap and somewhat shady diner he had ventured into earlier would not be giving him stomach issues, at least not now anyways. With that settled, he was on his way to the apartment. It wasn't very late into the day so he'd have plenty of time to do whatever, but he wasn't quite sure what whatever would be. The current plan was to go home, maybe take a deuce, then catch up on some reading or go for a run. Whichever he felt more like doing when he got there.

Perhaps he'd even demon hunt a little when it got darker. While he wasn't enamored with having duties as a Reaper, he didn't mind them as much in the offseason. They weren't as much as an issue if any at all, due to his rather relaxing schedule. They were a pretty good supplement for training and workouts too, with the right demon of course.

Not feeling up to walking the sidewalks and weaving through the mobile crowds of people, he decided to take a shortcut, slipping into a somewhat vacant parking lot.

Normally, it being New York, he wouldn't pay attention to any of the odd things going on around him, but something had caught his eye and attention. It was the sight of a rather large man, sitting criss crossed and talking to someone? No, more like talking to himself. He was about half a basketball court's length away from where Norris was at the moment, but even from there the man size's was distinguishable. Of course he probably wouldn't be able to give a measurement and the guy was sitting down, but he had a couple of behemoths on his lacrosse team and this guy was undoubtedly a manchild.

He saw him extend his hand out as if a friendly gesture. From the angle Norris was peering at, he couldn't tell what or who the giant was focused on. Perhaps he'd check it out and see what exactly he was up to, there was just something about it that told him he should. Or someone. Voel shot out of Norris' pocket, leaving her totem; it was something she seldom did. She as well had her senses piqued, but at what?

In most cases if this were to happen, he'd take it that Voel sensed demons or something of the like but she seemed much more serene than in other instances.

"What brings you out?" Making small talk with the familiar never got him much of an answer. Voel didn't make noise, just gestures, and this time she didn't really reply. Instead, she joined Norris in approaching the man, flying slightly above him and at the same pace which Norris walked.

"Is that a kitten next to him?" Looking up for a response, Voel did not humor him. Of course it was a kitten, or at least a cat.

Feeling somewhat uneasy about just sneaking up on the man, he decided to make himself known.

"Hey! What're ya up to?" He sort of shouted it, but his tone indicated curiosity and friendliness more than anything else. He waved to emphasis he was not to be taken as a threat. It was indeed slightly unnecessary and kind of weird.

 

[siiadams]

After listening to Alex's suggestion, Tony nodded his approval. "Alright, we can do that," he stated, thinking, "How about we meet again in Central Park, near the zoo entrance? Only landmark I can think of for now." When the total was rung up, he pulled out his wallet and luckily had exact change. He handed the $8 to Alex and grabbed his bags. "I'll be waiting for you. Don't stand me up," he chuckled as he and Bunsen walked out of the market and headed to his bike. He placed his bags in the saddlebags on the sides and mounted up, motioning to Bunsen to get ready. The familiar jumped on Tony's back and melted into his patch. Within seconds, he fired up his bike and roared off, back to his newly-renovated place.

Soon he was inside, putting his groceries away. He looked around the former watering hole and sighed, thinking back to when this place was full of activity. Well, with two (and maybe more) reapers around, maybe this place could be a base of operations. There had to be a reason why there would be more than one reaper around. Tony looked around the place one last time, making sure to make the beds, before he left.

Soon, Tony arrived at Central Park, parking alongside some bushes. He turned the bike off and dismounted, walking around before heading towards the zoo entrance. He found a park bench nearby and sat down to relax a bit, waiting for Alex.


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[Sephear]

Shear found himself smiling uncontrollably when Kaya tapped his fingertips
"It's a start, well I guess I'll be on my way-oh I almost forgot, may I ask your name? I'm Shear, and my familiar is Kerayle." Kerayle let out a small mew but then the fur stood up on his back when he felt another paranormal presence and burst into his adult form, beginning to snarl in the direction of the presence until he saw it was a man and he relaxed and let his fur fall flat again. Shear stood moved himself slightly into a position directly between the approaching man and Kaya without standing up so he wouldn't notice, when the guy spoke Shear stood up. "Oh uh, hey I was just talking to myself...there used to be a stray cat that lived over here...I came over to feed it sometimes because pets aren't allowed at my apartment complex. I came back over here about a week ago and the cat was gone...I've been checking every once in a while to see if it was back." This actually wasn't far from the truth, Shear had a weakness for cute things, especially (thanks to Kerayle) cats.

A week ago Shear had come up to that very spot and not found the young stray, he saw scratch marks and some fur leading down an alley. He had a bad feeling he knew what he would find but the truth was a lot worse, not only had the cat been caught by some stray dogs, there was a twisted, almost demonic incarnation of it there. Shear had been so caught up with his reaper duties that it was 4 days before he was able to go looking for the cat, he usually fed it every day because it was small, but it seemed able to take care of itself, because of his absence the cat thought the one person who ever cared had abandoned it and when it died it became a lost soul instead of passing on. For once Shear didn't bat an eye when something happened to his jacket, the lost soul tore 3 ravines through the front of it and Shear's chest. He couldn't bring himself to move for a moment, and when he did he didn't react to his wounds, he merely transformed Kerayle into his blade form and whispered "I'm sorry."

Shear realized after a moment he REALLY should have just made something up instead of playing off of life, thinking of what had really happened clenched his fists and brought tears to his eyes. "I was just coming here to get some supplies when I remembered the cat and thought I should check up on it." After his last sentence was the first time Shear actually looked at the guys face, and he jumped back in surprise when he saw a faceless owl perched on his shoulder. Two in one day? Okay, call me superstitious, but somethings up...I've been seeing more demons and lost souls lately, events are building up...what's about to happen? "So...another Reaper huh? What's the owl's name, Nike? Because I gotta say you don't look much like the goddess of wisdom, no offense."

 

[doge]

Norris was far enough away to not panic after witnessing the transformation.

"Adorable little kitty turns into bad ass tiger. It's even growing at us, you think they're demons?" He looked to Voel for her verdict. The owl tilted its head towards Norris and shook it. He trusted her, she had knack for being right, but if not a demon, what else could do what that cat just did. Also the fact that it was threatening them didn't help ease his mind either.

To his surprise, when the tiger had realized what it was growling at, it stopped and seemed to relax in the presence of their arrival. So the cat was friendly, but was the man? He would soon find out as the man rose from his sitting position, letting Norris see how much of giant the man truly was, and began speaking.

A cat? For a moment Norris was slightly confused but he eventually figured out it was a different cat he spoke of. He noticed the man clench his fist and that raised some sort of alarm in Norris' mind. Thinking he was seconds away from getting suckerpunched, he made sure he was ready to react to anything the guy was about to pull. Voel sensed Norris' suspicions, and perched herself on his shoulder, as if to call him silly for such a thought.

Suddenly the man turned around and instead of lunging forward as Norris had expected, he jumped back with a slightly shocked expression on his face. This caused Norris to tilt his head in confusion. He quickly checked his behind. Nothing there.

No way, he couldn't have seen Voel, could he?

"So...another Reaper huh? What's the owl's name, Nike? Because I gotta say you don't look much like the goddess of wisdom, no offense."

Ok, he did.

Norris smiled, laughing a little on the inside. He wasn't sure if Nike was a reference to his shoes or just a poor showing of Greek mythology. "I take total offense to that. How dare you confuse me with the Athena! I am the Goddess of Victory!" That's what Norris wanted to say, but for the sake of not wanting to rub this guy the wrong way, he didn't. He went for a less dramatic response.

"None taken, I'm not much of a goddess in general, let alone one of wisdom. This," pointing to his familiar, "is Voel. So, I take it you're a Reaper as well, and that is your familiar?" He gestured to the cat/tiger.

 

[Sephear]

Shear relaxed when the guy confirmed his suspicions, but that opened up another question. Should I tell him about the girl? She doesn't seem to handle men very well...probably better just to cram it for now and if she wants to reveal herself she will...oh wait...I didn't get her name. Ehhh I guess it has to wait now. "Yeah, I am a reaper, if you're wondering why I didn't think you were a demon at all it's because I already made that mistake today, that's not something I can talk about right this second but I assure you, we're not the only two either." Shear let that sink in for a moment before continuing on. "Hmm Voel huh? I heard a story once that had a 'summon spirit' in it named Voel, well I'm Shear and this." He scratched the nook that was practically a canyon for such a large creature behind Kerayle's ear until he let out a purr that was so deep and loud it was still more intimidating than most growls, if one couldn't feel the emotion behind it. "Is Kerayle, a cat more faithful than any dog, 4 times as big and somehow still softer and gentler than air."

Shear released the smile on his face and got more serious. "Have you noticed a rise in demons and lost souls lately? Because it seems to me things are getting crazier. Just last night I saw a demon disguised as a human with his own flock of floozies, and a biker who radiated power...I don't know what he was but it's not human that's for sure.

 

[Fuyu]

Kaya saw Shear's smile and reached for the board again, only for him and Kerayle to turn away. Someone was there. At that thought, her entire body went rigid. Someone, a man, she realized quickly by the sound of the voice, was there and talking to Shear. Should she move? Should she just come out and put an end to it, so they could do what they wanted together?

No.

Syr's word made her visibly flinch in her hiding place and Wyve licked her cheek. He believed everything was all right. Well, it probably was... but for the sake of her racing heart, she wasn't going to try and prove it either way.

Instead, in a careful, upside-down scrawl, she gently wrote her name for Shear to see if he turned back. She had to be careful and not be seen, but... it was the least she could do. When finished, she quietly capped the marker and closed her eyes. If she didn't calm her adrenaline down soon, Syr might decide to do something about it. She didn't want that at all. She decided to think of the groceries she needed to buy. It was a mundane thing, yes, but mundane, ordinary, was better than nothing.

 

[doge]

Not the only two. For some reason the words didn't evoke too much shock in Norris. He'd always thought there'd been more Reapers, just a bit more scattered around the world rather than packed into the streets of New York City. It'd be absurd to think otherwise as there was no way New York City was the only place with a demon infestation. Though if there were more than one just in The Big Apple, it posed the question of how many Reapers there were in the whole world. It hurt his mind to even think about it.

Fortunately for Norris, the fellow Reaper, Shear, changed the topic of conversation. As Shear spoke of his own familiar, Norris noticed the two had quite the bond, one much more intimate than the one he and Voel shared. Norris wasn't quite sure how to describe his and Voel's relationship but it definitely was not of the best friend variety. He glanced over at Voel, who had her attention focused on something. It was like she was listening intently to some sort of movement nearby. Norris didn't give her behavior a second thought as his attention was shortly returned to Shear.

"Now that you mention it, there has been a tiny increase in the number of demons and souls I've seen lately. Other than that, I've haven't really seen anything out of the ordinary. Except for maybe yourself and Kerayle." Norris smiled, the last bit being intended to lighten up the mood.

 

[Sephear]

Shear felt something bump ever so slightly against his ankle The board and resisted the urge to turn around, it might give the girl away. A tiny increase? Lucky you, I've been working my tail off-oh god I just made a pun-enough lately that I considered asking for less hours at the club. Shear smiled at Norris' little nod to their presence. "What? You don't see golden haired, sparkly, untanning giants with overgrown tigers every day? Huh...The big apple's more boring than I thought. It's kind of strange, I never heard a whisper or saw a hair of a sign that there were any other reapers for years...honestly I think I might have been born one. And then all in the same day I see people running along rooftops-and not 1 story buildings mind you- and meet two reapers...it's very odd." A moment after he spoke Shear realized his blunder and felt like kicking himself in the rump. Ugh, I said two...moron!

In an attempt to roll right over his mistake Shear kept talking. "So, what kind of powers do you have? I seem to be linked to light...as if my appearance didn't make that obvious...kinda pisses me off, sometimes the things I do are too pretty and...It just makes me feel effeminate sometimes, that's where Kerayle is my saving grace, he may be beautiful, but nothing about a Tiger is effeminate." While Shear was talking Kerayle pretended to lose interest in what the humans were saying as cats so often do and looked at the board, as soon as he did Shear felt it in his heart. Kaya huh? Pretty name...I wish I could talk to her more, wonder what kind of life does that to a girl? Poor thing ran from me like I was the bogeyman.

 

[Fuyu]

Kaya froze. Something was staring at her. It wasn't Shear either. It was staring, waiting... for what? For her to move, that was exactly what. Not good. She had to calm down, breathe. Syr cooed low under her breath.

Pretty boy out there... she whispered. You can hear it right? His voice... sounds so stiff. He needs a break... a good long rest.

Kaya shook her head. Syren... groceries.

She could feel Syr pouting. But it will only take a moment... maybe two.

We can't. Mr.J-Daddy would be sad.

Syr had no words to counteract this and this made her shoulders sag with relief. Even physically, a little tension eased out. Making Mr. James unhappy was a no-no. Even she understood that. That would mean everything had come to nothing.

Wyve continued to nuzzle below Kaya's chin. This needed to be moved away from her so she could get up and go. He knew Kaya could stay still for hours, had had plenty of practice. But now she was covered in dirt. If her father saw this... he would be worried... and the worry would suffocate her.

Gods it was hard to watch over such a silly child.

But she was his silly child and that bird would need to stop staring at them right now or so help him there would be a lot more than a missing face. He almost growled, but that would give them away. Instead, he continued to wait, hoping that if it came down to things, that man Shear would be able to stop Syr if Kaya got into a panic. Or stop that man from being a fool. Maybe. If they were lucky.

He didn't have much of a choice but to trust them.

 

[doge]

Norris raised an eye. He mouthed out the words, "born as a Reaper," as if trying to decipher some sort of cryptic riddle. The notion seemed utterly ridiculous to him. Then again, being the only Reaper he knew, other than the newly acquainted Shear, Norris wasn't much of an expert when it came to becoming a Reaper: how to's.

However, if Shear's claim were actually true, Norris found it hard for him to acknowledge it. It was a slap in the face that for him to become a Reaper, something he didn't even want in the first damn place, his friend had to pay for the transaction with his own life while all that happened to Shear for him to become one was his birth. It'd be silly to say there wasn't any resentment or envy on Norris' end. He found it best to just keep the whole ordeal to himself.

Taking notice of a saliva build up in his throat, Norris forced down a big gulp. He didn't like when negative emotions found a way into his thoughts, ruined his vibe. Getting back into the conversation would probably take it off his mind.

"Odd indeed... Did you say two Reap-," The smell of smoke seeped into his nostrils. "The **** is that!?" He coiled back instantly, seeing the flaming bird out of his peripheral vision. His left arm flailed wildly over his shoulder in its best effort to put out the flames that had now spread to his right shoulder.

Voel dodged the arm, taking flight and shedding her firesuit in the process. What was left of a diminished fire was dropped onto the concrete surface. Norris would take care of her littering. She dropped down, still in flight, soaring by Shear's legs. She was going for the movement. As Voel passed the nook in the wall, her head tilted sideways a full ninety degrees, seemingly peering into the opening. In her mind she could faintly depict the outlines of one individual and some sort of winged creature. But Voel didn't plan on pushing it and pursuing a second peep, preparing herself for a U-turn back onto Norris' shoulder.

By now, Norris had put out the flames that were dancing on his shoulder, but not before they had done their damage, charring the shoulder of his white tee. He was now shaking the remaining bits of fire on his hand and stomping out the ones on the ground. He turned his head back to Shear.

"Well, I guess that answers your question on my powers." He sighed and shook his head, a bit embarrassed by Voel's antics. Oh if only he knew the implications of what she may have just started, he'd probably be more pissed than embarrassed.

 

[Sephear]

Shear noticed Norris' face tighten up a bit after he mentioned his suspicions that he may have been born a reaper. I wonder how somebody becomes a reaper. Shear got worried when it seemed Norris had caught his slip until something a lot more startling occurred. When Voel burst into flames and began flying all around he tried to get her to stay away, he didn't want to swat her but he didn't want ANOTHER article of clothing damaged and he didn't want her to see Kaya either. He wasn't fast enough though, and when she darted around him he noticed her turn her head and look right into the little spot behind him. Oh nonono, he can't see her right now, not before she's had more of a chance to calm down. Shear remained facing towards Kaya's hiding spot after Voel went back towards Norris long enough to draw loose directions to his apartment on the board, in case she wanted to talk more, besides satisfying his own curiosity he figured it would be good for her to talk someone.

When he was done Shear turned back towards Norris and gently bumped the board with his heel to knock it back towards Kaya. "Fire and Light huh? That makes us like cousins, I'm sure we should get along juuuust fine." He gestured towards Voel, hoping she wouldn't make too much noise before he could think of something. "Man, an Owl one second a Phoenix the next. I wonder why she-What the hell is that thing? It had wings, oh crap what if it's a demon?" Without another word Shear darted in the direction of his imaginary quarry, hoping Norris' own curiosity would be enough to draw him the same way. Where to go where to go...how do I legitimize running off like this?...Those guys who were running along the buildings! Shear began backtracking to where he had seen the free runners earlier that day, running past a local grocery store with one lone guy closing up. Something's always seemed off about that guy every time I'm in there...too bad I don't have time to stop.

 

[doge]

Voel descended from her flight back atop Norris's victimized shoulder. He frowned at her, "What was all that for?"

He didn't expect her to answer but she would never get the chance. Shear was babbling about Voel's phoenix like qualities when all the sudden, the topic shifted and he had his attention captivated by a demon. It seemed completely random and out of place, but considering how things had played out so far, it seemed normal enough to pass.

"Where'd you see it?" The words barely had the chance to leave his mouth before Shear took off running. He had little choice but to follow him, and did so reluctantly.

Voel on the other hand wasn't falling for the trickery and instead left for another time. She found her way back into Norris' pocket, retracting herself into the comfy confines of her totem. Perhaps she'd leave a little story about a certain duo for Norris to read about when everything settled down. Or was that a bit too much?

It was pretty effortless for Norris to keep up behind Shear's pace and stride, he was a seasoned athlete after all. They had just passed by a grocery store in the midst of its closing. Hopefully there wasn't anything too nutty about the sight of somebody chasing after a pristine looking giant. It was New York City though, so their chances seemed alright.

He shouted out towards Shear, "So where's this demon that we're suppose to be chasing?"

 

[Jegretis]

As Tony left, they had made an agreement to meet up later on. Truth be told, Alex didn't have any homework, but he just wanted some time to mull things over. Is this such a good idea? I was doing so well on my own...simply slaying demons, and that's that. Alex didn't want to make this Reaper business a whole lot more complicated than it needed to be. He slowly, but hastily cleaned his work area up, before haring a ring signalling someone had entered the store.

"Hey Alex-boy! I'm back, so you can finish up whatever it is that you are doing and you can go." The boss seemed unusually happy. Alex didn't care. He just wanted to leave. Alex nodded and took off his apron and folded it up. He reached for a backpack underneath the counter, and put his apron inside, and slung the bag over his back. "See you next time. I'll call you when it is time for your next shift." The boss said, waving and walking back into his office.

"Alright Mari, let's get out of this dump." He said, as he started to casually walk out of the store. Right in front of him he saw a two people running right in front of his path. Mari suddenly went into a frenzy, floating in circles. "Mari, what is it?" He said. Mari gave coos an finally settled down after some moments. "What the hell is going on..." Alex started to walk, still glancing behind as the two strangers ran away getting out of Alex's sight. "That was weird, right Mari." As he turned the corner, he came across a girl. Alex nearly bumped into her. "Sorry." But he stood there, as something immediately caught his attention. The girl had some sort of dragon-like creature lingering around her, around the same size as Mari. Alex didn't speak, as he just stood there, staring. Another Reaper...?No, impossible. How many Reapers are there? Well, there has to be more than I thought. Alex was getting ready to get into a fighting stance and was just about to punch the lights out of the girl to see if she was in fact a Demon. But he suddenly stopped when he remembered that upon seeing Tony, the possibility of another Reaper was more than likely. "Say, girl..." He said, looking down at her. She was rather short, with Alex standing over a foot taller than her. He Suddenly saw her hand, which was badly cut up. It kind of grossed Alex, but he knew he probably had a solution fo it. "...so you're a Reaper too, huh? You know, you're the second Reaper I've met today." Alex gestured Mari to come over near the girl. He wasn't so sure if he should be talking to another Reaper, but this one seemed different than Tony, and it kind of caught his interest. He looked at the girl, and Mari floated near her hand, and started to glow. "You know, Mari can probably fix that up. It won't hurt, but you gotta wait a few moments." He said to the girl. Alex eyed the dragon hard, as it looked rather tough, and the last thing he wanted was Mari to get attacked.

 

[Sephear]

Shear stopped, he hadn't been running near his full speed but it became obvious that he didn't need to slow himself down, Norris had no trouble keeping up with him. Hmm, must be an athlete. "Alright, well first let me say I'm sorry, I really don't like lying to people, not even to avoid getting in a brawl but if you let me explain I'm sure you'll understand, you seem smart." Shear took a breath and tried to think of the best way to word his next statement. "Yes, you did hear me say 2 reapers, I met another one just a short while before I met you, she was a little girl...not a kid she seemed like an adult but she was small. She was really skittish, and seemed particularly afraid of me, I think she may have been abused heavily by men during her life, and with you there, well I didn't say anything because I was worried how she would react. And when Voel freaked out she saw her and well I'm sure that scared the crap out of the girl so I figured we should give her some space to calm down, again I'm sorry I lied."

 

[doge]

When Shear halted his chase and turned back, Norris looked around their surroundings. There wasn't a demon in sight, had they lost its trail? He transitioned to a jog as he peered, eventually coming to a stop a few feet in front of Shear. Doubt was beginning to creep in and he wasn't quite sure anymore that Shear had led him away for the sake of chasing down a demon.

"So, why'd we stop?"

"Alright, well first let me say I'm sorry, I really don't like lying to people, not even to avoid getting in a brawl but if you let me explain I'm sure you'll understand, you seem smart."

He wasn't quite sure where Shear was going with this. So he'd been lied to about the demon thing? That wasn't so bad, it felt like more of a relief knowing that there was no demon. But still he was confused as to why. Hopefully Shear's explain would bring some clarity to the situation. He listened as the giant went on.

So there was a girl back there in the little nook in the wall. "So, it wasn't a cat...?" He wasn't quite sure what else to say until Shear brought up Voel's little random outburst back there. Norris felt a little guilt for Voel's actions, but that was probably why she did it, because she sensed a Reaper there. It would made sense rather than it being randomly motivated, since she did pop out of her totem when Norris noticed Shear back there. Either way he didn't feel too great about it, thinking about her spooked the girl might've been to have seen Voel's face in the fashion she did. After hearing it all, Norris felt like the one that needed to be apologizing.

"Nah, it's totally cool man... I... damn, if I knew that I'd have just left you two alone. No need for you to apologize either, you did the right thing. I should be sorry for even putting you and her in that situation." Norris paused for a second and rubbed his now sleeveless shoulder. "You sure she'll be alright by herself? Maybe you should head back or something."

 

[Sephear]

Shear was really glad Norris understood. "Dude, don't even worry about it, you couldn't have known besides, Kerayle's people skills aren't all the great either, he only cares about the feelings of kids, he saw that girl as a kid even though she looks like an adult to me." Shear thought about Norris' suggestion that maybe he should go back and check on her. "Well...she didn't seem to want attention all that much and I know I just said she's not a kid but...maybe I should at least make sure she's back to a stable-enough state of mind to go do whatever she came out to do. I think it's okay for you to come with, it's not every day I meet a reaper so I'd like to talk more, but do me a favor and stay good couple of feet behind me to help her stay calm."

Shear didn't mean to 'dismiss' Norris so abruptly but now that he mentioned it he WAS worried about Kaya. He made his way quickly but without running, back to where they had been and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw another man, and this one was already talking to Kaya. He began to run towards the guy, trying to warn him off. "No no no...Hey buddy! I'm gonna have to ask ya to back away from the g-oh you've got to be kidding me." He slowed down when he saw some sort of bird creature hovering near the guy, and Kaya. "You're a reaper too?!? Hold on a minute I know you, you're a clerk at that one store...I can't believe I never noticed before. Sorry to say my earlier statement stands though, please step away from the girl." Shear didn't try to look threatening or intimidating but his voice was firm and clear when he told Alex to back up.

 

[Jegretis]

As Mari was giving off a vibrant warm glow to try and heal Kaya's hand, a voice suddenly yelled form behind Alex. "No no no...Hey buddy! I'm gonna have to ask ya to back away from the g-oh you've got to be kidding me."You're a reaper too?!? Hold on a minute I know you, you're a clerk at that one store...I can't believe I never noticed before. Sorry to say my earlier statement stands though, please step away from the girl." The voice drew closer. Alex turned around and it was another guy. Again with the Reaper talk...Where's Tony when you need him. Alex wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't like being confronted like that.

"Calm down, I'm not even doing anything. In fact, if you bothered to look closer, I was only helping." Alex positioned himself in front of the tall man. He was about the same height as Tony, but Alex wasn't exactly intimidated, seeing as he was about 6'2" bordering on 6'3" himself. "It seems there's been Reapers popping out all over the place today." Alex said to the man. Then he realized something. He was supposed to meet Tony at the park, but was getting delayed but situations like these. Should I tell them to come with me...? It'll be good I guess if we got acquainted.. " Your a Reaper too...Where's your familiar?"