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Fantasy New Oasis: Four Heavenly Kings — The B-Sides

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Ezra Knight
CS Link
SCENE:
Making Amends
LOCATION:
Post Arc 2: Ezra's Apartment, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Ezra, Isobel
MAKING AMENDS
Ezra jumped a little when the cardboard box was suddenly shoved into his hands. Before he could question anything, Isobel signed and told him to choose one of the gathered items. There was no more elaboration after that, and he was left to silently stare at the assortment of knickknacks.

Tilting his head in confusion, he looked back at Isobel for a moment before returning his attention to the box. He really didn't understand what was going on here. Why did she want him to pick something? Was this supposed to be some kind of gift? Maybe he was being forced into a duel and the item he chose would be his weapon.

He probably could've come up with an even worse explanation for what was happening, but Isobel put an end to that train of thought. Once again, the Jack started signing, asking if she'd woken him up. Still confused, Ezra gave her a look, unsure of what made her ask the question.

"Huh? Oh." He'd been so preoccupied with the box that he'd forgotten about his appearance. However, now that his unexpected guest had reminded him, it was all he could think about.

Feeling a mixture of worry and embarrassment, he tugged at the hem of his shirt with his free hand, but it did little to hide his shame. While there was nothing wrong with his outfit, it wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to wear in the presence of a higher-up. A white t-shirt and sweatpants definitely didn't give off a professional vibe, and neither did his bedhead.

"N-No, it's okay. I was just lying down." He hadn't been able to sleep for a while now, and that probably wouldn't change after this encounter. This wasn't as serious as his other screwups, but it'd be another thing that kept him awake at night. He really should've found his suit before answering the door.

After he responded to the question, the awkward silence returned. Every quiet second was agonizing for him. What was the right move here? He didn't know how to handle visitors, and this was an important one. If he said something wrong, it'd blow up in his face again. Saying nothing at all would also be bad. He had to say something.

"Would you like to come in?" That's the best he could come up with.

Naturally, he had a few reservations about letting someone into his room, but he didn't have a lot of options. Just letting Isobel stand out in the hallway would be rude, especially after she let him sleep over at her apartment. He didn't want to get on another leader's bad side.

Stepping aside, he cleared a path for Isobel, giving her some space if she decided to take him up on his offer. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about showing her a messy home. He didn't own many things, so there wasn't much to clean in the massive living area. Aside from general appliances, he only had training equipment to make the place feel less empty.


Saturn_moon Saturn_moon
 
Matsuda Russo
CS Link
SCENE:
Park-Time Recreation
TIME:
Pre-Arc 1—2015, June 20th (Saturday)—1:00 PM
LOCATION:
Upper Central, Central Park
PARTICIPANTS:
Boltius, Milo, Matsuda, Nanami (NPC)
Park-Time Recreation
Sitting criss crossed, his shoes being taken off prior, Matsuda chomped on his strawberry filled beignet, the sugary powder falling on his lips. Licking it away, he sighed dreamily. leaning an arm back to stare at the sky. How long has it been since they just... relaxed like this? As much as Matsu was one for adventure, thrill- he had to admit, he really enjoyed the downtimes as well. It... gave him time to think. Normally he would hate that- but on days like these? Nothing filled his mind but blissful, happy memories.

Stuffing the rest of his beignet down his throat, Matsu looked at his friends over his shoulders, a lazy atmosphere controlling his actions. "Ain't had a day like this since..." With a pause, he laughed, his body falling backwards to lay on the grass. He crossed his arms behind his head, staring up at the sky. He didn't know what he wanted to say... The calm atmosphere too washed up in his mind to properly form complete thoughts. Or maybe that was just Matsuda.

He clicked his tongue, reaching over to playfully nudge Milo's shoulder. "Speaking a' weather, The hell are ya wearing Bolt? What- the sun rays too chilly for you?" He faked a shiver before he chuckled, shaking his head and leaning back down into the soft grass.

With a peaceful pause, the duo eyed boy wondered aloud, "Ever think about the future?..." he mumbled. In all honesty, he wasn't too positive about it. With the way his father was acting, the stupid fool would only lead him and his brothers down a broken path... if only his mom stuck around. Well.. maybe it was better she didn't get to see their dad like this...

One thing he was sure of though- was that this? Matsu and these bros... They would last forever.

Doctor Llamabean Doctor Llamabean Elenion Aura Elenion Aura

 
Passeri Park
CS Link
SCENE:
Love at Yu Min Cuisine
TIME:
February 14th, 2022 | Pre Arc 3
LOCATION:
West District
PARTICIPANTS:
The Quirkforce, Samira, Minato, Camila, Passeri, Alicia, Gideon
Love at Yu Min Cuisine
"Mm..." Passeri stuck a morsel of her now stone-cold dinner into her mouth. She wasn't sure if she appreciated the other woman's feigned interest, or was annoyed by it. "I wouldn't worry about that! Do you know what the lifespan of a star is? Just ours is supposed to last another five billion years! It'd be awful lackadaisical of me to not live up to that much at least."

"As for events... I think I only have fourteen left this month? None of them concerts, though. A few parties, a ball, charity drives, meet and greets..." Her voice trailed off as her attention drifted over to the increasingly bustling crowd in another corner of the restaurant.

"...Nevermind that, though!" She dropped her fork on her plate, and got to her feet. "If we're here to schmooze, then we should be doing it to the man of the hour himself! We're gonna miss out at this rate. I can introduce you!"

Passeri popped to her feet, and the sound of clacking heels accompanied her as she made her way over to the other group's table.

"Howdy crowdy!" She slipped into the conversation with a smile and a wave, giving a universal greeting to the gaggle of assembled gangsters. "Sorry to intrude, but I thought I'd better say hi! Never pays to be a wallflower~"
General: QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel Elenion Aura Elenion Aura AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa Coyote Hart Coyote Hart Beann Beann Anne Boolean Anne Boolean
 
Yuto Nishimura
CS Link
SCENE:
Accidental Rumble
TIME:
September 17, 2021 | 5:45 pm | Post Arc 1
LOCATION:
North District, In a Car
PARTICIPANTS:
Yuto, Sang-Cheol, Tri
Accidental Rumble
A growl reverberated low in Yuto's throat, baring his teeth. Sang-Cheol's voice only helped increase the pain in his head... it felt like a glass bottle being thrown at an already cracking windowpane.

The car lurched him forward, bile rising in the back of his throat. He clutched onto Sang-Cheol's seat, nails digging hard enough in to reveal the cotton underneath. With a snarl In Yuto's voice, he responded through gritted teeth, "Why don't you learn how to drive before attempting to threaten m-" he was cut off as the car moved him unrelentingly, Yuto's body being flung to the other side of the backseat, one of his feet stabilizing himself on the roof of the car.

He wheezed a cough, before throwing himself forward, clawing at any part of the glasses wearing freak he could reach in his frantic state. A yell of agony tore itself from his throat. He had to distract himself- anything to get his mind off of- well.. EVERYTHING. Even through all the pain and rage, Yuto could feel warm wetness coating his cheeks... Was he crying? Or was that just blood?... A sob unwillingly escaped him, redoubling his efforts in his frantic clawing.


@Misuteeku @Damafaud

 




(Jasper) Dante | West | The Princess Penthouse





Alice had a much more optimistic view on things than he, and on some level that was good. He needed people like that to balance out the bleaker lights that people like him and Ezra could see. When she chastised him slightly for his negative thinking, it made him smile. Even at Ezra's appearance he couldn't help but watch silently to see what would happen, at least in the case of Alice wanting him out for the sake of not entirely trusting him either- something he hoped would not happen, which fortunately it hadn't.

When Charlie's name came up once more it was clear that she did not like him mentioning him negatively. Or even the possibility of him doing something untoward that could fracture the current trust she had in him.

He took note of that. Her faith in Charlie's goodness almost made him think of the kind of endearment Helva showed towards her fellow Phoenixes. Didn't mean of course, he wasn't going to hammer that sour pill in, being aware of one's allies and enemies was a key component to surviving in a gang. Especially when your allies could just as easily turn into your foes. As long as she kept this in mind, he wouldn't try to impose on her relationship with Charlie. After all, he was only really doing this because he was concerned.

With how sheltered she'd been, there was no doubt in Dante's mind that if she took his training, she would undoubtedly become slightly more impulsive or at least more daring.

It was at least cute to see how flustered she became at something as innocent as guiding stray hairs out of her face. In some ways it reminded him of Celeste.

Hearing Ezra state he'd take the training made Dante turn his attention to him. "But of course, the offer still stands." Upon his touch, the scrapes he'd received from his fight vanished. In response Dante replied to him, "Much" he smiled, "thank you Ezra." His smile genuine.

Upon Alice's reply however Dante answered her question. "I can try, but to do that I'd need you to explain to me so far what you understand of your own power, and show me what you can do with it. Our powers, as Potentials are just as much capable of evolution as we are, so it sounds to me like you experienced a moment of deeper awakening to your power, like I did when I first truly was able to manifest mine. Sometimes our powers can evolve from the stress we feel. Not just physical, but mental. From my experience though..." his eyes became momentarily lost in a vision, there was a brief pause and Dante rolled his head to the side as he closed his eyes, ".,.people's powers only ever really evolve when they go through an abnormal internal change. A stress that isn't just physical or mental but some kind of combination of both that affects your very being. It's....hard to explain. We'll figure it out though." He reassured her. "Once we begin training we can begin testing out your abilities." His golden slitted eyes moved to Ezra. "Both of you. With two of you, this will make it much easier, because now you'll both have sparring partners that won't just be me."

"Keep in mind though" he raised a clawed finger up, "that for us to do this, your guards cannot know about me training you in particular Alice, with Ezra, I don't have a problem because at the moment there are no Tiger's here that have sank their claws into him, and if they do" he turned to look at the slightly younger man, "I'll be sure to get in their way to prevent that." He nodded to him as assurance. "I have a strong enough sense that you in particular aren't all that interested in getting into more trouble than you want, I'll do my best to make sure you won't. No promises though. I tend to walk right into trouble, the best I can do is keep you at bay from it." He advised.

"You however" he bent low and his fingers came up to tilt Alice head up to look him in the eye. The slitted golden pupils contracted and there was a sharp glare in his retinas as he leaned in. Almost uncomfortably close. A tactic to see if she would flinch away from him or stand ground. Just another test to see how she could measure up to an intimidating aura. "I can't do the same for you Alice. The Tigers have you surrounded, getting to you tonight alone was not easy- and would have cancelled our meeting entirely, as you can tell from how I came looking in. After they lost you once, they have no interest in losing you again- I need to be careful with how I sneak you away. I cannot have them thinking I am trying to sink my claws into you- when that is neither what I want or my aim. We need to figure out how to do that now, tonight. Because after knocking out some of those guards, I can guarantee you that they are going to be more suspicious of people approaching you from now on and may even have someone capable of spying that can evade my senses to keep an eye on you from a distance."

Then he paused, rising back up and away from her. "Sorry about that by the way. I know it's not want you needed right now after the bomb just dropped on you, but still. We need to plan ahead if we are going to make our training a thing. We'll need to establish something between us to make it easier for me to take you, or I'll just have to start sneaking you out or you'll need to start using your influence to force them to give you what you want." he listed off possibilities- but it was clear he had no real certainties.



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Interactions: Lucem Lucem AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa
 
PEYTON XIONG
CS Link
SCENE:
I Won't Become a Monster!!
LOCATION:
Fog Grove, North District
TIME:
Pre-Arc 1 || February 19th, 2015
PARTICIPANTS:
Damian, Peyton
I WON'T BECOME A MONSTER!!
What a creepy place. Peyton was glad that Damian was the one who stepped into the house first, as if Peyton had done it first, he would've no doubt frozen with fright. With the static TV, the long shadows and lack of lighting, and the dirty carpet, it felt like something was deeply wrong. Peyton contemplated taking off his shoes at the doorway. It was what he was taught to do when he was younger. But when his weapon was his shoes, doing so felt like a fatal mistake.

And so Peyton stepped on the grimy carpet, entering the house behind Damian. The click-clack that had accompanied his every step while walking on the sidewalks with his heels was muffled. The air tasted stale and smelled like moldy cardboard.

"They didn't even offer us tea," Peyton did his best to joke. But despite his best efforts, his voice was a bit shaky. "Maybe they're just doing some last minute clean up?"

Peyton would empathize with the people who lived here if that was the case. He often had to do last minute room cleanups when a friend would come and visit. But Peyton's instincts told him that he was just thinking this to comfort himself. No, there was something more sinister here.

Nodding at Damian's suggestion to seek their hosts out, Peyton ventured deeper into the house. Clearing the bottleneck of the house entrance lead them to a small, creepy-looking living room. The moth-eaten curtains had been pulled tight around the windows, leaving the room in almost pitch darkness. If not for the flickering black and white salt and pepper display of the old TV box, the entire room would be completely engulfed in darkness. Peyton wasn't sure if that was for the better or for the worse, as he was sure he felt someone watching them in the darkness. There was a moldy leather couch with towels draped over it to make a suitable sitting area, and moldy fruit on it. Dead houseplants snaked around the walls from crooked shelves.

"Hello?" Peyton called out. Nobody responded. He inched closer to the TV until he was standing in front of the TV. He was sure he saw a face within the static.

That was when it happened. With a loud clang, a cage fell from the ceiling to trap both Peyton and Damian in the living room. Peyton jolted, then his heart sank. He had forgotten to look up. Panic in his step, Peyton rushed to the metal bars and clutched them. "Hey! What the heck is this? It isn't funny!"

"Damn, we caught a bunch of kids?" a voice from the shadows asked. The speaker came into view, a woman with a business casual dress and oversized, leopard print sunglasses. "I thought the Serpents would send someone, not the local high school."

"Ah, who the hell cares, if they know then we can use them," a second figure came into view. He was a thin man, with wispy hair. Blotchy skin was covered in scabs and filled with gaunt, sunken features. Almost compulsively, the man reached up and began to scratch at one of the scabs, "Now, you're going to be telling us a lot about the Serpents. Or we're going to have some fun."

From within the murky darkness, the muffled sound of footsteps resounded around the cage, and more than half a dozen people surrounded the cage. They were aspiring entrepreneurs, drug addicts, thugs, and those who were slighted by the Serpents. Within their bags, pockets, and jackets were the hints of shivs, guns, and other hidden weapons that Peyton could only imagine. Some openly carried bats and automatic weapons.

"Hey! Paris is not going to be happy when I come back with battle wounds," a nervous Peyton gave a wobbly grin despite the situation, remembering the lifeline that Paris had provided, "But c-come at me! Especially if you like getting the crap kicked out of you and like suffering from a permanent flu when Paris coughs on you!"

Despite the boldness and brazenness that Peyton displayed, most of it was for show. His legs shook, and if not for his Potential, he knew he would've fallen to the ground by now. Peyton took a step back and hissed to Damian, "Now what?"

But then he realized something had gone incredibly wrong. Just what had happened to the monster protectorate he had relied on?

"... Damian?"
 
Last edited:
Isobel Pham
SCENE:
Making Amends
LOCATION:
Post Arc 2: Ezra's Apartment, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Ezra, Isobel
Making Amends
Isobel tilted her head, studying Ezra curiously. The shadows under his eyes had become more prominent since she last saw him and there was a sense of nervousness in his voice and mannerisms. She wondered if the events following the mission had caused him more grief than she realized and it was inadvertently affecting his sleep. While tempted to prod further, she instead clenched her hands tightly behind her back to stop herself for fear that it might make Ezra more uncomfortable than he already was.

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly stepped to one side and invited her in. She hadn’t expected to stay for more than several minutes but seeing as how she had blundered her apology right from the start, this was where they were now - trying to salvage a situation from becoming more awkward than it already was.

Not wanting to come across as unappreciative, she accepted his invitation and entered the spacious living area with large windows that offered an unrestricted view of the West District. In contrast to her own apartment which was overflowing with stuff and had barely an inch of surface space available, Ezra’s apartment was largely empty except for a few pieces and basic furniture and workout equipment. While beautiful, it was also cold, unfeeling, and lacked any signs of attachment. Isobel glanced around looking for cardboard boxes or any clues to indicate he might still be moving in, but couldn’t find any. Even Markus’ office had more personality than this apartment which was saying a lot. This wasn’t a home. It was a place for someone to rest and nothing more.

Maybe I should just give him the entire box.

Pushing her discomfort aside, she turned to Ezra and signed “I came to apologize. I realize I might have dragged you into a bit of a mess with Markus. It wasn’t my intention and I’m trying my best to fix it. Unfortunately, Markus can be quite…” She cycled through a series of options that came to her mind and settled on the first one that wasn’t quite as crude. “Stubborn.”

Gesturing at the box in Ezra’s hand with a nod of her head, she proceeded to explain “I was going to give you something as a token of apology but didn’t know what you liked. So I figured I’d just bring over some things and let you choose. However, you still might not like any of it…”

Growing immensely self-conscious, Isobel reached out to take the box back from him. “Maybe I should go. I’ve already bothered you enough.”

Lucem Lucem 🏓

 
Yuto Nishimura
CS Link
SCENE:
Sir, This is a Hospital
TIME:
Tuesday, September 28th, 2021 || Post Arc 2
LOCATION:
Correspondance Hospital, Lower Central
PARTICIPANTS:
Peyton, Yuto
Sir, This is a Hospital
Equal the scales? As the black and yellow haired boy neared his neck, Yuto could feel his jaw tense up, expecting a bite. A flash from the past flickered through the man's mind of one of his now defeated siblings sinking their teeth in his throat, aiming for the kill- and was shocked when all he felt were soft lips and a wet sensation. Oh... Oh course Taffy wasn't going to kill him! At least- not yet... Once he got past the shock, Yuto felt slightly flushed, his jaw unclenching as a relieved sigh escaped him.

As Peyton flipped over to lay beside him, the three eyed boy couldn't help but miss the comforting warmth on his chest. He placed both his hand over his stomach, attempting to replace the previous heat with his own.

Friend... yes, that's what they were now weren't they? Yuto felt a soft smile claw its way to his face. Yuto had never met someone who... accepted him as much as Peyton had. Which was quite odd- considering they were literally aiming to maim the other not even a week ago. Wait- return? Did that mean- was Taffy apart of the Serpent's before? HIs brows furrowed in confusion, turning his head to rake over the other man with scrutiny. If that was the case... then why did he leave? Ever since Yuto joined the Serpent's- he'd had the most fun in his life! It offered a more stable freedom- as well as income- that Yuto didn't have before... So why would someone decide to leave?

Yuto hummed non-commitedly, turning back to look at the ceiling. This was definitely not the first time he thought this but- "..You're weird..." he murmered. He could feel rather than hear a soft, breathless laugh leave his lips. That's right... They weren't meant to be friends. Nor... whatever it was that made them affectionate towards one another. Yuto was a Serpent, and Peyton-.. was something else. (Yuto never really paid much attention to other gangs- nor their titles)

With hesitation, he mumbled, barely audible, "... I like being with you too..."

With a tense jaw, he showed a stiff smile, his heart darkening with the knowledge that this might be their last friendly encounter. Yuto never cared much for rules in the first place- but he couldn't help but be reminded of their fight. If they fought each other for their gangs- wanting to kill the other- what's to say it won't happen again? Yuto... didn't want to kill Taffy. Yuto felt his jaw tighten and his brows furrow, confusion and conflicting thoughts warred in his mind.

He was broken out of his musings by another- more urgent- gurgle of his stomach. Right- now was not the time to be thinking about this. Yuto sat up on the hammock, tension lining his shoulders. His eyes averted Peyton, manually sticking them down below, watching the door with rapt attention.

--

About 15 or so minutes later, the door finally creaked open, Yuto holding his breath. A nurse, female, with her hair tied up in a bun walked through. His three wide eyes staring unblinkingly as her form moved beneath them. He waited for the nurse to walk to the sink. His body tensing as the water turned on. He slowly crawled to the edge of the web, leaning forward- before lunging. Her scream tore through the enclosed room.

The satisfaction of the warm, red substance bleeding into his clothes was his last coherent thought, before hunger took over- a desperate, frenzied buzz overtaking him.

Coyote Hart Coyote Hart

 


ROCCHI (Nakazajo Chikage)
CS Link
SCENE:
Part-Time Pandemonium
TIME:
Pre-Arc 1— May 2020, past 11:00pm
LOCATION:
Burger Knight, Central District
PARTICIPANTS:
Chikage, Yong-Yut gxxberkit gxxberkit
PART-TIME PANDEMONIUM
Once Yong-Yut was situated in the Drive-Thru and taking the customer’s order, Chikage got to work on changing the lobby’s trash cans. There were only three but policy required that each can be double-bagged, so that’s what he did before making his way to the back door where the dumpster sat just beyond.

Three trash-stuffed bags hung by the loops from his arm as he neared the door and made eye-contact with Detective Perez.

The two of them nodded, then Chikage asked, “Would you get the door for me?” And Perez moved to do just that.

That’s when the ear-piece in Chikage’s ear—not the Burger Knight headset—crackled and a voice penetrated a wall of static with: “The deal is–... –down!” And the two of them quickly sprung into action, Chikage dropping the trash bags where he stood before he bounded through the back door and into the night.

Detective Perez, weapon drawn, followed after, and they zipped into the alley where, parked at the alley’s mouth, John Johnson was accepting payment for the drugs.

Catching sight of the two officers—“FREEZE!”, demanded Perez, taking aim at Johnson with his finger off the trigger—the dealer floored the gas of his vehicle. His tires rolled in place before they finally caught traction and peeled away from the rendezvous point. On the other hand, the Burger Knight employee dropped to his knees and cupped his hands behind his head.

“Stay with him!” Chikage instructed, directing the detective to the boy, then chased after Johnson in a full sprint. Running, he reached into his windbreaker and pulled out one of his tungsten marbles, reared it back, then launched with precision aim.

The silver ball whizzed through the air, glinting in the streetlight, and busted the back left tire with ease, like a pin in a cushion, also embedding itself into the tire’s rim.

John Johnson rounded the corner and lost control of the vehicle, swerving into the oncoming lane. Another vehicle blared its horn, headlights blinding him, and John jerked the steering wheel to the left, unrealizing that he’d just turned into the Burger Knight parking lot and was now barreling straight for the building.

There was no time to hit the brakes before the front-end of the car tore through the structure and came to a forced halt as it met hard with the front counter.

Disoriented but still with a mind for escape, John Johnson opened the door to the car and collapsed out, getting to his feet with a stagger, and he floundered toward the counter to try climbing over it. Yong-Yut was to his left in the Drive-Thru. Chikage was not far behind him, hurrying over and past the wreckage to subdue the perpetrator.

What a mess.

“You’re under arrest.” He said calmly as he took hold of Johnson by the back of his collar and pulled him to his ass. If Johnson’s dealings failed to aid them in the quelling of Serpent drug trade, Chikage would be disappointed.
CHIKAGE NOTES​
— —The majority of the front, right half of Chikage's body is badly scarred from burns, stopping halfway up his neck. The skin is distorted and unpleasant to look at. For this reason, he wears a black, leather glove always covering his right hand, and usually wears long-sleeved, concealing clothes. Reference (X)

— —In this specific scene, Chikage is wearing a jacket to conceal his firearm.

— —SCENE DESCRIPTION: Chikage (a Lieutenant at this time), going by the alias Luke Thorne, and one of his partners, Detective Perez, aka Thomas Sangster-Brody, are conducting an undercover investigation at a Burger Knight in order to catch a drug-dealing perpetrator named John Johnson who has been frequenting said Burger Knight suspiciously close to closing time. Yong-Yut of the Scarlet Phoenixes just so happens to be trying their hand at customer service, and this is their first day. So far, it has been business as usual, and Yong-Yut is about to take their first Drive-Thru order.
 
ROCCHI (Nakazajo Chikage)
CS Link
SCENE:
Gangs' Grocery Games
TIME:
Pre-Arc 3 — January 5th, 2022
LOCATION:
Central District, (level not established)
PARTICIPANTS:
Chikage, Pascal, Laurent, Tenebrosity
GANGS' GROCERY GAMES
Chikage felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket but didn’t check it until he was already in the store and immediately antagonized by the bustling mass of shoppers astir—the buzz of chatter and cacophony of technology—BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

“Assistance in aisle 12! Assistance in aisle 12!”

“And I told that bitch, my hand was there first~!”

“REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”—All of the sudden, Chikage flinched and shot his gaze toward a child passing him by who clung to his mother’s blouse and writhed like something out of a horror movie. To see it, Chikage was appalled, and the look on his face did little to hide that until he realized he was staring. Promptly, he looked to the phone in his hand. There, on the screen, was a message from Pascal requesting that he grab a cart.

“Ah.” Chikage looked behind him, turning only slightly, at the automatic doors that were propped open, for it’s not like they had much chance to close. Not with this traffic.

Blinking… a sigh escaped him.

Moments later, tugging that cart behind him, he spotted Pascal amidst the crowd and made his way over. All the while, he damned this place. Cursed it.

Not only did he despise crowds simply for what they were, but he could not help but worry when his next episode would occur.

Coming to a stop beside Pascal, Chikage’s eyes settled on the other’s haul. He raised a single brow, inspecting the selection. “. . . I brought the cart. . . I will say it now, make this quick. I do not wish to be here for long-” Just then, an arm stuck itself right in front of Chikage's face, obscuring his vision of Pascal; a man was reaching for some seasonings and paid not a single expression of excuse me or pardon. And Chikage froze... He looked askance at the man, a vein bulging in his temple, but the man was thankfully gone, not a care in the world, before the Police Captain could erupt.
Anne Boolean Anne Boolean Elenion Aura Elenion Aura gxxberkit gxxberkit
CHIKAGE NOTES​
— —The majority of the front, right half of Chikage's body is badly scarred from burns, stopping halfway up his neck. The skin is distorted, discolored, and unpleasant to look at. For this reason, he wears a black, leather glove always covering his right hand, and usually wears long-sleeved, concealing clothes. Reference (X)

— —What he's wearing: (Click: X) Long-sleeved, milky-brown turtleneck sweater; Black trousers (no belt); Simple black boots; Wrist-watch; Glove on his right hand

— —POST RECAP: Chikage arrives at Shop Mart and grabs a buggy for Pascal as Pascal had texted and asked him to do. He does not want to be there.
 
Rin Chiyase
CS Link
SCENE:
Phoenixes Pre-Arc 3: The Enduring Hurrah
TIME:
Pre-Arc 3: Evening of May 27th, 2022
LOCATION:
Red West Bar, a Phoenix hub in the South District
PARTICIPANTS:
Hitoshi, Hide, Charlie, Corvo, Milo, Rin, Boltius, Ashley,
Gideon, Dimitri, Hector, Roza
The Enduring Hurrah

The festivities had begun even before Hector's rousing speech and Rin had made herself right at home. Chatting with random people, eating, and especially drinking, which led to her current predicament.

Where she was currently, the oni was in one seat with several shot glasses in front of, some turned down with a few remaining turned up. Across from her was someone who had the same glasses in front of them, but was tolerating them far less well than Rin by their posture. Surrounding them was a small group who were watching the little contest with excitement and vigor, cheering or cursing as they had made the wise, or foolish, decision to place bets.

Rin hadn't been the one to initiate this, surprisingly. One of the others just goaded her and, ever the competitive one, the oni accepted. She wasn't sure if the guy was a rook, a vet, or whatever, not that it would have discouraged her regardless. Still, she was showing that at least one stereotype of her epithet seemed to fit.

Taking another filled glass, she brought the liquid to her lips and with one swift motion, downed it in one gulp. The horned woman let out a satisfied exhale as she set the glass upside down on the table, nodding with a grin for the other's turn. However, they were already quite loopy and struggling to muster the ability to bring the glass to their lips.

Rin chuckled before she caught the tail-end of a familiar face as it exited through the front doors. Patting her opponent on the arm, causing them to sway a bit and spill a little more of their drink, Rin stood up intent to follow the other. "Keep trying there bud, I'll be back."

As she squeezed past the crowd of people, Rin eventually escaped through the front doors with a relieved sigh. Pausing to scan the surroundings, she found her target and continued on to disturb the fellow rookie. Coming up behind her, Rin set a hand on the smaller rabbit's shoulder with a grin.

"I don't think I've seen someone stare at a burger that seriously before. You must be hungry, haha!" Rin joked with a friendly grin. "Tryna hide from the crowd?"

RedArmyShogun RedArmyShogun (Roza, directly)
 
Pascal Corbin
CS Link
SCENE:
Building Bridges
LOCATION:
West-South Bridge
PARTICIPANTS:
Passeri, Dante, Milo, Jozef, Corvo, Yong-Yut, Gideon, Vulken, Boltius, Charlie
Building Bridges

Iroi was in town and seemed to want to do some philanthropy. While altruism and perhaps meeting a celebrity were good motivators, Pascal's main motivation was the free food. In exchange for helping rebuild the bridge connecting the West and South district, volunteers would be rewarded with food. From the looks of it, the idol hadn't skimped out either. There was a good variety of stalls available for the laborers, and while none of them were exactly fine dining, they certainly costed a prettier penny than the instant noodles he was used to. Yes, the blond was certainly looking forward to the meal, but first, he intended to put in the work to earn it.

As expected from a place like New Oasis, a lot of the people who turned up were HPs. Some of their abilities were particularly useful for different tasks involved in construction. An example was the red-haired man who was using his (literal) fire power to dry the cement. Pascal sadly had to just contribute through general labor. His own Potential could have been used in mixing the cement, but he figured losing parts of his body would make it a much less efficient method than just using regular water.

Once the star took the stage and announced it was time for a break, Pascal eagerly set down his tools. He made his rounds to all the various food stalls and piled his plate high, carrying a second one, even. From the corner of his eye, he noticed some commotion at a nearby stall. After some crashing was heard, the stall collapse and people fled from what was left of it. A large dog and a red-haired woman stepped out, leaving a mess of now-sullied burgers on the ground around them. He made sure to steer clear of them as they passed, regretably eyeing the lost food.

As he searched for a place to sit, the blond almost tripped over a group of little men resembling doodles from the pages of a sketchbook. He was quickly able to regain his balance though, and more importantly, none of his food fell. He watched as they continued the clean up effort while the human, or at least non-doodle, workers around them ate. New Oasis continued to surprise him on a daily basis.

Once he had found a quiet spot in the shade, he happily started chowing down. About halfway through his banquet, he noticed a cold spot on his body. His hand reached to touch the area from over the red jacket he wore, and his brow immediately furrowed.

"Shit..." he muttered as his blue eyes scanned the offending area. "Shit. Shit. Shit." His voice reached a regular volume and had a genuine tone of distress, allowing the orange-haired man and the pinkish-brown-haired person he was talking to to overhear him. His attention was squarely on the tear in the article of outerwear, which was seemingly more important than the food he was so fixated on moments ago.

Pascal wondered how this could have happened. Had it gotten caught on a nail which he hadn't noticed? Had he barely brushed into some sharp tool? The cause didn't matter as much as what he could do to fix it. The end of the month was coming up. With rent due, he wouldn't be able to afford any alterations for awile. He had planned on going grocery shopping the next day. Perhaps he could skip it. It would mean no dinner for the next week or so, but he could swing it. He'd done it before, after all. What was a little bit of hunger for maintaining an important memento?

Nearby: Boltius Beckman ( Doctor Llamabean Doctor Llamabean ), Yong-Yut Somsri ( gxxberkit gxxberkit )
Others in scene: Passeri ( The One Eyed Bandit The One Eyed Bandit ), Dante ( The Regal Rper The Regal Rper ), Milo ( Elenion Aura Elenion Aura ), Jozef ( WhiskeyMarten WhiskeyMarten ), Corvo ( AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa ), Vulken ( Nobody Special Nobody Special ) Charlie ( Roda the Red Roda the Red )
 
Last edited:
Meirin Azuza
CS Link
SCENE:
Just Another Training Day
LOCATION:
Wuyang Temple, East District
LOCATION:
January 8th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3
PARTICIPANTS:
Peyton, Laura, Hou, Jesper, Isaiah, Schroeder, Ra, any Dragon that wishes to join
Just Another Training Day

“No idea!” Meirin called to the Driver who zoomed to the front of the running pack. “I’ll ask Sis about it when I get back!”

Of all the gangs in New Oasis, the Sable Serpents were her least favorite, but “removing their venom” seemed oddly ominous as well. The Jack O’ Lantern wearing librarian could end up getting hurt if he tried to do things on his own. Then again, he was much more experienced than her when it came to gang business.

Passing For Vacancy bar, Mei continued at a steady pace into the more familiar streets of the Pleasure District, waving at anyone she knew and anyone that knew her. Around the coasts of LittleLeaf, Amberside, Omenvale, Zhanzheng, Muhandae, and back around to Heiwana Sasayaki, those who managed to keep up with her for the first lap, learned the route Meirin normally took and were then able to continue the rest of the 19 laps at their own pace. In Meirin’s mind, it was good for these gangsters to get an idea of the District they were meant to keep the peace of–to feel for themselves exactly how wide the Azure Dragon turf actually was.

Some took pit stops along the way. Some didn’t. Some didn’t even finish one district lap before deciding to call it a day. Meirin took note of all this, but didn’t slow her pace. She gave them the distance. The goal. Whether or not they were able to complete said difficult goal was up to them and their own willpower. Did these punks think they could claim Central when they couldn’t even run laps around their own District? Shaking her head, Meirin started a series of call-and-response cadences to keep the rookies motivated:

What flies the highest?! Dragons!
What roars the loudest?! Dragons!
What stomps the hardest?! Dragons!
Who are we?! Azure Dragons!​

And so forth.

At some point, she passed Peyton and Hou, who seemed to be coming from a clock shop…and running the opposite direction…which made it pretty obvious they’d taken an exceptionally long rest break. Meirin rolled her eyes, but given Peyton’s somewhat chaotic nature, she wasn’t terribly surprised. Hou, who called himself Sun Wukong, seemed to have a mischievous nature about him as well, though it wasn’t as if she knew the rookie all that well. He’d been in the gang for a couple of months now and was known for his…Buddha’s Palm? The masters at Wuyang temple would like him. Maybe. Back when she first started learning shaolin martial arts, if she ditched training, she’d get a slap upside the head…so maybe not. Well…whether they ran clockwise or anticlockwise a lap was still a lap…

“Why don’t you try letting Lil’ Xuefeng run a little?” Meirin advised. “Pick him up only if he looks like he can’t run anymore. I heard the kid gave ya’ll quite a chase along the rooftops. He displayed a variety of different potentials while doing so as well~”

That was all she’d say on the matter. Xuefeng wasn’t her kid, so it wasn’t up to her how he was trained, if he trained at all. Running was a boring exercise. Basic. However, it was how she started learning martial arts. One had to build their body before learning techniques, after all, and repetition was how the body learned. A habit of daily running could only be a good thing for a young HP. Any young child really, though, regimens designed for HPs were far different than the ones designed for NPs.

The Homo Potentialis’s body was capable of so, so much more.

Twenty laps around the district shouldn’t be too hard…

By the fifth lap, Isaiah was using his potential to motivate the runners–illusions of their loved ones cheering them on, their favorite objects running in front of them, etc. By the tenth lap, the voices had dwindled down to the few that could keep up with her. Meirin didn’t mind. Everyone ran at their own pace. What mattered was that they finished. Popping a pair of air pods into her ear, Meirin watched the Junkyard Hog drive his scooter in front of her, knowing she couldn’t outspeed the vehicle without using her potential, and not even trying to. That wasn’t the point of the exercise.

Growing bigger would increase her stride, but it would also drain her stamina anyway.

The sun had reached the center of the sky and was now glaring down on them by the time Meirin returned to Wuyang temple, carrying those she’d passed who seemed too dead to move on her shoulders. And by “dead”, she meant passed out, not people who only seemed to be taking short rests before they were ready to run again. Hopefully, Mr. Wildschwein carried some back as well. Leaving them passed out on the streets wasn’t very safe.

png-transparent-brothers-conflict-kaname-kuran-anime-character-anime-love-purple-fictional-character-thumbnail.png
Setting the passed out couple down, Merin stepped over to the temple fountain, leaned down, and splashed water over her face and neck. One of the Wuyang Temple monks, a blonde man, handed Meirin a towel as she straightened. “Did you enjoy your run?”

“You bet I did! Thanks, Feng! Or should I call you Abbot Feng, now?”

“Call me whatever you want, Meimei. I’m only the acting abbot until my father returns from his pilgrimage anyway,”

“Riiiiiiight” Meirin wiped the water off her face. “What time is it now?”

“12:30 pm.”

So 1 district lap in 15 minutes, give or take.

“The temple apprentices have finished preparing lunch for you and your friends.” A clap from Feng Wuyang and the temple doors opened. Bald kids wearing training robes stepped out, carrying trays of rice balls.

“Seriously!? You’ve all done enough by letting us all train here…”

Acting Abbot Feng put his palms together. “Wuyang Temple grounds are always open to those that wish to improve themselves in body and spirit.” The blonde winked. “Besides, whether you’ve left or not, we still consider you a disciple of Wuyang Temple, Meimei. The kids were happy to help.”

Meirin threw her arms around her childhood friend, hugging him, before turning to face the exhausted Azure Dragons–the ones that managed to make it back to Wuyang temple, at least. “Guys! Pat yourselves on the back for finishing that run! We’re going to break for lunch while we wait for the others! Make sure to thank the apprentice monks for their kindness!”

Gangsters they may be, but that was no excuse to be rude.

“Once you’re done resting, those who want to learn hand to hand combat, or even pick up a weapon, can step into the temple. Training dummies have been set all throughout temple grounds for those who wish to do target practice. As for potential practice, that’s a personal thing, but if you need any help, feel free to request it from any of the veterans here. Heck, anyone here, really. Veteran or rookie, we’re all here at this temple to grow stronger together!”

Palms still together, the acting Abbot of Wuyang Temple bowed to those present. "May the four celestial gods look favorably upon you warriors on this day and in the days to come."

"So let's eat!"

Assuming the runners had the stomach to eat, that is.


Coyote Hart Coyote Hart RedArmyShogun RedArmyShogun Lucem Lucem SilverFlight SilverFlight Vahn Vahn AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa The Prophet The Prophet
((feel free to have your characters still running, eating, training, or even ditching at your leisure))
 
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AUGUSTUS AUGUST
SCENE:
Catch a Tiger by the Tail
TIME:
Past Midnight, October 9, 2021 | Between Arc 2 and Arc 3
LOCATION:
Markus' Penthouse, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Markus, Augustus, Josiah, Eldwin (NPCs) Elenion Aura Elenion Aura
CATCH A TIGER BY THE TAIL
”STUPID KING! STUPIDSTUPIDSTUP—MMFF!?”

Markus clapped a hand over the floating Tiger’s tiny mouth to keep any more of his inane prattling from escaping. He wasn’t sure if anyone else could even hear the little bastard—though, he was becoming more and more certain that they could not—but his tiny voice was beginning to grate on Markus’ nerves, and he needed to be on the ball, now… Because this wasn’t over.

For a guy like that to take one pass at him while showing his face told Markus all he needed to know. Another attack was coming. The only question that remained was when. Markus padded quietly along the clean, white tiling of his kitchen as the Albino Tiger hovered meagerly behind, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of the invisible man… Or any of his cronies who might’ve been skulking about in the tall shadows that clung to the high-ceiling walls of his penthouse. All the while worry began to seep in at the back of his mind. Something was wrong. The frost which would always come so easily to him now felt faraway.

What had been on that knife?

The incorporeal entity crept ever closer then, and it pervaded the air, unseen, around the Tiger King. Only the Tiger King, whose strange behavior did not go unrecognized.

Could it be that he wasn't alone? Eldwin wondered this, paying cautious mind to each corner of the penthouse as the seconds ticked by.

Just beyond the walls, outside, the wind-storm seemed to double in intensity, and a harsh tremble rolled through the building. The windows shuttered in response. Then he acted…

Materializing behind the Tiger King was the form of a man a few inches shorter, which he made up for in hair—a thick, bouncy pompadour of silver—and he wore all black, clothes of a thin material for optimal mobility.

Once fully formed and tangible, visible even, Eldwin fashioned from his hips two karambit knives and swung them down at an angle, each point hungering for the target’s common carotid arteries.

Markus rolled forward, the blades caressing his neck. He wheeled around and leveled his hand toward the all-black assailant. Freeze, fucker..!

… Nothing. A few scattered snowflakes. The gravity of the situation sunk in like a knife as the unfamiliar man disappeared again from Markus’ sight, only this time he was not gone for long. He felt the sudden rush of air from behind him again. A crouching Markus wheeled on the balls of his feet in time to catch sight of glinting steel as it came for his throat. The Tiger King scrambled backwards, scrabbling across the kitchen floor as the assassin’s blade stabbed and cracked the tiling between his legs.

This time before he disappeared, Markus thought he saw the apparition of a man begin to smile.

Fuck this, he snarled as he took to his feet. His mind worked like a machine as it analyzed what information it had been given. Turning slowly, Markus surveyed the darkened penthouse, even knowing that his opponent could turn invisible, and incorporeal at will—Markus’ hand shot out into the darkness and snatched ahold of the air over his left shoulder. His prediction had bore fruit.

Squeezing his fingers tight around the man’s neck, the Tiger King wasted no time before he bashed the man’s head into the chrome double-doored refrigerator behind him, hoping whatever Potential he possessed that allowed him to slip so easily in and out of reality would lose its potency if his mind was sufficiently scrambled. He reeled the man back in by his neck before slamming him back again, denting the doors of his fridge nearly off their hinges.

F–uck. Eldwin’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, blood draining from his face, pale, as his brain slammed into his skull on the inside not once, but twice. The force being enough to limpen his entire body, he dangled by the throat within the Tiger’s claw.

What just happened? His mind ran loops of discombobulation, but the pieces were there. All he needed was to collect them…

First it was where. Then it was who as the picture of Markus Weiss refocused before his eyes. And, lastly, it was why. Then he brought up a hand, pressed a finger to his ear-piece, and mumbled in a choked voice, “Now.”

And with that… All hell broke loose.

Like the fist of god pummeling down, the very roof of the penthouse collapsed inward behind Markus with a BOOM, raining wood and plastic and glass and spraying it like confetti as another man accompanied by wild gusts of wind dropped in and did not hesitate to charge the Tiger King with everything he had.

Markus had just enough time to release his grip on the man’s throat before the other was upon him. He raised his guard up to block the blow that followed, but he could not help the gust of wind that kicked him across the wide, marble island that dominated the center of the kitchen floor. Rolling across the floor, Markus sputtered to catch his breath. On impulse, Markus rose up on one knee and leveled his palms toward this new assailant, but only managed to produce a weak flurry on command.

What remained of the roof was easily peeled away and sent spiraling into the black, cloudy abyss that was the sky, and bits of the very walls slowly broke away. All of the furniture and household decor was thrown haphazardly about and, like the roof which now existed in thousands of tiny pieces, quickly swallowed by the savage cyclone that walled them in.

Josiah moved fast and was on the King in seconds with a back-drawn fist that emitted a glowing, wispy, red aura.

Shielding his face from the maelstrom of wind and debris that decimated his home, Markus caught the fist of yet another enemy to the side of his head. The sheer strength of the blow forced Markus to his feet as he staggered back, hissing and snarling as the skin around the impact zone darkened and bruised. He moved towards the third man to strike back, but the other two wouldn’t let him move so freely.

Josiah was locked on.

He barreled forward—the floor giving way under the force of his step—and brought siege down upon the Tiger King with his fists, every hit boosting his vitality and strength. He was an absolute tank.

Markus’ guard was up, but it hardly seemed to matter. The man’s strength was unbelievable, and without the use of his Potential… A large, meaty fist full of knuckles caught Markus across the chin, buckling his knees as he skidded along the floor only to stop when his back struck the far wall. Bile and blood filled his mouth. Something was taking hold inside his mind. Something wild.

Rising shakily to his feet, the Tiger King snarled and lashed out at his opponent. He bobbed under a swinging fist and rose up inside the scarred man’s guard, delivering three strikes of his own. Two to the body, one to the chin. His combination of blows stunned Josiah—who’d doubled over at the waist—long enough for Markus to clasp both of his fists together and raise them high, intent on bringing the hammer of his hands down on the back of the man’s head… Only for a sudden burst of high-powered wind to knock him back and off of his feet. The Tiger King tumbled legs-over-head before crashing awkwardly down through the marble kitchen island with a terrible crack!, sending a plume of granite dust swirling through the air.

After a moment’s stillness, as the world turned off its axis within his mind, Markus rose up from the ruins of his castle, ready to continue the fight for what was his. Only for a punch from the scarred man, Josiah, to catch him in the ribs and send him tumbling across the wide, high-ceilinged kitchen, through the wall that divided it from the dining and living areas beyond.

Josiah pursued Markus through the pluming clouds of dust and the two of them battled back and forth through the dining area, smashing tables, and shattering furniture and cupboards full of crystal glassware. Markus was beginning to understand his opponent, now, and so when an opportunity arose—as he’d predicted it would—the Tiger King pounced. Using the man’s own weight and might against him, Markus threw Josiah headlong through the same adjoining wall that separated dining area and kitchen, re-emerging from the hole he’d caused in his own home. Josiah stumbled to stand, but before Markus could pursue, Augustus’ wind caught him by surprise again, lifting him up and slamming him back down, cratering the floor with the impact.

Snarling, Markus pushed himself to his feet and made a rush for the white-haired, somewhat familiar looking man, only for the wind to beat him back again, a scolding parent chastising its child for acting rashly.

Rage, frustration, and pain drove Markus to try again. Though without firepower of his own, every attempt he made to close the distance and wipe that smug, maniacal smile off of Augustus’ face ended in failure.

By now, Josiah had retaken the field and stepped in the way of Markus’ latest charge. Catching the Tiger King by the neck, Josiah hoisted Markus up with one hand before burying the King’s face into the floor. He stepped aside in time for the latest blast of wind to fling Markus like a ragdoll across his penthouse.

Meanwhile, Eldwin was still regaining his senses; though, already on his feet and working up to join the skirmish as Augustus bent the wind to his will from a distance and pummeled Markus at every opportunity he could, blasting him with powerful gusts, slamming him down, tossing him up. Augustus toyed with him.

Then in a pause as Josiah fell back, Augustus drew closer in a blur and clashed with the Tiger King with a devastating flying kick straight to the King’s gut. As his boot made contact, a swift cyclone of wind raced down his leg, tearing away at cloth, and intensified the kick’s force greatly. And the Tiger King flew.

Markus landed in a heap. Rolling onto his back, he hacked and coughed, his mouth overflowing with blood. He winced and shut his eyes, focusing on the pains that racked his body. There was little room for anything else.

Eldwin made a move to charge, to deal the final blow, but stopped when Augustus raised a hand.

“Boss?”

“Let’s ‘ave a chat, shall we?” Augustus stepped closer. “Ah’ve gotta say… Toigah King~. . . Ah thought chu’d be strongah.”

Markus’ eyes snapped open. He glared silently up at the white-haired man but said nothing.

The howls of wind from the coursing gale that encompassed them were ever present. Down below, a crowd gathered in their sleepwear to marvel in a mix of fear and awe at the tower that stretched high and vanished into the tornado’s center. Camera flashes and unintelligible murmuring swept the dark streets. Curious onlookers.


August swung his arms vigorously as he ran, hair blown back, eyes wide.

He’d read the message some time ago—the text from his dad—and knew almost immediately what it meant.

Love ya, son. I’m gonna set things right. Don’t hold it against me for breakin’ my promise.

After that, he’d called his father. No answer. So, he called him again. No answer. And again, but, still, there was never an answer.

That told him enough.

Come on. Come on. He ran faster than he’d ever made an effort to before, bounding himself high to cover more ground, taking every shortcut he knew of.


Augustus was overtop of Markus now, leering down at him with a condescending smirk.

Up came his boot before planting itself right down on the King’s chest as the white-haired assassin leaned forward for a closer look at the man he planned to kill. “Youse a bit ugliah then ah thought chu’d be.” Augustus tilted his head, showing his teeth on an amused scoff. “Bein’ a King an’ ol’.”

Josiah and Eldwin stood watchful, Eldwin appearing the more edgy of the two.

“Betcha wonderin’ why oi’m he’ah? Who oi em?... Yeh?” He paused.

Markus didn’t answer.

“Name’s Augustus… But mah colleagues use’t call me August. ‘Til ‘at’s wot ah named mah son… Mah boy.” Augustus straightened up then but did not remove his foot from Markus’ chest as a glimmer of recognition passed over the Tiger King’s eyes. He looked at Josiah as he started, “Gave’im lot’s a’ stuff ovah tha yeahs, y’know?” Then at Eldwin. “Trinkets ‘n gadgets. All wuth a lotta money, yeh… Lotta toime…” Then, finally, at Markus again as he leaned forward on the knee to the leg which kept the King pinned beneath him once more. “Then could’ju believe wot ah recently found out?... … Ah found out it’s ol’ gone… Taken.” His expression turned sour before he continued, “Ol’ of that which he’s worked his whole loife foh.”

By now, a spear of wind had fashioned itself in Augustus’ hand, which he inspected, showing it off. “So now… He’s gonna be yoh ruin.”

With that, the spear was raised…

Markus struck first.

Grabbing ahold of the heel of Augustus’ foot digging into his chest with one hand, Markus forced the dagger that had been meant for him up through the base of Augustus’ chin.

The man’s next words gurgled in his throat.

The other man’s blood splattering in his face, Markus took heavy hold of the knife’s hilt, holding it in place as the two men slowly stood up together; Markus was half-hoisting Augustus up at this point, as the strength left his legs. The winds had died down. Everything was very still.

Markus didn’t know why he turned to look at the doorway when he did.

Had he been expecting to find someone standing there staring at him?

Why then, didn’t it surprise him?
POST NOTES​
Augustus August - Father of Albino Tiger, August August. After the discovery that his son, August, was, in fact, not a member of the Albino Tigers by choice, and that all of his collections had been commandeered by Tiger King, Markus Weiss, Augustus called together two of his most trusted posse members to assassinate Markus and win August his freedom with, also, the intention of reacquiring all of August's rarities.

Josiah Nakazajo - Father of Nakazajo Chikage and Augustus' most trusted colleague.
View attachment 1021665

Eldwin Paolucci - Loyal mentee to Augustus August.
View attachment 1021664

— —POST RECAP: Sorry, no spoilers.
 
BLITZ (Boltius Beckman)
CS Link
SCENE:
The Enduring Hurrah
TIME:
Pre-Arc 3 — May 27th, 2022 — Evening
LOCATION:
South District... Red West Bar...
PARTICIPANTS:
A lot of Phoenixes...
THE ENDURING HURRAH
Following Hector’s speech, Boltius made his way outside and stood beside one of the grills laid with sizzling hamburger patties, drink in hand, with a sweeping eye on the surrounding festivity.

He wore an air of calm despite the brewing storm on the horizon, but that was only surface attitude. Down under, Boltius was still unsure about his new role as Ace—something he would never divulge—like the shoes didn’t quite fit.

The responsibility sat heavy on his shoulders, especially with the upcoming raid. While the whole would take credit and celebrate in success, only he would be held accountable for failure.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Hector’s judgment… But perhaps there were others more suited to the role. Yet, before the role was his, he strived for it. So why the uncertainty now?

Boltius looked aside at another Phoenix who was manning one of the other grills. Then, he scanned the faces that dappled the scene.

And he noted them. Recognized most of them.

Some were members he’d spoken to in leisure; others were members he’d worked with on Nightlife reconstruction or other odd jobs. But the ones he knew best… Members he’d fought alongside, saved, been saved by—the ones he didn’t want to disappoint most. The ones he couldn’t disappoint.

Would he make the role, or would the role make him?
WhiskeyMarten WhiskeyMarten joshuadim joshuadim Caffeine_Obsessed Caffeine_Obsessed Roda the Red Roda the Red AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa Elenion Aura Elenion Aura EmperorsChosen EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun RedArmyShogun Lucem Lucem Coyote Hart Coyote Hart The Prophet The Prophet QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel
BOLTIUS NOTES​
— —What he's wearing: (Click: X) Orange hoodie over a white undershirt; Black sweatpants; White shoes + All of his usual jewelry and bling and a headband

— —Tattoo Reference (X)

— —Physique Reference, since his face-claim art doesn't always accurately depict it (X) (X)

— —POST RECAP: Literally just Bolt standing beside a grill, looking around.
 
JESPER ALBRECHT
CS Link
SCENE:
Just Another Training Day
LOCATION:
East District
PARTICIPANTS:
Peyton, Laura, Hou, Jesper, Isaiah, Schroeder, Ra, Meirin
Just Another Training Day
"Yeesh, I gave you guys a head start, and I still lapped you!" The arrogant remark came from the end of the line, where a hovering Guardian lounged ceremoniously. As a few drones circulated around him, he floated over and snapped his fingers. The drones flew into position, putting a spotlight on Guardian as a smug grin entered his face. "And guess who won first place, baby! Hell yeah! Woohoo!"

Guardian's eyes glittered even more, however, at the mention of the coming break, totally ignoring the invites of further training. "Food!" In only a few seconds, the virtual body disappeared, leaving the drones to reset their programs and fly away. From a small distance, something rumble inside of a cardboard box.

Jesper's actual body awakened, stretching his arm and back with a tired yawn. Smacking his lips, Jesper crawled out of the box and lazily made it up to his feet. He had a slight hunchback as he walked, completely focused on his phone.

As he got to the food table, Jesper expertly nabbed the... least nutritious of the items, putting it lightly. And, just like that, within a few seconds, he trudged back to the cardboard box. Any hint of the rich dignity he held at the gathering a few months prior was nowhere to be found.
jesperlazy.png
"I'm glad everyone pushed me to join this thing. This has been great!" he said, stuffing his mouth with snacks in one hand and watching some loud content creator through his phone on the other.

QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel
 
Scene Intro
SCENE:
One, Two, Three, Four, I Declare a Nerf War
LOCATION:
A Park, Lower Central
TIME:
March 15th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3
PARTICIPANTS:
Gideon, Kiwi, Jesper, Minato, Jozef, Dagger, Bolt, Pascal, Maria
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, I DECLARE A NERF WAR
It was simultaneously a great day for a district-wide nerf war and also simultaneously a terrible day for it. A month ago during Groundhog's Day, when the groundhog came out of its burrow, someone shot it. Since it couldn't crawl back into its den, it technically meant it was spring. And an early spring it was. The sun fought with the clear white clouds, the grass was damp but green, and the trees were blooming with beautiful pink and white blossoms.

"Welcome one and welcome all to the first annual New Oasis nerf war!" the city official who organized the event said from the podium where she oversaw the crowd. The placard at the podium proudly introduced herself as Bailey Burns, but despite her bold start to her announcement and the bombastic way her name was displayed, she was in fear. She had not expected so many HPs to arrive at the event.

The field was crowded with people, many from the gangs. The hotdog station was already struggling to keep up with the number of people, and they already had to send someone to the supermarket to grab more buns. They were out of lemonade.

"So uhh there are some rules with this," Bailey declared. With a few short sentences, she explained them thus:
  1. The darts provided are covered in paint. If you are hit with three paint-covered darts or weapons, you are out.
  2. It's a free for all. But that doesn't mean you can't make allies.
  3. All of Lower Central is free game
  4. You may use custom foam weapons
  5. You may use your Potential, but your Potential can never be the way of applying paint. For example, you can't dissolve paint in a water manipulating Potential. But you can use increased strength with your foam sword.
  6. The guy whose Potential relates to painting is banned from the event.
"I don't..." Bailey stared at the last part of the list she was given, confusion evident on her face. She waved it off though, and declared, "There's free food for those who just want to hang out. We will begin when I say the word 'now.' There will be a ten minute grace--"

That was when the bullets began firing. In the crowds, Gideon began to flee the park. Nuh uh. This was like the Hunger Games. You didn't battle in the cornocopia. Especially not with the physical strength that Gideon had.

For her part, Bailey stared at the mess before her. The battle had started, with no way for her to stop it. She leaned her head down on the podium, knocking into her microphone. Shrill feedback resounded throughout the park. God, why the hell did she go through the effort of killing the groundhog for this mess?

gxxberkit gxxberkit (Kiwi) AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa (Jesper) Elenion Aura Elenion Aura (Minato, Milo slander) WhiskeyMarten WhiskeyMarten (Jozef) simj26 simj26 (Dagger) Doctor Llamabean Doctor Llamabean (Bolt) Anne Boolean Anne Boolean (Pascal) Shoya Shoya (Maria)
 
Alicia Morel
CS Link
SCENE:
Love at Yu Min Cuisine
LOCATION:
West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Elias, Zach (NPC until CS finishes), Sabrina, Meirin, Samira, Minato, Camila, Passeri, Alice, Gideon
Love at Yu Min Cuisine
Alice giggled, watching the banter between Elias and his pink-haired friend. She couldn't comprehend much of what Zach attempted to say, but it was a pleasant uplift regardless. She was surprised when Elias waved for her orders to be brought to the table—making her subconsciously take one step away from him—but kept smiling amicably, just as she had before the mall... Alice waved Zach his temporary goodbye, and then it was only her and Elias. Her gaze went off to the side as she answered his polite question. "I've been... better, to say the least. I've often found myself wondering if there'd always been so many people watching me..."

Before her mood could sour any more, though, the girl lightened up instantly when the many, many desserts were carted to the table by a blonde man who she thought little of. "I'm swell, thank you very much!" she said to him with a sparkling smile; her usual charm returned for the time being. Alice eagerly seated herself, taking a fruit tart from the tray to her plate.

Halfway through that one pastry, Minato (one of them) made a sudden appearance, plopping himself right next to Elias in a move that made Alice flinch and almost choke on her bite. Even so, as he greeted her with the usual "princess..." she couldn't be mad at him. Even if her world turned upside down, Minato always had that charm. Chewing on the tart, she only offered a polite wave to him. It almost felt like times before she learned the truth of it all... maybe she could have back if she asked Elias to...

Not wanting the sugary sweetness to become bitter, she ended the thought there.

Just as Alice finished the first fruit tart of many, another surprise guest showed up. Alice twisted in her seat in awe. "Passeri Park!?" Her eyes glimmered wide as the pop star arrived right in front of her! She'd seen the singer on TV countless times, and the unending optimism from the star kept Alice tuning into her every time! And as far as she was concerned, Passeri was no Tiger. She thought of asking her to do a pose; to sign an autograph; but Alice settled on one ask. "I don't wish to trouble you but... may I shake your hand?"

The One Eyed Bandit The One Eyed Bandit QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel Elenion Aura Elenion Aura Anne Boolean Anne Boolean
 
Last edited:
Laura Weissman
CS Link
SCENE:
Just Another Training Day [Pre-Arc 3]
LOCATION:
Wuyang Temple, East District
PARTICIPANTS:


Meirin, Laura, Peyton, Hou, Fade, Schroeder and others.
Just Another Training Day

January 8th, 2022 - 12:30PM​

With the day progressing onwards into the later hours of the day, this run was getting to be a bit much, but with a slow slog and just keeping in sight of Meirin and the others that kept up with her, she was more or less alright with this arrangement, though she could not tell what the old man had wanted. While part of her wanted to catch up and listen in, another part of her knew better, though by sheer virtue of having a physical, or chimerical HP, she found herself getting closer as a few cadences were exchanged. She didn't much care to join in on them however, it was all she could do to keep up this run. Twenty laps were just painful, but eventually it was much like when her face had been burned.

The pain just ceases to be as something else drove her forward, automatically and with a fanatical will she presses onwards and keeps pressing. "Hah...hah..hah..." Came her calls as she went on, step by step, somehow having finished the race. Worn out and among the other runners, Laura would lean up against a wall as Meirin had her talk with who seemed to be the acting head priest. There was an offer of congratulations and promises of food. Drenched in sweat the four-armed girl removes her boots to walk barefooted like most of the monks inside and to let her feet gain a bit of air with her socks as she peeled those off as well to dry. A bit curious what the food being offered was, she remains sitting on the floor for now as she waited to see who would be next to file in.

Well that and to see what the food was, after that if she gained her second wind she would see what the next bit of training was about. Giving a wave and a smile to the speaking head of all this and the monks in general, Laura was in a good spot for the time being.



Coyote Hart Coyote Hart QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa SilverFlight SilverFlight Lucem Lucem Vahn Vahn
 
BLITZ (Boltius Beckman)
CS Link
SCENE:
Ballin'
TIME:
Pre-Arc 3: March 29th, 2022 -- Evening
LOCATION:
South District... Old basketball court in the middle of nowhere...
PARTICIPANTS:
Boltius, Milo, Roza, Rin, Yong-Yut, Hector, Ashley, Libla
BALLIN'
‘A’ for effort, said Rin.

Boltius smirked as he refocused and took the offensive against Roza, who now had the ball. He lunged when he thought he saw an opportunity, swiping but grasping at air before he realized the girl had already swerved him.

“HA!” he scoffed loudly, chasing after her.

When she hopped and sailed for the goal, Boltius was close on her tail, leaping from behind and reaching over her head to try and swat the ball off its trajectory when she shot it, but alas it left her fingers before he could, and the two came down together. To avoid landing on top of her, Boltius used an icy hand to push off of her. A five-fingered print of frost was left in the wake of contact, cascading a thin white vapor.

No stopping—as soon as Bolt’s feet touched pavement, he was up again to reclaim what was his. However, it seemed Rin had other plans.

The oni appeared as a pink blur in front of him, and she slammed the ball through the hoop with savage adroitness before it landed, to which Boltius blurted out an amused, “OKAY, DAAAMN!”

“I’MMA HAVE TO CONTACT MY LAWYER, ‘CAUSE THAT WAS ASSAULT!!”

The ball was every man’s game again, arching high from the power with which it hit the court from Rin’s maneuver.

Boltius chased after it with a wild grin—he was getting pumped; the love for competition buzzing at his fingertips.

[The ball is up for grabs. There is no posting order.]
gxxberkit gxxberkit (Yong-Yut) @Peckinou (Libla) Lucem Lucem (Ashley) WhiskeyMarten WhiskeyMarten (Hector) Elenion Aura Elenion Aura (Milo) RedArmyShogun RedArmyShogun (Roza) EmperorsChosen EmperorsChosen (Rin) joshuadim joshuadim (Hitoshi)
BOLTIUS NOTES​
— —CURRENT TEMPERATURE: -100° F on contact > -50° F at 3-ft distance > -25° F at 6-ft distance > -12.5° F at 9-ft distance, and so on... His body is releasing cold vapor.

— —What he's wearing: (Click: X) White long-sleeve shirt + Red hoodie overtop; Black basketball shorts + Black leggings underneath that are tucked into his socks; White shoes + Headband [His chains and jewelry are in the back seat of his Denali, along with his three duffel bags)

— —Tattoo Reference (X)

— —Physique Reference, since his face-claim art doesn't always accurately depict it (X) (X)

— —POST RECAP: Boltius wants the ball.

— —COURT DIMENSIONS: 50ft x 50ft
 
Last edited:
Hou Huang
CS Link
SCENE:
Just Another Training Day
TIME:
January 8th, 2022 - 7:00AM || Pre-Arc 3
LOCATION:
Wuyang Temple; East District
PARTICIPANTS:
Meirin, Laura, Peyton, Jesper, Hou and others
Just Another Training Day


Hou froze when he heard Meirin's voice.
"Haha, oops, guess we got found out." He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. Hou nodded when Meirin made the suggestion.
"Hey kid, I know you just ate (like four times this morning) but you wanna run?"
Xuefeng looked from the senior dragon to his protector for the day, his expression fairly neutral.

Hou laughed. "Okay okay, I get you, jogging's boring, so how's this?" Hou leaned over and tapped the boy on the head, and with the biggest grin he said:
"You're it."

And they were off. Hou raced past Meirin in peels of laughter as the child shot after him. As the sun carried on, Hou and Xuefeng played tag for the entire course, using roads, buildings, powerlines, anything at their convenience. By the time they had caught up on laps and with everyone else at the temple, a delicious smell could be detected emanating from within.
Hou took a towel and came up behind Meirin. He smiled at Feng as he tousled his own hair with the cloth, trying to rid it of sweat.
He gave a laugh when he heard the nickname, "Meimei...can I call you Meimei?" He asked, in a tone that hinted he was probably going to do it anyway.

Hou was distracted immediately however when the food appeared. Xuefeng was the first to dive for it.
"Hey hey! Gotta thank the monks!" Hou admonished. Xuefeng looked abashed and went to stand beside his guardian. They both pressed their palms together and bowed.
"Thanks for the grub!" Hou shouted loudly, and just like that, both of them had a rice ball in each hand.

It did not take either of them long to polish off probably a little more than their fair share, and once fed and rested Hou laid back on the ground.
"Maaaan this is a good life! I could get used to being with the dragons!"

Then he remembered why he had come in the first place.
"Oh yeah! Hey Meimei, I was hoping I could spar with some of the big dogs. Ya know, test my stuff."
Hou leapt up nimbly and drew his staff. He walked to a place on the grounds that was decorated with fine sand and, using the tip of his weapon he drew a circle, about 20 feet in diameter. Once finished, Hou placed himself in the center.
"Okay, someone come at me. I dare you."


QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa RedArmyShogun RedArmyShogun Coyote Hart Coyote Hart
 
RURIKO IKEDA
CS Link
SCENE:
Rumble at the Railroad Casino
LOCATION:
Railroad Casino, West District
TIME:
October 1, 2021
PARTICIPANTS:
Jack, Kisara, Minato, Ruriko
Rumble at the Railroad Casino

After taking Xuefeng under her primary care, Ruriko felt mentally drained. Taking care of herself was hard enough but now she had the responsibility of another — a child for that matter. She wasn’t sure why she allowed Kairong to talk her into caring for the mysterious child but the old man always had a way with words. Not even two weeks into caring for him did she need some time to herself to blow off steam. She caught Shen earlier, sneaking out the door of her apartment with Xuefeng in hand. Normally she would have been concerned but she was too exhausted to make it her problem.

Instead, she took the opportunity to get outside her place, away from the responsibilities of a Dragon. A couple of weeks back, she overheard some Dragons talking about an underground fight club at a specific casino in the west district. She wasn’t sure how exclusive the club was but finding a way in was never a concern to her.

In fact, getting in was the easy part as everyone was too busy watching the current match to notice a portal in the back. Ruriko looked around. The area was large with plenty of seating, a bar in the back, and most importantly a fighting cage in the middle for the main events. She arrived just in time to watch a burly-looking man get the lights knocked out of him by a considerably smaller man with an impressive mustache.

“So much for those muscles, am I right?!” An announcer burst through the cage, lifting his arms up to rile the crowd of onlookers. “Alright, mustachio — get outta here. Give someone else a chance to get their teeth knocked in, eh?!” He shooed away the victor and waited for the muscular loser to be dragged out before circling inside the cage.

“Alright, who wants a crack at it?! Don’t be shy!”

Her lips curled into a grin as she motioned her hand to portal her into the cage.

“Love the enthusiasm, lass but remember no potentials during the fight!” The announcer gave Ruriko a firm pat on the back before looking back to the crowd. “Any challengers?!”



Chaos Gallant Chaos Gallant Elenion Aura Elenion Aura simj26 simj26
 
Maria Hojo
CS Link
SCENE:
One, Two, Three, Four, I Declare a Nerf War
LOCATION:
A Park, Lower Central
PARTICIPANTS:
Gideon, Kiwi, Jesper, Minato, Jozef, Dagger, Bolt, Pascal, Maria
One, Two, Three, Four, I Declare a Nerf War
Driving down to where this "nerf war" was set to happen, Maria can't help but let out a long yawn. It had been almost 30 hours since she last slept, and it gave her a slight frustration that the event had to be during the day. So much so, that she even considered arriving late and taking an hour long power nap. However, she figured it'd be best if she showed up at the right time in case any rules that could throw off her plan were stated, as well as to maybe build a quick ally amongst the groups of people participating. She had accounted for the blazing sunlight there would be (considering it was daytime) and knew she would have to probably stick to the shelter of buildings and shades from things like trees to use her potential comfortably. On a normal day her aim is fine, but nothing special. This combined with the fact she was sleep deprived (making her reaction time slightly slower) was what made her decide that she could actually use an ally. As she gets to the park where the event would start, she parks about as far as she can, thinking that if she needed to make an escape at least she wouldn't be caught in a traffic jam. She grabs her nerf guns (a semi auto rifle and a pistol), a medium sized shield she made of plastic, and headed out. She pulls out a mango flavored ice pop from the shadow under her coat, and begins to head towards all the commotion.

As she approaches, she hears the city official naming off rules, with Maria only being intrigued by two of the rules. One being the fifth, which made her nervous for a second that her shield strategy she came up with may be against the rules, though she reassured herself by the fact that she would only be using her potential for defense anyway. The second being that last rule. She just found it funny how there was a rule specifically for one person, and it made her think of a situation where she would be banned just for her potential. As she stocked up on darts, she hears the flurry of people shooting at each other pre-emptively. They didn't even let the official finish speaking! She thinks, quickly taking cover under a tree, immediately enveloping her gun and shield, as well as the small radius of shade the tree gave. Seeing that everyone was already shooting, she took it to mean that the grace period was probably not a thing anymore. I definitely should not stay here, but there's way too much heat going on with so many people trying to get out. I'll stay until it thins out a bit and then make a dash for my car, since that wasn't against the rules. The idea of camping in her car struck her, but the idea of people shooting paint at her car made it VERY not worth the effort, so the better thing would be to run towards a multi-floored building. In the meantime, Maria would stay under the tree defending against any attackers.
 
RURIKO IKEDA
CS Link
SCENE:
Date ???
TIME:
Friday, May 27th, 2022 || Post Arc 2
LOCATION:
Central, Catmosphere Kitty Cafe
PARTICIPANTS:
Isaiah & Ruriko
DATE ???

“Yeah, can’t beat Ojiisan’s tea,” she feigned disappointment as she let out a sigh. The old man’s tea shop was definitely the best in the East District, and probably of New Oasis — though she was completely biased about that, of course. Even so, everyone that she had recommended the shop to ended up becoming a returning customer, so was she wrong?

Ruriko leaned back against the cushioned backrest of the sofa, making herself more comfortable. Being here with Isaiah wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be — petting cats and sharing a light conversation. She felt a little silly for overreacting earlier as the two spent time with each other on several previous occasions. So long as she didn’t focus too much on the ‘date’ aspect, she was capable of maintaining her composure.

Wait, was there a different etiquette for dates?

Shit.

It had been so long since she actually went on a date and even the ones that were planned with Shuwei felt so natural. Ah, fuck. She felt like an old lady, pondering the ‘old days.’ Ruriko wasn’t as old as Kairong but it still had been a while since she put herself out there. Maybe she should have consulted the old man first. Then again, he’d probably do his signature laugh and go into detail about the dates he took his wife on — the rambling would never stop from there.

Was she supposed to hold his hand again?

But her hand was currently busy petting the cat on her lap.

Was she smiling enough? Too much?

Had it not been for Isaiah’s follow-up question about Xuefeng, she feared her mind would have spiraled into chaos and panic.

“He’s good. I’m good.” Ruriko answered with a light shrug, thinking about the oddity that was the child. “Taking care of him is cool and all but…it’s not what I expected, I guess?” She lifted her gaze from the feline and turned her head to look at Isaiah. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as if she was deep in thought, “mm how do I explain it?” She let out a deep sigh, tilting her head back to look up at the ceiling, all the while she continued the same petting motion in search of some comfort from the purring of the cat. “I guess I thought it would be like taking care of a little brother, ya know? But…ah, I don’t know! You’re pretty much Ojiisan’s kid — or, well, grandkid, I guess. Then Ojiisan told me it’s my turn when Xuefeng showed up and that kind of got in my head a bit.”

Ruriko continued to frown, wondering if she was making any sense. Her gaze shifted back over to Isaiah, “I guess, I didn’t really expect to develop such a strong attachment to the kid…don’t — don’t tell anyone I said that!”



Lucem Lucem
 
ERIC EVENSEN
CS Link
SCENE:
Behind the Scenes
LOCATION:
Passeri's Penthouse, West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Passeri, Eric
BEHIND THE SCENES

"Good evening, Officer Evensen, I have an arranged meeting with Miss Park"

Despite being a member of the police force, Eric was feeling...Less than welcome after he had arrived at the building's reception. Security would give quite the unsavory glances often, and the receptionist stared at Eric with an expression full of skepticism. Eric wasn't quite sure if the tense feeling of distrust came from them being generally cautious from the fans that would often try to find excuses to sneak in, or if they just had a distaste for the NOPD. Honestly, it was most likely a mix of both.

Still, it's not like Eric cared, he did not have the ego to demand respect, nor the eagerness to try to act smug at a situation like this.

The receptionist carefully check in his bookmark, apparently even the police needed to arrange a meeting with New Oasis' beloved local star.

"Hmph, guess it's true, alright boy, head to the elevator, top floor, and I better not spot any funny business through my cameras"

Eric gave one of his iconic relaxed smiles. "Would never do such a thing, I'm only here to serve and protect" His tone was humble, yet also displayed a faint hit of sarcasm.

The receptionist responded by waving his arm dismissively, turning his chair and his attention to his administrative work. Eric took this as a sign to freely continue with his work.

As the elevator slowly rose, one floor after another. Eric couldn't help but feel nervous as he mentally prepared for what was to come. When was the last time he had seen her in person? Seven? Eight?... No, it was over nine years ever since he had seen his former classmate, Brandy Baker, who for some reason, now went by the name of Passeri Park, somehow swiping the existence of her former life under the rug. Eric wasn't sure why she decided to do such a thing, but if the rumors he had heard all those years ago were true, he did have a theory or two on the matter.

Uncharacteristcally from Eric, he had volunteered himself for this task, to investigate and find out exactly what happened at the Passeri Park concert a week and a half ago. Chief Chikage was so surprised at this that he relayed the case to Eric on the spot. He got laughs from his corworkers, jokingly claiming he just wanted to meet the famous Idol. But really, Eric really didn't care about the singer Passeri Park whatsoever.

He did however, against his better judgement, care about his former classmate Brandy.

But above all, he wanted to take this case as seriously as possible. Taking the case meant that Chikage had set a new bar for what he expected from Eric, and as unmotivated as he was on his everyday work, he greatly respected his boss and didn't want to let him down.

The elevator finally opened, and Eric stepped out of it. He pressed the button for the doorbell, which laid right beside the fancy entrance door to the penthouse. Eric whistled as he counted how many lifetimes he would require to spend in order to save up enough to live in a place like that.

As the door opened up, Eric's body tensed up as he saw the woman herself receiving him. Every last remaining spec of doubt that lingered upon his mind vanished instantly, the overall feel was different, not only from her fashion but the way she presented herself, but it was unmistakeably her.

This was Brandy Baker, the cop was sure of it now.

"Good evening, Miss Park, I'm officer Evensen, NOPD, I require to ask you a few questions about what happened at the concert, but you probably already know that" He raised and presented his badge as he spoke, before returning it to his pocket

"May I come in?"


The One Eyed Bandit The One Eyed Bandit
 
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