Multiple Settings Project Guf (CLOSED)

[true force]

Julius
​

Flashing an air of brevity, he returned his gaze to the detective,
"You've no idea Lex, shame it can't be back in the Fatherland." Watching with disgust, Julius observed as Albion let those "things" feel him up. He did have both surprise and intrigue at the clanging of the ring as it landed to the Earth. He recognized it instantly, but before he could comment on it, he felt a rather boney hand on his clavicle.
Dusting the shoulder off that Emperor Slugustine had touched, Julius could feel the slight squeeze of anger in his forehead turn into a migraine. Albion was everything Julius hated, bugs and fae, and his aristocratic allure was hypocritically starting to grate Julius, who himself had enjoyed and took pride in his rather privileged initial upbringing. His fingers sizzling from the artifact, Julius wondered how his father could both work with and get along with such a self-absorbed (untrue) narcissistic (also untrue) creature. Nonetheless, the deal was made, and Albion made good on it. Julius half considered shoving his fist and the heart into Albion's torso
"Here your highness, let me fit it to your liking.." he thought to himself gritted teeth even in internal monologue. No matter, but he wondered if Albion knew how linking worked with regards to Julius. Sending and retrieving linked items was effortless for everyone else, for this flustered wet worker, it hurt like a bitch, and although his face didn't show it this was probably one of the tougher things for him to willingly do. Abiding by the rules of the link, Julius hovered his other hand above the heart. Truth be told, as painful as it was, he loved this step with almost a childlike wonder. He had felt isolated from the rest of the society he had lived in to some extent, this ritual always being what he thought it might be like to be able to harness Tenebris and Magic. He begun to close his hands together on the heart, and space warped around the small area, the last time a Finger of the Hand would hold the Heart as their own.

"In the space between Heaven and Hell,
in the time between then and now,
ever present and always distant,
I send you back to your infinite asylum,
Until next our bodies graze!"

Sparks began to fly as the Black Sun inscribed his chant, and the magic which linked the heart to him and the emergency vault of the hand, stung his body inside out, it felt as though he had had 1000 needles on every square centimeter of his body. The heart shrank as his hands eventually clasped before vanishing. He felt vertigo surge his body, the stigmata scars on his hands and feet felt pasrticuarly brutal, to the point he almost felt the need to kneel down. Out of pure liquid spite, Julius showed no weakness in front of Albion, stomping the ring at just the right angle to flip it into the air and into his hand, arguably even less respect than the Council member showed. He made his way over, next to Yuri, unshouldering his bag and putting the ring in the pocket of his joggers.
"I give you the secret ingredient for whatever weapon you please and you give me the ring of an adulterer, hardly an..."

Just then, the figure he'd been subconsciously tracking thudded down, and his nose began to run, and eyes began to water. The scrap fest that orbited down while not fervently gross, was overwhelming in the sheer number of spices and ingredients. There was a reason Julius stayed outside when the Hand shopped in magical markets.
"All my life I was praised as a prodigy, told I had bottomless talent, and I'm about to be brought down by the spice section of a grocery store-!" he wailed. Using his sleeve, he wiped the tears from his, somewhat considering blowing his nose on his royal highness' wings. He barely had time to even respond to this alley cat's speech, before almost exploding his nostrils into a handkerchief.
"A likeminded soul-" Julius respected the shit talking, whoever this was just waltzed in on arguably the biggest trade deal of the 21st century and didn't give a fuck about trying to swipe and make off. He overserved as Anzhu circled the group with a smile.
"Well as long as you have a name and let the lass work, I don't mind-" with eyes ever watching Julius watched as Tom lackadaisically rolled over and made his way to his aquatic companion and his smile dropped. He swiped his left hand through the air, with his pistol disappearing from Yuri's grasp and into his own in a blink, he pointed it at Anzhu and cocked the firearm. Interestingly, he gained even more respect for the newfound pussy cat for this daring play, but Jerry was one of the few things he had going left.
"Silver 10mm, 8 in the mag plus 1 chambered, I suggest not making Miss Vandyr work overtime for a light snack." Saying this, he felt a buzz from his phone.

Katrina
​

Mrs. Vanderbelt sat down between the next barrage, pulling her chipped nail off into the hotels trash bin, reattaching a press on before looking at Dimas through her index and middle fingers.
"Yo, am I speaking in code Mr. hotshot assassin? It's not too hard to understand blondey, it was two brothers I encountered near Mesopotamia, well, two Mesopotamian brothers. It seems as though they had exactly what I was describing, where one lived immortally while the other reincarnated over and over and over," Sipping her yard stick water straw Katrina flicked the symbols to show Morgan her journal. Flipping between hundreds of pages in a second showed different people all with the same face, ranging from carvings to paintings and eventually pictures.
"This is dark, evil magic like I said. I was lucky to bail with my life, nasty attitude on the one who kept living. The reincarnated one was sweet, tried to date me, yes, THE Katrina Vanderbelt but I'm already taken love..." Her smile became more somber. Katrina spun her wedding ring around her finger at a decent speed, sipping on the water as almost a way to bury any sudden burst of emotion. "Mesopotamia is very special. As you know it's likely the first civilization, so its intertwined closely with the fabric of the world, both supernatural and natural. My theory is the Realm of Shadows "bleeds", into our world at special spots or just anywhere it might trickle through, causing weird phenomena and curses. No matter how we try Morgan, no one has ever been able to get magic down to a science, your crispy friend Alexia could pour every single drop of gold and dollar into it, and we would still never know "how" these things worked..."

Katrina leaned over onto the window, putting her cellphone on it as if to take a selfie with the whole group in it. The Tree if Guf was visible even from the supposed shithole of Gorod and its lackluster air quality. "Don't worry about Julius, you gave me his number after all! You'll come to realize I have my own tricks." The charming smile returned as she flashed Morgan's phone to him and floated it back with the conductor like hand gestures. The room was starting to look like an animated movie with all the floating and moving furniture and containers.

It seemed the girl in white would choose to be quiet this time around. Katrina was grateful, it was bad enough dealing with a hyperactive child on top of baggy eyed Nosferatu, so the silence and acceptance of her words was appreciated. There would be much time to discuss fashion with this one later as well. Katrina gave Lyli the mutual nod of understanding.

However, she was immediately offput both by the mention of video games, and Zack's outburst. Katrina was fully offering them everything she knew and not hiding it. Had any of them been paying attention to channel Merlin or any other various news source or underground tellings, they'd know Katrina was very accustomed to operating both in and out of the law for the greater good.

"Morgan, I'd say things are going relatively well, but you might need to get a handle on this child or rethink our potential agreement. I was under the impression you were all professionals, or perhaps that went away with Lionel. Either way, whatever your excuse is for the outburst, Zack, I'm not too sure how safe I feel being threatened by a group of wet workers." Irritation flashed through her words as well as anxiety, Katrina was well aware anyone in the room could pulverize her, the outburst put her on edge, and her darker side came through for flash. She took note of her surroundings, hoping she could do even something should it start getting violent.

 

[AI10100]

V A N D Y R , L E X​

The answer to Yuri's question was almost clear in Lex's eyes. She pulled out her examination gloves and inched closer to the bodies, gaze roaming around them. Before she could conduct further analysis, another player— a nephil— entered the fray. Unlike Yuri's reaction for immediately pulling a firearm, Lex still had hers holstered and watched Anzhu carefully. It didn't seem like he was particularly a threat to the investigation, though his mere presence in Drezzen was already breaking a few laws, but Lex couldn't care any less. Besides, it seemed like Julius had this covered as he swiped Yuri's gun. "I would truly appreciate if you'd allow me to work." Her gaze bounced back to Julius with another grateful nod as if allowing him free reigns on how to deal with the intruder. It was better to have him on their side more than anything at the current moment.

With that, relying on the others to ensure Anzhu's presence wouldn't get in the way of the investigation itself, Lex returned her attention to the bodies. Much like in the last few cases, a symbol had been burned on the dryad— a 4 with a triangle. She remembered how each number had a different positioning but she had no idea what its significance was. "Why would a dryad be here in the first place? Drezzen is practically a concrete forest. No dryad would be suicidal enough to live nowhere near nature." Especially considering the current climate in their beloved city, it would choke out nature-based nephils. Still, with her question up in the air for anyone to answer, she continued to inspect the woman's body. She took a hold of the dryad's head, gingerly tilting it to the side. One blow to the head, aiming to kill, and she looked around at the blood splatter. Action done here. Dryad was likely alive when she was taken here. Her head lolled without resistance which indicated a lack of rigor mortis yet when Lex moved to her limbs, they were locked tightly. Odd. Rigor mortis tended to set in on the entire body so she couldn't place a temporary timeline on when the nephil's death happened. Then there was the slash on her ankle and the blood trail that led outside through a side door. Something to follow up on later as Yuri alerted her that it wasn't physically broken into. So either they had access to the key of the warehouse or they used magic, either or.

Still, she checked for the blood splatter properly if it actually did match the blunt force trauma wound. Then she checked the dryad's body for possible defensive wounds and under her fingernails in a small hope of finding at least some skin from the attacker. It was a small hope, of course, because nephils likely defended themselves using magic instead of the desperate clawing humans do.

Then she moved to the man, young and painfully human. The injuries were scarred over as if weeks had passed by. She picked up his hand to inspect the extent of the injury and it appeared that something had shredded through this man's skin down to the bone. Nothing that was fatal but must have been painful. Was it some sort of torture then? Then there was the slash on the man's neck that should have been fatal despite it looking like it had happened a long time ago yet this man's body still wasn't in rigor mortis. So two possibilities popped up in her head: Either this man was kept and tortured weeks ago before being dumped next to the dryad to make it appear as a "murder suicide" and was killed through other means or there was a mage going around with a specific type of magic that would make it possible, like a fucked up type of healing magic.

"If this was just the work of a human, it would be a little easier but I can't rule out any possibilities if a mage had done this." She told Yuri with a heavy sigh as she stood up and removed her gloves. "The dryad most likely died here, possibly tried to escape, and was dragged back here. The man is a bit more complicated. The state of his body would imply that he died here, not a few hours ago, but his would are old. They're practically scarred."

"I'm going to get samples and hopefully get an ID on these two. If they're actually residents here or if they were both taken here through some means."

Now, time for the more complicated question, should magic have been involved, investigations would be more difficult.

Lex, however, merely took a few steps back and inhaled, gathering smoke in her mouth. She pulled the cigarette out and made a series of hand gestures. Both of her hands made a fox-ear gesture before linking them together. She opened her curled fingers until there was a small opening right in the middle of her linked hands. She brought it up to her mouth instead of her eye for the convenience of her companions. She blew the cigarette smoke through it and an almost impossible amount of smoke spew forth through the opening and into the scene of the crime. The smoke, imbued with tenebris energy that could bind to the lingering tenebris energy from the time of the crime.

Time to see what she could garner from the magic-side of this incident.

 

[B E A R]

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  haking her head at zack's question that was tinged with annoyance, cerelia was worried about what morgan and katrina was thinking about the spew of words thrown around that zack referred to as a good story --

  

  it was as if the hot headed male hasn't noticed the facial expressions that were plastered across the boss and their employer's face while he was talking. although lyli was used to the energy that zack displays, it doesn't seem like katrina appreciates it.
  
  " its a solid and true story but i don't think katrina ... and morgan can quite handle the amount of energy you are giving . i am pretty sure because of the awful air outside . " cerelia whispers to zack as soon as he had sat down, although she did lie in the end but she is hoping it will dissuade zack from bursting with more energy whenever he decides to speak. as morgan and katrina conversed, cerelia was sitting there quietly with the cup of coffee in her hands as she was taking mental notes. the only thing was that lyli didn't fully quite understand as she wasn't fully present during the encounter at the tower, but lylianna was still listening with the utmost respect.
  
  it did catch cerelia offguard at the tone and the usage of words that katrina had decided to use on morgan, knitting her brows together and tilting her head slightly. the albino haired femal was just a bit not used to people really talking to morgan like that but lyli didn't say anything. although almost as if zack has a timer of how long he can be quiet for, the chestnut browned hair male burst out with his usual but arbitrarily statements -- lylianna was already smacking her palm to her forehead internally.
  
  

  

  the clear sound of a hand making contact with the table echoed in the quiet room after the name angelica pierce was said -- like voldemort or something -- lylianna did get startled by the sudden outburst once again but this time with aggression drenched in zack's words. these were the times when cerelia wished that zack was a bit older and more mature, but there was nothing else that could've been done as it had already happened. " you have my most sincerest apologies , zack has a really poor history with angelica -- causing for the outburst . " with a hand that was gently placed over her heart, " i understand my words may not mean much or anything at all , but i can say that zack won't do any harm to you as neither morgan and i will allow it to happen at the end of the day . please do forgive us for how unprofessional we appeared just now . " the white haired female had said with sincerity and with a bow of her head to show that she was being honest and genuine about her words. although almost as if immediately, the brilliant blue eyes seems to have narrowed into a glare towards zack.
  
  although cerelia can't fully blame him so her eyes shifted almost immediately afterwards, she knows about zack's past history with angelica -- almost nobody in the crimson hand doesn't know. lylianna believes that zack still should be able to maintain a professional image, even if it includes his bubbly personality with random outbursts, to not bring in personal affairs. letting out a soft sigh, hoping for katrina to actually still be willing to work with them as it seems like she was capable of providing morgan information that he wants and needs. the pale haired female rubs zack's back in a soothing manner briefly, just briefly, as if she was just comforting the younger male about his need for revenge against the mentioned female.
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

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  text text

mood

tense..

location

pony express hotel?

outfit

interactions

morgan, zack, & katrina

tags

true force calamityone Bush

the butterfly

nine lives

 

[B E A R]

4:46

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  theraven

  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

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  theraven

  (cont. in comments) in this world, gold is the strongest currency -- name a price, the job is done.

  
  
  
  
  

  View all 69 comments

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  messages

  
  
  

  9:06pm

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  TOM FROM SCHOOL

  
  
  

  is my contact name still "from school" on your phone

  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
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  theraven

  in this world, gold is the strongest currency -- name a price, the job is done.

  
  
  

  3h ago

  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  with each step the raven haired female took, there was a soft little bounce of excitement -- the young hacker, who barely leaves her room, was brimming with happiness after being able to actually ... do some stretching .. her big brilliant silver eyes shimmering with happiness as angelica had also promised to treat her to pizza. in all honesty, raven doesn't recall the last time she had food with other people, let alone with the people she works with. although it doesn't seem like it bothered her, at all. unfortunately, due to this influencer's family history she has grown detached with emotions that she deems as .. purposeless.
  
  as they had finally sat down at a table in the pizza parlor, although her eyes almost immediately dances over to jakov and it caused for her to squint. " hey grandpa , why is he invited ? .. " purposefully only talking to baron telepathically, as raven figures that maybe angelica might not be happy if she had decided to say that out loud. she has absolutely nothing against jakov, but she is just a hacker with unusual attitude towards a lot of people besides baron and angelica. propping her elbows on the dark wood table, leaning her hands against the palms of both her hands -- " grandpa , will you ever consider decorating your mask with led lights ? it would be really cool , if you ever decide you want to , let me know ! angie , don't you think it would be cool if grandpa had like pretty lights on his mask ? " this time actually speaking out loud for everyone to hear, her brilliant moonlit silver eyes then glances over at jakov again.
  
  " so what do you even do ? " as if she finally decides to talk to jakov, her eyes were narrowed like daggers -- raven wasn't sure if she likes this male or not. he had a cocky face, he had a face that this female wants to punch so that's why she doesn't know if she likes him or not. then again, raven hasn't met anyone in tup besides baron and angelica as she doesn't leave her room and is always just looking at her monitors and hacking her life away.
  
  " oooh ! i don't mind cheese but i like pepperoni -- i also don't like mushrooms , no offense grandpa , mushrooms just taste like dirt . " removing her arms from the table and shrugging her shoulders at the mention of mushrooms, then as if she just remember she was monitoring something raven reaches into her back pocket to grab one of her phones. biting on her right thumb gently, just out of pure habits, but not actually biting her nail or anything -- raven's eyes were seen darting around the small screen as it seems like small sparks of electricity could be seen as her left thumb was gliding across the small electronic.
  
  " there .. it goes here .. where is this going .. " mumbling softly to herself as her eyes were rapidly scanning through every word and every data that was bombarding the small screen. " hey angie , you remember that weird dumb family that you told me to keep an eye on ? what's their name ? ill ? ill and ? .... oh yes ! ilyin , what a funky family surname . it seems like they are actually finally on the move , but it seems like they are moving large amounts of arcane artifacts .. from gorod to drezzen by train . i can't quite seem to pinpoint the reason and who they are giving these artifacts .. might take me a little longer before i can figure out why and who the ilyin family is working with for this . " although she say that but raven immediately puts her phone back into her pocket and grabs another phone, the phone she uses as a social media influencer. " anyways . " raven propped her head up with her right hand, elbow on the table once again, with her left hand just scrolling through her phone and posts.
  
  " oh my god ! can i take a picture of us and post it ? i need to post something , i haven't done so in a week ! "
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

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    excited but slightly tired

    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    
    

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
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    check out my fit!

    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
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    at franco's, come join me!

    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
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    Avi2023 Bush calamityone

    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    
    
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  Add a comment...

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

♡requested by dreamglow, coded by uxie♡

 

[calamityone]

Albion
​

With a pat on his rather belligerent companion's back the Fae King takes a step away to observe Julius' handiwork. Admittedly he could have stored the artifact himself rather easily in fact, such spells are child's play for the majority of mages however he wanted to witness this himself, if it was even remotely similar to that man. In all honesty it was quite impressive for an anomaly like the man before him to actually pull it off.
Watching the sheer disrespect towards the ring belonging to that bastard knight was quite amusing to the fae, though it was clear he struck a nerve with the mercenary, he was unaware of exactly how painful performing that spell was, though even if he knew he probably wouldn't have cared regardless. With a smirk he was about to agree with Julius' comment, he was happy to be rid of that ring, an artifact belonging to nothing but a wilful traitor, adulterer and slayer of his trusted companions, however before being able to slander sir Lancelot anymore the new arrival caught his attention, almost immediately validating his request of storing the heart away.

The most surprising thing to the Fae was not immediately being recognized, that and Julius' honestly pathetic display, both were quite entertaining. "Alas, the child of the eclipse; defeated without even a fight..." he shook his head lamenting this sight he's beholding "What a shame and after we just formed a little pact" He steps away from the white haired man and towards the nephil currently assaulting the mercenary's senses, with a bow and a false smile the fae king introduces himself "It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm simply a humble fae known as Albion."

His introduction followed by Julius' immediate threats probably weren't the best first impressions of the investigation group. "Hm. You ought to think about what you're doing there, Julius. Do keep in mind my responsibilities come before and minor pact I may have forged." His fake expression remained, however his words were stern, as if they were a reminder of his standing.

Yuri Belekov

​

Scribbling down every detail in his notepad Yuri's eyes were fixed on the pair of corpses, the man was most known for recording nearly everything down before acting, he didn't want to gloss over anything. He originally considered ignoring the new arrival but the idea of the potential third party returning to the crime scene outweighed his desire for some peace and quiet, his hand hovered over his firearm. Before being able to get a word out, with a flash of white the weapon was snatched from his grasp by the white haired man, oddly enough Yuri's gaze tracked the seemingly instant movement the entire way. With a sign he mutters out "At least we don't have to worry about anything getting the drop on us with him around."

Yuri took immediate note of the triangle symbol sketching it down exactly almost like a machine making a copy. The only time he looks up from his notes is when his fellow detective addressed him directly. "Mages and Nephil haven't been getting along very well here since that Tecnet incident, if I was a betting man I'd go with a mage doing something like this." He seemingly traces his pen along the air following the trail of blood from the dryad towards the door. "That... Just doesn't make much sense now does it? How can a man have fatal wounds that old yet have only died hours prior..." He flips through pages of notes before taking a few steps back to allow Lex space to cast her spell, he wouldn't want to interrupt it with his presence.

Morgan

​

Katrina's whole explanation seemed relatively sound however a few minor details didn't quite line up, not to mention in comparable to the pictures... The consistent face of that man simply wasn't the same as Aiden Graham's. Were they just missing something or did Julius just misremember a detail? Whatever the case Katrina didn't seem to budge from her conclusion and with a nod Morgan accepted this answer despite her attitude. She was far more knowledgeable about this sort of thing than any of them so she has to be right.

Morgan seemed to be lost in this train of thought into the flash of the detective's camera caught his eye. "Julius can handle himself fine, I'm just hoping that if Aiden is the same man as from your stories he doesn't hold grudges..." Morgan shook his head something was stilk just nagging at him, he failed to notice that Katrina stole his phone due to the default wallpaper and no password until he slid his hand into his pocket to retrieve his lighter.

Vaguely listening to Zack's outburst Morgan struggled to light a cigarette, the old silver lighter barely putting out a flame after a considerable amount of strikes. Shooting a glare towards Zack as if to question what the hell he's doing Morgan responds to Katrina following a small cloud of smoke blown opposite her way. "Zack doesn't speak for anyone but himself, and I don't intend to betray a contract..." Morgan could feel a slight rage at the mention of Lionel's name, a rather meaningless and cruel move on her part. Keeping a neutral expression Morgan sighs "I will return whatever payment you've given us so far as an apology. This won't happen again."

Jakov

​

Disappointment was probably the first word Jakov would have used laying eyes on the restaurant, perhaps pity would also be a good one. He had done many odd jobs all over the globe and the only food he adamantly refused to eat ever again was from Gorod, poison would be a better word for whatever they serve in this hellish city. Taking a seat alongside the others he glanced over the three weighing his odds of having even a decent time there... Not great considering Raven is already staring daggers at him. With a yawn he leaned back in his chair waiting for somebody else to break the ice, anyone else but him would be nice. In the meantime Jakov retrieved his deck of cards from his cost pocket, just something to fiddle around with until he can leave.

The black haired captain manages to shuffle the deck around five times before Raven finally breaks him out of his trance with a rather dumb question. "You serious?" He frowned glancing at the woman up from his cards, nah she was. She looked rather angry with him already so with a sign he indulges her question. "Nothing you'd really find interesting. Diplomacy between rival gangs, making sure everyone falls in line, and making her life a little easier" he points at Angelica with his thumb in a rather casual gesture, far too casual for someone to act towards their boss. His attention returns to his cards flicking through them and making sure every number was accounted for, hopefully she was satisfied with that answer. "Nothing for me, thanks." He waved off Angelica's offering of food, just thinking of Gorod food made him sick, no way he was gonna eat it. "Why don't you and Baron just take a picture, he's pretty photogenic y'know"

 

[Avi2023]

Baron trailed quietly behind Angelcia’s victory party, watchful as they entered the pizza joint. He hadn’t brought many afflicted with him, too many would draw unwanted attention to their already questionable movements, and he had few stationed in this unfamiliar part of Gorod. The city was still foreign to him- and so his reach here was tenuous at best.

Once everyone was seated, he remained at the periphery, monitoring his telekinetic links to the afflicted drifting around the block, posing as ordinary people with errands to run; coffee to grab, meetings to attend, idle conversations on their phones. Their meandering masked their purpose well, but his focus was abruptly pulled back by Raven’s telepathic comment. He had little opinion of the captain, much like the rest of the TUP members. Beyond vague profiles and the question of whether they could follow orders, he considered factors like complacency or outright insubordination, but not much else. That was the trouble with rebellious gangs... they tended to do their own thing.

So, with barely a shrug, he responded with a curt telepathic hum. "He is a captain."

Although he broke his silence to clear the likely unnessesary explination, he didn’t bother acknowledging Raven’s next tangent. There was no point in explaining why he wouldn’t be decorating his mask with anything, least of all lights, nor listing the many security risks of embedding electricity into his rebreather. She knew them already and would likely ignore him anyway- or worse, find a way to deface his visor in her own time with any form of encouragement or resistance that he would provide.

He also refrained from weighing in on food choices. He didn’t care. He’d eaten a few days ago and would be fine if he didn’t eat at all. The fungus within him handled most of his cellular repair, slowing his bodily functions to an extreme. He rarely needed to eat or sleep, could hold his breath for stretches that would leave others gasping, and so on. But necessity still lingered. Neglecting those base needs for too long would leave him unconscious, and he had no desire to risk waking up to an entirely different world. Not more than once.

Watching Jakov and Raven’s exchange with mild detachment, he raised a brow at Jakov’s offer for her to take a picture of him. The rest of him remained still. A clear discomfort radiated from both the captain and Raven, though he was somewhat oblivious as to why.

However, his attention sharpened at the mention of the Ilyin family. A transport full of treasure sounded like a trap, even if it was just a rumor. Risky- but potentially lucrative, if Angelcia chose to pursue it. His eyes flicked to the boss, meeting hers with a knowing look through the matt of his visor. It wouldn't be the first time they pulled off something like that. Likely not the last.

 

[Bush]

"Oh, it'll be fine," Zack whispered back to Lyli, who was concerned that Zack's energy was too much to handle. "All I did was go over everything that happened to us. Well...for the most part. I didn't want Kat to think of you any lesser cause of your...well..." Zack immediately began regretting what he was saying. Why would I tell her that? It probably did nothing but remind her of her failures at the building! She's already been through a lot; I can't bring her any further. Zack shook his head and tried to get back on there. "Whatever, just ignore it. I promise I won't have another burst of energy."

Then Zack had a outburst over the mention of Angelica, causing Kat to become frightened and deem them unprofessional. Shit, I am really bad at this, Zack thought to himself after Kat threatened to cut off their agreement after his outburst. At that moment, Zack realized just how childish he was being. My mother would hate seeing me like this after all of those classes in acting proper. I'm a rich kid; I'm supposed to act like one. Zack continued to linger on what he just thought. A kid...that's what I am. Both Morgan and Lyli felt the need to apologize on their behalf, with Lyli staring Zack in the eyes while Morgan even offering to return the money for their arrangement. Zack sighed. "I'm really sorry for my behavior, Kat," Zack sincerely apologized. "I'm...still kinda new to this whole wetworking thing. I'll understand if you don't want me participating in this meeting. I'm much better at attacking people anyway then trying to solve a mystery-" Then Zack began to cough, for Morgan had began to smoke in the small hotel room. "Geez, Morgan, do you gotta light that in here?" As if the air of Gorod wasn't bad enough.

Zack swiped the smoke away. He then turned his attention for the first time towards the mystery, trying to give some input. "Alright, so these two brothers? One's immortal while the other keeps resurrecting itself. It's almost like the Jedi and Sith, where-" Zack immediately caught himself about to go on a nerdy rant. I'm not doing this again. "Ignore that. Anyway, if the constantly resurrecting guy is getting his power from the immortal guy like the snake self-vore symbol-metaphor-thing, then maybe Aiden is the resurrecting guy while spooky meteor guy is the immortal guy. They could be brothers...I mean, if Aiden can survive a 50 cal to the chest, he's probably on the same level as...what's the spooky meteor guy's name again? If we don't have a name for him, I'll like to come up with one to make things easier." I'm thinking of calling him Sheev. Bro acts like a Palpatine....I really am childish, aren't I?

---

Angelica rolled her eyes at Raven's comment about lighting Baron's mask with lights. "Baron's not a Christmas tree, Raven," Angelica quipped as she looked at the menu. "We are also an organization that prioritizes stealth and secrecy, not being flashy and show-off-ish. You should consider joining Crimson Hand then, considering what they did back at the Tecnet building. Plane crash, my ass." Angelica took a sip of her coffee, happy to enjoy a warm beverage after so much murder and death. Angelica looked over at Raven talking to Jakov; it was quite obvious that Raven didn't want Jakov to be here. Blame Munroe, she thought. Only reason why I had to promote him. "Yeah, we all have a part to play, Raven," Angelica defended her captain against the hacker. "We can't hack every problem we have, especially when it comes to handling our army. You know, I once caught one of our goons robbing from one of my malls. He thought just because he worked for me in my....side hustle, he thought he could steal from me. Drezzen police still haven't found his body." Angelica took another sip of her coffee.

Raven mentioned what the Ilyin family was up to, which sparked Angelica's curiosity. "Arcane artifacts being delivered to Drezzen?" Angelica repeated. How vague, she thought. Must be some top secret operation; Raven probably only knows what the average Ilyin family member knows. "Must be worth a fortune. Whoever they're delivering those artifacts to is probably paying top dollar for them, meaning we might have some competition back home. Unless, of course, it's some aristocrat that just wants to display them in their mansion." Angelica took a look at Baron, who (somehow) gave the expression of slight approval, albeit to give caution while doing so. "Could be something to look into. We disrupt this supply line and it might reveal the Ilyins' operation to us. Them and the Baba Bratva are the last strongholds in Gorod and I honestly just wanna take their territory and go home. Sick of this disgusting city." Angelica then turned towards Baron for his opinion. "What do you think?"

Angelica ordered a pepperoni pizza for Raven, which Jakov refusing the offer to eat any. The fact that Jakov refused honestly annoyed Angelica. I take us all out to a nice establishment....well, maybe nice is too generous for this shithole, but still, this is how you treat me? God, I miss Munroe. It then annoyed Angelica more when both Raven and Jakov mentioned taking a picture together; something that would potentially put them at risk of exposure. "I don't know if you remember this you two but we're not supposed to create more evidence for the police to figure out our underground and illegal operation," she warned her employees. "We're trying to remain undercover, remember? That's why I'm dressed in this cheap ass outfit. I can't believe people willing come to my malls to buy this cheap crap but, hey, it fuels the business. I don't know what's the bigger crime I commit; supplying Rodina with illegal weaponry or supplying Rodina with overpriced, garbage clothing. Anyway, no pictures or I'm gonna have to take that phone."

 

[lunar_moth]

Anzhu gives the fishbowl one last forlorn look; it’s been a while since his last proper meal, and he’s starting to feel it. You can only survive so long on a tinned-tuna budget and maintain your glorious physique.

“Sheesh, fine. I’ll stay outta your way. I don’t have any reason to stop you lot; I myself love some good shady business.” He sidles up next to Albion to watch Vandyr do her thing, his tail flicking languidly.

“Bibi, my friend, you didn’t happen to know these two unfortunate souls, did you? Ach, poor things. Hate to be in their paws right about now.

“Still, makes ya think….. were they actually a couple of young lovers? Sure look it. Maybe they ran away together and got mugged, just a case of bad luck. Or maybe they didn’t know each other at all, and they got something else in common! Kehehe, maybe they knew something, that people like you lot weren’t pleased with ‘em knowing….”

 

[true force]

Julius
​

Uncocking his gun, Julius spun the hand cannon and put it back in his back holster, flipping his shirt above the holster. He had had enough of the smugness. Overreaction? He kicked Jerry's bowl into the air, before catching, slight water spilling toward Anzhu. His gaze hunted towards Albion, the comic of his smile stayed dropped, and he ditched the common tongue. It had been years since he spoke in German, almost to the point of dropping the accent, but Volkanovski knew after this the accent was coming back full force. He knew Albion as a council member was naturally a polyglot.
"Oh? You who sit in walls? High up in that keep, you, who oh so benevolently looks down upon me? You who has never known turmoil and discord of this world? You who had my father round up his vehemently disgusting ilk when they went rogue? Do not speak down to me king, I sat in your court, you knoweth exactly who I am, and you owe my father a treasury from your vault. Do not adjourn me for guarding what I have left when you have both slattern and friend and lover at your knees as you please." Julius's German was rather eloquent and aristocratic, for such an ugly language, he spoke with it a silver tongue and his words had a knifelike edge to them. His gaze shadowed deep, there was no malice or contempt emanating from him, only a lethal intent. The void in the Tenebris he existed as could feel the same as the embrace of a cold, brutal, red and white death. It was one thing to be smug, it was one thing to look down, however Julius had history with his "man", his father had done dangerous and noble work for him. To tell him to not guard the last thing of his family was the straw that broke the camel's back. While Albion might have more so been a king than a warrior, Julius had locked him into the duelists dance, and the two could read each other without words being exchanged. If more important things and Lex had not bequeathed them, a fight was very much to start.

He flickered some fish flakes into the bowl, before deeply and silently letting his breath out, and the air around him returned to normal. It was equivalent to a lion finishing a gazelle and resting. He knew he likely couldn't beat Albion in a chance encounter straight up, but Julius was never one to run from the chance to dance with death for any reason. He tensed up for a second, with shivers running down his neck as he thought back to the fight in the tower with that.... "thing"...


He knelt down and met this alley cat. "What a scrawny thing," he thought, spinning Jerry around in his hand slightly, unknowingly making the fish dizzy before switching back to English. "I'm sure if you ran too fast a dog might chase after you thinking you're a bone, if you don't fuck anything up, I'll buy you a meal." Not quite sure if it was kindness or interest in this nephil, but he intended to stick to his word. Truth be told, Julius had no problems with a lot of nephils, he simply didn't like fae, probably in part due to his time in the court with his father, Albion, and past experiences. It's one thing for someone somewhat connected to appear like Julius, but random company would help breakup the Lex-Albion-Julius tension triangle from imploding. Julius set Jerry down on a cement block, walking towards Yuri and Lex. He once again swiped his hand across the air with Yuri's notes appearing at the end of his swipe in his hand. He started leisurely flipping through them while sitting criss cross.

"Tell me about it, these checkpoints are psychotic, every 2 blocks its scan, get ID'ed, scanned some more. I'm not sure how much longer barbeque wants to sit up there in his tower, but the people are becoming restless. I wouldn't be surprised if Albion gets a brick thrown at him in certain sectors..." He was flabbergasted by the level of detail,

"Good God dude it's like looking at a textbook-" Julius's tone belied both a jab and commendation, the percentages of which were up to Yuri's discretion. H finally checked the message from Morgan, seeing it was none other than Katrina. He was well aware of Katrina, as he often tuned into Channel Merlin, and Katrina was frequently on. Taking around 15 photos of Yuri's notes, he sent them to Morgan and in turn Katrina. As much questions as he had for her, there were matters right in front of him. He flicked his notes back to him, watching the magic of Lex. Her skill with it was utterly remarkable, she lived up to every word of his father's praise.
"You would've fit right in at court Miss Vandyr." An unusual warmth sprinkled the words as they left his lips. He didn't feel drawn to her romantically, but he felt a kinship with her. He decided to be quiet to let her focus, and what transpired seemed to take him aback.

Lex's ability allowed her to see 5 seconds before and after if he remembered correctly. He watched as the smokey figures formed into the man and the dryad. The before showed the man casting dark hand gestures and symbols. Julius recognized it instantly; it was a binding spell. But bound to what exactly? A line of Tenebris bolted out the door, easily traceable. It cut to the after, and for five whole seconds the figures lay dead at each other's feet. Interesting...
"It looks like he bound something," Julius' grin returned and he looked up. "The real question is what was the actual spell he decided to bless us with..."

Katrina

​

Katrina felt the lump in her throat and the heart pounding intensify before it quieted back down. She took a deep breath in and took her sunglasses off, wiping them down before collecting her coolness. She flicked a sweat drop from her forehead before grinning. "Just fuckin with ya!" While she was playing it up a bit, she did feel fear, and wanted to be cool with these people and it seemed Morgan has a proper leash on his pit-bull. "Don't worry about it Morgan, I'll pay ya accordingly. It's both in my best interest and yours, moneys never been the end goal, I wouldn't be a Vanderbilt worrying about that junk." The peaceful bow of the barbie doll in white seemed to put her more at ease.

"Listen I know not much more than you guys. I do know that's wrong", she gestured at Zack, ever very VERY slightly shaking as she did. "My theory would mean Alexia would be the brother who keeps reincarnating, we can look deeper into later however as Blondie said, it seems like Julius can take care of himself. I'm sure whatever happens over there can be dealt with like crushing a bug.." She floated the giant keg of water towards her with simple signs again, sipping from the straw

"Hmm, it seems as though Julius is conducting his own little research, let's call him in a second why don't we? In the meantime, this is the dirty part I need you guys for. I hate to say this, but I did do some research on your employer, which lead to some research on you guys. From the security footage I perused, I ever so intelligently surmised that your employer met you at places that the Underground Pillar was using for various purposes. Smuggling, guns, magic etcetera. When you were meeting up these places had only very recently been packed out of." Katrina's grin flashed again, the low sunlight reflected off her tattoos, wrapping her in a dress of shadows. "As such, I've narrowed it down to a few places where he was likely staying, both before the comet, and in the past few weeks. I'm sure you can see where this is going..."
Katrina sat down in a chair and floated it to eye level of Morgan, the low sunlight hit into her yellow eyes rather beautifully. The view was as two small suns were in her skull.

"I'm very well aware of what I'm asking you. I'm asking you three to do a lot more leg work than normal. I'm sure normally its get in, mow down whatever rival family member or child predator has had a death seal placed on them. But now I'm asking you to perform espionage, potentially get in the middle of a massive civil gang war," Her eyes turned to Zack, much more compassionate than before, "potentially have to dig up old foes and memories...truth be told I can't pay you accordingly. I can pay you a rather solid amount of gold, but I'm not aristocrat, barely even above middle class, I'm asking you as a fellow mage to put aside yourself interest and work towards something greater..."
Katrina's tone dropped. She spoke with the charisma of royalty, it was a genuine plea to cold, heartless killers. It wasn't an ask for them to change their ways, it wasn't a charity case, in her mind it was a duty bequeathed upon birth of becoming a mage. There was a twinkle in her eye, a slight somber but power to her voice in her final sentence, it was Ms Vanderbilt's gamble...

 

[lunar_moth]

“Ekekeke, free food? A smart man can’t say no to that,” Anzhu snickers. He settles on his haunches on the floor, and his ears flick around at full attention.

“You guys aren’t cops, ain’tcha? What more interest could you possibly have in a couple of corpses that isn’t, er, criminal justice-related? Last I heard a corpse can’t do anything more than shit and bloat. You looking for answers of some sort?”

His voice changes to a purr, so smooth and beguiling in contrast to how crude his words were.

“It got anything to do with why you fellas are in possession of some rare and powerful artifacts?”

 

[AI10100]

V A N D Y R , L E X​

Lex couldn't help but grin at Yuri's huff. There was something comforting about the uneasiness of her fellow detective, a truly welcome presence to the increasing chaotic number of their group. "Pros and cons," Lex commented and bothered herself enough to keep her voice low even if she was half-confident that everyone in the warehouse could hear them anyway. "Con? We have someone who can kill us in three seconds, maybe five if we're lucky. Pros? We have someone who can kill others in three seconds, maybe five if they're lucky." Professionalism had been set aside the moment they had accepted Julius's presence in the warehouse. Albion will be able to hold Julius off, maybe, she didn't know much about the Fae King but there was a part of her that doubted he would step in to rescue them if push came to shove.

She nodded along with Yuri's observations and questions— good to know she wasn't the only one who found herself stuck in the same roadblock. Logic was a difficult thing to work with when magic was taken into account. As her spell took effect and the smoke began to bind itself to the beings present, Lex refocused back to the people around her. She scoffed at Julius's comment. "Maybe. I would have hated every moment of it." There was an implication there that anyone who was smart enough, observant enough, could pick up on. Her standing with the Council was shaky, she doubted the Court would be more forgiving on loose cannons.

Oh. There was some slight disappointment on her features as a lot of her initial theories fell through the floor. She took her cigarette between her fingers as she began to speak. "Serial killer or a cultist group trying to bind something they shouldn't be playing with?" The latter was beginning to look more and more likely. Julius's question echoed in her own thoughts. What was he trying to bind? Did the same thing happen with the previous cases? "Well, let's try to find that out, shall we?" These will have to be left for the clean-up crew. She patted Yuri on the shoulder and turned to Albion. "We'll be trying to follow the Tenebris trail. I'm not too sure what type of spell this was but let's keep an eye out, yeah?" Her gaze moved to Anzhu and blinked at him, remembering his earlier questions. "Cop. Detective, whatever. We're trying to figure out why there's been a string of murders, maybe suicides, maybe murder-suicides, maybe something else entirely."

Leaving that as her own permission for him to stick around should he want to, Lex turned heel and moved to follow the trail out of the warehouse. "Same door that has a blood trail, same door that didn't seem broken into, fun, don't you think?" Despite being one of the lesser combatants of the group but far too used to working alone, the detective shouldered the door open.

 

[calamityone]

​

Little expression could be read from the Fae King upon Julius' little tantrum aside from a raised brow, a rather pitiful display in all honesty. Immediately resorting to threats and violence was a childish reaction to in all fairness very mild provocation, it was all far too annoying. He seemingly made no reaction to the stare-down Julius was currently giving him, a far too deadly calm in face of one of the greatest killers of this time. The fae responds to Julius' meltdown in a rather simple manner, no malice nor mockery could be gleamed from his words.
"I see. You truly are the greatest of fools then, you actually believe what you're saying. I'd laugh if I didn't find the entire display utterly disgusting. The fact that you truly believe a Nephil is at equal standing to his mage peers is laughable, and yet you prattle on about how the world is in my palm. You know nothing, Child of the Eclipse you are simply acting the part of a rabid dog snapping at whomever it believes has slighted it. You may prove that if true right now if you really wish, however I would suggest otherwise. Afterall, I have something you desire above all else, I'm debating on whether or not I wish to share it with you."

With his false smile returning he shrugs and steps away from Julius before the situation can deteriorate further. "Soooo, let's just get along, okay" He waves the man off before finally turning his attention back to his Nephil companion "Phew he really is a troublesome guy..." His gaze moves down upon the pair of corpses following Anzhu's question, he closes his eyes appearing deep in thought as if it would help at all to drag up any memory of the duo, only for Albion to respond with a resounding "Nope, not a single idea who these people are." He chose to ignore the scathing remark that he was even remotely close to those who would put people to death. "Hm... You might be onto something." He nods in agreement with Anzhu's proposed theories. "Let's get going then, perhaps our friend leaving us these displays is at the end of the trail." He answered, following the detective making sure to step around the pair of bodies to not disturb the crime scene.

Yuri Belekov

​

Yuri shook his head clearly at his wits end with the constant arguing between those two as well as new faces seemingly dropping in out of nowhere to join their "circus act" they're rapidly accumulating. Shaking his head he mutters quietly "More cons than pros if you ask me..." While the prospect of a fight between a council member and perhaps the greatest assassin in the world would be interesting to observe he had other interests at the moment as well as no desire to be caught in whatever natural disaster that would result in the crossfire of such a battle.

He was just about to respond to Julius' comment before his notes were swiped from his hand, seemingly suppressing a natural reaction Yuri gives off a defeated sigh and turns towards the assassin. "Great. Now I have to start over." The rather poor compliment fell on deaf ears, his annoyance growing with every photograph taken before they were finally returned to their rightful owner. Yuri quickly gave the booklet a once over making sure everything was still there, it wasn't just this case but countless others he made sure to record, more specifically recording down sigils and whatever other manner of symbols he came across, including those which Julius may be familiar with.

The comment of a binding spell drew his attention almost immediately his attitude changing at the mention of it "A binding spell linked to a serial killer huh..." Keeping his thoughts to himself he let Lex take charge, this whole thing was becoming far more interesting than he could have hoped for, perfect."

Morgan

​

"Oh right, sorry." He apologizes before putting the cigarette out, snubbing the meager embers it gave off in a nearby ashtray he had nearly filled to the brim with grey ash and butts of cigarettes during his time working with Katrina. He sighed taking his seat once more, those damn things were the only slight comfort he had but he didn't want any more interruptions during this meeting they've already had more than enough.

It appeared that the woman before them was still on edge around Zack, Morgan shot him a quick glare upon noticing this but didn't bother chewing him out right now, they had a job to do, and their current employer was giving them the current details. "So, you've found that... thing Julius encountered. I figured it would have been much more elusive." He didn't comment on the fact she brought up the underground pillar, it wasn't really important to him regardless so long as that Thing isn't pulling the strings there as well.

His eyes met the woman's his being a mirror, nothing more than a pale blue ocean hiding countless secrets beneath its depths, nearly empty of life itself. "We owe that man some payback anyways, the payment he gave Julius was destroyed when that building collapsed." He retrieves the revolver from within his jacket, twirling it around his finger before tossing it upwards, catching it by the barrel and handing the weapon to the detective as a sign of trust. "The Crimson Hand are at your disposal, just point us in the direction we need to go." Even if the other two disagreed with his decision it didn't really matter to him, he wanted to see the end of this web weaved by that mystery mage they encountered, they needn't follow if they don't see fit.

Jakov

​

Still fidgeting with his deck of cards Jakov smirks at the Christmas tree comment in reference to Baron, imaging the stoic enforcer of the Underground Pillar decorated with an assortment of colored lights, he personally didn't see the harm in making Baron look nice. "C'mon aren't you a little curious how he'd look with something like that on?" He asked leaning back in his chair amusing himself with this train of thought.

However, with every good thing, reality must come crashing back in, he knew exactly why they bothered bringing up all this Illyin family nonsense, more work. With an overexaggerated sigh and staring up at the ceiling Jakov speaks in a hushed tone "Ah, how cruel. She takes us out to dinner just to discuss more work." Shaking his head he sits up to take the meeting just a little more seriously than he has been, memorizing every detail stated. Despite his opinion not being asked, he interjects anyways "Not exactly a bad move, taking care of the rest of the big players, however you ought to take care of, or have somebody take care of Munroe and his band of idiots sooner or later, yeah?" He flicks several Ace cards onto the table "You don't want to get caught out when you ain't expecting it right?" Obviously, he wasn't volunteering to do so his expertise was in different areas, it was just something for his boss to consider before rushing into another job.

The captain retrieved his cards from the table returning back to his way too relaxed position, his attention focused on counting every missing ceiling tile in the restaurant, only speaking up to back up Raven since her idea was shot down "Aw c'mon now, I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm. 'Sides she could probably make it so only her buddies could see it or something. Just relax and enjoy yourself" He points right at his masked companion continuing his pointless babble "You too Baron, I never see you taking five you're gonna work yourself to death."

 

[Avi2023]

Baron chuckled lightly at Angelica’s jab about the Crimson Hand being flashy- a sound more like a low hum through his rebreather than a laugh. Stealth was a necessary evil in the world they leeched from. What use was a parasite that made itself obvious to the host? The Crimson Hand might have been more beneficial to society, sure, but a parasite was still a parasite, symbiotic or not. They would be immediately dissolved if the arcane hierarchy ever fell.

This place they were hauled off too was not the worse he had ever been to. The floors were clean, and the pizza that came out looked untouched by any unwanted bacterial. Except for the greens. They looked a little off. Not that he minded, but it seemed only the ladies were eating. Their loss, the options here appeared limited, like all pizzeria's. He would have gone for tea, if this place had any. Looseleaf, strong stuff- green or black, the kind that grew more potent the longer it sat. There had been a French press back in the warehouse he'd crashed in... maybe he’d make a pot when they got back. Or, since this place clearly dealt in coffee, he could try persuading someone for their grounds. Or not. Talking to people was difficult enough without an afflicted tagging along to do it for him.

Baron tilted his head back and spaced out toward the door, imagining the possibility: walking up to the counter, puffing just enough of his spore cloud to avoid suspicion, then slipping a request into some poor worker’s mind- coffee grounds, in a paper bag, strained, preferably. That would go over well. Or perhaps he’d remove the mask and lip-sync with himself, holding his breath just long enough to deliver the message with minimal exposure.

Terrible idea.

His thoughts snapped back to the table, to the discussion of the potential Ilyin job. Risky, there were still too many unknowns. But intercepting that much loot? That would tip the balance of this region hard in their favor. He listened to Angelica and Jakov speak, then adjusted the valve on his rebreather with a soft twist, releasing a fine dusting of spores into the air as he finally added his voice.

“Munroe is a problem. We know too little- on both accounts. The Ilyin raid could make or break the Underground Pillar in Gorod. We need more information on this shipment and Munroe's coup before we do anything substantial.”

And- que Raven. So much for staying on topic.

He sighed when the conversation derailed again, and considered snatching Raven’s phone. If he could even catch the slippery kid. Not wanting to put in the effort, this was a task he quickly decided to leave to the others. Still, he shot Jakov a sideways glance at his quip, speaking with a kind of grim finality.

“I sleep when able.”

As if that answered anything. He knew better, of course, his lifestyle was not sustainable to the human body. But he said nothing of the feedback that never stopped trickling in from the afflicted. Distance helped dull it, distractions blurred the edges, but it never went silent. He had just become particularly skilled at filtering the constant noise.

Not always manageable, though. Anyone who’d stood in a chatty crowd moments before a mass stabbing knew how quickly things could spiral from low murmur to manic shrieking. Nerve endings lit up like firecrackers. The afflicted were like that. Their terror could come from physical pain, or something as mundane as seeing a reflection they didn’t like. And when one of them got sick- on the rare occasion it happened- it was like listening to a slow eulogy delivered by the fires of hell.

He had, over time, learned to prune them. Cull the noisiest ones. Not out of cruelty, just necessity, usually. It was either that or let their incessant whining rot what little was left of his peace. 'Working himself to death', as Jakov put it, was just as necessary to pruning. Painful, tiring, required.