Fantasy The Order of Seven - closed for now

[Cashi]

- Krishna -​

Krishna tucked his black-and-gold scarf higher up around his face, eyes narrowed through the tinted lenses as he peered upon the highly suspect character loitering beneath the tree far below. In his peripheral, another figure seemed just as suspect: a man staring first at the window where Krishna and Thaddeus stood, then down to the shadowy figure in the arbour. He seemed almost harmless from a distance, clipped brown hair and rough face, but he carried himself like the soldiers Krishna used to hide from back in India.
Suspect indeed.
Taking a careful step away from the window (and trying not to sigh in relief at the blessed shade), Krishna turned on a slow heel and spoke, voice muffled by thick layers of fabric.
"Mr. Grey, If you see what I see--which, of course, I'm sure you do--then I believe it necessary we make to the gardens; post-haste."
And with that he strode from the room as quickly and as quietly as possible so as not to alarm anyone.
Lilith was assisting their newfound friend with a carpet that, as Krishna walked by, reeked of old blood. He crinkled his nose.
Then he was down the stairs, nowhere near as fast as he could be with the sunlight draining him, and around the side of the building to where the two men were.
Krishna threw a look over his shoulder at the man in casual city clothes.

As Krishna rested an arm against the mantle of the fireplace that evening, Lilith rounded the low coffee table in the foyer part of her room at the Order's headquarters and took purchase of a quilted chaise. Krishna examined the painting before him unseeingly, his thoughts awhir with the events at the exhibition that evening. He turned to Lilith, head lowered. "Everything happened so quickly. I haven't even learned the names of half the people in our team." He glanced up. "You didn't happen to catch them all, did you?"
Lilith looked at him queerly, then picked up a manila envelope from the coffee table and held it aloft.
"Mr. Jameson, did you not read the dossiers?"
Krishna blanched, vision tunneling on the envelope in her hand. "The...what?"
Lilith held the envelope out to him, eyebrow raised. One corner of her mouth lifted in amusement.
"I would have thought, Mr. Jameson, that you had done your homework. Here. A brief profile of the members in our task force."
Krishna crossed the room sheepishly, took the envelope, and tentatively opened it. The first profile that slid out was that of Mr. Thaddeus Grey, and detailed all the important need-to-know facts about the werewolf.
Krishna cleared his throat. "Ah..." He sifted through recent memories for any recollection of being passed a similar envelope, but none came to mind. Had he blood in his veins, his embarrassment would have flushed his cheeks. "I didn't--I don't know how I could have--...there...was..."
Krishna took a seat on the sofa adjacent to Lilith and began to pour over the contents, mumbling a very muffled thank you to his fellow vampire.

Krishna tried not to think about the embarrassing memory, but at least he recognised the man now from the Dossiers, who had been a marine in the Korps Mariniers.
He had no idea if this would translate, or if the sign was anywhere remotely correct, but he gestured with his hands surreptitiously to make the "Flank Left" signal, locked eyes with the marine, then moved to the right of the figure under the tree.

Interactions: SilverFlight The Gunrunner
Mentions: Dominaiscna Vacuum

 

[SilverFlight]

"Une fille?" The man repeated the key part of Joseph's question. "Oui, Il avait une fille, mais elle a mourri, pas plus que d'une semain passé."
There it was. The inventor had a daughter who had passed away not one week before.
It was only a moment after that, the snap of a crossbow string echoed off the courtyard walls. When Joseph would try the door, he would find it locked with a magic seal. The only way into the courtyard now, was over a high stone wall, covered with thick vines of ivy.
ADarkAndStormyNight

Gabriel entered the small room with the window and Thaddeus turned to hear him.
"A daughter..." And then there was the circle under the carpet, Thaddeus had heard the conversation Morvan and Lillith were involved in.
"You don't suppose...the muse was involved in some sort of ritual? Do you think it could be our murderer?"
Thaddeus had turned fully around when Michael approached, listening to the information about the box. He had looked away from the window, and away from the figure standing in the garden. It only took a moment, the figure drew a small hand held crossbow from underneath his cloak, and fired. The bolt flew through the window, grazing Thaddeus on his arm before lodging itself in the ceiling. Thaddeus yelped in pain and grabbed for Michale and Gabriel, attempting to push them out of harm's way.
"Silver bolts! The court yard!" Thaddeus yelled, "Someone's shooting at us!"
MechanicalSnake Naberius Dominaiscna Vacuum

As Krishna made his way down stairs, a second figure, also cloaked in black, silent as the grave, crept behind him. As soon as he lifted a hand to signal Adrianus, the figure made a grab for his wrist, attempting to twist the vampire's arm and force him to the ground.
"You're all getting a little too involved in this!"
Cashi The Gunrunner

One...two...and from the shadows three more cloaked figures stepped out into the courtyard. One of them came from the front entrance, which he had locked and barred with an expertly-crafted magic seal. It would require an accomplished wizard to lift. That, or the death of the caster.
"We know you're up there little mice!" One figure, central to the group stepped forward. Her face was shielded by the hood, but her voice rang clear: "There's rather a big show scheduled fro the Opera this evening...I am afraid you would just ruin it. So why don't you come down here and have a little...chat."
MechanicalSnake Naberius Dominaiscna Vacuum Cashi The Gunrunner kase9187 Lioness075

 

[kase9187]

Jackson Gindel
​

Gods did these fools not ever watch their backs. Jackson readied his Sharps Rifle, empty guitar case beside him, at one of the visible figures below. They all were focused on the agents in the building.

Luckily for him, he wasn't In the building. From his vantage point on the roof he was practically invisible, the slope hiding his body. A rope was tied around him, anchored to what looked to be a modified grappling hook. He was kneeling, the rifle peeking out right above the slope.

In and out. Another target.
Jackson took a slow, deep breath...
"Would you kindly perish?"
He slowly pulled the trigger...

A loud bang emanated from his vantage point, the silver bullet treated with herbs flying forward, aiming for one of the assailant's dumb, nonperceptive heads. He didnt even look to see if it had connected before ducking back out of sight.

However, any attempt to find Jackson at his spot were met with the fact he had moved, reloaded and was prepping another shot from a different viewpoint.

MechanicalSnake Naberius Dominaiscna Lioness075 Vacuum Cashi The Gunrunner ADarkAndStormyNight SilverFlight

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Luness LaFrae	Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Throwing Daggers, Twin Daggers

Walking along the sidewalk to her destination, Luness scowled at the nearest passerby to stare at her, which had the person speed walking away. She hated trying to walk among the common people. No matter how nicely she dressed in trousers and vests, her numerous scars always made the appearance mute. Even in her human form to better conform, it was just never enough to avoid the lingering stares and whispers. She supposed her numerous hilts for her daggers and throwing knives did her no favors in looking remotely normal despite losing her halfway werecat form.

Shoving her hands into her pockets, Luness turned the corner to see the apartment complex up ahead. She tried to reflect on the dossier she had been provided for her new teammates. She was certainly intrigued to know she would be working alongside a werewolf. She had encountered so few that were not feral in her life, she wondered if he might be able to provide her some pointers. She also had never worked alongside any vampires or demons, so this team was going to be a very interesting dynamic for her. Of course, this was her first team with The Order, so there was that.

Before she could get into the complex, though, Luness paused alongside a high stone wall. She tilted her head to the side and overheard shouting just beyond. It sounded like chaos was already ensuing and Luness sighed at the fact that she had already missed something exciting. Glancing around to make sure the street was void of pedestrians, Luness hunched over and shifted. Her face and limbs elongated and fur encapsulated her body, as she blinked with her cat eyes. With a soft snarl, she leapt up at the stone wall and dug her claws into the ivy, scrambling up and over to the other side. She leapt down from the wall onto all fours, trying her best to land quietly. She promptly crouched down and began prowling forward, approaching the group of robed figures facing her team inside.

Mindful of where she stepped, Luness eyed the figures and began to approach the nearest one from their flank. Carefully, she unsheathed a dagger and then the other one, slowly rising into a crouch on her hind paws. Her eyes entirely fixated on her prey, Luness suddenly lunged forward, swinging the daggers for a criss-crossed attack against the back of the figure's knees. She hoped to maim the figure at the very least.

SilverFlight Naberius kase9187 Cashi Dominaiscna ADarkAndStormyNight MechanicalSnake Vacuum The Gunrunner

 

[Cashi]

- Krishna -​

Krishna was caught off guard.
How?
It may have been the sun, his inexperience, or just complacency, but the cloaked personage managed to stealth under Krishna's guard and make a grab for his wrist.
Krishna's wrist was manacled in an iron-like grip, and the figure wrenched back and upwards to try and force him to the ground. He pitched forwards, feline balance off-kilter, and sank to one knee.
This all happened in the span of a second.
Krishna's head snapped up to look for the figure under the tree, worried he had run off.
Another shove at his arm in an attempt to force Krishna lower that he resisted. His mind flew through a million thoughts, scrambling to remember any bit of self-defense taught to him by Order martial artists like Amelia.
"You're a vampire, Jameson. It's not training if I hold back."
Dirt and gravel dug against his shoe and ground into his knee as Krishna pushed back against his assailant and attempted to rise to his feet again through sheer strength.
Across the garden his eyes searched for Adrianus to lock gazes with him again.

Mentions: The Gunrunner

Also @ anyone who wants to attempt to rescue poor Krishna.

(Smol post for reaction)

 

[The Gunrunner]

Adrianus van de Beenhouwer ​

Adrianus is approaching the figure. Two figures. Three figures. Shit. All dressed in cloaks, one shuts the gate and seals it with some form of magic. The figure turns, and speaks - clearly a woman, "We know you're up there little mice! There's rather a big show scheduled fro the Opera this evening...I am afraid you would just ruin it. So why don't you come down here and have a little...chat." The Dutchman snorts, turning to his side and spitting a blob of phlegm to the ground.
"Not likely," he states, wrapping fingers around the handle of his volcanic. What happens next, however, comes in quick succession - First, a shot rings from behind him from the roof of the apartment complex. Next, their latest arrival - Luness - drops from the wall and glides a knife towards one of their robed assailant's knees. Finally, another member - whom he barely picks from his peripheral - locks eyes with Adrianus from the side. The dutchman turns, just a little, to see a robed man attempting to bring him to the ground. Adrianus' mouth curls into the faintest of grins.

In... and out... In... and out... A breathing exercise, much like that of the apparent sniper Jackson Gindel. However, Adrianus is not in the business of sniping. This was not to steady his hands, but instead to prepare his mind. He inhales - Fingers curl around the wood handle of his pistol. He exhales - The other hand reaches for the opposing interior of his coat. Jackson Gindel may be a scalpel, but Adrianus is nothing of the sort.
He is a hammer.
He pulls his pistol first, swinging it from the holster and gliding the sights over one of the robed figures by the gate - But it is a fake; the swing continues, moving at a blur, until the barrel passes over the man assaulting Krishna. The action takes less than a second, the barrel is aligned for the smallest of moments, but it is more than enough. A loud *BANG* precedes a cloud of smoke from the barrel, a bullet is sent for the assailant's center-mass. He turns from the shot, confident enough in his abilities to believe Krishna will now be fine, towards the enemies by the gate. His other hand pulls free a ceramic ball, its fuse short and dry. "Consider this a retort!" His hand strikes the base, and he hurls the bomb to the robed group. As it courses through the air, the Dutchman charges towards them, cocking the lever and dispensing an empty bullet casing. The bomb wasn't lit, it wouldn't explode, but that wasn't the point - As long as they believed it was, even if just for a moment, it was time to close the distance.
SilverFlight Cashi Lioness075 kase9187

 

[Naberius]

Michael O'Sullivan

Well, things had finally started getting interesting. He hadn't seen the men below, not being close to the window as the others were, but he did see the projectile fly through. Less than a second before the wolf shoved him out of the way. Him. A literal demon. He stumbled back a step, more surprised than anything else, and gave their 'leader' a strange look. Bemused, annoyed, suspicious.

"You don't shove demons out of harms way, you push them towards it when you have the chance. Get lucky, and you don't have to deal with them anymore. I have no idea what you're playing at trying to be heroic and attempting to save an actual, literal, real demon. But it won't work. Now, if you'll excuse me I believe there are fleshbags to crush just a little below us."

Taking a step forward towards the broken window, Michael looked down to their assailants and actually smiled for once. Though, it was anything but warm or friendly. Instead, it held only contempt and malice. He leapt from the window and down to the ground below, calmly making his way towards their enemies. Then, he saw the newcomers. One apparently had some rather fun toys, he saw the small device which he presumed to be an explosive of some sort and smiled even more fiercely. There was no hint of flame on the wick, more a distraction than an actual attack. But that suited him just fine. As it landed, he raised a hand towards the group and the small ball.

"The first real battle we're sharing together, I think this calls for some fireworks."

The small device, while not actually lit or indeed deadly at all, suddenly appeared to explode rather impressively as he snapped his fingers. Illusory fire, smoke, dust and gravel were kicked up with a deafening boom in near the robed figures. He made sure the smokescreen lasted a while, twisting and obscuring the view of their targets so they couldn't fire their damned silver back at them. With that done, he calmly made his way towards their position, intending to try and end this as swiftly as possible.

SilverFlight Cashi MechanicalSnake ADarkAndStormyNight Dominaiscna Lioness075 The Gunrunner kase9187

 

[Vacuum]

Morvan Surcouf
The muse being the murderer? If the inventor summoned some sort of spirit, it's possible it was the cause of his own death.
Morvan had little time to ponder, as a silver bolt thunked into the ceiling. Many appropriate questions about why this group had come and why they were so confident escaped Morvan. His mind had locked into focus as he strode towards the garden, pulling a coil of rope that was strapped to his back out. He quickly wrapped it around a heavy chair as gunshots rattled through the courtyard. The explosion went off as Morvan ran at the window yelling "Don't kill them all!" and jumped through, just slipping by Micheal. The chair provided enough of a counterweight to slow him down for the initial fall. The shock of the chair wedging itself in the window shot down the rope, and Morvan loosened his grip, allowing him to keep moving. He had already spotted his target below, hidden between the hedge running alongside the building, and the building itself. Morvan's target seemed to be scrawling some sort of symbol on the wall, so Morvan kicked sideways off the wall. Without hesitation, he let go of the rope, plummeting 4 meters down onto the cloaked figure who was looking at Morvan in confusion. The impact from landing shot through Morvan, but he managed to distribute his weight well enough to not be seriously injured. The dazed man started to struggle, so Morvan punched him solidly in the back of his head. Morvan hoped the punch would be enough to keep his target down, and got his bearings.

The symbol that was being scrawled on the wall appeared to be for a djinn binding, but a quick look around along the alcove they were in revealed no other figures. Perhaps this man was the only one stupid enough to attempt the summoning so close to the building. Or perhaps the man was smart, as Morvan had stumbled upon him almost by accident. Morvan swiftly moved away from his landing point, keeping a low stance. He loosened one of the ropes tied to his arm, and the weighted end softly thudded to the ground. He needed visual. Some sort of break in the hedges that revealed the new positions of the attackers.

Interacted: Everyone within earshot
Mentioned: Naberius

 

[SilverFlight]

Jackson's shot connected. It hit one of the cloaked figures directly in the head and he went down, but he was till moving, he clasped his face in his hands and wrenched something away, a mask. A metal mask.
"They have a sniper! Defenses!"
One of the figures threw down a scrap of paper, on which a seal was drawn, immediately a glyph appeared in the air and vanished as soon as the spell was cast.
Now on the alert the figure targeted by Luness saw her coming and dodged with inhuman speed, she shifted as she moved and soon what was standing in the courtyard was a massive black wolf. It snarled and pounced, aiming to catch one of Luness' arms in her powerful jaws.
kase9187 Lioness075

When the ceramic explosive rolled into view, the illusion Michael had set to compliment the bluff worked perfectly and the figures darted back for cover, breaking formation. One of them fell outside the barrier. While Adriuanus charged, the fastest enemy to recover, their leader ran to meet him, blades drawn. She feinted left and brought a blade back across her chest and up, aiming to open Adrianus' throat, while keeping him in close quarters to prevent him firing again.
The Gunrunner Naberius

The one who had cast the barrier soon realized the bomb ruse, and went to pick it up.
"I don't like it, you can have it back!" Fire erupted from his hand, lighting the fuse he used a second spell to search the upper reaches of the building. Jackson couldn't hide anymore. The caster hurled the lit bomb straight at him.
kase9187 The Gunrunner

The man holding Krishna could not dodge in time, and the bullet his his torso, he cried out in pain, and faltered for just a moment, but the glyph he had on a piece of parchment was already in motion towards Krishna's back, the spell was being cast at that moment, the symbol crackling with lightning.
Cashi

Thaddeus gave a yelp of surprise when Morvan departed straight out the window. The counter-weight was a clever idea.
He watched chaos unfold in the courtyard. They had to get this under control. Who were these people?!
Suddenly something in his mind set.
"Right. I need to get down there. Now."

He took a breath, then ran for the window and jumped out. He let the wolf take over as he fell, the wind roared in his ears. He hit the ground on all fours, grey fur spiked in anger, lips pulled back in a guttural snarl. He had no need for his innocent dog glamour. Thaddeus was now a wolf, massive and angry.
The figure who had set the barrier, obviously a caster, human, started when Thaddeus appeared, and fumbled with his crossbow, leaving himself open as he raised and fired it. The bolt flew, and Thaddeus, being such a large target in such a msall courtyard could not dodge the bolt entirely. It his his shoulder and sunk deep and Thaddeus howled in pain, he felt the wolf surge forward, struggled to wrest control, but there was at least a consensus between them. The caster had to go down. That barrier was preventing their long range fighters from attacking. Thaddeus charged, trying to grab the caster and drag him out from under the protective barrier, but the enemy werewolf barreled into him, sending him sprawling, though it took her down too for a moment.

kase9187 Lioness075 Vacuum The Gunrunner ADarkAndStormyNight MechanicalSnake Dominaiscna Naberius

 

[kase9187]

Jackson saw the caster of the barrier light the bomb and toss it. It had barely left the castor's hand when Jackson, already aiming at him with the commotion going off, shifted his aim slightly to shoot the ceramic explosive out of mid air. Another bang and the bullet was off.

Jackson didnt have time to watch the second shot, though, as he quickly ran to the edge of the roof and jumped, connecting his rappelling tool as he did. He turned and planted his feet against the wall, descending from the roof to pull out a revolver and quickly let off a shot at the large, black werewolf. The silver bullet flew straight for the Tainted target, but Jackson had all eyes back on that caster. He needed to be dealt with.

Jackson jumped backwards, running low and around the edge of the courtyard as he prepped his next shot on both guns.

One of their own, Jackson read the dossier but his memory faltered while chaos unfurled, looked to be wanting to deal with the caster as well. Unfortunately, there were too many obstacles. Jackson decided to help out their own Tainted, stopping and aiming his rifle at the werewolf attacking their own. He waited, trying to find the right moment to let off a shot.

SilverFlight Lioness075 Cashi The Gunrunner Naberius Vacuum ADarkAndStormyNight MechanicalSnake Dominaiscna

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Luness LaFrae	Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Throwing Daggers, Twin Daggers

Luness cursed under her breath as a gunshot rang in the air and alerted the robed figures to their presence. Her cover blown, Luness tried to rush her attack, but the figure in front of her seemed to move impossibly quick. As the figure moved out of the way of her attack, Luness overreached with her daggers and stumbled forward a few steps.

Snarling at the missed attack, Luness turned to face the robed figure only to see the large black wolf in their place. Before Luness had a chance to react, an explosion engulfed her and she flinched before realizing nothing from the explosion was hitting her. She opened her eyes in time to see the black wolf lunging at her and she raised her right arm to protect her face, as the werewolf sank its fangs into her forearm. Yowling at the pain, Luness stumbled backwards and went to drive her other dagger into the wolf’s right eye, but it was gone and charging after the team’s own werewolf. Either a werecat wasn’t a worthy opponent or something else was going on here.

With blood dripping down her right forearm and soaking her sleeve thoroughly, Luness sheathed her daggers and using her left hand, unsheathed one of her throwing knives.
Determined to not be useless in this fight, Luness focused on the robed figure nearby who had cast some spell recently. She could only assume anyone casting spells in the group was important.

Getting into a crouch, Luness whipped her throwing knife towards the caster and then leapt forward as she shifted into her full werecat form and lurched forward onto all fours.

Spoiler: Werelynx Form

With a quiet snarl, Luness dashed forward and leapt up at the figure, hoping to dig her claws into them and tackle them out of the protective area.
SilverFlight kase9187

 

[MechanicalSnake]

And, just like that, like a volcano unexpectedly hurling hot lava in the air to destroy a perfect summer day, a peaceful investigation of a dream-come-true-workshop turned into complete chaos within a split second. At the same time, the question whether or not the inventor had performed some sort of obscure ritual to summon an evil being that took his daughter in payment and caused the chain of murders became largely irrelevant. Ironically, the circumstances were awfully similar to the affair that preceded Gabriel‘s admission in the Order. Back then, he had been but a consultant in a case involving a mechanical golem, and before he knew it, things started exploding left and right and a wild chase through the streets of London ensued. These things… happened.

„Are you alright?“ he whispered, despite there not really being a reason to do so, as the attackers were far away and knew their positions. If the bold really was silver, would the scratch cause Thaddeus any problems? He wasn‘t quite sure how that worked. For him, the material of a bolt that could potentially pierce his skull didn‘t matter, yet knowing they were using silver was still alarming, because it meant they were good informed. And, while this situation was not entirely unexpected given the nature of their job, it still came as a surprise then and there. Until that moment, they had been operating with a theory that involved a desperate scientist, his potential rivals and some kind of supernatural help he‘d received. There was no room for an organized unit, armed against the tainted, in that scenario. And they knew about the Opera, too! What the actual fuck?

Fortunately, answers were just one battle away. Within seconds, Gabriel‘s non-human and/or more physically able colleagues hauled themselves out of the window to join the mayhem the courtyard had turned into, while sir William Florence crawled under the child‘s cot, confused and scared by so much noise. Gabriel had no deathwish, not with his final years of relative youth still in front of him, and didn‘t deem himself capable to repeat Morwan‘s impressive chair and rope trick. Resigned to the fact that he might not be immediately useful, he got his pistol ready, grabbed his modified walking cane and took for the stairs. He descended as silently as possible, stopping every now and then to make sure no nasty surprises awaited behind each corner, until unmistakeable sounds of combat forced him to speed up.

The first person his eyes fell upon was Krishna, being targeted by one of the cloaked figures, who seemed to have suffered an injury, but hadn‘t been deterred by it in the slightest. They were about to put some kind of magic on the vampire, the effects of which were a mystery to Gabriel. He darted towards the pair as fast as he could, but had little hopes of stopping it in time. However, from the little he knew about magic, it was typically no longer active once the caster was dead, and with any luck, it would be the same in case of unconsciousness. Killing, unfortunately, was supposed to be the last thing they did and tended to have unpleasant consequences, which – at least in his opinion – made them way too easy targets for enemies.

Those thoughts passed through his head in a mere flash; in the next moment, the attacker was two arm‘s lengths away from Gabriel, which was the perfect distance to give him a good prod with the cane. The man – at least the inventor assumed it was a man – was facing Krishna, and so he jabbed him in the back of his neck, and as he did so, the top of the cane opened to reveal an electrically charged stinger of sorts, surrounded with sparkling discharged. Unless this guy had the stamina of a bull, he should drop down stunned any second.

 

[Dominaiscna]

Lilith Beaumont

The workshop had been relatively quiet, save for the low murmurings of the Order members while they investigated their respective objects and places of interest. However a dull thud followed by Thaddeus's yell of pain broke through Lilith's calm focus. Her head snapped in the direction of the second room, just in time to see the werewolf hastily push Krishna and Michael away from the window. The vampire instinctively shot to her feet at the announcement of enemies with silver weaponry, with one hand searching hastily through the folds of her dress. The air wafted with the faint smell of freshly spilled blood.

Things happened in quick succession. A loud gunshot pierced through the air, originating from somewhere above them. The gun used sounded to be long-ranged rifle... and the vampire could only assume the shooter was an ally as, if her group had been his/her target, it would have been far more advantageous to wait for the majority of their group to leave the shelter of the workshop before shooting. Then Lilith watched as one after another, a good handful of her teammates threw themselves out of the window into the fray of the battle. First Michael, then the new chap Morvan, and finally Thaddeus, three members accounted for. She had vaguely caught sight Krishna moving downstairs before the first lot of commotion. Joseph was no where to be seen. That left only her and Gabriel in the main workshop room.

Her searching hand found its place around the handle of a dagger and she pulled the light weapon out from the pocket hidden between the folds of her dress. In quick steps, Lilith crossed the work shop, into the second room. Her walk stuttered slightly as she neared the bright pool of light, but after a beat, she pressed on. With great caution she neared, each step bringing her closer to the window and revealing more of the battlefield that now lay before her. Fortunately, most of the attackers were preoccupied with fighting her team members to care for the dark figure hovering in the shadows by the top-floor window. She surveyed what she could see of the fight from her position, brows furrowed in focus. Her gaze flickered to outside the courtyard, looking out for enemy reinforcements.

In their current situation, Lilith was at a great disadvantage. The fight was out in the open, in the broad light of day. She was covered from head to toe, so it was unlikely that she would get burned, but she would be in great discomfort during the entire fight. To add to that, her vision was hindered by the brightness, and her vampire strength was weakened during the day, rendering fighting in close quarters combat risky and dangerous, even if it was her forte. She had no ranged weapons... so ranged attacks were out of the question. Melee was so far her only option in contributing to the fight, dangerous as it was for her. She could not even use her bat form to sneak attack or reposition, lest she wanted to be fried to a crisp in the sunlight.

In her current state, Lilith was little more than a slightly stronger, faster and beefier human - never mind her weakness to light. She cursed quietly under her breathe, for her own lack of preparation.

While she considered her very limited choices, a commotion from downstairs drew her attention. Since going downstairs was her only means of safely exiting the building, the vampire thought it wise to investigate the sounds, lest it be an enemy infiltrating into the workshop. With blade in hand, she silently slipped down the stairs, ears pricked for enemies around each corner. However, as she rounded the last flight of steps, Lilith stopped dead in her tracks at the rather concerning scene before her.

Closest to her stood Gabriel, with one arm held out and holding a cane of sorts. The end of said cane was crackling with electricity and currently prodding into the neck of some an unknown humanoid creature, no doubt in an attempt to stun or subdue the stranger. The man in question appeared to be attacking Krishna, having forced her fellow vampire to his knees. In one hand, the man held a parchment of sorts with some spell, no doubt intending on slapping it across Krishna's. However, it appeared the enemy had already taken quite a beating. From his posture, he appeared to have a wound in his chest... and now electricity coursing through his entire body, which was physically connected to poor Krishna.

Lilith stood for a moment, eyes slightly narrowed as she beheld the situation before her. There was confusion, amusement and slight judgement in her gaze.

What on Earth had she walked into?



Mentions: Naberius SilverFlight Vacuum MechanicalSnake Cashi

 

[Naberius]

Michael O'Sullivan

Well, it certainly worked. The enemies scattered for the most part, but it seemed like one of them was a bit smarter than the others. Unfortunate, but not entirely plan-derailing. The ever cocky demon strode forward unperturbed and uncaring. His Oaths pulled him in several directions at once. The closest that he could see that truly needed any aid was their 'leader', the wolf. Another wolf had him in it's sights, and he sighed with agitation. He strolled over, not much of a rush in his step but walking faster than he had been before just in case. He couldn't let him get injured, he couldn't let any of them get injured actually. But most of the rest seemed to be doing well enough.

I put up with so many miserable insects on a daily basis. I need to start actually spreading a little chaos just to make myself feel better for this nonsense.

He ignored everything and everyone else, rounding on the large beast from the side as it locked with Thaddeus and slammed into him to send them both sprawling. Hopefully this would at least provide him with a little entertainment, after all these beasts were far tougher than normal humans. He wouldn't have to pull his punches as much, and that at least brought a small, malicious smile to his face in anticipation. Stalking up, he made it to the werewolf trying to get back to its feet and drew back, intending to try and drive a kick straight into it's ribs.


SilverFlight Lioness075 Cashi The Gunrunner Vacuum ADarkAndStormyNight MechanicalSnake Dominaiscna kase9187

 

[Vacuum]

Morvan Surcouf
By the escalating mayhem heard from beyond the hedge , Morvan though it likely he had adequate cover to peek out unseen. He poked his head beneath the hedge and saw Ms. LaFrae approaching the caster at speed. The energy in the air was swirling about, chaotic patterns emerging closest to the caster. Morvan pushed off against the back wall, scraping his face and neck along the hedge. His clothes caught at the small branches, and he could feel a large scrape across his right arm as he forced himself through the small space. The vest he had been wearing was left behind as he launched himself up and ran towards the caster.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Thaddeus was in trouble, a flash of silver shining with an unnaturally bright light. Actually, all metal in his vision glinted with an odd radiance. Perhaps it was the caster's doing, but perhaps it was just his own influence.

Luckily enough, his rope didn't catch on the hedge, and he gave it a quick whirl to build momentum. LaFrae was now charging in her Were-form, and leaping at the caster. Morvan shot the rope out at max length in a sharp arc. He intended to catch the caster's legs after they dodged LaFrae's pounce, trying to read their weight distribution and where they intend to dodge to. A pale taste riddled along Morvan's tongue, and he worried that there was something he was missing.

Mentioned: SilverFlight Lioness075

 

[SilverFlight]

The caster saw Luness coming, though just barely, it caused his dodge to be rushed, uncalculated, and that was a perfect opportunity for Morvan's rope to catch his legs. The caster fell quickly.

Thaddeus heard the shot. The ground burst between his paws and it was enough to startle his opponent. Michael kicked and Thaddeus mirrored him, it was enough to send her rolling away, dazed.

The mage attacking Krishna, hindered by the bullet wound in his side, turned only just too late to see Gabriel with his unique lightning weapon. The spell was in mid-cast, and he turned his hand and caught not the stick, but the electricity leaping forth. With one fluid motion both Gabriel's attack and his own were diverted from their targets into the ground. Krishna was left unscathed.

The caster swore from his place in the dirt. He gave one sharp whistle.
At once the mysterious attackers formed up and one threw a strange black talisman at their feet. Dark, swirling energy rose up from the ground. The man who had attacked Krishna ran back to his fellows and dove into the portal. Just like that, the energy vanished and the men and women with them and the Order members were left alone in the courtyard.

Thaddeus rolled to his feet, whining and shaking his head. The bolt in his shoulder burned, unless it was removed, shifting back would be unimaginably painful. Blood flowed down through his grey fur, making a dark, glossy ribbon to the ground.
They had survived, but their attackers were incredibly powerful. How on earth were they involved with the case?
Thaddeus thought back to the circle under the rug, could they have been linked to the magic involved there? They certainly had very capable casters. The more he thought the more he was certain that they had returned to threaten the investigators, perhaps even destroy the evidence left in the inventor's room, and thanks to them, the mysterious group had failed.
He surveyed the team, looking for any more serious injuries than his own, giving a growling bark in concern for the others.


kase9187 Lioness075 Vacuum The Gunrunner ADarkAndStormyNight MechanicalSnake Dominaiscna Naberius @Cashi

 

[kase9187]

Jackson saw the enemies dive through their escape portal, his face a mask of annoyance. They had gotten away. Next time he'd be sure to take one down.

Once his rifle was shouldered and pistol tucked back inside his suit holster he set about looking at the damage left on the party. The werewolf they had looked ragged, the silver bolt still burning in his shoulder. He quickly retrieved a guitar case from his first sniping spot and rappelled back down, pulling out a roll of gauze and a few alcohol pads.

"Someone more experienced than I can help you later, but right now that needs to get out." Jackson said bluntly, motioning for Thaddeus to get down low enough for him to pull out the bolt. Judging from the dossiers on each person, only him and maybe a couple others could help remove silver weaponry from their Tainted allies.

"Sound off, who's hurt? I can offer some wrapping but not much else."

SilverFlight Naberius Lioness075 Cashi The Gunrunner Vacuum ADarkAndStormyNight MechanicalSnake Dominaiscna

 

[SilverFlight]

Thaddeus swallowed and laid his ears flat as he turned his head to the side and shut his eyes. The bolt was level with Jackson's shoulder, within reach.
His lip curled in anticipation of the pain.
Please be gentle... He thought miserably.

kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Jackson grabbed onto the bolt with one hand and held Thaddeus with the other, opening the wound in short bits in order to wiggle out the widest part of the bolt head. Once that was free, Jackson pulled with a little more force to finally get the bolt out of Thaddeus' shoulder. Despite his blunt attitude, he tried to get the bolt out with enough gentleness to get it out timely.

The bolt clattered at Jackson's feet as he pressed several alcohol pads against Thaddeus' shoulder. He didnt want to throw gauze on yet, as he only had a moderate amount and wasting it on the much larger werewolf for about 5 minutes until he changed back was rather ineffective.

"Bolt's out. Shift back so we can work on you properly." Jackson told Thaddeus, the pads starting to soak through.

SilverFlight

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Luness LaFrae	Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Throwing Daggers, Twin Daggers

Luness flew past the caster, narrowly missing him and landed on all fours, sliding a meter before spinning around and snarling. She paused when she saw a teammate's rope lasso around the caster's feet and trip him up. Her teammate's facial hair gave away his identity and she recognized him to be Morvan. Off the top of her head, she knew one of his specialties was handling rope and that he was one of the humans on the team. She sneered at this, but felt a bit grateful that he had helped trip the caster.

As the caster went down, Luness tensed and readied herself to charge again, but suddenly the enemy team was on the move and she had to scramble back when they opened a portal. Seeing Thaddeus wounded and feeling her own blood trickling down her forearm, Luness held her ground and watched their enemies flee.

Once the portal closed, Luness shifted back into her halfway form, hunched over for a few seconds before she stood up with her hand over her fresh bite wound. Given it was on both the top and underside of her forearm, there was little she could do to staunch the blood-flow on her own.
Seeing the team sniper joining them, Luness remembered his gunshot that alerted the enemies to her presence and got her wounded to begin with. Rolling her eyes and turning away, Luness began to approach Thaddeus with the intention of aiding him and then paused nearby when she belatedly recalled she would be unable to remove the silver bolt now. She inwardly reprimanded herself for almost making such an elementary mistake. Then she felt anger flare up at the reminder of how she had changed.

Turning on her heels, Luness knelt down and took off her knapsack, using her uninjured arm to reach in and dig out some gauze as well as a cloth wrap to help keep the gauze in place.
Muttering a curse word or two under her breath, Luness looked down at her forearm and saw that the blood had soiled her sleeve from her mid-forearm and lower. Blood was already caking along the inside of her wrist and around a few fingers with drops falling to the ground.

Glancing up at the sound of Jackson’s voice, Luness winced to see the bolt removed from Thaddeus’ shoulder. She did not want to even imagine how painful that had to be. She had learned the hard way about how painful silver was for her now.

Hastily, Luness stuffed her bite wound with gauze and scowled at the wrap in her clawed hand when she realized it’d be near impossible to have the optimal amount of pressure if she wrapped it herself.
Seeing that Thaddeus needed more first aid, Luness dug out her sewing kit from her pack and stood back up before him, pausing to wait for him to shift first. She glanced back down at her forearm and sighed at the sight of the torn and bloodied fabric. She had really liked this top, though she had several more since she never really expected white tops to last long in her usual line of work.

Speaking to Thaddeus and blatantly ignoring Jackson’s presence, as he was a human after all, Luness said, “Whenever you shift, I can help clean you up here.”
With her sewing kit on hand, Luness could help close the shoulder wound for Thaddeus, encouraging the healing process to hurry up. She refused to look weak to her new team, but Luness could feel her forearm throbbing with pain. It was never enjoyable for anyone to bite into your arm, even if the scar would not stick now.

Seeing the demon nearby, Luness merely raised an eyebrow at him, knowing full well that he was the only one idiotic enough on the team to just stroll out into a fight to kick someone.

SilverFlight kase9187 Naberius

 

[Cashi]

- Krishna -​

Once upon a time, when he was a child, Krishna bad been afraid of the dark. The nights spent huddled in his ramshackle bungalow of straw and mud while his mother was away were the worst. Stories of mythical monsters used to play and replay and replay in his head like a gramophone that skips. Any time he felt sleep pulling at his consciousness, a noise outside their house would wake him to high alert, adrenaline already pouring into his system. It was a natural thing for a child to have fears, only unfortunate that his was of such an uncontrollable and vast nature. There would always be dark in the world, just as assuredly as there would be light.
Even when he'd moved to England and had his own room (just across the hall from Nate's), the creatures from India followed him and waited patiently under his bed for him to fall asleep so they could spirit him away or eat him. More than a few nights had been spent in Nate's room, gripping his friend's hand tight as Nate promised him that no harm could be done to Krishna while Nate was there.
Eventually, he had unlearned how to fear the dark, but he'd always preferred daytime to night. He'd always preferred the sun to the moon.
Oh how things had changed.

Sunlight blazed around him, almost reflecting off the grass and into his face, so harsh to him was its intensity. He pushed with his legs against his attacker, wondering faintly just how weak the sunlight made him, the idea that his attacker might have more strength than an average human not evening occurring go him. To his right, a beast shot at Thaddeus with such speed that to the untrained (or human) eye they might only have looked a blur. To his left, Luness danced with another one of the hooded figures, whose speed was definitely inhuman. His friends--or perhaps rather his acquaintances--were under attack and here he was, wrestling pathetically with a simple person. Or what he assumed was a person.

Wait, where was Lilith?
Krishna's head snapped up wildly as he cast about for the she-vampire, still straining against the man behind him. Had he been able to sweat, he would have been sweating profusely, the sun beating down on him harsher and harsher. Krishna could have sworn it was making an ominous humming sound as it baked him alive.
With his attention diverted momentarily to scan for Lilith, his assailant seized the opportunity to shove Krishna back to one knee, and he heard a whistle of wind as something sped towards his back.
Krishna thought a very bad word and twisted in time to see a shock of blond, then suddenly Gabriel was there in all his wondrous inventor's glory, with an electrified stick to fend off Krishna's attacker. The bolt from the caster and the bolt from Gabriel's weapon connected and then exploded sideways into the ground, turf and sand jettying over the three of them, the air crackling with enough residual energy to make Krishna's hair stand on end. He swayed, rising slowly to his feet, and took a stumbling step towards Gabriel, clapping him on the shoulder and holding onto him for support as the heat of the sun inside his dark clothing pushed at him nauseatingly. Ironies abound, what he wouldn't give for blessed night and darkness.
"You've saved my life." Krishna panted, his eyes focusing on Gabriel's face beneath his dark tinted lenses. "I will remember this, my friend."
Then Lilith was there and Krishna reached out a hand to her almost to call her to him. He wanted to see if she was okay, and ask if perhaps she might like to open her neat parasol over his head so he might stop dying for maybe a few minutes.

Krishna walked shakily to the rest of the party, and looked between Luness and Thaddeus. With the amount of strength he had now, he would only be able to heal one of them. With a tired dip of his head, Krishna acknowledged Luness, and spoke in a raspy whisper.
"Ms. LaFrae, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Under normal circumstances, I should like to attend to the both of you, but I'm afraid I'm a bit strained for....I'm a bit strained. I shall take care of Thaddeus now, as silver can be very dangerous to us--a-as you well know, I'm certain, but y..." He re-gathered his thoughts, "please allow me to help you when we are back at headquarters."
Krishna dropped to one knee next to Jackson and Thaddeus, the dull throb of silver near him adding to the already overlarge headache looming far, far above him. He pressed hands against Thaddeus's side with perhaps more force than he'd anticipated, and winced with a mumbled apology. Then he let out a soothing breath and breathed in again, and on the inhalation he opened his eyes and focused on Thaddeus's wound. The sensation in him like all the blood in his body was rushing to one point was familiar to him by now, and though he couldn't see them he knew the whites of his eyes had gone scarlet. His hands tingled painfully with something akin to pins and needles, then slowly Thaddeus's ripped flesh reached for itself on either side of the gaping laceration, and knit itself together enough that the blood ceased to leak and all that was left was bloody fur and some light scabbing.
"This...this could have been a distraction. What was their purpose? We...we should investigate the apartments a second time."
His work done, Krishna reached once more for Lilith and ground out for her to hear,
"Ms. Beaumont. I am going to need some assistance." His stomach squeezed painfully, his veins felt strangely dry, and Krishna remembered thinking that morning how he had been due for his monthly quota of blood. "And to get back to Headquarters, quickly."

Interactions: MechanicalSnake Dominaiscna SilverFlight Lioness075
Mentions: kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Jackson removed the alcohol pads, pulling out a small bag and putting them in. Krishna's magic had healed up Thaddeus, but left him drained. Didnt help there were several silver items nearby.

Jackson picked up the silver bolt, inspecting it quickly before stashing it in his guitar case alongside his rifle, which fit into the modified shape inside. He closed the case and locked it, slinging it over his back.

"A distraction or a warning? They seemed to want to stop you all from leaving with... whatever you found."

He brushed himself off before looking about, trying to spot any other traces of their attackers.

"What did you all find anyways?"

His face was that of annoyance. He wasn't annoyed at the team, but at himself. He hit his target and they lived. Unacceptable. That mask was the only reason they lived. He looked to Gabriel.

He might have a way past that mask. He thought, making a note to talk with Gabriel later about piercing through the metal he'd hit. He would be prepared next time.

MechanicalSnake SilverFlight Cashi Lioness075 ADarkAndStormyNight Dominaiscna The Gunrunner Naberius Vacuum

 

[The Gunrunner]

Adrianus van de Beenhouwer ​

He was gaining on the mages, oh yes. The bomb lands on the ground, and- By god almighty! the explosion is deafening, the smoke billows from the blast, shrapnel flying through the air... But it makes no sound - It does not whistle by his ears, the smoke does not reek of powder, the shrapnel cuts no wounds. An illusion, he concludes - His experience as a soldier makes his mind certain, as no true explosion smells or sounds like this. The sides of his mouth pull and form a grin, the thrums of battle are building. He closes the distance on the leader, cocks his gun, but is not able to level it in time; the leader recovers quicker than the others, and swings a sword for the Dutchman's neck. He brings the barrel of the gun to block, just in time, but the blade knocks the firearm from his hands. He curses, his hand flashing into his coat and pulling free his close-quarters weapon: A wooden baton, reinforced with strips of silver-plated steel bolts. The next swing comes, forcing Adrianus to dodge backwards. As he does, a dome of magical protection suddenly forms, catching him in its radius. An explosion sounds behind him, this time no illusion at all, and the shrapnel splatters over the magical field. Another swing of the leader's sword, this time parried with the baton - He swings the club for his opponent's head, but the target ducks under it with ease.

Thaddeus, Luness, what is most likely the demon, and the black werewolf battle away with tooth and claw. More shots ring out, a mage catches the electricity of a particularly fascinating invention, sword and metal-reinforced baton meet. For a skirmish, the battle is a wild and desperate affair. Another sword-swing comes for his neck, and Adrianus' block comes late - The edge catches his neck, it draws blood, but the block stops it from severing an artery. He backs away, pressing a hand to his neck, "Verdomme!" he checks his palm, the blood is bad, but not critical - It is survivable. I can make it! He presses his hand back in place, he twirls the baton in his hand. Blood creeps between his fingers, pooling down to the neck of his shirt. Though he can't see perfectly through the hood, he swears he can see the mage-leader smile. The dutchman frowns. His eyes darken. His hand twitches once. The baton is put away, and he reaches into his coat - His hands grip something metal, not a gun or bomb, but something far more special.

But before he can reveal his card, one of the mages whistles behind their fight. Immediately, their opponents rally to one spot. A talisman is thrown to the ground, and they disappear into the sudden appearance of a dark portal. The mage near Krishna must run for it, but the retreat is made nontheless. "Neuken," he says to himself, immediately dropping to a knee. A hand grips the sleeve of his shirt, tearing the fabric from the seems. Blood drips to the ground at a steady pace, though stops once the piece of shirt is pressed to the wound. He grunts, getting back to his feet. The others are treating their own wounds - Thaddeus, in particular, is suffering from a silver bolt in his side.
"Sound off, who's hurt? I can offer some wrapping but not much else." Jackson states, before pulling the bolt from Thaddeus. Adrianus approaches him next, blood slowly soaking the fabric.
"Something for the neck? I fear I'll have to return to headquarters with Krishna." He looks past the would-be medic, over to the vampire, "So long as you can keep those fangs off my neck."
SilverFlight kase9187 Cashi Lioness075 Vacuum Naberius MechanicalSnake Dominaiscna

 

[kase9187]

Jackson turns to Adrianus, noticing the shirt being pressed against his neck becoming reddened with blood. He luckily had just a few more alcohol pads in his guitar case, and he pressed a couple against Adrianus' neck wound before binding it with the gauze he had. He tied it off and tugged on the gauze a bit to make sure it had enough room to let Adrianus breathe without making the bandage ineffective.

"There. It'll at least stem the flow a bit until you can get some proper attention." Jackson spoke, his voice betraying no emotion. "And with what just happened... I think it best if more than just..." He took a good look at Lilith, Krishna and Adrianus. "Mr. Beenhouwer, Ms. Beaumont and Sir Krishna leaving on their own."

Jackson looked to Luness standing nearby, holding her arm somewhat. "I believe you are... Hm... Miss LaFrae? Would you like help with that?" He motioned towards her bloody arm.

Cashi Dominaiscna The Gunrunner Lioness075

 

[Lioness075]

Luness continued waiting for Thaddeus to shift, understanding the amount of pain he was experiencing no doubt was delaying his reaction time.
Her ears flicked backwards when she heard footfalls approaching the group in the garden and Luness turned to see an older male donning a winter coat and bandanna among other attire. She saw the leather gloves and put the odd daily appearance together with the description of Krishna in her head. She was pleasantly surprised when he spoke to her with such politeness. She had expected an accent based off the dossier, but she did not expect anyone in this line of work to be remotely polite in this manner. In a way, it seemed befitting of Krishna despite Luness never properly meeting him before.
It seemed odd to Luness when Krishna’s strong opener ended with him seemingly becoming uncertain of himself. She could tell he was weak and she had no doubt the sunlight was doing the vampire any favors. When he apologized for not being able to aid her as well, Luness merely shrugged and responded gruffly, “It’s just a flesh wound and will heal in due time. It’s not as if I scar anymore.” Not that she would mind new scars, but it would have been odd to have two bite scars nearly on top of one another.

Watching Krishna’s healing do its work, Luness felt a growing appreciation for the vampire’s assistance. The fact that anyone on the team could actually heal beyond the typical first aid available to them was extraordinary. Luness had never once considered vampires could do such a thing before she was sent to join this team in the field. She had read about Krishna’s ability so it did not surprise her, but she had never seen such a thing done in-person before.

Hearing Krishna’s suggestion, Luness nodded and replied, “No doubt. I would go check, but I was not here for the initial investigation. I’m uncertain if I would see any notable changes to the environment. I can stay here and keep an eye out, in case any try to return to complete the job.”
Krishna’s comments directed toward a Lilith Beaumont made Luness shift her gaze towards the other vampire on their team. She certainly seemed to have a better sense of fashion for dealing with sunny days and Luness merely nodded in her direction as a means of greeting.

When Jackson spoke up again and suggested this all to merely be a warning, Luness concluded that could make more sense, even if the suggestion was coming from a human. The way the enemies all fled instead of seeing the fight to its conclusion certainly made it seem like a warning.
Luness kept all of her thoughts to herself, though, as she was equally curious to hear what the team had discovered thus far. It had been quite a read to catch up on the investigation they were knee-deep in.

Luness raised an eyebrow at Jackson’s method of first aid for Adrianus, whose choice of old military attire gave away his identity. Deciding the neck wound was not too serious to require further treatment right now, Luness kept her mouth shut, but did not attempt conceal her expression of ‘you’re an idiot’ while she looked at Jackson. His antics with his rifle earlier still had her fur ruffled.
When Jackson offered her aid after his feeble attempt to assist Adrianus, Luness instinctively sneered and said, “I doubt you would be of much aid, human.” She practically spat out the label.

Instead, Luness remained where she was with a clawed, furry hand over the bits of gauze she had haphazardly stuffed into her puncture wounds. Her feline eyes skirted over the members of this team, taking in everyone’s appearance and mindfully going over each person’s skills and abilities in her head. She was very curious to speak with Thaddeus later, given he was the first non-feral werebeast for her to meet since the hermit had passed away and she had been forced to continue on without her assistance.

kase9187 Cashi Dominaiscna The Gunrunner SilverFlight