Fandom &nbsp; Welcome to the DWMA!(Closed)

Jackaboi · Jul 31, 2020

Elgin's eyes was locked with Rin's murderous gaze with what felt like a century. If only for the briefest moment, he really thought that he might not survive this unexpected encounter. But then his saving grace came in. Shinobu, like a merciful angel swooped in between them and quickly managed to change the topic, asking about Winry. "Y-Yeah... She's with me. This is my little sis Winry." "THE ONE AND ONLY!" Winry waved to the scary looking woman with the mask. This prompted Elgin to look towards the two children. It was certainly an unusual pairing. While Winry was more loud and upbeat. The white haired girl showed anything but that, speaking in a more quiet tone. Yet the two of them got along perfectly fine. However... As if out of nowhere Rin had her gun right at Elgin. He put his hands up in reaction trying to make some attempt to NOT get shot. "W-What the hell!? I didn't know that was you in that costume alright! Sure I probably shoulda recognised Shin... That one's on me BUT THERE AIN'T A NEED TO SHOOT ME OVER IT!" However as it turns out she wasn't aiming at him, but rather at Arthur whom was approaching rather menacingly with his overly detailed costume. Wait... Did that mean Rin acted with the intent on SAVING Elgin? As far as he could tell he was certain Rin probably hated his guts so the fact she made such a gesture didn't go unnoticed. Under any normal circumstance he'd take the chance to tease her over such a trivial mistake thinking Arthur was a random bad guy. But really he was left without words.

Then as if it was on queue two more people arrived. They looked a good bit older and wore a couples costume, insinuating they were definitely together. Judging by how they approached Rin to talk to her it seemed clear that they must be her parents. Not to mention the white haired girl whom Rin called Hanako ran up to hug their legs. He certainly wasn't expecting to see the whole Hagihara family in one place. They mentioned something about a festival, a separate event taking place elsewhere. It was certainly enough to pique the attention of Hanako enough to ask to go with them. Then soon came over at asked Winry if she wanted to go too. As was usually the case with the overly excited girl, she immediately threw away the idea of going to the party. Winry ran over to Elgin asking HIM now if she could go with Hanako. Elgin had to seriously think about this one. Elgin wasn't keen on just handing his little sister to the care of two people he's never met before, but Winry looked really excited to go and he couldn't deny he wouldn't mind not having to constantly keep an eye on such a small figure is such a large crowd. Rin's parents could be trusted right? After all Rin was his teammate. Eventually he caved. "Alright alright. At least this way you can hang out with someone the same age as you... Just promise you'll stay outta trouble alright?" "YAY!!! THANKS BIG B!" Winry jumped in to hug her older brother. To which he responded by patting her head. Letting show a softer side of himself no one at the academy had seen before. All the while sizing up the two parents. Just trying to be sure Winry would be fine under their care for the night. The mother thought to reassure him his sister would be safe. And they'd call if anything happened. It didn't stop him worrying of course but he nodded anyway having already allowed Winry to go.

Like that the two little girls were away on their own little adventure under the supervision of two adults who were likely far more qualified than himself and Rin for such a task. To back up her mother's point Rin said that they'd be fine in their care. Almost surprisingly casually considering who the sentence was directed towards. But the moment was immediately killed with the next line Rin came out with causing Elgin to look quite annoyed. "I told ya I didn't know it was you..." He said rather meekly. Either way it was time to continue on their way to the party. Upon arrival they were met with the blaring music of DJ Rung and the many vibrant outfits the party-goers wore. Elgin's eyes wandered too, noticing some of the more revealing outfits that were being worn. A very slight blush forming on his face. It didn't take long before Shin and Rin broke off from the group. Both having some stuff to take care of. "Welp better get mingling eh partner? He nudged Arthur slightly, he was fully aware he'd be doing nothing of the sort however. "Yeah I know that ain't your thing. Like the DJ said there's some food and drink over there." He pointed towards the large table that displayed a fine selection of different snacks and a large bowl of punch. "If we're lucky... Someone might have already spiked it with a REAL drink huh? Haha!" He said in a joking manner. Little known to him that was exactly the case.

He made his way over to the table, grabbing the classic cheap plastic cup always used at parties and filled it with the punch. The first sip he took seemed off, an odd aftertaste to it. However drinking it again it was less noticeable. Maybe someone actually did spike it? Naaaaah. He put off the thought, assuming that it was just him putting the thought into his brain in the first place. Looking up to see how the party was going along. He saw Shinobu being tossed up into the air and looking damn good doing it. How she pulls these kinds of things off was seriously beyond his understanding. Looking around again he noticed two students getting it on in a quieter side of the room. It was things like this that made him glad that Rin's parents took Winry while they did. "Not a drop of alcohol and already someone's probably gonna get lucky tonight. Yeesh just get a room already." Elgin chuckled to himself taking another drink of his punch. How little of the students he could see wasn't enough to tell who they were. Not that he cared anyway. He did see the girl was wearing a red riding hood outfit though... It couldn't be... Nah no way. Not in a million years would Rin do something like that considering what happened on the way here.

GrieveWriter

Hubub101 (Interacted)

The Elder (mentioned

Z2010Deadmeat · Aug 1, 2020

GWEN

GrieveWriter Phayne

"Suit yourself." Gwen shrugged towards Baira's decline on a second round of Halloween delicacies on this spooky party night. With a clearing of her throat; Gwen once more indulged into her over dramatic persona as scooped up the first bit of candy for herself. "Then it falls upon me to slay all of these tasty snacks! They will know no mercy as the invader arrives to lay waste to their homes, no prisoners will be taken tonight, and I shall- Oh hi Nobu!" The rousing speech of war against food was put on immediate hold once Shinobu arrived towards them with bouquet in hand to greet the pair. "Of course! If we failed to show up my sense of punctuality would be ruined and I'd have to put the Dark Irina in the garage until I was worthy of driving her again." Gwen explained while placing her hands on her hips and puffing up her chest to display the pride she had over ensuring their arrival flawlessly. Then of course she quickly glided over to Shinobu's side to whisper into her ear. "Baira would never let me live it down if he didn't get to see the girls all dressed up tonight either." she giggled back before the mischevious glint in her eyes settled into her more usual smile.

"So how are you enjoying the party Nobu? Got any favorite costumes tonight.....besides this dapper man and mistress of darkness that is." Gwen decided to then ask out of curiosity. Using one of her long robe sleeves to sweeping gesture the entire room while the other swiped a cup of punch from the table they were next to. Taking tenative sips while she listened to Shinobu speak.

Phayne · Aug 2, 2020

~Location~
Near Snack table
~Mentions~
N/A
~Interactions~
Gwen

Z2010Deadmeat Shinobu

GrieveWriter

Eyes continuing to scan the dance floor for hopeful candidates who could handle his enthusiasm Baira for the most part had failed to spot anyone who looked like they could handle his physicality. All things considering, Baira was one of the taller individuals at the party, his mighty height of 6ft 9 putting many of the others to shame and while that was a moral boosting asset for the future Alpha when it came to the same gender, it didn't much help in this situation as the majority of women were far shorter than he was.

"Leave no snack or treat untouched. Show no mercy! Oh Mistress of Darkness!" replied Baira as he turned to face Gwen whom had already began her assault on the snack table, the Angel of Combustion wasting no time as she was given the green light to start the onslought. Baira fell to one knee and grabbed Gwen's free hand, raising it much like a Knight would to his queen "Revel in their demise, Relish the taste of victory Oh Queen of mine~!" teased Baira, playing along with her Halloween persona, before he himself returned to his full height.

Baira's search as well as Gwen's colonisation of the snack table was however put on hold upon the arrival of Shinobu, the smartly dressed woman wearing an outfit that was all too familiar to the white haired boy, the fellow meister opting to not wear a costume despite the invitation to do so. That being said, her usual attire tended to stand out in its own right and had it not been what she usually wore, she would not have stood out as being 'out of costume' to anyone who had not known her.

"Yo~" replied Baira, offering a wave as he remained behind Gwen. "I couldn't risk embarrassing the Queen of Speed by not putting in the effort to smarten up myself" continued the wolf man, though his attention was soon drawn towards the other side of the room as he heard a commotion from a few of the other students, the boy distracted long enough for Gwen to slide over to Shinobu while his attention was elsewhere.

Attention returning to the conversation, Baira had gone to place a hand upon Gwen's shoulder, assuming her to still be by his side, only to find that she had moved position; the white haired boy recovering quickly as his hand made contact with the side of the snack table and kept him in balance. A faint smile appearing on his face as he thought about what he had originally intended to dress up as. "Honestly I'd have much rather arrived in my Birthday suit.." winked Baira, though rather than being nude he was instead referring to his Wolf transformation; the bestial appearance that he was capable of taking being a far superior outfit than any costume could represent. "... but I heard a few people were planning on dressing up as werewolves and I didn't want to ruin their efforts by cheating and coming as the real thing ... " chuckled Baira as he glanced Shinobu up and down whilst Gwen began her questioning. Unsurprisingly the trail of questions that his partner in crime had asked had managed to hook Baira's curiosity in full, eager to hear what Shinobu's answers would be.He had long since known of Shinobu's preferences and like Gwen, was aware that she was off-limits and spared from his habits.

Perhaps her answer would shed some light upon who Baira would benefit from oogling at.

RageFactorXIII · Aug 2, 2020

Llewellyn found it a little odd when the white haired girl he had been escorting decided to give a little twirl upon reaching the DWMA Music Room, but he did not comment on it. If this is what Dr. Stein did to amuse herself, then he had no right to judge such actions. Still, when the Doctor then began to speak and place a hand on the servant's shoulder to unofficially knight him, he did feel a slight bit of amusement. It was humorous to even consider the short trip to be a grand journey or himself to be anything as fantastical as a knight, but Llewellyn decided to contribute his own two cents to what had to be a jest. "I am honored for this great title bestowed upon me. May it serve to drive fear into the hearts of my enemies and to instill confidence into my allies." There was a slight smile on the young man's face as he spoke and the briefest of chuckles after his words were complete. It was a rather silly interaction.

When Dr. Stein approached the door to find it locked Llewellyn was unsurprised and then nonplussed to discover that the white haired girl planned to break in to the locked room. The Doctor did not seem the type to steal anything so the young man saw no reason to panic. Though, if Dr. Stein did steal from the school, Llewellyn would still do nothing about it since she was one of his betters. It was best to let others enjoy their whims and fancies, even if that might mean taking the fall for their actions later on. To sacrifice for their masters was part and parcel of a servant's job after all.

Though, when the white haired girl before him began to talk about her hands Llewellyn was a little bit confused. He personally did not mind the physical contact or the chill associated with the girl's touch. The honey blond male had only reacted as he did to attempt to cater to the comforts of his better, fully believing his own touch to have been detestable and undesirable once it was no longer necessary. Still, Llewellyn patiently listened to Dr. Stein's speech, not once thinking to interrupt with a comment or gesture. Not even when the girl commented about her world view or being experimented on.

The young man took another sip of the punch he had been given earlier while he continued to listen to the Doctor. He had been calmly listening to the girl up until she hinted at his very first mission. Llewellyn had taken another drink not because he was thirsty but, because he knew that he had to prevent himself from speaking up once the white haired girl mentioned someone getting hurt.
While Dr. Stein does bring up some good points in regards to Partnership, I am curious as to what she is referring to. Surely she does not know about my previous years here. No, she does. The Doctor essentially proved that she had access to such knowledge when she made her inquiries. Is Dr. Stein referring to Lady Vera then? If so, then the Academy's documents on their students must have rather poor security. It was honestly a little disappointing that Llewellyn could not simply bury his past as he had originally intended, but perhaps it was best that someone else knew of it. The information was hardly incriminating and he had been the one to terminate his previous Partnership, so it truly was not an issue that another individual knew of his story, even if he did feel awkward about it.

Llewellyn had been preoccupied with his own thoughts when Dr. Stein stepped into the Music Room. He had not noticed her absence until the white haired girl had returned to the hallway and declared her intention to return the instrument she had collected. The servant gave a distracted nod as he tried to focus on the world in front of him rather than the past locked away inside of his head. "Your secret is safe with me Doctor and I surely will enjoy the punch." Another small smile had made it's way to the young man's face as he spoke. Why? He did not know, yet Llewellyn also did not care all too much. He now had to focus on getting them getting back to the others in the Ballroom.

On their way back to the party, Llewellyn answered any additional questions the Doctor may have had, but this time his responses were not forced. The honey blond male seemed a bit more relaxed if the occasional dry humor was any indication of his improved mood. He had even decided to gently grasp hold of the white haired girl's arm while they walked to prove that he was not scared of the chill that emanated from Elvena. The action may not have been necessary and could possibly have upset the girl, but much like her own grip earlier, Llewellyn's was flimsy and easy to escape. Besides, the young man did not truly feel anything for the white haired girl aside from respect, so there was little chance for any complications.

Location: DWMA Hallway

Tags:

Britt-21 · Aug 3, 2020

Time skip - Dec 15th Mid Day
Operation: Save the Meisters
Tags:

Exanis

Huntertabbysandshark3

vL5_I4s8YLnoO8VAELScpSola5VaQkgpTqVH5B_RNMUfsfleMPsNd11M7eEKhyIVFXfP3Rd6mRNuekhfJumTozIbt467Pxl0R4lEcWOFTO93OzlMPtIYkL3qzYhBq-04aYDOeo-9

You and your class arrive at the current location via car/limo/motorcycles, looking for a target that required all 8 Meisters and Weapons to the site. It's abandoned and definitely would be a home to many Kishin. Though the target is of high threat and needs to be taken out accordingly. So the class goes on ahead as a group, the Weapons in their weapon forms while the Meisters stay nearby each other, talking, and trying to figure out where their enemy would be currently hiding amidst the abandoned buildings.

Plan of action:
1: Everyone gets one post in. Weapons and Meisters.
2: Once everyone gets their posts out, Another post will be made indicating what is happening (I will have it done in one post so it doesnt stretch out)
3: Meisters will be knocked out by what will be used no matter what, Weapons wont be able to be knocked out due to being in weapon form.
4: However the enemy will toss out a device that explodes and forces the weapons to turn back to human form, thus inhaling the smoke.
5: This smoke will keep everyone knocked out for 2 hours

More of the plans will be revealed in the next GM post.

Britt-21 · Aug 4, 2020

Interactions/Mentions: RageFactorXIII The Elder (AND LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE LMAO)

It felt like time was starting to fly by because now it was already in the middle of December and the missions progressively getting colder the further they traveled. Over the past few weeks, not only did she get a new weapon on her team, but balancing both wavelengths was difficult. Especially when her main weapon partner seemed more difficult to sync up with. Due to this, the blonde made sure to do her best and make her soul match perfectly with Lew's once again. Her drive was back and she refused to let him down as her weapon. At first, it was frustrating and difficult, but she didn't let that stop her as she kept pushing and kept going on solo missions with both Hitomi and Lew. Now that she had an offensive weapon, it made utilizing her skills with her body a lot easier. Going offensive with Hitomi and able to have Lew to protect her as she would block and counter. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be able to pull off the moves she was pulling off. Despite the rough start and the rough acceptance of letting in a new weapon, in her heart she felt like it was worth it. She was able to accomplish her mission to make him a Death weapon, but she had double the work, which was fine. Nothing that would stop her at this rate now that she was racking up souls a lot easier than before for her weapons.

After all that had flew by like nothing, there was a mission that popped up that required the entire class to participate in. It was a moderate threat and wasn't made for a team of three. Taking her motorcycle, Hitomi was in weapon form in the custom made holster on her belt while Lew was sitting behind her, his arms around her to hold on and a helmet on to prevent his hair from flying everywhere. Alice didn't care much for the helmet just because she was a decently good driver. Eventually she had gotten to the site, meeting up with a lot of the others who had their own means of transportation. After parking her cycle, she took off her helmet, greeted them and started to get off the bike, asking Lew not long after to change into his weapon form for her. To which he was placed on her right arm as usual before going over the mission with everyone and starting their investigation for the target. Hitomi in her left hand, rather than in her holster. "So many abandoned buildings. I get that there's 8 of us but... It's easier to cover ground if we split up, if we do that though, we can risk getting hurt. Or worse." she spoke through the bond and then used her soul perception, only to find nothing in the building she was looking into. Her vision wasn't clear, but she knew what souls looked like.

"I have nothing in here, guys." she called out, turning to her classmates and moving closer to them "I didn't see anything under my soul perception." the blonde said, looking between all the meisters who had their weapons at hand "The target is a high level threat but...why would it try to hide in these? Couldn't we just blow down each building and pull it out of hiding from there?" it would make a lot of noise and ruckus, but drawing out the enemy one way or another had to be done. Emeralds scanned the area besides her classmates and furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "What do you guys think? Any ideas? Opinions?" she asked her partners, turning her arm to expose Lew's shiny front to her, as well as lifting Hitomi to look at both her partners. Her eyes shifting back and forth.

Kyuubey · Aug 4, 2020

Elvena Stein

Mood; Not amused

Location; Abandoned Building

Disinterested eyes peered ahead, scanning the area surrounding the group. A group that she was sticking to the very edges of, not wanting to really mingle or talk much with. That’s just the way the duo seemed to be, lone wolves. It would just be a distraction from the task ahead and right now her brain was in hyper drive, trying to foresee any issues that may arise and how she’d jump on trying to deal with them to the best of her abilities. Their other classmates were there so at least more angles were covered in case they were ambushed. While she wouldn’t openly question it, the need for so many of the pairs seemed unnecessary. However, it had been mandatory and not something she was able to dismiss herself and Takeshi from so here they were, hesitantly cooperating with others whom she wasn’t accustomed to fighting alongside. The long white bandage that normally flowed freely around her body extending from Takeshi’s weapon form was loosely wrapped around her palm, something she’d become fond of doing. It didn’t give her any real edge in combat but it was comforting and for that reason alone she did it.

The Zanbato within her grasp felt light, an extension of her own body. She’d trained really hard to achieve a sense of dancing in battle with such a giant bladed weapon. Now though, it was graceful and second nature, there was nothing holding her back from fully committing herself to her partnership, having mastered his weapon form with ease. Being a genius meister definitely added to this but her determination to excel and be worthy of wielding Takeshi had always been her main motivator. It had become this solely ever since the day she'd messed up on their first mission, ultimately disgracing herself. He was exceptional and therefor she needed to be too so that she didn't hold him back. The feeling of being two separate entities didn’t really apply anymore; they were one, at least like this. When in human form they were vastly different but they still meshed in a way that simply fit. Other people tended to stay away from the pair or find Takeshi to be this unapproachable person but he was anything but that. In her eyes he was this complex puzzle of different factors and sides to him, he was three dimensional. She veered away from the group, going in any direction that the others seemed to not be going in and began mindlessly walking around the dust covered floors, noting that none of them looked recently traveled. Even though she seemed to be carrying herself in a casual manner her senses were on high alert, gaze flickering about and soul calm to help really leave herself in a state of quiet so any unnatural noises would be heard.

Alice’s voice happened to be one of those things that broke through the reticent environment. A sigh pushed past her lips as she made her way back towards the group, carefully placing herself in the back. “ Perhaps giving away any possible plans and our positioning aloud has now given them the upper hand. Not all high level threats stand around in the open waiting for us to engage. In fact, the ones who are more deadly tend to observe, learn, and then act. “ Elvy’s softer toned voice reached the other meister’s ears without much effort being pushed into the volume used. She related heavily to the last statement, a tactic in battle that she herself had grown quite fond of using. “ Additionally, the only one truly capable of ‘blowing’ down these buildings would be my brother and that would be Marcus’s decision. You want to destroy all the buildings, Marcus? “ She turned and let her stoic yet dangerous gaze fall on the meister in question. Despite their history, Elvy had decided to let bygones be bygones. While angered and reasonably upset at the time she later was able to accept that Marcus had no way of knowing why it truly hurt her. That favor was still hanging there though, unused for now. He was her comrade and Elias’s partner and friendship was scarce for her, so forgiveness came after some time. Takeshi probably didn’t share in her sentiment but she knew he wouldn’t despise her for making a decision he may not agree with about whom she considered a friend or foe.

You sure we shouldn’t just go off and try to deal with this on our own? I don’t doubt the skills of our classmates but my faith is placed solely in you and I. She extended the concern to Takeshi, fingers subconsciously tightening around the hilt securely pressed against her palm. She lifted the blade and rested her cheek against it as if ready for a nap, eyes slipping to a close from the satisfaction of the cold kissing her pale skin. Little did she know that fate would decide to play a cruel joke on them and she would literally be taking a nap shortly.

Interacted with; Takeshi

Exanis Alice

Britt-21 Marcus

The Elder Mentioned; Errbody else

The Elder · Aug 4, 2020

8+ Mission, Nothing Can Go Wrong

After two months past, the school had actually decided to seen Marcus and Elias on a full class mission. The point of this was to search for the high-value target and eliminate all remaining Kishins. Their destination was an abandoned and run down site with nothing but ruin buildings. At first glance would seem to be like a playground for those who enjoy running through or destroying abandon places. Those who have the agile taste for parkour and destruction, much like Marcus and Elias. Speaking of the two of them, they're bond has definitely grown in these past two months after their little heart to heart session on halloween. With all the teams at the site, Marcus stayed somewhere towards the back of the group as he searched throughout the site with his soul perception. Much like Alice said before, he really didn't see much, which worried him. I aint seeing jack shit, Eli, and I don't like it. You'll think a site that suppose to be filled with Kishin, there would be a least a few noticeable ones, but nothing...nothing isn't good. He says to Elias speaking through their connection. He sat against the hood of his car, with Elias resting in hand as he look amongst the crowd of students. Out of everyone here, he hasn't really seen many of them in action outside of school. The only ones he did see were that on the same team as them. Which would be Alcross and Camilla, Alice, Lew and Himani. Speaking of Hitomii she was definitely a new addition Alice needed. Compared to how was she was before hand, Marcus was glad to see a change in her spirit. She's even became a lot more active in these past few months. And also that Hitomi girl was pretty attractive.

Soon enough Marcus was pulled out of his own little head after he heard Elvena speaking to him. "Blowing up buildings." He says, thinking about that tactic. As much as Elias would be down for it, Marcus ruled strongly against it. There was literally not point in blowing up buildings unless they were trying to endanger themselves or simply letting their positions be known. "Honestly, Im not down for that at all. Too much of a drag and too many variables." He says simply, looking at Elvy, as he thought about they friendship over the course of two months. Things went from good, to worst, to somewhat better, and he was alright with that. Takeshi on the other hand...well aint no reason to really speak on that. I know you was rooting for the explosions weren't you? He asked Elias, before looking over at the everyone else. "Outside of blowing up buildings, does anyone else have any ideas about our first move?" He ask aloud.

Britt-21 @EveryoneElse

Phayne · Aug 4, 2020

104-1041001_transparent-anime-pngs-tales-of-zestiria-zaveid-fanart.png

~Location~
Decrepit Building Site
~Mentions~
Generally talking to the whole group.
~Interactions~
Gwen

Baira was particularly on edge during todays mission. Not only did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning as well as spill his breakfast, Baira had already been troubled from the moment he had come to learn of the missions details or in this case, 'lack of details'. All he knew was that it was not ordinary for a mission to require this many teams, especially among those still within the first years.

Over the several months since enrolling into the DWMA, Baira's personality and attitude towards the missions had become increasingly different, especially compared to his more laxed persona when not 'on duty'. Since the ill fated mission on the pirate vessel, Baira had been far more serious in his approach to the missions, almost adopting a far more colder and direct persona than what he was like on the very first mission. Whilst Baira himself had not realised it, it would have been quite apparent to those who knew his father well that Baira was simply following in the same footsteps that his father had had to experience when he too was out discovering himself and before he had attained the rank of Alpha in the clan. Unlike his father, Baira was still far away from attaining the balance between what a leader should be and how he really was, yet with each mission he undertook with his partner, it was evident that he was making progress little by little and by the looks of things so was Alice and Lewellyn whom had managed to add a new partner into their mix. Baira had noted the obvious frailties with Alice and Lewellyn's team composition during their first join mission; the glaringly obvious being their lack of offensive options; a trade off for being specialised in defence. At least now with the addition of Hitomi, the pair of them now had an offensive outlet and could further expand upon their team dynamics.

"Gwen" spoke Baira through their link. "I know I've been rambling on about it during the ride here.. but now that we are actually on the mission site... my instincts are 100% telling me that something is definitely off here. It.. its too quiet... even if the place is dilapidated and run down.." continued the wolf man as he stepped away from the others and clambered atop a pile of debris, the white haired meister taking the higher ground. "I also don't like the idea of being surrounded by these buildings... its far too easy for our target to set up an ambush" Baira sniffed the air hoping to find something questionable that could maybe give them the jump over their target. "Keep your senses on high alert... every other meister has their soul perception.. but we have our sharpened instincts which keeps as apart from them. If whatever our target is is as dangerous as the mission seems to imply, it could be quite possible that they have a way to counter or at the very list confuse a meisters soul perception... in that regard we may have an advantage" continued the wolf, leaping over a small gap in the debris before stopping and turning to face a few of the others.

"I agree blowing things up would be a foolish idea" interrupted Baira as he overheard several of his other classmates discussing the possible choice of action. He didn't particularly want to be so blunt about Alice's suggestion, yet given his more serious attitude towards missions, it just sorta came out. While it was hopefully more banter than anything else, it was still rather amateurish for them to be openly revealing some of their cards. It was hard to tell who or what was lurking and listening within the shadows, it was best that they kept their cards to themselves, even the more outrageous ones.

Unlike the other meisters here who tended to rely on various skills like soul perception, Baira was the anomaly in this regard. Whether it was down to his mixed breed genetics or just a natural inability to achieve it, Baira was still unable to perform basic Meister skills like Soul Perception and instead fell back on more primitive methods of tracking and locating his targets. A sense of smell far keener than anyone else in their motley group, Baira had intentionally remained upon higher ground, the white haired Maestro gripping Gwen's bladed staff form tightly to his side as he sniffed the air, hoping to pick up the scent of whatever it was that they had been tasked with targeting, yet without any kind of lead it was hard for him to deduce which particular scent would be the one that they were after.

Returning back to the subject at hand before people decided to take it literally, Baira had turned to look down at everyone else. "An explosion on our side would do more harm than good for us. We would be at risk of exposing our position as well as making it harder for us to move around. It would whip up a tonne of debris and could even destabilise the buildings around us to the point of collapsing on top of us. If we did come out unscathed the resulting dust cloud would make any teamwork far harder to achieve when our senses are hindered. We'd be playing into our targets hands and making it easier for them, especially in a place we are unfamiliar with. Lets not forget that we are in their territory right now. I'd rather not put myself or anyone here at risk due to someone being trigger happy" continued Baira before suddenly turning his attention towards the east, Baira's ears twitching as he could have sworn he heard a noise echo from there yet beyond that nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. "Gwen.. did you hear that?" questioned Baira through the link, hoping that he wasn't just hearing things.

"It would probably be more ideal for us to split ourselves into two groups. The mission asked for all eight of us, so I doubt thinning ourselves too much would be ideal. If we do agree to split, I think it goes without saying how we should be divided" suggested Baira. If they did split into two groups, Baira personally would have preferred to head up to higher ground where he could perhaps cover a wider area with his sense of smell. Whilst his senses could not pinpoint anything definitive at this moment he could not help but feel uneasy down on the ground, surrounded by decrepit buildings on almost every side, each having their own nooks and crannies in which the Kishin could hide or even ambush them from. "What do you think Gwen?.. I personally believe that this would be our best course of action, but we both know I'm not exactly known for my tactical sense and even if this proved to be like most of our past experiences, I'm not too sure we could power our way through this one if things started to go wrong."

BabyGirlRage · Aug 4, 2020

Morika hummed as she inspected the area, her thoughts being taken elsewhere. So much had changed since the dance, and she wasn't really sure how to properly process what had happened. Mara was no longer her partner and they were no longer roommates. To be honest, Morika didn't really know why that was nor what she had done wrong to push Mara away. That's two partners who she had failed as a Meister now, and Morika had started to feel strange. But then she popped in another one of her pills and the feeling went away. Maybe Mara is happier with another Meister as her partner. I should be happy for her and take this as a chance to better my skills before I get another partner.

Though Morika was surprised when she was paired up with Akron, especially after what had happened at the dance. Though she was happy that she had the opportunity to get to know him better. Maybe we can become better friends this way! Morika was happy and leaped at the opportunity.

Though when Morika had told her Mother everything that happened, she more or less went all out and bought Morika a house despite Morika's protests. Morika's Mother had also given her a huge raise in her allowance that Morika wasn't aware that she had. When Morika tried to hand the money back, her Mother guilt tripped her into keeping it and into moving into the house that she bought.

Morika never thought that Akron and herself would have much in common, but she was happy to paired up with him nonetheless. He didn't make her feel bad about her decisions, and didn't make fun of her for little things. So far, Akron was the best partner Morika had and she hoped that they could become better friends as time went on.

Though, at the present point in time, Morika was searching for the target along with other talented Meisters. Morika was greatful for being given this opportunity to go on this mission with others after what had happened on the last mission and was thankful that she had taken her pill before the mission so that there wouldn't be a repeat of what happened last time. Though as she wandered the area, she clutched Akron in his weapon form a little tight and held closer towards her body to defend herself against any oncoming enemies.

Morika made sure to stay where the other Meisters could see her and where she could see the other Meisters in case of any danger. Morika continued to scope the area with her Soul Perception, determined to be helpful as well as keep a lookout in case something did show up. While Morika wasn't very skilled in combat situations, she was heavily trained in Soul Perception. She furrowed her brows when she realized that she couldn't really see anyone aside from the other Meisters and the Weapons.

"I don't like this. Everyone is talking about whether or not they want to blow up the place. What should we do?" Morika whispered to Akron as she continued to look around for the threat.

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Aug 5, 2020

Akron

interaction:

BabyGirlRage
so its partner was now gone, though the tune would stay as did it’s song
man and monster one form they would share, another lurked with piercing glare.
the monsters due broken too it’s toll, a newer one room their roll.
the dance was different but its song was the same, but for the man, it brought old pain.
the lurker slithered from the lair, back again to take its share.
its painful words it’s whispered despair, the man was shaken the beast? It did not care for it was the one that was always there.
the joy the fun the happy light snuffed out by the darkness that is just as bright.

since the Halloween party, it had been at least six weeks... and form that things had gone from amazing to... well Akron wasn't too sure, he'd been informed that his previous partner, Liam had... left, even now Akron wondered what he'd done to drive him off? or was it something Liam did that made him feel that Akron would be better without him, no matter the reason he would never know a fact he had a hard time coming to terms with. even more distressing what his new partner... Morika, of course, he never made any objection's about it, he could hardly Their relationship as meister and weapon started off as particularly problematic, when the two were able to feel one another emotions, Morika finally learning what he felt about her. It had led a very upset Morika questioning Akron about his feeling towards her and it ended up turning into a conversation both of them had suspected that the other would stab them in the back at the earliest opportunity and then insuring one another they'd never do such a thing Morika had even made Arkon more cloths and using him as a mannequin not that he was at all bothered by that. even then no matter how nice Morika was what his sister had done to him would not disappear overnight, the other creature that lurked in his head had resurfaced, its feminine form and glowing eyes and soft unsettling whispers had come back to haunt him ever since he'd change meister. Arkon had forgotten about them until now, with it back Akron's usually straight posture and calm demeanour had become more ridged his voice bordering on cold, akron was a man of extremes he was his neutral or very emotional when he’d permit himself The luxury such a small change was unusual although thanks to his armor unless someone was seriously observant (eg. Elvy) it wouldn't be That much of a noticeable change, after all Akron was alway like that..

now the pair where on a mission with everyone else in their class, apparently these abandoned building harboured a large number of powerful kishin, much like all the other here Akron was already in his weapon form Morika holding him close he'd said nothing for quite some time mulling things over quietly in his head, he wasn't sure how well he'd be able to control the beast in such a location it had gotten harder and harder when he was with Liam, but now with Morika and so many other people around things where a different story he didn't want to hurt anyone here let alone force Morika to do it. He’d been trying to block out the lurkers whispering “do it do it... break her... or Are you just weak? Little akey such a mistake you can’t eve stand up to a sweeT harmless little girl... or is She? You know what going to happen give it time...“ welcome distraction came when Morika posed a question to akron about what they should do whoever had started the conversation about blowing the place up akron didn’t know but it appeared most where in opposition to it “ I’d suggest we done blow anything up if we do it’s more likely we’re going to draw unwanted attention to ourselves... though I fear if no miester has spotted anything we might be walking straight into a trap” Akron replied, a unnatural chill going down his metaphorical spin... but he FELT something drag its claws across his face, almost mocking him for suggesting much a thing out of turn.

Kyuubey · Aug 5, 2020

Elias Stein

Elias waited as patiently as possible by his bike, trying not to hone in on the subtle tick of his watch reminding him that Rin was taking for fucking ever to get ready. He’d left the room, given her whatever privacy she desired, and had been standing for what felt like forever outside by his mode of transportation that apparently was going to have a passenger. Marcus approached and he just waved him off, letting him know to just go ahead without him. “ I’ll catch up. “ That was all he felt like saying as the annoyance of how long a woman could take was starting to visibly leak onto his features. After a significant amount of time she finally appeared and he huffed loudly, all the pent up impatience that had been building being released at the notion that they’d be actually leaving. “ Did you do anything or did you sit there and twiddle your thumbs for half an hour? You literally look no different. “ He commented whilst he shoved the helmet into her hands with a smirk pulling at his lips. “ Not sure why you did your hair though. It’s just going to get fucked up. “ At this point he was just openly taunting her, something he thoroughly enjoyed doing. With a nonchalant shrug he found himself sliding onto his bike, engine revving loudly as if screaming at the girl to hop on so they could disembark. The moment he felt her smaller frame against his there wasn’t a second of hesitation as the bike took off. Not a warning was given; she’d just have to cling to him instinctively or go flying. The entire ride had little slow times, his desire to go fast and catch up to his partner showing as he took turns dangerously and failed to abide by any of the speed laws.

They finally arrived shortly behind his partner, his loss to that measly car obviously irking him but he didn’t voice his disappointment. Instead he waved at Marcus and remained by his motorcycle with Rin. “ I’ll wait with you until your partner shows up. “ And he did. It seemed like he might’ve been pissy but for now he was content and not in a rush. The ride over had satiated his need for speed so now he was feeling a bit more calm. Once Shinobu rolled up Elias pat Rin on the head and headed over to Marcus, grinning wildly. “ Oi! You know this doesn’t count, right? She held my ass up. “ The words left his mouth as he began to transform, falling into his meister’s hands and transitioning to a more quiet stance as the group surveyed things and looked around. A scoff was apparent at the conversation at hand, features growing into unrivaled excitement at the thought of getting to blow shit up. Marcus declined though and he shot his partner a dissatisfied look from within his weapon space, clearly not favoring this. Even the Alice chick wanted to do it. She clearly must be more fun than you. He spoke to Marcus and crossed his arms, face set into showing his displeasure and not budging. He couldn’t deny that something felt off. There wasn’t much of a sign that pointed to that particular feeling. It was just something that was creeping up the longer they couldn’t sense anything, like the odd sensation of his skin crawling. Just stay alert. They’ve gotta show their ugly ass faces eventually. They’re usually like me and can’t resist having a good time. His previous expression broke a bit as a typical Elias grin that flashed his canines spread onto his face. The last few weeks of working with his partner and his lost confidence had seemingly been working. His personality wasn’t so much comparable to a wounded puppy anymore.

Interacted with; Marcus

The Elder Rin

Britt-21 Mentioned; Shinobu

GrieveWriter

Jackaboi · Aug 6, 2020

Six weeks after that weird night at the Halloween party, Camilla and Alcross were right back to work as usual. It was a laid back night sure, but some things had the Meister worried all the same. Alcross who suddenly up and told Camilla he was heading out for a while and left just like that. What could have prompted him to do that? She pondered. The girl knew that it wasn't her place to go poking in other people's business but they were still partners! If there was something troubling him then she'd do the best she could to help... Or rather that's what she WOULD say if it didn't make her sound like such a hypocrite. Yes despite the plenty of time they had to get to know each other, she still hadn't found the strength to tell Alcross the things that troubled her the most. Who she really was, the tragedy that befell her village. Not a single peep about it left her mouth since she became a student at the DWMA. Doren's words only served to reinforce this vow of secrecy... "You can't tell anyone who you really are. For 7 years it has been believed no one survived that attack. If a survivor were to suddenly surface after all this time you could be branded a liar. Or end up with a target painted right on your back." Now she stood in front of her mirror. Those words still echoing in her mind. She really didn't know what to do anymore. Since coming to Death Vegas all she had done was sign up for the Academy and just went with the flow from there. No matter how much she wanted to avenge her family... The fear she carried extinguished any flame of hope she had in taking down that monster.

Staring at herself in the mirror she eventually remembered they had a mission to do now. Best to just put this matter down for now and focus on the here and now. With that in mind she grabbed her father's bow from the side of the bed and took a deep breath before putting on her usual cheerful expression. Emerging from her room, the Meister donned her usual garb, accompanied with her tan coloured cloak. "Alright Alcross, looks like it's time for our next mission. I've arranged to have Shinobu pick us up here. So we shouldn't have to worry about making our own way there." The girl added as she double checked her things. "Shin said she has a car. So you probably won't need to shift into weapon form for the journey this time. But if you prefer that then that's not a problem either." For no apparent reason, Camilla couldn't help but feel an awkward atmosphere in the air. Albeit very little, even though they were partners. They knew they could trust each other with their lives. There was still this one impenetrable wall that separated them and it only grew stronger the longer Camilla kept her silence. She wondered if it was becoming obvious yet that she was hiding something? She'd dare not ask of course.

Of course she could just be overthinking everything, she had to keep focus on the task. Leave her worries on the table for today. Because right now this was probably one of their most dangerous missions yet. She could only assume as much since it required the whole class to be involved. Hunt down the high level threat, eliminate any other present kishin. If they played their cards right She and Alcross could score quite a sizeable number of souls and her partner would be that one leap further ahead to becoming a Death Scythe. As usual Alcross was ready before Camilla was, it was never something he complained about, for it was just more time for him to watch TV while Cami prepared. But now that it was Time to go. All Al had to do was quickly grab whatever he needed and he was ready for duty. They left the dorms, locked the door and made their way out through the lobby and finally outside to the wide city of Death Vegas. She looked left and right, wondering if there was any routes she remembered yet. Alas there was none. The wide city proving to be an insurmountable challenge to navigate for a little village girl with an inherently bad sense of direction. Luckily they wouldn't have to worry about that today, as they waited they could suddenly hear the faint music of smooth jazz playing in the distance, gradually getting louder and clearer as a very long vehicle pulled up and stopped on the side of the road.

Camilla's face was quite the picture at this point, a rather confused look apparent on her features. The black tinted driver seat window rolled down to reveal the owner of the vehicle, being none other than Shinobu Basili herself. They were gestured to hop in, the look of disbelief still yet to fade away from the Crimson haired meister's face. "Shinobu... When you said you had a car... I really wasn't expecting something like this..." Camilla spoke aloud as she entered. Indeed for this was no ordinary car but rather a limousine, a luxurious mode of transport Camilla had never even thought she'd take in her life. Yet here we are. Elgin and Arthur were here too, the anxious Meister looking as uncomfortable as ever and the white haired weapon, practically half asleep. The pair were near polar opposites, one being way too overly worried and the other not worried enough. They took off, Camilla's eyes peering out the windows and smooth jazz enveloping the Limo as they drove through the city. Now it just felt like they were really in a movie. It didn't take long before they were out the city and on the road to their destination. The journey took a little while, which was only natural. After all if the DWMA were after someone they'd want to be as far away from the city as possible to do their nasty deeds. Thinking about the enemy they were going to face she couldn't help but be brought back to her earlier worries. What if this was THAT kishin again... Or perhaps worse if that was even possible. Camilla shook her head, refusing to fall down that rabbit hole of doubtful thought again. There's been no sign of activity from that Kishin for the past 7 years. At least none that she's heard of. There was always the possibility it was hunted and killed by now. Yet a possibility like that felt more like a fever dream than anything...

They finally pulled up at their location. A series of abandoned buildings littered the landscape, each one looking on the verge of collapse, it must've been an old residential area that had been left after Kishin activiy built up in the area. The place must be a sort of haven for them now. She couldn't even begin to imagine how many Kishin called the place home now. The mere thought of such an amount of hellish creatures caused her emotions to stir but she quickly calmed herself again. Camilla got out the Limo along with Alcross and waved towards her classmates. Noticing they were a little bit later than the others. At least they didn't go ahead without them. "Hey guys! I hope we didn't miss much!" She said as she approached the rest of the group. Camilla turned to Shinobu and flashed a smile towards her. "And thanks for the ride Shin! Didn't think I'd experience riding in a Limo before!" The girl added, refusing to let her appreciation for the effort of others go unheard. Camilla turned back towards the group, making out who else was present and who was yet to arrive. As luck would have it, Camilla's teammates Alice, Lew, Marcus and Elias were already here. Same goes for the rest of the whole class in fact. The group arrived in time to hear some of the strategies that were being discussed. Alice suggested drawing the enemy out of hiding by blowing some buildings up which earned more than a few disapproving reactions. Baira also made the suggestion of splitting up, which Camilla wasn't sure she agreed with either. "Do we even know how many Kishin we're going up against?" The girl pointed out, looking to make a suggestion of her own. "Maybe we could find some sort of vantage point? Use it to get a good idea of the general area and the numbers we're facing if possible. Splitting up might work against us if we get outnumbered..."

Huntertabbysandshark3

BabyGirlRage

RageFactorXIII

Exanis

GrieveWriter · Aug 6, 2020

Shinobu Basili

She wasn't like them, couldn't ever hope to be like them. The Halloween party had gone far in confirming what Shinobu already knew, yet she wouldn't let something so uncool damage her efficiency. She and Rin still fought the tainted souls roaming the lands, she still did her schoolwork, still cleaned up around the house, still worked at the flower shop and grew her own in what little spare time she had. To an outsider, nothing much had changed for the masked girl. Well, there was one thing that had changed aggressively in her schedule, due most in part to the offer Shinobu had received at the end of the party. But besides that, Shinobu had to change her perspective of what exactly she was.

She wanted to think she was just a regular student along with her classmates and partner, but the party had gone a long way in disproving that. She'd spent far too much of her childhood with the very enemies they were meant to destroy, and because of that... she found it hard to relate to many of those around her. She was far too appearance-savvy to show this concern to others, as she recognized immediately that this little hangup of her's was pretty inconsequential compared to the good they were doing through their assignments for Lord Death. As such, she committed herself to her work once again, working with the same immense style that she was now known for.

Which was why she hadn't batted an eye when the most recent assignment required all of the weapons and students of her class to work together. Perhaps it seemed odd that their class was selected instead of a more experienced one given how dangerous the target was implied to be. Maybe it was worrying that they knew so little about the target itself and even the location around it. But despite all of that, Shinobu kept quiet and immediately offered her limo to any weapon or meister combo in need of transportation. She was in no position to start questioning the orders of Death himself, and simply accepted the need to learn and adapt on the spot.

After gassing up the limo, she did take a moment to say goodbye to a certain someone. Ever since the Halloween party, she'd made it a habit of going to this one specific person and giving her farewells to them in case she didn't come back. For most of the missions this didn't even seems like a concern, yet Shinobu didn't want to risk her falling in combat without this being said. As this specific person was another student of the DWMA, they recognized her concern yet always seemed humored by her farewells whenever she did them. Shinobu could understand that she'd portrayed herself as fairly competent and strong during her stay at the Academy, but that was no excuse for complacency in any field of work.

She left that unsaid though, she wanted to keep interactions with that single specific student clear and straightforward. So yet again she brought them flowers and left after a hug to finish getting ready.

Moments later she was driving around Death City picking up several of her classmates. During the endeavor she wondered why they were travelling to this location separately, as journeying together would undoubtedly nullify allow them to coordinate more effectively. But this was yet another worry she swept under the rug, as the fact that they get there and completed the mission took priority. Arthur and Elgin may have been privy to the fact that Shinobu drove a limo, but the moment she picked up Camilla and Alcross it was clear that this knowledge was not widespread. And why would it be? Shinobu only drove the limo around when it was necessary for their assignments. Much of Death City she could readily navigate on foot, meaning the only people who really knew about the limo were those who had probably rode in it with her during certain missions.

Limos were often seen as an indicator of wealth, but for Shinobu it was more of a token of her past. Just like the mask, just like her fashion sense, that limo was something she'd brought as a reminder. It had been the vehicle she'd used to escape Dormu's burning compound. It had sentimental value to her, and even though she knew it probably would've been more cost and space effective to just sell it and buy a regular car, it didn't feel right to just get rid of it. Plus she was pretty sure it had been used by too many criminals for her to get a good deal on it. So yes, she did roll up to the houses of her classmates and casually ushered them into the back of her limo to the tune of smooth jazz. Giving only a nod and a smirk under her mask at the confusion of some, she efficiently got them out of Death City and on the road towards their assignment.

It was a longer drive than usual, but that just meant it gave lots of time for Shinobu to think on how to approach the situation. When they arrived, Shinobu made sure to park and immediately make her way to the rear of the limo to open the doors for her passengers. Just because they were classmates didn't gave her sense of class. As they exited, Camilla expressed her gratitude thoroughly, which Shinobu could respect.

"Trust me, enough assignments with me and you'll probably get used to it." Shinobu offered while locking the limo behind her. Once that was complete she kept a watch for Rin, who had chosen to join Elias in the ride to their mission. Despite the trepidation she felt upon initially hearing this, Shinobu had a feeling they had a fifty-fifty chance of actually getting to the site or getting into an argument mid-way there and crashing. If Rin was willing to accept those odds, then Shinobu felt obliged to as well. Luckily for her, she spotted Elias very much in one piece with Rin nearby.

Soon she had her weapon in hands again, and after once more getting a feel for her she gave a greeting through their link, Glad to see you guys actually made it, Rin.

Once that was out of the way Shinobu made a quick headcount of those around her, making sure they were at least combat ready before focusing her attention on the suggestions the others were putting forth for how to approach the scenario. She found the options lacking for several reasons.

"Maybe if we had more of an idea of what we were actually looking for I'd probably be thinking more on the offensive." she sighed while making sure to aim Rin away from anyone, reaching up with her free hand to rub at her head "But if the target's strong enough to need all of us here then I'm thinkin' splitting up would be a pretty bad idea. Hell, doing almost anything right now is a risk, but gathering intel comes to mind first."

Walking over, she patted Camilla on the shoulder, "So I'm actually saying we try out Cam's plan first." she said before pointing to the largest abandon building in sight "We get a lay of the land then plot out a course through the rubble for search and destroy. Then we go building to building together, making sure the duos with the most defensive capabilities watch our sides. It'll probably take a while, but ya know... slow and steady and all that. We keep a good formation and we should be good to react if it does try taking us by surprise."

Phayne

Exanis

RageFactorXIII

Huntertabbysandshark3

Exanis · Aug 6, 2020

Takeshi Mifune

Two months. That’s how long it’s been since the Halloween party, since Elvena’s birthday, since that event that nearly made him lash out at a classmate, at Marcus. Two months since the second of a pair became blacklisted in Takeshi’s mind, actions of repercussion held back at Elvena’s behest and desire, to give her face and conform to her demands and views. Two months of classes, missions, and training. The classes, things he barely paid attention to, content in knowing that, if the information was truly necessary, Elvena would either wake him up or make sure he knew it at a later time. The missions, something to merely pass the time, hone their skills and tactics as a partnership, strengthen the cohesion and bond between Elvena and him, and show Lord Death their overbearing prowess. It’s not like he needed any more Kishin souls, their rate of hunting, and immaculate success rate had seen to it that all Takeshi needed to become a true Death Scythe was a witch soul, a state he’s been at for quite a while now. And training. He’s noticed that his daily sessions at dawn have been getting longer as he slowly chipped away at his fossilized urge to improve, Elvena’s common presence during these sessions, and the constant whispering of Ryu in his ear, spurring him to reach forward and break his limits every day, no matter how minuscule it might be. He’d forgotten how good it had felt to improve that one swing, that one step, the feeling of his muscles burning, his lungs lighting on fire, the salty taste of sweat lingering across his lips as his vision became blurry from his exertion. That day at the cafe, he couldn’t truly bring himself to believe his teacher when she had said he had changed, that he had improved, that the self-imposed stagnation he had locked himself in had begun to unravel. Yet now, all these months later from when he had first been shipped here, he finally understood. If he were to face himself when he had first stepped onto the grounds of Death City, it wouldn’t be an endless deadlock, no, he would come out victorious over such a version of himself, and while the victory might not be quick or easy by any stretch of the word, the fact that there would be a victor in the first place warmed something in Takeshi’s apathetic being.

This development, this change. It was all due to the young woman whom he allowed to wield him. The first person he’d ever allowed to wield him, and even then, it was done on a whim to ensure his family wouldn’t hear from the school that he was uncooperative and nag him. A decision based on a bare echo of compatibility and the desire to continue his lazy lifestyle. Never could he have imagined the fallout of that whim. Never could he have known that this soul that he was irreversibly connected to would subtle nudge him, push him, pull him, influence him in such a way that he’d improved just that tiny bit without ever noticing. That this partner of his would corrupt him, yet anoint him, with the very beast running through her blood. Oh he understood quite well that Black Blood and Madness altogether tended to be a very bad thing, that it would threaten to overtake you, warp your mind and your desires, and try to break your very being. And he could tell that Ryu was like that, that the playful, annoying, part-imp part-dragon that lurked in that dark dojo of his soul was nothing short of a personification of pure destruction. And yet? That very corrupted being was the first in over a decade to urge him to improve himself as a swordsman, and not as a weapon. And what did that say about him? That the dark desires of his very soul, hyped up on mystic scientific corrupted blood or otherwise, wanted him to improve? That deep down, beneath the years of bitterness, the hatred and anger towards his family, the apathy towards his craft and himself, that he still wanted to go beyond what he currently was? That, even if he was the best and no one could argue otherwise, he wanted to go even beyond that?

The more time he spent thinking about it as he cloud gazed, or wrote his poetry, or even the semi-rare occasions when he decided to cook, the times where he allowed his body to go on auto-pilot and simply sunk into the depths of his mind, contemplating, the more he came closer and closer to a simple truth. Without Elvena and her influence, he would still be stuck in a never ending rut, held at bay by his own anger and frustrations at the world, his family, and himself, and all of it buried beneath years and years of apathy and disregard. It had changed him, from what he once was, and he knew, oh he knew, he’d never truly return to how he was when he was younger, before his dream died it’s first death. But now, it was slowly being resurrected by a mad scientist and her unconscious machinations, and while he may never truly be rid of this apathy, or this ever-lurking anger hidden in the depths of his soul, his strive to improve was slowly resurging to the surface, and while it may take more time to be readily apparent, he could feel it, the awakening.

Takeshi was dragged out of his thoughts as Elvena spoke to him through their bond, and he refocused onto the current situation. Their whole class had been sent out on a mission to take out supposed high-value targets, and then clear out any remaining low-level stragglers. It sounded simple enough, but Takeshi had his misgivings about it. He simply couldn’t understand why there hadn’t been a single instructor assigned to this mission as well. It wasn’t like there were any classes to teach for students remaining behind, and considering the sheer importance of this specific class of students, especially since they were all first years, at least sending a single meister teacher, if not the meister and their weapon, would go a long way to ensuring that nothing went wrong. This was also ignoring the fact that the teamwork and cohesion of a group this big, that hadn’t don’t much in the way of teamwork exercises, meant that they were bound to run into problems. Elvena and him were already loners, and while Elvena was more than intelligent and skilled enough to play around the other meisters using their weapons, Takeshi felt a strong doubt on it being the other way around. Not taking into account how the both of them had a very… Unique… Style of fighting together, and Takeshi was very much resigned to being a sharp stick for Elvena to use unless something truly unexpected came about.

It didn’t change the fact that he had an overall bad feeling about this mission, from it’s assignment to them, to the nonexistent planning phase between the students, to the separate transportation to the site, to the sheer lack of proper scouting now taking place, and above all, the tense emptiness that they were now seeing.

Taking a moment to recenter himself and extend his senses as far as he could in his given form, Takeshi finally responded to his partner after mulling over her words for a moment longer.’Rather solo. But, Death. Nagging. Play along.’ Huffing out a tired mental sigh, Takeshi kept up his awareness even as his partner laid her face against his weapon form. ’Be ready. Outside, too quiet. Our group, loud. Prepare.’

Interacting: Elvena - Held By(

Kyuubey )
Nearby: Literally Everyone Else - Grouped Nearby(

Phayne ,

Huntertabbysandshark3 ,

Z2010Deadmeat )

Britt-21 · Aug 6, 2020

Interactions:

GrieveWriter /// Nearby:

Phayne ,

Huntertabbysandshark3 ,

Exanis

Despite Elias waiting outside, she had to get her hair brushed. It wasn't easy by any means. Especially since it was so long and she managed to get it knotted instead of being responsible and braiding her hair to prevent that issue. Everything else she had to do was already finished, it was just all the hair she had that slowed her process down. Now, why was Rin at Marcus's and Elias's place? Studying. Literally just studying. Instead of going home, Rin happened to fall asleep at some point. As of this moment, she was paying the price for falling asleep and rushing as much as she could. Just as she got outside, she spotted Elias, a look of annoyance written on his features before he decided to come up with a snarky comment. When he shoved the helmet into her hands, she took it and rolled his eyes while noticing the smirk on his face "You try having long hair like this and you tell me why it took me this long!" with her own huff, she put the helmet onto her head and began to fiddle with the strap till she clicked it in. Of course, Elias started to rev his bike and Rin took no time to waste this time. Getting onto the bike and pressing her smaller frame against his, her hands locking and holding tightly around his waist as he zoomed off, clearly past the speed limit of Death City.

He wasnt wrong, her hair would get messed up. But it was something she could take care of later, but knowing Rin, she liked to look somewhat presentable. That's just how she turned out as she grew up. Resting her head against his back, she began to bask in the warmth that Elias was radiating, even silently admiring it. It reminded her of the Halloween Party. Being in that quiet corner, just herself and Elias hiding away from the world for a little while. The night she finally accepted it and let him in just enough that no one else had access to. Did she regret it? No. Did it feel weird? Yes, yes it did. There were times where she'd try to stand strong with a wall, but he just walked by and slapped it down. Like a childhood bully knocking down the building block castle that she worked hard to build. Her grip had tightened around him slightly as she pouted under the helmet and turned slightly pink, her cheeks puffing up (as much as they could in that helmet) in frustration. Glad that he couldn't see any of her reactions, or else he would probably tease her for those too.

The ride went swell, the engine being the only thing talking between the two before they came up to the rendezvous and suddenly stopped. Rin released Elias and straightened her back, lifting her head a little and unclipping the helmet and pulling it from her head. Now, Elias wasnt wrong when he said her hair would just get messed up anyway. There were strands that were pulled and made her almost look like she never brushed her hair. She confirmed this by looking at the reflection from his helmet and quickly she put it down before using her fingers to try to organize her hair just enough to look presentable. After Elias claimed to stay with her till her partner showed, she couldnt help the furrowing eyebrows as she muttered under her breath "I'm not a baby..." but she did appreciate him staying with her, despite her words saying the opposite. While time slowly began to pass by, it gave her time to fix her twintails and look far better than she did before. Her attention was grabbed when she heard another car approaching, her Crimson eyes taking a look and spotting Shinobu's Limo Good, she made it...Probably has Arthur and Elgin in the back. she thought to herself before suddenly feeling a pat on her head, which made her freeze in place.

Slowly she began to turn and look back towards Elias who met up with his partner and transformed. Now...It took every ounce of her being to hold everything in because they were in the middle of some sketchy buildings, and if she started yelling, it would only draw more attention to the group. Rin shook her head and went over to Shinobu, greeting her with a nod and quickly shifting into her weapon form, finally being held by her partner and feeling the bond. Something about Shin always made Rin relax a little, almost keeping a leveled head. "It's good to see you too, Shinobu." her voice had been calmer than just seconds ago. "If we didn't make it, I'm sure death wouldn't stop me from being here" she joked, smiling a little within her weapon space. Though it faded quickly as everyone began to suggest their own plans of action, the only one sounding remotely sane was Camilla's idea. Explosives were too loud, splitting up was a bad idea. These ideas are too predictable, too open. she thought to herself, looking around them and feeling a chill through her body which made her shudder. "Shinobu. Kishin dont exactly know what quiet is...Not unless they still have some kind of humanity left in them to be aware of what they're doing." her partner knew this. But the feeling of being uncomfortable was causing her mind to go on overdrive, overthinking the situation.

Something was coming.

RageFactorXIII · Aug 6, 2020

The time after the Halloween Party was hectic to put it simply. Llewellyn had tried to spend the remainder of Hallow's Eve spending time with his Meister and her friends to try and truly put forth some effort into strengthening their bond. He had even planned to meet with one of the DWMA Instructors at some point during the next week while he was in a rare, happy mood. Everything was going to work out for the better, even if it meant that Llewellyn would have to take several steps out of his comfort zone to accomplish his envisioned change. However, the next morning something did change. The servant and his Meister were called into Lord Death's office for some unstated reason and Llewellyn had understandably been confused over the summons. When the honey blond male and his Meister did make their way to Lord Death's office Lady Alice was bestowed another Weapon Partner by Lord Death himself. It was a rather surprising turn of events that Llewellyn had been woefully unprepared for that far into the Academy's school year. The servant had truly thought that he would have a Meister, only for the very world to prove to him how foolish such an idea was.

Lord Death attempted to mask the obvious exchange by claiming that Llewellyn and Lady Alice both had a choice to accept the new Weapon, Hitomi, into their current Partnership. The Old Meister had even stated that Alice was a 'Utility Meister', a classification that meant nothing to Llewellyn, to try to placate the young man. Llewellyn saw through the elder being's lies, knowing full well that his time as a Weapon would be cut short once more, but this time the choice was not in his own hands. The choice was Alice's and Alice's alone and Llewellyn would respect whatever decision she made, even if that decision sent him back to the Galant Household. Predictably, the blond girl accepted Hitomi into their partnership and into her residence. The change was not a smooth one.

During the past two months, Llewellyn had been purposely difficult to interact with. He had thought to limit the amount of time he spent around Lady Alice to allow the Meister to grow accustomed to Lady Hitomi and hopefully give the blond girl the time to realize that her new Weapon Partner was overall better for her. Llewellyn had even stepped outside of his Meister's residence to acquire a job within the city in order to distance himself from her. Though, the task of locating a job was difficult and ultimately fruitless for the servant as it only served to rile up Lady Alice even further with what the girl claimed was worry. Additionally, his long ventures outside the house had generated the exact opposite effect that Llewellyn desired. Rather than nudge Alice towards Hitomi, he had inadvertently brought the Meister's attention onto himself. The talk he had with Alice after causing her to worry was not very enjoyable, but it had shown Llewellyn that he was still wanted at least.

The transition was still an uneasy one even after Lady Alice's intervention, yet Llewellyn did his part to attempt to grow accustomed to the new addition. The servant believed he did a good job of it too by simply staying out of Lady Hitomi's way and only speaking to her when she addressed him. Their encounters were brief, short and not too distracting so there was no cause for any new problems to arise. Still, adjusting his schedule to accommodate the newcomer was difficult, especially since Llewellyn now had to wake up even earlier to complete his morning tasks before the others woke up. It probably was not an issue that he went to bed earlier either since he was not always required to wash the dishes.

Lady Alice's telepathic words cut through Llewellyn's musings, reminding the honey blond male that they were currently on a mission. I truly have become more contemplative after being reinstated as a Weapon Partner, haven't I? The servant let out a short sigh within the confines of his Weapon Space. My reflections will have to wait until we are all safely within the walls of Death City. Llewellyn turned his head towards the bright light emanating from his Soul Room's doorway to peer into the outside world, viewing the run down buildings that made up the area. He also saw his classmates looking around with their own Weapon Partners in hand, no doubt having conversations with said partners as well as the other Meister students. The numbers their group had should have reassured him that this mission would be relatively uncomplicated, yet they did not. Though, perhaps that had more to do with the mission's listed difficulty and his own concern rather than his classmates competence.

"I believe Lady Camilla and Lady Shinobu's course of action to be the most prudent and likely to assist the group." Llewellyn had been quiet until this moment, only voicing his opinion once he had heard all of the chatter from the other Meisters. "If we are cautious and gradual in our actions, we will more than likely prevail over any threats within the area." The servant said nothing more through the soul bond he shared with Alice. Though, the servant did continue to peer outwards into the world to ensure that there was nothing spying on the group presently. It would not do to have spent all this time formulating a strategy to deal with the Kishins within the area, only to be thwarted by carelessness or a random adversary's fortune.

The Elder · Aug 7, 2020

From Japan to The Middle of Nowhere

Merely two months within America's DWMA and as a new edition to Alice Drake's and Llewellyn's partnership, here she was within a full on classroom assault against a high value target and several kishins. She's been preparing for this during the past two months, fighting and training along with Alice and Llew. It's sad to admit though, things didn't go as easy as she hoped with the bond experience. Alice and Hitomi seemed to hit it off quite nicely, though Hitomi and Lew was a whole new story. She couldn't help but think he was avoiding contact and interactions with her on purpose, but she never really understood why. She wasn't trying to replace him, nor did she give off that impression. She simply wanted to feel the connection of being apart of a team yet again. Sadly that feeling as yet to fully arrive, she hasn't felt that kind of connection since her late partners death. A death that let her distraught, and stricken with sadness, a death that caused her to get a change in scenery and story. Today marked the day of the classroom assault, and she was in full assault with Alice and Lew ready to go. Arriving on the scene already in weapon form, she heard just about everything going on. Alice's original ides of blowing up the buildings indeed up gaining a bit of attention. It seemed like just about everyone wanted to go for her neck. If Hitomi wasn't in weapon form she probably would've spoken up in her defense, just to back her meister up. Then later in private she'll probably tell her about herself, and how much an idea like that isn't probably ideal for this situation. Listening around though, she did find ideas coming from her team member Camillia. "Honestly Alice, I'm personally not fond of splitting up. There's a lot of areas they could easily ambush us, and that doesn't sit well with me. Though logically speaking if we split it should be after we get a vantage point and map out the area. Is there anyone here who has a long range weapon? If so we could put them up on a high building and keep watch." She says trying to keep her emotions mainly out of it.

RageFactorXIII @

Hubub101 · Aug 7, 2020

Arthur and the Fatal Error
Featuring: Elgin (

Jackaboi ) and the rest, I guess

I hate jazz.

Stepping out of the limo, Arthur took the briefest of moments while he thought no one could see him to massage his temples. The recently diminished team (that now consisted only of himself, Elgin, Shinobu and Rin) had not gone on enough missions together for the young man to even get used to the idea of the limo. But the music... It was awful. Naturally, out of fear of being rude, he said nothing about it and contained his disdain for the genre with all the skill of a professional poker player. It only mildly helped that Shin's driver seat had a divider, leaving Arthur with one of the few people he was starting to get used to. Until they picked up Camilla and Across and his discomfort doubled. He attempted greeting them with a dozen different non verbal gestures at the same time, only succeeding in mimicking a stroke before he turned to stare out the window and not move a muscle until they arrived.

I really hate jazz.

Despite all of that, this mission was exciting. Stepping out of the vehicle and into the ruined city, Arthur could not help but feel energized. A full class scale mission in a destructible, collateral free environment? Hell yes! It didn't set him off in the slightest that this whole place had "ambush" written all over it. As far as he was concerned, he wanted there to be an ambush. No one entity that could remain hidden this long would attempt to take all of them on, which meant they had numbers to contend with. The best kind of mission. However, what did have Arthur on edge, was why the rest of the group was so content with standing within arm's reach, making no attempt to be discreet with planning. A cooked, well placed pipe grenade could wipe most of the group then and there. Which is why Arthur himself did not converge with the group, at least not as closely. As the debate between splitting up and sticking together dragged on, Arthur was just about to take the former option himself. Urban climbing had always been a favorite passtime after combat, and on of the buildings on the group's left looked perfect for a starting lookout point and high ground advantage. But, of course, leave it to his weapon partner to throw a wrench in his gears. With little warning, Elgin had wrapped his arm around Arthur's shoulders. The meister couldn't tell if his weapon was still partially asleep from the limo ride, or just doing that "friendliness" thing he's heard about. Regardless, after a moment of blabber Elgin transformed, and the pressure of personal interaction was replaced with the comfort of being properly armed. While he didn't get to climb something in a timely manor, Arthur felt ready for anything.

Phayne · Aug 8, 2020

[Location: Mission Site]
[Mentions: Shinobu

GrieveWriter Artur

Hubub101 Elgin

Jackaboi Elvena

Kyuubey
[Interactions: Camilla

Jackaboi

The period between that night and the present day had been as close to normal as possible, the only thing preventing it from returning to pure normality being the lingering awkwardness that seemed to appear whenever the pair of them were off-duty and sharing the same space. Despite it being quite apparent that an elephant had appeared in the room and decided to stay, the blue haired boy had not once brought up the fact that he had seemingly vanished for the majority of that night and had instead allowed it to go unaddressed hoping that Camilla did not pry any further into why he had done what he did. That being said, If she had inquired about it, he would have merely told his crimson haired partner that the large crowd of people had made the room and atmosphere feel suffocating for him and that that was why he needed to step out for some fresh air.

Regardless of their relationship as Meister and Weapon and how much time they had spent together since forming the partnership, Alcross was in no rush to reveal certain facts about himself nor was he even considering revealing his reasons for coming to the academy to her either.Call it selfish, but Alcross was adamant on this matter knowing full well that it would be hard to accomplish what he desperately desired if it had been jeopardised. The mere fact that Elvena had brought up his last name in front of Camilla had just been another wrench thrown into his personal goals and agenda and a potential reminder to his Crimson haired partner that he was not just Alcross Wolfgang, the name he had used to introduce himself to her on the first day and to everyone else that they had met during their missions. As far as Alcross was concerned, he was Alcross Wolfgang of the DWMA. He did not need nor want that extra baggage that the Evans family name brought him, but alas despite his best efforts it seemed completely futile to have that part of himself remain hidden, regardless of his efforts to do so.

Eyes appearing to be fixed on the Television screen in front of him, Alcross had instead been lost in thought, glazed eyes only coming back to life when Camilla's voice had pulled his focus away from the swirling thoughts and back to the present. Getting his composure back, the boy quickly grabbed the remote, turning the tv off and getting back onto his feet whilst picking up the folded blue jacket with his free hand. "That's fine" he replied bluntly, knowing full well that there was a good chance there'd be enough space in the car. Whilst not fully aware of the finer details, he had overheard from others that the smartly dressed meister drove a rather big car. With Camilla and Alcross being on the smaller end of the spectrum, he was sure that there'd be more than enough space for the pair of them. "I'll change once we get to the mission location... I've heard she has a big car.. so if its just a few of us there should be enough space to remain unchanged" he added, as he zipped up his jacket and followed Camilla out the door.

Whilst Alcross had been expecting to see a big car, he was still rather caught off guard to see that it was in fact a Limo that the masked meister drove; the choice of car being quite unique for someone in their line of work. While he had been somewhat shocked, it was quite clear that it was his partner whom had been the bigger victim of the surprise between the two of them. While she seemed more excited about the prospect, this mode of transportation was far more normal for the blue haired weapon, having joined his parents on several occasions in the past as they were chauffeured around. A Limo did not carry the 'wow' factor for him, rather it dragged his thoughts back towards his youth.

Getting inside, Alcross quickly took note of the other occupants, the white haired demon weapon Elgin and his brunette haired Meister Arthur, the latter not really posing any issued with Alcross. Rather it was Elgin whom had caused Alcross to be slightly on edge, at least during the beginning of the drive. He had not forgotten the boys actions during the first day. A quick glance to Camilla and back to Elgin, Alcross's concerns were soon brushed aside as he noticed the fellow demon weapon appearing to lose the fight with slumber and while he fought that foe, he'd more than likely not have the energy to put his hands where they didn't belong.

It was a while before they arrived at the mission location, Alcross barely making it out of the car before transforming into his bladed sword form and latching onto his usual spot upon Camilla's back. As far as he was concerned they were on duty the moment they exited the car and considering the enormity of this mission it was best for him to be on guard from the very beginning, even if it seemed to begin with discord between several of the other members on the mission, a division in idea's sparking a bit of conflict between the two modes of actions; a 3rd course being surprisingly vocalised by his own partner Camilla and later supported by Shinobu. "That seems like the safest course of action" replied Alcross, through his link with Camilla. While he saw no need to add to the increasing debate, he at the very least had to let his partner know that he supported her idea.

"That being said... it is quite clear that we have a couple big personalities in the group" he began, peering at several people through the window of his soul room "... and I highly doubt we will come to a compromise anytime soon if they don't put their ego's aside..." sighed Alcross, turning away from the window and walking over towards the back of his soul room. "Camilla.. be on your guard at all times... even if we are with a large group it doesn't make me feel anymore comfortable, especially with no sign of leadership. As it stands, we are just a bigger target for whom or whatever our target is" voiced Alcross, leaning against the wall before eventually sliding down onto his rear; deadpan eyes glancing back up at the window and watching as the discussion on what they should do next continued. "Missions like this should have had some kind of meeting beforehand... to decide who would lead and who would follow... what our course of action would be... instead we come here sporadically and find ourselves squabbling with one another in the middle of Kishin territory... " Alcross paused, deciding that his input was not really helping matters, especially when it was only towards his own partner and not everyone else. "... Camilla.. if things go south... You are my priority... even if that means the worse for everyone else.." he muttered softly as he glanced away from the mirror, his eyes catching the briefest of movements from the dark shadows of the far corner.

Z2010Deadmeat · Aug 8, 2020

GWEN

"Something's bugging me." A rare thing to hear come from the girl that enjoyed living life fast and without hesitation. It was something that was on her mind since the order came in for the duo to link up with their fellow teammates to investigate the abandoned buildings dotting the landscape before them. It was no secret that Baira and herself have been hunting Kishin down like it was going out of style; or the fact she had started enjoying snacking on the evil souls to bring her closer to becoming a Death Scythe. Still something just didn't sit right with her even as she listened in on the others as they arrived. Heck Gwen wasn't even annoyed by the fact Shinobu was flaunting that awesome limo that drove up and parked right next to the Dark Irina nearby. Whenever she was in her weapon form she kept her chatter down to a minimum. It was a habit she picked up while racing actually. This wasn't an anime where the characters could talk about their actions in the heat of battle and not suffer consequences.

Yet as everyone started asking questions like "What should we do?" or "How many kishin do you think are here?" that made Gwen even more worried about their situation. She was starting to get flashbacks to the Ghost Ship. When her suggestion for a loud noisy distraction was dismissed and then they were forced to follow a "figure it out as we go" approach. That cost a child her life.

No.

No. No.

NO!

Not repeating that little experience again!

They needed to get organized!

"This isn't going to work Baira. Everyone is just throwing out ideas or has no clue what to do themselves. We need everyone on the same page. Playing off their strengths to figure a single solid plan." This felt like her Healing Wavelength talking instead of her usual high octane mood. Her whole body was rigid in fear of them getting each other hurt by not working together. When it was just herself and Baira she wasn't usually this tense. Right now though they needed everyone gathered up and discussing a plan. It was actually bugging her more that their teachers didn't set this up in advance. Was it some kind of test for them to decide how to operate together instead of just telling them? "Let's try getting everyone to gather up first before we go murdering Kishin to our heart's content."

Jackaboi · Aug 8, 2020

In the back of Shinobu's limo, Elgin was in a sort of peaceful state. Why you may ask? Because for once he could enjoy the car ride without feeling Rin's deathly aura whenever he was near her. Not to mention Arthur wasn't anywhere near as bad as he was since the first mission going after that weirdo with the witch toys. Enjoying his moment he spent most of the journey napping. Stirring himself half awake as Shinobu came to a halt earlier than expected. Opening his eyes slightly to see what was going on, it turned out that Shin was picking up some others too. More specifically the red and blue haired duo Camilla and Alcross. Once he met the gaze of the quiet weapon. His peaceful journey turned back just to the way it was before. Except instead of the murderous aura that exuded off of Rin, it was instead one of distrust and judgement. He honestly couldn't tell which was worse. Tch... Shin coulda told me she was picking up others. He thought to himself, but immediately he briefly remembered Shin telling him something while he was engrossed in a manga he bought a day ago. O-oh... Right... Like that he closed his eyes again and tried return to the land of peace. Which proved difficult with Alcross' distrustful aura but eventually got to that point again. Finally coming to a halt once more, they were parked on the outskirts of a sort of ruin. An area filled with large scale buildings left to rot away, just like a sort of post-apocalyptic setting for a movie. Honestly Elgin was kinda diggin' it.

It was only natural that Kishin was lay low in a place like this. Far away from civilisation but just curious enough to make prey of the adventurous types who decide to poke their noses where they don't belong. Not that this group was any different. But how bad could it be? Sure there may be a ton of kishin in there but with the whole class involved they could easily wipe the place clean. There was a squabble going on about how to proceed forward however. Something that Elgin was sort of surprised about. "Wait... We don't have a plan?" He said aloud, a voice of slight disbelief was apparent. He thought he was the only one who never listened in class and assumed he'd just get someone to fill him in when they were there. But the fact that no one seemed to know what to do was concerning at best. Not to mention how quiet it was considering they were RIGHT outside what could be called a kishin nest. With a bunch of souls standing around ripe for the picking. He walked up behind Arthur and put his arm over his shoulders, preparing to shift forms. "I wouldn't make any moves just yet dude. I know you're probably itchin' to get in there... Hell I'm looking forward to it too." He shifted into his Gunblade form before finishing what he had to say through their link. "But I'm not sure I like where this is going. You'd think with so many souls standing around in one spot we'd be an irresistible meal? So why isn't there anything attacking us?" He finished. His face the picture of concern and alertness. Keeping a close eye on the window to the outside world located on the back of the soul spaces Manga.

@Hubub101(Interacted)

Phayne