Forum Thread

Nox watches this whole thing with a shocked expression. Her and Sena seemed to be thinking the same thing: he wasn't even going to fight this? She releases him and puts away her dagger. A pitied look appears in her eyes as she picks up the bag of cash. She doesn't need this much. She grabs a small handful, pocketing what she needs and holding the rest out to him. "Ha, I fooled you!" She says with a fake giggle. "Um.. this was just a test...to-" her voice becomes weaker as she fights to think of an excuse. "...To see how kind you are! You passed. So here you go"

Tipping his head, Leo blinked once. Twice. Before looking down at Sena. Then back up at Nox. "That sounds pretty stupid. You just wanted to rob me, right? Then why give it back? Hnnnnn wait wait wait don't tell me, let me guess!" Laughing like this was a normal occurrence, getting robbed of all things, Leo held out a hand as he tried to think of why Nox would try and return his money. "Hnnnnn oh I know!! You want my music right? Wait just a second, I'll whip something real good for you! Wahaha, inspiration has come!! I can see it now, its flowing, I can't stop it now! Wahahaha!!" Turning around, he began writing on the walls again, hand furiously moving as music filled the walls once again.

Sena sighed and sat down to scratch the back of his head. "Take the money." He finally grumbled, standing guard over his eccentric travel companion. "He's right, we don't need that much. We make too much anyways with all the odd jobs we do. You look like you need it more than we do."

---

"I-" she sighs and simply waits to see whatever song Leo comes up with. She mind as well, she did try to rob him. It was the least she could do. She silently waits for him until Sena speaks. "I really don't need this much cash" Nox tells Sena, looking quite ashamed of herself. "But I have a feeling I cannot argue otherwise. So thank you" she tells them both. She lowers her voice as she is speaking with Sena so that she doesn't interrupt Leo.

"What are you thanking me for? It's Ou-sama who gave you the money anyways." Sena huffed, curling up before jolting as Leo suddenly flung himself backwards to sprawl on top of the cat. "Wha- Ou-sama! Get off me!" the familiar yowled to which Leo only laughed and obliged, rolling to the side to display his masterpiece.

"Wahaha! So prickly Sena! Loosen up! Look look I've composed another masterpiece! Ahhh, Bach must be rolling in my grave at me ingenious mind. Wahahaha!!" Laughing as he kicked his legs like the overgrown manchild he probably was, Leo looked up at Nox with the biggest grin. "There!! Now you have my music to keep forever and ever! Wahahaha isn't that the best present?!"

---

Nox couldn't help but grin at Leo. In a world where she was faced with death almost every day, it was really refreshing to see this level of happiness and innocence. "It's wonderful" she tells him in full honesty as she reads what he had written. "You have a real talent. I'm quite honored"

"Wahaha! Of course! My only use in this world is to compose! What use would I have if I can't even do what I was made to do?!" He giggled, picking up a disgruntled Sena and rubbing his cheek over his soft fur. "Well, I guess we should go, huh? Bye bye~" Wriggling his fingers, Leo picked up his Nyaitsu which had been sleeping peacefully. Waving in exaggerated motions, Leo skipped down the tunnels towards the main section.

---

Morpho comes back to Luke, telling him what happened, then goes into Luke’s pocket where Morpho liked to rest. Luke sneaks around a bit in the dark. He didn’t like it when people watched him. He felt like they were too focused on him and wanted something with him. He walks to an enclosed area in the underground tunnels and he takes out his guitar. It was red and acoustic. He tuned it a bit and then looked around to make sure nobody was watching, then he started playing High Hopes on his guitar. He hadn’t seen anybody, so he assumed that nobody would come in and see.

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗛𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘
AND 𝗗𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦

[ 𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 Defiant; Haunted; Uneasy; - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Icarus’s Stronghold Tunnels - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦 Icarus/Osiris ]
xxxxxxThe blackness wasn’t what caused the well of panic to rise up in her throat like a burst flood; as her hands scraped the walls of the tunnel, a blind panic seemed to engulf her very being. This was not the first time that she’d ben trapped within a catacomb, with the dead buried within. She would very much like to deny that she was shaking, but when she felt the walls closing in on her, she had to fight the buried instinct to outright bolt to the other side. Behind her, the closed grate blocked out what sound could be heard from the outside. They truly were very isolated from the surface, Eden reflected with no small amount of unease and foreboding. On the border of her mind, Daedris’s essence must have sensed her fretting, and a small thread of his other self gently caressed her mental shields nudgingly, gently. It was an effort, however, to keep herself moving with the crowd, which pressed in even more than the walls around her.
xxxxxxA hoarse voice out of the shadows demanded her attention once more, pulling part of her attention (mercifully) from the restricting, too-close walls of the stronghold’s tunnel. Through the gloom, she could make out his form again, his pale sky-blue eyes staring into hers. Eden couldn’t help pursing her lips a bit, turning away from him. His voice trailed her through tunnel; gracing her with its warm, mellifluous quality. She shed the biting unease that was turning her shoulders inwards, and began to take on the tread of a free-woman, holding her head high and shoulders back. Most of the people who strode past her, soldiers mostly, gave her a bit of a berth. Eden wasn’t surprised that her reputation would precede her down here, but if even the soldiers were this uneasy toward her, she didn’t want to imagine the clamor the other survivors would put up when they saw her.

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗦𝗦
AND 𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗗𝗘

[ 𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 Vigilant; Alert; - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Icarus’s Stronghold Tunnels - 𝗔𝗚𝗘 20 - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦 Alone ]

Icarus walked alongside Eden until the tunnel opened up into the massive bunker it led to, his heart breaking and fixing itself over and over again. He watched the soldiers eye the poor girl warily, giving her plenty of space. A few people were whispering, others simply glaring. He didn't like that they were doing so. Casting his gaze around, he saw more than a few newcomers, some probably having heard the bell then seen the retreat. One soldier pointed to Icarus as soon as she saw him, and a small family stood up and shuffled over. He felt guilty when they thanked him, hearing them say "free shelter" almost made him wince. The others were charging these poor people? He smiled and took their hands, thanking them for staying there. He watched as the disappeared again, then turned to Eden. "Would you mind a visit to communications?" He gestured to a small doorway, a few different types of radios barely visible belong it. "I have a few calls I need to make." No sooner had he finished the sentence did a large man push past him. He stumbled forwards, nearly running ramming into Eden.... For the second time in his life.

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗛𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘
AND 𝗗𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦

xxxxxx— 𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦; Defiant; Cold; Wary; - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Stronghold Main Lobby - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦; Icarus; — 

xxxxxxWell it could’ve been worse; keeping her expression carefully neutral while meeting the hostile glances of the survivors. She couldn’t help pulling her lips back in a sneer, disdain at these people’s inaction. These people are blameless, theoretically, but their burning glances exuding judgement made her eyes narrow defensively, her inner darkness snarling inwardly. She seemed to be significantly more disgruntled than before when she met Icarus’s eyes and outstretched hand, as well as his always gentle voice. ”Would you mind a visit to communications? I have a few calls I need to make.” She eyed the doorway in question warily, grimacing slightly to herself for whatever damn reason. She had been feeling … off since coming here, as if that should be a surprise for the city’s most notorious assassin. Her gaze traveled to the outstretched hand, patient as ever; yet the moment was abruptly interrupted when a burly man shoved past Icarus, sending the slighter male careening into her. The fae, somewhat startled, took a few steps back in order to give him space. The brute barreled on, clearly unaware of the disruption he’d caused, and Eden was given time to re-compose herself. Somehow, he looked a bit familier, but she couldn’t openly put her finger on it. And consider the original offer. “I don’t mind. Better there than here anyway.”

Icarus smiled, his open hand falling to his side. Beckoning her to follow, he led the way to the radio room. Upon reaching the room, he pulled a chair up to a larger radio with a sort of microphone attached. Sitting down, he beckoned Eden to sit in the chair that had already been there, a slightly larger and more comfortable one. Scooting his steel chair a little closer, he grabbed two pairs of headsets and plugged them in to some of the various jacks there. It was far too clear he'd been doing this daily for the three years of hell the earth had gone through. Putting on one of the headsets, he pulled the microphone from it's clip and held down the button, speaking in to it: "This is I-Alpha, are any other stronghold currently accepting signals?" He waited a few seconds, then repeated the message, then waited again and repeated.

Nox watches Leo leave with an amused smile. When she can no longer see him through the darkness she turns around to head back the way the came. Or at least... she tries to. Freyja had once again shifted and had bitten her cloak to stop her from moving. "Will you stop doing that?" Nox asks her familiar. Her tone incredibly impatient. "We have what we need, so let's go!" Have you already forgotten? Freyja asks Nox. The monsters are out. You may be stealthy, but you aren't that stealthy. They'll find you in a moments notice Freyja explains. "So what are you suggesting? That we hide in the tunnels? No... that's out of the question. There are too many people around!" There is an unfamiliar tone in Nox's voice... fear. She didn't like the idea of being stuffed into a crowded area, especially with her background. You'll be fine Freyja assures Nox. She releases the cloak and walks behind Nox, nudging her forward with her head. Nox sighs and moves forward, she could at least hold comfort in the fact that her dagger was only a small reach away. What if one of Bear's associates were here? Or a trigger-happy citizen who would love nothing more than to take care of Nox them self? I'm being too paranoid, if someone were to attack me, they would've done it already Nox reminds herself, this thought helps her relax.

Luke just continues playing his guitar in the little area that he found in the big area. He didn’t really like to be around people except if he was killing them, which he normally didn’t do. He closes his eyes. This is one of the few things that helped calm him down after he killed something.

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗛𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘
AND 𝗗𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦

xxxxxx— 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚; Vigilant; Skeptical; - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 I-Alpha Communication Room - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦; Icarus; — 

xxxxxxEden followed the male into the deeper reaches of the base, her cheeks heating as his gaze somewhat lingered on her; needlessly somewhat grateful to be moving away from the too-crowded strongholds with the soldiers and the shattered families. Even though she was somewhat blessed by Icarus’s calming aura, her heart was still clenched uncomfortably tight; tight, tight anxiety prickling through her senses. She willed herself into a semi-steady pace, keeping just over a respectable distance from Icarus as she maneuvered her way through the crowd. The whispers of the people around her, their glances, whispered over her skin, crawling through it.

Nox stays by the walls of the stronghold. She finds herself looking at every single person that was around her. Her gaze never remained on a single person for more than a few seconds before she is assessing the next person. Old habits die hard, and if someone was going to recognize and confront her, she'd rather have the advantage of knowing their build and weapons so that she knew how to act. She spots movement in the corner of her eye. She turns her head, and gasps. A large man was moving towards her, and he looked pissed.
Bear... or should I say Doug Beckard? Nox signs. Freyja perches onto her shoulder, unknowingly digging her talons into Nox's shoulder, which she didn't really notice. Both were alert, and watching Bear's every movement.
"Nox" Bear growls the name. He stops about six feet away from her. "I wondered how long it would take for me to locate you"
Quite a pleasure to meet you Freyja repeats sarcastically. Need something? Nox wanted to keep Bear talking. This gave her time to think of a plan. Bear received his name for a reason. He was more animal than man, had more muscle than brains. But this meat-head was dangerous. Nox had no doubt that if she ran Bear could easily catch her. She didn't spot weapons on him, but that didn't mean he didn't have anything. She tightens her grip on the handle of her dagger, which is concealed in her pocket.
"How dare you smart mouth me. You kill my men and pay off my workers. Boy! Do you even know who you are facing!?" Bear shouts. He takes a step forward, expecting to cause a reaction out of her. Nox resists the urge to step back. She simply gives him the same bored expression.
Again with the mis-gendering? It's getting old. Have you ever considered that your men were killed out of self defense?... I can't really make an excuse about the workers. You are just a sh*tty boss. Nox couldn't help herself. The verbal jab felt great, even if this fueled Bear's rage. She quickly noticed that people were watching them, but nobody dared step forward to help her. If she wanted to survive this, she would have to force him to underestimate her.
"Female?" Bear asks. He turns his head, trying to get a better look of Nox. He smirks, as if he was now noticing it. "Impressive, but not impressive enough. You've been a huge thorn in my side from the beginning" he moves his coat aside, showing the barrel of a gun. "It's about time I got rid of it-" his eyes suddenly widen. He isn't looking at Nox, he is looking over her shoulder. Who was scaring him so badly? She didn't dare turn around, this could easily be a trick. She would be d*mned if she fell for a trick as childish as this

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗛𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘
AND 𝗗𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦

xxxxxx— 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚; Brutish; Alert; Vengeful; - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Stronghold Court - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦; Icarus; Nox/Freyja; — 

—

xxxxxxReputation precedes you even in the worst of places was a lesson that Eden had learned several times over this rocky rollercoaster of a day. Even down here, among the city’s most tremulous survivors, the name Stormhunter invoked a different sort of fear than most names. The fear…it was somewhat primal; the way mortals cringed away from death, which they all to often associated with the owl they often saw before they saw the lady beneath the hood. Her hand never strayed far from the blade for even a second as her unnaturally graceful strides brought her closer to the alteraction of Nox and … the same burly man that had been not-so-subtly annoying her these past few minutes. People, unsurprisingly, moved out of Eden and Daedris’s way, their fear singing across her tongue. Even down here, they were afraid and rightfully so. One movement would be all it took to end their lives.
xxxxxxThe sooty owl on her shoulder fixated his gaze with brutal intensity on Doug Beckard, dark feathers ruffling as if he was about to take off. How often was it that prey played right into her hands. Not often at all, and this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Eden didn’t even need to say a word; however that brute had heard her deathly-soft footsteps was a curiosity. The expression on his face was one she’d seen all too often. Daedris at her side snarled softly in pleasure, lips peeling back to reveal razor sharp fangs and strings of saliva. Blood-thirst oozed off her spirit partner, from his stance. But that didn’t change her frighteningly calm tone of voice, lethal like ice over water, dagger over flesh. “Doug Beckard. Step away from my client.”

Icarus rubbed his face, then turned to look at Eden, who he found was not there. Removing his headset, he unplugged the both of them and hung up the microphone. Pushing the chair he had pulled over off to the side, he stood up. "Eden?" He poked his head out the doorway, then nearly fell over backwards. "Osiris, alert the guard." The harrier sprang from the back of his neck and flapped on silent wings, across the bunker high overhead. He dove into a doorway a few moments later. Icarus advanced, his hand resting on his axe. "Eden, whatever you're doing, don't do it here." His voice was a fierce hiss, his free hand gesturing to the families and children scattered around the area.

It appeared that Nox was wrong. Somebody did come and help, and this somebody was all she would need. She fights the urge to laugh out loud at Bear's terrified expression. There was an odd satisfaction on seeing this giant tremble.
"Client?" He asks fearfully. It takes him a minute too long to put two and two together. He looks down at Nox, almost forgetting that she was still standing there. "I am going to kill the both if you!" He shouts. "Nobody places a hit on me and comes out alive!" He whirls his gun out, pointing it at Eden. But he had made a crucial mistake. He was close to her, way too close. Eden could easily grab the gun if she wanted to. But Nox wasn't going to wait and see if Eden would do that. She grabs her knife and jabs his arm. Fortunately for the both, the brute didn't have his finger on the trigger. He drops his gun and holds his arm, crying out in pain. Nox turns away from the sight, but only to see what Eden will do now.
Come on, resume the show Nox encourages. She still doesn't speak with Eden directly. Not yet. By now, Bear was slowly recovering. The wound was deep, but not too deep. Nox was careful about that, she wanted Eden to have her fun.
"That hurt" Bear growls. Nox rolls her eyes at this, giving him a look that says of course it does! Bear steps forward, his attention back on Stormhunter. He saw her as the biggest target, she was too unpredictable. He suddenly charges forward, looking inclined on tackling Eden.

Icarus cursed quietly as the barricade of a drug lord charged Eden. Her hand was resting on her dagger, but he didn't realize that. Sprinting forwards as soon as the beast began his charge, he grabbed Eden's shoulders and managed to push her aside. How she had remained calm in that place, he did not know. The man barreled into Icarus, and he felt something crack. There goes my sternum... Sprawling through the air, he hit the wall next to the doorway to the radio room. His voice was a whisper, "Guards..." He saw Osiris fly out and knew they were already on their way.

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗛𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘
AND 𝗗𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦

xxxxxx— 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚; Enraged; Alert; - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Stronghold Court - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦; Icarus; Nox/Freyja; — 

xxxxxxEden knew it could take a lot to remain unfazed, calm in her situation, row as no more response from her than usual when the brute charged her outright like a bull. But to her, with her impeccably terrifying words and deathly aura, it was effortless. She could name at least five things off with his stance without even thinking. Her hand tightened, muscles in her leg already planning out where she wad going to hit on instinct. Fights like this happened so often that to her, this was an old dance, a song long memorized. Everything, even his steps and war cries, were so purposely calculated into the one blow it would take to bring him down. Even the gun didn’t scare her; his temper would surely make him miss a shot. She knew from experience that a certain level of killer instinct went into using a gun correctly.
xxxxxxWell, it was all on rhythm until something - Icarus - barreled into her. Eden hissed, toppling off balance, just catching herself in time to see, no hear Icarus take the full impact of the charge. The crack, seeing him on the ground, helpless, it undid some .., tether in herself, and it wasn’t even fury that flooded her senses in a violent wave; it was cold rage that drove her forward. One vicious kick broke bone in the males leg, dropping him to the ground with a roar. Was it a coincidence that it hit a nerve cluster? No, not for her. She put one foot on his chest to keep him down, and when she spoke, her voice sent a lash of terror through all who heard it; cold and horrifyingly calm.
xxxxxx“Allow me to be very clear. You have no chance of standing above me. To kill you would be truly a pleasure, but it is even better to see the fear course through you. You’ve overstepped boundaries Doug, with me and my client. Send a blessing to God that I will not kill you tonight. But I will find you, as I find all my targets, and I will make your death hell.”