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Post by Jisui on Jul 6, 2016 22:39:34 GMT -5
Mars ability of precognition captured the possible destruction of all creation. Living, inanimate, human, inhuman. It didn't discriminate, nor did it care what was being destroyed.
A vision of ruin so to speak.
Thus, it wasn't impossible for Mars to foresee the end of inhuman beings... such as beasts.
At least, he thought that was a beast standing in front of him.
Towering near Mars' midsection, a great wolf with fur the color of falling snow stood straight ahead. It was a wolf... but not quite. At least, it was no wolf that he had seen before. Dark blue streaks ran about the beast's fur, glowing softly with a pale light in the darkness of the night. Similarly, its eyes were gleaming an eerie azure shine, darting back to Mars warily as if gauging if he was a threat. With the slightest of movement, a hazy wreath of energy seemed to move with it like a living fog.
It seemed more spirit than beast.
Mars might have thought it one too, if not for the two arrows sticking out of it. One was piercing its left leg, and the other was buried into its right side. Despite the steady pool of blood that was accumulating below it however, it let loose a feral growl at the newcomer.
His eyes snapped about the perimeter, tracking where the arrows had landed from.
Four trappers, all armed with bow and daggers. Tall, but thin men. Probably not too well off. Their bows had not dropped upon seeing Mars. The middle one of them stepped forward, a grim looking man with shaggy blonde hair and a greedy gaze.
"Too late mate. All ours. We're not splitting the coin from this one."
"Yeah." Mars' scarlet eyes narrowed slightly, unconsciously making the man step back. "You're not."
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Post by SlvrNight on Jul 7, 2016 14:32:38 GMT -5
Sasha stopped several yards away, well beyond the vision of the strangers. They'd see a humanoid shape where she was but she likely wasn't close enough for them to bother paying much attention to her yet. But she was fully able to see what was going on. A wounded animal, likely being hunted by the four men, and Mars confronting them. She could hear his heartbeat, could tell he was ready for a fight. The heartbeats of the men showed some were annoyed while the one speaking to the mercenary directly was gradually becoming filled with fear. She couldn't blame him for that considering Mars's scarlet eyes.
Causing all this over a wild animal seemed a bit odd to Sasha. But, then again, she knew people had different values and experiences with animals. It wasn't like she disagreed with helping to lessen their suffering anyways. But, on top of all that, she needed Mars to remain on her side and keeping a good working relationship with him was an easy way to go about it.
The sound of crunching snow approached Mars and the hunters, with Sasha stopping next to him and taking a good look at the group in front of her.
"I'd let this one go, guys. Better to walk away intact than to push this further. My associate here-" Sasha put a hand on Mars's shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze, giving a small hint of her annoyance with him running off silently. "-isn't exactly good at keeping people attached to their limbs when in a fight. Like I said, best to walk away from this instead of taking a permanent crippling injury."
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Post by Jisui on Jul 7, 2016 15:47:47 GMT -5
Everyone's eyes snapped to the detective as she entered the clearing, including a certain mercenary.
Well... Mars hadn't thought that out all the way. He should have anticipated Sasha following him after he took off without any warning. Rather than keep her out of harm's way, he had put her in it.
Norman would not be pleased.
Mars flinched a bit when Sasha's hand rested on his shoulder, wincing as the detective's grip tightened. Seemed she wasn't too happy with him at the moment either. It'd probably be wise to apologize after this. But first to take care of business.
"You joking? We've been tracking this one for days!" The leader of them exclaimed incredulously. "You gonna deny us work over a wild beast?"
The wolf, now down to its hind-legs, growled dangerously at the trackers, patches staining its white fur. In most cases, Mars would be inclined to agree with the men. Strictly speaking, they hadn't done anything wrong. But, it was just too bad. Gut feeling aside, Mars happened to have a soft spot for animals.
"We've got you outnumbered four to two. What makes you think we'd walk away?" The blonde man scoffed, heedless of Sasha's warning. After all, they didn't seem like the most intimidating pair. Sasha seemed completely unarmed, and Mars didn't even have a right arm.
"...Don't try it." Mars warned, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes that unnerved them. Despite his words, he truly would prefer if it didn't boil down to that. Maybe he would have been more willing if he was alone, but with Sasha here...
"B-Boss... I think I recognize that one." One of the other trackers suddenly spoke up, a fearful undertone to his voice. "It's... It's one of Salm's. Scarlet, I think."
Suddenly, Sasha's words about Mars' limb severing ability seemed all too relevant.
While somewhat amused at the way they broke out in nervous murmurs as if speaking about the boogieman, Mars saw his chance. The mercenary quickly reached into his back pouch and tossed a small leather sack at the leader, who caught it apprehensively.
"Compensation. Just walk away."
He saw the blonde haired man open the pouch and instantly freeze, eyes opening at the glint of coin. Holding back the urge to lick his lips, the tracker turned to the rest of his group and gestured in the opposite direction.
"...Come on boys. Not worth the trouble."
And just like that, they turned tail and fled, eager to both escape Mars and spend their newfound coin.
Mars let out a slight breath as it ended, turning to the detective and flashing her a somewhat apologetic look. He wasn't particularly good with words, so he hoped that it would do for now. For now, there was another issue to take care of.
The wolf-like beast locked gazes with the pair from a distance, still snarling and unsure whether they were a threat.
"...Stay here." Muttering what he probably should have said earlier to Sasha, Mars placed his lone arm far away from his weapons and began to take slow steps towards the creature.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jul 10, 2016 15:23:12 GMT -5
Sasha watched the whole ordeal silently, seeing Mars buy off the hunters with his own bag of money. It was a surefire way to avoid a physical conflict, and it worked, but she felt some pity for him for having to use his own money to resolve the issue. Either Mars was well off financially or saving this animal meant that much to him. But why? Was he that big of an animal lover or was there something else at play?
The detective nodded at the mercenary's words, staying in place and letting him approach the injured beast. It was looking at him cautiously and snarling. She wasn't surprised by this. It had just managed to avoid death at the hands of some people and now it was left with two more. To expect it to understand what just transpired, let alone be grateful for it, was foolish and delusional.
Sasha sighed quietly and observed, waiting to see what exactly Mars planned to do.
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Post by Jisui on Jul 10, 2016 16:51:44 GMT -5
Mars wouldn't have been to explain what compelled him to throw away his coin for the creature, let alone leave the person he was supposed to protect. He barely understood himself. The coin wasn't a huge deal for him, most of his funds went into... other matters anyway. It was his own personal spending money. Still, it was uncharacteristic of him to be so nonchalant about it.
It was true that he was fond of animals. But that alone ordinarily wouldn't be enough to go to such lengths.
This... beast. Wolf. Creature. It was strange, he thought to himself. Why did he feel so calm near it? There wasn't the slightest trace of fear in him while walking towards it.
His scarlet eyes locked with its, a shade of pale blue reminiscent of a frosty sky. With each step Mars took towards it, the wolf's snarls slowly began to die down. Finally, when the two were face to face, the wolf seemed completely unperturbed, only letting out the occasional low growl to show its current pain. In a bizarre act of trust, it bent down to allow the mercenary to treat it, who immediately began working on removing the arrows.
It was as the two had been companions all their lives.
Several minutes of silence passed, and Mars finished removing the arrows and wrapping the wounds with bandages and gauze. After finishing his impromptu first aid work, the mercenary took a breath and stepped back from the large beast (which he now guessed was a female). The wolf slowly pushed off with her legs, moving about the clearing gingerly. While slow to move, it appeared to be fine, a testament to either Mars' first aid ability or its resilience.
Just when Mars thought that the odd spirit-like wolf would elegantly disappear into the distance like its appearance suggested, it instead kicked off with surprising force at him. Knocking him clean to the ground (and that was a large feat), the mercenary was too surprised to defend himself against a series of face licks and excited whines. Still somewhat dazed, he was unable to prevent the animal from repeating the procedure to Sasha.
Hm. It seemed grateful.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jul 11, 2016 18:12:28 GMT -5
Sasha was taken aback at how quickly the animal's attitude changed. One moment it was snarling, ready to strike out in a moment's notice, but the next it was jumping all over Mars and licking his face like a pet who had finally been reunited with its owner after a year of separation. Indeed, he had helped to treat the creature's wounds but such a reaction was nowhere near expected. But it was fine. It was a far better outcome than the beast attacking them in a desperate struggle to survive and forcing them to kill it.
The detective folded her arms with a smile tugging at the ends of her lips. She had no problem with this so long as it ignored her.
Then she saw its eyes move to her and its feet move. Its heart beating loudly with whatever it was feeling (obviously joy) and the sound of its paws crushing against the snow getting louder. Despite her enhanced senses, Sasha was still human. She had no superhuman reaction speeds so was completely unable to dodge the wolf as it lunged at her, knocking her down and licking her face repeatedly.
"Agh!" Sasha sputtered between licks. "Come on! I didn't even do anything here! Go back to Mars, he's the one who did all the work!"
Normally being licked by a wolf wouldn't be too bad for most people. But for Sasha, it was actually pretty terrible. She could feel the texture of the creature's tongue fully and the scent of its breath and saliva filled her nostrils. It smelled just like a wild beast would.
Which meant it smelled absolutely horrific.
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Post by Jisui on Jul 12, 2016 17:05:15 GMT -5
"Come on, off now..." Mars hastily muttered to the beast, carefully prying it off of Sasha after realizing what it was probably like for her. He supposed that was the drawback of having enhanced senses. After determining that the wolf wasn't going to jump either of them, he quickly helped Sasha up to her feet.
After a few seconds of removing wolf saliva from their faces, a silence overtook the clearing as Mars took another look at the wolf.
There it was, snow white fur still glowing a pale icy blue with a faint misty haze accentuating its movements. It was unlike any other wolf Mars had seen in his life, and probably the most beautiful in its elegance. And yet...
It was happily wagging about its tail and staring at him with intelligent, affectionate blue eyes. Was this a wild animal, or a pet? What happened to that proud, growling beast they saw five minutes ago?
More importantly, what would they even do with it? No... that was a stupid question. Obviously it would go back to the wild where it belonged.
"Lets head back to the tent." Mars suggested to Sasha, gesturing as he began moving out of the clearing. It was getting close to night, as the cold chill of the air seemed to get a little sharper.
"...Hey." The mercenary awkwardly began during their trek back, cutting the silence between them. Mars sensed that the detective was still slightly annoyed over his stunt. He didn't particularly regret it given the results, but she was still put in more danger than she should have been.
"Sorry about earlier. It won't happen again."
A bark capped off his words, causing him to sigh.
Glancing back, Mars saw the wolf happily bounding after the two. Despite his best efforts, it seemed to stick closer to Mars than a drunk Selatia. He still wasn't sure of what to do with it.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jul 15, 2016 20:26:18 GMT -5
"It won't happen again'?" Sasha repeated with heavy disbelief. Someone who ran off without a word to a scene he had nothing to do with was highly unlikely to avoid repeating it. Especially with the complete mystery as to how Mars even knew what was happening. They weren't camped anywhere near that area and with Sasha's senses she would have detected something about it long before the mercenary would have.
"You ran off without a word, Mars." The detective said, turning to look at him as they walked and ignoring the wolf's bark. "You disappeared into the wind and found a situation that was nowhere near us. I have no idea how you could have even known what was happening unless you have some sort of arcane link with this land, or animals, or maybe even some kind of damn precognition." She sighed, pushing this new mystery out of her mind.
"My point is, people who do that tend to have a habit of it. Are you a vigilante of some kind, Mars? Maybe you see yourself as something similar to various heroes of the past back in their younger years? I admire those who have the ability to ignore the law and do the right thing, but that doesn't make it any less a pain in the ass."
Sasha moved her gaze from Mars and looked ahead again as they began to approach the camp. In all honesty, she wasn't exactly angry. Annoyed, yes, and very surprised, but not angry. This was going to be a difficult case however, and she needed to know exactly what page her allies were on.
"I just need to know if I can actually count on you or if I'll have to deal with random disappearances from time to time."
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Post by Jisui on Jul 16, 2016 19:07:50 GMT -5
"I have no idea how you could have even known what was happening unless you have some sort of arcane link with this land, or animals, or maybe even some kind of damn precognition."
...Norman really did know what he was doing when he chose Sasha, Mars thought. Even as a random guess, it was remarkably spot on.
Well, it wasn't as if he didn't disagree with her at the moment. It was true that he probably seemed unreliable from her point of view. He had disappeared without any warning or notice into an situation that he shouldn't have even known about. It was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
The problem was, Mars wasn't even completely sure what made him go the extra mile for the beast trailing after them.
Mars was no stranger to death. He had seen the end of beast and trees that had survived for centuries, he had seen murder and self-ruin, both violent and peaceful. He had witnessed the end of civilizations that had not been born yet.
He was no vigilante eager to save everything in sight. Maybe once that could have described him, but that had been a long, long time ago, longer than he could remember.
Yet... what was different here, the mercenary thought absentmindedly with the wolf barking excitedly at his side. An instinct? A gut feeling? Would Sasha be able to accept an answer like that? What should he even say? Quietly walking and soaking in the detective's words, there were a few minutes of silence before he finally spoke up.
"...That wolf was supposed to die there." He started, shifting his gaze over to Sasha for a second before glancing back at the supposedly wild beast.
"It would have made it a little farther, but one of them would have landed a lucky shot at the neck." Mars explained calmly, turning slim scarlet eyes back to the distance. "But, it would have killed half of them before it died."
Was that called being selfless? He didn't particularly feel like it, after all. Regardless, he still had to answer her question.
"I suppose you'll have to take my word for it. I won't make this a habit."
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Post by SlvrNight on Jul 17, 2016 21:53:10 GMT -5
Sasha was silent for a few moments, processing what Mars just told her. Was this all just his assumption to how things would have gone without their intervention? Maybe her assumption about him having some type of link with animals was accurate. Maybe he had some deep understanding of them that few others could understand. At this moment, however, that didn't matter.
"That still doesn't answer how you knew, but I'm not gonna pry into that. I'm not investigating you after all." She ended this with a sigh, briefly glancing at the wolf behind them.
"If something like this happens again, if you sense the incoming death of another, will you run off in an attempt to save them again? Will you try to save everything you see that has an untimely death on its way?" Her emerald eyes shifted towards Mars.
"You can't save everyone. I learned that when younger. You'll have to learn it eventually too, Mars." She shrugged. " Anyways. Enough about this. I'll take your word for it. I'm not gonna mention this to Norman either. Nothing will come of it besides making things for you more difficult, and that's not gonna help this case at all. So let's just head to camp, eat, and get some rest."
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Flames. Swirling masses of orange, consuming all in sight. The smelt off blood and burning flesh filled her nostrils and her body cried in agony from the pain and discomfort of lying on the pile of rubble that was once her home. Her vision went in and out, blurring into uselessness before returning to normal for the briefest of moments. Whether it was from blood loss, the overwhelming smoke, or something else was unknown to her. Her mind had long lost the ability to think reasonably and was simply filled with the shattered memories of recent events. Faces flew across her mind, each one lasting less than a second. A woman with pale skin, long black hair, and emerald eyes. A man with tan skin, black hair, a goatee, and hazel eyes.
Joy filled her heart as those two faces floated in her mind, desiring their embrace and wanting to feel their protection. This joy was soon grabbed and twisted into pain and despair, however, as the faces melted into nothingness.
Her eyes moved back and forth, searching through what little she could see, unable to move her body in the slightest. Her eyes saw nothing but flames, rubble, and bodies. No sign of the two people within her mind, who she felt were the most important people to her in her life.
Then a creature appeared in front of her, silhouetted by the flames. Her body was curvy, feminine, but her proportions were off. Inhuman. Her mouth opened, words no one could hear leaking forth. The feminine creature closed in and soon all was gone. The heat of the flames, the screams and sobs of the victims, the smell of the flesh and blood. All was replaced with nothingness.
Sasha's eyes opened in an instant, moving frantically before her mind calmed down and remembered where she was. She sat up from her sleeping bag, taking a quick look around the tent and noticing Mars fast asleep in his own bag on the other side of the campfire pit. The detective took a deep breath, picking up her phone and checking the time.
"Three in the morning..." She whispered.
It was a recurring thing. Every few days she would have a nightmare of that day. When her hometown was attacked by a gang of akma bandits, when they destroyed it and her family, and very nearly killed her too. Despite having happened over a decade ago, she was still haunted by it, as much as she hated to admit it. Granted, Sasha dealt with it far better than she did when younger. But it was the sort of trauma that never goes away. Whenever she saw a child with their parents, there was a small voice inside her head that cried out, that screamed that that was what she had missed out on. That she missed her mother and father.
It was such a childish thing to say, in her mind. But she wouldn't deny it. Sasha longed to see her parents again, to feel their embrace. She wanted to know what they would think of her now. Would they be proud of her? Would they approve of her actions? Of her?
The redhead stood up, her sleeping clothes comprised of a simple black tanktop and soft cloth pants. She approached her belongings, putting her coat, boots, and gloves on before quietly opening the tent's door and walking out.
The cold hit her full force, snapping whatever parts of her mind were still sleeping back to reality. She took a few steps forward, but that was all. Her eyes were focused on her breath, watching the hot air dissipate. In reality, she was simply trying to find something to stare at, to focus on. Anything to keep her mind distracted. But it was useless.
Her mother, with her proper speaking and love of elegant dresses. With her strength and beauty, and the love she showed with the slightest hint of discomfort. It never bothered Sasha. She figured that her mother was simply a woman who had always had difficulties showing and receiving affection. Her father, with his confidence and positive attitude, his love of music and culinary arts. He was a man that had little problem showing his love for those he cared for. Her father's bright smile and her mother's small, but noticeable, tug at her lips.
The detective took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes, a bittersweet smile decorating her features.
She missed her parents so very much.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jul 18, 2016 1:39:03 GMT -5
Something was wrong. To a normal person, it wouldn't even be minute. A pair of normal ears wouldn't even be able to hear it. Even Sasha might not have heard it had she not been awake at the time.
It was the subtle, barely noticeable sound of an object splitting through air. Something was headed straight towards the tent Sasha was sleeping in at very high velocity.
Upon looking to the sky, Sasha saw a giant avian mid-dive. Its feathers were white and black, and had a wide, owl-like head. Its beak was open as it fell closer and closer to her.
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A momentary flash. A tent splitting open. A woman being taken.
Should Max have turned his gaze towards the sky, he would have seen a pair of arched yellow eyes descending rapidly towards the tent. It was difficult to see its shape in the dark, but he didn't need to. He could see something glittering off of it despite of the lack of light necessary to illuminate it.
Faerie dust.
Either Sasha or Mars needed to do something now, before that creature reached the tent.
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Post by Jisui on Jul 18, 2016 18:43:16 GMT -5
"If something like this happens again, if you sense the incoming death of another, will you run off in an attempt to save them again? Will you try to save everything you see that has an untimely death on its way?"
"..." The mercenary glanced over at the detective, his cat-like scarlet eyes meeting her emerald ones for a second before turning away to the distance. The little time Sasha had spent with Mars had told her one thing at least, it was difficult to tell what he was thinking most of the time. There was no answer he could have gave her that would have satisfied either of them, after all.
"You can't save everyone, huh..." He unconsciously muttered aloud to himself, mulling over the thought. He probably agreed with the ideal. No, it was more that he had to in order to maintain his sanity since that day.
Perhaps in Sasha' mind, her mental image of him was of some vigilante or hero that went around rescuing everything that was in sight.
It was not nearly that selfless, he realized. Even now, saving the wolf that was happily trotting after them, was probably more of an act of self-gratification than anything else. He didn't feel particularly dissatisfied or ashamed of his accomplishment, nor did he feel pride or a sense of accomplishment.
Yes... from the very beginning, perhaps he just didn't want to see the sight of scarlet red blood staining white snow once again.
Mars had never been a heavy sleeper, the lightest of floorboard creaks were probably enough to make his eyes snap wide open. He also hadn't intended to get much sleep that night, since it would have been prudent for him to keep watch should anything attack them. Still, the warmth and security of the tent (along with the insistence of Sasha) eventually won him over, giving him time for some much needed sleep.
At least for a few hours. Despite Sasha's attempt to silently move out of the tent, the mercenary was awake around the time that she was attempting to get dressed.
Hearing the sound of the tent flap opening, Mars silently considered what he should do. He wasn't an idiot, and could tell that the detective was upset. In most cases, he probably would have given her space. But he would have been a terrible bodyguard if he valued sentimentality over practicality.
With a grunt, the half-akma pushed himself out of the sleeping bag and onto his feet. Grabbing his winter gear, he slowly began to dress himself before hearing the loud barks of a familiar wolf from outside. Hesitating, Mars also grabbed his weapons and equipment before a sudden vision turned his walk into a sprint.
A momentary flash. A tent splitting open. A woman being taken.
The mercenary dashed in front of Sasha with a peculiar rifle in his sole hand, eyes darting about the perimeter and ignoring the wolf barking wildly at something in the distance.
Left, clear. Right, clear. Front and back, clear. Perimeter...
His eyes snapped upwards to where the wolf was growling, catching a familiar glitter of light heading towards them in the distance like an animal of prey.
"Get back!" He roared to Sasha, lifting his rifle upwards and squeezing the trigger. The air hissed with a strange noise as a bright blue burst of mana discharged from the rifle towards the glint of light.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jul 20, 2016 9:50:20 GMT -5
Sasha's eyes widened upon seeing the giant bird in the sky. She had heard the flapping a while ago but had assumed it was a normal creature that she wouldn't have had to give a shred of her attention to. Obviously she had been wrong, for she knew nothing was within that creature's sights besides herself. What else could it be aiming for?
She cursed under her breath and was about to draw her pistol, but then came the figure of Mars, moving in front of her and aiming his weapon at the bird. The detective narrowed her eyes at the beast, getting as good a view as she could. There was a slight shimmering upon its feathers, made more obvious by the moonlight. One would originally think it was simple remnants of snow, but Sasha knew better, especially with the day's events.
"Faerie dust..." She muttered. The large owl had faerie dust upon its body. It far too coincidental for it to be engaging them when they were just following a trail of the same material. Either this was an intelligent akma who was largely involved in the disappearances or there was someone commanding it, pulling its strings.
"Mars." Sasha's voice was filled with authority as her instincts and mindset from her earlier times in JX City came forth. "If possible, disable that creature. Avoid killing it. If it's an intelligent akma then we need to interrogate it. A creature covered in faerie dust attacking us now is too big of a coincidence..."
She continued to stand behind him, using him as protection. There was nowhere else to go anyways. The tent would provide minimal protection and there weren't many objects large enough for her to take cover.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jul 20, 2016 19:28:34 GMT -5
The creature, unable to maneuver itself quickly enough during its dive, was blown apart by the rifle. The headless owl crashed into the ground.
If only that were the end of it. Upon further examination of the sky, Sasha noticed that it wasn't alone.
More of the creatures descended from the sky, this time landing a cautious distance away from Mars and Sasha. Five in total. Upon landing, they circled the camp, their glowing yellow eyes fixed on their prey. Their sharp, oversized talons somehow pressed in and out of the snow without leaving prints.
Upon examining the giant birds closer, Sasha noticed that their torsos were oddly muscular. In addition, four rows of teeth lined the inside of their beaks; two on top, two on bottom, with one row behind another.
One whispered to another in a low-pitched, gravelly voice. To Sasha, it sounded like gibberish. Mars, however, though he had never heard the words before, paradoxically knew what some of it meant.
"...Ithrin. Halfbreed."
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Meanwhile....
His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sound. It was the bang of a firearm for sure, but not the kind of firearm he was accustomed to hearing. A human firearm, perhaps?
Whatever the source, it was close. VERY close. Perhaps even seconds away.
He needed to determine the source. Without hesitation, he rushed towards the source of the sound. From atop a hill, saw a fire, two humans, and the headless corpse of a large avian. His optics zoomed in on the dead bird as he scanned for traces of one specific thing.
Faerie dust. It was covered in faerie dust!
Was this creature the cause of the recent disappearances? And if it was dead, did that mean it was over?
His answer came sooner than he anticipated.
Several more creatures, identical to the fallen avian but very much alive, landed around the humans' camp and began circling them. They looked like animals that were about to partake in a freshly caught feast.
For the briefest of moments, he considered keeping himself hidden. In his crystal heart, he knew it wasn't an option. Even so, acting now would go against everything MOTHER taught him. He would be forsaking the principles he was raised to uphold. The only way of life he knew....
It didn't even take a second for him to remember the decision he made not so long ago. In a sense, he had already decided that to reveal himself. He had resigned himself to the fact that he would be found and scrutinized by the locals. The only variable factors ere how and when they would become aware of his presence.
Now was as good a time as any to proclaim his existence to them.
Two of his hands grabbed the canon magnetically sealed to his back as he deactivated his holster program. The magnets disengaged, and he placed the canon on the ground.
He assumed a prone position and highlighted one of the giant owls on his targeting reticle.
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A loud whine sounded as streams of colorful magenta light burst forth from the darkness, illuminating the area as two of the birds were shot to pieces by an unexpected third party.
Despite the distracting tension, Sasha was able to spot something metallic atop a nearby hill. Something with arms, holding a large gun. It would appear they had an ally hiding in the shadows.
The owls looked to the source of the gunfire and growled like bears. As strange as they were, it was easy to tell that they were confused. Perhaps even a bit panicked. Now was the perfect chance for Mars to strike back.
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Post by Jisui on Jul 21, 2016 16:55:24 GMT -5
There was no time to feel satisfaction about his shot, as more and more of the creatures surrounded the two. Calmly prepping his rifle, Mars took in the strange avian-like attackers that were swarming them. While he wasn't able to see their forms with the clarity that Sasha had, their outlines were clearly visible to him despite the darkness of the night.
Faerie dust. Like the previous creature, they were covered in faerie dust to the point where it slightly hurt to look at them.
"...Ithrin. Halfbreed."
Ithrin. A chill ran down Mars spine as the word touched his ears. He understood, on some level, that he was not supposed to understand that word. Humans were not supposed to understand that word.
A deep breath removed the thought from his mind. Now wasn't the time. Not when there were enemies surrounding him and Sasha. His enemies. Her enemies. They were all the same now. All obstacles.
"Avoid killing one, huh..." The mercenary mused out loud, eyes flickering about to see which of the creatures would pounce first. His rifle swayed from target to target, body ready to shield Sasha if need be. It was a pretty troublesome order, all things considered. Giving your bodyguard another thing to worry about during a fight was usually a bad idea. But, well... it was only troublesome.
Not impossible.
"Understood."
Before Mars could move a muscle, a rain of light burst forward and razed two of the avian creatures down to the ground. His eyes snapped to the location where it had come from, but was unable to see anything in the covering darkness. So... it seemed they had company. Nevertheless, no self-respecting mercenary would ever let such a perfect chance go.
Taking advantage of the covering fire from their mysterious benefactor, Mars quickly brought up his magitech rifle and trained its sights on the remaining owls. With precision that shouldn't have been possible for a man with only one arm, he quickly placed two bursts of mana aimed straight for their heads. Pausing for a split second, he re-aimed his sights down at the last one and sent another shot aimed at its left leg.
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