Sortilege of Creation IC Thread

[NoIn-LoKi]

Yin, Salvatore, Lonerin

Dubhe was only half-startled when the young boy suddenly approached them. He stuck a piece of paper on her arm and claimed to be a friend. She could tell he wasn't human and when he transformed into Lonerin, she figured he'd be some kind of familiar.
She was torn between wanting to trust him and between healthy suspicion. She looked at the piece of paper stuck on the fabric of her shirt. There was no time to deal with this properly now, so she just pulled it off and ripped it to pieces. At least now the presence of that one familiar-like bird was explained. That left still another that was trailing them.

They suddenly stopped and turned into a narrow alley and reached a small flat. Dubhe didn't take any time to catch her breath and went over to where Lonerin was laying. Her healing skills were less than mediocre and this was the first time she regretted not taking more interest in that field. Hanging her shoulders, she listened to Salvatore. "Thanks. He would've never done this voluntarily." she said quietly "Just who are you though? Showing up and helping me without apparent reason…" she looked into his eyes, the milky white making it hard to focus on them.

Her attention was drawn from him to Lonerin, who made an indistinct sound. She kneeled down next to the bed and gently took his hand. His external wounds were only minor, but who knew how much internal damage had been done. "Lonerin. It's me…Dubhe. Please hang in there…" Up close she noticed just how bad he looked. Like he'd been through hell and back. A former shadow of himself. "I promise I'll get you out of this, just stay strong, I don't want to lose you. You're all I have…" she could feel the moisture in here eyes build up again and felt silly.
She wasn't used to crying anymore.

[Gedomaru]

So someone was aiming for her. But they didn't kill her... So they probably had an interest in both her and Ishtar. After all, Elm could probably fire before she died. And they would know she was... dangerous. While it was obvious Elm had some sort of control, she was not a well known magus. The most likely connection would be that it was Cornelia, who had seen Elm inside the council.

So running through the streets, she was suspicious of everything. She was notified by radio that Ishtar somehow ran off. ... Well, that probably was a decoy. She knew that she could cause damage, and if he could recover that fast, there was no way she could kill him without futhur preperations. Which meant that she should give up if it was true. But if it wasn't true, that was a decoy.

Elm sprung up a wall, caught a fire-ladder, and dragged herself up, scaling the building to get a bird's eye's view. There was the group of magus running... And there was an out of place familiar going the wrong way.

So someone else, probably Cornelia, was tracking Ishtar. ... Great, that meant yet another person wanted to save him.

Well, she wouldn't tell the magus of this development unless she thought she couldn't handle it all on her own. After all, this was a possible 50% payraise for killing a man she already wounded, as well as one of her targets.

Elm sat there, waiting for the bird familiar to stop or circle or roost in place. She kept behind it, and dissapeared behind cover when if it began to turn around. When it stopped moving, that was the target point. Elm put her long, trademark and recognizable hair into the back of her dress, the ball dangling between her knees. She descended once more into the streets and rushed through the alleyways, casually walking through areas which could be viewed easily. Surprise was her best friend. Surprise and luck. Once she caught view of her targets, she could just wait until they got close enough to a Rift. With the angle the Magus were going, she could signal them at a moments notice, making them circle around and surround Ishtar should he try running. Because he'd probably run if he heard another explosion. If he could still hear.

[Payne]

jorg, gedo, Illya, Loki

"Looks like they've picked up an unwanted follower along the way."

Setsuna continued to run after the group, staying slightly above the roofline so he could keep the whole picture in sight. He had slipped his coat on during the chase, and was now once more invisible to any prying eyes or mana detectors. The problem wouldn't be keeping himself out of trouble though. It would be getting the others out of it, and the bird that was following them was definitely going to do more harm than good.

"Burn."

A part of his vision withered as the shikigami he had created the day before disappeared, leaving behind only ashes, which quickly scattered in the wind. Its further presence would only have been a nuisance at this point in time.

"So, how am I going to deal with this?"

He had stopped just above the flats where the two magi and the prisoner had escaped to. The problem was that the other bird following them had perched on the railing, and a man that had been following them on foot now stood outside as well. They probably weren't the only ones following the group either.

Setsuna silently cursed his luck. If he'd been able to get here first, he could have simply made the flat look like a vacant lot, but making things vanish when people were already watching was far more difficult, especially if those people were magus as well. He needed some kind of distraction to get in, and the longer he took to get in, the less he would be able to do about the situation inside.

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Lonerin's head lulled to the side, and he coughed. His entire world was pain, and every movement multiplied it. "Sev--" He coughed again, this time spraying blood onto the sheets as his body convulsed, but he couldn't die yet. There was still too much to say.

With more effort than he had ever put into anything in his life, Lonerin grabbed Dubhe by the shoulder to make sure she was listening.

"Seven angels... One devil..."

The vision was swimming in his left eye, but his right locked onto Dubhe's face and remained in focus.

"Should have never let it happen... Should have kept fighting..."

His grip loosened as another coughing fit took him, but as soon as it was over, he spoke again.

"Still a way to fight though... Angels can still fight... Angels can still make it right... Can still make it like it was..."

His arm fell to the bed, no strength left in it as he coughed again, causing his entire body to writhe in pain.

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Illya

Tear continued to brush Bear's shaggy fur while Darien spoke, seemingly ignoring him in a manner similar to the night before. In the background, the grandfather clock down the hall ticked ominously. After roughly five minutes of silence, Tear finally spoke.

"You're late."

Those were the only words that crossed her lips as she continued to groom Bear, and after another few moments, it was quite obvious that she would offer no more until Darien explained himself.

[Prisma*Illya]

Noin, Payne

Barghast sighed, stepping back as he watched Dubhe tearfully reunite with her old master. His words were most unusual, however. Downright cryptic. Barghast could read between the lines, interpret what he was saying. He glanced at Dubhe, catching glimpse of the turmoil in her soul. There would be time to explain himself later. Stepping quietly from the room, he allowed them a moment alone. The girl surely deserved some time alone with her master, and some time alone after.

Barghast had sensed it clearly. Lonerin Ishtar's hour had come.

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Darien raised an eyebrow, watching as she offered a solitary statement of accusation before continuing to ignore him. He turned and fished out the rest of the sandwich he hadn't managed to finish that afternoon and offered it to Bear, luring him out of reach so she would have nothing to feign distraction with. Giving the dog a scatch behind the ears, he stood up and stared at the painted murals on the windows, depictions of Christ's charities and miracles.

"Odd that a servant of God should see so out of place among the walls of his house," the vampire hunter thought wryly. Returning his gaze to Tear, he finally spoke.

"I ran into our mutual target on the way here," he offered, watching for her response. "He was with an escort, whom he tried to kill in the park. I moved into action, but another Dead Apostle showed up, this one hunting the old man. In the confusion, both got away."

He was still irritated with himself for that bit of unfortunate news, but didn't let it show.

"However, I now have a face to put to the name," he finished, gazing intently at her.

[Payne]

Illya

Tear's mouth twitched as Bear moved to take the obvious bait. "I knew you couldn't be trusted dog." She mumbled under her breath before slipping the comb back into her bag and standing up to face Darien properly.

"So, let me get this straight. You're a vampire hunter that's had all sorts of special training in how to detect and kill the undead, but you somehow managed to let two dead apostles give you the slip this afternoon?" She raised an accusing eyebrow at him. "I'm not sure what's worse, the fact that you kept me waiting or that you made up such a pathetic excuse to try and cover yourself."

[Prisma*Illya]

Payne

Darien gave a thin smile, the feeling from it decidely frosty.

"I suppose I do owe you an apology for waiting," he stated in a penitent voice. "If I'd known you had nothing better to do than sit around here, I'd have tried to move things around to get here sooner."

He wasn't beyond making his own jabs if it came down to it, but he wasn't going to waste time with a verbal wrestling match when he felt hot on the Dead Apostles' trail.

"You're entitled to your own belief, of course," he said dismissively, fishing the papers he'd printed out on the way. "And apparently these papers. And I'm entitled on contract to get on with my job. If that's all then.."

Giving her a curt nod, he stooped to pet Bear once more before heading to the door. He stopped short, hand resting on the solid oak without looking back.

"It's an old man, apparently likes to indulge himself on pretty women and all the niceties, from what I observed," he said, his tone sharp and businesslike. "You might want follow that profile. I'd offer to compare notes, but.."

He gave a small, deep chuckle.

"I think we'd make better progress alone."

With that, he pushed opened the door, letting the red glow that passed as sunlight and outdoor air floor through the sanctuary door as he stepped out.

[Payne]

Illya

So the man could be broken after all. Tear was happy that she'd won, but it wouldn't mean anything if she lost the job. Maybe pushing him this far had been childish, but she was given to such tendencies from time to time, and working with a partner she couldn't depend on was not a risk she was about to take. She absently flipped through the papers he had handed her as he made his way towards the door. Everything seemed to be in order, even if the contract was a bit hastily drawn up. It really was too bad, but she wasn't willing to risk her life on an irresponsible man she knew nothing about.

And that's when he threw a curve ball. When Darien stopped to mention a profile for the target, she almost dropped the contract papers. Had he been serious about the two dead apostles? It would make him one of the worst vampire hunters she'd ever heard of if it were true, but it would also make him innocent of her accusations. At times like these, Tear often cursed her inability to let such things go, but in this case, she couldn't afford to take the time.

Stuffing the paperwork into her bag, she ran to the door and yelled at him from the top of the stairs. "It's impolite to just leave when a lady is speaking to you!"

Several people on the street stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Their prying eyes shifted to Darien, then back to her, and then back to whatever they were doing before as if it had never happened. This wasn't the first time that some of them had experienced one of Tear's outbursts, and they new better than to get involved. The momentary shock she had caused did provide Tear with enough time to catch up to Darien though.

"Besides, I'm afraid it's not that easy. You see, you have a binding contract issued by the church, and I represent the church in matters such as this." She didn't say outright that she was in charge of him, but it wouldn't be difficult for him to draw that conclusion for himself. "So, until the job's over, we're stuck with each other."

[NoIn-LoKi]

Lonerin, Salvatore

Whatever outside was happening, it didn't matter to her now. She hardly even noticed when Salvatore left the room. Lonerin started coughing blood and her suspicions about the internal damage were painfully confirmed.
Suddenly he grabbed her shoulder with more strength than she expected and looked into her eyes.

"Seven angels… One devil…" his voice was straining, trying to suppress the cough.
She nodded "I know about the Angel Ranks, Lonerin" she said, and pulled up her left sleeve, revealing the black tattoo that wound around her forearm.

He continued to talk with great effort, the last coughing fit making his body writhe in pain. Dubhe helped him sit upright to make it easier for him, but it seemed to be in vain. She felt his consiousness slipping away.
"I know you did what you could. You're a good person. The best I know. You would never wanted to inflict so much suffering on the world." she said, tears now streaming down her face.

"…Angels can still make it right…Can still make it like it was…" he fell back, his breathing low and shallow.
Dubhe put her hand on the side of his face, his forehead covered in sweat. "Don't worry, Lonerin, I promise I will make sure this world returns to order."
He gripped her hand again, but the touch was so weak, it seemed like he had no strength left.
Feeling it more than seeing it, she knew he was dying and nothing but a miracle could save him. Something, her mind told her, was unlikely to occur.
"I don't know if you can still hear me…" she said "but thank you….you gave me my life back and you were the best teacher I ever had. I'm sorry I couldn't save you, like I should have."

She put the necklace he'd given her back around his neck and held his hand until his breath began to fade more and more, the distance between each inhale became longer and longer. Trying to let him go easily, she began to recite a part of the oldest poem she knew.

"In fashion of wolves it befits us not
Amongst ourselves to strive,
Like the hounds of the Norns, that nourished were
In greed mid wastes so grim.

We have greatly fought, o'er the Goths do we stand
By our blades laid low, like eagles on branches;
Great our fame though we die today or tomorrow;
None outlives the night when the Norris have spoken."

When she had finished she couldn't sense his presence anymore.

It scared her what he'd said and her mind wasn't ready to take it in completely yet. Dubhe got up from beside the bed, casting one last look at Lonerin's motionless body and then turned away. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to think clearly. Absentmindedly she traced the mark of the Angel Rank, while waiting for the pain over Lonerin's death to subside. After a few more minutes of silently looking at it, she pulled her sleeve back down. It was easy, she would just follow his advice, like she'd always done.

Now scanning what was going on outside for the first time, she wasn't surprised that not everyone had been fooled by the decoy. And she was sure they wouldn't wait forever to take action, if they were still after him. She opened the door and stepped through towards Salvatore, looking more composed than she felt.

[foolcoolylover]

Atticus awoke to the announcement of the apprehension of a criminal. For bringing about the conception? Interesting, but information gathering there wouldn't be the best. Looks like I'm going to wander the streets again Seems like I am going then. Getting up Atticus stretched out and put his ring on. Leaving, Atticus looked up and down the street before heading up the street towards the Market district for something to eat. Exiting the Market district Atticus noticed something, odd. "Mana? Coming from that castle? Something worth checking out finally." Heading off towards the mana Atticus grinned a little. Upon reaching the castle three of the mana sources seemed to have disappeared. "Funny, I could have sworn I sensed more." Just as he said that he came up to where the pack of hounds were. As if to puzzle him even more in front of the familiars was a prim woman. "Lets try to keep at least one intact for inspection!" Saying the extra verse Atticus moved his fingers and slashed two of the familiars aiming for their necks.

[madarra]

Creus

The door creaked a little as if it hadnt been oiled in a while.Inside,the whole house looked old, and it hadnt seen much care since the Conception a few months ago"This place needs a good cleaning...".Creus made his way around the mansion west wing, then the east wing, but he didnt find much info,just some broken angel statue and residual mana that was permeating the mansion."Time to check the basement..."the place most connected to the leyline,where they enacted the ritual,down the stairs,he reached the door,opening it slowly as the mana inside assailed him like a wave of nausea,once inside he inspected the circle used for the ritual"Quite the spread,Although i doubt it`ll be seeing use anytime soon..."