The First Age

Drinking all but his own backwash, Takeo set his bottle on the bar to claim his seat - and eyeing the bartender as if to say, Yes, I'll be back - and followed the lithe young woman outside. It was cool, and their breaths formed small clouds even before he lit up his first cigarette. It was purely for show, but he was a trained performer. Had Aria studied her reels, she'd remembered he'd been introduced to every vice he might need to know to infiltrate even the filthiest hovel. Smoking was by far the tamest, or second, perhaps, next to that swill water he'd left at the bar.

Breathing in the toxic fumes, Takeo watched the woman as she paced, and nodded gratefully to her introduction. In his ear, Jun cleared his throat, "It's somewhere near the bar. North. Can't be more than a block or two. Eyes on."

"Pleased to meet you."
Takeo smiled. "Well, as you seem to already know, I'm Takeo."
He held his cigarette down at his side, and rolled it expectantly between his thumb and forefinger. He let his eyes wander to the pile of debris and human filth in the gutter he'd noticed earlier, and took the chance to feign a little emotion of his own. Repugnance.

Curling his lip just slightly, he did seem put off by the sluice. "Come on,"
he followed her last steps, north, "It's a nice night for a walk."


Jun. "Ren's on his way. Half kilo at a run." A pause, then, "I'm on you."

Takeo scanned the rooftops, as though admiring the distant stars, and took another drag. "So you know what I do. What about you?"
He leveled his gaze on Aria as they began to turn the corner that would place them only paces from the slain drakaina...

Aria nodded with his own introduction she knew his name, introductions were unnecessary. But he started walking in the direction the dranaika died and Aria sighed. He glanced up at the stars and Aria knew he was scanning for his men on the roof tops. They were mild blimps on her emotions. They were only doing their jobs but Aria worried for Dane. One shot could kill him just as easily despite his powers. Aria sparred the direction Dane was in only a glance, wishing he would just go home tonight.

Takeo asked the ultimate question, and Aria had no answer for him, at least not a false one that was believable. She was nothing but a weapon, something crafted to hunt monsters, and her biggest monster lay well ahead of her. There were so many plans to make and follow through with. So she told him the truth. Aria looked over at him and smiled playfully and with her sweet voice answered, "I hunt monsters for a living."


It didn't matter if he believed her or not. He was about to find out anyway. Quickening her pace Aria walked ahead of him once they turned the corner. She saw the dranaika fallen in the shadows. A glint caught her eye as she kicked something across the ground. It ricochet at a weird angle when it hit the trash bin in the alley way.

Aria looked back at Takeo, wondering if what was going through his head. Aria didn't give the dranaika a second glance, she walked down the shiny object to find a knife drenched with blood. Aria reached in her pocket and pulled her other glove back on. She should have done it sooner, as the crisp air was rather chilling. And she picked up the knife to examine it.

The knife was nothing special, there would be no reason for this to allow anyone with out something special to kill a dranaika. What had killed it? Aria glanced around the rooftops for any clues. But there was little to find and short of the men on the roof, Dane someplace she didn't know and Takeo next to her there were very few souls outside.

Aria took the moment to look at body. She stood over the gruesome scene and wondered what type of monster used a knife? What could out maneuver a creature that could see into the future. Aria sighed and turned to Takeo. She didn't know what to say, but there were probably a lot of questions.


Edited by Aria, Apr 27 2014, 09:45 AM.

Aria probably would have felt a flutter of emotions from Takeo, though possibly not in the order of magnitude she might have expected. There was surprise, but so small as to only be registered beneath anger, disappointment, sadness and, above all, recognition. Her confidence, her stride, the glove, that jacket - they were all pointing at a woman Takeo hadn't been expecting to see here. Let alone one that was talking to him, or taking a late night constitutional with him. And then, another emotion settled in. Resolution.

Jun's quiet interruption may as well have been screaming in his ear, as wired as he suddenly felt. She was picking up something in the alley - a knife - and Jun persisted. "I'm taking her out."

"No,"
Takeo hissed under his breathe. He flicked his fingers and Jun was gone. No more chimes, no more distraction.

Takeo lowered himself enough to have a look at the face of the dead woman in the street. She was beautiful, in a monsterish sort of way, and one sharp tooth protruded from a slightly curled lip. He wondered what she might have been doing here - and why Aria seemed confused by her. As the newly declared Atharim rejoined him, Takeo rose to his feet, prepared to strike. He had only one small knife on him tonight, but a few concussive pellets. He assumed she could hold her own in a close fight, but if she made any move for her coat, he strongly doubted Jun would heed his order.

The sounds of feet running drew Takeo's eye, briefly, to the north. A man was out for a jog, at least that was the impression. Also Japanese, the man looked the part - snug running shorts, reflective stripe down the sides of his breathable shirt, white ear buds in, and red-lit sneakers. But he was breathing easy for his pace, and he slowed to a stop a little too slowly, taking in the macabre scene a little too easily. And, of course, Aria would likely feel his steeled nerves and even less surprise than Takeo had shown earlier.

"Get out of here!"
Takeo barked, and the man turned and fled without a second thought. He wouldn't go far though, as Aria might guess. Probably no more than the end of the street, in fact. And, sure enough, his footfalls were too quickly just another quiet echo in the chilly night air. Ren never was very subtle.

Aria had been honest with him, and she hadn't tried to kill him. Either the Atharim had some other scheme up their sleeve, or she truly had no knowledge of his history with her kind. For her sake, Takeo hoped it was the latter. For his sake as well. They might both make it out of this dark alley alive. And maybe a little more.

"I take it this was another hunter's prey?"
Takeo said, pointing at the dead woman between them. He eyed the knife in her hand, then stared into her eyes. Searching. "You're not like any hunter I've seen before."
He had to see how much she knew, which meant he had to return some of the honesty, and hope she didn't ask too many questions of her own. Sure he knew about the Atharim - maybe all Priveleges knew these sorts of things. "Why did they leave it here for anyone to find?"

A smile of relief played across Aria's face. He knew about the Atharim, which was both good and bad. Good because she didn't have to explain, and the worst part of it is she hadn't done all her research properly. It would be another three of four days of combing through the Atharim's files, ones that had not been given to her. There were many people surrounding Ascendancy and Aria had to know who knew about them.

"I am not like any hunter you have met or ever will met again."
Aria's smile brightened, it was not a boast on her skills more an insult to herself, one she was fully aware of. She was the wolf in sheep's clothes as they say, she was a monster to be hunted who lived among them, was one of them, and will more than likely die in a mission as one of them. But she was far from one of them now. She was Sentient, and she was only alive by the grace of the Regus. It wasn't with his blessing she walked this earth, but his mercy. Aria only hoped that she didn't anger the man who has been rumored to kill his own for not taking orders.

Aria looked up at the rooftops directly across from them. It was dark she didn't expect to see anything. "I expect your man on the roof has a rifle pointed at my head. At some point I will need to get my wallet from my pocket and send a text to have this cleaned up."
She returned her gaze to Takeo. "This was no hunter's kill."
Aria turned back towards the dranaika and brushed her hair away from her eyes. "No hunter would leave a body lying around. No hunter would leave the murder weapon lying on the ground."
Aria held the knife up by the two fingers at the base of the handle. "No single hunter could kill a dranaika by themselves. They have the gift of foresight. It takes more than one human to take out a dranaika, and a brilliant plan that it cannot foresee."
Aria stood and turned to look at Takeo. "Something else killed this. And whatever it was, I cannot sense, and that is troublesome."


"I need to get my wallet now. I'd appreciate it if you could call your man off. He's very anxious, and I'd rather not die tonight."



Edited by Aria, May 1 2014, 08:21 AM.

She twisted round at the offer of a name, already half way between the bar and pool table.

Frankly she sounded uncertain, not a particularly promising sign of her cohesion, but for the briefest moment Oriena herself also felt misplaced. It was the oddest free fall sense of deja-vu, like a rush of darkness just outside her periphery, but the moment passed quickly and she didn't linger on it now. She'd never felt that way with Cara, but she considered that it had to be some side-effect of the gifts they shared. And maybe she could use that to her advantage.

Though she'd stared, Claire had otherwise shown little comprehension of the twists of power vibrating between them. It had taken months working with Cara before Ori had been able to see the threads of light which marked tangible evidence of their otherness, to the point that she had even been able to recognise when Cara held on to the feeling like a safety blanket. She'd literally glowed. Of course, inexperience probably worked to Ori's favour; even if it didn't, it was a new game, and Oriena was always ready to play. Before the night was out, Claire would know what she was.

A caustic smile plucked her lips and her gaze followed the departure of the Privilege and his lady friend. She appreciated this one's humour. "Of the truest kind,"
she replied dryly. Her mocking was edged with bitterness, of course, but tonight she wasn't interested in the irony. "Come and play, Claire. I'm bored of kicking their asses on my own."
She indicated the two men waiting by the pool game, for whom the two extra bottles of beer were for. Her eyes glittered darkly. That glint was like a single star in a pitch black sky, but it didn't offer salvation. Hers was the promise of light that wrecked ships on rocks, that seduced then devoured all hopeful trespass. The apparently open offer of friendship was genuine, but not without its perils. She grinned.

Takeo studied Aria's face as she spoke. She had a pretty way of talking. Fast, but obviously smart. What drew her to the Atharim. What drew any of them? Or drove them, as was more likely the case. Aria revealed to him more than he'd learned in the months since his last encounter with their order. Of course, there had been far less conversation then, and a good deal more physical intimacy. The kind only a naked blade could ensure.

"This was no hunter's kill." If he were less controlled, Takeo might have sighed. The Atharim were one thing, these creatures another - but then there were by far the greater anomalies. The Kami.

If what Aria said was true, and these dranaika were harder to kill than the run of the mill ghoul, surely one of the Kami was responsible. It gave Takeo a chill to think that not only would he himself likely have fallen to this monster had he met her alone, but that there was at least one spirit afoot.

Now was definitely a good time to leave. But, was it safe? At Aria's insistence, Takeo slid his fingers against one another and his ear was on.

"You need to leave now, Sir!" Jun's voice was quiet but stressed. Takeo frowned at Aria. "Hood." He slipped his hood up over his head. "Mask." Another flick of his fingers and a projection system activated in his hood. To Aria, his face, primarily the eyes, would be hard to focus on. He didn't bother looking in the direction of the woman bystander - Jun had an eye on her. Probably just wandering home after a drink herself.

"I need to leave,"
Takeo said, eyeing the dead dranaika one last time. He looked to Aria, and at his command a small flash of light struck her face as a camera on his hood snapped a photo of her for later. "You should clean this up."
He kept his back to the woman at the end of the alley. "I'm sure you know how to contact me. I would like to continue our conversation."
He offered a slim smile, despite the less than ideal situation. "Soon."


With a nod, Takeo took off at a quick jog, deeper into the alley - and away from the reporter. It was a dead end, but he jumped on a dumpster with surprising agility. The lid flexed under his weight, but held enough for him to leap onto the raised ladder at the side of a fire escape. He didn't look back and continued at a run up toward the roof.

Claire tossed her head back and grinned at the ceiling. Oriena had bitch written all over her, but Claire liked her for it. She snagged the bottle, grabbed her purse, and slid from the stool. "Ab-so-fucking-lutely."


She swelled with mischief and sauntered to the table. The lip of the bottle she rolled around her mouth while her prowling gaze met those of each of the other players along with a name. "Claire,"
she said to each in turn.

She dumped her things near Oriena's in exchange for a seemingly random pool cue from those racked on the wall. "I'm up for a game,"
she held the cue awkwardly, "Anyone have one of those blue chalk things?"
She jut a hip to one side. Tonight might not be a waste after all.

Ori never doubted the lure, but the devilry in her grin ignited at Claire's enthusiasm. The vice of Luka's misplaced familial obligations, stirred like cold ash when she finally sat by Sofiya's grave and was unrepentant, finally snapped loose. Her world had shifted, and she was no longer willing to sit in cracks and shadows, apologising for her very existence. When new flames stirred from the coldness, the mischief burned bright, and Oriena was always happiest with a conspirator. Claire's smirk, the sharpness that razored her words, was met with approval. For a fleeting moment she was touched by a sense of the overwhelming finality of change, but this time the odd sensation did not make her feel misplaced. It only deepened her grin.

She didn't put much stock in fate, but she welcomed the fickleness of fortune with a lover's embrace. Her interest in Claire did not flutter behind coyness, and she watched unabashed as the woman introduced herself to her two companions - though fuck if Ori could even remember their names herself. They were means to an end. Just as Claire was really, though her intentions there were less transient.

Viktor the taller, dark haired and eyed; careful in his movements, as though he expected the world might suddenly tilt on its axis around them. Ivan, lighter in colour but darker in temperament. He stared like he had forgotten he could be seen in turn, though the languorous dare in Ori's gaze had probably only encouraged the thoughts that skittered freely across his expression when he tilted his head back to swig from his bottle.

She deposited their fresh beers on the side of the table, and left them to fawn over Claire's cluelessness while she cleared the remnants of the last game, and set the table anew. "So what brings you to Moscow?"

What Aria would have given to know what little voices had been speaking in Takeo's head. The privilege was as much a mystery to her as the Ascendancy was. Aria turned to watch him jog down the alleyway.

Intoxication was such an odd feeling, the fuzziness of the emotions was always disorienting for Aria. It took far too long for Aria to realize a new comer was approaching and had stopped in the mouth of the alleyway. Takeo just up and left with little warning his eyes in the sky whispering their secrets.

Aria turned to clean up the mess something else made, only to find the reporter staring back at her with a look of intent glory. She had caught a story in action.

Too little too late. Aria found herself standing holding the murder weapon of a kill she hadn't even made armed nearly to the teeth and a drunken reporter staring after the departing ninja with a wallet recording her and Takeo bounding through the air.

There were only two options, and really only one in the Atharim book. But how does one let a dranaika live and then kill an innocent bystander just for doing her job. The dilemma that seemed to plague Aria's entire existence poking it's nasty little head out again, like that stupid childhood game whack-a-mole. Just taunting and teasing and never actually being able to hit it. It looked easy but your first try, was usually a pretty bad one.

The other option Aria had never tried. She knew she could do it, but could she actually do it when she wanted to? Could she actually project a new emotion onto another person? It was all in her power.But the problem still held, touching someone, even as intoxicated as this woman was still going to overwhelm her. But there were worse things than that, and killing a human being was not one Aria thought she could live with easily.

Aria tried to casually put the knife in her fingers in her pocket. But a knife was a knife and it was still very obvious. Three strides to the reporter and the reporter shut her wallet off and dropped it in her pocked, Aria smiled and prayed it didn't look nefarious. If she ran it wouldn't do any good. She needed that wallet!

Aria removed her gloves and started moving towards the woman. The woman stood her ground, for which Aria was thankful she didn't have to chase her down. She was taller than Aria by several inches, but nearly everyone was taller than Aria was just the what life is. It's hard to gauge an expression when the shadows fall just right on the face. But Aria had an advantage, even through the blur of the alcohol imbuing the woman before her, she was not fearful, it made Aria wonder what this woman thought she had stumbled upon, a tryst gone bad, a murder, an accident, what could be running through her mind.

It was moments between when Takeo left and when Aria reached inside to pull up fear. But she grasped onto the calm and quiet of the man hiding in the shadows at the very far edge of her senses. Dane's emotional state would be hers, at least while she tried to do this. Aria reached for the woman's cheek to stroke it gently to instill a sense of fear, the obligation to be elsewhere and forget what she saw. The moment Aria's hand touched her skin, things changed. It was not fear, memories flooded Aria's head. What ifs, never coulds and even what really happened the day Aria touched Dane's cheek the same way. Intense longing for human touch, the need and desire for him to touch her. Dreams crashed in, and Aria found the woman echoing her own passions.

The green eyes of the woman stared back at Aria with intense desire. She smiled and grabbed Aria's hand and kissed it softly on the top, like a suitor to his damsel. Aria's control was meager, but words were lost on the moment. The reporter, pulled Aria's hand to her side and started to walk away, Aria thought she'd said something but her mind couldn't focus, it was everything she could do to keep the woman at bay, keep her echoed self at bay.

The mission, the wallet was what mattered. Removing the idea, the proof that monsters lurked in the shadows was all that kept Aria moving with the woman. Buildings and streets passed in a blur, the only thing Aria knew for certain was that this woman, was holding her hand and Aria could feel the want, the need to be touched echoing back at her. There was nothing else but that desire, the world pressed in on Aria and she fought it back holding only to that desire.

How she managed to walk was not of her concern, she followed like a love sick puppy looking for a home, needy, longing eyes and all.

By the time the woman stopped to pull her keys from her wallet, Aria had no idea where she was, nor how she had gotten there. Her mind was able to focus, long enough to realize what she was doing, who she was with and why. Aria blinked as the woman spoke to her, "You coming?"

Aria's mind was a fog, and she couldn't answer, the woman grabbed Aria's hand and smiled, "Don't be shy." Aria swooned and the emotions started rolling again in her mind. What had she done, was Aria's last coherent thought.

((more to follow - go here))


Edited by Aria, May 7 2014, 12:59 PM.