[[ @"Allan" @"Ascendancy" @"Marcus DuBois" @"Jay Carpenter" no rush, but a thread to start the tunnels hunt off ]]

Nox was still smiling when he rolled the door upon the storage unit he kept all his extra hunting gear in. He had lost a lot when the warehouse blew up.  But Dorian had helped his resupply.  Nox really should make amends. Dorian lost more than his friendship because of what he did.  And it was mostly Nox's fault. But Dorian had done what he did to protect his family.  That's what stung the most, he wasn't part of that equation.  He had nothing when Dorian took him in.  Now Nox had Raffe and the others at Kallisti and he was about to ruin it all by dying in the tunnels.  The darkness pulled on him.  The shadows of his mind tried to pull him in.  It latched on to his depression and pulled so hard.  So deep.  It ached to have him in their grasp, but Nox intended to deny them that.  Deny them the power he gave the hoard.

The memories of the night shared with Raffe kept him smiling.  Kept him from falling into the darkness.  And the morning's farewell had been much longer than had been planned.  Not that Nox regretted it.  He wasn't on a timetable -- not really.

But it was those memories that kept Nox afloat amidst the darkness.  He held Raffe in his heart and mind as he gathered all the things he needed for the hunt.

He only had so many preprogrammed land warriors, but Nox checked them all before stuffing them on top of the gear in his bag.  Salvation and Damnation lay at the bottom, ready to be equipped once inside the tunnels.  The gun and survival knife were there only in case of an emergency.  Nox had no intentions of actually brandishing a weapon in the tunnels.  At least not a gun that could bounce bullets everywhere.  His crossbow lay in the bag, and Nox thought how cool would it be to have it attached to his arm like some sort of mechanical superhero.  But then he'd lose the use of a hand and that wasn't optimal either.  There were only so many bolts, and not good for a hoard.  But best for hitting an Oni in the eye.  At least that was the shot it was mostly used for.  

The most helpful things in the bag were his vials of items strapped to an old ammo sling.  Each vial contained various elements to aid in destroying creatures.  Several vials were filled with homemade napalm that when thrown would splatter and with the use of his ability to create a near-unstoppable fire.  Other things like pellets, and broken glass, and even a few vials of baby powder.  The tools meant to enhance his ability and prolong his fighting in the tunnels. They each had a use, and each one he'd field-tested before in the tunnels.  Granted he'd never been accompanied before while using them.  They too might cause too much issue with too many people coming.

His bag was packed, Nox checked that the software on his wallet was working and up to date.  All the maps loaded and hooked into his own land warriors which sat happily on the bridge of his nose taking in all the data.  Nox wished Sage was around for tech back up but it was what it was.  He hadn't heard from him in a while.  It was starting to worry him.  But he was with Aiden, they both had to be okay.

The last thing Nox packed in the bag were half a dozen repeaters.  They wouldn't cover the whole length of what Nox hopped to travel, but as he went deeper he intended to provide as much internet for as long as he possibly could.  That way if they got lost or needed help someone could get a call out for help.  Even if it was too late.

Now the only thing Nox had to worry about was how long he was going to survive in the tunnels with an untrained group of monster hunters...

[[ Not sure if you wanted to have a meeting beforehand, or jump right into the fun...  and no rush, just setting up for the thread when ya'll are ready ]]

Hi all,
I am in need of motivation to exercise. I'm going to sign up for a virtual "Race-at-your-own-pace," with a Hades theme. You take as much time as you want to complete a certain number of miles, either by run, walk, or bike, and log your distance. Once you accumulate 36.1 miles, you get your 'reward' which in this case is a kick-butt Hades-theme medal and shirt (priced separately). International orders are allowed for a small fee. 

I thought it might be fun if someone wanted to join me. We could start on the same date and root each other on. Maybe try to get it all done before Jan 1? 

here is the link. Check it out and post here if anyone is interested.

The offices that filled the interior of the Kremlin’s executive building were busy as usual. Nikolai was a regular sight on a daily basis, and his presence made little stir beyond the trailing eyes of employees and salutes of military or security officers. Everyone was immaculately dressed: even the humblest of workers wore uniform or business professional suits. The standard elevated the entire department, and those working in the Executive Office of the Ascendancy were compensated handsomely for their station. It was a privilege to work there.

Business with his Deputy-Consul Chief of Staff, Viktor Stepanovich concluded, and the man splintered his direction away from the Ascendancy just as the latter turned to enter the wing devoted to government engagement, propaganda, and interdominance relations.

He passed the worker stationed near the entrance desk with a polite smile and quick inquiry into the state of her new puppy, pleading that she bring the animal for a visit sometime. Nikolai loved dogs, the greater and grander the better, but this life did not seem to allow the luxury of a pet. She promised to do so soon, and Nik proceeded through the wing to the executive offices in the back. 

He continued the charming intrusion along the way, gesturing or politely greeting those who caught his eye. He seemed to be able to remember everyone by name and include some small insight into their lives. Finally, he stopped, “Is Aleksandrova in?” he asked.

There was nothing comfortable about Moscow.  Even her apartment was not comfortable -- not yet.  She needed a garage to work in.  Her lab.  Her comfort zone.

Ilesha had been looking for a while. But hadn't found anything suitable until today.  There was an old garage that hadn't so much as gone under as the old man running didn't have anyone to take over so he had no choice but to close down when he got too old to run the shop.  It was perfect.

It had two garage doors on either side of the building that could hold four medium sized cars in total, and a small office.  Each stall had a car lift.  She worked predominately on motorcycles for herself, but she was an excellent mechanic all around.  And she didn't intend to have a large client base.  

Though the old man had also sold her his old clients.  She doubted they'd come her way, but she'd give it ago.

Ilesha couldn't wait to get the garage open.  It needed some repair, and she had to get the needed equipment.  And her bikes sent here from the US.  That was her next goal.  This shop was perfect.

She couldn't get over the luck she was having.  But cleaning was a bore, she started humming to herself and started a light weave of air started sweeping the floor with the power.  It was an amazing feeling -- the power and her own space.

“Dearest Natalie, you won’t even know I’m here.” Dark eyes glittered in the face of the woman opposite, deep as onyx stones. Shadows swathed her features, claiming all but the sharpness of a smile gleaming by the lights smeared beyond the windows. The car wove slowly through city centre traffic, and Natalie’s gaze slid to watch the progress of their lazy crawl. Toma was her family’s investment, and she supposed she didn’t begrudge the assurance in order to keep her mother happy. As far as bodyguards went, it could have been worse.

“If you were not informed of my recent history, I’m sure you’ve already done your homework,” she said eventually. A smirk touched her lips, but did not much soften the arid tone. “I don’t promise to behave.” 

Toma only laughed.

In a fight to the death, who would win:

John Wick vs James Bond.

Let the debating commence. Who do you pick and why.

I'll post another cage match after this one is settled.

Moving out had been the best thing Cruz could have done. He was nineteen after all, he could do this. Most kids did this when they went to college -- they stayed in dorm or frat houses or had their own places. Some, stayed home. He'd been part of that, and since moving out he'd made new friends. Not that Nox and Sage didn't bring a great deal of friendship to the table, but neither of them were really interested in him. Nox was being paid, and Sage was only there because of Nox's sister -- though that wasn't the complete truth. They lived such drama filled lives.

But now Cruz was out on his own. He had his own life and was making new friends. Gordey and Felix weren't exactly friend, but they did like to study together -- mostly because Cruz helped them with the harder things. But they loved to code or hack their way through things. They were Computer Science majors and they made fun of Cruz when he said he was only minoring in Computer Science. His major was much more complex than just programming -- Computer Engineering was the bread and butter of his courses, but he also minored in medicine and human biology and he was even planning on taking a few courses in psych. His ultimate goal was to map the human body through Aurora's holographic computer interface. He had a grim prototype of it up and running. At least of medical scans and the like. Cruz wanted to have a 3D holographic image of the body. He had plans, and tons of lines of code in his head. Seeing the tumor and practicing on it before you ever touch the real thing... epic.

Gordey and Felix didn't see down the line. They just wanted to get from one class to the next and get out from under their parents noses. They didn't live at home, but they had been spending more and more of their time crashing on Cruz' couch. The three of them were becoming fast friends at Cruz's expense -- not that he minded. They bought food -- they ate a lot of food. They drank more than they ate. And wine wasn't their thing. They forayed into various other recreational drugs. And to the point they stood now, he's refused their offers, but it was becoming increasingly harder and harder with each refusal. What would it harm?

"Come on, Cruz." Felix yelled from the door. "You don't have to worry you look great. And the money will attract the ladies more than the duds, so let's move it."

Cruz rolled his eyes. Felix insisted people knew he had money just from the way he dressed and the way he moved or spoke. Maybe he was right. Cruz had been trying to fit in, and never really did. He took tips from what he knew of Nox and Sage. Felix and Gordey dressed like slops unless they were going out. Even Nox's ratty hoodie looed better than these two. A pair of dark blue jeans, a stole sarcastic shirt from Nox's room from days gone past, it read If you don't want a stupid answer don't ask a stupid question. Cruz didn't remember why he had taken he shirt, but it was one of his favorites when he was trying to be a typical college kid.

Cruz pulled on a leather jacket that didn't scream I have money or I'm a lofty rich kid unless you looked at the name on the tag -- or you knew the jacket by it's design. But few kids at Moscow University knew the names of the labels Cruz owned.

"Fine. I'm ready. Let's go." Cruz didn't wait for them to drag him out the door like usual. Today he went willingly. A club -- he had no idea where. He didn't care. Tonight was all about getting smashed after a long run of finals.

Heya! Anyone want to RP with the new dancer at Kallisti? I have nothing in particular I want to go for right now, so I'm open to ideas or anything.