Monster Manual (CCDPD)

[Marisol]

Marisol turned her gaze to Ivan as he spoke. Overall, this was an odd experience. They were not only asking her opinion, they were wanting to discuss what she had found. All the information they wanted to know they had access to. They could find out all of this on their own. That's what other organizations did. Perhaps they were taking advantage of her nature with this. Less to sift through, but Marisol got a different vibe from the men. She had briefly worked with Dorian before. He had no problem with taking charge, but he didn't dismiss her out of turn.

"You're not vulturing me," she said, the thought coming to her suddenly. "You're not cutting me out."

The idea of it felt nice. That she was still involved in the case she had worked on. She was stuck, but they weren't just taking over. Ivan had offered ideas of how she could move on. She brought herself back to the case. "We have all the video - correct." she explained, getting back to business. "And there was nothing un..." her voice trailed off as thoughts began to connect in her mind.

They hadn't noticed anything in the videos that was strange, but they had also been thinking like normal cops. They had been looking for people who didn't belong, technology that seemed out of place, and other mundane things. Marisol was beginning to think there was some supernatural involvement here. She had seen monsters before - the dreykan when she had been with Ricky, and the man that could control emotions when she had first met Dorian. That guy had been human, even if he had unusual abilities.

She allowed her mind to chew on that thought for a moment. it was always possible to miss something. "But maybe I wasn't looking for the right thing." Excitement hit her eyes as she got off the desk, took a seat, and logged into her computer. She quickly got on the to database and pulled up a video. "This is from the security cam in the hall outside of his apartment the day he died."

Marisol searched through the video. She had it moving faster, but was keeping her eyes open and looking for anything odd she might see. The victim showed, and she pointed him out to the detectives as he walked up to his door. He unlocked his door and then turned his head. "See something out of the corner of my eye, but when I look it's not there." she whispered to herself, remembering what he had said. She paused the video and looked in the direction he looked. There was nothing there, but it was gone when he looked. She backed up the video, frame by frame, her eyes on that spot. Then it was there - what appeared to be mist or shadow in the vaguely humanoid in shape. It was there briefly, then gone. Anyone not looking for it would have missed it.

"There," she said. "That's certainly unusual." Marisol pulled away from the desk, allowing the other two detectives to take a look.

[Dorian]

Dorian watched as she explained and showed them the video. There was certainly something there. Certainly something there shouldn't be. Dorian had never seen and Ijiraq. Though his son and Nox had -- Nox had been attacked, felt like it had burnt through his soul. It this fit the bill. "That certain looks like an Ijiraq to me. At least one thats there for a moment taunting their prey. Doesn't sound like typical tactics -- the creatures are getting bolder."

He looked to Marisol and nodded. "Excellent work. Would you like to know what it is and how we can kill it? I do think Ivan knows the answers and can confirm what I think it is. Normally I'd call in our consultant -- he's far more experienced at these things than we are -- as he's been hunting them his whole life."

[Ivan Sarkozy]

Ivan liked the Detective. She didnt bristle at his suggestion even though it exposed an assumption she had made. He didnt much respect people who couldn't admit they were wrong or incorrect. She might have a future at Domovoi. They were always looking for more recruits, as the number of these cases seemed to being growing constantly.

The video evidence was fairly clear and Ivan felt a jolt of excitement. This wass why he was a detective. He liked puzzles. He liked solving them. He wasn't really a reader for fun. Not that he was bad at it. He could read a textbook or follow an argument. But reading fiction was just never something he chose to do.

All of which to say, he never actually read Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes novels. Buy watched the shit out of them. He loved a good mystery and often competed to see if he could figure it out before the end. 

So, a mistake creature. It DID remind him of the things from the Ball. He shuddered at the memory. It had been chaos, then. Later, during his one on one training with Ascendancy, he had learned more. Ijiraq. He wasn't sure exactly what they were. But he remembered what they did. They fed on the power flowing through a channeler.

A spike of ice formed in his gut. Ascendancy had taken a direct hit. It was terrible to behold. 

But how to kill. He remembered. [color=gold"]"They are creatures that somehow feed on channellers. They just suck the power through the person until they die."[/color] His voice softened. "You can't use the power on them. Not directly. And weapons don't normally work. But....they can solidfy with cold. Freezing them. They can be shattered.

[Marisol]

Marisol found herself liking these two men. She had expected to be vultured, but it seemed as if they were keeping her in the investigation. They were also offering knowledge. Knowing that things that went bump in the night existed was one thing. Knowing what they were and how to stop them was something else entirely. Marisol had so many questions. What is out there? Are they intelligent? How do we find them? How do we stop them? She was sure there were more questions that would come up as she learned more. She would need to have these men on speed dial should something else turn up.

For now though she had to focus on this one. "Ijiraq..." she said, testing the word. One hand reached down to her desk drawer and opened it, pulling out a legal pad. She grabbed a pen from her desk and began to write. "Feed on channelers and they can't use their magic on them. Normal weapons won't work, but they can be frozen and shattered." Marisol chewed on the end of the pencil and considered that before turning to Dorian. "Your CI* has been hunting these things his whole life. Would he be interested in having a conversation if I ever want to pick his brain?" She was very interested in this. Anything to protect her community. This hadn't been the first weird thing she had come across. Maybe her weird dreams were something too.

Then she turned to Ivan. "Sounds like you've encountered Ijiraq before. How would you go about freezing them? And how do you find them? Is there a way to track them before they attack?"

Marisol's gaze turned as Captain Dolohov came out of his office to make an announcement. "Get comfortable everyone. Snowfall has exceeded all expectations, we're to remain here for an undetermined amount of time." he explained a little more, but it all amounted to the same thing. They were stuck here until they could be dug out.

Marisol sighed and she took her suit jacket off and placed it on her chair revealing her sidearm in a shoulder rig. If she was going to be here awhile, she might as well be comfortable. "You guys need to inform anyone where you are? I can go get us some coffee."

[[OoC: CI = Confidential Informant]]

[Dorian]

Dorian chuckled. "Nox would love to talk about monsters. While is not the walking encyclopedia of a girl he once knew, or his sister for that matter, he has all their work and he likes to talk. So yeah. I can give you his contact. He actually trains the officers and detectives down at Domovoi, you are welcome to join us for a session or two if your schedule permits." They were always looking for people who fit the bill for the job. And she'd already seen some weird things and was handling it all very well.

"From what I know of them there is no way to find them. I've never actually tried to hunt one before -- And Nox well, he has friends he might be able to help." Dorian shot off a text to both Marisol and to Nox. The first was Nox's contact information should she want to talk to him. And two to Nox. With Marisol's request and his own request about hunting Ijiraq. Not that he would answer Dorian -- maybe Ivan should have sent it. But it's monsters and Nox never turned down a chance to save someone -- so Dorian's hopes weren't dashed all together when Nox didn't respond immediately. He did have a life outside Dorian's calls.

The snow had made them stuck. He should probably check on Ana and Cruz, make sure they were both alright, but he didn't need to make a call. He did however send them each a text making sure they were safe. And both came back affirmative after a short time. They too were stuck wherever they were. Thankfully Ana was home with Christian, though Cruz didn't say where he was.

"Coffee sounds good. And I a bit piquieish. Any food around here?" That might become an issue. Dorian hoped they weren't stuck her long.

[Ivan Sarkozy]

Ivan frowned, thinking. That was the heart of the question, right? Like how would they lure an ijiraq? How would they even know which one was responsible.  Killing one wouldn't stop another. He looked at Vega. I'm sure there's a way to control them." He couldn't reveal much more. But most people didn't know that Ascendancy had NOT been attacked with nuclear weapons. That had been a cover.

Ivan had been sent to get someone from the crowds outside the Palace. He didn't always say much. And so people tended to ignore him. Once he had retrieved the Healer and brought him to the Ascendancy and Consul he had not disappeared. He had watched. And listened. 

And between that attack and the Ball, it seemed to Ivan that someone had been controlling the ijiraq. "I've seen enough about ijiraq to know that it is possible. And it could be....tasked with killing Ascendancy, well, why not others."

He looked from one to the other. [Clolor=gold]"Im not saying that is what happened. But we have to consider it.[/color] He looked at Vega. "Maybe Nox knows something about it. Or the Atahrim."

As they were speaking, the officer came and in let them know they were in lock down. Concern about the ijiraq evaporated as the magnitude of the storm was announced. Danya and Zara. Ma and Pop. His brother, sister and their families. He hoped the towers could handle the flood of calls. He added his own to the load as he called Danya. Zara had gone to school with a runny nose and Danya had picked her up. They were safe at his parents'. He got ahold of his parents and then siblings. 

Thankful they were ok- they lived very close to each other- so his worry disappeared. "Yeah, coffee sounds good.
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