[center][B][U]Strange Strangers[/U][/B]
[I]Midday
Kenen - West Heights Marketplace[/I][/center]
[center][I]Wind and yoshua171[/I][/center]

Silently Zi bit her lip and nodded. Feeling guilty and unsure of what to say she just held Emmet and let him hold her in turn. It seemed like to her the assault didn't matter, like all that mattered was his steady heartbeat...

However peace didn't last long. Reality didn't seem to tolerate even a moment away from it and it soon burst their bubble with the ring of a phone. Reluctantly Emmet stepped away from Zi and reached into his jeans' pocket. The girl used the moment he was answering to extend her senses and follow Juan's trail to where it stopped. What she felt made her stomach turn. The demon was next to an angel and it wasn't going to last long. Its essence was slowly bleeding out... right until the demon stepped in to consume it instead. Just like that not only a life was extinguished, but a soul as well. And while Zi didn't feel much sympathy for the person who tried to shoot both her and Emmet dead, the thought itself made her hair stand up. And so did the realisation that she herself would have enjoyed watching the angel perish. 

Emmet's voice came as a wake-up call, even though she didn't realize she'd spaced out. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"I need to go." The young man repeated, remorse and alarm in equal measures in his voice. 

"Go where? What's wrong?" She inquired, somewhat shocked at the abrupt statement. They'd just been shot at and he wanted to leave her alone straight after? The accusation must have been clear in her eyes as it made Emmet's expression twist further. "I'm sorry. It's Darius and it concerns Olivia. I need to go, but I promise you I'll contact you as soon as possible." He apologized sincerely, putting on his jacket and shoes even as he did so. Zi hurried to grab her own. "Is anything the matter? Should I come with you, I can--" 
"No." He cut her off and the words died in her throat. "I'll call you when I can." He repeated and stormed out of the apartment. Zi was left standing there for a second, feeling like a fool and trying her best not to feel abandoned. It took a few seconds for the reality to sink in that he wouldn't come back... whereas Juan would. 

Gritting her teeth and kicking a pair of Emmet's shoes in frustration, Zi decided she wouldn't sit here and wait for the demon's return. Slipping on her flats and throwing the denim jacket over her shoulders, the girl shut the door behind herself and ran down the stairs. Along the way she reached into her pocket and took out the essence vial and pulled the cork out with her teeth. On demand the essence held within vaporized into an invisible cloud that Zi willed to stretch out in a kilometer radius. It was a shame to see the Miracle angel essence go to waste for purely monitoring purposes but it was the only one she had. As the ethereal substance spread, so did Zi's perceptions. She could now feel and see every living creature within that radius, from the smallest child to the brightest glow of an angel. She could sense Emmet as he got in his car and sped towards Burbran Avenue. Stubbornly, Zi choose to head in the opposite direction and turned around the corner of Fleet. Her mental image of Juan cleared and she could quite literally keep an eye on him while she was making a run for it. She remembered clearly the look he'd given her as he saw her heal Emmet and she had no doubt she should be weary of the demon. The angelic essence twisting in his abdomen as he slowly chewed on a bone only confirmed that. 

Desperate to get away as soon as possible, Zi reached into her inner pocket again, her fingers reassuringly tightening around the cool porcelain-like surface of a mask. She could make a quick exit, she would even cover her trail by completely altering her essence. But as soon as her hand started slipping out Zi's senses alerted her of another danger. A vampire, more powerful than any she'd met, was headed in her direction, and he was moving [i]fast[/i]. Zi's heart sank. Her hand quickly withdrew from its location. It was too dangerous to shift right in front of a creature that's lived for centuries and seen and [i]felt[/i] all sorts of beings. Choking on her breath Zi slipped into the crowd, praying that whatever's coming wasn't coming for her.

His form casting a shadow far below him, Mairyell's eyes scanned over the area of the city in the general direction of his [I]target[/I]. He wasn't sure what this [I]Zi[/I] would look like, so all he had to go on was a name and from that, the possibility of it being female. Based on the scent he was picking up, that was also correct. She didn't seem that powerful, not really, though there was something odd about her. She seemed primarily human...but there was something else in there. It reminded me of someone he'd smelled only once before: Hazumi.

[B]"Agh,"[/B] Mairyell exclaimed as, for a moment, reflected sunlight from a skyscraper's windows blinded him. Shaking his head after the event and blinking several times to readjust his eyes, the vampire glanced down and took a good long whiff of the air again, before a smile spread across his lips, he swooped diagonally upwards, and then half folded his wings before plummeting downwards feet first towards a building. He was in West Heights near an apartment complex, and it was on that complex that he landed, his wings unfurling at the last moment to get rid of the majority of his momentum. He didn't want to smash through the roof.

Landing he took another sniff of the air and then chuckled, closing his eyes and repeating the action twice, his body turning till he could smell the scent at its strongest. [I]Thataway, huh? Fair enough. She's moving rather fast though, wonder why. Perhaps she knows I'm coming and thinks I'm a threat?[/I] At that the vampire chuckled, his purple eyes opening, [I]He [/I]was[I] a threat, just not to [/I]her[I].[/I] Laughing lightly. his wings emerged once more and he took to the air, quickly ascending before leveling off and continuing on his path to locate Zi, except now her signature was much clearer to his senses. Within a minute or two he'd find her.

Meanwhile Zi was forcing herself not to break into a run. Her perception was only feeding her fear as she sensed him appear on top of Emmet's apartment and then unmistakably head her way. Already her hearing caught the faint beat of wings and the sound they produced didn't imply feathers. He could fly?! How many vampires could fly?! Furthermore, looking closely at his essence there was something else beside the vampire. Demons..humans. All being digested at various speeds. The realization made her choke on her breath, cough painfully and slow her run. What that person seemed like to her essence sight was a demon, bathing in the blood of its victims, a man wearing the meaty robes of decaying corpses. A stray memory hit her and almost made her trip. The Fleshshaper, dressed like a clairvoyant Seraph, hand outstretched to her, eyes locked on her's, her desire to take it. What she'd felt back then hadn't been disgust, but mostly reverence. Now it made her gag and stumble. A few passer-by looked at her funny, oblivious of her torture, probably assuming her drunk or mentally ill. Seeing concern on a few faces, Zi grit her teeth and made a sharp turn left. 

Cars honked and yells were heard but she ran straight across the street and under the arch that marked the start of Finsmoore Marketplace. With an open plan and a multitude of stalls and people, with a roof overhead and more than one exit, Zi's breath calmed ever so slightly. She forced herself to smile at the florist, reassuring him that she wasn't mental and was only here for a last-minute buy before the shops closed. Meanwhile her senses were scanning the facility for the flow of essence to see where the exits were. Without hanging around for longer than a second, Zi slipped In the nearest women's wear shop and grabbed the first garments she saw, hiding away in the dressing room. There she leaned on the wall and gave herself a second to take a breath and consider her next move. 

Her hope was that the marketplace, the shop assistant and the cameras would deter the vampire. Reaching for her top she considered taking it off and pretending to be caught changing if he comes up with some bullshit of being her boyfriend or whatever. Almost as soon she cursed herself for that thought. "What're the chances that he's gonna care? If you're gonna die today, at least have the dignity to wear a fucking shirt."

With that decided Zi took a deep breath and willed her hands to stop shaking. She again reached for the demon mask and held it tight in case she needed to enhance her reflexes rapidly. 

Yup, she was definitely freaking out, Mairyell surmised, a small rueful smile on his lips. It hadn't been the first time that someone had freaked out when he'd gone looking for them. He had a tendency to do that and while it was somewhat annoying, it was almost equally amusing. He even got to play a little bit, teasing them once they realized he wasn't going to quite literally tear into their flesh and sap them of their essence. Eventually landing and following the trail that this Zi had certainly taken, the vampire's blood wings politely folded in his back and he nodded his head to several slightly off-put onlookers. He was used to getting looks, they didn't bother him anymore.

His feet carrying him towards his destination, Mairyell looked at the store fronts rather casually, not at all in a rush. He knew that Solus had called Zi pivotal, but he figured that they had some measure of time before shit hit the fan. Eventually the trail led him straight into a women's department store of some sort. He didn't care enough to even glance at its name, he simply walked in, taking no mind of the odd looks he got. He figured he either looked like a creep or like a boyfriend buying his girl a [I]special[/I] present. He wished this could've been a visit under such pleasant circumstances.

It was not.

Eventually noting the woman's essence on a particular rack, and then leading back into a changing stall. Sighing, Mairyell then leaned his back against the side of one of the stalls, taking on the appearance of a man waiting for someone, which he was. After several long moments, the vampire spoke, just loud enough for people close by him to hear, and not enough for the clerk to notice. [B]"Must've been real excited to get some new clothes,"[/B] he stated with a sort of sarcastic amusement, [B]"...or maybe you're just really flighty. Not something I'd expect from one of Solus' acquaintances."[/B]

Zi's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the male voice across the half-assed door. She [i]had[/i] expected it, of course, but it was still a bit of a shock. You can never be truly prepared for death, not even if you've died a couple of times already. Yet beyond the mockery in his voice there was also something undeniably pleasant about it. Some softness. And there was that name he mentioned, one that rang a distant bell, though Zi couldn't pin-point why. Swallowing hard and rubbing her thumb over the mask nervously, Zi decided to answer. Her voice was low and timid, almost as if she was trying to both get a message across and pretend to not be there. 

"What do you want from me?"

[B]"Not much. Although I hope that you don't have anything planned for today."[/B] There was an amused air to his words and a smile, one that should could not see, on his face. [B]"It'd be best not to talk too openly here though. Not exactly the picture of privacy. However, from your reaction I doubt you'd let yourself anywhere even vaguely private while in the company of a [I]dangerous[/I] vampire,"[/B] the last two words he said with an eyeroll and a mocking tone. [B]"If it helps any, I can tell you a title of mine. Sanguine should sound somewhat familiar...and friendlier perhaps,"[/B] the vampire was almost musing aloud as he casually mentioned his name, which had become something of a living legend. After all Mairyell had lived for over 200 years now and for 200 of those years he had been traveling the world and saving, or beating, all kinds of ass. The name Sanguine was known the world across, and the rumor was that the famous hunter was in Loom, which was only an hour or so from Kenan.

Even more so, Sanguine was partially known for his blood red wings, wings that most vampires did not have. In fact, it could be concluded that only ascended vampires had wings, and their wings were made from flesh, and their colors were almost never red. The other confirmation of his identity was his eyes, and the third was his essence. If Zi took a moment to really analyze his essence she would find herself not seeing the churning of victims, but a rather unique equilibrium of human and demon essence in an eternal dance. Mairyell's essence was unique and aside from his sister, whose essence was in many ways similar, there were few who could claim such traits. Still, he hardly blamed her for turning tail initially, even if at the end of the day she couldn't escape him. His ability to track people down was even more infamous than his wings after all.

Slowly Zi's frenzied heartbeat seemed to calm. what he was saying seemed to work as the mention of Sanguine put the name of Solus into perspective. The former's fame had sprouted quite a few proverbs about him helping the weak and a vague memory reminded her that so had Solus. In fact, she remembered meeting the guy once. It hadn't gone that brilliant but that was beside the point. She was trying to remember the characteristics of the famous vampire - of course, anyone could claim to be him - and unfortunately from the little she could remember his eyes stood out the most. A bizarre, shifting colour involving both blue and red, mixed to make a peculiar shade of restless purple. "Such a poetic description, Azel..." she rolled her eyes mentally, reluctantly admitting that that was, after all, her best lead. Zi gathered her courage. Literally. She wasn't going to leave anything to chance so she gathered some essence around her face and made it sharper. While pretty fragile, it was going to cut someone's hand if they were to try to reach for her. Often she found that was enough. 

So, taking a deep breath, Zi cautiously poked her head through the drapes and narrowed her eyes at the unexpected visitor, trying to make out the colour of his eyes. Seeing them made her shoulders relax somewhat and a deep sigh escape her. 

"Okay. I'll come with you." She surrendered, her voice sounding tired and resigned.

[I]Hmm, she's a looker[/I] he thought silently as she poked her pretty little head out of the stall. When she eventually emerged fully he ceased leaning on the side of the stalls and turned to face her directly. [B]"Very good. Then, shall we depart? I'm in a hurry to get back to someone, and apparently all this is rather...important."[/B] Mairyell noted an odd smelling essence surrounding her. It was like she was surrounded by the essence of many, rather than just her own. It was a bit strange, but he made no comment. Mairyell was not one to pry unless he became particularly curious.

Gesturing for the door, Mairyell then walked towards it, figuring that she might not trust him enough to allow for him to tread behind her. That unnerved some people, the vampire knew. [B]"Let's get going, I've got some other things I want to check on after this. Oh, that reminds me,"[/B] as they exited the store he stopped and glanced back at her, a light smile on his face. [B]"I hope you don't mind flying,"[/B] a smirk crossed his features as two huge blood red wings expanded out from his back and then partially solidified, though not so much that they did not appear incredibly fluid. Offering his hand to her, Mairyell waited, hoping she wouldn't be too opposed to flight, because if she was then she'd be displeased when he had to pick her anyways.

Mairyell was not the most patient bloke, and if he had to forcibly carry her all the way back to Loom, he would; no second thoughts, no questions asked. Even if she was kicking and screaming the whole way.

Zi's courage visibly faltered as Mairyell unleashed his wings and her body recoiled with a curse. "He's safe, he's safe, he's safe!" She chanted as she willed her body to remain in place and squeezed her eyes shut. Then an idea occurred. quickly she pulled out one of her masks and slipped it on. With the blink of an eye what stood in her spot wasn't a human any more, but an angel instead. The face was the same but the eyes were now a dark maroon and the complexion fairer. and of course, there were those brilliantly-white wings. Zi stared at the vampire with a comically serious attempt of dignity and stepped past him. 

"Let's go." She said and took off.

A small curious smirk resting on his face, the vampire nodded, and then took to the air, the woman quickly following suit.

Solus sure knew how to pick his women.