"Good evening fair Hunter. I trust you've had a pleasant rest? I'm glad you made the journey in one piece because I'm afraid you'll have to sleep a little longer. Please don't fret...I promise the monsters under your bed won't bite."

---

The Temple seemed to breathe on its own. Dusty, dank, and molted breath, almost like a noxious vapor used to kill pestering insects and other infestations. As decrepit as it may be, it was the closest thing Iredele had to a church. Thinking about it a little more broadly, it was perhaps the last standing place of worship in this nightmarish realm. The World of Wasted Dreams. A plane wrapped in eternal night.

The Temple had one priest of sorts and he was speaking to those newcomers even now who awoke a second time to find their reality twisted and torn apart. The man Iredele called Rotting Bone. A clunky mess wrapped in a tattered cloak and other meshes of clothing, yet they always seemed to blend in perfect ripples with each motion of his ancient body. A cane was held in his wrinkling hand while a hood covered most of his visage from the world.

“Welcome youngling,” he had greeted the ones that were waking up. “So she’s brought in some new blood….ah, forgive an old man and his ramblings. Kneel and give praise to the Church of Absolute for He gives us prayers in the night. You’ve wandered into the World of Wasted Dreams and into Iredele. No, no, no, there’s no use in thinking that you’ll escape. Thinking like that gets men killed. No…no…..”

The man shuffled off, only to return with an assortment of garbs and weapons. He motioned for the group of unfortunate souls to take them freely and he chuckled at how lost they really were. The world had certainly moved on, now had it?

“No use, no use I say! All that’s left is to hunt the monsters that pollute this town. You don’t get a choice I’m afraid. You either become a Hunter for me and search for your own answers, or you blend in and forget whatever you knew about from before. That’s not my problem. All that is my concern is your donations to the Temple. Now go on then. Run along and become good little Hunters for me…the sooner you kill the beasts, the more people will be running back to my business. Go on then. Out with you. Oh, and if you run into my granddaughter, tell her she’s wasting her time as always.”

That had been roughly one night ago, Rotting Bone residing in his Temple with solitude. Now it was the time to explore the confines of Iredele and search for answers. For a new generation of Hunters was upon the World of Wasted Dreams.

And the monsters were waiting in the shadows.

After having his time wasted by the old guy that spoke to him Sinthe, held his head trying to recall what happened, he didn't feel like asking the strange man any questions, somehow he knew that the guy would give him code like answers that wouldn't get give him many answers he wouldn't understand." It's probably for the best that I go outside, and see how this place is, staying inside won't get anything done really." Sinthe told himself before heading straight for the exit and not going for any of the weapons he still had his gi and that's all that matters with his bandages wrapping around his forearms, hands and fingers, when he walked outside he saw this world, the look of it didn't bother him." Why do I feel like I've seen worse ?" He asked himself." A question for later." He told himself.

Takumi's awakening was slow. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he found himself in a place unfamiliar to him. It was a familiar phenomena for Humans: Waking up and momentarily not knowing who you are. But that's not what this was. Takumi realized he was in a place entirely foreign to him. He rose from the stony ground slowly, the wheels of his mind slowly turning. Where am I? Better yet... who am I? Nothing made sense. His panic rose as he realized he had no memories whatsoever. He bolted up from the ground to a standing position, examining his surroundings. The voice of an old man caught his ears, addressing him, and the people around him whom he had just noticed. It appeared they were in a similar boat.

The man rambled on, seeming to talk aimlessly and making little sense, but he did manage to gather something: He had been brought here to kill monsters. He pondered on this. He didn't know who he was, but killing monsters didn't sound so bad. In fact, the idea appealed to him greatly. Adventure! I don't know where I am, but this sounds like a good deal! He eagerly accepted the old mans equipment. He quickly noticed that the entirety of his group had all been given different weapons, and he received a katana. This geezer thinks that just because I'm Japanese I should get a katana!? He shook his head. He realized he didn't know what 'being Japanese' meant. It clearly had some meaning to him, but he couldn't recall the meaning of the word 'Japanese'. He shook his head, trying to put together his scrambled memories.

Everything came suddenly. A flurry of information. First came his name: I am Takumi Nakano. Then everything else was fuzzy. I was in a fight... but it was for sport. Kendo. There were wooden swords, and the fight got heated, and I was injured... we weren't wearing the armor we were supposed to... why? And then there was a hospital... Takumi shook his head again. There was nothing else, but at least he knew his name now. He looked to his new companions. One girl with short ashen blonde hair. Not too bad looking, in fact. He mused to himself. The other was a man, wearing a strange uniform, he was beefy, obviously pretty strong. He was already out the door, not grabbing a weapon. It was clear he was annoyed, but he couldn't be blamed, they were in a very strange situation and the old man seemed somewhat confused and not particularly helpful.

He looked away from the man and back towards the two girls. He gave them time to get acclimated and then asked, "Either of you know where we are? It seems like the guy who left" Takumi nodded at the door, "doesn't really have any more knowledge then I do." Takumi wore a bright smile as he spoke to the pair. His voice had a upbeat and friendly tone to it. He certainly was polite. "By the way, what are your names? If you know, that is... it seems like I've forgotten quite a bit, but I'm Takumi." He said brightly.

The city of Iredele, ha... calling it a city was nothing but vanity from those who inhabited this glorified village stuck in the middle of a literal nowhere. The Word of Wasted Dreams, was how some called this darkness soaked bog that was full to the brim with unpleasant things of all shapes and sizes.

Well, it's not like that was of any concern to the slender cloaked figure that just now walked through the threshold of the gates that led inside the walls that flanked the main settlement. Beyond it lay a sparse farmland and the houses of those who were brave, or better, fool enough to ditch the safety blanket that the battered wooden walls represented.

The cloaked silhouette was barely discernible against the ever present gloom as she walked down the main street. in the tavern's direction. When she was about to enter the old wooden building, she saw some disoriented persons leaving the Temple of Absolute. "It seems like more of them arrived" she said to herself before going in.

Once in the tavern the girl went to the counter and placed three rusty coins over it. "My usual, master." She said in a feminine, albeit dry and low, voice before proceeding to a table located in a corner across the fireplace and thus, hidden in the shadows, unless you had some good eyes. It didn't took long for the tavern master to order their only maid, a fairly beautiful redheaded lass who's the joy of Iredele's weary males, to bring the cloaked girl's bowl of steaming-hot, hellishly spiced noodles that no one else had the gall to try.

"Here it's, Miss Akemi." The tavern lass said as she put Akemi's food over her table, along with a copper mug full with a very strong vodka that was Iredele's specialty "And this one is on the house, to thank you for dealing with those chupacabras the other day." The girl put a wooden plate with a juicy looking steak over Akemi's table before leaving.

Akemi put a large amount of soy sauce on her food before digging in, barely being able to hold back the pleasure moan that threatened to escape her lips as finally bit down her beloved mapo tofu udon.

Where was she?

The questions of who she was or even why she was here never even entered her mind as she awoke to the scene of the old man speaking, of course others spoke out against this craziness but she started to look around the strange room. She could not help but start to think about if this was what death was like? She expected a whole different world if that was really the case, something involving more lovely things but maybe this was punishment of some sort? Or it could be a dream as the man stated, though from what she remembered this was not one of her normal dreams...

Taking the equipment that she was given Jen started to changed into her garb over the rags she had started with, she did not seem to have any notion of modesty or embarrassment even as she was talked to by Takumi. "Jennifer, its my name" She said as she finished up putting on everything, apart from the weapons. "I don't know what we are doing here, but we are here now right?"

She looked towards the guy with a rather dazed look as if what she said was common sense, which it wasn't but really there was nothing they could do by her understanding. "I have no idea why we are here though or how we are meant to do it... He didn't mention how we would be doing this whole hunting thing." Other than handing this stuff off he did nothing.

Tastumi blushed as the girl changed brazenly in front of him, turning away from her quickly. Jennifer may not have been embarrassed, but Tatsumi was embarrassed for her. She really was completely shameless. His embarrassment caused him to trip over the words in his sentence. "W-w-w-well, it's, uh, nice to, uh, meet you Jennifer." He chanced a peek around to see if she was done, and when he confirmed she was clothed he enthusiastically grabbed her hand and shook it. "Well, no use hanging out here, I'm sure we'll find some answers outside. I'm going to take a look around." He briskly made for the door, heading out into the street.

Tastumi found himself in a positively gloomy town square. He took note of the fact it was night, and the fact that they appeared to be in a small village. He thought he caught sight of a hooded figure moving across the square, but it was hard to tell. Whoever ever they were they might have some answers. Tatsumi made haste to the building the figure had entered. He approached the door. Winter Wolf Tavern? It was a good place to start, there would be someone here who could give him information. He cautiously opened the door, peeking in.

What he found was a completely ordinary tavern. He was a little surprised. He expected his new surroundings to be more... hostile. He peeked around the room. It took him a moment to find the hooded figure he first took note of, sitting in a gloomy corner. How cliche! Tatsumi thought to himself. He approached the table, eyeing the figure, who he could now vaguely discern as female. "Excuse me, miss, do you mind if I sit here?" He didn't wait for an answer, taking a seat across from the girl. "I'm a little... lost. Can you tell me where we are?"

Sinthe looked around the town and saw that it wasn't much to look at from any view and he wouldn't have wanted to stay here, he saw a hooded person or what ever it was walking to a building down the main street of the small town, Sinthe followed behind it not caring what it could be, the second he entered the tavern he held the side of his head as he walked further inside and went to the counter, the second some people he decided to speak aloud instead of keeping his thoughts to himself.

" So there are people here, that's...Good I'd rather not be stuck her with nobody else to talk to." He shared his thoughts aloud, he then walked over to the counter and put his hands onto the counter, he noticed the maid and some of the others in the tavern, he felt the others probably were just like him coming from the derelict church, hell this entire world looks derelict, Sinthe walked over away from the counter and easily saw the hooded figure from before he approached it as another person took up a seat in front of the person still he wasn't worrying about his safety and grabbed a chair from a lone table.

The tall white haired man dropped the chair in front of the table the figure was sitting at right next to Tastumi, then he slowly sat at the table, he looked past the person's hood and saw their face as they dug into their food." You must be hungry, who and what are you ?" He asked bluntly." Because if you were normal or weren't hiding you wouldn't be wearing that cloak and I didn't see you at that church." He then looked over to the pale guy to his right." You wake up at the church as well ? " Sinthe asked.

The city of Iredele was more like a village than a city. There was a small commercial district that you could visit to acquire goods and a large temple at the center of town. Other than that there wasn't much to see. It was a pitiful place to say the least. The townspeople were like zombies. They went about their business and pretended like everything was fine, but on the inside their were all dead. They were shells of what you would call human. Almost everyday the same events occurred, but today something out of the ordinary would happen. Something that no one would suspect.

On the far edge of town there was a slum area that was almost completely abandoned. Lurking in the basement of one of the buildings was an insane man by the name of Leo. He is a mad scientist who came to this land not too long ago. Ever since he has been performing experiments that disrupt the daily lives of the villages. The only reason they haven't taken up arms and chased him out of town is because of his skills in the field of alchemy. He is unlike any other. No alchemist in the entire world could match his skill. Almost daily he comes up with a new invention. Most of the time they're extremely destructive, but every once in a while he invents something that improves the lives of the villagers. If it wasn't for that, they would be more than eager to get rid of him.

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"Yes! Just a little bit further and it'll be done!" The mad scientist dashed across the damp cellar with a vial in hand. Inside was a light green liquid that appeared to be extremely volatile. As he reached the other side of the room he grabbed a jar off of a table and dumped the contents of the vial inside. He then grabbed another jar that was filled with a mysterious black powder and dumped it into the jar holding the liquid. There was a flash of light and a large puff of black smoke arose from the jar. Any sane person would have ran for their life, but not the scientist. Instead he began to laugh maniacally as the cloud of smoke began to rise. "YES, IT'S FINISHED! THE FRUIT OF MY LABORS!" He began to jump up and down giddily with the jar in hand. He was like a school girl who had just received a love letter. "Now it's time to test to see if it works." With the speed of a bullet he darted up the stairs of the cellar in an attempt to make his way out side. If only he had walked he could have avoided what was about to happen. When he reached the top of the steps one of the loose boards gave way causing him to trip. The jar went flying out of his hands and crashing onto the floor. At this point you're probably wondering what it was that he made. The secret was that he made a high power explosive that detonated on impact. As the jar made contact with the ground there was a bright flash of light. Across the town the ground began to shake as a building on the other side of town began to collapse. What from? No one knows.

Now, let’s think about this. First, you fell asleep on a hospital bed, sick to the bones with disease. Now, you wake up in a Temple, with no sign of illness left in your system. Macey parted her lips a little, as if tasting the air would give her more answers. Does this mean that her prayer worked?
In fact, looking around now, this church looked not a lot like a normal church at all. It was woefully dark, bare without any idols, and it didn’t looked like anyone native to the city was here today – that is, except for the priest. Surely, this couldn’t be a house where God resides? Instinct told her to kneel at the altar, although at that point she had no idea what she was meant to be kneeling to - she decided against it, for now.

Macey had just finished securing the last of her weapons to her person after the priest’s strange introduction – it was unlikely that she’d need it so soon after waking up, but it was best to be prepared in any case. She listened to the sparse conversation of the others around her, avoiding direct eye contact – and it was clear that they had no clue how they got there either. Feeling impatient (and rather thankful that she was free to walk again after being bed bound for months), Macey headed straight for the door outside. She was surprised how easily she could walk, as if those long months spent bed bound and not moving a single muscle never happened at all.

She didn't expect to be hit by a deep midnight darkness, which gave the whole place a rather eerie feel. She almost shuddered to look at the cold cobbled streets, which seemed to disappear into the belly of the shadows. Well, maybe it would all look better in the morning. From her position in the town square, the “City” looked very small indeed. All it seemed to have as a boundary to the outside world was a high wooden wall and a gate – in fact, which town even still used wooden walls instead of brick or concrete? Had she gone back in time too?

Macey had lots of questions about this place, but she wasn’t sure which questions would give her the answers that she needed to survive here. She wanted to speak with the native people to find out what their way of life was like, but they hardly even seemed alive. With a dire thought Macey began to think of the possibility that she’d turn into one of those, but the thought was quite literally shaken out of her mind when a sudden piercing light flooded the town square like daylight. It took about half a second for the ground beneath her to tremble as well.

Managing to stay on her feet through the tremors due to pure luck, Macey looked up just in time to a building collapse in on itself on the far side of town. And that’s why we use bricks to build houses… she mused to herself. Still, if this wasn’t a clue, then she didn’t know what was. She raced to the wooden ruins, trying to ignore the shadowy streets with looming buildings and the way that the air kept dead still without a breeze, all the while hoping that nothing would jump out of the darkness to attack her. Even when she reached the collapsed house, Macey then wondered whether coming here alone was a smart idea after all.

She scuffed a piece of broken glass with her boots, wondering if it had any part to play in the incidence. Not too far away, a single gloved hand poked out from underneath a wooden beam. Macey got to work heaving the thing up, and almost dropped it again in surprise when she noticed a bird’s face staring back up at her.

Wait… not a bird. It’s a mask. She sighed at her own stupidity, then asked “Sir, are you… alright?”

Akemi's ears twitched bellow her hood when she noticed that some of the new comers had come inside of the tavern, still she didn't reacted, merely continuing to eat her noodles before they could get cold.

What he found was a completely ordinary tavern. He was a little surprised. He expected his new surroundings to be more... hostile. He peeked around the room. It took him a moment to find the hooded figure he first took note of, sitting in a gloomy corner. How cliche! Tatsumi thought to himself. He approached the table, eyeing the figure, who he could now vaguely discern as female. "Excuse me, miss, do you mind if I sit here?" He didn't wait for an answer, taking a seat across from the girl. "I'm a little... lost. Can you tell me where we are?"

The tall white haired man dropped the chair in front of the table the figure was sitting at right next to Tastumi, then he slowly sat at the table, he looked past the person's hood and saw their face as they dug into their food." You must be hungry, who and what are you ?" He asked bluntly." Because if you were normal or weren't hiding you wouldn't be wearing that cloak and I didn't see you at that church." He then looked over to the pale guy to his right." You wake up at the church as well ? " Sinthe asked.

Nevertheless, her eyes -far more used to the gloom of this world than any human's- kept track of the two strangers as they walked around the place before sitting across from her, one of them even going as far as stick his face inside of her hood to get a good look at her.

"By the Absolute's grace, I swear that your lot gets more disrespectful with every new batch." Akemi swore before slurping down the remainder of the broth that was left inside the plain wooden bowl and setting it aside just to pick the steak with her slender hands and taking a bite of it, revealing her animal-like fangs in the process.

She devoured the juicy beef in matter of seconds, before picking up the bowl and trusting it to the newcomers "Food first, questions later." Even the smell of the thick oily broth was enough to make one wonder how Akemi was able to eat that spicy stuff without going crazy, or if she had already went crazy a long time ago.

However, as Akemi looked down upon the newcomers again, she noticed that it was unlikely that they would have any money on them "If you have no money you're going to work to pay for the answers that I'll give you." She washed down her meal with the vodka, drinking the full mug in one gulp, letting out a small moan and slamming the mug on the table "Ahhh! That's what I live for!" The bolt of pleasure was such that for a moment Akemi even forgot about the two staring down at her.

But just for a moment, as the next thing that she did was address them in her usual dry voice "You're on a place known as the World of Wasted Dreams, and you came here to hunt monsters or die doing it. Face reality and kill in order to live, or be a crybaby and hide on the shadows until either something makes a tasty meal out of you, or you go mad. The choice is yours"

"There's no need to know more about me than that my name's Akemi and that I've been a Hunter for so much time that even that old coot back at the temple can't remember when I arrived at this darkness covered bog of a world. Though... if you want to know more about me... it'll have a price." Akemi said with a suggestive voice, while licking her index finger before running it up Sinthe's throat and chin while her claw-like nail caressed him rather provocatively.

Leaving the two men to wonder about her behavior, Akemi walked to the door "Come, don't be afraid. I don't bite... much."

"Fufufu." Akemi giggled after the joke she haven't had the chance to use in such a long time. "Depending on how they react this might be pretty fun..." She thought before hearing the blast and feeling the ground shake bellow her feet "Leo again?" Akemi said to herself as her palm met her face in an exasperated gesture. "I wonder how he's able to survive those things every time?"

"Not like it's my problem, though..." She thought, ignoring the mad alchemist's plight.

---

.@Spriggs27@Diggerton

Jen looked down to her hand for a moment after the guy shook it, only to look up and notice that the others had started to leave the church and go out into the street, though she was not done just yet. Peering around she spotted what she expected to be the 'good book' of this world, a likely useful read if it held any knowledge of this world. It was one of many so she suspected that the old man wouldn't miss it, besides he did give them clothing and not to mention weapons at that, hers seems a little oversized?

Picking up the large sword she was a little surprised by how light the thing was, though it had a thin blade and a large handle for easy use... How did she know this? Was her old world filled with things like this, because she felt strange adapt with the weapon as she placed it on the holder on the back of her gear.

Walking out of the open church door Jen peered around at the rather Gothic style of the place, seemed like she fit right in if it wasn't for her ashen hair. Taking up the book once more she started to skim it as she walked towards the center square where she had seen a tavern sign hanging high. Thanks to the book she could understand the basics, after trying to sift through all the preachy bullshit that was lumped in with it, still the pictures where the biggest help. Markings and signs and and the like that people put on their door to showed others their intentions. Such as a sign for warmth that allowed people to spend the night in their homes if they had no other place to go, even ones that offered meals. The more signs the more markings someone has the more devoted they seemed to be... Useful.

It was when she looked up from her book that she noticed she had been standing still for a good few moments in front of a women with a hooded robe, she did not know if she had ignored her but still. Raising her hand she gave a small rather lethargic wave "Hello." She didn't know i deeper in the book there was some sort of common greeting between believers. It was then that she noticed the others and gave the same greeting, though it showed a little more of a enthusiastic tone "Hello~"

Sinthe listened to the woman, when she rubbed her clawed finger up Sinthe's throat, he let her finish not wanting to be cut by accident, when the ground began to shake and the woman put a hand on her face, after she spoke Sinthe slammed one of his hands down over top of her hand then reached over the table and grabbed the woman by her chin, he didn't like the fact that she wanted them to pay for information."Don't touch me unless you want to be touched back." Sinthe then let go of her chin and moved his hand back to his side of the table, he looked the woman in the eye before he continued.

"I'm not going to pay for something that's should and going to be given to me for free, I don't have money and unless you have doctors that can replace vital things that belong inside of you, then I suggest you stop playing around and trying to get a quick coin and tell us what's this place or I'm going to start getting angry." Sinthe stood up as he spoke and leaned on the table, he kicked away his chair with one foot as he stood up, in his peripheral he could see the tavern keeper and the barmaid, he was willing to take them down if things got hairy with this person, creature, thing. @KoL

“Help! Somebody, help me!”

The natural melancholy that seemed to envelop all of Iredele was only slightly disturbed by the bloodcurdling screeches now ringing about. Some of the townsfolk turned to see what the commotion was that had spoiled their bleak existences, only to turn away when they saw the event for what it truly was. Nothing different, just the same thing.

A poor woman was being dragged by her arms and hands, her feet kicking into the dirt as she struggled in vain. The ones who held her were a group of five, each individual cloaked in darkened hoods and robes. Their motions did not waver or falter as the woman cried out for release, begged to be forgiven by these silent abductors.

Close inspection from a citizen of the town would notice that they were carrying the woman away from Iredele, heading out to the main road to where the wooden walls kept the mist away from the town. No one bothered to help the poor lass and no one seemed to care as well. It was merely the life lived in Iredele.

An occurrence only to befall the wicked as it were. To interfere now would be to embrace the life of a Hunter and to forever irate the forces that lie in the dark. Whether or not anyone would do anything about it was yet to be seen. But it would not be easy.

“Help! I don’t want to die! Help me please!”

Akemi's lips curled into a challenging smirk bellow her hood when the white-haired man, who was easily a head and a half taller then she and probably weighed twice as much if not more, grabbed her by the chin and stared down at her crimson colored eyes before spouting some irate speech and chucking her away rather violently.

When was it that she was treated this roughly for the last time?

Akemi wasn't sure, the town's people never had the gall to talk back to her like, what to say manhandle her in such a way and most of the other hunters only tried to kill her, just to meet a very painful end. However this treatment clicked something inside of her and suddenly Akemi could feel her chest burn hotter than when she was casting her magic spells.

With beast-like ferocity, or devil-like speed, as would befit her better, Akemi pounce at the man while he was still sitting and placed her hands around his face dragging him close enough to her so that he could see perfectly what lay under her hood "Money isn't the only way to repay me, though..." She whispered in Sinthe's ear with a voice more suggestive than any she had ever used until now "If it's someone like you I wouldn't mid being touched at all..."

Akemi waited for the man's answer with her arms crossed around his neck and her face almost glued to his ear, her ragged breath tickling his skin in a slow caress. @Spriggs27

How many times was it now? Six? Seven? Yes, Seven times now Leo had completely demolished a building with his destructive experiments. It was a complete mystery as to why he hadn't died in one of the explosions. "L..looks like it worked" He managed to cough out from beneath the rubble of the building. At that moment, he could not help but wonder if this would be where he died. He was trapped under a heavy wooden beam. One far to heavy for him to lift himself. He tried his hardest to lift the beam but couldn't even manage to move it an inch. The air beneath the rubble was beginning to thicken with dust. If no one came along soon, he would surely die.

Just as he was about to give up hope, an angelic voice rang out from above. "Is that you god?" Leo said quietly as the bar was lifted from his chest. Who he was greeted by was not god, but a young girl who could have easily passed for one of the village people. "What are you doing here village girl? Didn't your folk say they weren't going to help me if I blew myself up?" Leo suddenly jumped up out of the rubble and stuck his face as close as he could to the girl without poking her eyes out. "Wait, you can't be one of the village people. You don't look like you're completely miserable." Pulling away from the girl's face, Leo just now realized the amount destruction he had caused. "Wow! I really blew this place sky high. It's a miracle the blast didn't kill me. Also, I assume that you want some sort of payment for rescuing me? Will a kiss do?" Gently, Leo leaned in and poked her on the cheek with the beak of his mask. "There's your payment. Don't say I never gave you anything." The girl was most likely completely confused by Leo's actions. Leo took this opportunity to gather his things and attempt to sneak out of the ruins without her noticing.

Tastumi sighed at the behavior of the women he now knew as Akemi. She's not going to be very helpful. His train of thought was interrupted by a sudden earthquake. Tatsumi sighed, accepting that strange stuff like this would happen in this new world. This place is so strange. Tastumi sighed again as his new 'friends' began to get rowdy. The big beefy guy was getting argumentative and Akemi was getting... touchy. He shook his head, heading for the door. I'll let these two go at it if they want to. He wasn't particularly interested in being a third wheel. Tatsumi headed outside, likely bound to get in some sort of trouble.

He took a moment to regroup. He lamented to himself, What have I gotten myself into? Despite his thought, he wasn't displeased with the situation. He was happy. Fighting monsters would be fun in Tatsumi's opinion. He began walking down the main road, but his attention was suddenly caught by the pleas of a women begging for her life. He caught sight of the woman, and the men dragging her away/ Tatsumi didn't hesitate, that wasn't his nature. He drew his sword, running towards the figures in hoods. As he caught up to them he called out, "Stop! Where are you taking her?! Let her go!" He really was biting off more then he could chew, but he didn't give it second thought.

Sinthe was taken by surprise to the woman pouncing on him like a cat did a mouse, they both fell over and onto the floor, when she pulled her face towards his ear and whispered into it, he felt a little off, she didn't get angry or intimidated by him threatening her, she gotten aroused by it. When he caught a look under her hood and noticed her large cat like ears but it didn't bother him, he grabbed her thighs and lightly slapped them them." I think I wouldn't mind paying you in this way, if you have a good spot where we could go, I think I can pay you well this way."

But before they could do anything Sinthe heard his acquaintance's voice yell out, he felt like he shouldn't let his acquaintance get hurt, he glanced out one of the various tavern windows and heard the scream of a woman, he then looked back to the woman on top of him." I'd like to continue this another time, I think if I don't help the guy out there he might get killed or hurt, and I don't want someone to get hurt when I can prevent it." Sinthe told her. He got up and put her onto the table before walking out and catching up to Tastumi, the group he was trying to take down was more for just him alone and it was right for Sinthe to arrive for help." What you did was stupid, but beating the crap out of people that's something I don't mind." @KoL

Macey stood with her feet rooted to the ground, completely awestruck and dumbfounded. While being assaulted with so many questions at once, she froze up and found herself being completely unable to answer any of them. This close to her face, the bird’s sombre mask looked every bit as daunting under this man’s (was “man” the right word?) hood, and his voice didn’t give much away as to whether he was a friend or a foe. Still, she wondered what sort of person would intentionally blow up a building while he was still inside it, but then again, a few patients did turn up at her hospital after an accident with a stray firework. “For the banter”, apparently.

She couldn’t supress a wince when the mask came in closer, and Macey shut her eyes fast. She had assumed that “Payment” meant something like “Punishment” in this place, so the soft prod in her cheek wasn’t quite what she expected. “You’re… you’re m-” she murmured through closed eyes, just falling short of saying the dreaded “m” word before deciding against it. Maybe he wasn’t a foe after all.

When she opened her eyes again, for a moment she’d lost all sight and presence of the strange man. Once again, all that surrounded her was an endless midnight, dreary wooden buildings, a starless sky and an unreal sense of foreboding that felt like…

Oh. No. I’m not staying here alone.

Macey caught just a glimpse of his trench coat disappearing into the streets again – her eyes were slowly getting used to the darkness, she was pleased to notice. “Wait! Please, wait! You’re not a villager either. I mean, you’re not miserable at all, and I didn’t see you at the temple!” Macey paused for a minute, trying to figure the most useful question to ask. “Are you from out there?” She asked, pointing to the pair of gates leading out of the city. “Are you from beyond the walls, travelled in from another land? I mean, is there something outside this place?”

The hooded figures would not stagger in their goal of dragging the woman away to some unspoken and grisly fate. The five of them were as silent as carriers of Death, their grip only tightening as the woman continued to scream out and barter for her life.

There was no use in silencing the woman. Who would care enough to defend her? Who would waste their time on her well being when they had their own lives to deal with? Some of the townsfolk were even cheering the cloaked figures, shouting cries to kill the heretic and burn her blood for the crimes she supposedly committed.

The five figures were near a large well in the middle of the town when the shoutings of a young man made them turn slightly. Tatsumi would protest all he wanted but they would not answer nor would they concern themselves in dropping their quarry. Instead, one of their own moved away from the pack and shuffled to meet the man head on.

The others turned away and continued in their dark task while the one left behind reared back and pounced on Tatsumi roughly, pinning him to the ground. The hood was wrangled free and what was thought to be a man was not. Or rather, the creature had the body and stature of human but the entirety of its head was that of a foaming, rapid dog.

Its black snout dribbled with snot while drool pooled around its hungry jaws. Its eyes were mad and parched, showing the slit pupils of a feral animal. The creature barked viciously as it wrestled Tatsumi’s arms to the side, howling and snarling right in his face.

The townsfolk watched on with placid silence.

Tatsumi was taken by surprise, barely able to react to the sudden attack. He found himself tumbling to the ground, the hooded figure pressing it's weight against him, pinning him decisively to the ground. Tatsumi was taken aback by the creature on top of him. A rabid dog, but in the shape of a man. Slobber dripped down over his face, and the creature howled at him, ready to kill. Tatsumi lost his sword in the initial attack, losing his grip on it in the scuffle. He reached wildly for the weapon, but the hound's grip was too strong. He pushed against the hound, struggling to little avail. It seemed that without Sinthe's help the hound would kill him.

At least that was how it seemed, but something else happened, something entirely beyond what Tatsumi could explain. Tatsumi felt some strange power inside him, and his next action seemed to be driven entirely by instinct instead of conscious thought: Tatsumi used magic for the first time. He raised his hand, and a shadow cast next to him seem to come alive, and form into a spear of darkness, heading directly for the strange beast man on top of him. Did I do that?!