Teeth grit. A shudder ran down her spine. More than anything a bad taste built up in Zoey’s mouth, a bitter aftertaste to an experience she never wanted to encounter again.
Another darkness elemental. How … unfortunate. The description Ditch gave had Reaper’s eyes narrowing, a bristle running through her body. Though their element may be the same it appeared that Umbra’s manipulation ran a different vein than her family’s down. Painful. Brutal. Certainly not something to build a career helping others on.
But it was not something to linger on. Reaper gave Ditch the respect of holding her gaze as their soon-to-be ‘leader’ spoke, baring her backstory to the rest of them. Beneath the mask her lips pressed together, unseen from the dark material, but her eyes never wavered. Reaper knew the loss of having a parent ripped from your life; two parents in different ways. Vengeance was perhaps one of the brightest burning fuels for those in this business, and something she could understand. It lit a fire beneath those already burned, urging them to go brighter and hotter until there was nothing but ash left.
It was hard to say what stage Ditch was at.
As Ditch pulled her gaze away Reaper bowed her head briefly in acknowledgement, a silent recognition of the answered question. She did not regret asking it, as such a thing had to be exposed lest doubt fester. If it was better to rip the bandage off quickly Reaper couldn’t say, but she had gotten her answers and fell back to quiet contemplation as her eyes roamed the group once more. Truth be told, a small pang of feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, a mix of guilt and sadness that Reaper had no desire to let settle. Despite that conviction her shadow continued to wisp, rising higher and curling about her crossed legs hanging over the stage as they reacted to her emotion.
The others had taken it well enough. They seemed to be accepting of Ditch’s story and eager to move – some showing more enthusiasm in the case of Graffiti. Though, the one with the silver mask set Reaper on edge. Their beacon – and that of lightning bug’s – were slightly off from the others, just enough that it had trouble blending in. Larger, darker, more intimidating. The beacon of someone who’s hands would no longer be clean. When silver mask spoke Reaper focused on them intently, a frown tugging the corners of her lips down at their request. Innocent enough, but how sure was Ditch of these others?
Nevertheless Reaper showed grace in giving a small bow of her head at being introduced to the room, though she was more focused in what she sure everyone else was – their … teammates. How odd to say.
Reaper almost commented on Ditch dropped her change as the other girl set up the laptop, but dismissed the few hundred dollars as unimportant. She wouldn’t retrieve them from the dirty floor either. Instead Reaper finally slid from the stage to prowl around and get a better look at the screen, coincidentally near silver mask , her crossing her arms without a word as the images flashed by. Scarlet Shifter and Wall Walker. She had heard of them – who hadn’t in this business? Ditch’s plan, however, had her lip curling in an almost feral manner.
A criminal was a criminal, no matter the reasons. Were the situation not so dire she’d be tempted to take her own punishment from their flesh. As it was… if Umbra was that powerful the allies would be a strike against. Reaper didn’t have to like it, though, and huffed near silently in disapproval.
A sigh at Reaper’s side had her glancing over, looking to the smaller girl beside her. A pale woman from what she could see, with a raven’s mask that nearly engulfed her identity, something Reaper could appreciate. It took her a moment to figure out why the girl seemed annoyed, but a glance at the cane had her memory of watching Ravens Tale enter the auditorium play before her, cane tapping along the ground. Really? She had forgotten. This little presentation was no doubt less than useful to her, though hopefully Ditch knew what she was doing about inviting her. Otherwise it would truly be a case of the blind leading the blind.
With a flick of her fingers shadows coiled into a small ball at her palm, Reaper beginning to move and shape the shadow. Small objects such as this were more her father’s finesse, with Reaper having brute strength and ferocity packed within her frame. Which made her decision as well.
“Shifter.” Reaper said simply without looking up, once again the fact that words came from her lips beneath the mask odd and foreign. It wasn’t as odd as before, as in her palms the shape began to take form. A solid bar as base, from there smaller strikes gathering through it and multiplying…
There. In Reaper’s hands, wisping gently now lay a solidied form of Umbra’s mark. She almost reached to grab onto Raven Tale’s hand in order to bring up but stopped at the last second, remembering just how dangerous some of these people could be. Instead she lowered her voice, already quiet, to talk to the other vigilante.
“Umbra’s mark.” Was all she said, taking the solidified shadow in her palm to press it against Raven Tale’s. She retreated from the touch quickly to let the other woman take or reject the offering, crossing her arms once more to watch the proceedings. It was … quieter without lightning bug, though many were still riled up. Graffiti in particular was eager, though the others were getting further into the plan as well.
As for Reaper? She was just getting a headache. She could already see the wires that would be crossing in a targeted project such as capturing the apex predator Scarlet Shifter. Hopefully they’d get some work in before they all went to doing their own things.