Markiel was the one to tend to Jaklo. He took the hunter from Mithias, quickly laid him down on a medical cot in his office, then began a series of procedures. While he wasn't a healer the company had a rather extensive first aid kit. First and foremost Markiel did his best physically resetting Jaklo's lowest rib. It had been cracked and moved by the icicle spear, but at least it had kept close to its connection.

The hunter growled and roared as the warlock worked. While pain killers were an option even magic ones would be barely effective considering the damage. At the very least it could help feed back into Jaklo's rage reinforcing the magic letting him function. It was clear by now he was functioning not off of his body systems but by burning mana.

With everything back in place Markiel retrieved three things, a green jewel, a bottle of red liquid, and a normal first aid kit. He poured the liquid directly into the wound making Jaklo roar even louder. It boiled on contact with the air cleansing the wound and sending Jaklo's natural ability to heal into overdrive. The cells were growing at beyond cancerous rates, but all were doing so correctly. A large amount of the damage was undone. Instead of a gaping wound it was around the size of a quarter. Markiel patched up the wound with the first aid and put the gem in a Jaklo's pocket.

The hunters breathing was shallow, but steady.

“I hope I'm not the only one who doesn't want to do this again.” Markiel huffed, “You know to keep the gem on you to keep your immunity up.”

“Sure thing doc.” jaklo coughed still lying there.

Mithias walked out of Markiel's office. Healing humans wasn't his thing, and the scent of blood only stirred his animalistic desire. He quietly closed the door behind him and began to approach the table where Max, Baron, Cassandra, and Coal were sitting. The air between Max and Coal was tense. It seemed that Coal was trying to be civil but found himself quickly misinterpreted. Kenya was there. Azai promptly went off on her own. No sooner had some relaxing chatter begun than Atlas suddenly rushed by, gathering things, putting things away... something about a family emergency and that he had to leave.

Mithias stood frozen where he had exited out of Markiel's office, his hand barely having left the doorknob behind him as he took in the scene of the main room. He inclined his head quizzically in regard to Atlas, but got no answer. In quiet contemplation, he moved to join the others. Suddenly, he realized he had Jaklo's blood on his hand, and he froze again, mid step, staring at it like a criminal caught in the act. It was beautiful, delicious, enticing, but it was the blood of his innocent ally, a friend. Oh this moment was so horribly awkward.

Clearly the vampire wanted to taste it, but the denial and embarrassment of his struggle were evident in his expression. Mithias shuddered a breath as privately as possible, then cleared his throat awkwardly, finding some reason to look away from the others. "*cough* Ahem!" Yes..." He pulled back his sleeve and flames burned away the blood from his white skin, removing the source of temptation. "Ahem, I um... I should change. Excuse me." He went to go do just that.

Baron's fingers loosened as the conversation continued around him. He had half expected the kid to strike out, scream and shout in defiance -something, anything to justify his outburst. Against all odds, after a short skulking around, the kid actually apologized. Goddammit, he sounded sincere, too. Baron pressed his face into his fingers for a moment, before raising his face with a smile splitting the otherwise blank expression. "No, no, don't apologize. I'm being an ass." He said, glancing at Kenya with a defeated shrug. "We all did great. Goddamn if we aren't the best at what we do."

Baron meandered over to Coal and placed a hand on the witch-boy's shoulder. The kid was stupid, brash, and arrogant. Hell, Baron had to do some serious searching to find the potential in the kid -a mirror image of Baron before his second hibernation. Maybe the kid wasn't so bad after all. "You did good, ki- Coal. You did good." He said, reassuring the young boy. He raised his glass just a bit, bionic arm still resting on the boy's shoulder. "Celebrate we shall. If that episode wasn't indication enough, clearly I need to... how you say? Fall into a drunken stupor?" He chuckled, as the Pit made an exit.

Baron drunk deeply, a surprisingly sincere smile resting on his face. Though thoughts danced though his head of Jaklo's condition, it was beyond his powers of perception to tell the hunter's condition until he emerged from the office of Markiel. Though Mithias walking out red-handed certainly wasn't a good omen for the young man's future, the vampires embarrassment soothed Baron's worry. While the vampire had some class, he likely would've been a bit more shameless about the blood if Jaklo hadn't survived. So at least for now, Baron could rest easy with his drink, which he took another sip from.

Max sighed at the argument, ready to quietly leave the room, but to his surprise Coal and Baron apologized to one another and made up- maybe there was hope for this group after all.

He felt Lenya's hand in his own for a brief moment, long enough to give her small, warm hand a squeeze before letting go in embarrassment. Hopefully nobody else noticed. Baron commented that he might fall into a drunken stupor to celebrate, at which Max chuckled. "Hey, this stuff has to last," Max replied with a laugh, putting the bottle of slivovitz away. "We're going to have plenty of more wins to toast in the future."

His eyes widened at the sound of Jaklo roaring in pain from the next room. "My God, is he going to be okay?"

Not long later, after the screams in Markeil's office had died down and the lights seemed dimmer, Mithias returned. A cold draft came with him as he took a seat at the table with the others. Warm drinks slowed anyone's notice of his presence, and it seemed that Mithias had simply appeared next to them in a chair, from which he waved pleasantly.

"So what have we decided?" He began casually. "Are we to warn the populace of an impending demon invasion or perhaps tell people that parents should keep their young away from these influential anime books? Hm?" He looked around, to see if anyone was interested in discussing the subject. Chances were that everyone was too drunk, but... Mithias had completely forgotten what that was like.

In truth, he wanted to know where his dear friend and fellow vampire Atlas had gone. If he got the chance, he'd ask Markiel, once his work on Jaklo was finished. Mithias lingered, not really pressed for time in any way and awaited a response.

Seph finally stepped through the portal. If you were to catch a glimpse of his face just as he arrived you might spot a crack in his visage. A single moment of sorrow quickly sealed away back behind his stoic face.

“Couldn’t you save the alcohol for after we’ve debriefed?” Seph said stepping over to the group, “I’ll assume Jaklo’s been taken care of?”

“Yes he’s resting in my office.” Markiel said.

“Alright then. Anyone want to try and outline what was discovered with the investigation? Markiel and I have contacted all of the cryomancers we know of, so how did this man get his hands on tomes like this and become so proficient so quickly?”

When Seph said all the cryomancer he knew that would include most everyone. The possibility that there was a new source of magical materials was not a pleasant one. Dealing with the black magic market was always a troublesome situation to be in. On one hand they were a source like no other. Occasionally their use was necessary, but an unknown supply line was a massive threat.

“Hellbeak says he picked up traces of demonic activity. Max anything you can add to that?” Markiel added as hellbeak squeaked his own thoughts.

Coal couldn’t help but to smile as the quasi-positive vibe filled the room, he didn’t consider it completed though. Maybe it was the hint of strong alcohol in the air that upset him, but he was thankful at least he managed to wring out some positivity from the group without the use of very taboo arts. He also wasn’t called a kid this time! Almost.

“Thanks,” he suddenly quipped from seemingly nowhere, “Thank you for this opportunity to be a part of this. This is, really huge for me.” This sudden sentiment also surprised him too, he was stunned into silence for a second before shaking it off. “But if you’ll excuse me now, I need to be somewhere,” he turned to leave, his footsteps quickly growing fainter as Cerberus followed suit.

He glided over the dusty walls, and rickety stairs, descending down towards the basement. Everything was in place, the oversized desk, the weird items that cluttered the walls, and in the corner of the room, there lay his carved in sigils, that apparently no one wanted to mend. The runes painstakingly carved in, and powered by his momentary agnst. He sighed, and stepped in the mix of runes, he wasn’t going to be like that anymore. And with that, he vanished.

Max suddenly felt like an elementary school student who had been called to the principal's office. He was naturally a shy man, having unplanned attention put on him made him a little nervous. Max cleared his throat unnecessarily, then had to force himself to keep from hemming and hawing.

"Well, sir, honestly that's on me. I drew demonic attention to what was going on. I thought perhaps we could get a little information about what was going on, and maybe the extra bit of arcane force in that area might destabilize the spell. I didn't go so far as a Summoning, but I guess the other world was more interested than we could have thought. A shade manifested in the basement."

Before I left to the office, I would shrink back into my normal, human form. Walking through the portal into the office, I was relieved of the harsh outdoor climate as my frigid body was now exposed to indoor heating. I'd lower my axe as I made a relaxing sigh in relief and exhaustion. What a day its been. First time I had to fight something, it would have been fun but Jaklo's scolding remained at the back of my head even now that the mission was over. And furthermore that shade-thing is as worrying as it is. The child-like excitement of fighting had been washed away with all of my energy I had dished out on the golem, I was in little mood to do anything else but socialize I suppose. While everyone was straightening up at the office, Max giving his report, and others receiving medical treatment, or having a drink. I decided I'd first speak to the other rookie of the team. "Aye miss, sorry about sleeping in your cauldron." I called as I approached though kept a good few feet of distance away from her, leaning against the wall.

@fdeviant

Seph sighed looking off towards the stairs up to his office.

“Well just make sure to get reports done by next week. I’ve got a lead to dig for.” Seph said his jaw twisted off to the side showing his teeth, “I’ve got more than enough work with another mage right now.”

The shifter headed up stairs seriously perturbed. He didn’t get really upset easily, but sometimes there was just so much to do he would become irritable. It was curious why he kept working here if it often lead to upsetting him.

Markiel finished discussing with the employees, but there really hadn’t been much mysterious besides the benefactor. As much as a demon might have been teaching the resources there were more than an amateur would be able to gather. He dismissed everyone and headed down to double check on Jaklo.

==============================

@Polyphemus@fdeviant@Wraithblade6@shinigami94@dragonmancer@HeirloomRoses@Austronaut@Witch Cat@AdobeFlash@R31GN

((OOC: figured I'd let everyone go free a bit easier as really there wasn't much to discuss. Ya didn't learn much and a kid died they know that already.))

Cassandra listened to the back and forth of shop talk between Markiel and the others, taking a few more sips of the dark liquor before finding a nice place to rest her legs. Sitting on a bench close to the group, she began to rub away the bits of snow and ice that clung to her exposed legs. Perhaps a once-piece dress, heels, and a sleek trenchcoat weren’t the most modest work clothes ever, but she’d be damned if she didn’t look the part of a powerful, seductive, magic wielding detective. Once she had fully warmed up, she crossed her legs and looked around the room, taking in the aura of the place. This was her first good look at W&R since arriving earlier that day . . . not too shabby.

As the group continued its idle chatter, Drake walked over and leaned near an adjacent wall. He cast a sidelong glance at Cassandra, a bit of worry still in him from the mission.

“Aye miss, sorry about sleeping in your cauldron,” he apologized, keeping his distance all the while.

Cassandra sighed. It wasn’t in her best interest to torment the kid. After all, she’d probably be paired with him, or one of the other new recruits, soon enough, so best to make some halfway friends while she could.

“That’s alright, scales,” she replied, “The Pit’s pretty durable. Next time you want to lay a hand on someone else’s toys, however, might I suggest asking them politely?” She would be friendly, but she’d also be as condescending as possible to anyone and everyone, it was part of her charm.

@jasonwolf (sorry short post, getting some action/dialogue going.)

Some time later, Mithias entered Markeil's study with a knock. "Markiel?" He said in his smooth, warm voice. "I noticed my dear vampire brother left in a rush. What is it that presses him tonight? I feel the need to look after him."

@Wraithblade6

“Mithias as your employer as well as Atlas’s I don’t have the right to tell you this information. As an overly talkative person who enjoys knowing everything I’ll tell you he’s looking into some family ties.” He was chuckling slightly to himself, “I wouldn’t worry. Atlas may not be as long in the tooth as you, sorry… but either either he’s more than likely able to handle himself or call of help if he really needs it.”

Markiel reached over to a thermos he always kept in the office.

“Sukl root tea? Good for the mana. Doesn’t taste as piss poor as those bags Kane stocks the kitchen with.” Markiel offered.

Mithias appreciated the information and smirked inwardly at the tooth comment. "Ah. Very well, Markiel. I will reign in my curiosity for now." Mithias could smell the magic-enhancing tea, but was unfortunately unenticed by its quality aroma. "I thank you for the offer, my friend, but I will decline. I'd tell you about the mana gains of fresh blood, but I'm sure you'd never try it." It was the vampire's attempt at a joke, and he let it die as such.

"To tell the truth," Mithias folded his arms and glanced out the window, "I greatly look forward to our next mission. I'm sure there are other issues that require our looking into. How about you? What do you think should be next on Wells & Raick's agenda?"

Azai finished with the debriefing and went back to his desk to write his report. While writing the report he couldn’t but to think about Jacklo’s incident, he was about to lose yet another friend and would’ve not been there to prevent it, or at least do something to prevent it. If nothing it added more to his conviction of staying away from true friendships, yet couldn’t stop himself from getting involved with people no matter what he does. He finished his report rather quickly due to the herb he ingested and headed for Jacklo to check up on him…

He arrived at Jacklo’s room to find him resting, he looked good after such injury tired but fine. Walking towards him he didn’t know if he was asleep or not, he looked at him and said softly ” I’m sorry buddy for not being there, I should’ve been there maybe I could’ve stopped that attack from hitting you, I’m really sorry.” He turned and started walking back

@Wraithblade6@shinigami94

“Probably something with the markets. Someone is probably evading tariffs and didn’t think of the consequences. Yet look how something as simple as not declaring a few books could turn into a tragedy. I’m amazed that only three died in that blizzard. It could have wiped some towns off the map if we weren’t there. This is why I try to reach out to young mages so they don’t make mistakes like this. Like me.” Mithias stared into his tea his perpetual jovial perspective slowing to a halt.

“Mithias, how many funerals do you think you’ve seen watching your family live on and die as you remain? I’ve probably been to three times that. So many friends, family members, loves, all of them taken by time while I remain here outliving far better men and women. All because of one choice made in youth. It wasn’t even hard. Eternal life in trade for what? Nothing but that the demon would get to laugh at my torment. Of course I took the bargain. I didn’t even regret it for the few funerals. I would miss them of course, but I would make new friends meet new loves. I was right I would and they would pass away as well. Even Joseph will one day be unable to turn back the clock. All this from one choice that I could have avoided if only I had a guiding hand.”

-----------

The hunter shifted and opened one eye to give a quizzical look. His reputation for injury was fairly well known. It didn’t matter if he had back up or not Jaklo was willing to risk himself for the mission. A habit many had tried to curb. He just didn’t care nearly enough about himself to avoid getting hurt. If he could do it instead of others that was the best option in his book, but it wasn’t that simple now. When he lost Wolf he lost everyone, but some people at W&R actually seemed to care about him at the very least as another member of the team if not a good acquaintance, maybe a friend. Jaklo closed his eyes mulling the thought over.

@fdeviant

"scales huh?" I said lifting the axe over my shoulder. "Thats a first, I like it. You're new here right?" I asked with a cocky smile fit for my young adult status. I tried to ignore the fact that she almost treated me as a child behind her friendly nature. "Have you been in Maine at all before?" With a spare hand i would wipe away the bangs of my messy black hair from my large blue eyes, as I leaned the massive blade of the axe against my shoulder.

While I waited for a response I quickly glanced around the room to check on what my other co workers were planning before focusing on the lovely yet wicked woman standing before me.

To quote the French, "Shit"

That hadn't taken as long as expected. "When the jackass had said he had led them up to near the town, I hadn't expected directly outside the welcome sign. And how did he even track me down? Scratch that. I haven't been that good about covering my tracks. Murder was never my cup of tea. Heh. Tea. How did he get his hands on that kind of tea. And how did it get mixed into the main batch? And what kind of godforsaken town holds "Tea Day"? That's quite possibly the worst holiday any living being could have conceived. Well, what's done is done, and another small town wiped off the map.", Atlas muttered to himself, stumbling through the streets. The cold had died, and the jacket clung heavily to his skin. Vampires such as him had a preference for the cold, and the heavy leather of his sun protection gear had done him no favors. Also, losing an eye isn't exactly enjoyable. Clutching his bleeding skull, Atlas rushed past the deserted streets. The work day had begun, and so there were little to no pedestrians

Synapses connect, cells regrow, and thoughts form. All part of the way of life. Eyes are small organs, yet extremely complex. The energy it would take to regrow one would completely drain two humans of all life. Vampires, however, have it slightly easier. But the energy strain is huge, and for something as complicated as an eye, often leaves them unconscious.

Atlas felt a cool burn flow through his empty socket. How does an eye get completely destroyed, you may be wondering. Well, it was surgically removed. But not nearly as precise as a surgeon. More like a rushed great great grand nephew with a pair of pliers quickly making a gas to destroy all non-vampiric life in the area while he struggles to put on a magically-tinkered with gas mask to protect him from such fumes. Species cannot be defined as evil or good, but a great deal of vampires have become evil. And some were great scientists and alchemists. Writing down ways to eliminate mortals, one particularly brilliant vampire (Alistair McManus, for those wondering) concocted a very powerful serum that required very specific ingredients. Eye of vampire, bone of man, and the blood of the undead. Said great great grandnephew had miraculously obtained all three, and used it to destroy the horde of zombies he had created. Along with some nearby forest life. How unfortunate.

Climbing the stairway, a thought crept it's way into Atlas' head. "First time using these". He chuckled, spat some blood, then entered the W&R building. He made his way quickly downstairs, falling down the stairwell and fainting. Atlas had been through some trauma, and could remember very little. He could doubtfully remember the release of the serum, or the cold steps of his relative as they walked away in the deadly fog, eyes hidden behind glass. However, he could remember seeing the corpses lining the street, melting into oblivion as the poison took it's toll. The strange man with the gas mask had killed an entire town that day, with zombification tea. Who buys zombification tea. Poor purchase. Even more doubtfully could Atlas remember he didn't have a nephew. To his knowledge. All things considered, all involved parties were fortunate that there were no passerby.

@jasonwolf

Mithias leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, and stared unblinkingly at Markiel with a stoic, but not unkind, expression, as he listened to the old warlock divulge his sincere feelings. He was an interesting case, this Relovski, an undying, yet very alive and human, living being. It was pleasant to see even briefly into his soul, and Mithias counted himself lucky to have caught many a glimpse.

This kindred immortal was however, following down a dark path, one that had claimed many a fledgling or oldblood alike. Death didn't always come in the night with a hood or a blade as the naive often expected. It was far older and far more sinister. One brought it upon themselves, slowly, becoming their own killer.

When Markiel finished a silence followed. The vampire brought a slightly clawed hand up to his very white chin as he finally blinked at him. It was time obviously, that Markiel needed 'the talk.'

"You speak of funerals, of death and of loss. Your thoughts turn to darkness and begin to swirl about the vortex of doom as if there were no other possibility. Immortality is not merely a constant apology for lack of dying, Markiel. In all your years, have you not witnessed births as well? How many lives have you encountered and enjoyed that you never would have had you remained mortal? Do you ever think on that? Their lives have been blessed by you, and despite your nihilistic assumptions, even mortal lives have meaning in their fleeting existance. Your life has meaning. Your life is no torment to you, only that you look upon it that way. The demon you fear only laughs at the torture you bring yourself. You see, you're something else now Markiel, something no longer meant to die. All you need to do is reach up and grasp your destiny and make it yours. Claim it. Own it. And may every moment of your consciousness be spent in appreciation and wonder at what the universe has to offer."

"I look upon you now Markiel with as much love as I would whether you would live forever or die in a few decades, as I would anyone, and I feel only joy. Perhaps I will one day miss you, but never will I regret our time together. I do hope that you will be around for long."

This is perhaps why Mithias had lived so long.

Jacklo didn’t seem quite awake yet, and Azai didn’t notice his brief awakening so he didn’t disturb his rest and just walked away. He didn’t want to stay in the office since there wasn’t anything to do right now, and Coal wasn’t anywhere near. He wanted to see if he would want to visit that mage’s parents, Azai kept the address just in case. So he decided to head up to his penthouse and read that tome he got from the mage’s basement…

Arriving home, he would always take a close look before entering, it was a slight case of paranoia, but it has been a right one since his list of enemies isn’t getting shorter. He confirmed that nothing was out of place and went onwards, his house wasn’t the kind that you would open and directly see the main room, there was a small hallway that had a small shoe closet and leading to the main room, he went down on the two steps before entering the main room, and got his jacket off getting comfortable before reading the tome. The tome seemed a bit complex, but it had the right thing for him, and it seemed that it would take some time to comprehend it…