[IC] Suspension of Disbelief

[MonsieurShade]

Unaware of the misfortune that had befallen Alex's car -and therefor the claw mark indicators- Jacque came to a stop in front of an apartment complex. It wasn't luxurious, just a simple red brick building with six floors, pretty common place in a downtown area, however Jacque wasn't one for luxury or anything over-the-top anyway, he much preferred living a life of comfort and subtlety. The fact that rent wasn't expensive helped quite a bit as well, seeing as his income came from stealing the wallets of his victims and working at Starbucks. Jacque peered up at his balcony, the sliding door was open, though he didn't worry about break-ins since he lived on the second highest floor. He looked around, thankfully it was late enough that the very few people that were out were either dead tired, wasted, or hobos, not exactly the kind of people you'd listen to if they said they saw something odd. The wendigo stretched a bit and crouched, then launched himself upwards in a jump that cleared the first two balconies, then clambered over the remaining two, taking care to maneuver to the sides of them to avoid being seen by whomever might have their blinds open. Jacque slipped into his home, pausing just long enough to spray water on the ficus near the sliding door before retiring to his room. "Daddy's home Sasha." Jacque called out as he entered the room and tapped a fourty gallon terrarium next to his dresser. There was a hiss from underneath one of the log hides as the little red ackie monitor inside voiced its displeasure at the disturbance, prompting a chuckle from Jacque, "Well I missed you too you little booger.". Jacque peeled himself out of his pants, showered, and threw himself into his bed wearing a clean pair of pajama pants and an old t-shirt before flicking on the television to help him waste away the night.

[BattleShovel]

Upon standing, and belching, Drake threw his arm over the paladin and leaned on her, for a bunch of homicidal monsters, there were certain humans who had stronger moral codes than others, and it would appear that this Paladin was among them, though not entirely surprising considering that she WAS a Paladin, it impressed Drake that the woman should help a drunk whom moments ago she had shown nothing but hostility toward, and was a total stranger at that, it was this sort of hypocritical kindness that had earned the woman, and very small parts of humanity as a whole, Drake's respect. Drake was pondering this as he listened to the woman scold him for drinking in public. "Mmmm maybe, but I enjoy the park, better scenery, more open air" Drake made sure to sway and wobble a little bit as he leaned on the Paladin and took another swig of his liquid courage. Then Drake's memory suddenly popped an interesting fact into his memory, and it occured to Drake that some more good might come out of this yet, as he dropped his next question, he slurred his words and upped his volume slightly, it was important that the woman next to him have no doubt of his inebriation so that she answer honestly "So....." He stumbled a bit for good effect "Why are people dissappearing, earlier you said it was p-pissing you off, do you know what's causing the disserpearancers" he slurred, wondering if maybe he had overdone it on the selling, they were also getting closer to the Bacardo residence, and as such there wouldn't be much more time to recover, should his act prove too good.

[Kidd]

Surprised that he decided to lean on her for support, Lillah nearly stumbled over because of the sudden weight. She was quick, though, and she managed to catch herself and helped him stay somewhat upright. She refrained from sighing in annoyance--she didn't think she'd be an armrest. As he stumbled again, she paused to make sure he didn't tumble over before continuing on. The man must've been drunker than she thought. Though, maybe not that drunk since he managed to listen to her earlier, evident of his question. Lillah was hesitant to answer, though the frown on her face--for once--wasn't particularly angry. Just concerned, maybe even worried. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "Either cops aren't doing their jobs--which doesn't surprise me in the slightest--or something else is going on." In the back of her mind, the shirtless jogger surfaced as her eyebrows furrowed together.

[BattleShovel]

"Something else? Like what, Monsters?" Drake added a bit of a drunken sounding chuckle as he asked, guiding the Paladin into rounding a corner, they were on his street now, at the pace they were taking, and depending upon her answer, he'd probably only have time for maybe one more question after this, he had to start making them count more if he was going to figure out what she knew. But also he liked this human, which made him more hesistant about lying in this way to her, moreover he didn't like being manipulative on his sacred holiday, it was supposed to be a day of mourning and peace, but at the same time he had to figure this out, he'd come up with something if it didn't work he supposed, but that would require quite a bit of work, and there were other events coming up that would require his attention. As the Paladin began to answer, Drake noticed that the frown upon her face had gone from dissaproving to concerned, and something told the Dragon that it had nothing to do with the drunk she was walking home, she seemed genuinely concerned for those under her protection, and Drake respected that, especially as one who had several under his protection. The dragon was focusing hard and his face began to lose that manic smile that had adorned it for so long, so he took yet another swing of his bottle of expensive-looking drink and redecorated his face with it as he waited for her answer.

[Kidd]

Lillah blinked at his suggestion and found herself smiling ever so slightly at it. The grin was gone as quickly as it appeared, however. "No, not monsters," she assured dismissively. In her mind, it was rogue paladins or shades, and when it came down to it, they were still human. She knew of other breeds of humans such as psychics, but few were as violent as shades--though they were hardly subtle. She was unaware of his changing face, as any focus she had was on her own thoughts or the dark environment, though she did spare a scowl of disapproval as he took another swig.

[BattleShovel]

Drake knew that this would be the last chance he had to figure anything else. As his house loomed above them, it's multiple roofs, modern style, and otherwise largeness seeming more and more like a ticking clock, Drake had always hated how incredibly large the house was, it got incredibly lonely when it was empty, which wasn't often, but happened enough that he still often felt a burning enmity for the ancient place, but it was a family home, and despite what he said or felt, he held an attachement to the old building, it also was big enough to hide and learn secrets in, which was a large part of why he kept it.

Regaining himself after a moment of reflection, and taking another swing of the old cough syrup for good measure, although he was actually beginning to feel it now, ("finally" he thought to himself), while making sure to note the scorn-filled scowl of dissaproval that radiated off of the Paladin but also noticing that she seemed to be filled with focus on something, she almost definitely had a theory, he filled the otherwise quiet, cool night air with words for what he imagined would be the last time that night, "you seem to think you know what it is though, care sharing, Miss........?" Drake thought that perhaps he hadn't added enough drunken inflection to that last question, but he figured that he would just have to deal with it.

[MonsieurShade]

Jacque sighed in frustration as his television failed to yield anything of actual interest, much to his displeasure. Further still, he could feel that tingling in the base of his skull, the feeling that only came when his desire to hunt had failed to be quelled. The wendigo crawled out of his bed with a soft grunt, knowing that ignoring the urge would just make him irritable at work in the morning, "Fuck it, there's no getting around it I guess." Jacque muttered. After quickly changing into a black tshirt, a pair of black and green sweatpants, and a pair of running shoes, Jacque crossed his room and opened his window before flinging himself out onto the street below. The fall, which would have killed any human that attempted to jump from such a height, was nothing to Jacque, he landed on his hands and feet as though he'd merely dropped from a few feet rather than five full stories, and stood before wiping his hands on his pajama bottoms. "Hrm, hobo or junkie? Not the most delectable of humans but it isn't like i'll find too many people out right about now. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a late night jogger...or maybe the owner of that car I marked up. Ah, but what game should I play when I find someone?" Jacque said to himself as he shoved his hands in his pockets and began to wander down the sidewalk.

[Kidd]

As they came upon the estate, Lillah's eyes grew wide and wandered over the property. Part of her was impressed and even envious; the older and subconscious part, however, preferred simplicity and pitied those who looked for comfort through materials. The former part won her over, though, and she blurted out a "Wow." Instantly, she felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment as her facade of nonchalance was broken.

She found herself thankful that he spoke again, but quickly became guarded again at his inquiry. "It's Lillah," she finished for him, noting that he seemed nearly sober for a moment. For a moment, she wasn't sure what to say--she'd like to warn him, but telling the man that there was most likely a crazy super human or two running around wouldn't exactly come off well. Still, she found herself oddly prompted to spill the beans. "A paladin can always trust her instincts," she remembered her father explaining. "Even if we don't remember it, we've lived on Earth before, so we have...a good sense of direction." She had scowled as he followed the explanation up with a wink, though the words seemed to ring true enough.

Hesitantly, she said, "I think what ever is causing the disappearances is someone or something...old. Someone who's been doing this for a long time and knows how to cover their tracks." Her eyes flickered to the ground, and then back to the man before her as she waited for a dismissive laugh. He was drunk, anyways--it wasn't as if he'd remember this.

[Dmessenger]

Alex and the other guys were all celebrating in the lunchroom with beers and food. The boss said "three cheers for Alex for saving the power plant" The other guys all cheered. Alex was not fully paying attention. He was still thinking about the thing that attacked the plant. Once they were done celebrating they all closed up the plant and left the third shift guys to their work. Alex saw his car and said "you've got to be kidding me". The boss said "I'll talk to the higher ups about your car tomorrow, but for now I'll give you a ride home" Alex said "oh thanks boss" The two got in the boss's car and the Boss dropped Alex off at his house where he went back upstairs and just layed down on his bed with his uniform still on and fell asleep.

[LesleyDrakken]

Roger was sweeping his hand through the water in the fountain partially supporting his weight by propping himself up on the side. He momentarily looked like he might be ready to break something. Instead, he just looked down and sighed heavily, as if trying to restrain himself. There remained a hint of ire in his expression regardless. The concern he had wasn't going away any time soon. With some effort, he spoke again.

You're right. In the past this has always held the clan together. Gather everyone who is older then thirteen."

[BattleShovel]

Drake's inner expression was entirely mirthless, he was worried that she might say something to that effect, and moreover to that effect in that way, the way she looked down, and had hesitated told him all that he needed to know, whatever was causing these disturbances, all present knew that it was something supernatural, there was one difference, now Drake knew that she knew that, and could infer that she probably had a theory on what species it was. Drake continued his drunken act, smiling widely and pretending to laugh as he made his way inside "Well then it sounds like the cops have their work cut out for them, they're looking for someone who is both old and able" Drake continuated his faux-drunken mirth, unlocking the door as he took his arm from around the Paladin and opened the front of his abode, he made sure to stumble slightly, though not as much as before, calculating that it wasn't unheard of to have sobered up a small amount in the amount of time and distance they had walked. "Well this is it, thanks Miss, you're nice people ya know that?" he slurred through lazily closed eyes, just hoping to get inside and think over what had occured.

After closing the door he took a deep breath, reaching out with his sense of smell and his ears, closing his eyes to heighten them slightly, wondering what the Paladin would do, as well with his sense of taste enhanced he chugged the rest of the spirit in his hand, making his way to the couch and falling over.

[MonsieurShade]

Once again finding himself at the entrance of Arrowhead park, Jacque was perched much like a gargoyle atop one of the pillars which held the sign in place. The wendigo's eyes darted about wildly as he attempted to find a target to suit his tastes. He knew full well that teenagers within his preferred age bracket tended to sneak here at night, be it to get away from their parents, score or share drugs and alcohol or to engage in some raunchy late night debauchery. Their reasons for being here meant nothing to Jacque of course, all that mattered to him was the flesh on their bones and their ability to play games. Ears rotating every so often to pick up any sounds coming from the park, Jacque shrank into the shadows as he awaited the approach of his next victim. As he waited, Jacque suddenly remembered a piece from one of his favorite poems, "Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing...your robes are green and purple...there’s a crest upon your head...your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead...." he sang lowly in a lilting voice.

[Kidd]

And there it was. Lillah's frown was just slightly disappointed, but she didn't press the issue. As he retreated into his home, the young woman offered a wave before turning on her heel to leave. She paused on the sidewalk they had trailed to resume her music and slip the ear buds in place. "Good people, huh," she repeated doubtfully, taking a moment to relax and gather her thoughts. Her gaze flickered up and down the road, debating whether to resume her jog or return home. Sighing, she turned towards home but only walked. Dealing with a drunk had spent a lot her energy, and she just wanted to shower and get to bed.

[Noyuri]

Ireane nodded, wasting no time in slinking back into the shadows. Her skin didn't return to its previous state, but if felt slightly smoother. Her spirits lifted at the prospect of a hunt. She'd like to think she was more refined than her kin, but some instincts are universal. She sniffed the air around her for traces of rain, but found none.

Good, nothing ruins a hunt like a heavy hide... She hastened her step and let her cloak flutter around her in the rising wind. As the sun had kissed the horizon goodbye, and had left the world for the day, less and less people had been moving over the sidewalks, leaving her some room to act out. Had people come too close they might have heard a slight purring that moved in sync with her springy footsteps, and when she came closer to the edge of town her whiskers started to show. As soon as she got to the edge of the forest, she transformed, leaping into the bushes with a growl.

(Will be added later)

[MonsieurShade]

Jacque didn't have to wait very long for his next victim it seemed, not long after climbing up to his vantage point did he catch the scent of a human heading in his direction. The wendigo craned his neck out a bit to get a better look, then grinned as he recognized the girl from earlier who had been foolish enough to berate the dragon. Jacque had to admit, he was rather surprised considering the stories he'd heard when it came to the wrath of a dragon, 'So, you more or less managed to spit into the face of death itself and walked away unscathed. Interesting.', he mused as he got into a crouching position, 'Let's see if you can do it twice....'.