[IC] Primrose Terrace

[Redwing]

The male Feli had let in seemed absolutely fascinated with the Elf. It was rather amusing. He was like an Elf child exploring the forest for the first time. And like with the Elf children, he would be patient with this Yokai. He watched, with his hands clasped behind him, as the other Yokai moved over to the coffee table and started rummaging around in his bag. He waited as they wrote something down on some sort of board. When it was turned to him, Feli attempted to read it, but quickly realized it was in a language he didn't understand. He was about to mention so to the Yokai, but he seemed realize his mistake and wrote it out in English. Feli could understand the mistake. He knew English, and Elvish after all.

He stored Yuen's name in his memory for later. He guessed that the other Yokai was unable to speak and could hear him just fine. If it seemed that wasn't the case he was more than willing to write things down. He answered each question written on the board one at a time. "I am Feli Narunai. I'm afraid I don't know where the landlord went. He was just here though so I'm sure you'll see him." He noticed that Yuen seemed extra fascinated with his ears. They were rather different if you weren't used to them. So he twitched them, perking them up as if he had heard something. Either to mess with him, or just fascinate him further.

Yuen took off his coat and Feli saw that he had a tail. Which he grabbed the end of and wrote a few more questions on the board. Feli couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm an Elf, we don't have tails." He reached up and grabbed the end on one of his ears. "I'm not sure why our ears are so big or pointed. One legend is that its so we can hear the spirits of nature, because most of them have pointed ears too. It lets them know that we're safe and one with the earth as well. Otherwise they wouldn't talk to us like they do with most people and Yokai." There were other legends and guesses passed down through generations of Elves, one was that they were much more beautiful than a human's flat ears. Or that normal ears would look funny with the rest of their pointed features. But that one was Feli's favorite.

[Spawnling]

Victor, Marie, Exo, Alexis

Victor straightened the glasses on his face, hands quickly adjusting his collar before shooting the cuffs outwards. He had been at Primrose for exactly three days, and the boy had spent a majority of that time unpacking and setting up his room. Admittedly, he didn't have a large collection of personal items at the moment. A few changes of clothing, some anatomy books, and a suitcase with surgical equipment, left behind by his father. Victor's travels had left him exhausted, so he hadn't explored his new home very much. His room was currently spartan, a single bed, closet, and set of cabinets with a mirror. He would need to go shopping at some point, get some more clothing and toiletries, as well as something to occupy his spare time. All his books had been left back in Germany. His thoughts briefly traveled to his family, but he quickly shook them aside. He smoothed a cowlick with a frown, once again checking that his appearance was proper. With a slow breath he smiled at his reflection.

"Alright, let's see who else is around."

The Jabberwocky stepped out of his room, shutting the door behind him as checked his watch, a simple black analog. A bit past noon, so odds are the other tenants would be in the kitchen, or outside. He walked towards the former, food sounded pretty good right about now. He had heard some rumors about the maid's cooking, the way everyone avoided giving a direct answer about it's quality suggested that it was rather dreadful. A small part of him was morbidly curious as to just how bad it could be, he had seen her cooking, it looked alright. Even smelled pretty decent. As he rounded a corner, his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

A sharp dressed woman seeming to try and decide where to projectile vomit first, a bright eyed young girl getting dangerously close to her face and seeming concerned, a cat eared maid wiping drool off her face, and a boy backtracking quickly out the door on the other end of the hall. Victor blinked for a moment, absorbing the scene before fidgeting with his glasses and stepping over to them. He had met Marie once before, the woman was very friendly and eager with her job. The other two, he had never seen before. He raised a hand in greeting, smiling at the trio, his voice distinct with a slight accent.

"Good afternoon Frau Weber, you're looking lovely today. Um...who are your friends, if I may ask?"

[Dark Angel]

Marie stopped attempting to help Alexis as a familiar voice caught her attention.
"Oh, Mr. Steiner, hello! This is Alexis, the dog is Exoris, Mattis was just here, and I believe that Andrew just left before even coming in. Oh! Did you find everything alright?" She asked, before turning back to Alexis. "Poor Ms. Anderson seems to be rather ill. It's odd, she was just fine a while ago. Perhaps she's allergic to something in the cookies..." Quickly nudging Victor out of the way before he could be vomited on. She put a hand on his shoulder, face full of genuine concern.

"Seriously dear, are you alright? I know you're quite new here, and it was a rather sudden change, so just tell me if you need anything.

---

Looking over the menu, Gin smiled. Her grandmother would often take her to a sushi shop near the temple. Ordering a cup of tea and some tuna rolls after Kimiko ordered, Gin looked back across the table at Kimiko as she asked a question.

"Oh, well... I don't really like to talk about it. I used to live with my Grandmother at a temple, but then..." Gin stuttered with the words, unable to tell Kimiko what happened. She didn't even remember much herself, and what she did wasn't exactly... pleasant. "A-anyway, this may seem like a weird question, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but what kind of yokai are you? I'm a kitsune, or at least thats what I was told."

She smiled as the waiter returned with their food, thanking him before offering tea to Kimiko. She always tried to be as polite as possible, and often came off as naive. It was something one of the monks had taught her. People at the temple lived modest lives, and didn't treat Gin any differently because she wasn't human. They scolded her like all the other children, and were kind, and between them and her grandmother she grew up in a very kind and loving home. She knew that Primrose would be different, but she hoped she could find the same kinds of people. People who cared for those around them, and weren't arrogant or greedy like some of the humans she had met.

[Invader Len]

Yuen's eyes widened with awe as this person, Feli, explained. An elf? How strange! Their ears were so big, and when Feli explained that they were used to hear forest spirits, Yuen raised a hand to touch his own pointed ears. Weird... He didn't hear anything at all! Maybe his weren't pointy enough. Would they grow longer when he got older? His parents had never told him about elves or hearing forest spirits. What if they were bad, or Yokai in disguise?

He stopped his train of thought short when his stomach growled audibly, almost like a tiger itself. Ah, right. He hadn't eaten anything since the previous evening, since he got off the plane. He was too busy getting lost. His face turning red in embarrassment, he grabbed his pen, shakily writing out.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen! It's just I haven't eaten anything since I got off the airplane, because I couldn't hail a taxi without my voice, and I've been up all night trying to find this place, and-" the pen suddenly exploded in his hand, crushed by the pressure he had squeezed it with. He blinked for a moment, quietly stunned, his hand dripping with the sprayed ink, some of which had made its way up to his shoulder and even his face. The Byakko looked down at the puddle of black liquid pooling on the floor, broken shards of the pen sticking out like craggy rocks.

He looked back up at Feli with a face that could only be described as apologetic, unable to now voice what he wanted to say. What was he supposed to do? He didn't know where the bathroom was! How did one say it in English? Argh, if only he could mouth it, then this person would know what he meant! He racked his mind, before finally remembering a word he was certain would help.
"Batcave?" he mouthed, thinking it was the word for bathroom. They both started with the same letters, didn't they? How different could they be?

[RolePlayerRoxas]

Alexis had seemingly frozen as her mind fearfully tried to process just what the hell was slaughtering her taste buds. It certainly wasn't sweet, whatever it was. The horrid cookie was resting in her mouth as she contemplated spitting it out, but with so many people around, starting to express concern, as well as the one who concocted the vile thing to begin with (under no malicious intent, as far as the bodyguard could tell), that would just... not look good for her, she decided.

Damn it... I've trained all my life to be the best bodyguard... Alexis berated herself, slowly forcing herself to chew some more, and there's no way I'm going to let myself lose to a stupid cookie!

Miraculously, she managed to swallow the lethal biscuit. Predictably, her stomach almost immediately began trying to eject the foreign invader, and after a moment of composing herself, Alexis weakly addressed the concerned parties, "It's... it's fine, don't worry. The cookie tasted... unique," she gasped, lurching forward. The sooner she could find a bathroom, the sooner Alexis could discreetly cleanse her stomach of the poison. Where was that map...? Damn, she dropped it. Oh well, there had to be one nearby.

[ViridianHue]

Accepting Gin's offer of tea with a thanks, Kimiko commented, "Kitsune? I guess you'll get along with our resident fox, though he is rather eccentric." She'd always had the notion that fox spirits were mischievous and deceitful, though Gin seemed different. At least, from what she had seen of her anyway.

No, she definitely is different, Kimiko thought, pondering over her reply to her question about her past life. She was much too timid to be a cunning fox...or perhaps it was all an act. Perhaps it was one of her tricks. After all, it wouldn't be the first time someone had pretended to be something they weren't just to be in favor with her family. But you've moved here to get away from that, said a voice inside her. Who would know what your family name meant over here? Kimiko sighed, deciding to confront that headache later. For now, she was enjoying her favorite cuisine and the company wasn't terrible.

"I'm the descendant of an Ame-Onna," she replied to Gin's question as she began eating her meal. "Don't worry, I don't kidnap children when they cry during the rain," she added deadpanned. Most legends portrayed the Ame-Onna as a melancholy and terrifying spirit, bringing the rain with them and devouring children when they cried. Others believed that she was a bringer of good luck, making crops flourish with her arrival. Kimiko had met quite a number of half-yokai outside of her family who believed in the former tale and she'd lost count of how many of them had asked her if the legends were true.

[Invader Len]

The Rabisu's nervous eyes darted from corner to corner, tiny, black, bloodshot. It had to get out of this cursed place. It needed to get out. That person- no, that monster, she would kill it! Like she had already done with the rest of it's clan... That remorseless ambush, that person... It wouldn't become like the other idiots, who rushed in and died immediately. No, this one, this one was smart! This one would leave, run away, find new territory, a different land... One where that monster with hair like flames wouldn't look for it.

But it was weak, hurt, pain... The poison from the last night had taken a toll. Too weak to fly, too weak to run... Blood... It needed fresh blood! To get strong, strong enough to run! Not just human blood, but Yokai blood! One Yokai would be enough to restore it. It would have cannabilized the corpses of its kin, but the poison... The poison in that place was too strong, bodies, they were tainted. From the bad blood of the hunter.

Now, it buried it's head deep in it's arms, it's nostrils taking in the scents around it. Humans, humans, too many humans... Daytime was not good for Yokai, made them weak, made them hard to track. They were hiding, hiding in dark places, safe places, places this one could not reach. It was trapped, hidden from sight in this alley. It needed to try harder to find prey, to lure them inside.
It crawled up the walls, its ears spread wide, listening, nose smelling, teeth gnashing, mouth drooling. Too many scents, too much weak prey. It was just about to give up when a familiar scent wafted into its nostrils. Demons! It sniffed the air heavily, recognizing the odor. No, better! Half-Demons! Yes, yes, good! Weaker than full bloods, stronger than humans! Easy prey, easy prey!

It opened up its mouth of needle-like teeth, taking in a deep breath. And then it screamed. Not with the animalistic scream one would expect, no. It used the high-pitched scream of a young girl it had feasted on the moon before, blood-curdling and full of terror. Then, it slunk back up into the rafter's shadows, waiting for someone to come. They would come. Half-yokai had demon's blood, but human hearts, weak and stupid. They would come to help the weaker, and then, they would die, killed by the strong. And it would be strong. It needed to be.

[Spawnling]

Victor, Marie, Alexis, Exoris

Victor smiled back up at Marie, pushing his glasses up with one hand and giving her a gentle side hug with the other.

"Ja, danke. I'm good, thank you for the offer Frau Weber. I'll keep it in mind."

The Jabberwocky was definitely out of his element, that much was sure. But there was no point in letting it get to him. He would just have to make the best of things. The people here didn't seem too bad. Admittedly he had only met some in passing, but still, many seemed kind or at the very least, genuine in their actions. And his father and sister swore that there was no place safer for the boy other than Primrose. Victor noticed the look of panic on Alexis' face after the mention of the cookie's unique...taste. Maybe he could help her...ah, but how to do so without upsetting Marie...his green eyes fell on the map, having drifted slightly under a cabinet. He knelt down, quickly scanning it as he rose up and held it out towards Alexis with a warm smile as he pointed down the hallway, silently thanking that Marie had inadvertently provided the best excuse for the woman's intense rejection of the baked treat.

"Yes, probably just a reaction to something in the cookies. There's a bathroom, fourth door on the left. And it's a pleasure to meet you Frau Anderson."

Hopefully she'd make it in time. Marie seemed to be somewhat unaware of what was the problem, and Victor hoped to keep it that way. He didn't like to upset other people, even when it was justified. He then smiled at Exoris.

"And also to you Frau Exoris."

[Redwing]

Feli waited as Yuen started at him some more, then touched his own pointed ears. He could only guess what was going through the other Yokai's mind right now. Just then a very loud, familiar, growl came from Yuen's stomach. Apparently he was hungry. Feli chuckled at this, simply because of the timing. Though apparently he was embarrassed because of it, judging from the way his cheeks turned red and he began to rapidly write in his board. Trying to explain himself it seemed. The rapid writing stopped as the pen burst in the other Yokai's hands. Splattering the floor and Yuen with ink. Feli was lucky enough got to get assaulted by the man-made substance. But the sudden smell of it wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world.

Yuen looked up at Feli with an apologetic look on his face. One that made him look a little bit like a lost puppy. Unable to write anything, he mouthed a word at Feli. The Elf blinked in confusion at the word. Batcave? He wasn't sure what that was in the slightest. And he certainly didn't know where that would be in the house. He had been in caves that had bats in them before, but maybe it was something different? "Um, I'm not sure what a Batcave is. Or where anything is in the house really. I do know where the kitchen is though. You can get cleaned up in there and get something to eat." They'd have to take care of the floor as well and quickly before it got stained. Maybe there was something in there they could use? Feli didn't know for sure. He had never been in a kitchen before.

"Its over there." He said, pointing to the entrance to the kitchen. He didn't really want to go in there, with that terrible smell that had been in there earlier. He was a little afraid he would be forced to eat whatever it was that had smelled like that. Thinking about it a little bit, he didn't want to subject Yuen to that either. He'd make sure the food he got was actually edible before letting the other Yokai eat it. Feli again thought about learning the equipment in the kitchen so he could do some cooking in there. He could always just cook over a fire like he was used to as well. There was plenty of space outside to make a fire pit.

[Dark Angel]

Listening closely to Kimiko, Gin finished her food. Kimiko didn't seem very proud of what she was. "I'm sure that Kimiko-san wouldn't do that, you seem so nice. Kitsunes are usually depicted as mischievous trouble makers who posses women. I-I hope I don't come across like that! Um, wh-who is the 'resident fox'?" Gin thanked the waiter once more as he came to collect the dishes.

She hadn't heard of Ame-Onna before, and decided she would ask Kimiko a bit more information about other yokai, in case she knew. "Uh, does Kimiko-san kno-" Before she could finish her sentence, Gin was interrupted by the blood curtailing scream of what sounded like a young girl. Getting up, she quickly paid the bill. "I-I'm going to go s-see what happened. S-sorry!" After apologizing for her sudden departure, Gin ran in the direction of the scream. That scream, it sounded terrified! Something must have happened, but what am I doing? I don't even have a weapon or anything to defend myself with! And... it sounded so much like the screams from that day...

Gin shook her head, dislodging tears that had formed there. She couldn't think back, she just couldn't. If she did, then she might do it again. Slowing down, Gin slowly walked into the alley that the scream came from. She could't see anything unusual, but she could definitely smell and sense someone, a presence. Something was definitely wrong here. She checked all around, but still didn't see anything. Gin was about to leave when she felt wetness on her arm. Slowly looking up, she held back a scream. Hanging from the ceiling was a giant bat like creature, looking straight at her with a glinting pair of eyes, looking at her with what seemed like hunger. She ducked behind a dumpster, squeezing her eyes shut.

Suddenly, an illusion appeared in front of Kimiko. It was a perfect copy of Gin, save for the fact that it was flickering and blinking, like a candle flame on a windy night. Gin started whispering, a terrified look on her face
"K-Kimiko, there's s-something here. I-Its like some kind o-of giant bat, a-and it's ,um, k-kind of trying to eat me. I th-think you should g-" Before she could finish, the illusion was cut off. Gin was to nervous to hold up a proper image of her self, and it was harder since she couldn't see Kimiko. Slowly opening her eyes, Gin looked around the dumpster at the rabisu. How on earth was she supposed to get out of this?!

[ViridianHue]

"Oh, it's Capello. I'm sure you'll meet him sometime. He pops up when you least expect it," Kimiko replied to Gin as she finished her sushi and soup. She sighed contentedly, her mood having improved after satisfying her hunger. She sat back and wondered what she was going to do the rest of the day. Perhaps she would go for a swim. It had certainly been a while since she'd visited the pool.

She focused on Gin when she started asking a question, but the kitsune stopped talking and left in a hurry, rambling about investigating something. Kimiko could simply blink in confusion, staring at the empty chair before her in bewilderment. What happened? I didn't notice anything, she wondered as she paid her bill and walked out of the restaurant, looking around for the younger girl. Maybe her ears picked up something. She can't have gone far... She stood in front of the entrance, having no idea where to look. Just as she was about to give up and go back to Primrose, Gin materialized in front of her, making her yelp back in surprise. "Gin, what-" Kimiko stopped when she realized that it wasn't really her, her eyes widening when she heard the message.

This isn't a prank...is it? she questioned herself as she walked in a random direction, looking for the troubled kitsune. Gin, or rather her illusion, had looked terribly frightened and it would be cruel if it really turned out to be a joke. Besides, thought Kimiko, If this turns out to be a joke, I'll make sure she'll really be in trouble.

She didn't have to walk too far when she noticed a figure crouched behind a dumpster in one of the alleyways. "Gin?" she called as she walked towards her, the danger lurking in the shadows going unnoticed by her. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as she got closer and she looked up, her blue eyes falling on the creature above.

The reaction was immediate. In the blink of an eye, Kimiko reverted to her true form, holding her violet umbrella over Gin and herself as a shield. "Gin! Get a hold of yourself. We need to get out of here!" she cried, her golden eyes glowing with determination as a thick mist started to form around them.

[Invader Len]

The Rabisu snarled as a second yokai ran into the alley way, it's blind red eyes unable to see them in the dark. But that wasn't necessary. It took in a deep breath, and then let out a harsh, shrill scream, like a chorus of several banshees going off at once. The noise was ear splitting, and caused the windows above them to break and the shards rain down. It's ears were wide and open, taking in the noise bouncing off. Yes, now it could see! But, now, they were gone! Where could they go? It could smell them, but not see them!

Little did the Rabisu know that Kimiko's umbrella had acted as a sort of disk, preventing it's echolocation from finding them. Frustrated, the monster dropped down from the wall, into the mist. It tried to smell them out, but the mist and garbage covered their scent. Angered, it raised one of it's powerful claws, and lashed out at the first thing it hit, the dumpster. The sheer force of the blow sent the dumpster flying out of the alley and into the street, it's lid flying off as it rolled for a few moments, spilling the trash out onto the opposite sidewalk.

With the overpowering stench of trash now suddenly gone, the Rabisu felt it's nostrils pick up the sent. They were close, so close! Only a few feet in front of it! It gnashed it's teeth, sending hungry slobber out of the sides of it's mouth, frothing with ravenous rage. It opened it's mouth and screamed again, louder this time, and aimed directly at the two huddled yokai. It's scream was longer this time, using the high-pitched power of it's voice and volume to it's advantage, before spreading it's wings, cornering them between it an the wall.
"Heh heh heh heh, gots you now, this one does! This one smart, this one strong!" it gloated, all too pleased with itself. It's voice sounding like the rough, raspy crackling of glass and sand paper, ear grating in it's own right.
"[i]This one better than others. Strong Rabisu, survivor Rabisu! Little snacksies feel honored, heh heh heh, make Rabisu stronger! Now, Rabisu can flee, away from bad blooded one! Bad blooded yokai, killed other Rabisu! But not this one, this one was smart! This one run away, and wait! Wait for tasty little snacksies with good blood to come by, yummy little foodsies feel proud, yes?" it jabbered, leering blindly at them, drool dripping and forming puddles near their feet.

---

Yuen blinked again, somewhat thankful now that the ink on his face hid his embarrassed expression. Batcave, how stupid could he be? At least this person didn't seem to realize how ridiculous his request was, and he was pointed into the direction of the kitchen. He quickly walked in said direction, keeping his head down out of politeness when he entered. He found the sink, and hurriedly splashed water on his face and hands, scrubbing the black ink off his face.

It was only after he'd gotten himself cleaned up that he noticed the others in the room. A young man and two women, one of whom had cat ears, and also a tail, though not as long as his own. He nodded to them, these must be the other tenants. Was one of them the landlord? He now suddenly wished he had brought more than one pen to write with. Communicating now was going to be a damn charade. He rubbed his temples in thought, his tail twitching back and forth in annoyance. Jeez, what was he supposed to do now? He had to find the landlord and get this whole thing sorted out!

[RolePlayerRoxas]

Weakly waving her hand in response to Victor's directions, Alexis hurriedly departed the scene, barely finding her way to the bathroom and into a stall in time. The next few minutes were filled with less than pleasant sounds, some panting, and finally a flush. Many more minutes passed before Alexis felt well enough to leave, looking paler but still trying her best to look dignified.
Determined to ensure that this incident would never be revisited, Alexis slowly wandered through the house, returning to her earlier goal of learning the building's layout. And making a mental note to never again try the cat's cooking. She was a nice enough woman, but that stuff was worse than poison,

[Dark Angel]

Gin, Kimiko, Batdoge

Gin looked up as Kimiko ran into the area. 'K-Kimi-" Before she could tell her to run, to get out of danger, another scream interrupted her. She could feel that the umbrella between them and the rabisu wasn't going to hold up, even with Kimiko in her yokai form. She quickly stood, grabbing Kimiko by the waist and pushing them both to the side, just before they could get hit. She wasn't sure what to do, before suddenly remembering something. They weren't alone.

"Y-you have t-t-to go back to Pr-primrose. G-go get help, I c-can distract it. We can't just l-leave it p-people c-c-could get hurt!" Gin choked back a sob. She was scared, terrified, but she could distract it long enough for Kimiko to get help. Turning away from Kimiko, she stepped back into the fog. She made sure to create something akin to a dome around them, so it would only be able to smell her, not Kimiko.

The rabisu sniffed again, head turning wildly in a desperate attempt to locate where it's prey had gone. It had been there just a second ago, where could it have gone. It growled, circling slowly as more saliva dripped off of its gnashing maw and onto the cold cement. And then the scent was back. It whipped around, sending a toothy smile at Gin. Perfect, it was a half yokai, alone and vulnerable. The rabisu opened its mouth, letting out another blood curtailing scream.

Gin stepped back as the rabisu screamed before gritting her teeth. She wouldn't let anyone else get hurt. She let out a low growl as a pair of black ears popped up on her head, followed by a black tail, swishing back and forth as if she were an annoyed cat. Stepping forward, Gin let two bright bursts of flame come to her hands. They didn't burn her, they weren't real because she didn't belaive they were real. But the rabisu did believe they were, and it jolted back at the sudden brightness before snarling and shifting. It didn't like the brightness, it made it hard to see. Gin could see that it was hindered by the light, and began creating more, balls of blue flame appearing around her and shining intensely. The flames slowly circled the rabisu, progressively getting brighter. Every few seconds one would swoop down and touch the rabisu, giving off a burning sensation before circling it again.

The ring of flames kept getting tighter, encasing the rabisu and blinding it. It started to panic, lashing out blindly and screeching. Hissing and ducking down towards the ground, it continued screeching, each time louder and more desperate. Inhaling, it was sure it would smell smoke. But it didn't. It sniffed again, flinching as the fire burned his back. Instead of smoke it smelt something, something delicious. The halfling. She was just behind the fire, just behind the light. It rose up, letting out a furious screech. Raising up a wing, it lashed out, striking Gin.

Gin hadn't seen it coming, hadn't felt that the rabisu had lost it. She had been too focused on keeping it distracted, on keeping it away from Kimiko. Away from her friend, the only one she had. She fell to the ground, wincing as she struggled to concentrate on keeping the flames up, making them even brighter. This only served to anger the rabisu more, launching it into a maniac state, screaming and gnashing it's teeth as it lashed out, smash items in its way. Gin winced, looking down at herself. Her shirt was torn, a long slash going through it from just below her sheet to her lower stomach. The wound wasn't deep, but had drawn blood and was making Gin dizzy. This scene was all to familiar. The blood, the screams. Clenching her eyes shut, she put a hand to her wound, feeling the warm sensation of blood on her palm and fingers. Tears leaked out her eyes, leaving red streaks down her cheek. She looked up at the rabisu as it lumbered towards her, and she was completely convinced that would be her last sight.

Kimiko, I'm sorry. I failed you. I hope you're safe.

[Dragonydas]

Alexandra had fallen asleep in the couch, something that was quite rare for her. 'I must be reading too much' She thought to herself. Still, there was something wrong. Her glasses had fallen of her face and were now missing. She tried to search for them with her hands but it seemed that they had completely vanished. Now she was feeling a bit stressed out. She needed the help of someone to find her glasses, but at the same time, she didn't want to petrify anyone. She did knew her whereabouts and could clearly remember where the various rooms where, and the best room to find help at this hour would be the kitchen. She slithered out of the sofa and started making her way to the kitchen, holding her hands in front of her to try to sense any objects near her but also to quickly grab any person that was unlucky enough to be turned to stone and thus prevent the statue from falling and breaking in to pieces.

She carefully slithered towards the kitchen, luckily avoiding the objects dispersed around the hall. Upon reaching the kitchen, she knocked on the door frame and called out to someone that she knew would help her.

"Marie, are you here? Don't look at me please. I lost my glasses."

Having been here for a while, the presence of a gorgon and her abilities would be known to most tenants, and Marie would be no different. All she hoped was that no one else would be petrified. Still, she was inside, so it was a bit safer than if she had lost her glasses outside.

[ViridianHue]

As shards of glass rained around them, the ear splitting scream almost rendered Kimiko deaf, making her snap her eyes shut. One minute she was covering Gin and in the next she felt herself being pushed to the side, scraping her arms against the rough pebbled ground as she fell. She paid no attention to the bruise and looked up to see Gin running back into the mist, telling her to go get help. "No - wait - damn it, Gin, you don't have to do this!" she yelled, but her cries to call the kitsune back were drowned out by the rabisu's scream.

Why the hell is she sacrificing herself? And for humans no less? Kimiko thought angrily as she got to her feet, staring at the whiteness before her, the screams of the rabisu echoing through the alley. Her hand clenched around the handle of her umbrella as she stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. I-I'm useless. I don't know how to fight... She hadn't ever needed to protect anyone before, she was the one who was always protected, and even so, she'd always been cautious and the number of dangers to her life were minimum. But it was different now. Someone else's life was in danger. And though Gin had told her to get away, Kimiko was afraid that if she left the scene, she'd probably never see the kitsune again.

"Damn you!" she cursed, hitting her folded umbrella against the wall beside her. The movement made something fall out of the folds of her dress and clatter to the ground. It was her cellphone, lying innocently on the ground without a scratch.

She hastily picked it up, her shaky hands almost making her drop it again. But who was she going to call? Her previous bodyguard? They were long out of town and wouldn't be able to do anything. If there was ever a time Kimiko had regretted not making any friends, this was it. She was on the verge of giving up when an unexpected name stood out. Before she could question her decision, she called him.

And it went to voice mail.

"Are you kidding me?! The one time I call you and your phone is off?" would be the first words Capello would hear if he ever got around to hearing his voice-mail. Kimiko sighed. This was never going to work. But she had to try. "I don't know if you'll hear this in time, but I'm near the sushi place in 22nd Street. A rabisu attacked us and that stupid, stupid kitsune is hell bent on suicide, so please, if you get this, I need you-" At that moment, she ran out of time and she trailed off her next words. "...to send help... UGH!" The phone broke into pieces as Kimiko threw it at the wall and took off into the alley, having given up on calling for help again.

She arrived just in time to see the creature looming over Gin. Without thinking, she rammed her body against the rabisu with her umbrella in between them, pushing it away from the wounded girl.

---

"Well, hello, Mr. Li," are the words Yuen would hear first, followed by the sudden appearance of the landlord beside him, his friendly smile ever in place. He hands a pen to the young man, along with his room key. "You're in apartment 5B. I hope you'll like your accommodations."

[Spawnling]

Capello, Gin, Kimiko, Rabisu

Capello’s head slowly rose from the floor, eyes blearily staring at the phone as it finished it’s final ring and went to voicemail. The fox considered simply going back to sleep, ignoring the call. But it was so rare that he actually GOT calls, curiosity overcame him in the end. Shifting back into his human form, the liar took the phone, still laying on the ground, and hit the voicemail.

“Are you kidding me?! The one time I call you and your phone is off?”

The fox blinked, sitting upright as Kimiko’s voice yelled over the speaker. This was...odd, unexpected, unusual, several other adjectives as Capello listened more intently. There was panic in her voice...and something else in the background.

“I don't know if you'll hear this in time, but I'm near the sushi place in 22nd Street. A rabisu attacked us an-”

The rest of the message was lost as Capello vaulted out of the bar, ripped open a window, and leaped outside, shifting back into demon form halfway through and splintering the frame as he vaulted onto the rooftops, sprinting full tilt as his illusions kept him safe from prying eyes. It would take him a minute tops to reach the location. Hopefully he’d be fast enough.

The Rabisu's snarl turned upwards into a something that could almost be described as a grin as it injured Gin, shrieking laughter as it hopped from side to side.
"Hee hee hee! Tricksy little snackses, using bad fire! Bad snackses! Bad! But snackses lose now. This one thinkses to end our games, yes?" It jeered and mocked them, too busy making its final lunge to notice the gigantic fox demon entering the alley. Capello crouched down, bunching his hind legs as he catapulted himself from the roof top behind the Rabisu with a loud howl, jaws snapping, teeth sinking into the Rabisu’s ankle as the giant fox pulled it back, scraping, against the ground. The Rabisu screamed in pain and panic, struggling to get out of the demon's jaws. The liar wasn’t the strongest combatant, he knew this. Everything he did relied on trickery. But he was still a demon. And he was still tough. Straining his muscles, Capello spun around, grinding the creature against the wall and hurling it across the alleyway, positioning himself in front of the girls. In full demon form, he was the size of a large truck. Blue wisps of energy swirled off his body as he gave a loud snarl, fangs bared.

“No one touches them!”

The Rabisu scrambled to its feet, hissing loudly in fear. It's rough fur on its back was bristling, it's poisoned blood flowing down from its leg and from its mouth.
"F-Filthy Foxes! Getting in this one's way! Move! Half-Yokai snackses are to be eaten! R-Rabisu needs strength! Rabisu last one! Rabisu will not die like others!" it shrieked, becoming more desperate and agitated with every passing second. Capello gave another growl, this thing was like a cornered animal. His mouth felt...numb? But with a strange prickling feeling. It’s blood wasn’t good, he had to make sure to not swallow any of it by accident.

The fox split into three different versions, each one advancing slowly and growling at the vampiric beast.
The Rabisu backed up, taking a deep breath, before giving its terrible screech. The sound waves passed straight through the two false foxes, letting the Rabisu lock in on the third. It lunged forwards, teeth gnashing, sinking it's fangs into Capello's front leg. The fox gave a howl, thrashing and biting downwards at the back of the beast’s neck. It could see through his illusions?! That wasn’t good, that wasn’t good at all. The fox flailed, trying to rip the creature off his front paw, using his much larger size to force it back. Raising his other paw, he slammed it down on the Rabisu’s leg, snapping the bone as he bit down hard and rolled over the monster, forcing it onto the ground. Wrenching his paw free, the fox leaped back, landing closer to the girls, but with a noticeable limp.

Visual illusions wouldn’t work. So...Kimiko’s voice echoed in his head. Rabisu. Blind, or at least mostly. That scream seemed to...of course, it used sound waves. Well, two could play at that. Capello concentrated a moment, then blasted the vampiric creature with illusions of bells and chimes playing all around it. Echolocation was easily removed when the sound was everywhere, confusing and clouding the waves it sended out. The fox leaped onto the wall, bouncing around and giving off loud howls at every interval. Then he made the howl behind it. Above it. Beneath it. Capello’s yelps and yowls were everywhere in the alley. The fox made sure that only those in the alley could hear them, however, trying to minimize the impact on the humans outside. He rushed forward, ignoring the searing pain in his paw. Not just the sting, but a burn. He didn’t recall Rabisu’s being toxic.

The Rabisu's blind eyes went wide with fear, it's ears flattening against its skull. Loud! Too loud! Where, where was it coming from! It couldn't smell, just the harsh, unfamiliar smell of spice filled its nostrils. It yelped and whined, scratching at its nose with its remaining claw, hobbling backwards and dragging its broken wings behind it. It felt a sudden, searing pain on its tail, sunlight! It, it was being pushed back into the sun! It couldn't lunge, could run, it cowered and hissed, the poison in its veins making it harder to breathe, harder to move!

And then, it was struck back by the fox demon, and thrown into the sun. It took the Rabisu a moment to realize where it was, it's fur singing and catching aflame, skin burning and glowing red like embers. It screamed in agony, thrashing weakly.
"No! N-No! This one must live! Must escape! Bad blooded demon, bad blooded demon coming for us all! Monster! Monster with poison!" It shrieked, before throwing its head back in a final death scream as flames erupted from its mouth, incinerating the monster. All that was left was a pile of ash and a few smoldering remains.

Capello breathed heavily, trying to keep the weight off his bitten paw as he maintained the illusion around the Rabisu’s burning form. He gave a slow exhale, calming himself down. The fox was NOT a fighter. That situation could have gone far worse. The Rabisu was weakened, something had put it through the ringer before it attacked the girls, and that was probably the only reason the liar wasn’t in worse shape at the moment. With a flick of his tail, he swept the ashes aside, letting them blow away as he limped back to the girls, slowly shifting back into his human form. Blood ran down his arm and his face had several slashes across it as he gave a smile.

“Well then -ow- I think we should -ouch- have a little discussion about going out alone, yeah? Hehe.”

Bracing himself to avoid showing how lightheaded he was, Capello knelt down, offering a hand to help the Kitsune up, careful to maintain his illusion around the trio. The Rabisu had said something about poison...that explained the sensation when the fox had bitten it and why his gums were still burning slightly. He gave a serious look at both Gin and Kimiko.

“Are either of you hurt? What exactly happened?”

[Dark Angel]

Gin gasped as Kimiko crashed into the rabisu before putting her umbrella between them and it. Straining to stay conscious, she grasp at the cloth of Kimiko's shirt. "K-Kimiko, why a-a-are y-you he-re" Gin doubled over, grasping her wound before falling to her knees. Her vision was blurry, and it hurt, it hurt so bad. the wound was burning, as if on fire. Gin could vaguely recall something about it being toxic... But she had to stay strong, she had to satay awake. For Kimiko. She couldn't let her get hurt, she just couldn't. Blood was now flowing freely down hurt her stomach, consuming the pure white of her shirt with the dark red.

Suddenly something was there, something was protecting them, from it, from the rabisu. A huge demon had placed itself in-between them, blocking the way of the rabisu, also known as certain death. Gin smiled. They were safe. The demon was a fox, and since it didn't seem to be attacking them, she guessed it either wanted the prey for himself, or it was the resident fox Kimiko ha mentioned. Capello. Gin could just barely hear the shrieks and sounds of fighting around her, and after a while it all went silent, just after some rambling and a final scream from the rabisu.

"Are either of you hurt? What exactly happened?” Capello was looking down at them, completely serious. She could barely see him through the dark spots encroaching on her line of vision, but she could something was wrong. "C-Capello, y-you're hurt." She mumbled, looking up at him worriedly. "The rabisu, it has toxins..." Gin faltered as a sudden sharp, burning pain shot through her. She choked down a whimper.

"I-I-I'm fine, it's alright. You need to get- urgh- y-you need t-to get that c-c-cut treated." She replied, eyes slowly shutting.

---

"Marie, are you here? Don't look at me please. I lost my glasses." Marie heard a light knock on the door, accompanied by a voice. Realizing who it was, she quickly walked over to the door, looking up at the ceiling as she opened it.

"Hello Ms. Simonides. Need a pair of glasses?" Marie turned, waving for Alexandra to follow. She made her way through the kitchen to one of the counters. Pulling out the top drawer on the left, she rummaged around until she found the object that she was searching for. Glasses. She always kept a pair in different rooms of the house, not only for Alexandra, but also herself. She had lived in the apartment for years, and both she and the gorgon had terribly bad eyesight, but Alexandra's had a more dangerous consequence if she lost her glasses. Which seemed to be quite often. Marie carefully handed the glasses to the gorgon, staying the tiled floor until it was safe.

"Gee, that seems to be the second time today that has happened Ms. Simonides!" Marie chuckled sweetly. Alexandra was a nice girl, albeit shy, and just like all the others who lived at the apartment, Marie had developed a motherly fondness over her.

[Invader Len]

The Byakko jumped suddenly when he heard a voice behind him, whipping around to see the mysterious person introduce himself as the landlord. How had he gotten there! He hadn't heard him approach at all, and his hearing was top notch! Before he could react any further, however, he was quickly handed a pen and key.

"You're in apartment 5B. I hope you'll like your accommodations." the man said. Yuen looked down at the key, nodding. 5B, 5B... That should be on the second floor? A was usually ground floor, and all those higher were labeled in order of the Latin alphabet. How complicated! Couldn't they just use numbers, like everyone else? He nodded to thank the landlord, hurrying out of the room back to the lobby, barely missing the gorgon's entrance. He walked over to his backpack, sidestepping the small puddle of ink on the floor. Yeck, he hoped that didn't leave a stain.

Grabbing his bag, he clipped the pen on his pocket, where he could get it, and proceeded to look for some stairs, an elevator, even a ladder! He wanted to unpack and figure out a way he was going to have to talk to people. Without, well, talking, obviously. It was something annoying how much people talked in Western culture. Small talk, chitchat, casual conversation, there were a million different words for it! And it was rude not to return it! He threw his hands up in the air. How was someone who couldn't talk supposed to stay sane in this stupid world?! It ticked him off!

Walking off his frustration, he avoided the kitchen, turning down the first corridor he came to. He quickly became lost, there were no signs on the walls and no one there to ask for directions. His stomach growled again, this time more painfully. It suddenly struck him- he could die here, starving, his body serving only as a warning to others not to venture forth. How many others before him had fallen victim to the twisting halls of this haunted abode? He grinned. Man, he could have been a poet. If only he had the voice for one.

[ViridianHue]

Kimiko had merely bought a few seconds with her push. The Rabisu was sneering at them, its gaze already triumphant as it anticipated the taste of their blood. Kimiko held her only defense more securely in her hands, briefly glancing at Gin behind her. The kitsune was weakened but she found herself feeling relieved to see that she hadn't passed out yet. There was no time to tend to her though for the Rabisu made its final lunge and Kimiko braced herself for the impact, hoping that her umbrella would hold against it.

But she never felt it. The creature was pulled back, violently thrown off to the side by a familiar fox. Kimiko clutched at Gin's hand, telling herself that it was to keep the girl from collapsing to the ground, though her hand gripped hers tighter every time Capello got hit. The fight was over in a matter of minutes but the fox looked worse for wear as he limped to the duo, asking them if they were alright.

"I-I-I'm fine, it's alright. You need to get- urgh- y-you need t-to get that c-c-cut treated."

"No, you're not fine!" Kimiko finally burst, turning round at Gin with her golden eyes flaring dangerously. "What the hell is the matter with you? You jumped into this without thinking and risked your life for stupid humans. Even now you can barely keep your eyes open and you're worried about someone else!" The skies overhead were getting darker as the spirit's temper flared, thunder rumbling ominously. "And you!" she cried, glaring at Capello. "Since when do you ignore calls? And you came alone! You could've been killed! Are all foxes suicidal?!"

At that moment, the sky decided to burst open as rain fell down on them in waves, soaking them instantly. A vein in Kimiko's forehead seemed to twitch as she looked up at the sky, holding herself back from cursing loudly. She knew she needed to calm down for the rain to stop but with two reckless foxes in her midst, the idea seemed impossible.