akirashadow

Finding the Pray

Akira had been making his best attempt at minding his own business. It wasn't often that he could go into a tavern without getting bombarded by patrons trying to push hunt contracts on to him. He had observed the patrons of the place a couple of times but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, kind of strange considering the remoteness of the taverns locations. Eventually he'd glance upon a young woman heading his way from the bar, with a sigh the hunter lowered his head as though to portray the idea that he hadn't noticed. As the young woman proceeded to sit at his table, Akira remained with his head lowered as if oblivious to her presence, just when he was expecting some sob story to get him to sign onto a contract he received a less normal question in the form of a whisper "How did you do that? Aren't you human?" The young man would leave a pause, before he looked up, though only bearly, leaving it questionable as to whether he'd even heard the question. "You know..." Akira took another swig of his ale. "It's incredibly rude to sit at someone else's table, without first enquiring if they desire the company."

Akira looked up properly, examining the young woman who'd taken a seat at his table. "Well now, that is an interesting pair of questions." His voice was now quieter than before, he didn't need to create any more of a scene then he already had. Leaning forward towards the woman Akira looks her straight in the eye. "But would you really still call me human?" The taint from the blood magic could easily be made out if one were to look for it. "Though your wording is also interesting." Akira took a final swing of his ale. "Ah... tell me then miss, what manner of creature are you? Don't be surprised, we humans are typically so blindly ignorant of other races that we would not typically refer to each other as 'human'." The hunter gave a cocky smile as he leant back in his chair as he awaited an answer. As he waited he glanced over to the bar, he'd seen out of the corner of his eye the deed that the woman who was now sat at his table had done for the woman at the bar. "I don't suppose you'd also share what made you intrigued by her?"

Final Fantasy VIII: Tempus Veneficarum [7/10 Slots]

Having spoken his piece with Duncan it was time to get back to business. The woman he was looking for had identified herself shortly after he had asked of her. The scruffy looking shuffled his way over to the woman as he grabbed his radio. "Overwatch, primary objective complete. Minerva Grants has been located... further more all known active joint strike team members appear to be accounted for." Jake then clipped the radio back to his belt as he stopped just short of Minerva. "Minerva Grants? Jake Firesong, Garden sent me to get you out... clearly they underestimated the skill of this team. If you'd mind standing still for a moment we'll get this out of the way. Scan." As the SeeD spoke a small magical sphere began to rotate in front of Jake's eye as he looked Minerva up and down a walked a few circles around her. "No obvious signs of convincing interrogation... a few bruises, though nothing appears to be too serious..." The SeeD merely commented aloud as the scan spell pointed out, what it could find. "Well then everything seems good." The SeeD reached inside his jacket and pulled from his inner pocket a small envelop. "Congratulations Minerva, I get the pleasure of informing you of Galbadia Gardens decision to promote you. Your capture was deemed as an unforeseen event, it would appear things didn't go as planned." He handed the female SeeD the envelop.

Jake strolled over to the opening as he looked down to the ground below. "Well..." Jake turned and passed the SeeD's still within the prison walls a small wave. "Guess it's time to offer the strike team my services once more." With that said the SeeD let himself drop out from the opening, using a combination of float and aero spells to bring himself to an eased landing, almost instantly into a walk as he did so as he made his way over to Duncan. "It would seem..." Jake was cut short by the sound of Duncan's prisoner or hostage hurling his guts up, the smell wasn't all to pleasant and the SeeD grimaced slightly before continuing. "It would seem my work as assigned by Galbadia Garden is complete. As such I'd like to request permission to rejoin the team." the SeeD extended his hand out to Duncan as if trying to strike some kind of business deal.

Finding the Pray

Akira Shadow 'Peace Hunter'

A walking pace, not much faster than a crawl had finally brought Akira to the inn. He squinted his eyes as he gazed up at the sign hanging above its door. It felt like he'd been walking for several hours and he was probably correct for thinking so. The young man looked down to his right leg and shook his head before leaning his left arm on the door as he stepped forward. The door opened part-way then further as Akira stepped inside, a pained limp in his step. The less than normal entrance had drawn the attention of a few nosey patrons as the man continued to limp toward the bar.

His right leg, poorly bandaged with a scrap of rags had been dyed red from where a wound had once been bleeding. Making it to the bar the young man let himself fall softly forward catching himself on the bar with his arms as his right leg buckled. The inn keep sighed as he stepped over to Akira, clearly this wasn't his first time dealing with a wounded patron. "What'll it be young man? You're welcome here so long as you're not looking for trouble." Akira smirked at the inn keeps comment before speaking up.
"Trouble? Worry not, this is merely a scratch... albeit a rather nasty one. Oh, a tankard of ale..." Akira stated as he placed some coins on the counter, more than enough to cover his drink. "...and a clean cloth, if you can spare one." The inn keep nodded in response as he prepared Akira's drink and slid it to him with a section of cloth. "Thanks." Akira stated with a smile before glancing round for a free table.

Having found a place to perch himself in more comfort, Akira had hobbled over to a free table waving away any patrons sober enough to offer him a helping hand. He straightened his leg out in front of him as he sat down, before leaning forward to pull back the blood rag. The wound had mostly dried shut, though that didn't seem to be the only issue. Akira stared at the wound, had there not been so many patrons he could spend a little blood from his finger for a simple healing spell. With a sigh he undressed the wound before taking hold of the clean cloth, wanting to keep the 'scratch' covered he tightly wrapped the cloth around his leg, before pulling his leg back toward himself and stretching it out several times trying to work the pain out of the muscle and get it used to natural movement once more. Having done enough stretching to make him feel sore anew the young man took a swig of his ale as he glanced around the inn, the patrons had returned to their drinks and the natural vibe and scene of calm resumed.

Final Fantasy VIII: Tempus Veneficarum [7/10 Slots]

Jake nodded a greeting as Xerox introduced him to the two ladies who he had not met before then. Heloise and Rachel... they seemed to be quite the interesting pair, a good fit for a team such as this. However it would appear that one of them did not take too kindly to his early act as his means of identifying the pair through the Garden databases had him on the receiving end of a snappy remark. Jake maintained his cool to avoid adding further fuel to a fiery individuals distaste for what he'd done. "Should of read all the files..." The SeeD mumbled to himself. A lot would happen in the short window of time as one of the two targets was tied up and the other, well the other seemed confident of his ability, until he lost conciousness.

Upon Xerox's word to get ready to move and Rachel's confirmation that he was ready, Jake helped haul the dead weight of Royce up onto the trolley before detaching his crossbow for use as they'd make their way to regroup with the others. It was a good enough formation given the tight quarters, he could help thin out the approaching soldiers with his crossbow while Xerox and Heloise would cover the front, making short work of any who were (un)fortunate enough to make it to them. The SeeD gritted his teeth during a quiet moment before composing himself "You know, although you probably would of got out of here alone, this operation wasn't cheap." Jake was attempting to address Heloise before continuing. "Galbadia and Balamb were both able to put forward able bodies for the situation on a short notice. Trabia needed someone to ensure its interests in the operation were well. I'll delete these once we're all out safe, it needs time to upload to the network."

After climbing back up the stairwells a couple of levels a familiar voice had greeted them. Upon hearing Duncan's questions Jake forced a smile. "Well some of us aren't at least. Things seem to be a little off back at Garden so I can't speak in any official capacity as to the bigwigs intentions. Though it would seem they tried to change the terms of our agreements, which is why I'm here." The SeeD sighed before continuing. "Have you seen a Minerva... Grants?" It was evident that even Jake was unfamiliar with the SeeD he was asking after. "As much as I'd like to continue the joint venture my payment dictates that I'm to verify her well being first." Then there was the second questions answer. "Syrus?... No not him. Another one of your team has come though, Her file is proving quiet difficult to fully decrepit, Eika I believe it was? Very well attuned to the use of magic. Or at least that's what I've gathered from her file."

Finding the Pray

I'm also looking forward to getting started on this.

Final Fantasy VIII: Tempus Veneficarum [7/10 Slots]

As Jake continued to fight his way down the tower it was evident that resistance was actually starting to thin out. Either reinforcements from the towers base levels were held off, or the majority of the stationed guards were higher up the tower. It wasn't long before a certain level of commotion was echoing up from the floor below, something about capturing someone, or something accompanied by the request to hold off soldiers. Hearing this Jake picked up the pace as he headed for the next floor down.

Upon arrival Jake peered around into the main corridor only to see several soldiers cut down by a dagger wielding woman. Moving back Jake reported in. "Overwatch, be advised I've made contact with part of the Joint Harden Strike Team." Jake stepped out into the main corridor where the others were. "...Xerox right?" Jake asked as he approached. "The inventor, or would you prefer engineer? Or maybe scientist?" Jake continued to question as he got closer to the three. "What are you staring at?" A gaping hole in the wall, which was clearly once a continuation of the cells provided the answer to that question. "heh, friends of yours?" As he asjed Jake turned his attention to the two women accompanying Xerox. Recognising neither of them from his previous time on the team Jake took out his PDA and snapped two quick head shots, sliding the device back into his pocket afterwards.

Dead School: Deaducation (Closed)

Chaos, mass panic, a more than qualified way of explaining the current predicament that had engulfed the cafeteria in moments. Everyone would of course handle and react to it in their own way. Irvine himself tried to remain calm as his brain began to process what was happening. He had become grouped with a few other survivors, though he had no way of focusing himself on them enough to notice if he realised any of them. Irvine shook his head quickly to settle himself and focus.

He turned to look at the other survivors trying to gauge how they were handling their current predicament. Irvine sighed as he took a step towards one of the younger members of the group who seemed to not be grasping the situation to well. He reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, as calm as he could to try and not startle the boy further. "Hang in there, you'll be alright. Showing fear is the first step toward going off course. Adversity is cruel, letting your fear take hold will only make it crueller." With that said Irvine moved his hand and reached into his pockets sliding on his gloves. Irvine went back to assessing the room and watching the 7 zombies slow approach. As another addressed the group, he hesitated then responded. "We may be able to get around them if we're careful. This room isn't exactly small, and we could use the furniture to our advantage and break their path of advancement."

@Delta44 @Beekeeper

Saving the Damned Cont. (AkiraShadow & HiddenBeauty)

Play it out whichever way is easiest for yourself. I got several ideas on where to go with this so I'll be able to work something out whether the fight goes on until the end of your post or the necromancer stops it.

Oh by the way, I'm going to only have access to a very crappy spec'd laptop until the 27th but I'll try to get a post done if you've done one.

Oh and Merry Christmas ^_^

Saving the Damned Cont. (AkiraShadow & HiddenBeauty)

Ok so you have free reign on what happens to Hades I just ask that you don't kill him. :P

Two angles you could play it from really:

Hades is hellbent on killing you, could make for a more intense fight.
Or the complete opposite, he's trying to resist the spell still, so he could be deliberately fighting poorly, albeit convincingly.

After your post we'll end the necromancer section and be a few posts away from their big break. ^_^

Saving the Damned Cont. (AkiraShadow & HiddenBeauty)

As Allura conversed with the necromancer Akira was looking at the floor, counting floor tiles and trying to plan a route of attack that he could cover quickly, and without falling for a devils trap. Then there was the necromancers question, one which Akira was not so keen on becoming the conversations topic. Upon hearing Allura's remark the necromancer softly chuckled to himself "Certainly, with pleasure, you see..."
"Ahhh!" Before the necromancer could continue Akira was somewhat aimlessly charging towards him with his sword held ready to strike. The necromancer simply raised his hand and Akira buckled to the floor hard like his legs just gave way.
"Akira please, there's no need to be so rude. How does it feel, to truly feel like a human once more?" The demon had not stepped into a devils trap, no that was far less painful. Akira curled up inwards on himself, his face seemed wretched with pain. "I imagine not so good. You see the demon was preventing you from feeling pain from all those old injuries."
"You... you... bastard." Akira spoke weakly as he tried to un-curl himself and get to grips with the pain.
"Yes you're probably right." The necromancer chuckled. "After all this will only temporarily make you human. Well now."

The necromancer turned his attention back to Allura having suppressed Akira. "I'm sure you know Akira wishes to separate himself from Volkran. To do that is no simple task, it requires a ritual. That in turn requires souls... a lot of souls, along with the souls of very particular walks of life. Much like myself, though Hades had the courtesy of telling me that I am the last." The necromancer stepped away from the path between Hades and Akira. "What happens to those souls?" The necromancer asked with a shrug. "Well I guess the victor will tell us." The necromancer raised his hand towards Akira once more, Akira could feel the pain subsiding though something still wasn't right it felt like Volkran was 'missing'. "Allura, stay alert! Don't let him distract you!" Akira called out, his eyes off of the necromancer for a moment, but that's all it took.

"Hades... Kill him." As the necromancer spoke he raised his hand as a transparent barrier surrounded Allura. Hades charged forward, unaffected by the trap sigils towards Akira. Having also heard the necromancers words Akira turned his attention just quick enough to parry away Hades' initial swing, though it somewhat knocked his balance, the demon strength was gone. Another swing, Akira had recuperated enough to weakly knock the strike aside. A swift overhead swing knocked Akira down on one knee, the next thing he knew Akira was laying flat on his back, his temple burning from pain after Hades followed up with a fast knee attack. "Stop!" The necromancer called out. Hades kicking Akira's sword away listened to the order. Akira looked to Allura and shook his head insisting she doesn't get involved. "Remove your hood Hades!" Once again following orders, Hades removed his hood, turning back to his human form. "Now finish it!" Hades was hesitant as he held his blade to the downed Akira. "I said finish it!" Upon the necromancer barking a second time a very human cry, absent of the demons roar echo'd through the room as Hades impaled the sword through Akira's palm. The necromancer clapped his hands as Hades glared at him with anger"Bravo... you resist even now. Well if you can't kill him, maybe someone you feel less inclined to help." The necromancers gaze averted to Allura.

As if to mimic the necromancer, Hades slowly pulled his sword from Akira's hand also turning to Allura. As he looked at her the now, mortal looking Hades tilted his head at the barrier that separated them. "Ready to die angel?" Hades asked as a forced twisted smile grew on his face. "Let me send you back to your Lord, where you'll not be able to interfere." The transparent barrier began to seep away, being lowered by the necromancer. Upon its dispersement Hades raised his sword and went to run forward as something clutched his leg. "Allura get out of here!" Akira helplessly pleaded knowing deep down that Allura wouldn't listen. The last thing Akira would see in this fight, was the back of Hades' boot as the blow knocked him unconscious his grip on Hades leg went limp and the undead warrior charged at his newly given target.