Magister

(Dead) The Gifted World

Vivian's bravado earned her an amused, albeit slight, eyebrow raise from the older male. It was interesting to meet people who hadn't had the swagger in their step stilled by circumstance or the harsh realities of a violent existence. He followed her eyes over to the manipulator, and the acute mental attack she was victim to. Good. Montana wanted her to weigh up her options, perhaps even cease the attack.

When he mentioned her partner, it wasn't an idle conversation. It was a suggestion, the olive branch that inspired dialogue, while it questioned alliances.

"A conversation."

"That is what I desire from you, and your companion."

Montana moved to place his knife back into its shoulder holster, when rather suddenly, a gun discharged beside him, and he found his fingers unraveling from the hilt, and freezing there, causing his knife to fall toward the ash below. The opposite hand moved beneath it, his fingers spread slightly to allow to blade to fall between them, enabling him to catch it by the hilt.

Spire's appearance confirmed why the she had been able to influence them at all.

(Dead) The Gifted World

Montana's descent from the building had been immediate, there was no pause between Spire's response and his action. As he fell from the building, hand guiding his descent, his Italian made shoes pushed off of the crumbling material, propelling him towards a lower structure.

His foot touched ground for a fraction of a second before he tucked into a quick roll, moments after his shoulder completed the motion, he sprung forward again, supplementing whatever momentum he lost with a sudden burst of speed. the forward motion carried him over the lip of the second building, and onto the crumbling outline of what was a boarder wall of some kind. Ahead of him was Toby, and the teleporter.

Toby's marksmanship was flawless, but the predictability of a bullet was a timed counter for someone who could exist wherever they pleased within reason.

Montana understood his place as the unknown variable, and used it wisely.

He surged forward from the wall, crossing the distance between himself and the two combatants in seconds. He had begun his leap the moment she dissipated, and when his motion reached his apex, he was among them.

What maiming blow he could have attempted, he didn't. Instead, he drew his blade in an outward arc, meeting hers before it had the chance to bite Toby, and redirecting her attack above them both as his blade pushed hers skyward.

The momentum he used to reach the duo in time propelled him another five feet beyond them, Montana finally came to a halt amid a mess of ash and gravel, turning to face them at the last moment.

"Perhaps you should take greater care to watch your ally." Montana's blade spun thrice in his hands, the metal reflected the suffocated sun with each rotation. "Unless you feel as if the odds are currently in your favour.

(Dead) The Gifted World

"It would be unnatural to expect otherwise, much history exists in this place." Toby's mention of a resurrection power was perhaps what finally made Montana feel directly invested in the happenings around him. There was a chance this person was an immortal, quasi or otherwise. Immortals were gifted he took a special interest in, to help, or to hinder, was the question always answered when he met them.

This development didn't distract him from the prevailing 'us vs them' mentality that seemed prevalent in every choice these two made. Spire had referenced this past history with the mind manipulator, but neither seemed to reference any past association with the teleporter or any kind of knowledge in regards to the resurrected gifted who has returned from the dead.

If there was a singular, simple truth to Montana, it was that he took life on his own terms. Not at the behest of another.

He followed close behind Spire as he scaled the building. He propelled himself upward with the unnatural speed that came with his endless pool of stamina, and was beside the younger male not a second after he had taken his chosen position of attack. Spire's cold eyes caught his own, and he followed their mirrored gaze down to the mind manipulator below, who was immediately overcome with obvious pain. The teleporter had jumped moments later, no doubt turning their attention to Toby, who was the closer target.

"Your partner seems a bit too preoccupied to share where this arisen is."

"In the meantime, shall I subdue your target, or aid your partner. Tell me Spire"

(Dead) The Gifted World

'Giving them a taste of their own medicine' was a strong enough hint for Montana. The particulars would show themselves should fighting break out between the gifted in the area, and fighting seemed like an inevitability with the way Spire spoke.

His eagerness to engage in conflict indicated more then a simple mantra of self defense to the older male. Much like springing him from his prison, the boy seemed to revel in the prospect of conflict, and by extension, death.

While Montana acknowledged he wasn't dissimilar when he came into conflict with a particularly strong opponent, the age behind his coal blacks sensed something that extended beyond the simple thrill of combat.

From where he stood, facing the wastes, the mind manipulator didn't seem too keen on conflict. If they were, Montana imagined, their opening move would have been to turn the brothers on Montana. He knew he wouldn't have too closely questioned the sudden change of heart, and their infighting would have created an ideal opportunity.

The wildcard was the manipulators relationship with the teleporter.

"One would think the manipulator would have long assaulted our minds, if they sought conflict."

(Dead) The Gifted World

@Kidd Don't worry about it at all, post length isn't a problem.

If anyone interested in possible backstory links or writing characters who know eachother, I'm very open to that.

(Dead) The Gifted World

Montana's grip on the hilt of his favoured throwing knife relaxed, but his hand remained lightly toughing the hilt of his weapon. While weary of the mind manipulator and their strength, he believed that their opening play would have left him more then enough time to react, had it been anything short of an aggressive expansionist assault. The mind, as explained to him by a neuroscientist he had befriended in decades past, 'archived memories and experiences' during the sleep process to protect the brain from overloading its neural pathways.

Given the nature of his gift, the scientist explained, synaptic overload/excitotoxicity was an impossibility. Simply put, unless Montana cared to meditate, he was aware that his conscious and subconscious existed in a web of disorder that would take some time for a manipulator to navigate. A particularly powerful user would certainly be able to control his body after a few seconds, but a second equaled an eternity in combat.

Which is why he relaxed. An invasive a power as it was, the user was the intent behind the potential action. He had made his intentions of defense known, and had not been on the receiving end of any retaliation.

This did not mean Montana viewed them as being safe. It simply meant they weren't immediately aggressive. He further tested the waters, by conjuring up images of conflict, and peace in his mind. Something ambient, should they choose to peak into his thoughts

"Of course. I would only be in danger of taking offense to a bullet."

He could hear the muffled sound of a voice come from the direction of the wreckage. It sounded like it was being projected off a mechanical device.

"I am not aware of what else you have in your arsenal. In regards to your ability.

(Dead) The Gifted World

Spire's seemingly genuine interest in what Montana had to say certainly inspired the man to be a touch forthright. Had their meeting remained uninterrupted, Montana planned on answering what questions he could. They had freed him from the box after all, their intentions for him were irrelevant.

Toby's firm warning for Spire set the final peace of the puzzle into place when it came to the identification of the boy's power. Which in essence seemed to be gift identification. That would leave Spire to be, at least from Montana's deduction, the bruiser out of the two. The heavy hitter to compliment the other boys nuanced ability. Or perhaps his was as equally nuanced. Two specialists wandering the Ash.

Either way, a psychic and a teleporter spelled trouble for them both. If the psychic had the aptitude to influence and control the minds of multiple persons they could make quick work of them all. Especially if they were both allies.

The only option was to slay the psychic and lure the teleporter into a repetitive pattern.

Provided Toby was telling the truth,

and providing that these two were hostile to begin with. The nature of his gift meant that rather then strike first, he had the luxury of waiting to see how the situation panned out.

"I trust that you both understand the nature of my power means I would be a staunch ally, or a troublesome foe should I fall under the Psychic's control."

The sound of mortar and block being obliterated rent through the air with a ferocity that rung through the buildings around them, shaking the aging monoliths with such force that a few of the weaker structures collapsed in on themselves, causing small dust clouds to dot up in his peripheral vision. If he hadn't been conversing with Toby and Spire, he would have investigated. Perhaps even gotten in the middle of the conflict if it captured his fancy.

Instead, he'd wait to confront the Psychic.

His hand moved to the inside of his overcoat, where it wrapped around the hilt of a throwing knife nestled snugly in a shoulder holster. The decades had honed his opening throw into a fluid motion that hit it's apex long before most could draw a weapon.

It was a simple precaution, he didn't think to use it unless he felt his body being hijacked.

(Dead) The Gifted World

@Framing A Moose Eddie did not disappoint.

(Dead) The Gifted World

Montana listened to Toby's words, despite way they struggled to form on his tongue to be pushed out, with the most respectful attention.
Spire was clearly the one who enjoyed and did most of the talking, and expected the conversation to be directed at him. Which is what made engaging the both of them so momentarily important.

He noted reactive way the boys body had moved in near synchronization with own. The casual response of his muscle memory marked him an experienced survivalist to Montana. The stutter implied an uncertainty that ended with his speech patters in the older males point of view. Firearms required distance, and a steady hand. He had one, and there was little doubt he had the other.

"A very long time must be correct if the Knights have shed such trappings. You're more versed in today than I, so I will defer to your opinion." He gave Toby an amicable head nod, then turned his attention to Spire who had, very strongly, turned the focus of the conversation back between them. Montana took a step forward, and turned away from them both, but not before breaching Spire's personal space as he swung his shoulder. An innocuous enough movement, as no physical contact was made as his body shifted. On the surface at least.

He appeared to be scanning the expanse in the distance, as well as the barren remains of what once was a vibrant city around them. Monoliths of a pre-war age. One he remembered from the 'while' Spire mentioned.

"Much of what I have seen is circular. Perhaps I have not seen much at all."

Montana turned his head to face Spire, his body followed, but slowly. He was a bit further away from them now, with his left foot atop the same piece of debris the talkative one had used to open the box. "I can recall time the when the Crown, the Hand, were in their infancy. Just ideas among feverish minds. If that interests you.

When Toby spoke, he reached his first conclusion. If the taller boy could sense what he himself could not see, it indicated a gift for sensing bodies at the very least.

Which told him that Toby had not only sensed him inside the box, but they had traveled into the town for the specific purpose to open it and see who or what was trapped within. Two curious Samaritans, but unlike the stories of old, these travelers had offered neither oil, nor wine.

He didn't turn to look where Toby's attention was focused. Instead, he turned back to the Ashland.

(Dead) The Gifted World

@Framing A Moose I again apologize for the overfamiliarity, but I'm just generally excited to see Eddie intro'd, as I enjoy western themed characters.