Piercing Light

Knights of Evil (High Casual Fantasy Villain Group.)

Ester stared at the lavish feast before her eyes. It was all wasted on her considering she had no need to eat food, though it'd be a welcome sight to the other knights. Ester scrunched up her nose and looked at the letter that had been sent to her by crow. "Knights... How pretentious." She pocketed the letter and took a look around the inside of the dining room. The castle was certainly fancy, but she wasn't very impressed, she'd seen all manner of architecture during her life and was painfully jaded.

She took a chair from the table and sat it against a wall. There was nothing to do but wait for the moment, which left her time to think about why she decided to come here in the first place. Lancelot, whoever he was she had quite a few things to say to him. She'd seen some destructive conquerors before, but this man seemed intent on besting every one of them. The country, no the world was in chaos thanks to him, and here he had the nerve to invite her to join his cause. Citizens being slaughtered by beasts and entire villages being razed was quite... inconvenient. Her research suffered as a result, equipment and funds grew further and further from her grasp.

She didn't want revenge, and she had no intention of taking his place, but what she did want was order in the world. She might as well do what she could to steer this growing monarchy towards an efficient path.

Knights of Evil (High Casual Fantasy Villain Group.)

Ester

Ester Fae Pure Claire Bridget Kristentoph

But she simply goes by Ester

General description

Race

Pure-blood Vampire

Age

A little over 4000 years old

Size

5'11'/180cm tall
140lb/ 63kg

Gender

Female

Sexuality

She hasn't thought about sex or a relationship in a long time.

Religion

She's aware of higher powers, but doesn't really care to acknowledge them.

Job

Inventor and Strategist when the time calls for it.

Personality

There is likely no one else on the planet as apathetic and bored as Ester. Due to her vast amount of worldly experience she is rarely ever moved by anything. This makes her come across as emotionless. However, her sarcastic attitude and condescending tone quickly dispel that first impression. She is incredibly intelligent, and has no desire to be humble about it. She lost patience for the less educated a long time ago and can hardly bear to even speak with them.

She once had a proper sense of morals, but over the years it slowly rotted away as life bore down on her. She won't go out of her way to kill people, but she has no issue murdering someone if it is in her best interest and won't cause a nuisance. She feels little for the plight of humans, in her eyes their lives are fleeting and only worth as much as they give.

The only thing that truly excites Ester is the unknown. She wants to experience things she's never seen before, create things that have never been made and learn as much about the universe as possible.

Biography

Ester was born into a small coven of vampires. In her early years she traveled with her family from place to place. They avoided feeding on humans if possible, making due with farm animals and the like. But drinking nothing but animal blood was like a human eating nothing but unsalted crackers. Around the age of fourteen she bit her first human victim. It was an older man that attempted to court her at a bar. He was drunk, and was hardly "subtle" about it. She could have easily gotten away from him using her natural strength, but this was the perfect excuse for her, this man wasn't an upstanding citizen anyway, right? At first she planned to only take a bit of the man's blood, at the most he'd turn into a minor vampire. But the taste of human blood had overwhelmed her senses and she ended up draining the man dry.

She dumped his body in a ditch where he was discovered the following day. The response to the man's death was more severe than she thought it would be. The drunkard turned out to be the assistant to a thane, and he wanted the killer's head on a pike. Needless to say Ester and her family had to leave the city. Since that day she learned to control her impulsive desires and came to understand the place her kind held in society. She didn't understand why they had to live in fear of humans, they were superior in every way weren't they?

Apparently this sentiment was not hers alone, and a few decades later her coven joined with other vampires around the world. Their goal was simple, wrest control of the world away from humans and become the status quo. The war did not go well, The vampires underestimated the tenacity of humans, as well as their sheer numbers advantage. The vampires were nearly exterminated. Her parents were captured and she was forced to watch as they were executed, impaled through the gut and left to burn to death from the sun's infernal rays of light. Since then she's experienced nearly everything life has to offer.

She tried passing as a human for a while, attending universities and going on expeditions. However she couldn't hide under a cloak forever,
and her unchanging face was more than suspicious. So she began to travel the world alone, learning all that she could of the world and it's mysteries. She eventually met a human in her travels and fell in love. She had a hatred for humans, but this man was a lone traveler like her, and much different from usual humans she'd met. He was raised as a brigand and had murdered his fair share of people. Things would have continued that way but his tribe was wiped out by a company of knights. Over the years he came to regret his past actions and exiled himself from society. He hadn't lived long compared to her, but his upbringing reminded her much of her own past and they shared a bond as ostracized beings.

It was inevitable, and she knew it would happen from the start, but her lover aged before her eyes over the years. On more than one occasion she offered to turn him into a vampire, but he always refused. He claimed he had a stubborn pride as a human that she could never understand. Ester was stubborn in her own way, and decided to bite him in his sleep.

But her lover was ready, he knew her well enough to assume she would eventually try to turn him against his will. He was well into his fifties, however he was also an experienced warrior and not someone she could easily overpower while holding back. As the fight prolonged Ester grew more and more inpatient and he grew ever the more tired. Eventually his exhaustion and her recklessness resulted in her inflicting a mortal wound onto him. Panicking, she bit his neck, attempting to turn him before he died. She made sure not to take much blood, only enough to start the change. But it was too late, he'd lost too much blood already. Tears in her eyes, she pleaded with him to tell her why he refused to live with her forever. Ester has long forgotten her first love's name, but his final words could never be forgotten. He died shortly after in spite of Ester's futile attempts to treat his wound.

Her purpose in life gone she mindlessly traveled until she ran out of places to go. She decided to live on her own in a thick forest researching magic. Rumors of a witch living in dangerous woods eventually spread to a nearby town, and on a rainy day someone knocked on her door. It was the queen desperate for help. The king had fallen ill, and she had run out of options. Ester frankly didn't care about whether or not the king died, but she did see a tempting opportunity. She needed equipment, which costs gold, of which she had little.
In exchange for curing the king she was given access to the royal library and provided with whatever equipment she desired. She worked for the crown for a time, serving multiple generations of the royal line. As long as they helped her research she was fine with assisting them.

Ester made strides in science and magic for the industrial city of Isenburhg, though her motives were purely self satisfying. After lamenting the long travel time to get from Isenburhg to the imperial city, she thought of an idea for a locomotive. She spent years leading a team of engineers before creating the steam engine, which opened the floodgates for all manner of machinery to be created. After a few more years of refinement and testing she was able to create the world's first steam powered train.

Fifty years ago, when Camelot fell and the world when to hell, Ester was put into an awkward position. The world was certainly more interesting now, but at the same time things were far too chaotic for her to effectively work. She tried living on her own, but her forest home was a living nightmare filled with monsters, and she hardly felt like constantly having to do pest control. The world needed order, no matter who enforced it...

Ester

Art by Aoi Ogata

Ester is of an above average height for a woman, much in part due to her slender legs. She has a head of straight black hair which runs down to her shoulders, her bangs cut in a blunt fashion. Her eyes are a piercing dark red and fairly narrow. She has a subtle nose and thin lips. She has an above average bust size and a rather toned body. She tends to wear red gothic styled clothing, with perhaps more belts than needed.

Traits and Equipment

Race Description

As a full-blood vampire Ester has pale skin that is always cool to the touch. She has fangs, but they are only visible when she drinks blood or intends to use them otherwise. She is about twenty times stronger than the average human man, and durable enough that a bullet will only break the surface of her skin at best. Along with her strength she is incredible agile, able to run up to a top speed of eighty miles per hour. After moving at these speeds for extended periods of time she will become exhausted and need to drink human blood to quickly get back into action.

Ester is able to grow a pair of slightly translucent bat-like wings from her back, which she can use to fly just as fast as she is able to move on land. Ester is capable of seeing clearly in complete darkness, and is able to smell blood up to a mile away.

She has no need to breath, drink water, or eat food. As long as she drinks at least a gallon of blood a month she'll remain healthy. She is able to regenerate from wounds, however without drinking human blood the process is much slower. A severed arm would take a full day without human blood, and only a few minutes with it. She is incapable of feeling pain and cannot be poisoned or made ill through non magical means.

Curse/Power Description

Ester can cause her blood to rise in temperature at will, up to the point that it boils, as well as lower it to the point it freezes. Apparently this is an ability all vampires have, but not many see any use for it.

Spell list

Ester knows countless spells, however her connection to magic other than blood manipulation has been severed ever since she obtained her artifact.

• Blood Manipulation
  
  Ester is able to freely manipulate her blood both inside and outside of her body. This allows her to morph her blood into various shapes and weapons as well as launch it at will, though using it for long ranged attacks severely limits it's power. When hardened, her blood is as hard as titanium.

Strengths/Skills/Talents

• Erudite
  
  Her long years of study have given her an encyclopedic knowledge of the world.
• Martial Arts
  
  She has studied a few martial arts during her travels to different cultures. In particular she is adept at Aikido, judo, krav maga,
  marksmanship and various weapons.

Weaknesses

• Burdens of a vampire
  
  As a vampire the sun is Ester's worst enemy. She can walk during the day with the use of magic and an enchanted cloak, but fighting under such circumstances is less than ideal. If left exposed to the sun without protection she would burst into flames. While nearly immortal, Ester can be killed if her brain or heart is completely destroyed.
  
  Crosses piss her off, pure silver burns her skin and slows her regeneration, garlic gives her food poisoning, she has a hard time entering someone's home without being invited, and she is unable to cross large bodies of running water under her own power. She's always thought these aliments were rather arbitrary, and has spent years finding the cause and a cure, to no avail.

Equipment

• Hemoguns
  
  
  Hider

  
  
  
  
  A pair of steam powered guns. Using tubes running from the guns and into her veins she is able to power the weapon using her own blood. The guns fire her crystallized blood, which is hard enough and fired with enough force to puncture several inches of steel.

Artifact

The Necronomicon

N/A

The Necronomican is a book that contains knowledge of the ineffable, of old gods and the true workings of the universe. The book rends the minds of those that attempt to read it, only those with immense willpower would even be able to open it without issue. The book appears at first to be a blank, unremarkable book the thickness of a dictionary. However, this appearance is an illusion, as it's true form is unknown, if it is even truly a book is up to debate. As it is an object that simply forces knowledge into the mind of it's reader, it is thought that it takes the form of an object commonly known in the public's conscious for bestowing information.

Knights of Evil (High Casual Fantasy Villain Group.)

Ester

Ester Fae Pure Claire Bridget Kristentoph

But she simply goes by Ester

General description

Race

Pure-blood Vampire

Age

A little over 4000 years old

Size

5'11'/180cm tall
140lb/ 63kg

Gender

Female

Sexuality

She hasn't thought about sex or a relationship in a long time.

Religion

She's aware of higher powers, but doesn't really care to acknowledge them.

Job

Inventor and Strategist when the time calls for it.

Personality

There is likely no one else on the planet as apathetic and bored as Ester. Due to her vast amount of worldly experience she is rarely ever moved by anything. This makes her come across as emotionless. However, her sarcastic attitude and condescending tone quickly dispel that first impression. She is incredibly intelligent, and has no desire to be humble about it. She lost patience for the less educated a long time ago and can hardly bear to even speak with them.

She once had a proper sense of morals, but over the years it slowly rotted away as life bore down on her. She won't go out of her way to kill people, but she has no issue murdering someone if it is in her best interest and won't cause a nuisance. She feels little for the plight of humans, in her eyes their lives are fleeting and only worth as much as they give.

The only thing that truly excites Ester is the unknown. She wants to experience things she's never seen before, create things that have never been made and learn as much about the universe as possible.

Biography

Ester was born into a small coven of vampires. In her early years she traveled with her family from place to place. They avoided feeding on humans if possible, making due with farm animals and the like. But drinking nothing but animal blood was like a human eating nothing but unsalted crackers. Around the age of fourteen she bit her first human victim. It was an older man that attempted to court her at a bar. He was drunk, and was hardly "subtle" about it. She could have easily gotten away from him using her natural strength, but this was the perfect excuse for her, this man wasn't an upstanding citizen anyway, right? At first she planned to only take a bit of the man's blood, at the most he'd turn into a minor vampire. But the taste of human blood had overwhelmed her senses and she ended up draining the man dry.

She dumped his body in a ditch where he was discovered the following day. The response to the man's death was more severe than she thought it would be. The drunkard turned out to be the assistant to a thane, and he wanted the killer's head on a pike. Needless to say Ester and her family had to leave the city. Since that day she learned to control her impulsive desires and came to understand the place her kind held in society. She didn't understand why they had to live in fear of humans, they were superior in every way weren't they?

Apparently this sentiment was not hers alone, and a few decades later her coven joined with other vampires around the world. Their goal was simple, wrest control of the world away from humans and become the status quo. The war did not go well, The vampires underestimated the tenacity of humans, as well as their sheer numbers advantage. The vampires were nearly exterminated. Her parents were captured and she was forced to watch as they were executed, impaled through the gut and left to burn to death from the sun's infernal rays of light. Since then she's experienced nearly everything life has to offer.

She tried passing as a human for a while, attending universities and going on expeditions. However she couldn't hide under a cloak forever,
and her unchanging face was more than suspicious. So she began to travel the world alone, learning all that she could of the world and it's mysteries. She eventually met a human in her travels and fell in love. She had a hatred for humans, but this man was a lone traveler like her, and much different from usual humans she'd met. He was raised as a brigand and had murdered his fair share of people. Things would have continued that way but his tribe was wiped out by a company of knights. Over the years he came to regret his past actions and exiled himself from society. He hadn't lived long compared to her, but his upbringing reminded her much of her own past and they shared a bond as ostracized beings.

It was inevitable, and she knew it would happen from the start, but her lover aged before her eyes over the years. On more than one occasion she offered to turn him into a vampire, but he always refused. He claimed he had a stubborn pride as a human that she could never understand. Ester was stubborn in her own way, and decided to bite him in his sleep.

But her lover was ready, he knew her well enough to assume she would eventually try to turn him against his will. He was well into his fifties, however he was also an experienced warrior and not someone she could easily overpower while holding back. As the fight prolonged Ester grew more and more inpatient and he grew ever the more tired. Eventually his exhaustion and her recklessness resulted in her inflicting a mortal wound onto him. Panicking, she bit his neck, attempting to turn him before he died. She made sure not to take much blood, only enough to start the change. But it was too late, he'd lost too much blood already. Tears in her eyes, she pleaded with him to tell her why he refused to live with her forever. Ester has long forgotten her first love's name, but his final words could never be forgotten. He died shortly after in spite of Ester's futile attempts to treat his wound.

Her purpose in life gone she mindlessly traveled until she ran out of places to go. She decided to live on her own in a thick forest researching magic. Rumors of a witch living in dangerous woods eventually spread to a nearby town, and on a rainy day someone knocked on her door. It was the queen desperate for help. The king had fallen ill, and she had run out of options. Ester frankly didn't care about whether or not the king died, but she did see a tempting opportunity. She needed equipment, which costs gold, of which she had little.
In exchange for curing the king she was given access to the royal library and provided with whatever equipment she desired. She worked for the crown for a time, serving multiple generations of the royal line. As long as they helped her research she was fine with assisting them.

Ester made strides in science and magic for the industrial city of Isenburhg, though her motives were purely self satisfying. After lamenting the long travel time to get from Isenburhg to the imperial city, she thought of an idea for a locomotive. She spent years leading a team of engineers before creating the steam engine, which opened the floodgates for all manner of machinery to be created. After a few more years of refinement and testing she was able to create the world's first steam powered train.

Fifty years ago, when Camelot fell and the world when to hell, Ester was put into an awkward position. The world was certainly more interesting now, but at the same time things were far too chaotic for her to effectively work. She tried living on her own, but her forest home was a living nightmare filled with monsters, and she hardly felt like constantly having to do pest control. The world needed order, no matter who enforced it...

Ester

Art by Aoi Ogata

Ester is of an above average height for a woman, much in part due to her slender legs. She has a head of straight black hair which runs down to her shoulders, her bangs cut in a blunt fashion. Her eyes are a piercing dark red and fairly narrow. She has a subtle nose and thin lips. She has an above average bust size and a rather toned body. She tends to wear red gothic styled clothing, with perhaps more belts than needed.

Traits and Equipment

Race Description

As a full-blood vampire Ester has pale skin that is always cool to the touch. She has fangs, but they are only visible when she drinks blood or intends to use them otherwise. She is about twenty times stronger than the average human man, and durable enough that a bullet will only break the surface of her skin at best. Along with her strength she is incredible agile, able to run up to a top speed of eighty miles per hour. After moving at these speeds for extended periods of time she will become exhausted and need to drink human blood to quickly get back into action.

Ester is able to grow a pair of slightly translucent bat-like wings from her back, which she can use to fly just as fast as she is able to move on land. Ester is capable of seeing clearly in complete darkness, and is able to smell blood up to a mile away.

She has no need to breath, drink water, or eat food. As long as she drinks at least a gallon of blood a month she'll remain healthy. She is able to regenerate from wounds, however without drinking human blood the process is much slower. A severed arm would take a full day without human blood, and only a few minutes with it. She is incapable of feeling pain and cannot be poisoned or made ill through non magical means.

Curse/Power Description

Ester can cause her blood to rise in temperature at will, up to the point that it boils, as well as lower it to the point it freezes. Apparently this is an ability all vampires have, but not many see any use for it.

Spell list

Ester knows countless spells, however her connection to magic other than blood manipulation has been severed ever since she obtained her artifact.

• Blood Manipulation
  
  Ester is able to freely manipulate her blood both inside and outside of her body. This allows her to morph her blood into various shapes and weapons as well as launch it at will, though using it for long ranged attacks severely limits it's power. When hardened, her blood is as hard as titanium.

Strengths/Skills/Talents

• Erudite
  
  Her long years of study have given her an encyclopedic knowledge of the world.
• Martial Arts
  
  She has studied a few martial arts during her travels to different cultures. In particular she is adept at Aikido, judo, krav maga,
  marksmanship and various weapons.

Weaknesses

• Burdens of a vampire
  
  As a vampire the sun is Ester's worst enemy. She can walk during the day with the use of magic and an enchanted cloak, but fighting under such circumstances is less than ideal. If left exposed to the sun without protection she would burst into flames. While nearly immortal, Ester can be killed if her brain or heart is completely destroyed.
  
  Crosses piss her off, pure silver burns her skin and slows her regeneration, garlic gives her food poisoning, she has a hard time entering someone's home without being invited, and she is unable to cross large bodies of running water under her own power. She's always thought these aliments were rather arbitrary, and has spent years finding the cause and a cure, to no avail.

Equipment

• Hemoguns
  
  
  Hider

  
  
  
  
  A pair of steam powered guns. Using tubes running from the guns and into her veins she is able to power the weapon using her own blood. The guns fire her crystallized blood, which is hard enough and fired with enough force to puncture several inches of steel.

Artifact

The Necronomicon

N/A

The Necronomican is a book that contains knowledge of the ineffable, of old gods and the true workings of the universe. The book rends the minds of those that attempt to read it, only those with immense willpower would even be able to open it without issue. The book appears at first to be a blank, unremarkable book the thickness of a dictionary. However, this appearance is an illusion, as it's true form is unknown, if it is even truly a book is up to debate. As it is an object that simply forces knowledge into the mind of it's reader, it is thought that it takes the form of an object commonly known in the public's conscious for bestowing information.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Sitting in the rumbling metal box of the container truck Kusari had remained silent ever since they left the hotel. She'd been too busy trying not to hyperventilate to comment on the kaiju ravaging the city or offer any meaningful opinions. She'd begrudgingly carried an injured solider to safety. Helping someone that wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in her head for acting up in the slightest didn't exactly feel right. Unfortunately leaving him to die would feel even worse.

Her breathing eventually subsided, only because the inside of the container gave her a moment of solace from the chaos outside. There was still an uncomfortable tension in her chest, it was a pressure reminding her that at any moment she could lose another ally.

She flinched as the the cuff around her ankle came to life and she heard Zoe speaking to Brent. Kusari blinked in confusion. Whatever her plan was it sounded more than insane. Zoe really must have a death wish. Regardless they would need a healer soon. Kusari considered trying to tell them to stop, but she knew that would be pointless, Zoe seemed as stubborn as glue on the bottom of a shoe.

Allison followed up, actually requesting help. She didn't know what she was saying to each other but somehow Zoe had convinced Allison to let this happen. But why was she so easily saying that they would die if it didn't work?

She looked at Lily, the girl had just gone through healing nearly everyone's wounds at the hotel. Kusari wasn't sure if she could put her through any more. But there wasn't any other choice, Sander had selfishly run off with Christmas leaving Lily to be the only healer they had.

"Lily." Kusari spoke to the girl, her voice coming out rougher than she thought it would. She cleared her throat and continued. "Will you be able to come with me to help Allison and Zoe?"

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Kusari slowly wobbled to her feet, her vision blurry and the room spinning. At least the room wasn't literally spinning anymore. She must have passed out, because she couldn't remember the room landing. She looked around, her eyes focusing on the first thing she saw moving, Zoe. Kusari looked passed Zoe and saw the culprit behind the destruction of the hotel. "Oh come on..." She groaned. They couldn't catch a break could they? Just how many giant monsters and rogue subs would they be fighting?

Her magic quickly brought her senses back to normal, and she looked around the room. No one seemed to be dead, well aside from some of the soldiers that had been guarding them. She couldn't say she felt bad about their deaths, they were just goons looking after their masters slaves. She switched her attention to Lily, who was making her way over to the balcony in a hurry. Kusari followed and saw what the girl was rushing towards. "Christmas." It didn't take an expert to see that he would die if he didn't get help soon. She may not like his timid nature, but she couldn't help but feel a crawling worry at the site of his bloodied body. That's the way it should stay, she didn't want to see this so often that it became mundane.

As Lily focused on the two of them, Kusari heard Hazel announce that she was going to attack the ice giant. Why were her and Zoe so quick to jump into battle? They had no obligation to fight, she didn't remember an order being given and this city hated them anyway.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Hospital?

Kusari | Callan

---

𝕄: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / 𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟 / / ~𝟚𝟘𝟘𝟘

---

_{Collab with @Baklava @Piercing Light}

Contrary to how most people seemed to feel, Kusari had always liked hospitals. People associated them with death and suffering for obvious reasons, but she'd always thought that was shortsighted. What safer place was there than a hospital? People didn't come to hospitals to be hurt, but to be healed, that was something to take solace in, wasn't it?

Regardless, Kusari didn't feel calm, she was visibly on edge. A nurse passing by took her tense expression as an aura of hostility and rubbed against the opposite side of the wall to avoid her. The fact that her clothes looked like the Tasmanian Devil had chewed on them probably didn't help... Well that and the horrible looking claws.

She ignored the nurse, she wasn't the first person in town to try and avoid her. Kusari had other things to worry about, like the fact that she had arrived at Callan's room three minutes ago and hadn't so much as knocked. The girl looked like a mess, still covered in grime and blood from the Wisford incident. And here Kusari thought she wasn't presentable, at least she was able to make use of the bathroom at the motel. She wanted to just walk in, but Callan looked as if her mind was a thousand miles away. Maybe she could crack a joke to ease the mood? Hey, once you lose an arm once, the next time isn't so bad!

"...I should leave right now." She grimaced, comedy was never her thing. However, acting with reckless abandon was. She decided to stick with what she knew.

She opened the door to Callan's room and walked inside. She could only offer a weak smile in greeting. "Hey Callan... I uh, got some chips for you... Barbecue flavor. Not really my preferred flavor but I figured you might like them." They also happened to be the flavor that was hanging just barley from a hook in a vending machine, but that was besides the point. She sat down on the bed and handed the bag to Callan. "I'm glad you made it back alive. You're alright, right?"

The sound of the door creaking open sent Callan's heart racing for all the wrong reasons. Old tears stained her cheeks-- still dirty save the part the nurse had briefly wiped at before realizing there was no wound beneath the thick layer of blood. How long had she been sitting there? Callan furiously rubbed her cheeks to extinguish any trace of tears as the thoughts flooded in. She still hadn't showered. Her blood loss problem was fixed, but she was still horribly exhausted. She hadn't even thought about sleeping yet. What time was it??

Callan lifted her head up off her knees and blinked at the tall, lanky girl as she spoke before averting her eyes. She extended her hand to accept the small gift robotically, turning her attention to the bag for a moment too long. The crinkling noise it made between her fingers somehow sounded louder than the person speaking. She looked up, meeting Kusari’s eyes as she told her she was glad Callan was okay.

"Yeah," Callan folded her legs and rocked back, eyes darting to the corner of the room as she shrugged and forced a smile, "I'm fine." She ran her fingers through her bangs, "Glad you're here. I owe you a thank you actually."

Kusari noticed the change in Callan's behavior, anyone could see that something was bothering her. But it would be rude to pry, wouldn't it? "Thanks for what? I got there way too late, I barely did anythi-" She stopped herself, letting out an annoyed grumble and ruffling her hair. "Anyway, I wasn't able to help you at all. I know how painful losing an arm can be, I should have been there to stop that from happening."

Callan grimaced, despite herself. There was no way Kusari could have done anything about her arm. Was that something she really wanted to bring up, though? As far as she knew, Kusari never made good on that threat she made against Sander. Even so-- maybe Zoe’s arm melting episode wasn’t something she should be putting on blast right now. And not because she was worried about Zoe.

“But you did help me out-- by getting Marcus and Emma out of trouble when I couldn’t,” Callan seemed slightly agitated— though it was mostly at herself. She'd known ahead of time that she wanted to thank Kusari for stepping in. Still didn't make it sting any less, knowing she could have done better. Remembering how reckless she'd been. Resting her hands in her lap, she picked at the corner of the chip bag, "I don't honestly know what I'd have done if anything happened to them."

"Oh. Sure, no problem." Kusari didn't even think that Callan would thank her for saving someone else, she wasn't even aware she had gotten that close with Marcus and Emma. Why hadn't that occurred to her?

She knew why, she just didn't want to think about it. She was a living embodiment of the Hedgehog Dilemma. The two people closest to her, her roommates, got so sick of her they moved out. The moment she tried expressing her feelings to Callan she only put unnecessary pressure on her. There was an unsettling pain in her chest, as if a demon were sitting on her. It was the kind of pain her healing factor had no sway over.

"I'm glad I was... able to help." She said, her voice just barely audible. She didn't know what to do. She had thought helping in battle would be enough, but it wasn't. She didn't want to be alone, in fact she couldn't be alone. She rubbed the red claws on her fingers against each other, another nervous habit rapidly developing. "I um, I'm staying in room seventeen at the motel they got for us. You wouldn't mind staying with me, would you?"

Callan watched the movement of Kusari’s claws as she spoke, looking up at the sudden invitation. “Huh?” her face contorted with confusion. Hadn’t she horribly offended Kusari the last time they spoke? Kusari hadn’t spoken to her all week! Of course, Callan had been avoiding her all week as well, but…

The question caught her off guard. The cogs of her mind whirled away for a moment before she realized. Sander and Christmas had both requested to be in a room separate from her. She’d been alone all this time. Callan felt sorry for her behavior—she knew her fellow arbiter had seen her dodge a hallway more than once. But she was still wary. And while part of her thought the idea of company would be nice (even with someone with whom her feelings were so mixed up about)—a larger part felt like she should be alone. She’d gotten a little girl killed today after all.

“Uhm,” Callan felt heat rushing to her face. She wasn’t an idiot and Kusari wasn’t exactly subtle. She could feel Kusari’s eyes on her as she averted her gaze, “I… I don’t know….”

Kusari let out a sigh and pulled her left knee up to her chest, then resting her chin on it. "Yeah. I don't know either. Sorry, it probably sounds like I'm just trying to get into your pants, not that it's not on my mind. I just, you know..." She wasn't sure what else to say, she was used to getting by just saying whatever was on her mind, but that wasn't cutting it now. How could she convey that she wanted to feel someone else, just be with someone she liked? She was being selfish, it would make sense for nearly anyone to want to just be left alone right now. At least she hoped that's all it was.

Callan’s face burned, her mind numb with embarrassment. She did her best to look at Kusari instead of anywhere else—finally settling on the braid peeking out from the long tousled white tresses and resting on the girl’s shoulder. She just… what? What was she going to say? Did she really want to know?

She tried to will herself to calm down. Be less flustered. Now wasn’t the time to be so concerned about something so… petty? She’d heard comments similar to this before—parties she’d stayed too long at with people who drank too much. But this wasn’t the same. Not at all the same. Kusari was stone cold somber. That or she’d disguised the scent very well….

“Ku--..." the name stuck in her throat, so she started again. "A-- ...are you okay??” she asked hesitantly, suddenly remembering what had happened the last time she asked that question.

Kusari laid down on the bed, her left eye not covered by her messy hair staring at the ceiling. Callan followed her with her eyes, but said nothing, scooting over ever so slightly to give the girl room. "This is kinda messed up, I come to ask if you're alright and I'm the one making you worry. I'm a wreck honestly, it's taking everything I have just to keep from freaking out. I don't even care about having a normal life anymore. At the very least I want to pretend to be a human being. Even if it's with a girl that literally tore my guts out because I asked her to, I'd like to..." Kusari let out a frustrated groan. "If I can't find anything to make me happy then what's the point of even living?"

An uncomfortable knot was beginning to form in the pit of Callan's stomach. She frantically tried to think of something to say or do. Or maybe just say. Callan continued to notice the beast like appendages and felt a growing sympathy for Kusari. It... had to've been hard. Being expected to take on injuries just because she could heal them-- through Lily or otherwise. And then getting stuck with sharp, scary looking claws. Callan thought she could relate to wanting to feel normal, but part of her felt that was a lie. For all of its misuse, she... liked feeling this strong. This untouchable. Or at least she DID. Up until Zoe had taught her how very little her ability meant.

She felt small. And unimportant. And tired. And, most of all, still very very dirty. Callan self consciously rubbed at some of the dried blood caked onto the back of her hand. It flaked off in small particles and she stopped-- gross. Surely she was just... misreading whatever it was Kusari was trying to say. They'd only known each other for roughly a week or two after all.

"Hey," a small, sympathetic smile wormed its way onto her face, shifting to one side as she did her best be encouraging, "It's fine. It... it'll be okay. Really."

Hearing those words acted as a floodgate for Kusari's eyes. She had started crying before she could even fully think of something to say back. When was the last time she felt it was alright to let her guard down, to take a moment to allow her pent up stress out? She covered her eyes with her left arm, she rarely ever cried, and it was even more uncommon that someone saw it. "You're probably just saying that, but thank you... Really. I think I just needed to hear that."

Oh... nice work, Cal. You made her cry. "H-hey," she stammered, "It's--" Okay? Alright? She didn't want to sound like a broken record, but what else could she say? All her previous concerns about Savannah, Zoe, and the fight were temporarily forgotten, but the stress was still there. Coupled with a rising frustration. No amount of points scored or super strength was going to help here.

"Kusari..." she said, at a loss. Callan reached a hand towards the girl's shoulder, but pulled back at the last moment. She simply sat and waited patiently. If Kusari wanted to talk, she would listen. Other than that, she wasn't quite sure what to do.

Kusari wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up. "Enough of that. I need to say something to you too. The last time we talked I put you in an uncomfortable position. Um." Her face tensed as if she were thinking too hard about something. "That is why you were avoiding me, right? I guess I can't blame you."

Kusari seemed to be calming down. Relief quickly bled into tension again as she brought up that day, but Callan had understood it was an inevitable topic. She couldn't avoid talking about it forever. The odd question and her harebrained reaction that morning after breakfast... the claw marks on Sander's chest... and the peculiar argument she'd witnessed.

"She's dangerous."

"I know monsters. Kusari doesn't even try."

And then there was the matter of Kusari threatening Sander for her sake. It was such a mess. She hadn't avoided Kusari because she thought the girl might be dangerous (though, after today, it would probably be wise to reevaluate her total lack of concern when it came to the potency of her teammate's abilities). Kusari had confessed her feelings-- strong feelings-- and Callan hadn't known what to say. Kusari had seen and questioned the claw marks Misery had made that night. Kusari had made her feel upset by threatening Sander-- trying to fight her battles for her with no regard for how she felt.

A mess-- reflected in Callan's unreadable expression as she opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. One issue at a time. She nodded, still struggling to meet Kusari's eyes for longer than a second. "I'm sorry about... all that...." she mumbled, hugging herself tightly. "I, uh... I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. I just... didn't know what to say."

Kusari let out a stifled chuckle. "It's fine, it's fine. It takes more than that to hurt my feelings." She said. She wasn't quite sure if she believed it, it felt true at least. She didn't think of herself as the type to hold a petty grudge just because someone refused to date her. "It was my fault anyway, I was trying to rush things without taking how you'd feel into consideration. Heck we haven't even known each other that long. I mean jeez, you probably aren't even into girls." Kusari let out a sigh and stood from the bed.

"I'd like to know you better, Marcus, Emma, and the others too. I've been afraid of losing friends, but I can't let that stop me. Someone has to remember if one of us dies, someone has to care." Kusari let out a disdainful scoff. "Those regular bastards won't care, that's for sure."

Callan smiled uncomfortably. She wasn't so sure about that last part, but she wasn't about to go into detail about her more physical feelings towards Kusari. Especially when all her other feelings were still so uncertain. Clearly Kusari didn't suffer from the same indecision, but she was content to let the subject drop as Kusari kept talking.

'The regulars won't care.' A week ago, Callan might've argued that instantly. Her words were sad, though. Did Kusari think nobody would care if she died? ...was she right?

Callan frowned for a moment, mulling over her words, before a smile surfaced. "If you wanna hang out with us, all you gotta do is ask. Always empty seats at our lunch table, you know...." Her expression became more serious and she paused. "Did you... did you know Savannah?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Yeah I know, I've just been avoiding eating with people like an idiot. Uhh. She tried to remember the child that died, but all she had was a face. "I didn't know her, and that's just what I mean. She had an Irish accent... I think? That's about it. If I were to die I wouldn't want people to just remember me as 'that pale bitch with the freaky claws.'"

Just remembering the sight of Savannah's dead body made her blood boil. "Killing a kid like that... We should really just wipe all of those assholes off the face of the Earth."

She hadn't known her. Callan shouldn't have felt relieved to hear that, but she was. She'd thought that maybe that was part of the reason Kusari had been crying before. Even so, Kusari's last remark made her feel all the more guilty. She couldn't help feeling just as responsible for killing Savannah as the gargoyle girl. She couldn't think of anything to say, falling back into the same far away stare as she lost herself in thought.

"Uh, did I say something wrong?" Kusari said, confused as to why Callan suddenly looked just as distant as when she walked in. "Did you know her? You didn't... See it happen, did you?"

Callan shook her head suddenly, squeezing herself tighter. "No. I didn't know her at all." Callan chewed her lip. She didn't want to tell Kusari what happened. Selfish. Putting something like that first on her list of concerns. Emma and Marcus saw what happened. Everybody was going to know eventually. Why try to hide it like this?

You can't hide forever, Cal.

"I wish I could have saved her," she answered instead. An honest statement, though it was no easier to say out loud.

Kusari narrowed her eyes Callan, she had no reason to not believe her, but she was clearly disturbed by something she was remembering. Maybe seeing Savannah's dead body had shaken her more than she thought. "You did your best, didn't you? Just do better next time, that's what I plan on doing. None of us are soldiers and we have next to no training. If you want to blame anyone-" Kusari looked down at the cuff on her leg. "Blame them."

Her best? Had she really? Though Kusari made a good point, Callan remained unconvinced. "Yeah," she agreed anyway, falling silent again.

Kusari's lips wriggled into a frown. Callan looked like she'd need some time to adjust... or something. "Alright, um, the motel is just down the street." Kusari kneaded her braid, not realizing she was doing it with her right hand. "Again it's room seventeen, if you want to hang out." She stopped fiddling with her hair and lowered her hand.

"A-ah." She had cut her braid off, the severed follicles now in her hand. "I'll uh, see you later." She stammered, trying to ignore the fact that her face was flushed red. Her hair would grow back overnight like it always did, but that didn't stop her from looking stupid.

Did... did she just? Surprised, Callan noted the tint of Kusari's cheeks immediately. Her skin was so fair-- it was kind of hard to miss. She pressed her knuckles to her lips, trying to stop the small laugh that escaped her in vain. Her smile contoured as she tried to look less amused. "See you later," she chuckled softly.

Kusari faked a cough and turned towards the door. "Right, at least I got you smiling again." She basically deserved to be laughed at, so she had no reason to be mad. The fact that Callan felt comfortable laughing felt nice in a way. It was better than her being too afraid of her to even consider it. "Later." She opened the door and exited the room, then heading back to the motel.

Callan stopped chuckling abruptly as Kusari pointed it out. She really shouldn't be laughing at all after what happened... but it was a nice distraction. "Bye, Kusari," she said, with a wave and a tentative smile. The door swung shut and Callan sighed heavily. That... hadn't been entirely horrible. It went a lot better than she'd thought it might anyway. Sliding off the bed, she made her way into the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. She ran her fingers over the layer of grime that still marred her face.Yuck. She really did look disgusting. Callan quickly turned on the faucet. Running her hands under the cold, steady stream, she quietly watched the blood and dirt mixture spin into the drain while she mulled over the conversation.

"--not that it's not on my mind." All at once, the blood came rushing back into her cheeks and she slumped over the counter, face buried in her hands. A muffled "Uwaaagh." sounding from the bathroom signaled the mortified teenager's embarrassment as she tried her best to think of something else.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Kusari had left the scene of the battle with the enemy mages. She was frustrated beyond words, she didn't know whether she should be pissed off or bawling her eyes out. She had really hoped that no one would die this time, but as much as she tried to curb her expectations there was always that last bit of hope that got to her. Savannah was dead, she'd noticed how broken her body was as Allison picked her up. How many times would she have to see an ally die? How many times would she promise herself that she would do better? She was sick of it. At this rate she could only believe that she'd be forced to watch as everyone she knew died. Maybe it would be better to just avoid getting close to people after all.

On her way back to the diner Kusari stopped by the overturned collector. The people that were held captive were still there on the street, though it looked like less of them were moving. She moved her tentacle over to bodies that still looked intact, but were immobile. Many of them still had a pulse, though she didn't know how much longer they would still be alive. It would have taken Lily far too long to heal all of them, she was sure she'd made the right decision. She fumbled with the phone given to her, and called command. "You can see where I am, right? There are civilians here that need medical treatment... Over." She put the phone away and let out a sigh. It was a tad disturbing how little she seemed to care about them. Was she supposed to just be the bigger person and forgive the regulars that either ignored or wished subnaturals death? Apparently she wasn't that good of a person.

She made her way into the diner, and then into the freezer where her severed arm still was. She'd likely never get used to this song and dance, there had to be a better way to use her power than constantly mutilating herself. She took a wooden spoon from the kitchen, wrapped a clean cloth around it and bit down on it. In one swift motion she sliced the tentacle off. She broke out into a cold sweat before the limb hit the ground. After picking up her arm and attaching it to the bleeding stump she tried to ease the pain by doing math problems in her head. It didn't help.

Once her arm was properly healed she spat out the spoon and made her way back to the evacuation zone.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Kusari Bloodworth

Standing around and talking turned out to be a bad idea. The blonde haired mage was going berserk, turning the area into a field of spikes. She clearly wasn't in any state of mind to pay attention to what she was doing, as she gored the black haired girl, her ally. At least she assumed they were allies, she still had no idea who they even were.

Kusari brought Marcus close to her and picked him up with her right arm. Her foot had been dislodged from the ground, and now she was subject to the random alterations in gravity. She tried her best to keep Marcus and Emma out of harms way, she knew they had wishalloy on but that didn't make them invincible. This caused her to take the brunt of the damage as spikes tore into her sides. She had to get out of this gravity field, it was like being in a malfunctioning blender.

"I'm getting you two out of here!" Kusari swung her lengthy left limb towards a nearby spike, wincing as the needles dug into her. She ignored the pain and yanked herself forward just as the gravity field raised them upwards. She reached the spike and kicked off of it with her right leg. She repeated this with other spikes until she managed to get out of the gravity field's influence. Without the gravity field there, she fell towards the ground. She let out incoherent grumbles as her feet landed and were punctured by needles. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire, but she kept moving regardless. She used her tentacle like a jousting pole, weaving through the spikes until she was able to land on normal ground.

She let down Marcus and Emma, and fell to her knees. She took deep breaths, waiting for her ability to hurry up and heal it's self. Needles were pushed out of her skin, falling to the ground, but the gashes in her sides would take a moment more to heal.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Kusari Bloodworth Allison Revel Liliana Brandt

The collector toppled once Allison cut it's front legs off. It really was a shame that weapon didn't work on flesh. Her job done, Kusari expected the girl to back off and keep running, but she didn't stick to the plan. Allison kept attacking recklessly. She should have seen this coming, back in the diner it was clear she was dealing with destructive impulses. The collector was reaching it's arms out towards them now, Kusari was far enough away to be safe, but Allison wasn't. She almost wanted to let it attack Allison, maybe that would teach her a lesson. "You moron, get out of there!" She screamed, sounding more angry than worried.

However, the machine suddenly stopped, and it's arms fell to the ground. Kusari looked around, it didn't seem like anyone had attacked it. Factory. It seemed they really did take care of it, she didn't understand exactly how it's power worked, but it was clear that without Factory the machines were crippled. Its hatch opened, and its captives flooded out like the innards of a gutted pig. Kusari didn't want to look at it, she didn't want to acknowledge that some of them were still alive. They could either save them, or she could save her... friends? She didn't have a right to call any of them that, but she was still connected to them whether they liked it or not.

The machine was still moving, but it was hardly a threat at this point. They were wasting time. "Allison! Pull your head out of your ass or I'm leaving you behind!"

The shard struck through the machine again. Allison didn't think, she simply swung her arm, and the weightless blade did the work for her. The sickly site before her, bodies flooded onto the ground about the mechanical beast, barely registered in her mind. Kusari's words, though, cut through the oddly meditative state with a searing intensity. The shard struck again, then disappeared.

Allison's head was foggy, her senses numb. She felt sick, as if she was about to vomit. The stench of death invaded her nostrils as soon as her vision focused on the pile of bodies, some of them still clinging to life. She turned her head away and tried not to think about it. She needed to move along. She followed Kusari as quickly as she could, stumbling slightly as she came to her senses.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Lily remained stationary, her expression a mixture of horror and worry. The pained groans emanating from within the machine seemed to echo louder, as if responding to her presence. There were still people who needed to be saved. How could she just ignore them. Ignorant to, or perhaps just ignoring, Kusari's harsh tone, Lily began reaching out with her black thread.

She had been so worried about Allison, that when Lily didn't move she was mildly shocked. Kusari glanced at the black thread and realized what she was doing. She really was getting sick of this. Why wouldn't they just listen to her? Lawrence could be dead by now and there was no telling what was happening to the others at the scene. Petulant children only able to think of what was right in front of them, maybe they should be collared and sedated like Haze-

"Forget them!" Kusari screamed, flushing her previous thoughts away. She couldn't let her desperation push her that far, she'd be no better than Zhang at that point. But that didn't mean she was above being forceful altogether. Tossing the hammer to her right hand, she rapidly reached out and wrapped her left tendril around Lily. "They don't care about you, most of em' wish you were dead. They aren't worth it. Lawrence is." Lily was lifted from the ground and carried to be beside Kusari. She say her down and looked her in the eyes. "You are going to follow me, if I have to drag you there I will." Patting her on the back to urge her forward, Kusari continued towards the evacuation team.

Lily glared back silently, but relented. She nodded, obviously bitter about the turn of events.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Kusari Bloodworth Allision Revel

Kusari flinched as the ground shook and a loud crash was heard in the distance. A cloud of dust and light debris blanketed the air, causing her to shield her eyes. "Was that?..." She resisted the urge to run outside of the diner and check for herself. Her cuff lit up as someone opened transmission, she anxiously waited for a message, but all she heard was unintelligible ambient noise. Eventually she did hear someone speak, Sander. He told them he... killed it? She had to assume he meant Factory, it certainly was large enough to cause that impact.

Kusari's eyes widened, she almost felt like celebrating. However, their job wasn't finished. There were still monsters in the town, there were still people that needed to be evacuated. Things were going well for once, but that only made her even more anxious. Perhaps that is why as Brent conveyed the status of the evacuation team the message hit her hard. "Huh?" She said, forgetting that she hadn't said 'transmit.' "What happened? All of a sudden- what do you mean Lawrence is down?" Her body shook with frustration, it was happening again. She knew someone was going to die, she just knew it. She took out her phone and checked on the location of the other medic team. They were moving away from the APC?

They were running away. Was that the smart thing to do? Was it just them following their orders? Sitting here and waiting was driving her up the wall. She turned towards Lily and Allison. "We have to go help them, that's what we're here for isn't it?"

"Yea." Allison didn't have to think too hard to come to a decision. She wasn't going to just let people die, and numbing her stigma was a tempting motivation. "Let's go." Allison quickly rose from her seat.

Lily nodded silently, getting to her feet and following suit.

"Alright! Let's hurry an-" Kusari tripped over her tentacle as she sprinted towards the diner entrance. She grumbled as she stood up. She needed to get used to this thing right away if she was going to be of any help. It was surprisingly easy to move now that she tried, she figured it's weight would be a problem but it was just as easy to move as a normal arm. Coiling the lengthy limb she made her way outside. She heard something stomping it's way towards them, now that she thought about it, one of the collector's was heading their way on the map, wasn't it? She looked down the street, and sure enough, there it was In hindsight, this was a highly avoidable encounter.

It was a disgusting machine for sure, she knew what it had been doing to the townspeople, but to see it for herself in person was something else. Poor civilians had been jammed inside of the monster, some of them were still alive. She almost wanted to vomit. She shook her head and grabbed her breaching hammer. "Allison, we don't have time for this, think we can deal with this quickly?" She said, moving the hammer near the end of her tentacle. With this she had range and power, fairly simple but she thought it would work. "I'll attack it first and try to get it's attention, you try to take out it's legs as fast as you can, once it's down we keep moving."

"Alright." Allison flexed her right hand slightly, itching to summon the shard.

Seeing Allison's acknowledgement, Kusari sprinted towards the colossal monster. Her pace was uneven for a moment, but she quickly adjusted her left limb to balance her pace. The monster's limbs were long, so she stopped short once she felt it was just in range. She spun her body, swinging her tentacle as hard as she could. She let out a fierce yell as the hammer swung towards the construct's head with the speed of a whip tied to an out of control carousel.

Without even thinking about it, Allison rushed in to follow up Kusari's attack. It was a sort of primal need that seemed to propel her forward, before thoughtlessly summoning the ephemeral blade, and wildly cutting through the machine, starting at it's legs.