Prinz

Post a random fact about yourself.

I used to sleepwalk when I was younger, and the creepy part was that I was fully capable of unlocking, opening, and closing a door, before walking down a flight of stairs and looting the kitchen in the middle of the night.
I'd also lock the door on my way back up, so I had no clue I was doing it until I was told about it.

Oh, and sometimes I'll sit up while asleep, look at people, have a short conversation, then go back to sleep.
One of the times that always gets brought up is once when I did that and my mother was like "Kuro, you're asleep" and my response was apparently a genuinely surprised look on my face, followed by an "Oh, okay then" before laying back down and resuming my snoozin'.

I woke up the next morning to my mother laughing her ass off about it. It was great.

|:| Heaven Sent |:| A Mythology RP

@Hitman

Agh, curses, my evil plans hath been foiled! We'll meet again, Hitmaaaaaan!

I'll send a PM your way!

A Story, Just for You

"No living being knows when the Storyteller first blackened the sky above us.

It came out of nowhere and began to poison our oceans, kill our lands and corrupt our people.

Those who survived, human or otherwise, fled for their lives towards larger cities. These cities wasted no time erecting defenses, creating massive shields and walls to protect themselves from the slowly darkening world around them. For the longest time, humanity barely coped- struggling to survive in a world with little to no water or trees or food. Every single one of these cities was cut off from the others, kept isolated by the ever growing corruption that washed over the Earth like a tidal wave of misery. The cities stood tall, however, like beacons of light surrounded by an unending storm of darkness.

Mankind was shoved into a corner and they were forced to adapt- Magick suddenly returned thanks to the corruption of Reality, and technological advancements that were hidden behind the concept of 'morality' suddenly became almost commonplace. People were given artificial limbs, Homunculi were created for a variety of purposes, and finally, mankind managed to create the Hermes System- a series of flying machines that were able to transport people, materials and supplies between cities.

It seemed like humanity was finally getting back on their feet.
At least, it seemed that way, until the first Nemesis appeared.

They called it The Dreamer. It appeared out of nowhere, without warning, and destroyed several cities in the span of three days. Nobody knew how- those who witnessed The Dreamer were all killed. The only evidence of its existence were the panicked, horrified messages and pleas sent to other cities. The Dreamer went on a rampage, almost destroying two more cities, before something changed. A light appeared above a house, and within the week, a single person living inside had suddenly changed.
People called them the Original Legend; the one who set out from the comfort of their city and fought the Dreamer and the army of corrupt monsters at its command.
Humanity was so far gone by this point that when the reports came in that The Dreamer was dead, nobody could believe it. It was only thanks to a team of brave reporters and their helicopter that video evidence of The Dreamer's corpse spread around the world. Mankind cheered for the Legend that had saved them, but their victory was stifled by sorrow.

The Original Legend had given their life to kill The Dreamer.

"This is God's will."

Those were the last words they spoke before collapsing, dead, beside The Dreamer's corpse.

Mankind took a day or so to mourn, but this was a chance that they couldn't waste. They redoubled their efforts, making sure that, from now on, no Nemesis could ever destroy any of their cities. Armies were made, massive cannons lined the walls of the streets, powered by a mixture of Magick and Technology.

And yet, despite this, mankind suffered one more crushing blow.
The Dreamer came back. It raged and raged, attempting to shatter the defences of several cities before finally dying down. This time, however, it was much, much stronger.

Another Legend was chosen by God above, and they proceeded out to fight the new Dreamer. They were hailed as a paragon of humanity, the epitome of what mankind should strive for. The name stuck.
The Paragon fought The Dreamer with all the strength they could muster, finally besting the Nemesis, but then.. They too, died.

There was a theory quickly spreading through the world- that the Nemesis and the Paragon were eternally linked, bound by fate to repeat an endless cycle of murder and rebirth. Every time a Nemesis appeared, a Paragon would soon appear afterwards.

What, then, was humanity supposed to make of the several lights that appeared all around the world at once? It was a revelation that shook the world.
There was no longer only a single Paragon.
Which meant that there was no longer a single Nemesis."

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So my silly self thought of the skeleton of this concept off the top of my head a little while ago tonight, and I thought the idea would be pretty fun. I'm still ironing out the details of the world and story, but I'd also like to take a moment to explain the tags I've listed above. If you don't really care about it, feel free to ignore it.

Also, please keep in mind that this is just the Interest Check- I haven't prettied it up or anything, or laid down any particularly solid ground rules as of yet. I do have an ending in mind, but the journey there is up to you!

Multiple endings, what?!

Explanation of Tags!

+ Casual; I don't have any really strict requirements for post length aside from proper grammar and stuff like that, but this is a casual roleplay, so don't feel forced to post essay length stuff if you don't want to or can't! Sometimes getting long posts is difficult, so the expectations are pretty lax.

+ Small Group; I always struggle with this tag, because I never want to put a limit on the characters that can join, but I feel like a smaller, more tightly knit group is better than a larger one. That being said, there's no real limit, so we'll accept as many people as there are people who apply!

+ Horror; While it's not an overt thing, there will be moments in this story that are pretty disturbing and heavy. On top of that, I tend to be rather morbid with the descriptions of 'monsters' I throw out, so I think that's deserving of this tag. There's also the..

+ Fantasy - Along with Superhero (before the tag limit made me throw it away, at least), I think it's pretty self-explanatory. That being said, the majority of the 'fantasy' comes from the Nemeses, not the appearance of typical fantasy beings like Elves, Orcs, etc. Oh, also, Magick!

+ Anime/Manga; While I wouldn't say it's exclusively sticking to the tag's description, I tend to always tick this box by default. Mostly because anime character pictures are preferred.

+ Slice of Life; Despite being Paragons, there's not always a war going on. In fact, the possible multiple Nemeses are awfully quiet right now.. It's not all doom and gloom; people can have lives outside of being Paragons, and non-Paragon characters have their own lives entirely.

+ 18+; I mentioned this earlier in the Horror tag description, but certain elements of this story are pretty dark- that being said, I also don't want to stop my players from making their own plotlines, especially if they're delightfully demented. That being said, the site rules still apply, so keep them in mind.

If I had to choose, I'd also select both Military and Future since the world is essentially at war, and for the latter, the technology available in the story is far off from modern technology, so..
I'm horrible at not mixing genres. My bad~

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Here's where I'll be putting down some bonus stuff that'll be being worked on in the future.

The World as It Stands

tl;dr- Every city that remains is a massive metropolis full of almost too many people with everything outside being corrupt and dead (or undead, I guess?). The cities are run quite strictly, and are all self-contained and well-defended enough that only a sufficiently powerful Nemesis could actually pose a threat. I'll get into defenses and stuff later on, but they exist, and they have to be good, right? They're thrown into a trial by fire every single day.

The Hermes System

"Fleet of feet and skilled with bows, we shall save you from your foes."

tl;dr- The Hermes System was created to facilitate quick and easy transport between cities. It also evolved to provide services to Paragons and the Crimson Breakers. The ships are quite large, mostly designed for function over form, and are equipped with shields and special turrets called Cupid Turrets capable of firing energy to fend off Adversaries and mildly annoy Nemeses.

Magick, Technology, and MagiTech

"Our sins have manifested, but we shall survive their rage."

tl;dr- Magick is a thing, Technology has advanced to the point where some people are converting themselves into androids, and there's giant mechanical cannons that fire Magick bullets the size of cars.

The Crimson Breakers

"We fight for our people, and fight for our future."

tl;dr- An international organisation comprised of able-bodied men, women, androids and really any living being that act as a defence force against the Adversaries. They can help fight off a Nemesis, sure, but only a Paragon can truly kill one.

The International Committee of Mankind's Survival and Evolution

tl;dr- The ICMSE is an organisation that is very eager to provide for any Paragons and they work in tandem with the Crimson Breakers. They're more logistics oriented, and they also help the MagiTech Conglomerate with many of their projects.

The MagiTech Conglomerate

tl;dr- A group of.. groups.. dedicated to the advancement of both Magick and Technology, with a third division being specifically tasked with the combination of both trees of research. The Mage's Guild and the Society of Magickal Advancement cover the Magickal side; the Bureau of Technological Advancement covers the technological aspect; and the MagiTech Specialist Institution covers the final portion of the pie.

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~ The Players ~

Now, what roles are available?
Paragons, Nemeses, and those in-between. I love discussions about the lore and stuff, so if you have any ideas, feel free to drop them in and we'll chat!

However, keep this in mind;
Every Paragon has a Nemesis.

That being said, The Dreamer is open for you guys to play, but the role is a bit different from the others. I'll be discussing that with The Dreamer when the time comes. On top of this, playing a Paragon does not force you to play their Nemesis, and vice versa.

I'll leave the character sheets up to you, but the one thing that you need to know about Nemeses is that they're named a single word. 'Dreamer, 'Breaker', 'Corrupter', etc. That's the general naming convention for them, but the rest is up to you. At least one picture is a necessity. Please read the info below before planning a character, however, and ask me any questions you want to ask~

EDIT: I've made this obvious because it's important, but now every Nemesis is able to be known as a title instead of a single word; three words maximum, though!

~ Paragons ~

"Heroes and Legends, the best mankind can offer, yet.. Will they ever be enough?"

Paragons are essentially regular people, or people that are as regular as the circumstances can allow. Your Paragon can be anyone from the clerk at a grocery store to a specially trained operative for the Crimson Breakers. Whatever they are, they wake up one night to find themselves branded on their body with some sort of tattoo. As soon as they were chosen, a faction known as the 'Servants of the Chosen' snapped them up and collected them in a single city- Washington, D.C.
That said, the Paragons can come from any cultural background you want them to. They're stuck in America for now, though~

~ The Mark ~

The Mark is what confirms that a person is indeed a Paragon- a mark somewhere on their body, whatever you want it to be (within certain limits, obviously). It's a dark, black tattoo that pulses whenever the Paragon approaches the corruption, and it glows brightly when their abilities are in use. On top of this, the pulsing grows more pronounced when the Paragon approaches their Nemesis, and their Nemesis only.

~ A Paragon's Strength ~

What makes a Paragon a Paragon? Their God-given abilities, of course! The Paragon is given a single blessing unique to themselves to combat the Nemesis they're supposed to face, and what that ability is, I'll leave to you. Keep in mind, it could be the most diverse ability in the world, but you're only allowed to have one!

~ The Desire ~

A Paragon doesn't always have to fight their Nemesis. It's not encoded in their being- in fact, the Paragons are able to be outright cowardly, avoiding their duties as long as they want, but eventually, something will hit them.
The Paragon may find their personality changing, losing themselves to the sudden urge to go and fight their Nemesis. It's perfectly fine to resist, but it's a lot like a drug; once it stops, it gets harder and harder to ignore. Something deep within themselves urges them to go and hunt and kill, but.. Some people can resist even the most overwhelming urges, after all.

~ The Nemeses ~

"The Dreamer was only the first to drag us into this endless nightmare.."

The harbingers of the corrupting death that engulfed the planet, the Nemeses exist purely to wipe mankind off the face of the planet. They, too, have an ability unique to each of them, generally reflected in their titles. That being said, the Nemeses can also corrupt living beings by ripping out their hearts. Eating the hearts of humans results in the Nemesis getting a power boost of double, and eating the heart of their assigned Paragon gives a quadruple boost. The Nemeses don't need to do this, but their goal is to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth as commanded by the one who created them; the Storyteller.

~ The Corruption ~

+ The Nemeses can corrupt life simply by being around it, though sentient beings are immune to this effect. The black liquid that coats the planet can empower the Nemeses if they ingest it, but it also drives them into a wild, frenzied state. The Nemeses can also corrupt those whom they kill, resurrecting them as smaller, weaker beings called Adversaries. These beings have a will of their own, and even have personalities that reflect who they used to be. They are, however, driven by the same desire as the Nemeses- to eradicate all life on the planet.

~ What is a Monster? ~

Each and every Nemesis has a personality, is sentient, and if it weren't for their function or the overriding will of the Storyteller, each Nemesis would likely be a normal human. With that said, every Nemesis can have a human(oid) form and a monstrous form, or both. It's really up to your imagination.

~ The MagiTech Conglomerate ~

"Those who seek greatness often find that sacrifices must be made to achieve it."

The characters from the MagiTech Conglomerate can be a variety of roles, from researchers to CEOs of companies, to spies, to whatever you really want. There's no set roles or rules here, as long as it isn't too outlandish.
Perhaps even an artificially made Supersoldier can be made?
But, then, what kind of ripple effect would that have..?

~ The Crimson Breakers ~

"Those who seek peace often find themselves drowning in violence to achieve it."

The Crimson Breakers operate in the same vein as the above, albeit instead of being mostly civilian or researcher roles, the Crimson Breakers are made up mostly of soldiers and those who command them. That being said, the Crimson Breakers do have their own R&D Division, you know? Who knows what could come outta that wacky oven?

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With all the above put down in stone, please ask if you have any questions about literally anything. I'll be happy to answer them here or in PM's. If you'd like to reserve a role, let me know here, but I won't confirm it just yet, mostly because if anything changes you may want to back out- especially if you're looking to snap up The Dreamer.

Please also keep in mind that this is the bare skeleton of an idea I hatched at 1 am and have spent the last hour and something working on just to upload. Thank you for reading if you got this far. I appreciate it, and look forward to chatting and playing with you!

The Pale Hand

With Rick's response read loud and clear, Edmondo stayed pressed tightly against the tree, listening in on the now more audible words from their targets. More chit-chat about the prisoner filled the air before one of the men quickly shushed the other, pointing out into the forest where they were headed. With a stifled exclamation, the due began to jog through the forest, seeming to forget that they were supposed to be quietly making their way through it. Within moments, the two of them were gone far, but Edmondo didn't move.

It could've easily been a ploy, but after waiting a good five minutes, he crouched down and tossed a rock out towards where the two beings, now long gone, had been.
Nothing stirred, nothing moved. Nothing changed in their little pocket of the forest. With a sigh of relief, Edmondo slid out from behind the tree, gripping his gun tightly and holding it at the ready just in case. Nothing moved, even as he did, and after a few moments, when he'd reached the place the two people had started their sprint, he beckoned Rick over with a hand. He let his gun fall to his side, watching the faint light of the torch carried by the two beings light up the darkness far, far away.

"It'll be easy to follow them, at least, but look up above."

Through a crack in the foliage that acted as the forest's nature roof, Edmondo could make out what seemed to be a massive beam of light shooting up into the sky above. It was abnormally bright, and it came from far further through the forest than they were. When Rick had reached him and made his comment, if he made any, Edmondo glanced over to him.

"I think it's time we get this show on the road, don't you?"

---

Edmondo lead Rick on a trek that lasted all night, then all day, then the rest of the next day and through the sunset that followed. As the sun set, the duo had to stop once again. In front of them was a massive ravine with only a large stone bridge there for them to cross it. On the other side was a sign, but Edmondo didn't exactly feel comfortable crossing the bridge just yet. Instead, he'd set up camp for the second time during their trip.
The fire had to be subdued for obvious reasons, but before the sun set, it burned brightly.
Edmondo was studying a map, furrowing his brow as he did.

"There shouldn't be a ravine here, but there is. If this doesn't spell out 'cultist activity', I'm not sure what would."

He folded the map, reaching up to rub his forehead. A small smile sat on his face as he sat in front of the fire.
"So, tell me about yourself, Rick. How'd you end up getting sent all the way out here?"
The question was simple, and as he spoke, Edmondo produced a duo of MRE's from his backpack and tossed one over to Rick.
He waited.

|:| Heaven Sent |:| A Mythology RP

@Hitman

I have a few questions; the first would be 'Can I play a non-Communicator?'; the second would be 'Can I play a moderately modified Mythological monster?' (say that three times fast); the others kinda take a backseat after those two.

I like the idea, though!

Oh, also, since Avalon is a thing, are we including Arthurian myth in the story as well, or is it an unrelated thing with the same name?

The Pale Hand

"The forest is large. Almost as large as Sighisoara itself. We've got a long trek in front of us."

Edmondo kept stride with Rick, moving alongside him. However, he had already drawn something quite.. different.
A pistol. Already readied in his hands with the grip that let Rick know two things almost immediately.
One, Edmondo must've had prior experience with firearms in a professional capacity.
Two, Edmondo was on guard.

"We may not find cultists or the like just yet, however there are plenty of creatures that roam the forest at night. Bears, wolves, deer. The usual, but there are a few things you may not see elsewhere. However, I recently found tracks of an unnaturally large beast. I'm thinking it may be a bear that the cult has corrupted for use as a border guard of their territory. It seems to stick to a very rigid path every night and head back during the day." He cast a glance over at Rick. His gait was odd, too, somewhat crouched down and almost as if he were expecting an attack at any moment. "We follow the bear's tracks, then get off of the path if we see or hear anything coming along it, understood?"

The trek was long, though, and uphill in some parts. An annoying venture that took them deeper and deeper into the woods by the second. Even if it wasn't approaching nighttime, the darkness of the woods would've made it just as difficult to navigate.

---

As predicted, the sun had vanished below the horizon and drenched the world they made their way through in shadows. Edmondo had quickly pulled a pair of flashlights out of his pack and offered one to Rick, using them to pierce the overwhelming darkness of the forest. The air, for a long time, was full of the sounds of insects and birds going to bed, but soon enough it had fallen silent.

After that, however, the silence was broken by a crackling in Rick's earpiece before a familiar voice came through to him.
"Hallo, Rick? Can you hear me? We have established a connection, however it is a little.. iffy, so we may drop out. However, we are here to provide assistance. We cannot help with cartographic means, unfortunately, as the forest prevents our satellites from seeing past the foliage. This is likely how the kidnappers have been avoiding immediate repercussions. Where they are.. not even Lady Illusion could reach them easily. Please keep this in mind and be careful, Rick."

Though she'd stopped speaking, Eine was indeed there. If Rick needed anything, she'd be happy to assist him.

Eine herself was sitting upright in a chair in a nice, air-conditioned room, staring at a monitor that was tracking their estimated progress.
However, this was only due to the fact that the earpiece also doubled as a tracking device. Rick was currently deep in the forest to Sighisoara's east, heading further southeast by the second. She crossed her arms and leaned back, listening to the hustle and bustle of the people in the room around her. Rick and Edmondo's operation was far from the only one active at the time, but Eine's presence had drawn a large commotion amongst the other staff in the room, and they'd even been kind enough to allow her to use the satellite to track her charge's movements.

The only problem she could foresee is that, despite her monitoring, the distance between them was growing.
That meant more wasted time to get to Rick if an emergency broke out.

---

It was three hours into their trek when Edmondo suddenly dropped to the ground and waved for Rick to join him. Up ahead there was a faint glimmer of torchlight, and there seemed to be two figures up ahead of them. Edmondo's pistol was at the ready, and he slid behind a tree with the practised ease of a veteran. The darkness made it nearly impossible to see Rick from his position, but the figures ahead were practically bathed in torchlight, allowing the two to focus on them and only them.
They were talking, too, quite loudly, in Romanian. Edmondo's eyes narrowed, but their words were somehow hard to distinguish.

"Rick, can you hear me?" The older man's voice came through Rick's earpiece, breaking the silence. Still, the other men would likely be unable to hear it since they were still far away enough that they weren't actively visible in proper detail.

Edmondo was leaning hard against the tree he'd taken cover behind, listening in to the conversation between the people- deep voices, men. In one hand, his pistol was ready. The other was pressed against the earpiece in his ear to allow him to talk.
"They're talking about their latest captive. Nothing of much importance, but they're definitely our people. We're on the right track."
Flashlight off, they were almost impossible to see in the pitch blackness.

"Alright, Rick. Now's your chance. What do we do with them?"

The Pale Hand

The sun had set not too long ago and Eine had retrieved Rick from his room, casting a glance inside before muttering something under her breath and flicking her wrist into the room.
A second trap, just in case the first was disabled. This one was on the roof. Rick might've seen the slip of paper she'd tossed, but it wasn't easy to tell in the questionable light coming from the hallway and the speed she did what she did.

Wordlessly she nodded and began to leave, giving Rick ample time to lock the door behind him before the two made their way outside. A car awaited them, and Eine wasted no time in getting inside. The driver waited for them both to be seated before taking off towards the forest.

"Edmondo scouted the area out earlier but decided not to come out. He's not that far in. I'll lead the kid to him. I'll drop you off at the station first, ma'am."
Eine nodded and the rest of the drive continued in silence. The last rays of the fleeing sun had completely vanished by the time they pulled up at a building not too far from the forest and Eine opened her door to get out. She paused before she did and turned to Rick, reaching over to place a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"You'll be fine. I know it. I'll be in your ear at all times." Her other hand placed a small item, an earpiece, in his grip before, after a moment's hesitation, she spoke once more.
"Möge Gott über dich wachen."
Her words were genuine and lingered in the air as she left the vehicle, but then suddenly leaned back in and tossed something else small into Rick's lap. A small charm, apparently handmade. She closed the door before he could mention it to her, however, and the sharp sound of her tapping the car let the driver know to take off.
And he did.

The drive was rather uneventful, the older man seemingly refusing to speak to Rick. Naturally, someone so young being sent on a mission like this didn't sit right with him, but who was he to go against a direct order from the higher ups? Did the kid even know how to use basic charms? What about wards? Barriers? Could he use that sword he had on him?
None of this was communicated to Rick, though, as the man's gaze was firmly on the road ahead.
And soon enough they stopped once more, the man opening the car door and closing it behind him. He waited for Rick to get out before locking the thing behind him, motioning with his head for Rick to follow as he began to trudge his way into the woods. It was a rather long walk through the almost pitch black woods.
The man's flashlight didn't seem to do that much at all to keep the darkness at bay. Eventually, however, he paused in place and turned to Rick, handing him a second flashlight and giving him a nod. "Edmondo's likely got your location by now. He's a good tracker, and he's got support in his ear too. He shouldn't be-"
"Of course not!"

The man's face went pale as he looked past Rick and, standing behind the young Exorcist, was a man who was currently brushing leaves from his outfit.
The duo had just walked straight over him without even noticing. The man gave a bow at the waist and made his way over, flashing his ID in the light of the man's torch and showing that he was, indeed, Edmondo. The man with the flashlight nodded and dropped the backpack from his back. "Supplies for you, sir."
"Apreciez asta foarte mult."

The man left quickly after and Edmondo cleared his throat.
"We'll be speaking English. I'm not aware of your knowledge of Romanian but I am fairly certain our cultists aren't familiar with English. That works for you, I assume?" The man was sizing him up with his eyes, making sure he wasn't going to drag him down, and it was quite obvious. At the same time, Edmondo wasn't doing it to be rude or judgemental- he was just, like everyone else, surprised to see such a young man.
Edmondo himself was at least early thirties with the faint wrinkles to prove it. His figure was a little wider, with a triangular shape to his torso. It was hard to really make him out, though, with his form-concealing outfit that blended a little too well into the shadows behind him. His long, dark hair was tied back into a ponytail to keep his face clear and his eyes were a dark brown that seemed almost the same shade. He awaited Rick's answer.

The Pale Hand

The scrying session was as normal as could be to say the least. If Rick had expected anything abnormal to happen, he would likely be sorely disappointed.

That is, until, he was finished.
The very map he'd worked hard on, spent his time putting every detail into, was blank. Once the scrying ritual was done with, the paper had simply.. been erased. Immediately, without explanation, without warning. For Rick, was an obvious sign that something was wrong.
And likely an annoyance.

---

While Rick was cooped up in his room and scrying, however, one Eine Minerva had left the building and begun a little wander throughout Sighisoara on her lonesome. Her elegant stride and rather.. odd visage would've caught the attention of many if not for the ace up her sleeve.
Magickal Makeup.

There were no bandages upon her face, and her eyes were hidden behind a pair of quaint, rather surprisingly fancy designer sunglasses. Her trip didn't take her anywhere near the woods, although she was well aware of the eyes that were trained upon her inside it.
She paid them no mind, however, as she went about her day buying groceries, chatting with the locals, and purchasing a rather large amount of salt.

"Like salt, miss?"
The cashier gave her a kind, cheerful grin as Eine readied her card to pay. The older woman nodded, giving the woman a warm smile in return as she swiped her card and entered her pin number.
"I do. It's tasty, and there's a lot of recipes that make good use of it."
"Yeah, that's true. You here on vacation?"
"Business."
The card was accepted as she'd expected.
"What kinda business?"
Eine looked back up at the cashier, whose cheerful expression still remained.
No traces of Magick, no traces of Non-Human traits. She was just a curious girl who wanted to chat with a tourist.
Flashing the girl a grin, Eine nodded. "Top secret, super important business. I've got government documents I need to smuggle out of the country."
The girl snorted as she gave a quick laugh, covering her face in embarrassment as she realised she'd just snorted in front of a line of customers. Coughing once and handing Eine's bag to her, she gave the older woman a nod.
"Have a good day, government lady."
"You too, miss. You have a nice smile."

Leaving the somewhat flustered teen behind as she exited the store and stepped out into the daylight, Eine let out a sigh.
This is why they did what they did. Why they fought. Why they..
Killed.
Narrowing her eyes and adjusting her sunglasses, Eine noticed the sun falling just above the horizon and soon to vanish completely. The dazzling orange-red rays of the noon sun lit up the town around her with a beautiful, almost comforting glow. It was almost enough to make her really think she was here on a vacation.
It was almost enough for her to forget that, later this evening, she'd likely be sending a young boy to his death.
It wasn't that she didn't have faith in Rick, of course. She had plenty.
But not even someone like him was truly ready for a mission of this calibre. Withholding information wasn't something she'd ever liked to do, but that vampire had threatened to rip out her tongue if she spoke too much.
All Eine could do was keep in contact with him and help him as much as she could.
That's all she could always do.

---

Step, step, step.

A small, young girl was pacing the halls of a building not too far away from where Rick and Eine currently were. Her eyebrows were knitted in concern, her crimson eyes only serving to further betray her feelings. As a Master of Illusions, showcasing one's true thoughts and feelings on the matter was never good showmanship.
But the situation was different.

One of her very own beloved children was putting his neck on the chopping block, and she'd been absolutely powerless to stop it. The sound of a door opening caught her attention and her head whipped around to catch sight of the tall, somewhat angry looking man exiting the room.
"Arthur, what did he say?!"

He shook his head, and Illusion's firm line of a mouth turned down at the edges.
"He won't allow us to recall him. Says that if we were so eager to send him out, we shouldn't have any problems with him being sent on such a dangerous task."
"Are you *kidding*?!"
She marched towards the door, anger fuelling her stride before Arthur put his hand on her head, stopping her in her tracks. She swung at him, but her arms were far too short to reach him as she flailed in his direction, sometimes landing glancing blows on his arm.
"Aaaaarthuuuuuuuuur!"
"I know. You're worried. I understand you are. I am too. He's my son."
Arthur's eyes remained focused on the little girl's face as she looked up at him, genuine tears brimming in her eyes. He let go of her and she shot forward into his chest, burying her face into him and sobbing quietly.
It was a rather morbidly humorous contrast to how the two had met- a sight Arthur would likely remember for the rest of his life.
Now, after 6 years of working side by side, the two of them were quite close. Good friends.
And that wasn't even mentioning the wonderful people they'd raised together- they were all wonderfully skilled Exorcists and people, and Arthur was proud of them, very much so.
The vampire hugging him, however, was a bit clingy. She'd never let it show in front of them, but she cared about them very much. They were her family- a bunch of people who accepted her for who she was no matter what, even if Angel was a bit prickly towards her.

She didn't know, yet, that in just a few years time she and one of her adopted sons would be in a secret war with each other.
She didn't know what was really in store for her other son, either, despite knowing what she knew.
She didn't know that an ever seething darkness was slowly coming to ruin them all.

For now, she was just upset that someone had forged her signature to send Rick on a dangerous, dangerous mission with a man he'd never met and a support team far too distant to save him in time.
Arthur was distraught, too. He, for the first time in a long time, didn't know what to do. The Archknight wasn't allowing him to call Rick back.
It seemed almost a miracle that Eine had been sent with him, but even that put horrible thoughts in the back of his mind.

Why did whoever forged the signature send a half-Demon Exorcist and one of the world's most powerful Mages to the middle of nowhere to investigate a cult?
He'd be upping security while they were gone, but even then..

He knew that there wasn't much he could do.

---

Night had fallen and Eine was back in the hotel, pouring some salt in a circle in front of the doorway. She'd already requested that room service only attend to both her room and Rick's room when they left. No doubt it made the staff curious, but in Romania superstition was quite rife- the circle of salt would likely remain undisturbed even if the cleaner disregarded Eine's instructions.
Not to mention they'd risk getting a horrible review.
The windows, too, had undergone the same treatment with salt placed upon the windowsill, something she intended to do with Rick's room as well before they left.
And, on top of that, she'd made sure to leave a trap in her bedroom just in case anything somehow got in.
Even the slightest amount of Magickal energy would set off the alert in her mind and tell her that the hotel was compromised.

With that in mind and done, Eine knocked on Rick's door to alert him that the time had finally come.