People you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley

[Voidus]

On 4/30/2019 at 0:42 PM, MacThorstenson said:

Mac quickly thought over his options. What could he latch onto the most. It would be the lack of control. The thought that someone was going to be able to influence him. 

He noticed, in the side of his mind, that entering this state of hatred was becoming much easier. As he practiced he could summon the willpower and strength necessary quicker and quicker as his natural inclinations against emotion broke down.

When the soothing came he responded. Targeting the soothing itself, forcing it down, turning it into the void. Nothing would be able to influence him. But in order to stop the soothing, he would need to strike at the source. Concentrating on maintaining the Voidmaking, he reached out and visualised the source of the soothing, Voidus. He pictured his allomatic brass and reached out to suppress it.

In Mac's mind, it was like casting a blanket over a light. The light was the soothing leaving Voidus, coming to get Mac, and the blanket was the voidmaking. Supressing the light and Voidus' alomancy.

Mac let down his original defense of Voidmaking the soothing directly and instead focused all his attention on suppressing the brass. He still made sure not to over do it, as he didn't want to damage anything important. Like his bosses soul.

After the initial wave Voidus saw Macs expression settle back into one of focus, he'd managed to target the soothing itself. But that in itself was still reactionary, if he wanted to be able to truly defend against things such as this he'd need to-
Voidus' reserves of brass suddenly faded, beginning to drain at a rate far faster than he was using them, then suddenly vanishing altogether.

Another smile tugged at Voidus' lips as he nodded in approval.

"Nicely done. Just the brass, nothing else. Nothing wasted."

The control was improving quite rapidly, this time there was no excess, Mac hadn't affected anything other than what he'd been aiming for. A natural indeed.

"Well then, on to something a little more specific." Voidus began. "Your control seems to be coming along well, we'll try one level more refined. Rather than the Soothing as a whole try suppressing just a part of it. Much more challenging but it opens up a lot of opportunities, rather than removing someone's ability to Steelpush altogether and putting them on guard simply remove their ability to target one anchor at a specific moment. Rather than waste your energy negating a soulcasting entirely just negate that which is near you."

It was similar in a way to targeting the individual spheres of Stormlight that Mac had managed earlier, only less visible.

"Try to become more aware of what you're feeling as well, powerful emotions are good to start with but once you recognize the sensations you might be able to eliminate the need for it. Feel the Void within yourself, the emptiness, the need to... to consume..."

Voidus began to trail off, eyes narrowing for a moment.

"What is that? Sudiov? But why in the world would he?"

He continued muttering for a moment before he stopped, the light in the room began to darken and Voidus' eyes knit together as his face twisted in anger.

"Someone else. Another who doesn't know what should be left alone. How many of these are we going to need to deal with?"

Exhaustion crept back into his voice, the strain of having to deal with Sudiov had already proven taxing, dealing with another was going to be worse, but this was not something that could be ignored, not something that could be overlooked. Someone had crossed a line that should not be crossed. All traces of tiredness vanished from him, his back straightened, his face grew stern and his eyes sparkled with dark energy.

"We're going to need to put a hold to the training for now."  He said to Mac. "But this might be a good time for some more practical training."

Voidus collected a few items from his desk, loose spikes, the bag of spheres and a few weapons. This done he strode purposefully towards the door as he called out behind him.

"We're going to need a meeting. Call everyone."

He paused at the door, looking at Mac once more with an intensity in his gaze that he rarely held.

"Everyone."

[MacThorstenson he/him]

2 hours ago, Voidus said:

After the initial wave Voidus saw Macs expression settle back into one of focus, he'd managed to target the soothing itself. But that in itself was still reactionary, if he wanted to be able to truly defend against things such as this he'd need to-
Voidus' reserves of brass suddenly faded, beginning to drain at a rate far faster than he was using them, then suddenly vanishing altogether.

Another smile tugged at Voidus' lips as he nodded in approval.

"Nicely done. Just the brass, nothing else. Nothing wasted."

The control was improving quite rapidly, this time there was no excess, Mac hadn't affected anything other than what he'd been aiming for. A natural indeed.

"Well then, on to something a little more specific." Voidus began. "Your control seems to be coming along well, we'll try one level more refined. Rather than the Soothing as a whole try suppressing just a part of it. Much more challenging but it opens up a lot of opportunities, rather than removing someone's ability to Steelpush altogether and putting them on guard simply remove their ability to target one anchor at a specific moment. Rather than waste your energy negating a soulcasting entirely just negate that which is near you."

It was similar in a way to targeting the individual spheres of Stormlight that Mac had managed earlier, only less visible.

"Try to become more aware of what you're feeling as well, powerful emotions are good to start with but once you recognize the sensations you might be able to eliminate the need for it. Feel the Void within yourself, the emptiness, the need to... to consume..."

Voidus began to trail off, eyes narrowing for a moment.

"What is that? Sudiov? But why in the world would he?"

He continued muttering for a moment before he stopped, the light in the room began to darken and Voidus' eyes knit together as his face twisted in anger.

"Someone else. Another who doesn't know what should be left alone. How many of these are we going to need to deal with?"

Exhaustion crept back into his voice, the strain of having to deal with Sudiov had already proven taxing, dealing with another was going to be worse, but this was not something that could be ignored, not something that could be overlooked. Someone had crossed a line that should not be crossed. All traces of tiredness vanished from him, his back straightened, his face grew stern and his eyes sparkled with dark energy.

"We're going to need to put a hold to the training for now."  He said to Mac. "But this might be a good time for some more practical training."

Voidus collected a few items from his desk, loose spikes, the bag of spheres and a few weapons. This done he strode purposefully towards the door as he called out behind him.

"We're going to need a meeting. Call everyone."

He paused at the door, looking at Mac once more with an intensity in his gaze that he rarely held.

"Everyone."

Mac froze Everyone? That hasn't happened in years! This must be big! Sudiov maybe? Regardless of the Causes, he needed to start soon. Gathering the alley's took a while. 

"As you wish." He said. Mac pulled out his pocket watch and removed the face, revealing a button beneath and a microphone. He pressed the button and spoke into the Microphone, his voice echoing all throughout the alley's. "Everyone, Voidus has called a general assembly in Alley 0. This is the highest Priority, please Make your way there as soon as possible." He shut off his watch and moved to the Alley.

[FishyLD he/him]

I have attempted to cookie spike a newcomer. It is my request to join the DA.

Edited May 18, 2019 by FishyLD

[+Ark1002]

Quote

1 hour ago, FishyLD said:

I have attempted to cookie spike a newcomer. It is my request to join the DA.

While this is normally OOC (out of character), right now it's IC (in character), so please talk in quote boxes

 

[+Ark1002]

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I am happy with my life

 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Just now, Ark1002 said:

 

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Mmmm, that is some supreme guac right there.

 

[+Ark1002]

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I'm in school and happy about it

 

[Snipexe he/him]

The interns entered the cruelly bright room. The light of the fluorescent bulbs above them reflected against the laminated safety memos they clutched, revealing words that could only be dragged from the darkest depths of a tortured soul. They laid out their memos upon the floor, arranging them in a complex sequence unknown by all but the greatest of the occult. Signs were placed in carefully chosen locations, warning those who entered of the danger of their blasphemy. With this task done, the final of their preparations were complete. One of them walked to the wall and carefully turned the light switch. The lights faded, their cyclopean buzzing replaced by absolute silence and the mute glow of the emergency exit sign. One of them opened a book, it’s cover beaten with the passage of time. On its spine was written the words “Dark Alley Health and Safety Code.” It was an ancient scripture, first inscribed into text by the Mad Inspector Arnold Smith. Within this codex lay the power to summon the great ones from the space between the Alleys, and rend reality itself into tatters. The first began at a whisper, “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cam R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.” The others repeated the phrase, their voices echoing into the eternities. The refrain was chanted again, then again. Over and over the words were repeated, the utterances seeming alien in the mouths of mortals. As did the screams that soon followed. One by one, the interns crumpled to the ground, the presence of divinity crushing all that remained of their souls. As they lay on the ground writhing, a light billowed forth from within the pentagram both dark and bring, black and white. The edges of a figure soon appeared, hinting at a form that stretched beyond human comprehension. The figure took its first hesitant step in eons, then confidently strode forward, is appearance solidifying as it did so. It was that of an average looking man, with a simple haircut. On him was a rather ordinary suit, and in his right hand he held a clipboard that could alter the destiny of the planet and all who walked upon it. 

“You may know me as Memobringer the terrible, the Final Inspector, the Unjust Policy, and the Greatest of Firings. Upon my shoulders rests a weight greater than even Atlas’, that of managing the paperwork of the most dangerous guild in the universe. My name is Cam, and someone has committed a safety infraction.”

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita stepped into the narrow alley that ran beside her old boarding house, rolling her shoulders as she walked deeper into the shadows. She smiled, Tin making it appear like twilight, instead of the deep pitch-blackness that should have lurked at the back of the alleyway. As she walked, she felt the air around her change, and she set her mind to the business of Alleytravel, sweeping away the last few pleasant hours and bending all her concentration on the task at hand. 

She had grown accustomed to this over the last six months; she'd hardly stayed more than half a week at a time in the Alleys themselves, always off chasing one lead or another. Alleytravel had made that significantly easier, and the constant practice had taken the process from utterly terrifying to simply unnerving. The twenty small spikes in her forearms aided her journey, giving her subconscious the hints she needed to direct the Alleys away from Eldritch abominations, dimensional tears, and those penguins everyone kept talking about. They were hardly foolproof, though. Two months ago, she'd somehow taken a route through an Alley that appeared to be completely covered in caustic molasses, and more than once she'd ended up on fire, under water, or, on one memorable and horrible occasion, both.

This time was, blessedly, uneventful, and Lita soon found herself stepping into the familiar Alley that lead to her quarters. She took a deep breath, slipping her flat cap off her head and allowing her curtain of auburn hair to slide down her back. After a few minutes, Lita came to a stop before a blue door. Her blue door. Home.

It wasn't until she stepped inside and shut the door that she allowed herself to relax completely. Here, surrounded by the trappings of her new life, Lita felt safe. Or, well, as safe as one could be while living in a parallel dimension created by a bunch of hemalurgists. She slipped off her shoes and allowed herself the luxury of a long shower, then made herself a cup of tea. While she waited for it to steep, Lita took a moment to jot down what she had learned earlier this morning, Lena's words running through her mind.

She had free time, now. Now that she'd completed her work. Lita wrinkled her nose at a sudden memory, the splintered crunch of Jarret's wrist in her hand. Similar sounds hounded her in her sleep, strangled cries, tears, despair. That cold, hopeless tone of voice that always came when someone finally realized that there would be no escape. What she needed now was a distraction - something to put a bit of distance between her and the last six months. A new secret. 

Sometimes buildings disappear. It was an intriguing prospect, and she wasn't quite sure where to start. But, she knew someone who might. With what felt like the first true smile in weeks, Lita stood and pulled a familiar pen out of one of her drawers. It was one of the first things she'd ever received after joining the DA; Laurelai had gone with her to fetch it from R&D. Fitting, Lita thought, and twirled the pen.

Still hiding in the Department of Records? She sent to Laurelai. I hate to pull you away from what is surely riveting and glorious work, but if you're craving some human interaction, I've got some free time and a cup of tea with your name on it. That, and I've got a bit of interesting gossip.  

That done, Lita pulled another mug from the cupboard, dropped in a teabag, and waited.

@Voidus

[Voidus]

The silence was broken by a clattering of something against wood, and a moment later by a heavier thud. Laurelai stared at the pen she'd thrown across the desk in frustration, then down at the hand she'd accidentally slammed into the wood as part of that ill-conceived course of action. It took a moment for her brain to interpret the pain signals coming from her hand, the dull throbbing from slamming her knuckle against hardwood, a sharper piercing pain from where a splinter had gotten lodged.

A low muffled groan joined the other sounds as Laurelai used her other hands to stifle the instinctive growl of pain and frustration.

After venting a small amount of frustration as silently as she could, Laurelai leaned back in her chair, holding her injured hand up to examine. The splinter was small and the bruising didn't look too bad. That was fortunate, the last thing she needed today was someone from HR telling her she needed to file a workplace injury report before she could heal it. A mountain of paperwork from the Department of Records was bad enough, but HR took paperwork to a whole new level. She'd heard once that they'd requested a series of 3000 sequential Alleys just for filing. She'd assumed it was a joke when she first heard it, but her few interactions with them led her to believe that if anything it was probably more like 10000 sequential Alleys.

Something in her pocket began to suddenly shift, startling her out of her reverie and almost causing her to knock a bundle of completed records over. Her hand instinctively darted into the pocket, causing her to wince a little as the splinter caught against the fabric, and pulled out her spanreed pen. Once she had it in hand she aligned it, hoping against hope that it wasn't someone asking her to finish their records for them.

Thankfully it was Lita, inviting her over was a bit of a surprise but it had been a while since they'd been able to catch up.

Within seconds Laurelai had cleared the new papers off of her desk, left the records bundled up to one side and swiped her other pen back from where she'd thrown it. She almost ran out of the doors back into the Alleys around the department of records, the air was still strangely dusty here but at least it wasn't from inside the building. She paused only for a second to appreciate the air before rapidly striding down the Alley, beginning to arrange a path to the Alley that contained the little blue door wherein Lita still dwelt.

Less than a minute later she was knocking on the door using her non-injured hand, and then darting inside. Closing the door once inside she used her body to hold it closed, as though certain that if she didn't the paperwork might follow her.

"I liked this job better when the city was on fire and everything was trying to kill us." She commented as she spotted Lita's figure. "Everything was much simpler then."
@ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita looked up when Laurelai darted in, closing the door behind her and leaning against it as though hounded by some enemy. Tin was hardly necessary to catch the frustration in Laurelai's voice, thought Lita was burning some anyway. As usual. She brought her cup to her lips, taking a tentative sip of tea, then pointed to a second cup that sat steaming before an empty chair.

"That bad, is it?" Lita asked, feeling the corner of her mouth drag upward. "I always figured that record-keeping would be interesting in a place like this, but then again, perhaps not."

She set her mug down, a thought suddenly stealing the beginnings of her smile. The last time they'd spoken, Laurelai had been filling in the official records, transcribing incident reports over the last six months. It was a long shot, but there was a chance Laurelai had read through one or two of her own reports. Lita cleared her throat, shoving down the odd mixture of defiance and guilt that squirmed in her guts. There was nothing for her to be ashamed of, no crime in doing her job. All actions had consequences, after all. And for the last members of PlasmaCore, she was that consequence.

Was, she thought, pulling her face back into a pleasant smile. That work is done, now. 

"Do let me know if you come across any reports authorizing my immediate disintegration," Lita said, forcing a small laugh. "Still, it can't be all bad. I should probably spend more time down there myself - you must know every last thing that happens in this place. Have you, um, read anything particularly interesting lately?"

@Voidus

[Voidus]

Laurelai moved to the table, taking the seat opposite Lita and dragging a mug towards her. She took a moment to test the temperature before letting out a sigh of satisfaction and taking a long sip from the cup. She waited for some of the tension to fade before replying to Lita, letting some of her muscles relax.

"Record reading is interesting." She finally said. "Record writing is far less so. I've spent hundreds of hours in there reading over experiments, historical records, incident reports. Someone managed to give a working circulatory system to a piece of rock once, that was pretty interesting to read."

A little tension returned as she paused, her eyebrows drawing closer together as she frowned at some thought.

"But writing them is unbearably dull. Half the initial reports we get seem like they're written by people who have only just discovered how to write and most of the other half by people who practically scream how much of a waste of time they think it is for them. How any of them ever manage to research anything I'll never know."

She noticed that her breathing had sped up as she talked, her body tensing again as she recalled some of the worst offenders to cross her desk. She took another long sip from her cup,. letting the warm sensation spread through her body. She tried to remember the times in between, the reports that she'd managed to quickly read and transcribe. There were plenty of those too, they just stood out less than the really annoying ones.

"Thankfully there's more than just me there so I don't know everything that happens, but I'll try to keep an eye out for any imminent disintegrations." She gave a small chuckle. "I'm still half expecting one for me to arrive sometime, but thankfully no more department heads glaring at me lately so that's one upside I suppose. As for interesting things..."

She paused to open her eyes back up, looking at Lita over the lip of the mug. Was she worried about something? About what Laurelai might have read? She'd seen a little of what Lita might have been up to but had it been worse?

"Someone left their transcription of our incident report from the attack on the city. Do you remember that part where we started composing a song? That was very pointedly highlighted."

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita felt her cheeks color at the reminder of their time in the tavern. What had possessed her to suggest recording an incident report after drinking something close to two bottles of wine? She lifted the mug to her lips to hide her blush, taking a generous sip before responding.

“Yes, well, there’s more than one reason I’ve spent so much time out in the field,” she said. That report had spread through the Alleys like wildfire. “You know, someone actually put that to music? Tanarav and a few other guys from Acquisitions took me out one night after we’d worked to bring in a Bureau Bloodmaker, then sang it to me,” Lita wrinkled her nose and blushed a deeper shade of red. “I staked out a building for three days and gave Tanarav first dibs on that spike, and that’s how he repays me? Rusting oaf. As if that hangover wasn’t punishment enough.” 

It had taken her the better part of a month til she could even look at a bottle of wine, let alone drink any. 

“But, enough about the past,” Lita went on, recalling her chat with Lena earlier that day. “I ran across some interesting information this morning and thought I’d run it past you. Have you ever heard of buildings just randomly...disappearing? Apparently it’s been happening here and there throughout the city, at least as far as my source could tell.”

@Voidus

[Voidus]

Midway through a groan at the news that their humiliating report had somehow gotten even worse, Laurelai straightened up as Lita continued speaking, getting to the main point of why she'd asked Laurelai here.

"Disappearing like a giant flaming bird incinerating them?" Laurelai asked. "Or disappearing like..."

She let the question trail, but judging by Lita's expression she already knew the answer.

"Rust." She said, eyes opening wider in surprise. "No, nothing I've seen come through. But I've still been working on individual reports so it'd need to have come specifically to me. Is this recent? Any kind of pattern between them?"

Her mind initially jumped to Plasmacore, but they'd largely left the city by now, those who hadn't had been caught. This also seemed a little subtler than their 'flood the city with monsters' plan had been. There was no dismissing the possibility that it was just some strange interaction of Investitures, with so many Invested people and items in the city she was surprised it didn't happen more often. But this seemed a little too specific to be something like that. Laurelai was well aware of what effects rampant and undirected Investiture could produce, but it was rarely consistent.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

There was a light in Laurelai's eyes now, and Lita could almost hear her mind whirring beneath her long blonde hair. Lita allowed herself a small smile, already glad she'd invited Laurelai over. They might have their differences, but they both loved a good secret.

"No pattern that my source could tell," Lita said. "Though she's been working off gossip from the local slums. Still, rumors are consistent enough to indicate that something is happening. I got the address of one of the buildings that's reportedly gone missing - it was a relatively new tenement, just rebuilt after the invasion, so it's unlikely that it just, you know, finally fell apart. The only new development in recent days is that cavern discovery, though I've no idea how the two could be linked."

Lita slid a small piece of paper from her pocket and set it on the table, tapping the address on it with one finger. "I was going to check it out, but I wanted to invite you first - if you're interested, of course. I mean, if you haven't had enough paperwork yet, feel free to go back to the records department." She winked.

"But, at the risk of straying into 'impolite' territory, you look like you could use a little time outside the Alleys."

And I could use the company of someone who isn't tied to a chair. 

[Voidus]

Laurelai's grin slowly widened as she set her now-empty mug down on the table.

"Anyone tries pushing me back into that building and they're going to find out what happens when you Forge a spike while it's still inside of someone." She said, but her grin was excited rather than vicious. "I'm coming."

She glared down at the splinter that was still sticking out of her hand for a moment, felt the familiar rush of Investiture that her Forgery provoked but thankfully nothing obvious happened. Moments later her skin was smooth and unblemished once more. The somewhat frazzled strands of hair that had hung over her face were back behind her ears and sleek once more.

"Ready when you are." She told Lita, her former grin morphing into her usual small smile, mouth ever so slightly quirked on one side.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita laughed. It sounded strange to her ears, a foreign collection of notes. Rusts, how long had it been since she'd just laughed? Laurelai's open, honest grin was gone in a moment, but Lita knew she'd been lucky to see it at all. The world outside had no time for open, easy laughter or genuine smiles, at least not from two spies such as themselves. But Lita trusted Laurelai, at least as much as she could trust anyone. She had recruited Lita, gone through terror and fire and rain with her, seen her bleed. And Lita knew more about Laurelai than even Laurelai herself - though that was a secret so dangerous that even Lita tried not to think on it too often. Suffice it to say, she'd earned a few genuine laughs.

"Rust and ruin, I forgot how useful that trick is," Lita said, eyeing Laurelai's newly-smoothed skin and perfect hair. "Some of us have to get ready the old fashioned way, though lucky for you I'm almost done." She stepped into her boots and quickly did up the buttons, then slid on a coat. Lita held another up for Laurelai. "You want one? It's been threatening rain for days now, and I'd hate for you to mess up that perfect hair of yours."

She picked up her flat cap from where it lay on the table and fit it over her head, tucking her braid down under her collar. Lita slung the second coat over her arm and checked her pockets: Coin, three vials of Tin and Pewter flakes, one long spike dagger, and her Alleycant pen. Should be enough for a quick look around. Lita nodded to herself and headed for the door, then stopped one more time, darting into the little kitchen and emerging with two cookies. She handed one to Laurelai.

"I've been trying to recreate the ones we had in that impromptu guild meeting during the whole PlasmaCore debacle," she said, holding the door open for Laurelai before locking it behind them. "I know I'll never come close to actually matching the Stranger's recipe, but I dream about those things some nights. I had to find an outlet for my frustration. Anyway, they're pretty good, or they should be, anyway. This is probably my 150th batch." 

She took a bite, thinking. "I'm pretty sure I've got the vanilla extract worked out," she said around a mouthful. "But for all I know there's some necessary secret ingredient I haven't even thought of. Anyway, this isn't important. Brace yourself, Laurelai - I do believe the sun is out there. You do remember the sun, right?"

Lita held the piece of paper with the address of the missing building out toward Laurelai, trusting the other woman to follow her during their Alleytravel. For her part, Lita had already committed the address to memory, and the journey was an easy one as far as Alleytravel was concerned. After a short time, she stepped out of a dingy alleyway in one of the more ramshackle parts of town, and leaned against the wall, waiting for Laurelai.

[Voidus]

Laurelai waited as Lita picked up the last of what she needed. She accepted the coat as Lita offered it and eyed the cookies with great interest. She'd been working off of Bendalloyminds for a few days now, but they were no replacement for real food. Especially not a cookie that smelled that good.

Actual food. Conversation. I've definitely needed this. Laurelai thought. Maybe I should just stay out of the Alleys for a few days until everyone else has a chance to finish our backlog, I've certainly helped enough of them get through their work.

She finished the last of the cookie just as she strode out into the alley that Lita waited in, thankful that nothing along the way had tried to freeze, burn or devour the cookie.

"They're good." She noted, subtly wiping the last few crumbs from her mouth. "Maybe not 'haunt my dreams with temptation' good yet but I imagine if you'd had a few thousand years practice like the Stranger probably has then they'd definitely be there."

As they walked out into the street Laurelai winced as a sudden ray of sunlight peeked through the cloud cover and managed to catch her straight in the eye. She felt an almost instant headache developing as the first natural light she'd seen in days illuminated her. But they were on a job now, she could ignore it until it went away. Hopefully.

"I do remember the sun it turns out. Specifically I remember how much I hate it." she said quietly. "Although at least we're not recovering from 2 bottles of Elariel estate this time."

She vaguely remembered drafting an experimental proposal to destroy the sun while she was still hung over on the day after the fight with Plasmacore. The proposal had lacked any method by which life on the planet might continue to survive after the suns destruction but other than that it had been surprisingly thorough.

"You said this place was newly built?" She asked, suppressing another wince as the sound of her own voice worsened the brewing headache. "Do we know when it vanished?"

She watched the few other figures that were on the street, instinctively trying to analyse them, but even if this was the work of a person it was unlikely that they would linger around one specific scene for any length of time. Perhaps if this was the most recent site? And even if the culprit themself wasn't here that didn't mean that nobody else would know anything.

Laurelai shifted her posture a little, adjusted her clothes to ensure that her spikes wouldn't be visible to anyone watching. People always got nervous around anyone with spikes. Either scared or so curious that they'd ask a thousand questions and never give any useful information. Travelling incognito was usually far preferable.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita watched Laurelai squint at the sun as if she were the one burning Tin. Survivor, but she needs to get out more.

"By my best guess, it happened about four days ago," Lita said, watching a man loitering on the opposite corner. He looked about thirty, and he was rubbing something between his fingers. Tin told her it was firemoss, and Lita dismissed the man as any kind of suspect, though perhaps he might have seen something. She continued scanning the street, but let her consciousness open a little wider, listening to the surrounding blocks.  

"There's a man and a woman talking three houses down - longtime residents of this area, judging by their conversation. We could ask them should we need some context. That fellow over there is likely to be less reliable," Lita gave an almost-imperceptible nod towards the moss addict, "though probably more pliable when it comes to requests. He's been giving anxious looks to the little pouch hanging down by his left pocket; I'd bet ten chrysts he's running dangerously low on 'recreation' and will be looking to solve that problem soon. For now, though, I say we investigate with our own eyes."  

Lita made sure that her sleeves covered the tiny spikes in her forearms and flipped up her collar before calmly leaving the alley. She trusted Laurelai to follow her, and together they adopted the casual, slightly-despondent air of the few others walking through this area. It wasn't quite a slum, though it wasn't far off. Rubble from the invasion still littered each street corner, and plenty of buildings stood half-destroyed, bricks crumbling and roofs caved in. The skyline here looked like a mouthful of broken teeth.

They stopped walking when they were roughly across from the building - or rather, where the building should have been. A vacant lot sat between two other tenements, completely empty of the building that, for all intents and purposes, had stood there completed not a week before. All traces of it were gone, even the foundation, judging by the churned-up earth. It was as if someone had reached down from the heavens and plucked the building from its place.

"By all accounts, sixty-three people lived in that building," Lita said quietly. "None of them have been seen since."

@Voidus 

Edited January 9, 2020 by ZincAboutIt
a word

[Voidus]

"No debris." Laurelai noted under her breath. "Some collapsed earth but nothing from a building."

The missing earth was almost conspicuously absent of broken brick, wooden planks or any other form of rubble. There were a few small pieces towards the edges, but those had likely fallen in after the fact. The giant hole in the ground showed no signs of buried bricks or broken furniture. If it wasn't for the lack of damage to the surrounding buildings and missing scorch marks she'd almost think it had exploded, but even that would have buried something under the earth.

"No debris, no bodies. Hard to think of something being quiet enough to not be seen but also large enough to carry all of that off in one go."

She casually scanned the street, not letting her gaze rest too long on anything but trying to keep an eye on the people Lita had mentioned. Was that addict looking at them? It was hard to tell with a passing glance, and even if he was he might just be paranoid. Or it could be someone using Firemoss as a cover, people might notice an addict but they rarely payed too close attention to them.

She dismissed the thought, there was no reason to believe he was anything other than an addict. This wasn't exactly a high profile location, why would someone be secretly watching it? She was probably just too eager to see conspiracy now that she had a chance to get out. Not everything was some elaborate game of spies and subtlety, sometimes an addict was just an addict.

"So why here?" She asked, mostly to herself, though Lita would doubtless be able to hear it. "Was there something important here? Or someone?"

She took another sceptical look over the street, it was not exactly the place you'd expect to find someone important in the city. She did notice that the addict was still looking at them though. He hadn't moved from the corner, but he was definitely looking over at them. Laurelai ignored it, looking down the street in the other direction as she continued whispering.

"That fellow on the corner. Real addict? Does he have calluses?"
@ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita blinked, drawn out of what had been a rather close inspection of one of the walls on the tenement bordering the missing building, and gave Laurelai a sidelong glance.

She's jumpy, Lita thought, though she said nothing, giving the man a closer look as she pretended to adjust her cap. "He does," Lita whispered, feeling her pulse quicken a bit as she spoke, "though he's got them on all his fingers - of both hands. Rusts, he's either far deeper in than I thought, or those are sword calluses. Could be that he's a veteran looking to forget - wouldn't be the first, that's certain. The moss is genuine, I can see it from here. He could be staking this place out for someone, or he could just be sizing us up for a nice robbery."

Lita gave a faint, cold smile at the reassuring weight of the dagger in her coat, and touched off a light burn of Pewter. "If it's the latter, he's certainly in for a bit of a surprise."

Six months ago, the thought of someone trying to rob her would have sent Lita into a state of minor panic. Now, she sized the man up with a practiced eye, mind tracing the familiar patterns of a possible scuffle. I could break his wrist, she thought, chewing her lip and looking back towards the empty lot across the street. A kick to the groin would certainly do it, or the knee. She'd fitted her boots with brass-reinforced heels and toes, giving her both an easy emergency metalmind reserve and an added layer of self defense. "Or, I could just crush his windpipe with my hand, though that would certainly hamper any further questioning. Maybe --"

Lita cut off, realizing a bit too late that she'd murmured that last bit aloud. She looked over at Laurelai, then cleared her throat. "Just...running through worst-case scenarios," she said, giving her friend an awkward smile.

Her friend. The words carried a weight to them that she hadn't felt since leaving Elendel. Since leaving her father. Lita shoved those thoughts away, bringing her mind back around to the present. Focus. "This isn't the only site in the city that's disappeared - just the most recent. At least as far as I know. Maybe he's from another guild, or maybe he's just some random person come to have a look, same as us. Though I've hardly lived this long betting on the optimistic options."

@Voidus

[Voidus]

Seizing us up for a nice robbery. Laurelai almost kicked herself for not thinking of it. They blended in as best they could here, but Laurelai hadn't had a chance to change clothes yet, they might be a little wrinkled but they were clearly not an outfit that many around here would wear. Combine that with the fact that they likely didn't seem all that dangerous and of course someone was probably going to try to mug them.

She was just about to agree when she heard Lita faintly mutter something, something about crushing windpipes? Laurelai felt her expression fall slightly, though she was quick to correct it. Had Lita grown that accustomed to violence like that? She'd lived through enough before gaining any pewter that she had to know other ways to lose or dissuade someone from tailing her didn't she?

She quirked her mouth a little in reply as Lita smiled a little awkardly at her. Laurelai let her gaze linger a little on Lita's expression, trying to see, to understand. But they were still on the street, still being watched possibly.

"One way to find out I suppose." She murmured, barely moving her lips.

She lurched forward from their side of the street, moving around a corner to a smaller street, a little further out of the way and still largely destroyed. If the addict wasn't going to try to mug her she'd almost certainly find someone else who would if she continued down much longer.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita barely had the chance to hiss out a strangled "--what?" before Laurelai made a quick bee-line for a smaller, significantly more dilapidated street a few yards away. She resisted the urge to throw up her hands, careful to keep her steps measured and somewhat-casual so as not to reveal her Pewter burn. Lita caught up to Laurelai a minute later, and she turned her Tin down for a moment to get a better idea of just how dim this little street was. Shadow covered this place, turning piles of rubble and trash into indistinct lumps. It was almost an alley. Almost. But it was a little too wide, and it dead-ended after another thirty yards with no outlet. 

Great.

Lita brought her Tin up again and listened hard, filtering out the sudden rush of sound: people talking in the apartment building next door, someone cooking five doors down, two feral cats fighting, a dog gnawing an old bone and -- there. The soft scuff of footsteps coming down the last street.

"What are you doing?" Lita whispered to Laurelai, hurriedly jamming a hand in her pocket and fishing out one of her metal vials. She drained it quickly, wincing at the light burn of weak alcohol, then took Laurelai by the arm and leaned against the scorched brick. Lita stuffed her hand into her pocket, drawing out her long spike and then sliding it up the sleeve of her coat where it could drop easily into her hand. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, but she'd rather be over-prepared than not. "Seems like I was right," she continued. "He's about a minute away, thinking he's cornered two plump pigeons for a little R and R." Lita gave Laurelai a pointed look. "I realize you must have been bored as hell down in the records building, but if it's excitement you wanted, I could have just taken you to a pool hall." 

@Voidus

[Voidus]

Laurelai let out a soft sigh of relief, felt her smile become less forced as she stared back at Lita. She was concerned, not scared, but that was still better than eager. Confident was better than suicidal by a long shot, though even confidence could be dangerous in their line of work. But barring any big surprises, Lita was well founded in her confidence. Laurelai hadn't read all of the reports, but she'd seen enough to know that she was more than capable of handling an uninvested mugger.

"Excitement?" Laurelai asked, still smiling. "You sleep next to an alley more dangerous than this, this just seemed like the easiest way to tell if he was watching us or the building. Plus he's not exactly likely to share this story with anyone so we can ask him a few questions without it getting out. Even if he did tell anyone that two scary women from the DA questioned him in an Alley then one sniff would be enough to convince anyone else that he'd just had too much moss."

The sound of quiet footsteps became audible even to Laurelai's unenhanced ears, they were staggered, and in spite of his attempted sneaking kept scuffing slightly against the stone. If it was a spy from one of the guilds or some other organisation then they were remarkably committed to impersonating a somewhat incompetent addict.

"I thought you said it was down this street!" Laurelai exclaimed, much louder this time. She immediately dropped the smile and adopted a frustrated expression. "We've been looking for hours."

It had been a while since she'd been to Scadrial, but she did remember the irritatingly whiny voice of one of the young Noblewomen she'd seen there. Add in a particularly strong accent to indicate someone still new to the city and that should be enough to draw in anyone who could put two and two together.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the figure, following closely behind them, almost desperate in appearance as he clutched something in one hand that gave off a faint sheen.

"If my brothers hear that I've been sneaking out to visit a pool hall they'll be furious." She continued, feigning ignorance. "If I don't even get to see the pool hall then what was it all for?"
@ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita suppressed a smile at Laurelai's sudden shift in tone, the voice conjuring an image of the woman as an Elendel noble, stuffed into a gauzy confection of a dress and whining about the carriage line to get into a party. 

"Well it's not my fault that I've never been here before," Lita responded, affecting a thicker version of her Scadrian accent and pitching her voice a bit higher. "How am I supposed to know one street from another? When we --"

Lita turned around, her eyes going wide in mock-surprise at the sight of the man behind her, as though she'd only just heard him approach. She took one hesitant step backwards, then gave the man a bright smile.

"Oh! Look, someone's come to help us. Hello there," she said, her voice comically loud and slow. "We," Lita motioned to herself and Laurelai, "are looking," she pantomimed shading her eyes and scanning a horizon, "for the pool hall." She finished by miming hitting a ball with a pool stick, then gave the addict another sunny grin. He blinked at them both for one moment, then his mouth lifted into a crooked smile of his own, and he lunged for Lita like she was a bag of sweets.

Lita danced backwards, Tin having let her catch the minute beginnings of his lunge before he'd even begun. Already unsteady from the moss, the man wobbled, and one Pewter-enhanced kick to the back of the leg sent the man crashing to his knees with a howl. Lita stepped forward and followed her kick with a reinforced backhand that knocked him backwards into the stone wall; his head rebounded off the brick with dull 'thud' and he slid down onto the grimy cobblestones, half-dazed and groaning.

"Right, well, so much for the pool hall," Lita said, moving behind the man and grabbing him by the back of his coat. He gave a strangled cry and struggled half-heartedly, but stopped when Lita stepped on his hand with one brass heel. His scream nearly drowned out the meaty crunch of his finger bones, but not quite. Lita grimaced and began dragging the man towards the shadowed end of the street motioning for Laurelai to follow her. Once they reached the back, she propped the addict up against the windowless brick and let the tip of her spike peek out from her sleeve.

The man whimpered, squeezing himself into the corner where two tenement walls met, eyes darting from the spike, to Lita, to Laurelai, and finally to the little pouch on his waist. Lita bent down, and the man flinched as she reached for him, but she only swiped the little bag and stepped back again. He reached for it, but stopped when Lita let the spike drop down into her hand a little further.

"Anything you'd like to ask, Laurelai?"

@Voidus