Sorana

"Ahhh." Azrael leaned back in his chair comfortably. "That's a very good question." He nodded, considered his next words for a moment. "Well, for once it needs a little bit of practice. Opening door is rather easy, should take you only a couple of times to figure that out. Communication - I'd recommend you look for a more experienced member to train with. Can be a little tricky, but once you get the hang of things it should work just fine." Getting up he strechted and then stored the tools away with a note that they needed to be cleaned. Walking over to a cupboard he unlocked it with his finger as well as the tattoo and retrieved a small device, looking a little like a thin, black box. Carefully he closed the cupboard again and then offered it to Fadran. "For you. It can map you a way around the city, if you know where you need to go. You can contact those in the headquarter, ask for help or direction, or an update on your orders." he swiped his hand across it, turning it on. "You need to spend a while on the settings and the like, calibrate it to you as well, set some passwords, the usual things. It shouldn't do much harm in the hands of an enemy, but if possible destroy it before it does. Makes it easier for for those cleaning up afterwards." "Otherwise - you'll be contacted by the higher ups if they have an assignment, you can join a squad or a unit specialized on something, but otherwise we're done here. Welcome to the Ghostbloods."

Wita grinned when Lewis slowed the guards down. It had worked! Their screams, the way they stumbled forward, reaching for their eyes, for their face and other uncovered skin cut through her and she had to fight the urge to start storing again right here and now. She knew she couldn't, knew she needed to go on, she needed to be strong and keep her wit around, but it was tempting. Easy to forget, easy to ignore all pain and run away from it. Without slowing down she reached the window in front of the ladder and opened it, then climbed through. "Hurry." she called out to Lewis, mostly because she felt like calling, less because he was dallying around. And yet, if only he were here already, so that they could close the window again, keep them back, it would buy them another couple of seconds until someone else noticed them. She didn't look back to see how the guards were, if he had hit them hard enough to stop them from attacking again - too large was the fear to see bodies on the ground. Bodies usually led to - she lifted an arm, bit down on her sleeve and screamed again, muffled the sound with the fabric when she tried to banish the thought. Later. The time for reflection was later. For now they had to go up. Several stories up and hope that they managed to get there in time to stop them. Stop them. And she still didn't even know what she was trying to prevent.

"It does." Azrael nodded and took the man's wrist place it on the table between them, oblivious to the man observing the two of them. "It might hurt and burn a little." he warned him, his left hand closing around the handle of the tool. "I chose a medium sized needle, it usually works best. If you prefer, I can switch to smaller or a thicker one - that's totally up to you." With a soft hum he leaned forward and set to work. He'd done this so often he'd lost track of the exact number, but he still enjoyed when new people joined. Some had questions, some were excited, looking forward to be a part of something great. This one, he was a special case, with his announcement to leave as soon as the guild didn't serve his own goals anymore, with his strong self-confidence. It wasn't a bad trait, but he might end up in conflict with some higher ups at one point or the other. A grin at his own thoughts touched his lips, while he moved the needle over the skin, leaving a dark line behind. He might, or he might not. And if he did - it would only be interesting for everybody else to watch. "As you might have guessed already the ink is a special one." he started to explain after a while, when he realized that the recruit probably didn't know that. He might have deduced it from the fact that is opened door, but you never knew. The door could also have a scanner that reacted to the shape of the sign. "Apart from allowing you to enter safe houses and the like it can also serve as a very easy communication device to other members. Using it correctly take some practice, but after a while you should be able to contact other members. I would still advice you to move long and complicated conversations to something that is speciliazed on transporting sound, but if you need help, or want to call some others, it usually does its job." Lifting the tool he swiped over the arm and checked his work, before finishing it quickly. "If you have a moment I can only recommend you to take a look at Oasis, the city I mean. We control a quarter or two there, and it's like our headquarter. Then we have our headquarters here in the city, where we train younger recruits, offer housing to those who need it, have some training grounds and of course control some of the operations." @Channelknight Fadran

Mike shrugged, when the man confirmed that his task wasn't as easy as he had expected. Not that he really cared, as long as he got some payment for it, it would work for him. "Sure." He agreed and felt a little out of place when the man turned towards his next customer. He should have left the moment he realized he was wrong here. Better to leave with his pride bruised, than this. Leaning against a sturdy looking shelf next to the door he eyed the three of them, trying to decide wether he should make a go for their wallets or not. Maybe wait. If he could find work here, a place where he belonged, then it would be better to stay in their good graces. Loneliness wrapped itself around his heart and he noticed the feeling, it was familiar. It wasn't the first time he had been standing next to a group of people, but not belonging. Never belonging. Nothing but an attachment, easily to be deleted. Closing his eyes for a moment he took a deep breath, and then opened them again. He was alone. He had always been and he was fine with it. He had chosen to work alone, because it was the best place for him to be. Nobody he depended on, nobody to blackmail him, to steal his money. Better to be alone. Unconciously he lifted his hand, tapped against his chest. It was a weird gesture, as if he expected something to be there, something that actually wasn't. Apart from a scar or two, his skin was smooth and even. And yet he couldn't stop himself. Touch his skin, count to six, brush over a seventh spot. He had done it for as long as he could think. Something was missing and annoyingly he couldn't pinpoint it. It was nothing but a feeling, a feeling he could neither place nor understand. Something, someone was missing, as if he had lost a part of his soul without noticing. Just like one of these love songs, when it took nothing more but a single glance from the singer to fall eternally in love with some random girl. A girl who took his heart, who left him aching for the lost thing, maybe even without even noticing what had happened. Without really noticing he quietly started to hum to himself a chorus fitting his thoughts, the words moving through his head in accordance with the music. Under the lights tonight You turned around, and you stole my heart With just one look, when I saw your face I fell in love It took a minute girl to steal my heart tonight With just one look, yeah I waited for a girl like you But he had met no girl. He had done nothing else apart from stealing a few little things left and right. He had done nothing apart from trying to get enough money for his family to survive and to fill his stomach now and then. And yet, something was missing. Not his heart, something else. Something vital, despite the fact that he wasn't able to place his finger on it. He needed to find it, to regain it. And then, then he would know. Maybe then, then he would find a place where he belonged.

Sitting down next to him, the man placed the ink and the tools he needed on a table close to them. "Of course I do." he replied with another grin of his and pulled the table a little closer. "Call me Azrael the second." His eyes winked at Fadran while he opened a bottle with disinfectant. "Not the first, the first Azrael is someone else. I'm just his replacement, never quite able to step out of his shadow. He has many names, but I always liked Azrael best. Has this hint of history, of a legend attached to it, if you know what I mean?" Carefully he spilled some disinfectant on a fluffy pad. "Where do you want your tattoo to go?" He asked and offered Fadran the pad. "If you don't mind, please clean the spot a little bit and then we're good to start."

Hello and welcome to the Alleyverse! You're rating below in green. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask them!

Mike walked over to the things the Lord had indicated and bent forward, picked them up one after the other. They weren't heavy, but despite having eaten today he still felt a little light headed. If he had a chance, he should probably go and grab something else. Maybe he would be able to find a slice of bread somewhere. "A few chrysts sound fine." he agreed to Lord's proposition, somehow glad that at least he got some money out of this. Add to that the walltes he manged to grab this night, he should be able to pay for a few meals for his family for a while. His stomach growled when his thoughts rested on roasted potatoes for a moment but he pushed them aside. His family was more important. Better he starve than they did. "Where do you need me to carry these things?" he inquired, noting a slightly worried look from the soulcaster. Probably not too happy about a spectator. He smiled at her, tried to put her at ease, to convey that there was no reason to distrust him. It wasn't entirely true, if he could he would probably pick her pocket as well, but he was going for chrysts and food, or other useful items, nothing as expensive as a soulcaster. He suspected he knew where to sell it, but he wasn't looking forward to being hunted down. A harmless pickpoket was left alone - someone who grabbed dangerous things like a soulcaster easily ended with a flag 'target' flowing above their head by one of the guilds. Mike didn't expect to live long, in contrast he suspected he would die soon, stabbed to death in some unnamed alley, but at least this was a risk he knew how to deal with, this was about thugs, about those that were like him. Living from the scraps the rich ones like those around him left over. A guild - a guild was something else and they were dangerous. Better to stay away from them. He lifted his head when the door opened but kept quiet when the woman asked about buying something. Not his shop - not his business. He nodded curtly in her direction, mostly out of politeness and because he wasn't entirely sure who these people were. It was always possible, that they used him as muscle now, only to get rid of him later. Whatever it was, that they were planning to do, it wouldn't hurt to appear polite and harmless.

Walking along the tunnel Aons started to glow in a soft while light when he neared them, illuminating the dark path. The air smelled moist, a little too much for his liking and he stopped standing close in front of a wall, touched his finger to a single drop of water. Frowning he watched it, as it ran along his skin, over the little bumps that marked his joints. Water. Underground tunnels had a tendency to be a little damp, but to see water running down it, was annoying. He pulled out his device and snapped a picture, send it with a sad looking face to the quartermaster. Better to take a close look early on. The man would know what to do. And if not - if not he could always take care of it all by himself. Turning his head towards the ceiling he inspected the stone there, anoticed with annoyance another wet spot. Whoever was tasked with maintaining this path was obviously doing a lously job. Slowly he continued onwards, eyes never quite leaving the walls. The rest was dryer, a little damp, but he expected them to be damp. Still, the two water drops irked him. They hinted at a hidden imperfection, at a silent laziness that had crawled into someone's mind, that had been given into. Two, not one but two and where two were, many others would follow. Quickening his steps again when he recalled that he was leading a recruit along and not around to inspect the place he headed straight for the heavy door at the far end of the tunnel. "If you touch your tattoo to it," he lifted his arm to demonstrate, "it will open. Same as the safe house." The door unlocked with a quiet clicking sound and despite it being heavy it swung open easily. He stepped into a brightly lit room, with several doors leading away into adjacent ones. Most contained typical hospital equipment for lighter wounds, but two were obviously on intensive care standards. "Welcome to the hospital." he shot Fadran a smile and sketched an exxagerated bow. "Please take a seat, while I fetch the ink. This should be over soon and then you can go whereever you want to." @Channelknight Fadran

=============

"Interesting." he replied with a smile and led them along through the alleys. It wasn't far, but by foot it still took them a little while to reach the hospital. "Would you care to elaborate?" His steps were calm and relaxed, his eyes covertly observing their surroundings, just as he had been doing for years. They could already see the high building that marked the hospital a few streets over when he stopped in front of the side wall of a smaller house. The door was firmly locked, but when he touched his underarm with the tattoo against it, its lock opened with a soft clicking sound. "We'll get you a list of houses you can use." he informed Fadran while he walked into the safe house, stairs leading downwards. "Your tattoo will give you access and of course inform some higher ups that you're here. If you are in need of assistance, you can request it, using a few devices in the back room, or you stay here, bunker down -" he shrug. "Whatever you need should be around. Food, water, first aid kits and things like that." He didn't stop, instead opened another door, leading into what should have been a cellar of the house. "We have guarded locations as well, but this one here mainly serves as an entrance to the hospital." He threw a grin at Fadran. "And there are of course people living above us, so you better not get into a screaming fit. Could lead to awkward questions." Behind the door were two rooms, one with two beds, the other one a combination of kitchen, conference room with a radio. "Nothing to explain here. Just make sure you inform the quartermaster when you take things with you, so that he can organize a restocking." Without a pause he stopped in front of an innocent looking piece of wall, and touched his tattoo against that one as well. It blinked, an then vanished, allowing them to gaze into a dark tunnel. "That way."

Confused Vivi lifted her head, stared at him. Something had happened, so quickly that she had been completely surprised by it, that it. She grabbed his hand out of instinct, frightened by the stranger, by his words. "I tried to distract him." she replied and looked around, head turning this way and that way. There was no good place to run, to hide, there were too many people around him. Choosing an random direction, she snatched her backpack from the ground, completely forgetting that it was partially open. With her free hand she swung it over her shoulder and then, never letting go of Reval's hand started to run. They were smaller than the man, with some luck they could vanish in the crowd without him being able to follow them. "Let's hide, go to a different place?"

I remember the discussion about him, but I have to admit I'm not sure if I ranked him already once. So here is a new one. I hope it's not too different. @SingingMosaic ================ @Gears Love his fighting style. We haven't had a good explosion in ages.

Hello and welcome! I'm actually glad that you asked the question before creating the characters, because this is a situation we only had once before! So in general: we try to keep all characters at about the same level, to make it fair for everybody. The tag-teaming rule is exactly about that: make sure the situation stays fair for both sides. Actually Silva already answered your question correctly: If you write and rp both warder and Aes Sedai and want for them to act together, then you will have to fit both characters within the 150 point border. Their powers complement each other very well and I can't see any logical reason, why they won't tag team in a fight. We do make exceptions (for example if both have exactly the same point powers so that they don't gain much from having it twice (e.g. make it rain - the moment it rains, it rains). Also if you don't plan to write both of them together in the same thread, then of course the situation is different as well. I know that the whole topic is a bit more complicated than that - of course characters written by the same person can hang out together or interact with each other, as long as they don't team up in a fight. To add something to that: We try to avoid a situation, where it needs two other players to even the odds out against another one. The moment both characters definitely fight together, you have excatly that situation, where you OOC need a 2:1. But yes, non-combat things won't be that much an issue, as long as you don't dominate others. TLDR: Looking at the concept of Aes'Sedai and Warder I would rank both characters together. Depeding on what you have in mind regarding their power sets, I might up the point cap a little bit, to allow for some duplicate skills, but that really depends on what you plan. In general it would be a lot easier, if you asked around if someone is interested to write one of them, as that allows to avoid the whole topic altogether and both are a character of their own right.

I saw that I was hoping for a bit more information to decide if it makes for me to move a character or not.

"That's good." the man smiled. "You can call me Azriel. Did you already see the huge hospital? That's where we'll go now." He removed his cloak and rolled it up, tucked it under his arm. Then he started to walk out of the alley and along the next street, blending easily with the few that were still around this late at night. "Don't worry, we won't take the official entrance and you most certainly won't end up a patient there." winking at Fadran he added. "At least not today. And then you already know where you can go, should you be injured later on. There is -" he flashed a grin, strangely delighted to have someone new by his side again. It had been a while and he wasn't entirely sure anymore if there was some kind of protocol to follow or not. It didn't matter, he decided. He'd give the guy everything he needed and if he forgot something, then it couldn't be that grave. "When the hospital was built years ago, we influenced the architect a little bit, ensured some parts of the cellar were off limit for personal and other people. Instead, they belong to us. And once you've got the tattoo, you can access them, as well as several other safe houses around the city."

"Then it's decided." Althea gave a curt nod and start to walk down the street the direction Brin had indicated. "You'll have to lead the way. I haven't been to this horneater place before." She found herself relaxing gradually, behind them the firebrigade appeared to have the situation under control and the buliding was mostly empty by now. The girl mentioned drinking only non-alcoholic drinks and she looked her over again. She was young, maybe a bit older than Reval. Her words, her behaviour made her look a bit older, but now that she took her time she corrected the age she judge. She didn't strike her as unexperienced, but she still decided to keep an eye on her, make sure nobody took advantage of her age. "If the food's as bad as you say, I might stop at a stall on our way there and get something to go. With all of this happening I haven't eaten in hours."

Great job, both of you!! That's a really, really hard decision to make...

What side plot? If zinc is intruiged that sounds as if you have something marvellous in mind

The thugs stared at them, shouted at each other and Wita froze, her mind freezing for a second. She disliked shouting. It was so loud, so quick, indicated that people were going to rush things, that they would run towards them, swing their weapons, hunt them, fight them. The ladder. He had asked about the ladder. "It's over there." She pointed towards one side of the room, and forced herself to stop storing. Instead she tapped for once, held her breath and focused her thoughts on the scene in front of her. She let her eyes move over the situation. Lewis knew how to fight. She wasn't entirely sure about his skill level, but he knew how to fight. Filing him away as an asset she noticed a package of nails on the ground, as well as several other tools. Repairs. Somewhere. She started to run towards the nails, ignored the men shouting and calling, drawing their weapons. Picking the package up she threw it up into the air, hoped that Lewis would get the clue. They weren't able to fight the two of them directly. But maybe they could slow them down long enough to be able to reach the stairs.

@BringerOfLight =============== ============== Althea considered his proposal, head back to the festivities, celebrate a little. She wanted to go and look for the man, find out more about who he was, what he was doing here and if he needed help. His behaviour had been erratical, but without any additional information she couldn't decide wether or not he needed help. He was either a criminal with every inch of his body, or he was acting his way, because of something else. Some reason she didn't know about. "That sounds like a good idea." she agreed, deciding that she had some time to spare. The other Radiant was gone, and she could head to the Scholar's guild quickly after a drink. Better to use this opportunity and build up some relationships, add a few names to her list of people she knew. At one point or the other she would be glad about it. "I saw a stand selling wine and another one with a sortiment of whiskey back in the place around the bonfire."

Mike stepped away from the door, to get out of their way. Shame wrapped around his intestines. He had to ask for the way, just like some newly arrived worldhopper. He always had been proud to have grown up here, in this city full of different people. He had smiled upon those that no clue about their whereabouts, that had inquired about the crater and those living there curiously. He had smiled at them, shown them the way and picked their pockets sometime during the process. The easiest targets were those that arrived to learn about the city, that were curious and willing to pay nearly any price for knowledge. Or unwilling. He didn't really care. His hand fiddled with his gloves, he had cut the fingers off but tended to wear them daily, despite the fact that they made it a little harder to slip hins hand unnoticed into a targets pocket. One time he even had been nearly caught because a part of the fabric had been caught on a button, and he couldn't pull away again. And yet, he still wore them, felt more comfortable to keep them around. He didn't entirely know why, but without them he felt naked, as something bad would happen very, very soon. With them, he felt more secure, as if wearing them alone was enough to keep all kinds of bad things at bay. Taking some time while the other two talked he let his gaze move throughout the shop. It was tiny, poor compared to the larger ones closer to the main streets. He wasn't entirely sure what they sold, but with some luck, maybe he would be able to get a few chrysts out of this adventure. But first, first the two had to agree on something to soulcast. Mike eyed the soulcaster with a hint of suspicion in his eyes, he had heard stories about people whose legs had been turned into stone, screaming until their voice was hoarse, until their lungs appeared to give out, while they slowly bled to death. He had heard about a man, whose eye had been exchanged for a jewel, after he'd tried to rob the wrong ones, and after days of fewer he had died alone, weak in a dark alley. He doubted that they would do something like that in front of a stranger, but still, the stories had left a bad taste in his mouth, made him weary of anybody who was able to condemn people to such an awful death. Better use a knife. It was quick and clean and personal. When you had to look into the eyes of your victim, when you heard them gasp their last breath. This way was better. Fairer. "If there is any way, I can be of assistance?" he offered, mostly to appear harmless. The last thing he needed was them thinking of him as a threat and try to get rid of him just around the next corner. He was young enough that most tended to underestimate him, called him boy or young man and while he was able to hold himself quite well, two against one were bad odds for anybody. Better to appear helpfull and harmless and just ignore the fact, that he'd asked for a beer in completely the wrong place.

He laughed. "Good. You would have missed a lot." Smiling he retrieved his dagger again and then, started along the alley. "Follow me. This is nothing we can do in the middle of a street. And it has the benefit that I can show you a little around." His eyes gleamed when he looked up into the sky. "You're familiar with the city? In that case, I'll concentrate on places that now have a greater relevance to you, than they had before. Otherwise, I can add a tour - but if you want a tourist guide you'll have to look for someone else."

With a smile the man lifted his left hand and sealed the fourth wall again, preventing other bold, crossed out or even italic formatted words from entering. "Welcome to the Ghostbloods." he said without stopping to smile. "If you need some information about our hideouts, or placed where you can go to refill your supplies I'm happy to help you out. Otherwise -" he spread his arms. "Unless you have any questions and are sure you don't want to have the tattoo, that's it for the moment."

Relief flodded through her body when the firebrigade arrived and swiftly took over. Good. Very good. If only because it meant, that she didn't need to step into the building again. She watched the Captain return as soon as they were here, grateful that she didn't need to go and look for him as well. The fact that he had rescued a few civilians spoke for him as well and she added him to her 'useful asset' list for the moment. Turning her attention to the ongoing conversation between him and Mari she waited for a short pause before stepping in. Changing someones mass was a useful skill and the bracelets hinted at a feruchemic origin. She filed the information away, should they end up in another dangerous situation and listened, started to form a picture for herself of who they were and what they were doing. "I'm Althea Tenira." she introduced herself with a polite nod towards Mari. "The whole situation was a little more complicated than that." she made a vague gesture back down the street. "A, " she hesitated unsure how to refer to Eiran and then simply went with, "aquaintance of mine noticed the van moving slower than usual and we decided to head over, take a look at the situation. In the end the Van moved past us, into this street and here it was stopped by someone. A man, very tall, maybe with some koloss blood in his veins, or from a planet where slightly similar looking individuals live. Until we arrived there, the Van had stopped, the guards were corpses, with one exception. I checked the insides, and found the man recuing the prisoner who had been held inside. The prisoner feld, and the man ran down the street. I followed on my own, left the other three behind to see if it was possible to help the injured ones and to call in on the authorities." Nodding towards the building she looked up at it, watched the men and women starting to fight the fire in a professional way." That was aout the point, the Captain joined us. The fight ended up in the building and I followed the man down, even below the foundation. I stopped him from going deeper, and he escaped through the stone. I supposed someone should take a look at that, ensure that the building, as well as the street and adjacent ones are still standing on solid ground. I can't estimate how much of the stone he destroyed while fleeing." "I think you were present for the rest of it, as you were around when I left the building again." she finished and then turned her thoughts to the other topic the woman had brought up. "At the moment I suspect he was a Dustbringer, based on his excessive use of Division. The surge leaves different traces compared to an Epic's power, although of course a fabrial could have duplicated its effects. Still, I am pretts positive that I saw him glow before he massively used his abilities. If you take his general behaviour into account as well, I think Dustbringer fits him better than the alternate order able to use Division as well. But of course at the moment, it's still speculation, so I suggest its better to prepare for a different power set, than a Dustbringer usually has." Falling silent she shifted her weight to her other foot, went over everything that happened again. "As I mentioned earlier, I have two leads how to find him. Down in that hole, I had the impression that he might be someone in need of help." @BringerOfLight @kenod