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Post by [*DOC] on Sept 19, 2012 11:19:53 GMT
As far as Pisces concerned, a library was not for reading.
This one in particular, three stories high, with brittle balconies, broken hanging chandeliers, row and row of bookcases and shelves, and other interesting paraphernalia, was her playground. She could take advantage of the danger here, leap carelessly from surface to surface, do target practise on falling books, train to her heart's content with no-one around.
And if a Damned did happen to enter the library, then all the better. Live practise. Anyway, Pisces knew all the best escape routes, in case something did happen to go wrong. Standing on the handrail of the third floor balcony, the girl mentally prepared herself, before leaping from it, doing a careful flip in the air to land almost soundlessly atop the chandelier, being light enough to not disturb the precarious light fitting. She encouraged it to swing lightly, before using the momentum to leap from it into the top of one of the second story bookcases, rolling as she landed to avoid too much impact.
Straightening up, she grinned to herself, enjoying the rush of adrenaline and thrill of all this danger. No-one could stop her now.
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Post by kiddie on Sept 19, 2012 23:53:09 GMT
The tiny creature scuttled around the fallen books absentmindedly, humming a soft melody under her breath. Once Hallie found a pleasant nook to wedge herself between, she picked up the nearest mold infested novel, this one being Pride and Prejudice, and pressed her chubby cheeks against the pages. As the pages crinkled, her ears twitched with delight.
Curiously, she scratched one of the pages with her claws. The words were torn from the page, forever separating Mr. Darcy from Ms. Bennett, but Hallie only stared at the book with a deeper curiosity.
“Why doesn't it b-b-bleed?” , she muttered, “I already tore its flesh.”
Fed up with the books “incompetence”, she hurled it across the first floor of the library so it smashed into a pile of books, sending the stack toppling.
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Post by [*DOC] on Sept 20, 2012 0:04:40 GMT
Pisces' head snapped up at the sudden loud noise, looking almost directly below her to see a large, moldy stack of books come toppling to the ground, sending up a cloud of thick, grimy dust, bringing forth a small coughing fit as it filled her lungs. Moving quickly to the next bookcase across, Pisces peered down through the dust, hands already reaching cautiously towards the metal tonfas strapped to her waist, just able to pick out a small creature wedged between a bookcase and the wall, seeming to be... ripping pages out of a book?
Upon closer inspection, the girl noticed long, vicious looking claws, and swallowed a lump in her throat, now certain that this girl had to be one of the Damned. Removing her weaponry from her belt and holding them tightly, Pisces clicked a small switch on one of her tonfas, a retractable blade springing up along the length of the weapon, sharp enough to do some nasty damage.
Crouching low, like a tiger waiting to strike, Pisces silently climbed down the back of the bookcase, on the opposite side to Hallie so that she wouldn't risk being seen, landing on the cracked, tiled floor, sending up another small cloud of dust with the heels of her boots.
Creeping around the side of the bookcase, so that she was at the back of the creature, Pisces went into a careful defensive stance, before charging at the creature, the unbladed tonfa held defensively at her chest, the other swept in a deadly horizontal cut, that if it connected was sure to make the Damned bleed.
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Post by kiddie on Sept 20, 2012 0:47:50 GMT
Being caught between a bookshelf and a wall meant there was very little room for Hallie to dodge the tonfas, but her sensitive hearing meant she'd heard Pisces coming ever since she'd coughed. As the blade swung in her direction, Hallie popped up in the air like a spring, propelling herself backwards so that she was soon clinging to Pisces' head. Like a little monkey, the Damned's arms were wrapped securely around the hunter's neck, her toes scrambled against the other girl's back, and she started to cry.
“I don't wanna die! I d-d-don't wanna die!” she howled, “I h-h-haven't even eat-t-en anything todaaaaaaay!”
The end of her tail had a gash so deep, it was surprising the tip didn't fall off all together. Rather, it hung limply behind her as its bloody sliced scales slid to the floor. Hallie collected herself quickly, as if the tears had merely been used as a sympathy card.
“Now m-my tail hurts!” she whined, “And it's all your fault! Y-y-you have to apologize before I s-s-start crying again.”
Her pout didn't last long however, replaced with the look of, “Why, aren't you a funny looking creature!” as she'd soon wrapped her bloody tail around Pisces stomach to hold herself in place. Using one hand, her sticky fingers occupied themselves by squishing Pisces' cheeks.
“You have chubby cheeks! You have chubby cheeks!” she sang.
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Post by [*DOC] on Sept 20, 2012 0:55:31 GMT
From the instant that the girl latched onto her, Pisces let out a small scream of surprise, staggering backwards until she bumped into the bookshelf, hard enough to send another couple of books toppling down to the ground. "W-what... S-stop that! I D-DON'T HAVE CHUBBY CHEEKS!"
Pisces wailed this last statement, for a moment acting like the young teen that she still truly was at heart, before collecting herself, realizing that she was in an awful situation, considering that this girl - however strange- was a Damned, and she a human. Driving the end of her tonfa into the girl's temple, hard enough to blank out her vision long enough for Pisces' to wriggle free, the girl began to struggle and strain, hoping to slip from her grip so that she could get back into a more defensive stance.
Face now smeared with Hallie's blood, and still pouting somewhat from her comment, Pisces thrashed and flailed, retracting the blade on her other tonfa to land more and more blunt trauma hits on the girl, at this point in time wherever she could feasibly land them.
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Post by kiddie on Sept 20, 2012 1:13:47 GMT
Giggling maniacally, Hallie held on tight as Pisces stumbled about the library. Unfortunately, the giggling changed into merciless screaming once her vision had been knocked out and a searing pain shot through her head. Pisces was simply far better trained than Hallie, who's hands feebly tried to shield herself. The tonfas smacked against her face, bounced off her pudgy belly, bruised her copper collar bones, and snapped her ribs like toothpicks. Although the braces on her legs acted like armor, even they were subject to Pisces' vicious attacks.
The poor Damned twitched on the ground, utterly broken and defeated.
Breathing unevenly as her wounds started to redden and swell, it was all Hallie could do to whisper, ”Chubby...cheeks.”
Hallie giggled.
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Post by [*DOC] on Sept 20, 2012 1:33:09 GMT
Staggering back into a vaguely upright position once she was free of Hallie's grasp, Pisces panted for breath, having rather exerted herself with all that thrashing and flailing. But she was free, and the Damned looked awfully beaten up. It was safe to say that Pisces' had one, all she had to do was slit the horrible thing's throat and be done with it.
Crouching beside the crumpled, weakly giggling creature, Pisces stared at her hard, having to resist the urge to smack the girl across the face for calling her cheeks chubby once more. "My name is Pisces Suzuya... I am a Hunter. I work to rid the world of evil and to find justice, which is why I must kill you. Forgive me." She spoke quietly, in almost a whisper, bringing the blade back out on her tonfa, before raising it to Hallie's neck, preparing to slice it open.
A loud crash to her right stopped her in her tracks, finding her body suddenly gripped by a thick, hard substance, before being flung by it into the nearest bookcase with a frightening force. Sitting up awkwardly as her vision began to fade back to a clear state, she could vaguely see another person, surrounded by a large haze of black running to Hallie's side, the clicking of heels on the tiles filling her ears.
"H-H-Hallie! Are you okay?!" The girl asked in a soft, terrified voice, sounding almost on the verge of tears. Rho created a strange silk like substance from her fingertips, wrapping gingerly around Hallie's crumpled form, lifting her up from the grime encrusted ground, the girl scanning her injuries, seeming to be in some sort of panic.
"I-It's okay, I'll get you to safety..." Rho turned to look at Pisces as she said this, her sweet demeanour suddenly plummeting into a vile, terrifying demonic state, her scarlet eye narrowing into a violent slit. "Mark my words, miss. I will rip out your heart and eat it." Pisces shrank away in fear from the girl, almost fainting from a mixture of relief as Rho began to walk away with Hallie in tow, as well as the built up fear and dizziness from the impact.
Rho quickly ventured away from the library, to make certain that they weren't ambushed by people coming to investigate the previous loud noises, and took Hallie to a dark back street nearby, before setting her body down once more.
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Post by Sky on Sept 20, 2012 2:18:52 GMT
At the second loud crash that came from the library Akio shot to his feet. He knew that Pisces like to train in there, and when he saw a figure run out he knew something had gone on. He frowned and placed his hand on his pistol as he sprinted over to it. All he had been doing was enjoying a nice day, doing rounds, making sure nothing was going on that he would have to take care of. He thought that maybe today nothing would happen, but when there are multiple a loud crashes a coming from a building that you know your sister trains in then you know something's up.
He kicked open the door, drawing his pistol as he started to stalk around, obviously ready to shoot if need be. He spent a few seconds, moving quickly but quietly through the building before coming upon an obviously dazed Pisces. He moved forward quickly, his pistol getting placed back in it's holster as he stepped forward and steadied her with both hands.
"Pi, what happened?" The concern in his voice was evident as he spoke. He knew that she could take care of herself in a fight, but he also knew she was still only in her teens and nowhere near her full potential as a hunter.
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Post by kiddie on Sept 20, 2012 3:06:08 GMT
What was the use of healing yourself if you were already dead? Minor injuries Hallie could recover from by consuming the energy of some unsuspecting human...but a slash to the throat? By the time she managed to focus and her healing factor kicked in, she'd already be slain. Raw fear coursed through her eyes, refreshing the cold yellow so it glistened and sparked. Hallie curled up, defensively wrapping her tail around herself and shutting her eyes. Hopefully, whatever pain would come would be over quickly.
That's of course, when Rho came to her rescue.
Who said the Damned couldn't have BFFs?
”The word of th-th-the day is...serendipity!” giggled Hallie, choosing an interesting way to respond to “are you okay?”.
Bruised and broken, it was plain to see Hallelujah was certainly not okay...physically. The poor girl's vision was still blurred and her eyes were crossed, utterly unfocused and dazed. One of her pupils seemed to have expanded larger than the other, a sign of a sure concussion. But was she okay mentally? Well, Hallie was no more eccentric than her usual self.
As Rho carried Hallie to safely, the deranged Damned shouted, ”Buh-bye, chubby cheeks! I'll s-s-see you sooooooon~!"
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Post by [*DOC] on Sept 21, 2012 0:34:41 GMT
Observing her poor, crumbled friend, Rho carefully moved a strand of hair from out of the girl's face with one clawed finger, being sure not to cut or scratch her. "Rho wants to know who 'chubby cheeks' is..." She asked, voice soft, almost whiny and sad, her eye wide and tearing up, her other - forever closed by haphazard, blood crusted stitching - almost seeming to well with crimson blood, before raising one hand, the silken webbing flowing from her fingertips once more, but this time connecting into a soft sheet, almost like a blanket, wrapping gently around Hallie to keep the little creature warm.
"Rho will kill chubby cheeks, she hurt Hallie..." Rho whimpered, sniffling and dabbing at her eyes, fingers becoming smeared with spatters of blood. For someone speaking of murder, she seemed awfully calm, if not sniffling childishly, knelt beside Hallie with her legs tucked beneath her.
As her focus returned, Pisces blinked rapidly, head whipping around. "W-where did she- ...Nii-san?" She looked up at her older brother, eyes wide and confused, before she grimaced, rubbing her sore head. Damn... the crazy bitch got away, her target too. If only she hadn't been ambushed.
"I... I was about to execute a Damned... I got ambushed by another, they escaped a few minutes before you got here..." She winced, gingerly touching the sore patch on her scalp that was already beginning to come up in a painful lump. Pisces hated to admit that she'd been bested, but the teen knew when even she was out of her depth, and that... creature was more than out of her league.
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Post by Sky on Sept 21, 2012 0:51:19 GMT
Akio mulled over this for a moment. His mind racing with thoughts, he wanted to meet this Damned who had attacked his sister, but he also wanted to get her out fo there. If it was friends with the Damned she had been about to take out then there may be a problem of them hunting her down eventually to kill her. There was something that he could do to prevent that though, and he knew just what it was.
"Okay, either we can get out of here and pray to the goddesses that you wont be hunted down by the Damned that saved the one you were about to kill, or we can lay a trap right here and teach them not to mess with our family. My plan is I hide, making it seem like I was never hear in the first place while you continue doing what you would normally do. If the one who ambushed you comes back I jump in and surprise it, much like how it surprised you."
He smiled at the thought, very rarely did he get a chance to work with his sister against a Damned, and it normally turned out well when they did.
"Run or trap 'em?"
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Post by kiddie on Sept 21, 2012 0:59:58 GMT
“You will?” gasped Hallie, “H-h-how very munificent of you!”
The tiny creature snuggled into her makeshift blanket, avoiding sudden movements that'd further splinter any of her snapped bones. The wounds would heal slowly, but much faster than a human or Carrier's if she found a good food source. It had to be somebody with a an abundance of spirit or hatred. They both tasted the same to her. “Hn...B-b-but we can't kill her yet,” mused Hallie, “I haven't h-h-had a chance t-to play with her. When I'm done, then y-y-you can kill her!”
Dull yellow eyes blinked at Rho happily, quite pleased with the decision.
“You saved me.” she said, “Thank you. You c-c-can kill th-this one all b-by yourself if you want. Just tell her I said 'hello' when y-y-you d-do.”
That was quite the honor coming from Hallie.
“ I d-d-don't know Chubby Cheeks' name. She's a h-hunter, but she screams funny.”
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Post by [*DOC] on Sept 21, 2012 1:14:44 GMT
Seeming to be concentrating extremely hard as Hallie spoke, Rho suddenly let out a noise of triumph, rising to her feet with surprising speed and grace, before haring off into the street with a gabbled 'I'll be right back!'. After around five minutes, she returned, dragging a human male in tow, wrapped from mouth to ankles in her webbing, eyes wide and terrified, before plopping him down in front of Hallie.
"I brought you a present!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands happily. Sitting back down, she kept the man wrapped up so that he couldn't scream or move, and waited for Hallie to latch onto him, knowing that at the very least she could heal herself for a little while with him. She mused for a moment, tapping at her lower lip with one claw.
"Maybe Rho can bring the Hunter back to you? Then you can play with her, and then she will die?"
Pisces grinned at her brother, brushing dust from her front and sleeves, irritated to find that it had gotten into her hair as well. The girl was dressed simply, in a black wrap top with elbow length sleeves, black leggings and boots, blades hidden in her heels for emergencies. Slipping her tonfas back into their places at her belt, she rubbed her hands together to remove the dust.
"Trap, obviously." She knew that it was only a matter of time before that creature came back for her, particularly now as the beast had her scent and knew what she looked like. But they'd be ready for her.
"What do you have in mind, Nii-san?"
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Post by Sky on Sept 21, 2012 1:37:09 GMT
"Alright, well, first of all just act natural, however you would act if you were just let live kinda thing. When they come back I'll be sure to be hiding, and I'm wearing the spray like usual. You know, the stuff to hide our sent? If you were never given a bottle during your last training session then I'll give you one when we get back home."
He smiled and stood up to his full height, thinking for a moment. "And I'll try to be close by so I can ambush 'em at the last moment, which would be when they least expect it. If there are two you can take care of the one who you had targeted first, if it is there. I'll take care of the stronger one since I'm the better fighter and have the weapon with greater reach." He thought for another moment before nodding to himself. It was basic, nice and simple but that was probably all he would need.
"Just in no way shape or form acknowledge my presence until I come out of hiding."
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Post by kiddie on Sept 21, 2012 1:55:08 GMT
Eagerly wriggling out of her cocoon-like blanket, Hallie could hardly hold herself back as she sauntered over to the human. As she approached with hungry eyes, there was no doubt her parasitic abilities were already taking effect, draining the victim of soul. Hallie’s eyes burned a little brighter as she sniffed him, deciding that she liked his scent.
“You b-brought me a Fred!” Hallie said excitably, “You’re the...the...a phenomenal friend, Rho!”
It’d taken Hallie a moment to think of the correct vocabulary word to inject there, hoping to impress Rho with her choice. Phenomenal was a good word. It meant something or other, but it sounded pretty and that was obviously the most important part!
“I l-like that idea. I’ll come with you,” she said, “Sorry Fred, but you aren’t allowed to come. I have to eat you. I’m hungry.” No longer able to wait, Hallie sank her teeth into the back of the man’s neck. Physical contact wasn’t required for her ability and she easily could’ve leeched on to him from across the room, but there was something pleasant about being able to eat directly from the source.
After some time, Hallie’s wounds reversed themselves into a few bad bruises and the poor man stared at the walls like they were the Vatican Ceiling. Hallie hadn’t drained him enough so that his heart stopped--such an escapade would take weeks if not months!--but enough that he’d be zombified for quite some time if not released or killed promptly.
“All full!” cheered Hallie, giving her tummy a pat, “Let’s go, Rho! It’ll b-b-be so much fun!”
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