Kuro Mirai

[Cernan]

Issen took in Satoshi's words and thought a moment about it's implications. If the attacker had wings, and could fly it would make a lot of things make sense. He glanced over to the footprint Devoe had pointed out, and it did seem consistent with a person dropping out of the sky. He took a moment to consider these things before answering Devoe's questions.

"I'm not sure I know how to describe it exactly. I can tell that there were three people here, the boy, the girl, and the attacker, but the attackers scent is just... scattered. It all over the place, but doesn't lead anywhere. It's also not very distinct, almost the same as theirs really, so that makes it a bit more difficult to tell for sure. I think the attacker can fly though, that would explain the footprint and the way the scent starts with the foot print, but then scatters everywhere as if blown by a wind."

Issen glanced over at Merissa and gen who were no over by the boy, his ears perking up a bit when Gen mentioned seeing someone moving in a blink. He noticed full well the glance the man had given him. He wondered if it had been him he saw. If it was then he too had failed to see through the trick, normally a good thing but in the situation they were in he almost would have rather the man to have seen through it. He was right about the river though.

"The river can wash away more than tracks. Moving through it or over it, the water will wash away a scent as well."

Issen watched Gen pick up the boy and he and Merissa prepared to take him back to the village. He certainly had no objections to them heading back, he nodded at Merissa, and turned back to Devoe to see what he thought.

[Nayr]

(Sorry, I kinda wrote a book. Lots of interstitial commentary here, because a lot happened in Mini's post and Issen also said things I need to use and crap like that)

Almost immediately after Satoshi brought up the sound he'd heard, Devoe sprang into verbal action.

"Wait. What did you say?" Devoe asked slowly, "You heard a sound like fluttering or flapping. Which one did it sound more like - a cloak, or wings? Because if you think it's possible it could have been wings..." The man's voice trailed off excitedly, followed by the sound of him taking perhaps two steps before he hit his forehead with his palm, probably remembering that Satoshi was blind. "Come over here, both of you. I found a footprint, possibly two, maybe even more, but it's hard to make them out because from right where it is to the girl's body, the ground is strewn with pebbles and rocks. The mud and sand near the shorelines is damp, but not really enough for anyone to make decent prints if they're just walking. However, look right here."

Things like this happened a lot in Satoshi's life. Even though he wasn't secretive about his complete blindness, people would use sighted terminology without even thinking that perhaps it was a bit rude to tell a blind person to "look right here." Fortunately, one did not get anywhere as a merchant with a thin skin. He neither said nor did anything, allowing Devoe to come to whatever point he was driving at.

"Look, see how deep it is? You don't make this kind of impact if you're walking, or even if you're just running. It almost looks like whatever made this print landed here. It's possible they could have jumped off of that boulder over there, but that's a pretty fair distance to jump and land straight on your feet like that without bowling over sideways or losing your balance. This person landed here, then pushed off with some pretty impressive force and speed and went lunging off towards the girl. The strides of where I think the other prints are, at least the next two, are spaced far apart. They were running, almost racing. The owner of this footprint also appears to be rather on the small size. See the size of the sandal print? Compare it to mine."

More sighted language. Satoshi was also very patient, which was also a vital skill for a merchant. He could only assume that Devoe's sandals were larger than the print, because the man continued without providing context for those not watching his visual cues.

"So whoever it was is human enough to be wearing sandals. Normal, run-of-the-mill sandals, although sturdy, but not sturdy enough. Look up here. There's a small nick towards the upper part of the sandal, almost like it got caught on something while they were walking. The tread is a little worn away, too. These sandals have seen some wear and tear."

He paused just then, but only for a moment. Satoshi fervently hoped this was going somewhere.

"So whatever we're looking for is small enough to have feet this small. It's fast, it's stealthy, it kills with one hit, probably uses a sharp weapon to do its killing, it is possibly wearing a cloak, and it possibly has wings."

He wanted to interject for the record that they were extrapolating a lot out of a fleeting sound that Satoshi was only somewhat certain of the nature of. He chose not to, for things were still unfolding. Perhaps all they had needed was a push to think beyond the obvious, regardless of its tenuousness.

"Issen, you said the killer's scent just stops right around the girl's. I don't know any human who can just up and vanish like that. If they would have taken the time to climb a tree, you'd be able to tell, wouldn't you? Oh, and what did you mean about the scent being confused? Does it smell like anything you've ever encountered before? Does it... Does it smell human at all? I'm starting to think that this creature isn't human at all, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Mmm..."

One thing was for certain. This Devoe was a man of chaotic mental state, prone to quite a volume of simultaneous and mostly unrelated thoughts which seemed to spill out of him with very little if any organization or filter. Issen's response spared Satoshi the trouble of belaboring his irritation with the disorganized nature of Devoe's thoughts.

"I'm not sure I know how to describe it exactly. I can tell that there were three people here, the boy, the girl, and the attacker, but the attackers scent is just... scattered. It all over the place, but doesn't lead anywhere. It's also not very distinct, almost the same as theirs really, so that makes it a bit more difficult to tell for sure. I think the attacker can fly though, that would explain the footprint and the way the scent starts with the foot print, but then scatters everywhere as if blown by a wind."

So perhaps there was something to a hazarded possibility. He hadn't been certain, and still wasn't, but perhaps it could have been wings he heard.

"Riddle me this," Devoe commented a moment later, "If either of you had done this, which way would you flee?"

There was a brief swell in Satoshi's heart, but he controlled it carefully. If he had done this, much would have been different. He wouldn't have left the boy alive, for example, nor would he have entered or left the scene in such dramatic fashion. He'd have taken his time, left no witnesses, and been gone before anyone knew the difference.

The question was fortunately abandoned by the large one, King by preferred alias, making some comment on using the river as cover and then joining the girl in escorting the boy back to the village. The idea was picked up by Issen a moment later.

"The river can wash away more than tracks. Moving through it or over it, the water will wash away a scent as well."

"So perhaps we should focus on the river," Satoshi ventured, hoping to cover up Devoe's question with more conversation, "Which direction is more likely to lead to wherever this killer is striking from? There has to be some place of safety from which such a person can operate without drawing attention to their activities. If one direction led towards a town, for example, the people in that town might have seen or heard something during our quarry's flight, if you'll pardon the turn of phrase. We might also inspect the body, in case something was transferred from killer to victim or vice versa."

Particularly when one killed in haste, it was difficult to control the varied transferences of interpersonal contact. When shaking hands, for example, each person's hand is exposed to whatever the other person has touched since last their hands were cleaned. When stabbing a person, whatever was on the blade to begin with could separate, or something of the victim's could be transferred unintentionally as the blade was removed. Another reason why Satoshi always took his time. A blind man had to compensate in all aspects of life for the lack of visual input, usually through a trusted intermediary or very careful training of the other senses. In this case his trained senses could perhaps do half of one person's work in this investigation, after which the others would have to do the work of actually examining or tracing or watching or whatever was needed that a non-sighted individual could not contribute. Cumbersome, but necessary.

(TL;DR: River, Body, Satoshi's a bit of a jerk)

[Mini]

(I'm gonna divide this into two chunks. First will be the boy and the village (I hope it's okay that I'm moving them to the village to save time and all that), second will be Devoe and the others. Just to make everyone's life a little easier, y'know?)

The boy, overcome with grief and exhaustion and a hundred other emotions, thankfully passed out after several painful sounding sobs. This was probably for the best for him, especially since Gen had all but scooped him up into his arms. The poor thing remained blissfully unconscious the whole way back to the village, which for the most part was rather uneventful and quiet. It grew steadily colder as they approached the village, and the sky was starting to cloud over. It was starting to look as though it would start flurrying any second now.

Two sleepy looking men were stationed near the back entrance into the village. Since this side of the village faced the forest, there was a wall up that encircled part of the town. It was mostly there to keep animals from wandering into town and getting into the fields, and it was also partially there as a defense against invasions from enemies or demons. Since it was such a small, quiet, and sleepy little village, though, the wall served mostly as a deterrent to the forest wildlife. Guard duty wasn't the most glorious of positions, but it had to be done. They weren't even armed with much. One had a spear which looked like it might be some good in a fight, and the other had a farming tool that looked like it was better suited to plow out water trenches than to be of any use in a fight. Upon catching sight of Gen and Merissa approaching, both of them perked up. The older man with the spear was the first to notice Gen carrying a blood-splattered youth in his arms. He recognized Gen from the tavern, but noted that the man-beast now stood much taller than he had when he had previously been here.

"WAH! What in the world?!" the younger guard yelped as he too noticed what Gen was carrying. "Aaah! Mizune, look!! They-- They slaughtered that boy!! Now they're coming after us! What are we gonna do?! Wait, I know. HELP! HEEEELP! WE NEED-- oof!"

The older guard had hit the younger one in the stomach with the end of his spear. "Quiet, you idiot! Do you want to wake up the whole village?! If they had killed that boy, why would they be carrying him back here?" he grumbled, gesturing with one arm towards Gen and Merissa.

The younger guard blinked twice and rubbed his stomach. He gulped and looked up and down at Gen. "... Uh..."

"Exactly," he harrumphed. "Instead of screaming your head off like a girl, run and fetch some help. See if Shinzo is awake. He served as a doctor's aide in the last great war. Should be some people still up at the tavern and inn as well. Oh. Better run to the temple, too. The priests and priestesses should be notified. I'll find out what happened while you fetch help."

"R-Right," the young man said, shooting a weary look at Gen and Merissa before turning and running off to the woods.

The older man sighed and waved his hand to Merissa and Gen. "All right, you best bring that boy you're carrying over here. Don't make me regret sending off my other guard, either," he added under his breath, giving both of them a hard look. "Never in all of my years has anyone meaning to wreck, destroy, kill, or maim come carrying a bloodied body in through the gates, so it's my guess that you found him like this. Well, don't keep silent - what happened? Is he even alive?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Devoe had crouched down so that he was balancing on the balls of his feet while he lost himself in his thoughts. Gen had brought up a good point with his input. Two good points, actually. The first was that it was entirely possible that the killer could have used the river to wash away their scent. Animals did it. Demons did it. It was a brilliant deduction... so why hadn't he thought of it? Was it because Devoe knew deep down to his toes that the killer hadn't gone back to the river? If that was the case, then how did he know that? Was it just a hunch? In the past, his hunches had very often been right, and several times they had even saved his life.

The second thing that Gen had brought up involved what sounded like teleportation. Devoe had witnessed a few very strong, very powerful demons and monsters who had had the ability before, but again, he doubted that it was the case. It was plausible, but those who used teleportation to do their dirty work didn't usually leave tons of footprints and tracks behind, either. Teleporting would explain how the killer had seemed to appear right near to where Devoe was crouched, though.

"Those are both really good observations," Devoue mused aloud as Gen and Merissa left with the boy. He noted Merissa saying something about rendezvousing with them later, and he gave her a slight nod as he stood up and started pacing again. His mind worked better when he moved. Now that it was just the three of them, Issen and Satoshi seemed to become a bit more talkative and focused. He listened intently as the fox explained further about the scent. Issen, at least, agreed with Devoe that it was more than probable that their killer had wings, or could fly, or something like that. The fact that the scent was so scattered and not distinct seemed a bit off, though. If it was a demon, shouldn't it have had a stronger scent? Or were their demons that could disguise their scent? Mask it and make others thing they were human? Unless it was possible that the wind, the river, and the snow were wrecking havoc on lingering scents.

"Focus on the river, eh?" Devoe asked as Satoshi finished up speaking. "Hrmm... that is a good point. The killer has to go somewhere and lie low, or at least rest. It's getting colder and cloudier. Perhaps the sky is thinking about snowing," he grumbled as he walked over to the shore, resting his hands on his hips as he looked upstream and then down. The sounds of the soft, babbling river were both soothing and a bit eerie - the river was the only thing making any other noise. There still wasn't a single animal noise to be heard, and the wind had died down for the moment so that even the tree branches were quiet.

"Well, the nearest village downstream is quite a ways away. By foot, I'd wager it's a good two to three day walk. By horse, you could probably make it in a day. It's a fairly quiet village, similar in size to Sakurajima. The name of it escapes me at the moment. If somebody flew all the way there... well, I don't know. I've never flown anywhere," he joked. "But even big birds have to rest, right? They can't just fly all day and all night. If it's headed that way, it's got to rest first. Question is, where? I'm pretty sure there's nothing but forest from here to there."

Frowning, he turned and looked upstream. "Upstream, however, is where Komakai is. It's a smaller village than Sakurajima, but there have also been random killings happening in Komakai. There was also one that happened on the road between Sakurajima and Komakai. My gut is telling me that if the killer did indeed follow the river, they would follow it downstream in the direction of Komakai. Let me think for a minute here," he said in a soft voice, as if he was trying to visualize all of his notes in front of him to draw the information from. "All in all, there have now been seven-- no, wait, eight attacks now. Eight, counting this poor girl who just now died. Eight murders in the last ten, eleven days? Yeah, that's right. Eleven days now, I think it's been. And the last two-- now three-- have happened right here in Sakurajima."

Devoe shifted his position and rubbed his chin as he pondered over what to do next. "If I was a betting man, I'd say that if the killer was indeed following the river, they would follow it downstream in the direction of Komakai. The question is, where are they going to stop and rest at? Mori Woods stretches between the two villages, the river runs in a weird sort of horseshoe pattern to the southern edge of the woods, and there's also the seldom-used traveler's path from Sakurajima to Komakai, or there's the main road that circles the other side around the woods, but takes far longer."

He was quiet for a moment, then turned back around to face Issen and Satoshi. "Okay, I have to ask you two this, because it's really bothering me. Does it bother either one of you that the killer killed the girl and left the boy alive?? I can't figure that part out. No matter how I spin it in my head, it doesn't fit. The one common denominator in all of these so far besides the absolute randomness behind them has been that there hasn't been a single witness yet. They'll show up, do the deed, and leave the body somewhere to be found at a later point in time. If you're a crazy serial killing demon or human who is at the very least smart enough to make a clean getaway, why would you leave a witness? Surely it wasn't because any of us were here. We were all still a ways downstream when we heard the screams. By the time we got here, there would have been plenty of time to kill the boy. By all accounts, the boy should be dead. So why isn't he?! Why not kill the boy AND the girl both?! Why?!" Devoe practically shouted. After this short outburst, he blinked a few times and then looked a bit startled. He cleared his throat and pulled his hat off of his head and started fidgeting with it nervously. "Ah... sorry. I just... I get a little carried away sometimes, and usually when things like this happen, Lor--" He abruptly quit talking and firmly placed his hat back on his head. "Never mind. I just... I just want to stop who or whatever is behind this before something really bad happens," he muttered, taking a few paces away from both Issen and Satoshi.

[Remus]

OOC (I realized I have been referring Gen by his name many times after he introduced himself as King, I'm working on fixing that but if I happen to miss it a few times I cry your pardon and beg of you to forgive my negligence, and to Gen I again apologize for taking a bit more control over the situation. If you have any ideas of what should come I'd be happy to alter this post to fit with what King would/is going to do.)



Merissa did not like the look of the sky. If it snowed, or even worse if it rained, then she would be exposed to King. and to everyone and anyone else who might see her. They were close to the village now and the boy had finally fallen asleep. Merissa had hoped this was a sign to an improvement in his mentality. There was always a chance that what he had witnessed could affect him in a negative light and turn they boy into a killer himself. After all was that not in someway akin to what had happened to her? Under the pretense of being cold she wrapped her cloak close around her body and drew it over her head. That wouldn't entirely keep the moisture off her body, but it would stop her from turning into a living hot spring for a few minutes in case she had to run off.

The village guards looked half asleep by the time she had reached the village gate. She pondered for a moment why it hadn't been attacked before. Sure high fences and walls could provide protection but if the people who enforced them weren't alert and cautious enough they did nothing more than give the people behind it a false sense of security. They had at least enough sense to wake up and draw their weapons when they saw the two of them approaching.

The younger of the two immediately seemed to flip out upon seeing King, and even worse the boy's limp body over his shoulder. The older of the two seemed to have some sense sense as he sent the younger to fetch medical aid for the boy before resorting to questioning them.

"Our party was in the woods when we heard screams. That was him" Merissa's sapphire eyes were locked on the guard's and never wavered from them for an instant. "It seems this boy had arranged a romantic meeting with a girl from the village but whatever has been killing people around here seemingly got there first. Whoever it was killed the girl but for some reason left him alive and relatively unscathed. We decided best to take him back home where it would be safe. Away from there." She intentionally paused, her eyes widening slightly, as she bit her lower lip. "It was scary, whatever is doing this, they like to show the kind of power they have. The control. It let him live so that he could see the results of their work."

[Cernan]

Issen listed to Devoe's geography lesson, and while it was good to know, He didn't find it too helpful. There was just to many unknowns. He looked up and down the river and let out a small sigh.

"So we don't know where the killer went, but possibly how he went. This is assuming of course that he did fly or run away. Something strikes me as a little off about that though. From what we've seen, and from what I've heard of the other attacks, this creature can slip away almost instantly and without leaving much of a trace. So maybe they can fly, but can move long distances with another method..."

Issen rubbed his chin in thought, looking up and down the river again, either way would be just a guess and if they chose wrong it would make things harder. If the attacker had planned a clean escape he could easily have killed both the people before they could have made a sound. If he wanted to show his power he still could easily have torn them to shreds to make a display and left. No the boy was...

"We should head back to the village. I have a hunch, the boy is a lure. Even if I'm wrong, the attacks seem to be centered around here, we'd likely do better preparing and tying to trap this guy than chasing after him without a plan. We can stake out the village from a few good vantage points and watch."

[Gen]

The walk back to the village was a little longer than Gen had remembered. It wasn't the extra weight he was carrying that bothered him about this, of course, but the vulnerability he found himself in now. If they were attacked he would be much less quick to react than usual, and even more concerning was that if this girl that accompanied him made a move, it could spell out considerable trouble for him. He didn't like the situation one bit. He made sure to watch her very closely until they reached the village.

The men that greeted them instantly touched a nerve in the already very irritated demon. His eyes narrowed as the younger one spoke and he was very much tempted to drop the boy and clock the guard for his stupidity. Humans could be so annoying sometimes. Especially the loud, obnoxious, boisterous ones. He stood a little taller and was indeed ready to throw the boy over one shoulder and approach the younger guard when his partner spoke out. His jaw clenched as he bit his tongue, letting Merissa take over and speak for them. He was sure that if he spoke just now it might cause a ruckus.

Gen sighed after a moment and then followed the older human. He didn't really listen much to Merissa recounting their encounter this evening, nor did he pay much attention to the other man after this point. Something else was bothering him. His hairs stood on end as a very unsettling thought slowly crept into his hard head. He was already convinced that the killer was trying to get someone's attention. Once they had the attention they were seeking, however, what came next? His stomach turned a little again and his blood ran cold. Gen cradled the boy in his arms and held him a little more closely to his chest.

His father had shown him many things. If a group of predators grew too numerous and posed a significant threat to those that inhabited his father's territory, the method was always the same for him. Find a spot frequently traveled by and comfortable to the predator, bait them with whatever young, vulnerable, prey the predator has a taste for, spring the trap and execute. Of course it often took a little more planning and technique, though Gen wasn't particularly good at hunting.

The village was small and seemingly isolated. The wall behind and the forest may have served as a barrier from outside attacks, but it also served as a fence for those already inside the village. It meant one less evacuation route should they ever be attacked, or at least a much less efficient one. A hunter could set traps here for those looking to escape this way and then set his focus on other more popular routes out of the village.

What if the village was the location and the victims were the bait? They were walking right into it. This also prompted yet another equally disturbing thought for Gen. There were other routes out of the village by which they could escape should it prove to be a trap. The killer would either have to be impossibly swift and accurate, possess some sort of extrasensory ability to keep track, or worse yet... have allies to ensure that their prey wouldn't escape.

Gen kept his eyes on the guard and maintained his stoic expression, but he held the boy tighter than ever. It had occurred to him that the boy was of no interest to the killer anymore, but he still felt the urge to protect him. He had already been through so much. He walked a little closer to Merissa; almost right on top of her.

"I have a bad feeling." He said in a low, hushed tone. "If anything looks suspicious to you... if there's any sign of escalation here, find the others. I'm sure you're much quicker on your feet than I am. It's just a feeling, and I may be way off track. I'm not the sharpest blade on the rack, but... have you ever hunted wolves? or bears?"

Gen hunched down a little again, his size appearing to diminish considerably with just this. It also brought him a little closer to the much smaller girl's ears.

"What if we're the wolves..." He whispered just behind her ear. He looked down to the boy.

And now we're carrying the bait, walking right into the center of the established hunting grounds.

[Remus]

"Bears?" Merissa asked surprised at King's sudden change in tone towards her. "No, I've never hunted a bear. There were plenty of wolves back in my land though. Growing up, traveling from place to place with no real home you learned that every second counts for survival." Merissa took a few steps back. King was some sort of demon that was obvious by now, but his ability to somehow grow taller when he was already towering over most people was just a tad unnerving. She tried focusing solely on what he was saying rather than how he looked. It would be bad if her emotion spiked then and a few trees went up in flames. Especially with the guards watching them.

"You don't give yourself enough credit." She said trying to be serious while at the same time reassuring him in a low voice. "It's always good to be wary of your surroundings, no matter how safe they appear to be. The village for example. If the killer we're to as you say, escalate his plans he could easily trap the villagers inside and pick them off as he pleases. Better yet, if he sees us as a real threat he could set us up so that the villagers themselves could turn against us. It wouldn't be the first time I have heard of a killer leaving others to do his dirty work for him. Since we're the only ones who are actually doing anything, every move we make could be one that plays right into his hands."

In a way King reminded her of Raven. He too would have been suspicious of everything that was going on. He never liked going into a village without scouting it first. She didn't know how many people saw them come in the first time. Since there wasn't a complete uproar, probably not many. Raven didn't wear his disguise much these days since the Eastern army fell. With no one to chase them all they had to worry about was the usual hatred from human and even that could be fixed with just a glare from her brother or if they really meant harm, one of her little tricks.

"Better off if we let him rest at the inn, better than to let more see us carrying him around." She kept her voice in the same hushed tone as King's was. "It was unfortunate that the guards saw us, but hopefully they wont make too much of things and will keep silent on these matters. The more people who hear about this, or worse if any others see this, we would become the hunted."

---------------------------------------------------------
Raven tilted his chair back slightly before letting it fall back into place. He scanned the bar taking small sips of the spiced rum that sat on the table. He had been waiting for almost an hour now. Merissa was not one to be late. Not that he was too worried. His sister could handle her own better than half the soliders he had fought. She was not one to be messed with, especially if you got her angry. He couldn't help but smile at the memory of all the sparring practices they had that made them what they were today.

Still [I/] He thought to himself looking towards the door again. She never usually is late

His time at the temple had been a complete bust. The monks knew little about the recent murders. Like the village they too seemed to go as if nothing happened, or if they did know they kept to themselves to avoid being marked as a potential target. If knowledge and the will to fight were all that was needed to draw out a killer, Raven would have spent the whole day screaming challenges to thin air hoping that this mysterious being would decide to accept his. Sadly though the only thing they could give him was silent looks. He couldn't blame them. At least they had some decency. The monks treated with only a tad bit of intimidation in there eyes. Raven's own, one stormy gray the other blood crimson and deeply scarred was enough to prove to anyone what he was. The guards did give him a hassle on his way back inside, but it took only minor convincing to be let into the village.

He didn't have to brandish his sword or grow claws. That would just be asking for a fight. Raven only had one target in mind. Fighting normal humans who were just doing their job would tarnish his half-demon reputation even more. Though he did [I/] feel the need to walk over to one of the other tables that kept shooting him dark looks and clock them over the head a few times. If it was one thing he didn't like it was being stared at. For that reason when nearing a village that looked somewhat hostile towards his kind he would don bandages that would cover half his face and hide that reddish eye from the world. Even back home his kind were despised.

Home. he thought wishfully of the serene mountains and dense forests. I promised Rissy we would go back once all this was over. I hope there really is an ending for us.

[Nayr]

(I'm finally back at the keyboard after a long absence due in turns to both writer's block and assorted crap to do with moving house. Now that I'm moved, I'm going to power through my writer's block and get something up so we can get moving on this again. A thousand apologies for the absence.)

Like everyone else present, Satoshi's mind was spinning on the oddities of the case before them. The strange sound, the river covering the scent of whoever or whatever it was, and of course the witness. Why would a killer leave a witness when there hadn't been one before?

Devoe ranted to this effect for a while, eventually culminating in an abortive speaking of someone's name. Some people Satoshi was acquainted with would have grasped onto that, and been very interested in trying to find out the rest of the name. For Satoshi's part, he felt his pulse starting to hum. Not necessarily a good sign in present company, but when the call came who was he to refuse? He began splitting his attention between the situation at hand and the subtle feeling within his heart that would lead him to whomever was calling out.

Issen, meanwhile, was going back over what they'd worked out so far and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Satoshi had just deduced that no one present was causing the hum when Issen spoke again, sounding urgent.

"We should head back to the village. I have a hunch, the boy is a lure. Even if I'm wrong, the attacks seem to be centered around here, we'd likely do better preparing and tying to trap this guy than chasing after him without a plan. We can stake out the village from a few good vantage points and watch."

A sound hunch, in Satoshi's opinion. The only reason a killer would leave a witness alive would be if the witness is somehow involved. Another option presented itself in Satoshi's mind, but he wouldn't give it voice until he'd had a chance to investigate further: The boy might well be the killer, and the strange disappearing scent could belong to an accomplice. As it stood, Satoshi spoke simply.

"A good plan," he said neutrally, "All we have here is guesswork. Let's finish up here, document everything we can about the scene, then go back to the village. As it is, unless we find something compelling on the body the boy is all we have to go on for now. Also, if the killer has any ideas that the boy might tell us something useful, then we would need to worry about the killer reappearing to silence him."

This was getting more interesting by the moment. He'd never experienced a killing from this perspective, and it was exhilarating. Atop that, the hum hadn't dimmed in the slightest. It wouldn't be long before the call sounding in his heart would become clear. Truly this stop was worth every coin.

[Mini]

Devoe had been staring deep into the pitch black surface of the river while Issen and Satoshi spoke behind him. Those who knew him well would recognize the stress building up within him, but to his new companions, it would probably just look as if he were looking stoic and tired. "The boy may very well be a lure. You're right about that," he muttered, still staring into the icy cold river. Devoe kept clenching and loosening his fists as he tried to piece his mental puzzle pieces together. No matter how he tried putting things together, nothing was fitting. Nothing was clicking. If anything, he was starting to figure out that he was missing a lot more puzzle pieces than he originally thought.

"Mmm. We should head back, you're right. I don't think there's much else we can deduce right now," he finally said after a long silence. He turned back around and walked over towards Issen and Satoshi, but his gaze lingered on the fallen form of the girl. Her face was turned away from the trio, thankfully, but Devoe had walked by the other side of her and seen that empty, glazed over look in her eyes. Open eyes that no longer saw a thing. He hated seeing dead bodies with opened eyes. It was one of the things he just couldn't ever get used to seeing. Corpses were fine as long as the eyes were shut. This girl, though, the way she was just laying there, so still and silent, her skin so white and perfect and pale, her long curly strands of hair fluttering gently in the wind. She could have been sleeping, had it not been for the blood-splattered kimono and the gaping hole in her chest where she had been run through by some manner of sword. She was beautiful, even in death.

Devoe sighed and pulled off his hat, clenching it tight against his chest. "Should we... Should we really just leave her here like that?" he asked as gently as possible. "Maybe one of us should say something. Cover her up until we come back, or until the villagers come to fetch the body. It just... It don't seem right, leaving her here like that."

~*~

Back at the village, the younger night guard had just returned with a handful of older men just as Merissa was talking about going to the inn. Among them was a priest who looked especially troubled. It was the priest who stepped forward first. He didn't seem at all afraid to approach either Merissa or Gen, though his gaze did linger on the tall one before he came close enough to brush some of the bloodied bangs out of the face of the young, blood covered boy Gen carried in his arms. The priest gasped as he recognized the lad.

"This is Ichiro Yamamoto!" he whispered, causing a ripple of whispers to pass through the few men gathered. The priest scowled darkly and turned his attention to both King and Merissa. "You'd best follow me to the temple."

"But--" one of the men began to protest, but the priest simply held up a hand.

"To the temple. There's no time to waste. Our healers and priestesses can tend to his wounds," he said, apparently assuming that all the blood on the boy was his own. From the way King was holding him, it was hard to tell if the boy was injured or not. "While they are doing that, you two can tell me exactly what happened to the lad. I want to know how you found him out past the safety of the walls so late at night in this kind of state. Come, come, quickly now," he said, gesturing for them to follow.

~*~

Inside the warmth and comfort of the inn and tavern where Raven was, a figure wearing a black cloak over a long black jacket with the hood up came slinking rather stealthily towards where Raven sat. The only real feature that could be seen under the hood was a relaxed looking, almost gentle smile and very pale skin. The skin was so pale that it almost looked as if it were made of snow. The figure slipped into Raven's line of sight and silently sat down at the chair across from him, folding slender black gloved hands on top of the table.

"I've been watching you for a while now. You've been here for quite some time, and you're all alone. Look quite lonesome, too. I can see it in your posture," the figure said quietly, speaking in a soft, almost luscious sounding voice that could only belong to a female. She spoke with a hint of an accent, a slow, soft, laid-back sounding drawl. "Your date didn't go and stand you up now, did she?" she asked, the smile turning into a soft little smirk. "Because if she did, she ain't worth your time, sugar."

[Remus]

Raven was a bit surprised that the woman had come up to him so easily. Those who didn't avoid him usually were trying to kill him. Raven didn't sense that this woman belonged to either of those groups. He gave her a half smile and laughed lightly. "You'd think after knowing someone for so long, you'd expect them to be there when they say they will." He leaned forward and folded his hands beneath his chin. To the woman it would be as if he appeared interested in what she had to say, but what Raven really wanted was a good look at her face. He couldn't see much underneath her hood, but he could tell that she was beautiful.

How interesting. he thought. perhaps I should play this out and see where it goes. "You know" he began, "I rarely ever get a companion to join me for dinner. Perhaps you would like to stay and tell me about yourself? Do you live in the village or did you come here recently?"

These were innocent enough questions to ask someone and he was curious to know more about her. After all as one who used to make a habit of covering his face he knew there were only a few reasons why someone would do it. Most of them weren't good at all.

(ooc: I know this was an extremely short post. Most of what I had planned involved Merissa's part, but I figured I'd wait for Gen since Rissy took part in the last explanation as to what was going on. He deserves to get to say stuff too. )

[Mini]

(I'm tired of waiting on you slow as molasses people ;p )

The mysterious woman in front of Raven simply chuckled softly as she listened to him speak of waiting on people who should be on time. It was a cute, lighthearted little chuckle, yet it somehow managed to hold a mysterious sort of elegance about it as well. As Raven leaned forward under the guise of appearing interested, she knew exactly what he was trying to do. His shift in body language would only earn him a slight glimpse of more of the woman's porcelain-like, pale as the new moon, blemish-free high-cheekbones and the very brim of her long, slender, aquiline nose.

Deciding to play along, the woman smiled a little broader. Her soft pink lips looked so bright and colorful against her pale skin. "Oh? You rarely have companions for dinner? Someone as tall, dark, and mysteriously handsome as you?" she joked, chuckling again. Her voice was soft and soothing, her hint of a southern drawl was both adorable and sexy at the same time, and she spoke in such a way that demanded absolute attention.

After a short pause, she leaned forward a bit more. Slowly, she raised her gloved hands up to her hood and oh-so-slowly started to pull her hood back. A few ringlets of curly black hair slipped out of place from behind her ears. They bounced into view, falling well down past her shoulders. As her hood slipped farther back, it revealed an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful woman. High cheekbones, high forehead, perfectly symmetrical eyelashes, perfectly proportioned everything, hair so perfect it seemed artistic. She could have been chiseled out of marble. There wasn't an ounce of fat anywhere on her. Her skin was so perfect it almost looked too perfect to be real, and yet it was. She had normal human ears, not pointed ones like a demon, half-demon, or another more sinister creature might have had. She had no horns or marks anywhere that might have revealed her to be anything more than a simple, beautiful young woman. The thing that really stood out about her the most, though, was her eyes. They were big, bright, and silver. So bright, in fact, that they almost appeared to be glowing. They were just two big, beautiful, shining pools of mesmerizing moonlight. It was impossible to look anywhere else but right into her eyes.

"I would love to stay talk, but it's awful noisy and boisterous in here. Wouldn't you rather come with me? We can go someplace nice and quiet, just the two of us," she whispered, her voice turning silky and sweet. "Don't you want to come with me?"

[Remus]

Raven found himself almost transfixed by the woman's gaze. Those two silver pools of light not just drew him in, but held him there fixated solely on her. She didn't answer his questions, instead choosing flattery to distract him from trying to pry too much information about herself, and even Raven had to admit to himself at how easily a woman of such beauty could do a thing quite easily. Her invitation to move to a quieter area seemed appealing, one that he did not wish to decline by any means.

"Your a very interesting woman." he remarked "Most people do find me attractive, that is until they realize what I am. Your different though. It's almost as if you don't even care. It's a very odd sensation really. " His hand brushed up against his crimson eye, and the scars that lined it and he looked around the room. " I agree, it's far to busy here for us to continue. Do you have any place in mind that we could go to?"

[Mini]

The woman's eyes glinted as Raven called her an interesting woman. "That's because I'm not most people, darling," she crooned. "Most people are incapable of looking beyond their shallow, insignificant little lives to see any colors other than black and white. There's only right and wrong for them. Most people do the same thing over and over and over again. Wake up, eat, work, sleep. Day in, day out, over and over. No variety. No spice. If something different from what they know crosses their path, they freak out. They can't accept it. They don't know how to deal with. They start to shut down if they try to do anything different, and so they lash out with violence and hatred simply because they're incapable of anything else. The depth of what most people understand isn't much deeper than a puddle formed after a light drizzle."

Her silver eyes started right into Raven as if she could see straight through right into his soul. "I'm different, darling, and so are you. Let me show you the person you can truly be. You don't have to hide yourself from me. But you're right. It's far too busy in here. I have the perfect place in mind." She held out a gloved hand towards him. "Come."

~*~

As Devoe was waiting for one of his rather quiet companions to give him an answer as to what to do with the dead girl's body, an odd sound came rising up from the hills not too far away going up towards the river. Devoe couldn't pick up on what exactly it was, but those with better hearing could probably hear a number of interesting things. The first thing that could be heard was a fierce sounding cry, a mix between surprise and ferocity. It was too far away for any specific words to be heard, and the echo was quite distorted, but it was clear enough to be distinguished as something humanoid in origin. It definitely was not an animal. The second and far more interesting thing would be a slight fluttering sound, identical to the one that Satoshi had heard earlier. Following that would be a loud crackling boom that sounded very much like thunder. The only problem was was that although it was rather cloudy and looked like snow, it definitely wasn't the type of weather where thunder would be heard. This last noise was so loud that it almost shook the ground. All three sounds came from the same direction - up river and away from the village.

Devoe had his bow drawn the instant he heard the thunder-like noise. "What the devil was that?!"

[Remus]

Merissa waited until the priests were distracted while talking to King before giving all three men the slip. She didn't mean to abandon King, she just couldn't think of making Raven wait any longer. Though she knew he wouldn't be upset with her, she knew the others would be less likely to trust her if they found out she wasn't alone. That and she had to get inside before it started to snow. Without bothering to knock she quickly opened the door to their room and sneaked inside closing the door immediately behind her.

"I'm back!" she called turning around expecting to see her brother sitting at the edge bed but was instead greeted by an empty room. She raised her eyebrows. They had agreed to come back here after midnight. Not knowing she would run into the others earlier she had expected that she would be the one to get here first. After all the temple was further away, but even walking Raven should have been back after all that had happened to her in the woods.

He could be waiting at the Tavern she thought suddenly. I can't just leave, and I can't wait around forever. The others will expect me back soon, and King would have undoubtedly noticed I'm gone. She paused looking around to see if there was any sort of sign, some type of message her brother might have left her. After finding nothing she sighed and started to walk back towards the door of the room determined to search the village and the tavern in hopes of finding him before having to regroup with the others. As she reached for the door handle she paused once more and turned back to the room. Zwei was leaning against one corner. Merissa crossed to the opposite end of the room and laid a hand on the hilt of the giant scythe, caressing it lovingly. As a child, she had won the weapon in a fight that nearly would have killed her. Back then the weapon seemed larger than humanly possible, and it weighed more than even the most robust man could have lifted. Even as full grown adult, having been able to master the weapon and wield it like it was a feather in her hand, it still sometimes made her feel so small.

"We'll find him." she whispered to the scythe, picking it up and putting it into a sling that went around her back. "Let's just hope he didn't get into too much trouble..."

Raven it turned out was not in the tavern or anywhere in the village it seemed. As Merissa tried to ignore the obvious stares from the villagers who were clearly wondering who was this girl to carry such a deadly weapon on her back her concern grew even greater. She had no more time to look though. She had to get back to the others. They would be waiting, and they would be in for quite the surprise too.


(ooc: Mini I apologize deeply for not including the sound in my post. As I was writing this I realized that Merissa would still need the time to get from the village to where she was meeting the others, so wherever she was I figured would still be just out of earshot of the sound.

Also if anyone is curious. Merissa's Scythe (Zwei) is similar to the scythe in Pandora Hearts. Just picture a huge blade that's taller than your average human female. ((though Merissa isn't exactly human now is she? lol)) She still has more powers hidden, at least one of them you all know about already, I'm wondering if perhaps I can somehow synchronize it with her secondary weapon to make herself even more deadly.)

[Nayr]

Satoshi was somewhat troubled by this self proclaimed investigator's lack of thoroughness. No wonder killers got away with so much, with inept fellows like this chasing them. If their roles were reversed, Satoshi would have investigated very thoroughly indeed, including a search of the girl's person and an inspection of the wound. Not that he knew specifically what to look for, but his perspective lent him some knowledge of where a victim should be searched and what should be paid attention to. He would share none of this with Devoe, both because he saw no reason to assist in such a manner and because he didn't want to have to come up with a flimsy lie as to how he would know such things. As such, he remained silent as to Devoe's comment about doing something with the body. As a blind merchant with the training he'd received, his views were somewhat skewed from the admittedly more moral social norm.

Just then, a sound erupted into the silence. More than one sound, to be perfectly clear. The first sound was shouting, like that of a battle joined or tense words exchanged leading most likely to blows. One of the voices was female for certain, the other hard to distinguish from here. Very interesting, but hardly important. The second was the very sound Satoshi had puzzled over. The killer was just there! The trees whispered to him the distance and the path he should take to get there. His suspicion was utterly confirmed by the last sound: a boom, like thunder. On the wind, Satoshi thought he felt some things, one of which connected in his heart with the killer's sound. Satoshi could practically smell the person now. He drank in that person's scent on the wind, a sort of energy the person gave off as they did things. With this, he could follow the killer to the ends of the earth. His heart sang as he continued to take in the rest of the feeling and pondered the meaning of the sound. The killer was at it again, but clearly not haphazardly. This was...anticipation? Yes, the killer had found someone important. This one wasn't just some death to pass the time or a crime of convenience. This was purpose. This was someone the killer sought, a blood prize in the claiming. If Satoshi were a kinder, perhaps more moral man, he would allow the predator to finish with the prey before striking out of courtesy. He felt no such compunction. Breaking his act once again, Satoshi lifted his staff and charged unerringly forward, jumping into the trees to try to lose his companions, at least for a moment. He would use his training to shake pursuit and confront the killer first, and then rejoin the others once he was certain of whether or not it was the killer that drew his heartsong.

"It's him!" he shouted excitedly as he departed. In hindsight, Satoshi would perhaps regret revealing so much so soon, but this feeling was too much to ignore. Truly fortune had smiled upon him, and he wasn't about to squander so precious an opportunity regardless of the cost.

(I had meant to post earlier with Satoshi just pondering to himself, but this works out right nicely. Satoshi's super excited and does something interesting, charging off in some direction like a ninja. Isn't it still nighttime, actually? That could complicate things. Satoshi's doing the same thing regardless of the time of day, but he'll be easier to follow if it's daytime.)