Arresting Offenses The Return

[Watching You]

“All right folks. You all know why we’re here I’m sure –”

“Because this is an ungoverned land and we’ve got month end quotas to fill!”

“That’s right! Our paychecks don’t just write themselves like they do out at Twilight Isle!”

“Wait, I think you’ve said that joke before…”

“No one laughed then either.”

“Enough enough! We’re here to teach the people of this town that they should fear the law and respect our badge! I want each and every one of you to fill your necessary quotas by the end of the month! Keep your eyes peeled, or the villain lurking in every dark shadow of this place will peel them for you! No longer will we be the joke of this town! I want to fill these jails and line our pockets with bail money and fines ---"

“Okay, no I’m certain that I’ve heard this speech before. And then there was talk about –"

“We’ve got limited space in the cells as it is Captain. After last week’s jail break…”

“Yeah I’m getting some major déjà vu vibes up in here.”

“Do you have a permit for those vibes Wazowski? Lock him up boys!”

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((OOC: Basic premise is that there’s a RETURN of some overzealous folks on the Watch and there’s a breakout of arrests all over the place. What’s your character going to get picked up for? Encouraging minor to overly ridiculous infractions! Icons for participation! Post your story below! Please have fun with the setting / writing prompt!))

[Spell]

"Halt! You! Right there! Stop floating!" said the dashing Watch officer as he advanced on the floating witch.

Jesse did indeed halt and hovered there mere inches off the sidewalk. When turning she is met with a quick press of closing cuffs about a wrist.

There was an odd mixture of feelings going through the witch in that instance.

1. Why is this animal touching her?
2. What exactly did she do wrong by its standards?
3. .. he is rather brazen for trying this.

Three seemed to win out of all the other thoughts that came to mind.

"What do did I do wrong?", she inquired.

"You were jaywalking, ma'am! Didn't you see the crosswalk? I'm going to have to take you in."

More options came to Jesse's mind.

1. I was floating, not walking.
2. Should I kill it?
3. Fireball.
4. Fireball.
5. Fireball.
6. Play along. It's not as if this is anything more than a minor inconvenience.

Six is the winner in that moment.

The witch could then be seen floating along with the Watch officer as he guided her back to his car.

[Q. T. McTwo-Thumbs]

Quaranteenie looked up at the gaggle of Watch members who'd surrounded him. They claimed they were here to arrest him for unauthorized spellcasting? What the devil was that? He had never had to ask permission in his life! He hadn't even been in the city fifteen minutes before a bunch of idiots with sticks decided to chase him around and accuse him of breaking the law.

He glanced from one face to another, but none of them looked familiar or friendly. For all he knew, they could be thieves or worse–he certainly didn't know these men. One of them had grabbed his flipper as he passed, and Quaranteenie had swung back, knocking that man's hat off. The man swore at him, and two more jumped on him then and there. He simply booped them two of them with his cane and turned them into mackerels.

"Don't worry. Don't need water. Will wear off soon." he said, his head twitching left and right as he looked at the other members of the Watch.

They were now regarding the penguin with just a little more caution.

"Get out of my way now. Not sorry. Maybe. Good day.," he told them, turning to walk away, leaving behind two flapping fish out of water, two speechless members of the Watch - and one member of the Watch without his hat - which McTwo-Thumbs placed on his own head.

The Watch weren't happy. No, sir, they weren't. In fact, they looked very unhappy indeed; when the penguin started to leave, the men moved closer together and took a stance against him. A position which meant that he would have to get past them first. Silly humans.

"'You should go somewhere sunny. Sit on beach, look at ocean, collect sea shells. Leave me alone." began Quaranteenie as the three remaining members of the Watch started to approach him, "Think I am harmless, do you? Regret your decision. Suggest running."

"This is our city," snarled the largest man. "You're under arrest!"

"Doubt that. You can try, but still, suggest running."

"I think we'll take you in." His tone suggested that this wasn't an idle threat either.

The penguin sighed. "Unfortunate."

A little boop of his cane on the cobble below and a massive net of freshly caught fish appeared above the remaining Watch standing in front of him. McTwo-Thumbs twitched a monocle'd eye for a good view of it - and tapped his cane again. The Watch looked up just in time to see literally thousands of fish dropped on top of them.

"Suggest bath later," the penguin said, putting a playing card with a rather ornate "Q" on it and tossing it upon the pile of fish, "Quaranteenie McTwo-Thumbs does not submit. Your justice wrong. Corrupt. Will rectify if needed." The penguin teetered over to a puddle and simply hopped in - vanishing from sight.

[Strawberry]

"Ma'am, stop resisting."

"Do you even know who I am?!"

"Ma'am, who you are doesn't really matter. Equality before the law and all that."

"There are no laws here, you asshat!"

"She just elbowed me, can I taze her?"

"If you taze me, I'll have all of your jobs, I swear to the Twelve."

"Did that sound like a threat to you, Officer Hyde?"

"Sure did."

"First trespassing, then threatening a member of the Watch... tsk... Cap will be happy with this haul."

"I'll have your captain's job too. I am literally the Governor. I can't trespass on mansion grounds!"

"Impersonating an elected official. Deploying TASER. Cuff her."

In hopes of avoiding an excess amount of paperwork, Karma exercised utmost restraint in not laying out the two overzealous watchmen as they not only deployed several volleys through the TASER but subsequently handcuffed her and tossed her into the back of a squad carriage to take her to the nearest Watchhouse.

Needless to say, even their citation-happy Captain was mortified and quickly released her with profuse apologies and a promise it wouldn't happen again.

[Death Knell]

Ettyn knelt by a small pile of river rocks that stood out only for having been moved all the way up the hill from the nearby creek that fed Kaiju Lake. Above it dangled antlers, twined through a branch, and moonlight washed over the shrine through gaps in the branches that seemed to make this the perfect spot for it. There were no words spoken -- her prayers to Farwolaeth were not long -- but seeing a shrine to her patron deity was enough for her to stop, pay her respects, and leave an offering. She took one of the strangely chilled fish from the bag at her hip and laid it on top of the low, flat stone at the front of the pile. It would be a meal for scavengers soon enough, which suited the old god of life and death just fi--

"Um! Excuse me! Do you have a permit for animal sacrifice?"

This close to the lake and civilization (as far as the Wilds went), Ettyn had been somewhat less wary of her surroundings. She rose to a crouch, looking around for the source of the voice -- and through the deepening gloom of the evening, saw a humanoid figure and a glint of metal among the branches. He looked like he was upside down. She made her way down the hill, glancing aside at the surrounding woods since the surprise had stoked her natural wariness; then came to a stop at the base of an old oak tree, where a Watch officer in a handsome white cloak and silver badge had his ankles snared between branches wound tightly together.

This wasn't what oak trees usually did, though not never, and the same could be said for New Haven's Watch officers.

"Yes! You! Also, do you have a license for that spear?"

Ettyn looked slowly over her shoulder at the frosted steel point there, then back at the man, folding her arms. He winced, teeth grit together, and reeled his head back, preparing for a strike... and she snorted. "This may be the north shore, but you're still a ways from New Haven, little man. This is the Wilds. Explain yourself."

No one liked being called 'little man,' but when he huffed and opened his mouth to protest, the slayer narrowed her eyes, arms folding tighter, biceps flexing with the motion... and he thought better of it. "...I'm sorry. It's my captain. You see, he's brought back the monthly quotas from a few years ago, and citing all the old statutes. And I had been patrolling in New Haven, but I don't have any seniority, and the senior officers claimed all the good spots and told me to get lost... so I thought I'd go... further out." He tried shrugging upside down. All told, it worked pretty well, communicating the same effect.

"Mm," Ettyn grunted some form of acknowledgment or understanding, shifting in place as she listened.

"And I went to the rangers' camp to write them up over a public gathering of more than eight people around an open flame, and they told me to get lost, too, but I think they really meant it..."

"Mm," Ettyn grunted, again, and nodded ever so slightly. They had probably meant it.

"And then I found this stream, just," he tried to jerk his head to indicate direction, which did not work so well while dangling upside down, setting him to swaying precariously instead. He gulped in an effort to keep the sick from rising up falling down his throat. Ettyn took a half step back. He recovered, and continued, "Well, nearby. And there were these PEOPLE with green hair and nothing covering up their... their trunks! Just swimming, splashing around, not a care in the world, naked as the day they were saplings!" He threw his arms out, as if to say, Can you believe it? But Ettyn looked like she could, in fact, believe it. "So I started writing them tickets for public indecency..."

"Paper tickets?" the slayer finally interrupted.

The Watch officer nodded, which also looked a little weird upside down, and looked chagrined. "They tore up my notepad and threw pinecones at me and the wood on my pistol stock started flowering and I... ran away. Then they started saying words I didn't really understand, maybe it was Elvish, and the trees started laughing at me and tripping me, and one grabbed me up and... um... here we are."

Ettyn was scrubbing her face with her hand now. Maybe it was to mask her consternation. Or muffle her laughter.

"I think if I go back with my saber, there's no wood in that at all, I should be able to--"

The slayer narrowed her eyes, and once more, the officer winced. "If I get you down," she rumbled, "you leave the Wilds be. This isn't your home. It's not bound to your laws. It makes its own... and it's on those who live here or pass through to heed them or die. Lucky you weren't eaten, or cursed, or snatched through the Veil."

He opened his mouth, shut it, clenched his eyes shut with the shame... and nodded. It still didn't look quite right.

"Now apologize to the tree."

"Excuse me, WHAT?"

"Say you're sorry for bothering its friends, or it'll never let you down."

The Watch officer considered this for a long moment. It did seem strange, but it made a kind of sense. He twisted around, trying to look at what he imagined was the tree's face, and said, "Uh... oak tree... I'm... I'm sorry for bothering your friends."

Of course, he'd missed the sound of Ettyn stepping closer again, unscrewing the cap on her canteen, and murmuring in Sylvan ("You cannot eat that. Eat this instead.") as she tipped an offering of water over the tree's roots. This was enough, and it considered its captive fair trade for some proper food. The officer yelped and landed with a thump. The slayer idly checked that he hadn't broken any bones as she screwed the cap back onto her canteen, but seeing him rubbing his rump, figured he was fine. "Dizzy?"

"Y-yes..."

She huffed out a low, raspy sigh as she checked her gear and supplies, and said, "All right. Follow me. I'm bound for New Haven... but you utter one word of law to me in the Wilds or there, and I'll drag you back and feed you to..." She hesitated a moment. She wasn't a very good liar, but she had the ideal audience to trick here. "...I'll feed you to the Heart of the Forest," and narrowed her eyes again for effect. "Hear me?"

"Y-y-y-y-yes."

"Good. Now come on. And you'll be sending flowers to a bungalow in town come morning. Made me late for dinner," she grumbled.

Dizzy, frazzled, embarrassed, unarmed, but freed and in the debt of someone he frankly found terrifying, he followed closely in the slayer's wake around the northern shore of Kaiju Lake.

[Orakel]

Orakel was following their daily routine, flickering from rooftop to rooftop and trying to attune themselves to the day's fates for Rhydanian citizens. Recently, there had been a disturbing uptick of unlawful arrests and use of force. Orakel had always objected to governmental authority, on it's best days and as of late, these were not the best days for governmental authority. Reality faded away as they were gripped with a vision of someone being arrested for: wearing an evil shade of red. Who came up with these inane offenses?

They hopped off the roof they were on; a cloud of smoke rose to meet them and cushion their fall. Kels tugged on a string of fate pinching it and then tying the two pinched ends together and suddenly they were transported to the eventual 'scene of the crime'. They waited around for the watch patrol to show up before flicking a cigarette onto the ground and waiting for one of the officers to take note. "Ey! You dirtying up our beautiful city with your litter?" There it was, the attention Orakel had been waiting for; the blind hero turned to the officer to respond, "Yeah I am, although if you really wanna pretty up the city we should start throwing filth like you into the harbor."

"You hear what that bitch just called me?"

"I did indeed, I did indeed. She called you trash. I think that's a second offense on top of the littering."

The cloaked vigilante took off running to try and draw their attention for as long as possible. It was quite unfortunate then that the heroes meddling with fate changed things in a way they weren't expecting. A box hadn't yet been moved in the marketplace and due to their lack of sight they hit the box straight on. It was fairly easy for the guards to haul them off from the ground to a cell. One of the few things tucked in the cloak was bouquet of flowers that was confiscated as 'evidence'. Apparently, picking flowers was completely illegal without a permit. Being locked up was no real setback for the fateweaver but it was certainly a bummer as they spent their afternoon retrieving the bouquet of flowers for Sibyl and escaping the watch jail.

[Sibyl]

"Hey! Hey You!" The gruff male voice called out, cutting through the silence of the little stretch of nature Sibyl had been studying recently.

The bugs and plant life there were pretty cool, and today she had been keen on collecting samples of everything she could. The shouting had her glancing up like a startled deer, and she almost, almost dropped the vial that she was in the process of filling with various things. This current vial was a flower rich purple in color, with dark, almost black centers, and pale green foliage that had long slender leaves.

"Yes you, Ma'am. Do you have a permit to collect foliage from here? Where's your proper collection basket?"

Sibyl stared for a long moment, before it registered that the man was a watch member, of all things. Well she knows Jackson. He said he was part of the watch or some shit.

"What do you mean? I've never been told that I gotta have a permit? I'm just collecting things for research and stuff." There's an unamused noise from the scientist, before she capped her current vial, snapped a picture of the flower with the tablet she had nearby, and took a moment to tuck both, carefully, into her bag.

"I'm a Scientist. This is like my job."

"I'm gunna need to see your credentials Ma'am." He hooked his hands in his pockets as he approached her. He's frowning.

She's scowling. "What do you mean? Credentials? Do you want me to have a copy of my PhD or something? My work badge is back home. I can get my partner to send a picture of that? Like?" Her whole feelings towards the encounter so far was evident in her voice.

"I didn't ask for your disrespect, Ma'am." He looks rather unamused himself. "Credentials, or I'm afraid we're going to have a problem."

"I don't have them. They're back home. Like I said. I can get my partner to send pictures--." She paused, and started shooting off a couple frantic texts.

"Just make this easy on both of us, yeah, don't fight me." He started to reach for her, just as her phone chirped with a text response.


Sibyl skittered a couple steps back. "Hey. Hey, wait. The picture's coming in, wait." She shot off all of one last quick text, before he's grabbing her wrist. She tried to jerk away, and he yanked back, and her phone went flying. Whoops. The officer muttered a curse under his breath, as Sibyl took a moment, stomped her heel into his foot, and when he let go to holler, she took the opportunity to grab her messenger bag from where it lay on the ground. Then she booked it. Rip her phone, she'll come back for it later.

"That's resisting arrest, and assaulting an officer!!" This is growled, before he's taking off after the scientist, rather mad now. Given he had much longer legs than her, it didn't take long before he caught up with her, and when he did? He tackled her, full force. And she went down like a rock. She also didn't have much of a chance to brace for impact with the ground, which meant her face ate most of it. Her poor teeth. The impact also caused her bag to erupt its contents everywhere. Poor tablet. Vials clattered, a couple shattered.

There's a series of curses from the scientist as the officer pinned her down and didn't hesitate to rattle off her rights and all that happy legal stuff as he slapped his set of handcuffs on her.

"Gawd damnit, that fucking hurt." She tasted blood in her mouth, felt dirt and gravel on her face, and after only the slightest imploring of her tongue and the inside of her mouth, learned one of two things. There was a giant hole on the inside of her top lip, and she was missing a good portion of her top left front tooth. "Shit."

"If you hadn't of run, then you wouldn't be in pain." As he spoke, he started patting her down, emptying pockets. Coins, some paper money, random bits of crushed glass that used to be vials. He found her scalpel tucked in a side pocket. "Possession of a deadly weapon."

"Sit. And stay." That's muttered once he was done searching her, before the spilled contents of her bag were collected. He found various things, her tablet everything she collected. Her various needles she also had for sample collecting. Drug Paraphernalia, says the watch officer.

Sibyl, doesn't try to take off again. Nope. She sits and waits, and wallows in her pain. She's pretty sure this officer is going to slap her with every offense he could, major and minor.

By the time she's sitting in a cell at the watch building? He's come up with a total of eight different charges, and the bruising on her face was a lot more purple, the scratches bleeding pretty freely as well. It's not until she's processed and securely behind the cell, that he pauses, and stares the woman down a moment.

Sibyl stared right back, rather defiantly even. "Yessth?"

"Hope you know you'll be here a hot minute."

"Yeah, well I want my phone call."

[Serenity Silverhand]

"Halt! You're under arrest!" came a voice from behind Serenity. She turned around to find the blue-clad figure of a man in the midst of what looked like a group of about half a dozen members of The Watch, all armed with swords and crossbows. She gave them a look before she did anything else; they were no doubt there for her benefit. "I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of two dock workers."

Serenity just stood there for a moment, mouth agape. Murder? No way that was true. It had been self-defense! She'd only killed those bastards after they tried to kill her first! Her mind raced. What could she do? Try to run? Fight them? Turn herself in?

She stepped forward then, moving towards the members of the Watch slowly but purposefully, hands outstretched as though to show they held nothing. They eyed her suspiciously for a moment longer until one moved forward and grabbed her by the wrist, hauling her back to where he stood. He cuffed her quickly behind her back.

The others stepped closer, weapons trained at her. Serenity's eyes darted around. Maybe she should try to get away. Run or fight? Seven members of The Watch couldn't be that hard, right? What could she do? Who would believe her if she told them the truth? She looked down at the ground. So many questions without answers.

But she wasn't going down without a fight. She drew herself up tall, glaring at the men who now surrounded her. "You can't make me go anywhere," she said defiantly, "I won't kill you, but I'll make you regret messing with me."

One of the other members of the Watch growled something under his breath and took a step towards her, fists clenched, obviously ready to punch her. Another one grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him back.

<Whoa!> thought Serenity, <That's not nice, guys! Not cool, either!>

A chill ran through her body. She knew what had come over the man in front of her. There was a darkness inside all people, but some were more prone to it than others. Now, this particular person had broken through their restraints.

<Now it's my turn!> thought Serenity.

Serenity began to channel the elemental energy of fire into her hands, melting through the cuffs - they dropped to the ground with a clatter causing the men to turn and stare at her.

<It's okay, they don't know! But they will soon enough. I've got their attention now. Time to take it further...>

She pulled out her boot knife and jumped forward, slashing at the nearest member of the Watch, driving the blade deep into his stomach. He stumbled backwards, clutching at the wound, screaming and gagging as blood poured from his gut.

<That should keep him busy for a while,> thought Serenity. <Let's see how much pain I can cause them.>

She slashed again, cutting another man open across the chest, barely managing to avoid being stabbed in return. He fell to the ground clutching at his wound and bleeding.

Serenity started to move forwards when one of the remaining five members of the Watch drew his sword, lunging forwards with a cry. She dodged back, twisting slightly to avoid the blow, and instead kicked him in the knee. He screamed and dropped to one knee, putting all his weight on it.
<He can hardly stand without support,> thought Serenity. <Good.>

Another man raised a crossbow, preparing to shoot her down. She spun and lifted her right hand - launching a powerful arcane blast directly at his face. His head exploded in a spray of blood and bone shards.

<Another one down,> thought Serenity. <Next target.>

She dashed towards another member of the Watch, swinging her boot knife at his knees. He blocked the strike easily with his blade, lifting it high, allowing her to follow through and drive the tip of the knife into his throat. He collapsed to his knees, choking and gurgling on his own blood.

<Gotcha, you bastard!> she thought triumphantly. <I'm going to kill every last one of you!>

She stepped back to give herself room to breathe, watching the others with narrowed eyes. <They're all so stupid, why do they think they can beat me? I'm the Silver Raven.>

She saw another man raise his weapon, aiming the bolt directly at her chest. She grinned widely and leapt forwards, tackling him to the ground, bringing both of them down onto the cobblestones. He struggled briefly, but she pinned him to the ground, keeping him still.

<Pitiful,> thought Serenity. <Why are they all so slow? This is my element.>

Her lips curled up in a wicked grin. <Now let's see how long you can live when your lungs fill with my fire.>

She began to channel the power of her element, gathering it in her hands and letting it rise up through her body. Then, with a shout, she released it. A fiery blast erupted from her fingertips and slammed into the man she'd tackled. He screamed once, thrashing wildly as flames coursed through his veins and lungs, searing them to a crisp. He stopped struggling immediately, and within seconds, he was dead.

Serenity stared at the corpse for a moment, grinning, before turning her attention to the remaining member of The Watch, the blue-clad one. "What's the name of your game? You don't look or act like members of The Watch. I've met them. You're not them."

The man didn't reply, just watched her warily with eyes that seemed devoid of emotion. "So, what kind of game are you playing?" she asked again, stepping closer to him.

His gaze never wavered. "None of your business. I've got a job to do and you're getting in the way. If you want to survive the next few minutes, you'd better shut the hell up and do exactly what I tell you to do. Devious will be displeased if I kill you."

"Devious? Who's Devious?"

The man grinned. "A god amongst Kindred."

Serenity frowned. So this guy was working for the vampire that tried to kill her.

She circled him carefully, waiting for an opportunity to attack. He was a large man, broad-shouldered and thickly muscled, wearing leather armor, but it didn't look particularly well made and looked like it might fall apart if she put too much pressure on it.

"You have some serious anger issues," she said quietly.

He turned to glare at her, raising a fist and preparing to punch her in the face. She ducked the blow, stumbling backwards, barely avoiding the strike.

<Oh yeah! I'm going to kill you!> she thought, <Just wait till my fire gets its claws in you, buddy. I swear I'll burn the skin right off your bones and roast you alive!>

She lunged, thrusting her left hand into the space between them. He caught her wrist, gripping it tightly, but she continued to push, forcing him to release her. She landed on her feet, spinning around to meet his next attack.

He swung his arm upwards, trying to hit her with his palm. She ducked the blow and brought her fingers together, slamming them against the base of his skull. He rocked backwards, falling to the ground as she landed on top of him.

"Your boss has the -worst- underlings," she whispered in his ear. She was panting heavily now, her heart pounding in her ears. Her side was aching from the impact of landing on the man's bulk. She glanced down at him, seeing he hadn't moved since her last attack. He was out cold.

<That was easy,> she thought, <This isn't hard at all.>

She rolled off him and stood up, surveying the scene before her. She was standing in a street littered with bodies: none of them hers thankfully.

<Dangerous,> thought Serenity. <He's sending thugs after me. I wonder if the pirates at the dock were his doing as well.>

She looked down at the one she had knocked out cold.

"Don't." the voice of her father called into her head - but she ignored him again.

She snapped her fingers and the man was set on fire - a cacophony of pain from his lips as he was unceremoniously incinerated, leaving nothing more than a pile of ash upon the ground that she promptly spit on.

There was something seriously wrong with her behavior lately.

[Angelic]

In a black loose hooded jacket and a pair of black jeans to match, Angel strode purposefully down the street to his intended destination… until he remembered he had to look a bit more casual, especially when he arrived. He blew an impatient breath and slowed his long stride to something more meandering, and pulled out his phone to check the time. He still had nearly an hour. And an email. Steps slowed to a near stop as he answered the last email of the night, making sure those who needed to know knew that he was done for the day. All of the paperwork was done and filed, the water treatment inspected, and the appropriate technicians called to update and upkeep the heating systems.

“Freeze!”

Angel looked up rapidly, his eyes going wide. Was someone getting arrested? He was sure there weren’t that many people on the street… But it was entirely possible someone had had a bit too much, or… Actually… He looked around. It was definitely the rougher area of town. So it only made sense. But the officers were looking….

At him.

“Excuse me?”

“Hands where I can see them!”

“Me?”

“Yes, you! What are you, stupid! Get down now! Hands where I can see them!”

Stunned, the pale man rose both hands into the air and slowly lowered himself to his knees.

“I’m sure this is all just a big mista–”

“I SAID DOWN!” The officers finally approached, and Angel was pushed roughly to his belly, and arms were pulled behind him as his phone clattered to the ground, the little gardener charm skittering to land on the back of it. “You have the right to–”

************************************************************

Fifteen minutes later, Angel sat, dumbfounded, in processing. He’s tried to fight the mugshot process, but they’d managed one. He’d ruined all of the other ones with horrible and inhuman faces. The jacket had been taken off, and put in a filthy plastic bin with all of his other items, including the phone that now had a terribly cracked screen. As an officer wandered by, he tried to catch her attention, but only got a glance and a heavy sigh from the overworked young woman… He grumbled, and tapped his foot rapidly. Realistically, he could break from his bonds. Even more realistically, it would only make things worse for him. Minutes passed that felt like hours, days. Weeks. Years. Entire lifetimes. He hated this place. It smelled terrible, like mold and dust and mildew and layers upon layers of sweat and years worth of bodies of differing degrees of cleanliness. Mostly closer to the unwashed side of the spectrum.

Half an hour passed before anyone spoke to him at all.

As for his destination…

He was quite late, and in a very poor mood. Alas.

ARREST OFFENSE:
LOITERING

[Skid]

"Hey! Hey, you! What're you eating!?" The Watch Sergeant clomped over to the bench in the market square, whereupon Skid was seated with a turkey leg that was, admittedly, definitely a piece of a person's turkeyish leg. He looked up at the officer with a completely bewildered look in his eye.

"I'm not eating anything. Look like I'm chewing? Hear the telltale sklortch of meat 'twixt my teeth?" The officer narrowed his eyes and swished his mustache from side to side. He could nail this guy.. Monster... Dudething.

"That's human, isn't it? You have a permit for that?" He was grinning, ready to break out the cuffs.

"Form 8-7-7-9-HC, yeah. In triplicate, one of which is notarized by a doctor who's also a notary and another by a notary who used to be a doctor. The last one was notarized by a labrador retriever who's also a CPA." He produced the documents, all of them laminated for some reason, and presented them. The officer frowned, but then looked the Nightmare over. This guy was clearly ridiculous, and sometimes you gotta join 'em to beat 'em. He smiled and crossed his arms, with a single finger breaking loose and directing Skid's attention downwards.

"Alright, but you're forgetting one special rule. You may have a shirt but no shoes, no service." The monster's eye widened, and he looked down at his bare talons. He threw the hunk of leg into a bush and hung his head. "Foiled at last." He rose up, and put a bloody hand on the officer's shoulder. "Let's go, buddy. This time, you did it. You got me."

He was released on a bond of twenty-five nobles less than an hour later. A court date has not been set.

[The Fourth Child]

In the long-deceased prime of his pagan creed, colossal pyramids of limestone arose from the desert loams like the fangs of God, the jigsaw edges of the Valley's sun-drunk bones polished with an opaque sheen of marble and surmounted with a cap of gold. Crowned like the kings of time that they were. Famed by pallid interlopers who understand nothing of what they meant, japing and oohing and ahhing even as the King's saffron incandescence baked them to a crisp. The pinnacle of simple men who understand geometry's tricks when most slept where they urinated, men who would be insulted millennia after death's shroud adorned them by nonsense claims of aliens. Men who wanted to touch the sky itself. And now, in a monstrous edifice of steel and glass, he was reminded of exactly what this felt like, to touch the sky. The King had threaded the crest of the sky ten thousand times since such savants drew breath, and now he retired from his duties as he always did. Carmine light creeped away from his dying frame, staining a sky of ambient cerise like blood onto cotton. The evening horizon was broken into a palette of somber hues, the caress of the wind growing cold under the mantle of the maturing night. She would be free from her curse for another turn of the planet soon. And so a conspicuously vermilion liquid awaited her, peeking over a metallic rim in rivulets.

Soft music, played from speakers expertly hidden, set the mood for the rooftop area he had chosen to settle in. It added just the right amount of ambiance to an approaching night that held promise. Servers bustled to fill orders from the numerous guests that filled the tables sunken down into the pool and one of them seemed to pause on her way back towards the bar. As if considering who to help next, her head turned and she nodded before she changed direction, albeit a bit slower, and headed into the building. It didn't take long for her to return carrying a tray with a silver platter upon it. With a gloved hand resting atop the lid, she made her way over to him and set the platter upon the counter in front of him. When she spoke, the language coming from her lips would probably surprise him, though it wasn't uncommon for others to have a wide variety of languages they knew around here. "Un regalo per te. Vorresti che lo aprisse per te o vorresti fare gli onori di casa?" She smiled prettily at him and tilted her head just slightly. Hardly even moving, she would wait for his answer.


Ennui inspired nimble fingers to fluidly rap against olivine marble, cafe au lait caparisoned in baroque trinkets reproaching the dew-basted plain with an arrythmic ode to solitude, an arpeggio looking for a song. The raven's-mantle epicenter of his gaze casually oscillated in unison with his mane, forsaking the idle company of a silent servant to assess the people. Rhydinians sauntered across the spartan decor with a devil-may-care confidence, lithe frames clad in fashion designed to accentuate each curve, to highlight roseate lips when they parted for witty repartee or a sultry tease. A waitress pierced his reverie, feline grace guiding her gait through the throng of poseurs who did not even deign to cast an errant iris over her visage. Young and effervescent, she had no idea how fortunate she was for the company that he awaited...and this fact silently read in his piercing gaze. "I'll open it myself." Unless necessary, the tongue of the Italians was reserved for one woman.


The platter within was lined with crimson material that caused the blue angular shaped pipe to stand out, cradled, in the center. There was a small pouch sitting next to it, a darker blue velvet with a small golden rope to keep it tied shut. Though, the scent coming from it would be instantly recognizable as well, as the crushed reason for it sat in the golden bowl in the center. "You light it, and then just inhale the smoke as it comes from here." She pointed a white gloved finger to the bowl with the crushed blue lotus flower. "It is made of Labradorite, a philosopher's stone. When combined with blue lotus flower it will help expand the awareness of your mind. It has been used for centuries for meditation to aid one in connecting with the power of ancient people, magical civilizations, mysteries such as Atlantis, ancient Egypt, and the Lumerians." Once he took it, she bowed and the turned to head around that circular bar to the other side where only now that statuesque figure would come into view. A shimmering haze danced in the air around her, like a fading mirage as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. She smiled to the woman and held out a black gloved hand to offer her the generous tip she had been promised. When she leaned in, speaking in soft tones, those silver blue eyes seemed to shimmer just so beneath the light that hung above them. The server smiled a slow smile and tucked the tip she was given, along with a card, into her pocket. That gloved hand lifted to trail a finger down the woman's soft cheek before she slowly rose to a stand. The red and black ombre material of the dress, that draped across her bared shoulders from the choker like neckline, fell in a waterfall of material, hugging her waist in that hourglass fashion she preferred and nearly covered the black heels upon her feet. Heels that didn't seem to make a sound as she circled the bar like a lioness would its prey. Coming to stand in front of him, a flicker of light, that lit up the smile that curved crimson lips, came from the golden lighter she was holding in a gloved hand. Her chin lifted so that he could see the dance of color across her ivory cheeks. "Permettimi?"


"Ma ovviamente, belleza immortale". Cut-glass accent trickled forward from a shadow of a smile, shaping baritone chorals like basalt in the hands of a sculptor. Once he had thought her akin to a statue in the care of a Pygmalion, a queen incarcerated in eternity's tepid grip and drawn into the world with his attentions. Time and familiarity had cast a new, revealing luminescence upon her facets, obscuring some and unmasking others. Perhaps to the stranger, she was the statue. To him, she was simply an immortal beauty.


She set the flame to the crushed flower petals and, with the aid of some oil, the contents started to burn. The smoke that drifted from the bowl curled like a snake up into the air. She lifted her hand and cupped her fingers so that she could guide the smoke towards him. All he had to do was breathe. This....she watched with fascination as she would simply have to endure to vicariously enjoy this pass time with him. Though, her other hand did reach for the glass waiting there for her. The contents, she didn't even have to look to see, swirled before the glass seemed to even lift from the bar top. It would be held aloft, just beneath her nose and the sniff she gave it would be slow and languorous, in time with his chest as it expanded as he inhaled. Twin points of light appeared in her eyes, reflecting even more so as the metallic rim was pressed against her lips for a sip. Her appreciation of the year he had chosen was apparent as she drank just a bit more, trailing her tongue along the full length of her bottom lip as to not waste even the tiniest of drops.


The small of his back found purchase against the obdurate cirque of the bartop, a wintry tingle percolating like creeping blood along his spine. The chill was orphaned in a postmodern Eden of summery heat, a bacchanal of languid frames shaded by an ambient, electric cerise. From said languid frames was born a buzzing din that he easily cast from his attentions, with only the name "Anubis" arising from the clatter here and there to poke at him, drawing him towards eyes that either bled wonder or distaste. Irises locked onto Tetra from the crowd as if she were a golden calf; some did to him as well. All inconsequential. Cerulean whorls arose from the crackle of an ember, whirling about like birdsong in the winter sky. An arm reached for his own chalice with Pavlovian rote, tilting forward with the Egyptian. "Ciao". The greeting was punctuated with a supple kiss.


There would be a hint of that flavor of her drink as their lips met. She let the moment linger, perhaps to punctuate the air with a hint of possession. Those whispered name calls did not go unnoticed. Pulling away, she turned her head to land a direct, and dazzling stare at one such man as he had settled back into the booth he was sitting in. "Scusami solo un momento." As she moved, the speakers came to life with an entirely different sound of music. The combination of voices needed no instruments as they blended together in that ancient way of Plainsong. Stepping away, she set her glass upon the counter and gave him a knowing look before she was moving. In time with the chanting thrum of those voices, her body seemed to be telling a dangerous tale as the man in the booth sat transfixed. Lifting a glove lined arm, she crooked a single finger and beckoned him to an open space that others had been using as a dance floor. The man's ego, shown by the way he eagerly tossed down his napkin and bumped elbows with one seated next to him, had him standing and heading her way. They started to move immediately in an ancient style of dance known to those only in the highest of courts. How the man knew it? Well she certainly seemed pleased as they stepped in close enough to almost be considered illicit. Though it was brief as words were whispered into his ear. The man laughed, his head tilted back slightly, as they began to slowly spin. Twirling, they made their way to the far edge of the floor so that they seemed to start blending in with the shadows that played there. Though when they could be seen again, there was much more space between them and the music came to an end. He bowed and placed a kiss on the back of her hand before turning and moving back to where he came. One hand rubbing along the back of his neck and then to the side as he shook his head in wonder. There would be no more talk of Anubis from the group as now their conversation shifted to quietly spoken curiosity. Watching from her spot on the floor, she turned to look The Egyptian's way and then dipped into a curtsy fit for a king. The show, it appeared, was over. Straightening, she lifted the rose suddenly within her fingers to her nose for a sniff and then carried it over to where he was sitting to present it to him before placing a kiss to each of his cheeks in that Italian greeting she was known for. "Hai costruito un posto meraviglioso qui. Buona serata." Returning the greeting he had given to her before she had walked away.


Sun-kissed mocha sealed over the abyssal epicenter of a patrician gaze, tendrils of noxious sapphire splintering into cursive tresses which lapped over his contours. As the vermilion tang washed over his tongue, a chord of a savage grumble thrummed in his gullet; the stirrings of a torpid warrior silenced by the cultured hedonist. An aetheric ambrosia deluged his senses, sending a cool wind through his veins. He would never admit it to Tetra, but for a shadow of a moment, the transformation of the music startled even him. But now deliciously out of place it was! The mesmeric libretto segued into the stentorian, guttural plainsong which stoked his memory like a silent hearth. Dies Irae; Day of Wrath. Uttered over the heads of generations of somber barbarians who were utterly convinced of Heaven's hatred for their imagined sins. Even as toxic ambrosia cast a fugue over his vision--or HAD it been the narcotic?--he could note the trajectory of femininity swathed in carmine as delicate contours moved in a very inhuman fashion. Almost as if adding to the grotesque play, the Egyptian himself adjusted his posture with a snake-slither grace. Did he feel jealousy? Truth be told, no; did one feel jealousy for the condemned man right before the axe dropped? Yet she let him live, his soul under the chains of her spell. The plainsong ebbed into oblivion; the monks returned to death, and the vivacious melody resumed. But revelers had been tamed into quiescence; the history of Rhydin was written in blood, and unless your name was in lights here, you accepted the weird. Or you died. As she returned, a sinuous arm coiled about her waist. "Questo non è mio Ma supererò ir?"


For now....the man had been returned to his companions and she to her rightful place at his side. When his arm coiled about her waist, she brought a gloved hand to his cheek and nodded. "I had hoped you would say that." The modern-ness of the building didn't quite appeal to her tastes, though would never have let that little distaste be known. She looked to his eyes, to see if the pipe was doing everything it had promised to do. Perhaps it was the kiss of lotus in his senses that had his thoughts a bit scattered? She leaned past him and took a hold of her glass once more. Exceedingly thirsty tonight it seemed. Another large drink was taken and she turned in his arms to present her back to his chest so that she could look out over the glittering city as lights started to fade out. Sighing she smiled. It was her favorite time of night after all.


"You can see to Dockside from here." Sepulchral chorals manfully struggled through the euphoria, forging ruminations into a laconic aria that did little to translate the graffiti in his mind's eye. The haze began to divorce into whisps of dying cerulean, noxious effluvium haunting the night like a ghost even as they faded. The pipe was drawn forward with a free hand once more, an iridescent ember breathing a whorl as it threatened to spill over the cusp. As the nocturne reached it's apogee, alien rhythms crafted by talentless machines thankfully faded from the ambience. The hour called for something richer, more mature. So it was that the snake-slither cadence of smooth jazz filtered into his ear, seductive rhythms conspiring with a draught of toxic ambrosia to put his torrid soul at ease. This was the life.Yet, he could not help but notice the occasional shift of her gaze, the mild disdain for the neon luminescence which cast a pallid hue on their skins. A supple kiss traced her earlobe, baritones tamed into a whisper. "It isn't my taste either. And my design will be more...educated. But these are traps for us, not playgrounds. Who we seek to cast into the abyss will come to establishments like this. Rhydinians know that ancients like us walk among them. Too much antiquity would be like seeing the wolf's paw before the den's mouth."


She turned her head just slightly when she felt him take a breath so that he could inhale the smoke and there was the slightest curving at the corner of her lips that might seem just a shade darker and fuller. Silver blue eyes returned to watch as lights started dimming, while others twinkled off for the night. She listened to his words and then offered up an exaggerated sigh. Of course, she knew they had to learn to tolerate such things. It didn't mean she had to like them. "I do know that. I just don't understand the reasoning they like things so...loud." Her own voice was soft spoken, really only meant for his ears as that jazz music filtered in between the lull of conversations around them. Which, had seemed to be much calmer even with the two of them still among them. "What will you call it?" Keeping up the conversation with the former words he spoke instead of the latter. No need to elaborate on everything. Besides, this night wasn't a business meeting. She brought the glass to her lips once more as gloved fingers came down to run a silken trail along the back of his hand that splayed across her waist. It was a light touch, barely there, as if that hand hadn't even moved. Her lips curved as her tongue danced across the surface to taste every bit of her drink upon them.



The narcotic reverie began to wane into memory, but it was still potent enough to fog his mind's eye. Rather than immerse himself in trivium, he was going to let the matter stew until the time came. Accordingly, he replied with a genteel chortle. "I don't quite know yet. I think I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Mocha gilt with archaic gold wove an unseen arc upwards, the sable chevrons of his fingernails plunging into silken flax. Glissading through her mane with an ethereal grace; between her affection and his, the bartender was beginning to assume that mien that one assumes when one sees a ghost.Cut-glass accent spooled into the haze once more, breezing through a rather pronounced smirk. "They are as they always have been, always will be. Limited. And when they find time to converse, they soon realize it. They mask it with the music, mask the mind's weakness with the body's urges." Right now, the Egyptian was looking very hypocritical.



She nodded in agreement. "Though it is those urges that compels them to congregate and it's such an interesting spectacle to observe sometimes." The subject of their conversation proved her point as a lovely couple walked past them. She seemed to be completely focused on the man who was slowly starting to pull her even closer to him. She reached up let her fingers trail along the cut angle of his jaw though she continued to follow the couple with her eyes, letting lashes lower as the woman looked her way. There was a silent moment shared before she inclined her head just enough to hint at a greeting. The wind that danced through the open canopy of the bar held the hint of the balmy night that was starting to settle around them, carrying with it a stronger scent of Magnolia and Jasmine. There were flowers and plants placed about. The woman smiled and gave a gentle tug to the man's arm her hand was slipped through. He looked to her and then over to where she was looking and The Italian's chin lifted before she turned her head all the way in The Egyptian's direction so that she could press a heated kiss against his lips. Pulling away, she smiled up at him and it seemed the other two were forgotten.


A shadow of a peal discreetly clambered across his gullet, pectorals set to straining against the cinereal suit which so exquisitely followed every sinuous contour of his frame. "More than interesting. We've both benefitted from such urges in them many a time.".Raven's-mantle irises followed her own in oscillating across the duo which now sauntered into the twilight, striking indeed...but a pale gasp of what they were. A scintilla of menace glistened in the sloe mosaic which surmounted his gaze, tracing to the man and woman as they passed...only to oscillate away from them in dismissal. A constellation of luminescence blinked at them from the abyss only mere yards from their embrace, the earthy fire of medieval hearths coupling with whitish modern light. The soul of Rhydin. So many stories. So many wallets. So many victims. All of this was cast away by the plush lips which embraced his own, dueling silhouettes seamlessly combining as he drew her into his grasp. Jasmine cutting through the lotus's miasma like an apertif after the feast.....And then a masculine shout shattered Eden into a thousand pieces, four Watchmen pouring into the bar. "Anubis Karos! Tetra Amelia Senscion! Place your hands on the bar NOW"


The sudden disruption of the scene beyond where the two were conversing didn't even seem to phase her as she pulled away slowly from that kiss and looked up into eyes that suddenly glinted a bit more wickedly. Her own glimmered and he would be rewarded with a curving of her lips that was tainted with anticipation. She let those gloved fingers slide back down his cheek and then she slowly turned that gaze towards the four excuses for guards that decided an attempt to capture the two of them was wise. A slender brow rose and she bestowed them with a smile fit for a queen. "You... don't want to do this." Her tone held the Italian lilt of genteelness, not loud enough to seem threatening though it did hide subtle undertones of a warning. She was actually giving them their own choice.



"Ma'am, I am going to request that you please remain silent. You are charged with suspicion of utilizing vampiric powers to oblige a Rhydinian citizen to act against his own free will. Your acquaintance for the night..." The man halted the cadence of his monologue, a vaguely lilting accent lapsing into silence as he paused to ruminate over what to say next. A cherry tint drew across his robust visage, incandescent cerise playing across his completely hairless crown. Yes, to the surprise of no one, he was bald. Finally, the bald one spoke. "...A litany of crimes going back as far as 2012 CE according to Watch records." He then punctuated that with a disdainful rejoinder. "But we know there's a lot more before that." Anubis, in the meantime, drew his eyelids over a noir gaze that was alit with rage, trying to craft appropriate words himself. His frame convulsed with a rueful chortle, baritones bearing syrup and poison when they finally emerged from silence. "Why now? I know you've been told to stay away from me and certain others. There's no possible way that Neo The Hero has never mentioned me to you lot. Why?"


"Because two always seems better than one and in this instance, it's to much of a bounty to ignore the risk." She answered for them and stepped away from Anubis to place one hand just above the bar top, hovering just inches above the surface as if she were going to do exactly what they had asked her to do. Though she looked over at the 'man in question' and raised both brows before looking back at them. "There is no quota worth this tonight." She fastened her gaze upon one of the others and he shook himself as if he'd just received a chill. "Maybe she's right. I mean, I don't have much defense against her kind or his." The man even took a step back towards the direction they had come from. She used the other hand to pat against her hip in a sort of applause. "Brava. Your friend is very smart. You would be wise to listen to him." That.... was directed at the man who had called out the charges they were attempting to bring up against them.


"Ah yes!" Mesmeric irises scintillated in a trivial epiphany, even as a heretofore torpid limb steadily wove a path towards the dew-sodden marble behind him. The lead man's ham-hand enveloped the slender hilt of a sword as he noted the motion, Anubis's other hand ascending in response. "No worries. You are brave men. And you clearly, clearly need money. It's summer. The wife will want a new sundress. The air conditioner is going to get expensive...and I'm sure the food bill will be... impressive." That being punctuated with a cant of the head towards the officer's bulbous abdomen, the ponytail that his tenebrous mane had been corraled into lapping against his neck. A felt pouch of an umber tint was soon cradled in a palm of balmy cafe au lait, conspicuous to the point of comedy in this confection of modern decadence....but the contents released a shrill libretto as they jostled against one another, the telltale sign of something that would always spend. The pouch was offered to the superior officer, Anubis's mandible drawn taut with agitation. When the steely irises of the robust man offered disdain, it was simply hurled to the Watch man behind him.


That...was the one who was keeping his eyes on her. He caught the pouch but didn't look in it. Instead, he tucked it into his pocket and took another step back only to bump into someone behind him. Turning, he started to mumble an apology when his eyes widened as they fell upon the red and black of an evening gown. Slowly he lifted his gaze to meet the silver blue of the woman who was now standing there. Anubis would find her gone, without even the whisper of fabric. She grinned and held her hand out to him. He didn't even hesitate to place his hand in hers and she started to lead him away from the others. No sense in having the only one of them that had a sensible head on his shoulders be possibly injured due to wrong choices his brothers in arms made. She guided him back further into the darker corner of the balcony and the shadows cast from the luminescent lighting seemed to grow as they shifted in liquid paths up the front of her and then started swallowing his form as well, a bit quicker as he was tugged into that darkened space with her.


Truth be told, masculine ego did not inform his truculence; Tetra was a being of ice-veined reason, and knew the canard that discretion was often the better part of valor. Nor was it the primordial bloodlust which always lay in torpor beneath his patrician carriage, a silent hearth awaiting just the slightest spark to set it's maw roaring with flame. It was simply this: He could not gamble upon submitting to the irritation of an arrest. His saga in this realm was long and incarnadined with the blood of both the innocent and the guilty; many wanted his death. An arrest may seem like the bite of an insect...but those can infect. Violence really was the only option.And the morass of revellers smelt it. The scent of incipient gore pierced alcohol's veil; they had quietly left. A "regular Joe" in Rhydin knew that when the famous drew steel, to get involved was to die. And steel was indeed awoken; a serried dagger of infamy from the duels arose from his mid-century apparel with a whispering hiss, seguing into limned steel as he struck with a wide cut. The shark-tooth serries on the blade's edge had sawn into the man's sword-arm, rendering it utterly useless. Like a furious cobra, it then struck again, across the vast breadth of his abdomen. Vermilion on steel, vermilion on neon, vermilion on the cinereal fabric of his suit. And there was no Ward here.The man collapsed, further carmine seeping from his lips. "This is not your death. It is not interesting enough." would hiss into his ear, cut-glass accent spooling the last words he would hear. Clasping the guard by the arm, an avenue of blood marked their trail as he hoisted him to the precipice. And with a simple tilt of the arm, the fool was sent into the lights below.


Just as the scent of blood filled the air around them, there was a husky laugh that accompanied the dying man's cry as he was struck over... and over... before he was sent hurtling down to the ground below. Though, there was no sound of a sickening thud of flesh and bone upon pavement. In fact, there would be no evidence at all as to the stories of those for days after claiming they thought they had seen someone fall past their luxurious windows. The other two seemed to not see the carnage The Egyptian caused and perhaps they seemed to comprehend the earlier warning given to them as they simply turned and walked back out as if their task had been completed. There was no sign of the one she had taken away into those same shadows she was now stepping from, careful to step over the spreading crimson on the ground. A gloved finger was wiping along the length of her bottom lip as she moved to stand in front of him. "This place wears on me. Shall we be off?"


"Gladly." The dessicated tone which peppered his baritones indicated that he was in full agreement. A limb snaked around her slender waist, their twinned gaits evincing nothing of the carnage as they slipped out.