Welcome to Gaia! ::

The man didn't move to the much large minotaur rising before them all. In fact he stepped forward toward the table. As Arkus sat down the man's leg found the edge of it. He lifted himself up with no effort and strode across seeming not to care that they were there.

"Arkus the minotaur...You've become well-known as a wrestler and a boxer. You have a short temper, a short patience, and don't like to solve things. And Na'fiel, questions will be answered if you wait. Arkus, obscurity is the name of our game...now if you try that little rising and acting all large and in charge I will force you back into your chair...I don't like to be forceful, but will if needbe."

Suddenly two golden eyes shone from the darkness of the hood. Yet they held no pupil, nor a whiteness to them. They were completely gold, except for those continually moving black streaks. They started on the edge and moved to the center disappearing. His eyes now glowed with that sole look. That one look would seem to draw their gazes irresistably into his eyes. To look upon those alluring eyes of infinity.

When he had moved across the table one could see under his cloak as it fluttered back...he was armed, and damn well so. He had two custom revolers. Single Action Army's from the looks of it. A sinlencer on a .45 as well as two katanas. Their sheaths engraved letting a person know these were twin god swords. No one could see the five wakizashis as they were in an alternate plane at the moment waiting to be called upon.

He watched them all, seemingly at the same time. "My name is Hybrid...That is all you need to know about me. As far as the Shadows? They are you...Let me explain. You are in the mundane world as we, the Shadowkind, have dubbed it. We have come from another place, as you undoubtedly remember the passage through a mist, door, fog, or something. Previously you were in what is called the Shadow. That is a 'shadow' of this, the mundane world.

"The tide of Shadowkind has fluctuated to allow more entry again. Items, people, homes, everything comes here. It simply appears without another thought on the matter. There has been no sign of the 'tide' reversing to go back, neither does it seem that there is any way of guessing when the 'tide' shall begin nor end. If you noticed, those who use magic, there has suddenly become into your possesion again that power. As if you just suddenly had it and remembered the abilities. You've most likely always had them.

"Don't be fooled though. This mundane world only takes magical properties from the Shadow to make them form here. Now getting onto why you are here...There is a company, I'm sure you have heard of them, the infamous Draco Industries. Franz Draco, their leader, and Azriel their real leader. These two after hiring Dr. Astrid Kolgrim, for her expertise in the Shadowkind and other such paraphanalia, and Carlton Ashe, for his Shadow Hunting skills. His ability to do so is almost impeccable. Now...these people wish to kill the Shadowkind, but Franz for a different reason than Carlton thinks.

"Franz wishes to take out all the innate abilities, magical properties, and life force of us, the Shadowkind. He is an efreeti...or a genie if you will. He wants those powers for himself to become even more. This...is where you come in. I didn't stalk any of you, or know about you previous to 3 nights ago. I decided myself that something needed to be done, so I looked out for four people that I would need...

"Arkus for strength, Z'Kort for speed in cars or otherwise, Zaniah for her physical prowess in blades and hand to hand, and Na'fiel for her brains and fighting ability...All are things that will be needed. I chose you because you are those that will be needed. I don't expect for an immediate resounding yes...

"I expect you to do what you feel is right. Know that a Shadow Hunter may come for you next though...keep in mind no matter how powerful you are...armor piercing bullets can and will kill you..." His golden eyes seemed to look back at everyone looking at him. It was an illusion he had learned with those eyes. A handy one for defence and offence.

Hybrid sat in the chair watching the others with interest. He would listen to them. He wasn't like Dameon, but he could hear most thoughts with ease if he tried hard enough, and the person would never know that he was listening to them. He enjoyed knowing things from time to time...it was somewhat important to him anyways...

"WELL!" Kort spewed after the man had finished. "That was exciting." He meant the little poem the man had recited to them. "And here I thought they walked, silly me, eh?" The elf leaned back in his chair, propping black boots on the wooden table. He glanced haughtily at his nails, examining their perfection.

He furrowed his eyebrows, using his other hand to scrape off some tree bark from said nail. A reminant from the bashing of the car earlier. The man smiled, had anyone found that thing? It would be a rather nasty surprise, but then again, it would give the owner incentive to get a new car. That piece of junk could barely do 80 let alone 100, what use was it, then? Best to get something better.

Something shone out of the corner of his eye and Kort looked up. His spine tingled, those eyes were more than a little creepy. Shadow? Me? I'm much more becoming than any shadow. He thought, arrogant as always. "Personally, the mundane seems to be all the rage," Kort murmured, continuing his examination of his cuticles. And as the man talked on, the elf blanked him out, ADDing once again.

Upon hearing his name though, Kort glanced up and flashed a charming smile...at the girls. "Speed is my game," he said with a slight lilt, hinting at perhaps something more, adding a wink for emphasis.

He turned to the man, what had he said his name was? "Uh, repeat the tag again?" The elf had taken kindly to the lovely American slang language. Much easier to speak than the Elvan one and a person could abbreviate and still make a lot of sense, albeit a lot of bad grammatical sense. Then without waiting for an answer, Kort leaned forward, letting the front legs of his chair drop with a loud thud.

"So, lemme get this straight up," he began. "You're saying we do this so we don't get iced? That's sounds twisted. Any other prizes? Do I even get a lollipop?" There was a pause in his quick cadence of words. "Actually, scratch the lollipop-do I even get Lamborghini Diablo?" And then as an afterthought, "Cherry red, please."

Fairly materialistic, Z'Kort didn't really care about the risks, he took risks all the time. It was more about what he got for risking his a** in anything. But then again, he could just go into it for the adrenaline rush. From the way the man phrased it, it seemed like the speed demon would get to hot wire and hijack some cars. At the that thought, he grinned. Sounds good. He dreamed.

((I seem to playing more and more people with vanity issues...))

Laughing at all of their comments and questions, Zani had liked this man from the minute the gleam of those weapons caught her eye. They were very nice, escpecially those swords..

"I don't think killing shadow hunters is the case here my fine friend." The drow spoke to the minotaur politely, with an amused undertone..

"If that was the case then I doubt this man would need us.." Taking great pride in being a shadow hunter didn't mean she would be foolish enough to underestimate this man. He was obviously a being of great power and not to be messed with.

But it seemed that the elf, though an opposite of her kind, had caught her attention with that wink. And try as she might, she let out a snicker as she tried to supress her laughter that seemed to be welling up inside..

"Then say it, man." Arkus said, his deep, guttural tone directed towards Hybrid.

"And another question. Why help you? What's in this for us?" Arkus said, leaning forward on the table. "This is, of course, an honorable mission and something that I would take up without a reward, but I would not risk my life needlessly."

Arkus nodded. "I know you're hiding something from us, something you aren't telling us. Or maybe it's my mind playing tricks on me, I don't know. But I sure as hell know that something isn't as it seems, right now..." He ignored the elf completely, not caring whether he was dying or perhaps playing around with his own powers or something.

"If you are so powerful, you wouldn't need us to do this, even with Shadow Hunters on such a large scale. You look like you could take out an army of them, Hybrid..." Arkus said, eyes narrowing slightly. "Even I could rip through a team of them with a charge, but I doubt we could go up against more than three hundred, or more than that..."

"Like I said, there's something you're not telling us, I know it. Why work for you? Why not someone else?"

((Arrrgh! Nothing to SAY!))

All this time, as she watched the exchange of questions, Na'fiel stayed silent. She wasn't a stupid creature, so she often preferred to have an idea of what she was getting herself into. So, after all the talk and the ordeal with the elf that she knew as Z'kort, she finally spoke.

"I accept," she stated simply. To be chosen for such a task...she was honoured. Besides...workinga at the pool was rather dull, though she needed to periodically soak in some water.

She couldn't help but stare into his eyes. His face was so perfect...like he was a god, sent from the heavens.

"But know this, Hybrid," she murmured, "I don't want fame. What I do want, is for you to tell us exactly what we're going to have to do for you." She looked away and threw a cold stare at Z'kort. Many of her would-be suiters had ended up in much pain, very quickly.

"I do not desire compensation," she said, quietly. If she died, it wouldn't even matter. Nothing really mattered anymore. One of the only things she took joy in, besides swimming, was fighting; and it seemed like they were going to do a lot of fighting.

Arkus crossed his arms, and raised his head slightly, as if in thought.

"Very well, I accept. These hunters are dishonorable folk, it seems, and they need to be taught a lesson..." Arkus cracked his knuckles. He had been itching for this, ever since he had lost the euphoria he got from being in the ring. The bashing, the throwing, the slamming, and the honor of being champion... He could not replace it.

But perhaps he could gain even more honor by being a champion among champions, a triumphant minotaur over evil.

The minotaur nodded. "I believe the fame will be enough for me, though I would need... little..." He moved his hands down to the set of various metal and spiked knuckles upon his belt. All of his clothing was exceptionally large and needed to be custom-ordered or tailored, and therefore large quantities of money were needed to sustain him, which was why he had taken to boxing and wrestling tournaments, even though he would have if he didn't need them.

Hybrid listened to the drow spurt off her thoughts on Na'fiel's origin. "No Zaniah...she is a mermaid...close to, but still far from a sprite." He then looked back over to where the elf had fallen down onto the ground and still seemed to lay...maybe he was unconscious. Hybrid didn't mind though...he had all night to wait. His golden eyes watched from behind the hood at the elf.

"And she was right Arkus...these aren't soldiers in the World's Army...these are Shadow Hunters trained to know the weaknesses of the Shadowkind...don't think otherwise in any situation...or they'll kill you."

((Wow. This post is pathetic. XD Oh well...))


Azriel stood like a beacon of opaque light within the foggy city.

The rain had dissipated into thin, shimmering vapor that blanketed the ebony streets and kissed nearby automobiles with a net of frost. It hindered the visions of angry coat-clad passerbys, yet she could make out her destination as clearly as a hawk prowling for its ever-moving prey. Her skilled eyes, molding from a clashing violet and amber to a vibrant saffron, bore like a feline's into the graying world, so that each and every minute detail of every massive skyscraper dwarfing her insignificant figure came into a clear view.

She felt at that moment like some modern Napoleon. That man had been a mere 5 feet, yet he had conquered so much, destroyed so many...and here she was now, a female doppelganger; a ventriloquist within a world of dolls, pulling the strings of a quiet machination that hid carefully beneath the industrial surface of Draco Industries.

"A society without religion is like a vessel without compass."

Her lips spoke softly the words that drifted along the icy, rain-drenched air, the cherub's bow of her mouth curling slightly at their gentle tips to form a kitten's sly little smile. Yes, Napoleon had been a wise, wise man, those words of his own quoted by hers today holding much more significance than any insolent human or creature of the Shadowkind could ever fathom. It would affect their futures with a valiant uproar, sacrificing many, bringing salvation to the rest...

The faithful, of course, she mused to herself.

Yes...in the end, those faithful to her would be rewarded. They would be rewarded in the most Grand of fashions, a reward which christened them for centuries in the eternal tablet of history.

"Even when I am gone, I shall remain in people's minds the star of their rights, my name will be the war cry of their efforts, the motto of their hopes. "

She prayed those words would grace her epitaph if her fate would come soon on its thundering heels. Concentrating again on the world that whirled around her in its colors of soaked, seaswept hues, an oil painting captured within the cavernous embryo of its hatching fate, she caught sight of the singular building that she had come for.

Windows freckled the Industries' sleek body, workers' shadows cast in their gleaming, moonswept reflections. The workers of Draco Industries had no breaks or holidays. Their work required special skill and called to only the strongest and most articulate of humankind to carry out their laborious duties.

Each worker was expected to push their bodies and souls to its limit in their work, and Franz Draco had been in charge of their wages-if they were meager to an employee, then that employee would be spoken to within a secluded room for his petty complaints, lectured to about running a proper business, about the world and its unfair conditions-and then either punished or disappearing completely within the tidal wave of the real world and its monstrosities that only the most elite could completely handle.

It was a system which brought extreme delight to her heightened senses, her desires of supreme dictatorship and justice, the abiding of primal law in favor to a human's faulty emotions. That was what made their kind weak and filled with flaw-that was the utter epitome of their destruction throughout history, the faulty foundation of which their crude moral values were twisted upon.

"Those people have no god,"

Azriel murmured softly to herself as she walked within the building, making her way towards the office of Shadow Hunter, Carlton Ashe,

"Those faithless young mortals...sinful brethren. How pitiful."

And indeed, a trace of pity could have been found in her clear, bell-like voice as she knocked upon the wooden surface of the Shadow Hunter's door.

"Yes?"

As Carlton Ashe's low voice boomed from what she could assume was his working desk, her tiniest of smirks increased, from a mischievous kitten to that of the Cheshire Cat.

"Oh, Carlton...it is Azriel. I do believe we have some Shadowkind on the loose that I would greatly appreciate you to hunt down for the Industries..."

Tonight would be a most beautiful night indeed for the Tiefling.