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 Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:12 pm
"Of course," Dari responded. They weren't going to head into the entity's natural habitat, especially not one so different from their own.
When they reached the lake, both agents got out of the car, and this time Dari opened the door for Maia. They wandered together to the shore. It was odd how serene the setting always seemed. Somewhere beneath that glassy surface was a child-eating monster. Who knew where it might leave the hearts and/or livers of its victims. Probably not right here. Had it ever dragged someone down in broad daylight?
Toby retrieved the pizza box and tore off the lid, tossing it to the ground by the shore then following with a couple pieces of aromatic pizza. He wanted to save a few slices just in case the kelpie could be bribed. He somehow doubted it, though. The Unseelie were far less reasonable creatures. He drew his gun then and reached out with his free hand to gesture for Maia to step back a bit. He tossed a rock into the lake to disrupt the water lest the beast's nose not be its strongest sense, and then they just waited.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:33 pm
Maia took a step back, looking nervous. She didn't want the creature to be hurt, but nor did she want Toby or Dari hurt. She watched the water, waiting for movement.
It happened. A pale hand reached out of the water, not aiming for those nearby but for the pizza. It grasped onto it, starting to pull it back towards the water. The Kelpie didn't seem to care what it had caught. It was slow moving, possibly due to weakness. There hadn't been any reports of drownings in the lake for over a week.
"You're going to scare it like that," Maia protested. This was quite a bit different than how they'd accosted her.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:39 pm
Both men ignored the selkie's pleas for the moment. There were rules and restrictions and standard protocol, and having a weapon at the ready was considered entirely reasonable. He had just drawn it, not aimed it or prepared with his finger at the trigger, just ready.
"Hello," Dari offered, watching the pale hand as it retracted, "We've come to speak to you."
"There's more where that came from," Toby added.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:54 pm
The kelpie retracted back into the water, and seemed to be eating. Bubbles disrupted the surface. The hand appeared again, reaching for another slice of pizza, hesitating. It'd heard voices above the surface, and they didn't sound like easy prey. They wanted to speak? He took another piece, slowly emerging from the water. He crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. If this was some stupid stunt, he'd be feasting tonight.
He looked about thirteen, but who really knew with fae? He was small, skinny, and pale: with dark hair covering one side of his face. There seemed to be a plant in his hair of some sort. "What is it?" he asked, in a tone that suggested he absolutely had no time for them.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 5:30 pm
At least the creature had the common decency to speak to them first. The last kelpie they'd met had involved several minutes of Dari being dragged into the depths of a swamp. He'd lost a fair amount of mass when it bit him, too.
Toby groaned internally. Fantastic. A teenager. Whether he was actually in his teen year or not was up for question, but a fair amount of creatures remained pubescent for quite a long time.
"Agents Aikley and Cnidaria from the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Investigation." He produced his badge and flipped it out in a practiced manner. Dari followed suit. "We're here concerning reports of suspicious deaths, undoubtedly previous victims?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 5:50 pm
"I don't know what you're talking about and I don't care," The kelpie rolled his eyes. "All I know is I'm starving. Haven't eaten for a week." He stuffed the rest of the piece of pizza into his mouth, as if concerned it would be taken from him. "You said you had more? Lets see it then. Or I'll go back away from you losers." He seemed to notice Maia. He took a step towards her. "What's this, agents? Bring your girlfriend to work day?" He paused a moment before taking a step back, as if smelling something foul.
"Selkie." He wrinkled his nose. "Hurry up with the food. We haven't got all night. Well I suppose we do. But I'd rather get some sleep, if that's alright with you."
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:10 pm
Without taking his eyes off of the kelpie, Toby still managed to seem nonchalant as he ripped another piece from the pie and offered it out.
"That's fine. We're an agency who protects supernatural entities as well as protecting humans from said entities. You eat people. We're not going to allow you to continue eating people."
Dari turned slightly and watched the exchange. All it would take was a single move and he'd be stuck to the beast. Its 'bridle' would be much easier to remove in this form as well.
"We don't want to hurt you, but we can. If you cooperate, the agency can provide you with enough food to eat daily. I'm afraid what we ask for is a little drastic, though."
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:19 pm
The Kelpie neared Toby, took the piece, and backed away. He took a bite. "Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah. That was ONE time. Well maybe twice. Twice at most. I don't care. I ate other things too. People throw things out for ducks. Ha. I'm faster. They're ignorant. People and ducks. Ducks are tasty too. But they've gotten smarter. They don't land as often."
He finished his slice, studying Toby. He rolled his eyes. "I'm in No shape to fight a werewolf off," he said. "Alright, what do you want? It'd better be good food. I hate liver." The Kelpie gave a shudder. "Blegh!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:24 pm
Toby instinctively wanted to smack the kid in the side of the head to unroll his disrespectful goddamn eyes, but that was even less appropriate than accepting a gift from an entity. The boy was young, he reminded himself, and Unseelie to boot. He had to expect this.
"Well, liver is one of those little kelpie quirks... so, no. Not liver. We can provide you with a bank account to buy your own food or else we can provide you with meat. You'd have to pick either up, unfortunately, but you'd be well-fed as any human. This, though, in return for your necklace there." He gestured to the creature's bridle, rather cleverly disguised at the moment.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:47 pm
The Kelpie was watching Dari warily. He'd lost interest in Toby and was watching the one he viewed more of a threat. "This?" He asked, frowning. "Sorry, not interested." he moved back towards the lake, hoping to get back into the water before they could strike. Food wasn't worth his freedom... But food every day. He paused, turning back to face Toby. "It isn't any use to you," he said. "I wouldn't need to attack people if I had another source of food, though."
Maia had started to make her way back to the car. She was getting tired, and listening to an unseelie speak was grating on her nerves.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:59 pm
"It's in your nature to want to kill people," Toby replied. "The loss of a bridle makes you unable to murder, plus you get to eat more than you are now. People don't just come to lakes any more, not knowing there's been so many deaths." They may only have a few moments left to retrieve the necklace.
"It's a good exchange for food, don't you think? Of course if you make us take it from you there's no agreement to feed you and you might be eating soggy bread and toads for the rest of your life. So what'll it be?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 7:05 pm
The Kelpie considered Toby's words, and slowly reached over his neck to unlatch the necklace. "Three meals a day?" He asked. "That's the agreement?" Maybe he'd grow some. He offered it to Toby. "I can't help if humans drown here. They did long before I came, and will continue to after I'm gone. But as long as I have food, I won't be the one drowning them." He put the necklace in Toby's hand.
"Now, where's the food? I'm still hungry!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:01 am
A smile crept over Toby's face. For an Unseelie teen this kid sure was reasonable.
"Yes, three meals a day. It will take us until at least tomorrow to get everything sorted, but then we'll get you set up." He took the necklace and returned to the pizza on the hood of the car while he tucked his gun away again. He retrieved the food and offered the half-box to the kelpie with what remained of the pizza inside.
"I think it'd probably be easiest to get you a bank card, and we'll leave you our contact information in case something should go amiss."
Dari smiled, pleased. Rarely did an assignment go this easily. Even Maia had been harder to convince.
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:24 am
If Toby and Dari hadn't met the kelpie on a day when he was especially hungry, he might not have been so cooperative. He took the half box when offered, setting it down in front of him and taking a piece. "Bank card," he echoed. "Those are the plastic things people have, yeah? But they need to be able to get around. I suppose I could steal a car. Wouldn't that be great? Their news would light up with 'Lake teen steals car'."
He ate the piece. "But I suppose you could get me a taxi service."
Maia had by this time leaned herself against the car. She yawned. She hadn't expected to be so tired-- maybe it had something to do with being caught? She looked towards Toby and Dari: at least it seemed to be going well. The kelpie wasn't trying to drown either of them.
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:36 am
"Don't steal a car," Toby said, voice terse. He was sure the kid was just picking at him, but that didn't make it any less irritating.
"We'll get you a car. You're going to have to let us know if anything happens to it. Money for gas one a week and food three times a day, alright? Deal?"
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