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 Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 9:28 am
Vrrrr. Vrrrr.
What the hell. The sound was dull and low, downright nearly ignorable in Nataniel's dazed, half-asleep state. On any normal given night (as in, not his planned expeditions to the club), he fell into bed relatively early. No later than 8:00 or 9:00, as he woke at 3:30 for his jog, and once he was down, he was out. Little could wake him once he was asleep besides his body's own natural clock. There was no reason to be awake until he had to be awake.
Vrrrr. Vrrrr.
He didn't open his eyes, but the second set of sounds at least came with an awareness. It registered now as something he should be alert for, rather than just a quiet backdrop to distract him from sleep. His phone vibrated against his bedside table. Someone was calling him. Bingbing. And someone had left him a voicemail. It was unusual for him to get calls at night, though. His family typically only disturbed him during the day, and he didn't have many friends that he'd give his number to...
Dark lashes flicked open, and without his glasses, he had to squint to make out the numbers on his clock. 12:11. After midnight. No one in their right goddamn mind should even bother calling him- Nataniel's teeth grit, but the stupid sound of that phone chime had conditioned him: he couldn't ignore it.
He reached and slid the phone from his table, pulling it toward him as he lay on his back and squinted at the dull, auto-adjusted lighting. His little brother had called him. Twice. After midnight. And had left him a voicemail after he hadn't answered. Nataniel was incredibly tempted to ignore it. There were very few situations were he was on good terms with Ellian, and being called at this hour did not spark any particularly warm moods in him.
But it was strange even for Ellian. His brother knew better than this. Nataniel put the phone to his ear.
A sharp spike of alarm shot immediately through his chest. The first sound was the rough scratch of heavy breathing. Running. Ellian was running. 'I-I was in the depot district- Hff- I brought my car, but I got out-' It was quick when he spoke, a flurry of words shoved into a short breath. 'And now I'm too far away, and there's- Hff- There's a-a wolf thing! Chasing me! Nat! Help! Yyy-!' There was a clatter, a dull ruffling and scraping sound, and then silence. The message ended.
A wolf. Thing.
The initial alarm, the stuttered racing of his own heart, ebbed to something nearer to simple agitation. There was little he could do from where he was, but Nataniel did have some familiarity with a wolf thing that lent itself more to frustration than fear. He punched in the number to call his brother back.
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:24 am
Wolframite didn't usually answer phones. It was rare a civilian could even manage a call but at this hour, most couldn't scramble enough awareness of their location to call th cops. It was still sloppy though, letting this one get a call out.
He gave the man a hard kick to the gut from his boots before he heard the phone ring.
Someone was calling back. If it was 911 then it would be better to say it was a false alarm. Some friends doing a prank.
Moving the few steps from where the phone had fallen, he picked it up between his claws and started at the number. Not Emergency Services. Strange.
He flicked the phone open. "Hello?" He said, moving over to the fallen man and setting a claw down over his mouth firmly. Wolframite used a pinky if the hand holding the phone to press it against his lips in the universal sign of "STFU or I'll kill you."
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:38 am
It rang. Nataniel's brows pinched. His jaw tensed. He fumbled to pull on something suitable enough for him to leave the house in because if his expectations for what was happening were anything like reality, the time for rest was done. He didn't want to hear ringing. He wanted his idiotic little brother to pick up the stupid phone. It had hardly been more than sixty seconds since Ellian had called him, and god help this child if he dared ignore-
The line picked up, and Nataniel shot immediately into a demand. "Where are-"
'Hello?'
He stilled, hand hovering over the keys to his motorcycle as he prepared to head out. Not his brother's voice. Not an entirely foreign voice, either. Nataniel had never been frightened of dog-boy. It wouldn't stand to be so now. The question still remained. He collected his keys from the table and moved to head out. "Where are you."
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:45 am
Phones had the unfortunate ability of distorting voices and Wolframite was left with a strange sense of doubt if who he heard was actually the same man he had be with a while back. Surely not, right?
"Now that is a question. Right now I'm with my new friend just having a nice night out far from anyone else. Had a bit of a jig and now he's taking a little rest." He grinned around his words as he started at the phone's owner.
"Kinda busy actually. Going to have to call you back later I think " he said as he was about to hang up.
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 8:05 am
What had he been expecting? Compliance? ...Well, perhaps Nataniel would be lying if he said he hadn't been expecting a little more submission from someone who should have his tail between his legs at being caught preying on an actual child. Where was the sport? Where was the hunt? Instead, all Nat heard were taunts, and he was not of a mind to be tolerant of any such thing.
Fortunately, he needed little more of an answer than to hear someone else's voice on the other end of his brother's phone. This was practically what location services were made for. "Fine. Stay there." He hung up without waiting for a response.
Nataniel pulled the maps app up on his own phone and settled it into the dash of his bike. Eight minutes to his brother's location.
But it was late, the streets were empty, and he had a purpose. 'Eight minutes' was stopping for lights, obeying traffic laws, keeping to the speed limit. There was little need for that at such an hour. Five minutes, tops. He set off with the roar of his engine echoing against the brick buildings around him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 10:09 am
The half-youma stared at the phone as the other hung up and closed it. Then slid it back into the man's pocket with a little pay of his hand. "Someone cares about you." He said as he released his hand.
"Maybe they can drag your sorry a** home." He said and moved over him. Being small, it didn't take long to drain the bit and with the orb in his hand, he dragged the body to sit up against a wall. Then he checked him for valuables. Being a half-youma didn't pay it had many benefits and he had things he wanted and needed. It would only be a small life lesson for the boy anyways. A financial punishment for carelessly walking alone at night. A public service really.
And that's when he heard the engine. "That was quick." He said as he rose up beside the slumped over boy.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:20 am
Though the app on his phone couldn't be trusted with the exact specifics down to the very street where Nataniel might expect to find Ellian, it took him within near enough proximity that a short dog-figure over a slumped boy wasn't difficult to spot. He pulled his motorcycle up to the curb and parked it, dragging his helmet over and off his head as his dismounted.
At seeing them, another unasked for wave of frustration spiked in him. Ellian had woken him to come deal with this problem when an idiotic seventeen-year-old shouldn't be out at this hour to begin with, and dog-boys should have more exciting targets to chase.
He was furious at both of them. It was all he could think about.
Nataniel brushed by the other boy as he stepped in to crouch at his brother's side. "Is he dead," he demanded on a clipped hiss as he reached to touch his fingers to the side of Ellian's neck. Still warm. Still the slow thrum of a pulse beneath his fingertips. ...So no, not dead. Based on the knowledge he had now about what dog boy might be doing out here, his brother was likely just passed out. Fine. Narrowed eyes turned accusingly toward the other. "You prey on children."
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 6:54 am
He stared, watching what he would do, and saw the glare of anger in him.
"I prey on anyone. It's a luxury to be selective. Just be glad I didn't kill him unless you want to get on my nerves and make it a very sure thing." He said, watching him.
"Small world that you two would know each other. I guess running around late a night is a family trait?" He joked.
"If I was a mugger, he could be stabbed to death for running. I'm not the only thing lurking around the city at night." He pointed out. Humans got too sure of themselves in the security of the city and felt immune to most dangers by being on the top. It was humans that were also one of the biggest threats to them in the end. As for him, he had been excited by the chase but it was short and lax luster. A c**k-tease of an actual challenge.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:31 am
"Last time you told me you had an interest in a fight," Nataniel retorted back, shifting his weight to settle on the ground at his brother's side, with his back leaned against the wall. It was late, after all, and regardless of threats being lodged at him, he did not feel threatened. Only tired. "There is no sport in chasing down stupid boys, and it would be no less inconvenient to kill him than it would have been to kill me. Refrain from threatening me when you are incapable of following through."
Not that he lacked the physical ability, Nataniel supposed, still peering at the other over his glasses through narrowed eyes. He might have assumed 'magic werewolf cult' at their last meeting, and nothing dog-boy had ever said really argued with that, but afterwards... Many opportunities had been presented to alter his perspective.
"If you were a mugger, he would have outrun you. Easily." Despite the difference in age, Ellian was taller than Nataniel was, capable of sprinting faster in a shorter period of time thanks to the sport teams he partook in at school, over Nat's more endurance-focused jogging sessions. His brother was stupid. He shouldn't have been out at this hour. But neither was he completely incapable. "'If's are irrelevant, anyway. Against a youma, nothing any civilian can do is a challenge."
December had whatever power this boy had, in essence, and even still, Nataniel would have to be blind to not see the marks on him, the bruises... They weren't immortal. Neither December or dog-boy, Nataniel expected. Not infallible. Nothing to be ridiculously frightened over.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:47 am
His waning interest rekindled at the mention of youma. "And what do you know of youma?" He asked as he moved to stand in front of Nate.
"If he had a gun, then a civilian can do a lot. You don't see me chasing police cars after all." He said as he leaned in.
"What do you know of the Negaverse?" He had been talking to someone. A senshi maybe. Civilian. Youma. These were specific phrases used in their circles.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:14 am
Nataniel's deep red gaze followed dog-boy's steps as he moved to stand over him. A vague memory came to him, of a cat warning him that it could be dangerous to know too much, that there were 'sides' to this war and being friendly toward one meant you were an enemy to the other. Friendliness toward one, this one in particular, didn't necessarily grant safety from it.
But Nataniel wasn't one to fear danger.
"I know enough," Nat answered lowly, though that wasn't to say he was content with what he knew. If Nataniel asked, December would tell him whatever information he had. December- or Fetellite, rather, was scarcely better off with powers than he was without. The boy was practically a danger to himself in any state, and Nataniel lacked the means to do anything about it.
"My..." He still didn't know what to call what they were, though. Friends, he supposed... December had slept in his bed, even. But it was such a foreign, uncomfortable word on his tongue. "My friend, Fetellite, is among your ranks. He took me home after a giant plant tried to eat everyone and tried to explain the situation as best he could." Though December was probably less intelligent than even Ellian, and Nataniel doubted he had as much information as others. "Do you know him?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:28 am
A leak. And the man here wasn't corrupted.
"No but there are many officers. I will have to find him though. Leaking information to a civilian without corrupting them to our side. That's a no-no. And you even know his name and identity. You could betray him." He said as he watched with hungry eyes.
"The Negaverse doesn't take kindly to that. Maybe they'll make him like me too. I could use a subordinate." He said with a smile. "But I'm willing to hear things out. Did he offer to corrupt you to our side? You are too deep now to just wander about, you know that. You are putting your friend in a lot of danger using words you don't fully understand."
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 9:30 am
Nataniel sighed softly. It shouldn't come as a surprise they didn't know each other, though it did mean that there were enough agents that they couldn't all feasibly have met. This wasn't a small group of people who knew each other and their antics well, but instead a network with a hierarchy wherein 'leaks' didn't even register as a shock, so much as an accepted risk, as far as Nat could glean from dog-boy's expression.
Not a shock, but still a crime, apparently. And if 'being like him' was a punishment, then Nataniel didn't expect dog boy had a perfect record, either. Still, it would hardly do for December to suffer adverse effects over this...
"If you concern yourself over leaks exposed by the mouth of a stupid boy, perhaps someone ought to have given more thought to corrupting him to begin with." But December and this boy weren't the only ones he'd had opportunity to encounter. "You can scarcely keep any of your rank in line, it seems. The corrupted senshi Zubeneschamali I met only expressed outright dissent and disbelief in your cause." Though it was difficult for Nataniel to begrudge him that. 'Flying spaghetti space god ghost ********' wasn't exactly something he felt much faith in, either.
"No, and I would have refused if he had. I am not a soldier or anyone's underling. There is no benefit to me pretending to have an interest in such things." What had he expected from this conversation, then? That someone in the same folds as December would better be able to handle what he was going through?
Those marks on him were from someone in the same folds... He leaned his head back to rest against the bricks behind him and looked skyward. "What a pain... I expected that someone among you would realize that in a war, the benefits are greater to have warriors who believe in your cause and who are inspired to fight for it... As opposed to what I've seen: fear of punishment and spite for your faction."
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 9:59 am
He sighed back. "That's where you don't know enough. We are given a choice. Forcing the act on someone does more harm than good. Can kill a man or worse. Shatter their existence. Your friend was probably asked. Zubeneschamali was asked. They choose their path. They can b***h and complain but it was them that decided that. No one else. And like any great force, desertion and traitors will be expected. Even their superiors can be fooled. Sometimes punishment to keep others in line is necessary. Sometimes it is just insurance to protect the identities of others." He pointed out.
"Your friend must care a lot about you to explain everything. He'd know it would risk his life and safety and also put you in more danger as a result.
If anyone else finds out, then he might just vanish one day from you."
"It's not a kind side at times. I admit. All depends on his superior. Depends on who he knows. You have only talked to a few. Many others believe in it. I certainly do." He had very little choice otherwise. "They are sometimes forced to be hardened to prepare for what they will need to go through. Children asked to slaughter. To risk their lives, their hopes and dreams for the future, for a cause. Most don't think of that when they make that choice. What it really means to serve."
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 11:12 am
Nataniel wondered if that was the case: if someone had asked December, if someone had asked Mali if they wanted to be part of this, and they had simply agreed without knowing. Why would anyone agree to anything without knowing what it meant? Nothing was free. Anything anyone wanted came with a cost, and in terms of a magic war, it didn't sound as if the benefit always outweighed the price.
What had they been told the cost was, if not enough to prepare them for the truth?
December never acted as though he wanted any type of confrontation. Even if he wasn't innocent in every sense of the word, he still had a purity about him that didn't lend itself well to what Nataniel expected of the type of life he'd found himself in. He was just a young, idiotic boy, easy to manipulate, gullible... And this was where it had gotten him.
Nataniel didn't care to ask why dog-boy believed in it, or what exactly he believed in, at all. If he understood anything Arthur had told him, the only thing the Negaverse wanted was to spread chaos and to kill those who didn't conform to that vague and unhelpful goal. Morally, they were wrong. Nat knew that. Even before talk of a Space Cauldron that kept... souls or such nonsense from permanently fading from existence, he hadn't feared death. There was almost less reason to now. And since there was no 'God,' only a cauldron, how could one even justify what morals were 'right?'
"Help him, then," Nataniel retorted. "For something you believe in, you must agree that there is more benefit to having willing, capable, intelligent servants rather than frightened, ill-prepared, and confused children. But he is already corrupted. That is impossible to undo. Help. Him believe in it like you do."
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