The Dogs (3) - Destiny City News reports several sightings of 'rabid dogs' appearing throughout the city. Those interviewed claim that the dogs would surround them and chase them down the streets, seemingly popping in and out of sight until the person finally found themselves in a well lit area. You have the misfortune of running into these same dogs.
They cling to the shadows as you go about your way at night. Seemingly at the corner of your vision, one flickers by, and you turn and see nothing. Again and again it happens. They are trying to drive you into the darkest corners of the city, herding you away from the light. In the nearby distance are the lights of the city: streetlights, signs, traffic. You have to do something to get there, to escape these creatures. When you make it to any significant light source, you hear a low growl, a wailing hiss; the dogs have vanished.
For now.
With October waning away, it was that season again when strange things started happening. Not that Destiny City was ever 'normal' at the best of times, but mid-summer, halloween and over the new year, 'strangeness' always seemed to come out in abundance. Reports of strange fog, spider webs all over the city, and rabid dogs abounded this year. Fafnir had not really seen any of these personally yet, but they still put him on high alert when he needed to go into the city, either powered or not. If he wasn't safely in his car or safely in a building, he kept an eye on his surroundings... just in case.
This particular alleyway, close as it was to the night clubs, was particularly dark tonight. Not a bad thing, when one didn't want witnesses to the things you were doing, of course. Usually, Fafnir appreciated it. Tonight, in the cold and the damp... it wasn't quite so comfortable any more. More eerie, really. Which was stupid, of course. What did he have in this city to truly be afraid of, since his promotion? Youma still didn't obey him, but he had the power to fend them off now, or to remove himself if need be. If there was an order soldier nearby, he'd feel them. There was nothing at all to be nervous of... but he still felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as something moved in the corner of his vision... there and gone the moment he turned to look for it.
Blue eyes narrowed as he slowly rose and brushed the dust off his robes, quickly scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing caught his notice, but that didn't change his sudden unease.
Daekie
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2023 8:43 pm
Ashton was getting frazzled, lately. She clung to the term a little tighter than she ought to have, but it was the only way to explain some of these impulses, some of these nerves and worries; all the stresses of life piling up in such a way that it made her want to tear her hair out. But it wasn't as if most of those things were going to relax any time soon - she'd done it all to herself.
Except for the discomforting aura the city gained in October. He'd lived here long enough that in some ways it was routine, but it would never be mundane. More than any other type of annual magic, whatever this season called up often had the potential to hurt. Which wouldn't be good! As Ashton or Aschera, he prided himself on generally not being injured at all. It was a good thing to keep as an ideal.
Then again, it wasn't as if youma were likely to listen to her no matter which face she wore, and a youma was only slightly more positive a thing to engage with than whatever else might be out there that week. But if nothing else, now that she'd powered up, Aschera's costume provided a thankful wall against catcalling -- what was that?
He'd heard something. Hadn't he? Something heavy-footed, in the shadows. The sort of breathing more likely to come from beast than man.
It was only reasonable to move away from that. But the streetlights on these blocks needed replacement, or repair, and her nightvision wasn't particularly good; Aschera was too focused on watching what might be at the corner of her vision to avoid bumping into a taller figure.
Someone came out of the dark, and with them came the soothing coolness of an aura like his, if weaker. Not expecting company, he was surprised when whomever it was bumped straight into him. When he turned, something sharp on the tip of his tongue, he saw a slighter figure with long, pale hair. Their outfit was... well, macabre, but it ironically fit the mood of the night.
A hand went out to steady the stranger by the shoulder as Fafnir swallowed the harsh words, reminding himself he was a General now. He needed to act responsible.
"You should be careful where you're walking." The eternal said, keeping the nervous edge out of his voice. "There are strange things out tonight. Are you lost?"
Maybe they were looking for their captain to take them back to Negaspace. It felt like a thin premise, but it was possible. The flicker of movement behind the corrupt had Fafnir tensing, though he still couldn't see anything there. Calm down.
"We should probably get you back to the main street... there is nothing back here of interest." Whether the basic thought the same or not.
Daekie
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2023 9:33 pm
She was probably embarrassing herself, wasn't she, walking straight into him like that. Aschera hadn't spent much time learning the social strata of the Negaverse, and she wasn't about to ask and look like a fool, but it certainly wasn't making a good impression.
"Oh, you know how autumn is in this town," Aschera said, with a thin flicker of a laugh that didn't entirely reach his eyes. "Always seeing things out of the corner of your eye. Sometimes they bite." Nothing back here of interest. Well, ideally that was the case, and he was just sleep-deprived and people had terrible taste in ambient audio. "But I get propositioned far less dressed as a nightmare, so it has its perks -- I was just heading home..."
Or somewhere in that vicinity. She wasn't about to give out her home address to a stranger, no matter how much stronger he was.
Fafnir raised a fine eyebrow as he gave the other's outfit another once over. They rode such a fine line that he couldn't decide quite what gender to qualify them as. Not that it mattered at the moment...
"Mmm..." He hummed as he used the hand on their shoulder to turn them and push them towards the glow of streetlights at the end of the dark alley. "Good to know I'm not the only one seeing them. They don't feel like youma... but I'd rather not find out what else they might be. I'll escort you, if you like. Staying together is safer than going alone."
Did this person really get propositioned often enough that outfit was preferable? His mind clung to the thought, choosing that over pondering just what it was they were both seeing, but not seeing. He was fast on the heels of the stranger as he hustled them both towards the light, the flickers in his periphery growing more agitated as they moved.
"Just keep going..." He murmured, his voice tight.
Daekie
Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2023 4:47 pm
The once-over wasn't unusual. Sometimes he cultivated it, for what good it did him; not all attention was positive, but sometimes it was what he aimed to achieve... not that it was of too much importance at this time of night with exactly one other person.
"If you're offering, I won't refuse." Aschera made herself pliable enough, moving when the hand on her shoulder pushed her along, but she couldn't resist glancing over her other shoulder. Surely there was something in the shadows, wasn't there...?
There was a low, rumbling growl from somewhere just out of sight, sending a visceral surge of fear through Fafnir. Fear that made no sense, but still managed to cloud his usually reasonable thinking. A reasonable person would have grabbed the basic corrupt and teleported the both of them away. A reasonable person would have known he was a match for nearly any youma. But none of that got past his sudden, gut-deep nerves.
The flickers seemed to multiple as they moved forward, growing more bold, if it could be called that. He still never got a good look at any of them, his eyes flashing about, but everywhere he looked, it seemed like there was something leaping at him from the other direction. He nearly started back, save for the equally bone-deep certainty that light meant safety from what he feared.
Fafnir's pace picked up and he hustled the other before him, all but pushing them along. He kept them at least firmly in front of him though, where it was at least moderately safer. If whatever it was came for them, it would have to go through Fafnir first...
The growls turned to keeping whines and yaps, almost a cackle of threatening laughter, as he shoved the corrupt before him out into the bright light of the street.
Daekie
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2023 4:39 pm
Aschera did not let out a strangled yelp of surprise, she had enough control over herself to avoid that, but the mouth-closed sound of -- fear, maybe, or anxiety -- still managed to slip through. Her pace never quite picked up to a run, but speedwalking might've been an understatement; the whatever-they-were were all around, threatening, and the other senshi was moving her fairly fast.
Stumbling out into the light, he took a moment to catch both his breath and his balance. "Are they still-"
Still what? Still nearby, still menacing, still real? Any way she could've ended the sentence felt awkward in her mouth and was absolutely, definitely, not the kind of thing she wanted to say to a tall, handsome man who was considerably more powerful than she was. Especially not when she was dressed like this. If Aschera wanted to sound reasonable -- about just anything in general, really -- he had to modulate his tone and his words!
"Thank you," she said as normally as possible, with the intent of seeming like a reasonable, sane person who just incidentally happened to have deeply macabre interests and costuming.
