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Vesuvianite had been quite annoyed with the way things had been going for himself this winter. It seemed he had a large target on his back, complete with a neon arrow sign pointing him out and a siren blaring "BEAT THIS GUY'S a**". He'd attracted many more fights than he'd ever had in his time as an agent just in this winter alone. He truly had begun to wonder if somehow, someone had figured out who he was and was tracking him. At least an AirTag would be gone... right? He... he hadn't actually truly checked on how that worked. Would something in their pockets just vanish upon power down and power back up? It was something he would have to test another day. They had to suppress a shiver at the thought that someone from Order might be able to track their every movement as a Captain. Gross. They were pretty sure that wasn't able to happen, but now that they'd put the thought in their own head, they wouldn't be able to relax until they'd toyed around with the way powering up and powering down worked with items stuffed into their pockets. Blech.

Hopefully tonight, they wouldn't have any trouble. Truly, he was rather sick of the whole mess and was close to cutting his losses for the rest of winter and coming back in the spring, he decided as he casually stuck his hand in the chest of one of the local homeless guys that had been causing issues around here.

Ah. Yes. Of course. It was like they'd been thinking to themselves earlier. The universe had placed some kind of giant "KICK ME" sign on his back and now the magical idiots from the so-called virtuous side in this magical war were able to find them any time they decided to go outside and do their ******** job, like they weren't trying to save Earth and thought murder was cool. Wincing, then shifting to a full cry of pain as the light hit them, they dropped the starseed and stumbled back from the man, covering their eyes with both hands, their sickle clattering to the ground as the ball of pure sun felt like it was melting their skin off. They were pretty sure it wasn't, but they would definitely have severe burns, right?

"You piece of ********!" they shouted articulately.

Dunnottar, meanwhile, had become more vigorous in his patrols. Now that he had a very specific civilian he wanted to protect, to keep safe, he couldn't help but become a little but more strenuous in his duties. Not that he had neglected them before, but he felt a little more strongly about keeping the people of Destiny City safe and warm, in their beds, away from the problems that the Negaverse could cause them. Problems ranging from headaches to sudden, unexplainable deaths that left families wondering just what the ******** had happened. Families that Ziuhoi had to speak to and explain that no, he had no idea what had happened, and nobody else could explain it either. Families left bereft of their loved ones as well as any answers as to what could've happened. Nobody would believe the magical side of it unless they were directly confronted with it, and even then, the brain had infinite capacity to deny, repress, and erase anything it didn't like hearing or seeing.

In short, he had a renewed vigor to protect the helpless. Thanks to Ziuhoi. He blushed a little at the thought of the man, but he shook his head, trying to keep the thought rebuked. He needed to focus.

The commotion a couple alleys away alerted him, and he felt a Squire and a Captain with his aura sense. The Squire could probably handle it alone, but backup never hurt, especially if a starseed yanking was involved. An extra factor in ensuring the soul returned to its rightful home wouldn't go amiss.

He swerved from his path and came charging in, cane raised.

Vesuvianite heard the stomping feet of an incoming person and rolled out of the way, moving their hands from their eyes and looking up. Ah. s**t. That was a second Squire. Not good. Hissing under his breath, he grabbed his sickle again and launched to his feet, standing over the fallen starseed next to the slumped body of the civilian, glaring at them both with a challenge in his eyes, despite the pain in his hands.

Vesuvianite growled at them both.

Dunnottar nodded back to his fellow Squire—no idea what he was, but hey, a Squire was a Squire. He slammed his cane into the ground and summoned the unicorns, watching dispassionately as they charged the Captain and began to destroy the man's shins and ankles.

"Oh, ******** this," Vesuvianite said, growling again, though this time, to try to keep himself from crying out in pain.

He'd give these assholes a reason to remember him this time. He charged forward, heedless of the unicorns, and slashed into the upper arm of the Squire summoning them. Pleased with that, he teleported back to Negaspace. He'd come back in the spring. ******** this.


Dunnottar had not expected the Captain to rush him. He blinked, and in that moment between his brain processing being attacked and the instinct to leap away, the Captain's sickle came down hard on his arm. He lost his grip on his cane immediately, shouting in pain as he grasped the wound with his free hand and fell to his knees, the unicorns his magic summoned instantly disappearing once he was distracted with the pain. ********. He was bleeding pretty badly. He knew he was. He squeezed the would a little harder, trying to stifle the flow. Blood was supposed to be kept in the body was about the only coherent thought he could summon at the moment, other than holy ******** ow holy s**t ow ow ow ow ******** ******** this hurts ******** s**t ow pain ow ow hurts. Though that could hardly be called a coherent thought anyway.

Dunnottar took the glove and pressed it to his wound, trying to keep his breathing steady.

"I do, but I know a paramedic who's a lot closer to here than my magical friend is," he said with a little huff. "He's probably the best person to stabilize it, before I run off to find Lanting. Thanks."