Although Stilia is usually in a human form, it often mimics her true face. She has large, round eyes, but otherwise her features are quite sharp. She smiles much more then she used to, but usually only out of politesse.
Post by Stilia Medusa on May 17, 2016 15:14:52 GMT -5
Warning, this thread MAY get graphic, as far as violence goes. Maybe. Figured I'd warn you just in case.
Stilia was filled with disgust when she heard the rumors. Some man’s fabled collection, filled with strange and exotic beasts. Men with the heads of dogs, and flying beings only an inch tall. It wasn’t unheard of, for a circus to have supernatural creatures, for beings to show their true form, the crowd believing it to be some sort of costume or hoax. But every now and then, there were places that kept supernaturals against their will. Every now and then, an incredibly wealthy person would buy a supernatural off of the black market, and keep beautiful slaves on chains or in cages.
Stilia herself had almost been sold off into the black market, before she knew she could magically hide her serpentine heritage. She held a great anger at the business, and it made her stomach turn. Of course, Stilia would have hated the practice anyways, but now it was filled with a personal vengeance.
So she’d tracked leads. For years. She helped where she could, but most of the time her searches proved fruitless. Trails went cold, or she arrived too late. These traders had many people pursuing them, and were very careful. But now, now she had found a man, keeping a Fae in an iron cage, to use and abuse as he saw fit. Fae were incredibly beautiful, and he had taken advantage of her for his own satisfaction. It was revolting. He had to pay.
The man, of course, was some important business owner. He’d made many enemies over his lifetime, and had guards and other security. He obviously had knowledge of a supernatural world, but she was unsure of how in depth the knowledge was. There were, however, people you could hire when one needed assistance.
Usually Stilia would not turn to hired help, but she just needed a few extra hands. She’d pay well, of course. Secrecy was needed. She had thought of asking her friends, or the Academy, but Stilia did not want them involved. She could feel the hatred and anger clawing at her heart, and did not want those she knew to even see her like this.
Last Edit: May 17, 2016 15:56:17 GMT -5 by Stilia Medusa
Post by Rosario Seoirse on May 17, 2016 18:14:55 GMT -5
Being tight for cash, Valerie wasn't going to turn up her at the opportunity of any Job. That's what brought her out to this part of the city, lounging with an open book as if reading, despite never turning a page. You don't want to accidentally miss a job since you're too busy reading. Half the trick is carrying around a book she's already read to death, to stop herself from getting drawn in. Either way, she heard this would pay well, although the details of what she heard about the job were a bit vague.
Valerie learned from an early age to hide her inhuman features, whether it be under a hat and contacts, or the ability to make them disappear. Thanks to this foresight on her mother's part, Valerie had been saved from persecution. No doubt life would have been a lot harder if she had not been taught to do so. Finally, the young cambion closes her book and lets her eyes sweep the area once more. It was an excellent day for reading, but sadly, that will have to wait.
It probably wasn't going to just be some small job. Either way, Valerie made sure she was prepared to better handle the risks always involved with higher stakes. It's always for the best to be prepared, even if you have no reason to suspect any difficulties.
Bernhard was once a Hito'Radeau, but has been mutated into something else entirely. A scorched black beak covers his nose and mouth, his throat fused around a gas filter, and his eyes pressed against shattered glass lenses and wire mesh.
The rest of his hunched figure is covered by a pair of large black wings, similar to those of a crow's, and a shredded leather long coat. What patches of skin that can be seen through worn patches of clothing are sickly and rotted.
His arms and leather gloved hands are mostly normal, with the exception of a glass syringe embedded in his right forearm at an odd angle, but his right leg is only human to the knee. From there down is a taloned black appendage, similarly resembling that of a Crow's.
Post by Bernhard Reiniger on May 17, 2016 20:16:46 GMT -5
Bernhard liked to believe that he would make a good gargoyle. He had wings, the awkward biology, a grotesque demeanor,everything that was required of the little stone ornaments. He could even sit on the corners of rooftops and stare people down as they passed by, perhaps even pick a few off for consumption or experimentation later.
Of course, that damned little voice shot him down as soon as he thought about it. "You're more than three times the size of a gargoyle, you witless twit." this, and "If you just nabbed someone off of the streets it would turn into a scene, and then we would both be in trouble." that. Stupid little voice, always the voice of reason. He was stuck in his hole for a reason, and clearly it was because Bernhard was the superior entity. When rationalism had failed, the weaker mind was crushed, making way for the new one. Why couldn't he just accept that and die? Why did he have to hang on and live, no matter how hard Bernhard tried to break him?
He would make a good gargoyle anyways.
Now, however, was not the time to be a gargoyle. Now was the time to find the source of that wonderful scent hanging in the air. The scent of grime, of blood, rot, and disease. It sent shivers down Bernhard's crooked spine, and he knew that he had to find the source. It had been so long since he had found someone with an ailment caused by malnourishment and poor hygiene, several months at least, and that was before he could revel in it. The little voice couldn't stop him now, not that he would have if he could.
Large black wings stretched and flapped, propelling Bernhard into the air and towards the source. The closer he glided the more he suspected a larger group of individuals, and the more his excitement grew. He could occupy a lot of his time with multiple lab rats, and if one or two happened to succumb to their sickness, or to their 'treatment' options, then there would be another to step in and take their place.
The closer he flew, the more agitated his voice became. Something about how this wasn't worth it, about how dangerous it would be to even be encountered here, let alone be caught.
The voice was always right, surely? Surely not. No matter how much he begged to be let free, to take over just this once, Bernhard resolved to ignore him. This scent and the potential it carried was too good to be passed up.
A heavy crack and thud announced Bernhard's arrival to the scene, as well as the fact that he had dropped from too high of a height, and had broken at least one of his ankles. T'was an easy enough fix to make, as tendrils sprouted from his last human leg and wrapped around the afflicted area tightly, mending the outside as a similar process mended the inside.
Zacharias was flying! Oh, it was amazing and he reveled in the feeling of the wind rushing through his fur and his feathers. He shivered with delight as he flew faster through the air, his wings beating faster and driving him through the air. He swirled around, performing what modern day people would call a 'barrel roll' through the air. As he did so, his eye caught something below in the town. This high up, he looked like a bird of prey, and he knew it. He also knew that he could not go any lower with out more of his features becoming clear and it would be obvious he was no 'bird of prey', so if the male wanted to investigate he would need to take a different from then his true feliniod/avian sphinx form.
This high up, Zacharias had plenty of time to change before he struck the ground. Folding his wings, he began a plunge towards the ground below. His fur rippled and disappeared along his feline body, bone cracking and popping as they shrunk and moved inside his body reshaping in to different forms. His entire body shrunk, growing smaller rapidly as his muzzle hardened and became hooked in to a beak. His front legs disappeared in to his body, bones melding to his breast bone and reinforcing it slightly in to a keel. The sphinx was no longer a sphinx, but a magnificent bird of prey. He was a gyrfalcon, of a light silver morph and he had dropped to a level where he could easily make out what had attracted his attention.
Below himself was a female, of what species was undetermined at that time. Yet something about her had attracted the sphinx's attention. Maybe it was the book she was setting aside, or the position of her body as if she was waiting for something or somebody. Zacharias was interested to see what she was waiting on, or perhaps she was just simply passing time. With a screech, the gyrfalcon landed upon a lamp posted, flapping wings once or twice before folding them alongside his body. His head turned, eyeing the female with one eye before tilting his head and eyeing her with the other intently. The falcon stood still for several moments, an entire minute before suddenly spreading wings and leaping from the lamppost. The gyrfalcon slowly soared, not flapping it's wings as it coasted along and landed near the female. They falcon hopped several times, moving from side to side in a zig zagging pattern towards the female before cocking the head to once side eyeing the female directly and silently feathers shifting upon his tail.
I am a man... No. I am a beast... No. I am both...and I am neither.
Although Stilia is usually in a human form, it often mimics her true face. She has large, round eyes, but otherwise her features are quite sharp. She smiles much more then she used to, but usually only out of politesse.
Post by Stilia Medusa on May 22, 2016 10:00:22 GMT -5
Stilia knew who she was looking for. She'd been given somewhat of a description, and knew to look for the girl reading the book, on a specific bench. Stilia had also given the girl a bit of a description. She would have one blue eye and one brown eye, and long brown hair. Although this wasn't a form Stilia had used before, she figured it would be easily recognizable. Also, if things went South, she would simply never reuse this form.
She approached the girl reading the book. She seemed young. Possibly a teenager. But Stilia did not judge, age could be so misleading in a world of supernaturals. Stilia smiled. "Hello, sorry, are you Valerie by any chance?"
If the girl confirmed, the human-looking Stilia would smile. "Oh, wonderful. I suppose we should go somewhere more priv-"
A loud thud interrupted her words. Turning, Stilia spotted a grotesque creature. It was larg, almost bird-like, with bits of cloth fused to it's skin, like that mask... No. It couldn't be him! Stilia put her hands on her weapons, concealed under her coat, and carefully approached a bit to the large creature.
"Bernhard, is that you?" She asked, her voice wavering and uncertain. She had known Bernhard, before his 'accident'. She'd exchanged notes with him, allowed him to study a bit of her Gorgon physiology, and she in turn studied how vampyres functionned. She'd sent her daughter, Alysia, to learn under him, as the girl wished to be a healer, and the physician had volunteered to help. Alysia had returned in quite a fright, telling Stilia of a grotesque mutation the doctor underwent, while experimenting on himself. But surely this creature was not the result? A bit of vomit came to her mouth at the thought, although she swallowed it down.
Post by Rosario Seoirse on May 25, 2016 17:49:53 GMT -5
Rosario’s gaze is drawn to the screech of the Falcon, tilting her head. A nice, sleek feathered predator. She chuckles briefly as it soars of the lamp post, then begins hopping towards her. Strange behavior, but she does have a theory. “Sorry, I don’t have any mice for you to eat.” But now someone was approaching her, and she appears to match the description of Valerie’s employer.
Valerie’s gaze focuses on the approaching heterochromatic, and more than anything else, the thought on her mind was that this person should either invest in a pair of shades or colored contacts. Eyes like that tend to be memorable. Unless they already are. Or can change like mine. Well, whatever. Valerie then gives a brief smile in return, “I am.” But once the grotesque creature comes crashing down, she can’t help but jump and stand at the ready… And the woman seems to recognize it? The heterochromatic woman is still maintaining a stance Rosario would recognize a mile away. The young cambion can only assume the woman is still uncertain in her assessment.
And speaking of which… “What… Is that? Or him, if it is a person?” Well, at least she has finally managed to find another being that isn’t entirely natural. Hopefully it’s good luck, but still, she moves her hands behind her back, as if clasped, but really it is to keep her hands close to the gun hidden there.
Bernhard was once a Hito'Radeau, but has been mutated into something else entirely. A scorched black beak covers his nose and mouth, his throat fused around a gas filter, and his eyes pressed against shattered glass lenses and wire mesh.
The rest of his hunched figure is covered by a pair of large black wings, similar to those of a crow's, and a shredded leather long coat. What patches of skin that can be seen through worn patches of clothing are sickly and rotted.
His arms and leather gloved hands are mostly normal, with the exception of a glass syringe embedded in his right forearm at an odd angle, but his right leg is only human to the knee. From there down is a taloned black appendage, similarly resembling that of a Crow's.
Post by Bernhard Reiniger on May 29, 2016 13:14:03 GMT -5
Bernhard slowly stood, creaking somewhat as he stooD to his full, if a little lopsided, height. His head rotated backwards to regard the nearby people, one of whom he barely managed to recognize. He had never seen the Gorgon before in his life, but that wasn't saying much as he had only been born recently. Perhaps his old self dealt with her in the past.
Regardless, she held little evidence of any serious or even curious illness. Not anything that was bad enough to bother with at that moment at least, so she was of little interest to him. Perhaps she would be later, if her health began to decline or she interfered with his plans, but she could be ignored for now. The same could be said for the rest of the nearby creatures, though he loathed an opportunity to pass up a dissection.
His head snapped back into place at the correct angle, and the end of his beak raised to sample the local air from ground level. The stench of humanity was almost overpowering, but he could still make out the smell that he was after. It was near enough, the air currents from above had brought him close. The direction of the scent itself was a mystery to him atill, but it wouldn't take long to find it. Bernhard began walking, clicking the talons on his avian leg as he saught out what he bothered with landing to find.
Zacharias screeched in his hawk form as the new comer female approached. The hawk jumped and skittered, then with a flap of it's wings it leap and landed upon Rosario's shoulder where is settled with it's wings folded. The hawk squeezed her shoulder, talons digging in to her cloths but just lightly touching her shoulder so as not to scratch her flesh. The hawk, now settled upon her shoulder, remained there and tilted it's head as it watched the conversation happening between the female who's shoulder it was settled upon and the new comer female.
Zacharias watched and tilted his avian head to one side when the strange freakish mutated creature appeared randomly as if from no where. Feathers ruffled as it observed the strange actions of the freak, mutated with strange parts and mask upon it's body in different places upon it's body. Zach was not sure what exactly this thing was, or what it was doing here but he did not particularly like whatever it was.
I am a man... No. I am a beast... No. I am both...and I am neither.
Although Stilia is usually in a human form, it often mimics her true face. She has large, round eyes, but otherwise her features are quite sharp. She smiles much more then she used to, but usually only out of politesse.
Post by Stilia Medusa on Jun 2, 2016 14:17:49 GMT -5
The creature looked at them, and Stilia felt a bit of regret at catching it's attention at all. Usually, she would be overcome by curiosity, but a sadness filled her heart at the thought of her friend becoming this... Whatever this was. However, the creature lost interest in them, stalking away. Stilia grabbed Valerie's hand, pulling her away.
"He was once a friend of mine. But we should go. Whichever poor soul he's set his sights on has no chance, there is nothing we can do."
Stilia practically dragged Valerie away from the creature, and only after she'd walked a few miles did she let the young girl go. "I apologize for being so forceful, but that creature is much too dangerous, and we must keep our distance."
She wondered if this was an omen of sorts. Should she go through with her plan? She had to, she had to free those poor slaves. It is at this point that she noticed the hawk sitting on Valerie's shoulders. "Is that your pet?"
Yup, figured this'd happen. He almost always gets in the most trouble right after eating. Must be cursed or some crap like that. After just coming from a subway, still wiping the small amount of sauce from his meatball hoagie off of his face, he practically walked into the other three inhuman. And he could almost tell they weren't human just by appearance. He'd been around enough people in various clinics to be able to vaguely guess who was and who wasn't. It wasn't always correct, but... a heterochromatic eyed lady standing with another lady with some silver bird on her shoulder, it was likely that this time he'd be wrong.
Getting a little closer them, Abraxas whispered a quick question to the one with different colored eyes. "Hey, you inhuman?"
Yeah, not the most covert of ways of confirmation, but if he was wrong, she'd probably just shoo him off, thinking he was just some weirdo.
Last Edit: Jul 17, 2016 20:48:00 GMT -5 by Abraxas
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Aug 6, 2016 18:48:06 GMT -5
Laenieya was taking a stroll across the rooftops, holding her large coat in one hand, her hawk wings letting her gain lift to bring her up to higher rooftops, and letting her drift down safely to lower ones. This was nice, the feeling of running through the wind, letting your hair flow back, and your wings (if you were awesome enough to have them, like she was) taking you wherever you needed, wherever you wanted. She kept this up for another 10 minutes, before coming across two women down below her, looking as if they were moving in a hurry, but something seemed..off. Like they were fleeing.
Lae tossed her coat on, so it would would cover her wings, and dropped down near them, in a small alley, and pulled out a newspaper..from last week, but it would work. It always did in TV!
She listened out, curious. This was very bad, eavesdropping, but maybe they were sealing away a great treasure! Ooh, maybe they were going on a bank heist! With valuable things! That would be great. And fun. That would be grun.
Bernhard was once a Hito'Radeau, but has been mutated into something else entirely. A scorched black beak covers his nose and mouth, his throat fused around a gas filter, and his eyes pressed against shattered glass lenses and wire mesh.
The rest of his hunched figure is covered by a pair of large black wings, similar to those of a crow's, and a shredded leather long coat. What patches of skin that can be seen through worn patches of clothing are sickly and rotted.
His arms and leather gloved hands are mostly normal, with the exception of a glass syringe embedded in his right forearm at an odd angle, but his right leg is only human to the knee. From there down is a taloned black appendage, similarly resembling that of a Crow's.
Post by Bernhard Reiniger on Aug 6, 2016 22:40:22 GMT -5
Too many smells wafted through the air of cities to navigate them easily, too many people, too much filth and grime. Bernhard had never particularly enjoyed cities before, outside of the occasional night life he had once attempted to have, but now they were almost unbearable.
Glossy black wings shuddered and stretched out from his back, and launched the man several feet into the air, where he circled upwards until he was gliding just above the local rooftops. The air wasn't much better so low, but the air currents passing through at least gave hints of the specific scent that Bernhard was looking for. Similar smells permeated the streets down below, but what he was looking for was further out.
After circling a few times to get his senses straight, Bernhard picked out the scent he was looking for and propelled himself towards it. The longer he flew the less it appeared that the source was within the city itself, unless a loose warehouse or suburban home was housing a den so full to the brim of sick that it was bursting through the windows, which was unlikely.
It only took a few minutes to escape the perpetual smog of the city and enter into the outer limits. The scent was much stronger now, though even without the nasal indicator the source was fairly obvious. An estate fit for a king laid nestled atop the land, with a thick circular wall and fence. Tiny moving dots around the grounds appeared to be guards, and a few lights began to flick on as the sun fell. Aside from the main wing of the building there didn't appear to be much else, save a few smaller structures perhaps.
Bernhard circled around the grounds and landed a fair distance away, careful to not actually cross into the estate's airspace. His feathers were bristling just looking at the place, and he could only just stop himself from rushing in. There was almost a miasma of disease floating about the place within those walls, it was so thick he could almost see it, but something about the way it was contained, the way it didn't leak past the outermost fence was nagging at him.
He would wait and see, Bernhard decided. In other circumstances he might have just blown the house apart and ripped the occupants into pieces in the process, but he had no intention of potentially being trapped within a circle that he could not break. In other circumstances he probably wouldn't have cared. His prior acuity seemed to be returning, and the thought irritated him to no end.
Although Stilia is usually in a human form, it often mimics her true face. She has large, round eyes, but otherwise her features are quite sharp. She smiles much more then she used to, but usually only out of politesse.
Post by Stilia Medusa on Aug 9, 2016 12:35:16 GMT -5
What in the world was going on?
As she and Rosario were fleeing the God-creature-monster that was once her friend, she was stopped by a man with a German accent. Well, it sounded vaguely German, as he was whispering, asking if she was inhuman?
Stilia froze up for a moment. Normally she'd be able to keep her cool, no problem, but the appearance of Berhard on this day that was already filled with so much self-doubt had really shaken her up. She quickly whipped out a knife and pressed it up against the man's gut, using her own body to shield the knife from the view of others.
"What are you? A hunter?" She hissed out lowly at him, ready to drive the knife deep into his guts if she needed to. If he was a hunter, maybe he just asked random possible supernaturals, hoping they'd think he was a fellow inhuman, before killing them when they confirmed. She didn't want to take that risk.
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Aug 12, 2016 13:15:16 GMT -5
Lae peeked over her newspaper, watching the two women, and then the man that came up to them. She listened closely, without moving nearer for fear of looking suspicious. Because she wasn't at all suspicious, no-one hiding behind a newspaper got caught in American TV. She hoped they didn't anyway.
She flinched as Stilia drew her knife, her feathers rustling slightly, and she leaned back into the wall a bit. 'That looks dangerous. I don't like that. No thank you. I should run. But they haven't noticed me. And I'm fast. And I'm awesome. I should be fine.' She thought.
'Ifsheseesmeiamgoingtodie.' She internally screamed. But, at least one of them was an inhuman, like her. Maybe that would stop them from stabbing her! That would be a good thing. She tried to calm down, and continued to listen carefully, flicking the pages of the newspaper quietly every now and then to make it look like she was reading it.
Post by Rosario Seoirse on Sept 16, 2016 17:01:29 GMT -5
The young Cambion had to admit, having a rather large bird landing on her shoulder is a bit distracting, but at the very least she was able to follow Stillia's words. Big, scary monster that's as dangerous as it looks. "... Good to know. Guess I'll ask later." If nothing else, it's obvious that this woman will give her plenty of chances to meet others of a supernatural nature. "And no, she's not my pet." Yeah, Valerie may want to look into differentiating between male and female hawks. "Maybe I could find a way to tame it, though... But I'd probably need more time to do so."
Of course, distracted as she was, she only noticed the approaching reaper until after it could have been far too late, if he had been trying to harm her companion. Luckily, she seems to have that covered, but the Cambion subtly takes a stance, feet shoulder width apart, hands 'clasped' behind her back, one hand holding her book, concealing the actions of her other hand, gripping the m1911 hidden under the the hem of her jeans, thumbing the safety off. The red head, pushing the hawk on her shoulder to the back of her mind as she scans the area for any other suspicious behaviours she may have missed. If he's hostile, he may have friends. And there's one now. She can't confirm that the fool thinking they were hidden by that newspaper is related to the fool who seems determined to get himself stabbed, but usually it's safer to assume they are.
Watching the Fae from the corner of her eye, but avoiding looking directly at her to avoid giving away that the cambion's awareness of her presence, Valerie leans towards Stilia and mutters quietly, "He's got a friend in the alley, 3 o'clock."
