Moratorium [Silv/Lilac - Closed]

Claes kept quiet as they rushed towards the city once more.

"We should check if he's still where we think he is," she said.

Claes cast her Cantus-detecting spell again and as she did, Liseran was looking a Goibniu. For someone who was part of the Expiate, he sounded rather...chipper. Then again, it was pretty obvious the Enkidu wasn't your typical officer, after all.

Perhaps I judged him too harshly, she thought to herself softly.

As the three made their way back to the familiar alley, there were no traces of the man save for the shaken ground. No citizens seemed to have caught attention from the ruckus either.

"He's not here anymore," she said. "Or anywhere nearby. He must have tried looking for us."

"Or the Stray," Liseran pointed out.

Claes nodded. She massaged her head. Today was far too much of a headache.

"He's out of our hair...for now. But he'll come back. He did seem to make a big deal of not drawing too much attention to himself save for his target, though," she said. "So now what?"

Liseran bit her lip.

"I suppose it's best we find the Stray," she said. "I...I have a feeling she might be somewhere."

Claes arched her eyebrow. "Oh?"

Liseran nodded. "There's a pretty quiet area in the city. Old beaten down inns and shops under repair. Save for workers that work at night, it's empty. She could have tried to seek refuge there. I know past people who have--well, have tried to staying there. Also I'm sure it would be better than trying the ratways."

Claes sighed. "Well, alright, if you say so," she said. "You know too much. It scares me. Perhaps I should have McCrae lock you up after this?"

Liseran squeaked. "Don't be mean," she said pouting. "I'll be in enough trouble as it is. Anyways, follow me."

As they walked, Liseran turned to Goibniu.

"Oh, that's right," she said. "Officer McCrae, I know I sort of, err...tried to attack you in order to get it, but would it be alright if I examine the cloth and broach you found? It's no doubt hers and it might tell me a bit of where she is."

With renewed energy, Goibniu accompanied them to the alley where they fought. While Claes utilized a spell to see if she found something strange, he used his good old fashioned eyes to check the area. Of course, nothing was found, and he communicated his lack of findings as Claes and Liseran informed how no one was nearby.

"It does make me wonder, why was he trying to keep us away from you, Madam Dormirse? Did he think you were a lead to the stray?" He asked, something which was answered, in a way, given how then Liseran explained to them a possible location to find her.

And then Claes suggested having him lock Liseran up after this was over. "What?" Then again, Liseran was helping them, perhaps locking her up would be too much? Nevertheless, they started walking to their destination.

However, it was then when Liseran asked him to see the evidence they have gathered, which would possibly lead them to find the stray. Now, at this point, he believed Liseran could be trusted, after all, it not like she was taking them to a trap. But at the same time, objectively speaking, this was still evidence. And further tampering it could cause issues in the future. After giving the times a thoughtful look, he turned to Claes and said "Officer Alfson, you have more experience. Do you believe we should lend the items to her?" 'Lend' was not a slip, as they'd require the items again once the trip was over.

If she said yes, then Goibniu would handle the times, but if she said no, he'd have to hold on to them a bit longer.

In response, Claes narrowed her eyes at Liseran.

"It should be fine..." she said. "As I said, if she tries anything funny, you can just roar at her and I'll lock her up real nice."

Liseran flushed and pouted.

"Eeee...Claes you can be so scary," she mumbled.

She waited for Goibniu to pass her the items before cautiously unwrapping the cloak. It's edges were burnt and it was stained black, but the broach itself was an immaculate and polished ruby.

"How strange..." Liseran murmured. "The broach looks perfect. It's gold and has a flawless gem."

"So she stole it?" Claes suggested.

Liseran shook her head.

"No...I think she owns it. It's been taken good care of. But does that mean she's a no--"

Claes' detecting spell suddenly began to pulse bright blue. She quickly dispelled it when she saw what was up ahead.

"McCrae, Liseran. Look."

Spouting out of another alleyway was hot red fire and bright silver light. The nearby citizens who passed it began screaming.

"Witch! WITCHES!"

A loud shriek came from the alley and a pale figure flew from it and hard against the brick ground. It was a girl of barely fifteen. Her hair was curly and red. Her eyes were icy blue. And a ruby-red stump replaced where her left hand had probably been.

"HAASHAAA!" the girl screamed in a raspy voice.

From the alleyway came the man from before, this time with the hand that was a blade now hand with skull-white skin and large knuckles.

"McCrae, we have to stop them!" Claes barked as she pulled out her guns. She wasn't going to make the same mistake of charging at him. "I'll use regular ammo. Roar at them now!"

"Ah, good observation." He said, before handing the objects to Liseran.

Her inspection revealed that the broach itself was in good condition, which made Goibniu's eyebrow rise, especially after she negated Claes' assersion of the stray having it stolen. "How strange, how could a stray own such a fancy object?" Goibniu asked, but when Liseran was in the middle of explaining herself, Claes interrupted her.

"What's the matter Offic-BLAZES!"

Suddenly, other citizens were crying witch from another nearby alleyway, and suddenly, a girl was thrown away, hitting the ground hard. Goibniu looked in shock as he saw that the mysterious assailant from before. When Claes barked orders at him, he nodded in agreement and looked at the figures, before taking a deep breath, and stepping back.

When his chest was puffed up, he took a step forward, and let out a scream that echoed in the area. It sounded like his normally soothing voice was replaced by a guttural, animalistic and slightly distorted yell, which definitely sounded strange coming from him.

Plus it was very loud, so he hoped Claes and Liseran weren't too stunned by it.

Both Claes and Liseran were pushed back a bit by the loud sound, but not by too much compared to the assailant. He staggered at the sound and a clean red line started forming on his wrist.

"What in..." he muttered.

Before he could continue, Claes had raised up her gun and fired several shots. The man groaned as he fell down on the ground. He didn't seem wounded even if there were holes in his clothing.

"McCrae, quick go to the other side. Liseran, the girl, hurry."

"Stay right where you are!" she said as she aimed her gun on him.

The roar's effect was going to wear off soon, but if they kept him cornered, he wouldn't be able to do much, right?

Liseran had gone towards the girl and started hushing her as she groaned with her bleeding arm.

The man only chuckled.

"Heh...what makes you think your guns scare me yet?" he asked. "Because of a stupid shout?"

He pointed slowly towards the bleeding girl with his new hand, a line of blood dripping from it as it started to detach.

"She's who you should be worried about."

The girl in rags who Liseran was tending to shook formidably and she was staring at her stump arm. Liseran, wide-eyed and trying to keep her cool, was wrapping it.

"I-it's okay," she said. "You're alright...please, relax. We're here for you!"

But the girl let out the most violent shriek and clutched her hair with her still present hand.

[color:d5a3=#000]"Aaaaaaaaaaaaggghhhh!" she yelled.

Suddenly, dark smoke started to form around the girl. Like a black serpent, it slithered up her legs and her torso and her arms. Her eyes started turning cloudy white. Liseran gasped.

"N-no! Please! You have to calm down!" she gasped.

Claes had lost her interest in the man even if she kept her gun pointed at him. The man, noticing this, took to reaching into his pocket before flinging his hand out. A gleam of silver shot and passed by Claes.

"Agh!" she shrieked as a scarlet line formed on her cheek.

The man then turned to Goibniu as he pulled out a dagger and while his other hand reached out for his gun.

Goibniu tapped his chest as his roar finished. He still didn't get used to it, as it was a skill he seldom used, but at least it seems that it worked, as it managed to stun the man enough for Claes to attack him. "Right away!" He said, as she gave him orders. They now had the man surrounded, now that everyone were pointing their weapons at him.

However, the stranger seemed too confident despite being outnumbered 3 to 1. "What do you mean? We will attend to the lass soon, now we shall deal with-" He began, but his words were cut off by the girl's intense screaming. Goibniu's eyes went towards her, but then he turned to Claes, who let out a yelp of her own. The man was attacking her! And was now going towards him!

"What poor etiquette..." He said, as he moved his firearm out of the man's reach by throwing it to his left hand, in a juggling manner, before having his gloved hand go in and grab the dagger by the edge. It might cause a bit of tear in his glove's palm, but he'd still endure it. He stared at the man's face as he applied pressure to his hand, deforming and breaking the dagger, before forcing it out of his hands, and throwing it out of the way. "Now it's my turn!" He said, before launching a right hook towards the man's face. He hoped it could connect, for it would definitely sting.

Goibniu would notice the man's eyes widen from behind his mask when he broke the dagger. His fist hit him squarely, sending him temporarily back before his arm started to morph into metal again.

"How dare you piss me off..." he muttered.

His hand turned once again into a long blade. Meanwhile, Liseran was shouting.

"C-Claes, w-we need to control her!" she shrieked.

Claes had been just about to ready to strike at the unknown man as well, but cursed under her breath. The Stray was the priority. If she turned, then not even the man mattered.

"McCrae, keep him distracted! The Stray's corrupting! It's important we stop that from happening!"

The man chuckled lowly.

"Looks like the girl's not going to be a problem for me, anymore," he said before stomping his feet and shattering the ground under him. The earth shook, causing Liseran and Claes to wobble, but the real effect was several spikes of rock trying to jut from underneath Goibniu.

Whammo! The attack managed to connect, Goibniu was sure that was going to sting tomorrow, but the battle was no over yet, as the stranger now brandished a long blade. The girls were busy at the moment trying to deal with the Stray, making Claes order him to distract the man.

But before he could reply, the man performed some sort of shockwave by stomping his feet. The shaking intensified around him, and suddenly a hole was opened underneath his feet! "Woah!" Goibniu exclaimed, as he made tried to jump to a said and out of the way of the rising spikes. His poor timing caused some of the rocks to scratch the lower regions of his legs, giving him some superficial wounds, but Goibniu tried to stabilize himself in order to not let himself open.

"My turn, skunk-breath!" He said, as he aimed from his hip and fired 3 shots at the man, trying to strike his body. Since he was using his left hand from the previous switch, his aim may not be the best, but this situation required quick wit and guns blazing.

The man groaned as he got struck several times and was knocked back. The holes seemed to puncture his coat, but there was still no sign of neither blood or severe injury. There was obviously something that was keeping his skin from staying intact.

"Auuuugggggggghhhhh!!!" the Stray from earlier screamed.

"Liseran! The other side! Now!" Claes barked.

If Goibniu glanced in their direction, Claes was holding her sword upright with her fingers against it, channeling a large glyph under the girl while Liseran cast what appeared to be a dome of glyphs around her. The red-haired stray tried to struggle as dark smoke clouds surrounded her and her body convulsed. The girl was hunched down on the ground and pulling her hair.

"I give up!" the girl cried. "I...I don't want to live anymore! I give up!"

It didn't seem to make sense that the girl was saying this to either Claes or Liseran, nor did it appear she was doing so. She seemed to be addressing herself. Hot tears streamed down her face. Liseran's bells shook in her hands as she tried to keep the girl steady. Her usual stiff and formal disposition seemed to all but vanish and she looked, if anything, terribly frightened.

"No, listen to me!" Liseran said. "You're going to be alright! Let us help you!"

The girl sobbed loudly as she clutched her hair.

"There's no point..." she said. "There's no use anymore!"

As the girl yelled, the Cartic marks around the girl seemed to pulse backwards. Liseran yelped and lost her footing, almost losing control over them. The glyph under the girl kept her kneeling down and spun rapidly as it retained the effect. Claes narrowed her eyes.

"Liseran, we have no choice," Claes said softly. "We need to extract her Cantus. There's no calming her!"

"No!" Liseran argued. "I-I can help her! We don't need to do that and--"

"Cantus aren't even supposed to be active, Liseran!" Claes yelped. "As an officer, it's within my duty to make sure any potential Cantic activity is eliminated!"

The girl continued to sob.

Meanwhile the man from earlier grunted. He turned to Goibniu, his mask forming a small crack. He raised one of his hands and clenched it. Goibniu would notice the earth under him moving and trying to surround his legs to keep him still.

Of course, the earlier smirk turned into a frown as Goibniu couldn't understand how the man was able to take 3 shots, practically point blank, and still stand. Sure, he heard him groan in pain, he was doing something, but it still wasn't enough?

In any case, the loud yelling and intense action of the girls distracted him, enough for him to not react in time when the ground below him quaked again. "What the!?" He tried moving away, but was not quick enough, and one of his legs was caught, followed by his next leg.

"You leave me no choice!" Goibniu had a bullet left, and with it, he decided to strike the stranger with all his might. Quickly switching hands, the firearm made a soft humming sound, before firing the last shot at him, the smoke left by the muzzle colored light blue.

The Enkidu tech was activated, and he hoped the force would do more than just make the man grunt a bit.