Forest

Gideon was off in the deep woods, walking around and plucking things off the ground. He was in the search for art supplies. As he was about to pluck a mushroom from the ground, a giant talon smashed onto it, creating a small puff of orange dust around it. A squawk followed behind it.

"Aw c'mon Hermes." he groaned, standing up and looking his hippogriff in the eye. Hermes chirped at him and his neck feathers ruffled up. Gideon rolled his eyes and turned on his heel. "You always say they're poisonous." He commented as he walked along, Hermes easily walking along beside him. "Well at least help me find something useful. I've got no more clay to mess around with and i'm bored today."

Hermes' head looked around, his keen eyesight searching the forest floor for anything Gideon called "useful." He caught sight of a rat instead and bounded after it, snatching it up and swallowing it whole. Gideon made a noise. "Ugh, I hate those things. Too stringy and, I don't know, dirty." he said, shaking his head and continuing his search. Hermes shook out his feathers and hooted at him. Gideon scoffed. "I'm not dirty!" Hermes observed his crumply clothes he wore the past two days in a row, and huffed out as if he were to scoff; a noise he learned that Gideon always made. Gideon ignored him and picked up some pebbles.

Hermes looked around the forest and clucked his concern, prancing his way back beside his human. Gideon sighed. "Yeah I know. Well, I guess I'll come back through here when I get a craving for something specific. Lets get back to the village, bud." Hermes chirped happily and lowered his front legs down onto the ground as Gideon climbed up onto his back. Once Gideon settled Hermes rose up, took a few prepping steps, and galloped back the way they came towards the village where they lived. Gideon watched the clouds up in the sky, imagining the sky as a big blue canvas and the clouds as strokes of white paint.

Luscinia Abaven

It was a particularly gorgeous day today. The sky was a bright blue and white puffy clouds drifted lazily by. There was a slight breeze blowing through the trees that brought a piney scent as it ruffled Lucy's hair and shifted the red scarf that hung around her neck as she watched the sky. Kestrel was flying above her, reluctant to waste such a perfect day in the form of a normal human, so instead she kept watch over Lucy from the sky. Lucy did not mind this arrangement at all. In fact, she was somewhat grateful for the silence. Kestrel was somewhat of a loud mouth and, though Lucy appreciated the conversation, she felt that perhaps the beauty of today's weather was best enjoyed in quiet bliss.

The pair had been travelling for a few days now between towns, no particular destination in mind; merely looking and listening for a hint of someone who needed assistance. Lucy did have an end goal, however; a small village that rested on a cliff side. It was home to people who had Bonds (as she did) and somewhat of a shelter from the dangers of the world. There leader of the village was a woman known as Lyra who was able to summon the Dragon she'd Bonded with. Lucy had no need for a shelter as she could get along fine in the world, despite it's dangers, however she wanted to offer her aid to them. It would be nice to be able to talk with others who'd formed Bonds as she had. Through her travels, Lucy had meet very few Uniques, and even fewer of them were willing to have a casual conversation with her. They always seemed to be paranoid or on the run from something unknown.

The Unique village was still a few day's walk from where she was, but Lucy was on the road that would lead them there - and along the way there were a few villages she was able to seek food, shelter and work in. Speaking of, there was a village appearing a short way down the road and Lucy wouldn't help but to sigh softly in relief. Slung over her back was not only her sword in its sheath, but also the bag that carried her Nightingale armor (along with other clothing and supplies) - suffice to say, it was starting to get a bit heavy, and she'd be lying if she said that sitting down to eat and possibly having a bath that evening didn't appeal to her tired self.

Raising her right hand to the sky, Lucy made a series of signals - with Kestrel's incredible hawk-like vision, it was not hard for the message to her across: 'I am going in to the town. Will meet here again in 1 hour.' Kestrel circled once as an affirmative before soaring off, likely to find herself something to eat. Shifting the weight to her other shoulder, Lucy picked up the pace a little bit until she'd reached the entrance of the town. Things were busy; people rushing back and forth, vendors calling out their wares, children playing in the road and animals being lead from place to place. People hardly noticed the red eyed girl slip into the crowd as she made her way towards the welcoming open door of the inn, eager to find food and possibly work inside.

The girl had gotten a few shops done now twenty more to go. The owners of the stores feeling pitiful for the girl put more things into her bag. She was obviously struggling to keep it even a centimeter off the ground. A few times she had bumped into a Hunter, she bowed her head in apology. Not like she was sorry or anything.

Looking the black hair girl felt something, she was not quite sure what though. Then red eyes past her, her head followed the red eyed girl. There was something about her, and was there something behind her hair. The black hair girl chose to ignore the feeling she still had a ton more things to get.

"Hunt them, hunt them down." Kids shout as they ran around playing their game. The girl wanted to yell at them for playing such a game. Last time though she got caught, they cannot wait another month to get the produce and herbs that cannot be grown by her isolated village.



Tasha and Ryuhwan were doing their patrol on this sunny day, things have been quiet. They and other hunters were getting restless as there have been no reports of Uniques were coming up. After spotting a black hair girl sitting on the city fountain they decided to follow her and to see if she would do anything suspicious.

Bored and positive it is a Unique they block her path. The girl placed her bags down full of produce and held up her hands. "You are acting very suspicious. What is all that for?" Ryuhwan asked with a cold heart. "I started an Inn." She smiled sweetly. The twin bullets did were not buying her story. There was something familiar about her. "Lyara." Tasha breathed out. Lyara's black hair changed to her natural brown, a dragon sat on her shoulder it's tail rest on her other side. "Aw~ busted, you are going to make Elder hit me in the head." Lyara commented with a smirk. "She can die." Ryuhwan shot his gun aimed at Lyara. Dodging the bullet she ran away.

Hermes slowed to a stop at the edge of the trees and walked into the village where they stayed. Other Uniques like Gideon were going on with their daily life here, their Bonds somewhere close by. The few children that were here were playing not too far away from where Hermes appeared, and as Gideon dismounted they rushed up to greet Hermes with delight. Hermes let them pet him and even lowered himself onto the ground to let the kids climb all over him.

"I'll be at the house ok?" Gideon called to Hermes. Hermes chirped in reply and helped nudge a little girl up his back. Gideon walked down the path and up to the house where he currently lived and stepped inside. Against one wall, there was a giant blanket and a few pillows where Hermes slept, and on the wall adjacent to it was the little cot that was Gideon's bed. The only other thing in the house was a station in the corner where Gideon could make projects. He went there and sat in the middle of his mess. He picked up a piece of coal and focused on the white piece of paper in front of him. Inside his mind countless of images flashed through his head. He narrowed down something he really wanted to draw. He wanted to try his trick again. But how? It barely happened that one time ...

His hand started to ache from sitting still. He decided to make it simple. He leaned forward, over the paper, and started to draw. The piece of coal was firm, so it acted like a pencil and didn't crumble on the paper. Each stroke was very slow. He always took his time when he was drawing. It helped him savor the feeling. He lost any sense of the outside world for a few moments. Hermes even got himself into the house and watched him from his bed without being noticed. Hermes loved watching Gideon draw like this. He knew he was forgetting everything that had happened to them for that few moments, and this time a small smile was on his friend's face as he stroked across the page.

Gideon tossed the piece of coal away when he finished, and stared at the image of a paintbrush. The picture was drawn to look realistic enough that it could come off the page. Gideon closed his eyes and hoped that it would. He remembered that feeling he had one time, and reached for it deep inside him. He believed he could pick that paintbrush right off the paper. When the feeling slipped away he opened his eyes, and let out a laugh. Hermes lifted his head from his talons. Gideon picked up the shiny, black paintbrush from the paper where it came from. "I did it again!" he said. He suddenly paused and frowned in realization. Hermes tilted his head and cooed. "I need paints too." Gideon said, and hurriedly went back to drawing with sparks in his eyes. Hermes rolled his eyes and rested his head back down again.

Luscinia Abaven

Just as Lucy was about to enter the inn, she heard the sound of of a gun shot and whirled around just in time to see two guys sprinting after a girl with brown hair and a small dragon resting on her shoulder. Lucy's eyes widened slightly, 'Is that Lyra?' she wondered, trying to recall the stories she'd heard of the dragon summoner. Brown hair in a ponytail and green eyes weren't very helpful as there were plenty of people in the world who had those characteristics, however she had never met another who was able to summon dragons.

'That'd had to have been Lyra,' she concluded, ducking into the inn. It took no longer than a minute for her to find a place and change into her armor (do it enough times and eventually you can change seemingly instantaneously). In addition to her armor she wore a dark red cloak that enveloped her body and effectively hid the armor underneath. Once done with that she rushed outside. She didn't know who the two boys were, one with black hair and the other with white, however judging by the guns they both wielded and how they'd just attacked Lyra, Lucy could only assume that they were Hunters. Her eyes became cold and narrowed slightly, but she did not wish to fight them at this moment. She needed to find Lyra and see that she was okay. The armor she wore was a precaution in case the two hunters decided to attack her as well, and the cloak was to hide the armor that would otherwise identify her as The Nightingale.

Looking around the square there was a distinct lack of people, all the civilians obviously having fled from the sound of the gunshot. The two hunters had also disappeared, following Lyra who had run down an adjacent street in her effort to escape them. In fact, the only thing in the square, other than the fountain which bubbled and spurted blissfully, was a bag that appeared to be full of groceries. 'Wasn't Lyra carrying this?' Lucy wondered, going and picking the bag up, 'I'd never really envisioned a dragon summoner needing to go grocery shopping. But, regardless, I still must return it to her. Perhaps I can gain her favor and she'd be willing to lead me to the Unique village.'

People were starting to reenter the square, looking around timidly for whatever had made the gunshot sound. Casually, the cloaked girl began to whistle a simple tune, characterized by three loud high pitched whistles, before she began walking inconspicuously in the direction that the others had run in.

Meanwhile Kestrel had remained somewhat close to the village and had just caught an opossum. She wasn't terribly hungry but was pleased by the idea of a light snack like this one. She was halfway though her meal when, with her hawk-like hearing and eyesight, recognized the three whistles of Lucy's song and immediately took to the sky. One whistle was "Come to me", two was "Come to me quickly" and three was "Come to me quickly - there's danger". Soaring above the city Kestrel quickly spotted Lucy, moving calmly but with a sense of purpose down a somewhat small and underpopulated street that was taking her through the slums of the city. She had on the red cloak he often wore to cover her armor, meaning Lucy was indeed anticipating a fight, though with whom or why Kestrel did not know. Additionally, Kestrel did not know why Lucy was carrying a bag of groceries.

A short distance ahead of her was a young woman with brown hair and a small dragon on her shoulder who was running from two men (whose black and white hair reminder Kestrel of a Yin and Yang drawing Lucy had once shown her). The brown haired woman took a slight turn and proceeded to climb up a latter, perching on the roof of a rather run down looking building. She said something to the dragon on her shoulder and it took to the sky, moments later disappearing. However not before the two boys saw it, and began running in the direction it'd come from - towards the brown haired girl.

Kestrel swooped down, carefully not to nick her precious wings on anything, and hovered in front of Lucy (obviously reluctant to land in such a filthy place - she hated to get her feathers all dirty as they were her pride and joy, and cleaning them was a hassle). She told Lucy of what she saw and Lucy confirmed that the boys were hunting Lyra down, describing the scene in the square (and explaining why she was carrying a bag of groceries). "I saw an alternate route." Kestrel said, "If you hurry, you may be able to arrive when the boys do, if not before them - provided nothing slows you down." Lucy nodded and Kestrel took to the sky again, leading the girl through a series of alleyways. It was a race against time now; who would get to Lyra first? Lucy increased her pace.

The little dragon hopped around in panic, the humans around him unaware of the little being there, the bags were not to be found and there is no scent of Sala. Just as the little one opened his eyes he was greeted by a small water made dragon. The two made conversation by numerous hisses and moans. The little black dragon found that he had beaten Sala there and that she could not have grabbed the bags. The water holding Sala's serpent shape broke splashing all over the stone street.

Lyra began running again after getting her breath back. Hopping over a building or two perpendicular to the forest she turned course. Instead of running away and towards what would seem her goal. Lyra was running where she came from. 'Just to mess with old friends.' Lyra thought as she jumped to the next building. Realizing she miss judged her jump she twisted landing on her shoulder hurting it. Gripping her arm she rolled over.




A redhead leaned on the opened window smelling the drying paints from earlier works. "Find anything good?" Rex smiled. "I missed you coming back." Rex stood up and tightened his jacket. "You would not have happened to have seen anything I could use, did you?" He asked, as the healer of this cliff-side town he needs the herbs found.

Gideon looked up at the new voice, suddenly dragged out of his daze and smiled. "Oh, hey Rex." He stood up and dusted the coal dust off of his clothes which thankfully weren't white this time. "Here, this is all I have." He pulled out some blackberry leaves and some dandelions from his pocket and stood by the window, holding the little plants in his palms.

"Sorry, I was a little east in the woods this time and it's pretty dry-looking over there. You'd probably have a better eye for plants over there then I do. Hermes said I almost died touching a mushroom." At that Hermes glared at Gideon and squawked in annoyance. Gideon grinned. "Ok, maybe it's not exactly like that, but it was a poisonous mushroom." Hermes huffed and shook his head.

Luscinia Abaven & Kestrel of the Claw

Lucy ran down a series of tight alleyways, following the path Kestrel was drawing for her in the sky. She was determine to find Lyra before those two guys did. After a few more twists and turns, Kestrel stopped directly overhead and hovered there for a moment. Lucy stopped as well, keeping her eyes on Kestrel. She knew her harpy companion was watching Lyra who must've changed course, mapping out a route Lucy could take in order to get to her fast. After a brief pause, Kestrel resumed flying and Lucy followed the given directions until she reached a two story build before diving from the sky and landing on the roof of the building.

Kestrel landed gracefully, her large wings allowing her to hover a moment before her taloned feet settled on the ground. She'd watched Lyra change direction and begin leaping from one rooftop to the next, but she'd miscalculated one and had to put all of her weight forward meaning that, though she'd barely made the jump, she'd landed on her shoulder and rolled. This seemed to have put her in severe pain as she'd not gotten up, instead continuing to lay there and hold her shoulder in pain.

Tucking her large, white-to-brown feathered wings behind her, Kestrel approached the spot where Lyra was laying (though was careful to remain out of her reach in case she responded aggressively). "Pardon me if this seems rude," the harpy said, her voice scratchy but not unkind or aggressive, "but you seem to have taken a rather nasty fall." Kestrel crooned, tilting her head slightly to get a better look at the girl. "You wouldn't happen to be Lyra, would you?"

Meanwhile, at the base of the building, Lucy knew Kestrel was on the roof though she could not see her. Looking around for a way to get up she spotted an old ladder and propped it up against the side of the building, climbing up it carefully. Once she reached the edge of the roof she peeked over it and saw Lyra, laying on the ground, while Kestrel stood looking down at her. Lyra seemed to be in pain judging by the way she was grimacing and holding her shoulder.

Quickly climbing onto the roof, Lucy hurried over to Lyra and set down the bag of groceries before kneeling down by her side. "Kestrel! What happened?" she asked seriously. "She was jumping from the rooftops, but underestimated the distance and landed on her shoulder." Kestrel responded in her peculiar scratchy voice, tilting her head to the other side now. Lucy nodded, glancing around the area cautiously. "Can you keep an eye out for those two hunters? We don't need any more trouble."

As Kestrel gave a nod and took to the sky again, Lucy turned her attention to Lyra. "My name it Lucy. I'm a Unique and that was my Bond, Kestrel. We were on our way to your village to see if we could offer our aid when we saw you being chased by those two guys. Can you move? Do you think it's dislocated, or just bruised?"

Lucius lifted his head from one end of the rooftop, spotting the downed dragon-summoner and some other girl bent over her. quickly pulling himself over the edge, he swung his feet to the roof, and stood up, dusting off his clothes.

“Good, good,” he passed the two figures on the roof, “With you out of the fray, I can unleash on these fools.” He gestured over the rooftop to the sound of fast-approaching footsteps.

“Also, while I’m not sure who your new caretaker is, I certainly hope she won’t attempt to stand in my way. I plan on indulging myself, maybe, satiate some of my hunger. For, what is a battle without bloodshed?” Lucius raised his hands, several cards spilling from his sleeves. The edge of the card’s glinted in the amber sunlight, indicating the sharpened blade that marbled the playing cards.

He gave a slight chuckle as he saw a large winged creature swoop downwards. “Oh, what a lovely pet, is she not? I assume that little-birdie belongs to one of you two? Nonetheless, I give my sincerest regards to the owner of the poor pidgeon.”

Lucius chuckled, delighted to see the look of shock on the cloaked-girl’s face. “I jest, I jest. I hope that a bird of prey will be nothing but an advantage during an encounter with either of the Hunters.”

Lucius stroked the building’s edge as if it brought back precious memories, “Well enough talk from me. My hunger grows, and according to the placement of the sun, and the sound of footsteps fast approaching the alley directly beneath us, it’s about time for a bloodbath.” He swung his legs over the edge, “Ta-ta!” and with that, Lucius dropped off the building’s edge into the less than loving arms of two hunters.

Lucius landed more or less on two feet, a large dopey grin plastering his face as the Harpy flew back into view, with two agitated Hunters giving chase. Taking in his surroundings, he had full advantage of the battle. The high buildings, narrow passages, and lowering sun, all combined to fill the alley with shadows. The shadows themselves seemed alive, as they twisted, melded and moved to form a large creature that stood directly between Lucius and the approaching threat.

[♠] [♥] [♣] [♦]

Talia stretched, yawning at the golden sky. So far, her break away from the outer walls had been nothing other than peaceful. She had visited some of the shops, took a walk around the town gardens, and met up with an old friend from her past. In short, it was utterly boring. No attempted robberies, no fools trying burn the village down, no uniques, and nothing to shoot at.

The blood in Talia’s veins was lazy, and it drove her insane. She even considered leaping from the belltower just to liven things up a little. Unfortunately, she happened to bump into her aging mother while muttering aloud, and was scolded and chastised for even thinking such heinous thoughts. “Isn’t it enough you put your life in harms way trying to keep everyone safe from powers beyond our control that you could stand to be bored every once in awhile? And if you’re so bored, would it kill her to visit her dying mother at least once in a week? I don’t get to see enough of you as it is and I feel as though I’m going to lose you like Aya…”

Just the thought of her mother’s voice made her suppress an eyeroll and a shiver. Though, her mother had a point. She never did seem to come back to the family home; instead choosing to spend all of her time off practicing her shooting skills.’Though,’she thought, pulling a pistol from its holster, ‘when your skills are as good as mine, who needs practice?’ With that she pointed the gun at a faint glimmer in the air soaring above the village.

A gunshot broke the tranquility.

Confused, Talia checked her gun, making sure she hadn’t fired it. No, it still had all of it’s bullets, perhaps she missed the bird, no, she dismissed the thought. But there, above the village, a small hawk still flew, flying away from the source of the noise. No, not the noise, a larger bird perhaps? A second bird-like creature began to rise above the rooftops of the village, flying towards the gunshot.

Cracking a smile, Talia followed, hoping to see some action break out of the day.

Only a few minutes later, Talia stood, huffing in an alleyway, as she tried to recover her breath. She had lost sight of the bird-creature a while ago, leaving her running in the dark. Though, as her gasps began shorter and far-between, she began to hear running, two figures running, in the adjacent alley. Quickly rounding the corner, she saw a pair of Hunters disappear after the same bird-like thing from before. Judging by appearance, the two Hunters seemed to be Tasha and Ryuhwan. Talia broke into another grin, ‘if the twins were involved, this is sure to be interesting.’ She thought as she chased after them down the alley.

Lyra had heard the scratching of claws on the concrete. She did not move, it was not a Hunter none of them was a Unique with bird likeness. Unless if it was a new Hunter, ha, she would have been caught or dead. Lyra's eyes widened she was not expecting to hear a voice. Rolling over, keeping off of her shoulder though, she saw a Harpy. Lyra smiled, "yup" was her reply.

Lyra was surprised by the new face right next to her, but smiled when she made the connection. "I was right." She whispered to herself before answering Lucy, as she had introduced herself. "No, idea." Lyra sat up, maybe against wishes, looking at Lucy, Lyra smiled. "My name is Lyra, your Harpy guessed right about me." She smiled as if nothing was wrong.

A little black dragon appeared above everyone, gliding down to Lyra. It was jumping around then finishing with a hiss. "You have no idea where the bags are." Lyra confirmed with the little dragon, he nodded his little black head. Lyra sighed and stroked it's head with her good hand. "Things always have a way to work for a Unique."

Lyra's head quickly snapped at a new greeting. Her eyes followed his every move, she knew he was not a Hunter but the way he was talking her brain got quickly fried. Maybe it was the day that she let it get fried she does not know. Her body moved on instinct as he jumped down. Only now she could hear the footsteps coming and stopping.


Ryuhwan and Tasha knew they had found the spot, they could hear voices of multiple people. 'Uniques always seem to find poor Lyra.' Tasha chuckled to himself, he stopped when he gained a glare from his black haired buddy. They stopped in their tracks as someone dropped to the ground and grinned like a madman. "It, it could not be." Tasha tried to reassure himself. "Take care of him while I-" Ryuhwan's words were cut short Lyra, who had went to the edge to watch, had kicked him in the face. "I will not let you summon." She stated as-of-a-matter-of-fact. "If we are going survive, yes." Ryuhwan kicked her legs out from under her, landing she quickly rolled into him knocking him over. Lyra ignored the pain in her arm as the two continued to throw punches and kicks at each other. Tasha continued to point his gun at the grinning man.

Luscinia Abaven

A tiny black dragon appeared by Lyra's side and squeaked, "You have no idea where the bags are." Lyra said with a sigh as the dragon nodded, "Things always have a way to work for a Unique." Lucy set the grocery bag she'd brought along down in front of the small creature. "Perhaps this is what you're looking for?" she said with a smile, "I saw you drop it and thought perhaps you'd like it back." Nudging the bag a little closer to the dragon she added, "Here, perhaps it would be safest in your hands - er - claws."

“Good, good, with you out of the fray, I can unleash on these fools.” Came a deep voice and Lucy jerked her head up to see a man standing on the edge of the building. He had shaggy brown hair, a black leather jacket and a red shirt that she somehow got the feeling served to hide many blood stains. There was something off about it - his presence made the hairs on her arms stand on end. His dark eyes met Lucy's and the feeling intensified. “Also, while I’m not sure who your new caretaker is, I certainly hope she won’t attempt to stand in my way. I plan on indulging myself, maybe, satiate some of my hunger. For, what is a battle without bloodshed?”

Feeling rather alarmed she mentally called out for Kestrel and in an instant the harpy had landed next to Lucy, her wings open to their full length and her talons leaving scratch marks on the roof of the building. The new arrival looked bemused. “Oh, what a lovely pet, is she not? I assume that little-birdie belongs to one of you two? Nonetheless, I give my sincerest regards to the owner of the poor pigeon.” Lucy's expression must have been one of horror as she jumped to her feet, drawing her sword as Kestrel made a low, angry crooning noise. He chuckled darkly, “I jest, I jest. I hope that a bird of prey will be nothing but an advantage during an encounter with either of the Hunters.”

“Well enough talk from me. My hunger grows, and according to the placement of the sun, and the sound of footsteps fast approaching the alley directly beneath us, it’s about time for a bloodbath.” He swung his legs over the edge, and them flung himself off with a cheerful: “Ta-ta!” Lucy couldn't help but wonder what the hell had just happen, running over to the edge where she spotted a scene below. The mysterious man had landed directly in front of the two Hunters that had been chasing Lyra earlier, and around him... shadows. Something was happening in the shadows. They were moving of their own accord and melded into some kind of bear-sized creature.

Lucy turned towards Lyra but found she had disappeared. Kestrel inclined her head to the edge where, upon looking again, Lucy could see that Lyra had just engaged one of the two male Hunters. "It's never a dull day when you're a Unique, huh Kestrel?" she said, her voice containing a mixture of uncertainty and humor, but then she raised her own sword and jumped down, aiming the magnificent blade at the Hunter who'd just raised his gun at the shadow-man (who Lucy assumed was on Lyra's side). Kestrel perched on the edge of the building, watching keenly. When Lucy needed her help, Kestrel would come, however generally Lucy was bale to handle herself just fine.

Luscinia Abaven

Lucy heard the gun fire and the sound of a body falling. Sparing a glance in the direction of the shadow man, Lucy couldn't tell if he was dead or alive but she could see the person that'd shot him. This girl had short white hair with a few tiny ponytails, silver eyes and a gun with a wisp of smoke rising from the mouth of the barrel. With shadow-man downed, they were equally numbered. The two hunters stood back to back. Lucy was facing the one with white hair whilst Lyra stood opposite to her, facing the brown haired one. The girl who'd just shot shadow-man stood vertically to the group in another alleyway and he'd crumpled to the ground in the space between the two hunters and the girl.

Everyone stood still deathly still, waiting for the other to make a move. Kestrel was perched on the building, looming above the group, obviously not yet noticed by the Hunters 'Kestrel, you'll need to grab shadow man and move him out of harm's way,' she spoke to her Bond through their mental link, 'then come to my aid. I'm fast enough to block these bullets, but a single slip up and I'll wind up as shadow-man.' Then to herself she thought, 'I hope he's alright...'

"We get a big pay day." said the hunter facing Lyra, loading his gun (but with what Lucy couldn't see), "See you in hell." Suddenly a stone dragon flew down from the rooftops and took what appeared to be a dart, though it had no effect on him. Lyra said something to the dragon, then turned her attention to the shadow-man, "Can you move?" "Don't worry about him, Lyra. Kestrel-" Lucy didn't get to finish her statement as Kestrel gave a screech and swooped down, grabbing the shadow-man in her talons (careful not to accidently hurt him) and then taking to the sky. Lucy smirked slightly as Kestrel rapidly moved out of range of the Hunter's guns. "She'll get him somewhere safe."

"What you just standing there for? Guard us!" one of the two male hunters barked at the female one, rudely. In a much less rude tone, the other hunter said to the huntress "Get ready for a fight if you don't wanna die Talia, a cornered Unique is very dangerous." Just then it occurred to Lucy; the white haired girl was Talia, a well known and feared Hunter. Many innocent Uniques and their Bonds had been unjustly slain by her hand, and Lucy's eyes narrowed. 'How dare she consider herself a protector of the people, when most of the 'criminals' she puts down are innocents merely being put to slaughter. I refuse to be one more tally mark under her name.'

Brandishing her sword she could feel her connection with Kestrel, which had diminished the further she got away, growing stronger again meaning that she was on her way back, having set the shadow-man down somewhere that had yet to be specified; focus on your opponents, Kestrel told her disdainfully. 'They're using tranquilizer darts instead of killing us outright. That give me a little bit of an advantage as darts are slower than bullets, but I can't take too much comfort in this fact. Even though Lyra is here with her dragons, there are still more guns being pointed at us than I'm confortable with.' Lucy thought as Kestrel came nearer, giving her a warning about the darts as her mind raced for an attack strategy, 'Perhaps... perhaps I can take one and use it against one of the Hunters. Then we could take them for ransom and interrogation, figure out what it'll take to negotiate a truce'

"I thought Lyra went out into the city today." He told Rex. He leaned against the wall next to the window. "I remembered her saying something about running out there soon. I didn't see her this morning, so I figure thats what she might be doing."

Hermes from behind him chirped. Gideon looked back at him. "Ah, I thought so." He looked back at Rex. "Hermes said he heard them leave this morning. What do you need her for?"

"I was just wondering if you had seen her come back, but I guess not." Rex sighed, why must his childhood friend be so troubling. Wheels and running steps stopped his further thinking. "Rex!" One called as he run up to him, crouching some he caught some of his breath back. "We returned with the cart as soon as it came to the meet point, since Lyra was not there with us we went with the plan." Rex slapped his face and groaned. "Alright, just put everything where they belong." The brown haired Unique nodded and ran off. Rex gave a slight bow to excuse himself from the conversation with Gideon and ran off to find Elder.



Lyra watched as the Harpy gently and carefully grab the boy and fly him off. Lyra gave a quick glance to the roof of where she came from. The little dragon had done what she had asked him to do. A quick glance at Lucy told Lyra that she was boiling with rage and had grabbed her sword.

Lyra cringed her arm out, she had just missed grabbing Lucy. The dragon that was acting as a wall between the two groups gave a deep bellow moan. "I know, go ahead and rest." She pet the dragon to comfort him. "Please." She asked that dragon did not seem to make a noise. Falling to it's belly it hummed disappearing in a flash of light.

The twins did not flinch as they heard clinging metal, they were almost done with call their bond. The dragon moved but they did not budge, they could not budge if it was to work. Then a light shone. "Now!" They both yelled, their calling done. Two hounds one belonging to the other, ugly and mincing they stood ready. On the command they charged to the source of the light.

The light gone, revealing Lyra holding a staff with the hell hounds attached doing their best to drag her down. With a twist and a jerk she sent one hound back at Tasha. Stepping on the other and pulling the staff back the hound yelped in pain. Ryuhwan cringed in pain. "Not too bad." Lyra teased as she jumped over and kicked Ryuhwan in the chest knocking him back. "Who always beat you when we played?" She smiled.

Luscinia Abaven & Kestrel of the Claw

The white haired girl raised her gun and pointed it at Lucy, her finger steady on the trigger. 'Kestrel, don't fail me now,' she thought, eyes focused on the barrel of then gun, then the moment the girl's finger twitched on the trigger Lucy's right hand whipped upwards and - Lucy felt her fingers snagged the dart midfight, then without thinking she whipped it around and flung it back in the girl's direction. Then the moment the feathers left her fingers she lunged at the girl, sword up to deflect any more bullets. If she was lucky, the dart Lucy had reverted back to her would be enough of a distraction for her to knock the gun away. If not, then she would still be able to get close enough she could possibly knock her out with the flat of the blade. Lucy didn't want to kill anyone, but she wasn't going to let them kill her either.

Meanwhile Kestrel had returned to the scene, hovering above the battle, watching with her hawk-like eyes. Lucy could handle the girl and her darts, however the two male hunters seemed to be more than that - they were Uniques as well. It was puzzling as to why they were hunting down their own kind, but Kestrel kept this information to herself. Lucy needed to focus. Instead when Lyra was locked in combat with the two hunters themselves, Kestrel dove for the hounds. Reaching out with her sharp talons she pinned both of them down against the stone road by their necks so they couldn't ambush Lucy or Lyra. Then, spreading her massive wings and beating them furiously, Kestrel stirred up dust to make it significantly harder for the darts these hunters were using to travel in a straight path.

Luscinia Abaven & Kestrel of the Claw

Kestrel's piercing shriek of pain made Lucy's heart skip a beat and she looked up at where her beloved companion hovered in the air. The knife had embedded itself in Kestrel's left thigh and Lucy watched in horror as the normally white feathers begun to turn red. She knew that the wound was superficial and, though painful, wasn't crippling. However as Lucy turned her red eyes back to the girl who had a gun pointed at Lucy's face, she couldn't help the rage that was amplifying within her. 'Calm yourself, Lucy. She wants you to get angry. An angry fighter is a careless fighter,' she thought, quelling the rage within her.

Raising her sword, her red eyes burrowed into the dull silver ones of the girl who had rolled across the ground to where her gun had been knocked aside, and now rested in a kneeling position with the gun pointed at Lucy. "That was extremely rude of you to hurt my friend like that, especially since I ought to be your target" Lucy said, her voice icy and unsettling as she slowly began walking towards the girl, never breaking eye contact with her blade raised to deflect any more darts. "I find it odd that you are all using tranquilizer darts instead of bullets, because this means that someone wants you to bring us to them alive. And if they're willing to go to that trouble, I suspect that means they'd be extremely unhappy if you were to fail."

The distraction of her voice seemed to be enough because Lucy was now within range and the girl had not yet fired. "Personally I'd rather not kill you either," she said, "however it seems that Kestrel has... a different opinion than I."

At that moment Kestrel, who had pulled the knife out of her thigh with her uninjured leg, whipped around and flung the knife at the white-hair assailant. It was moving fast enough that, had Kestrel not warned Lucy of her intention through their mental link, she would've have seen the knife until it had embedded itself deeply into the girl's leg. The harpy gave a screech that would've roughly translated to "Payback is a bitch, huh?" if anyone (aside from Lucy) was actually able to understand her.

With this distraction, Lucy suddenly lunged for the injured girl, hitting her with the flat of her blade and effectively knocking the girl out. Lucy quickly took the guns she's been wielding in case she woke up, however at the moment Lucy needed to focus on the other enemies. Looking up at the sky where Kestrel was hovering she called "Kestrel! Are you alright?" The harpy gave a screech in response and Lucy nodded an affirmative, raising her blade to the two Hunters that were left standing. "Alright. Let's finish this up and then we'll get your leg taken care of."

Tasha, cringed his hound was pinned by the Harpy. Ryuhwan had taken as wing went through the ally hard, firing would be pointless. The Twins could not do much, the hounds pain was their pain and with both pinned in painful ways so were the Twins. The silver girl's gun came near Lyra in the dark corner. Lyra could end the whole fight with the gun.

She rolled for the gun, but when her hand was not the one for it. Lyra pushed off the wall with her feet rolling backwards next to Lucy. A groan sound came from her other side, it was Tasha. His gun was in his holster.

Ryuhawn pushed up in pain his hound up with him. "I find it odd that you are all using tranquilizer darts instead of bullets, because this means that someone wants you to bring us to them alive. And if they're willing to go to that trouble, I suspect that means they'd be extremely unhappy if you were to fail." Lucy spoke boldly, she was not that far off the mark.

"That is an explanation best saved until our fight is over. Lets just hope it is I who gives it." Lyra spoke, a weird shadow had caught her attention by the corner of her eye. Just need to wait- A screech broke through the air, it was either the Harpy screeching coarse words or the female hunter yelling in pain. At least there are a few hunters who does not enjoy pain.

"May I have that gun?" Lyra whispered to Lucy hoping Ryuhwan does not hear.

Ryuhwan was distracted to even hear Lyra he was focused on the reappearancing blob of a shadow. He sent his hound after who had the bond with this thing, while himself went after the shadow. He switched from darts to bullets in one swift movement, foolish but he hoped that bullets would work as he shot a hole after a hole into the beast. The hound had jumped on the boy knocking him over with his head hitting the ground nocking him out.