Aurora Akumi Akatsuki's Story

Walking into Gambit's Bar, Aurora's Inu form standing out from the crowd, coal black wolf ears and tail with her icy blue eyes. She sat at the bar and ordered some wine.

Hearing the mages speech Valsaan considered his options, his coin was running low and he'd found little employment for a necromancer in the neighboring towns. Dragon hunting was hardly a cushy line of work but a good necromancer could accomplish much, besides the variety of warriors approaching Glendon meant he'd hardly be operating alone.

Valsaan rose to his feet and readjusted his staff, he then whistled to the thrull to fall into step behind him and he began to make his way across the bar, being careful to give any rowdy or otherwise dangerous looking patrons a wide berth as he moved towards Glendon. When he reached him he raised his hand in a gesture of greeting.

"Sir if you are looking for men to join your fine company may I offer my services? I'm a necromancer by trade and while you may find such magics unsavory I've often found that the dead provide the best means to defeat the living. I'm not well versed in combat spells but I can make thrulls and raise warriors so we'll have little shortage of unpaid help. What say you to my employment?"

The magic had left Glendon's vocal folds as he was slightly slumped in his chair. He was partially stuck in his drink when he was set upon by one looking to work for him. A female dark elf standing a bit taller then he would be if he stood. So it seemed not everyone in the bar was some slouch of the city looking to only live in their comfort. Glen pondered another moment looking at the woman before dropping the flask back into it's case.

"I do but I do have a few current stipulations that could tie up things a bit lass. The pay won't be much at first, I've ran into problems receiving funding from just about anyone. I will pay out of my pocket for all aid we require and do what I can with my magic to fix any injuries. I'll even throw in the back pay once we do finally hit base." Glen's words held a bit of a tone that scared him thinking the majority of people looking to join him were in it for the coin and not for the honor of the job.

He looked down again from the woman's eyes at the ground as another figure approached him. This time a knight or what seemed to be a knight. He could not see anything made of flesh within the armor just a dark aura that emanated from it. Not strictly evil but at the same time not entirely good. Glendon's hair rose a bit on his neck a chill going down his spine but he did not let the emotion betray the features of his face. When the knight knelt before him he was a bit taken aback. His face flustered a tad as he looked at the clearly formidable shell before him, kneeling to such a smaller man.

"Please no need to treat me as such. I may not know of your people's legacy but if you wish to join The Valhalla Alliance we will all be seen as equals. I don't tend to think of myself too highly as some god like figure. I may have out lived most mortals with magic but I can die like any man. Now please both of you take a seat we're all equals in my eyes." Glendon's voice a happier tone with a bit of unease.

Then a third figure came up to the table a necromancer by the feel of his aura and he presented himself as such. He also seemed to already have thralls made.

"If you'll join us I will gladly take you. Just a reminder that the pay is going to be a bit short here in the beginning but I will provide full medical benefits coming from me. I never went to college or an academy for any of my doctorates. But I am an A rate physician and combat mage. Please come join us here so we can discuss things and get to know each other better." Glen waved at the empty chairs that still sat around the table. he was not the least but perturbed by the necromancer.

Verror was about to ask the mercenary about the shifter he'd faced, when the conversation took a more depressing turn. At the same time he backed away quickly as another person entered the bar, however this one had blood down the side of their face. He was unsure whether it was from a wound or...well, he hoped it wasn't from someone else. Only then did he notice her peculiar appearance.

"What about her?" he said quietly, mostly toward the kitsune, "I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but she does have the ears and tail of some kind of animal. Are kitsunes always foxes?"

...It was probably time he went and did some research on this kind of thing. He wasn't sure how to respond to Drek'thul, either, since he didn't understand enough about what had happened to offer support, and if he asked about that wold make things worse. Instead he just stood for a bit, listening to anything anyone had to say.

The wooden thud of the front door being pushed open with unnecessary effort caused the android to turn to look at the source. It appeared to be a humanoid, and it appeared to be wounded. It also appeared rather young. Most importantly, it was not a target, for a different set of diamond-shaped plating immediately started shifting to unveil a different compartment. The android produced a more traditional medkit. It held all the necessary items for a good patch-up job: Medi-gel, that wonderful sci-fi healing agent, which was made truly effective with a sanitizing agent, proper stitching equipment and clean bandaging.

The android left his ukulele case behind the countertop. The drink can wait. Jakob's secondary function as a medical droid kicked in. Rising from his seat, he strode across the bar to approach the... whatever it was. Jakob felt he didn't have time to run through his spacious hard drives to match races. After all, his medkit functioned universally for organic creatures.

Still, he did not plan to do anything without permission. He is a robot, after all. "Do you require medical attention?" He asked, holding up the medkit as he offered to perform first-aid. Though his first-aid ability was top-notch, it would not compare to a true doctor in a real hospital.

Aurora grunted in pain as the demon inside her turned, jerking inside her. She refused to let him out. Not here. She wiped the blood off her cheek, feeling it smear on her skin. She turned to the boy that stared at her, her ears perked. "I'm not a kitsune kid..." She said plainly, her ice blue eye narrowed as she was spoken about. She slightly turned away from him and asked for a drink, her voice faded from the crowd. She took a sip of the thick, deep red liquid. The demon inside her settled at the familiar taste. She was a regular here, but she always needed something more than red wine.... She needed something fresh.

The thick liquid trickled down from her lips, her tongue quickly licked it up before it got away from her reach. She could feel her wounds healing. She sighed in relief, feeling replenished. Her eyes traveled from her drink to the group of people ahead of her. She narrowed her eyes and let her ears perk as she listened to them carefully.

Aurora jumped slightly at the robot. Her eyes wide and alert. She looked at the first-aid kit he held, tilting her head at him. She didn't know why he offered help. She took another sip of her drink, the smell of heavy metallic filling the air. She stared at the robot for a moment before turning away. "No thank you... I can heal on my own... Thanks for the offer." She said politely, running her fingertips over the brim of the glass.

She looked over at the crowd once more, smelling a familiar scent over the scent of blood. Then her eyes locked with the red hair. Foxy fox.... Hm... The voice in her head purred. Aurora shook her head, turning away.

Verror immediately raised his hands apologetically, having not realized the woman could hear him. "Ah, OK, my mistake, sorry. I'm just, er...new to this city." He said, nervously looking at her claws.

However, he couldn't help but look astonished at her ability to heal seemingly instantly. "Remarkable. I've never seen someone heal that quickly without using a spell." While he had his suspicions about the mysterious red, metallic smelling liquid she was drinking, he chose to stop speaking there, as anything else he might say could probably offend her, and he knew by now that she'd be able to hear him.

Instead, he chose to sit at the counter, which was what most of the others had decided to do, then ordered a nondescript drink, which he began sipping quietly.

Aurora smirked. "Of course... I can tell you are new here. Your scent is new." She seemed to let out a purr. She finished off the glass, a thick red film along the inside of the glass. "I don't have to have magic to heal... I have something that helps me... Even though he gets on my nerves..." She muttered under her breath.

She sighed and turned to the boy. "Most people here already know.... I'm surprised you don't..."

Verror looked suspiciously at the woman. Apparently it wasn't just her hearing that far surpassed that of most others. And, on top of that, her healing ability was not a form of magic, but something she had. He wondered if it was some kind of inherent ability or something.

"How am I supposed to know?" he asked, confused, "I can't exactly tell people's 'scents'." Verror's own senses weren't enhanced as he was, since he was technically human.

Aurora chuckled. "Humans and Wolf Demons are two different species...." She smirked, her ears twitched and her tail sways as she was handed another glass. The smell was stronger, her eyes flickered red as she blinked and looked away, sipping the glass. This isn't fair Aurora! Drinking blood to keep me hidden? You better be glad I enjoy it... The voice growled in the back of her head, a ringing in her ears afterward. She whimpered and dropped her glass, watching it shatter on the ground and the liquid splatter. She curled into a ball, ignoring the glass, and covered her ears. It sounded like it came from inside her head. She wasn't giving in yet.

She grabbed her ears and pulled them down, wanting the noise to fade away. Hakuba chuckled in the back of her head, knowing that she would give in soon.

Something didn't seem right here. If Verror had understood correctly, this woman had just outright claimed to be a 'demon'; that could never be good news, at least not in his experience. Where he was from the word generally meant some kind of malicious being, and while they were generally thought to be some kind of evil spirit they had been rumored to take phsyical forms, or even latch onto another living being affecting their actions and speaking in their head. Suddenly she dropped her glass and curled up. With a jolt of shock, Verror got up from his seat. he really wasn't sure what to do in this situation. Could they mean harm, if what they just said is true? Or could they be the victim of some kind of affliction? he wasn't sure.

"Er...what's wrong?" he asked cautiously.

Aurora only whimpered, bearing her canines as blood dripped out of the corner of her lips. Hakuba cackled in the back of her head, blackness flickering like flames on her skin, mainly on the tips of her ears. She whimpered, her ears pinned back as the ringing faded. She felt weak, her eyes no longer ice blue, but now a vibrant red, the flames fading only slightly. They didn't burn her, they just symbolize that the demon was close in control.

She looked up at the boy, wiping the blood away, her vibrant red eyes burning into his. She stayed silent and looked down at the broken glass, bending down to pick up the glass as the thick liquid caught aflame with a touch of her fingertips.

Drinking blood, ability to walk in the daylight, wolf-like attributes, but not a werewolf. Jakob figured this woman was some sort of vessel to an ordinary demon. Regardless, the offer for first-aid was declined. Jakob returned the kit to his compartment. "Very well," he said before turning to return to his seat.

Once returned, he'd grab his ukulele and sit down. He would continue to play the instrument with machine precision. A calming, classical tune- because Jakob only learned to play a few of them. Though he seemed to play well, he only got into playing an instrument recently, and has few tabs committed to memory.

Drinking blood, ability to walk in the daylight, wolf-like attributes, but not a werewolf. Jakob figured this woman was some sort of vessel to an ordinary demon. Regardless, the offer for first-aid was declined. Jakob returned the kit to his compartment. "Very well," he said before turning to return to his seat.

Once returned, he'd grab his ukulele and sit down. He would continue to play the instrument with machine precision. A calming, classical tune- because Jakob only learned to play a few of them. Though he seemed to play well, he only got into playing an instrument recently, and has few tabs committed to memory.

Douglas smiled and looked over the written words that the boy had offered. He was dreadfully aware of the feelings in contrast to the cool demeanor he brought to the table. Douglas however continued to smile and nod to the young man just to take a deep breath.

"Livian? truly is a nice name. I am Douglas Hal Weskit, just call me Douglas or Doug if you so wish. Truly I would not mind." Douglas began to sip more of his tea only to point at the young man and smirk a little. "Now about the man. Yes his job was rather thankless and we can only imagine that doing something like that would cause anyone to loathe their job." Douglas set his cup of tea down and continued to offer a friendly smile. "To take up a job such as that I imagine it takes many troubled men and women to bravely offer themselves to the flame. No, morally I think the man was right, it just is sad to see that one good deed goes punished when the countless of evil deeds are allowed to feaster and rot."

Aurora pulled her hand away, her fingertip dipped in blood, the blood on the floor casts into black flames. She simply blew it out and set the glass on the counter as the bartender threw them away, acting like it was nothing. No one payed any attention to her to see if she was okay. They were used to this. The new people here only stared in worry and fear. But Verror... That one boy asked if she was okay. She looked at the bloody mess on the floor as the flames made it sizzle. She could smell the blood evaporate into the air and soon nothing was there, just a faint blood stain.

Verror almost jumped back at the sight of the liquid catching on fire. "What are you-" he was going to ask if she was trying to kill everyone, but thought better of it and stopped mid-sentence. Also, from the way the black flames started then disappeared, it didn't look like anyone was going to get hurt. "Er...is that normal?"

At that point, the door opened and someone else walked in. They looked like they were wearing some kind of white armour which looked unfamiliar to him. The man who'd helped the android earlier and the tall, pale young man were now deep in their own conversation.

The white armoured figure sat down at the bar, and made something very cold appear in the air. It was clear that even from where he was sitting, Verror could feel the cold as he began to shiver due to his weakness to cold. He considered warming himself up, but it might be a bit unsafe. In the end, however, he gave in. Trying to keep his hand hidden, he concentrated on it, and the fingers sharpened into claws, the talon now covered in scales. He made as small a fireball as he could, holding his other, human hand over it and trying to keep warm.

The military experiment known as Ico-Kai felt a mental spark in his head as someone ignited a fireball which he wouldn't have minded but that spark ignited a memory of the harsh treatment he endured as an experiment. the temp in the room seemed to drop and his breathing became ragged. after a few moments he came to noticing that he created a shard the size of a dagger and probably as sharp, and stabbed it into the table. he cursed quietly. and melted the shard. the room grew a little warmer as the memory of the flashback disappeared. Kai then noticed people looking at him. he became angered and yelled out, "i find it funny how all of you trust in the government when all they do with their spare time is torture and create monsters like me. you think you've ever had a bad day? my life is a living hell, i can't live without this!" he gestured to the suit that glowed slightly, "do you even know what it's like to be hunted? to not even know who or what you are? they wiped my memory after they did this to me!" he stood up and a spear of ice appeared in his hand, "i am alone in hell for they have taken everything from me! my name! my life!" he raised a fist and a ball of light-blue flame appeared, "so they will burn for it!"