Of Steam and Steel: IC (Mature) {Currently Open}

[Tapewolf]

Kesslen

"Yes," Seth muttered, as he stumbled and fought to keep his balance.  "That's the sort of thing I came to investigate!"

Rather than help the demons get up, Seth crouched down.  Some demons took offence at an offer of aid, but he had also heard that the aftershocks could be worse than the original quake, so better to be close to the ground.

"Are you okay, folks?  You're the geologist, Nadia - any comments on..."

He broke off.  In the distance was a metallic groaning sound.

"What is that...?" he whispered loudly, glancing from Nadia to Renard worriedly.  "Is that one of your structures?  Or something new...?"

[Gabi]

O.O

"What was that?!" Ana wondered. She'd been caught by surprise but managed to compose herself quickly.

"Is everyone OK?" she asked as she looked around, trying to find either anyone in need of help or the source of the problem, and offered Nadia a hand to help her up.

She then heard the metallic sound. Her first thought was that a building or another large structure was bending, but Seth's question made her wonder whether it was something else entirely; perhaps even the cause of the shockwave.

"Whatever it is, we should make sure it doesn't hurt anyone," she said, hoping for the support of the rest of the group. It would be too easy to become separated in the confusion, and she'd much rather avoid that.

[Arroyo Milori]

Your wish is my command

Arroyo looks back at Gez, with a small smile on his lips. "Well the little miss wants to come with us." The thick smoke surrounded the area,  He covered his mouth with the piece of cloth at hand, still speaking. "But if your so eager to get information out of her, I'm sure the girl will speak to us...at least to Lucy." He started to walk backwards in a rather slow pace, signaling Lucy and the girl to follow. "But we should probably talk somewhere where the smoke isn't trying to kill us..."

[Azlan]

Beyond the stage, beyond the crowd


Locke bowed as well as the vixen withdrew, "and a good day to you my lady."

The brief interlude completed, the cheetah angel sighed and looked about, "I must always meet the busy ones, never the free adventuring ones.  Back to the task at hand I suppose."

Seeking out an officious looking person such as a patrolling constable, Locke inquired, "is there an adventurers or mercenaries guild somewhere abouts?"

[JamesCray]

Beyond the stage, beyond the crowd


Rather than brave the crowd and risk being trampled or leaving his sensitive ears ringing for the next week or so, Mak decided the best way to ascertain what all the hubbub was about was to inquire with the fellow he had just recently seen making a graceful dismount of the stage. At least, once enough distance had been put between the two of them and the crowd that discriminating individual speech from the din was possible.

The decision made, he followed the angel, attempting to remain inconspicuous. Of course, trying to remain inconspicuous in and of itself can very look conspicuous to a person on their guard, but there was little that the diminutive being could do about that.

[Kafzeil]

That which does not kill me...

Lucy fell silent for a moment. Gezz had a point at least; it wasn't fair to blame the the brothers for what had happened nor was forcing her personal demons on them. She still waned to protect the girl,  but she had felt bad about her outburst.

Hopefully they're smart enough to not ask about it.

She didn't trust the brothers enough to tell them...not it like mattered. There was nothing anyone could do about it ten years later. And besides, this tragedy was enough, like they'd really care about Lucy's past.

the smoke hadn't phased Lucy. Not needing to breath had it's advantages certainly, but she could tell the other' health would be affected by this smoke. She looked at Arroyo, nodding as she stepped back picking up Rene in her arms, wrapping the sleeve of her coat around her mouth gentle. "We should head indoors, unless your boat has enough room for this. Rene needs some rest anyways." Lucy blinked,and awkward grin spreading across her face. She realized she was getting attached to the girl already.

[Noone]

Freight Train

Kyirri braced himself as soon as he felt the first impact. That he didn't spot many creatures just made him uneasy, he felt like they could be hiding. Another impact, only he was prepared this time, and another.
He quickly glanced about, looking for places he could quickly escape in case of danger. Also for possible places of cover. Probably nothing... sure. I'd best be prepared regardless... nothing I can do except wait now. He stood his ground, but he was alert, and uneasy.

[Tipod]

Rolled Downtown

Bart's pounding head and aching body could scarcely move in the gutter, even with the beggars and vagrants searching him for loot. If he had the presence of mind to even think straight, he'd be worrying about how to break the news to great-grandpa Adar. Or reflecting on how Azzam's proposals for sensitivity training in the police and armed forced obviously hadn't passed.

Or think about that rotten, no-good senator. Him smirking to himself, all cozy and safe in his seat, probably sending some other humanitarian bill to be pigeon-holed and forgotten before going home to enjoy two steak dinners and a side of lobster. Just thinking about that feather-winged son of a bitch made his blood boil, searing the image into his brain--

Which was just what he needed to realize that people were trying to strip-search his body. Instinctively, his non-impaled hand reached out to grab at the throat, collar, shirtfront, anything of the closest street rat.

[SquirrelWizard]

Stephan reached out and snatched the coin out of the air, with a flick of his wrist the coin seemed to disappear. "If these heads are so..." he looked at the tip of one of his tentacles, the head had melded back into the tentacle itself. "Ugh... again!? Why wont these things make up their minds? Its like they choose to change when its most inconvenient for me." he brushed the tentacle aside, "So apart from that, should I expect these to develop into tentacles as well?" he pointed at the two bat wings sticking out of his hair.

[Lisky]

Dressed in Yellow, She says "hello"

Thrown out of bed, forced to walk in line, lead down the rail line.  It was starting off like every other day since her capture.  The insectis slave drivers would drive her and the herds of captured creatures down to the train-yards, have them unload supplies onto carts, and then head back when the sun fell.  She'd heard it multiple times... she was the worst slave ever...  Her execution was inevitable... blah blah blah.  
The chains were removed, but the shackles left on, her powers were suppressed, or at least dampened to the point of uselessness.  The jackal succubus was left waiting on the tracks for the train along with 500 or so other prisoners.  It sounded like a whistle in the distance... but it was different.  It came from overhead.     There was very little warning after that.  The first sign something was different came a few moments later.  The insectis in the war machine near her suddenly lurched then collapsed, just before the entire steel monster's head exploded into a fireball.

A few seconds later, another went down in a similar fashion.  The entire security force seemed to just explode.  Dust plumes were kicked up, obscuring views, and making it hard to breath.   The fine particles burning eyes, noses and lungs, they're gritty texture filling the creature's mouths.   The city loomed in the distance, and, despite the dust-clouds, columns of smoke could be seen rising from places that were not smoke-stacks.  

Keaton could hear voices, and see the outlines of other creatures, most seemed to be heading in the same direction... towards distant shapes in the distant... moving shapes...  She could make out wings as they were moving closer... and they were moving fast.  Perhaps 300 feet away,  she could see the enormous wings of a flight-capable creature land, he shouted something, it was difficult to make out over the hiss of ruptured boilers, the panicked screams and shots.   The fear and confusion was everywhere around her.  Creatures were slowing down around the figure in front of her...  She could see the crackling arcane energies...  They were practically amplified in the dust-cloud.  The figure was removing their shackles, just one of many clusters that could be found all around the succubus.


In Touch With the Ground

She heard the reply, "I'm out front with the mechanical units and raiding force...  We're in the process of liberating some POWs... and I could use a hand.  Just head north, you should be able to find us.   Keep an eye out for stragglers, or those who may be trying to hide out in the badland."

The little shapes in the distance announced the position of the raiding force.  The massive support mechs which mounted the artillery pieces were the most visible.   Paige had perhaps a little over a mile to travel.  She could see a couple of bodies, and a couple of creatures carefully scouring the crags and gullies of the badlands, they seemed to be hunting for bug holes, and snipers.  Paige couldn't sense anything, but that wasn't all that surprising.


Walk in the Park

It was difficult to say who or what was there, but there was something on the wind.  There were no sounds to accompany the scent... but all that tended to mean were clipped claws, and bare foot-pads.  The park was fairly large, an entire forest, 50 foot tall trees, shrubs, tall grass.  They provided a huge number of places to hide.   That is, until he heard the sound of swishing grass.  There wasn't a breeze tonight... the air was still, it made for the sounds being extra-crisp.  It came from perhaps 20 feet off the right of the path, by some shrubs on Avram's right.


Copper, Brass, Explosive Jelly

Nadia was back on her feet in the blink of an eye, while Renard was considerably slower to regain his footing.  The sound of rending metal continued, creaking, and groaning under some enormous strain.  Nadia spoke first, "That doesn't sound healthy... I have no idea what could be doing that, though... most of the structures here are built from stone, or wood.  Unless one of the mine-towers got overstressed, I'm going to say something new."

Renard looked towards the direction of the noise, one of the vertical mine-shafts.  "I dunno.. can't tell what that was... I think this is going to take priority, and now I know there aren't going to be any communication orbs available... the reporting of this event is going to take precedence over your village, Ana."
People around the village seemed already, the sturdy buildings seemed unharmed by the concussion wave that had rippled through the ground.  There were a lot of confused looks, a lot of confused beings.  There wasn't much activity around the mines yet, either.


Around the Corner, Around the Stage

There was in fact and officer right near the corner where Locke had had the chance run-in with the vixen.  The officer was being otter, narrow build, long claws, and wearing a simple blue tunic with the a brass badge, etched with the rank "Sergeant" and a badge number.  It was clearly enchanted as the shimmering revealed additional information.  It was a legitimate badge.

The otter replied, " Well, I could give you directions, or you could follow Master Deseux.  Seems she's heading back towards guild row now anyways. "  

The fennec could follow the angel fairly easily... he was wearing a rather nice coat, which set him apart from most of the local populace, due to the coat's apparent immaculate appearance.


Unstoppable?

The train's breaks hit hard, throwing everyone forward, many over the seats they were behind.  Kyirri had been prepared, and thus  managed to brace himself from the worst of the shock.  There was a sickly *thunk* on the roof, and several of the military officers were scrambling to their feet and heading for the door.

Kyirri could hear something moving outside, and through the window, he could see several figures, darkly dressed, oddly narrow... and... almost alien... there was something rather off-putting about their appearance beyond the simple fact that they were here, on the railways, right at the sight of some problem that was stopping –this- train.
 

Show Me on the Doll Where That Demon Beat Your Ass

Bart's grasping hands sent several of the children squirming away, he was awake, and therefore, not fair game anymore.   However, his hand suddenly found purchase on something smooth... textured... it felt like it had boney protrusions... and... it felt oddly cold.

As his eyes came into focus, he'd see that he'd snagged a lizard, a blue scaled skink.  He blinked at Bart with his paper-boy outfit, complete with cap.   Suddenly the boy's eyes went wide, as he pleaded, "It was nothin' personal, mister... honest... we's just hungry... please le' me go... please don' hurt me!"


You Got Some Splainin' to Do  

"Never, those don't turn wonkey... Those little guys are a symbol of adult hood... you can hide them if you like... I'd actually recommend doing so.  Leaving them out is like showing your hand.  If you've pissed someone off, you want to have as many surprises as possible... and showing your head-wings kills more than half of 'em."

Ed sighed, rubbed his temples again, and yawned,   "You literally know nothing about our race at all... this is going to be a fun train ride, I can tell you that much already."


[Fixed bold text leak -TW]

[Tapewolf]

Kesslen

"I agree," Seth said.  "I'm sorry, Ana, but we may now be in the middle of an emergency.  If so, that's going to have to take priority.  Afterwards - if there is an afterwards - I'll do my best to help you as I can."

"Are there folks in the mine at the moment?" he asked Nadia.  "And how best can I help?"

[Gabi]

...Jelly?

"Of course," Ana said to Renard and Seth. As worried as she was about her village, the current situation was impossible to ignore. She gathered her previous words had gone unheard in the commotion.

She then addressed Seth specifically.

"You can sense people's emotions," she said. It was a statement, not a question. Seth himself had admitted to that mere moments ago. "Can you tell if anyone's in danger or in trouble?"

[Tapewolf]

Kesslen

"I can't predict danger," Seth said.  "I can sense feelings and sometimes read thoughts, but it diminishes with distance so I have to be reasonably close."

[Paladin Sheppard]

Waltzing through a battleground

Touching the magical stone Paige sent her thoughts through the link again, "Okay Basi dear, I shouldn't be too long," and then broke the link.

Orienting herself with the direction Baseel had indicated the Succubus broke into a slight jog on her way towards the Demon's location, drawing her pistol as she did so and checked its load.

[Chairtastic]

Salvage site.

Haien made no move to make himself look good, as if nothing of note had occurred.  Things had occurred, but trying to play it off would appear as weakness to Kali's sharp eyes, which was unacceptable.  The seven salvage techs rolling up behind Kali in their massive vehicles meant to haul the metal from the site to town.

"Complications arose, ensued, were overcome."  The ram beckoned his apprentice forward, and hissed into the younger demon's ear.  "When we get to town start the triplets on putting out the word of a reward for two cubi assassins, one of whom is desperately injured, and favors a black magical scythe, the other prefers lightning."  Backing off a bit, and using a tongue of flame to cauterize his wing, Haien announced more publicly, "Get these fine gentlemen, and gentlewomen, to work, and check on Bassoon, would you?  Poor boy took a bolt of lightning head on.  I'm going to go fix up the cart, and take a little breather.  Tell me when the first shipment is ready."

The horse started braying orders, while Haien left for the wreckage of his cart.  All things considered, it wasn't in too bad shape.  Restorative magic did not come as easy as elemental, and it would take several minutes of careful focus before all the pieces were back in position then sewn together seamlessly.  Once done, Haien sat down in the seat, having the presence of mind to flip the kickstand out first before doing so, and pulling out his LBB.  Flipping through the lists of names, numbers, and addresses, Haien searched for his tailor's address, for she had moved recently; his personal doctor's going prices for removing scars, and also checking for any local debtors who would clean up well enough to replace Bassoon.

Such was the business world.

[VAE]

Just because it's grassy doesn't make it a green mile


Avram's ears rotated subtly,  following the source of the noise as he froze in place for a moment, listening intently to the direction and volume of the noise.
The fuck... it is for real after all...
Avram wasn't unused to killing, but given the nature of his clever system, he generally fought on his terms.
As such, the situation quickly boiling down into the reverse roles got him thinking furiously.
Hmm, the bastard's pretty silent.. he shouldn't be a ruse.... but if he's going alone he probably isn't green.  Best to hide.. he might have a gun... if he comes close I can zap him better anyways
Immediately, the dark coloured feline dashed to the left, with the intent to hide behind one of the thick trees as a goal...

[Cogidubnus]

Time to mop up. Alex grinned, drawing both pistols and turning round the corner, crouching as he did so, sliding just a little bit across the metal floor. Careful to not simply spray gunfire down the hallway, he fired six rounds rapid in a third as many seconds, aiming for the head each time - harder to hit, but helmets usually were made to stop bullets so much as make a soldier feel more confident.

The revolvers roared, spitting a hail of death and fire.

[Gabi]

(OOC: I wasn't sure if it was worth making such a short post, but... why not?)

"Then I suggest we take a closer look," Ana proposed.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Seeing no insectus nearby who needed attention from her hammer Addy headed in the general direction of the prisoners. She took a circuitous route to avoid any of the ruptured boilers. Steam burns were truly nasty. She suppressed a sigh that the fun was over and her work was going to begin and unfolded her big white wings to settle all the feathers back into place. It was very important to look professional in front of patients.

[Arroyo Milori]

Haze of Smoke

Arroyo dug into his pocket, pulling out his keys and looks over at Lucy, or at east tried to with all the smoke. "Catch." He wheezed, coughing a bit as he gently tosses his keys to what appeared to be Lucy. "Keys to my boat, we will talk about traveling arrangements later." He kept backing up, trying to get out of the smoke infested area, coughing quiet a bit.

In a sluggish pace, he kept walking back until he was out of the haze.

[Azlan]

Around the Corner, Around the Stage


The cheetah's eyes lit up, beamed even, at the sergeant's words, "ah, that is so coincidental it must be destiny.  Thank you sergeant, I am most grateful!"

Locke bowed quickly and dashed off after the vixen.  He tried to catch up to her, but she had a head start and knew these streets better then he did.  He was determined though.

[Tipod]

The Ghetto

"...ffff--" Bart lightly shoved the newsboy aside before letting him go. "Forget it, kid." He'd almost wished bums were looting his body; he could get away with socking some crazy old guy in the face. Damn punks, nothing better to do than rob unconscious suckers in the gutter.

Though, that did beg the question. "Shouldn't you kids be in school or something?" The rough demon winced as he carefully pulled the knife from his hand. He'd save this little number for the right moment, namely jamming it in the face of the next senate figure that so much as turned their nose up at him.

[Lisky]

Signal to Noise

The sound of straining metal screeching and groaning reverberated down the city streets.  Nadia shook her head silently as she very carefully waved Seth and Ana onward. She replied, "No one was in the mine as far as i was aware."
Renard flexed his wings, using them to enhance his already impressive leap.  He hopped onto the second-story rooftop of a near-by shop, and took a peek out, shouting back,  "Can't see anything but a dust-cloud from here...  I agree with them... we should get closer!"

The small cluster of creatures weren't the only ones interested.  Besides the quartet , small groups of off duty miners, a handful of military personnel, and many of the local residence had started moving towards the growing plume of dirt and dust.   At a mile out, it was impossible to tell what was at the center, however, Nadia remarked, "Looks to be right around a major mine-shaft.   One of the towers might have collapsed." 
She however, looked rather unnerved with each step, as if she really didn't believe the explanation she'd given.  There was the faintest smell of smoke on the wind, along with something a bit more bitter-sweet.  There were other subtle sounds... a faint grinding, a whine of some kind, along with a faint hum.  Renard rejoin the group, his eyes narrowed as he added, "It's probably a good idea to go cautiously... this is just a little too odd."


Let Loose, From the Noose, That's Kept Me Hangin' Around

Alex would find that up here, the helmets were little more than hard-hats, meant to prevent major injury from heavy objects falling on their heads.  The helmets were not designed for combat, and, as such, provided inconsequential resistance as his projectiles hit home.  Inside, the being with the scattergun took the round square in the left eye.    The second shot passed between the collapsing form, and the Aelisian reloading his repeater, the third shot smacked him through the top of the helmet, exiting through just below the skull.  The fourth shot knocked the being's body backwards after hitting him in the shoulder.  The fifth and sixth shot took the last soldier in the upper chest.  The first hitting the center of the breast bone, the second hitting a little higher and to the left.

The metal floor was slick with blood.  The smell of spent gunpowder was heavy over the bodies, as was the scent of death.   Behind the mythos, a faint clap could be heard.  The succubus gave a silent nod of approval, before breaking the mood, "Impressive as always, Top.  Just heard from the boys...  We're all clear now, she's ours."


Spinning In the Silence, He Finally Drifts Away

The demon looked at Haien.  He shook his head and started to follow orders.  "You heard him, get your asses in gear and get this mess picked up... we're not here to play a game of grab-ass!"
He then walked over to the Gryphon.  It was clear from his body language, the subtle droop of wings, the droop in shoulders.  The slightly downturned head.  Bassoon was in bad shape, and there was very little Kali could do beyond stabilizing the injured avian.  He applied what healing he could before returning to Haien.   With a sigh, the other demon replied, "He'll probably pull through if we get him to a specialist... it just... won't be cheap... The lightning fused most of his shoulder  and a chunk of his spine.  If he doesn't see a specialist... he's as good as dead in a few hours anyways." 


Hunger Gnaws, I Can Feel It's Claws, But The Pain Of A Bullet Would Burn Much Hotter

The POWs were flocking to anyone who appeared to be removing the cuffs.  Most, once freed, started heading further south, where the small army had come from... some, however, stayed.  The slow trickle of creatures started passing Paige as she made her way forwards.  It was tough to find the captain.  Spotting the large wings amongst a sea of winged individuals.  What gave him away was the reflection of the sun off the hair-rings.  She could see him, perhaps 100 feet away, disarming then removing the manacles of prisoners as fast as he could. 

Dr. Addy heard the shout for her specialty "MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC OVER HERE!"  A stray bullet had taken a section of a cubi's headwing off.  The amputated "limp" was wriggling in the grip of it's owner.  An iridescent red-and-black furred wolverine with brighter red jagged patterns along it's sides and back.  He was flailing on the ground, in, what appeared to be, crippling pain.


  Busy Streets A Mess With People 

Johan could see the angel start darting off down the street.  If he was going to keep following the angel it'd take him quite a ways to catch up, as Locke was clearly on a mission.  As the vixen darted down a back-alley, her simple yet elegant outfit shifted.  She was no longer a noblewoman, but rather, her appearance had formed into something that was more akin to a warrior.  A trim tunic that accentuated her curves, form-fitting pants, a half-cape drawn over her left shoulder... and something the angel hadn't noticed before.  A very elegant blade hung from her left hip. 

She made her way onto a major street, then followed it down, passing several large, marble-faced buildings, before entering a temple looking structure.  It appeared to be made out of polished granite, it's outer face covered with statues of various creatures in heroic poses brandishing weapons of old.   Some were slaying great beasts, others seemed to be just posing... and some seemed to be adorn with semi-precious metals.  A plaque near the front entrance, partially obfuscated by several of the statues read, "Guildhall of the Sword and Seeker"


I'll Stand My Ground And Never Back Down

The sound of swishing branches rang in Avram's ears again.  He could hear movement, lower to the ground than before.  There was the sound of snapping twigs, and crinkling leaves... he had a pretty good idea where the noise was coming from now.   However, it seemed to be moving around his flank, rather than approaching him.  It stayed behind the bushes as it moved, across the path, and hidden in the shadows.  The moon's pale glow giving the world around the demon a soft appearance, a faded, and color-bleached monochrome of light and shadow. 
There was another sound, almost immediately behind Avram... not far off.  A twig snapped, it's sharp, dried form snapping echoed crisply.  "Shit... What was that?!"  "I dunno... you sure you saw 'em out this way?"  "Ya, 'm sure!"
There were 2 voices.  2 shadowy figures,  and they appeared to be skulking about park very late at night.


I Take A Steam-Train to Work, Just Like the One My Father Took

The ground shook under the tracks, it was the last real sign Chris got before the train was violently rolled onto its side.

When his senses came to, he heard the sound of groaning metal, protesting the strain being put on it.  There was a coppery taste in his mouth, the air was thick with dust and dirt... it made breathing hard, and made everything smell stale... old... earthy.  The car was on it's side, his window was now the ground.  From the bottom of the car came the noises.  From the top of the car, it seemed there was someone peeking in from the rooftop access.  The train had completely derailed, there was a fire,, there was the faintest smell of smoke among the dust clouds... probably just a small one... probably easily contained.  However... here he was, on a trip through southern Nhylamar, and now he was stranded without a train in, as far as he could tell from the car, the middle of nowhere.

[Tapewolf]

Sethir kept pace with Nadia.   "Oh shit," he finally said as he heard the humming and scented the smoke on the air.

"One of the rumours going around was that Ankh'Ator were causing some of the earthquakes, perhaps to facilitate some kind of invasion.  Bet that sound is some kind of tunnelling machine.  If it hums, it surely isn't natural.

"If that is the enemy, we're going to need an army."

[AmberCross]

Chris woke up with a headache. He didn't want to be awake yet, but once awake he really couldn't go back to sleep with a throbbing head, so he sat up with a groan and looked around. Ah, right... train crash. Or something. From the looks of it, and the feel, it seemed like he had hit the wall fairly hard. "Note to self," he muttered, standing up slowly, "Modify defense charm to deal with *me* being the high speed object of impact."

He took a moment to finger one particular charm that looked like a shield hanging from a chain on his pants and glaring at it before looking around. He quickly found that aside from the car being sideways, nothing seemed too out of place... aka no large dents or anything, though he could smell a fire somewhere nearby, and there was a weird sort of noise from the 'bottom' of the train. He skirted away from that, not understanding technology too well. He could trust them to work for the most part, but funny noises are something they weren't supposed to do and if machines were doing something they weren't supposed to do, they weren't doing what they were supposed to which meant that Chris didn't know what they were actually doing and Chris didn't like that much. If you don't know what something can do, there's always a chance it can explode.

As he moved towards the 'top' of the train he noticed what seemed to be a person by the roof hatch. Maybe it was another passenger, or maybe not... until he got a better look at this person he was going to be a bit wary. Odds were against unfriendly though as he hadn't been attacked, so he called out, "Hello? Is someone there?"

[Paladin Sheppard]

Approaching Baseel at a slight jog Paige came to a halt just behind him and took up a protective stance as he unshackled the prisoners. "Hey Boss, everything going well?" The Succubus said as she watched over him, her pistol pointed at the ground.

[Noone]

Freight Train

Well so much for being probably nothing. Have to move quickly and precisely now... and have perfect timing.
He searched himself, no weapons. Great He ducked his head low, he figured they might shoot from outside, would go through a window. He looked about for easy escape routes again.

If I stay here and do nothing, I'm dead. If I rush out now, I'm dead. I can't exactly fight and if I stay on this train I'll be found. I don't think there's any cover outside... should check.
He quickly raised himself, standing up, peering out the window he was nearby, scanning for any kind of foliage he could hide or sneak away in, then ducking back down after his quick scan was complete. If the other side of the train was clear from the inside, he'd run over, scan the outside from that position as well.

[JamesCray]

Down on the corner, out in the street.

The angel had the benefit of long legs and supernatural stamina, but the fennec had his own advantages. Being a courier, he had a great deal of experience making his way through the cities of the world quickly. Additionally, being short has it's own benefits. You see, when you're small, there are plenty of places where you can fit where larger individuals cannot. People tend not to pay attention to you, or disregard you as a child, not taking offense when you dodge close in crowds. He took advantage of both, doffing his hat and making his way through the back-alley surprisingly easily.

His interest, however, was no longer solely devoted to the angel. Mak was a (mostly) healthy todd, and what kind of man wouldn't be intrigued by a woman dressed and equipped as she was?

[Chairtastic]

The passion of Fire.

"My my.  Right after I spend a pretty bit of coin to get the salvage rights to this endeavour, an expensive medical procedure.  It's like this day just exists to siphon away from my pocketbooks."  The elder demon did not stop in his flipping through pages of names and addresses, or glance at his seemingly distraught apprentice.  "I don't like ambiguity.  Take him to such a specialist, and bring me back a set number.  See if you can work out a payment plan if the price exceeds the current finances we have access to.  Might need to sell off a few of the empty properties out in the country a bit ahead of schedule."
The horse perked up at this, then shouted a few orders to the crew while he went to gingerly transport the Gryphon back over to the the cart.  Haien had since vacated it, levitating a few feet off the ground to observe the wreckage gradually being cut away.  While Kali loaded the downed gryphon in, took hold of the harness, and lifted the cart off the ground via his fuller, flight capable wings, and soared off.

Haien felt he was going to regret this action.  But then, he'd have regretted doing nothing to help a downed employee even more.  Plus the political fall out...if word had gotten out that he'd done nothing to help an employee hurt defending him, which invariably it would, his reputation as a new-age Saint would be ruined, such as it was.  If the sudden drop in raw financial power didn't kill his empire, then the gaping hole it would leave for his failed assassins to fill would surely kill him.  There was only one thing to do.

The great demon merchant flipped to the end of the pages in his book, where all the names and addresses came back with the same name, 'Messua.' 

He was going to have to beg from his family.

[VAE]

Ten years ago on a cold dark night

Shit.. there's two of them....
The simple fact sent the possibility of taking "the guy" out silently - besides, he still knew little about the strength of his potential opponents... though them chatting on the job in darkness seemed a bit unprofessional, unless....
An idea bit his mind like a worm digs into an apple... Maybe they aren't looking for me after all....
The hell.. and who else would they be looking for? Strawberries? Don't be dumb... after all they probably don't care *whom* will they grab.
In any case, the  siberian forestcat didn't move an inch, hoping that his short, stout and fluffy form would blend into the shadows... in any case, his lighting discharges' effectivity rose with decreasing distance. He slowly and carefully took out a large steel nut from one of his pockets - if it comes to a fight it might be useful as well... and waited with the intent of shocking whomever of the duo would either show hostile intentions or come too close... and depending on the result either doing the same to the second one, or using the distraction to flee.