Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Zuki]

Caught by surprise...the story of Chiyo's life. Albeit, in the past few decades she had gotten a lot better at being behind the surprises instead of being caught by one. Either way, she hadn't known what to expect when she had walked into the room. Her intent had been to chat with Ketet, to admire her 'shinies' a bit more and perhaps get her paws on one or two.  But the claws from the demoness got her first and then there was nothing but darkness and coldness followed closely by nothingness.

And then suddenly there was something. Her dreams and thoughts swirled together like a kaleidoscope, meshing and mixing until she was unsure of what were her actual thoughts were amongst the dreams. She felt cold. She remembered shinies. She remembered a dragon. She shuddered as she remembered the demoness.

With a harsh gasp she woke, sucking in the air as if she had been underwater instead of simply unconscious. Everything seemed to blur together for a moment until she was looking up at what must have been her savior. She laid still then, her body still cold, her thoughts still murky, she still out of breath as though she had run a marathon. Better to rest now and regain her strength while she could rather then to try and ask questions and say thanks when they could easily wait for later.

[Tipod]

Sticking by Kassin and the others, Rafa did his best to keep a proverbial ear to the ground. He didn't even bother giving an indignant sigh as the angel charged off to play field medic again. The demoness' sudden appearance was actual cause for alarm and triggered a sudden reflex in the demon: a headlong charge and tackle to the feisty creature. Zanfib's mental attacks had her immobilized anyway, but there was never such a thing as "too much force" when it came to demons. "Don't move don't move--" Whump.

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib blinked once as he saw the massive form of Rafa shot past him, and he tried to shout a warning to the demon, but too late. His fur and tail bristled under the sudden strain that Rafa's impact put on keeping the telekinetic bonds in place as he gritted his teeth before letting out a quick gasp and trying to reaffirm control over the bonds. It was only then he thought of the plight of the demoness.. such an impact must have been like being between a wall and a semi, even if the bonds held or not.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance nodded at Zanfib "Right" and ran far around the demoness, shooting a glare at her as she went by. She readied a good fire ball just in case as she neared the hut what the hell is wrong with these demons?! She stopped at the door and peeked inside, seeing two new people.. and girls too! Before she let herself think of pajama parties and pillow fights she turned and sood in the door-way, standing guard and watching the battle.

Without turning she addressed Kassin, "Will they be ok?"

[Lisky]

Garis just sat in the back, trying to skim the beings thoughts, 'he' leaned nonchalantly against the door frame behind the others, watching the being more closely than the corpses or the area around him.

[Azlan]

Tyrian should be used to this by now, but he resigned himself to the fact that more were in danger and their troupe was going to grow yet again.

Allowing Zanfib and Raffiele to take care of the demoness, the fox followed Chance into the hut.  One of the victims was awake, but the other was still unconscious, "Kassin, this one is still injured and she continues to slip away."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered entered the hut, behind Eilan. He kept his mouth shut initially, not certain what sort of tack to take, and wishing they'd actually rehearsed this adventurer scheme. But the fox being wasn't talking for some reason, and after buying time by a long glance around the room, Kedered opened his more battered than usual mouth and growled out.

"The details were sketchy except for the soul crime committed. But these are children. Where are their parents? And what is the closest point of support to this farmhouse? I'm up from the Thularian border myself, haven't come down here."

Kedered hoped his unfamiliar use of a contraction didn't make his speech distinctive, memorable, and waited for a response from the other supposed adventurer.

[Noone]

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The being turned to face Kedered, she shook her head with sadness. "Their parents are both dead, soul murdered as well. They're in their bedroom, over" she pointed at the wall to her right (your left), "that way, down the hall, past the children's bedroom. I had one of my companions inspecting that pair of corpses, but I suspect the story is the same there as well."

Eilan decided to jump in at this time. "Any idea on what the exact cause of death was? Was it an Angel? Demon? Cubi? Some other creature capable of soul-murder?"
She replied "Judging from placing and depth of the wounds, I'd say they were from a Cubi's tentacle. They were likely killed after they had their souls sucked out. I didn't find any sort of magical residue on the bodies, so either it dissipated or none was used, well, barring the soul-sucking and the shapeshifting likely involved." She paused for a moment, putting together geographical locales together in her head. "There's a town a few miles away, it's a few hours away by foot though. There are a few other farmhouses nearby but I don't think that's what you're looking for."

Eilan looked intently at the other being's facial expressions intently, trying to gauge how agreeable she was, whether she was more mercenary or more altruistic. Eventually, he opened up again.
"So... have you picked apart any clear leads?"
The other being sighed with regret. "No..." She started. "Not directly from these, how they died doesn't tell us where their killer is. I have my companions checking other parts of this place out, so maybe there will be something." She glanced back at the corpses, eyes laden with regret. I just hope my companions are able to find something, they're certainly a gruff lot though.

Eilan turned back to Kedered and Garis. He contemplated thinking his thoughts out loud to them, but he wanted to speak them out, so it wouldn't look odd. "It seems like there are three places to check, there's the parent's bedroom, children's bedroom, and whatever is behind that other door, probably the kitchen. I think it would be best if we split up to search each location, cover more ground more quickly." He stopped for a moment. "Any preferences?"
The other adventurer seemed absorbed into examining the corpses again, though had a feeling that further inspection wouldn't reveal anything.  

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The demoness certainly wasn't in the mood to be stopping, the mental assault and Raffiele's charge took her by surprise, and was pinned to the ground. "Uurrgh!" She growled as she struggled to get him off. "What's wrong with you? Get off! Shouldn't you just mind your own damned business, I've got family waiting for me." She continued to grunt as she attempted to break Raffiele off of herself.

Kassin, alarmed, nodded at what Tyrian said. Comfortable for the moment with Chiyo's condition, he ran over to Ketet, and quickly tended to her injuries. They were quite severe, but he managed to stabilize her condition as well. "I think they're stable,.." she responded to Chance.

Sprawled on the ground where she was struck the brutal blow, Ketet's body woke up a split moment before her actual mind did, switching over into instinct mode. Her wolf being body heaved up dramatically, hands and feet scrabbling for lift and purchase on the blood-slicked floorboards, as if she were a quadruped instead of a biped. Kassin lost his grip on her at this time, and fell rear end first onto the floor. He watched Ketet with an alarmed look.

In a mindless attempt to launch herself all four feet away from Kassin and whoever else was present and awake in the room, she lurched away abruptly out of Kassin's healing touch. It was almost amusing, if it hadn't risked undoing all of Kassin's good deed when her four-legged awkward mobilization sent her crashing painfully into a wall. Kassin clutched his head at this, it felt as if he had launched into a wall himself.

Kit's mind eventually woke up good and proper to a splitting headache of her own doing.

"Ah, ah! Oh by the gods that hurt," was her first few words. They came from a sore and scratchy throat as the wolf rubbed the section of her head where she'd banged it quite hard. It was surprising that she was actually still awake. That headlong rush into solid wall could've knocked most beings unconscious. Then again, the webbed wings sprouting from her back denoted her to be of creature descent. There was a small moment where Ketet whined for a little bit, trying to rid herself of the headache, then she seemed to remember something.

The lady...!

Ketet sprang to her feet, then steadied the world with her hand as it seemed to defy her will to be vertical. Gasping with pain and dizziness, she tried to look around frantically.

"The lady...! Is... is she alright?" she muttered to herself, before suddenly realizing there were furres in the room. Strangers, one of which had the strong tang of her own blood on his hands.

"Who are you and why are you here?" she snarled, tensing suddenly, unaware they'd just caught her completely ignoring them and talking to herself like some madfur.

Kassin looked at Ketet, more alarmed now. He rushed over to Chiyo, and placed one of his hands behind her back. He briefly scanned her for more injuries.

[Sprocketsdance]

Nodding at Kassin's reasponse Chance continued to watch the battle outside. She heard shuffling around behind her, and then a loud bang, followed by a new voice. She turned to find a winged wolf girl covered in blood, trying to stand as best she could. Once hearing the snarl her ears went back slightly.

"Calm down, we're just here to save you two, or rather he is." She nodded towards the tiger angel, now checking on the other girl. "And you should thank him for saving your life."

She didn't like how stern she sounded to herself, but she was starting to feel regret after snapping at Eilan and that didn't help her mood. Plus she was starting to get a bit of a headache and she didn't want to cause Kassin any more pain.

[Lisky]

Garis shrugged, gave a soft sigh, then said "i'll check the kitchen... You two, try not to make too much of a mess while looking for something"  'he' looked at the being with a bit of a smirk as 'he' went to go about his search.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered, still unused to talking with his companions, strode into the parents bedroom, resisting the urge to use any sort of magic unless he was alone and unobserved.

[Azlan]

Tyrian was not surprised with the disorientation or violent initial response of Ketet's revival, what he did find odd was the strange manner at which she first reacted in her instinctual response.  He passed it off as resultant of the extreme trauma she had received.

He gestured towards Chiyo, "the lady is being tended by our gifted healer, who has mended your considerable injuries as well.  We came only seeking shelter and instead encountered a demoness and found your dying bodies."

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib did not seem the slightest bit impressed with the demoness' babbling. Instead he only concentrated for a moment, tightening the bonds around here. "You can leave her be, Rafa, she is not going anywhere until she starts explaining herself." He said, before turning his attention to the hut.. "Is everyone allright in there?" He asked Chance as soon as he caught sight of her.

[Tipod]

"Shut the fuck up," Raffiele snapped as he gave the demon a rough jostling. "We all got family. The difference is, some of us might not be going back to them. Get me?" Petty threats really weren't necessary, especially with Zanfib around to keep her down. Rafa still kept on top of her, just in case. "Now, you can either tell me what you're doing here, or my friend can skullfuck you with his little mind powers. Take your pick."

[Zuki]

It took a few minutes before Chiyo registered what was actually going on. She panted slightly as she was left alone, she fighting ever urge to disappear now while she had a chance while everyone was focused on Ketet's little outburst. But then, she too was worried about Ketet. There had been so much blood! She stood up then and looked around before her eyes settled on her Dragon friend.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked, concern on her voice. She jumped slightly though as she felt someone touch her back and she gasped, taking a step forward. "Hey, what are..." She paused though as she saw it was the angel. She frowned faintly. "Oh, you...no don't worry, I'm fine. I can take care of myself. Really, thank you for saving me though..." She felt awkward, she had never been in this position before. Most of the time she dealt with others it was to steal from them, or running from them because she had stolen something she hadn't intended to.

She heard the commotion going on outside the hut though and frowned, she putting her left hand to her neck. "Is that...demon still out there?" She asked, but she was already heading towards the door to find out what had become of the demon.

[Noone]

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You travel down the door to the left, then make a right turn. There's a door almost immediately to your left, that's the children's bedroom. Eilan goes into that one to investigate. Further down a narrow hall, you come to the parent's bedroom.

Their bedroom is quite wide and spacious, a large double-bed is situated in the center, wooden furniture situated at it's back. They look to be drawers for storing clothing. The floors are made of old wood, and several drawers are situated on the walls, it looks like they're for storing clothing as well. There is also a bookshelf situated on one of the walls, most of the books are turned inwards, though on the top shelf, there's a leather bound book, with no apparent title or author.
On the floor near the beds, there are two bodies of wolf beings, their injuries look very similar to the ones on the children in the first room.

There's also another being in this room, another feline. She wears what looks to be a sturdy leather jerkin, and has a blade strapped to her belt. She seems to be examining the corpses. When she saw Kedered, she looked mildly irritated, but said nothing. Great, another adventuring group, I hope they don't find anything, I'd hate to not get paid for all my hard effort...

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Upon taking the door, you come to what appears to be a set of two rooms. It looks like what you're immediately in is a dining room, there is a table with six chairs at it, one on each end and two on each side. Other than that, the dining room is rather unadorned, and quite dinky. To your immediate right, there's a half-wall, that leads to what looks to be a kitchen. Food is stored there, cooking tools and utensils in drawers are also present. The drawers look like they've been searched through recently, it wouldn't be a surprise if several items were missing as well.

There are also two beings in this area, a burly, vicious bull being, he has a greataxe strapped against his back, and he wears heavy hides. He has a golden ring in his nose, and his head has vicious looking horns on them. The other is in the dining room, a large equine. He carries a large sword on his belt and a shield strapped on his back. Neither of them look very pleasant.

In a moment, the bull came out of the kitchen, the equine turned to face him. "Find anything?" He asked.
"Course not", the bull snorted. "You?"
"N..." he started, then appeared to notice Garis coming in. They both faced 'him'. Neither of them looked happy to see 'him', but weren't openly hostile. The bull decided to approach first. He let out a snort before starting.
"This is our claim, you'd best go back the way you came, we don't appreciate poachers."

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The demoness continued to struggle with both the bonds and Raffiele. Threats were a language she could understand however, and she decided to respond, she appeared terrified.

"Look, I was just out here for some recreational murder, it's something you could easily understand, right?" She said, raising an eyebrow at Raffiele. "So, I just decided to stop in and rip apart an old lady and her guests, then I'd just return home, I didn't plan on meeting anyone else out here." She paused for a moment, trying to come up with what to say next. These guys mean business, I wonder who they are, and who that angel was, not like I care. "It's not like I've killed any of your relatives, so I don't know why you should care."

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Clarity seemed to rush to Ketet's mind as time went on, she felt dizzy, she was barely listening to the others, yet, she remembered three in there before, she heard her scream.
"N...No,, not her, not her! I heard her..!" She shook her head, and without a moment's hesitation, she darted for a door on the side and rushed through it, her footsteps clearly audible throughout the place.

Kassin took her hand off of Chiyo, satisfied that she was alright. "You're welcome." he said softly, but he was still clearly concerned about Ketet. "I... I don't know.." He said, before chasing after Ketet.

It was only a short walk to the old lady's bedroom, the person who had taken her in for the night. Her bedroom was small, yet, the other appliances seemed small next to her. She came crashing through the door, crashing through it, which fell to the floor. It had already had it's hinges ripped off, yet, none of that mattered when she stared at the bed, she gasped in horror. A few tears started to fill her eyes.

Kassin came in a few moments afterwards, the sight made him sick. An old feline being appeared to be lying on a bed, she was soaked in blood. It looked like someone with a truly twisted imagination had been clawing her extensively, her chest was bloody and torn, and had some claw marks on her neck. The sight made him feel sick. He could barely stand to look at the corpse. He turned away as well. I wasn't able to save her... He sighed as he looked at the ground, he could see some small blood stains on the floor.

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib snorted at Rafa's crude methods, and strode up to where he was standing over the pair. "Rafa, if you could save your mating rituals until later, I will simply tell you she has no idea who our angel friend is. Now, get off her before she becomes any more aroused. I can hardly stand the flood of lewd thoughts in her mind as is." Zanfib said with a smirk, before turning his attention to the demoness... but he was careful to keep tabs on the demon's mind just in case!

"Ahhh, yes, recreational murder, a fun little game, is it not?" The psion said, idly pressing his fingertips together in a mock, thoughtful manner. "I find it to be quite thrilling when the subject is a far more durable subject, like, say, a demon." He continued as a slow smirk crept across his face as he peered down at the demoness, "Have you ever seen a demon hurtled repeatedly into the trees until they die? It's quite the spectacle, and your kind can take so much punishment before you pass the mortal coil as well."

[Lisky]

The Vixen calmly ran 'his' finger across the table, walking in the the slightly sultry style 'he'd' taken on since assuming 'his' current form.  Walking closer to the bull 'he' flicked 'his' bangs out of 'his eyes' and replied in the soft voice 'he'd' used earlier, "Someone has some serious testosterone issues, or perhaps it's just an alpha male complex."

Garis strolled closer still, "why, such a lack of subtlety and respect will land you in trouble one of these days my young warrior acquaintance.  Such blunt tactics may work for hunting demons, but Angel's and their ilk have a tendency to put games inside of games inside of games..." 'He' paused, resting a hand on 'his' hip, "or perhaps you think being able to swing a large axe is all it takes to have a successful hunt.  Leaving the real brain-work to those with the knack for it."

Garis continued his stroll around the room with a continued confidence that encroached, and probably crossed into arrogance.  'He' made his observations of the area carefully, making sure these over-compensating sword swingers knew 'he' wasn't intimidated but such displays of stupidity and bluntness.  'He' Also looked for signs of claw marks in corners, or other obvious signs of a struggle that an incubus or demon might have caused.

[Sprocketsdance]

Hearing Zanfib she quickly turned her head back out of the door way and yelled back "As good as can be right now." She then felt someone walking over and turned again to find one of the victims approaching. Chance stepped over to allow her better view of what was happening outside.

"Yeah, but don't worry, there's no way she's any match for the two out there. Oh, and by the way my name is Chance." She smiled warmly at the feline and negated her prepped fire-ball. The pain in her head worsened as soon as the power went back inside. She grimaced as she tried to push it aside. "Sorry... my head is acting strange.. I never get headaches..... So do you have any idea why a demon attac-GYAH!"

As she was finishing her sentance her knees gave way as a sudden burst of strong emotion slammed into her. The pain was intense but very short and felt as if somone shot her with an arrow on either side of her head. Her hands went to her head in reflex from the quick jab of pain and felt two new objects there.. attached to her head.

She finally got her head wings.

[Zuki]

She nodded her head as she stopped outside, she looking towards the demoness and the demon that held her down. She frowned faintly. "What...what are you going to do with her?" She asked. Sure, the demoness had tried to kill her...but demons were demons. She didn't really want to see her killed on her account! "I don't know why she attacked...but she's a demon. I suppose that's reason enough. I'm Chiyo..."

Her thoughts were cut short though as she was quickly drawn to the feline Chance. "Oh hey..." She caught her before she could fall to the ground, she surprisingly strong. She lowered her down though and smirked. "Oh hey, you got your head wings...congratulations!" She said easily. She put her hand to her head to numb a bit of the pain, her eyes glowing softly. "I remember when I got my head wings...my father threw me a party." She said with a happy grin. It seemed so long ago!

She wasn't all that phased that she had almost just died. She didn't die, she was fine, so she didn't dwell on it.

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib took a moment to glance over at Chance, and he genuinely smiled. "My my my, would you look at that. Our little Chance is all grown up now, and me without a camera." He said jokingly.

[Azlan]

Tyrian was rather wide eyed at this sudden turn of events, but quickly shook it off and followed after Kassin.  The sight of the dead feline sickened him and he spoke his thoughts out loud, "that demoness did this?  What a horrible creature she must be to be able to do such a thing.  Since we have her outside, I should want to know her motivation for such heinous acts."

Approaching Kassin he asked softly, "are you alright?"

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance slowly stood back up, glancing to Zanfib and quickly darted her tongue out. She muttered "He'll pay for that..." then she looked to Chiyo, feeling the top of her head again with a smile, all she felt was a small bit of throbbing which quickly fadded. "Wow, thanks!" Unable to contain herself, despite a nearby demon being throttled, she hugged Chiyo greatfully.

"It's nice to meetcha! But we should probably go back inside.. and check on the others.."

She was worried about Kassin.. he just got through another ordeal and she didn't mean to possibly put him through yet another.. which reminded her.. She tried to focus a bit and sent a thought to Zanfib.. Ok smartass... just remember to not hurt the damn thing

She went back inside the hut to find the room empty.. she started to panic.. Great move Chance...great.. you were suppose to watch Kassin.. and now you don't know where the hell he is!.. But then she saw an open... or rather crashed into door way. She rushed to the opening where she was first greeted by the safe sign of Kassin, but then the smell of blood and death came through her nostrils. She looked around at the scene of complete and utter carnage and she gasped, putting her hand to cover her mouth and nostrils. Never before has she seen anything so... horrific... her mind went blank and she was frozen.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Not addressing the other adventurer before being spoken to, Kedered silently inspected the bodies, trusting the robed female in the other room's assessment. These did look like wounds from 'cubi tentacles....... Kedered once again turned his mind to Kassin's odd dreaming, and knew, even if he couldn't prove it, that the crocodile incubus was responsible for this atrocity.

Frame a suspect, now look for proof. There wouldn't be any identifying marks on the bodies, nothing to tell one tentacle from another. Perhaps a better line of inquiry would be to discern why these people were attacked. Hopefully, it wasn't just random chance, of having been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thinking it the only other oddity in the place that yielded to his casual scrutiny, Kedered silently drifted over to the bookcase and drew out the leather covered tome, flipping through it and hoping that there were some clues contained.

[Noone]

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The leather-bound book appears to have no title, or author, no distinctive marks label the outside. It's a heavy book, thick paper within it's volumes. With a few pages of inspection, it becomes clear that it's a journal, likely of one of the parents. The script is large and course, and the text looks like it was written by one with only cursory experience in writing. It's a very extensive work, it's not clear how far it extends back. There's also a lot of blank pages near the end, likely paper the writer was planning on using at a later date. None of the passages look very interesting, most just seem to describe the bland, daily activities a farmer concerns himself with, usually noting what their children have been up to, usually mischief.

Nothing catches you as unusual, but, between where the written sections end and the blank pages start, a closer inspection reveals that some of the pages have been ripped out.

The other adventurer examined 'Kedered' closely, she seemed somewhat nervous while he was checking the book. She soon started silently pacing towards the door. He's probably figured out, I guess I can just say they were like that when I found it, I wouldn't want to give him a possible lead after all...

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An examination of the two rooms doesn't appear to lead to anything conclusive. No clear evidence of a struggle is present, no blood stains, no scorch or burn marks. The cabinets in the kitchen look like they've been recently and thoroughly searched, and five of the chairs at the table seem to be extensively used as well.

The bull adventurer let out a soft snort, and then a growl. The equine one started off. "Listen, only one of us is getting paid for this job, and that's me. Whomever gets to kill Kassin is going to be bloody rich,  and I don't intend to have that hard earned wealth robbed from me by some hot-shot lady who manages to get the first swing in and claim all the credit. So why don't you go home and cry in a corner and let those who can really take care of themselves handle this."

The bull one didn't seem satisfied, but then he turned to the equine, but spoke loudly enough for Garis to hear. "Maybe we should show her what this career is really like, let her bleed a bit, maybe chop something off, pain is a good deterrent."
The equine one didn't seem impressed with this, he responded in a slightly hushed voice. "Cut it out, I don't like the competition either, but openly killing another adventurer will leave a bounty on us."
The bull crudely responded. "Didn't mean kill, maybe just disfigure her and leave her outside in the snow to bleed."
Both of them turned to face Garis, both expressed interest in having 'him' leave.

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The demoness was incredibly surprised, and not in a pleasant way, to see Chiyo outside. Damn it, I should have been more careful, I knew she was a cubi, should have been more careful. Didn't scream like the other one though.... With that, she appeared irritated, also noticing another Cubi gain her headwings. She didn't really care however, and had more pressing concerns. "Now if you don't mind, could you get the hell off me and pretend we never saw each other? Thank you." She started growling softly, poised to attempt to break out of her current restraints. Too many, I'd better just leave...


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Kassin shook his head, and closed his eyes, he felt sick to the core, he couldn't stand to face anyone. He let out a depressed gasp, and softly responded. "I've seen enough death for a lifetime in the space of less than a week. This..." He stopped himself. "Nothing like this..." He paced over to her, and touched his right hand to her neck, his fingers became wet with her blood. After feeling her for a moment, he withdrew his hand and shook his head sadly. "There's nothing I can do for her..." He breathed out a sad sigh.

Ketet looked at the dead old lady with sad, almost pleading eyes. No... No... Not her... Not her... She felt that she had failed herself somehow. Without another moment's hesitation, he fopped to the floor, and stared intently at the ground. She covered her hands with her face, and let out a soft sob. For the moment, she was static.

[Lisky]

Garis just glared at the pair, "such threats are meaningless, do you honestly think i'd let a couple thugs like you get close enough to get a swing in... your talking to a mage, not some ditsy little pretty thing, who gets scared off at the slightest sign of trouble.  I suggest you correct your tone before it gets you in more trouble..."

'he' was intentionally goading them into something stupid... angry people often let things slip into their minds, things that could in turn, give Garis a lead...  He smiled wickedly at the pair, focusing on the Bull,

"So little cow, do you really think being the one who deals the death blow is sufficient to be the one to claim the reward... I wouldn't be surprised if one of your so-called allies didn't stab you in the back, leave you for dead, and collect the bounty themselves.  Especially if you're all stupid enough to be fighting for a winner take all type reward... don't forget, you need to present the body of the angel boy to collect the reward, dead warriors can't collect rewards."

The 'vixen's' grin was exceedingly wicked at this point as 'her' face bore a mild look of disgust towards the bull, with his blunt and inefficient tactics. 

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered moved, not suddenly, but quickly, to the door before the adventurer could make it outside the room. Still holding the diary in his right hand, his left reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. "The tears in this journal are much more recent than the murders in the room. You would not happen to know where the missing pages went, would you? Because the motions in your face give silent testimony against you. How about you either give them to me or tell me where they are, and I will buy you a drink in the closest tavern?"

[Azlan]

The fox sighed and carefully turned Kassin to face him eye to eye, "you can't save everyone little brother, it is noble of you to try... and I doubt I could say anything that could possibly dissuade you.  It is fine that you just be you.  Perhaps we should bury her?  Would that be the right thing to do... I am not familiar with the customs here."

Tyrian noted that this new girl seemed especially distraught over the older female's death, "did you know her well... miss?"

[Zuki]

She watched as the demon that had just tried to kill her lay helpless on the ground. She knew the old woman that had showed her and Ketet such wonderful hospitality was dead. She knew that she and her dragon friend would be dead now too, if it weren't for these strange travelers. But she was still a lover and not a fighter. Death was a...well it was a very permanent answer. And she didn't like permanent. She moved forwards slightly though.

"Uh...excuse me..." She said nervously, she looking towards them where they held the demoness that had tried to kill her. "Uh...what...well what exactly are you going to do with her?" She didn't think what the demon had done was right. After all, it had been her life and she wasn't ready to die yet. But she didn't think the demon wanted to die just yet now either. "You aren't going to hurt her, are you?"

[Tipod]

"...wait, what?" Rafa seemed surprised by Zanfib's comment on the female demon's arousal, not that it was very surprising; demons typically thought power was sexy, so why wouldn't this particular one feel any differently? He quickly stood, dusting off his hands but never breaking eye contact with her. "...why shouldn't we hurt her? I'm not finding many reasons to not hurt people anymore." Rafa glared at Chiyo for a moment. "What do you care, anyway? Did you forget that she just mauled you five minutes ago?"