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

[Paladin Sheppard]

Battle-Cruiser MJOLNIR

Bas stood waiting for the wolf-succubus on the flight deck, as her plane was pressed by the crew to the appropriate area, the plane started to vanish within the armored hull off the warship.  Bas gave a friendly salute like wave, lifting middle and index fingers a brow the flicking his wrist towards Paige.  He approached with a slightly devilish grin.  Bas said, "Glad to see you're interested in my own offer, Paige,  even though I had to rather graciously turn down your own..."
He coughed into a hand to try and hide the slight chuckle.  "Welcome aboard the MJOLNIR, The Hammer of Thor. "
Paige would note that Bas wasn't wearing a mind-shield at the moment, and would pick up a distinct mental image of her pounced on top of him, rather forcefully laying out her own proposition immediately after thanking him in a rather... unorthodox way...  for his offer of a job .
He let his voice and thoughts trail off as he made a flourish towards the stairs to the inner airship.  "If you'd be so kind as to follow me, we can talk about getting you a contract, and if you're interested, get you a bunk."  

Smiling in reply to his own the wolfess walked to meet Baseel halfway, "Sorry for the trouble, Mr Wolkshammar" She said grinning impishly though with a slight pink tinge to her cheeks as she replied as she picked up the mind picture. As she followed him she kept listening, as as they neared the stairs and Baseel finished his offer she couldn't help but add: "Oh yours is taken then?" In a completely deadpan tone.

[Arroyo Milori]

Arroyo stopped for a second as he was about to get off his boat. He quickly turned back to the door to inside the boat and walks into it for a minute after unlocking it to go in. He grabbed a belt with a sheath attached to it and wrapped it around his waist. 'Better safe than sorry...but then again that's what that church guy said when he turned int a zombie...Ah well.' He raised his hand up and a small spark of blue light appeared for a quick second as it turned into Arroyo's sword. He soon sheathed it and grabs his money and puts it in his pocket before exiting the boat.

He locked up the door to his quarters and gets off the boat, walking up and through the gates of the small town, taking out his windup key and soon tinkered a bit with his cuffs, making a echoing clicking sound as he walks through the first street he entered into.

[Ghostwish]

Challam paused for a moment at the end of the exiting ramp of the airship, and simply took a moment to look around at all the people. It'd been too long since he'd seen any large congregation of people that wasn't infested with head-wings. He smirked, and stepped up to the signs pointing visitors about. He was just looking for the departing airship station to book a flight further into country, where his clan held businesses.

Hopefully finding what he sought, he would set off on his way there, barring any terrible life-altering event..

[WhiteFox]

"Johnny I hardly knew ye, haroo... haroo"

Gabriel stood in the back yard of a long abandoned farmstead, drawing water from a dilapidated well.

"Where are your eyes that were so mild, hurroo... hurroo,
Where are your eyes that were so mild? hurroo... hurroo,
Where are your eyes that were so mild
When my heart you so beguiled,
Why did ye run from me and the child,
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye.

He didn't really know how to sing, but he was familiar with the words and tune. He could sing along with his memory, at least.

After travelling along the side of the railroad for a time, he'd turned north along a farmer's backroad. The well was a good place to resupply the water tanks, and Gabriel needed a bite of bread and cheese, too.

"Where are your legs that used to run, hurroo, hurroo...
Where are your legs that used to run, hurroo, hurroo.
Where are your legs that used to run
When you went for to carry a gun
Indeed your dancing days are done
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye..."

Gabriel also took the time to strip down the valve-gear linkages. He hadn't needed to, but it felt good to take something apart and oil it... comfort of the familiar. Now, he poured one last bucketful into the tank behind the seat. Then he stood stood up, surveyed the land around him, and wiped his hands off with a rag.

Time to move on. Find another job, get paid, stay fed. That's how the world worked. You made a life as you could, and when war shook things up, you started over when the dust settled.

"I'm happy for to... see you..." Gabriel trailed off. He glanced about again, more from nerves than anything else. A dilapidated farmhouse, untended fields, and a plume of smoke in the distance. Familiar territory.

He took off his cap, ran his nails through his hair, and cleared his throat.

"Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo...
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo.
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg
Ye're an armless, boneless, chickenless egg
Ye'll have to put with a bowl out to beg
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye..."

Running sucked. Wars sucked. Gabriel never shirked on the job, and if you wanted something taken care of you rolled up your sleeves and dealt with it. It didn't matter if it was your job to fix it or not, either. Someone had to do it, or it didn't get done.

Gabriel took a firm grip on Walsh's handlebars, and drove off at full steam. Gabriels young soprano was stronger now, and there was as much iron in his voice as melody.

"With your drums and guns and drums and guns, hurroo, hurroo..!"



Gabriel rolled into the city of Sevoy some time later. Gothic revival mansions and civic centers stood towering in the distance, closer to the city heart, but Gabriel stayed in the outskirts. Workers shuffled through the streets in the industrial neighborhood, dockworkers and laborers. After driving for a time, fighting with roaming pedestrians, horses drawn carriges, and other motorized vehicles, Gaberiel parked Walsh at a utilitarian but busy pub. He detached the gemstone stud that activated the flash-heat enchantments of his bike, as well as the hand lever for the chadburn, and tucked both in his pockets before heading in.

There was a fine line between "lower middle class" and "rough company." Gabriel tweaked his cap a little lower, and went straight for the bar, eyes darting over the crowd and hands fidgeting in his pockets. He hopped onto a stool, and put a few coins on the counter.

"Gin and tonic, sirrah." he said.

The barkeep, a rotund badger, eyed him. "Aren't you a little short in years for drinkin gin?"

"I'm old enough to earn wages, aint I?" Gabriel replied, and added a few more coins.

The barkeeper shrugged, and slid them off the counter. "Fair enough." he said, and poured him a glass.

Gabriel sipped at the tumbler. "Speakin' of wages, know where I might go to find some?"

"They're always looking for littles to work at the mines," he said, "and down at the docks, there's plenty blimps and sailing ships that'd need a cabin boy."

Gabriel flinched, spilling some of his drink. "No..! No," he said. "I'm no cabin boy or coal miner. Mechanics work, or engineering."

"Need experience and training for that sorta work, boy..."

Gabriel looked at him from under the brim of his cap, and held the glass infron to fhis mouth to cover a smirk. "I got letters of reccomendation." He said, and drained the glass. Gabriel waved away the barkeepers offer for a refill. "I'm looking for a job on something armed. Too many pirates about, and civilian work doesn't pay so well."

"Oh... ah, well then. I might know of a few captains needing crew." The barkeeper said.

"I might be looking around for a while. Got a room to rent for a few days? Don't need much more than a broom closet, and it's better then sittin' in the common room." Gabriel said, and gestured to the room around him. He tried his best to not look as jumpy as he felt.

The barkeeper nodded. "I'll talk to the owner, but I think so."

Gabe gestured with his glass to the taps at the bar. "Need someone to tune up your plumbing? Since I'm not doin' much else."

"I'm sure that will help."

[Kafzeil]

Lucy moved at a brisk pace towards the gate, mostly staying in the alleys and less crowded streets. She kept her head low, the brim of her hat concealing her eyes as best she could.

She moved around crowds and smaller gatherings of people, only a few seemed to show any kind of notice to her, though she moved quickly enough she was sure she was forgotten once she was out the line of sight and the topic of conversation moved back today's service.

Lucy had only gone to such service once in her life, following her father's death. She never trusted the bishop, her own paranoia had silently accuse him of some kind of involvement in her father's murder.A harsh accusation, yes, she realized, but he had heard rumors about him, the kind of stuff a stereotypical Demon would call inhuman.

Finally, the past few minutes had seemed like ages, but she could see the gate now.

[Tipod]

The demon's tone and body language eased off as the mook raised his revolver. "Heeeyy, hey, whatsa matter? Don't you like me?" Bart held out his arms in a friendly gesture, eyes softening and glittering gently. "You know what I think?" He took a little step foward. "I think someone needs a huuugg~"

Bart quickly closed the gap between them, grabbing and pinning the being's arms to his sides in a borderline crushing bearhug, causing a few small, audible cracks in the pirate's vertebrae. "C'mon, big hug biiiiiig hug--" And, without warning, the demon ignited himself, orange flames engulfing them both in a nice, searing embrace.

[Lisky]

Sevoy

The barkeep appeared a few moments later with a key, "I only take cash up front for renting rooms.  Single bed, and half-bath is the smallest we got... room and bed dimensions just about match perfectly.  Hope that's a'right with you."

The bartender then produced some tools.  "Tell ya what, you fix the leaky spigot 'ere, an' you're room 's free for tonight, and i'll go asking around for who needs a mechanic for ye s'well... you break that tap though, and it'll more than jus' yer room tha' you'll losin' tonight.  If ya catch my drift."


Battle-cruiser MJOLNIR

Bas felt a slight flush on his own face as well as a devilish grin appear.  He lips curled back in an playfully evil grin, exposing his eerily white teeth.  He chortled, "Currently, the captains bed is only occupied by the captain.  However, if that's an offer to change things...."

Rubbing his chin as if pondering something, Bas lead Paige down the flight of stairs, at the bottom he finished his thought " Well, I can't see any reason to turn you down." Giving a rather noncommittal  shrug, the demon started the tour of the ship, Paige would also note that his thoughts were shielded now.

After wandering several hallways and 2 more sets of stairs, Bas "Up ahead, you'll see the bridge... while it appears to be a glass structure at the front of the ship... that's just a woven magic screen.  You see what's at the front of the ship, when, we are in fact at the very core of the vessel... deepest and most protected part on this entire warship."


Train Crash

The being in Bart's arms seethed and screamed in agony.  A small contingent of pirates, 3 obvious ones, and what could have been movement around the roof of a still intact train-car.  In a matter of seconds, the screaming had stopped as the leather suit, rubber mask, and metal joints began to be consumed in the brilliant orange blaze.  The smell of burnt flesh started to fill the demon's nostrils, a sickly, bitter-sweet smell.

A shout, "What the fuck just happened to Rodney?"

A reply of "Shit man... how's he on fire... what happened?  Wasn't Joey with 'em?"

"Joey, you there?! Rod, Joe?"

3 three grew closer, still unable to make out what happened in the ochre, acrid, and partially blinding smoke.


Seth heard the voices, they were on the other side of the train, and still a ways away.  The pistol seemed to be in working order, and he'd find a small box a matching shells, perhaps 30 spare rounds.  He'd also find some ammunition for the rifle, copper cylinders with a wide, flat base, indented with a firing pin should hit the percussion cap.  It was a mid-bore shotgun that was lying on the ground just beyond the reach of the pirate's corpse.
Suddenly he pick up thoughts of, Ohh... boss'll be proud of me for this one.  He'll be happy to hear about someone taking down a strange creature like him... one who doesn't listen when they're supposed to.
Half a train-car down, lying near the roof vent in a prone position, there was a being lining his sights up towards the near-by funeral pyre.  Seth had a clear view, but it appeared as if the being had no clue he was there.


Aeliseium Streets

Lucy could almost taste the freedom of the outside world, the gate was in sight, and there were but 2 guards.  Both seemed transfixed on incoming traffic as she drew closer.  Suddenly the world seemed to slow down.  She could see the forest, perhaps a half-mile down the road.  A farmer came by, staring more at her figure than the newly revived undead's face.  The guard at the left side the gate seemed to pivot, almost glacially, the husky's blue eyes seemed to lock on her face.  He seemed distracted, as if he couldn't find the words.

It was clear he thought something was off... but he didn't know what just yet.  It wasn't until she'd barely cleared the gate that it seemed to click, "YOU MISS!, STOP!  NOW!"

She could hear the SHHHHKKK of steel pressed against it's hardened leather sheath, the guard had drawn his short blade, rather than reached for his gun.  However, she quickly heard an "ooof" as a cart hit the guard, stunning him for a few seconds, while the other guard, still confused, was trying to pick out just who his comrade had signaled to be questioned

[insidexml]

Well, at least the mythos was no longer screaming in agony, either from the broken hand or from the result of Sikici trying to mend that broken hand. Everything seemed to be in order, considering the mythos did not seem to be in any pain, and the hand looked all right. Of course, that would not necessarily mean that it would stay that way as time progressed, but at the moment, the situation had stabilized. That counted for something, right?

Sikici hadn't intended to ask for payment, but hey, free stuff! He gave a nod as he accepted the border pass from the mythos. "Thank you. I am sure this will prove to be useful in the future."  Sikici tucked it away into a small pouch he had.

"Unless you need anything else than, I'll be off."

[Noone]

Kyirri knew enough to stay well away from thugs having a rumble. Dealing with the street gangs period often meant one was marked for death, either quick or slow, even though they could offer him a better standard of living than he could realistically get on his own. Still, he had enough sense to avoid them while they were in the middle of a fight, best not to involve oneself in such things.

He was however, rather surprised at the a large number of people leaving the train at this time. Probably hoping to avoid the thugs and gangs...
He looked up at the feline at the ticket counter. He was immediately suspicious of the offer. His head immediately screamed. Scam! He didn't take long to ponder whether to take the offer. In all likelihood, it's just another seat with a shinier name. Plus if I'm dumb enough to take the offer I'd have a larger chance of being mugged, people after those with more money. And, if I take a normal seat I could get 'lost' in the crowd.

However, it was a good idea to reply politely. "No thank you ma'am. May I have a regular ticket please?" He was ready to hand over the money necessary for the exchange, and then get on the train.

[Tapewolf]

Seth watched in alarm as one of the pirates prepared to shoot at someone.  All he had was a pistol and a rifle, neither of which he'd used in a few years.  In any other situation he'd have time to reacquaint himself with the weapons, but right now someone's life was on the line and a miss would probably kill him.

Instead, he cast a fireball, something he kept regular practice at.
A lucky shot would kill or severely injure them, but even a miss should be enough to distract the guy and prevent him taking the shot.  The wolf pressed himself back against the wall, only his muzzle and one eye peering around the corner to see what happened.

[SpottedKitty]

Zelah paused, her eyes widened and headwings flared just a little, when the slightly taller canine Demon stepped out in front of her. Like the other crew she'd met, she could feel no hostility fron him, only friendliness and curiosity... and... attraction? He thought she was cute? On a second glance she realised the Demon was actually quite good-looking, discounting his Creature features, and after a moment she remembered why. Take away the horns, wings, and un-Being-like fur colour, and he resembled someone she'd known a long time ago. Someone she'd actually been fond of, until he'd run away screaming when he discovered what she was.

"Uh... hello," she said in a quiet voice just a whisker's breadth from a nervous squeak. "I'm Zelah. Your Captain Wolkshammer just took me on, uh, I'm new here, uh, my, what a big zeppelin you've got, uh, could you give me directions round your hairy chest — meep." The 'Cubi let her rambling monologue crash and burn, while her tail fluffed out and her ears blushed so hard she thought they'd burst into flames.

[SquirrelWizard]

Getting Schooled in History

Stephan plucked the book off the shelf, and ran his hand over the cover. He walked down the bookshelf to a nearby sitting room which was occupied by a a single ferret being. "Mind if I take a seat?" the ferret looked up from the book and gave a scrutinizing look, "Sure, I don't see why not." Stephan took a seat and started to skim through the pages of the book. "Hmmmm... clan history..."

Stephan looked up from the book at the Ferret, "Yes, its about the Noctali clan." He opened the book and started to read again.

"Noctali, now that is an interesting clan history. Have you read it?" the ferret interrupted the reading.

Stephan shut the book and gave the ferret a steady look, "No, that's what I'm trying to do," The ferret shrugged and went back to reading his book. Stephan opened the book again and tried to pick up where he had left off.

"I know all about them." again the ferret interrupted Stephan.

Stephan shut the irritably shut the book, "I take it you are some sort of professional on the matter?"

"Exactly," the ferret slapped the arm of his chair, and hopped down and started to pace, "You could say the Noctali clan was born from the Ilsorta clan. Ilsorta was..." the ferret's eyes narrowed and he grimaced, "A mad incubus, filled with delusions of perfection." he paused and smiled at Stephan. "The perfect Incubus, or Succubus as it were. What do you know of Eugenics?"

Stephan shook his head, the impromptu history lesson had caught him off guard, "I'm sorry I've never heard of that before."

"Well, its like when you selectively breed dogs for specific qualities such as the ability to fit into a ladies purse, but instead he started with Beings. Not trying to get us to fit into a tea cup mind you, some of us cant afford to be any smaller than we already are." The ferret paused for a reaction from Stephan.

Stephan casually waited for the ferret to continue, a small hint of a grin on his face.

"Hmmm... tough crowd... Well Ilsorta typically dealt with politics and economics, the forces that can make or break a nation. But, in this case he was involved with a group of Beings known as the Ascendant; a big Eugenics group trying to breed the perfect Being. He used them for their methods, and then applied it to the many clans of cubi, to breed the perfect clan." the ferret resumed his pacing, "Now... meddling with Beings, any of Ilsortas brood could have done that. But, when it involved the other clans... well you don't send out anything but the best, and that happened to be Noctali."

The ferret wheeled around to face Stephan, a devilish grin was plastered on his face. "Noctali was Ilsorta's second in command, best among all others. His skill in deception and misdirection so powerful; that he was sometimes referred to as the Hand of Chaos, for his mere appearance would cause disorder and calamity." the smile faded as the ferret face grew dour, "He was privy to it all, every wild whim, every mad plan of Ilsorta. Yes, Noctali had the grand honor to watch the his clan leader drag his clan towards oblivion, all over an obsession."

Stephan shrugged, "So if Noctali was so powerful, and Ilsorta's second in command, why didn't he try to get Ilsorta to come to his senses?"

"Ilsorta was a clan leader, he didn't get to where he was without earning it. And you tend to treat something that can devour your eternal soul on a whim with a good deal of respect. Noctali did what any good Incubus would do; he made a plan, a gamble as it were." the ferret idly inspect his fingernails You see, the problem with an obsession, is it can distract you. He did his job as Ilsorta's lieutenant, carrying out his whim. At the time the clan leader had his eyes on certain specimen of the other clans, and it was Noctali's job to retrieve them; and he retrieved them. Oh, there were rumors tossed about regarding the disappearances, but as long as Ilsorta got his precious materials, he didn't seem to care. They were to him as gnats."

"So how is that a plan," Stephan interrupted, "I mean it just sounds like he didn't change anything with what he was doing."

The ferret seemed to pause at the interruption but then continued, "Oh yes, that is exactly how he wanted it to seem. You see, if you leave enough bread crumbs, enough clues as it were, people will follow it. It took hundreds of years of carefully placed clues, enough to keep people interested, but slow enough to make sure the truth was discovered when he wanted it to be. Have you heard of the Dragon and Cubi wars?"

Stephan thought for a moment, "Ummm... what I remember was that the Dragons and the Cubi got it into their heads to see who could pummel each other the hardest for kicks."

The ferret regarded Stephan with a steady gaze, "cute... real cute. Well, for the most part that is what happened. But, one dragon in particular became real irate with the Ilsorta clan. Do you remember the Ascendants I told you about?"

Stephan nodded.

"Well, the dragon Yesorthin found out about them, and that Ilsorta was secretly backing them. Now dragons are pretty self centered critters. If they see you building an army, they think you are coming after them. Considering at the time dragons and cubi were at each others throats, he didn't hesitate to attack. And believe me, there is no amount of breeding that will save you if a dragon decides to put his foot down. So while sifting through the ashes, Yesorthin happened to find one of those bread crumbs Noctali had carefully left behind. Well the very thought that a Cubi clan, especially one known for its political manipulation, working against him by raising an army. It infuriated him, so much he launched an offensive against the Ilsorta."

Stephan cupped his chin in his hand, "Wouldn't the other Clans render assistance? I mean its well known that when confronted by a severe threat, that it would force people to band together to combat it."

The ferret nodded, "Normally that is true, but do you remember Ilsorta's project? He burned a lot of bridges by doing that. Well, Noctali did the dirty work, but the end result is that pretty much all of the other clans had a bone to pick with Ilsorta's clan. So you as you can imagine, 'assistance' wasn't very forthcoming. So the clan of Ilsorta had to defend itself against Yesorthin's brood alone."

Stephan furrowed his brow, "I'm not exactly an expert in warfare, but wouldn't that be a very bad thing for Ilsorta's clan?"

"Heh, well it is true that physically dragons are much stronger than most cubi, but cubi are capable in their own fashion." the ferret paused as if he was recollecting a memory. He grinned, "The fighting was vicious, but none more viscous than it was between Yesorthin and Ilsorta."

The ferret theatrically threw his arms open, "It was like watching two gods of war clash. Each strike caused the earth shudder, their magic set the air ablaze, and their battlecries crashed down on the mere mortals below with the savage fury of the storms. And in the end, when the carnage was finally wrought the air stood still in the anticipation of one or the others final release. Ilsorta triumphed over the dragon Yesorthin, and threw him to the ground. But for Ilsorta, it was a costly victory. He was weakened by the conflict, and was barely capable of standing himself. And that is when Noctali's scheme paid off.

The ferret began pacing again, "Noctali approached Ilsorta and struck him down, claiming his soul in the process. And, on top of that, he claimed Yesorthin's soul as well. Something along the lines of a unexpected benefit. You see, Noctali knew that Ilsorta would eventually ride his clan into the ground, and that to prevent that he would have to eliminate him. All those years he spent carefully alienating the clan, finding someone who could pose a credible threat to Ilsorta, and engineering their meeting. And with both of their souls he moved on to his next goal. Ascension."

"What is Ascension?" Stephan interrupted the ferret.

"Where do you think the clan leaders come from? They sure as hell aren't born that way. They're made, and often by their own hand too. Ascension is... not fully understood... just that it takes a phenomenal amount of power to pull off. To an Incubus like Noctali, the souls of Ilsorta, and Yesorthin were exactly that. He then took the biggest risk of his life."

The ferret hopped up onto the armrest of a nearby chair, "Like I said, Ascension is not fully understood. Out of every cubi how has attempted it, very few pull it off. Those that fail to do so... die, or worse."

"Well, obviously he... ascended, otherwise they wouldn't have written a book about his clan." Stephan felt the ferret was dragging the history on, "All you've been talking about is the Ilsorta clan."

The ferret glowered at Stephan, "Well, obviously you start a story at the beginning. At least that's how I was taught. You see, the Noctali clan grew from the ashes of the Ilsorta clan. After the battle with Yesorthan's forces ended, of the eighty Ilsorta clan members, only about thirty remained. And of those thirty, only ten were capable of joining Noctali. The rest," he started to count off on his fingers, "were either too insane to understand what was happening, too despondent to care, or angered over Ilsorta's death. You see, when a clan leader dies his entire clan feels it. Its a gut wrenching, soul shattering experience. And, every member is affected differently. Those that were left, the ones that joined Noctali, they were the few that could still function to some degree," the ferret hopped off of the arm rest, "The Noctali clan licked its wounds and then went to work."

"What do you mean went to work?" Stephan tilted his head to the side, "I thought Noctali rebelled because of what the clan was doing?"

The ferret nodded, "That is true, but many cubi of the other clans knew who Noctali was, where he came from. The first thing the clan had to do was sever all ties with the failed Ilsorta clan, and to improve their relations with the other clans. To do this, the Noctali clan assisted the other clans in the Dragon and Cubi war, which was still raging on. While the other clans were stuck in their various conflicts; the Noctali clan would move between them striking their enemies at random causing chaos and disorder. For example, the combined forces of Teskala the dragon, and Firemaw the demon."

Stephan laughed, "Firemaw? A demon? I didn't think they could breath fire."

The ferret shook his head, "He's a demon, he probably chose it because it sounded cool. Anyways, before you interrupted me, they were laying siege to a Taun stronghold. Now the Taun could have taken them, but their position was precarious. They were waiting for some reinforcements to arrive, but were facing a hard advance from their enemies. The Noctali clan struck Teskala, and Firemaw's forces from behind. They caused an incredible amount of chaos and disorder amongst the ranks, and even managed to lead a good portion of the forces off on a wild goose chase. During this battle, it was the first time Noctali was, 'killed'" the ferret quoted the word killed with his fingers, "Even though dragon Teskala struck Noctali down, he would later appear unscathed later on. Nobody is quite sure how he did it, but they do know that he was repeatedly killed over the entire Dragon and Cubi war and every time his slayer was sure Noctali was dead for good, and every time he would come back as if nothing had happened. Though they did very little damage to the attacking forces, their intervention bought the Taun clan more than enough time for their reinforcements to arrive." These interventions did much to soften the grievances against Noctali, and gave his clan a relative clean slate; a fresh start."

Stephan yawned, "So what did he do after the war, I mean there was time between then and now."

The ferret shrugged, "Nobody knows. Some say he was finally killed, while others believe he just retreated to the shadows. But, what they do know is that the Noctali Clan has lived on and, due to their nature of their clan members, the other clans view them with equal amounts of amazement and frustration. Unlike other clans, the Noctali clan doesn't adhere to some global agenda as their members are free to explore and develop on their own. Between now and the war, the clan has been active. The Noctali are famous for doing what seems impossible or improbable, bending the rules and stretching the limit. You will find them as adventurers, spies, and entertainers; though other professions are not unheard of. But for the most part you will find them hip deep in trouble and still happily playing to the audience."

"Wow, I must say, that was interesting," Stephan stretched, "Who are you, and Why do you know all of this," he yawned again.

The ferret seemed to think for a moment, "Well... as to why? I guess you could say I'm sort of a teacher... As for who?..." the ferret smiled, "oh, by the way, you're snoring."

***

"Hey, you idiot. This isn't a bunk house." Stephan was jolted awake by the sharp prod of a ruler, as a librarian glared down at him. "Your snoring is practically rattling books of their shelves. If you feel you need to sleep, go home, or out in the gutter, I don't care where as long as it isn't here." she gave him one last prod with the ruler and stomped off in a huff.

Stephan blinked, took stock of his surroundings, he was in one of the reading chairs, and the Clan history book was open but face down in his lap. He shook his head and picked the book up to see where he left off. It was opened to the modern history of the Noctali clan. Stephan yawned again and checked his watch; several hours had passed. He stood up and shook the sleep from his head, and tried to remember just what the hell he was dreaming about, but nothing came of it, it was like trying to grasp at smoke.

[Kafzeil]

A fear gripped Lucy like a vicegrip as the very passage of time slowed to a crawl.

This was no time to panic, she thought. Just act calm and blend with the crowd she reasoned. She could make her escape unnoticed if she didn't panic.

unfortunately, that's just want she did. In spite of what her mind reasoned, she  took off, running down the road and too the forest as fast as her legs could carry her.

The Undead feline,  glanced back, surprised at how much ground she had gotten between the city gates. As the fear began to loosen it's grip, a new one came in it's place.

The guards had guns.

She dove into the ditch, hoping to throw off there aim if they were already trying to center her in there ironsights. She  kept her body low, hoping that these guards didn't know how to use their guns, and weren't chasing after her.

So much for not panicing...

[Azlan]

Locke nodded approvingly at the owl merchant's demonstration.  The coat would indeed serve his purposes well, especially in concealing his magical, portable cannon.

"This coat is most definitely what I am looking for and most excellent quality I must mention.  The two by two by five dimensions would work perfectly."  The ashen cheetah produced a small card made of iridescent, silvery metal, "what might the cost be for this my fine friend?" 

[Paladin Sheppard]

Paige, her gaze sweeping the bridge did not feel out of place. "Pretty much the same setup as the Valkyrie, Captain." She paused for a few moments "So besides warming your bed for you, what else did you plan on needing me for?"

[Tezkat]

Above the Train Crash, Nhylamar

Tezkat ground to a halt a few steps into the airship. The other jaguar blocked his path down the stairs. He raised Demonbane in a casual salute and smiled.

"What a big sword you have there. You wouldn't happen to be compensating for anything, would you?"

A lunge at his midsection. Little room to parry. Nowhere to dodge but out. He leapt backwards out the door, clearing all the steps in a single bound. Wings tucked tight against his body, he arched into a graceful backflip and landed in a ready crouch with a soft thump, blade in one hand and gun in the other.

As he stood, Tezkat flickered back into view. The Demon could clearly see through his invisibility--not so uncommon a talent, really. Penetrating every illusion--now that was a much rarer gift, and Tezkat had many more tricks up his sleeve. His shape flickered again. An identical duplicate stepped out of him. Then another. And another. Where once there had been but a single dark feline, four now stood. They grinned at the shocked pirates.

"Morning, guys. We're just"

"playing with your boss."

"You might want to"

"give us some space."

Four identical teenaged panthers spread out across the deck. They turned and raised their guns in unison. When the Demon reached the top of the stairs, they fired as one. Glyphs carved across the barrels flared blue for an instant. Muzzles flashed soundlessly as bullets both real and illusory streaked towards their target.

[Lisky]

Bridge MJOLNIR

The various mythos, angels, phoenixes, cubi and couple of gryphons all turned either towards or away from the pair as Paige made her comment, which echoed around the rather open space so as to be loud enough for everyone to hear.  The nearly synchronized coughing-over-snicker fit had the entire bridge crew with very large and tell smirks on their faces.  From what Paige could tell, Bas himself tended to be claimed, rather than openly pursue relationships of THAT nature.

Trying to act as naturally as possible, Bas's eyes squinched, and he brought a paw over his muzzle, rubbing his eyes for a moment.  "I was actually hiring you for your flying skills, you ability to provide longer range support,  to provide additional cover and help give targeting locations for the long- guns..."

Gently guiding Paige away from the bridge, and trying to ignore the fact that a large display board already had a grid drawn, with names and times drawn on it.  "Right... next on the tour, we can go up, and check out the flight, and upper combat deck, or directly below is crew quarters, kitchen, mess, and showers.  Below that is storage and the lower combat deck, and below that we've got the winch room, and the main cargo hold.  If you'd like to explore on your own, you're welcome to it, or, i can continue to play guide."


Hallway MJOLNIR

The demon flashed Zelah a devious smile, he leaned forward, ruffled her hair, and leaned against the wall again, "no need to get flustered, miss, just sayin' hi, and greetin' one a the newbies.  'Sides if Sadie thought i was flirting with another woman, she'd 'ave my balls on a chopping block in 2 seconds flat."

Extending a hand, the canine added, "Elkan Heizmar, pleasure to meet you Zelah.  If you'd like a tour, i can show you around, or, if you'd prefer someone else, i can go see if Baseel is available... perhaps him, or one of the boarders would make you feel a bit more at ease."


Airship Dock (Challam)

Nothing truly eventful happened to Challam as he unloaded his bag, and followed the signage.  Tomorrow's flights didn't leave until mid afternoon, thus leaving the incubus with the option of either finding a place to sleep the time off or, exploring the various bars and clubs around the city.  It was dark, though the sounds, thoughts and emotions commonly associated with the night-scene were rampant.  He could feel amusement, affection, lust, disappointment,  sadness, joy, a massive litany of emotions.   No one had approached him.  The ticket counter had a notice, stating out-going tickets didn't go on sale until 8am tomorrow.


Train Station

The feline took the roo-rats coins and handed him a general seating ticket.  The various people standing on the platform seemed as widely spaced, and concerned with their safety as the roo-rat.  The most striking thing to catch the roo-rat's attention were a pair of demons, both looked very young, and smartly dressed, they both appeared to be wearing easily identifiable seals for a prestigious Nhylamar run arcane university.

There were far more beings, along with a striped feline succubus, not truly a tiger, her stripes were too sparse.  Bright blue hair, golden fur, and navy stripe.  Large feather wings on her back and head, it was difficult to tell what she was thinking, but she cast the roo-rat an interested glace as her attention came his way.  She then came to watch for the train, it's loud whistle announcing it's arrival shortly.


Library

Stephan would note that it was almost nightfall, he'd have to head back to the cart soon.  The librarian's gaze was still locked on the winged rodent.  "If you got any drool on the cover of my book, please wipe it off, and return it to it's shelf, it's closing time, -SIR-"

She added just enough ire in her voice to sound annoyed without being angry, and she'd said it with enough force to make it obvious that she was serious about him leaving.


Coat Store

The owl nodded politely, "normally 1000 marks, however, you've caught me in a good mood, say, 800?  It -is- a fair price, more than matching any competition you'd find in the market district."
While talking, the owl had been busy with the coat, rearranging the pockets into the requested size.  Waiting for the card, the owl asked, "Is there anything else i can do for you, good sir?"


Above the Train Crash

The demon stood at the top of the stairs, and watched as the 4 felines appeared.  He glared mildly, "A cowardly boarder who hides behind tricks and guns... you don't deserve deat... *BLAM!*"
The four slugs seemed to meet in the same place, 3 fizzled out of existence, the 4th seemed the splat.  A small, metallic circle could be seen pressed onto the demon's chest.  A look of extreme annoyance on the black and crimson jaguar's face as he stalked forward, sheathing his short-blade and flicking the piece of metal harmlessly off.
"Only a coward brings a gun to a sword fight... i'm gonna enjoy guttin' you... bo hoy."  The demon's tone  a mockery of the southern Ahnk'Atorian drawl.


On the Road, Nearing the Woods 

Lucy suddenly heard the massive *CRACK* behind her as the first shot was fired.  She'd managed to open the distance to almost 100 yards before it came.  In front of her, the near windless day made the small plume of dirt kicking up all the more telling.  A second shot, then a third.  A forth shot grazed her left ankle, then they seemed to stop.  She'd opened up an incredible distance and the guards appeared to be heading back inside.   As quickly as they'd disappeared however, they seemed to reappear, and this time, it sounded like there were more of them.
Behind her, a troop of infantry wearing the armored uniforms, and carrying long rifles started heading towards the woods and her.  She could hear them shouting, but couldn't hear what they were saying.  She'd gotten enough distance to put her out of their effective range.  The forest was close... very close, perhaps a one thousand yards away.  That was when she felt the first signs of real trouble.

A deep, reverberating thud, then another.  Back at the gate, a single mech appeared.  It was fairly large, standing almost 40 feet tall, it's bipedal configuration, with large heavy bore cannons mounted on it's gorilla like shoulders.  It's hanging arms held coils of cable, and the static cannons which were used to such brutal effect in capturing rogue creatures.  Lucy could see it plodding along, the deep thumps growing louder and more frequent as it cleared the gate and loped off after her.

[Tezkat]

Above the Train Crash, Nhylamar

The Demonic youths laughed and stretched out their wings.

"Oh, don't be sour."

"That was just"

"our way of"

"saying hello."

They glanced down at the smoking revolvers and spun them into hip holsters with flamboyant flourishes. Four gleaming blades levelled their points at the Demon while mirthful eyes fell on the whirring mechanical contraption in his hand.

"If you want a proper"

"sword fight, then"

"shouldn't you bring"

"a proper sword?"

The four circled their opponent as he stalked out on deck. Without warning, they pounced as one. Demonbane and her three spectral sisters slashed at the Demon from all sides, thirsty for his blood.

[Tipod]

Bart breathed deep of the pirate's ashes before noticing that others were closing in. Already he could see their outlines in the smoke, tensed and confused, each holding some manner of weapon. They hadn't quite caught onto Bart's presence just yet; he could just slip out and make for the nearest town. Then again, that meant leaving the rest of the passengers to fend for themselves against armed and violent criminals.

Besides, he'd already killed one pirate. What was another three to the pyre?

The demon slowly advanced towards the trio, head twitching and tilting as he walked closer in a hunched gait. Even at several feet away, they could feel the intense heat radiating off him like a giant bonfire. "Hhhabbsal, aabbis al aarraa--" He gibbered and slavered as he lurched closer.

[SquirrelWizard]

"its closing time, -SIR-"

Stephan calmly regarded the librarian. she was clearly delirious with her work and making a snide comment regarding her timekeeping abilities  would solve nothing. He quickly replaced the book (no saliva cleaning required because there was none), and began to make his way towards the door. All the while the librarian was watching him with a hawklike gaze.

The first thing he noticed when he stepped outside was the darkness of the hour, "Oh shit."  It was late, definitely past time for his meeting. "How could I have slept that long!?" Stephan pulled out his pocket watch and glared at it accusingly, it apparently must have died earlier on. Either the librarian was rubbing off on him or this most recent stress was getting to him, possibly both, but Stephan felt the onset of another headache. He rubbed his temples trying to sooth the pain down, and a grumble, he pushed his way through the evening crowd as he headed back towards the wagons. He'd have to deal with the theater manager tomorrow.

The walk to the wagons was uneventful. Luckily Stephan's headache had subsided once he left the cluttered inner city, and he was busy trying to think of how to explain to Mary what had happen. He stopped abruptly at the wagons, neither was had any lights on. He cautiously tested the handle to his wagon, it was still locked. Unlocking the door he stepped inside, and with a quick light incantation the inside of the wagon was illuminated. He glanced around the inside of the wagon, apart from the gash in the wall where his clock had been, and the slice in the opposite one, nothing seemed out of place. His attention was drawn to the letter on his desk and he  breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was in Mary's handwriting.

Stephan,

I know that you would likely be worried about me not being here when you got back. I'm going out with a friend, and I should be back tomorrow. So, don't be such a worrywart.

Mary


Stephan dropped the letter back on his desk, and sighed. He really wished she's introduce him to more of her friend, even if he didn't approve of them. He would feel a whole lot better if he knew which door to kick down should something go awry. Stephan hung his jacket up, and took his shirt off so his wings wouldn't shred it. Oddly enough, the pain of his wings reforming dulled his headache even farther. He flexed his wings to get some feeling back into them, and it is at that moment he noticed the small folder that the letter had been resting on. Stephan picked it up and leafed through the documents; What he read caused his blood to freeze.

They were documents detailing a short term lease of the theater, basically what he would have signed had he actually met with the manager at the meeting. The worst part was that they had his signature on it, and whomever forged it was good. Stephan dropped the lease back onto the desk, and took a deep breath, his mind was racing a mile a minute. Working on his show was out of the picture. The dull throb of his headache, coupled with his concern, would make it impossible to concentrate. He needed open spaces.

Exiting the wagon, he turned around. A jump followed by two flaps of his bat like wings bought him enough altitude to land softly on top of his wagon. The roof of his wagon had been his thinking spot. Whenever he got the urge to ponder the mysteries of the world, or he got sick of looking up at the ceiling, he'd fly up and watch the sky go by. He laid back and crossed his arms behind his head. Part of him wanted to tear off and go tearing through the town demanding where his sister was. Another part of him said that it wouldn't do any good. His sister had left a note stating when she'd be back. Whoever signed the theater lease probably had disguised themselves as him. Neither of which would convince the local law enforcement to perform a search. Going door to door and kicking them in would only lead to more trouble. He was powerless, and his only option was to wait, and pray for her safe return. None of this seemed to comfort him, and he resigned himself to gazing up at the starry sky.

The only small comfort had come from the wording of the letter. Mary had written the letter as if she hadn't seen him since the cafe. Maybe, just maybe, she had left before whoever had left the contract on his desk had arrived.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Bridge MJOLNIR

The various mythos, angels, phoenixes, cubi and couple of gryphons all turned either towards or away from the pair as Paige made her comment, which echoed around the rather open space so as to be loud enough for everyone to hear.  The nearly synchronized coughing-over-snicker fit had the entire bridge crew with very large and tell smirks on their faces.  From what Paige could tell, Bas himself tended to be claimed, rather than openly pursue relationships of THAT nature.

Trying to act as naturally as possible, Bas's eyes squinched, and he brought a paw over his muzzle, rubbing his eyes for a moment.  "I was actually hiring you for your flying skills, you ability to provide longer range support,  to provide additional cover and help give targeting locations for the long- guns..."

Gently guiding Paige away from the bridge, and trying to ignore the fact that a large display board already had a grid drawn, with names and times drawn on it.  "Right... next on the tour, we can go up, and check out the flight, and upper combat deck, or directly below is crew quarters, kitchen, mess, and showers.  Below that is storage and the lower combat deck, and below that we've got the winch room, and the main cargo hold.  If you'd like to explore on your own, you're welcome to it, or, i can continue to play guide."

"That my Captain is entirely up to you" Paige said with a slight grin, having seen the board on the way out (and was tempted to go back and add her own name and time). "So far from what I've seen the Mjolnir could be the sister ship to the Val, where was she made?"

[Ghostwish]

Challam quietly regarded the sign concerned with the sale of tickets as he kept his bag slung over one shoulder and his rifle over the other. He was pondering what to do next, and took in the emotions flooding around him as he did. He decided it would be good to see some of the night life, seeing how these kind of parties would be far better planned than the lunacy in the academy. At least the folks here would have an idea of when these festivities would start!

He turned away from the counter and strode off down the street, taking in the sights and sounds as he went. But then he paused as he saw one particularly lively bar and tavern. An odd place called 'Drink-Dance-Fall-Repeat!', and judging by the steady stream of folks coming and going from its doors in various states of sobriety it had to have been fairly successful. He shrugged to himself mentally, and figured why not before he strode into the establishment..

[Lisky]

Hallway from the Bridge

The demon-shepherd was quite thankful for the change of subject, "MJOLNIR is a new class of Nhylamaran battle-cruiser, she's more just an upgrade than a real new design in ship, however.  Better protection, longer range guns, and just more efficient to build.  She's a powerful vessel, and designed to accommodate a creature crew.  Probably the only thing you might notice different, if Valkyrie was a heavy cruiser or larger, is that this ship is larger, and the extra mid-deck cargo-hold.  Besides that, most warships have a pretty similar layout from the region."

Bas lead the way to a stair-well, there were voices from down-stairs, and the sounds of mechanics at work upstairs. "If you'd prefer to claim a room, the quarters are actually quite spacious, we've got more than enough rooms for individual quarters, at least, for the time being."


Above the Train Crash

The other jaguar gave an annoyed snort, "Your parlor tricks are growing irksome, boy."
With a flick of his left wrist, a fireball cleared through the illusory feline, with that discovered, the demon held his sword high, then brought it down in a wide, sweeping arc... his back was clear, along with one side, the arc converged with all three swords, and at the moment the demon instantly knew which one was the real Tezkat.

The real Tez would feel the sharp impact, and heavy force of the heavy mechanical blade as shark-tooth blade bit in, shoving the smaller cubi's blade towards the front of the blade.

The demon followed by pivoting  towards the real target, his blade held as though he were wielding an epee in a simple fencing match.  The toothy grin across his parted lips let loose a wicked chortle.  "Your forms not bad, but you seem a bit slow for such a tiny blade."

With a flick of the wrist, the demon stepped in again, this time with an overhead slash.  The demon rolled a sadistic chide as he moved, "En guard, mon amie"


Train Crash

Seth's fireball caught the sniper on the corner of his long coat, fire quickly spreading through the cloth, as the heat touched his skin.  Trying to roll, the sniper ended up falling between the train-cars with a sickening thud.

Bart could see the three in front of him scatter, running back towards the repel lines, and the small contingent of troops on the ground.  A deep, loud *Whooomp* of air could be heard overhead, then another, slow, rhythmic beats.  In the smoke, the shadowy outline of a winged figure could be made out.

Suddenly behind Bart, the rhythmic beats stopped with what sounded like the skittering of gravel, a snake-like hiss, then nothing.

[Tapewolf]

Seth made his way - as unobtrusively as he could - to where the sniper had fallen, to see if he was still alive and make any necessary corrections - as painlessly as he could.
He heard certain sounds, as if someone had just glided down from the airship, but he was on the wrong side of the carriage to see.  He made a mental note to look around when he had dealt with the sniper.

[SpottedKitty]

Zelah forced something not too far off a smile back onto her muzzle and hiked her ears and headwings back up from their droop, after Elkan's hair-ruffle. She still felt nervous and hideously embarrassed by what she'd said, though. "Ah, no," she replied as she took the Demon's hand and shook it, not without a little nervous quiver running along her arm, "no need to bother anyone else, Elkan, it's okay — I've just had an awfully stressed few days, and my muzzle ran away with itself. A tour would be great, thanks."

The 'Cubi's agitation gradually eased over the next few minutes, her almost painful ear-blushing fading, and her tail fur lying flat again. She wondered idly who Sadie was, and what kind of Creature she'd turn out to be.

[Tipod]

"That's right! Run!" Bart shouted as the pirates scattered. "Run you fucking pansies!!" He was ready to hurl more insults when he heard the sound of beating air overhead, the flames on his body wavering forward as the wind brushed against him. Something had obviously just landed behind him, and whatever it was, it wouldn't have announced itself so loudly if it didn't have the guts to back it up.

He quickly spun around to face his would-be attacker, claws flexing menacingly as the fire continue to dance about his body. "Whoever you are, you're about to get five across the face!!"

[Paladin Sheppard]

The blonde succubus pouted at the demon, looking crestfallen. "Aww you kicking me out of your bed so soon?" Even for a mind reader it would be hard to tell if it was acting her part or not.

[Tezkat]

The onslaught of grinding metal teeth clattered against Demonbane. Tezkat grunted with the effort to maintain a steady grip on his sword. He sprang back out of reach and raised his guard, pausing to study his opponent. Something about the other jaguar seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. Although greatly enhancing his illusionary arts, photographic memory cluttered his mind with so much extraneous imagery. No matter. The answer would come to him eventually.

Lips curled into a smile at the success of his little experiment. Despite being able to see the unseen, the Demon had resorted to indirect means of penetrating his more sophisticated illusions. With a wave of his hand, all three spectral duplicates flew across the deck. One after the other, they merged back into the original Tezkat--far more ostentatious showmanship than merely dispelling the effect required. As misdirection, however, it neatly covered his next, more insidious "parlour trick". Warping light and sound around him, his body appeared nearly an arm's length away from his true position.

Tezkat chuckled at the banter. At least his opponent seemed less grouchy now.

"How do you ever satisfy anyone waving that huge monster around? Long, steady thrusts are so much more enjoyable."

A overhead slash of the chainblade. Tezkat stepped up to meet it, gaze fixed forward lest his eyes give the trick away. Tiny blade or not, he had yet to reveal his true speed. He raised his own sword as if to parry the massive weapon. Suddenly, he lunged under the Demon's guard. Displaying a reckless lack of concern for the whirling blade descending on his shoulders, he lashed out with a vicious cross to the Demon's belly.

He wasn't really there.

The chainblade would meet naught but a mirage. A few steps to the side, Demonbane was poised to bite deep into her prey's exposed flank.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Cyril shook his head at the wave indicating he should proceed into Wolksheem airship port. Instead, he bowed, then offered her his elbow. "Ladies first, Aleyna. To do otherwise would simply be rude."

Upon entering, however, there was something subtly wrong. The only person (other than staff, of course) that he could see was some other passenger getting directions.

He glanced around, looking for the rest of the diplomatic party. "I say, my dear lady, weren't we scheduled to meet someone?" He fished in his waistcoat pocket, and snapped open the pocketwatch, glanced at it, and tucked it away again, a disappointed frown on his face. "They appear to be somewhat tardy, for some reason. Is this typical professional behaviour of the folk I will be working with, in your opinion?" He sighed. "I can work with that, if I must, but it is exceedingly tiresome, you must admit."

He shook his head regretfully.

[Lisky]

Outside the club

The 2 headed mythos meeped in delight  as his arm seemed to be better, "nope, nothing else good sir... thank you very much."

Without further chance to respond the mythos had bolted out into the rain, and down an alley across the street.  This left Sikici alone in front of a the club, with a large merchant district just up the street.


Battle-Cruiser Halls (Paige)

Bas rubbed his eyes again, dispelling the mind-shield, as he made his thoughts clear and open for the succubus.  On the one hand, he wanted to make it clear that his reasons for hiring her were professional.  That his intentions were not simply to fulfill some frat-boyish fantasy that had started in the bar the night before.  On the other hand, he didn't want to offend the new comer.  He tried his best to sound neutral as he replied, "I never said that... I'm sure you know well enough that your offer is very appealing.  I'm making a point to show that my intentions are completely professional, no matter how tempted i am to take you up on your offer.  I hired you as a pilot, not the pretty girl who jumped me at the bar, last night.  If you wish to be both, well."

Flashing a devilish, and slightly salacious grin, Bas made a sweeping gesture down the stairs, "Captain's cabin is the first on the right.  Otherwise any open room is yours."


Battle-Cruiser Halls (Zelah)

The canine demon tried his best to hide a smirk behind a fake cough.  "If you'd like to just rest for a bit, you're more than welcome to... otherwise, we're on the crew deck.  Mess halls are down that way, and every 20 rooms, there's a set of stairs. leading up on the insides, and down on the outsides."

He pointed over Zelah's shoulder when he mentioned the mess halls.  "Down stairs is the lower combat deck, mostly used for manning the belly-side protection, and under-side guns.  Below that there's the  main cargo hold.  It's mostly empty save for food, water and other... eh... essentials...  If you're a wine connoisseur, that'll be one of the places you'll like to visit in your free time."

Flashing a knowing smile, he continued, "Up above, you've got the command deck and side stations for the protection against small aircraft and creatures.  next level is the upper combat decks, the main guns, and the flight deck."

"Soo, any preference where to start?  Prefer top to bottom, or bottom to top?"


Train Crash

The sniper was slumped over the connectors, between the cars, still breathing, but wheezing in pain.  Probably broken ribs.  His rifle was sitting on the ground as well, a bolt action of Nhylamar design, and of a very common, though rather high caliber.  Besides the long-range rifle, the being wore a lightly armored suit, heavy leather with thin metal plates sewn in to cover the neck, and torso.  Both front and back had the metal plates sewn in.  He also wore a gas mask and filter, and as far as Seth could see, not a single patch of skin was showing.

Bart's only warning that there was someone else was from the wicked soprano cackling in his ear just before a howl of wind, then the echoing crack.  It felt like someone had just punched him in the back of the head, but it was too flat, too blunt.  A equine female, demoness  stood with an extended hand.  Her wicked tone bespoke a great deal of cruelty.  "Whom is going to give whom five fingers across the face my horribly deformed fellow?"

She was fairly tall, perhaps just shy of 6 foot.  She wore baggy trousers, loaded with various pieces of gear, bullets, blades, a blocky sheath on her left hip, and along with a large knuckle-duster, blade-guard combo exposed from the sheath.  She wore a corset and cutoff jacket that covered her arms,  and the top half her torso, ending at about the same height as her ribs.  The furry edge of the leathery coat told that it may actually serve a purpose beyond simply fitting her style.


Night-club

Challam was greeted by a mythos of rather gargantuan size as the bouncer.  The mythos grunted, "What'cha'think'yer'doin shorty?"  

He the proceeded to point out the lockers for weapons and other gear.   Above the entrance, to the bar a sign read "Check -ALL- weapons at the door."

Inside, from what he could see, there was a bar being used as a stage, a very shapely, and by most accounts, attractive demon lioness was dancing in a rather seductive manner, teasing a couple of patrons with her sultry looks, and movements that were just shy of caresses.

In fact, as far as Challam could tell, everyone inside was a creature of some kind.


Above the Train Crash

The Jaguar didn't seem surprised at all as the false cat rippled into non-existence as the blade passed through it.  With the follow through, however, Tez would find a steel-edged wing heading straight towards his very real face, shortly after deflecting his would-be well placed blow out of the way.

Furthermore, behind the wing-edge, the blade's cutting edge had been flipped upwards, and the previous downwards slash was quickly recovered from as the demon brought the blade towards the real Tez, slashing at a 30-ish degree upwards angle, trying to get the saw teeth to bite into the other feline's lower ribs.