| What Darkness Lurks in the Streets and in the Hearts of Those that Dwell There | ||
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Knees and hands aching, a tooth chipped, the horned victim begins to crawl away from the three shadows slowly closing in on them. "G,get away, leave me alone," protests the poor soul through a bleeding mouth, but when a clawed hands grips their ankle almost crushingly to start dragging them backwards the voice rings out again, yet louder. "N- NO! Help, somebody! Som-" Claws dig into flesh and the voice breaks into a cry of anguish amid sadistic laughter. Curiosity winning over her shyness, Lillia has found her way to Beast Island, though after a bit of time in Denko and shying away from the stares and hushed whispers she is getting from most of the citizens, she really starts to question if coming here was the best idea. Now quite lost and heading into a more run-down part of town, she wonders how today could get any worse. The answer comes as a loud crash reaches her ears, followed by a frightened voice telling someone to get away, then crying for help. She ponders a moment what to do. Normally she'd go get help, but she doesn't know anyone around here and even finding a helpful stranger now that the busier parts of the city are fairly far behind her seems unlikely. Her tail twitches nervously as she realizes she's the only one that can help the person who is crying out. She swallows hard and grips her branch tightly as she speaks to the dream glowing within the blossom hanging from its end. "Alright Dream! It's time to be brave, someone needs help, and no one else is around. So... it's up to us..." So the dream-fawn bounds off toward the impending danger, the clatter of her hooves against the pavement making it pretty unlikely that she's going to arrive on the scene unnoticed, and before long she comes into view, her gaze flitting from the one who fell to the one who was chasing him. "D..don't you t,think he's injured enough? W...why don't you let him g..go?" She stutters out as her tail continues to twitch rapidly while she tries to face her fears for the sake of helping this pour soul. Just mere moments ago, a goat stepped out of a diner having just finished a great salad for a late dinner. He checks his phone to confirm the time and realizes that it's gotten far later than he anticipated. Sighing, the phone is tucked away and his jacket is pulled a little tighter around himself. It's gotten a bit chilly out tonight and the coastal humidity doesn't make it any warmer. "Great, I'm gonna be late," he muses, walking along the path home he knows well enough. He pauses for a moment and wrestles with a decision. If he's late, he'll miss his ride for the group-up with friends in studying for the big test in Chem. That could be a huge problem if he gets a low grade since the course has already been a bit rocky. Glancing over his shoulder, he looks toward the darkened alleyways behind and through the worn down and dilapidated storefronts of the area. This gets a good long stare; if he takes a shortcut he'll make it just in time. The area is a bit slummy, but it's not like the way the Black Market used to be. The city has been undergoing changes. He should be safe. With one last glance toward his usual route home, he begins heading toward the alleyway entrance instead. The goat finds himself lifted up by a single large hand, by the throat, gripped aloft in the darkness of the alleyway that leaves him completely blind. He can't even see the face of his attacker a foot away. The tiger, though; the tiger can see the goat just fine. The goat and his widened eyes, gasping for air, squirming helplessly against such strength. The striped feline is flanked by a coyote and a wolf. The wolf turns to look in the direction of strange footsteps that lend to the introduction of a shaky voice and a very peculiar bearer of those spoken words. "The fuck- Hey, look at this girl." A hand nudges the tiger's shoulder. The tiger doesn't look. "I'm busy. I'm not going to miss the light fading from my FOOD's eyes." That's not a very cryptic word to use at all. The implications are damning. The coyote peers around the wolf in that direction, one side of his muzzle lifts in confusion, but then laughter follows. "HA HA hahahahaha HA HA HAAAAA!" This outburst finally gets the tiger to relent and looks. In so doing, his grip loosens and the goat is able to breathe, but there's no escape to be had just yet. Lillia's eyes widen as it becomes clear that the tiger is choking the goat to death, and he has friends. She stands her ground as the wolf gives her a, perhaps more unsettling stare than most in central Denko and tells the others to look at her. "Eeep!" She cries as the tiger mentions wanting to watch as his 'food' shuffles off his mortal coil. Then the coyote looks and laughs, and the tiger's gaze follows. She really doesn't like these odds, as the goat is probably not going to be doing any fighting anytime soon, which makes it three on one, and after her experiences in Senta, she's not naive enough to hope that these two-legged carnivores aren't carrying weapons, though even if they aren't, their claws and teeth are dangerous enough. But maybe she can at least help the goat escape, and beyond that, she is pretty sure she can outrun these guys, assuming being a quadruped gives her an advantage when it comes to running. Since it doesn't look like the Tiger intends to let go of the goat, she steps forward while the coyote is still cruelly laughing at how different she looks, and swings her branch. The flower bud censer glows and spawns a large seed of sorts with a glowing swirl pattern extending from its center. The seed rolls toward the Tiger and will explode when it strikes something, and will deal magical damage in a cone shape and cause those it hits to briefly feel a little sleepy/sluggish. The moment the goat began to walk away from the diner, eyes were already on him. A trio of Carnivores dealing with Meat-Withdrawal lurked nearby, watching and waiting, after deciding a week ago that they were going to find some prey to give them their fix that fish just wouldn't satisfy. Ever since the fall of the Black Market the ability to get proper red meat has been next to impossible without the proper underworld contacts. Due to legal loophole, while killing people to sell their flesh is absolutely illegal, people were able to get supply from funeral homes and other medical services and hospitals. That watering hole has dried up, though, leaving a select handful of meat addicts in a really problematic position. As the goat disappeared into the darkness of the alleyways, the trio pass something to drink between them, taking a sip each, before following. Their minds were made up. Encountering a mugging is one thing. Having people threaten to cause injury without payment is nasty business. Even worse are other forms of physical defilement. This, though: This was a threat of murder and five steps beyond. The tiger and wolf and coyote didn't seem like your average citizens, either. There was something almost feral in the blood lust in their eyes. From an outside perspective the cause may be unclear, but to local authorities it would be clear precisely why. The goat doesn't struggle. Mind racing, just able to breathe and think, he uses the distraction brought on by this other person showing up that he simply cannot see. He reaches into his jacket pocket where his phone is located, presses a button to turn it on, and does his best to use muscle memory in dialing a number. The wolf stands closest of the three. Even though the strange deer thing has all attention on her, the wolf is the prime target for whatever strange bowling trick this is. It's a rather hypnotic display considering how pitch dark it is in the alleyway. Just as the rolling seed is about to impact with the group, though, the coyote suddenly darts forward, draws his leg back, and aims to give that strange rolling item a swift soccer kick. The magical explosion prevents any sort of follow-up sneer; the 'yote catches the worst of it and is sent backwards. The wolf barely manages to dodge the body of his comrade, but the arcane force that spreads from that point hits him, the tiger, and the goat all the same. The wolf staggers. The goat's finger slips. A voice chimes up over speakerphone: "Denko Police. How may I assist you?" The tiger's gaze snaps back to the goat despite the bodily sluggishness and the hand not holding the goat up by the throat reaches over to fight over the phone hidden in that jacket pocket. The goat quickly begins to blurt out in a croak, "Help, I'm near Yasai Diner, they're trying to eat m-khhhhh!" The phone connection gets cut off, the grip grows tighter, and in the tiger's fury he turns to throw the Herbivore into the side of a large metal garbage bin. There's a dull thump and the goat, now unconscious, collapses to the ground. The tiger snarls, teeth showing, while the coyote is sprawled out and the wolf is off-balance. Her attack didn't hit its intended target, but it still sprayed its magical dream dust upon them all as the coyote foolishly tries to kick the magical swirlseed away. Lillia frowns as the tiger throws the goat into the trashbin and knocks him out. However, she doesn't yet grasp what phones are, so while she does recognize the voice on the other end as offering help, she isn't sure how they're going to help from inside a tiny box. She bounds forward a bit and swings her censer again while chanting a soothing lullaby, hoping to bring her foes into a slumber now that they're under the effect of her dream dust. She would really rather not fight them directly, but if they resist this, will do what she must. One week ago, there was an argument in one of the run down housing buildings nearby. A wolf sits on a half-broken stool and doesn't look he's had much sleep for a few days. In the corner of the room a half-dressed coyote sits on the floor and grips the sides of his head with his clawed hands. Though the nails draw blood, he doesn't seem to notice. His eyes are dilated completely, his jaw hangs loosely open, and he looks completely strung out. There is a tiger, too, pacing back and forth like a caged beast almost completely wearing a line through the meager rug covering the dirty floor. Harsh feelings and deep aches, shaky hands and bouts ranging from fuzzy-headedness to hyper-focus when around Herbivores; these three friends, once promising students in high school, have fallen flat after graduating and being almost immediately introduced to the pleasures of the Black Market. What hidden supply remained after the closure and renovation of that taboo area has since dried up. While they made choices to eat meat, they were, in a way, victims of social progression and the major changes that have rocked the nation in waves spiraling outward from the aftermath of the Denko Riots. Sadly, these three are just a sample of those suffering from the same problem. "We don't have any other choice," the tiger says. "We've gotta hunt down our own meat." "Ohhhh, meat. Fuck, fuck, fuck..." moans the coyote unhelpfully. The wolf tiredly speaks up. "What about that diner down the street? Yasai? Lots of Herbis eat there. They stay open late." Breathing heavily, the tiger continues pacing. "Fine. Fine. We have to last at least a week. I can get us some blood to hit once we find our meal, keep our heads clear, pump us up. Contact will sell me just enough for each of us to get a taste. One week," he repeats, raking his claws over the wall. Those claws rake over the brick wall as footsteps carry the striped would-be predator a few paces closer in the direction of this meddling stranger. "You STUPID fucking UGLY hybrid!" rumbles the tiger with a wobble. The wolf is not faring so well. He stumbles, eyes heavy, before beginning to topple over into the path of the feline. A determined hand reaches out and gives the wolf a shove to the side roughly. The lupine stumbles over to the other side of the narrow alleyway and drunkenly runs into the brick there before trying very hard to walk in the same direction as the apparent leader of the group. The coyote has yet to get up from the ground. The animal that stalks toward the fawn doesn't resemble the average denizen of the city. Most of the animals look, well, normal. The tiger, though, seems to look more and more like a wild beast with each step. Lips rise, teeth are shown, and they are dangerously large. Saliva drips from those jaws while eyes narrow and focus on a new target. A foot presses against the concrete, another shoves against the brick wall, and just like that the blood-doped Carnivore pounces with outstretched arms and nasty-looking sharp claws. One-two! Swipe-swipe! An aerial born strike on the dream deer is unleashed, forged with savagery, painted in hunger, and cured with bestial strength. "GrrrrrrrRRRRAAAAAAAH!" Unfortunately for Lillia, the hard shove the tiger gives his wolf companion will serve to help him resist the effects of her lullaby. As the tiger advances on her, her eyes widen and she grips her branch even tighter, knuckles turning white. She's too afraid to even make a sound as she backs away slowly, knowing what is coming but feeling he was already too close for her to be able to turn around and run away before he pounced her. "Eeep!" She finally cries again as he leaps at her, and she leaps as well, though not quick enough to completely avoid the swiping claws of the tiger, the first rakes along her flank, and the smell of blood enters the air as those claws slice through her skin. She then leaps back toward the tiger, swinging her censer above her head before making a final swing down toward the tiger. The magical energy that comes from the strike hits hardest at the center of the blow, but also has a somewhat lesser effect in a small radius around the bullseye. "I d..didn't want to fight, b..but you won't be eating me w..without one!" She speaks, trying to sound brave, but fails miserably with her nervous stuttering. After the wolf and the coyote took a hit from the vial of blood and the tiger was left to drain the rest, the two smaller Carnivores began stalking the alley-bound goat first. The tiger doesn't immediately follow, however. He pulls a second vial from his pocket, unknown to his friends, and opens it to have all to himself. The smell is already intoxicating. A remarkably easy drug to create, complicated only by the supplies needed to make it, the tiger downs the hit of Bloodbone before crushing the vial underfoot with his heavy yet worn boots. The effects are almost immediate and while they won't last long before withdrawal hits it'll enough to make sure the three get a proper meal. The blow sends the tiger straight to the ground and into a roll that ends in a crouch. Nose bleeding, eyes bloodshot, the true nightmare haunting the animals of the island becomes dangerously apparent. Fingers are passed over the tiger's face, claws sliding over the saliva-slicked tongue that sticks free, cleaning the taste from them. It's an extremely vulgar display that accompanies an extremely unpleasant sentiment. The wolf finally manages to make it to the feline's side. He doesn't look nearly as feral as the tiger does, but he's definitely in the intoxicating thrall of blood lust. Just as the tiger begins to rise and the wolf takes a step forward to charge, however, an unexpected thing happens: A blinding double-spotlight cuts on that illuminates the alley in its entirety from behind the Bashful Bloom that destroys the Carnivores' vision for the moment. Lillia herself becomes a silhouette. Another silhouette comes into focus through the intense light streaming from a car's headlamps. It's...another deer? This one walks right past the claw-marked fawn without even looking her way. There are bigger threats present and he's making himself the more direct target. "How utterly disgraceful. Instead of seeking help like a functional member of society, instincts win over common sense. That makes you basic." It all happens very quickly. The wolf charges the stag, the stag doesn't even move until the last moment where he first dodges one way, then again to the other side, yet the wolf manages to catch the deer across the forearm anyway. The deer lifts a knee directly up between the lupine's thighs before the wolf can follow through in this assault. The wolf falls aside with a yelp only to reveal the titan of a tiger's fist incoming in a downward blow, but the stag cradles his injured arm against his pristine button-down shirt and silk tie. Lillia blinks as the bright lights illuminate the alley, momentarily blinding her. She backs away a bit more as she hears a new voice, which seems to be speaking to the carnivores. Finally, she can see clearly and watches as the stag begins to fight the tiger and wolf, impressed at how well he is working against the two, but now is not the time to just stand back and admire the snappily dressed stag who appears to be much more familiar with fighting than she is. Emboldened by the fact that she isn't fighting alone anymore, Lillia charges forward and turns around as the tiger rears back for his punch. Shifting her weight forward, she sends both of her rear hooves backward in a swift and powerful double kick aimed at the tiger's stomach. The sound that the tiger makes upon double-hooved impact is almost pitiable, but the feline makes for a hefty beast. Pushed up and off his feet from the blow, the tiger falls backward to the ground sending a wave of refuse and debris from the point of impact. The swing taken toward the stag goes wide and misses, mostly, though it clips the end of his antlers giving his head a jerk to the side. Because of this, the deer does not see the wolf getting back to his feet. So much focus is on the biggest bruiser of the lot. Grabbed by the shoulder and spun about by the blood-fueled canine, yet another fist is raised and aimed. Before the strike can be delivered, however, a much larger hand completely encases the wolf's from behind. "Keep your filthy fucking hands off my boss," says the light-hidden figure just before wrenching the wolf's arm downward and behind with a sickening pop. The large suit-wearing lion steps forward into view just as he spins the wolf around using his broken arm like a handle and doesn't stop until the wolf is forced to crash hard into the brickwork with a terrible cracking sound. The sound of the air leaving his lungs only punctuates his inevitable collapse. Down but not out, the tiger is already trying to get back to his feet. He does not look well, and that's not counting the bleeding and the bruising. He looks like a mix of exhaustion and desperation is clouding his mind and judgement. "Look out," weakly calls out a voice from further down the alleyway. It's the goat. Thanks to the headlamps, he can now see, but he's too weak to get to his feet. Lillia lets out another cry as she sees lions enter the fray, as she initially thinks they are enemies. But as one of them takes out the wolf and mentions a boss, whom in context she can only assume he means the stag, she is left rather confused but figuring they must be here to help. Hearing the goat call, she glances in his direction briefly, then turns back to the tiger as he attempts to get back up. "You... look exhausted. Why don't you take a nice nap..." She advises while swirling her censure toward the feline, giving him another, more direct dose of magical energy and her dream dust before she begins once again to chant her lullaby. A new sound can be heard in the air echoing down the city streets and back alleys: sirens. These are still some distance off, but they do seem to be coming toward the present conflict. Forearm still tucked against his belly, the deer steps around the dream-weaver after shrugging off attention from the tall lion. Boldly walking closer to where the tiger crouches as the stranger does whatever it is she's doing, this deer sees the strange effect it has first-hand. The tiger's gaze turns to the stag once more as the small Herbivore once again walks in closer. There's murder in those eyes. Still, the effort to even raise one arm is taxing. Reaching in the general direction of the stag's throat, fingers never fully make it. The tiger's claws graze over the deer's tie before falling away. The beast's weight settles into a forward slump right at the deer's feet. All this unnamed stag can do is shake his head in disappointment. He doesn't show it now, but this situation deeply bothers him. There will be talks later. Stepping slightly over the slumbering tiger, the deer walks on over to the goat. "You okay?" Lillia Amaryllis also has somebody standing beside her. It's a Maasai Lion. Barely any mane for a male lion, though. It's cut very short into a flat-top and a dark spot surrounds his right eye in marking. "How did you do that?" Lillia is glad that her magic is able to lull the tiger into slumber this time, as it's likely the blood lust high he was experiencing earlier was what allowed him to resist her magic so easily. She didn't get out of this unscathed but the claw scratch would heal, and it would have probably been a lot worse if this strange stag and his lion guards didn't show up when they did. She glances over as the stag goes to check on the goat, glad someone was doing that and now she didn't feel the need to crowd the poor guy. Instead, she turns to the lion that addresses her and smiles at his question. "Magic dream dust. It is my mission to help others sleep easier and realize their deepest and most heartfelt dreams." "I- I think I'm okay. My head really hurts," informs the goat as he reaches up to take an offered hand. Chances are high that the goat has a nasty concussion and will require some hospital time. "Don't worry. You're safe now. These two thugs are going to get the help they need," replies the stag as hands mesh and a pull begins to bring the goat upward with support. The lion isn't sure quite what to make of that response. "Really?" While his days in a gang are over, he still specializes in keeping track of underworld activities. It's an important pulse of the city to track. All the same, he's never heard of Magic Dream Dust as a drug or medical substance. Something worth discussing. However, before the feline is able to speak there is another sound from down the way. "Augh!" groans the goat as he slumps back to the ground suddenly when the deer pulls away. Or, rather, the deer is pulled away. An arm is around his neck and a clawed hand holds his injured arm, nails digging into the wound. The stag can't help but hiss from the sudden stinging pain. The lion pushes forward a few paces, but stops when the coyote holding the deer hostage barks a warning. "I can't- I can't- IcantstanditcantstanditIcant-" The captured deer stares straight ahead into the blinding lights, mind racing to take in the situation as it suddenly changes, and is noticeably extremely angry. For every step Jinma, the lion, takes forward, the coyote takes two more backward dragging the deer along with him. It's not a good situation to be in, especially with the coyote bleary, confused, doped up, and hungry. "I need meat!" The deer's eyes swell at the feeling of teeth on his shoulder, digging through cloth and flesh effortlessly, leaving Jinma helpless to get there in time to stop it. The goat even cries out at this. An ear-splitting sound resonates twice, loud and booming, further amplified by the close walls on either side of the alleyway. The coyote very quickly drops to the ground, now writing in sheer agony, as the deer standing over him holds a smoking gun. Trickles of red begin to seep into and stain the white of his shirt while he pants hotly from pain and furiousness. "Nobody gets to eat me without my consent," he says, although it may be difficult to hear over the ringing of ears for the more sensitive. The same might be said of the sirens nearly fully arrived. Of course Lillia's response is terribly misunderstood because the lion has probably never seen real magic, though as more visitors come from Senta and beyond, that will likely change. She doesn't really have time to further elaborate though as the stag is suddenly grabbed by the Coyote. She watches helplessly as the situation progresses, not sure what she can do to help as trying to get close will likely only cause the coyote to do further harm to the stag. Then comes the gunshot, and the loud bang does cause ringing in her sensitive ears, which instantly flatten down against her head in an attempt to protect her eardrums. The shock of it all though, does something further, as the fae-fawn staggers a bit, then collapses on the spot. Seems she just fainted. The deer re-switches the safety on his handgun before tucking it away again then turns away with a visible cringe. "Damn it. I was careless." Jinma is quickly there to put an arm around the stag to steady him. "No, I'll be fine. Check on him." Strangely, the lion's boss doesn't seem to mean the goat. Pulling from the lion's support, the deer walks over and kneels down beside the goat while the lion checks on the coyote. "Nothing serious, but he's losing blood." "Good. Ssssss, ow. Can't rehab if you're dead." The deer gives the goat a pat on the shoulder just before turning to look down over toward Lillia. "I've never seen anything like her before," he admits, breathing shallowly. "Oh! Hey, Jinma, she fell over. Did she get hurt?" Exhaling deeply, the deer leans back against the wall and tips his head upward. "Not how I saw my night going. I'm Louis. What's your name?" "Junji," says the goat. Both the goat and deer look to the fawn. Meanwhile, Jinma approaches the emergency response vehicles that pull up nearby. The sirens cut off, but the lights continue to flicker. Talking ensues in the background, but hearing is still a little difficult for the stag. It won't be but a moment and medics will begin to sweep the area along with well-armed police. The lion moves the car and turns off the headlights while a flashlight passes over each form in turn: Fawn, Wolf, Tiger, Goat and Deer, and Coyote. Lillia lays there for a short while, not stirring but breathing normally. Eventually between the bright lights and the sirens, perhaps also her head getting a little better circulation now that she's laying down, the fawn begins to come too, as her ears twitch a little and her eyes slowly flutter open. She stares at the cars around and the stag, goat, and lion who are in view for a moment, eventually trying to stand but she's still too woozy to get her legs to cooperate. She can't say this is how she expected her night to go either. "Lillia..." She gives her name before her eyes close again. Calm lighting fills the clinical room and the adjacent waiting area. Lillia will most likely awaken to find herself on a recovery bed. The claw wounds on her flank have been cleaned and bandaged, although the bandaging now hides the fact that there had to be some shaving to clear the area for proper sutures. There are no doctors present. Just outside the room, in a waiting area, the deer from before sits along with that one lion, but two other lions now join. One has a scarred right eye and a lively grin while the other bears a Mohawk-styled mane and wears a bandanna as a mask over his face. All three lions wear perfectly tailored suits. The stag is briefly shirtless. His shoulder has also been shaved for stitches. Same for his left forearm. A folded black shirt is handed over by the masked lion and the deer, so small compared to the size of such guards, stands and takes a moment to put the shirt on. They speak softly, conversationally, aside from occasional laughter. The stag, Louis, very clearly checks to make sure the button-down shirt hides the injuries. The old shirt and tie disposed of due to being caked in blood and now without a tie, Louis leaves the upper two buttons of his shirt undone. A passing glance is given toward where the fawn has been placed to rest. There are no IVs, no tubes, nothing to keep her from getting up aside from her own will. Lillia eventually begins to awaken, and when her eyes open, she is initially shocked by her surroundings before the rational side of her brain can process how she was likely brought here after the events in the alley. She notices she is alone in the room but sees that familiar stag outside, now joined with more lions. She feels an itch on her flank and reaches to scratch it, she then looks to see the bandages just after feeling them with her hand. She panics for a moment and looks around for her branch, relaxing again as she sees it sitting on a nearby counter. Finally, she rolls onto her belly, legs folded at her sides and stretches a little, and then her stomach growls. She blushes a bit, then laughs. "With all this adventure, I guess I forgot to eat dinner. Though I'm glad I didn't become it at least..." "It looks like the heroine of the night is awake," comments Louis with the softest of friendly expressions. "You heard the lady. Go grab some snacks and give us a couple minutes to talk." "No problem, boss." "We'll be right back." The lion with the mask reaches over to pat the stag's unhurt shoulder with a nod before turning to follow along after the other two. In turn, Louis stretches with a yawn but is careful of his sore shoulder. "You're free to leave, whenever you want, as long as it's sometime before six in the morning. They collected your things, from what they could find. Should be in there somewhere." Walking around a little in the waiting area, the deer doesn't dare to intrude upon Lillia's room without invitation. "You missed all the fun, though. Paperwork and police reports. I covered everything for you, though, so be sure to be grateful." Louis turns his head to offer a playfully wry smile. Lillia smiles as Louis asks the lions to go and get snacks, and assumes since their boss is a deer, they have a pretty good chance of bringing snacks she might like. "You can come in, if you like, so we don't have to shout at each other through a wall." Lillia offers the stag with a laugh. His sarcasm about paperwork and police reports goes over her head, though instead of asking about that, she goes with the timing of her leaving. "What happens after six in the morning?" The deer takes a moment to adjust his shirt collar and brush a hand over his belly to smooth some creases. The lions know how to do many things, but ironing a shirt is not on that list. Walking casually over, Louis stops in the doorway, leans in against the frame with his good shoulder, and loosely crosses his arms in slow deep exhalation. "Well, after that, I'd have to pay for an extra day. Not that I mind, if you need it, after what you did. Still, a hotel room would be far cheaper and you would have fewer people dropping by every hour to check on you." For as bold as his appearance may have been earlier, the stag looks very tired now. He just doesn't have the energy after that confrontation to keep up any sort of front. For the moment he looks just like any other young adult you'd pass on the street. His eyes show that he bears many thoughts. He does not voice many. "The goat you saved, Junji, wants a chance to thank you, by the way. It won't be tonight, though. He took a really hard blow to the back of his head and he suffered a partial trachial collapse, so he'll be here for the rest of the week at the very least. Might be able to visit tomorrow, but he's under strict observation right now. Lucky kid." Lillia nods and laughs a little at the response from Louis. "Money is still a fairly new concept for me. I do understand it is used to pay for things, but why one place costs more than another... Well, I'm guessing it has something to do with those people checking on me..." She guesses, able to figure that one out on her own. "I'm glad to hear that Junji is ok, I wasn't expecting to run into three bloodthirsty carnivores when I heard his call for help, but saving him was well worth getting scratched by that tiger, just glad you showed up when you did, or I'm sure I'd be in worse shape." The deer's gaze falters and falls away as his nose dips downward. "Just to be clear, that was dangerous and irresponsible. It could have gone a lot worse. It was a job for the police or even the Beastar. Well, former Beastar." Strangely, the words seem directed as much toward himself as they are toward the fawn. Louis frowns. "Still, Yafya didn't show. You did. And you were amazing." This statement is directed purely to Lillia as the casual glance shows that accompanies it. "I don't know how Legosi does it..." he mutters and can't help but reach to his shoulder and very lightly rub over it. It's sore, but it also itches underneath the bandaging. "Lillia," the stag addresses, voice volume lifting just a bit to show serious intonation. "The truth is that I had Jinma follow you in the car when we spotted you. Coincidental and rude, but I'm not going to lie about it. There's been a huge stir in the city lately around hybrid animals. More have come out of hiding and the combinations are...wonderful? Sometimes they're confusing and horrifying, too. We thought you might be a special case, what with the part of the city you were wandering, and that's when we saw you get jumped by that tiger." The deer and the lion must have pulled up and cut their lights on at that point. "Jinma told me you said you had used some kind of dream magic to put the tiger to sleep, but I have a feeling you didn't mean hypnotism. A good thing you did. The police may have had little choice to use lethal force to stop his rampage otherwise." Lillia nods, not disagreeing that what she did was very dangerous. "I really didn't know just how much danger I was getting into until it was too late to walk away. I haven't been here before, and I was lost. I just wanted to help the goat. I never imagined he was being attacked by three people. As for what I did to put the tiger to sleep, no it was not hypnotism. When I say magic, I mean real, actual, magic." She says with a pause, letting that set in, while she considers telling him everything. "I can explain, but you must promise not to bring harm to my home. I don't think that you would, but it is a very... special place..." She also wonders if the lions would come back in the middle of her story, and if she should even talk about her secret grove to a whole group, it was riskier, but if Louis vouches for them, she would accept that. "No, mmh." Louis sighs and holds up a hand. "I won't deny you if you want to insist, but, really, I don't need an explanation." While his best friend understands some mystical concepts better than he, the deer isn't exactly a total stranger to such things. That gesturing hand is instead moved to his face where fingertips rub over the bridge of his snout. "I'm mostly just happy things turned out as well as they did. The last thing we need is anybody winding up killed." And by that he means the last thing he needs. Louis' hand drops from his face and he wanders over to a chair in the room, off to the side, to sit upon rather heavily for such a small frame. He's really tired. His eyes trace a path over the floor back and forth as he ponders quite a lot. "As a visitor to the city, it's unfortunate that you've had to endure this. If... If you feel you need emotional therapy in the wake of such an attack I can pull some strings. It's not the kind of event that our government will allow to go untreated...if...we tell anybody." Lillia nods as Louis says he doesn't need to hear a full explanation. "Alright, then let's just say that I'm from a place where magic is much more common, and the manner of my birth has given me special powers, to make others sleep, banish their nightmares, and help them dream." She explains and isn't really sure what he means by therapy, but she instead asks. "Do things like this happen often?" That's a question that leads to what might be an awkwardly lasting silence. It's not that the stag didn't hear it. His body language clearly shows that he's thinking over how best to phrase an answer. "Once is too often." His fingers fidget a little, but only just a little, before he straightens his posture. Louis looks over directly at Lillia and speaks. When he speaks, he speaks clearly. "Truthfully, no. There are programs in place to help those that might be suffering from such symptoms before they're drawn to acting in that way. If a group of animals decide to act in a way as they have tonight, they've either managed to slip by without notice or it was premeditated. That type of violence, well, it happens no matter where you go." Louis not once mentions the notion of motive in this. It's a very grim subject even without it. "I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be neighbors." Lillia nods again, this time accompanied by a frown at the notion that the people who do things like what happened tonight are themselves suffering. She certainly liked the view of the world better when she only watched it through the dreams of others as they blossomed on the branches of the dreaming tree. "I see. I appreciate the honesty, even if I'm not sure I like the answer. It is good that many of them get help before they resort to acts like this..." It is really the notion that this sort of violence happens anywhere you go that pains her the most, makes her want to run back to her garden and hide there forever, but she can't do that, the dreaming tree is sick and dying, and if not saved, the rest of the grove will likely follow, or at least become too corrupted for her to want to go there anymore. "The three responsible for tonight's attack are going to get help, too, no doubt. They made their choices and they may not like the consequences, but they'll have no choice but to live with them. Junji, on the other hand, may have to have therapy to cope with his victimization. It's sad, but considering the circumstances it's still a victory." The deer pauses a moment, looking down at his shirt, before rubbing at one of the creases again. "I'm keeping this story out of the news, or at least I'm trying. Junji will recover better without the city knowing his face and name linked to such a tragedy." That also includes keeping foreign visitors with unique physiologies out of the news, too, but Louis doesn't spell it all out. "Every animal involved gets medical treatment, counseling as needed, and nobody was killed, so in the grand scheme of things-" The stag is interrupted in noticing the lion standing in the doorway. For being such large lions, they sure can be frighteningly stealthy. This is the lion with the bandanna on his face. "Sabu, everybody back?" A glance past the older lion to see if others are around confirms little. "Just me, boss. She okay?" Louis lifts a hand to motion in Lillia's direction. "Ask her yourself." The lion, arms crossed, looks over to the fawn to make eye contact where possible. There are scars over his left eye. These lions are all marked up. That's atypical, even for the local area. No one died, and all will get the help they need from here on out. Lillia would have to agree that does feel like as good a victory as could be expected considering what happened tonight, and the grim alternative. "Let me know when Junji is able to have visitors, assuming he wants to see me, I won't intrude if he doesn't." She requests before turning to the door, following Louis' gaze to the lion, and nodding as he looks back at her after Louis asks him to ask her if she's ok. "I'm fine." She answers even though he didn't explicitly ask. "This actually isn't the first time I had a brush with danger that could have ended much worse. It was in Senta, and I was the one who got shot at. Thankfully they almost missed, and it left a wound about as deep as the tiger's claws." She frowns and shakes her head. "I'm still learning about the world and how dangerous it can be. It is a lot different than I expected..." "I think that type of learning experience is pretty standard in growing up, although some animals are far more sheltered and coddled than others. Losing innocence is never easy." The deer only looks just barely old enough to be an adult himself, so why is he talking as if this kind of material is old news? "Want me to let Jinma and Free in?" Sabu seems to ask this of Louis, but Louis defers to Lillia's feelings on the matter. They were off to get snacks and the deer is the only that wanted a moment to talk alone, but most of what he wanted to say has been said. The antlered-one close his eyes briefly with a shake of his head. "I won't be able to keep up with Junji's general progress. I- I have classes tomorrow. I'll barely get enough sleep for them now as it is. You'll have to ask the information desk yourself sometime tomorrow." "Sheltered." Lillia responds briefly, then nods at the question of letting Jinma and Free in, and mentally reminds herself to check up on Junji. "You see, up until recently I lived deep in the forest. My only exposure to the world outside was through the window of the dreams of others as they blossomed upon a special tree. I have now woken up into reality, and while some of it is amazing and I'm quite happy to have experienced them, other things, not so much. So I guess you're right, I am much like a child losing their innocence..." "From the woods? I see. The city must be very confusing for you. That must make it doubly dangerous." As Louis speaks, Sabu turns away and walks back to the door leading from the family waiting area to the hall and opens the door before poking his head out. Moments later, Jinma and Free wander back in with two armfuls of vending machine snacks. "We have stories of spirits of nature with special abilities. Most animals don't really believe them, but if anybody sees you using these, mm, abilities of yours it might provoke that kind of imagery. Not necessarily a bad thing, but animals tend to be afraid of things they don't understand." As the minutes slowly pass, the stag's face seems to reflect more and more exhaustion despite his efforts to ignore it. "Hey, look what we've got. Goodies!" chimes Free as he walks right in and finds a spot on a nearby counter to just dump what he has. "We got cakes and sandwiches and a salad or two and dried seaweed chips and vegetable puffs." As he speaks, an unlit cigarette bobs from the corner of his mouth. Jinma isn't too far behind and he adds his haul to the first. "You eat something, too, boss. You're looking a bit rough." Louis averts his gaze in annoyance. Lillia nods. "It is confusing, and intimidating at times... Many were staring and whispering, and I felt uncomfortable, so that's why I ended up moving away from the city center and getting lost, ultimately running into Junji in his time of need. I'm rather unique even where I come from, but magical creatures are a lot more common there so I'm not so unusual, even out in the village in Distant Oceans." She then turns to look at everything Jinma and Free set out on the counter and grins a bit at the big salad and the comment that Louis should eat too. Were they supposed to share it? "Thank you very much, that looks like quite the feast." "For what that all costs, we could have ordered delivery instead, but I suppose we are trying to keep a low profile. Carrot chips?" Jinma picks up a small bag and gives it a toss through the air where it meets the deer's hand with a crumple of plastic. "Make sure to sort the plastic and paper by bin for recycling." A tug opens the resealable bag containing very lightly pickled carrot slices. Even the lions grab a couple items before mostly filtering from the observation room back to the waiting area. Free reaches up to slap the upper door frame a couple of times in some sort of rhythmic beat on the way. Louis slumps his shoulders. "I don't really have time to travel between work and university. As much as I would enjoy taking in the culture, I have my hands full with local problems. ...and that's not counting dark alleyway rumbles." The stag sighs yet again. "What a mess. I hope you don't let this admittedly serious event completely color your opinion of us." "I can relate to having 'local problems' though I guess mine is singular, a little more predictable, and slow-progressing, looming as it is... For me, traveling and experiencing the cultures outside my home area has been mostly fun, and I have found some help for my problem as well, which is the reason I left home in the first place. I hope things work out for the both of us relatively soon." Lillia says as she grabs a bag of carrot chips as well, struggling a bit to open it but having watched Louis she manages alright. She eats a few slices and smiles. "Not bad." "It must be pretty bad to have to look to outside sources for assistance," is said regarding Lillia's concerns. "And while I'm morbidly curious I'm simply too tired to keep up. I need to head home here very soon. I've classes to attend, as I've said, after which I'll have a few hours of business meetings and, well, everything that happened tonight isn't going to go overlooked. I imagine there's going to be a lot of fallout and none of us are looking forward to it..." Louis pulls a carrot slice free but is distracted in looking toward the lions. 'Us'. "Maybe if I'm lucky I'll have time and energy left over tomorrow to have dinner with my wife." He's beginning to understand why his father always seemed to have so little time to spend with him. "Perhaps we'll meet again soon, if you're in town for a while." It's hard to escape Louis' face thanks to the media. "For now, I suggest you make sure you're well-healed before you go fighting more street crime. Ha." Lillia gives a grim nod as Louis hits the nail on the head there. "It's... pretty dire. Maybe I can tell you about it if we meet again, I hope we do, and that you will be able to get a nice dinner with your wife, that's important. As for me, I'll try my best to stay out of trouble. At least I have plenty to eat till I leave in the morning now. Thank you, for everything." Louis chews on the carrot as he listens, then nods and begins to stand up. Fingers working to reseal the zipper-top of the snack bag, he pauses only briefly to lean over and push his pant leg back down over the metal frame of his lower right leg, after of which he walks over to where Lillia rests and holds out his right hand. He's offering a handshake. "You're very welcome. I think we deserve a better introduction now that we're mostly past that terrible ordeal. I'm Louis the Red Deer, C.E.O. of Horns Conglomerate. Unfortunate to meet under these circumstances, but I'm glad that we did. Things may have turned out different otherwise. I don't believe in fate or destiny, but it's always nice to see things turn out for the better. I formally ask that we keep the events of this night between us. As far as the police have reported, a goat in high school was attacked and a call alerted the authorities. They arrived in time and only one assailant had to be shot. Everybody is alive and stable." Louis lowers his gaze yet keeps potential eye contact. "I'm not asking you to lie about our involvement. I'm asking that we keep out of public notice so we don't have to." Lillia nods and takes Louis' hand, still a relatively new gesture to her but not wholly unfamiliar. "I'm Lillia Amaryllis. I'm glad we met too. Hopefully, I can overcome my shyness and meet others under more favorable circumstances in the future." She says in an uplifting tone, then more serious, maintaining eye contact with Louis, she adds. "I will do my best to keep what happened tonight quiet, you have my word." | ||
