whiteofcrime | OVERFLOW POST

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Another unsure glance at those wings, and Apollo sighs. "I feel so reassured."

He just hopes those blades are put to non lethal use.

He follows Kid's gaze to the sky, frowning at himself. Can he keep up? In a way, no. But what Apollo lacks in both physical and magical ability, he more than makes up with defense. He can't do anything too flashy with it, but as long as the element can create some sort of wall, he can control it. He lets his arms drop to his side, taking a deep breath.

"I think I can handle it. I imagine I'm not like the people you usually deal with, so hopefully it'll offer somewhat of a challenge."

The answer appears to satisfy Kid. He spreads his wings in preparation and offers a little bow.

"A different experience can in itself be a lesson." His eyes glint as he straightens. "Do your best."

The thief crouches and then launches himself into the air with a strong, downward sweep of his wings. A metallic hum echoes in his wake, left as the wind sheers by his sharp, steel feathers. Kid finds a spot about one or two floors above Apollo and hovers there. It's probably a bit of an odd sight to see someone with wings not using them to stay in one place. He just seems to hold them out to look impressive.

Always the performer, Kid. Apollo's tempted to just stand there and stare up at him with his flat, default unimpressed expression, but even he can admit. . .that looks kind of cool. Still too far from the ground for his preference, but cool.

Well, no time to gape. He promised he'd provide at least a meager challenge, so here goes! Kaito may or may not here a muttered "Alright, here comes Justice!" as he shakes his arms loose, ready to pull out some tricks.

He hits the ground, quite literally, punching it with both hands, glaring into the sky. If there's one element he has gotten a hang of, it would be fire, just due to his personality. Two columns of flames immediately shoot upward in a spinning blaze--easily avoidable, really. But Apollo follows it up by spreading his hands apart on the ground quickly after. Mimicking his movements, the flames spread as well, creating a flaming wall.

Watch those feathers!!

Kid folds in his wings and spirals out of the way, feeling the brush of heat against his clothes. The fiery columns roar by him and then grow to merge into one. Kid whistles quietly, impressed. He can't do anything so grand with fire bar that one trick with the dragon - and THAT had taken a ridiculous amount of rehearsal.

He decides to impose a handicap upon himself: he'll fly no higher than one storey above or below (unless unavoidable). It would make practice meaningless if he flew above everything.

Flicking out a hand, he sends a ball of condensed water at the wall of flame. It evaporates almost instantly, hiding him behind a cloud of steam.

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Edited 2016-09-19 04:50 (UTC)

He shifts his weight and looks aside. "Of course I do," he grates out. "That's why I made this stupid thing in the first place. I don't get why everyone's so sensitive all of a sudden. First they don't like me scaring them, now people don't like this..."

Kaito kicks at a puddle of water, splashing the drenched street. Thankfully for Shulk, it's not in his direction. The magician turns a churlish look at Shulk this time. Stubborn dislike wars with a vague sense of guilt. This is the guy who shared his ideals. Surely that meant he should understand him?

Shaking the wet out of his eyes, he switches tack with a terse, "Did you come here to lecture me or to help? They're not getting any less wet in this rain."

Shulk watches Kaito quietly, a dim figure in the rain, coming back to life when, no, no, he's here to help. Of course! That's why he came at all, whether Kaito wanted to listen or not.

"Sorry, sorry. You're right."

The harpy sets to work, gently prying people apart, straightening their clothes, sloshing in the puddles riddling the ground. His muscles bunch under feathers when he has to move a few citizens that dwarf him. No one's too heavy for a monster, but he's amazed that Kaito had all the energy to do this. No wonder he seems a bit sore about being asked to take it down.

But it's the principle of the thing that matters, here.

"...I wasn't trying to lecture you, by the way. I just wanted to...understand, I guess. I do now, a little. That doesn't mean I don't think you were wrong, in this case."

The frustration is understandable, it really is. And he's seen bits and pieces of Kaito's sense of humor, from the meeting before and the acts he'd witnessed at the Triple T. The magic seems to be missing here, however.

Kaito, for his part, works quietly. It had been a lot of work to set up as Shulk correctly guesses. But what hurts more than having to take it down so soon is the fact that his attempt at humour has fallen flat. He just wants to hear and see laughter.

Arms wrapped around the torso of a man, he shrugs off Shulk's apology. Annoyed as he feels, he isn't offended. He sets his burden down without bothering to fix their clothes, flicking droplets off his sleeves.

"Who's ever completely right though?" he mutters, just audible beneath the rain. "Who decides what's wrong? Do you? No. Then who?"

He turns back to move a woman this time. She's bent double, arms arranged in a way that tests the limits of human flexibility. Kaito eases them back into a saner position while refusing to meet Shulk's gaze.

Hadn't Kaito done enough to earn smiles and laughter when he put together Tanabata? That, at least, was something Shulk felt had a lasting impact. It certainly did on him. But this, it did little for new monsters besides offer a spectacle. Where was the good in that?

Maybe as a relatively shy guy, the idea of grandstanding in the name of monsters is lost on him.

Shulk's ears are sensitive enough, but Kaito's question just makes him feel unsure. He really doesn't have the moral high ground, as much as he's tried to preserve it. The harpy moves closer, pulling a shirt down over a man's abdomen that Kaito had left, taking his eyes off the goblin and the woman.

"...Well, think about it. If we were right all the time, we wouldn't make mistakes. I know I've done many things I thought were good and right that were no help at all."

He smooths the man's collar.

"Maybe it's not even about what's right, but what's smart. We're outnumbered by humans, so it's not a good idea to act like they've got nothing on us."

Surely Kaito hates being underestimated himself, yes?

"I guess so." Kaito affects unconcern but he's thinking about Shulk's words. He thought about his previous actions, all the mistakes he'd made in his professional or personal life which he'd believed good at the time but hadn't panned out as expected. Nothing so disastrous as life and death though. Except that one time, he thinks.

While he can look at those events in hindsight and regret them, it's a struggle to do the same for his recent actions here. Ryslig forces your hand whether you like it or not.

Yanking a little harder than he needs to on the woman's arm before shifting her aside. Crowding his wings over his head, he shakes off further rain from his hood again. Droplets flick off the ends of his hair. "But they're really... So many of them are just stupid. They don't think at all. I haven't found anyone who comes close to me," he grates out, frustrated.

Yes, he hates being underestimated, but he has his own bias where he frequently underestimates other people. That's the peril of being a genius.

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The mental calculations come to a finish, a firm number in Kid's head and the impression of fluttering nerves mixed with anticipation as the thief takes in a deep breath, lets it out slowly. Stocke will know the number to be an amount in seconds.

Kid now composes himself. He tucks in their wings as tightly as he's able to minimise air resistance and checks to make sure there's nothing he's forgotten. Flickering amongst the check are memories of another leap, old and fuzzy, involving a pair of familiar, gloved human hands and white suit. Those hands fasten a safety harness to their body. They check over a rope which trails into the shadows of a roof. The impression the memory gives off is one of heavily tamped down nerves.

Apparently he's done this before.

Their extra set of arms gets a considering look before Kid settles for clasping the hands behind him. Dense feathers brush over his knuckles and, surprisingly, cold steel. The latter prompts surprise at first, then wry amusement and an idle comment to himself: That was quick.

Stocke's not given any context. He may be if he asks, but Kid is already turning his thoughts back to the drop.

Do NOT interrupt me. There's more weight to this warning than the previous time. Bloated panic and the sharpness of waiting death accompany his words.

Once he's sure his passenger understands, Kid shuts his eyes. All focus turns inwards and his thoughts go quiet. For a long while, nothing flows through his mind other than the gusts of wind buffeting them on their perch.

Then he leans forward and falls.

There's not so much a concretely worded thought as a feeling of 'Acknowledged,' but it's still there. Stocke falls silent, reaching out - very cautiously - to once more brush his fingers over threads, just to sense through them. Like someone testing a knot before jumping off the side of a cliff to rappel down, maybe, or curling fingers lightly around the rope to feel it there.

He's faintly curious about the other comment. But that can wait.

Then they drop. Wind slices past with a violent whistle, Kid's work toward aerodynamicism making them cut through air like a knife.

Perhaps three seconds in - a heart-pounding eternity, falling - is when Stocke's shade instincts kick in. There's no need for a shade to be scared of the drop; wings or no wings, a shadow can float. Even if he couldn't, hitting the floor is no fear - it's easier to avoid touching it than not. Possessing someone he might be, but... any apprehension strips away, leaving behind just the rush of adrenaline it caused. (And as far as reasonable worry for Kid and Kaito - as long as it's not driven by irrational instinct, Stocke knows Kid can handle it. He wouldn't be taking such care if it was a whim.)

However it is Kid keeps them from hitting ground zero, once he actually breaks off their fall it jolts a startled laugh out of Stocke.

(The shade's probably as surprised by it as anyone, if not more.)

Kid counts down as they fall, the floors whipping past at alarming speed. It aligns with the previous, faint memory, except in it, Kaito is counting the floors as they rush past - while upright.

They're pointed head-down this time.

He's concentrating too hard to enjoy the fall on its own. The rushing wind nearly forces his eyes close and there is the self-chiding thought that he should have worn goggles. If any dirt flies into his eyes...

But luckily nothing does. Kid flares out his wings as the count nears its end. The wind appears to shift. He begins to level out of the dive and it strains every muscle in him to do so, but he sheers over the streets at about the second storey precisely as calculated. Heart beating a rapid tattoo against his ribs, Kid lets out a shaky laugh. The street is a long, straight thoroughfare thankfully.

"Thank goodness..."

He can confidently say gravity is the aame constant here.

'You weren't sure?' It's almost, but not quite, teasing. Stocke can still feel static-y excitement blazing through his veins.

Come to think of it -

Carefully, Stocke brushes over the thought of peeling away again. And - he can still feel the burst of terror, but for the moment it's fighting with already-extant adrenaline; it's suddenly nothing he can't handle. He hesitates through a few more whistles of wind across Kid's wings...

Then untangles himself and darts free of Kaito and Kid's body.

For a second or two, though he keeps up with Kid's flight (barely), his eyes seem distant. Checking once more. Then he re-focuses, his expression serious.

It's halting, but: "Thank you." He isn't ungrateful. Just... uncomfortable with how much Kid saw.

(Also, he's drifting very slowly downward. Two stories is too high up for a shade to stay on their own.)

He doesn't feel Stocke's departure so much as sense Kaito's waking up. His eyes widen. Kaito...!

There's confusion, a silent question, a flood of relief. Kid exhales and flashes the now-tangible shade a warm smile. He feels whole once more.

"If you want to go flying again, you know how to find me," he says. A little adjustment to the magic he's soaring on and he matches his descent to Stocke's. The closer he gets to the ground, the more he relies on his wings' strength rather than magic. People below start to point as his silhouette passes over.

"And," he adds, "it goes without saying that I'm very good at keeping secrets." Not from the other half of himself obviously. But from others? Yes.

The shade's eyes flicker dim - he nods, curtly. Then, though it takes a second, he lets out a soft, near-imperceptible breath. When he says a quiet, "Appreciated," it's far more level and measured. Stocke even manages a faint smile back when he adds, "On both counts."

The flying... that wasn't bad at all. Makes him miss a demon's wings - he hasn't had the need or opportunity to truly test the ones he can shapeshift, but now he wonders...

Then, with the white glow jumping back to full alertness - "And Kaito?" Stocke assumes that Kid's grin, rather than more sharp questions, means everything's fine. But he wants to make certain.

He can feel his muscles twinging the more they take on his weight. Suppressing a wince, he nods.

"He's awake. No memory of what happened but" - Kid smirks - "I'll fill him in."

It would be an interesting case for them to mull over. There hasn't ever been a case where one of them had no memory of something. Dull or fuzzy memories perhaps, but never completely blank.

There's an open space parting amidst the crowd on the street, perfect for him to land. He takes advantage of it with a grateful nod to the Bavanites, folding his wings up tight before they can comment on the flashes of steel in his feathers.

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Yeah great idea. Let's just set up a meeting with a wanted criminal right next to the place that could set him up. What about that healing center that old spider lady lived in? Dunno if anyone else' been doin' much with it.

[ He rolls his eyes behind the screen. ]

Sure, we can meet there. It'll have to be at night since I'm a goblin and all.

Right, right. I'll bring a flashlight.

[What kind is left to mystery but it's not like Frank really cares at this point. Regardless, he'd find him sitting by one of the empty parts of the building, flickering with a lighter.]

Took you long enough.

[ 'Funny,' he thinks with a snort as he shuts the laptop lid.

It takes a bit of searching, when he finally gets to the place, to locate Frank. It's the click of the light that does it. The brief flash of orange against dark walls as well. Kaito makes sure to look as non-threatening as possible as he approaches. ]

I can only fly so fast. [ It's a light quip. His mouth twitches but he takes out of his bag the bullet shells as well as the sketches he's made. ] Here.

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Edited 2018-01-16 14:27 (UTC)

That sounds like it might get in the way of accomplishing things.

Hey, you asked! You wouldn't invent a machine to kill people, right? Same principle.
So as long as we don't harm anyone doing this then I'm in.

No, if I had to kill anybody to accomplish what I need, I would choose killing myself, because I can consent to that, and nobody else would. I might be bad, but I'm no murderer, what are you even accusing me of?!

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything.
Just, the last time I got roped into working with someone, it didn't end well...
So I don't want that to happen again.

I'm very sorry to hear that. So, forget it. Nevermind. I can do that on my own, I don't want to cause you any trouble, mister Kaito.

??? It's no more trouble than one of my heists.
What's the deal? You sounded so eager before and now you don't want help?
Don't make me come over there :T

OVERFLOW POST

[ryslig] APOLLO, magic sparring

Re: [ryslig] APOLLO, magic sparring

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[ryslig] SHULK, 'welcome' message

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crawls back to this super late

[ryslig] STOCKE, possession

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[ryslig] FRANK (NPC), bullet runes

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[bakerstreet] VARIAN, texts from last night

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