Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"No, I haven't seen him today, you silly. Do tell." Mariela wanted to hear the story out, Adelld probably having arrived back at the bar later than her the previous day. The mention of Margaret caused visible anger in her, the sharpening action turning much slower and heavier as the blade sister's temper began to boil, the end result of her work getting worse as it became uneven across the blade. Just as she was about to throw the whetstone, Garet interfered, grabbing her wrist. "My lady, please don't get angry. It doesn't look good on you. And it always creates more unnecessary work for me." he told her in a confident, honest voice as he had her put the whetstone down normally. "Smile for me, my lady." he continued as he put his hands on Mariela's shoulders, waiting for her to calm down. After a few seconds, she did indeed smile at him, a gesture that looked like it would melt him right there if the man's face at the time was of any indication. "There we go. Now let's keep it this way hmm? Even if you hate her bad, don't get angry like that, my lady. Your perfection should not be tainted by unsightly expression of anger." he moved into outright flattery as he brushed her face with the back of his hand, which seemed to work rather splendid as there were no further signs of rage visible on Mariela. If she had not applied her white face makeup already, Adelle could probably have seen a blush on the blade sister. "Nothing but trouble, that bitch." she eventually spoke up, starting to fix up the mistake that her earlier outburst had caused on the blade of the scimitar. "So, did you have something planned for today? Want a beer? Garet will get you one."

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

As Adelle told her story, she saw the anger building in Mariela and though about stopping before the end, but she decided that it would be better to tell her friend everything. She was glad that Garet had been there to calm Mariela down, as she doubted that she could manage it herself. "Yeah she is nothing but trouble. Nobody can stand up to her, so she can basically do whatever she wants unchecked. I mean, maybe if I had one of those big sniper rifles I could pop her from long range before she even heard it coming. But short of that, I'd say only artillery or someone that's as strong or stronger than her could put her in her place. And sure, I wouldn't mind a beer," Adelle replied, looking to Garet and nodding in thanks as he want to grab her the beer.

"Mariela... I don't want to pry into your life any. But... what happened between you and Margaret? A little insight into anything you can tell me about her could help if I'm ever forced to face her for whatever reason," Adelle said softly, dropping the subject if Mariela didn't want to talk about it any, but curious nonetheless.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

Upon receiving instruction to do it, Garet marched to the fridge and picked up a beer before coming over to Adelle and handing the can over almost like a fine wine bottle. It almost looked like he was going to break into an explanation about the qualities of the beer, but thankfully did not as it wasn't wine or even a better type of beer, just your average store slosh. Going into the question about their past only served to bring a hefty frown onto Mariela's face. "We had a fair number of disagreements, and she did some bad things. That's all you need to know. It will all come out one day, and then you'll know what the reason for all of this is." she replied in a rather cold manner, the questioning not being something that she was wanting to deal with apparently. Garet looked a bit concerned as he followed the conversation, but it did not go anywhere beyond that as Mariela didn't appear to be building any anger. "Knowing any of that wouldn't help with her anyways."

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"Thank you kindly sir," Adelle told Garet when he brought her the beer.

After asking Mariela about Margaret, she had hoped for, but not expected an explanation by her. "Alright alright, I'll drop it for now. I was just curious is all why she always gets you so huffy and everything. Anyway though, that aura she had. Scared the living hell out of Eda, the girl that tried to fight her. Mei and the one she had brought to help find me were gonna fight her at first, but I said nope and ran like hell. Margaret seemed to have left as soon as we went back downstairs of that building," Adelle replied to Mariela, not completely dropping the subject of Margaret, but not prying further into their background. "I do feel I need to ask though Mari... can you beat her? She's done quite a few bad things since working with Miguel," Adelle went on to ask, not looking curious any longer, but serious now and with a hopeful look that Mari could handle Margaret.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"She has developed herself even further then. I hate to admit but she really was the best among us even back then, having the skills to cover for any of us four, if maybe not as good as us specialized ones. That almost sounds like she is starting to become the equal to all of us. She could hold her ground against me with melee weapons or against Lacrimosa in unarmed combat. While she was not as physically strong as either of us, she was more refined in technique and that covered for her lesser strength. Isabella and her were basically equals in all aspects of gunplay, and Isabella has a minor cyberpart inside her head that quickens her reaction time while Margaret never had anything put into her. She could even cast some minor spells, basically weaker varieties of Rachaela's common attack magic." Mariela went on a tangent as she finished up correcting the scratched edge of her scimitar. Putting it down and sheathing it, she took up a large knife next and went right to another sharpening job. "Those two could have given her some trouble if they had her in a spot where she didn't have a gun on her. Mei is far stronger than the usual appearances she puts up might suggest. Shina, the woman with her, is her primary rival and partner. She is on practically the same level, though their fighting styles differ. Shina's background is in Muay Thai, while Mei's skills are rooted in the various forms of Kung Fu."

Mariela spent a while sharpening and taking a chug of beer before getting back to Adelle. "I don't know, but I don't care either. Once it comes to it, the fight will not end until either she or me is dead on the ground." she replied, clearly not having the slightest degree of interest if she was good enough to take her rogue sister on and come out on top.

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"So... she's basically a prodigy then. That's just great," Adelle said when Mari had finished her tangent. After she put the scimitar down, Adelle listened intently, as it seemed that Mari was going to say something else.

"Well, unfortunately Margaret had a really strong sniper rifle. She nearly put a bullet through my head twice, and once through my chest I think. Maybe if she hadn't had the gun, the three of us could have taken her, with me taking shots when there was an opening and stuff," Adelle said after Maria told her about Mei and Shina, which was apparently the other girl's name.

"Well I hope for the sake of everyone that if you do fight her again soon that you win. Because she's definitely bad news here. I wonder if Priscilla could take her on," Adelle replied when Mari took her drink of her beer, curious if Priscilla had the strength to take care of the rogue sister. "And I also gotta be careful now too, because last night after I got out of the shower, Miguel sent some thugs over to try and rough me up. Luckily my new friend that's staying with me has some mean magics and summons and pretty much destroyed them all," she added, now wondering if she should go inform Samson of the previous night, which she in the end did decide to do.

"Are you going to try and get a job today from Samson? If so, you can hitch a ride with me if you want. I should probably tell him about last night when I got home," Adelle asked Mari after they finished their beers.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"That one giant lady? I imagine she might have some chance if she got past that gun. I suppose she could sneak, but I have a suspicion that it might not be enough if she has that massive blaster. She never was one to limit her gun usage by distance." Mariela told her opinion about the imaginary scenario between Priscilla and Margaret. "I do know someone who would beat her, and am a bit concerned about him considering her a threat before I can get to that bitch. If he gets his mind to it, I think this will all be for nothing. Thankfully, that man is old and not wanting to spend his remaining days in conflict without it being a really big issue in his mind."

Eventually Mariela finished the brief time on the knife, which was apparently needing only a little rub on the edge to maintain it's sharpness. But she had another project right after that, a more exotic sickle-looking sword. "Really now? He must be wanting to get to you really bad. Good that the new lady was there. She and Rachaela must get along well?" she asked before stating that she didn't really have a plan for the day yet.

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"Yeah, that's Priscilla. She's pretty damn strong," Adelle replied, smirking a little as she remembered the large and rather intimidating, yet quite kind woman. When Mariela mentioned someone who could beat her, Adelle perked up and looked intrigued. "So... was he like, your teacher or something?" Adelle asked curiously, awaiting an answer if Mariela felt like talking about him.

"Yeah, Luna is really strong apparently. And Rachaela seemed to like her too yeah," Adelle said when Mariela mentioned it being good for Luna being there with Adelle. "I'm not quite sure why he was sending them to scare me honestly. I mean surely he didn't really think I wasn't going to tell people what happened after what Rosieta did to me," she went on to say, idly wondering about that.

...

After Mariela stated she didn't really have any plans for the day yet, Adelle nodded and told her that if she went to the bar, then unless Adelle herself was out on a job then they could talk some more then. With that, she headed out and rode her bike over to the bar to see Samson and tell him about everything that had happened the previous night.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"No, he was the mentor figure of Samson and the original crew that started the entire group some 40 years ago. He was already on the older side even back then, and I imagine he is around 90 by now. I have seen him only once, when he was out at the bar last year to do a performance. He is something of a musician nowadays." Mariela told what little she knew about this strong old man. "The mind of a mob boss is something I do not claim to know about, so we can only guess why."

As Adelle prepared for her leave, Mariela abandoned her project on the current blade, throwing the whetstone onto Garet. "You finish that. I want to see if you can really be called a servant of mine." she told him completely seriously, going to her arsenal for a brief ponder as to what she would be carrying that day. She settled on something a little less usual for that day's flavor, picking a large club that was just about her lenght, not overly thick as it was made completely from metal and bearing studs along the striking portion. But she was not completely out from the cutting phase as she did take the knife she had been sharpening as a backup. After equipping herself, she tagged along on the busty girl's bike, coming along to the bar with her.

Samson was only slightly surprised at the news, probably having heard of and experienced a fair amount of similar cases on the turbulent times of his career. "One of the bad sides in this work of ours, I'm afraid."

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"Oh, I didn't realize. He sounds pretty cool," Adelle said about the old leader of the Hunters group.

Heading on out, Adelle waited for Mariela since she appeared to want to come with her, and together they rode over to the bar. When they got there and she told Samson about the attack on her the previous night, she was a little surprised that he didn't seem more surprised about it.

"Huh... well I hope he doesn't send anyone else, because I'd like to keep the house in good shape, and they busted the front window out to throw a flashbang in," Adelle said, deciding to try and get some work put in for the day and make some more money. "So any jobs that need doing boss? I'm up for some stuff if there's anything you think I can handle," Adelle then asked Samson curiously.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"That's why we try to avoid getting mixed into the issues of these criminal organizations, since it pretty much always has an antagonizing effect towards some other group in the end. I can tell this from experience." Samson made a brief follow-up to his earlier statement, appearing to be fairly sympathetic towards Adelle's little predicament.

"No real jobs to give out, ones that would be suited for you that is. Mostly we just have a few contracts that are probably a little better suited for a group. But I have a house errand that requires some attention. I'll make it worth the while you if you want to carry out this task. I'll give you an explanation if you have interest."

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"A house problem eh, sure I'm curious. Might as well find out what it entails at least before I decide one way or the other. And I'm sure I could round up Mariela and the others if they want to help out with the group task," Adelle replied about the possible job, perking up a bit at the mention of it by Samson. "And so long as Miguel doesn't keep sending goons after me then I think I'll be fine. As I have a very powerful magic using friend who is living with me at the moment. She kind of just dropped in all of a sudden the other day, and I mean literally dropped in. But speaking of them, from the way the one I let live was talking, they weren't supposed to kill me, just keep me from talking, but apparently Miguel did tell them they could do whatever they wanted to me so long as they didn't kill or permanently wound me," she added about the goons attacking her.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"It's about our top hunter. She has been absent for a little too long for my liking, as she is very active on the jobs but has been somewhat limited in the past few days since I've not found suitable tasks for her abilities. I know some of the locations she visits on her off time, so I'd like someone to check and ask around these places for her or any info about her. It would be bad if she just went missing on us like this, and I'm not too keen to handle the title of number one to Izak. He is good, but I think he needs to be less arrogant. Samson explained the house task somewhat.

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"Yeah I think I can handle that. What's her name? And where are her usual hangouts? I dunno if I've met her or not myself," Adelle replied, not minding checking into this for Samson.

Once she knew where the usual hangouts for the Hunter's number one were at and got a description of her, assuming she didn't already know her, then Adelle would head out to begin her search. If Mariela or one of the others wanted to go with her however, then Adelle wouldn't object to some company coming along with her.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"Her name is Lucrezia. Like I mentioned, she is our top hunter, her strength being in magic. She is very identifiable by the color of her hair, which she never appears to cover. I am almost certain that no other being in this city has that type of hair, and I'm fairly sure you will realize it's her once you see that head of hers. The places I know she visits frequently are a relief center to the poor, who she donates to a lot, and one of the inner city farms. Besides those places, she obviously visits the market as she needs to eat like all of us humans and can't get everything from the farm. Her home is a small complex of Buddhist shrines on the outer edge of town, which of course should be checked out as well." Samson gave the explanation about the top hunter, who was unknown to Adelle as she had not really met other magic users besides Rachaela and Luna. He also pointed out each of the spots mentioned on the map, with the exception of the market as that was likely the one spot in the city that everyone knew about.

By the time they had finished with the briefing of this small task, the remaining trio of girls had arrived as well. They were all looking like they were each in their default equipment, with the exception of Mariela, who was practically an ever-changing, walking weapons display. Lacrimosa had left her unconventional fist weapons behind, opting to go with only her own strength and regenerating flesh, and Isabella too had reverted to her three-gun loadout with the old C96s and the big-ass revolver. Rachaela was the same as usual, since she didn't have the need to change her gear to perform at her best level. The group discussed among themselves, coming to a conclusion that one of them would come along with Adelle while the others took a job of their own. She would have to pick as they did not appear to be particularly concerned as to who, if any, would be left out from the group job. "Certainly, seeing to Lucrezia is a task that we will provide to." Rachaela was the one to state their collective opinion.

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"M'kay, I think I can handle finding her and stuff. I'll head over to her place first to start, then I'll check the other places. Maybe someone who lives nearby has some clue as to where she's at," Adelle replied to Samson.

After he showed her the places on the map, Adelle got up to prepare to leave as the sisters all came in. Once they'd chatted among themselves for a minute or two and decided one should go with her, Adelle figured Rachaela would be a good pick, to mix magical and physical. With her partner chosen, assuming Rachaela didn't mind going, Adelle would head out to her bike with her companion and mount up, where she'd drive off to Lucrezia's home.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"Alright then, we'll go together. Let's hope that she is just having a longer rest period or something." Rachaela agreed to go with Adelle, looking a bit surprised that she was the one being chosen but not having any complaints towards the choice either. The two of them headed to the bike while the remaining three said their goodbyes for now before going to Samson for a job.

The pair made way through the city, having to drive a fair bit to reach Lucrezia's home complex as it was to the far south-east part of the city limits. The compound was fairly separated from the taller buildings of the city proper, a ten-foot high wall of wood around it keeping the place protected from any unwanted outsiders to some degree. There was a front gate of course, which was wide open for possibly no reason. Behind the gate was a five-building complex of Buddhist-style shrines arranged in a similar manner to the 5 face of a dice, with one in the middle and the other four on each corner.

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"Yeah, that's what I'm hoping for. What's Lucrezia like? I've not met her before," Adelle said.

Heading out, Adelle drove them over to Lucrezia's home, with Adelle stopping just outside the front gate, which was open oddly. "Huh, that's weird, you'd think the gate would be closed. You ever been here before Rachaela? If so, does she normally leave her gate open like this?" Adelle said over her shoulder before slowly driving the bike inside the gates and parking it near the front of the building in the middle, unless Rachaela told her not to do so that is.

Once inside, assuming it was alright to go in that is, Adelle would go up to the doors of the building she'd parked by and knock on it. "Hello! Lucrezia, are you in there? Samson asked us to come and check up on you," Adelle called out after knocking three times on the door.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"No, I've not been here prior, it is my first time too. I've stumbled across Lucrezia a few times in the bar and exchanged some words about the various things in spellcraft, but that's about it for our interraction. Rachaela admitted that she too had never been here before. Knocking seemed to have no effect, the whole compound appearing pretty devoid of life as it was almost silent, save for the faint sounds of the city coming from that direction. The only other being they could notice was a common crow on the roof of the building to the left. It looked at them from time to time, but was not apparently completely focused on them as it did keep track of the surroundings around it. But after a brief moment, there was a slightly creepy factor as the crow appeared to remain in Adelle's vision, no matter where she turned her head, though it always was on a roof.

 

[Mind Flayer]

Re: Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

"I see, hmm... still looks odd I think," Adelle said about the gate.

When she knocked and got no answer, Adelle looked over at Rachaela and raised an eyebrow. She looked around and noticed the crow... the very odd crow that she seemed to always be able to see somehow no matter where she looked. "Hey Rachaela... you see that crow? It's... almost like it's everywhere," Adelle asked her companion curiously as she pointed over at the bird.