A Gathering Of Hunters: Vampires // Chapter 2-In Progress-

Kassia · Sep 9, 2022

The annual Charity event for Ouroboros Orphanage was only four days away, and the Mansion of Erra was buzzing.

Housemaids gathered used bedding from previous guests and deep-cleaned every room where a body may reside. All the coffins that the vampires who lived in the home had been moved to the sub-basement far away from wandering eyes. Though those of importance kept theirs locked away in their rooms.

As the sun dipped below the horizon and the purple hues of the sky filtered into the old arched windows, Erra awoke. She stretched and adjusted the satin pink robe she slept in before running her fingers through her thick black hair in the darkness. Eventually, slender fingers slid out from the Marble and gold-encrusted coffin, gradually pushing away the heavy lid.

"Ma'am?" called one of the maids who knocked on her bedroom door. "Your breakfast is in the hall." The voice was small. However, Erra had requested this simply due to a vampire's hearing was far more heightened than that of humans. She lifted herself from the box and sauntered to the bedroom door, cracking it open slightly; golden light from the hall left a sliver of glimmer on her pale skin.

"Thank you, Ava. Any word on our guest list?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Everyone on it has approved, and they will be arriving tonight. Their rooms have been made, and the coffins of the others have been moved and set up. "

"Perfect. Thank you... so much." Erra smiled and closed the door with a soft click of the lock. Turning to look at the coffin, she realized that Noor was nowhere to be seen in the massive room. Absentmindedly she adjusted her robe and tightened the tie in thought; where could that woman have wandered off to? While Erra had not taken on a familiar, that did not mean she didn't long for companionship. Noor provided that every so often over the last 225 years, and for that, she was grateful.

Noor had far more duties in her 225 years than Erra had. Though she genuinely couldn't imagine not having the assistance. Running this strangely intoxicating world was difficult. Turning trustworthy Creators was more trouble than she had even imagined. Sliding the lid back over the coffin, she took a seat on one of two pink velvet chairs across from her vanity and crossed her legs. While she crossed her legs, the robe fell from her smooth skin, and her brows furrowed slightly in thought: this power came with a price. Slowly her maroon-painted nails dug into the velvet as she stared blankly at the wooden floor. While she was the image of beauty and grace, there was a time when that was not the case.

Long ago, 300 to be exact, Erra and hundreds of humans like her fought the vampire. There had been a virus, at least that was what it had been thought to be, that infected humans and turned them into the hideous bloodsuckers they hunted. They were not graceful, peace-wielding creatures-- instead, they were ruthless and evil, ripping anything and everything apart that crossed them. Somewhere in the chaos, they had crowned a sole being as their king, a god of gods, and followed his lead. Every day more and more makeshift hunters were killed or captured. This sparked the creation of The Hunters Guild. The official Guild housed, fed, and trained hunters who were born with a mark that signified they were of fighting blood.

Before her eventual downfall into the vampiric hell, Erra had been known as Olivia Parker a true-born hunter; however, after being bitten by the nameless Vampiric God in her sleep, she could no longer utilize the name her mother had given her. Feeling too ashamed to have allowed such an occurrence to happen in her weakest state, she resorted to simply Erra in hopes that someday she could live up to its meaning. At the start of her rise, she sought to reform the way of the vampire. With her new abilities, she pursued honest individuals and turned them into what is now known as Creators with their blessing. These creatures had the ability to turn others into vampires. These beings then went out into the world, eradicated the feral creatures, and turned willing humans into loyal fledglings to work under them as the virus had spread beyond their control. Slowly, Arcadia had been secluded, and no one could get in or out, keeping the city under vampire control.

Over the years, Erra enacted humans to control the government, allowing them to build up their businesses. But in recent years, a new medication had been smuggled in and started to cause the return of the feral creatures. Outnumbered, the Creators began to recruit more vampires in the overpopulated city. This gave them superhuman abilities and increased their thirst for human blood. Still, the virus interacted differently than before due to the chemical compounds in their blood from parents who may have utilized the new medication.

Working on getting this under control, A-300 was created by Am Tech. This allowed new vampires to enjoy their fill of synthetic blood while bonding with their chemical makeup. But the A-300 started to dwindle as the ports closed and supplies could not be shipped in. Still, the streets were less full of vampires than they had been, but the humans grew increasingly agitated as their loved ones were needlessly turned into night-stalking creatures.

Erra carried this guilt close to her, seen in the depths of her gray eyes. Had her haste to eradicate the ferals created a new monster?

There were only four days left until the charity event. She hoped that while the humans mingled with the vampires, they could understand her viewpoint and somehow find a way to co-exist as she couldn't stand the guilt any longer; however, not every vampire who lived under her dark rule agreed with her methods.

THE | CITY: Arcadia is a large city situated in the middle of an unknown desert. This cyberpunk city is home to 10 million citizens and a mayor with 15 additional advisors. While a mayor runs the city, the corporations rule this city with an iron fist, constantly pulling the Mayor into shady deals and unfair laws. Laws are not as informed as one might think with this amount of people. It can take up to 45 minutes for an officer to answer a call regarding crimes of any intensity. Because of this, the Hunters keep the piece—- however, their kind is dwindling.

The Hunters are a known group of individuals practicing their craft for over 300 years. Working regular jobs during the day, they hunt the city's most notorious criminals: Vampires.

It is unknown how the vampire gene came to be. Some speculate a lab experiment gone wrong; others believe the gene mutated at birth. Whatever the case, they swarm the neon-lit city looking for their only source of food: human blood.

To control the increasing vampire legion, more giant corporations who have never felt with the medical field are trying to find solutions to supply the vampires with synthetic blood called A-300( slang term: 300). This has helped some newly turned vampires as they have not yet had a taste for human blood, however, the majority of vampires in the city are older, wiser, and do not take as well to the synthetic alternative.

This city has a strict weapon law, they are not permitted to be used within the city limits, and this is to control crime. However, a bar called the "Widows Peak" will supply weapons and additional support to hunters. This is a vampire-free zone.

The hunters live in pods throughout the city of 6-15 hunters. They keep a low profile and are often on good terms with the landlords, who are required to have documentation and contact information for cleaners, disposal companies, and 24/7 access to the Widows Peak armory.

Vampires often host elaborate balls and gatherings for the city's political members to raise money and stay within the Mayor's good graces. Every full moon, there is a ball called the "The New Oblation" This is when human victims are lured into the home of the head vampire and sacrificed. At this time, all the newly made vampires will receive their gift from the vampire Goddess, Erra.

Humans are aware of the vampires in this city. Because of this, the Mayor has enacted a strict law that from 7 AM-8 PM, humans can continue their daily lives; however, once the curfew draws near, they must be home or in a location where vampires are not permitted.

[SLIDE title="POST TEMPLATE"]
Please ensure when you post that you include this template For organizational purposes.

Character:
Player/Group:
Location:
Time:
Map Of Arcadia: City Center: The hub of the daytime citizens, this is where you can purchase goods like groceries and necessities.
Corporate Park: This is where the corporate offices are located, often massive skyscrapers that shield the city from dangerous dust storms.
Black Market: The crime bosses and seedy citizens sell repo'd items for cheap.
Shipyard: At one time Arcadia was a bustling trade center. The shipyard still stands even if shipments move slowly.
Armory: For all your weapon and armor needs.
Hunters Guild: Monthly meetings and initiation place for the hunters. This is disguised as a rundown warehouse while all the activity is below ground level.
The Phoenix: An underground fighting ring.
The Widows Peak: The chosen bar for the Hunters. Hunters can take their collected vampire teeth here for credits and appraisals.
Mail Center: Small mail center similar to the post where citizens can mail out items and receive items.
City Council: Where all the political decisions for Arcadia are made.
Erra Mansion: The swanky place to be if you are a vampire.
Harlow Training: Kade's business. Boxing and training are offered here.
Blue Sun Taxi Co: Aratone's business. Taxi service.
Silver Ridge Apartments: High-class, expensive apartments.
Pandarosa Apartments: Mid-range apartments overlooking the industrial park.
Sumpter Apartments: Low-level apartments, Offering apartments on a month-by-month basis for those new to the city.
Man-made canal: This canal was created for shipping barges, however when the water dried up, the barges became stranded and only left a small strip of dwindling water.
The Bridge Apartments

Resources regarding hunters, vampires, NPC's Terms & Definitions, Plot updates

story inclusion #1
Friday | 8pm
2-4 charactersArch Medical is Arcadia's top medical company specializing in Artificial technology and gene splicing. Recently there have been reports that Arch Medical is working on a Human/ vampire hybrid to study how the Vampire virus takes over the body. This team will need to gather physical intel and return to the Hunters Guild to report findings.

story inclusion #2
Friday | 8pm
2-4 Characters, Erra is holding her annual Charity event to raise money for Arcadia's Orphanage. 2-4 characters will need to gather intel/ attend the event and take out the CFO of Arch medical to stop the experiment from being funded. This should buy the hunter's time to look into the vampire issues and see what is causing the increase in these creatures. They will need to rely on their Netrunner to watch cameras and security at this event to ensure that nothing is leaked about the assassination.
Obstacles: Arch Medical is heavily armed and guarded; the team will have to find a way in without alerting security. This building closes at 7:30 PM, allowing its employees to get home safely. However, the later shifts are less secure than the first few curfew hours.

The event at the Erra Mansion will be full of notable politicians, both human and vampire. Security will be high. Hunters are tasked with looking the part.
The in-house Mod doc, Fiona, will provide cybernetic enhancements that conceal their human scent, provide facial enhancements(fangs), and temperature regulators.

Kassia · Nov 26, 2022

Character: Naomi// Kaden
Player/Group: Aratone ( @BennyQ ) Maxine ( @Fish is yum ) Nebuchadnezzar ( @Kosmik_Khaos ) Norne ( @ThatGeckoGirl )
Location: Common room--> Armory// Morning around 11 am.

Naomi wandered into the kitchen after Fiona had finished working on her small but meaningful tattoo. She turned to grab one of the last few packs of A-300 left in the refrigerator and pulled a cup out of the cupboard as she always had. But then...there was a pause. All this time, she had poured '300 into a cup to feel some sort of normalcy and to provide peace of mind for those around her. But they knew what she was, so why did she try to hide it? As she stared at the cup, she slid her glass-like nail over the soft, pliable bladder full of synthetic blood, punctured it, and brought the bag to her lips, leaving the cup on the counter. Taking a seat on the burgundy circular sofa, she laid back and watched the neon lights of the city flicker vibrantly. They twinkled for no one, but she still appreciated them. It had seemed that everyone had gone to sleep, and just as well as the night had taken many twists and turns. Slowly Naomi's eyes closed as she stretched out on the sofa and slipped into a deep sleep.

As the morning light stretched and crawled its way over the apartment floorboards, Naomi pulled a blanket over her body to shield herself from the rays. Around ten a.m., Kaden walked out of his room yawning and stopped as he saw the tiny vampire curled up in a blanket and rolled his eyes. Quietly, he leaned over towards the window, waved a hand over a sensor, and slowly slid a tinted shield between the window panes, lessening the light but still giving way to the view.

When he was sure the shield had locked into place, he made his way to the counter in the kitchen with a tablet in hand and the chip from Jess and sat in one of the chairs, glanced back at Naomi with a sigh, and then looked at the screen in front of him. Still unnerved by her presence. Subconsciously he slid the chip into one of the many ports the tablet held and watched the screen populate information. There were several key factors: a map of Arch medical and Erra's mansion. The dates of the charity event, invitations, modification suggestions, attire requirements, passcodes, possible routes in Arch medical to take, the schedules of every employee working the night shift of Arch Medical, and more. He looked through the files curiously and found Jessa's encrypted note in a folder. Kaden clicked on it, entered the password she had provided him in the lobby, and read through it.

Objective:

Arch medical is developing several new technologies unseen to the public eye; these technologies are presumed to be related to the advancement of vampires. There is evidence that a hybrid creature is being created, but the reasoning behind why is unknown--Find the reason. Deliver to Hunters Guild.

Adjacent:

Hunters must attend Erra's annual Charity ball to scope out the CFO Roger Hannon and assassinate him. Once assassinated, this will put the project weeks behind schedule, allowing enough time for the Guild to research the reasoning behind the hybrid creatures.

Notes: Media will be televising the event; the assassination will need to be quiet and not draw attention to the Hunters Guild. If attention is garnered, Hunters must evacuate their place of residence and reside at the Guild until the all-clear has been issued.

Kaden crossed his arms and set them on the countertop in thought. He felt sudden dread. He needed to find Aratone and sort through this, who would go to the event and who would go to Arch medical. He hadn't visited Arch medical since Estella had been taken from him. Was he ready to go back?

Glancing back at Naomi, he looked around for something to throw at her so she would wake up. Finding nothing close, he cautiously padded to the sofa, picked up a pillow, and smacked her arm with it.

"Hey!" She hissed as the blanket flew off her face. Hazel eyes found him standing a fair amount of distance from the sofa. She smirked and Picked up the empty bag of A-300.

"Where's Ara? You were the last to see him." Kaden asked accusingly while cocking a brow and throwing the pillow back on the sofa. Naomi sat up and rubbed her forehead while processing his question.

"I donno. I came in without him."

"Probably sleeping in the car." Kaden pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked out into the city through the massive bay windows in the living room.

"it's still slightly dark; I can go find him," Naomi said with a yawn and stretch and looked to Kaden, who shook his head.

"No, thats just the tint on the window. You'll burn to a crisp-- everyone would be upset with me if I didn't baby the vampire. Get dressed. We have a mission to go over today."

Naomi scoffed, uncurled herself from the sofa, and headed toward her room without glancing back at Kaden. "He probably came back in. Who wants to sleep out there in the cold." She paused, sidled into the kitchen to throw the empty bag in the biohazard bin under the sink, and then continued to her bedroom.

Somewhere between when Naomi got home and when she fell asleep, Fiona had set a few folded articles of clothing on her bed. She smiled and ran her fingertips over the fabric, realizing they were sweatpants and a hoodie. She hadn't thought Fiona was listening regarding her need to return to the apartment, but she felt a sense of comfort knowing that someone else had heard her and was looking out for her. These articles of clothing would be helpful when she needed to cover her skin in the sun. Leaving the folded clothing, she decided to shower, wash away the grime from the night before, tend to her new tattoo, and dressed for the day.

Kaden disliked asking Naomi for help, but he quietly knocked on her door and waited for an answer. She opened it and blinked.

"Could you let the others on this floor know to meet me in the Armory for a debriefing?"

Naomi thought for a moment and then gave a tight-lipped smile, "sure." with that, he nodded and headed to the elevator to let Norne know while Naomi knocked on the doors of Nebuchadnezzar, Maxine, and Aratone.

As she passed by, she spoke out lazily. "Kaden needs everyone up in the armory."

After she had let everyone know, she took the elevator up to the second floor and pushed open the armory door with a shoulder. She walked in second, hands in her pockets, and pulled herself up to sit on one of the give glass display cases holding heavier firepower. In the Armory, Kaden had projected the maps and mission on a larger screen than what was available in the common room. He flicked through a few images again and settled his sights on Arch medical, his mind a flurry of memories.

Naomi was overcome with nerves as she read "Erra's Mansion" on the massive screen; she had only met Erra in her Vampiric Trials, but that felt like a tiny drop in the bucket. The vampire Goddess had been kind, but Naomi wondered if that was a front to pull her towards the vampire side. "Erra's mansion?" She said out loud, primarily to herself. Now she was plagued with thoughts she couldn't quite find the mental stamina to work through.

ThatGeckoGirl · Nov 27, 2022

Character: Norne Irae
Player/Group: Aratone ( @BennyQ ), Maxine ( @Fish is yum ), Nebuchadnezzar ( @Kosmik_Khaos ), Kaden/Naomi ( @Kassia )
Location: Training Room -> Armory / Morning, about 11am

Thud, thud, BAM.

Thud, thud, BAM.

Thud, thud, BAM.

The rhythmic sound of Norne's fists hitting against the grounded punching bag rang out in the otherwise empty training room. Small bursts of air left her lips with each contact of her fists. Her eyes were focused on the punching bag, but her mind was elsewhere. Each hit was powerful as it echoed in the room. The looser clothing Norne tended to wear casually along with her kind and calm demeanor gave the illusion of a petite and nonthreatening young woman. When those layers were peeled back though, it revealed a body trained to encompass the needs of a warrior: strong, agile, powerful. It was reminiscent to that of a poised lioness - elegant but undeniably the structure of a great huntress. Norne's outfit consisted of athletic shorts and a sports bra for her morning training. Her dark hair was drawn back in a ponytail. A light sheen of sweat glistened on her skin as a testament to her workout. All the hits she delivered kept getting harder and harder. The stabilizing bottom of the punching bag was starting to lift up a bit from each impact.

She opened the door to the apartment. Benjamin's name died in the back of her throat as she saw thick red splatters on the ground that trailed behind the wall. Thud. Norne ran in and turned the corner to see a grisly scene. The man she had fallen in love with was lying broken on the ground. The carpet beneath him was soaked with his blood. Thud. A cry filled the room, and it took a moment for Norne to realize the heartbroken and horrified sound had come from her own lips. She fell on her knees beside him, unable to look away from the large gash in his neck that nearly took the head from his shoulders. In denial, Norne reached out a shaky hand and rested it on his wrist. Immediately, she activated the mod in her brain to bring up his vitals. Everything was negative. He was dead. Norne released a scream of a sob. BAM.

The punching bag flew back from her hard hit and toppled to the ground. Norne breathed hard, staring at it for a moment before glancing down at her hands. She had wrapped them earlier, but some blood was welling beneath the bandage at her knuckles of her dominant hand. She cussed silently under her breath and pinched the bridge of her nose as she focused on taking deep breaths. Calm down. She needed to calm down. Releasing a slow exhale after a few moments, Norne rolled her shoulders to loosen the tension as she walked up to the collapsed punching bag. She picked it up and set it back into place. It was probably best to finish up for the day. Training in the mornings was a good way for her to release stress. Normally, Norne kept herself busy so she didn't have to deal with all the emotions and grief from losing Benjamin. All the research, focusing on healing the others, and even hunting vampires had kept her preoccupied. When it came to training though, it all came out.

Kaden's voice drew Norne out from her thoughts as she looked over. He was quick in what he came to say. There was to be a meeting in the Armory about some new tasks for them to undertake. "Alright," She had answered back, though Kade already seemed to be gone. She didn't get to ask him about how his bicep felt. She sat down on the ground by the towel she had brought with her as she slowly unwrapped her hands. She inspected the torn skin of her right hand. It was still lightly bleeding. It wasn't a big deal - not even a wound that really needed to be treated since it was so minor. It would be healed for the most part in a few minutes. She bundled the wrap in her hands to throw out before tossing her towel across her shoulders. Standing up, Norne left the training room and headed towards the armory. It was only a few turns away. Norne tossed away the wraps before entering the armory, not bothering to change out of her athletic clothes. She'd just take a shower and change once the information of their coming tasks was conveyed.

"Good morning, Naomi," Norne smiled towards the vampire girl, attempting to be kind to her. She wasn't one of the vampires who killed Benjamin, after all. There wasn't a reason to take out her anger and grief on her. She was being hurt by unfortunate circumstances as well. Her eyes turned to Kaden, "Good morning to you as well, Kade. I didn't get to ask back at the training room, but how is your arm?" Arch Medical and Erra's Mansion were being projected. Arch Medical? Norne figured that would be the mission she would need to join. After all, she had access to the facility and the morgue, so getting in wouldn't be too much of an issue. She also knew the layout of the building rather well. Arch Medical being one of the main places didn't necessarily surprise Norne. After all, she has spotted Erra in the facility before. "It's probably best I become a part of the group heading to Arch Medical," She said as her attention focused on the missions about to be debriefed. She reached up and tugged her hair out of its ponytail. The tresses slipped down her back and across her shoulders. Small strands stuck to the side of her neck from the sweat still lingering on her skin from the workout.

BennyQ · Nov 28, 2022

Character: Aratone Palladino.
Player/Group: Naomi Richardsen/Kaden Harlow (@Kassia), Norne Irae (@ThatGeckoGirl), Open.
Location: Bridge Apartments/Armory.
Time: Tuesday Morning.

Aratone was back in his room by the time the first rays of dawn peeked through the urban jungle that was Arcadia streets. Slowly the dark places between towering skyscrapers and apartment buildings lit up, with the various signage and neon lightings adjusting to different hues to keep their various advertising visible. Some even with sound, that could be legally played now that the night curfew was lifted. Aratone was never a long sleeper and by the time Naomi was knocking on his door requesting all for a briefing in the Armory, Aratone was already showered and dressed, wearing black dress pants, with a collared white shirt tucked in and an equally black vest atop. Top button undone, sleeves rolled up, no tie or anything, and silver toothpick in his mouth.

He made sure to grab himself a sandwich and a cup of milk before making his way over. After all, after this briefing, he had to go to work in an hour or so. If he had any semblance of a hangover, he concealed it well, the product of some ten years or more of drinking. In the briefing room he found Kaden, Naomi, and Norne already present. Aratone put the plate with his tomato sandwich on one of the displays as he walked up to the screen, ignoring everyone else to get a full view of the upcoming mission. Arch-Medical research. Hybrid creature. Erra’s charity ball. CFO Roger Hannon. Assassination…

Media event…

Norne was already volunteering for the Arch-Medical run. He knew she worked there for some time prior. Naomi seemed amazed by Erra’s mansion to begin with. ”Not really one mansion. Several, in fact. Each floor is like a mansion. Erra owns the entire building. Her and her…ilk.” Aratone explained, straight to business. ”Which is why I’ll be heading to Arch-Medical as well. They know my face there.” He picked up his sandwich and took a bite, pondering some of the details further, before nodding at Kaden. Plus, he didn’t want his face on any camera. Being a good Hunter necessitated a bit of anonymity, he felt like.

”You think of a way in better than smuggling us in as dead bodies for autopsies or are we stuck playing cadavers? Norne here can be the attending. And I know Fiona has some medicine or device that can slow our heartrates down to make it appear as if we’re clinically dead. Once we’re smuggled in, Norne can revive us.” He looked between them for their acknowledgement and possible suggestions on top of this infiltration avenue. Maybe even Norne would know about such a device herself that can be installed atop of his and Kaden’s chest to make it appear as if their hearts were truly dead. But it was only an opening thought, nothing more. Best wait for the rest to trickle in. There would be a lot of overlap between the two missions. He and Kaden had gone over it, but now they were going to open it to the group at large for further input and ideas.

In the meanwhile, he was going to eat his sandwich and drink his milk. A good mission started with a good meal. Then he'll be ready to brief the others in the next stage of their never-ending fight with the vampiric forces of their city.

Kosmik_Khaos · Dec 1, 2022

Character: Nebuchadnezzar
Player/Group: Naomi Richardsen/Kaden Harlow (@Kassia), Norne Irae (@ThatGeckoGirl), Aratone Palladino (@BennyQ ), Maxine (@Fish is yum )
Location: Bridge Apartments/Armory.
Time: Tuesday Morning.

Nebuchadnezzar stood in the center of his mostly empty room statue still. His eyes were open and staring unfocused at the wall slightly to the right of the door. He honestly looked a bit creepy standing there seemingly doing nothing. In truth he was busy at work inside his head. Luckily he kept just enough awareness of his body to hear Naomi knock on the door to summon him to the meeting.

Wrapping up his business he blinked a few times and started to move, breaking the unsettling appearance. "Heard." He called out to the young huntress. He was still in the clothes he wore the night before. He really needed to get to his place to get some clothes, or have some delivered. With a background thought Nebby was ordering himself a few simple outfits to be delivered to the apartment.

Making his way to the Armory he joined the others. "Morning everyone." He greeted the room with a smile and wave. Walking up beside Ara he gazed at the screen. "Hold on. That's the charity event for the Orphanage." With a mental flick Nebuchadnezzar brought up an invitation for the event addressed to himself.

"I've been getting invites to this thing for years. Ever since the Garden got big. I've never went, but I have put in a donation every year. I can have a plus one so that gets two of us in legitimately." Neb turned to face Naomi. "Wanna be my date to the dance?" He joked with her. It was clear she having some kind of conflict going on upstairs after seeing the location of the mission.

Kassia · Dec 2, 2022

Character: Naomi//Kaden
Player/Group: , Norne (@ThatGeckoGirl), Aratone (@BennyQ ), Maxine (@Fish is yum ), Nebuchadnezzar ( @Kosmik_Khaos )
Location: Bridge Apartments//Armory
Time: Tuesday Morning.

As Naomi contemplated the mission, she waved slightly to Norne, who made her way from the training room. Instantly she was preoccupied with Kaden and his arm, and Naomi hoped that his wound would heal quickly, but she couldn't think much more than that at this hour. The A-300 didn't exactly help her inevitable hangover. Truthfully she felt weak, weaker than she had in a very long time as if she had run 100 miles without stopping, and she knew it was because she had overdone it the night before. Naomi had no idea she could even drink with her vampirism, a surprising new development.

"Good morning to you as well, Kade. I didn't get to ask back at the training room, but how is your arm?"

Kaden smiled at Norne tiredly, but he nodded. "Yes, It's fine. Better than ever." He looked over at the wound, which looked red and angry but healing.

"It's probably best I become a part of the group heading to Arch Medical,"

Kaden stared blankly at the screen and then looked at Norne, he couldn't stop her, and she was clearly the best person for this job as she knew her way around Arch Medical. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind-- has she known Estella?"Sounds good."

While Naomi watched Norne curiously, she looked over at the door and saw Aratone holding his cup of milk and food- he didn't look hungover at all, lucky.

Dress clothing this early in the morning? "I feel underdressed," Naomi said, noting her sweatpants and coordinating top. Then slowly, she slid off the counter and leaned against it, figuring he might have something to say about her being up there in the first place; it probably wasn't proper etiquette. She smiled to herself and looked forward at the screen, then Aratone spoke, and Naomi lost all of her thoughts:

"...Which is why I'll be heading to Arch-Medical as well. They know my face there."

What?!

" You think of a way in better than smuggling us in as dead bodies for autopsies, or are we stuck playing cadavers? None here can be attending. And I know Fiona has some medicine or device that can slow our heart rates down to make it appear as if we're clinically dead. Once we're smuggled in, Norne can revive us."

"I agree. That sounds like the best idea for the plan. The fewer people suspect, the best. Jessa will cover both missions' cameras, which will give us an edge. The information is in this tower." He pointed to the screen with a slight wince and highlighted a section of the building in red. "These are the servers. She wants us to use a tether of sorts. Fiona can install that into my arm. I'll upload the data through the tether, and we can book it and unload it back here. These things are ancient, still running on old hardware as physical backups. It might take a minute or two to download it, so we will need to hold off security if they figure out what's happening. I also think that Naomi should head to the mansion. She's the only one who knows Erra at this time based on what Fiona said-- Morning Neb."

Naomi turned her head so quickly she felt dizzy. What?!

No! Aratone and Kaden couldn't leave her to do this mission at the mansion alone; they wouldn't need her for the mission at Arch Medical-- fewer people, the better. How was she going to go to this mansion and execute this mission by herself? Erra scared her. This woman was a force. She had never felt anything like her presence before. The color that was left on Naomi's face had drained, and she swallowed. Her hands which had been placed on the edge of the counter, gripped the metal frame while her nails pressed into the glass. It crunched softly under pressure but did not break.

Naomi was so lost in thought that she hadn't heard Nebuchadnezzar enter the armory and say his kind good morning.

"I've been getting invites to this thing for years. Ever since the Garden got big. I've never gone, but I have donated every year. I can have a plus one, so that gets two of us in legitimately."

All while the rest of the team talked, Naomi felt sick. She wanted to leave the room. She needed to be trained more to handle this.

"Wanna be my date to the dance?"

Naomi looked up, then around, was he talking to her?. Clearly, he wasn't talking to anyone else. She blinked several times and nodded. "Uh... yes! Absolutely." Perfect, she wasn't alone. This was great. Neb knew his way around these people. He could easily handle this situation. She felt a little more confident.

"I-" She looked to Kaden, and Aratone, then down at the ground in thought. She had to muster up some courage now to participate. After all, she was a part of this team. "I could talk to Erra, distract her, maybe? I'm sure she will want to meet me in person, right? I Only saw her in my trials-- so If I were her... I'd want to see who I put my abilities into." Naomi chewed on her lip in pause.

Pushing away from the display case, she moved closer to the screen and pointed to the entrance. "Here... There's this staircase. I delivered mail here once; I dont know why but they brought me inside. There's this massive staircase to the left, and that might be where she will come down when the event starts. I can meet her there, and then Neb can go over here, possibly? "She pointed to another section that appeared to be a ballroom.

"When I was waiting for one of the butlers, I saw that upstairs there are several rooms, downstairs is all of the main rooms like kitchen and restrooms, and also I guess...." She paused to read the description on the screen. "I thought they were offices, but this says guest rooms...guest rooms...I bet thats where that CFO guy is staying! His place is on the outskirts of Arcadia. I remember his name; he always ordered larger packages." Naomi paused and then turned almost excitedly to recalling information that had been before her transformation.

"I waited around for a while. Eventually, the butler came, and I gave them the mail, but there were several visible cameras. I assume some are very well hidden." Naomi felt her nerves get the best of her and then quickly moved back to her place by the display counter.

ThatGeckoGirl · Dec 3, 2022

Character: Norne Irae
Player/Group: Kaden/Naomi (@Kassia ), Aratone (@BennyQ ), Maxine (@Fish is yum ), Nebuchadnezzar ( @Kosmik_Khaos )
Location: Bridge Apartments//Armory
Time: Tuesday Morning

"You and me both," Norne said quietly with a friendly wink towards Naomi when she said she felt underdressed upon Aratone walking in. Like the young vampire, she wasn't really dressed to impress. All she had on was a black sports bra with matching athletic shorts and her running shoes. The engagement ring settled at her upper sternum just beneath her collarbone as always. Her hair was rather unruly since she took it out of the ponytail it had been held in. One of the knuckles on her right hand had torn skin, and there was a slight shine to her skin that alluded to the workout she came from. Now that she wasn't constantly moving and exerting herself, a chill was hitting her bare stomach and making some goosebumps rise up on her arms. Before she could give a pleased retort back to Kaden about his arm's healing, Aratone spoke.

Norne nodded to Aratone saying he would be going to Arch Medical. His reasoning made sense. After all, she had no doubt vampires at Erra's party would potentially recognize her as a Hunter as well. Her Irae name didn't exactly make her inconspicuous in the Hunter community or to vampires. It was perhaps one of the worst consequences of coming from an old and renowned Hunter family. Aratone turning to her about the plan to sneak them into the facility drew a smile from her lips. It seemed he had already discerned her idea for getting them into the building. Using her title as a forensic pathologist to state cadavers were coming in to be stored for future medical student anatomy classes wouldn't be suspicious in the least. It really just came down to ensuring they had the right technology to pull it off. The security guards wouldn't look too closely at "dead" bodies in the body bags being carted in. They'd do a quick scan over them to check for heart beats and a thermal signature, and that was about it. While Norne didn't like the thought of an injection slowing their heart rates to make them appear dead, if that was what they needed to do, then she'd get some epinephrine injections ready to "revive" them back from the stasis of near death.

"You're both stuck playing cadavers," Norne grinned at Aratone and Kaden, "If needed, I can stash some doctor coats in the morgue for you guys to put on to look less suspicious in the building. I can adapt to whatever Fiona best decides to temporarily make you two seem dead. I'll just make a mention to the guards that I have a small shipment off cadavers coming that night. They don't tend to investigate them too closely. There's nothing out of the ordinary about a forensic pathologist receiving and storing cadavers." She had noticed the slight wince Kaden gave in highlighting the tower on the map of Arch Medical. She studied him quietly, trying to discern what could have caused it. Did the building make him uncomfortable? Now that she thought about it, the First Aid room seemed to put him a bit on edge as well simply based upon body language. Norne, of course, had no idea why. It wasn't uncommon for people to be wary of medical offices and facilities. Perhaps he had a bad experience at such a place, or even Arch Medical itself? Regardless of what it was, now wasn't the time to inquire about it. She needed to focus on the mission at hand.

Kaden greeting Neb made Norne look over upon his arrival as well. "Good morning, Nebby," She also greeted him warmly.

She peered at the display of Erra's mansion as conversation became directed towards it. It seemed Naomi was starting to settle more into the group as she spoke about things she knew regarding the mansion and what she could contribute to the mission. Max came in time to listen to this discussion, and Norne offered her a welcoming wave, not wanting to say something and interrupt Naomi as she spoke. However, she stayed quiet. This wasn't her mission. A small wince went through her at Max saying she wasn't bothered with killing someone. It was so weird...to be so calmly talking about the assassination of another human. They were Hunters. To Norne, Hunters were meant to kill vampires, not fellow humans. Not that she could argue with orders from the Guild itself though, even if she didn't agree with them. However, as a Hunter and a medical professional, she dedicated herself to saving human lives - not ending them. It was one of the reasons she wanted to take the Arch Medical mission over the charity event besides her own connections to the facility. Norne wouldn't kill another human unless she had to, like in a case of self-defense. Vampires were different than humans to her. Naomi seemed to have become an exception in Norne's mind, at least for now. That said, if Naomi lost herself and started attacking one of them, Norne knew she wouldn't hesitate to put her down. It was a rather disturbing thought since she really did like the other girl. Naomi seemed like a nice and sweet young woman. Still. She was a vampire. If vampires go rabid, then they needed to be taken care of.

"In Arch Medical, I can be the one to keep watch. It'll be easier for me to buy you two time to get the information downloaded. I want to make it as smooth as possible. Hopefully we won't need to resort to any violence to complete the mission," Norne sighed lightly.

"If you're nauseous, try ginger tea. It'll help the hangover," Norne murmured to Naomi with an empathetic look. The other girl looked to be struggling. Last night had likely been the first time she had been drunk - or at the very least as drunk as she had been.

BennyQ · Dec 5, 2022

Character: Aratone Palladino.
Player/Group: Naomi Richardsen/Kaden Harlow (@Kassia), Norne Irae (@ThatGeckoGirl), Maxine Conners (@Fish is yum), Nebuchadnezzar (@Kosmik_Khaos).
Location: Bridge Apartments/Armory.
Time: Tuesday Morning.

Over the next few moments, the others slowly trickled in, the core of their group soon located within the Armory currently serving as a briefing room. With a few revelations and volunteering, they were soon split into two teams with separate but linked objectives. Norne would bring Kaden and Aratone into Arch-Medical, while Nebuchadnezzar would leverage his connections and invitation to bring himself, Naomi, and Maxine into Erra’s lair. There, to find and eliminate the CFO, Roger Hannon, who was leading Arch Medical in some very unethical yet powerful research that could change the landscape of Arcadia and the dynamic between human and vampire.

Naomi had been there before, which was new to Aratone, and probably Kaden as well. She had been that close to Erra? Why hadn’t she said anything before? He wondered if that closeness even as a simple messenger had been reason enough for someone in Erra’s court to turn her. They just couldn’t control their inhibitions, these blood-suckers, no matter how close or distant one was from them. And that applied to Naomi too right? Aratone had chosen to give her an opportunity and chance to prove herself, that her humanity could prevail over this affliction. Sending her right into the heart of vampiredom in Arcadia would be a test, no doubt. But he was sure with veterans like Maxine and Nebuchadnezzar at her side, Naomi could pull through. He hoped.

”Are we not allowed to wear the clothes we’re found dead in?” Aratone winced, unsure of the process. What happened in a morgue? Well, they stripped ya, and if one was lucky, they might get a gown, but he and Kaden were probably going to be stuck naked in some cold ass body bags. And that’s what he was most uncomfortable with in regards the mission? Never mind the building crawling with guards and armed security, even if it was after curfew and all. They would have a very tight and narrow window of opportunity to hack into the files and get what they could before overwhelming strength descended upon them. Worse, they would probably be fighting with other humans. He didn’t know what could be worse, killing his own kind that he was sworn to protect or going right into the lair of the beast surrounded by dozens of vicious, blood thirsty vampires.

”Norne brings up an important point. Timing.” Aratone said, moving to include everyone in the discussion now. ”First thing first though is getting eyes and ears inside both buildings. Each run on their own independent security systems, a closed-circuit feed, with mainframes and terminals on site to monitor. Trying to externally hack could draw too much attention and give them a spook, causing a lockdown of sensitive material. And people. So we’ll have to tap into those feeds. First objective after entry for both teams is planting a program into the system that will allow remote access, letting Jessa observe and communicate from home base. More importantly, will allow the two separate teams to communicate with each other, through an encrypted channel she can set up for us. I’m sure there’s a lot of traffic moving between both locations so we should be able to hide ours for the mission duration.” At closer inspection, Erra’s security specialists or AM’s specialists might be able to pick it out as an anomaly, but hopefully they’d be long gone by then.

”Secondly,” he continued on, ”is the timing of the kill. We can’t access the sensitive data at Arch Medical without some sort of clearance from Hannon, the CFO. Once you,” he turned to Maxine and drew a line across his throat to nonverbally reference her desired role in offing the bastard, ”you need to get a blood sample and transmit it to Jessa. I’m sure she has some sort of special transmitter that can map out DNA from a blood sample. She can copy over the unique protein spikes in his DNA to get us temporary clearance access over at Arch Medical, to break in and download the data. That’s where we’ll need precise timing, because the longer either of us are in each building, the greater the danger and risk of discovery grows. Once each team accomplishes this, they need to bug out as soon as fuckin’ possible. The moment they’re on to us, they’ll bring all the power they got to stop us. A prolonged battle in either location is just going to increase the odds of drastic failure. Y’all got it?”

He looked at each face in turn, resting a moment longer on Naomi. Who wanted to go up against Erra as a form of distraction? That was heated. She was a centuries old vampire with tremendous abilities and intelligence. Naomi was a nineteen year old girl that almost pissed herself last night in a gunfight. Any gambler worth their salt would know who the odds would be enticed to. Luckily, Aratone liked underdogs.

He averted his eyes and gazed back at the group. ”Any questions? The ball is this coming Friday, so we got some days to prepare and scope out the area. I’ll be cabbing around both areas, get a feel for the locations, spot out any vantage points, hidden cameras, possible weaknesses.” He shrugged, opening the room up to input and suggestions for this plan they’d been perfecting over the last few weeks.

Kosmik_Khaos · Dec 7, 2022

Character: Nebuchadnezzar
Player/Group: Naomi Richardsen/Kaden Harlow (@Kassia), Norne Irae (@ThatGeckoGirl), Aratone Palladino (@BennyQ ), Maxine (@Fish is yum ) Jessa (NPC)
Location: Bridge Apartments/Armory.
Time: Tuesday Morning.

Nebuchadnezzar smiled at the eager response he got from Naomi. It wasn't hard to pick up on her nervousness so seeing her ease up even a bit was nice. He caught the hesitation and saw the glance to the two other senior hunters noting the reason for her hesitation. Before he could offer up a word of encouragement for the young woman to speak her mind she did just that, pushing away from the display case and laying out her plan. It was ambitious and would put her directly in harms way, but as hunters it was literally in their blood to put themselves in harms way on a nightly basis.

"I like it. You can get eyes on Erra and keep her occupied. I will work the room and see if there isn't anything useful being talked about. I'll also be able to keep eyes on our baby bird here." He nodded his head towards Naomi. "Now for Max here, why don't we toss you into a monkey suit and get you onto the event staff? That will be an in to the party and you will have reason to not be with the rest of the party goers. You will be practically invisible to most of the people there. They don't look at staff as real people. If you do get caught in an area you are not supposed to be in you can just lie and say you were hired for the event and are lost in the huge place. Ask for directions back and we can do the best to recover from there." He tossed the idea out for everyone, mostly Max to chew on. Looking at the black and red eyed hunter he could see her rocking a tux.

The two points brought up were very good ones indeed. He needed to meet Jessa first, but he had a small idea forming in the back of his mind. He didn't want to bring it to the table quiet yet until he knew it was something that could even be done. At Ara's question Neb grinned and shook his head. "Not any for you, I do need to go see Jessa though." With that he dismissed himself from the meeting. Walking to the door he paused and looked back to Naomi. "Good job on finding your voice baby bird." He whispered the words at her, knowing that unless Max had augmented hearing, only Naomi would hear him. Yeah she got nervous at the end and had started to fold back in on herself, but for a minute there she had found her stride and she deserved to be recognized for that.

Leaving the room without waiting to see or hear her reaction he went to Jessa's office and knocked on the door. He could have walked right in, or contacted her via the net, or even hacked her phone and taken over the speaker but he felt this was going to need a face to face meeting.

Kassia · Dec 7, 2022

Character: Naomi//Kaden//NPC jessa
Player/Group: Norne (@ThatGeckoGirl), Aratone (@BennyQ ), Maxine (@Fish is yum ), Nebuchadnezzar ( @Kosmik_Khaos )
Location: Bridge Apartments--> Jessa's office //Armory--> Training room & First Aid
Time: Tuesday Morning.

Kaden was quiet while everyone talked; he had crossed one arm over his chest and set his cheek in the other, which was propped up while he listened. Everyone seemed well-versed in what was going on and what would happen with the two missions. So instead of shooting ideas down, he just listened, periodically glancing over at Norne as she let her hair down and adjusted her place next to him. The air causing her skin to prickle was distracting-- she needed a jacket. He noted her hand and grimaced. What was it with the women in this Guild not using proper protection for their extremities? It took nearly all of his being not becoming preoccupied and grabbing some gauze to wrap her hand. He knew that was just the trainer in him, though he cared for everyone the same way at his training facility. At least... He hoped that was the case. He didn't have time to start anything with her. He was too busy. Though this did make him think-- what was he too busy with? Laying awake at night, thinking about his wife and his guilt... dammit, it was one car ride home and a few stitches! He looked away.

"In Arch Medical, I can be the one to keep watch. It'll be easier for me to buy you two times to download the information. I want to make it as smooth as possible. Hopefully we won't need to resort to violence to complete the mission."

Kaden's interest peeked--she was placing herself in a predicament. If someone found that she was watching the footage, it was possible they would apprehend her. He tried to keep himself in his own spot, however. He had gotten in the way of another hunter's fight before, and it ended poorly. "The less violence, the better." He nodded, glancing at her features as she talked, then looked to Aratone, who spoke next.

" First thing first though is getting eyes and ears inside both buildings. Each run on their own independent security systems, a closed-circuit feed, with mainframes and terminals on-site to monitor. Trying to externally hack could draw too much attention and give them a spook, causing a lockdown of sensitive material. And people. So we'll have to tap into those feeds. "

Kaden nodded, "I can call the Guild and have them send in a few hunters undercover. That way, we don't risk getting caught."

"First objective after entry for both teams is planting a program into the system that will allow remote access, letting Jessa observe and communicate from home base. More importantly, will allow the two separate teams to communicate with each other, through an encrypted channel she can set up for us. I'm sure there's a lot of traffic moving between both locations so we should be able to hide ours for the mission duration."

Kaden thought to himself and nodded. He hoped that before all of this was noticeable on the camera footage, they were gone and on their way back to the apartment. While Aratone spoke to Maxine briefly, Kade turned to Norne and quietly asked, "do you have everything you need to get in? While calling the Guild, I can request additional materials for you."

Kaden paused as he heard Naomi talk. His eyes went to the map, then to her, and back to the map on the screen. She knew more than he suspected in her short 19 years. Then he wondered what it must have been like standing in the grand ballroom of Erra's mansion. He felt a shiver run up his spine and then straightened his body. Having her distract Erra while Max and Neb worked the room was a good idea."

"We'll need a bug. One Naomi can wear on her... uh, outfit. It's possible that Erra could spill some information about AM tech while Neb and max are working for the crowd. She can plant it in a discreet location, and while we are here, we can tune in while someone else watches the footage for the CFO. You'll need... and I can't stress this enough, to be discreet. We do not want this to be all over the news. We do not want the hunters in a worse light. I don't know what, but make it look like he died naturally, if you can. Put it in his drink or something. Then get out as soon as possible. Please..." He paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do not draw attention to yourselves."

Kaden didn't look to anyone else except Aratone, a sense of worry for their shields in the room who enjoyed firepower and the small and fragile vamp who trembled at the sound of it. Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and Kaden clapped his hands together as if he had read his mind.

"Now for Max here, why don't we toss you into a monkey suit and get you onto the event staff? That will be an into the party, and you will have reason not to be with the rest of the goers. You will be practically invisible to most of the people there. They don't look at staff as real people. If you get caught in an area you are not supposed to be in, you can lie and say you were hired for the event and are lost in the huge place. Ask for directions back and we can do the best to recover from there."

"Yes! That works. Perfect." Everything was coming together, and for that, Kaden was grateful; he waved as Neb left the room to see Jessa and then pressed into his temple to bring up his neural link to call the Guild. "I think we are good here. I'll transcribe the notes and send them to your 'links."

"Good job on finding your voice baby bird."

Just as Naomi was listing to Aratone's plans to drive around the city looking for vantage points, something she felt might be good practice for herself, she felt her ear twitch and looked to where Nebuchadnezzar spoke. He was clear on the other side of the room, whispering. She could hear him as clear as day. Naomi blinked for a moment, then smiled. Was this something new? Everyone had been in close proximity to her until now, and she could tune in to a whisper directly at her. Amazing!

The group was disbanding slowly; Kaden was talking to the Guild on one side of the room while typing on a holographic keyboard connected to one of the display cases, the words reflected on the screen he had presented on. Naomi slowly bit the inside of her cheek, unsure what to do. Aratone would be leaving soon to head out to work, and she had left her job as a mail carrier because she couldn't be in the sun. She now had too much time on her hands.

Then, Naomi looked over at Norne and nervously approached. What could she say hey, I see your hand. Do you wanna spar with me? Would she even want to be in that same room with the vampire? Naomi wondered if she should backtrack and ask if Aratone needed company--was she doing enough to put herself out there to show she wanted this training? That she didn't want to drag the group down any more than she had? She was just grateful that Kaden had been somewhat forced to teach her what he had. But she knew she had to branch out and put herself out there, carve a place in this team.

"I...Hi." The vampire smiled. "I wanted to ask you if you had any free time... Maybe you'd be willing to show me a few things in the training room.. at least until Ara gets back. Kaden taught me some things a while back-- mostly with boxing and found objects. But I haven't had a chance to actually train. If you're too busy, I understand. If you aren't, though... I'll be there in an hour!"

She gave a kind smile and moved away from the room. Fiona had sent her a call requesting her presence, and Naomi needed clarification on what it was about. She gave a shy wave to Norne and then hurried out of the room.

Fiona met Naomi in her room while she held several large garment bags over her arms. Once inside Naomi's bedroom, she laid them out on her bed.

"I see you're going to the mansion, I know you don't have a whole lot, so I picked a few pieces from my own collection. I wasn't too sure what your style was... well, before all of this.." Fiona gave an apologetic smile and crossed her arms after unzipping the bags and laying out the outfits.

The first dress was a low-cut blue gown; it puddled on the floor when Fiona held it up to Naomi's small frame. While there were sleeves, the arms were slit up the side to give a flyaway effect, and the midsection was exposed lace. Naomi liked it, but it was clearly something meant for Fiona. Far too elegant for the little hunter.

The second dress had a sweetheart neckline and similar sleeves that were slit up to the shoulders, but this version was pure black, and just from looking at it, Naomi knew that it was skin-tight. She glanced over at Fiona, who wore a short, similar dress, and then back. No, definitely not.

The third and last option caught Naomi's attention; she noticed it was in two pieces. Tighter pointe pants that were attached to a bustier and a sheer black jacket that held structure and reached her ankles. Looking around the room, she paused and nearly dove into her closet to pull out a pair of knee-high boots. Again with a secret compartment for a blade. Fiona knew her mind was settled and started packing away the other two options.

"Belt the jacket tight, wear your hair down straight, and you'll do fine, honey." Kissing Naomi's cheek, Fiona threw the other 2 dresses over her arms and hurried out and back to her own room to drop the dress off and meet Kaden in the First Aid room to install the black market tether Jessa had procured.

Carefully packing away the feminine-looking suit, Naomi hung it in her closet and pulled her hair onto the top of her head as she headed out of the bedroom and to the training room upstairs.
Meanwhile, Jessa was drawing out the last cigarette when she ended a call with Fiona regarding Kaden's tether. She explained that it was a black market device and may come with complications, specifically erratic jerking, nausea, and muscle pain in his shoulder where his mechanical arm and synth skin were installed. Once there was understanding, the two ended their call, and Jessa opened up her pack of cigarettes with a sigh; she was out. Just as she got up, she heard a knock on the door. Such was life.

"Ah, Nebby, my friend. It's been a while. How's the cat and business? You're livin' in my tower now, huh? Must be a change." Searching through a few desk drawers, she finally found another pack of cigarettes and sighed in relief.

"Got a big mission for you guys. I think Kade said he was debriefing today. What brings you to my little slice of hell, superstar?" She plopped back down into her chair, and it creaked while one set of her two sets of arms crossed just under her bust. Smoak billowed into the air creating a hazy atmosphere, but she didn't see that anymore, she saw this man in front of her, and he clearly had something to say or report. "Smoke?"

ThatGeckoGirl · Dec 8, 2022

Character: Norne Irae
Player/Group: Aratone (@BennyQ ), Maxine (@Fish is yum ), Nebuchadnezzar ( @Kosmik_Khaos ), Kaden/Naomi (@Kassia )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Armory -> Training Room
Time: Tuesday Morning

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Do you have everything you need to get in? While calling the Guild, I can request additional materials for you."

Norne gave a small tilt to her head in thought at Kaden's offer, "I should be set regarding access to the building. But, if you could request that they create false papers authorizing the shipment of two cadavers to the Arch Medical morgue, that would help cover our bases in case things don't go smoothly." If the death of the CEO of Arch Medical was discovered to have been assassinated the same day two cadavers were accepted into the morgue without an authorizing "paper trail," it would look really suspicious. That suspicion would first and foremost be directed at her since she would be the one accepting in the cadavers. Through her, things could start to become uncovered regarding Hunters, and everything would turn into a large mess. However, if there was paperwork that signed off on shipping two cadavers, then no out would blink an eye at it. After all, it was common for cadavers to be sent to Arch Medical due to the facility's medical school. The paperwork was just a good measure - a safety net to keep them protected from investigation linking stolen information and an assassination.

A light smile curved on Norne's lips as she met Kaden's eyes. "Thank you," She said to him genuinely. For a few passing moments, her eyes lingered on him. It was odd...there were so many things she found that she wondered about him. These things weren't really any of her business, and yet they occupied her thoughts even while in the middle of the debriefing. She wanted to know why he thought it was a waste for him to be relieved from pain, what the ring around his finger meant to him, why he seemed so tense in regard to medical facilities....Norne quickly averted her eyes from him. It was just general curiosity towards someone she had treated. That's what it must be. Right? It had to be. Her lingering gaze was just about the wounds inspecting the wounds she had treated.

"Hm?" Norne hummed out, blinking out from the depths of her mind and looking to Naomi upon the girl's "hi." She very rarely found herself so lost in thought that she wasn't paying attention to what was around her. She had been trained to be observant. Yet Naomi had caught her off-guard just from approaching? She needed to pull herself together.

Training. A small rush of excitement ran through Norne. It had been a while since she had last trained with anyone. In fact, it had been with her younger brother, Jonah. They weren't on good terms, and all of their sparring matches ended in her brother being bitter. Norne didn't blame him for his animosity regarding it. When they were growing up, her parents hadn't accepted her to hold back against him. The Irae family, they said, didn't have any room for weakness. This resulted in her beating him relatively bad in their matches. While her parents praised her abilities, the hatred-filled gaze of her brother made those compliments fall on deaf ears. She detested how they had been pitted against each other, and especially hated how they treated her brother. Any attempt on her part to hold back was met with anger from her parents and, eventually, her brother who then took it as an insult to his own abilities. It was a no-win situation for her. To actually train someone and aid them rather than break them down sounded...great to her, actually. "Yeah, sounds good! I'll see you then," Norne said nonchalantly.

As everyone left and Kade went on a call with the Guild, Norne made her way to the First Aid. There, she wrapped up her torn knuckle. While she didn't think it would be reinjured in training with Naomi, it was better to be safe than sorry. From there, she returned to the Training Room. There, she just started doing some simple stretches as she waited for Naomi. She was already warmed up and limber from her work out that morning. She took this time to consider what exactly she could teach Naomi that was unique. The last thing she wanted to do was try and teach Naomi the same things she has already learned from Ara and Kade. So, what could she bring to the table to enrich Naomi's learning, and would it be applicable against other vampires? To think that an Irae would be teaching a vampire...she never would have guess to be in a situation like this. As she stretched forwards, an idea came to mind. Over the years, she has learned a large number of martial arts. She has since combined some with her anatomical knowledge into her own kind of fighting style. Why not teach her a bit of how to use that expertise?

"Hey Naomi!" Norne called out when Naomi entered the Training Room. She hopped up and bounced a little on the balls of her feet. "Okay! I was thinking about what I can teach you that would be helpful. As a fellow Hunter, you need to know how to defend yourself against vampires and also how to fight them yourself. The good thing is, as a vampire yourself, you aren't at much of a disadvantage. That means you can use some typical combat skills. Hopefully you won't have to fight other Hunters, but if you do, these skills can help you defend yourself against them too. A vampire's greatest weakness is the fact that they were once human, and that's what I'm going to be teaching you - the weakness of the human body. In other words, pressure points and manipulating the body with twists that restrict movement. I was thinking you can come at me in an attack, and I can show you a move that counters it. Then, I can slow it down, show you how I did it, and we can go over it. Or, if you would prefer, we can just do fight after fight and I can give you pointers. It's your choice - however you learn best is what we'll do."

Norne paused for a moment before getting into a ready position. She raised her hands defensively and shifted her feet to a balanced spread of being shoulder width. "Attack me. You can use your vampiric speed or remain in a human speed," She instructed, a faint smile curving on her lips.

The small "skirmish" would be over in seconds. Norne moved with swift efficiency, easily reading Naomi's body movement through the tension of her muscles. Naomi's dominant arm would be deflected before sharply twisted back as Norne gripped her wrist and forearm, pressing her fingers into a pressure point there, as she tugged behind Naomi. Unless she wanted to break or pop her shoulder out of place, the position would force her body in a position that would avoid taking damage. A sharp hit to the outside of Naomi's leg with her knee would topple it instantly from the pressure point being hit and making the knee buckle. Then, a quick jab of Norne's pointer and middle finger would hit just to the side of her left shoulder blade. This all happened in under 10 seconds - like a blur that occurred before it could be adequately registered.

"Dead. My sword would have hit your heart here," Norne announced as she released Naomi's arm. She came back around to Naomi's front, tapping a specific spot to the outside of her own thigh. "A hard hit here will buckle the leg. Mixed with locking the arm with a twist to take away movement, you can take down an enemy with little resistance unless they want to injure themself," She explained, offering her hand to Naomi to help her up, "Want to learn more?"

Kassia · Dec 8, 2022

Character: Naomi
Player/Group: Norne (@ThatGeckoGirl), Aratone (@BennyQ )
Location: Bridge Apartments--> Training Room
Time: Tuesday Morning.

Kaden had stressed that stretching was critically important to any sparing match. And Fortunately, despite Naomi being somewhat combative with her comebacks to some of the hunters, she did listen and put her teachings into play. As she sat in the middle of the floor and rolled her head and shoulders, she saw Norne and slowly stood. The young woman was ready, wrapping her hand and speaking knowledgeably about pressure points and body manipulation. Naomi nodded slightly every few sentences and watched her cautiously. They stood roughly the same height, so she knew this would be beneficial for her training today.

Still somewhat new and awkward in her stance, she positioned her feet and arms in the way she had been taught and created a slightly sloppy fighting stance, though she did try to tighten it up before Norne launched into quick movements. Truthfully, Naomi was fearful of utilizing her vampiric powers, she had no idea the strength she had, and she had noticed this when she felt her nails press into the display case back in the armory. she could seriously hurt Norne, which would result in the others hating her-- definitely not something she wanted.

Throwing her right arm was a mistake; Norne was quick to grab it, seemingly dance behind her, and hold her in a compromising position. This made it easy for her to fall to her knees when she was swept. With a gasp, she hit the mat. Naomi was surprised. She blinked a few times and then felt where Norne pressed into her shoulder.

"Dead. My sword would have hit your heart here,"

Noted.

Naomie didn't want to be "dead." She wanted to win, and this was unacceptable. Unsteadily moving to her feet, she shook out her limbs and jumped on each foot slightly to work out her body, then paused to crouch down while Norne showed a pressure point on her thigh.

"A hard hit here will buckle the leg. Mixed with locking the arm with a twist to take away movement, you can take down an enemy with little resistance unless they can to injure themself."

Naomi watched as Norne tapped her own thigh. She nodded understanding and then tapped her lips in thought.

Norne was a trained fighter, and she could clearly hold her own. "I want..." Naomi paused, then stood back up, trying to articulate her words. " I want to channel what I have and be more... controlled. I worry that I'll give into that vampiric rage that you see creators have, and then it will cause more damage. I'm small like you, so I want to get in and out of situations easily. Right now, I feel like a clunky... brick, I guess. I want to be more like a polished stone-- if that makes sense." Placing her hands on her hips, she looked at the woman and then away. " I've seen some of these other hunters... flip people-- they take an arm, their back rolls over the enemies, and then they throw them. I think with my strength...I could do that. But how do I do that? Where do I grab? Could I use that pressure point or the leg sweep as well? What would that look like."

ThatGeckoGirl · Dec 8, 2022

Character: Norne Irae
Player/Group: Naomi (@Kassia )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Training Room
Time: Tuesday Morning

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Naomi wants to learn...how to flip people? Norne blinked at the request and stared at her for a second. "Flips are mostly impractical and just for show..." Norne began before a slow smile spread across her lips, "but I guess they're fun. I'll show you two different ones." It reminded her of her brother. He was a showy fighter. She wasn't. She was a practical and direct fighter - caring more about swift and deadly efficiency. However, she didn't want to dash Naomi's dreams of learning these sorts of fighting moves when she was interested. That said, there was only one flip Norne thought was worth knowing, but since Naomi wanted to learn the fun one of grabbing someone's arm and tossing them, she'd show that too.

"I actually find this one handy if you're in a close quarters fight," Norne began, turning her back to Naomi, "Wrap your arms around me like you're grappling me. One arm around my neck, and the other my waist." If Naomi was to do this, Norne would pause for a second. She didn't actually want to hurt Naomi here. "So the point of the arm around the neck here is to squeeze the carotid artery and cut off blood flow to the brain. In this situation, you actually use this arm to roll them over your back and flip them in front of you. First, however, you have to break the grip of the arm around the abdomen. There are two ways to do this. You can smash your knuckles into the top of the hand, which causes sharp pain that will break their grip. The instinct is for them to pull their hand and arm back. The other way is to slam your elbow back into their side - ribs or kidney work. Then, straighten up, grip their arm, and use your core muscles to come forward and flip them over you. Keep your hips stabilized, or it won't work. Like this," Norne spoke calmly. The moment she said 'like this' her elbow slammed back into Naomi's side, she gripped her arm, then ducked forwards with a startling amount of strength. Naomi would be quickly flipped over her shoulder and land on her back hard on the ground in front of Norne. Norne would hold her hand out for Naomi to take again and help her up.

"I hope that didn't hurt too much. With someone taller and bigger than you, jumping up a little and using gravity to help roll them over your back will help...though with your vampiric strength, it probably won't be an issue. The one you were thinking of is a bit less practical, but it's fun. It's the same flip, just a different starting position. So, with this one, we're face to face," Norne spoke, moving closer to Naomi, "You can go about this if you are able to dodge a heavy punch, or can otherwise grab an arm. You will grab the wrist and forearm and hold tight, turn and push back against their hips. Keep your own hips stabilized as you then duck forward, using their arm to flip them over your back."

Under Naomi's consent, Norne would then showcase this herself in an extremely quick movement. She'd grab Naomi's forearm and tug her forwards at the same time she turned her back. Naomi would be rocked up onto Norne's back and just as quickly flipped over her shoulder, once again hitting the ground hard on her back. Norne crouched down with Naomi's falling, and she lightly poked her forehead. "And this would be a quick kill. If I did this to a vampire, I'd shove my sword into their heart the moment they hit the ground. The impact still stuns vampires, and it's just long enough for a killing blow," She explained before giving an apologetic smile, "Sorry, you okay? If you want, you can try it on me. I've been told that I'm a bit of an intense person to train with."

Kassia · Dec 8, 2022

Character: Naomi
Player/Group: Norne (@ThatGeckoGirl)
Location: Bridge Apartments--> Training Room
Time: Tuesday Morning.

Naomi knew flipping people was impractical, but she wanted to learn to mold it into her own eventual fighting technique. She appreciated that Norne was willing to show her regardless, and she felt herself loosening up slightly.

Naomi did as instructed; she wrapped her arm around Norne's waist and the other around her neck. She had to stand on her tiptoes but ensured a tight grip. She was hesitant because she knew any tighter and she could crush this woman. Naomi listened intently, pressing her lips together nervously as she waited, then she felt knuckles against her hand, It hurt a lot, but she didn't want to pull away because she knew that was the main goal. Then she felt Norne's elbow in her side. Immediately she relaxed her grip-- her side was tender from the fighting the night before and the fresh tattoo on her torso, but she knew this was only residual phantom pain. Using her core, Norne grabbed Naomi's arm, slowly pulled her over her shoulder, and flipped her onto the mat.

Naomi stared up at her. While it was slower to show the steps, it was still relatively quick, and she giggled. Her arms wrapped around her stomach, and she held herself tight as if trying to compose herself. "Ow-" she laughed and pulled her legs up. With her new dead weight, she hit the ground harder than expected, causing the sound to echo in the room. "Okay, okay." She said, sitting up and moving back to her feet, retaining the smile. " Again!"

When was the last time she had laughed this hard? There was a blissful feeling in it, she was having fun, and she took that as a positive. There was a lot that Naomi could do if she were put in a position where she was nearly immobile, and this helped her sort through how she would better help others while managing herself. Norne was quick to repeat the step, which was faster, and more fluid, and left Naomi groggy while she lay on the mat. Norne then pointed to her chest, where her blade would have instantly killed her. She nodded thoughtfully; she would tuck that bit of knowledge away.

"Sorry, you okay? If you want, you can try it on me. I've been told that I'm a bit of an intense person to train with."

"I'm okay," Naomi said with her smile, then it faded into worry. She was going to do this. She had to learn. Naomi wanted to practice, but she needed to figure out how to do this without hurting Norne, which seemed to permeate her nerves at the moment. Then as she stood, she composed herself.

As Norne positioned herself, Naomi swallowed. To ensure she understood what had been taught, she recited the steps out loud.

She avoided smashing Norne's knuckles for this session. But she did make the motion as if she had, "... um, pretend I broke your grip. I think I might crush your hand." She said worriedly. Then she brought her elbow back gently. "... Slam elbow into the side." Pulling Norne's arm from her neck gingerly, she straightened it, "Pull arm straight... Use core and..." She bit into her lip and, as gently as she could, flipped Norne over her shoulder onto the mat. It could have been a better flip, and Naomi felt a little unsteady doing it at such a slow pace. But she felt somewhat satisfied with the results. The important thing was that she had the basics of the move down.

Preparing herself, she knew she would need to do this for real. Norne had real training; she had probably been flipped more times than she could count and could hold her own. Naomi had to remember that. So as they returned to their position, she slammed her knuckles down on Nornes, jabbed her side, straightened her arm, and flipped the hunter over her shoulder with surprising ease. The control in her body made her feel tight, and she felt like she could vibrate from how tense she had been. She hadn't hit Norne hard enough to break a bone, but she had used considerable force to break the skin. "Oh no!" Naomi gasped, looking down at her bloody hand. "Let me get a rag! I'm sorry!"

ThatGeckoGirl · Dec 8, 2022

Character: Norne Irae
Player/Group: Naomi (@Kassia )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Training Room
Time: Tuesday Morning

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This had to be the first time someone has laughed while Norne was training with them. She hadn't been able to help it. A smile broke out across her own face at Naomi's laughter. It seemed like she was having fun despite being the one who had been getting flipped. She was used to being glared at and hated after these sorts of things. Laughter was the last thing she had expected, but it was such a nice surprise. In a way, it even put Norne at ease. She was finally doing this right. This was how training should be. Not some kind of intense competition. She allowed Naomi to practice on her more than happily. She's been flipped plenty of times before, so this wasn't a big deal. The slow flip was a good start. It was allowing Naomi to feel the motions and get the idea of what it felt like. "Good job," Norne said to her as her back hit the mat. She didn't request that Naomi go faster, instead wanting the girl to find her own pace. When Norne stood back up for Naomi to practice, she wrapped her arms around the other girl from behind and braced herself to be hit and flipped.

The initial hit against her hand made Norne grit her teeth to keep from a small yelp of pain. Naomi was fast as her elbow slammed into her side next. Before she knew it, Norne's breath pushed out from her chest as her back hit the mat. It was a good flip...but Naomi had definitely hit her hand too hard. "It's okay, I've taken harder hits before," Norne said as she sat up from the mat and glanced down at her hand. This was the same one she had injured earlier. The wrap around her knuckles were already starting to soak up the blood from the wounds on the back of her hand. She wiggled her fingers a little, satisfied with the movement. Nothing was broken. It was just superficial wounds. "Don't worry about it, okay? We're doing stuff like this to help you learn how to control that strength of yours too. I'm a tough girl," Norne winked over at Naomi, wanting to put her at ease just before she ran off to get a rag. Once Naomi was out of sight, she allowed herself to wince from the aching pain.

Norne inspected the wounds on the back of her hand as Norne ran off. They probably wouldn't bleed for too long, but it would be best to take the wrap she already had and include these new injuries. As she planned, she unwrapped her knuckles, then rewrapped it around her hand to include the back of her hand up to her knuckles. Her blood was staining the bandages, but it should be fine...so long as Naomi would be okay around her blood. Norne crossed her legs as she sat on the mat, ensuring to keep her hand a little elevated and that none of her blood was dripping anywhere. Would Naomi be okay? Norne bit at her lower lip with some unease. The other girl was a new vampire. How was she around fresh blood? She couldn't help the small jolt of concern that began to rush through her. She did her best to swallow it down. Naomi was one of them, vampire or not. She needed to put faith in her, and Naomi needed combat training. Her own bias against vampires couldn't get in the way of properly preparing the newest Hunter among them.

"We can still practice if you'd like to," Norne would speak up quickly when Naomi returned, "That was a really good flip!"

Kassia · Dec 8, 2022

Character: Naomi
Player/Group: Norne (@ThatGeckoGirl)
Location: Bridge Apartments--> Training Room
Time: Tuesday Morning.

Naomi hurried off and into the available kitchen on the second floor. She took a dishrag off the oven handlebar and soaked it in water from the faucet. Truthfully the moment Norne's skin broke on her knuckles again. The smell flooded Naomi's senses, she felt her body warm, and her muscles ceased to ache. She could feel the electricity coursing through her. Before, she had kept it under wraps before in the First Aid Station the night before when Fiona was treating everyone, but now two days in a row made it harder for her to control her cravings. Naomi knew she could quickly drain energy from Norne, but it felt like the cheapest way out. She wanted her to be alert and ready to fight; that was what this whole thing was about. Naomi would have to stave off her craving some other way later.

Bringing back the rag, she held it out to Norne with a smile, her fangs slightly visible from under her upper lip and her eyes a deep shade of burgundy, but she was composted, not reeling like a feral.

"I'd like to try some basic hand-to-hand moves, maybe.. uppercuts, straights, and hooks? I struggle there, I don't think my form is right, and when I go for the hook, I can feel my side... ripping? I don't think thats right. My elbow pops when I do a straight." She furrowed her brows, trying to remember how it felt when she would spar by herself in her room. There was no discipline there like there had been when Kaden had taught her, so she had no one to inspect her form when she was alone and out of the way. One thing she did remember was how to wrap her hands; She practiced for two hours when she first arrived at the apartment to keep her mind off the chatter in the other rooms about her presence.

Briskly, she walked over to a small cabinet, pulled out the wrap, and started on that first. This was turning out better than she had expected. She hoped that Norne also felt the same, given Naomi's abrupt request. She could see her nails growing and felt a wave of frustration mixed with euphoria.

With her nails growing, she made the quick decision to use the punching bag in the room, and she knew this would be better as she genuinely didn't want to hurt her instructor.

Naomi landed her first jab into the bag, which shook, but she felt the pull in her shoulder and adjusted her footing. "No, thats not right." She whispered and turned her hip a few times, trying to remember what she had learned, hit the bag again, and growled. She tried a hook instead, pushed forward, used her left arm to protect her face, and then swung her arm back with control and hit the bag. "No... I still feel the pull." She concluded, watching the bag swing. Then she focused on the loud scraping of the chains holding it to the frame, the beating heart of Norne, and the smell of iron. It was then she punched the bag so hard with her right fist that it swung off the hook and landed on the ground with a thud. "Dammit," she said as she moved around it to pick it up with little struggle and tried to reattach it to the hook. After grabbing a chair from the First aid station, she reached for the hook with the chains and reattached it. Internally a storm was brewing even if her body didn't seem to match that emotion.

ThatGeckoGirl · Dec 8, 2022

Character: Norne Irae
Player/Group: Naomi (@Kassia )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Training Room
Time: Tuesday Morning

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Tension flooded into Norne's body as she took the rag offered to her. Naomi's eyes were red, and her fangs poking at her bottom lip. Her sword wasn't with her here. She pressed the wet rag against her hand as her heart began to slam against her ribs. She could hear it in her ears as the adrenaline started. Norne did her best to calm herself, but she knew Naomi was being affected by her blood. That gave the higher possibility of Naomi losing her senses and attacking her. Norne was a great fighter, but hand to hand combat against a vampire when she had zero alterations was a death sentence. She might put up a fight, but Naomi was astronomically faster and stronger than her. Norne didn't want to set Naomi off. She needed to go about things cautiously.

"Alright, I'll be happy to aid and correct your form then," Norne said in an even tone to give off a calm impression. She hung just to the side, eyeing Naomi's growing nails as she wrapped her hands. Subconsciously, she was eyeing the training room for a potential weapon if things went south. She was quiet as she watched Naomi, peering at her form to tweak and give pointers to. That was when, however, Naomi punched the bag so hard it flew off the chain. It wasn't unlike what Norne did earlier to a grounded punching bag. She had knocked it off its base from how hard her impact had been.

"Okay. Naomi, I need you to take a deep breath in and a long exhale out. No need to get frustrated," Norne said gently, "Remember, your punches come from your core, not your shoulders. Your body needs to be in sync - working together to deliver the maximum power in one hit. Keep your hips under you, legs shoulder length apart, arms loose but ready to strike, and hands up by your face to defend yourself." Norne settled into her own form as an example. It was natural to do so. She slowly jabbed the newly hung punching bag with her left hand. "See how I'm not overextending? Stay within the reach of your arm. Don't force your shoulder forwards to try and elongate that punch. With your dominant swing, use your hips and abdomen in tandem to build the strength in your punch. I'd show it, but it's best I don't hit anything with this hand," She said, lowering her hands and breaking her form.

"This stuff takes practice. Don't feel discouraged just because things aren't perfect yet. You'll get it. It just comes with time and repetition. You're doing a good job so far," Norne said to Naomi, wanting to be supportive and try to set her mind at ease. Despite this, Norne could still feel the adrenaline rushing through her body and quickening her heartbeat. Thankfully, all the training in her life gave her the ability to function well while under the effects of adrenaline and stress. She didn't get tunnel vision. However, she couldn't hide the powerful rhythmic thumping of the heart in her chest.

Kassia · Dec 8, 2022

Character: Naomi
Player/Group: Norne (@ThatGeckoGirl)
Location: Bridge Apartments--> Training Room
Time: Tuesday Afternoon.

Naomi could hear Norne's heart beating quicker, and that caused her to feel even more upset. She had created that just from her current state, which was the last thing she wanted to happen. However, the hunter was agreeable to helping her with her form, and Naomi was grateful.

"Okay. Naomi, I need you to take a deep breath and exhale. No need to get frustrated,"

There was a firmness in her voice that caught Naomi off guard, and she looked at her with wide eyes like a stray cat startled by the sudden light. She did as she was told, taking a deep breath, and exhaling and even though she didn't need to breathe, the motion was comforting and reminded her of her human instincts.

"Remember, your punches come from your core, not your shoulders. Your body needs to be in sync - working together to deliver the maximum power in one hit. Keep your hips under you, legs shoulder length apart, arms loose but ready to strike, and hands up by your face to defend yourself."

Naomi mimicked Norne's stance, watching her footing and positioning her body. Then Norne hit the bag, and it swayed but did not fly off the hook it was attached to. This drew Naomi's eyes upwards, and she switched them to look back at Norne's hand as she demonstrated again.

"See how I'm not overextending? Stay within reach of your arm. Don't force your shoulder forwards to try and elongate that punch. With your dominant swing, use your hips and abdomen in tandem to build the strength in your punch. I'd show it, but it's best I don't hit anything with this hand,"

Naomi stepped back from the bag and instead practiced punching the air. she straightened her body and used her core as she had learned in their tumble just a few minutes before. With her core, she launched a gentle jab in the air and then looked down at her feet. They had moved, and she had to return to her previous stance. She knew she needed to stabilize herself, focusshe breathed out when she hit the air, clenched her jaw, and did it again. The vampire continued adjusting herself, looked over at Nornes form, and then tried to mimic her. Once she had determined her stance and a secure place to stop herself from falling out of them, she moved forward and practiced on the bag.

"...No pulling!" She said excitedly, noting the pulling in her shoulder from earlier was gone. She tried it with a hook and landed a few on the bag, this still hurt, but she assumed that was because she had made that move incorrectly the first time.

"Core and hips--" Naomi whispered, landing another punch on the bag. "--feet shoulder-width apart." Another punch and hook.

Then, Naomi paused, stared at the bag, looked at Norne, and then adjusted her feet to work out her left side. This side was weaker, messier. But she tried her hardest to get back into formation, throwing a few uppercuts into it but then stopping when the chains on the back rattled too much for her liking. It took all of Naomi's being to control her movements. Her body was unraveling from the heartbeats that grew louder in her ears and the blood on Norne's hand, but she knew she had to fight through it, even if she felt a sudden burst of emotion and rage.

After 30 minutes of practicing this, Naomi paused and stepped back. Her own hands bled, and that seemed to counteract the craving now that she could feel the pain herself. Shrugging it off, she looked at Norne and then moved closer. "Thank you." She seemed to whisper, hiding hunger in her voice. Hesitantly, Naomi set her hands on Norne's triceps, leaned in for an awkward hug, and then quickly pulled away. It wasn't much, but it was what she had. "I appreciate you helping me... I should take care of this." Naomi circled her face in the air to motion to her fangs and eyes and then gave an apologetic smile.

ThatGeckoGirl · Dec 9, 2022

Character: Norne Irae
Player/Group: Naomi (@Kassia )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Training Room -> First Aid
Time: Tuesday Morning

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As Naomi practiced and took direction, Norne herself began to relax a bit. Despite some of the other girl's transforming features, Naomi still seemed relatively in control of herself. She had been getting worked up. Thankfully, it seemed that the deep breath and aid in helping with her form was doing a good job at calming her down. She watched Naomi as the girl turned to the punching bag once more and punched it, this time utilizing the tips given to her. Norne couldn't help but give a light smile as Naomi explained that the pulling sensation didn't happen that time around. She watched Naomi quietly, noting that her hits seemed more controlled. Even when the chains rattled loudly at one point, the power of the next punch was drawn back. Naomi was learning. She was adapting to the amount of power she had and figuring out how to fluctuate between it. A sense of pride for the vampire ran through Norne while simultaneously making her feel silly about her spark of tension earlier. She really should have maintained faith in Naomi. She was getting it. Small hiccups happened, but those hurdles were meant to be soared over in the journey of self-improvement.

After the thirty minutes, Norne looked to Naomi as she moved closer and thanked her. Again, it was a new experience for her, but a very welcomed one. Then, Naomi leaned in and gave her a hug. The hug itself was rather awkward, but it still made her, well...happy. Naomi had gone through so much in such a short amount of time. Being taken in by a group of people who, in different degrees, saw her as a threat was probably a stressful situation. She had a lot riding on her shoulders to not mess up or be too "vampiric." Even Norne herself had admitted that she wouldn't hesitate to kill Naomi if she went out of control. Being supported was so important. It was something she felt guilty about in regards to her brother, since he never really had a support system. A part of Norne blamed herself for not try to be that for him sooner. When she finally did try to be, Jonah had already wanted nothing to do with her. But it wasn't too late with Naomi. She wanted to be someone Naomi could trust and come to if she needed help or things were difficult. Norne wanted to tell this to her, but the words were caught in her throat in regards to expressing that the man she had loved was also killed. She hadn't spoken about the incident aloud to anyone since the funeral, and barely mentioned it before then.

"Anytime, Naomi. If you ever want to train or talk or anything, you can uh...find me," Norne said awkwardly, though her offer was genuine, "And your hands! I know you heal quickly now, but that doesn't mean you can just ignore cleaning those injuries!" She gave a playful wink to the other girl upon these words as she went into her doctor mode.

"I should clean my own hands too. Oh! After these missions, I wanted to talk to you regarding my research. I think you may be able to help me with it and, hopefully, it can directly help you too," Norne said, remembering that she had wanted to collect some tissue and blood samples from Naomi but also decided waiting until these missions were done would be a better time than now, "Anyways! You did great today. Keep up the good work, yeah? I'll see you around."

Norne patted Naomi's shoulder in a friendly manner as she moved past the other girl to head to First Aid. Upon entering, Norne was quick to pull out some simple supplies for cleaning and dressing her hand. Using the rag Naomi grabbed earlier, she cleaned off the excess blood on her skin. Setting aside the bloody rag, she then dabbed some antiseptic on it just for good measure before putting a thin layer of gauze on top. To hold it in place, she then wrapped white bandages around her hand up to her knuckles. It was nice and simple. She would probably be able to remove the dressings by tomorrow. If anything, she probably overtreated it given that it wasn't all that bad of a wound. At least, Norne didn't think it was too bad, but she ironically tended to downplay her own injuries while emphasizing the injuries other people sustained.

Kosmik_Khaos · Dec 10, 2022

Character: Nebuchadnezzar
Player/Group: Jessa (@Kassia )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Jessa's Office
Time: Tuesday morning

"Hey Jessa, it has been a good while since we last linked up. Mister is doing good, the Garden is prospering, Yesterday I finalized the purchase of the two lots on either side of me. I have a crew on site now checking the buildings and seeing if it will be easier to convert or to simply rebuild but we will get back to that. Yeah I'm living here, and you're right it's a big change being. It's more alive if that makes sense." Leaning against the doorframe he crossed his arms and watched Jessa hunt through the desk, an amused smile on his face when she finally found the stashed pack. He would put good credits on there being multiple packs squirreled away all over the office.

"Yeah I just came from the briefing. I actually have an invite. Been getting them for years. Going to take the girl with me as my plus one." He then gave her a general breakdown of the briefing, who was taking what role on which job. Shrugging away from the door frame he took the two steps needed to reach Jessa and take the offered smoke. He knew it would do nothing for him and so did she, but it was the ritual of it. She always offered, he always accepted. They shared the cigarette and did business. Borrowing her lighter he lit up and took a long drag from the cigarette holding the smoke for a moment before exhaling towards the ceiling. "Ya know, they still haven't quite gotten the taste of these right." He mused looking down at the cigarette. "It's just something that is subtly off." He shrugged and hit it again anyways.

Getting back to the subject at hand he asked "So my question is, do you want to use one of your black market toys or do you want to ride me? We both know I have the hardware necessary for a runner to ride along and use me as a mobile digital battleship. You would also have access to all my sensory input in real time. We've both benefited from that in the past. I will also be an extra layer of protection between you and anything the Vamps might throw our way."

Kassia · Dec 10, 2022

Character: Jessa NPC
Player/Group: Nebuchadnezzar ( @Kosmik_Khaos )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Jessa's Office
Time: Tuesday morning

Jessa had known Nebuchadnezzar for years, at least 15 if she remembered correctly. She was a lowly street net runner trying to make a little credit on the side, and the Hunters Guild was just the right cash cow to do that with. Once she had earned enough, she invested in property, stocks, weaponry, and anything she could use to her advantage. Now that her life had become comfortable, she was coasting as any great businessman in Arcadia would.

"Hey Jessa, it has been a good while since we last linked up. Mister is doing good, and the Garden is prospering. Yesterday, I finalized the purchase of the two lots on either side of me. I have a crew on site now checking the buildings and seeing if it will be easier to convert or simply rebuild, but we will get back to that. Yeah, I'm living here, and you're right. It's a big change being. It's more alive if that makes sense."

"Good... good." She nodded, listening while holding the cigarette she smoked in a roach clip. "Glad to see you back. It's been too long. Though maybe not as long as I suspect." She leaned back to look at one of the cameras surrounding the apartments. silence--perfect. "They kids are gonna keep you on your toes-- not like it was back in the day."

"...Going to take the girl with me as my plus one."

"Takin' the vamp? I suppose she will be helpful in this situation. I still don't understand how the Guild could let a vamp in, but she's nice enough and seems orderly, so what do I care-- long as I get my rent and I don't see any of those other bloodsuckers in here." She tapped the ash from the cigarette and watched it fall. " I could very well tap into your circuits, my friend. But I need you alert and focused. You're my key." She closed one eye and pointed the cigarette at him, shaking it slightly. " You know these people like the back of your hand, butter 'em up. Let them know what you offer. Get them on your side-- you know how to work 'em."

Jessa paused, took a drag of the cigarette, looked over at her monitor that held the daily news, and sighed. "Look at 'em... Already arriving at the mansion. Hundreds of them. Suckers." The footage continued while a bubbly newscaster droned on and on about the charity and the money raised Erra's contributions and her successes. Lovely.

Jessa's arm quickly shot out from beside her body, her middle fingers long red coffin-shaped nails tapping at the screen while her thumb and index finger held the cigarette. A spark arc of electricity followed. "That's the bastard right there. Probably arriving early to work over plans with Erra and her posse. Typical-- these corp types are all about that fine detail." She shook her head then. "Yeah... alright, I'll ride ya, but I'll use it as a backup. I am interested to see what this fucker has to say." Jessa waved one of her arms in the air and then leaned back in her chair to look Neb up and down. "What are you wearing to the ball? You were always the flashy type. The girl coordinating? She doesn't seem flashy-- more like a mouse."

Kosmik_Khaos · Dec 11, 2022

Character: Nebuchadnezzar
Player/Group: Jessa NPC (@Kassia )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Jessa's Office
Time: Tuesday morning

"That it has been, but they only dust me off now when things need to be handled with a particular touch. So I've had a little more free time here lately." Nebby checked the monitor she looked at quickly picking up what he was seeing. Same as usually, eyes on everything at all times. "Yeah, they are a lively bunch, but I think I will be able to keep up with them. As long as they are not as rambunctious as I was when I was their age things should be fine. Ara and Kaden run a good team together. Though I am a bit concerned about Kaden and the Norne." He paused to take a long draw from the cigarette. "How is it that too competent people, who are trained to hunter supernatural creatures and to always be aware be so oblivious to what is right in front of them? Have you seen how those too look at each other. I think they are the only two in the entire city that are not seeing what everyone else is." He teased his comrades and their apparent obliviousness to their own attraction.

"Yeah I am taking the Girl." Nebuchadnezzar emphasized the last word not allowing Naomi to be dismissed as just some "vamp". "And she is here because he deserves it. She has the mark and it's in the rules. Even those changed are still hunter's by their blood line, not their medical condition." With that he tapped his own chest reminding her that he was also more machine than man now. "She's not the first vamp hunter either. I do hope she is the longest lasting. Most that got changed in the past ended up going bad, but now we have A-300 to help so who knows?" He shrugged and ashed his own cigarette, but into his open palm as not to further dirty the floor.

"You know I am always alert and I am literally built for multitasking. We will double team these fuckers. While I work the people you work the system like the good old days." Neb turned his attention to the screen she pointed out and shook his head. "I wouldn't be so upset about this whole thing if they didn't make such a show out of it. I've been donating quietly to this orphanage for years, and I've seen the work Erra's put into it. She's actually taking care of those kids. Those rich fucks there are only doing this for a write off and to look good. It pisses me off that the Vampire is the "good" person here."

His attention was pulled to the man that Jessa pointed out. He didn't look all that impressive, in fact he looked painfully average. "Probably so. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that meeting." A wide smile spread across his face when Jessa suddenly agreed with his request to ride along. "I honestly don't know what she is wearing, though I doubt her style would mash up with mine. As you said, she is a bit more reserved in how she presents herself. As for me I already have the suit I want to wear in mind." With a mental flick he cast a picture of his chosen outfit to one of the screens that wasn't showing a video feed. "I was told it was a black tie event and this has a black tie." He said with a shit eating grin. He knew he was going to stand out and bring attention to himself, but that was the point. He was already a known figure to the Vamps and humans as a business man by both and by at least the higher up Vamps a hunter. So pulling their attention to him would let the others move more freely.

"Back to that other business I mentioned earlier. Do you still have your arms connects? I'm going to need some things for the new additions to the Garden. At least two dozen new auto turrets, the good ones not those knockoffs those boys tried unloading onto me that one time. I could also go with some non-lethal deterrents as well. Ammo for them naturally. Also you remember that custom job you got me, the revolver? Well I need something along the lines of that but in semi-auto if that is possible." Now did Nebby need a second literal hand cannon? No. No he did not. But he wanted one. Plus this one would have a clip, so he would get to fire more than six shots and have to reload.

Thinking about his current revolver was impossible for an unaugmented human to use, it was too long, too heavy and had way to much recoil for a human. Max might be able to use it with some struggle, so could Kaden possibly, he wasn't sure of the specs of their mods. The only other hunter on the team he knew for a fact that could use it like the handgun it actually is was Naomi. "Ya know what. Make it two custom jobs. The second have them make it just a bit smaller, it's gotta fit the girl's hands after all. Will that be doable?"

Kassia · Dec 12, 2022

Character: Naomi
Player/Group: All ( open to additional subplots)
Location: Bridge Apartments - Naomi's room.
Time: Tuesday Afternoon

Naomi continued down to her room, reciting the moves and positions she had learned in her head. Once inside her bedroom, she practiced without using the punching bag. She was primarily concerned with the control of her movements. Naomi knew this would be her main struggle, power in movements... and her very being.

Norne's blood had made her sense wild; she could still smell it through the walls and floor and knew that she needed to fix this. She knew she had retained the ability to draw energy from others, but she also didn't want to draw that from those she knew. Because her bathroom was also connected to the laundry room and kitchen, she took the short passage to the kitchen to grab a pack of A-300, bite into the plastic and wander back into her own room. This seemed to satiate her craving for now, but she knew she would need more, which would prove difficult with the shortage.

Naomi felt that it might be just as bad as biting them, which would surely get her killed by the hunters. So she set the half-finished bag on her nightstand and went back to work on her movements, the distraction was needed, and she hoped it would exhaust her enough that she could fall asleep and not think about the nagging craving.

Kassia · Dec 12, 2022

Character: Kaden/ NPC Fiona
Player/Group: Norne ( @ThatGeckoGirl )
Location: Bridge Apartments - First Aid
Time: Tuesday Afternoon

Kaden made himself comfortable on the gurney in First Aid, and Fiona pulled his mechanical arm out from his side onto a separate padded table. She admired the work of Spark, who had applied the synthskin perfectly. Kaden closed his eyes, since he couldn't feel about working behind. It was almost too difficult to see where his skin began and where the synthetic skin started. Now was the prime opportunity for a nap until he heard Norne and Naomi working on their training in the next room. He closed his eyes but continued to listen.

Meanwhile, Fiona donned her magnifying spectacles and got to work, peeling away beautiful sheets of synthskin and setting them aside, then working on his circuitry. She was so engrossed in the process that when he jumped slightly from the punching back in the training room -- which had fallen off of the frame, she didn't move-- she just continued working.

Naomi stormed into the room, clearly angry, and he could see it in her posture and feel it in her presence; he tilted his head back while she grabbed the stool, mumbled her "sorry" and exited the room, then the muffled, yet respectful conversation Norne had provided, knowing full well Naomi had lost it in the training room. Norne was trying her best to calm the vampire down.

"Stop moving," Fiona said, holding his arm down as he was clearly agitated and wanted to help.

Kaden settled and stared at the ceiling, his eyes burning into a specific spot for a brief moment, then looked at Fiona in a are you done fashion. She looked at him and narrowed her eyes, which were magnified at 100%. This made him burst out laughing. She allowed him to collect himself and then shook her head while pulling the tether from another tray." I hope you got a good laugh at that, mister." It was rough looking, clearly from before his time, and he worried about its abilities.

Tethers were outlawed.

In the days of early Arcadia, tethers were useful for outlaws to hack into mainframes and steal data to sell on the Black Market. But they had used it within corporations as well. If an employee was tasked with being a "tether, " they could harvest data and upload it to as many modules as needed to protect against surges and data theft. Once the Black Market had gotten ahold of disgruntled employees, their tethers were used for less than savory dealings. Immediately they were recalled and fried. However, a few of them hit the Black Market, where they were repaired. The option that Jessa received had been fried and enhanced, and it was noted that there might be some complications. But Kaden was aware, and Fiona had read his disclaimer, updated his will, and they went through with the process. Here he sat, the final wires connecting to his own and sending soft surges through his arm.

Having not told anyone about the unfortunate news of her life with the Hunters Guild regarding a sudden request for deployment to a new planet as a hunter and medic opportunity, Fiona held this knowledge of modifications close to her chest. When she saw Norne move into the First Aid room, she looked up. Perfect

"Would you like to learn a few things about modding?" Fiona asked as she set her tools down to look at the young woman. "I'm about to finish, but I wouldn't mind sharing."

Kaden noted Nornes hand and the new blood that soaked through the wrappings. His heart started to race, and he could feel the rage building in his chest, but he looked back up at the ceiling. Truthfully there was nothing he could do, training could get bloody, and Naomi hadn't done anything wrongper se; he did not like seeing that she had caused anyone pain.

He held that resentment for her kind, even though he knew she wasn't leaving anytime soon. The job at Arch Medical, while stressful, was his best choice. He knew he would never be able to contain himself in a room full of bloodsuckers. The others seemed more welcoming to Naomi's presence, but he could not draw on that same feeling. She lay there, staring at the ceiling while his mind chaotically tried to scramble back into a thinking position.

Kassia · Dec 12, 2022

Character: Jessa NPC
Player/Group: Nebuchadnezzar ( @Kosmik_Khaos )
Location: Bridge Apartments - Jessa's Office
Time: Tuesday Afternoon

"I wouldn't be so upset about this whole thing if they didn't make such a show out of it. I've been donating quietly to this orphanage for years, and I've seen the work Erra's put into it. She's actually taking care of those kids. Those rich fucks only do this for a write-off and to look good. It pisses me off that the vampire is the "good" person here."

"You should know by now, babe, that they make a big deal about everything to get us off their back. Don't let them fool you; the only good vamp here is a dead one." Jessa adverted her eyes to the screen. "Well, maybe Erra is good-- but can we really trust her? She gets all these little guys out there to do her bidding. Look at those Corpo-frauds, puffed-out chests like the rest of Arcadia owes them praise. She's a negotiator in that era."

Jessa looked at her monitor at the suit Neb had decided to wear and nodded thoughtfully. "I like it, very you," she said with her two other arms crossed behind her head while the others flicked ash from the cigarette. She refused to call Naomi anything other than vamp, she knew what she was, and that would always be her title. A wolf in sheep's clothing. Just like the rest of 'em.

"Back to that other business I mentioned earlier. Do you still have your arms connected? I will need some things for the new additions to the Garden. At least two dozen new auto-turrets, the good ones, not those knockoffs those boys tried unloading onto me that once. I could also go with some non-lethal deterrents. Ammo for them naturally. Also, do you remember that custom job you got me, the revolver? Well, I need something similar but semi-auto if that is possible. Ya know what. Make it two custom jobs. The second, have them make it a bit smaller. It's gotta fit the girl's hands, after all. Will that be doable?"

"You know i'd never let my connections slide. You need additions-- I'll get 'em for you." Jessa typed away on her computer, and the black screen lit up with green neon as she accessed a database chat system.

Chat request
[Cleared]
Begin request

2 dozen auto turrets--brand name
Non-lethal deterrents
Ammunition-- 40 cases ( for good measure)
Semi-auto revolver-- Large cap, small cap.
[Submit Request Y/N]
[Y]
[Request sent successfully]

When she was sure this order was complete, she finished her request with one she had received from the Hunters Guild through Kaden and sent it off.

"You'll receive your items by Saturday. Had a slight delay in the shipping yard, seemed that someone busted my lights to kill a few vamps. No big deal, but we gotta pick up the glass, replace the lights, and get the show on the road." She shrugged and looked to Neb. "Be careful out there... Ya know... I'm not the sentimental type, this job doesn't allow it, but I'd be beside myself if I lost one of you. Credits are nice, but there's more to this life than that. Keep your eyes sharp and your reflexes sharper."

A Gathering Of Hunters: Vampires // Chapter 2-In Progress-

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