Ģરίɱɱ ώλરȘ (IC -- REBOOT)


Setting/Location
Time -Late Morning
Weather - Clear
Location - Vacuo; Zramore Slums; Abandoned Warehouse
Tags - @ValGalorian @R-9 Pilot @Jessica2477 @Accelerator


After ridding themselves of a few of the gang members and now leaving the remaining that were either wounded or struggling just to continue battling against the four; Axel was confident that they were going to succeed in defeating the gang and retrieving the lien for the old man. During the midst of his thought of victory a deep growl and roar echoed through the pink haired male's head as he gripped onto either side of his skull, squeezing it firmly in pain from how loud the voice of the roars and growls echoed through his head. Although it was difficult to understand the grabbled words through the roars it was a clear warning that the fight was not over yet, normally the Grimm within him wouldn't exactly be the first to bring up any sort of assistance however if Axel were to fall in battle and die it would also mean the death of the Grimm as well so now was not the time for it to be picky.

Just as the voice of the Grimm came to a halt, several men and women came out from the darkness of the further interior of the warehouse only to be holding rocket launchers this time. Even with the warning that Nudara had given them about not firing the weapon and surrender it was clear enough that they were not about to back down from the words of someone they barely knew. Just as rockets flew out from each of the launchers only to do more damage to the surrounding area rather than any of their targets, Axel cursed at himself before the yank of the sword that the male had given him had caught his attention. By the time he had raised his gaze upwards only to find that debris had been stopped mid fall due to Nudara's weapon, Axel took his gaze towards the male before nodding at the suggestion that they move and the retreat option that the other woman spoke of was obviously their best option at the moment.

Without a second thought, Axel quickly made his way through the falling debris as best as he could. The smoke that rose up into the air and debris that had already collapsed around them was making it overly difficult just to see a few feet in front of him. Though while on his way towards the only large hole of sunlight that shone into the room from the entrance that everyone appeared to enter from, he was sure that he had seen another person enter the room just to tackle what sounded like Blanche and by the voice of the person who came in it appeared to had been a male. Whatever the case was whether it was an foe or ally, Blanche had shown enough proof that she could take care of herself so he simply had to pay more attention to exiting the warehouse for the time being.
Knowing well enough that he could probably just make his own exit with his arm by either punching himself a hole in a wall nearby or making his way to the top of the crumbling building just to get onto a roof; Axel decided against the idea only because he wasn't prepared for what might come to be if anyone had caught a glimpse of his arm, so for now he had to rely on simply getting out the old fashion way.


It was only a matter of time that the sound of Nudara's voice spoke out about leaving that the bright sunlight of the outside finally came into a better view. Rushing the rest of the way till he had finally left the crumbling building, he'd be left panting as he slouched over while listening as to how motorcycles revved over the sounds of the collapsing building. There was no doubt in his mind that the leader of the gang was clearly still alive and making his escape with many of his men. Tempted to chase after the group since they left around the side exit somewhere probably, he held himself back just waiting to see if the others would make it out alright first. Although his urge to take back the lien for the old man and get some payback was high he always held the fact that a person's life was always much more important than some lien yet he didn't seem to care for his own rather than that of others. "Everyone alright?..." Questioning those around him while the building continued to crumble down to a slow halt and by the sights of it, the entire roof had caved in however the base of the building still stood if one could consider it still standing.

All the while waiting for a response from those around him, the sound of large amounts of chatter could be heard as footsteps came in the direction from behind the group down the alley. The explosion followed by the collapse of a building was no doubt going to get plenty of attention of the citizens of Zramore, large numbers of the citizens consisted of huntsmen though since many were concerned about the idea that it could be Grimm so those who came had their weapons at the ready for any sort of battle. "Hmph...figures this would get people's attention..." Rather than stick around and be one the few that would no doubt get surrounded by news reports and journalists since the five of them were the only ones to be around when the large number of people came, Axel quickly made his leave from the front of the warehouse.
 
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Setting/Location
Time - Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Abandoned Warehouse
Mentions - @Accelerator



Blanche could hear the crooning of the supports gradually giving in to the weight of the concrete. Unless they wanted to become a blood mush smoothie they'd have to get out as soon as possible. It would seem her conversation with Sunshine would have to wait for a bit.

She turned her attention towards a scuffle of multiple feet, a group of the gang members that had avoided the main onslaught by going to their armory. Blanche inwardly cursed seeing them come out with rocket launchers, the adrenaline rushing through her veins making her forget about her semblance's pain for that moment. The building took explosion damage, causing her ears to ring and most likely gaining half of Vacuo's attention. Damn it damn it damn it! She hated attention and would rather not explain to her grandfather why she was involved with the destruction of a building!

She couldn't hear Axel's question due to the explosion temporarily making everything sound muffled, so she focused on avoiding getting crushed.

"Come on!" The Faunus commanded Ael to follow, making a dash for the exit where she saw Axel running towards.


 

Setting/Location
Time - Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Abandoned Warehouse
Interactions - @Jessica2477 @everyone present


Noticing that the warehouse was really going to give way from all the damage it has sustained a while ago, Blanche had began urging Ael to run for the nearest exit. He really couldn't blame her from adopting an "every hunter for himself" attitude since he was sure she didn't want to get turned into a Blanche sandwich after what they've been through. Ael quickly followed suit. As much as he wanted and needed to take a break, he was thinking more on the lines of a 15 minute power nap rather than an eternal rest.

After exiting the warehouse, he suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. As if the gunshots and explosions weren't bad enough, he was certain his little "light show" would have garnered a lot of attention including a certain grumpy middle-aged guy that would certainly bonk him in the head later.

"And I'm supposed to work a full shift later after all this?" A roan of displeasure escapes from his mouth before addressing Blanche and her comrades, at least the ones that didn't decide to bail that is.

"So, any of you guys care to explain what's going on? It's not every day you see a bunch of Hunters squaring off against petty gang members." As he was making his inquiry, he sensed one of the gangsters who escaped the collapsing warehouse beforehand was taking aim towards the group. Fortunately, Ael's reflexes were quicker as he transformed his sword into its gun form and fired it nonchalantly towards the gangster with one arm without so much as breaking eye contact with the group. "The name's Aelies Cedomir, by the way. But you can call me Ael, for short."

"Y'all don't need to answer that now. We should get somewhere a lot more... private since it seems that everyone and their mother in Zramore heard those explosions and saw the light show I performed." He said that last bit in a quieter voice out of embarrassment. "You all have a place in mind?:"
 

Setting/Location
Time - Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Abandoned Warehouse
Mentions - @Accelerator @Everyone



Blanche thought quickly about their options. They had most certainly garnered attention from people that would either make or break their reputations. She, as a person affiliated with a large business in Vacuo, was well aware how a drama starved press could exaggerate this story for the worst.

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Blanche, that's Axel, that's Chro, that's Nudara," Blanche pointed to the respective person as she introduced everyone, not caring that she introduced herself twice. "Now, the gang in the warehouse here was exploiting a sweet old man out of money from his cafe. Axel went after the gang and Old Man asked us to make sure he'd be okay. But shit went South really quick, then you came along."

After the quick explanation, she quickly looked for a way out of the area. "We can head to my grandpa's bullet shop to hide out if we need to. He has an empty room we can use." Blanche offered the group. If they didn't agree, the Cow Faunus would be more than happy to go there on her own.
 

Setting/Location
Time -Late Morning
Weather - Clear
Location - Vacuo; Zramore Slums; Abandoned Warehouse
Tags - @ValGalorian @R-9 Pilot @Jessica2477 @Accelerator


Just as expected, after the large commotion from both gunfire and the collapsing of the warehouse; even when Axel had attempted to make his leave from the area so that he could head back to the café to check on the Old Man, it quickly became impossible to so much as even find a direction to leave the area without some if not all of the bystanders to notice him trying to leave the scene. As the citizens and huntsmen surrounded the group of five, questions from every angle came out as many people held out miniature recording devices to make sure they had received every word if they were questioned straight from the actual source. Refusing to answer any questions, Axel kept to himself though it hadn't taken long before Blanche had taken it up on herself to speak and explain the situation as well as introduce each one of them.

When the female Faunus stated that Axel had gone after the gang for stealing money from the café it was almost immediate that some of the attention was brought onto him as people questioned him where the café was and why he didn't bring it to any other possible authorities of Zramore as well as other things like whether or not he had been able to get the money back and if he killed anyone to get it back.
Standing there and listening to each person speak only annoyed him with each passing second as he continued to refuse to answer any of their questions even while he was bombarded with further questioning.


When Blanche had offered the group a place to go that was quiet and private to get away from the large crowd of bystanders, Axel only replied at first with a shake of his head. "No thank you...I need to check up on the Old Man...I'm pretty sure he is worried sick after sending you guys after me to help take care of my mess..." With his own comment, the pink haired Faunus pushed his way through the crowd and attempted to lose the attention by getting himself lost into the crowd of people to the best of his ability. It wasn't that he hadn't wished to go with the group but rather the fact that he had only just met them and them being sent by the Old Man from the café meant the Old Man was probably quite upset; best thing now to do was at least go back and apologize for his own foolishness and most likely get another hit on the head by his cane.

--

Meanwhile back at the café, the Old Man known as Alistair Grayson had been wandering around the interior of the café just to check on what needed to be cleaned as well as preparing fresh coffee and tea for any customers that might arrive. "Hmm...that boy...When will he learn, he's living such a dangerous life. He needs to just settle down already and-- Hm?" Stopping himself mid-sentence as he had accidentally bumped into an object that was poking out from the side underneath the counter where the cash register was. Slowly he had reached underneath the counter just to find that it was an entire sheathed katana that still looked in perfect condition though clearly been used not too long ago. "What..? What is this doing here?" Just as the Old Man held the weapon by the hilt in his hand just under the counter a small torn up brown book fell right onto the floor that was being held down by the sword.

Reaching for the book before opening it up on top of the counter, the Old Man read through it only to find that it belonged to Axel and it was a journal about his everyday life up till now. "The boy...he's a huntsman...and--" In the middle of his sentence as the Old Man spoke to himself, the front entrance to the café was immediately kicked in as the glass on the door was shattered and once again the very same gang leader from earlier stepped in with multiple other men and women following him in from behind into the café; each one of them were covered in dust and wounds from the battle and collapse at the warehouse and since they knew well enough the pink haired male was from this particular shop, the gang leader was planning to make an example by killing the geezer.

"You there. Geezer, you know how much trouble that little brat of a kid of yours caused us?!" Shouting with clear signs that the man was furious, Alistair only nodded his head before bowing to show his deepest respects to the gang leader. "I know, please I take full responsibility for everything he did...Just don't hurt him, he's only a boy..." Pleading with the white haired man even while he was clearly furious even with the apology. "Don't hurt him? I'm going to fucking mangle him! But...if you really want to take the responsibility ya geezer, I'll start with you and let him see what happens when you mess with me than take care of him after!!" Quickly rushing towards the counter while the Old Man stood there lowering his head as though he were about to accept the death that was coming.
Just as the white haired man hopped over the counter and lunged forward to attempt and strangle the Old Man, before he could so much as reach for Alistair's throat, he had thrusted the top of his cane upwards and straight into the gut of the gang leader. The sheer force of such a simple strike quickly caused the entire body of the man to go flying upwards to crash into the ceiling before collapsing back onto the counter, only to immediately have his face slammed in with the head of the cane once again forcing him to fall backwards onto his rear.


The entire time, Alistair stood there without so much as breaking a sweat as he slowly made his way around the counter while each of the members of the gang stared at the elderly man in shock of how he was about to strike in such ways considering his age. "Oh boy...You youngsters nowadays all just think with your fists and never even want to sit down for a cup of tea and just talk things out anymore..hm? Fine...guess these old bones will just have to teach you some manners..." With the last of his phrase, the Old Man simply closed his eyelids as one after another of the gang members charged forward with their fists and different melee weapons.
With each attempt at striking the elderly man, he was able to easily maneuver himself around each attack even though he could not see. Using nothing more than his cane to smack around each of the men and women of the gang till they were in far too much pain to get up and continue fighting. It didn't take long before the leader of the gang issued a retreat and cursed at the elderly man; stating that he'd be back one day to kill him and Axel before they headed out of the café and drive off onto their motorcycles once again.


 

Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Abandoned Warehouse
Mentions - @Everyone



[FONT=Marcellus, serif]Blanche thought they had more time, but unfortunately, the press was hot on their trails. Her arms ached terribly and her entire body was quickly reaching its limits with her Semblance. She wasn't going to stick around any longer; not when she was in way too much pain to deal with annoying drama piranhas.[/FONT]

[FONT=Marcellus, serif]"Look, you guys can stay and damage control if you want. Follow me if you want a place to hide; I'm out of here." The Cow Faunus quietly told the group, using a hand to cover her face from anyone filming or taking photos. It wouldn't help much, but it'd at least keep her face out of the newspaper.[/FONT]

[FONT=Marcellus, serif]At that, Blanche took off running, pushing past people to escape the crowd and rushed towards a separate direction to her grandfather's bullet shop. She had plans to break through shortcuts and take different paths to ensure bystanders didn't witness her running.[/FONT]​
 

Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Collapsed Warehouse


Unlike Blanche, Chro didn't immediately flee the scene after it was clear they'd gotten some attention. Instead, she remained behind to give her own account of the recent events, which was hardly different. Of course, before Blanche could disappear, she did give her a quick reply of "Go on ahead, I'll catch up."

"What the lady said is about right. just a little altercation with a gang running a protection racket we all disagreed with. It's not something I could just ignore," she began to explain things. "Of course, it was also to pull someone's fat out of the fire, if they happened to need it, but you know how it goes with the young. Turns out, that gang had some pretty heavy ordinance, so it's probably a good thing we went and kicked the hornet's nest before they brought out the rocket launchers for something more than home defense. Which is a terrible use for one, by the way."

Chro stayed behind to help with some of the initial work at the ruined building. She eventually got away from the search and rescue work and made her way to Blanche's shop, although not through the backroads, or just to hide out.

Setting/Location
Time - Some time later
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Schienburg Munitions


The raven-haired huntress burst through the door of the ammunition shop with surprising enthusiasm, for someone who probably looked like she had just spent some time digging through rubble. "Hello~! Anyone home? I heard about this place and just had to check it out." She immediately began looking around the shop for one specific thing on display: Dust. It was the sort of place that might carry it, and she would need some for her little side-trip outside the city.
 
Nudara Shreik
Time: Early-Morning.
Location: Zramore, Vacuo - Abandoned Warehouse.
Interactions: Chro.

Nudara Shreik.png
Hiding from the press or reporters would do him no good. Nudara knew better than to expect to go unnoticed here. Handling the press and damage control was an area had some experience in. He walked up to Chro's side and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I am Nudara Shreik. All you need to know is that an altercation took place inside the building, instigated and perpetrated by members of syndicate gang who have been harassing and extorting local businesses. They had access to military-grade munitions from somewhere. These gang members were scattered by this and the properties and money found within will be returned to their owners as best as the local authorities are able to determine. If you believe that you may have claims to the stolen lien then, please, make go to the nearest station and make a statement." Simple. Deflected the blame mostly onto the gang and hopefully raised enough eyebrows about the weapons, perhaps someone may investigate that further. Most of all he ended on the topic of money. That should keep most people distracted for long enough. Using his last name would only sow the seeds of money into people's minds even further. Though, he hoped, it would not catch the ire of his father's attention.

The building was wasted. No investor or owner would want to sink their money into a place like this. It could not possibly return any revenue to them. However, this did make the building very undesirable and the land it was built on. As government workers were brought in to begin cleaning up, Nudara put in his weight to help out. But he was waiting for the arrival of warehouse's owner.

Finally, he came late. A pungent man stinking of coffee of tobacco. He wore a pinstripe suit and walked with a limp. Nudara heard him approaching, complaining about the cold and his knee from a longways off. Nudara approached him.

"Excuse me, sir, are you owner of what is left of this place?" Nudara asked.

Icarus Wings.png
 

Setting/Location
Time -Late Morning
Weather - Clear
Location - Vacuo; Zramore -- Unnamed Café and Bar
Tags - N/A


Whether or not the group would decide if it were best to follow after Axel to head back to the Old Man's café or follow after Blanche and her option to head to her grand father's shop to hideout; Axel stayed with his choice and continued forward back to the café while attempting to lose any sight of civilians that might have further questions about the situation with the rubble of a warehouse. Having no clue about what might've happened back at the café while he was gone, the pink haired male only thought that when he returned it was just going to be a fit of yelling and several smacks on the head with the Old Man's cane from how foolish he was.

Luckily as he got closer towards the café, those who had questions for him along with for the rest of the group had already lost sight of him and were now simply on a search allowing for him to lose them completely. Eventually, he'd reach the front entrance of the café once more, finding the front entrance was smashed practically to bits had concern immediately filling Axel's mind as he wasted no time to rush his way into the interior of the café only to find the Old Man had been sitting on a chair at one of the tables. Thinking that he might've been harmed in anyway, the pink haired male rushed up to the Old Man, however before he could so much as question the elderly man; he was smacked onto the top of his head with the cane as expected.

"You moron! What were you thinking..?! Going after those brutes on your own like that...! You could've gotten yourself killed! And what's this I'm hearing around about a warehouse and explosion?" Questioning Axel with one thing after another while the pink haired male held onto his head where he was hit with the cane. At first, being unable to find the words to respond to the elderly man; Axel simply bowed his head down and simply responded with 'I'm sorry'.
This had left the elderly man to sigh in his seat heavily before reaching slowly down underneath the table and place the journal as well as the large sheathed blade upon the table surface. The sight of his weapon and journal being pulled out only brought shock to Axel as he became all that much more speechless. "I know you're a hunter my boy...What you're doing is a dangerous job...You know this. Give up that life already, settle down somewhere...you're going to end up only finding disappointment and pain in your travels, if not worse." As the Old Man spoke, he wouldn't bring up the fact that he knew all too well what it was like to be a huntsmen since he was a retired one himself.


"I can't give it up now...There are still too many unanswered questions. I must know more, I barely remember who I am let alone who I was. I won't back down no matter what gets in my way.." With his own words filled with full determination, the Old Man only sighed yet again while staring up at the young male. Slowly enough the Old Man gave a small smile before nodding and patting the sheathe of the blade. "Fine...If your mind wont change...when you're ready. I've prepared a vehicle for you in the back of the shop. It's something I use to ride in my younger days...She's not pretty but she'll get you what you need to go...and if I'm right from what I read. There's a map in the storage compartment of the vehicle. You should be able to find your way to the ruins if you know how to use a map." Offering the transport, the Old Man soon helped himself up from his seat before slowly making his way to the back room so that he could lay down.
The fact that the elderly man was helping was quite the shocker; not sure what else to say other than 'thank you', Axel bowed his head to show his respects to the elderly man who clearly knew much more than he first appeared to be.
 

Setting/Location
Time - Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Abandoned Warehouse
Interactions - @Jessica2477 @everyone present


After getting everyone's names and exchanging some pleasantries, Blanche offered to meet up at her grandfather's place to avoid the media circus starting to form around them. While some people were a bit too eager to play damage control, Blanche and Axel seemed keen on leaving as quickly as possible.

"Great. But I need to check up on my boss first before dropping by your gramps' shop, Blanche. I still need to put a dent on my shift for today so it might take a while for me to get to you guys." Ael explained.

Since he used his semblance a while ago, he had no choice but change his shift's schedule today. Otherwise, his body's gonna be too sore for him to actually do any kind of work tonight and that's gonna piss the old geezer off. There's nothing that grinds Ingam's gears like slackers after all.

Just before he could get surrounded by a mob of reporters and camera crew, he quickly left the scene, darting in and out of several alleys and even back tracking a few times before making his way to the Inn. Business may not be all that well but he'd probably get uppercutted across Zramore for attracting the wrong kind of attention to the place.

"Hey pops, I'm ba-" Ael was abruptly stopped mid sentence when he was forced to dodge out of the way of a stool flung towards him. He looked incredulously at the direction where the magical flying stool came from only to lock eyes with a middle-aged, white-haired guy who returned a fiery, disapproving gaze.

"What were you thinking? Did you realize that all of Zramore saw what YOU did?" Ingram exclaimed.

"Gee, pops. I thought this was going to be about how I wasted today's restraint training. I personally don't see what's wrong with people knowing what I'm capable of. For starters, it gets the message across people who'd ever think about messing with us." Ael replied.

"I haven't been training you all these years for you to be a damn show off, Aelius. Have you forgotten the repercussions that come with your Semblance? "

Oh boy, it looks like Ingram really was pissed. He'd never call him by his proper name if he weren't. But it all seemed strange that he was throwing such a fit for what should have been a minor slip up on his part.

"I know very well the side effects of my semblance, Ingram. You think I'd forget after what happened to her?! You know very well that I wouldn't have used it unless I had to. And last time I checked, surviving from being squashed by falling debris from a dilapidated warehouse would count as an emergency situation. If I hadn't, then me and the granddaughter of the old man who owns that bullet and dust shop would have been sandwiches right about now. "

After a long and heavy sigh, it seemed like Ingram had finally calmed down. Perhaps he finally understood Ael's need to make use of his semblance that time around.

"Don't expect me to give you a day off, Ael. Like it or not you're still gonna have to complete your shift." Ingram grumbled.

"Yeah yeah, you don't have to tell me twice. " With a dismissive wave of his hand, Ael went to his room to change into his work clothes and start his shift.

Meanwhile, Ingram returned to the counter and looked at one of the picture frames on top of it. This particular photo showed a picture of a group of Hunters dressed as knights. One of the knights was dressed in the same armor Ael was using and the knight on the center looked like a younger version of him.

"I'm sorry old friend, but your boy isn't ready yet. You've entrusted him to me and yet it feels like I haven't done enough... I just hope my hunch is right... that your bloodline, your son would be the shining beacon of light the world needs during these dark times." He muttered under his breath in a solemn manner.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ael felt like he was dragging his body when it had been covered with lead with every step he took. He had just (miraculously) finished his shift at Ingram's Inn and was en route to Blanche's place to meet up with everyone. The fact that he had not collapsed on some random back alley was both fortunate and a testament to how effective his training with the old man has been despite how much of a pain in the ass he can be at times.

Knocking courteously three times, he entered the shop and looked around to see if anyone else was already there. Fortunately, a familiar face was already present so he didn't have to suffer awkwardly waiting for someone else to arrive.

"I guess it's just us for now, eh Miss Chro? The others must still be tied up with something." Ael said in a familiar voice before making himself comfortable on one of the couches reserved for patrons. God knew how much he needed to rest right now.​
 
Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Xanthias's Bullet Craft and Weapon Repair
Mentions - @R-9 Pilot @Accelerator



The shop was small, built out of wood and looked to not have received a lot of renovation over the years. It was clean, though the area could have used a little more work to give it a newer feel instead of the old fashioned style it emanated. Around the two customers were black shelves of display bullets of varying calibers and types for different weapons, all within open packages for them to touch and fit in their guns to see if it would work well. Xanthias had been carefully setting the newly crafted jackets to cool in the back room, a set of shotgun shells specially designed for a hunter down South. Upon hearing the voices of visitors, he set his tools to the side and walked behind the counter.

The old man was tall and rather well built for his age, having never missed a day of his exercise regime. Xanthias despised the idea of being confined to a wheelchair needing support from others, so he did his damned best to keep that from happening by following his exercise schedule religiously. Sometimes his granddaughter would join him for a bit of bonding time, which usually made the occasion more special.

Xanthias had white hair in a slicked back style with his elk antlers protruding tall above his head. He had no facial hair and many scars across his face from years and years of battle. His features were sharp and stern, his resting bitch face accented by his wrinkles and frown. Though, when he saw the two customers, he smiled.

He hadn't said anything yet, his eyes studying the duo before the conclusion was clear.

"You're Blanche's accomplices; Part of the reason that warehouse exploded, yeah?" He asked the two rhetorically. "She's out of commission for a while but I can help you with anything you need."


 

Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Xanthias's Bullet Craft and Weapon Repair


Chro nodded to Ael. "Looks like it. I bet I know where I can find the others, though. Well, one of them anyway." She studied the young man's haggard countenance carefully. "You look like you might have overdid it, Mr. Sunshine." A little friendly teasing never hurt anybody. And Ael did look like he was about ready to fall over. With great power comes great responsibility to take a nap.

Chro laughed freely and in good humor at the old faunus' assertion of her association with his granddaughter. "That's one way to put it. We're missing a couple folks, but I'd be happy to share the story if you're curious." Wasn't expecting him to greet her with something like that, but if there's business to do, there was business to do.

"From the look of the shop, you do a lot of busness in ammunition," the raven-haired hunter stated the obvious. "Do you by any chance also sell raw Dust?" Chro unfastened her sword's scabbard from her belt and placed it on the counter. "Silver Key here isn't exactly a modern weapon, so it doesn't take cartridges. I burnt out the last of my Dust on my way here, and I'll need more for my next little trip."

While she let Xanthias look over her sword, Chro turned to Ael. "Speaking of, it'd be better if I didn't go alone. Interested in paying the old academy a visit?"
 
Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Xanthias's Bullet Craft and Weapon Repair
Mentions - @R-9 Pilot @Accelerator



"Heh, please do. I wanna hear your sides of the story before the media tells their own."

Xanthias gingerly picked up Chro's weapon to examine it, taking a look at the sleek edges and the beautiful design. He tilted the blade 45 degrees to check the blade's sharpening, clearly impressed with the handiwork of the hunter's weapon. Xanthias did like the less than traditional design of the weapon, since a lot of swords, lances, and medieval-esque artillery were usually very military or similar to each other besides the color. The guns and blades that deviated from the standard design paths were always his favorite.

"We sell all kinds of Dust young lady; bullets and raw, from Fire to Gravity. Tell me what you need and I'll check what I got in stock for ya." He answered, setting the weapon back down on the counter carefully to not trigger anything.

He eyed Ael on the couch, then looked back to Chro. "I know it isn't my business but your friend over there, is he alright?"

Xanthias wondered if this was fatigue from whatever happened at the warehouse or a wound Ael might have received. Considering Blanche has tried to hide her pain and Semblance exhaustion from him in the past, he had an eye for these kind of things.
 
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Setting/Location
Time -Noon
Weather - Clear
Location - Vacuo; Zramore -- Unnamed Café and Bar
Tags - N/A


By the time the Old Man had returned to the backroom, he exhaled a deep sigh before he had decided to help himself onto the small twin sized mattress that was all torn up and clearly appeared to had been quite old due to how it had a slight shade of brown from how long he had used it. The covers he used to keep himself warm were thin enough that it would be as though he didn't have covers to begin with and the one pillow he had was almost completely flat with little to no fluff whatsoever left in it.
Even so, with the condition of his small sleeping quarters in the backroom, he found comfort in it as he laid himself down and rested his head against the pillow. During his youth, fending off a few gang members would've been nothing more than a simple nuisance that could've just been dealt with ease however with his age now just dealing with those few gang members had felt as though he had nearly drained every bit of energy he had left in his body.


While the elderly man took his rest in the backroom, Axel quickly made his way to the rear of the café only to requiring pushing old furniture and rather heavy cardboard boxes out of his way just to reach a pitch black room. Extending both his arms forward as he searched for some sort of switch for the light to turn on; he ended up kicking over box after box while also bumping into stacks of all sorts of different things in the dark. Eventually a small chain smacked the pink haired male in the face as he quickly reached forward to grab the chain just to give it a tug and cause a light on the ceiling to finally illuminate the room.

Turning his gaze all around the room only to find that the walking space as just as narrow as it had felt to be in the darkness; there were boxes stacked on top one of one another as well as stacks of old dusty books laying all around, some were historical while others seemed to had been fantasy. As much as Axel wanted to stay and check out each of the boxes just to see what was within them, his current objective was to find that motorcycle the Old Man spoke about, which wasn't too difficult to spot out behind the boxes as it was covered by a massive dirty cloth. "Oh...that's wonderful. Guess he was planning to make me clean all this up to get to it huh..? Touché old man..." With his goal right in sight, the male rolled up his sleeves before immediately getting straight to work on picking up and sorting the boxes around the cramped room so that everything could be organized and he could reach the bike soon enough.
 

Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Abandoned Warehouse
Interactions - @Jessica2477 @everyone present


Ael almost choked on the energy drink he was drinking when Xanthias referred to them as the reason the warehouse blew up in such a casual fashion. Though that feeling was immediately replaced by jealousy when he found out that Blanche was dozing off somewhere. Sure he was a bit upset that she invited them to her place only to sleep on her guests, but he was certain that whatever she'd done prior his intervention must have really depleted her energy reserves.

"Well as long as Blanche is alright, that's what matters. " He told the old shopkeeper while beaming at him.

Speaking off, he was equally flustered when Chro acknowledged that he may have been a bit trigger happy with his semblance back there.

"Yeah well it was an emergency so I didn't really have the luxury of coming up with a way to get out of that pinch with the least amount of effort on my part. The thought of getting flattened like a pancake really does that to you." Ael replied followed by a defeated sigh.

He didn't need to do much talking afterwards since he pretty much let Chro talk business with the old man while Ael took the opportunity to get himself acquainted with Xanthias' guest sofa a bit more. He would have dozed off to sleep himself had Chro not offered him to explore the old , abandoned, academy ruins. Even though it's still broad daylight, Ael was worried that they would lose track of time and he'd go limp on Chro during their little misadventure.

"I guess we can go on an expedition. I do hope you're not planning to stay there until sunset. Judging by the splitting headache I have now, I'd probably be out called as soon as dusk falls." Ael replied. " I didn't know you were the kind of gal that likes to take out guys on trips to old, abandoned, possibly haunted, more than likely Grimm Infested, ruins on their first date."

The eerie howling of the wind was a sign that he had taken his joke too far so he bowed profusely to his black haired senior.

"That joke was in bad taste. I apologize for that!" the blonde said apologetically.

Unfortunately for him, Blanche's gramps seems to still be perceptive for someone his age since he noticed that something must be wrong with the blonde. Not that it was difficult since he was practically married to the old man's couch at this point. No use lying here, otherwise it might cause some problems for him down the road.

"Well it's a side effect of overusing my semblance. Like have you ever experienced that feeling when you fall asleep and wake up with an unpleasant headache leaving you in a groggy and grumpy mood for pretty much the rest of the day? That's basically what I'm feeling. Physically, I feel like i can run across Remnant and still not break a sweat. Mentally, however, I feel like Ingram threw me all across his tavern like a rag doll and used me as a mop to clean up the mess. It doesn't help that it is pretty much impossible for me to sleep while the sun's out but as soon as that glorious. scorching, infernal ball retires for the night, I either feel a bit sleepy a lot more than most people or pretty much pass out instantly depending on how much I used my semblance. " Ael explained in a chipper voice, making him look like a little bit too enthusiastic to explain his weakness to someone he barely knew.

"Oh and the sun forces me to be as optimistic as possible so hurray! Praise the sun I guess?" He exclaimed.

The tumbleweed that rolled in between them (he wasn't sure how the heck it got in since the doors should have been closed.) was a telltale sign that Xanthias and Chro didn't get his attempt at making a joke so he cleared his throat and calmed himself down.

"That was another poorly made joke. Sorry."


 
Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Xanthias's Bullet Craft and Weapon Repair
Mentions - @Accelerator



Xanthias listened to the boy go on and on and make another of his jokes, which honestly him smiling. Not because it was funny, but it was mostly out of amusement since Blanche could sometimes be full of terrible jokes and fake enthusiasm when it was her time of the month.

"Well kid, I've got something in the back room that'll help with that. My granddaughter has painful effects after overusing her Semblance, and with some Colezine, she's back to her usual self in a few hours. I can give you some, free of charge." The older man told him, giving Ael the offer of doing something about the Semblance after effects. If Ael denied, it would be no skin off of Xanthias's nose.

Xanthias's own Semblance caused terrible hand pains, which was how he ended up searching high and low for any medicine that helped with painful Semblance side effects. Colezine had been his go to needle for as long as his Semblance had been known.
 

Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Xanthias's Bullet Craft and Weapon Repair


"Any type of dust works in it, though I'm a bit limited in what I can keep active in the weapon," Chro began her explanation of her needs. "I could probably use anything you have, but let me see if I can narrow it down. Can never go wrong with fire and ice. Electricity's pretty good too." As she continued, her voice lowered to more of a mutter as she thought out loud to herself. "Wind's only good if I don't want to kill anyone and that's not exactly part of the trip..." After a bit of ruminating, she came back with a short list. "Let me see what you have in fire, ice, wind, and gravity, plus anything else unusual you might have in stock."

Business out of the way, Chro could get back to socializing. Ael's jokes might fall flat, but she could still return them in kind. "Really? That sounds perfectly romantic to me." There we more serious concerns, though. "I ca n try to get us back before nightfall. The problem is, I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, so it might not be a quick excursion. Or will at the very least take more than one trip. Come to think of it, we should ask that Nudara fellow from earlier along, too."

Chro looked back to Xanthias. "Actually, I'd like to ask Blanche if she'd be in, too. But seeing as she's indisposed at the moment, I may need to plan this today more than actually head out. We'll have to see how it goes." Tracking down a larger group would make everyone's chances go up, like it or not. Chro was experienced enough not to lead anyone into certain death, least of all herself, but it would, of course, be far from free of risk.

"But while we wait, you did ask about the whole story with the warehouse. Well, you know that cafe? I ran into your granddaughter there. Well, the boss has a new guy working there, and the kid decided to try his had at vigilantism or something and wandered off to pick a fight. Naturally, we were all asked to follow him, one thing led to another, the gang had the bright idea to waste some rockets on us, and...well, I should actually give you the full version of the story." With that introduction, she launched into a more detailed account of events.
 
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Setting/Location
Time -Late Morning
Weather - Clear
Location - Vacuo; Zramore -- Unnamed Café and Bar
Tags - N/A


Although it might've felt like forever to organize everything in the backroom to reach the covered vehicle; eventually the pink haired male was able to move each of the boxes to a proper location on a shelf or on the floor together with other boxes. Finally, gaining an open path to the vehicle that was parked in the back of the room; Axel approached it before pulling off the brown ragged tarp that covered the shape only to reveal a dusty green motorcycle that appeared to had not been used in quite some time. "The old man used to ride this thing...? What the hell was he doing riding something like this in his younger days..?" As he questioned himself before wiping off some of the dust only to have the entire motorcycle automatically start out of nowhere just from a single wipe across the seat to remove some of the dust.

The sudden roar of the engine revving to life caused most of the dust within the backroom to blow up into the air causing any bit of vision to become near impossible as Axel stood in the middle of it all attempting to cover his face from the dust while coughing at once; he reached both his arms forward and felt along the wall in search of something that might've helped clear some of the dust.

Just as he was searching along the wall, the sudden feeling a switch flipping had him arch a brow when the entire right side of the wall started to fold backwards and reveal the outside. Rushing his way to the exterior of the room only to find that the backroom was actually a small garage on the back of the café. Finally, with the large garage door opened to allow all the dust to blow out from the interior of the garage; Axel stood there just to wait for it to all blow over before returning inside only to take a full glimpse at the motorcycle and finally pushing it out of the garage and into the open. "Now...the old man said there was a map in the storage compartment?" As he spoke, he lifted up the base of the seat only to reveal a rolled up map along with a small chip that could be connected to a person's scroll.

Grabbing both items out of the storage compartment, he also pulled out his scroll before plugging the small chip into the charger slot of the scroll only to end up having what appeared to had been several photos of what old Vacuo appeared to had been before it's destruction. Inside the chip also resided a map of the interior and exterior around the academy in Vacuo; did the old man somehow know that Axel was heading there or was there more to the old man than meets the eye.

Shaking his head at the thought, this was no time to be doubting the old man who had taken him in, gave him work, shelter and now even a ride. As much as he wanted to ask the old man about his past, Axel avoided doing so in case it would end up bringing back any old memories he didn't wish to remember.
So, now with transportation out of Zramore and plenty of food along with a few small equipment to prepare food on the road; Axel slid his sheathed blade onto the side of the motorcycle before climbing onto it and quickly driving off to head straight for the ruins of old Vacuo.
 




Mood: Curious
Location: Ruins of Vacuo
Tags: None


It was late. but not too late. The sun had risen and the sky was clear, it was a good day. At least. it would be if it weren't for the events of the past still lingering. Ruined buildings and broken lives were all that remained in the broken home of Vacuo. It was empty, devoid of life, the only living beings were the monsters of this land, the Grimm. Animal-like beings, specifically Beowulfs, marched the crumbling streets as a single figure sat on top of a crumbling building in the shopping center. The female watched the Grimm move about as her long, slender tail swayed curiously from side to side. Her teal hues scanned the area before jumping down with a clack from her heels.

Her bat-like wings twitched as the Grimm turned their heads and snarled towards the newcomer. The three Beowulfs howled before attacking at once. The young-looking girl glared at them before jumping in the air and used her wings to keep herself afloat. He pulled out a notepad and pen and scribbled down some words, "Still very aggressive and dumb." She teased before placing the notepad and pen back into her pockets before landing on the ground once more, a few feet away from the Beowulfs. They lunged once more as Elizabetha used the claws in her gloves to cut her wrists, allowing the blood to drip out and form two blades. The blood swords clashed with two of the creatures as the third attempted to tackle her to the ground. Twisting her arms inward, the tips of the blood blades scratched into the two beowulfs as they formed an 'x' shape on the third beowulf's chest.

A grin formed on her lips as her blood shifted from blades to whips as the newly formed weapons cracked against the ground, keeping the beowulfs at bay. "Sorry darlings, I can't let you hit me. Big brother might get worried, he doesn't really know I am here. So I would like to not get in trouble today~" Elizabetha giggled almost like a child. Then again, her demeanor did come off as childlike, as if her brain had stopped growing at a certain age. Her bat wings opened as they started flapping once more, lifting her body into the air, continuously cracking the blood whips on the ground. One of the beowulfs eventually caught one in its teeth as it started trying to pull her down. A faint grunt left her as she tried to pull the monster as another ran over and bit hard on her foot. A sharp squeal emitted from Elizabetha's lips, glaring towards the beowulf before she started kicking it hard in its head over and over again. "Stupid things never listen." She huffed irritated.

The Aura Grimm female swung her leg in an attempt to get the Grimm off her, turning on of the whips into a sword. She slashed repeatedly on the head of the beast before being forced to the ground. A bit of dust kicked up as she crashed, the scarred beowulf letting go of her foot. Elizabetha quickly stood up, blowing some of her red hair from her face. "And here I thought you couldn't get any more annoying." She growled angrily, the claws on her gloves appearing to sharpen as the blood continued dripping from the slits on her wrists, forming small pools from wherever she stood.
 

Setting/Location
Time - Late Morning
Location - Zramore, Vacuo - Xanthias' Shop
Interactions - @Jessica2477 @everyone present


Just as Ael thought that there was no easy way out of his predicament, Xanthias offered him some medication that he claims to be useful whenever Blanche had to deal with bouts of pain as a side effect of her semblance. It was interesting to know that the cow faunus also shared his troubles of a double edged semblance but Ael was skeptical whether or not her medication would provide any sort of relief to his condition. He quickly extended his gratitude to the dust shop owner after he received the syringe from him.

"Thanks, Mr. Xanthias. Hopefully this does the trick."

"I doubt something as convenient as a pill that completely allows me to bypass my semblance's side effects actually exists but if it this drug makes this horrid throbbing go away then I'm willing to try anything." Ael mused as he injected the syringe to his right arm and pushed the contents of it into his bloodstream. He wasn't sure how long it would take before the drug could take effect, if at all, so he decided to remain lounging on the sofa for the mean time.

He allowed himself to get more rest as Chro and old man Xanthias went about discussing dust available for purchase in his shop. Afterwards the veteran huntress told him she'd do her best to get them home by nightfall but they may not be able to leave earlier than that since she was unsure what exactly it is she wanted to find.

"Well, as long as we get back by sundown I won't have any complaints. Having you carry me all the way back to the inn after I end up collapsing due to fatigue is a big blow to my pride as a man, ya know?" Ael responded. "Asking that Nudara guy to come with us does increase our odds of getting in and out safely but unfortunately, I didn't really have the chance to get his contact details." He added after Chro suggested they get additional help.​
 
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