Purifying the Shadows

[ScarletNova]

OOC: https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/purifying-the-shadows-ooc-and-sign-ups.47298/

It was a warm summer evening, the sun just going down creating those beautiful oranges and reds in the sky. The city lights were slowly being turned on, each shop and buildings owners flipping them on as they saw fit. Most people went about their business, some coming home from work, others out doing their daily shopping. They never knew that the way they felt could affect the world so much. They never saw the truth that went on around them.

Lacey was looking out the window of her master's home. Sight could make people sense the feelings that others had, and could see the Shadows. Protectors were not considered to have Sight, yet they could see the emotions just as much as Sight people. It was just that everyone didn't even consider protectors normal humans, what kind of human would be born with weapons anyway? Other people could be given Sight as well, the SIN Company liked to do that.

Lacey heard a bang behind her and took a look away from the window, staring at the brown haired girl who had just stubbed her toe on the table.

"Oh. That hurt's." Nicky shouted out, jumping around while holding her hurt toe. Lacey just shook her head.

"Watch where you are going next time." Lacey replied calmly and walked away from the window.

"I know, I know." Nicky said back, putting her foot down as it started to feel better.

 

[WhiteBane]

Damian Gray was sitting in the middle of his bedroom as he sensed the pathetic feelings of the people in the city. Greed, envy, gluttony, lust, rage, pride, anger, you name it and he could probably feel it come from someone, humans were always jealous of others for one thing or another. Though not every person was bad, during his time he met and helped people who only had nice emotions and goodwill towards others but they were so few and rare. It never really mattered anymore, from a young age he was brought up in this world. Both his parents surprisingly had the Sight but not as well as he did so they spend most of the day honing his skills and preparing him for when he was old enough to take on the task of helping the world. It wasn't until he purified his first shadow that his powers started to bloom and that's when more shadows took notice of him. He slayed each one and vowed he would protect the innocent people from the shadows others had created.

He was pulled away from his thoughts and stopped cleaning his blade when he heard a bang that came from downstairs. He sighed and shook his head, It was probably Nicky; one of his protectors. Damian had met the duo one day when he was hunting a relatively strong shadow that was tormenting a nearby town, when he arrived he never expected to meet the two. For the majority of his job he simply ignored them and hunted the shadow but when he cornered it and the shadow turned out to be stronger than he expected that was when the two girls appeared. When he left the town they followed him even though he told them he didn't want any protectors they simply wouldn't listen, they continued to follow him on jobs until he finally allowed them into his house. Then a few weeks later he agreed to become their master. Damian sighed then lowered his green eyes to stare at his reflection shown by his blade. "Reverse Silvith." He whispered. The blade hummed and light filled the room until his sword disappeared and a dragon claw pendant hung around his neck.

Without saying another word nor making any sounds he stood up, grabbed a change of clothes then left his room and walked into his bathroom to take a shower.

 

[CrystalScorpion96]

He walked in the town, alone. No one wanted to talk to him. No one wanted to touch him. Everyone ignored him. He got used to it, really. But it still made him sad. He took a look at his hands, a ghostly remnant of black wisps. If he could, he would have sighed in disappointment. Unfortunately, he didn't have the gall to seek out a SIN or a Sight. The thought of meeting a Sight scared him. They always wanted to kill him. He took solace that there were people who protected him. But they never played with him. He was alone. As always. Augustus walked through the alley, a slight trail of dusty shadows following his wake.

-In another area of the town-

"ONE MORE! KEEP IT COMIN'!" The young woman slammed down more cash, and the bartender was only too happy to oblige. Around the bar, everyone took notice of her, the source of ninety percent of the bar's income. She had an obscene amount of money, and never seemed to get drunk. The other bartender's knew not to mess with her, judging by Alex going to a hospital after she introduced him to ten of her bottles. The young woman kept on going at it, pulling out cigars and drinks left and right, drinking and smoking at an impressive rate. Amelia was most likely going to go on for five more hours. Not surprisingly, the bartender was on the phone again, ordering more drinks for this alcoholic monster.

-Elsewhere-

Hollis was always regarded with both fear and admiration. Admiration because of his recently acquired ability. Fear because of what his appearance usually met. He recently scanned a Labrador Retriever, a week ago, really. Hollis made his living by combining his talents. He read in a biological paper the capacity of dog's to sense illness, especially severe cases of cancer. Paired with his Silvertip's sense of smell, Hollis could detect cancerous lumps in an eighteen mile radius, normally to families who were still unaware. He did the service for free, but many of the families were grateful enough to give him a generous donation for his work. He sighed as he walked up to a house. Delivering the news was always the hardest part. A woman opened the door, but her smile dropped as soon as she realized who it was. Hollis entered, silently, while the woman watched in horror and in sadness. He walked up, to the laughing table of three. They too, became silent. Finally, he lifted his arm up. And pointed to the father of the family. They were immediately galvanized, springing into action, getting him to the car so they could go into the hospital. The woman thanked him, and gave him a small tip.

He grimaced, and headed off. Even if people didn't want to believe it, his track record made it impossible to ignore his advice. His job was always hard, but he was grateful that he could save people's lives.

 

[Razie Angel]

"SELENA RUN!" Her sister cried out. Selena saw her mother and father. They were dead. But why? Who could have done this? Blair... She heard her evil laughter. "Why Blair?" Blair's cold eyes turned to Selena. "Don't worry, you'll be joining them shortly." Clair stood in front of Selena. "Not if I can help it." Clair raised her bow to her sister. "DAMMIT RUN SELENA! GO HIDE! SELENA! SELENA! SELENA!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Selena wake up!" Clair shook her. "Dammit wake up Selena!" Selena stirred in her sleep. "Huh?" Clair crossed her arms. "Oh I don't know, you're screaming so loud that they can hear you on the other side of the universe!" Selena sat up. "Oh sorry." A black wolf came up and nudged her with his nose. "Hey Artemis. I'm alright." Artemis licked her face. Selena giggled. "Come on Sel, I don't like this. You may have given our location away. Let's get moving." Clair wrapped up her and Selena's sleeping bags, and put them in her back path. "Stay close to me, these woods are dark. There is a road not far from here though."
~

Blair took a drink of water. Where could they be now? The little brat and her other annoying sister. She would kill them both if it was the last thing she did. Maybe a cool dip in this stream would do her a world of wonders. A hideous sound echoed through the woods it was very distant. Could it be? No it sounded like more of a dying animal. Could be worth checking out though. The dip in the stream would have to wait. Could be Selena. From what she had noticed after following them for years is that Selena still had nightmares about the night Blair killed their parents. A cruel smile crossed her face. It was exactly what she wanted. To torture both of them, until Blair could make her kill. She already scarred Clair physically. If she ever got near Selena though....It would be all over for her. Blair was sure of that.

 

[sleepinghat]

Twelve couldn't remember how long since his last job. Two weeks? Maybe three? Who knows? Either way, he's bored. The SIN never lets him outside the headquarters unless he has a job assigned to him. How long are they gonna keep me in this hell hole? He thought while strolling around the hallway, watching other SIN operatives go along their daily lives. He couldn't help but notice their emotions as they pass by. He is half-shadow after all.

That one just got fired. He noticed at the guy who just passed by.

That one's gonna kill her siblings. He thought as he passed by another operative who was just about to leave into the forest.

Looks like that one just got dumped. He sneered at the guy sitting at the bench, his face cupped in his hands. Keep slacking off like that and you'll be fired.

"Agent Twelve?" A man in a suit caught his attention. He's done enough to know where this is going. Holy cow, finally! He gave him a piece of paper. Twelve couldn't help but grin. He's finally getting a job.

 

[ScarletNova]

Lacey could hear the sound of rushing water, her master Damian Gray, must have went into the shower. She wasn't trying to be weird about it, but she always made sure to check where he was at, you never knew when something or someone could try to attack them. She wanted to be able to protect him, no matter where he was. Meanwhile Nicky had sat down in a chair in the room they were in and propped up the foot she had hit.

"That's better." She said, resting it. "This is the life." She brought her hands to the back of her head and leaned.

"We're here to protect Damian, remember that." Lacey said, taking a look at the books that happened to be on the table. She was fond of reading, she liked learning new things and tried to know as much as possible. She picked a book up and took a seat, opening the book and began to read a few pages.


"Says the girl who decides to read." Nicky said in a whisper.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Nicky replied with a little laugh.

 

[WhiteBane]

After letting the hot warm simply run over his body for a few minutes as he stared at one of the walls be finally washed himself then shut up the water and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a nearby towel and dried himself off expect for his hair then draped the towel over his neck as he put on his pants; he grabbed his shirt with his left hand then walked out of the bathroom. Damian walked down his stairs then took a left to arrive in the room where Lacey and Nicky were currently in, he lifted up the right side of his towel and rubbed his face as he looked at Lacey then Nicky. His chest had a large scar running down it that he had received from a nasty shadow and it moved with his chest as he breathed. "Nicky..what have I told you about propping your feet on the table?" He asked with monotone voice. As he dried his hair he threw his shirt over to one of the tables then dropped his towel into the laundry basket before he walked over to the full length mirror to examine himself.

He knew some people that he was a handsome young man but he didn't see it at all; he simply looked like a young man who knew too much war. His greens eyes for either from having his ancestor's blood running through his veins more than his family or because he could turn into his family's deity. He looked down then brought his hand to trace the jagged scar across his chest, he was probably more flawed then the ones who created shadows.

 

[sleepinghat]

It's been a long time since Twelve has been in this town, yet he could tell nothing has changed. It's still a bit gloomy. Shadows are all over the place. Some are following the ones who molded them into existence. Others are just roaming around, not sure why they came to exist. The regular people didn't see them, but they sure could feel them. Twelve was a half-shadow, but he never tried to see if he could be invisible to regular people....

"Watch where you're goin', mate!" , A muscular man said as Twelve bumped into him. A regular.

"Sorry, geez", Twelve said and went off. I guess I can't be invisible.

Now his thoughts shifted to his current job. He closed closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He should be close somewhere.....

Then he felt it: an aura of misfortune. He followed where it came from and it got him in a dusty alleyway. Sure enough, the shadow was there.

"Hey", Twelve forced a smile and tried to look friendly. "It's okay, I won't hurt you. I'm not like them. Do you mind telling me your name?"

 

[CrystalScorpion96]

Augustus jerked, shadowy, nonexistent eyes hopefully scanning the figure in front of him. A friend. While he was young, he wasn't a fool, he didn't know if the person was a Sight or a Shadow. It didn't really matter, until things took a more hostile form. His voice was scratchy and gravelly, most likely due to years of not being put to use, "Augustus." He held his hand out, and a small ball of shadow materialized in his hands. "..Play..?" Strong Sights and SINS were usually much more resistant to his passive ability, which made most hate/fear/avoid him. He hoped to gain a friend, but not much people wanted to play with him. It was awfully lonely, hearing the moans of his hosts, and constantly remembering their son's death. While his face wasn't exactly visible, his tone held a soft tone of excitement and hope. Perhaps a bit of optimism as well. Of course, he didn't continue to speak as he heard loud noises. Shouting and fighting.



"Ma'am, you've been drinking and smoking for a solid twenty four hours." Hollis frowned. It was unusual, seeing as how the woman had cleaned out all of the alcohol in the room. She had a huge pile of cigarette butts and packages near her stool, yet she still went on. Of course, this indicated a more unorthodox explanation. He rested his hand on her shoulder, "You should see a doctor."
He got thrown out of the door. With one arm, no less. He quickly smashed a fist into the concrete below him to create a small cloud of dust. Then, he removed the black gloves he was wearing, and started climbing the building, making sure no one saw him as he climbed. The war between SINS and Sights was more of a shadow war than anything. There were rumors, of course, but those people were counted off as paranoiacs. If the war became public, the military would be involved. And they would be much worse than both the SINS and the Sights, he was sure of it. For the time being, he stood as a gargoyle, letting the orange evening overtake his eyesight for a second. Of course, he heard it. The raking of claws against concrete, and the sound of the woman who threw him out of the bar jumping onto the roof.
"So, what can you do?"




She was kinda pissed. Random guy walks up to her, for no !@#$ed reason, and starts treating her like a fussy child. Of course, her mind changed when she realized that his body was missing. Probably a Sight, SIN, or Protector. Either way, she was bored out of her mind. Shrugging off, she handed a fat wad of cash to the bartender, and walked to the side of the building. Making sure she wasn't seen, she scaled to the rooftop. Fortunately, the building's top was wider than the rest of the building, making it so people wouldn't see her fight.
"So, what can you do?" She spoke her challenge in a mocking voice, inviting the man to fight. He declined, and stood watching. It occurred to her that he was waiting for her to make the first move. Of course, she was fine with that. She could always use a light exercise. Standing oddly, she let her arms fall to her sides, and started muttering incoherently. Then, her skin turned to a more ashen color. Her nails grew longer, her teeth grew longer, and her eyes had a feral look in them.
Running forward, she connected with the man's fist. Huge mistake. She felt as if he had just shot her arm point blank with a miniature sun. The second blow caught her in the stomach and, without the support she had on the first trip, flew back on top of a house. By this point, her flesh had already started regenerating. She knew that a hand to hand fight would likely lead to her having two huge holes in her body. She returned to normal as she theorized that the man in question had an odd punching ability. Or maybe could collect energy in his arms? Either way, she should stay away from them.




"Whoops...." He muttered, a bit shamefully, to himself. It was his intention to disable, not kill the woman. Of course, it was a godsend that, being later in the evening, most people wouldn't be able to detect their little fight. He had taken great precautions to get nearly everyone in the town drunk after discovering the woman's high tolerance. To be honest, though, he had enough fighting. He would have to scan more creatures and increase his own strength if he wanted to keep on fighting. While he was able to deflect the claw, he had a feeling that if he didn't, he would be a bloody mess. Even with his regenerative powers, he could only heal certain parts of his brain. He wouldn't recover from such a brutal beatdown. And so he feigned his own death. Stealthily making his way over to a building across the street and climbing its roof, he focused on his supposed suicide. Making it look as if someone shot him, he focused his punch to a small point. He blew two small holes into his own body, and he screamed out in pain as he fell to the street below him. As he fell, he saw a pair of girls in the building he had fallen from. Huge mistake. He should have looked away. If any of the girl's were paying attention, then they would have seen the life still in his eyes and the confident smirk he had that his plan worked. Though, one was reading and the other was relaxing, so perhaps they didn't see him. Of course, only Sights, SINS, and Protectors were perceptive enough to catch on. Hopefully the pair wasn't part of SIN. Or anything, really. Faking death was a hard business, and he normally had to change his appearance each time. His thoughts were jolted as his body hit the ground in a sickening crack. Anyone who looked at this scene saw the massive amounts of blood already leaving his body. Several onlookers gave guilty looks, but didn't take any action. Being a messenger for Death, there were many reasons someone would want to kill him. Not only that, but why waste the time of the hospital? The man was clearly gone. Some people dialed their phones, calling 911 to dispose of the body.



"Tch." He clearly did it to make it impossible to attack him. Surrounded by all of the onlookers, she couldn't attack him without getting suspicion in the area. Shaking her head, she clambered down and re entered the bar. Ignoring the questions of the bar patrons, she asked for another drink. Recieving the cold drink, and fully healed, she flicked out a cigar and a lighter. For her, everything was back to normal.

 

[ScarletNova]

Nicky suddenly pulled her feet down. "Sorry, i just stubbed my toe though. I was trying to let it heal." She stated, trying to come up with an excuse of why her feet were on the table that Damien never allowed her to do. That was when suddenly they heard something. Lacey looked up from her book, closed it and set it to side. "What was that?" Nicky said, as she looked around the room. "We're all in here."

Lacy stood up and went to the window and looked out. "Hmm." She said, when she noticed some guys body laying on the sidewalk. "Well, it seems we have someone who fell off of the roof." She said to them. Surprise flashed on Nicky's face. "I suggest we go see what happened, Nicky." She told her, it was better to investigate and see if it was anything of importance. Lacey headed out of the room, with Nicky following in pursuit. She headed for the door and out she went, seeing people beginning to swarm around the body. She went up to it, pushing a few people away. "We'll take care of this." She said to them.

Nicky started to push the people to back away. "We..ah..live with a doctor. We'll bring him inside while we wait." She lied to the crowd, which seemed to please them considering a few started to walk away. Lacy took a look at the guy. "Well."

"He's a Sight." Lacey told her. Nicky never really understood how Lacey could tell so easily, it always was a challenge for Nicky to sense if anyone had Sight or not. "There's a reason then. Let's get him inside." She told Nicky and the two girls picked him up together and carried the boy inside to their masters house and brought him to the room they were just in. They set him down on the couch. "I'll clean everything up later." She told Damien, considering this guy had blood all over him. Lacey began to wipe away some blood from him, seeing where he was wounded. After all, she was the one who saved Nicky as well.

 

[sleepinghat]

Twelve held the shadowy ball. "Yeah, I love this game!". They passed the ball back and forth from each other. "Wow, you're pretty good!", he said, "It's a shame not everyone could see you, they'd love to play with someone as good as you!". He spins the ball atop of his index finger. "But then, there are those who could see you. But what did they do? They've hunted you like you've done something evil. But you haven't! All you've wanted is to make friends, to play a game of catch under the afternoon sky...."

Even though he couldn't see Augustus' expression hidden within his shadowy face, he could tell he's got him in his psychological trap. Shadows aren't all that clever since all they have is emotions. Without logic , they let their emotions take over their judgements which leads them in making terrible choices. He smirks, This is too easy. "The Sights. Yes, those who've hunted you are the evil ones! They're barbarians! Cold-blooded killers who'll take the lives of those like you, even you, who is innocent and hasn't done anything wrong!"

He pulled out a black pill. "Would you like to take revenge for all they've done?"

 

[WhiteBane]

Damian seemed a bit concerned and turned away from the mirror to look at Nicky as she explained why her foot was propped up on the table. "Oh, if your foot was injured you could have said so and kept your feet up there." He replied as a small ball of light picked up his shirt then brought it over to him. He gently patted the small ball and slipped his shirt on as it hummed happily then fazed into his pendant. Then when they heard what sounded like something falling he glanced toward the window out of the corner of his eye. Something about the sound seemed odd to him, and even artificial.

That's when he happened to notice the body falling past them and saw how the person's face was, he sighed to himself then proceed to fix his tie. Great, just what he needed; someone acting like they were dead. Damian would act like he was clueless and he simply nodded as Lacy and Nicky walked out of the house to investigate. "Silvith, be ready for anything." He whispered to his pendant and it shone lightly in response. That's when they bought the body in, time to start.

"It's fine, I'll clean up. Just see what you can find out." Damian replied then walked over to her and the body. "Hmm....a Sight huh?" He rubbed his chin as Lacey cleaned the young man up and that's when he noticed the wounds. "Odd, I've never heard of a sight being killed by bullets so easily and not to mention fighting on a roof top. Also, looked at the entry points; they're a bit small and too perfect for normal bullets. Either it was another Sight that did this or a SIN operative." He mused and straightened himself up. Damian knew what really happened but he wanted to see how this 'dead' young man was going to act and if he was friend or foe.

 

[Onyxforever]

Sylora was standing in an alleyway her pistols hidden beneath a light hoodie that was colored black. She was a protector and she knew it but she was without a master. No one to call her own. She sighed and watched as people walked by heading home for the night. As the lights flicked on one by one she felt a tear threaten her eye. Laughing at her own weakness she wipes it away.

"Good job Sylora...good job..."

She couldn't believe it. For years she had been alone but now she felt alone and it was like there was a hole in her chest where something was supposed to be.

 

[Phi Chisym]

Gia Pargac

The night was warm and smooth, a perfect summer evening. But Gia could only see the awakening of a depressed and dangerous city, dark except for the few street lights that illuminated the pavement every thirty feet. There were few souls on the streets and those that were out casually going about their way, comfortable in their shoes and how they tapped against the ground. Gia, on the other hand, was squeamish about how loud her feet fell and her eyes darted here and there, preparing for unwanted surprises that prefer to hit hard and warn you afterwards. She knew everything was fine. The streets felt – peaceful. But darkness, regardless of how peaceful it is, always frightened her.

Gia Pargac's walk home from the museum where she works was always brightly lit by the streetlamps, always friendly and safe due to the various store owners who stood outside their shops as Volunteer Block Watches, keeping an eye on the people who are their everyday customers; and then some. Gia would smile, wave, say a few kind words with a shaky voice to the few warm faces, but deep down she felt insecure and tightened her maroon hood over her head as she moved faster down the streets. No matter how many times she walks that same path day in and day out, she still felt – uncomfortable; especially at night. She still felt the need to shelter herself, but knew far too well that that was not the answer to everything.

As she rounded the corner to head down Parksway Street to her brownstone apartment, her cell phone rang. She knew it was mom. It's always mom, checking up on her during her walk. Ann was a worried wart, always concern for her damaged daughter like any good mother would. Gia sighed heavily; yet, still retrieved her cell along with her keys, as she climbed the steps to her apartment.

"Ma, I'm home safe. Thanks for calling."

"As always, that's good. But, I'm calling to let you know that Mrs. Salazar will be coming to visit you tonight."

The hand that turned the key froze in place. Gia had to remind herself to breath. "Wh..what? Mrs. Salazar? I-I thought…" Honestly, Gia had no clue what her dear, deceased friend's mother thought of her. It's been only eight months since Augie's death. She just started to regain her sense of self and return to school… Now, all of a sudden, Mrs. Salazar makes a surprise visit to her apartment? She barely looked at her during the funeral!

"Honey, I know this is a bit uncomfortable for you, but she said she had a few things of Augie's she wants to give to you. She felt that…well, he wouldn't of wanted anyone else in the world to have them, but you. Are you…okay about this? Do you want me to stop by…"

"No…," Gia sighed, "I…I'll be alright. I know she's had it just as bad as I have – really worse than me. I should talk to her anyways. I truly miss her, ya know." After five years of friendship with her son, Mrs. Salazar became "Sheila Mom" to her. But after the incident…

Gia entered her apartment and dropped her purse and keys to the side. Chatting with her mother for a while longer, she ended the conversation and started dinner. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Sheila Mom still cared for her like a daughter, even though she was the reason that her only son was dead? Those thoughts tormented her for months. After rehab, and counseling, she's finally gotten over a few things about her abduction, but the consequences of it all still lingered in her heart.

What if she didn't make that phone call? Would she have been sold to some drug lord in Columbia, or dead as a doornail? That would be better than Augie dying, would it? Is she happy that she's alive, and Augie's not? No, but…wishing for someone else to take his place sounds just as bad, doesn't it?

Gia was about to rip her hair out of her head with all these dangerously depressing thoughts tearing through her once gain. Gasping for air, she started to have a panic attack – her guilt squeezing her neck like a noose. It took a moment for her to struggle to her purse to grab her prescription, and after calming herself down well enough to take four pills, Gia tossed herself onto her couch to force herself to relax. She felt the meds kick in quickly, and her mind and body eased up. If her mother knew what she was doing to herself, she would automatically head down there and pick her up, pack her things, and move her back to their family home to care for her. But, she knew that wouldn't do any good for her. Those stale walls were claustrophobic.

Two hours passed before a knock echoed from the foyer of her apartment. Gia took a deep sigh and stepped down the short entryway towards her door. Through the peep hole she saw the short, older woman holding large box of stuff. Mrs. Sheila looked – unsure of herself; but determined and slightly not herself. Gia had an odd sensation course through her veins, but as always, she ignored it. Not sure if it was a natural warning system, or her anxiety creeping up on her again, Gia's always had such sensations that seem to tell her something unusual was about to happen. She's never really paid any attention to them, but when she does notice them – they seem to come during uncomfortable times such as this.

Unfortunately for Gia, this is one of those moments where she should listen to her gut… A dear friend she was, but Mrs. Sheila Mom was truly not herself anymore… Deep down, the mourning, the depression, the aches and pains of losing a child; it's been far too much for the woman. She truly loved her son, and loved Gia just as much; but she couldn't live another day knowing that her son gave away his life for her. She stood and waited silently for the apartment door to open, tossing a natural grin on her face when Gia opened the door, and just like old times she entered and settled down on the couch as if eight months of twisted thoughts didn't change a thing.