From The Wolf's Shadow [Marcus]

[Marcus Prasad]

"Over and above the sake of cooperation, I have no intention of leaving the Crows open to attack. I will indeed be bringing this information forward to you all, and I will work with those that I trust to devise some ideas that could be viable counter measures beforehand, and continue further with First Black. You should look to her, as, I will have to first bring them to her; which is nothing at all against you, but...protocol and decorum."

'Yes, Which means I wont see the report for another year after it's been made considering the' bang up job' she and Unfettered do to keep me in the loop.'
Marcus thought bitterly as he spat his contempt off to the side.
"Sometimes I find that First Black fixates alittle too much on the Decorum aspect and not enough on Protocol."
He muttered to himself before looking down on the small blonde girl. Was that a smirk he saw? Mabey this was her way of getting back at him after the pummeling he gave her during the brawl between himself, Rai, Aryn and.....Well probably alot more people. He couldn't quite recall considering the frenzy he was fighting under.

"Glad to see you've recovered so quickly."
He commented casually enough.
"I allowed myself to fight out of control and for that I apologize."

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kiyr's blue eyes turned up to Marcus with his words, weighing both them and the tone he had used. Her expression was more empathetic than sympathetic, though she still felt the latter. It was projected more with her wide blue eyes, and there was a sense of her reaching out, though her arms remained at her sides.

"I apologize, but I will speak with her to get the information circulating more rapidly because it needs to be so for everyone's safety."

Kyrie continued, though she did blink at Marcus' apology.

"I am rather resilient, and have to be. You should not have to apologize for helping to strengthen me when I knowingly pit myself against those much stronger, but I accept your apology." It was coupled with a slight though genuine smile so he would know she meant it. The petite blonde had noted that Marcus had a code of honour - sometimes a little strange, but she had noted that it was more directed towards the welfare and safety of women - and it was probably what had nudged the apology forwards.

[Marcus Prasad]

Growing up in a very tough love family before enrolling in the ultimate school of hard knocks had left Marcus almost ill at ease with sympathy or empathy so he was rather caught off guard with how earnest Kiyr sounded. Embaressed, he gave the back of his head a scratch. If Kiyr was mentaly reaching out, then Marcus' reaction could easily be metaphoricaly compared to a skittish stray dog hopping back out of arms reach.

"Ah you don't have to bug Del, she's doin everything she can as it is. I'm just being bitchy is all."
He explained.
"And keep in mind I'm not apologizing for putting a hurt on you, just for losing control doing it. Its not how I like doing things. Not proper ya know? You ever want a proper matchup against me, don't be afraid to ask, ill be up for it anytime."

[Kyrie Blaze]

And did Kyrie ever understand Marcus' reaction. She said nothing on it but tilted her head.

"...perhaps being a little 'bitchy' is permissible when lives are on the line. ...and I understand, but even so. Not every foe will hold back enough to remain in control. I will, however, definitely seek you out when I wish to fight you once again." No hard feelings whatsoever by the tone of her voice.

Kyrie continued looking around as they walked, paying note to where he lead her.

[Marcus Prasad]

Marcus wasn't exactly leading them anywhere in particular, more like meandering around aimlessly. Marcus had to admit hearing Kyr say the word 'Bitchy' was flat out adorable and at odds with the formal way she spoke.
'Makes ya wonder how she would be if she just relaxed alittle.'
He wondered as she gave him another example of how god damn gutsy the girl was. She probably didn't mean anything by her comment about seeking him out, but it was easy to imagine she did, especially with the rather assertive language she used and that made him give a light chuckle and a smile.

"You know what little Dragon? I think I'm starting to like you."
He said, resisting the urge to pat her on the head. It didn't help the fact that her hair looked so gosh darn fluffy. Kind of like a little golden kitten.
"Yeah I guess Bitchyness aside, I just don't like the idea of letting stuff like that slip considering I gotta set the example and all."
Suddenly a thought crossed Marcus' head. Kyr used shadows to move around.....

"Hey Little dragon? I was wondering."
Raising his hands, palms upward, he channeled his Qi, causing the black inky shadow wisps to form and dance in his hands.
"What do you make of this? You being a shadow User yourself?"

[Kyrie Blaze]

The thing with Kiyr, was if she said something, she meant it. And aside from a stupid exception that hadn't come to light, yet, it had held true. When she wished to find him again, she would seek him out. The terms and way of phrasing she used certainly said as much. The young woman turned her blue eyes up to Marcus with his chuckle and comment.

Blink.

Blink blink.

She turned her gaze down, somewhat awkwardly uncomfortable and yet...comfortable with the notion, all the same. It was a weird mix of the two, which more or less signified her conscious acknowledgement of friends and family.

"Which is completely understandable. There should be a certain standard we all hold ourselves to, of course."

With the questioning lilt to Marcus' voice, the petite blonde paused and tipped her head as the Wolf held his hands up, as if almost in supplication. But when the black wisps started to form, her eyes brightened in curiosity. So much so that she lifted her own hands and spun her qi from them, seeking to attempt coaxing and feeling Marcus' qi. The thing she found...was that it was darkness. Not evil, but just darkness. An absence of light. Shadow.

"...it is the dark. What can you do, do you know..?"

Her qi coiled against the tendrils, as if perhaps that would give her a better idea of what his was. What was it?

"Have you always had this? How did it come about?"

It made no sense as to why he hadn't used it in any of the other encounters, so Kyrie was banking on the odds of it being new.

[Marcus Prasad]

As Kiyrs Qi touched his own, Marcus felt a shiver whip crack up his spine and touch the spot in his guts where he summoned his Qi forth, from the sensation of his energy being probed by hers. It was almost sensualy gentle, but so alien and new as to cause his instincts to recoil from it in alarm as his eyes widened.
Thankfully curiosity would drive his apprehension down.

Slowly he would form his shadow Qi into the ball between his palms that served as his projectiles.
"This is a recent thing actualy. Leon had given me something he called 'Gamble fruit' which gave me these abilities. Qi was relatively unheard of back in New York. So far as I could tell, blasting shots is all I can do. Honestly I'm hoping to expand my repatoire."
Marcus would favor Kiyr with his roguish smile.
"I'm thinking mabey you could help me with that? I always did prefer to be versatile."

[Kyrie Blaze]

With the first recoil - and Kyrie could feel the qi Marcus had summoned recede, as her own surrounded it - the petite blonde pulled her tendrils of shadow back, hovering, as her eyes flicked up to Marcus', holding steady. Subconsciously she realized that touching her qi to his own was infinitely more intimate than just brushing against him, physically, and she brushed the rising thought away before it could find a firm hold in her mind. Instead, she let curiosity reign.

As Marcus formed the shadow ball, she leaned upon her curiosity and curled her qi around his once again. On such a small scale it was easy to do so with a very light finesse, and she did not try to poke into his qi.

When he started to speak, she retracted the shadow wisps and lowered her hands, blinking owlishly at the roguish grin. It gave her some time to consider some of the implications. Teach Marcus..? He was still far above her level in a lot of ways, but everyone had to start from the ground, up, with a new skill.

Had his gain been a mutation; had it just been buried so deep inside him he needed the fruit to unlock it? What had changed about hers?

It wasn't that she was unwilling - entirely the opposite - but that she wanted to weigh her reasoning out because she had the opportunity to. And in the end, she wanted him to be versatile, too. She was just talking about keeping them safe and wasn't about to back down from that at all. The other driving force was, of course, curiosity.

"I will give you all the aid I am capable of." She offered a slight but honest smile in response. Soon, she figured, he would blow passed her in this area if he had not already. All he needed was time to practice and put effort into it.

[Marcus Prasad]

Marcus smiled and nodded.
'Sweet! She's on board then!'

"Thanks Kiyr, I really do appreciate this. I have literally no idea what to make of this funky voodoo shit."
Taking a deep breath, he pulled his qi back into himself, the shadows retreating back into his hands.
"Well I don't wanna keep you too long in case you need to be somewhere after casing out Anaheim."
He said with an impish smirk.
"So how about we trade notes?"

[Kyrie Blaze]

'...this funky voodoo..? ...je suppose que si l'on ne sait pas de quoi il s'agit...then one can not accurately describe it.'

Marcus was given a funny look as he retracted his qi, and Kyrie in comparison let it hover and coil around her body before seeming to either dissipate or seep back in. The blonde tipped her head slowly to the side at his words following actually reabsorbing his qi, considering quickly. With a blink, she gave him a soft, ghost of a smile. Perhaps it was especially due to the impish curl of his lips.

"At present I will not be casing out Anaheim or any other portion of Crow Territory until I have gained and exited its borders in every way I can think of. It is kind of cheating, would you not think? After all, those who come here first have no idea, either, do they?" She tipped her head forward. "But I would be both pleased and honoured to trade notes, later on."

[Marcus Prasad]

For a moment or two Marcus just stared at the little blonde with a bemused expression before bursting out laughing.
"I meant trading Notes on QI little Shadow sister."
He said between throaty chuckles as his laughter died out.
Without thinking the man put a hand on the young girls head and mussed her pleasantly soft hair much as an older brother would.
"I'll patiently wait for the report as expected, yeah. If you're comfortable in doing so I would like to Trade notes on the Mechanics of our Qi. Mabey together we could cook up some funky new methods to use them."

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie blinked up at Marcus with his expression, in a sort of quietly questioning way that shifted to mild surprise within her expressive eyes. The hand upon her head had Kyrie shifting in a minute ducking motion, and a noise that sounded suspiciously like a tiny squeak...could have come from her lips. The motion of him ruffling her hair had her throat close up for a moment, and she gently tucked memories of her family back away.

"...ah..haha..." She managed, somewhat uncomfortable yet comforted at the same time, finally, gently, wriggling from beneath Marcus's hand before blinking up at him once again. Slowly, she trailed her fingers through her hair to fix the mussed state, but not because she was disturbed. She smiled that tiny smile of hers and responded, regaining her articulation: "I believe I can definitely manage to do that."

[Marcus Prasad]

Well if that just wasn't the cutest thing he had ever did see!
Marcus supressed a squee which sneaked out as a pleased giggle as his fingers made a rats nest out of the adorable little blondes kitten soft hair. He found himself wondering how anyone could NOT want to just spend all day doting over her like their own little sister.

'Dude, focus time now!'

The fact that, despite being surprised by the gesture of brotherly affection judging by her initial flinch, the young girl seemed to genuinely enjoy it. Which made the man curious. Did she have older siblings of her own? Mabey younger siblings as well? Marcus himself always wondered what it would have been like if he wasn't the youngest child in his family often enough.

"Perfect!"
He said with a pleased smile. Already buzzing with enthusiasm at the thought of doing some Qi experimentation.
"Just let me know when would be convenient for you and we'll see where it goes from there! Don't be surprised if I have to bail once in awhile though, being Grim means my free time has shrunk depressingly over the past few months."

[Kyrie Blaze]

Fix fix fix, comb comb comb, ruffle, smooth.

In that way all women had, Kyrie's fingers nimbly set her hair to rights with an easy grace. It was still somewhat mussed - just a bit more fluffy than usual - but it was easy to see she probably had plenty of experience in smoothing out snarls and tangles...or adding them, even. Within recent years, if truth was to be told, most often it was the latter followed by the former. And something she planned to put to use, today. Marcus' enthusiasm was infectious and the blonde's crystalline blue eyes glinted in response.

"That is certainly understandable, I believe." Of course it made perfect sense to her, and it would be equally as acceptable for him to leave suddenly. "I believe, however, that for now I should resume the work and my purpose here. If you wish to watch from afar, you are of course welcome to."

With a small but seemingly easy smile, Kyrie offered Marcus another Dragon bowin preparation to temporarily part ways.

[Lucien DeChain]

There was an intruder in Crow Territory.

He didn't know where. He didn't know why. But he felt it. Something was definitely off. The usual bustle of the streets of Anaheim seemed pedantic, repetitive. Almost rehearsed, as if everyone was just going through the motions as an actor for some grand play. But then, who was the audience?

Lucien frowned. From his perch on a building above the street, he saw many things, but it's what he didn't see that bothered him more.

He lifted his hand to his ear, clicked on the bluetooth earpiece used to communicate between the Crows.

"Ghost Wolf to Fenris." Once Marcus responded, he would continue. "Sir, I have reason to suspect that an attack will take place inside Anaheim today. An attack on the barracks seems most likely. At your current position, you're the closest to the base, and it looks like I'm the only one patrolling the Southern border right now."

"What are my orders, Sir?"

{OOC: I'll wait for your replies before GM post.}