Strength of a Butterfly [GM]

[Rina Vade]

OOC – Demanding Requesting David for GM, please.

Hope you don’t make
this too difficult for me. xD

Two days of travel while tracking the faint auras of the abducted experiments had gotten Rina nowhere. She just wasn’t able to catch up with the captors, no matter what she did! If only she didn’t have to travel on foot. She was sure they had ways of getting around that didn’t require walking the entire time. Fury welled up inside the young raven-haired girl, the emotion consuming all other thought. She’d always had a soft spot for the experiments, had always wanted to help them, but this time, things were personal.

The kidnappers had Nill.

Nill was the child experiment that had developed a strong bond with Rina. The two were nearly inseparable in each other’s presence. The young girl had small, stunted white wings that protruded from her shoulders, blonde hair the color of corn silk, and the smile of an angel. She was only eight years old. Rina would die before she let anything happen to that little girl.

A harsh caw brought Rina from her thoughts, and she glanced up to see the pitch black form of Niveus as he descended from the sky, the tips of his dark wings making a soft whooshing sound. The large raven fluttered to her shoulder, clicking his beak. “You’ve found something, Niv?” Rina asked out loud, looking the bird in the eye. To anyone watching, it would seem she received no answer from the big, black bird, but the wolf girl and the avian had a mental connection. Animals didn’t speak in words alone. Rina understood what Niveus told her by the images and broken sentences her sent her; and animals had different words for some things, so often times, she had to ask what the crow meant by a word he’d thought to her. Nodding once as if Niveus had spoken, Rina continued on her way, but altered her course slightly, taking a different path from before.

They had gone quite a few miles before Rina decided to reach up and tap the black crow on the beak. “Hey, are you sure it was…?” she began to ask, only to trail off as Nill’s aura flared brightly in her mind, tinted with the dull gray of fear. It was no longer the crystal clear aura that Rina had grown accustomed to looking for. Nill was close. Very close.

Had the kidnappers stopped?

Niveus fluttered away then, taking to the skies at some unspoken signal, and Rina slowed her pace, sapphire eyes alert and ever watchful for Nill and her friend; another of the experiments. She swore that she would find them if it was the last thing she did. There was no way she was going to let the kidnappers get away with this, even if they turned out to be some of Barker’s men. She didn’t care.

They were going to pay.

[David B.]

OOC: it is true, I am one of the hardest-leveled GMs. I have never believed something gratifying can come easy. But don't worry- I think we will have fun


IC:

As the bird took off, Five men would walk out in front of her. From behind, three more men. One stepped forward, all of them in full Barker Uniform.

"What did I tell ya boys- a beautiful, black haired mistress following us. We will have pleeenty of fun with her, I'm sure."

Laughs followed all around- though one of the men, a boy of sixteen, was not laughing at all. He frowned, then spoke.

"Do you think she's after the child?"

The man in front shrugged.

"Who cares. She's coming with us."

He would start forward, intent to grab her by the shoulder. Rina was blocked, front and back, but she would notice two possible paths to her left and right. On the right, a long, thin alley. To the left, an intact window she could probably dive through.

Stats of men:

Str: 10
Dex: 10
Con: 10
Int: 10
Wis: 10
Cha: 10

[Rina Vade]

OOC - Gratifying or not, nothing is ever easy, but anything is possible ~

Rina started as she suddenly found herself surrounded on all sides. Why hadn't she sensed these men? Everyone had an aura, a stray emotion...but she hadn't detected any of them at all. She narrowed her eyes, quite literally snarling at the man who spoke as she called Niveus back with her mind. The blackbird returned in a flurry of feathers and talons, attacking one of the men as he swooped down to land on Rina's shoulder momentarily.

As far as she could see, there were only two ways out, as she was surrounded. She glanced at the window in a building to her left and discarded the idea. Being inside wouldn't allow much room for her to use her speed.

One of the men lurched forward and Rina ducked the shoulder he'd aimed to grab downward, bringing a fist up in an uppercut. Whether she connected or not, she took off running down the ally in a surprising burst of speed, the raven on her shoulder taking flight and following from the air. As she ran, she kept a close mental eye on Nill's aura. It remained strong, though laced with fear. Gritting her teeth, Rina inwardly cursed as she realized that she was headed in the direction opposite of where she needed to go. Niveus twittered and she glanced up. "What?! Climb that wall? Are you kidding me, Niv I'd never make it!" she exclaimed to the bird, her voice echoing down the ally. He only gave a caw in reply.

Shaking her head, she continued running. Maybe she could outrun the men. Then, she wouldn't have to waste anymore time with them.

[David B.]

"Oraugh-!"

The man let out a strangled grunt at the unexpected contact to his jaw, the leader stumbling to the side and ass-planting against the wall. The men looked surprised- but the leader pointed furiously-

"AFTER HER YOU IDIOTS!"

The men sprinted after her- but they were far behind. Fortunately, this alley was a dead end, and before long she would find herself with brick on all sides. The men were catching up- but a hand would reach through the wall and a muffled voice would come as well.

"TAKE MY HAND!"

If she took it, she would be pulled through the wall. There would be the sixteen year old who asked if she was after the girl. He wore the barker uniform, and was pale as a ghost.

"Okay- wait, listen. They are keeping her in a resteraunt four blocks back the way you came. It's a Wendy's. Theres another gaurd there who is suppose to watch the kid. Now- knock me out and run!"

OOC: Sorry for the wait!

[Rina Vade]

OOC - Nessun problema! It's alright.

"Shit!"

It was a dead end. Maybe she would have to climb that wall after all. There was a ridge back...

Shouts made her look back and she cursed again. The men were catching up! Suddenly, a hand appeared through the wall and she heard someone call for her to take it. She hesitated, wary. Niveus screeched and swooped low, landing on her shoulder and becoming entangled in her midnight hair. "Alright, okay, I get it!" she snapped at the bird, taking hold of the hand and instantly getting pulled through the wall. Whoah!

It was an odd sensation that left her a bit disoriented for a few moments. When she regained her bearings, she saw that it had been the boy that was with the group of men that had pulled her to safety. "What...you!" she began, but stopped when he spoke.

For a moment, she stood, dumbfounded. Why was he helping her?

"Knock you out? No way, I can't do that!" she exclaimed, taking off in the direction of the restaurant. "Niveus!" she called. "You stay behind!" mentally, she told the crow what to do, and the large, black bird swooped at the boy as if to attack him, talons scratching at his head. A huge raven was enough to keep someone at bay if he wanted it to look like he hadn't helped her. Of course, she would think the same if she was in his position. "This way I don't have to knock you out." she thought to the boy, not knowing if he'd hear her or not. A person had to be receptive to hear someone telepathically. She hoped he'd heard her.

The Wendy's came into view and she slowed to a jog, sapphire gaze scanning the area. One guard. Just as the boy had said. Slipping behind the form of a wide oak tree, she paused and watched, just to be sure.

[David B.]

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but Rina's bird attacked his face rather viciously, stopping him in his tracks.

Rina, meanwhile, would make it unmolested to the Wendys, the sign torn in half, holes in random places of the building, very run down. There was a man inside, sitting in a booth across from the girl rina was hunting for, smiling and chatting with her.

Rina would note he was blind, but had a machete peeking over his left shoulder.

They didn't seem to notice her yet.

[Rina Vade]

As she watched, Rina began to realize that the man who was sitting across from Nill was blind. He was chatting with the nervous looking girl – probably to try and put her at ease, but he never really looked at her. She scanned over the man, searching for signs of any weapons. The tip of a machete winked at her from its place at his shoulder. Other than that, she didn’t see anything else on him, but she didn’t rule out the possibility of a concealed weapon. He was blind, so she doubted he’d be able to use a gun.

Still, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Moving quietly, she made her way toward the Wendy’s, calling mentally for Niveus. As she approached the cracked glass of the entrance, she saw Nill look up and over at her, her eyes widening in surprise. Rina brought a finger to her lips; a sign of silence, and the eight year old nodded stiffly.

Rina stood still for a moment, thinking. If she opened the door now, the man would hear her. Being blind, his sense of hearing and possibly smell was far more attuned than anything. “Niv, where are you? Hurry up.” she thought, glancing to the skies in search of the black form of the raven. A few moments later, the bird appeared, feathers rustling softly as he landed on the railing beside her. She looked at the bird, and in the next instant, he had gone around to the window behind Nill and dived at the glass, wings beating madly at his talons scraped the pane. He screeched, making as much noise as he could.

If the man got up, Rina would dart in, grab Nill by the hand and make a run for it. If he didn’t, she would charge in and attempt to knock the man out by striking him on the back of the neck; where a small cluster of nerves lay.