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 Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:13 am
Londonite had gone out to gather energy tonight, he’d just gotten off from the lounge and didn’t have class tomorrow, he was free to wander and grab a bit more energy in order to get ahead of things. If he could get ahead, have energy orbs kept in subspace ready to turn in for the next quota, he figured things would be good. It would make it all easier, it helped that he was working a job which gathered energy. It meant he really didn't need to worry, not too much, but he still wanted to be ahead of things.
It was why he was out skulking about some cafe, in the college part of the city, which had a live band every friday and saturday night. Tonight the band was playing, he could hear it from where he was around the side of the building, the singer was some male if he was hearing things right. They seemed popular, the cheering that rang out the front doors of the cafe, and it meant that when people went by, when they were alone, he was grabbing them so he could drain them. He had two people, unconscious, on the ground at his side as he worked. He would find somewhere to leave them soon, though where he wasn’t sure just yet, for now though he was pocketing more energy which he’d gathered.
So far so good.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:14 am
“Yes, I’m on my way. I stopped for a coffee and a strudel.”
Through his earbud came an excited little noise as Alaric’s brother asked, “And for me? You’re not leaving me out, right?”
Alaric took long strides down the side street away from the cafe, drink and pastries in hand. It was infrequent that he’d make a coffee run himself, but sometimes he needed an excuse to just be outside. He was in his office often enough to enjoy whatever counted for fresh air within city limits when he had a moment to himself. Although… he had sort of avoided independent snack runs since The Incident a few months prior… But he couldn’t hole up forever. It wasn’t healthy.
He gave a little snort and an eyeroll at his brother over the phone. “Mhm, snacks for you and Mav too. I wouldn’t expect anything grandiose- I only have two ha- Shhhhhiiit-”
“What- Alaric? What’s wrong? What happened?”
He’d barely taken half a step around a corner when just barely out the corner of his eye: bodies. Bodies on the ground. Some guy standing over them. Regardless of supernatural activity or not, Alaric knew that ‘bodies on the ground and some guy standing over them’ was not. Good.. He’d whipped back around the corner fast enough that he was pretty sure he hadn’t been seen, but… Given his exclamation, he’d probably been heard.
“Are you okay? Say some-!”
“Shut up,” Alaric bit out, needing anything else besides someone fussing in his ear. Realistically, he should just run. Get back out onto the main street as quickly as possible and pretend he hadn’t seen anything. But if he wasn’t already doing that right at this second, it was too late. The people with this supernatural s**t were faster than Alaric and it would be a single fracking instant- So ‘realistically.’ he shouldn’t run. In fact, the only thing he could do, because he was sure he’d been heard and would be chased, was-
He didn’t prefer to be Bäl, and he didn’t prefer to be engaged in this if he didn’t have to be. But there was no way around it because he didn’t want to be caught either. Alaric pressed himself back against the brick wall, fished his pen out of his pocket and bregrudgingly whispered the stupid phrase to pull the guise of his Senshi form over himself.
Again, through his earbud, he heard a slightly more frantic, but trying to pass as calm, “If you’re in trouble, I’ll call the police.”
“No,” Bäl hissed softly. “No, just wait. I’ll… I’ll see what’s going on first.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:15 am
Of course he’d heard the voice, how could he not, and it had startled him enough that he’d smacked right into a dumpster on his way towards the sidewalk where the person must have been passing by. He needed to find them, before they made a call to emergency services, though he knew his time here gathering energy was done with either way. What had him pausing, because it didn’t entirely throw him off, was he felt an aura that screamed order…a senshi. Great.
Well it looked like they were likely to come for him, otherwise why power up, so he might as well meet them and deal with the issue. Pulling the chopstick, which could easily double as a hair pin, out of subspace and moved out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk.
“You could have just walked away.” The words were spoken slowly, his voice low, Londonite was still hoping they might decide to give up and leave. He doubted it though, not since they’d powered up, and it was because he knew they wouldn’t leave that he lunged at them; chop sticking moving in a stabbing motion.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:15 am
Despite knowing that he should expect to be followed, Bäl still flinched when someone sharply rounded the corner, coming immediately face-to-face with him. And the second that happened, he felt almost… annoyed? There was no creature standing before him, nor any bizarrely-dressed, inhuman being. It was just- “You’re just some guy,” Bäl practically snapped. A guy with an aura that designated him as Other, but he wasn’t like the monstrous youma he’d seen. It was just a regular-a**, average human man! Even his dark clothes looked fairly close to a regular suit, without all the stupid glittery frills and feathers Bäl’s own outfit came with. Without this aura-sense (and the bodies by his feet, Bäl supposed), no one even could’ve guessed this person was wrapped up in something supernatural.
And Bäl was to be intimidated by this? He thought the ******** not.
The guy lunged with some tool that Bäl couldn’t immediately identify- not a knife but close enough to be used to stab. He dove to the side, the woosh of wind tangling his long hair as he circled quick to the side, careful to keep the Agent in his sights.
“I might’ve been happy to just leave,” Bäl spat. “But you want to make a fight of it- and for what? To achieve what?” Kill him? Maim him, if nothing else. It was a little cold of him, but Bäl didn’t actually care too much what happened to strangers, so those people left behind in the alley… Well, if Bäl hadn’t made any noise, he would’ve left and gone about his way and acted like he’d seen nothing, and then they wouldn’t even be in this scuffle. But this regular guy had lunged for him without a second thought. So here they were.
Bäl wasn’t especially talented in a fight: no weapon or training of his own. And his magic- well, he didn’t know enough about it to try. But he wasn’t going to be a pushover when someone was trying to hurt him for no reason. “I prefer not to fight, but I can be coerced.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:16 am
“If you weren’t looking for a fight then you don’t power up - you don’t go looking for a fight.” Because that was looking for a fight, that was throwing up a signal and a silent threat, this could have been avoided but they had powered up. Yes, he was blaming the other for their current position. He was not pleased that they’d already avoided him once, he was going to teach them a lesson for interrupting him, because clearly they intended to butt into his night.
Repositioning he went to lunge for the other again, this weapon really was no good, it was too small and he had to be precise as it was meant for stabbing only. It left little for him to do with it, there wasn’t even any weight behind it.
The squire had been powering up, planning to go for a walk, he was trying to avoid his home and family again. He’d managed to escape to his bedroom in the lull between yelling matches, and left the house via his bedroom window, the need to be powered up to feel safe in a dangerous city was bothersome but needed as far as he figured. What he wasn’t expecting, even though he should have, was to feel energy signatures One chaos and one order, they were close - too close for comfort.
He could walk off, and hopefully go ignored by both parties, but he doubted his luck was that good - it never was when it came to confrontations. So rather than avoid it he went to investigate it, and what a sight he got to see, some senshi was about to be stabbed by an officer. Normally he would ignore it, and he perhaps should, but he didn’t like his night being bothered by the presence of both and figured if he ended things they’d both leave sooner.
That in mind he pulled out his own walking stick and brought it down hard on the lieutenant's arm, rather than relying on magic, he was more hands on and he felt more sure of himself that way. “Enough.” Cold and calm, a finality to his voice, he did not need them fighting here. He needed it ended.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:17 am
“Are you a <******** moron,” Bäl spat. It seemed extremely obvious to him why he’d powered up- like, he’d really had no choice! If he’d waited to be caught up to as a civilian, then he’d have been seen - as a civilian! This guy would know what he looked like and could find him and no, no! Bäl could excuse a lot of this stupid powered stuff as delusion, and he could pretend to not be involved in most ways. But if it was right in front of Alaric’s face, and if it was “power up or die,” well, he wasn’t going to choose to die! “Of course I’m going to power up if some a*****e right in front of me is about to kill me? You started this!” He’d barely gotten the words out before something else was there. ‘Something,’ because Bäl was not familiar with the particular brand of aura radiating from the individual. It didn’t feel like a Senshi. And it didn’t feel evil. But Bäl did question how positive of an influence it was as newcomer immediately whacked the Agent with a cane. And like, sure, okay, he was glad that it was someone on his side(?) and Bäl wasn’t the one being attacked- Right, he shouldn’t complain. The Lieutenant had already tried to stab him. The fight was already happening anyway. And the other guy’s aura felt… strong. The same sort of radiance as Tea’s, even if it felt different in its own way. A part of him still worried that all three of them were enemies to each other. Bäl simply didn’t know anyone, didn’t know anything, couldn’t tell if either one of them would turn on him as soon as the other was out of the picture. And so, just… for security purposes… even if he didn’t completely understand, it still seemed safest to maybe try to use his magic. He was the only Senshi among them. It had to be worth something. It just sucked that he barely knew what it did, and what if it made it worse- How much ‘worse’ could it really be, though? One guy was already trying to kill him. It was pure intuition that guided Bäl into uttering the name of his spell, so softly it would be a wonder if anyone else heard it. Disappointingly, very little actually happened. Only a gentle shimmer appeared in the air around both him and the newest addition to their group- so that was… good, probably? Hard to say. Bäl had no experiences to base it off of. Quote: Sailor Scout Attack -- Guidance For thirty seconds, allies in a ten-foot radius around Bäl will be shielded by a shimmering veil of salvation. Attacks his rank and lower will do no damage. Attacks one stage higher will do half damage. Attacks two stages higher (including fourth stage damage) are unaffected. Three uses.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:18 am
Yanking his arm back, as if burned, Londonite might as well have been burned for all the pain radiating from his arm. If something wasn’t broken he’d be surprised, they’d hit him that damn hard, his stomach felt unwell from the resulting strike and it was by sheer force of will that he didn’t lose the contents of his stomach on the ground. This wasn’t good, not both of those auras. “You sound as if I was going to attack you senshi.” But he wasn’t going to, hadn’t planned it. “I was nearly done; just dealing with the bodies.” As if they were dead, which they weren’t. He was just energy, not lives, he just needed them unconscious for his own safety.
The magic, because of course there was magic, did nothing to him but the other two had a glow to them from it. Great, some sort of a boost, he was sure he had an idea of what kind of magic had been used. What it did precisely he didn’t know, and he was unintentionally about to find out, as he lashed out with his good hand. His single chopstick moving to stab at the knight who had turned up and struck him; children and their lack of respect. It did nothing though - absolutely nothing.
Childish and immature, that’s what this was, the officer was an idiot for thinking the senshi would see what they were doing and wouldn't panic and think they might be next. How were they to know the other wouldn’t come for them? And then the senshi was throwing magic, which did nothing to the officer, and it was just going to continue wasn’t it?
The officer was, unsurprisingly, attacking him in retaliation for striking them - idiot. They should have given up the moment he’d smacked them with his cane, he knew he’d put a good amount of force behind the strike, and yet here they were doing a dumb thing again. It seemed however that the senshi’s magic was protective in nature; how nice and convenient. Even though he’d had it worse, Novella didn’t fancy the idea of a stab wound, or trying to explain it to anyone who might see it. So the lack of weapon meeting flesh was appreciated; not that he said as much.
“I’m really not in the mood.” And he wasn’t as he raised his cane once more and this time aimed for the officers head as he brought the item down on them.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:18 am
“You did attack me!” Bäl retorted, voice ratcheting up into higher pitches at the nerve of this obviously delusional Lieutenant. “I barely even caught a glimpse of you, but I knew you would follow me- which you did- so of course I powered up, told you I didn’t want to fight, and you attacked me anyway!” ’I wasn’t going to attack you.’ What a blatant ******** lie.
That was what the people afflicted with Chaos would do, hm? Lie. Attack. Maim. They were supposed to be evil, after all… Bäl just hadn’t yet experienced it.
He wouldn’t say it out loud, not in this situation, but Bäl could not be bothered to care about this guy’s victims… They could be drained or dead and it wouldn’t much change his opinion on the situation. He would protect himself. That was all he’d been doing. Looking out for his own interests. His own well-being.
A step back, away from the pair of them as the Chaos guy went in for another lunge. Toward the Knight, this time. But whatever shimmery magic glistened between them was enough to stop the little hairpick from doing any damage. Some kind of protection spell, then- which Bäl had, admittedly, not known exactly what would happen when he tried to use his magic for the first time. So… Good. Protection suited his ends. He would always protect himself.
He still didn’t know if stronger-aura-guy was a friend, but it was enough that the Knight seemed wholly focused on attacking the Agent, rather than even so much as sparing Bäl a glance. And since Bäl was not inclined to physically engage more than he already had (he carried no weapon, and wasn’t about to just jump in and throw hands), he offered only the suggestion of, “Maybe you should hit him harder to beat some sense into him.”
It probably would’ve been more morally correct to say, ’We can stop here, don’t hit him again.’
But Bäl was hardly a morally correct person.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:20 am
Londonite didn’t have much time to move, the knight was too close, so the cane still struck him in the head; there was no way he’d avoid it. The strike may not have hit full force but it was still enough to send him stumbling back as stars sprang into his vision, his head throbbed and he was certain he felt a trickle of blood. s**t; this wasn’t good. Stepping back, a hand came up to press to his head, he wasn’t surprised when his hand came back red - blood.
That knight was aggressive, more than he was. All because of a senshi who decided to power up, to not stay civilian and walk past, he was still convinced this was all the senshi’s fault. Still gathering himself, trying to blink away the stars in his vision, Londonite didn’t see the cane coming till it was too late.
Finally his attention turned to the senshi, a cool and calm look on his face. “I don’t need you to suggest what I do.” His words were as cool as his gaze, as the pale blue eyes, he simply didn’t care about this little fight. He didn’t enjoy this, didn’t dislike it, it simply was. He did however bring his cane back up as he closed the distance between himself and the officer; and swung.
It wasn’t because he was told to, he didn’t care to take orders or suggestions from others, rather he planned on leaving the officer on the ground unconscious to start with. He wasn’t a killer, not yet anyway, but this wasn’t his fight and all he wanted was both of these people to shut up and go away. If he needed to knock one out then he would; it really wasn’t that hard. Watching the officer fall, eyes closed, as he let his cane vanish as if it had never been there.
“There, now you can leave.” Because the other was clearly not a fighter, not as if he was either, but they could leave now; so could he.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2026 11:20 am
It took real effort to suppress the roll of his eyes and a little mockery at the Knight-guy’s insistence about what Bäl didn’t ‘need’ to do. And that was apparently where his self control ended, because he couldn’t resist the retort of, “And you didn’t ‘need’ to insert yourself into other people’s affairs, and yet, here we are.”
Bäl couldn’t say how this scuffle would’ve gone without an additional party in the mix- he hadn’t really known what his magic would do, and neither did he have a concrete idea of how far an Agent would go to hurt him. But as he’d noticed earlier, the ‘enemy’ was just some regular-a** random dude. Not some monstrous creature. He would put his whole ******** heart and soul into fending some guy off of him.
He’d said he preferred not to fight. Not that he couldn’t.
Still, he shouldn’t complain. He wasn’t hurt. And given how the Agent lay crumpled up on the ground, it seemed unlikely that they would cause any further impediment to Bäl’s night. The thought crossed his mind that it might be more beneficial long-term to more permanently dissuade the source of all this commotion. But Bäl watched the Knight through a sideways glance and figured it would be frowned upon if he pushed for more, considering he’d been told off for so much as speaking a moment ago.
So he didn’t offer his gratitude. Just turned on his heel and went back the way he’d come, carding fingers through his long, dark hair to smooth away the little tangles from the scuffle.
He kept mostly out of sight of passerby. Waited until he was a respectable distance away and felt no powered signatures nearby before he powered down.
Immediately Mavain’s voice returned through the earbuds he was still wearing. “...Are you hurt?”
“No.” Tone as clipped and brisk as his strides.
A quiet, relieved sigh. “Good. Hurry up and get home before anything else happens. And like… make sure you’re not followed.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Don’t tell me what to do.”
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