H×H: 108 Stars of Destiny [IC]

[Aix]

OOC

Main Host: Aix
Co-Hosts: Nai, Kate, UnendingEmpire

Opening: Departure!

Ending: Storytellers

~ Pieces × of × the Puzzle ~

A girl no older than thirteen, crouched alone on the pier, glanced up as the sun came over her as she daydreamed. “Ah,” she said. “The rain stopped.” Though heavy clouds still lingered on the seas to the east.

She stood up and shook herself, drops of rain and seawater tumbling off her wet hair and clothes as she trembled. She would have liked to revel in that sun-ridden spot for a few moments longer, but she caught sight of what she was waiting for. A large caravel, with the name La Sirène emblazoned on the hull, pulled into the harbour, setting anchor at another dock.

The girl quickly scooped up her trident from the ground, and scrambled over, arriving just as the captain hauled the gangplank down to let passengers leave. Interestingly, he handed some of them a piece of parchment as they exited.

The girl waited until the last passenger left before calling to the captain’s attention. “Hello,” she said, and the captain jumped.

The look on his face was that of utter astonishment, and he cried. “H-How?”

“How... are you doing?” asked the girl.

“How did you get here before us?” spoke the captain incredulously. “You fell off the ship!”

And she said, wryly. “I am not very good with ships." But she made no further attempts to answer.

There was a silence as the captain stood there, in stupefaction, until the girl broke it again. “You promised a clue to the next destination,” she said. “For those who made it without problems.” She tilted her trident to the side to indicate the passengers who had received a piece of parchment.

The captain seemed about to protest that she had hardly "made it without problems", but he simply shook his head and dug into his pockets. “Here,” he said, walking down the gangway. He pressed a worn piece of parchment firmly into her hand and looked at her. Shaking his head again, he walked back up the gangway, while the girl took a last amused glance at him, and left.


Anemone was a girl of short stature, even for her age. She had messy, shoulder-length and cream-colored hair, and her lazy eyes were a deep blue, with a hint of green. Contrasting with her unassuming size, she carried a fearsome-looking trident from her home village. It was taller than her, with a few ornamentations, betraying an origin loftier than the girl may suggest.

This girl was now analyzing the piece of parchment which the captain had given her. It was evidently ripped from a larger sheet, and she could not make heads or tails of what she had been given. On the back, however, were a few words inscribed in tiny letters. “The Skytower’s summit.” it said, and Anemone looked around.

Realizing that this “Skytower” may be one of these tall buildings in the small city’s downtown area, she began to walk, hoping to find some indication of where this Skytower is and hoping for a clue about the piece of parchment which she held.
 

As the shaking from the pick-up truck she was in stopped, a blue haired girl decided to wake up and see that she had reached her destination. Packing up her oversized backpack, she then pulled her purse from her pocket, and paid the driver for letting her to hitchhike on it. Well, she could’ve just try going into this town on her own, but she knew that her sense of direction is completely horrible, and she definitely did not want to miss the only reason she went into the town in the first place.

Before she left the truck though, the driver called her, confusing the girl. She turned around to see the driver was holding a piece of parchment, and from how he saw her, the girl knew that it was meant to her, whatever that was.

After taking it from the driver, the girl decided to go on a stroll as she wondered about what was inscribed on the parchment. Seemingly was torn from a bigger piece, what’s left on the paper was completely unrecognizable. Though, when she flipped the paper, she noticed that something was written behind it.
 

The Brick House

“Uh...aren’t most houses made from bricks?”

Confused as of what did the words actually meant and whether they’re actually hints or something else, Celia decided to just continue her stroll, hoping to stumble upon something that could clear things up for her.
 

There seemed to be no clues at the top of the Skytower, which happened to simply be the highest building in the city. It was disappointing, since Anemone had to painstakingly climb around the outside of the building because roof access was prohibited to civilians. She was sure that it would have been open to people with a Hunter License, which she was seeking to obtain. However, as if to make up for it, the view from atop the skyscraper was quite spectacular. This was the first time she had visited the city, and even with her superb sense of direction, she had gotten lost amidst the sights. She looked down upon the streets she had just been walking through with a sense of wonderment.

It was a feeling of discovery, of a new experience.

She was so high up, higher than she had ever been, and the people down there looked as small as krill. For a second, her expression broke, and she grinned widely as she stared down.

Then, there was a sound, and she spun around again, to face the new person who had joined her on the roof.

[Raine]

“Absolutely marvelous,” Ozymandius muttered with gleaming eyes. In awe, he froze staring upward parallel to radiating tower of steel and glass that stood out as spike into the sprawling urban cityscape. Oz’s heart fluttered, he had studied the constructions and mega-structures of the forgotten for so long that he occasionally became neglectful of contemporary civilization’s monoliths to their own ego. Oz regained himself by stepping back and controlling his breathing. He had only recently arrived in the metropolis and he was already losing his composure over something so mundane in perspective, he was busy. Oz shuffled through his pockets to recover his curious find.

 

A few hours ago, Oz was exploring the city at exactly god-knows-where when a peddler of advertisements took acute interest in Oz’s prestigious self. One thing led to another, and the man practically forced a small parchment into his hand. (He was raised not to accept things from strangers so easily). The cause of his current venture to the sky piercer was the paper which boasted some strange symbols and what-not and the words, “The Skytower’s Summit”. As far as riddles were concerned, Oz was disappointed; Oz wasn’t deterred though, what evil ever came from following strangers directions? 

 

Currently however, Oz was pinned to the wall of the facility hallway by a man in a security uniform. “Ouch,” Oz said sarcastically with his arm twisted behind him and a semi-competent guard fumbling for his hand-cuffs, “Let me explain, I really don’t have the time for this.”

 

“You don’t have the time, huh? Time to read,” shouted the slightly out-of-shape mall cop at a volume that was tad too loud and close for Oz’s comfort, “The sign said not for civilian use! Are you some kind of juvenile delinquent?”

 

Oz stopped resisting and turned his head enough to face his oppressor, “Do I look a juvenile?”

 

“What’s a juvenile?”

 

“You called me a juvenile delinquent.”

 

“Yeah, that means a criminal… a bad person… you know, a juvenile delinquent.”

 

Oz gave a face of disbelief to react and gently shook himself off the cop who had by this point stopped looking for his sex toy.  “Look, that’s just a delinquent,” Oz started to motion his actions with his hands as if to interpret for the man who was clearly being paid too much no matter how much he was making, “A juvenile delinquent, is a delinquent who is a junior… or a minor… or quite young, hence juvenile. Imagine using it in a sentence like, ‘Why are you acting so juvenile?’”

 

The cop thought about for a minute, which clearly required more work than it should have and began, “Wouldn’t the sentence be, ‘Why are you acting so juvenile delinquently?’”.

 

Oz smiled and slouched, “That’s it, I hate you now. From this point on, I hate everything you ever will be.”

 

“Excus-“ the guard was interrupted mid-sentence as Oz’s arm wrapping around his neck. Oz had managed the guard into a headlock and began to tug him towards the elevator entrance. Luckily, the faculty hallway usually had relatively light traffic so no one saw him yet. At the elevator, Ozymandius used his free hand to swipe the access card of the guard from his belt and call for the elevator. The guard was waving his arms and legs wildly to try to free himself but his neck was held tight enough to stop any screaming but not enough to choke him. 

 

When the elevator doors widened, he took the opportunity and rammed the security guard’s cranium into the interior walls titanium. No too hard, but enough to send the poor simple soul to la-la land. He never got his identification and Oz was a pre-Hunter, this wouldn’t be too big a deal. One dramatic motion to the elevator panel later and the machine hurtled skyward. The Skytower’s Summit, it was obviously the top of the tower. Oz briefly wondered what he would find, or not find, or if the local food was any good, or if he should draw a picture of the unconscious guard’s face for a surprise when he woke up. Truly the human condition is an enigma. 

 

The doors opened once more and the blast of high winds chilled Oz’s skin. Stepping out, the sight of the city became abundantly clear. “Impossible,” Oz’s thoughts were consumed with how his kind could build so high, the endless horizon of geometric gray could have been a wonder of the world. Oz’s eyes stumbled upon something out of place to the spectacle that surrounded him, a girl. A hooker? It wasn’t his birthday. Wait, he looked closer, she was young, very young. 

 

“You shouldn’t stray too close to the edge, girl,” Oz dictated confidently. Excellent, way to sound cool, Oz, he thought. Kids usually love Oz. He found a stance close enough to the girl to have a conversation without yelling through the cutting winds, “Are you here for the top of the mountain as well?”

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

The man walked along the street, slouching as his tattered jacket trailed behind him. Feigning a trip, he bumped into a street vendor's shelf of wares, grabbing an apple a holding it within his sleeve as he regained his composure. He continued normally for about ten more paces, before revealing the apple and taking a bite out of it. Yawning, he looked up to the sky. He was supposed to come to this town for the Hunter Exam, but had no clue exactly where to go. They had not been particularly informing on the details of the matter. Looking back down, he saw a middle-aged woman, but not before it was too late to prevent a collision. I must look horribly clumsy today... Valko sighed as the woman fell back, reaching forward toward her with one hand as he used the other to stow the wallet he swiped from her purse.

 

"I apologize. I am trying to figure out my destination, and I became distracted..."

 

The woman stood up on her own, and began walking away in a direction that was not where she had been going before. "Don't worry, I am sure you will find your way soon enough!" She waved to him before turning completely away and disappearing into the crowd, taking a bite out of the apple he had been holding.

 

He bit his lip, tching as he realized that she had fooled him, as he pulled the wallet out and opened it up. There was no cash inside, merely a single folded up piece of parchment. Unfolding it, he saw strange lines, and what appeared to be a crude drawing of a seagull. Flipping the page over, he noticed printed words: The Brick House. Funny that it be capitalized like that. Perhaps it is a professional establishment... Maybe a local will know. Turning to a passing man, he slipped the wallet into the stranger's pocket as he asked him about the clue. "Excuse me, sir, but where is The Brick House?"

 

"The Brick House? It is just down that street, but I think you look a little young to be drinking..."

 

"Don't concern yourself with my age. Thank you, nonetheless." Valko began walking in the direction that the man pointed, wishing he still had an apple to eat.

[Love of Ghibli]

Everything was exciting! A land of new opportunities and adventure awaited him. Lettess said as he landed on this new city. He had just gotten his Hunter's License and he was slightly eager to show it off. Though to be honest he didn't really know how to actually show off that he was Hunter. It's not like he had done anything yet. He pulled out his piece of parchment that he received as a gift from the man who taught him the basics of Nen to begin with. It was supposedly a gift for the Hunter's Exam. Lettess simply walked down the streets looking at the paper back and forth. After scanning everything up and down he actually noticed the small writing dictating "The SkyTowers Summit." Stroking his chin he wondered what could that actually mean. 

While pondering the depths of this mysterious riddle he ventured to actually try the local cuisine. So naturally, he tried a local small street corner restaurant. He ordered a simple bowl of noodle soup. As it was presented to him he simply had a spoon full and he froze. Granted he was still staring at his parchment devoting the majority of his brain power to solving the riddle. Nevertheless he simply stood up and walked to the back of the restaurant where the kitchen was and like a ninja he grabbed the nearest kitchen knife as if it was second nature. Naturally the chef of the restaurant stepped forward to stop him, but Lettess shot him a menacing glare for all of .1 seconds. The chef immediately felt the boy's seriousness and murderous intent. One does not interrupt a Sprout chef while they are in the kitchen. With one hand and a knife Lettess simply diced up a head of lettuce and a tomato in the blink of an eye. After adding a pinch of salt he carried those same ingredients on the knife and added them to his own noodle bowl. After a brief sip of his newly fixed soup he was struck with an idea. Maybe a solution to the dreaded puzzle. 
 

"Oh I get it! Sky and tower so I have to go to the place where the tower is in the sky! And the summit is the top of the tower in the sky! AWESOME! Hmmm, well don't know where that is...but I guess I can start with the tallest building in the city." He immediately ran out of the local shop leaving the guest gasping at his actions. Naturally he left more than enough money to actually pay for the meal himself, but he didn't even realize what went down in the place. He was hilariously running down the street to look for the tallest building. Then he stumbled upon the bright idea of just looking up. Well once he did that he realized that he could easily see the tallest building. "Well...that was easier than I thought he stated out loud to no one in particular."

 

Once he arrived at his destination he noticed that there was somekind of mini-commotion that was taking place. It was interesting to say the least. Apparently one of the guards went missing or something. Thanks to him being so young no one really looked at him or paid him any attention. He did however see the giant sign that there were no visitors allowed on the top. He pouted his lips cartoonishly and he chose to go up anyway. It seemed that there was a lot of attention given to the elevator but there wasn't so much given to the stairs. Lettess attempted to stealthily make his way over to the door to the stair well with the security pad. So there was some kind of security on the door. Lettess simply put his hand lightly on the door and then he gave it Nen powered push and managed to push the door open. Of course the pad broke but still the mission was somewhat accomplished. Hoping not to be discovered to quickly he proceeded to run frantically up the stairs at top speed hopefully only making his way to the top. 

It didn't take him that long to reach the highest point but once he did he was completely out of breathe. He noted that the door was locked from the inside so this time he didn't have to cause some property damage. Once he got outside however he notice he wasn't the first person to make it to the top. There were at least two other people waiting for this event. "Hello, new friends" he said as he waved to the people slightly out of breath.

[宇佐見 蓮子@C94]

The night before....

Standing atop a hill surrounding the town of Ferris lies a pair of heavily dressed men, as well as a rusty, beat up old motorcycle, nearly identical to the one Indiana Jones used. One of those men is Morrigan, a Hunter-to-be and the other is his driver. Both appear to have driven quite a substantial distance, evidenced by the dirt on Morrigan's coat and the layer of dust coating his respirator. It was quite a rainy night, but the rain didn't stop them from having a short break from their journey. The motorcycle parked safely on the side of the road, Morrigan and his driver took the time to overlook the somewhat beautiful night panorama of Ferris. The rain droplets on his goggles makes for a rather charming filter, he thought. The spot they're resting on is an actual sight-seeing spot, and so Morrigan was able to rest his hands on the railing, surveying his next destination.

 

"So how about the payment, Lusk?" Called out a voice from behind him. He could immediately identify the voice as his driver, the one guy he's been stuck with for the last 3 days or so. Morrigan turned his head and saw his driver sitting on the motorcycle, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket. Morrigan scoffed and went back to looking at the horizon.

 

"Really, our deal was to take you till that tavern, then you told me to go further, and further, and further, and further..." The man went on and on between cancerous puffs of smoke, his cig standing defiant on the face of logic and continue to be lit despite the rain. "I'm starting to doubt yer a trusty man, Lusk." He stood up and walked towards his client. "I trust ye, kid. I trust Hunter kids like ye more than any kind of person. But I still need my pay." He finished his sentence by placing his arm on Morrigan's shoulder and gently shaking it.

 

Morrigan looked at his driver, a middle-aged man with a magnificent moustache and an equally magnificent hat hiding his bald spot. He had tired, and somewhat gentle eyes, like a father who just returned from work. “I’ll pay you tomorrow.”He replied, uttering the same reply he's been saying at least 5 times by then. Despite the driver being a patient man, he had reached his limit.

 

"No. No more tomorrow, Lusk. At least give me some thing to make sure ye're not bullshitting me, kid." He yanked Morrigan's shoulders and forced him to look towards him.

 

“Not now. Please not now. Please go away, my headache is killing me.” The silver-haired boy pushed the driver away and started his clutching his head with one arm, using the other to signal his driver to not come closer. Of course, he paid the kid no heed and came closer anyway. "Where's my money, kid? Where's my money?" By this point, a hint of irritation can be heard in his voice. Morrigan replied by burying his face on the hand that was clutching his head before, letting out small mutters that were drowned out by the rain.

 

As the man continued to heckle Morrigan, his headache just got worse, and worse, and worse. Until eventually, the inevitable happened. “Shut up, you damn bitch!”He shouted without warning, as he grabbed the poor sap's head and bashed it hard against the railing. His hat fell to its doom, while blood from his skull dirty the floor. He heard tales of it - Streaks of unwarranted violence. He tried his best to not meet that side of Morrigan, but alas, he fucked up, and now he is royally screwed. 

 

“You know, I don’t like, you people, you, you, you damn smokers. Hey, let me tell you something. My daddy, see, he used to smoke." Morrigan paused as he walked over to the driver, his cig in one hand. He wrapped his right arm around the driver's neck and put the cig just a few centimetres away from his eyes.  "And he used to do this- this, thing that I’m doing to you now. He told me that this is what happens to kids who misbehave. Right. Are you a misbehaving kid? Huh?” Morrigan continued to drive the cig closer to the poor guy's eyes, as cold sweat starts to drop down his face. Despite being very skinny, Morrigan is deceptively strong, and, combined with the element of terror, means the guy can't really break his hold.

 

“Why aren’t you answering me? I thought I asked you a question. Are you a misbehaving kid? Well, you know, mommy also never answered me when I asked her what happened when she goes out on Saturday nights. You know what happened to both of them, huh? You know what happened?”He gave a small pause and looked into the eyes of his driver, his tongue sticking out in sadistic pleasure behind his respirator.

 

“THEY’RE BOTH DEAD!”  

 

Shouted the lunatic. The cigarette in his hands now driven right in-between the driver's eyes. His muffled screams heard by none, safe for a man beyond any reasoning. Morrigan chuckled as he released his hold, delighting in the reeling of his newest victim. He tried to run towards the motorcycle, but he slipped on his own blood, and he soon found his life in the hands of his client. His final sight? A shadow. Blood-red eyes, and a metal chain in his hands.

Wails of terror can be heard that night.

 

Present day

 

“Skytower’s summit, isn’t it? I didn’t see anything at the hill, so it must be that thing there.”  Arriving at the center of Ferris, Morrigan took off his motorcycle helmet and viewed his surroundings. The town looked much better than it seemed when he viewed it behind the rain, but his view is only centered on one thing: A towering skyscraper right in the middle of the city. With that, Morrigan pointed himself ("his" motorcycle) towards the target and threw himself at it, just as he has throughout most of his life.

 

Upon entering the building, he noticed the way up is blocked by a guard that... Wasn't there? There's a guardpost and everything, but no guards in sight. Because of the way he looked, he had no chance of getting through the guard without getting questions asked and having a free colonoscopy, so it seems that today his is lucky that. He pressed the elevator button and waited for the doors to open, like a normal person would. Upon the elevator door's opening though, it seemed that even his 'normal' days aren't so normal. The unconscious body of the guard was inside the lift, his head showing a light bruise. Morrigan replied to this sudden unexpected event by getting inside the elevator and continuing as normal. Of course.

 

The contraption propelled him to the top, where he saw two people already there before him. One is a young girl, and the other is a blonde man. He had no idea who those people are, but he walked over to them, who seem to be in the middle of a conversation.

 

“I suggest not going to the top of the mountain. There was uh, an accident back there.”  Upon finishing, he realized that he would be better off not saying anything, but it's too late, and his gravelly voice can be heard clearly by the two of them despite the chilling breeze.

[Andx]

For the last while Xiu had been reading and thinking. Her thoughts were stranger than normal. She kept thinking something along the lines of "Who the hell are you?". It seemed like a strange time to be questioning herself about who she was. So far as she could tell, nothing she was doing would contribute to such questions. She was reading about local plant and wildlife in the city of Ferris which was where she was heading while sort of humming to herself and tapping her feet. But that thought kept coming so it seemed it was time to answer herself. Xiu closed her book in preparation of perhaps the greatest question of her life.

 

"Dammit lady stop ignoring me! Who the hell are you and what are you doing on this ship?!" a male voice exclaimed. Xiu hadn't thought that maybe her voice as heard inside her head was masculine. Then she looked over and finally noticed the man. And then things made more sense.

 

"Oh wonderful! I wasn't asking myself who I was. Thank you for the question though sir it was excellent food for thought." she said happily with a grin. The man repeated his questions stating Xiu hadn't paid for the trip to Ferris this vessel was taking and hadn't even been there to the best of the crew's knowledge when it left. He seemed quite irritated which was sad considering the beautiful day.

 

"Well sir I couldn't help but overhear you speaking with a group of people embarking to take the Hunter's exam. You even stated you would provide them hints to help them upon arrival. It seemed like a great idea." Xiu said still smiling. The man continued with his various angry questions and ultimately Xiu did pay him the cost of the voyage at which he seemed to be a little less stressed out. Throughout the rest of the journey various things happened aboard the ship with turbulent and choppy patches of water that shook things about. But mostly Xiu was calmly reading throughout, not saying much to anyone unless they approached her.

 

Eventually the ship arrived at the city of Ferris which was quite the sight even off in the distance while they were still approaching it. As the various travellers departed Xiu noted they were each being handed a piece of paper. Finally it came for Xiu to disembark and once again she found herself facing the man who had helped her think about who she was.

 

"I bet you think you're getting a hint too?" he said, some level of disgust clear in his tone of voice. However Xiu didn't answer him and instead she seemed to be staring off into the distance. She was staring at the shoreline trying to identify some of the types of plants she'd read about in the book on the way here. Eventually the man was fed up with dealing with her and he shoved a piece of paper into her hand and sent her on her way. "Thank you sir!" She said as she began walking off, staff in hand.

 

Looking at it, Xiu noticed her piece was mostly rectangular in shape and had strange lines on one side and the words "The Skytower's Summit" on the backside. Looking at the edges, the paper seemed like it had been torn up meaning other people likely had the rest of the pieces of the picture on the front.

 

"Well that's odd. Only giving me part of the picture. They must want me to meet up with some of the others. Now then... skytower... hmmmmm..." Xiu said as she began surveying the town. One building in particular stood out as it stood high above the others. "Well that seems a tad bit obvious. I'd hope they'd make things a little more interesting than that. But that's probably where the others are heading to." she concluded.

 

Upon entering the building there seemed to be quite the scene. There was an unconscious guard that people were tending to close to one of the elevators. Ignoring that for a moment Xiu simply started towards the elevator. Suddenly she asked herself what her business was in this building and where she intended to go. No wait that was somebody else again thankfully as Xiu didn't think this was the best time to be doubting what she was doing. She simply stated that she'd been invited to meet with someone on one of the higher levels and proceeded into the elevator before much more protest could be made. Upon reaching the highest floor the elevator informed her that roof access was prohibited to civilians. Stepping outside she found the staircase to the roof and noticed the door had been unlocked meaning she likely wasn't the first to arrive.

 

Stepping outside Xiu took note of four other individuals who had beaten her there. "Five people should make for quite a nice portion of the picture." she thought to herself. She quietly stepped out and gazed off into the horizon which was incredible from this height. Xiu didn't bother announcing herself to anyone as she rarely did unless confronted. Hopefully her idea about the pictures on the papers was right though as there didn't seem to be anything happening up here.

[Kyng]

The shimmering sunlight couldn’t pierce the dark tinted windows of the vehicle that carried her. Across the countryside it travelled until it would reach its destination. The small city of Ferris was rather fetchingly quaint and beautiful. It didn’t have an obnoxiously large skyline, nor was it overwhelmed with excessive noise and activity. It seemed to hit a rather nice harmony between prosper and tranquillity. It brought a smile to her face at the thought that she would be heading here, of all places, in order to pursue her destiny as a Hunter.

A few days ago, she had received a letter – it contained a letter informing her that, regarding her pursuits, to head to Ferris for her Hunters’ Exam. It also contained a peculiar piece of parchment with mysterious markings alongside a note on the back: “The Brick House.” While reason would suggest investigating further, her father simply insisted she pursue the notice and follow its track – she would surely make sense of it all as soon as she reached the destination. She, however, was concerned as to how this anonymous tipster appeared to be aware of her motives.

Nonetheless she was her father’s daughter and she dutifully followed the pursuit. Today she finds herself quietly sat in the rear seat, a chauffeur driving her to Ferris. Silently peering at the peculiar parchment, her mind racing in thought about it – who sent it to her? Why? What did it all mean? Was it something significant that would change the very shape of the world, or perhaps a wicked trap employed by her father’s competitors to hold her hostage, or even a simple prank. The thoughts were beginning to make her feel uncomfortable as she winced slightly, her brow getting a minor sweat.

“Something troubling you, miss?”

The chauffeur had noticed her uncomfortable nature. She smiled weakly as she softly pointed to the window with eyes pleading for a little fresh air, and with a silent nod from the driver the ocean breeze soothed the lady’s worries, deep breaths making chest steadily rise and fall as her uneasiness began to subside. Pushing the thoughts aside she decided to admire the scenery for the time being.

Soon the car came to a halt, and the driver nodded goodbye to her. As the door slowly opened, and the black, legging-clad leg that seemed to go on for days gracefully found its place, Cecilia climbed out of the vehicle. The sun kissed her beautiful skin, her honeyed skin and golden locks simply radiant as she stood out and looked over her surroundings.

“Hmm…”

Cecilia looked at the parchment but simply couldn’t make sense of the markings, though at least she had a good hint from the note at the back. A lot of buildings would be built in brick, however, so she soon asked a bystander for directions. She couldn’t afford getting lost. Approaching one of the many individuals of the streets Cecilia gently tapped his shoulder, the man turning to the girl with raised brows as he asked her what was wrong.

“You alright, miss?”

“Hello, I’m looking for the Brick House?”

Cecilia’s question was abrupt and simple but the man clearly knew what she was looking for. He gave her a confident smile as he began to point down the street, glancing over to the young lady. Cecilia began to make a mental note of the directions – she wasn’t content discovering she’d be going to a bar, however she’d simply have to let it slide. The man asked to show her the way, but she politely declined though thanked him for the directions.

The man looked a bit sad but smiled and bid Cecilia a good day, and Cecilia herself decided to head on the given directions as she pursued the so called Brick House. Curiosity was beginning to peak.

[Astolfo]

The previous night…

Two hooded figures slid through the crowd of people milling about Ferris. The taller of the the two looked about and scanned the town, before nodding slightly to the shorter figure. The Nyx sisters had arrived. Without a pause, they entered a nearby bar that had a rusty nameplate declaring its business: Barrels 'n' Paradice. Malnova - the older of the two siblings - led Iom - the younger of the two - up to the front. With a cough to draw the bartender's attention, Malnova spoke in hushed tones so that unwelcome ears wouldn't hear.

"We're here for the Hunter Exam. Clues to its location would be much appreciated."

The bartender sized up the two figures with his eyes while he was polishing up a glass.

"You little girlies should make your way outta' 'ere. The Hunter Exam be for the tough, not little girls who should be playing with their do-"

Before the burly man could finish, a gloved hand snaked out, violently uprooting the man from his position. The glass in his hand smashed to the ground, shards skittering everywhere. The older of the two siblings looked at the man up close, locking her eyes onto his. Her eyes were empty like the void, causing the man to shiver briefly.

"Dolls bore me. Adults like you at least react if I do something, and that's much more interesting. Now, let me rephrase my earlier statement. You will give us any information you know about the Hunter Exam that would assist in finding where it takes place."

As the bartender stared into Malnova's eyes, he could detect a flash of cruelty. Mentally retracting his earlier statement, he scrounged up in his memory for any scrap of information he had heard.

"A-ah, that's right. I've heard that there are certain people who hand out pieces of parchment with clues to its location. I-if you search around, you might be able to find one of them."

Malnova stared into the man's eyes for a long time, scanning for any possible hints of deceit. Finding none, she now switched gears. Flicking the man away with a light shove that sent him reeling, she motioned for Iom to follow. A cruel grin made its way onto her face.

It was time to hunt.

Currently…

A blond haired male was making his way through the crowd. Nothing particularly special, and his face was simple and forgettable. Unfortunately for him, he happened to be an owner of a particular piece of parchment paper. Iom and Malnova tracked him down, making their way through various pathways and intersections. With a silent shared look between the siblings, they reached a conclusion. The person was obviously following some sort of directions and it would save effort to let him find the destination before interception. As they tracked the fellow for a while longer, Iom started to grow impatient, only restrained by her sister's warning look.

Fortunately for them, their destination-to-be was in sight. Confirmed by the person's posture straightening up and a renewal of energy, it was a sure signal that the three of them had found what they were looking for. Malnova motioned at Iom, pointing towards a nearby alley. Pleased to finally be able to have some fun, Iom slunk up to the poor chap before she proceeded to physically lift him off his feet and hurl him deep into the alley. The interception was concealed from the crowd by her older sister who coincidentally happened to flare her cloak out at that very moment as she turned to walk into the alley as well.

As the two sisters walked up to the boy sprawled on the ground, who couldn't have been older than sixteen or so, Malnova held her hand out.

"Would you mind giving us that piece of parchment you have in your hands?"

The kid's head lifted up in surprise. He thought that he was going to be killed, or at least mugged for something more important than a piece of paper. Just as he was about to hand it over, he remembered the significance of the piece of paper and how it was related to his whole reason for being at Ferris. He furiously shook his head, but immediately regretted it when he felt a massive amount of force smash into his solar plexus, almost sending him unconscious. Looking around dazedly, he saw the shorter of the two figures dusting off their hands.

"Thanks for your contribution. Unfortunately, it seems like you know where you're planning to go anyways and even if you are knocked unconscious, you probably won't be out long enough to be unable to get into the Exam. Goodbye. It's nothing personal, it's just more convenient to stop you now than later."

The last vision the kid would ever see would be a giant ink-black fist completely enclosing his body.

As the two sisters made their way to "The Brick House," Iom whispered in a hushed tone to Malnova.

"Hey, hey, hey, Mal! Was it really necessary to kill him?"

Without breaking a stride, Malnova answered simply.

"Perhaps not entirely necessary, but it means one less worthless human getting in our way."

Observing the exterior, it was rather plain. With a quick scan to see if anyone else was here yet and finding no one, they entered.

As a wave of foul odors made up of sweat, alcohol, smoke, and other various substances swept into their faces, Iom gagged momentarily. Malnova quickly sat down at a table close to the entrance so she could monitor anyone else who walked in, motioning Iom to join her.

Now, it was time to wait and see. This plan would've gone fine and Malnova was keeping track of [acronym="You guys, PCs, the ones going to The Brick House, and some just random drinkers"]all those[/acronym] who entered, until Iom had grown impatient with waiting. [acronym="At the point in time where all the PCs supposed to be at The Brick House have entered."]Iom jumped on top of the table and shouted out before Malnova managed to restrain her.[/acronym] In typical Iom fashion, the words she said were insulting and intended to bait people into a fight.

"Which'a ya' drunken fatâss idiots are here for the Hunter Exam?"

[Asriel Dreemurr]

The city was quite the sight for the young man, after traveling as he had.  It was a sign that the first leg of his journey was over, and thus that the next could begin.  He had insisted on making his own way there, preferring to rely on his own ability rather than what his teacher or his father could have provided him.  Sure, while trekking across the open land on one's own with only the occasional bit of hitch-hiking wasn't exactly the fastest method of travel it had gotten him where he needed to get in the time he needed to get there.  After all, the only clue he'd received from his mentor about how to reach the location of the Hunter Exam was to arrive in this certain city on this certain day with his wits at the ready.  It was a puzzle he had been working with the whole journey, but it felt like a piece was missing.
 

"Rexxus, where are you?"  It had only just occurred to Alaster that his dearest friend was not as close to him as he had been a moment ago.  He was about to call again, only to be struck to the ground beneath something heavy, furry, and very eager from the way he was being bounced on.  "Okay, okay, okay I'll have a look at it!  What is it you found?"  He didn't need to speak aloud, but it was a habit of his that he indulged when it was not necessary.  At any rate, his young dire wolf friend finally got off of his back and allowed him to sit up enough that he could see what was being offered to him.  Rexxus held, with surprising care, a piece of parchment in his teeth.  Confused by what he was seeing, the young nobleman reached out to take it and unrolled it to read.

 

It proved to bear a strange design, which as far as Alaster could tell was either reeds or some other sort of grass, on one side while the other held only a single line of text. "The Skytower's Summit, eh?  Well, at least we know where to go from here."  The memory shared by the dire wolf of where it had been found left the two of them certain that their old mentor, or someone who knew how to ensure they found it, had left it for them.  The two exchanged a look, the nobleman stood and gathered up his spear, and strode forward into the city.

 

The Skytower proved to be the tallest structure in the city, unsurprisingly, and furthermore it looked to be an office building for a company headquartered in the city.  While that normally should have made getting in an issue, the place was already in chaos.  It looked to him and Rexxus like there had already been several other break-ins, and that provided exactly enough cover for them to slip in with ease.  Around the back of the building they went, into a side door, and up a few steps until they reached a maintenance elevator.  From the looks of things around it there had been a struggle, and when the elevator opened to reveal an unconscious security guard that was confirmed.  The pair got the guard out to where he wouldn't draw any more attention, at least until he woke up, and took the elevator up to the top of the building.  He wasn't exactly surprised to see that there were others there before him, five of them in total, and he smiled.

 

As Alaster began more calmly striding towards the group, Rexxus charged ahead and leaped onto the nearest one of the group, a girl with long green hair that seemed only a little shorter than the wolf's friend, and gave her his best puppy greeting.  Of course getting jumped on, licked, and intermittently barked at loses some of the cuteness when the "puppy" in question is about as big as a full grown man.  "Well, looks like Rexxus likes you!"  A hearty laugh followed that exclamation as the spear-carrying young man made his way over to the rest of the group.  "Bit of advice to all of you, learn to be a bit more subtle when getting places you aren't meant to go.  Even in this place you left obvious enough trails for me to follow."  The smile he put on after saying that likely made the whole thing seem half way between good natured teasing and open mocking.  As for Rexxus?  He got himself off of XiuMin once he'd finished expressing his affection for a person he'd just met, likely leaving her face covered in slobber.  "Oh, it seems I've forgotten my manners.  Alaster vi Florentius, student to Crassus Lorentius and heir of the Florentius family."  A bit of a bow, with the appropriate amount of flourish added, was given to the group.

[Maeriberii Haan]

It had been quite a while since Celia arrived to the town of Ferris and started to wander around aimlessly, yet she was still at loss about what “The Brick House” and the torn piece of parchment that she now stored in her pocket actually meant. Even she had no idea whether those were actually related to the Hunter Exam or not. She wanted to ask people about this, but without knowing about the actual context of the parchment and words themselves, it felt like just a waste of energy to ask.
 
In typical Celia fashion though, she stopped being bothered by the piece of parchment as her attention to the town’s scenery and its bustling activity. When she walked through one of the alleys, a pleasant smell managed to catch her attention. It was coming from a small diner, and Celia, having forgotten to eat for days during her trip to the town, decided to check what the place had.
 
“Welcome, lady. We’ve just opened here, so not everything in the menu is ready yet.” The cook greeted her as she entered through the front door of the place.  Celia smiled at him as she went into one of the empty seat there. There were two other customers there that sat near her, and the two were seemingly in the middle of a conversation. Celia sat down and ordered some cream soup and bread with tea, deciding that something light like that would be best for her now.  While waiting for her order to arrive, her curiosity regarding of what the two people near her were talking about sparked, and thus, she decided to listen to the two as a way to kill time before she could start eating.
 
“-anyway, have you heard anything about the murder on the hill last night?”
 
“Murder? Been a while since something like that happened here.”
 
“It’s brutal. I don’t think I’d like to elaborate on the condition of the body when they found it.”
 
“All these strangers coming to town lately…man, I’m starting to get worried.”
 
“Speaking of strangers…” One of them turned around and stared at Celia, who was clearly listening to their conversation. Celia’s face reddened when she realized that she had been noticed by the two, and immediately turned her face around away from the two, as she pretended that the two weren't there.
 
“Eh, she’s just a kid. Just leave her be, I guess.”
 
…A kid? I’m seventeen, dammit!
Celia grumbled silently when she heard that the man called her just a kid, just as her order arrived.  Her attention immediately shifted into the warm soup, bread, and tea, and she proceeded to enjoy her meal in peace. But the two’s conversation drawn her attention again.
 
“Hey, hey, be careful there. Kids these days shouldn’t be taken lightly. Look at that girl’s backpack. I doubt I can lift it without breaking my back, yet this kid can just carry it around like it’s nothing.
 
And then, haven’t you heard the news from Angus? Last night, he met two little girls during his night shift, and one of them managed to lift him off then toss him away like he was just a ragdoll.”
 
“Right, I remember hearing that. Man, all this thing regarding the Hunter Exam here makes me seriously worried. I seriously wish that I can just sleep through all of this.”
 
“We all do, man. We all do.”
 
Two little girls, huh? So there will be some people that are younger than me here. This will be fun~
Celia started to think about what the two had said while she finished her tea. The Hunter Exam seemed to have drawn in the attention of some quite interesting individual, and Celia was sure she would meet the two of them sooner or later. Finishing the last drop of her tea, she proceeded to ask the cook about the price of her order. After he answered, she grabbed some coins from her pocket and placed it on the table. She really didn’t want to bother with counting the coins right now, and she’s too lazy to grab her purse. The cook stared at her sharply, probably thinking that she didn’t have enough money, before counting the coins. Thankfully for Celia, it was enough, and she could then proceed to pack her belongings and-
 
“Murder!”
 
…Wait, wait wait, what? A murder? Is this one related to the one that happened last night? I probably should look, just because.
Just as she tried to leave the place after she paid for her meal, a scream could be heard from the outside. Wasting no time, she ran off from the diner directly to the source of the scream. Her attention was then fixed towards a spot in a dark alley where she saw a crowd was circling around something. As she went closer, some sort of foul stink became apparent to her, and she had to try her best just to not puke on the spot. But, even with her best effort, as soon as she saw the body, she couldn’t help but to threw the food she just ate up. People around her backed off in disgust, but she didn’t pay them much attention as she wiped what’s left of the food from her mouth, before moving closer to the body.
 
The body, which seemingly belonged to a young blond lad, was in a horrible condition. His end was definitely not pleasant at all, and more likely than not, was caused by a Nen user. So that would either mean the culprit was another participant of the Exam, just as the two from the diner said. Heck, from her experience, seemingly unrelated stories told in a single conversation must actually be related, so chances were that the murder and the one that happened last night was caused by the little girls that the two had spoken about.
 
“…Well, the boy probably angered them first or something. No way that the two-”
 
“Miss, can you please move out of the way? We’re from the local police, and-“
 
“Ah, sure. I was just worried that he might be someone that I know, that’s it.” A simple lie that Celia made on the spot almost unconsciously, though the police didn’t seem to mind it. She then left the body and the crowd, still thinking about the things she just heard and seen. But, as she was walking, she noticed two hooded figures with a stature too small for an adult entered a tavern not far away from her. Thinking that it might be the two little girls that she had just heard about, Celia rushed towards the tavern.
 
Celia was completely familiar with the scent of alcohol and sweat that was the signature of taverns all across her journey. Not really liking it of course, as she preferred more civilized bars to get drunk, but at times this kind of place were a saving grace for her when she’s really short on money and she needed to get drunk.
 
Not to mention barfights were quite fun. Speaking of barfights…
 

"Which'a ya' drunken fatâss idiots are here for the Hunter Exam?"

 
A little girl wearing a cloak climbed to the top of a table, and shouted towards everyone on the bar, while another cloaked girl tried her best to restrain her. It took her several seconds to realize that the two were probably the girl she’s been looking for just to fulfill her curiosity. Trying to get their attention, Celia raised her hand in excitement. At that time, the thick cloud of her aura glowed brightly responding to the rush that Celia felt, and it would be very noticeable for the other people on the tavern that could see it.
 
“What if someone is not drunk, fat, nor an idiot, yet still here for the Hunter Exam? Well, that would be me, of course.”

[Aix]

“You shouldn’t stray too close to the edge, girl. Are you here for the top of the mountain as well?”

Anemone faced a bespectacled young man with an ugly mushroom haircut. He seemed obnoxious, not just his hair, but the way he spoke and carried himself as he approached her. He exuded a disgusting sense of self-worth. Though, Anemone didn’t actually seem to care, however she tightened her grip on her trident.

“The top of the mountain...?” She pondered this for a moment, and wondered if he meant it metaphorically. Although, there was a physical mountain in the distance. Either way, she realized that she was not here for this “top of the mountain” and answered with a prompt, “No.”

She was wondering if she should say more to this man when another guy arrived.

“Hello, new friends.”

Awfully familiar already, although Anemone supposed that there could be cultures out there that were trusting enough to consider everyone they met a friend. She decided that she may as well respond politely.“Hello, and what might your names...”

There came in a third new arrival, a man who dressed well for this chilly weather in covering himself up completely.

“I suggest not going to the top of the mountain. There was uh, an accident back there.”

Anemone felt maybe her judgement about the metaphor was off and they really were all mountain climbers here. She found it unlikely, however. She was rather certain this was a place for the Hunter Exam. These people must also be people seeking to take the Exam. She turned to the first man, and said. “So are you still going to the top of the mountain?” Hopefully, how he responded would clear things up.

The fifth person arrived on top of Skytower, she was a medium-height young woman with pretty green hair. Just looking at her, Anemone felt her temperament was similar to her own, that soft smile of hers simply washing away any traces of her inner personality. This person decided not to make a sound, and Anemone didn’t feel particularly inclined to call out to her.

The sixth member of their party’s intelligence seemed no greater than that second guy who came in exclaiming they were friends. She seemed so lost that she arrived at her destination without knowing it.

“This is the Skytower,” replied Anemone to the girl's question. And as she was finally taking full stock of the people here, the last of them arrived. Two of them actually, if you would include the massive canine that had arrived ahead, and pounced on the green-haired girl who had so carefully made herself unobtrusive.

The young man who arrived was even more obnoxious than the first. "Bit of advice to all of you, learn to be a bit more subtle when getting places you aren't meant to go. Even in this place you left obvious enough trails for me to follow." However, he was the first to remember to introduce himself. "Oh, it seems I've forgotten my manners. Alaster vi Florentius, student to Crassus Lorentius and heir of the Florentius family." Some sort of nobility, Anemone assumed. Anemone wondered if this name was supposed to mean anything, but she factored in the overconfidence of this youth and decided that it was more likely he was just showing off.

“Anemone,” she said in response, putting a hand to her chest, and she looked at the others expectantly.

[Kyng]

Cecilia gasped as she watched from afar. She was part of the crowd circling the body, though she certainly did have no intentions on staying for long. Though it was clearly no work of an ordinary murderer. The state the body was left in implied Nen users were involved. Trying to push the thought aside for the meanwhile she eventually parted from the crowd, and trying to hold her breath she continued to follow the instructions given to her by the man. The directions weren't a lie at the very least and, indeed, she had arrived to the Brick House.

How depressing that she went from one depressing stink to another - the alcohol wafted her hard in the face. Cecilia almost cringed from the scent alone as she took another deep breath. She eventually found herself to sitting down on a table, ordering some water with a weak smile to a waiter, before softly waiting for a moment. She needed to adjust to the place.

It didn't take long before two little cloaked girls seemed to be causing a commotion. What baffled Cecilia was how people like them even got into the bar, but it didn't look like the place with such kind of security. Respectively, however, it clearly didn't seem to be an establishment that'd welcome young brats making a noise.
 
"Which'a ya' drunken fatâss idiots are here for the Hunter Exam?"

The one being restrained howled out, before soon being followed by another voice that, to Cecilia's surprise, wielded a peculiar aura upon her hand.
 
“What if someone is not drunk, fat, nor an idiot, yet still here for the Hunter Exam? Well, that would be me, of course.”

 

Cecilia looked amongst the crowd, it clearly appeared she was in the right place. Nothing really to say, in a matter of mere moments Cecilia's former sweater and legging-clad figure was adorned in her beautiful armour, a shimmer as they soon equipped themselves to the lady. Her helm, though, rested in her lap as she glanced to the clear participants of this exam. With that she sftly spoke to them on a matter that continued to boggle her mind.

 

"If you are both here for the exam, did either of you receive a strange parchment with markings upon it?"

 

Needless to say Cecilia soon flashed her piece in her fingers.

[Andx]

Xiu was lying on her back which was strange because she hadn't intended to do so. Though the cause was quite apparent rather quickly this time. There appeared to be some sort of beast on top of her who was licking her face and other such things. Perhaps it was going to eat her but that seemed unlikely as it could have started already. She heard a man's voice stating that "he", likely referring to the beast, liked her. Eventually it got off of her and upon sitting up Xiu noticed the beast looked like some sort of dog or wolf. The man who accompanied the beast introduced himself as Alaster something or other. His full title seemed drawn out and meaningless to most people.

 

Xiu was wiping off her face with her sleeves as a young girl who had arrived before her introduced herself as Anemone. It seemed a round of introductions was beginning which could be useful depending on how much Xiu intended to interact with these people in the future. "My name is XiuMin Rong for those curious to know. Though simply Xiu will suffice." she said to the group as she stood up. "Did the rest of you happen to receive a piece of paper telling you to come here?" she questioned. If the scraps really did complete a picture she wanted to get to seeing it sooner than later and no one else seemed to be initiating the process.

[Astolfo]

In The Brick House…

Malnova was about to yank Iom down and give her a good cuff about the ear for being so reckless when she noticed an overwhelming pressure. When she heard a voice from that same general direction reply out to her little sister's taunt, Malnova turned to face her slowly. The first thing that was apparent was the overflowing amount of Nen surrounding a girl who couldn't have been much older than her. As Malnova considered Iom's raw strength, she realized that this new person would match, if not exceed Iom. If a battle with her was to take place right now, Iom would have to rely on other factors besides pure strength if Iom couldn't beat down that girl. Malnova had trust in Iom that her cunning could help her win but with such an opponent, Malnova's protective instincts took place first, no matter how bitter it felt. The second thing that Malnova noticed was that judging from her words, she was another participant-to-be in the Hunter Exam, which would be a problem if they ever became enemies. The third thing she noticed was that the girl was a human, judging from her appearance and scent. Growing internally annoyed at the fact it wouldn't be possible to just get rid of her like Iom did with the blondie back at the alley - and then growing further ticked off when she detected that the body had been discovered and that it was theorized that the two sisters had done it. Can this day just get any worse…?

Malnova was considering possible appropriate responses when another person - a girl, judging from the sound of her voice - arrived at the tavern. Turning to face the new arrival, Malnova sized her up. There wasn't any of the overflowing levels of Nen that there was present in the other girl, although it did seem this person was capable as well. Looking at her shiny armor, Iom couldn't resist a quick taunt. Whistling, she spoke.

"Oh dearie me, we have a knight in our presence! Shall we bow before Her Elegantness, sis'?"

Ignoring her little sister, Malnova scanned the two figures silently with Gyo. Despite the cold fire that awoke in her, she suppressed it after realizing a fight would not be beneficial to either side. Instead, she transferred her emotions to her aura which she projected via Ren around her so that the two others would be able to detect it. Speaking calmly to the girl clad in shining armor, there was no trace of the emotions clearly visible throughout her aura.

"What importance be it to you, oh fair lady? And there's no need for that armor, don't you agree? We're all friends here," Malnova gestured to Celia as well, "We wouldn't want to destroy this poor tavern by accident, would we?" Keeping her face concealed beneath the hood, Malnova continued. "I'd say I'm feeling fairly generous today though, so I'll entertain your question. A certain boy was kind enough to offer some help as to where we should be, which is why I'm having the oh-so-wonderful pleasure of being here with you two." Motioning at her little sister, Iom pulled out the slip of parchment paper. "With the understanding this place has some significance to the Hunter Exam, it's rather disappointing nothing has happened besides a ruckus that my reckless little sister decided to stir up."

Malnova knew full well that at least the knight-girl would understand what she meant by a "certain boy," although she wasn't sure if the other girl would understand immediately as well. The teal-haired girl seemed immensely strong but fairly naïve and innocent at the least. Aiming to test the older girl's reactions while attempting to mislead the other, Malnova chose her next words carefully, ending her usage of Ren.

"It's a shame though, I can't find the boy. Do you think maybe he got lost? We're probably not to leave this musty old bar if we want any sort of role in the Hunter Exam, but if we have time later, do you maybe want to try searching for him?" As she spoke the very last few words, Malnova decided to pull back her hood and flash a - completely false but quite convincing - smile at the two girls. As she did so, Malnova was careful to keep her aura simple and clean, nothing like what she was showing before. The teal-haired girl would almost certainly be deceived while the other wouldn't - just as intended. Things are going quite well… kukuku... ~

[Raine]

“Hello, new friends.” A new voice approached from behind Oz, with the sweet welcoming tinge that burrowed nausea into Oz’s head. Wiping his head to face, Oz spied with his little eye another young kid equally if not more pathetic looking than the lost doll in the balcony beside him. Oz’s face twitched, ‘I swear to god, if this paper nonsense is some rouse to get me to babysit, I’ll be in a family court for abuse within the week.’

 

Baby doll began to speak, something about names or whatnot. Oz was only half paying attention and consumed in thinking about who the best attorney he knew was to defend him in the upcoming child abuse scandal he was about to be absorbed in. Sudden another interrupted struck, a man emerged from the now frequenting elevator draped in enough warm wool to drown a sheep and the voice of lizard hide. Oz’s hair on the back of his neck stood up on end, he cloaked himself in more than cloth, he’s aura was more hostile than his mile-high boys and girls club. He wasn’t quite sure if he liked or disliked him just yet. 

 

The current company on this rooftop was growing even queerer; it appears that the pursuit of becoming a Hunter has attracted the lure of a spectrum of exotic characters. …particularly in the realm of hair color. Oz’s eyes tracked another guest, making herself relatively unknown among the debacle presently unfolding. Oz could only sigh at this point, if he had known this would turn into such a public ordeal, he wouldn’t have volunteered so quickly to place himself in the middle. There were quickly becoming too many people here to thoroughly keep his eyes on.

 

Then came the dump truck through the nitroglycerin plant. A man with all the subtly of a bull in a fine China shop strutted in like it was his birthday brandishing a pike and a dog- holy shit, that’s freaking wolf. Oz stepped back to better face the elevator and the new arrivals, evidently his man-eating four-legged killing machine was now acting like an energetic puppy and tackled the lime-headed dame to the ground. 

 

"Bit of advice to all of you, learn to be a bit more subtle when getting places you aren't meant to go.  Even in this place you left obvious enough trails for me to follow."

 

Oz eyes went wide and he puffed his checks, “Oh my god, could you seriously not,” Oz said with all the attitude of a pre-teen girl towards the man who couldn’t be less subtle if he lit himself on fire and flapped his arms like a bird. His name turned out to be something something Alistair, apparently he was an heir or something; Oz felt defeated that he would probably remember his name really well due to his antics. 

 

The girl behind him, the porcelain doll looking one, exclaimed her name was Anemone. ‘Cool, I loved Eureka 7, wait no, she means like the sea coral plant, right?’ Oz thought to him. He was becoming dizzy as the minty fresh spoke her name was well. Oz couldn’t remember this one immediately because it was something foreign but it started with a Z… he thought. 

 

Ozymandius finally decided to speak up after her introduction and try to find some common ground between this wonderful band of misfits. “I’m Oz,” he then held up his own scrap of paper, “This is my scrap of paper,” he responded to Xiu. “And as much as I’d love to start a campfire and sing kumbaya with you gentlemen, women, dogs, and oddly delightful children and get to know every one of you down to your favorite color; I have a hunter exam appointment to keep. So if anyone has a bright idea as to the next step in this elaborate scavenger hunt, I’d be in your debt,” he asked to his fellow compatriots. He had to speed this up, after all this was one messed up meeting of circus escapees and being up here any longer than necessary might be scary prospect. 

[Love of Ghibli]

Lettess simply waved as he was elated to see that people were coming in and even better someone responded to him meaning he just made a new friend. It was easier than he initially thought. As he looked he made note that of the different personality types that people kept coming to the table with. Granted there was really no point to that seeing as he is so widely optimistic that he doesn't know or understand that people were already looking down on him. Nevertheless the man with the massive doggy-wolf was already going about doing self introductions. Lettess cartoonishly hit his head. How could he forget such a basic form of etiquette. But before he could introduce himself one of the members...Oz...hmm that's a short name...held up their scrap of paper and continued to go on about the Hunter Exam.

 

Lettess chose to step forward with all of his youthful excitement. My name is Lettess B. Sprout of the Sprout family line of chefs. and this is my special piece of paper. Lettess held up his parchment very close to his person and with a cheerful thumbs up. Maybe if we put them all together we can make some kind of clue that'll tell us what to do next. How about that? 

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Valko walked down the street with leisure in his step. There was no sort of urgency to arrive at The Brick House. The way he reasoned it, most of the applicants would not have had a clue what "The Brick House" even meant. Frankly, his suspicion was a lucky guess on his own part. "By now, there should be 2 there, 3 tops. Hopefully the group isn't too perky. I wouldn't want some kid with a burning passion for whatever to ruin it for everyone else, or rather, myself." 

 

Reaching the tavern, he looked up at the sign, before looking down at the parchment he had been somehow tricked into stealing. Sure enough, they matched. Sighing, he opened the door and stepped inside. It appeared that his premonition was accurate. Atop one of the tables stood a young girl, with another close at hand. Near him, between the pair at the table and himself, was another girl, older than the previous two. This one wore a suit of armor, and seemed to have a professional bearing about her. 

 

Glancing around, he found a fourth person of interest, wearing a cloak that prevented him from telling much about her, though the moment he activated Gyo in his eyes, he saw that she shown with a bright aura. I will have to keep an eye on this one... Redirecting his attention to the one clad in armor, he casually tossed his slip of parchment up to the girl on the table. Tapping his knuckle against the metal of Cecilia's armor with a soft "chink" sound, he inquired with the kindest voice he could muster, 

 

"Excuse me, ma'am, but how much is that suit of armor worth?"

[Maeriberii Haan]

"It's a shame though, I can't find the boy. Do you think maybe he got lost? We're probably not to leave this musty old bar if we want any sort of role in the Hunter Exam, but if we have time later, do you maybe want to try searching for him?"

 

"I think I had to break the news to you two, but that boy is dead. He was murdered on the alley back there."

 

Even though I'm really sure they're just doing it on self-defense, it's still weirding me out how they try acting like they're not related to this.

 

Even with her trying to trust the two girls, Celia could really feel that there's something really off about the two. But then, she realized the presence of a girl wearing a suit of armor in the tavern, and she's clearly also in for the Hunter exam. Apparently she also had a-

 

Oh right.

 

Hastily, Celia pulled her own scrap of parchment from her pocket. It's still the same old incomprehensible torn mess as before, nothing had changed about it. It's not something magical or the likes. Although...

 

"Hey, hey, not sure whether my hunch is true or not, but let's gather all of our torn scrap of paper together. We might be able to figure out something from it."

 

Well, the pieces might have something to do with each other, Celia thought. Maybe they'll suddenly create a portal or something that would lead them to the exam location, or a monster might come out from the paper when all of them was gathered.

 

Or someone would come out of nowhere and grant them an item. Or maybe the item itself would descent from the sky to them, signifying their worthiness or something. Who would know? The world was weird enough already, something like that could very well happen.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Alaster was in high spirits as Rexxus returned to him to stand at his side, the young wolf coming up a bit past his waist at the shoulder.  Really, there wasn't much wonder of what a monster he would be in another year's time.  All the same, his companions proved to be an...interesting bunch.  The girl with the trident off near the edge, Anemone she called herself, proved to be the quiet type.  He rather liked that, as it meant she'd be less likely to cause problems while on a hunt.  The green haired girl, whose name he didn't think he'd be able to pronounce correctly for a while, seemed alright to him.  He didn't think he would be able to get along with Oz, who seemed entirely irritated with the situation.  That fellow reminded him too much of a few of his tutors, and it took a good bit of effort to keep the smile on his face as he nodded in that man's direction.
 
"Well, I do hope you're ready to pay that debt, Oz old boy, because-"
 
"My name is Lettess B. Sprout of the Sprout family line of chefs. and this is my special piece of paper. Lettess held up his parchment very close to his person and with a cheerful thumbs up. Maybe if we put them all together we can make some kind of clue that'll tell us what to do next. How about that?"  It seemed that he had been interrupted by one of his companions' introductions.  Well, this Lettess fellow certainly had a good, working brain on him.

 

"Well yes.  That would be the idea, Lettess."  That smile on his face became a bit more genuine.  This one did seem to be someone he could get along with.  As for the most recent one of them to chime up, Morgan she said her name was, he wasn't sure what to think.  She seemed to be a nice girl, but then there was the Frankenstein's Monster look she had about her.  It gave him pause, but for the moment he decided not to pay it too much mind.  Those of them that had taken out their pieces of parchment soon found them deftly taken by the nobleman's skillful hands as he sat down on the ground and set about assembling them into a pattern.  "With any luck, you were right about the pictures on the parchment and we'll figure out where to go from here."  He said as he added his own piece to the puzzle, and looked up to look at the fellow wearing the respirator with a look of expectation in his eyes.

[Aix]

"I'm Morrigan Lusk," the frail gray-haired boy said from beneath his respirator. Following everyone's example, Morrigan proceeded to pull out the piece of parchment that lead him here.

It seemed like a really odd and assorted group of people that the paper lead him to. His grey hair wasn't even the most out of place here. And there was also a young boy and girl among them. Morrigan feared that him losing control with them around would bring unwanted and gruesome consequences. However, it became apparent that the group was meant to go to the same destination, as they fumbled with the pieces of the puzzle and placed it together to form a coherent image.

[spoiler=Picture]

[/spoiler]
A small straw hut amidst the trees with a crescent moon hanging in the sky.

"Let's go find this place," said Anemone, in a dry tone. It was neither commanding nor tentative. A flat, matter-of-fact voice devoid of any underlying intent or feeling. Paying no further attention at all to the others, she looked to the landscape beyond the outskirts of the city.

Despite housing such an impressive structure as the Skytower, the city was relatively small so that the vast wilderness was easily visible from their vantage point. Various hills lined the scenery, covered unevenly with trees as they stretched onward to mountains. A canyon existed to the far right of Anemone's view, to the south. Ignoring that, there were groves of all sorts of trees. The vast majority were oaks with white spruce visibly scattered in between, but to the northwest was a gathering of cedars and pines. Raising her trident, she pointed it in that direction.

"Over there," she said, looking back to the group.

[Love of Ghibli]

Lettess looked as the pieces of the parchment were actually put together. Awesome...he said softly with a genuine look of amazement. But he was genuinely perplexed on how to actually get to this place. The foreign city was so foreign to him that he didn't think to actually look into the distance. Luckily someone else did that for him. He watched as this Anemone person pointed her trident in the direction of the hut like place. Lettess immediately jumped up in joy looking in the direction of the trident. Even more awesome! Let's do it...so how do we do it? Should we actually try walking there or do something epic like free run over there?

 

Either way Lettess was simply to have people to actually adventure with. The man with the wolf was pretty interesting...he seemed nice. Almost like a big brother figure...which he has four of, so this will be a nice and familiar experience. Nevertheless, adventure was afoot. He reached into his bag and pulled out a bunch of handwrapped bars. I have enough energy bars for everyone in the group. These should keep us fully fueled for hours. He went around offering one to everyone.

[Kyng]

Inwardly wincing to the catty taunt Cecilia kept said inside as she retained her cool calm about her. She most certainly wasn't a knight - though her father would likely wish her to be knighted if plausible, mind you. Nonetheless the girl's tone was clear cut and uncensored and suggested to Cecilia she had no intention to make any friends any time soon. The other girl, though, seemed somewhat more...sinister in nature. Indeed, she seemed to have an air of malice about her. Whereas the first clearly came across as a childish imp, a troublemaking minx, the other's seemingly cherry-picked words held a much different vibe about her.

 

Cecilia paid close attention to said girl's words. This time, Cecilia notably sorrowed somewhat upon the mention of the boy but felt very comfortable in her choice of donning her armour. Though she soon flaunted the all-important parchment, the piece of paper binding them together. Evidently no longer coincidence Cecilia did her earnest to move her thought away from the notion of the dangerous girl and more to focus on the parchment and, most importantly, the Hunter Exam.

 

While the other girl openly spoke on the boy's deceased nature, she too drew out her parchment and began to suggested they gather their papers together. Cecilia simply couldn't refuse.

 

"It is clearly not coincidence we are all here for the same purpose, and we each carry these strange parchments."

 

Gently gracing the floor as she walked over to Celia, the armour-clad lady handed her the parchment she held with curiosity welling in her eyes. Though she inwardly hoped the other more...peculiar girl would keep her distance from the lady.

[Raine]

Oz managed to peek his head over and catch his own glimpse of the assembled map. He was not impressed by the craftsmanship or drawing abilities of its maker. After his look, Anemone pointed her glorified stick in the direction of the aforementioned shack in the picture, ‘want an observant manikin,’ he thought. Oz stepped back and patted down his pockets, apparently the Kumbiya idea wasn’t a joke to them since Lettuce C. Salad was under the impression this was going to be some boy scout camping trip. ‘Far from It’, he thought.  These guys wouldn’t make it or rather, he didn’t sign up to compete against losers and children.

 

Oz had no real direction from the start of this terribly designed game of scavenger hunting he has been made servant. He was going to get his license to be a Hunter and if the tests were going to be as furious as rumored, he had no reason to  play nice with 10 year olds and pampered paupers. His patting let him find a hard object buried in his left pocket, ‘perfect’, passed his mind. Ozymandius observed as the group was preparing to move out and Anemone was near the edge looking out to their destination. ‘Hey, Anne,” Oz called out playfully, “I thought I told you not to play near the edge.”

 

Anemone was holding her trident horizontal to the ground, vigilant but dry as her mannerisms so far has illustrated she typically is. Oz lifted his leg behind Anemone’s field of vision, “I told you it can be dangerous!” he bucked his weight into striking the trident at the base of her hand. He didn’t mean to hurt her but the only way to ensure this to work would be to force her to relinquish her weapon, hopefully he didn’t have to break it. Oz’s boot snapped into Anemone’s hand and the trident spun out forward. It must have been heavier than he thought because it barely flew over the railing of the rooftop and spiraled down to the street below.

 

Anemone spun to face in reaction and pain from her right hand but Oz carried himself with his momentum from his kick and wrapped his arm around her neck. His hand quickly retrieved a curved knife that he discovered on his person moments earlier and placed it firmly along her carotid artery in threat. Oz tightened his grip over Anemone, “Forgive me, it’s not like I like molesting little girls,”  his hand around her neck lowered it as he groped through her clothing and found the completed map.

 

Oz whistled to gather the attention of the rest of the merry band, or at least the less wary ones, he noticed some had actually begun to draw closer. “As much as I enjoyed all of your company, I don’t believe any of you are worth the ground you stand on,” he adjusted his grip on the knife and Anemone to display his hostage. “I have good deal for you all. As far as hostage takers go I’m easily in the top 1% of most reasonable. I’ll be taking the completed map and leaving without any of you folks following me, the middle-schooler will walk away just fine, and I’ll go on to the Hunter Test.”

Ozymandius began strafing along the railing of the building keeping his eyes on all of his company and provoking his threat to get them to move from his way until he reached the elevator entrance. “I’m taking her until I arrive on the first floor to make sure none of you play heroes. Take this as an opportunity, guys. Don’t risk your life doing something stupid,” Oz called the elevator, “Go home, I’m doing you a favor in a way.”

 

The elevator doors closed and the vision of the group faded and Oz released his grip of Anemone and withdrew his knife. He had the map, and she was weapon-less. She could regroup or flee when he left the building, it didn’t matter. He would be damned if he had to compete in the Hunter Exams with those fodder. He eyed Anemone, “You are going to stick very close to me until we leave the lobby then you can do what you want,” he sighed and hide his knife under his sleeve waiting to arrive on the first floor. 

[Astolfo]

In The Brick House…

While Malnova was observing the two females for possible reactions, another person interrupted, throwing a piece of parchment on their table. Staring him down with a burning cold gaze, Iom spoke essentially what her older sister was thinking. "Hey you raggedy ole' fool, you really think money can buy armor like that?" When the younger of the two girls spoke though, Malnova shifted her attentions. Rearranging her features into one suggesting distraught, she let out a cry. "Oh, that's such a tragedy! What kind of person would do such a horrible thing to such a poor, innocent boy?" Malnova smiled internally to herself. This is probably too much, but oh well. I'm sure the other hag will know what I mean though… kukuku~

Iom was peering at the girl clad in armor, her lips curling slightly in disgust. She caught a glimpse of just the slightest shift of behavior and recognized her earlier barb worked as intended. Unable to resist the delicious urge, Iom shot another spiked comment at the woman. "Oh, did I hit a nerve, my fair mistress? Wait, no! It can't be… Our oh-so perfect knightess isn't perfect? What heresy is this?" Sneering at the woman, a mean smile slid onto Iom's face.

When the topic of the parchment pieces rose up again, Malnova silently slid over to the other two females, almost seeming to hover. Iom trailed just behind her older sister, like a shadow. She memorized her own piece in either case and judging the paper in itself wasn't anything special, she was fine with seeing if it would offer up any further clues as to the Hunter Exam. Withdrawing a gloved hand, she offered her own piece of parchment and the one that the man threw to her table to the innocent-looking girl. "I'd be glad to help in any way I could, of course! What's your name, miss?" Smiling at the girl, Malnova attempted to obtain the girl's trust - so she would be able to take advantage of it later.

At that moment, making a movement so it would seem like she just remembered about the male figure who had entered recently, she turned to face the man, with her back to the others. Locking onto his gaze with a contemptuous look, she spoke calmly, knowing full well that the man was an entrant, judging from the slip of parchment paper he had. "I wouldn't suppose you're an entrant in this Hunter Exam? If you are, feel free to join us." Smiling, Malnova rejoined the two other parchment-holders. Making a slightly exaggerated motion of looking over the four pieces of parchment, Malnova arranged her features into a frown. "Seems like we're missing a piece or two, but I have a fairly good idea what it's supposed to be by now. Can you two do any better?" Iom took a final look over the pieces before coming to the same end her older sister had arrived at, and contented herself with one final jab. "It's okay if you two can't do better. You two are just humans, after all."

[Maeriberii Haan]

"Oh, that's such a tragedy! What kind of person would do such a horrible thing to such a poor, innocent boy?" One of the girls started acting quite dramatically in response to the news of the boy's death, which really started to bug Celia. It's nothing but obvious that the two were involved in the boy's death, and while Celia still tried to believe that the two were not doing it out of any malicious intents, their attitude started to sicken her. Whether it's some sort of superiority complex or generally them trying to play the mischievous child card too much, it's getting somewhat annoying.

 

"It is clearly not coincidence we are all here for the same purpose, and we each carry these strange parchments."

 

But thankfully, the fully-armored girl went ahead and shifted the focus back to the pieces of parchment again. The armored lady gave Celia her piece of parchment, and surprisingly, not long after that one of the two girls gave theirs too.

 

"I'd be glad to help in any way I could, of course! What's your name, miss?" The girl that had all the talk before shifted her expression again, now trying to act nice and friendly towards her. To say that this was unnerving to Celia was a bit underselling it, but for now, Celia decided to just go along.

 

"You can call me Celia. And yeah, all help would be appreciated here."

 

The girl then called over a man that had given his paper to the two girls before towards the table, as they started to arrange the pieces into something...yet nothing happened, and the pieces were still as incomprehensible as ever. Celia sighed a bit, as seemingly they would still need more pieces to summon the dra-make out something comprehensible from the pieces. Meanwhile, the older-looking one of the girl started to look around the papers overdramatically, as if she's making head or tails about the thing conveyed in the pieces.

 

"Seems like we're missing a piece or two, but I have a fairly good idea what it's supposed to be by now. Can you two do any better?"

 

Ugh, stop acting like such a smartass, will you?

 

The two girls had started to really annoy Celia, but she decided to try keeping her composure for now and focused back on the pieces, until the younger of the two made another jab.

 

"It's okay if you two can't do better. You two are just humans, after all."

 

It was the last straw needed to break Celia's patience with the two. Without saying anything, she slapped the younger girl as hard as she could. The cloud of aura that surrounded her darkened as it grew more and more in size, responding to her emotion.

 

"I am seriously not interested to fight any of you two. But please, mind your freaking manners, or sooner or later you'll end up in the similar condition with the boy you two murdered."

In her anger, she accidentally slipped and accused the two of the murder of the boy, but at this point, Celia couldn't care less. Not even the fact that the two were probably not human really bothered her. They're being too obnoxious even for her standards, and that really needed to end, one way or another.