[N o v a k i d]

[attr="class","susurrus"]

[attr="class","jikan"] [attr="class","hiraeth"]曲がった男は誰ですか?

[attr="class","achee"] [attr="class","castleonthehill"] ❝ There is never a shortage of threats that terrorize the inhabitants of the world of Remnant, more so since the publication of The Fall which devastated friends and family alike. Taking advantage of the tragedy, the increased presence of Grimm, bandit raids, and rise of mysterious groups became one of the many threats that draw on the limited pool of available Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral, as many of the remaining Huntsmen and Huntresses have been assigned to subjugation and reconnaissance missions to ensure nothing threatens the well-being of the inhabitants of Mistral. In short, the number of reliable fighters have been worn thin. When the few remaining Hunters and Huntresses are away, however, who will stay behind to ensure that order is kept? While the daily scuffs of theft, small-time gang activity, and shady business deals are managed by the City Police, there are tasks and requests by citizens that still need to be tended to. Due to the low priorities that some of these requests take, they're often left ignored and unanswered. This has caused a level of unrest in many individuals, which breeds anxiety and stress among the population. As a result, this negative energy tends to draw many small Grimm nearby, leading to attacks on villages outside the city. In order to manage the requests and jobs that are often missed on, the proposed solution was simple: The Notice Board The Notice Board is a wide bulletin board measuring approximately 210 cm x 160 cm, with the main board region made of glass and raised off the ground by worn out posts located near the entrance area of Haven Academy. Just like the real life counterparts of missions assigned to professional Huntsmen and Huntresses, the Notice Board serves as a small scale replication of providing work experience for the students of Haven Academy. While many of the jobs are trivial and menial such as delivering parcels, finding missing items, or help with manual labor, the occasional pest extermination, small Grimm subjugation, or exciting special requests pop up, though usually snatched by the quickest students. These requests can be performed by individual students, though many tend to team up prior to accepting the Request in order to complete them quicker. Sometimes the number of students are restricted by the discretion of the requester, since they are the ones providing the rewards of the task's completion after all. However, the more difficult or demanding a task it, the higher the rewards are as an incentive. Those that are interested in taking on a Request must accept it through their scrolls upon bringing their scrolls near the board which automatically scans them. The Request provides key details such as the name of the requester to report to, the location of the Request, the details regarding the Request, and most importantly, the listed objectives in the Request that must be completed in order to receive their reward. Anything done outside of the boundaries of the request may or may not include additional rewards, but students are prohibited from solicitating more than what they were originally promised. the Requests are exclusive to students, usually. Completion of the Request was validated by both the requester and a staff member of Haven Academy to prevent bogus completion or any kind of suspicious behavior. In addition, the Notice Board serves as a means of small income for many poor students that have no financial backing or want a bit of pocket lien. A win-win situation for eager students and citizens in need; an ingenious plan given the high traffic that the Board gets. Recently, there had been a large surge of common requests: Missing Persons. At first it was a couple per week, nothing too important or noteworthy for the police to investigate deeply. People come and go all the time, either to travel, to get away, or get swept up in the wrong crowd and end up running away from home. The types of people weren't related in any way. Men, women, children, and elderly... Then the frequency increased to several a week. At that point, the number of missing persons posters have flooded the Notice Board, often resorting to tacking paper copes onto the glass screen over other Requests in an effort to garner attention and causing occasional scenes between other requesters. The sense of restlessness have crept over some of the students, though the rest simply continued to search for the higher paying Requests. The high frequency and relatively low rewards, however, made them mostly unpopular and left ignored. The low success rate for many of these requests make them less desirable as well, resulting in a large clutter of the Notice Board. For those that are found, many have no recollection of their whereabouts or are found in a mentally broken state. While the increase number of disappearing individuals continue to climb, the desire to handle the problem remains unchanged. On one particular day a single request was posted with a decently high payout for a Missing Person's report. The main difference that this Request had from the others was a fairly high reward amount with some vague detail about the state of the missing peoples. What made this Request also peculiar was that there was no single name to point out; rather, it was written in a series of strange, random sentences that had nothing to do with each other, despite being listed as a "Missing Person's Request." This didn't stop many students from taking on the Request, but nobody had been able to figure out just what the Request entailed, or where to go. The name of the requester was simply left blank. It was a surprise that this managed to get past the Academy administration! The only information that anyone could properly discern from the jumble of sentences was: Find the one responsible for the kidnappings. Despite the cryptic messages and confusing statements, a small number of students noticed a tiny detail that was largely overlooked by the majority of the student body. A series of dots and lines marked on the bottom of the Request screen. Some mistook it as simple decoration or just random characters thrown in to meet the minimal character count, though those that peered closely at the series of lines and dots noticed something: It was a code. Keeping the pattern a secret, these few students took to various sources to solve the code and the smaller few that managed to decode the message made their way individually towards the location that the code had instructed them, unaware of the others that have solved the code. Their destination: right into the Wind District, where the four happened to run into each other. ✎ 1120 words ※ SPOILER: Click to show Turn order will be decided after initial posts of the four participants. Current participants: Colton, Flower, Niraya, and Qiu'li

[attr="class","ache"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.ache]width:0px;height:0px;border-left:100px solid transparent;border-bottom:100px solid #c1c7cf; border-top:50px solid transparent; margin: -156px -490px 0px 0px;[/newclass][newclass=.achee]position: relative; z-index: 2;[/newclass][newclass=.hiraeth]width:8px; padding: 35px; color: #fff; text-align:center;letter-spacing:-1px;border:1px solid #fff; color:#fff;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:15px;line-height:1,5em;background:rgba(17, 17, 17, 0.5); margin-left: 60px; margin-right: 60px; margin-bottom: 10px;[/newclass][newclass=.jikan]width: 58px; height: 58px; padding: 10px; color: #fff; background:rgba(17, 17, 17, 0.5); border:1px solid #fff; margin-left: 60px; margin-right: 60px; -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */ filter: grayscale(100%);[/newclass][newclass=.castleonthehill::-webkit-scrollbar]width:3px;background-color:#c6c6c6;border:1px solid #fefefe;[/newclass][newclass=.castleonthehill::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]width:3px;background-color:#c6c6c6;border:1px solid #c6c6c6;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][newclass=.susurrus a]font: bold 6pt calibri; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #333[/newclass][newclass=.susurrus:hover .jikan]transition: 0.7s; transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; -webkit-filter: grayscale(0%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */ filter: grayscale(0%);[/newclass]

[Niraya Platinum]

Niraya Platinum
When snow falls, Nature listens.

[attr="class","rainbow"]

Niraya was just wondering around town familiarizing herself, and to let her little robot drone roam around a bit. She loved that little robot like a pet. with all the programming she put into the drone it might as well be a living creature. it had emotions it could kinda talk. She was still working on that. the small led panel on its front displayed its emotion and the tiny camera looking around as they walked.

Niraya stops in front of a board when her scroll started to act funny. that is when she noticed the information being displayed was what was on the board. "huh...now that is convenient." She digs through the various missions listed as her little drone looked around. even chased a few birds here and there. Niraya comes across an interesting post on the board.

The message was a cry for help. The main mission was to find the cause of the disappearances but she found it odd how they went about it. there was a hint of something wasn't quite right with this request and near the bottom, she spots a series of dots and dashes. She carefully studies this as her little drone had fun but not wandering off too far. It takes her a good while. Lots of people pass by her not thinking too much about her standing near the bulletin board. Her drone following a couple of these people for a bit before returning.

She finally cracks the code it was a location. why would a location be hidden in a request like that? She calls over her robot and has him sleep again as she rushes off to find this location. She was swift weaving through the crowd of people until she was close. She stays back away from the exact spot, but close enough to see the spot. she was keeping an eye out. This place was suspicious looking and a hidden message said to come here. This warranted her being on edge. her ears twitching back and forth listening for any noise as she waits for a clue.

↺ + HK

[newclass=.rainbow]text-align:justify;width:90%;height:360px;padding:10px;background-color:#ffffff;font-size:11px;margin:0px auto;color:#252525;overflow:auto;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rainbow::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rainbow::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background:#4394BF;[/newclass]

[Colton Deraine]

[googlefont=Open+Sans]

[attr="class","firstfriend"]

Bravery is believing in yourself, and that's one thing nobody can teach you.

The Notice Board was a cool idea.

It provided a way for the students who were capable of doing so to immediately help the City of Mistral while they were there, and the missions were ones that the police didn’t have the manpower to deal with so were relatively safe and low level for the most part so none of the idiots got themselves killed. Colton went to the board pretty frequently when he had time from when it was implemented, taking on jobs here and there because he felt like he had a duty to do so and refusing rewards thus far because what kind of shithead would further steal from the people who were desperate enough to post on here? It was why he went to Haven in the first place instead of taking an offer somewhere else after all, the ability to actually make a difference.

He didn’t touch the missing persons reports at all until now, though, largely because Colt knew damn well he wasn’t a detective. He wasn’t up for wasting entire days on wild goose chases for people’s dog or niece or whatever. It was a waste of time and energy that could be spent doing actual, useful things but there was a difference today. First of all, the pay was a lot higher. Quite frankly, the Argus native didn’t give a shit about that. He wasn’t doing this to feed a drug addiction or to be able to flash a shiny new motorcycle or whatever – he was doing this to make a difference.

This one was basically the ravings of a madman, so Colt had posted it up in student chat to see if any of the egg heads on there was able to figure it out. He also posted it up on the intranet for Argus as well, and one guy actually cracked it. Here’s to you, anonymous web surfer. Honestly at this point the teenager could be convinced fairly easily that enough time on the internet as a child just makes your skull bigger for more brain. It seemed like every time he tossed up some strange shit up there in public some random genius, bored out of their mind just solves it in like five minutes. If only he could take it with him to class for tests, it would be perfect.

The code said to go to the Wind District, which was fair enough. While his aura was controlled enough to protect him from at least the brunt of the cold out in the city, he still preferred to wear jackets and other winter clothing just the same. A brown leather jacket all zipped up covered his torso, and thick blue jeans had his legs covered. Brown leather boots completed the ensemble, and those very same boots crunched the remains of the last snowfall underneath his feet as he walked. This seemed absolutely sketchy as hell, so he had taken some precautions.

First of all, he had his backsword in its sheath on his left hip. Second, he had his shield all curled up on a metal bracer on his left forearm. Third, he had metal bracers and greaves underneath the thick clothing he wore so he could manipulate them with his semblance if things went south. This was either a wild goose chase, an ambush, or the guy on the internet was wrong and it was like math class where the correct answer wasn’t necessarily the correct answers for reasons unknown to anyone but egg heads and their textbook gods.

Stealth wasn’t exactly in the teenager’s vocabulary, so he made absolutely no attempt to hide himself and walked freely in the middle of the street towards the location specified. Only cowards and thieves hid in the shadows, and Colton Deraine was neither of those things. If this was an ambush, he was going to beat the absolute piss out of everyone there. If this was real, he was going to see what was up. If the egg head was wrong, no harm and no foul. He would have made an honest attempt, and that’s all he could have really done. To be frank, he didn’t exactly care how this went. Any of those outcomes was fine for him, because this was all part of the whole making a name for yourself deal.

Cold brown eyes surveyed the area around him as boots continued to crunch the remnants of snow beneath the student’s feet as he sauntered forward through the street. Even if this was a rabbit hole with no dead end, it wasn’t like he was trying to hide the fact that he was there or was searching for answers in the first place. People would remember who he was and that he had his nose to the grind stone, so would be more inclined to be pliable in the future when he actually might need some assistance.

※ TWC: 820 words ✎ 820 words ✉ E rank semblance, E ranked martial arts, E ranked durability, E ranked weapon

MADE BY MIZO

[Flower Fiorella]

[attr="class","flowerfio"]

"I try to be understanding because I think that most people are actually quite surprising."

[attr="class","flowerfiotext"]

Flower was a frequent visitor to the notice board.

She liked to help out when she could. And the extra money was certainly always helpful. Most of the time, she would send it back to her father for the sake of his starving artist ways. Most of the time, they were easy jobs. Delivering parcels, finding lost pets, even just helping out at a local place for manual labor, none of them were particularly difficult requests or things that couldn’t be done by a single or pair of student huntsmen trainees.

Of course, over the past few weeks, she had noticed the increase in missing persons reports. Flower had neglected to take them most of the time because they seemed a bit above her own ability. Naturally, she expected proper authorities like police to take care of it. She had heard rumors of those that were found again… dazed, confused, sometimes mentally broken and without memory of what happened to them. It was disturbing for sure and gave a Flower an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

She determined that yes, it was something certainly out of her ability to investigate alone.

But when the girl saw a curious request at the board that was so very vague and somewhat concerning… something irked her to try. There wasn’t a lot about the request that made sense, it didn’t even give proper information or real identification. There was but one sentence among it that truly did spark Flower’s interest.

Find the one responsible for the kidnappings.

It was followed by a cryptic message in code, a series of dots and dashes. Flower recognized it immediately. Of course, she ended up simply using a code translator through her scroll, but the apparent instructions were just as concerning.

WIND. THE FORGE.

Wind… the only place it could be was the Wind District. As to what the Forge could be, Flower presumed it as a place within the Wind District. The entire situation was still very sketchy, yet still, Flower found it within herself to want to know more. She decided to take the request but was immediately surprised to see that two others had already taken it up. She tilted her head, looking at the two names on the scroll.

Niraya Platinum

Colton Deraine.

It was the fox Faunus with ice power and that little robot obsession. The second was none other than Colton Deraine, her fellow Sanctum Academy graduate. Flower was certain that Niraya was quite smart, and perhaps even had some good investigative skills of her own. If she truly built and programmed her own robots than it meant she had a good degree of intellect and problem solving skills. Colton was different, but Flower knew him as a capable huntsman more than anything else, even at Haven his record of being the best at hadn’t died. She knew his combat skills were great, but… she was also aware that his book smarts may have been lacking. She could still recall helping him in math class not so long ago. If she could be sure of anything else about Colton Deraine was that his ego far exceeded anything else about him, even going so far as denying her assistance. Arrogance, per se, didn’t necessarily detract from his ability as a huntsman, however.

She thought about it moment, before typing out a message on her scroll.

Qiu’li, hello ヾ(｡･ω･｡)
Are you free right now?
I’m taking up a missings person request from the notice board. I may require your assistance.
Can you meet me at the Wind District? (ﾉ･ω･)ﾉﾞ

She hit send with confidence that he would see it, additionally adding in the location from the request. How he would respond or if he would respond was the better question. She could recall that Qiu'li was... less tech adept than most other students. Of course, it came from the fact that the young man apparently was raised in a modern society. Quite honestly, though she saw that Colton and Niraya had also taken up the request, she wasn’t as sure that they would be of any help to her, or allow her to help them. Niraya seemed friendly enough, but Colton definitely would deny working together. Since it came down to it, she thought it better if she had an actual, reliable backup and partner. Qiu’li was an obvious choice. Though his sense of bookmarks wasn’t quite traditional, he was battle smart and had combat experience. Flower recalled asking for his help before, and he had never said no.

And so, that was how the girl had found herself wandering the streets of Mistral’s Wind District. She had Bloom in its default sword state in a holder she always wore on her back. She wore her usual outfit of a layer violet skirt, corset, and light vest. Her legs were covered by dark leggings and tall black boots with light laces while her arms were covered by dark grey armsleeves. Despite being lightly dressed, Flower paid no mind to the chilling temperatures around her. A light breeze picked up free strands of her lavender-gray hair, tied up in a ponytail that showed of its natural two tones of darker purple in the layers of her hair. Around her neck was a dark violet ribbon, her mother’s ribbon. She always had it with her.

Flower looked around, seeing that the crowds hadn’t faded from the Wind District, but there seemed to be tension in the air. It could have been just the cold, the girl could see her breathe form small clouds of fog in front of her.

She was supposed to head there, wherever there happened to be.

She looked down to her scroll, typing out a simple text.

Colton, hello ヾ(｡･ω･｡)
You took up the same sketchy missing person request.
I’m in the Wind District too, if you would like to work together. (｡･ω･)ゞ

She didn’t have Niraya’s contact information, but she looked around again nearly certain that would see the fox Faunus girl. And sure enough, she saw a pair of light colored fox ears stick from the crowd. She gave a wave, half expecting the girl not to notice her.

Despite looking to the Niraya, Flower still kept her senses on high. Someone had obviously led her and the rest of them there for a reason, and reason still was unknown to all of them. Something was amiss, despite everything still appearing normal.

She simply waited and watched for that something to make itself known.

wc: 1,085 || twc: 1,085
Colton Deraine Niraya Platinum Qiu'li

[newclass=".flowerfio"]width:450px;height:0;padding-top:200px; overflow:hidden; transition: 1s; -webkit-transition: 1s; -moz-transition: 1s; -o-transition: 1s; -ms-transition: 1s;background-image:url(http://i64.tinypic.com/309u9ls.jpg)[/newclass]
[newclass=".flowerfio:hover"]height:200px;padding-top:0;[/newclass]
[newclass=".flowerfiotext b"]color:#614870;text-shadow:1px 1px 1px gainsboro[/newclass]

[Qiu'li]

[attr="class","popqiu"] ❝May the crimson leaves show me the path I must follow.❞ wc: 775 | twc: 775 Qiu'li

[attr="class","qiutext"] Ah. The Notice Board. Even something Qiu'li was familiar with. Having not a single lien left to his name after relying on the kindness of his master, Qiu'li knew that he would have to be self-sufficient on his journey to find what true strength meant. However, the journey was a long and arduous one, wrought with various hardships of all sorts. Finding a way to get by with was also one of these hardships. Therefore, he wasted no time to find other means of work while he was in Mistral. While wandering around between the Wind District in his free time, Qiu'li caught wind of the Notice Board, a treasure trove of requests posted by the locals that would help make ends meet in terms of food, equipment, and utility costs. Ugh. Nothing like back in Forever Fall, though adaptation to one's environment is important. Having the dexterity and finesse focused build certainly helped in nabbing some of the easier, slightly higher-paying jobs, though the monetary reward hardly lasted long. Honest work for an honest man, even if it isn't much. However, maintaining a steady flow of income has become steadily difficult recently due to the sudden increase in Missing Person's Requests. While Qiu'li usually wouldn't turn down a Request, these increases were becoming detrimental: Not only were the rewards meager and usually unsustainable, but the time it took to track down a person, or even begin to figure out their whereabouts meant taking them weren't cost efficient. Plus, he didn't specialize in tracking down individuals. Though perhaps Lilium might have thrived here... Taking a look at the Notice Board, he noticed one peculiar Request. Another Missing Persons Request that seemed to be a bit popular. Huh. Though this one was significantly higher in reward, though the details were quite troublesome. Most of the words were gargled up sentences, which didn't help Qiu'li at all whatsoever. Though looking at the roster of students who have taken on the Request, he recognized a couple names. Hm. At an almost uncanny time, Qiu'li's Scroll pinged with a message from Flower. Ah- a Missing Persons Request that she was taking on? Oh- it must be the one that he was holding onto, seeing that her name was among some of those that have accepted it. Seems like Flower wanted to work together to find and apprehend the culprit. He didn't see why not: More people means a higher chance of finding the culprit. Though he questioned the seemingly odd symbols that were next to them. What did they mean? Were they some kind of seal that Flower used to signature her messages? He'd have to ask her later. As as he made his way to the Wind District, a cold, chilly wind passed by as Qiu'li breathed out a puff of steam. He wore his native outfit from Forever Fall, dressed in his thick shirt, linen pants, and crimson red sash. He also wore his thick black boots, leather vambraces and worn spaulder with Longtou and Panlong dangling by his side, jangling with every other step. While he continued to make his way there, he began to question the nature of the Request. Why was there no Requester name? Who would post such a vague Request without providing details about the Request, no less being approved by Haven Administration? Things didn't add up, though he decided to keep the details to himself until he met up with Flower. Upon arriving to the Wind District, Qiu'li scanned his eyes for Flower. Since she didn't exactly specify where to meet, and the Wind District was pretty large due to the high traffic marketplace, Qiu'li would have to rely on his specialty: Maneuverability. Taking to the rooftops, Qiu'li jumped and climbed his way onto stalls and then buildings as he took to a high vantage point in his effort to look for a uniquely hair colored individual. Sure enough, there she was waving over to another Faunus looking individual.. Ah- it was Niraya! She was among the list of individuals who have taken up on the Request too, so it was not much of a surprise. Well, now that he's found her, Qiu'li scrambled his way down to meet up with her and Niraya if she had noticed them yet. "Request.. Missing Person. Who requested? How complete..?" He was unsure how they would be able to complete the request, or to whom they would report to validate the completion. Perhaps Flower had a better idea of the situation and could shed some light. Oh- maybe it had something to do with the strange symbols she added in her message to him?

[newclass=".popqiu"]width:200px;height:0;padding-top:450px; overflow:hidden; transition: 1s; -webkit-transition: 1s; -moz-transition: 1s; -o-transition: 1s; -ms-transition: 1s;background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/LXJvQ1m.jpg)[/newclass]
[newclass=".popqiu:hover"]height:450px;padding-top:0;[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext]margin:5px auto; width:325px; height: 430px;overflow:auto;padding:10px;background-color:transparent;font-family:calibri[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;background:transparent[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background:#892D2D;border:0px[/newclass]
Fènnù (+Strength +Agility +Projectile Sword Beam) | Rank E
Lóngtóu and Panlong | Rank F
Falling Ashes (Leap) | Rank F
Weapon Proficiency I (Martial Arts) | Rank F
Dance of the Wild Winds II (Acrobatics) | Rank E

[N o v a k i d]

[attr="class","susurrus"]

[attr="class","jikan"] [attr="class","hiraeth"]曲がった男は誰ですか?

[attr="class","achee"] [attr="class","castleonthehill"] ❝ A gust of cold winter air whipped through the Wind District. Perhaps that was how it got it's name, or maybe the it was referring to how frequently merchants came and went, or perhaps it was just a natural phenomena that was a result of the Districts geography being located at the foot of two mountains. Either way, the temperatures here were rather cold, but that doesn't stop the natural busy foot traffic that passed through the Wind District since it makes up the majority of the city of Mistral. In addition, the sun was setting soon with lanterns already being lit and hung along the posts and between market stalls. While some were starting to pack up for the day, other artisans and merchant companies prided themselves in opening up to the late nights. Though that isn't to say that the Wind District is the perfect place to be. If anything that would be the Cloud District. When the sun falls beyond the mountain peaks, the nightlife begins, and when the lowlifes come out of the woods to engage in... questionable activities. Black markets for dangerous chemicals, contraband products, and illegal goods and services are an unspoken reality that's been accepted within the Wind District. A necessary evil of sorts that's been acknowledged by the larger guilds in the District. While many detest the idea of illegal acts occurring right under their noses, a prosperous city free of vices is simply unrealistic in nature, especially given recent events and the increased activity of Grimm beyond the walls of Mistral. Even the City Police is willing to turn a blind eye for the sake of ensuring the well-being of the citizens aren't being threatened in broad daylight unless the act is occurring right in front of their eyes. As Niraya was the first to make it to the location, subtly named THE FORGE, according to the decoded message of lines and dots that was at the bottom of the Request, she was met with a small bookstore to her surprise. A strange name for a bookstore, why not something more... book-like, such as 'The Library' or quite literally anything with the word 'book' in it. The Forge sounded like a blacksmith's workshop or a weapon's vendor store. The Forge was a small building sandwiched two other merchant buildings owned by a prominent guild within the Wind District. It was a plain bookstore, with glass displays for aesthetics and to shine some natural sunlight into the store. The displays were decorated shelves with books lined against them, though the books seemed to be just a random assortment. Either way, the store was rather depressing looking and dark. Was it even open? The sign said so, but there didn't seem to be a light coming from the inside. It gave some spooky vibes. From the outside, Niraya couldn't hear anything suspicious or see anything notable. She was standing right outside the building, which did get a couple side glances, but nothing more asides from the indistinct chatter of passing citizens and travelers alike. Nobody seemed to be going into the bookstore. Though it was times like these when one's guard was down that an ambush was imminent! The sun was setting and the crowds were getting thin. Perhaps they were waiting for the right chance to ambush her!! this could be a perfect setup- Suddenly Niraya felt someone... or something watch her. A creeping feeling of unease washed over her as the presence wasn't terribly far from her either, as if they were watching her from a distance. From the reflection of the glass though, Niraya could make out a figure close to her, one arm raised. Were they going to attack her?! The suspense was nearly overwhelming. If Niraya caused a scene though, would the watcher flee into the crowd? ... Though should Niraya turn around to confront the watching figure, she would be met with Flower, who was simply waving to greet her along with what seemed to be Qiu'li that was approaching them. -- As Colton entering the Wind District, a chilly wind passed blew past him. Though due to his aura and his protective clothing, the weather was nothing to him as he made his way towards the Forge, which was one of the names of the shops within the Wind District. While he got some side gazes from the citizens watching an armed young man trudge his way through the Wind District, nobody really said anything. Besides, in a time like this, it shouldn't be that surprising to see someone carry some form of self-protection. Upon arriving to the Forge, he was met with a dark, dinky little bookstore that was suspiciously dark and almost seemed closed. It could very well be a complete miss and the online egghead had done messed up and sent him to some closed down bookstore. What could a bookstore possibly have to do with finding the one responsible for the Missing Persons? Then again, a sudden thought came to him. Did the Request insinuate that the recent surge of missing people were linked somehow, and if so, how had nobody noticed?! Unless the bookstore owner was some kinda crazy psychopath that had a thing on preying on unsuspecting book readers, though that sounded like something right out of a cringey serial-killer flick, there had to be something off about this... Surveying the area, he noticed a suspicious Fox-eared Faunus staring at the bookstore, seemingly... listening for something? Despite the day ending soon and the number of people lessening, all he could hear was simply the indistinct noise of everyday life in the Wind District followed by the actual wind breezing by. Ah wait, it was one of his classmates that he had seen before. Niraya was it...? Seems like she had managed to either solve the puzzle or was an avid building watcher. Still, aside from her, there was no suspicious activity that he had noticed outside the building. -- It seemed like whatever the code was pointing them to, it may very well be inside the Forge. ✎ 1012 words ※ SPOILER: Click to show Current turn order: Niraya, Colton, Flower, Qiu'li

[attr="class","ache"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.ache]width:0px;height:0px;border-left:100px solid transparent;border-bottom:100px solid #c1c7cf; border-top:50px solid transparent; margin: -156px -490px 0px 0px;[/newclass][newclass=.achee]position: relative; z-index: 2;[/newclass][newclass=.hiraeth]width:8px; padding: 35px; color: #fff; text-align:center;letter-spacing:-1px;border:1px solid #fff; color:#fff;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:15px;line-height:1,5em;background:rgba(17, 17, 17, 0.5); margin-left: 60px; margin-right: 60px; margin-bottom: 10px;[/newclass][newclass=.jikan]width: 58px; height: 58px; padding: 10px; color: #fff; background:rgba(17, 17, 17, 0.5); border:1px solid #fff; margin-left: 60px; margin-right: 60px; -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */ filter: grayscale(100%);[/newclass][newclass=.castleonthehill::-webkit-scrollbar]width:3px;background-color:#c6c6c6;border:1px solid #fefefe;[/newclass][newclass=.castleonthehill::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]width:3px;background-color:#c6c6c6;border:1px solid #c6c6c6;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][newclass=.susurrus a]font: bold 6pt calibri; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #333[/newclass][newclass=.susurrus:hover .jikan]transition: 0.7s; transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; -webkit-filter: grayscale(0%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */ filter: grayscale(0%);[/newclass]

[Niraya Platinum]

Niraya Platinum
When snow falls, Nature listens.

[attr="class","rainbow"]

As Niraya got closer to the store the wind picked up. it was awfully strange how often the wind blows in this part of town. though it could just be natural for the location this town was in. When she arrived at the store she peers in her Faunus eyes showing some of the interiors but with the distorted windows and the darkened interior, it was proving difficult. her ears were trying to pick up any unusual sound that might come from this building. but again nothing this place appeared deader than a graveyard...perhaps it was liked to the missing people.

She thinks back to the message and how cryptic it was. whoever wrote it either was baiting people towards them. or was issuing a challenge. either intimidated her and sickened her. What type of person asks for someone to help stop them but turn on them when they least suspect it. whoever was behind this they needed to be dealt with. enough people had suffered at there hands.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment to readjust her vision. As Niraya's focus returns she notices something in the reflection. a strange darkened figure with there hands up. she grips her katana sheath tightly waiting for them to get closer. once they were close she swiftly turns and has the sheath pointed towards the neck of the shadowy figure. her eyes quickly adjust to the sudden movement and she spots who it was Flower. "Flower?" She lowers her sheath rebinding it to her hip but keeps her hand on it. "What brings you here...and Qiu'li as well...what brought you both here?"

↺ + HK

[newclass=.rainbow]text-align:justify;width:90%;height:360px;padding:10px;background-color:#ffffff;font-size:11px;margin:0px auto;color:#252525;overflow:auto;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rainbow::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rainbow::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background:#4394BF;[/newclass]

[Colton Deraine]

[googlefont=Open+Sans]

[attr="class","firstfriend"]

Bravery is believing in yourself, and that's one thing nobody can teach you.

The Forge turned out to be some dinky little book store in the middle of the district. It looked like a shithole, if he was being honest, but that didn’t deter him in the slightest. His scroll vibrated in his coat, but he was already close enough to not bother checking it at this point. He’d check it after he had scoped out the place, because he knew damn well it wasn’t important. It was either some idiot telling him chasing after strange messages was dangerous and he shouldn’t do it, some idiot who came in late to the party and wanted in, or something completely unrelated that the teenager really didn’t have time for right now.

The shop at least appeared open, though if it wasn’t actually open it’s not as if that would stop him. One of the perks to having a semblance like Polarity is that locks weren’t actually a thing that worked in any capacity, so Colton had never needed to remember a key once he had enough control over it to just force the issue. Some of the more finicky ones he had to actually stuff his pinky a little bit into the key hole to get close enough to the internal metal parts, but usually it was just a palm over the thing and it was a breeze to force the sucker open.

The teenager walked right up to the front door and tried the door, softly. If it was open, he would just stroll on inside without a care in the world. If it was locked, he would unlock it with a quick twitch of his semblance and stroll on inside without a care in the world. It looked a little bit cramped inside, but that wasn’t a threat to him in the slightest. Most of the issues he had was not being fast enough to keep up with someone to beat the ever living shit out of them, but in an enclosed space like this there wasn’t any issue like that.

Any way this went, he was going to be inside in a jiffy as long as the lock on the front door was made of metal – and he couldn’t imagine a world where it wouldn’t be. He would go inside, and if this entire charade was a waste of time or a prank he’d find out in the next minute or two and get on with his life. If it was an ambush, he’d kick the shit out of whoever was doing it and give interviews to the press afterwards about how awesome he was and how he was serving Mistral and all that good shit. If it was nothing and the place was deserted, he would simply meander around a bit and walk back out – no harm, no foul. If the place was locked, it would be re-locked on the way out simple as that. It’s not like anyone could tell the difference, anyways. Yet another perk with being born with a kickass manipulation semblance.

※ TWC: 1325 words ✎ 505 words ✉ E rank semblance, E ranked martial arts, E ranked durability, E ranked weapon

MADE BY MIZO

[Flower Fiorella]

[attr="class","flowerfio"]

"I try to be understanding because I think that most people are actually quite surprising."

[attr="class","flowerfiotext"]

It wasn’t unusual that she didn’t get texts back from either of them.

Colton she only half expected to return a message, if he even opened her message at all. Qiu’li and his nigh technologically illiterate way. Violet eyes stared blankly at the messages she had send the both of them.

She had waved to Niraya. At the same time, she had heard some kind of thumping on the rooftops above. It was easy to conclude that the person doing some roof-hopping parkour was Qiu’li.

Flower didn’t believe that she approached Niraya with hostile intent. She was also surprised that the young fox even sensed her approach at all.

"Flower?"

The Faunus pulled the sheath without hesitation. Flower didn’t move, nor did she flinch. She was surprised for certain, but her blank stare did little convey such emotions. Instead, Flower was concerned as to why Niraya would have thought she was an enemy. Qiu’li came beside them as the Faunus lowered her weapon.

Flower nodded once to Qiu’li, acknowledging his presence with the simple action. She was glad that he had swiftly arrived. If hostiles were present like Niraya had sensed, then there was strength in numbers. She turned back to Niraya, pointing to the request filled on her scroll.

“The missings persons request led us all here, to the Forge.”

Flower pointed back to the building beside them, one that held the sign in question. It was the code that Niraya, Flower, and presumably Colton and Qiu’li had figured out. Flower placed her scroll back in her pocket and began walking to the front of the store, the bookstore that was so called The Forge. Flower tilted her head, examining the location. A small building sandwiched between two larger merchant shops. Simple, small, almost like it was hiding. Violet eyes turned again, looking to the street and crossways. Not particularly busy. Another chilly late winter breeze swept of locks of lavender gray hair. Nothing out of the ordinary, but that eerie feeling remained. They were looking for a kidnapper and the game they were playing seemed like something leading into his trap.

Like something out of a horror movie. Or mystery RPG. Games were different from real life, the thought stuck in Flower’s mind.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

She inhaled and exhaled again, still finding nothing particularly wrong about the scene but also... nothing felt particularly right. Even if it was a trap, it was the only lead they had.

Someone was already at the door.

“Colton.”

Apparently, the brunette hadn’t noticed the trio yet. Flower blinked, calling out his name once. They didn't need to introduce eachother and he didn't need to explain himself to her. They were on the same request after all. He was fiddling with the door handle, likely opening the door or attempting to. If it was locked, then Flower realized that with his semblance, it was an easy trick to open it up. She hadn’t considered how to get inside if otherwise. It was strange to think that normally she would have been against breaking and entering but this was a very unique situation. It was a lucky coincidence that they all ran into each other now. She waited to see if he would be successful.

wc: 543 || twc: 1628
Niraya Platinum Colton Deraine Qiu'li

[newclass=".flowerfio"]width:450px;height:0;padding-top:200px; overflow:hidden; transition: 1s; -webkit-transition: 1s; -moz-transition: 1s; -o-transition: 1s; -ms-transition: 1s;background-image:url(http://i64.tinypic.com/309u9ls.jpg)[/newclass]
[newclass=".flowerfio:hover"]height:200px;padding-top:0;[/newclass]
[newclass=".flowerfiotext b"]color:#614870;text-shadow:1px 1px 1px gainsboro[/newclass]

[Qiu'li]

[attr="class","popqiu"] ❝May the crimson leaves show me the path I must follow.❞ wc: 421 | twc: 1196 Qiu'li

[attr="class","qiutext"] Having not noticed the dots, no less solve the riddle, Qiu'li hadn't the slightest clue what Flower meant in terms of how the Request had lead the four of them here. Perhaps there was something he didn't notice, though riddles weren't exactly his specialty. Therefore, he'd remain as backup in case trouble was afoot. Despite no visible threats around the vicinity, Qiu'li couldn't help but feel a sense of unease while in the area. Something felt off, of course, but he decided not to voice anything and merely remained quiet as he followed behind Flower. Suddenly he saw Niraya whip around, weapon swinging towards Flower as the sheath stood inches from her neck. Instinctively, Qiu'li drew Panlong, half prepared to retaliate should things escalate for whatever reason. He was obviously confused, but he naturally reacted to those that threatened those near him. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be the case since Niraya lowered her weapon upon recognizing them. Before he could open mouth, Flower spoke on his behalf and their reason for being here. The Forge. Whatever the reason for being here, Qiu'li inferred that this location was most likely their starting point in determining the source of the missing people. Examining the two large guild-ran buildings between the small, simple one, Qiu'li thought that it blended in pretty well, especially since there weren't any flashy lights that would draw attention to itself. However, he felt uneasy as he stared at the darkened windows. Why was it so dark? Was it closed? Abandoned? Was there someone waiting in there. His grip on the weapon tightened a bit as he gazed into the unknown. Ah- it seemed like another person was already there. Colton, it seemed. While he didn't say anything and his face didn't show it, Qiu'li wasn't exactly on good terms with him. Colton remained neutral on his list of people that he enjoyed the company of, though he didn't have a reason to hate him either. Recalling that he was on the list of people taking on the Request, it was safe to assume that he was here for the same reason. Watching him jiggle the door, it seemed like he wasted no time dawdling around, and he would do the same. Nodding to Flower, Qiu'li began heading towards the door too. If it was unlocked, he'd follow behind Colton and acknowledge him if Colton noticed him. If it was locked and Colton opened it, well, he still followed behind him, slightly tense and ready to react to anything.

[newclass=".popqiu"]width:200px;height:0;padding-top:450px; overflow:hidden; transition: 1s; -webkit-transition: 1s; -moz-transition: 1s; -o-transition: 1s; -ms-transition: 1s;background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/LXJvQ1m.jpg)[/newclass]
[newclass=".popqiu:hover"]height:450px;padding-top:0;[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext]margin:5px auto; width:325px; height: 430px;overflow:auto;padding:10px;background-color:transparent;font-family:calibri[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;background:transparent[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background:#892D2D;border:0px[/newclass]
Fènnù (+Strength +Agility +Projectile Sword Beam) | Rank E
Lóngtóu and Panlong | Rank F
Falling Ashes (Leap) | Rank F
Weapon Proficiency I (Martial Arts) | Rank F
Dance of the Wild Winds II (Acrobatics) | Rank E

[N o v a k i d]

[attr="class","susurrus"]

[attr="class","jikan"] [attr="class","hiraeth"]曲がった男は誰ですか?

[attr="class","achee"] [attr="class","castleonthehill"] ❝ As the four began to congregate near The Forge, the first to examine the building was Colton. Upon touching the door handle, he realized that it was rather warm, meaning that someone had used this door recently. There was no doubt that it was, or may still be inhabited. Strangely enough, the door was locked despite it still being warm. For a bookstore, they didn't seem very inviting. Unless they were closing or something, this seemed somewhat odd. Though there was still some daylight left and a few stores were still open, there shouldn't be any reason for the stores to be completely closed. Regardless, Colton successfully unlocked the door with a metallic 'click' before opening the door. There was a bell that 'jingled' right above his head, which probably indicated when a new customer came in for the one working at the front desk to greet. Unfortunately for him, that also meant that it would give away his position or spook some poor bookshop owner into thinking that he was being broken into right now. To his surprise, the entire store was... a complete fucking mess. The store itself was dimly lit, with the only light source coming from outside the window and a crack of light escaping from a door that was behind the front desk. The entire store was a medium sized room that was lined with shelves of books categorized by genres. To the far end were additional shelves that stocked textbooks for students of Haven Academy and right next to the front desk was a curtain covering a doorway with a large 18+ sign designed on the curtains. Most likely adult novels or some shit. In addition, there were concave mirrors affixed to each corner of the store, probably to prevent shoplifters from swiping books and making a run for it. Who knows, textbooks are pretty pricey nowadays. There were several books on the floor and a couple shelves were tilted over, as if someone had knocked into them recklessly or something. The front desk where the owner or worker would normally greet and finish book transactions with patrons was a mess. Papers, various desk tools, and a glass tablet was scattered on the desk as if someone tried to leave in a hurry. If Colton decided to inspect the papers, he'd find nothing but random documents and receipt records that were organized by number, though strangely enough there was a receipt missing from the pile. Number 524. If he inspected the tablet closely, he'd find none other than the public message that Colton had posted earlier with the various dots and dashes along with the answer from the egghead posted below. Shit. Could the owner of the Forge be the one responsible for the missing people? If he was, this was definitely evidence that could place a good amount of suspicion on him and put the guy under the spotlight. Except the problem is that he had definitely been tipped off and probably hightailed it as soon as he saw the name of the store on full display. Except who could have left the code there? How did they know that the owner of the Forge could be a potential suspect? Or perhaps... The owner himself is now among the list of missing persons? Things didn't add up, but there was one thing for certain: This person couldn't have gone far from this store. Perhaps... Could he still be in the store? The door leading to the back was slightly ajar, and there was no sign of anyone leaving. Suddenly, the door closed behind him and Colton felt a presence from behind. One that screamed murderous intent unlike anything he had ever experienced before. For any normal person, this sense of dread would shock them frozen. However, calm nerves and some combat experience allowed him some freedom of movement, despite the overwhelmingly terrifying presence that was behind him. From the corner of his eye, if Colton looked in the concave mirrors in the corners, he would see a tall, thin figure shrouded in black that towered over him, trembling slightly. Due to it's height he couldn't see the head, but whatever it was, it didn't look human. Should Colton decide to try and run, either into the back or towards the shelves, the figure would not give chase and simply disappear once he broke line of sight. If he decided to give into his nature and turn around to attack, he'd suddenly find himself face-to-face with a surprised and startled Qiu'li, who had followed him from behind and merely saw Colton walk in and stop in the middle of the store. -- Outside, the sun had fully sank beyond the mountain ranges that surrounded the Wind District. In addition, it began to snow a good amount. It wasn't heavy snowfall, but it wasn't exactly light either. Most of the people have gone home and so have the merchants. All that was left was the empty market street, surrounded by various stores and guild buildings which have started to shut off their lights. A select few remained, but were gone as quickly as they came. Before they realized it, there was nobody else but Niraya and Flower, who saw Colton and Qiu'li enter the building before the door suddenly slammed closed behind them, followed by a loud 'click'. Suddenly, a gusty wind chill passed between the two, whipping a good amount of snow too and filling their ears with a harsh wind. As soon as the wind had settled down, Niraya would hear something due to her hearing as a Faunus. Footsteps. Using the wind as a means to disguise their footsteps, a group of three figures appeared before Niraya and Flower. They were dressed in ragged, dirty clothes and had several rags and dirty bandages covering most of their faces, save for their eyes and mouths. Flower noticed that they seemed to be... twitching and moving erratically for some reason, as if they were possessed by something. Though the figures were mumbling to themselves, it was clear that their attention was fixated on the two of them. Both of the students could also tell that they were armed. One wielded a curved dagger, another had a set of chains with open cuffs attached to them, and the third... had a book? "Sad...The Pied Piper had gotten away, but instead two lambs we found astray. No matter, we'll take them, no mess. The Crooked Man will be pleased nonetheless." The book-wielding figure pointed to Niraya and Flower, and the other two began running straight at them. The one with a dagger made a straight beeline for them while the other began flanking around on the left side with the sounds of chains scraping along the ground. ✎ 1130 words ※ SPOILER: Click to show Current turn order: Niraya, Colton, Flower, Qiu'li.

[attr="class","ache"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.ache]width:0px;height:0px;border-left:100px solid transparent;border-bottom:100px solid #c1c7cf; border-top:50px solid transparent; margin: -156px -490px 0px 0px;[/newclass][newclass=.achee]position: relative; z-index: 2;[/newclass][newclass=.hiraeth]width:8px; padding: 35px; color: #fff; text-align:center;letter-spacing:-1px;border:1px solid #fff; color:#fff;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:15px;line-height:1,5em;background:rgba(17, 17, 17, 0.5); margin-left: 60px; margin-right: 60px; margin-bottom: 10px;[/newclass][newclass=.jikan]width: 58px; height: 58px; padding: 10px; color: #fff; background:rgba(17, 17, 17, 0.5); border:1px solid #fff; margin-left: 60px; margin-right: 60px; -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */ filter: grayscale(100%);[/newclass][newclass=.castleonthehill::-webkit-scrollbar]width:3px;background-color:#c6c6c6;border:1px solid #fefefe;[/newclass][newclass=.castleonthehill::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]width:3px;background-color:#c6c6c6;border:1px solid #c6c6c6;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][newclass=.susurrus a]font: bold 6pt calibri; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #333[/newclass][newclass=.susurrus:hover .jikan]transition: 0.7s; transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; -webkit-filter: grayscale(0%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */ filter: grayscale(0%);[/newclass]

[Niraya Platinum]

Niraya Platinum
When snow falls, Nature listens.

[attr="class","rainbow"]

Niraya sighs and keeps an eye out. something wasn't right and nightfall was soon. being the only Faunus of the party she would be best suited for the outside. Qiu'li took the initiative and headed inside. a few moments after he had entered the door slammed shut and a metal clicking sound was heard. "did they just lock us out?" Suddenly a swift bone-chilling wind sweeps through the area. the street was mostly empty but she could hear footsteps swift ones. she opens her eyes from the blast of wind to see three figures had surrounded them. she quickly spots the dagger and pulls her blade.

These figures were very unusual doing some unnatural movement. they seemed to be working together and the book-wielding one was the leader of the trio as he was the only one talking. from what was said it sounded like they were after the bookstore owner. Niraya keeps a strong grip on her blade when the bladed one charged Niraya charges in return fainting to the left and pulling out her blade for a swift strike as she dodged to the left. She wasn't taking chances and was aiming to disarm the figure but due to the strange movement, she figured it was better to just end it with a quick strike.

↺ + HK

[newclass=.rainbow]text-align:justify;width:90%;height:360px;padding:10px;background-color:#ffffff;font-size:11px;margin:0px auto;color:#252525;overflow:auto;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rainbow::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rainbow::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background:#4394BF;[/newclass]

[Colton Deraine]

[googlefont=Open+Sans]

[attr="class","firstfriend"]

Bravery is believing in yourself, and that's one thing nobody can teach you.

Thin gloves felt the heat on the door, which was unusual. Someone just opening the damn thing wouldn’t have enough skin contact with the metal in order to keep it hot for anything longer than a second or two, and nobody was at the door his entire walk up to the joint. That, along with the fact that it looked like a dump and was locked up put him on edge. As he unlocked the door, though, a sense of complete calm washed over the teenager’s form as he entered the building.

One of the first lessons that somebody like Colton learns when it comes to fighting was that if you were too tense… you broke. Being brittle was not the goal, but to be smooth. Brittle metal shatters on impact, but metal that can bend can withstand disgusting amounts of damage and just bounce back to its natural state afterwards. Mistakes were made when there was panic or indecision in a person, because it was impossible to actually focus when concerned with what ifs instead of what was ahead of them.

It was kind of like getting on an airship. Once you stepped on, you relinquished any sense of control that you had over your own life. The pilot, the ship itself, and the weather were completely outside of your control. Perhaps the pilot was drunk, the engine was one ride away from dying, or stray bolt of lightning would strike the ship out of nowhere. None of these things could be predicted, and all of them were outside of the control of the passenger. They could sit there and cower in terror the entire flight, or just choose to release that fear and continue on with their lives. Fighting, and indeed living were very similar when it came down to it. He touched the hilt of his sword before entering, missing Flower’s call towards him entirely as he tuned out the noise to rely almost entirely on his sense of sight.

A bell jingled above his head when he opened the door, and he was greeted to the scene of the entire store being trashed. Softly closing the door behind him, he walked forward slowly and deliberately. He wasn’t stealthy, because true stealth was something the teenager was thoroughly incapable of. He could lessen the weight of his footfalls, but he was a person who was used to announcing his presence at any opportunity and had not practiced remaining unseen like some of his fellows. There were scattered books and things were knocked over as if there was some sort of struggle, so he walked towards the only clue that was there. The door to the back was slightly ajar, so he walked towards that.

Suddenly, though, he felt something very wrong and out of the corner of his eye on one of the mirrors he saw a figure behind him. There was a loud crashing noise, too, from the door that the teenager had specifically shut only moments ago. Breathing inward, Colton exploded in a flurry of movement and immediately went on the offensive. His hands were outlined in gray in an instant as the greaves underneath his clothes and his backsword were both manipulated at once. The greaves were manipulated to give more force and speed than would otherwise be possible to a picture perfect leg sweep, while the sword shot out like a rocket hilt-first towards the face of the attacker with full force – just like the sweep. Immediately upon impact, the sword would fly back and twist until it landed securely in the teenager’s hands.

The complete lack of concern or remorse on Colton’s face when he realized he had just attacked his classmate was probably very telling. Cold brown eyes regarded the guy the same way that one might a bug, and there was exactly zero curiosity as to why exactly he was here in the first place. ”Get—“ he started, before pausing precisely because he wasn’t focused at all on his classmate and heard the sound of something scraping outside. Honestly, Qiu’Li could have been completely covered in blood at this point and Colt wouldn’t have even noticed or made any indication of concern even if he did.

The faint gray outline appeared on his hands again as he opened the door back up, simply brute forcing the thing open at range to uncover the scene outside. Three targets, two classmates outside. Polarity unfurled the shield at Colton’s left forearm in an instant and then sent it careening towards the figure pointing at them with enough force to shatter a cinder block and enough speed to where dodging was unlikely at best. He sprinted outside immediately after his shield, sabre in hand, to finish the job his shield started and make sure that aura dropped in short order. If it did, Colton would engage in a grapple and continue to use Polarity to attack enemies in range and use his martial arts ability to maneuver himself to a position where book guy was on the ground with a boot in his back, wrist firmly grabbed with the joints in the elbow and the shoulder inches away from snapping in two.

They had some information he wanted, and they didn’t have to be healthy in order to give it. It really was as simple as that and attacking people in broad daylight was a good enough excuse to snap some arms. Some might call it brutality, but Colton called it necessary. It was either him or them, and in every situation he was going to choose the option where somebody else got hurt instead of himself. Nothing personal or anything, just business.

※ TWC: 2275 words ✎ 950 words ✉ E rank semblance, E ranked martial arts, E ranked durability, E ranked weapon

MADE BY MIZO

[Flower Fiorella]

[attr="class","flowerfio"]

"I try to be understanding because I think that most people are actually quite surprising."

[attr="class","flowerfiotext"]

Colton went on, either ignoring the girl or not realizing that she had called out to him at all. Qiu’li went after him inside, but before Flower or Niraya could follow as well, the door was shut. The sound of click… a lock? Niraya made a comment about it. Flower was certain that despite his ego, Colton wouldn’t purposefully lock them out. Qiu’li would never leave her behind like that either.

Separated. Flower breathed out. She didn’t like. She didn’t like the situation from the beginning. But something had pulled her to take the request, something had led them all into its game, its trap. Flower couldn’t believe what kind of person could do such a thing to other human beings.

Flower immediately felt an ominous presence. Like living shadows themselves, it was almost like they were Grimm… but they couldn’t have been. They had to have been people.

A trio of them as well. A dagger. Chains. A book. All moving erratically, disturbingly. Even if they were people, there hardly seemed anything human. Flower grabbed Bloom, wielding the sword with a single hand. A Lavender aura overtook her body as she took the material of Bloom itself, transforming her body into solid, dark metal. Her left arm, however, extended outward, weaving itself into a smaller, thinner diameter as Flower concentrated on molding it into a chain. She had done something similar before, the Mistral Tournament. Back then, she had made a rope, and now, the heavy links of chain clanked as they whipped up.

Flower heard the words of the book-wielding figure.

The Crooked Man? Was that the orchestrator of the kidnappings? The one behind it all? These three… despite it all, they had to be underlings. So despite having a mastermind, it was truly an operation with people and who knows what kind of network had been built as well. Flowers mind raced with possibilities, but that moment in time she had to focus on not becoming a victim herself. The dagger wielder went for Niraya, the chain wielder was coming around to flank them on Flower’s side, dragging his metal links on the concrete.

Multiple things happening at once. It was a battlefield now. It played out slowly from Flower’s perspective, but there were only seconds to spare. The door burst open again, Colton jumping into battle as the students were attacked. He went for the book man, that left the man with the chain. That was why Flower had made her own chain, the trio now were their best lead if they were to find the one behind the kidnappings.

Flower whipped her entire body toward the chain-wielding man, but now, she had a chain herself. Her chain came swinging across the street, reaching in a large arc to a potential 15 meters. Her intention was to trip the man up, wrap a limb around with her own chain and slam him down. She still held up Bloom in a guard position, if the man somehow dodged her chain and got to her she still needed to defend herself.

wc: 513 || twc: 2141
Colton Deraine Niraya Platinum Qiu'li

[newclass=".flowerfio"]width:450px;height:0;padding-top:200px; overflow:hidden; transition: 1s; -webkit-transition: 1s; -moz-transition: 1s; -o-transition: 1s; -ms-transition: 1s;background-image:url(http://i64.tinypic.com/309u9ls.jpg)[/newclass]
[newclass=".flowerfio:hover"]height:200px;padding-top:0;[/newclass]
[newclass=".flowerfiotext b"]color:#614870;text-shadow:1px 1px 1px gainsboro[/newclass]

[Qiu'li]

[attr="class","popqiu"] ❝May the crimson leaves show me the path I must follow.❞ wc: 564 | twc: 1760 Qiu'li

[attr="class","qiutext"] Qiu'li followed behind Colton into the store. Since he was mostly right behind him, he simply grasped onto the open door handle and followed him inside. The interior of the bookstore was mostly trashed, as if someone was in a rush to escape from the store without any care, as if they feared for their own life. While he entered the building, Qiu'li felt a chill from outside as he closed the door behind him. To the side was another scroll with some information that he didn't recognize on top of a pile of papers that didn't seem all that interesting to him. Huh. In addition, there was a faint light in the back, perhaps they were in such a rush that they forgot to turn off the lights in the back. Suddenly, the door firmly shut and locked right behind him. He would assume that it was one of the stronger gusts of wind, but the click of the lock said otherwise. It surprised him, but not nearly as much as the explosive response from behind Qiu'li as a result. Before Qiu'li could respond, he went face to face with a dark figure in front of him that stood much, much taller than he did. Frozen with surprise, Qiu'li snapped out of it as he was met with a simultaneous leg sweep and a flying hilt. Instinctively Qiu'li leaped back and extended Panlong, and slammed it into the ground to catch the sweep and the hilt, which caused a loud clang. The force of the impact shook his hands, but at least he still had his teeth. Looking up, he saw none other than Colton who instinctively tried to attack the apparition that appeared between the two and nearly got him in the process. The lack of remorse on Colton's face was pretty unnerving, and Qiu'li simply responded with a glare of his own as he questioned why Colton would decide to attack him. Perhaps it was the lack of him announcing his presence? Or rather he was just in his way. As Colton opened his mouth, probably to berate him, Qiu'li watched him as his attention turned behind him, or rather outside. Whatever was going on, it certainly took precedence over what was happening in here. If anything, Qiu'li suspected this might have been a trap to lure them in, but he hadn't expected it to be this soon. Getting pushed past by him and forcing the door open, Qiu'li had no choice but decide to drop the issue altogether. He was still fine, so no harm no foul. Following behind Colton, he was met with a snowy battlefield and a heavy gust of wind sending snow in all directions. Three cloaked individuals, armed with a dagger, a set of chains with shackles, all of which seem to be occupied with fighting them. Seeing that Flower, Niraya, and Colton were engaged in battle, Qiu'li decided to ascend the building to get a better vantage point of the area. There might be three here, but who knows if there weren't several more lying in wait nearby or someone directing them from the shadows. If it were the case, he would alert the others to retreat. If not, he would assist whomever was in dire straits and required backup by leaping from his vantage spot with Longtou to intercept their attack and take over.

[newclass=".popqiu"]width:200px;height:0;padding-top:450px; overflow:hidden; transition: 1s; -webkit-transition: 1s; -moz-transition: 1s; -o-transition: 1s; -ms-transition: 1s;background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/LXJvQ1m.jpg)[/newclass]
[newclass=".popqiu:hover"]height:450px;padding-top:0;[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext]margin:5px auto; width:325px; height: 430px;overflow:auto;padding:10px;background-color:transparent;font-family:calibri[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;background:transparent[/newclass]
[newclass=.qiutext::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background:#892D2D;border:0px[/newclass]
Fènnù (+Strength +Agility +Projectile Sword Beam) | Rank E
Lóngtóu and Panlong | Rank F
Falling Ashes (Leap) | Rank F
Weapon Proficiency I (Martial Arts) | Rank F
Dance of the Wild Winds II (Acrobatics) | Rank E