[closed] [flex] (p-unsure) <- seemed appropriate

[ordealer]

Who: Kain and Makoto
When: 8/13
Where: Outside a wool factory in Cochrane
What: They're babysitting some factory workers. Or are about to?
Rating: Possibly angry NPC drunks or something later. The usual fare for this game?

[The sun was setting to the west like it was an overripe tomato that someone had thrown against the wall of the sky, and the wind was picking up from the south heading north. Later? Later it would be cold, with all the heat of the day drained away and the wind blowing. But at the moment it was merely just kind of cool.

Their employer(s), a pack of factory workers who had pooled their money together to hire a couple of heroes to ba- bodyguard them, would be out in ten minutes. But that meant they got to wait. And so-]

What do you think of this? [They engaged in small talk, as you do.]

Comments

[dilemmic]

[ She keeps an eye out - the alleys that fork off from this road are like mazes and the Blackchurch district itself is far too huge for her to have studied and memorised. Still, it isn't like she hasn't made it a point to check out those within a hundred meter's radius while waiting for their clients.

She might've picked up a stray feline stalker by accident. ]

The stabbings?

[ Attempting to disengage cat. ]

[ordealer]

[The cat is distracting. He was prepared to say something like, "Of course. We're two driven individuals, so let's talk about the mission and be serious business." Except more sincere sounding and in appropriate Kainese. But then the cat happened and instead, what popped out?]

That as well. [That, as he stared at the feline in question. It's a very friendly cat.]

[dilemmic]

[ It is. It's also going to pee on his boots if he's not careful. ]

Considering the amount of publicity the Stabber case is getting, copycat crimes aren't an unexpected phenomenon. It's easiest to pin a crime on a criminal that's still at large.

[ ...moves away from the cat. Take the cat, Kain. It's your true calling. ]

[ordealer]

So you think there may be others?

[All of this would be incredibly dramatic - dramatic breeze, dramatic sunset, dramatic mission, them dramatically talking about tactics before dramatically fending off dramatic would-be assassins - if it wasn't for the cat. No. It's not his true calling. Pom was bad enough. So without missing a beat he tried to nudge away the cat with his foot- not kicking it, but like no, cat, no. Go back to Momkoto.

It's not very effective. In fact, it's so ineffective that he, too, is going to try to move away from the cat.] I wondered that myself.

[...seriously, the cat's singlehandedly draining all of the tension from this. (Cat's following. Cat can't stop, won't stop.)]

[dilemmic]

I do.

[ But Kaindad, it's gotta go where no cat has gone before. Assuming that Kain's boots aren't somewhere that other cats have uh, gone before. Makoto, meanwhile, steps nonchalantly away from the cat.

After sundown, it's his cat. ]

I don't have all the details, but word is that the stabber has a certain of victim profile that they target.

The recent stabbings don't reflect that at all.

[ordealer]

You have put thought into this. [Not that he’s surprised surprised - there’s some people who he’d shocked at when it came to forethought and others where he’s not at all astonished and she falls into the latter camp - but it’s always odd encountering another one of that type. He’s not alone. And it feels a bit weird. But not bad weird. Just odd, knowing that in the sea of fellow heroes who’d be busy doing shots off of the taut bodies of the local population there was others who’d go, “...or we could skip that and focus on getting the job done…?”]

You do realize that might make our job harder. [In that an imitator might decide that two heroes might be a mighty target to truly make their reputation and speaking of, that appears to be- shit it just took all of his reflexes to keep from accidentally kicking the cat when it started peeing and he’s going to move the fuck away now (but still got some pee on his boots, but his boots have had worse on them before) -their clients over there.

…]

[dilemmic]

[ She sees them, and probably vice versa - Makoto's at least worn her uniform so she's an easy enough target to pick out. The white stands out like a beacon in the failing light. ]

I make it a point to be thorough.

[ Every job deserves 110% effort, like Kain's cat pee dodging abilities. Time to go talk to their clients (Red, think of some weird names for these guys so we don't have to use boring names). She leads off with a firm nod and a: ]

Good evening.

[ "You the guys we hired?"

These guys are literally full of fluff and wool that the fibres stick to them like some overgrown cat hair receptacle. The only thing that spoils it is the slightly anxious tang in their voice. ]

[ordealer]

Aye, we are. [Time for business.]

And you are… [Except here’s a hesitation, and it’s not just because the cat’s snuggling up to his boots again although that isn’t helping.] …Cherinobert, correct? [Surely he has the name wrong, but no.

”Yep, that’s me.”

No, apparently he did not. Named after the twelfth month in Caissa’s year, the big burly dude (the guy who looks the most sheepish - in a literal sense - all tangled wool and fuzz) beams in relief.

”And that there’s my brother, Delphigus.”

Delphigus, if he was a dog, would be wagging his tail so happy he is to see them. And there’s a couple of other guys, sure, but they can just serve as tragic live bodies in this soon to be harrowing tale of Sam the Stabber fighting. They have boring names, befitting boring people who serve to round this pack out to six.]

I see. Shall we? [Although at that moment - and he’d focus the second they start moving again, but at that moment all Kain could think was that Cherinobert and Delphigus both needed apologies from their parents.]

[dilemmic]

[ Well, there are worse things to be named after...probably. If you close your eyes and squint. With shades on.

Good thing they're in failing light. ]

I'll take the rear guard.

[ Six people clustering together on narrow streets would make manoeuvring difficult, aye? Aye. ]

[ordealer]

[She doesn't get a verbal answer, but she does get a nod of assent and agreement. They'll be doing the column deal - marching two by two with Kain and Makoto at the front and rear. Like the world's worst school trip. They were off an-

Two minutes in there was a blood-curdling scream coming from Delphigus, which sounded like he'd been stabbed complete with frantic hand-waving and fear and terror, but it was just the cat having climbed up a tree and jumping down upon them.

"Sorry! Sorry! Stabbings just got us all a lil' bit jumpy!"]

[dilemmic]

Shi--

[ Even though she'd been bringing up the rear with a small fire spell to keep visibility up, she'd nearly set someone on fire when the entire team had screamed and stopped. That may have passed for a comedy anime, but definitely not here!

Inhaaale. ]

Better to be safe than sorry. Is everyone okay?

[ "My noggin 'urts."
"Your noggin always hurts. He's fine."

At this rate, they should seriously look into checking why this cat has attachment (abandonment?!) issues. Get your cat away from them, Kain. ]

[ordealer]

More importantly, is that the same cat as before?

[Not his cat.]

Is it following us? Is it yours?

[To the flock they're shepherding. There's a bunch of grunts and nos.]

[dilemmic]

[ On the outside, she's cool. Inwardly, she's probably bordering on this. ]

I think it's simply...attached.

[ She remembers Jungo and Jungo. She remembers how Jungo's always followed...Jungo. What a tangled web this weaves. ]

It should leave us alone if we ignore it.

[ordealer]

Let us hope so. The last we'd need is the cat tripping us up whilst the stabb-

[One of the guys makes a panicked noise as if Sam the Stabber was going to kill them right now before a-

"S-sorry!"]

...the stabber attacks. ...] You, mind the cat. [That's to the jumpy dude. Because ignoring it seems futility.jpg.] By which I mean hold it. And let us make haste.

[And unless there's objections they're off again!]