The Setting Sun

Mon Aug 31, 2015 5:44 am

In this time of war, even the world of the living was not free of the Demons hiding in their midst. Of course there were havens free of the more public evils that ravaged the planet, but the unknowns remained just under their noses, perhaps even in their own ranks. The predator's false eyes looked over the utopia the remainder of Humanity had forged. Science had progressed vastly since the earlier age of Karakura, a time it knew only by stolen memory. The towering buildings, hovering fortress and countless armed soldiers that filled Karakura had turned it into quite the powerhouse. Through the seldom times it had come to the world of the living, observing the greater monuments of the near-apocalyptic place it had become took priority in its book for the time. There wasn't a need to spread chaos when things were so consumed by that aspect already. Still, the more fortified places like these clung to an order nearly a kin to the way things once were. Surely disrupting it would be fun, but it wasn't something currently in its power.

Fitting of the world it now resided in, the masked fiend took the body of a more innocent soul. It rested in the flesh of a Human; a young woman no older than twenty; though adorned in the gear of a hunter. Her hair was a darker pink, eyes crimson and skin a tanned white. Various firearms, daggers, and new-age weaponry were holstered on her attire for the chance encounters with Hollow kind Before their meeting, the subject served as a soldier, taking out the few Hollows that crossed through the forest and neared the Utopian city. She sat above a large branch in a tree not far from the city limits, but a distance from the barriers and other contraptions that kept the fragile order of Karakura in place. The sun was just now beginning to set, the bright light that once covered the sky dimming, but still present. Hollows were more active under the cover of shadow, matching the reason the hunter chose a time close to the present to make their rounds. Of course, one could never expect the monstrosity they met not too long ago.

A struggle had taken place, but before a transmitter could be activated to signal for help, darkness consumed her. Now it laid claim to a new host, slowly adjusting to their body and taking in their power and memory for its own. It was odd inhabiting a woman again. It didn't have a true gender, the true physical manifestation simply being an eldritch abomination fit for battle. Still, the stolen personality of multiple subjects had lead it to develop a more male mentality; so the flesh coat of a female form seemed a little unfitting.. It wasn't problematic enough to effect it outside a mental tic in the confines of the future deceased's soul. Every now and then the woman's eyes looked down, scanning the forest floor for others. Given their guise, it could only be assumed they were still on the watch for the coming hoard of Hollow that ventured through the night.

Surprisingly the fiend took much enjoyment from watching the sun slowly descend. Many people enjoyed the sight of the sun's fall, but the creature did for much more nefarious reasons. The darkness, not unlike other Demons of the night, served as the grounds where it was strongest and had the most freedom in the world of the living. The constant night of Hueco Mundo made the passing of day to night feel less like a time of prosper, but the day itself being a time of weakness. With the sun's light coming to an end, any restriction left on it would pass soon. It was just a matter of waiting patiently. The dulled red light continued to rain over the forest, the woman's eyes looking over the darkening landscape below them periodically. It wondered, would there be any others around the Forest? Perhaps someone more interesting than the wanderer it now inhabited..Only time would tell.

Tue Sep 01, 2015 3:06 pm

Artist: Parasite Eve OST - Song: Missing Perspective - Word Count: 508

The fairly young Shinigami began her own waltz with death. Well, not death entirely, but more so an area she has mixed experiences with during the night. In all honesty, she only has negative, scary, threatening experiences within the forest at night. Her life was almost taken, the girl put in harms way multiple times in this area. It was a while back thinking about it and... She's made no real progress with making herself stronger. Training more. Getting herself used to situations such as this so she may be able to protect others better, to be a bit more like Hayden. Thinking this way was certainly weird for her, and left her questioning quite a few things.

Before her thoughts could continue, she heard the sound of something crunching underfoot, leaping back away from it to see... Only a twig she had stepped on, a sigh as she reached down to pat herself down after ruffling up her outfit. The same as most other Shinigami that seemed to be 'on-duty'. The robes over her small frame to cover herself with her special Zonpakotu held close. The odd whip-like weapon wrapped around her arm underneath her sleeve, handle just barely in reach of her hand to be pulled out at a moment's notice. It was a cool little trick she learned, and from the robes being baggy, no one could even see the outlines of it against her flesh. Thoughts began to flash by within her mind, curious of how she'll even go about slaying a hollow if she sees one. She knows for a fact she can't handle what she saw Hayden fight, the strength and speed of the two of them far too great for her to contest, and her set of abilities were far different than the older Shinigami she looked up too.

Her strengths seemingly weak and useless in her own mind, flaws obvious with how she worked. She always knew she wasn't really... All too good at much, needing people around her. Other than that, she seemed content with still stepping into the forest, positive she wouldn't run into something that strong. The thick tail was heard dragging itself along the ground, breaking twigs underfoot that were missed as her fin-esque ears began to extend, trying to pick up sounds from around her as the sharp horns upon her head were just as tiny and sharp as ever.

Within a few moments of walking, she stayed close to the edge, twigs still cracking underfoot, broken by careless steps. As she continued her walk, the odd creature residing within a woman could hear it in the distance. Something moving, trekking along without a single care in the world who heard, or even a single thought of what happens if she's heard. And if they bothered to look where the sound came from, they'd spot the small creature. A child looking figure that couldn't be of any threat or importance... If it weren't for the robes she donned, showcasing her status and what she was truly here for.

Fri Sep 04, 2015 8:29 pm

Minutes passed, only the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees and the faded sounds of the city gracing the forest. The red light passing down began to dim, the latter transitions to the eternal night coming to be. This silence did not remain for long, the distant cracking of fallen twigs and the subtle footsteps of another entity drawing close. The Human remained still in the trees above, her thoughts interrupted and instead focusing on the disturbance. It couldn't be another Hollow, or they would be a lot louder than this. It was too loud to count for most animal life, were any to remain active in this Hollow-infested place.

The woman craned her head, looking down from above to see a not-so-distant figure. While certainly not a Hollow, they definitely weren't a normal person either. Though their power seemed inferior by what could be sensed, the dragonian aspects of their person and the seldom unknown robes of the Shinigami told a tale of abnormality. Even in the ranks of the death gods, such mythical traits were extremely rare. The parasite wondered just what one would be doing a midst the forest in night. The potential numbers in Hollow were too many in some areas of the forest, and one such as this Shinigami didn't pose an apparent threat to the stronger of their kind. The hunter leaned back further from her spot on the branch, purposely falling back in an instant. Before gravity could seize her and take the woman to the forest floor; her feet dug into the branch, special material in the bottom of the footwear reacting with trace amounts of spiritual energy to create a bonding effect with any material it touched, The result was the hunter standing upside down from the bottom of the branch, viewing the world through inverse eyes. Her gaze fixated on the dragonian Shinigami, ruby-red eyes looking over the horns, tail, and fins protruding from their body.

After a moment of potentially disturbing looks of examination, the Human girl spoke in calm, but authoritative tone. "You know its dangerous to roam this forest near the break of night. Powerful Hollows still roam this place, ones that even most Shinigami could have trouble with. " Her hands rested near the holsters of twin daggers reinforced to combat the Hollows and Demons that would come through the shadows and approach Karakura. "Were you just on your way to the city, or do you have some other reason for being here at this time?" The parasite took the guise of the guardian, playing the role of the woman it possessed flawlessly and perfectly capturing her original likeness in each word. Her eyes portrayed the emotion and feeling of one attuned to combat, but out of a protective nature for those around her in opposition to the malevolence of the serpent in shadows. Standing her ground under the branch, the nameless soul waited for the Shinigami's response, unsure what direction to take this meeting from that moment on.

Sat Sep 05, 2015 6:09 pm

Artist: Parasite Eve OST - Song: Missing Perspective - Word Count: 380

Selia was stopped by a somewhat odd sight in front of her. A woman, standing upside down on a branch. Instead of immediate worry or care of the sight, she showed joy and excitement, and most of all, curiosity that is extremely dangerous in a place such as this. The draconic tail behind her began to slide across the ground from left to right, similar to how most animals wag their tails when excited or happy. Deep blue eyes stared on wards, standing on her tippy toes in order to get a better view of the woman, despite not making too much of a difference. "Woaaaah, how are you standing like th-" Quickly she was interrupted by the woman's own harsher, more powerful words." Selia shutting her mouth as she stared forwards, listening.

A small, childish smile formed upon her lips, toothy in nature as sharp teeth was revealed. Obviously not meant to mean any form of harm or threat, rather to try and show friendliness and foolish confidence. "I'm here to fight hollows! A long time ago I was really weak and had to be saved, so I wanna train by fighting a real one. I'll just find a really weak one by the edge of the forest, that's how it works, right?" The oblivious mind of the child came further into mind from this statement, lack of care or worry of the future ahead of her. Despite the child-like personality she gave off, she still seemed fairly certain that she would head into the forest to train and get rid of hollow.

Then came a question forming in the girl's head, staring back towards the woman ahead of her, tail stil sliding along the ground behind her slowly, however, her hands rested calmly at her sides. "Uhm, if it's really dangerous, then how come you're here? Are you really strong like Hayden was? Oh! Hayden's this really strong Shinigami that helps people sometimes." Despite the obviously tense atmosphere all around from the location and the danger that could be stalking them, she seemed intent on starting a conversation. Even forming a small smile on her lips to try and look friendly, showing she really did mean no harm to anyone who wasn't a weak hollow for her to train on.

Mon Sep 07, 2015 11:06 am

The Human kept her stance under the tree' limb, defying the laws of physics as the dragon-like girl made her retort. For one having the features of a mythical monstrosity, she certainly had an oddly innocent act behind it. In a time like this where war, tension, and literal Hell on Earth ravaged the land; such things were far less common to see in people. As much as the uniqueness of it interested it, the innocence also bothered it. Such creatures devoid of some form of nefarious will and spite didn't do much good for its own ambitions at all. Yet, doing anything so close to the closed city of Karakura could surely merit some problems it would be better of without. Perhaps she might know something worth prodding for. Being a Shinigami, they had a wealth of information even Hollow kind in the age of evolution had seldom access to.

The woman disbanded the spiritual particles on her shoes, breaking the link between the branch and herself. In a skilled fall, she landed on her feet only a short distance from the dragon. Her ruby eyes maintained a somewhat serious flare despite the more benevolent aspects of her being on display. Her statement remained true though, a testament of a growing soldier just making their first steps in the world. She mustn't have been very experienced yet, perhaps contributing to such a shell ;of childishness. That would come to end one day though, especially in a time as theirs. Keeping up its performance, the puppet spoke again, her tone mellowing out only a little.

"That is all fine and dandy, but there is one problem. You can't choose the Hollow you meet, and not all of them here are easily bested fodder. You could easily find one above your caliber and meet a premature execution. You should have at least brought back up or something." That was, if she did and they just hadn't shown up yet. The woman's eyes searched through the canopy for a moment, feeling for any spiritual resonance aside their own and the various Hollows dotting the land further inward. It didn't seem like it, but they could always be hiding. Even the secondary sensory at its disposal couldn't find a trace. At least for now, they were mostly alone. At the comment of another soul unknown, she could only assume the stature of the mentioned combatant to be some higher ranking member of her squad.

"I don't know who that is, but fighting them is part of my job. I work as a private body guard, mostly for the less spiritually gifted that wander the land trying to get from one safe haven to another. I'm here to keep some of them from getting too close to the city and causing problems for the people there. It also suffices as decent practice as well." There was a time when this place hadn't been infested by Hollows, a time long past that neither itself or the host had direct memory of. Now hoards were tucked away in the shadows, waiting for the dusk of night to feast on those foolish enough to leave the confines of the attempted Utopia Karakura had become since the dawn of war.

Mon Sep 07, 2015 1:04 pm

Artist: Parasite Eve OST - Song: Missing Perspective - Word Count: -

Deep blue eyes stared upwards, mouth opening slightly in awe at the feat of athleticism. Watching as the woman fell from the branch and shift through the air to land on her feet... Just now noticing the odd boots.The small child found them fairly interesting, no, mesmerizing if they could allow someone to walk on branches upside down like that. Her interest was obviously snagged by that more then the woman's serious tone, tail starting to slide across the ground behind her at a quickened pace, similar to that of an excited animal's. The oblivion to danger was plainly obvious for just anybody who could even look at her or speak with her.

Selia's eyes shot up once the woman began to speak once more, deep blue meeting her crimson eyes. A fully grown woman with easily more strength than her, warning her of things that should be obvious. The memories of what happened before flashed back through her head for a moment, frown appearing on her lips for just a moment before it twitch back up into a smile. A positive outlook trying to be kept on the scenario, to try and keep things positive in her mind at least.

"Then I guess that's you to be the back up! I mean, you showed up just like Hayden did, out of the blue and super strong and stuff! It's like Guardian Angels!" A large goofy grin appearing upon her lips, child-like glee visible. She's remembered many stories for Guardian Angels, but she couldn't quite remember where. Perhaps from a long time ago from the Academy? Or... Maybe even earlier, in a time that she's all but forgotten minor details from. Despite where it came from, the thought was still in her head, that she had many Guardian Angels looking out for her and they all were nice. Or at the very least, caring enough to speak for her and show some form of worry for her health.

The small girl decided to get a bit relaxed, obviously distracted entirely from her original goal of going out to hunt Hollows. She had a new goal now, to speak with this new person. Her back slowly leaned against a nearby tree, smile upon her lips. "How strong are you? Can you cut through trees super easily? Oh oh, what about flying through the air and moving super fast like a super hero? Or can you see everything and react like superman to someone trying to hit you?" The questions began already, child's mind wanting to learn more in such little time. It was quite obvious that... This girl certainly needed someone to keep her on task, or else her mind would wander. She would get distracted from her main goal by something as simple as just meeting someone new to speak with.

Mon Sep 07, 2015 9:34 pm

The child-like thoughts of the Shinigami went above even normal innocence. Guardian angels? The very concept seemed hilarious in that context. In a much darker upbringing and conception like the parasite's, such warm outlooks on everything seemed absurd. Even with the perceptions of others filling its mind of more peaceful and benevolent times, talking with someone that so endorsed a view of the world in such light struck the feeling of the unorthodox. The woman's eyes blinked at her words. She was a hired gun, not some soldier for the Vanguard out to help anyone on a whim. Even before the darkness entered the pictured, that was a few she carried strongly.

"As I said, I'm a private guard. That means I don't work for the city or the Vanguard. Even my rounds out here are part of a job I'm being paid for. I'm not going to just leave the spot to keep you from getting yourself hurt and risk some of them crossing the line I've set up between here and Karakura. " As that was mentioned, the woman moved her eyes to scan the trees to the left, then the right. Everything looked clear right now, but it was only the beginning of night. The sun had just set and the monsters of the forest were sure to begin ther approach. Masked in darkness, one had to be at their utmost caution to catch any dangers that passed.

At the Shinigami's further prodding of what the woman was capeable of, she shrugged. Despite being a death god, she acted a lot more like a Human that had just attained the slightest touch of spiritual awareness and was trying to figure everything out from the most infantile state of spiritual knowledge. " No flying or anything like that. I'm strong enough though. Effective reaction time, standard things any decent warrior should be able to do. My specialty is in my weapons though. They're more than a match for most things I tend to deal with." She briefly gestured to the various small items scattered over her attire. Not only were there multiple daggers, but small firearms, explosives, various gadgets for all sorts of things and slightly visible metal plating under the cloth fibers of her outfit.

"Though if you want, you can stick around here. Can't tell you when they'll be here, or how strong or how many, but they always come this way at some point in the night." the hunter sensed through the forest once more, everything coming back to her like a pulsar moving out, then returning with everything she needed to know. They were definitely out there, but the question remained when they would come and how strong they could turn out to be. It was at this time the creature began to get caught up in its own fallacy again, taking the mind set of the victim it inhabited and playing out her role in things more extensively than need be...It would snap out of it eventually though..It had become a problem the fiend needed to sort out when putting on these more long-terms ruses.

Fri Sep 11, 2015 9:03 pm

Artist: Parasite Eve OST - Song: Missing Perspective - Word Count: 517

The child's lips found themselves pursed, pouting just slightly at some of the words spoken towards her. Her cheeks soon puffed out just slightly, arms raised to slowly cross over her own chest with eyes staring head on towards the woman. The thick draconic tail that once swayed about with excitement slumped against the tree along with her. Her caution for anything seemed to be thrown out the window still. Slowly, her body leaned forwards, pushing itself up and away from the tree that she was leaning on in order to take a step closer to the woman. Fin-esque ears she had folding inwards on themselves, many features on her body becoming more and more static as the pout continued. "But you are like a Guardian Angel. Even if you get money and stuff, you still help people when they need it and get rid of all the bad things that want to hurt people."

She seemed adamant on that part, but within only a few moments, a smile returned upon her lips. Slowly curling upwards as her face lit up with interest once again, deep blue eyes seemingly having more vibrance within. The girl's thick tail returned to thumping on the ground as her ears expanded outwards once again, plopping herself against the ground rather roughly. Almost falling right on her butt as the tail slid unto her lap. Resting itself there. "Ooooooh! You don't even use powers and stuff, you just fight with your weapons and stuff? That's really cool! My weapon is a whip though I'm not really the best with it yet. I'm sort of poop with it too be honest." A frown overtook the girl's face momentarily at the thought she still wasn't good with her weapon.

After those few moments passed, she noticed some cool objects on the woman. Shiny metals, more specifically, metals, firearms, explosives, many cool things a child is generally not allowed. Instantly her eyes seemed to light up with interest, leaning forwards as she shifted unto her hands and knees. Eyes staring at how the knives and such looked with great interest within them as words emanated forth from her mouth once more. "I wanna stay here with you! You're really really cool to me and you got lots of fancy stuff!"

Selia was still entirely oblivious to the danger that lurked within the woman. The threat that could easily overpower her, overtake her, kill her at a moment's notice. Instead, her attention was at the ruse being played before her eyes, the living, talking, breathing husk of what was once presumably a person who must have saved quite a few people all for some coin to destroy hollows. A lifestyle like this was one that Selia was fine with. She understood people needed money to get things, and if she's still doing the thing she personally saw as the good thing, then what's the issue? Child's mind still taking over as her eyes didn't even bother to look away from her, not at the tress nor deeper depths of the woods that may house death, waiting for it's prey.

Tue Sep 15, 2015 8:40 pm

Artist: N/A - Song: N/A - Word Count: 612

Hayden despite recently receiving the third seat within the Vanguard he always retreated to his first duty of patrolling the forest of Karakura. It was here he grew as a person along with becoming strong enough to contest people he once was unable to fight, people that made his skin crawl when he thought of them and how he would give anything to remove their names from the sands of time. One day he would be able to do what he wished but for now he would help those who could not defend themselves and be the hero they needed, the hero he needed but could never find in his past life. This was one of his many inspirations in life to join the vanguard and that guided his hand in life daily so far and it hasn’t led him down a path he regrets yet; maybe he had a few minor regrets but nothing truly he couldn’t live with yet.

As he used his flash step to traverse the tree branches he moved with accuracy and permission only someone with a master level of focus could muster mixed with an advanced understanding of the Hoho arts. His mind searching for any threats of signatures of power so far finding nothing that truly piqued his interest, it was like a tiger finding a squirrel half the time and not worth his time to focus on it rather reporting the position on the Vanguard network for other weaker members to handle them. As he looked at his Vanguard badge to see who was in the area he surprisingly saw Selia was in the nearby, so he began to pinpoint her location which was never to hard for the more advanced shinigami; he could sense signatures very close or very far when looking for someone so finding her would be a breeze. But what he found when he arrived caused him to tense up, he knew she was a fan of going into the forest alone but she wasn’t ready for those things yet not alone at least. She needed more training something Hayden made a mental note to remember for later.

As he arrived on top of a tree branch silently almost undetectable had he not arrived in plain sight of them, his eyes narrowing at both of them as if he was a scolding parent finding their child doing something they should not be. He watched both of them for a second as if he had to figure out what to say to them, this was a strange situation as Selia shouldn’t be this far in the forest and whoever they were with should either know not to be this far in or had their own personal objectives. None the less he was iffy about the situation which caused him to begin to release Death Matter at a higher rate due to his body passively becoming more alert. The feeling in the air began to become more dense as something similar to death energy became laced in the air but unless they had previous experience with death matter it would just seem like… death.

“Selia… Why are you out this far in the forest; who is your friend you know this area is still heavily restricted.” The third seat informed both of them, maybe it was true or wasn’t but due to his position one could never know. He could declare this a danger area or increase the amount of troops with a simple command; being a operative of the Vanguard all it would require was a brief word over his communication device. He was on his own home territory afterall.

Sat Oct 10, 2015 7:06 pm

Artist:Celestial Harmonic - Song:Jaws of Defeat - Word Count: 1040

The possessed huntress shrugged at the dragon's following claim. A guardian angel? How far from the reality of things. Even before the arrival of the devil in flesh, Amelia had never been a pure soul worth such a title. Her operations centered on greed and the selfish forethought of prosperity in this new age of war and tension. This specific line of work just offered an exceptional rate in the beginning of her quest for fortune. Given how adamant the child-like shinigami was on pressing the subject, she could only offer a halfhearted reply in tolerance of the notion. To the fiend especially the phrase seemed like an insult, digging into its own warped rationalizations of good and evil. He would feel it under the restrictions of the dead puppet. The Shinigami's soul lacked any corruption, at least as far as it could tell. Things of such purity and benevolence were agitating, but all the more satisfying to corrupt when the time came.

"Think what you want. Its just a job. I couldn't care less what happens to the city otherwise." Amelia's eyes turned skyward, looking to the canopy above as the young Shinigami took interest in the other pieces of her attire she used in battle. Something was a tad off from the traditional serenity. The branches swayed in the distance, the wind distorted and the feeling of an impending soul coming near. It couldn't be a Hollow, as they tended to be far more obvious in their arrival. Any tactful enough to hide their arrival were few and practically non-existent in a place such as this. After several moments of thought, the Human's gaze flicked back to Selia as indifferent as ever.

"Yes and no. My ability intertwines with the weaponry I keep on my person. Otherwise they wouldn't do much good against most more durable Hollows that inhabit this place." Amelia blinked at the last comment. A whip? Her? That kind of weapon seemed out of character for one such soul, but if he recalled correctly their kind never got to pick the evolved state of their zanpaktos. Didn't lower ranking members like her typically need accompanied by another to come to places like this? Perhaps Hayden was that very individual mentioned earlier..And the entity coming closer was the same man that ensured the well being of this novice dragoness.

"If you insist, I'm not going to waste the effort n actually making you leave. Just don't get upset if one of the higher level Hollows comes around and you get yourself hurt in the crossfire." Amelia changed the direction of her eye once more when the faint suspicions of a new arrival were proven true. Without a clear sign of sound .or voice, the mentioned soldier of the Vanguard made their debut in the elevation of the trees. Accompanying that man soon after their pause was a resonance in the air, a familiar feeling that the hidden fiend knew very well both in rational fear and application. Through the eyes of the underworld's spawn it knew this force, a power driven from the incarnation of death and given to mortals as a tool of battle.

Such feeling was familiar and relate-able, a presence it was far more adjusted to than the purity of a child's curiosity. But at the same time, the cloud of death made it feel challenged, as if it needed to assert itself and its own foul power over it and consume the threatening aura with malevolence. To do so while in such close proximity of Karakura would be far from wise. At the soldiers proclamation toward the girl beside her, she could only piece together that this may be the one brought up at the start of their conversation. Of course it could always be another. " A friend of yours, I take it?" It addressed the dragon-like Shinigami once more before fully shifting its attention to the source of death's will.

The puppet spoke out toward Hayden before Selia's retort. It hadn't fully explained things to her, so regardless it'd be needed. The woman's voice boomed outward with a stern tone, directly addressing the new arrival and clearing any doubts of the half-truths validity. " I am Amelia Wildheart, mercenary and guard. I've been hired to investigate reports of a n unorthoox rise in Hollow activity in this area of the forest and ensure none of them get too close to the town throughout the night. And you are?" Her eyes showcased of a natural warrior's instinct, the feeling of death inciting her guard and putting the woman in a state where they were ready to fight if need be. Her hand rested close to one of the daggers strapped to her side, not grabbing it, but keeping it in reach. While the parasite certainly knew there were no substantial threats at the current time, playing to the paranoia and caution of an ordinary hunter was key to the act.

The Setting Sun

The Setting Sun

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