The Lure Defeated (Part 2, Private, Xald and Lani) (Rated M) [FINISHED]

Roanoke Island
4:43 PM
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August's blue Dodge Challenger rolled into the small town of Manteo on Roanoke island, pushing through the thick fog that blanketed the area. What was strange was that the fog didn't seem to move with the wind. It clung to the island like a blanket, swirling and roiling, but never moving. August looked to his partner, then put the car into park and turned the engine off. His left hand was a weapon the moment he stepped out of the vehicle, his gaze moving from left to right and then back as he made out the shapes of buildings in the fog. He let out a deep breath, noticing for the first time that he could see his own breath, and that it was far colder than it should've been for a deep-summer's evening.

Vanja's Outfit

In theory, the rumors they'd received pre-acceptance of the mission seemed outlandish and impossible. In practice, however, such rumors proved to be far more than true when the previous partners that had undergone the task returned, mission incomplete and meister injured. Claire confirming the rumors was one thing; while she had proven to be a skilled combatant, she was nonetheless very much the worrier and was likely to exaggerate instances of distress. Justice, however, the Angel Scythe's partner, knew not how to do such a thing, and told them plainly of the instances that had happened. As such, August and Vanja were the next to be set out.

Typically, this wouldn't be a problem; Vanja and August had been paired up for everything from demonstrations to training to scout missions. To be sent together on a massive Kishin hunt was no different, in theory, and could be easily accomplished. There was, however, more than one thing to take into account. For starters, this was no normal mission; there was some sort of beacon that seemed to be drawing kishin eggs in, an occurrence that could prove either useful or problematic, with Vanja involved.

Secondly, apparently, August was absolutely incapable of surviving in a vehicle that wasn't actively doubling as an oven.

By the time they made it to their destination, Vanja had stripped out of both her jacket and her skirt, and her white, graphic shirt was actively, transparently sticking to her torso. Her hair was already tightly woven into a braid, but had still become just as soaked in sweet, and she felt like panting. The cold air came in two waves; the first was a welcoming coolness that seemed to allow her to catch her breath. The second, however, could have frozen her, and the skirt and jacket were back on, the jacket fastened in every manner of speaking possible as she shook and shivered, forgoing partial transformation for the sake of trying to warm herself.

ooc: For partial, either his hand is the tip of the blade or from the shoulder or elbow down it the full blade. I'd do from the elbow, if you don't want the dragon face.

"Part of me wishes one of us were a meister..." He said softly, puffs of hot air accompanying his statement. "We need to see if anyone's alive. I need to know how much collateral we can do..." He said, moving to her side of the car and forming up with her. It was something they had done on their scouting trips. Search and report, always staying close enough to one another that they would never be without the others support. He pointed to the town hall. "If I were going to hole up during something like this, I'd pick there. Stairs provide a natural funnel. Windows don't look broken..."

"D....doesn't feel like there's any ne- earby," she said, warming up slightly in the closer presence of his blade, referring specifically to Kishin Eggs in her statement. At the moment, she seemed surprisingly stable, likely as a byproduct of her extended period of sobriety. With her dealer currently missing, finding any supply of her Vanilla Haze had been made impossible, forcing her to, essentially, get over her addiction. Without it, Vanja did not really produce much madness on her own, though she nonetheless felt the slightest tug towards the beacon. "Shall we pr... pr..." Vanja shivered, rubbing at her arms through the sleeves of her leather jacket, "Proceed?"

August let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh and, although it spat in the face of their attempt to be discreet, allowed his blade to glow just a bit brighter, spreading the warmth around them. "I wasn't talking about Kishin... I was talking about survivors..." He said softly, before gently looping his right arm through her left, and guiding them slowly towards town hall, on high alert for anything out of the ordinary. He jerked to a stop when he heard a twig snap, pushing his back to Vanja's, only to watch a small deer bound by, heading for the direction they had come from.

"I know," she whispered, grateful for the heat production his weapon form allowed. The instant the sound resounded, her arm transformed, soul threads wavering at her shoulder blades, ready to launch. At the side of the dear, however, her eyes narrowed, attention directing towards where it had come from.

"This fog is going to make everything more difficult..." He said softly, also gluing his eyes on where the deer had come from. "We can't afford to get separated..." He said, glancing back at their ride, just in time to watch it suddenly explode. He grabbed Vanja by her shoulders, spinning her in front of him and pushing her to the ground, kneeling over her in case any shrapnel flew their way. The car flew into the air, landing several yards away from them, and the vague outlines of...something could be seen running away into the fog.

The fellow weapon had naturally tucked herself so tightly that it was a wonder she was able to move at all. Glancing up in sync with him, she found herself almost growling under her breath, weapon form laying almost uselessly beside her, the rest of her still curled. At this point, they were left with almost no other option but to solve the problems going on here. After all, how else would they manage to get out of this hellhole? Looking at him, she offered a crooked, I-hate-this grin, before nodding back towards the town hall. "Let's make sure they're fortified before we proceed."

August couldn't help but return that grin with his own smug "I know" smirk, something they had developed over their odd partnership. He stood up, helping her back to her feet before he lifted his left arm up, increasing the light around them and seeming to drive back the fog just a bit. "Allons-y..."

"Måste vi?" She mumbled, shaking her head even as she complied, moving towards the building. By now, it seemed obvious that this mission, more than any other task that they had undergone, clearly required them to expect any and everything that could possibly fall under the category of "unexpected."

August carefully made his way up the stairs to the town hall, trusting Vanja to watch his back and slowly dimming the flames, mainly because he didn't want the wood building to catch flame. He tried the door with his right hand, rattling it a few times, before he took a step back. "Vanja, can you cut through the lock?" He asked softly, already knowing that she like could.

She nodded easily, moving around towards the door. Glancing around for a brief moment, she stepped back, slamming down on the metal with the full force of her blade. It gave way easily, clanking to the pavement. "Done," she muttered, eyes darting towards the windows, hearing acute.

August nodded, turning towards the doors, and then kicking them open. He moved in quickly, coat seeming to flutter behind him, before stopping at a crossroads. To his left and right wear doors, clearly going to the north and south wings, respectively. Ahead was a staircase, only going up. August bit into his bottom lip, moving closer to the staircase.

Vanja was behind him instantly, blade beginning to float to from her left arm, her right hand taking on the form of her hand guard, spinning about the threads. Every time he changed his direction of focus, she shifted hers to compensate, ready for a fight should one arise.

"Alright... We check the north room first." He said, taking up a position beside the door to the left, hand holding onto the door handle as he waited for her to confirm her readiness.

The mad weapon immediately took up the open position. Crouching slightly, she offered him a nod, looking around at the rest of the room as she waited for the door to be opened.

August nodded, pulling the door open and then pushing in behind Vanja once she was through. All they found was a torn up old library, books scattered across the floor, pages torn out. carved into one of the tables, by knife or nail it wasn't known, was the word "Croatoan".

"Typisk..." she muttered, stepping over to the table and looking at the word. A forced byproduct of her partner's demands, they had gone through and researched what they could about the island and it's surrounding area. The history of the island was exactly the sort of thing that one would expect for the set-up of any horror or suspense film. Typically, this would be fun, however, on a rescue mission, it was hell.

August followed her to the table, inspecting the word and humming to himself. He pulled out his cell phone, then cursed when he, predictably, didn't have a signal. He looked through the vast collection of books strewn about the ground, taking in the titles as fast as he could, before sighing. "If there was anything relevant here, someone or something took it..." He said softly, stepping up behind her and patting her on the shoulder. "Let's check the other rooms."

Nodding easily, she looked to him, crooked grin reminding him of her overall mood. Her eyes, however, were still clear, a good sign that, thus far, she was doing well enough... or, at least, the lure wasn't currently tugging at her.

August moved past her, hiding his grim expression from her. He knew that this must be hard for her, to resist something that had been calling to every kishin across the eastern seaboard. He admired her bravery, and at the same time was worried about what might happen to her as they grew closer to this 'lure'. He moved to the southern door, opening the door and almost immediately getting tackled by a large beast. It resembled a faun, those it's horns were overgrown and wild, threatening to impale Vanja if she came at it from the wrong angle. August struggled underneath the beast, growling angrily as it pinned his left arm.

Vanja let out a scream more akin to a banshee than any living being. Crouching low, she slung out her bladed arm, giving it just enough leeway to allow it to not hit her. Spinning, she lengthened the soul thread until, soon enough, it swung at the beast.

The beast flailed and roared in anger as if felt the soul thread tighten around it. Absorbed as he was by the thread, he didn't notice as August moved his left arm to aim for the beast's head. "Fangs, fly." He said, the two prongs sprouting forward and spearing through the beast's head.

Vanja's threads released it quickly, pulling her blade back into place at her shoulder. Running over, she moved to shove the creature from her partner, kicking it hard in the side in the process. Seemingly satisfied with herself, she turned around to help him up, offering her hand.

August took her hand, pulling himself up with her assistance. "Thanks..." He said, before turning his attention to the room the monster had been housed in, ignoring the kishin egg soul left behind. Inside the other room, which seemed to be the mayors office or some similar thing, everything had been torn up, though the windows had apparently been left untouched. He hummed thoughtfully, looking at the windows for some sort of rhyme or reason as to why they had been spared.