Playtime~ (Arc and I, Open)

The laughter of children bubbled up from a park in the center of an outdoor shopping mall. Weary parents collapsed on benches with their hands full of bags, glad to let their toddlers run away for minute to release their energy. Other people bustled around the packed area, all with their own agenda. Leaning against a wall was a teenager who seemed to be watching the kids play. Most people took no notice of her, too busy in their own lives to care about a singular teenager.

Achima was simply waiting for the prime time to attack and gain the most souls and this seemed to be it. She casually headed towards the center of the playground, dodging the snotty nosed kids. She ducked underneath the structure and waited until most of the kids were on the ground before bending and lighting her hand with a purple flame. She pressed her palm to the ground and the dead crunchy grass immediately lit with the flames and began to spread. Kids screamed as their bodies were encased in purple flames and their souls were immediately absorbed by the kishin egg.

When bystanders started to flee, Achima shot numerous black blood tendrils out of her body and began to pick people out of the crowd. In the mean time, all exits were obstructed except for one. People screamed and started to head out the singular door. Achima hummed softly, over 20 black tendrils extending from her body and catching as many souls as she could. Soon enough, the kishin egg was standing in an empty courtyard save for the innocent souls Achima had captured. She calmly walked around the courtyard and consumed the souls one by one.



(+25 souls)

Entering the playground through the single entrance which had become a trap just a moment ago, Drake looked on as Achima picked the souls which he was going to collect after finishing the ice cream he was holding. Turns out that going off and buying it made him lose the opportunity. He wasn't going to kill anyone so fast, however. His abilities weren't really suited for that. After Achima was done picking her souls up, Drake walked out onto the playground proper and say down on a swing set. He called out then, waving another unopened popsicle which he had retrieved from within his bag, grinning all the while. "Didn't expect anyone else to go after this joint! Definitely not someone I recognise. Small world, hmm?"

.

Mel ended the witch hunt in a small alley away from the eyes of onlookers. The alley way was covered in crystals that had been formed by the woman in his teeth right before she died. Mel held the woman up by her throat as she stared over his shoulder at the remnants of her final spells. Mel's clothes were slightly tattered where cuts from the cold crystalline substance had hit him. After he had drained her completely of her vital fluids, the damage she left behind would have already faded.  Like a smoker long over due for a cigarette, Mel took one last drag, pulling in the last drops from her body as she unraveled leaving a hollow purple soul nestled between the young man's teeth. Mel brought his hand to his mouth covering it as he consumed his first witch's soul. She had been young and inexperienced, but her name was on Death's list for a reason. He swallowed hard as the soul had began dissolving and assimilating into his own.

    At least that's what he imagined when he caught wind of the powerful scent of madness and magic that had been rolling through the air in waves since he'd arrived in this city. He was doing some post Christmas shopping out of town since Iki was away spending time with her family. He had assumed that the critters would stay hidden like they normally do, sparing him the effort of having to pretend to play hero. When the smell didn't seem to go away he put his shopping on hold, too curious about why the smell was so prevalent still. Obviously any Kishin Egg knows that being out when there are this many people comes with risks. There should have been at least a meister or something confronting them by now. Unless? As his thoughts began to unfurl more and more, he found himself wandering closer and closer to the scent until eventually he was inside of a playground. Mel normally would have left well enough alone, but there are so many little people. As he sat among the parents, he could easily smell which one was the kishin egg, and he planned to stop it before it did anything.

    It happened in a moment though, and faster than he'd expected for just a kishin egg. The black goo poured out of her like fires out of Hell, piercing/cutting/crushing him and everyone else nearby, its temptation catching him off guard. He laid there among the floating innocent souls that he hadn't saved, though his body was already healing what little his body couldn't avoid or withstand from the blood based attack. He was slightly hidden behind the ruins of a large slide his body slinking over that off a small child who was cut and battered, the only one he had managed to reach. Mel felt for the kids pulse as it slowly began to fade to nothing.

    "Didn't expect anyone else to go after this joint! Definitely not someone I recognize. Small world, hmm?" The small child's body unraveled like the witch in his daydream, an unacceptable outcome for Mel who slowly stood from behind the rubble. He maliciously eyed the Kishin Eggs as two swords began to form in each hand out of electricity. His normally relaxed air transformed into something slightly more feral now.

The fire burning on the playground had died out, leaving Achima standing there with a sotmach full of souls. At the voice, she spun around and stared at Drake. "Quite small indeed," she replied, staring at the other kishin egg in front of her. "Were you planning on feeding here?" she asked the other, a smirk spreading across her face. "Too bad."

"Don't have to be mean about it, you know? I'm not bitter, though." He said, putting the other popsicle back in the bag, and pulling out what looked like a fairly short tube with a pistol grip on the back. He pointed the contraption which was actually a construct formed by him from his wavelength straight at the other unexpected guest. "I don't recognise that guy." He said, briefly, jumping off the swing and pulling the trigger. A rocket whizzed from the front of this tube, sending Drake's hand up into the air from the recoil and leaving behind a puff of smoke from the flash. Rather quickly the projectile which came out of the end would collide with the rubble in front of the new arrival.

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    As Drake exploded the environment in front of him, Mel felt a dramatic shift in emotion.  The explosion would that destroyed the large slide would push Mel back, but with a little effort he would remain standing. He would raise his hands slowly into a "W" shaped shrug, understanding the danger of this situation with a sobering clarity. Whatever hostility that may have been seen on Mel's face were definitely not visible any longer.

      The vampire calmly looked back and forth between the other two, a dumbfounded look on his face. "Eheh, um. I don't imagine you would have a problem with us hunting in the same area. I drink blood." As he finished talking the shrug slowly faded. "Do you always hunt little people?"

Achima blinked a few times, staring at the vampire and paying no attention to Drake. If he recognized her, she assumed he knew what she was capable of and wouldn't bother to attack her. "A vampire?" she asked Mel, tilting her head slightly. "Target of opportunity." The kishin egg replied with a shrug. "Does this bother you?"

Drake's eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed as his arms went up in the shape of a W. He shook his head, taking his seat back on the squeaky playground contraption, dispelling his bewilderment at the sudden turnaround in the demeanour of the new arrival. He started to swing back and forth on the thing, willing to only listen to the conversation between Achima and the blood-sucking stranger. Producing the spare sweet treat from his bag once more, he opened it with his teeth; his other hand was occupied with holding onto the chain that kept him suspended up off of the ground.