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Post by songsofinfinity on May 29, 2016 13:48:39 GMT -6
It had been months since the first note had appeared. Early on they’d been directed at Wayne, small scraps of paper left at his home or in shops and bars the mustang was known to frequent. One-line snippets, usually comments about how Wayne was looking or what he’d been doing. Never enough to identify the sender, of course. Just enough to keep the small horse on edge.
Then the killings had started.
Repeat killers were rare in Onea, with most criminal deaths being crimes of passion or the work of passing Cultists. This one was different, though. Darius could feel it, and it wasn’t just the stalking. When Wayne found another one of the notes at the first crime scene, he’d come to Darius with depressingly little information. The notes seemed to indicate that the killer knew Wayne, but hadn’t been in contact with him recently, face-to-face anyway.
Now they were on the trail, which had gone cold nearly a week ago in a tiny village just off the highroad. Darius had done some scouting while Wayne questioned the townspeople, and together they’d come up with news of a small camp about half a mile off the road, along with some local disappearances and a death that fit their killer’s modus operandi.
Darius was trying to find the camp. He’d tried flying over and looking for smoke or tents in a clearing, but assuming the locals were right about the camp, the owners weren’t complete idiots and had actually managed to hide their traces. Which meant Darius had to search on hoof. With Wayne, who was… actually, he didn’t know where Wayne was.
“Wayne?”
No response.
“Wayne?” Darius slipped out of a clearing, pulling his wings closer to himself as he slid through a thin path trampled through underbrush. A crunch underhoof pulled him up short, and he glanced down.
“Oh, mother of winds…"
Equine remains. At least three horses, probably more.
“Wayne!”
ooc: Had to abbreviate Mui's name in the title or I wouldn't've been able to fit it all lol Have fun you guys!
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Post by piperinle on Jun 1, 2016 10:13:12 GMT -6
Wayne hated guilt. Gods damn, he hated it. The way it gnawed at his belly, gave him a headache, and kept him from sleeping. Alright, so perhaps it was the copious amounts of alcohol he had consumed last night that was actually causing his headache but that was only to battle the insomnia. If he blacked out drunk, at least he was no longer conscious. It was becoming clear that this method wasn’t actually helping him feel very rested though even if it numbed the guilt. Enough, he thought. No more. Time to put it away and deal with the guilt by solving this string of murders instead of drinking himself into a stupor.
Not for the first time, he was glad he couldn’t fly. He wasn’t a huge fan of heights and he had an excuse not to have to go that extra mile like an overhead search with his head pounding. His hooves touched the forest floor as he searched with practiced silence. He fancied himself a regular ghost, no one would hear or see him coming.
SNAP!
The twig told the whole world within a twelve mile radius that he was coming. Damn. Thankfully, the forest wasn’t exactly dangerous. No more dangerous than any place where a serial killer stalked. He sighed. There was that guilt again. The guilt led to anger. The anger led to rash decisions. Darius just called that stupidity and he wasn’t wrong.
Wayne’s ears swiveled around as he heard his name. Still annoyed at the twig and his lack of stealth, Wayne didn’t answer. Maybe he could gain back some pride and sneak up on his old friend. A flick of his tail and he lowered his head, stalking off toward the call.
Picking soft ground to step on, he made good headway toward Darius' voice that sounded again. The third call was more urgent and Wayne dropped the pretense and ran the rest of the way.
“What?” Darius was looking down at a gory scene that made Wayne know that he would need the alcohol again tonight, no matter what he had thought before.
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Post by songsofinfinity on Jun 1, 2016 20:34:04 GMT -6
Darius raised his head from the horrible scene to find Wayne standing only a few feet from him. He had barely heard the smaller horse approach. The expression on Wayne's face... well, at least Darius wouldn't be alone when he went to the bar once this was over. He sighed and dipped his head. Sometimes this job just wasn't what it was supposed to be. You tried to save everyone, and when you couldn't, often it hurt more than it should. He couldn't blame himself for these deaths, but telling himself that wasn't the same as believing it.
"Well, Wayne, looks like we're going to have to head back into town. Way I figure, the local authorities are going to want to deal with this themselves, or call in the heavy cavalry. I doubt they have the experience to deal with this themselves." Darius backed out of the bushes and past Wayne into the clearing. It surprised him to find the sun was still shining, as if the world should reflect the darkness he'd just seen. They needed to get back to town, find some backup. This... he'd seen a lot in the past twenty years, but this was... well, it wasn't his first time dealing with a serial killer. He'd get through this the same way he'd gotten through the others. Patience, focus, and more alcohol than was probably safe. Maybe Wayne really was rubbing off on him, but sometimes there were images you just couldn't forget on your own.
"Wayne, I'm going to fly to town, see if I can find some local Raiders or backup, whatever they can. Are you all right with following on hoof? It shouldn't be too much slower." He spread his wings to make sure the small clearing was large enough to take off in.
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Post by piperinle on Sept 18, 2016 7:48:31 GMT -6
Wayne snorted at the term ‘local authorities’. If they could depend on them, then they wouldn’t be out here searching for a killer when the local authorities should be doing their jobs. At least he and Darius were on the same page about their lack of experience.
Wayne smirked, “Yeah, right behind you.” The two had had their share of wing to hoof races. If Darius was tired, like really tired, then Wayne could sometimes beat him. It may not be the most appropriate thought at the moment, but anything to get the image of the life lost in such a violent way out of his mind. His leg muscles twinged as the thought of a race entered his mind.
With one last side glance (he couldn’t help it) at the grisly scene on the forest floor, his front hoofs left the ground for a moment before he took off running toward the town.
By the time he reached it, no doubt well after Darius, his sides were heaving. Adrenaline still pumped through his veins however as the importance of their mission was very fresh in his mind. He trotted toward the main street and found Darius already filling in the local Raider force.
(OOC: If I powerplayed Darius too much, let me know and I’ll edit. I also didn’t know where he might find raiders.)
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Post by songsofinfinity on Sept 19, 2016 16:56:12 GMT -6
Darius launched himself into the air with a powerful flap of his wings and soared over the trees, glancing back and down to see Wayne running below him, looking tiny as he flashed in and out of view under the trees. Darius had to hand it to the littler horse. He never stopped trying.
With a quick laugh he sped up, and it wasn't long before the town came into view below him. He dropped out of the sky like a lightning bolt, landing just outside the furthest houses. He'd learned the hard way that it wasn't a good idea to land inside a town unless they had a landing area set up. He remembered the look on the Aodh noblewoman's face and shuddered as he trotted towards the main road, looking for someone who looked like they were in charge. Hopefully a Raider or two, but at this point a councilman or even a medic would be more than welcome.
There were a few horses out on the streets, but none of them looked particularly like they'd be able to help, or as if they would have if they could. The outer towns had retained some of their clan attitudes and alliances, and sometimes that meant strangers weren't as helpful as they could have been. After a few minutes he reached the main street, where he thought he could see a rather important-looking building, with some horses in front of it. As he drew closer, he could see them more clearly, and his heart lifted. They looked as if they could be raiders, which was exactly what he was looking for.
He trotted closer and introduced himself. "Hello, gentlemen, my name's Darius. I'm a scout, and I'm looking for some assistance with a rather delicate matter. Do you know where I could find the local raiders or scouts?" He left his options open in case they weren't who he thought they were.
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ooc: so hopefully Mui and Bates will be helpful, and if Anna wants to be there too, that's perfect. He can just overlook her since she's so short lol
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Post by posy-punch on Sept 19, 2016 18:17:09 GMT -6
"Bates, I don't care if–" The mare's speech faltered, the argument she was lightly discussing with the tall and blunt Raider ceasing to continue as another horse trotted up to them. "Hello gentlemen," The horse didn't even notice the pony-mare. Rage boiled in the small form as she instantly burst out in a torrent of grumbled words, stepping forward from between both of the huge horses and lifting her head high in defiance.
"Motherfucking horses can't bear the simple respect of, dare I say, scanning for yet another member of a circle. Pompous head in asses–" The orange maned mare snorted with annoyance, grumbling the second the pegasus overlooked her, voice trailing off as she chose even more colorful words. Height was a touchy subject for Anna, especially when in conversation. Dare you bend down and she'd be hard pressed not to spit in your face, not acknowledge her and you were close to releasing a rage equivalent to that of Argus' during the God's War. She looked up, shaking herself from her annoyed thoughts. The mare wasn't bothered with manners, not as bedraggled as she was. Her orange mane was pulled up into a loose and messy bun, held together by a struggling piece of twine, her white fur coat showed spatters of mud. For she'd been traveling with Muirius and Bates for the past few days after having to patch them up. Nothing serious, just normal medical attention after being out in the Onea wilds. "Any matter's delicate when you need to sucker someone in to help you for jack shit." Anna flicked an ear, gradually becoming more agreeable, not that she was anywhere close to actually being an amiable mare. "Make's 'em think that said matter is more important than what they gain from it." Her brown eyes glittered, despite having just completed a short journey, and as frazzled as she was, she still had a way to travel before she could get back to her home town and help Nimerah, but she figured the mare was holding down fort just fine; therefore, Anna felt most compelled to actually tune into this journey, one for gullible asses, as she had said, but also one that would add a bit of spice to her job.
"These two are Raiders, alright now, let in on what this mission is; none of us plan on even considering something when we're in the blind," Perhaps the way the mare spoke was condescending, and overbearing as she spoke almost for everyone, but she truly dared any of the rats to take on a mission without a medic on hand. Medics were valuable for survival in Onea, and even the toughest raiders and most lithe scouts knew it. Of course, the mare herself was no help in a fight, but afterwards, yes, that was her time to shine.
"Come on now, don't get tongue-tied."
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anna's just always a dick, sorry.
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