Intro Post

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WHO: Blake Belladona and anyone who wants to run into our new arrival
WHAT: Disoriented, confused and trying to make a game plan. (Sorry RWBY people, she's going to keep her head down until she thinks it's safe to reveal herself because she's Blake. >_>)
WHEN: Late evening, Feb. 14th
WHERE: Fayren,The Drunken Monkey
WARNINGS:N/A

[Blake kicked open the pod she was encased in and wasted no time jumping out, Gambol Shroud at the ready. She tried to stay focused, but with everything she'd been through waking up in a pod in some strange cave was the last thing that her nerves needed. Her hand was shaking on her weapon. Her last memory was of the shame and self-blame for what happened to Yang eating away at her until she had come to a decision.

She had to get as far away from everyone as she could. She knew that Adam had been turning into a monster for some time, but she had never imagined that he hated her this much or that he would go this far. Every one of her friends had a target on their backs so long as he had a score to settle with her. And she couldn't take seeing anyone else hurt because of her. So, she had fled. She had no plan on what to do or where to go. If Adam had become this insane he may already be planning to have her tracked down and there was no way in hell she was letting anyone else get dragged into it this time. She felt a cold stone settle in her stomach as she realized that he might already have found her. She still had no idea of how she had ended up in that pod. Or what town or city she was even in.

*An hour later...

She was still shaken up by seeing Weiss of all people on the video. Her heart had felt a stab of something that almost felt like homesickness and she had to clamp down on her impulse to contact her friend. She almost had, then like a coward, snapped the device shut. She just couldn't face them right now. And besides, who knew who else had been brought here?

And so, she was sitting with a stone necklace on and no plan after grumpily assuring the dubious bartender that she did indeed, really just ask for a pint of milk. She winced as she sipped her drink, a sharp pain reminding her of the parting gift her old comrade in arms had left her with. At least it wasn't bleeding. ]

Comments

[koishi_komeiji]

Oh look! A new person! Koishi had been doing her usual routine near the bay... Which is to say she was goofing off, chasing rabbits and squirrels, and being a general and overall menace to the small animals there.

Of course her chase was abandoned immediately upon sensing someone arrive at the bay. And, to her surprise, someone she'd seen before emerging. She'd heard about things like this happening before but had never actually seen it.

And so, powers cloaking her presence, the little youkai followed Blake for some time, drifting after her, unseen and unnoticed, wherever she may go... until she arrived at... the bar?

A reasonable place to go. But they don't have sake!

Drifting up next to Blade she decided to finally get her attention. Reaching up, she tapped her on the shoulder several times. "Miss? Hello? Can you hear me yet? Can you see me?" It might take several tries... "Hello? My name is Koishi. Hellooo?"

[alwaysimpaled]

Dante had been making his rounds to every bar and seedy place he could find, and the Drunken Monkey just happened to be next on his stop. He'd ordered a shot of vodka before noticing Blake. That sure was not something he expected to see here. After downing the shot, the heavily armed man made his way over to Blake, momentarily forgetting he was carrying two handguns and a massive sword in public.

"Aren't you a little young to be in a place like this?"

[fade_to_black]

Blake was trying to motivate herself to listen to the conversations around her though all outward appearances suggested she was just looking moodily into space. Bars, taverns, these were the kind of places that she's learned long ago were where you went to pick up information. She never liked to linger long because these places, depending on the standards of the establishment also tended to be rowdy and noisy. Blake preferred quiet. But if she wanted to get her bearings here she knew she had to stop moping and bear it. Besides, the noise drowned out her other thoughts. And her other thoughts weren't rainbows and sunshine right now. Maybe she should get alcohol.

Another thing it drowned out apparently was her ability to sense someone sneaking up on her. She jumped when she felt Koishi's touch and the hairs on her neck and arms shot straight up. She started to grab for Gambol Shroud but she paused halfway when her golden eyes landed on the face of a young girl. Her style of clothing made Blake wonder if this girl was also from Remnant. (Anyway, it would soothe her pride to assume that this girl's Semblance was the reason she'd never even heard footsteps coming her way.) But wasn't she a bit young for a place like this? Well it wasn't like Blake had room to talk.

"Yes, I hear you,"Blake replied curtly, still a bit disgruntled that she had been taken by surprise. She sipped as her drink again trying to cover that she'd nearly jumped out of her skin. "What do you want?" she asked, flatly.

[fade_to_black]

Blake had been listening in on with interest to two people in the corner talking about their goings on at the Fish Market. Their conversation wasn't really that engaging but the idea that there was a place nearby to get a fish or two was almost enough to cheer her up. She was about to shift her attention to another conversation when her concealed Faunus ears twitched. She looked up to see a heavily armed man heading her way. Inwardly, she suppressed a groan. She had been trying to be inconspicuous. She hoped this guy wasn't the bouncer.

She looked up at him stoically. "Why, am I being thrown out?"

The last thing she needed was a fight right now. The stab wound in her side was closing because of her aura, but slowly. She'd used up a lot projecting a clone of both herself and Yang. Plus, she didn't need the first thing she did in this town to include getting picked up by the police.

[beacane]

Ozpin's entire being hurt -- he supposed that was what happened when your aura broke, and the newly minted Fall Maiden slams you around. But upon Weiss' welcome message, Ozpin immediately set out to find her. His students. Glynda, Qrow, James, anyone. But he hadn't found anyone yet, and after checking the communication device he was given, he had noticed a few familiar faces. Ruby, Torchwwick...

But before he could settle everything with them, he noticed a familiar figure through a window, and he stopped before immediately deciding a sidetrack was necessary, opening the door. A slight tap of his cane as he walked forward, forcing himself to move as normally as possible.

It would not do, after all, for his students to see him as anything but fine.

"Blake."

It was said quietly, as he approached the bar -- giving her some distance, but resting his hand against a stool, preparing to take a seat.

[fade_to_black]

Blake froze in place as she saw who was approaching her. It was telling of how much shock she was in that the color immediately drained from her face. Maybe something had been put into her drink after all. When she was able to move, she rubbed her eyes. Her hands came away wet. She stood up, her amber gaze taking in the man before her with uncertainty as if like one of her clones he could vanish at a given moment.

Shortly after Ruby's uncle had carried her unconscious form back from the school, they had been informed that there was no sign of the headmaster. Blake, ever the skeptic had assumed that he was also a casualty to be added to the growing pile. She still remembered the feeling that had lanced through her heart when they confirmed Pyrrah's death. She had wished she was back in that building getting stabbed by Adam and that he had had the decency to just finish her. She had not entertained the slightest hope that Ozpin had survived.

"You're alive..."she managed to choke out. Stubbornly she wiped at a tear.

Up until this point of her arrival her expression had remained closed, her emotions closely guarded. But now the mask was shattered.

[beacane]

At Blake's expression, Ozpin immediately extended a hand to her, lowering his tone.

"Come with me -- we can talk in private."

His tone was quiet, but urgent, and he kept his voice gentle. Encouraging.

[alwaysimpaled]

Dante just shrugged, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm just another customer."

He took a seat next to Blake, propping his feet up on the table after adjusting Rebellion so that it didn't damage anything. "Still... you've got a... look about you. What's your story?"

[fade_to_black]

She gave his feet an annoyed look, but didn't comment. Considering where she was it would be silly to expect much in the way of table manners. Or possibly manners in general.

"Much the same as everyone who's brought here," she replied, guardedly gripping the warm mug in hands. "Woke up in a strange metal shell and saw the video that basically told me That I couldn't leave but not to worry because I was fairly safe and that I should go and find a job." She left out the part where it was one of her closest friends narrating the video.

"I suppose I should thank them for the free money, though," she added, dryly.

[fade_to_black]

She eyed his hand distrustingly as though she still half expected him to vanish. He did have the right to know what had happened at his own school. She didn't want to be difficult. But....

She eyed the door with uncertainty. "Is is just you and me in this town? From Remnant, I mean?"

Ozpin didn't know she'd ran. But she wasn't up to facing the others. She wasn't sure if after what had happened to Yang she could ever face them again.

[alwaysimpaled]

He nods a bit. "Yeah, guess that's fair. ...But not many would make the first choice to go order milk at a dive bar."

He leans back, folding his hands behind his head. "I've only lived as long as I have in my line of work by being able to read people. Body language, faces, the works. Something is bugging you. Something beyond just waking up in a strange place and getting the same spiel we all got. So... one more time, what's your story kid?"

[beacane]

Ozpin, while Blake stared at him, was analyzing her. Wary, scared. Mistrusting. Blake Belladonna was always this way, in some aspects, but she had grown so much since attending the institution. Since being placed with team RWBY.

What had happened at Beacon?

"I have seen Ruby, and Roman Torchwick."

Judging from Ozpin's tone, he was not happy about the second portion.

"But for now, it is just us. Are you alright?"

[fade_to_black]

" I like milk,"she replied, defensively. "And as you've observantly pointed out, I'm probably too young to have the other stuff they serve here. Unless the laws here are different."

She shot him a glare. Blake was reserved, but not outright unfriendly. Unless she'd had the night she'd just had. Having your psychotic ex with his band of human-hating faunus show up and destroy her school, maim her friend and try to kill her, well, that would put even the most cool-headed person on edge. And Blake tended to be blunt and blurt out what was on her mind when her emotions were in turmoil.

"None of your business!" she snapped. "Why are you bothering me anyway?! Leave me alone."

[fade_to_black]

"Torchwick!" She immediately lowered her voice when she realized she had all but shouted it. Luckily, a lot of people were talking or shouting or even singing to some degree, so no one really batted an eye. "Ruby said that a Grimm swallowed him up. Wait, she's also here?"

For the first time she felt conflicted about staying hidden. She had left her friends when they were all together and presumably would be sent home to where they would all be safe. If Ruby was in this city with Torchwick who would no doubt be less than pleased with how things had gone down between them, then Ruby was anything but safe.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I just have a flesh wound. It's healing." It was a stab wound actually, but why worry him? "Is Ruby here alone?"

[alwaysimpaled]

"You could pick up milk at just about any convenience store. No, you're staying away from something."

He sighed, staying quiet for a long moment. "Look, I don't know what you went through or anything but take some advice from someone who's spent the majority of his life being hunted down for simply being his father's son. Running is fine, but doing it alone only leads to bad things."

[fade_to_black]

She felt a prick of annoyance that he was still here. Most people called her a choice word and backed off when she got like this. What did this nosy guy want? So he could tell she was hiding. Good for him. Now why couldn't he just go away and let her get back to it? But her expression softened a little as the man continued to talk.

It could be that he sympathized because of what he was saying. Maybe he really did just see her as someone who was in a position he was used to being in. Blake could at times be cynical about other people's motives, but some humans really could be kind. If Beacon had taught her anything, it had taught her that.

"It's the way it has to be," she said in a defeated tone. "People who get close to me will get hurt. Someone already has." Her voice cracked on the word 'has'. A slight crack in the proverbial tough-loner mask.

[alwaysimpaled]

Dante is happy to just let the silence hang for a bit, eyes closed. If he didn't break the silence when he did, Blake would've been forgiven for thinking he'd fallen asleep.

"Back in my world, there's a legend. There was once a demon named Mundus. Using his immense power, he did what no demon ever could and unified the Demon World under his banner. But that wasn't enough. Mundus set his sights on the human world and used his influence to gather supporters. These supporters began erecting a tower that would serve as a bridge, allowing Mundus' armies to invade and enslave humanity. ...That is until one of Mundus' strongest retainers, the Dark Knight Sparda, had a crisis of conscience."

He shifted his sitting, making a motion to the bartender to get another shot of vodka. "Sparda not only beat back Mundus' armies, but sealed the gate, using his soul's sword as its key. In the process, however, he sacrificed his power. The human world was at relative peace for quite a while. Sparda fell in love, had a couple kids... and then just vanished. Mundus' servants, however, could find smaller holes to come through, found Sparda's wife and sons. Through some miracle, the sons were able to get away, but his wife - Eva - died covering their escape."

As his drink was delivered he took another shot, making eye contact with Blake once again. "Trust me. If someone is looking for you, just putting distance between you and your friends isn't going to take the targets off their backs. At the very least, you'll be able to fend off whoever it is together, rather than just going one-on-one."

[beacane]

There was a slight cringe at the shout and Ozpin immediately let his eyes scan the room, almost anticipating a problem. But it seemed the other patrons of the bar were busy with other business, and he took a step closer.

"Ruby will be fine, for the time being. I trust her."

It was said quietly, to keep the conversation as private as possible. Torchwick was eaten by a Grimm? What in the hellhappened --

"But I must ask you to trust me, and to push this aside for the moment, because I need to know exactly what happened to all of you. I can help, but only if you come with me."

[koishi_komeiji]

Koishi didn't seem to mind Blake's harshness. Instead, she just smiled more, her eyes brightening. Literally A blue sphere the size of a baseball bobbed into view, nudging Blake's arm. It seemed to be a part of the girl, connected by two cords that wound loosely around her body and connected at her ankles.

"I don't want anything miss! My name is Koishi Komeiji. I'm a satori youkai. We're like... spirit-monster-demon things." She smiled sheepishly. "There isn't a good word in this language for it. But that's what I am! And don't be scared! I can't read minds anymore."

She really seemed to like to talk.

"I just wanted to say welcome. You just arrived right? And you're here instead of there, right? That means you're new. And I like saying hi to new people because its scary to be in a new place like this. But I've been here for two winters now so I know this place really well, okay?"

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"Sprit...monster...demon things?" Blake repeated, slowly looking dubiously at this girl's shining eyes and nearly Nora-like levels of energy. It most certainly wasn't Remnant if a spirit-monster-demon thing was boldly strolling up to a huntress in training and announcing itself. Oh, and telling them not to be afraid..

But it was a kid. Blake supposed she should humor her. It was a distraction anyway.

"You don't seem scary," she conceded. "Were you sent here by yourself?"

[fade_to_black]

Blake listened to his tale, drawn in despite herself. She didn't consider herself Adam's 'strongest retainer' but she felt a sympathy to this Sparda for not following along with ideals he didn't agree with. She, like Sparda, had found herself on the opposite side of a once ally and leader. A friend she had trusted and even looked up to at one time. She had in no way beaten him back, though. A second ill-timed and both her and Yang would be dead.

"He might use them against me if he knew I was here, assuming he was," she admitted, looking down at the table. "But without me in the equation, he's less likely to. It's me he really wants to hurt. Because I refused to continue being a part of what he was doing."

But Blake looked troubled and not altogether sure of her own argument. How deep did Adam's hatred run for her? He'd have sliced her head off if he could have. He'd taken Yang's arm, but that had been because she was there to witness it. Would he still hunt them down even if he couldn't force her to watch?

[fade_to_black]

"To where?" Blake asked, automatically wary. She knew she was being paranoid. But if Adam or any of the White Fang under his command were dragged to this world too, then she wouldn't lead them straight to her friends.

She was not willing to be the catalyst that got someone maimed or killed again. Even if she wanted to help Ozpin.

[alwaysimpaled]

"When Mundus' goons killed my mother and tried to do the same to me and my brother, they knew Sparda was gone. That he'd lost his power and vanished. But dead demons don't make for compelling tales of vengeance. So killing everything he even might have liked is the next best thing."

He downs his drink, leaning forward. "Trust me. If he can't find you, he'll make do with whatever he can. Assuming he's not a demon. Demons are far more patient than any mortal, but tell ya what. Point him out to me if he is here, and I'll make it my mission to make his life a living hell."

[koishi_komeiji]

"Yeah! There are many types of youkai but I'm a satori. We're psychic! But I got rid of my mind reading power, see?" She lifted her hat, revealing a very old bald spot and scar just above her left temple. The hat actually seemed lopsided and designed to protect the scar. She straightened it after another moment. "Now I can read and manipulate the subconscious. I like that power better."

"And I'm not scary because I'm in my humanoid form. When I look normal I have scary eyes and big teeth and things. People think my claws are really scary but I don't understand why. They're sharp and stubby and for climbing and digging and catching and holding small animals like rabbits and foxes. A lot of youkai have much scarier claws than me."

She seemed harmless but that sphere was nudging higher and higher on Blake's arm and- wait, was it an eye? Yes! A closed eye.

"I arrived by myself and I met Miss White. She's a human and she's really wonderful. Then my sister arrived!" All smiles. "She's the guardian of this archway now. Of Fayren. She's good at protecting everyone here. You should meet her sometime. She's really grumpy and skittish because humans don't like monsters usually and attack us. But she's really a kind and wonderful person. But there's lots of grump."

[fade_to_black]

She gave him a look of surprise. She thought at first that he was only telling her a story to prove a point. She never imagined it was true.

And now rather than scattered around the world and possibly out of harm's way her friends may well be all gathered in one spot - assuming Weiss had been sent here alone. She wanted to bury her face in her hands. She needed more intel before she could do anything.

She looked up sharply at Dante. Yes he looked strong and all and maybe he did have some sort of powerful abilities he was hiding but that was not the point. She looked at him with wide eyes, clearly taken off guard by the offer.

"But why?" she asked. "You don't know me. You don't even know my name. Why would you want to put yourself in danger to help me?