View source for 3762/Honor Among Energy Thieves

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2019/06/25
|Location=Mitakihara - Downtown
|Synopsis=Lacrima and Requiem are both hunting for draining targets near each other and upon meeting find they have several things in common, civility among them.
|Cast of Characters=245,160
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Earlier in the day Cecelia had met a few residents of Tokyo and had gotten quite the culture shock from the experience due to a few key misunderstandings. It took some time go cope with what it might mean about this world and get over it, but get over it she did- it wasn't like she had much choice in the matter. Not when she had work to do.<br /> <br />She wasn't sure how long Thravimax intended to give her but if she was to be his tool she intended to be a useful one. All the shock and surprise at how strange this world is might matter to Cecelia, but ultimately it's of little consequence to Requiem. The people here were her targets, her victims. It didn't matter how they arranged their lives other than the ways it made her attempts to collect their energy easier or more difficult.<br /> <br />She stands wearing all black atop the roof of a small grocery store, a dark wand with a lightly glowing violet gem encased at it's top held in her hand. Down below, inside the store it's mostly empty, just one worker finishing up inside a walk in refrigerator before going home for the night. She's starting small and in her element, wanting to get this right before trying anything more grand. The wand is lifted and swung in a slow circle, and Requiems youthful voice rings out in a slow, steady chant, "Frost and mist, rise and grow, form yourselves to ice and snow!"<br /> <br />Inside the store the temperature drops, the light frost in the frozen sections thickening while the hard working young man's breath exits him in large puffs of fog. Requiem waves her wand once again and continues, "Now bring them down and lay them low, cover the ground and steal life's flow!"<br /> <br />It was getting cold, but now the cold becomes insidious. Cloying and clawing, making it hard to breathe and think. The puffs of breath become crystals of ice coating suddenly blue lips. So tired- so very tired. It'd be okay to lay down and take a short rest, wouldn't it? And so the young worker does.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima had a close call with Ryo at the dance. She had to be careful at public school events like that. He didn't seem to notice they we're there. But it's what's on Lacrima's mind as the vampire haunts an alley. She's waiting for the right person to pass. Call out pathetically, then drag them in when they ultimately check to see who is in danger, drain them and they wake up tired in the morning in an alley. It's the usual.<br /><br />Lacrima can feel the surge of dark energy though.... something else... is hunting? She frowns a little. Other youma leave her alone. She's like them. She's useless to them... or stronger than them for them to not bother trying to consume her. It's at least, a welcome distraction from her own thoughts of that horrid boy trying to hurt her or Ariel or Rashmi or Miho or Kukai or... any one of her friends again. She sort of melds into the wall of the nearby store she senses this is coming from and like a black shadow shoots up it in the form of a puddle of black awful ichor as she reforms on the other side. She's probably detectable to Requiem in some way to the peripheral of magical senses-- she's not masking herself. She feels like something dark- at least.<br /><br />She smooths out her corset as she eyes the girl from the edge of the roof. She's keeping a respectful distance. Does not have her arms raised. She does tilt her head upwards a little, before settling a little.<br /><br />"What are you doing?" she asks neutrally, the elegantly dressed vampire asks.

:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The woven spell completes as a small dusting of snow coats the refrigerator in the store below, both the ground and the young man in his compulsory slumber. As it does Requiem lowers her wand, focusing instead on the feeling of that darkness as it approaches. It's different from a Demon somehow, but she can't tell quite what it is. She finds out quickly enough.<br /> <br />As the ichor reforms she frowns ever so slightly, turning her head and regarding Lacrima with royal blue eyes darkened from behind a thin black veil. "My job. I won't take kindly to interference, but observe if that's your wish."<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turns her body to face Lacrima as well, skirt of her long dress swishing about her legs. Her wand is held idly at her side, and in one hand is a small crystal of ice with a faint glow of energy inside of it, slowly brightening. Her own gaze is neither friendly nor antagonistic, straight and direct towards the elegant vampire before without a hint of fear.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then, just like that, she falls straight through the roof. The veil lifts and her clothes rustle as air moves past them, but for all that she passes right through the building itself as if it wasn't there at all. She didn't go far, however, landing with a clack two stories below, in the refrigerator next to the young man.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima purses her lips, this feels like an energy drain of some sort to her. Not like her own. Something else. She isn't familiar with this particular flavor of it. It's new to her.<br /><br />"Your job?" she asks. "So who do you work for, then?" she asks. She doesn't know this girl. She doesn't think she works for The Eclipse. She does nod. She watches the girl fall through the roof and she slips into ichor and has to quickly go into an Air Conditioning vent, slosh through the vents and reform down inside the store. She can't quite go through walls.<br /><br />She does move through the store until she comes upon Requiem again.<br /><br />"You are draining energy." she says. "Right?" she asks. "I'm a vampire." she says. "I need to drain to survive. Is this a similar situation...?" she asks quietly. Then, neutrally-- as she can manage. "You're not..." she pauses. "...going to kill that man. Are you?" she asks. She kind of does bite her lip a little there, bringing her hands to cross in front of her, low, as she idly rubs her bracelet.

:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>A simple nod is given in response to the first question, silent for a moment while considering how to respond to the second. "A demon," is what she eventually settles upon. Simple, short, and true. Then she does the falling act. It isn't too hard to make it inside, especially not though the cooling vents when the destination is a refrigerator.<br /> <br />Requiem stands over the young man, who looks to be no older than his early 20s, watching as the rate of energy absorption increases with proximity. She doesn't seem particularly surprised when the unexpected visitor arrives either, nor particularly vexed by it.<br /> <br />"That's right," she confirms, only to look back to Lacrima as she states the nature of her existence. That and the question of whether she intends to kill and the way it's stated causes her to loosen up a little, though she remains somewhat on guard. "Is it similar? I suppose so, in a way." She returns her gaze to the man on the floor and gives a small shake of his head, "I would prefer he live and recover so I might return again if need be. But I do not have a hunters instincts, mistakes can happen.<br /> <br />Once more she turns towards the vampire, this time giving something of a curtsy. "You can call me Requiem. I am a useful tool for the one I mentioned earlier. Tools without a use are discarded." A small motion with her wand to point to the man whose energy seeps away into the ice crystal in her hand, "I bear no malice towards this one but he is a means toward my ends, or the lack thereof. I presume you can relate, if what you say is true."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima relaxes considerably and visibly when the other girl relates that she has no intentions to kill the man. "Good." she says softly. "You don't gain anything by killing anyone or anything, except some contempt from others." she says quietly. "Eventually. You're gonna run into others who disagree and will fight you, and it's better if you leave the people you drain in a state where they just wake up tired." she says quieter still.<br /><br />"Requiem." she says. "I am.. La Crima." she says. Lacrima if said quicker. "Yes. I am an energy vampire. I can assure you, it's true." she says with a softer sigh.<br /><br />"....A demon? A----" she shakes her head. "This... demon's name isn't... 'Poderoso' is it?" she asks curiously with a softer frown. Surely. It can't be but... it'd be strange to finally kill the jerk and then find this strange girl she hasn't met before draining energy for someone.<br /><br />"A simple yes or no, will suffice." she says.

:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Yes, that's right. Someone will try to stop me eventually and killing will only incite them further. I am sure this is true. If all goes to plan he will wake up and no one will ever have to know," Requiem notes. "Other than you," she adds with a mild inclination of her head. <br /> <br />"La Crima. You are the first of your kind I've encountered, I am pleased to find you amenable. You will discover that I am the same, so long as our intentions do not conflict. I doubt they will- this city is not lacking in the resource we are trading in, is it?" She turns her eyes from the vampire over to the man, whose lips are now turning a bit more blue as his temperature cools from the thin coating of snow and her icy magic.<br /> <br />A flick of her wand, "The job now done, my task complete, in time let this man rise to his feet." The snow vanishes rather than melts, leaving a brief sparkle of light blue infused with darker violet as the temperature returning it's normal refrigerated chill. "I will need to become more precise," she says mostly to herself before looking to Lacrima, "Poderoso? No. I'm beholden to no one by that name."<br /> <br />The black dressed blonde looks for a few moments between the man and the vampire, taking a step back while making a little motion with her hand, storing the energy containing ice away with magic before motioning, "Feel free, if there's enough."<br /> <br />Her job is done, which means there's now time for idle curiosity regarding energy vampires.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima head tilts. "Mphhh no. No thank you. Most humans can only take one energy drain in such a short period." she says quietly. "You risk longer term damage or death if you take too much." she says. She notes the rhyming scheme of the spell. She head tilts. "Good." she says. "If you meet such a man or being by that name, will you let me know? He should be quite dead. But he was also killed once already some hundred years ago." she says flatly.<br /><br />She head tilts a little. "How long have you been operating in Tokyo? I haven't run into you before. Not that is odd in and of itself. It is a big city. But--- well I am curious." she says. She lifts her head a little.<br /><br />Luckily, demons- by itself- doesn't ring too much of a bell. It's so generic.

:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Requiem gives a nod to acknowledge Lacrima's wishes while learning a little more information. "Then we would both end up on someone's bad side," she notes. "Killing like that would be foolish. People tend to have others that would miss them if they were gone, or so I've been told." Odd phrasing. "If I meet someone claiming to be Poderoso I'll let you know should we meet again." Surviving death by hundreds of years but being killed again? That earns a tilt of her own head, though she doesn't inquire further.<br /> <br />A small shake of her head, "Not long. You haven't run into me because I wasn't here before, but now I am." Clearly. "If you have any preferred hunting grounds you claim as your own, now would be a good time to tell me," Requiem offers. "I'm not entirely surprised there are others with missions or lifestyles similar to my own, and it would be convenient to avoid unnecessary conflict. I don't know about you, but where I'm from there are stories of people who 'deal with' those like us." It's a bit cryptic, but she's doesn't imagine most Waldian Queens throughout history would give much thought before blasting her for what she's just done.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima nods. She does note the odd phrasing. 'So she's been told?' She mphhs. Red Flags. But... she doesn't act. There's no good reason for her to. What's she gonna say? 'Don't drain energy'. Yeah, Pot- Kettle- Black. She frowns.<br /><br />"Hunters?" she asks. "Not surprising. There's one by the name of 'Saint George' that wishes me dead. But... he isn't a kind person. Even by 'those type of peoples' standards." she says. Those people--- Heroes-- in large air quotes. Words she's fallen out of using. No good way to describe it. Not that Requiem would have a reason to think that way.<br /><br />She closes her eyes and sighs, brushing a hand along the side of her head a moment, splaying fingers through her violet colored hair.<br /><br />"I was a normal human before this necklace cursed me. I died at some point. Then my body was replaced with this dark energy construct." she says. "If I don't don't drain energy-- I just turn into another monster until I drain enough to regain coherency." she says.<br /><br />"But basically. I dislike being this thing. But I do what I need to. I know you didn't ask. But you've been polite about volunteering information about yourself." she says.<br /><br />"It's only fair I share what most people already know about me." she says.

:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Saint George..." Requiem frowns slightly; a not nice person hunting down the darkness is exactly the kind of person she doesn't want to meet. "Thank you for the warning, I'll heed it." While she isn't sure how much she can trust Lacrima avoiding someone potentially dangerous doesn't seem like a large risk to take.<br /> <br />She watches as Lacrima sighs and seems to momentarily struggle with something on her mind, and as she explains her situation Requiem's eyes half lid, her hitherto composed expression showing a tinge of sympathy. "Ah. So that's how it is."<br /> <br />The sympathy shows in her eyes as well, only to shift to regret, and then something infinitely more complex. Her lips take on a bit more of a pout and she holds her wand in both hands near the top, fidgeting with it. "Your story is a sad one, La Crima. I will sing a lament worthy of your passing, when I find the words."<br /> <br />Turning into a monster does not seem pleasant, especially when Lacrima seems reluctant to harm beyond draining to fatigue. Would a 'monster' show such restraint?<br /> <br />She can feel her reaction to the story as it happens, aware of the sympathy mingling with sadness and the sense of injustice that drives her actions and gives her strength. It could be a trap, an attempt to draw that sympathy out and create a false sense of security. She's keenly aware of it, but she also finds herself wanting to believe Lacrima. Wanting to believe her story. So she does. She can still be careful, she tells herself.<br /> <br />"You told me your story, so I'll tell you mine." A small inclination of her head, her little top hat tilting momentarily forward. "My parents only had me so they could offer their own child as a sacrifice to a demon. They never told me until the day it came and took me away. It gave me a choice to be a useful tool, or to die. So here I am." Her voice isn't as even as it was before. These wounds are fresh. Raw.<br /> <br />Requiem turns her head and looks away. "Some deaths aren't mourned by 'loved ones', they're eagerly anticipated," she whispers, but not so quietly that it can't be heard.<br /> <br />Her head stays turned but she looks back to Lacrima, "I'm not telling you for politeness sake only. I won't try to say we're exactly the same; I'm sure we're not in ways I can't understand. But what I can say is that I do understand what it's like to have your life stolen from you. And it's terrible. And I'm sorry it happened to you."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima listens intently. She frowns. "I prefer dance." she says quietly. "Dance was my favorite hobby. I still dance. I have a sitting room that functions as a small dance hall in my manor if I have the furniture removed. I usually dance with... my unicorn. Nowadays." she says quietly. "But sometimes with my adoptive brother, Stahlritter-niisan." she says.<br /><br />"When he feels able." she snorts. She peers her head down as Cecelia tells some of her story and frowns. "That's... awful. My apologies. We're not similar.... but we're similar in that...."<br /><br />"Well we both didn't choose this destiny. I don't want all this 'Power'. But I'm stuck with it. I just try to... do my best to cause as minimal harm as I can. I need to feed, yes. But I don't need to hurt these people...." she motions to the unconscious man. "More than I need to." she says.<br /><br />"...I mean. You left him alive. He'll be fine. Probably cold and tired when he wakes up. So I think we have that much in common." she says quietly. "For the moment."<br /><br />"Regardless of the reasons why. For me I...."<br /><br />"I really dislike. This thing I am, Requiem. I hate it." she says. "I didn't choose this and it stinks. If I wanted to, I could consume this whole city and become so terribly powerful the world would shudder." she says quietly.<br /><br />"But... power. Is... meaningless to me. Yeah I mean. I won't die on my own. I can go anywhere in a few steps. But..."<br /><br />"I miss the sun on my face. The cool breeze. These are things I don't a connection to anything and really."<br /><br />"It just sinks a whole lot."<br /><br />"It sounds to me you didn't have much of a choice either. Be a tool or... die." she says quietly. "I can't... really. Relate to that statement. About people anticipating your death. I know my parents are very sad I've disappeared. I can't go back yet. I need to handle...."<br /><br />"Saint George. Who is my birth brother. Ryo Okana." she says. "Calls me a demon wearing his sister's skin. Wants me dead. In her memory." she says dryly. "Except.. I am. That girl. Just... different." she says quietly.

:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I am not so good a dancer as a singer," and not truly amazing at that, "but song and dance can go together." It also feels somewhat foreign to Requiem; like it'd be dancing on a grave, rather than in memory. Disrespectful. But if that's what Lacrima wants, she might have to think about it. "It is good that you have a place to do what you enjoy. Singing was my favorite hobby as well, before this." A motion to herself, her outfit, her state of being.<br /> <br />As her own situation is recognized Requiem nods slightly, "Thank you. I felt so as well."<br /> <br />Then as she continues and speaks about trying not to hurt people, doing as little harm as possible and continuing to say how powerful she might become, but how useless that power would be to her the blonde listens and becomes a bit more impassive. It isn't indifference setting in though, it's the immediacy of her own pain settling back down.<br /> <br />"I am not sure I'll be able to say the same. Collecting energy of the people of this city is my task for now, but I know nothing of what future plans I will be instructed to carry out." Another frown and pout then as she speaks of the sun and a breeze, "That is tragic, to miss out on the simple pleasures of life. Those things are the reason I chose to live rather than die, I'm not sure what choice I might have made had that been the case." And Lacrima wasn't given a choice at all.<br /> <br />"A betrayal of flesh and blood cuts deep," she says a bit more quietly. "It is terrible that he does not understand the truth of your existence. I might not have myself, had I not learned something of the truth of the world."<br /> <br />The frowning pout sits on her face and her eyes cast upwards, not at the ceiling but something beyond. She doesn't try to deny herself the gloom of the current topic, letting it show in her expression and posture along with a quiet, cold anger.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima sighs and nods a bit. "Well. Don't... kill. These people." she says softly, gesturing to the man. "In the end. These are normal mundane people. They'll barely remember you if they saw you before the draining. They always tell the police it was some thug in an alley or a robber or something. These people can't... really synthesize what happened in their head. If you do a mass draining ever... watch the news the next day, or read a newspaper. You'll 'A big gas leak knocked out all of so and so street yesterday'." she says.<br /><br />"It is hard. To resist sometimes. The urge. Dark Energy... magnifies the negative so sharply. Ah--"<br /><br />"Excuse me. I am a Field Researcher for a group I work with. I study... Dark Energy. These creatures." she says. "Think like a .. Dark Energy Creature Conservationist." she snorts.<br /><br />"So sometimes. I worry about the specifics. Because it's important." she says softly.<br /><br />She frowns a little at Requiem's pout though. Her stance.. "I apologize." she says. "If it's any consolation, I apologize that happened to you. I don't.. know you. Or your full story. But I can at least... sympathize with the lack of choice. I bought a necklace. I collpased on stage. I was in unbearable pain as this thing turned my body in this... black much and then my heart stopped. Then I woke back up. I seem fine suddenly. I go to bed and----"<br /><br />"I wake up this purple haired , pale faced thing and I drain my brother until I can put the illusion back on of the person I was. They assume he had what... I had. He didn't. I just drained him like you drained that person. He was fine later." she says quietly.<br /><br />"I might imagine. Suddenly being brought before a demon and told 'Hey you have a choice, die or do things for me.'... and....." she shakes her head.<br /><br />"Look... if you ever. Need a safe place to run to..." she says. "I have a manor at the end of Juuban Ave. It's the run down looking one. People call it haunted. Technically. It is. Just by me and me two friends of mine. A Dragon, and a Chinese Kitsune and another girl. Any of them won't hurt you. As long as you don't like. Come to attack them." she says. "I mean that's a given." she rubs the back of her head.<br /><br />"Unmei-chan might cry forever at your story if you tell her and then try to shove an anime about a girl who made a pact with a demon or something at you. So. Forewarning there." she says sheepishly. "Because she seems to have an anime for everything."

:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I will do my best not to whenever it is possible. My goal isn't to spread suffering and create more stories like ours, it's to survive," Requiem says. She can't promise she won't kill, though. Thravimax may explicitly give her orders to do so, and then she won't have a choice.<br /> <br />There is curious surprise when she's told people she drains won't understand what's happening. This is clearly something she didn't realize. "The masses are unable to comprehend magic? Then they are like lambs to the slaughter." There are still those like Lacrima's brother, Saint George, to contend with though, she reminds herself<br /> <br />She gives a nod as acknowledgement to the mention of research. So she studies that which she has become, and similar? It makes sense.<br /> <br />When Lacrima frowns at her own displays Requiem recognizes it and gives a small shake of her head, but doesn't interrupt until she's finished her thought. "I appreciate your condolences, but do not feel you are upsetting me by telling me your story and speaking of these things. Serving as a tool is my job, but mourning and sorrow are my purpose. I am Requiem, a song of memorial to the loss of my former life and servant to the extension of my new one. I do not hide from my pain or the pain of others, I accept and embrace it. It is my burden to bear."<br /> <br />Still, she makes an effort to further calm the anger. It is not as well suited to the cause of mourning and she sees now that it has a way of bothering others, even if it's just as true and honest to feel. She relaxes, takes a single step closer.<br /> <br />"I apologize as well for the removal of agency in your life. It isn't fair, but unfortunately it is something we've no choice but to bear if we wish to continue living what life remains for us." Her head tilts a little, "I am glad your brother was okay," even if he ended up being a jerk. "It must be very hard for you, not being able to see your parents. I can't imagine what it's like, knowing they are still there and love you, but are beyond your reach."<br /> <br />A manor on Juuban Avenue. She makes a mental note, repeating it a few times in her head. "If I ever need a place of refuge I will seek it out, thank you." A shake of her head is given as the prospect of attacking the other house members is made. It'd be foolish to attack a place with so many people who could fight back even if one of them somehow became a target, anyway.<br /> <br />"Ah, about that," she starts when her story is mentioned, "I would ask you keep the finer details to yourself if you mention me to others, though I won't hold you to it."<br /> <br />She doesn't say much about anime-- she doesn't even know what it is and doesn't feel like revealing her ignorance.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima nods. "It's terrible. Most of the.... well. 'Heroes'..." she winces when she says the word. "Understand my predicament now... that I need to drain people. Not because I want to but because I need to. And that I keep it to a reasonable amount. It stinks. I'm not sure they'll understand you as much. Given you're draining for someone else. For some purpose I do not know nor..."<br /><br />"Wish to know. Honestly. It's none of my business. Past that. Until it starts meddling in my affairs." she says. "And I think tonight proven we can be civil towards one another so I don't foresee that happening, really." she offers.<br /><br />"I promise I won't be too specific if I tell others about you. Just that a girl named Requiem might come by if she feels the need to, and not to bother her and make sure you're attend to in some manner--- If you're hurt or worse and to let me know if you need help. I can do my best. I make no promises. If they ask. I will tell them that your are in a hard predicament and may need help. Once again. No specifics."<br /><br />"I..." she says. "I need to go find a person to drain before it gets too late or tomorrow is gonna be rough..." she says. "Well. Later today. I dunno what time it even is." she giggles a little.<br /><br />"I'll go to another part of town so you can continue hunting without worrying about me being around." she nods. "Remember. End of Juuban Avenue. If you start at Seishou School... and walk all the way down the road you should come to the wooded area near Verone Academy soon enough." she says. "It's in that area." she says.<br /><br />She'll wait for any parting words and then bows. "Happy hunting, Requiem. I'm happy we met." she says. With that. She'll sort of vapor into black mist and completely disappear during what appears to be a stepping up into the air motion for a foot, gone. Dusk Stepping to the opposite side of the city.

:'''{{#var:245|Requiem| (245)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"It isn't," she agrees, "but nor is it mine to say." Requiem has no intentions to test the patience of the demon she serves. "As for these 'Heroes', I do expect resistance. I am glad to see I didn't find any with you, and hope our affairs stay separate." Civility is good in her mind, there's no reason to make this harder than it has to be for anyone.<br /> <br />"Thank you," she says, offering a small bow. "I appreciate that. I will... keep your manor in mind if I am in need." There's some slight resistance to the idea. Going somewhere you're unfamiliar with when you're already hurting requires a lot of trust. Or desperation; she doesn't want to ever be that desperate, but it's hard to discount the possibility.<br /> <br />"I see," Requiem curtsies again as Lacrima makes to excuse herself, "I am glad to have met you. Thank you again for your courtesy and condolences; I will not let them go unappreciated."<br /> <br />"And you," she replies to the comment of happy hunting, watching as the darkly elegant vampire disappears into mist. She glances once more to the sleeping worker she drained before walking towards and then through an exterior wall.<br /> <br />Lacrima is right, there's no need to stop hunting at one.
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