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#26
Old 04-15-2014, 05:32 AM

That thing was crazy. It kept changing shapes, transforming and shifting. Just a weapon, yeah right. It was a magical weapon. Dylan was more fascinated with that then the impending threat of capture. "Stop being so pissy about it. You're the one who let it get away." Dylan slipped a foot under his bag, and lifted it to his hand with one quick movement. He sidled away. Eyes always on the man with the chain and collar. "Sheesh you're a nutcase yourself, jumping right to enslavement. That ain't going to solve all your problems." If he could just get to the mouth of the alley... Then he could make a run for a cab and be out of there, away from the dead demon hunter.

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#27
Old 04-15-2014, 05:40 AM

Eddie let out a growl, which didn't seem human in itself. He stepped forward and slung the rope-like chain around the human's neck and pulled him in. The metal it was made of was unnatural and therefore very heavy. "I kinda grew up in a time where slavery was a thing." He muttered. "And damn it, it's your fault my mark got away. If you kept your damned big mouth shut and minded your own business it'd be dead in my hands now and you'd be doing whatever you do with that little camera of yours." He tightened the rope, not enough to hurt but enough to restrain. "And now you're gonna wander off before you even help me remedy what you screwed up? Besides, I happen to know some people nowadays like the enslavement route. Really if you just agree to help I won't have to lock you up so you don't run off. I haven't lost a mark in decades and I'll be damned if I do now because you came by to screech an alarm."

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#28
Old 04-15-2014, 05:49 AM

Dylan sneered. "You let yourself get distracted. it isn't my fault." The chain was cold, heavy, weighty beyond compare. He shivered and lifted his hands to pry it from around his neck. "Help you? You haven't asked. You're using brute force. " The man was infuriating. Everything Dylan said went straight from one ear and out the other. He was going to end up a prisoner, he was sure. No matter what he said or did. Well, at least it would be an experience to write about, once the whole ordeal was over and that one demon was killed.

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#29
Old 04-15-2014, 05:59 AM

Eddie puffed out a breath and ripped the chain away from the man. "Fine. I'll ask. Nicely. He leaned in, tilting his head. "Would you please, oh please, help me catch and kill the demon you so cruelly ripped from my greedy little demon hunting fingers? Oh think of the stories you'll write, fiction, nonfiction, whichever you choose to call it, it'll be so entertaining I'm sure. So what do you say, human, would you help the dead save the living, just once?" There was no way he could keep the teasing tone out of his voice, so Eddie rolled with it. He normally didn't stoop to such low tactics, but he was pissed off at this idiot human for scaring off his week-long prize. Not even a good prize, a parasite of a little demon that should have been easily caught. But the thing had good ears. Every attempt to get near it had ended in it hearing Eddie and bounding off. Now he just needed someone that wouldn't be overly suspected by the demon. Humans, after all, couldn't see demons.

Usually.

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#30
Old 04-15-2014, 06:09 AM

"I'll help if you stop threatening me, and if you take into consideration that I do have a job to do too." He leaned forward too, and poked the other man's chest hard. "Sure I'll help clean up the mess you made... And I'll write about it too, you crazy nutcase." Yeah, that would go over well. He'd have to start writing fiction to pull it all off. The switch was going to surprise everyone, heck ... A lot of them had wondered if he would ever write a book. Maybe he could try doing that. It wasn't like Dylan didn't have enough money put aside to survive for a while without work.

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#31
Old 04-15-2014, 06:20 AM

Eddie slung the rope over his neck, rubbing his chest, pained at the sharp stab that hit directly to his heart, and trapped the man between his hands and against the wall. "Well isn't that nice." He said quietly. "Finally gonna take responsibility for your actions and help handle your screwup." He backed away. "Come. I can still sense the demon and you're going to do a lot of work. We're going to transition the veil." He offered a hand. "You'll have to keep in contact while I help you over. It'll be the same, but you'll be in the spirit's realm of the world. Come on, don't question me right now, I'm in no mood to coddle." He wiggled his fingers expectantly.

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#32
Old 04-15-2014, 06:29 AM

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I still think it's your damn fault." The man was definitely a nutcase. What was this veil thing? It probably had something to do with that cold sensation. Still, Dylan didn't exactly trust the man. He didn't even know the stranger's name. Yet he was expected to follow orders like a soldier with his general. Reluctantly, he pressed his hand against the other man's. That was awkward. Really really odd.

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#33
Old 04-15-2014, 06:37 AM

Eddie gripped the man's hand a little too hard, and gave a satisfied grin when he felt the joints snap a little under his palm. At least one perk of being dead was overt strength. "Hold." he growled, and willed the transition again. The sun blotted out, the mist returned, and when he pulled the man out of the alley and into the public, no one even looked their way. "Well look there, seems it worked. Y'know the transition only works on humans that can see spirits and demons." He released the man's hand and stood aside. "Come on, then. Don't go brushing against anyone, you'll scare them. Now look for that damn demon while I stay back a bit." He took the rope from his neck and snapped it into form again---the links stiffened and smoothed and immediately into a staff-like form once more. "I'm finding that damn demon today, and you're helping. I've not lost a mark in fifty years, y'hear?" He narrowed his eyes at the man. It was most definitely his fault. If the nosy little human hadn't come yelling and screaming, he would have had that little parasite gutted and banished.

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#34
Old 04-15-2014, 07:01 AM

The young man winced. His fingers crushed together, and then cold wrapped all around him. There was mist. A fog obscuring things far away, but only misting things over nearby. It was a strange way to see the world. People were shadows of themselves. Less colorful, less vibrant, that was what everything was all of a sudden. It was wonderful, like nothing he'd ever seen before. And he had seen a lot. "Fine, fine, I'll look. But don't blame me if I can't find the thing." It wasn't like he actually knew how to track the things. All he could do was look, and that he did. He walked, avoided people and looked around at everything. Too bad he couldn't go up on the roof and look at everything from up there. It would make everything so much easier.

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#35
Old 04-15-2014, 08:47 PM

Eddie was manipulating the weapon again and only half heard the man's reply. He twisted the handle the opposite way he had earlier and a much larger, pike-ended series of blades emerged out of the top of the staff, twisted around like a corkscrew. "Oi, whatever your name is. Get up high. You'll see an ugly brown trail, that'd be the demon's trail. If you can see the demon you can see the trial. It won't be bothering lookin' for humans, it'll have its attention on me. It can't understand human language so tell me if you see it." He stepped forward, indicating the fire escape near the entrance to the alley across the street. "Get on up there! I assume you work for a livin', a l'il climb's gonna be a cakewalk for you." He made a 'shoo' motion to the man.

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#36
Old 04-15-2014, 09:58 PM

Dylan rolled his eyes. He hated being ordered around, but at least it was better then the alternative ... And the orders made sense. "I'm going already! Sheesh, you don't need to get so riled up about it." Mumbling under his breath, the journalist heaved himself up onto the metal ladder. He settled his feet firmly on the rungs and leaned back to test the shaky thing. The metal wobbled and quaked, but held out well nonetheless. Satisfied that he would be safe, the well muscled man scampered up the ladder like a born bilge rat. He'd had to climb more then his fair share of things when traveling, and a lot of them had been in worse shape then this.

Once he was up on the roof, he took a few moments to figure out the city's layout from up top. They were off to the side, not quite in the center of everything. This picturesque part of town had buildings built more for show then for height, which made spotting the brown trail the other man had spoken of an easy enough affair.
"It's headed to the south-west part of the city. It ducked between the bakery and the book store." People in the vicinity were looking a little ill, and confused about it all too.

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#37
Old 04-15-2014, 10:20 PM

The corner of Eddie's mouth quirked up a bit when the guy did as he was told. At least he wasn't fighting it, which probably would have happened a lot more with someone else. Maybe someone that didn't believe in the supernatural. Did this guy even believe? Or was he just going along with it? No one could deny the transition's feel, and the way the world simply lost color and life. He stepped up to where the man was and put a hand on his hip. "Good! It'll probably be giving off negative influence and making the nearby people feel ill at will. Get down here and get to it, but for the love of God don't give it any indication that you know it's there! Just keep an eye on it while I get there from an alternate route."

He grabbed onto the ladder, glad that buildings seemed to be entirely solid for him whenever he willed it, and leapt up easily to stand alongside the human. He crossed the roof, finding the edge and leaping onto the roof of the building beside where they were. This tilted up a bit higher, and from his position Eddie could see the trail again. The creature wouldn't be looking to the sky, so he would have an easier time approaching from above.

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#38
Old 04-16-2014, 01:01 AM

Dylan hunched down so he could look at the brunette below. "Again with the orders? Come on, man." It got annoying after a while. Grumbling under his breath, Dylan did what he was told nonetheless. There were other people involved in this mess now. They didn't deserve to be frightened because the two of them couldn't agree. The ladder shifted again under his weight. He jumped off, and landed solidly on the ground. It felt so much nicer to be on good olf dirt and pavement. At least here a fall wouldn't be quite so deadly, or harmful. The worse he could get now was a scraped knee, or a few bruises.

Shaking his head, Dylan picked his route carefully. There were traces of brown gunk here and there. They became more thick the closer he was to the creature. It was hiding out behind the bookstore, thankfully out of sight from anyone nearby. Though that didn't seem to matter at all. People never once turned to Dylan, nor did they ever say hello. He just ... wasn't there to them. Shivering, he tried very hard to push aside the odd feeling that gave him. It was like being a ghost.

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#39
Old 04-16-2014, 01:55 AM

Eddie was padding over the roofs as silently as he could. A few had metal linings and the noise he made wouldn't be heard by the living, but would certainly be picked up on by the demon and by the guy he was having help. What was his name anyway? Eddie couldn't keep calling him 'guy', could he? Well, why not? His thoughts demanded as he leapt onto a solid stone roof just nearby where the trail was. You're not gonna stick around him, are you? Eddie shook his head. No, of course not. The human had made him lose his target, and was now just a means to an end. He crept forward on the low roof, glancing down and finding the guy walking as if he were lost. Maybe it was the isolation that overcame the body when they were on the other side of the veil. They felt as if they were all alone in the world. A ghost.

He turned a bit and found the target. It was stalking toward where the guy was, but just around the corner. Its ears twitched, and it was low to the ground. That was a stalking position. It must be sensing the guy was nearby. Eddie got onto the retaining wall around the edge of the roof and positioned the weapon, and, despite the several floors of distance between himself and the ground, jumped.

He hit the creature square on the back and brought the point of the weapon through its neck as the guy turned the corner. Eddie was bucked away but his hand had wrapped around a long portion of the demon's scraggly fur, so he brought it with him and wrestled it onto the ground, shoving the weapon's corkscrew end into its wailing mouth and twisting it hard. It convulsed, then went still in Eddie's arm. Panting, he looked up to the guy and ripped the stinking insides out of the demon, and it began to curl in on itself like a dead spider. "There we go." He panted. "All done. It was gettin' ready to get you, pretty sure it'd 'ave cut you good. Don't want that, these things carry awful diseases that aren't for human bodies to deal with."

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#40
Old 04-16-2014, 02:14 AM

Dylan hadn't quite caught sight of the thing. Actually seeing it again would make everything all too real. Strange claws, exposed fangs, and that snarling sound it made, all of that added together to create a monstrosity. It was there suddenly, in sight and struggling. The oddest thing about the stranger attacking the demon was his suit. It made the green eyed stranger look like a businessman, or an office worker. Neither of those professions usually led to fighting demons, and wrangling them down to the ground. Acid blood splattered across the ground. Smoke rose up, and Dylan backed away at last. He hadn't been able to before.

"Why would it go after me? I thought you said they ignored humans." It was perplexing. Still, that puzzle wasn't enough to distract Dylan from the sight of the creature. Curled up as it was, it looked even worse. It dripped, it smoked, and all the worst of it was exposed.

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#41
Old 04-16-2014, 02:21 AM

Eddie shook the bladed weapon off and twisted it again, retracting the blade so it was once again more of a cane. "They normally don't." He said simply. "But it must've sensed you'd crossed the veil. With that scent on you it'd be magnified on this side so it probably had you in its nose since you got close enough. Don't worry, it's pretty much dead now. Or it was weak and needed a human, and there you were. Like I said, these kinds of demons are parasites and they'll attach to a human to influence it and feed off that energy and influence."

He brought out a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned the acidic blood from the weapon. The blood didn't eat through the cloth as it did, but Eddie discarded the cloth rather than replacing it. "Welp, that's all cleared up. Thanks. Now, let's get back, no one's watching." He glanced behind the guy and held out a hand.

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#42
Old 04-16-2014, 02:40 AM

The young man accepted the explanation with some ill ease. Was it only that? Or had there been some more pressing reason for the creature's need to hunt Dylan down? There was no way of figuring it out. "You're sure it this won't make me a target for those things? " It had really seemed like it would follow him wherever he went. It had looked at him eagerly, hungry eyes locked on him, even while the other man had been taking care of the creature.

With his hand he reached out. Wrapping it around the other man's felt entirely odd. Still, there was a warmth there that lay nowhere else in the shadowy side of the world where demons walked.

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#43
Old 04-16-2014, 02:58 AM

When the mist lifted and they were among humanity once more, able to be acknowledged and heard and seen, Eddie twisted the weapon and it shifted a little, becoming a cane. "Well, I'll hope not." He looked to where the demon had once lain. It wouldn't be able to be seen by anyone else, but himself and this man. He pulled the human along so they were walking away from anyone that could overhear. "Well, I'll be honest 'ere, I can't say. They'll probably know you can see them. Or other humans. Some demons love to feed off spirits, and if you can see me when I cross the veil you can definitely see other wayward spirits. They'll probably decide you're an asset and try to get you to point out other spirits to them. Or kill you because you can get rid of their food source, either way." Eddie shrugged, then looked down the man.

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#44
Old 04-18-2014, 11:46 PM

Dylan crossed his arms and shook his head. That sounded less then pleasant. "I can't have that happening, no way. I already have one job, and spirits and who knows what else chasing me is definitely not part of it." If anything interfered with his journalism gig, Dylan didn't know what he would do. "Can't you do anything to stop that from happening?" He could just see the headline now. Journalist Gone Mad. Yeah, that would look great on a resumé.

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#45
Old 04-18-2014, 11:55 PM

Eddie furrowed his brow. "Oh, I could do plenty to help." He said simply. "But they're all a temporary relief. I'm not omnipresent after all, I can't stop hoards of demonic creatures from infiltrating your home, your place of work, or even stalking you as you go about your day." Now that he had captured his target, his vocabulary had taken a calmer, more refined turn. "I'm not the only one of my kind, certainly not, and especially not in the city, but my good man, I can't help who doesn't want to be helped. Most of my kind wouldn't think twice about you, not seeing the big picture and all that, they wouldn't think you're much help to our job. But you have your life to live, short and unpredictable as it may be, and you certainly wouldn't want to be bogged down by my constant presence, I'm sure." He bowed lightly. "Now, whatever-your-name-is, I must be off. Demons to disembowel, newly dead to help cross over, banishing angry beings from the homes of unsuspecting humans and all that. Tata." He turned on his heel, using his weapon as a cane as he stepped lightly down the alley. At least he hadn't gotten the human's name. That would have complicated matters.

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#46
Old 04-19-2014, 12:07 AM

"Just wait one heck of a minute there, bud!" Dylan reached out and grabbed Eddie's arm in his hand. He held on tight, more out of fear then he wanted to admit. "Can't you at least give me a crash course in how to deal with these things? Sure I walked in right on your job and all, but that doesn't mean you should leave me hanging." Defenseless, or nearly so. That was how he would be if he was put up against demons and spirits. Without knowledge, there was no way to deal with them effectively. That would be crazy, and absurd!

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#47
Old 04-19-2014, 12:15 AM

Eddie turned and wrenched his arm out of the human's grasp. "Now, don't get snippy with me. Just because you couldn't contain your curiosity doesn't mean I should be taking the blame and the brunt of the responsibility." He stood straight. "Besides, there is only one weapon that can be effective against a demon. Only one that will permanently kill it and thus, send it to the Void. But this weapon is made of a metal that can only be found across the Veil, and because of its supernatural properties it's very heavy to humans. This is made of said metal." He presented the cane. "It can be manipulated into various forms, but only to an extent. Others can't be manipulated at all. However, it's nearly weightless to me, and my kind. To you it would be similar to holding a solid hunk of steel and expecting to swing it as effectively as a cricket bat."

He sighed. "There are very limited areas that you would be safe from demons that would want to hunt you for your power. But I doubt you would want to relocate, especially with no idea of where you may be going, what you may find. And I'll be honest, living amongst the dead, no matter how alive they may seem, can get as tiring as living in a congregation of jesters." He shook his head at the thought.

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#48
Old 04-19-2014, 12:25 AM

It was easy to come to attention. Eyes lowered to stare at the cane, and Dylan reached out to wrap a hand around the long piece of what seemed like wood. It wasn't at all. Smooth, hard, and unexpectedly heavy, there was no denying that it would be difficult to wield because of that. "I didn't ask you to. All I want to know is how I can save my skin from those things if I have to. Is that asking so bloody much? I don't think so." He couldn't help being abrasive. Dylan's voice was far from smooth. It was husky, and low, warm and kind of like whiskey. Still, he tried to disguise that. He hated sounding like a country hick.

"No way am I moving though. Not unless there's no other way I could live. "

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#49
Old 04-19-2014, 12:34 AM

Eddie snatched the cane back and grasped it under the curved end with one hand, slowly bringing his other up and down as if it were an absentminded maneuver. "Now, did you not just hear me? You can only save your skin by being able to handle one of these weapons, and that's very difficult to do, even for a Messenger---me, and what my kind are. We go through a very extensive training program to learn to wield these weapons, and a human cannot do it. Not easily. They can't learn in one day, or ever, perhaps. It's just too difficult. Now, as to your moving..."

He turned, leaning against the wall that had been at his side a moment ago. "I think you'll be safe for a couple days. Once the demons begin to understand your abilities, though, they'll start to hang about quite often. They'll want to get a bead on you. Eventually they'll attack and if none of my kind are around, they'll drag you to the other side of the Veil where no humans can see and rip you right up. And you'll be dead. Of course your soul will be trapped like so many others, but this means you'll be trapped forever, or dragged into the Void. And trust, that isn't where you want to be. Now, I can give you a little while to think about what you want to do but you have to make some kind of decision. I'm not stupid enough not to say you'll be safe with me and my kind, but that's up to you to decide." He crossed his arms and gave the man a hard look.

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#50
Old 04-19-2014, 12:47 AM

Every possibility seemed a bleak one. "There's no other way?" There were legends and myths out there galore. Surely in some of them there was a way to defend him. But no evidence proved that any of them worked. This Messenger, had proved himself to be able to take care of the demons. Now, that certainly gave the journalist an idea. His uncertain expression turned to a grin quick as that. "Well ... I'll act as bait, then. I mean, since those things are gonna be coming after me anyway, I could draw them out on purpose, and you could take them out. Seems like we make an alright team." He liked where he lived. It was a nice place, and his friends could come over any time.

It had taken Dylan years to find an apartment he loved. Giving it up was the furthest thing from his mind, in fact that was the very last thing he wanted to talk about. What he wanted was a way to save his skin.

 


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