This is a roleplay between Woofie and Mage, continued from here. Fair warning, you have to be eighteen or over to go to the other site. The roleplay from this point on will be clean and follow the Mene TOS.

Mage's main OC(s): Kali, Bahiti, Tamara

Woofie's main OC: Christine

Previously:

Originally Posted by Woofie267

"I see. I would like to meet them all sometime." And not just to be polite. Nik could certainly be that, but now his interests were more professional. "I don't suppose any of you know anything of this... disease that seems to be spreading."

Christine snarled quietly, her hands balling into fists. Oh she did not like him. Not one bit. So she shoved him back a foot or two.

Originally Posted by Mageling

"No, none of us have any idea what it is," she replied. "Most of my co-workers have come down with it... My sisters and I have been picking up some of the slack." She shuddered slightly. "But whatever it is, it's dark and unnatural and came out of nowhere."

Cal snorted and pulled his Glock.

"Don't even," he snapped. "I've put down things a whole lot bigger and badder than you, and I'd rather not waste the bullet."

"Oh? That is unusual." Niko knew it had set in too quickly to be normal, but this girl lived here, and she said it had come out of nowhere. Definitely not natural. Something had to had started it, he just wasn't sure what.

"Congratulations. Would you like an award?" When in doubt, fall back on snark and sarcasm. It was Christine's motto, and she held onto it dearly so she wouldn't be tempted to try to put his head in the ground.

"This whole thing is unusual," Kali corrected as she checked the time. Her shift had just started, and was nowhere near over yet. Still... She didn't want to be away from home, not now. This whole situation made her uneasy.

Cal just gave her a Look and worked very hard on trying to ignore her. He'd really hear it from Nik later if he shot one of the neighbors, no matter how irritating she was.

Niko noticed, because really, it was rather easy to tell, but he didn't comment. For the moment anyway.

"I'm surprised you and your friend haven't been effected yet," he said, watching her.

After a few moments Christine snorted. "Alright, you came, you threatened, I'm sufficiently not at all impressed, want to leave now before I get really pissed?"

"...Lucky, I guess," Kali replied carefully. Somehow, the guy suspected something, she knew that. She just wasn't sure what. So she would be careful.

Cal just gave her a flat look. However 'pissed' she could get, he'd seen worse. Nothing could top the Auphe.

"Hmm. Lucky indeed." Niko already knew she had to be a little more than human to not get hit with this virus, or whatever it was. But he was having problems figuring out what exactly she was.

Christine glowered at him briefly before moving away. It wasn't a sign of defeat or even concession; she just needed to cool off some.

Kali was jumpy enough that she flinched when the store phone rang. She picked it up with the usual 'thank-you-for-calling' spiel, but paused half-way through. One quick conversation later, she hung up.

"I guess that settles that, then," she said. She went to the register, and then glanced at Niko. "I'm closing up, there's no point in staying open right now."

"Not enough people?" Niko guessed, moving out of her way easily. Yeah, there was something very wrong here and it was just all sorts of wrong and he just had to figure it out. And then go kill the thing behind it.

"Pretty much," Kali agreed as she counted the drawer (as a formality; it wasn't like she'd made any sales) and closed the register. Hitting the lights and the security system, she walked Niko to the door and locked it up behind them. "So I should get back home. I'm sure Chris and my sisters won't relax until we're all indoors."

"Staying indoors would be a good idea for the moment," Nik agreed, glancing around. There weren't nearly as many people out and about as there should have been, and he wondered how many of them were sick and how many were just being smart and staying home.

Kali nodded and glanced around warily. Normally, she would let Bahiti take control to get them home, but that wasn't an option right now with Niko there. Unless she found a place to hide, she would have to make her way home by herself.

"I'll walk you back," Niko offered. "And pick up my brother along the way. He is doubtless sulking somewhere."

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Kali said quickly.

He's dangerous, Tamara commented.

I can't come into view, Bahiti pointed out. He could protect her.

What if he attacks her instead? Tamara demanded.

Then I'll come into view and take care of it, Bahiti reminded. For now, let him walk Kali home.

Hesitantly, Kali nodded, both to her sisters and Niko.

Niko nodded and walked with her, just keeping pace and letting her dictate the route. Because while he was about 80% sure he knew what was going on, with her at least, that last 20% still bugged him.

Kali took the most direct route home. She wanted to be home where she and her sisters could relax with a mug of Christine's fantastic cocoa and not have to leave the house again.

Niko paused when he heard something not quite human ahead.

"Kali," he said, holding out a hand to stop her. Some non human thing was moving towards them, and his eyes narrowed before he put one hand on the hilt of the knife tucked down against his thigh, the hilt just visible above his waistband.

Kali tensed and she felt Bahiti drift towards the surface.

"What is it?" Kali asked quietly.

Niko didn't reply, just watching as a person wandered out of an alleyway, clearly not quite aware or focused.

Except the person had honest-to-goodness fuzzy ears and paws that looked more at home on a black bear. Okay, this didn't fit with anything Nik knew, and that annoyed him.

Kali gasped slightly and took a step back. She'd never seen such a thing before, and it worried her. Bahiti surged under the surface, just waiting to take over to defend her sisters. The color of Kali's eyes flickered, and her skin took on a few darker blotches that faded in and out.

Niko didn't move, waiting to see what the thing would do. When it turned on them with a snarl worthy of a bear, he drew his knife.

"Stay there," he ordered Kali, moving forward a bit. It would be best not to give the thing a chance to attack her.

Kali hesitated, a faint vibrating in her throat as she simultaneously tried to agree while Bahiti tried to argue. She nodded, though, and stayed where she was.

It took Niko only seconds to dispatch the thing; it was more animal than person, at this point, with a shoddy set of instincts to boot. He cleaned his blade before he glanced back at Kali.

"Seen anything like this before?"

Kali shook her head, still fighting Bahiti for control of their vocal cords. Bahiti wanted desperately to surface and shelter Kali and get them home safely, but it still wasn't safe for them to change.

Niko nodded silently and waited for her. At this point, he was just waiting to see what she'd do, or if he'd be dealing with one of her sisters.

It took Kali a moment to wrangle full control of her shared body again, but she finally managed.

"We should hurry," she said, her voice just slightly huskier. Bahiti hadn't relented without a fight.