Thread: Strange Town, Strange Folks (Chichi Cheetah & Sheena-Tiger)

Kris settled down at his desk, looking at the skull he'd been working on and picking it up to examine the depth markers more closely. The main part of the skull was plastic, a 3-D replica of a skull whose pieces had been found in New York... probably a victim of the case he'd run away from, he thought with a sigh. The jaw was real, but thanks to the tea he was drinking, the soft voice of the departed soul was muted. Well, not entirely. He tensed up as he heard a whisper, You have to help! You can't just hide! That wasn't the Jane he was working on. He looked at the coolers on the other side of the room, at the cooler that contained poor Marceline - a most recent death, a combat specialist witch. Witches tended to be very, very loud after death. He tried to ignore her as he put the skull back on its stand to work on it more, but her voice persisted, Shes smart! She can solve this! She may not be like us but that doesnt mean she isnt in danger if she gets too close to- Shut up! he shouted, clamping his hands over his ears. Tears ran down his face as he tried to stay calm, shutting his eyes tightly and counting backward, and eventually her whispered shouting died down. The room fell silent and he stared at the skull, at the accidental marks his fingers had left, and sighed, picking it up to smooth the imperfections in the clay. Sorry, Jane. This isnt about you. He looked back at the coolers, at the numbers on them, and felt a heavy weight in his chest as he sighed once more, turning back to his work on the unidentified dead. ----- Emi smiled brightly at Emilia. Fine by me, Lia. Smash our names together if you need both of us at once, Ari, she called to her sister, who flapped a hand as she drank her tea in peace. Strongest coffee we have, on the house, since youre working. She did tilt her head though. Well, Im here every day. If your investigation leads you back here, Im more than happy to discuss what I know with you. Ari watched Emilia go over the dossier, hoping shed remember to cross out all the important parts... and cursing under her breath when she realized that shed missed the one damned part you really shouldnt let a human see! Oh. Aris eyebrows lifted in surprise at the first two notions - aliens werent really a concern, far as the vampire knew, though... even the nonhumans had some weird theories about extraterrestrials. Uh... She took another drink of her tea, seeming very interested in what Emilia was pointing out and discussing, though what really got her attention was the fact that Emilia sniffed the damn paper. Humans were always interesting. I... Ari finished her tea and set it down as Emi walked over with Emilias coffee, setting it down gently so as to not spill it. The vampire glanced at her sister, who had been listening in, and Emi crossed her arms. I mean... Some things are better off not being seen. The owner of the shop kept her gaze on the private detective from out of town. There are those who would rather this information not leave town. Emi, Ari hissed, I can handle this myself. Largely because she was tense as she spoke, she was gritting her teeth... and her canine teeth seemed a lot longer than the average humans. The younger woman sighed and nodded, returning to the counter. Ari took a deep breath, calming herself, and held her empty mug in both hands. Emi kept an eye on the two while tidying the counter and double-checking the kettles behind her. An average human wouldnt notice but the coffee mug was gently charmed to tip over when grabbed - it would cause an errant mess of the table and reports. As far as Ari and Emi knew, these were the only copies, and when the coffee spilled it would ruin the paper. Ari spoke after a few minutes, I keep these things marked out because we cant... let people see the truth of whats been happening here. There are so, so many things about these deaths we dont understand. She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes briefly, and opened them again - there was a vague silvery sheen to them, now. Ill take you back to your motel. You tell the widow whatever you have to tell her to get her out of our hair. And then you should leave. A softly hypnotic quality filled Aris voice - it did nothing to the witch behind the counter, as she wasnt the intended target for the charming. ----- Ty sat with Toni on the porch swing at the bouncers house, using his feet to swing it gently as he listened to his kid ramble. His kid - hell, Toni was at least half his own age and looked like they were in their twenties. ... and then I woke up and Nyx was gone and- Toni rubbed their eyes with the heels of their hands, gritting their teeth. It felt so fucking familiar but in a horrible, agonizing way and... Weve messed around before, I know that, and shes probably off at Emis safe house checking on Tom and Lina, Toni sighed, but this felt... bad. So, so bad. You said you had a nightmare. Ty lit a cigarette and held it in his teeth, not inhaling just yet. There was a blond woman with one eye. Ty went still in his seat, staring straight ahead. ... that was Selen, wasnt it? Toni asked in a small voice. The one that got us out of there? Were not talking about her. Ty stood up, taking a long drag on his cig with a dead stare into the forest ahead of him. He could see the neon sign of the Den in the distance, through the trees. Shes dead to us. No, she isnt, Toni insisted, Shes been here. I can feel it. You just- You dont want to talk about her! Or about Mother! Because Im trying to protect you, he snapped, snorting the smoke out of his nose and coughing a bit as he did. You heard what the witches said if you remember everything too fast, you could have a psychotic break! Toni grumbled but fell silent, crossing their arms and glaring at Ty. After a lengthy silence, Toni spoke again, annoyance all but dripping from their voice, So whos the PI that rolled into town with you? I can smell her on you. Emilia... something. Shes investigating that hunter we found dead. Something about his widow. Ty snubbed his cigarette out in the ash tray screwed into the rail and lit another one - one good thing about being nigh-immortal was the lack of cancer risk. Shes too fucking clever for her own good. Aris going to have a hell of a time distracting her. Great. Toni stole a cigarette out of Tys pocket, much to his annoyance, and lit it themself - though regretted it, gagging at the taste and flicking it into a puddle on the cobble sidewalk. Ill step in if I have to. You know people cant resist me. Toni stretched their arms over their head. After all, we can be whatever anyone wants us to be. Yeah, well, when youre my age, you stick to a shape for consistencys sake, Ty chuckled, leaning against the rail and watching a hummingbird flit back and forth in front of him. Go on, friend, I wont bug you at the feeder, he said to it. It came in close, making him cross his eyes, and then zapped itself away as a plume of the local birds took off in a wild, shrieking explosion of feathers. Toni shot to their feet, grabbing the rail as they stared at the undulation of birds as they fled. The fuck-? Its hunting again. Ty didnt move, just taking another drag on his cigarette and exhaling the smoke. It just killed Marcy, so I dont think its going to pounce yet.