One way vacation

"Alright so nothing special, though I am curious what these things would want here. Do they eat children or something? I once read a thing about these creatures called Hobbs that eat kids, Iunno where I read it but seemed creepy." as she rose up to mount the strange steed. "Oh uh nuts just means... Crazy." Her head tilting to look past Rai to Grimmorah's head. The explanation was satisfying enough to Aria, as long as this thing was under her control. She wondered if she'd be able to peer into the horses thoughts, though given the nature of the creature it might be best not to right now.

Aria was familiar with riding various creatures voluntarily or otherwise, she seemed to have a natural comfort being on horseback. She had taken notice of the odd strides the horse was taking and chalked it up to some kind of funky magic stuff. "I am curious as to why you've been doing your hunting when Cebra is absent?... Is it his whole 'MAgiC dOeSN't ExIsT!' crap?" She says using a cartoonish exaggerated voice to mock Cebra. "He's just stubborn, can't admit there's something out there like the arcane. I mean it's easy for me I've encountered monsters before and things."

Aria nods her head understanding the feelings of the locals, they saw a lot of strange things however. Much like Cebra's experience, magic was new to them. Aria manages to hop off taking Rai's hand, less out of need and more out of gratitude. There was kindness behind the rough exterior to an extent. "Have you considered painting him a nice brown colour and putting fake eyes in?" Aria chuckles a bit. "Alrighty so I'll follow your lead captain." As she gives a lackluster salute.

“Eh, they’re mostly scavengers. They’ll eat whatever trash people leave behind or catch whatever is easy.” Rai looks up to notice a woman pushing a stroller with a cooing toddler along a path. “Get enough of them together though, they have been known to drag away a child or young adult. This is just a really bad location to let them get entrenched in.” Rai could pick out at least 20 easy targets right off the bat from an off the leash dog, to a child that was a little too far away from a parent for her own liking.

“It is. That and from past experience, people would typically rather never know the demon existed in the first place than they would knowing one was waiting for them outside their front door that morning. I think the term is ‘ignorance is bliss.’” Dis residents were truly unaware of the sheer volume of demons Reavers killed in a day. They would only physically see one dispatched every so often, but really the numbers were in the double digits daily. “If he wants to think they’re some kind of ‘mutant’ that’s fine. As long as they die and it keeps the peace.”

As Aria’s feet hit the dirt Grimmorah begins to dissipate away in the same green shimmer that brought him to this reality, into a pile of smoke and ash. “Never thought of painting him. Will have to try that I-”

Rai is interrupted by a ear-splitting scream, a woman realizing her child was missing from the park and in a full panic. That sound was way too familiar to Rai and she knew all too well what it meant. Sucked for the kid, but it gave them a starting point and the added stress of a time constraint. Rai gave a light sniff of the air, realizing there was the tell-tale odor of pigs. “Of course. Just can’t stay ahead of them” She groans as she begins tracking backwards from the metal jungle gym, seeming to be ignoring the panicking crowd of parents each making sure their own child was safe and trying to account for the missing one. Rai determines the kid wasn’t taken from the actual park, but she did manage to find the indents of little shoes in the grass leading toward the creek that ran behind the park.

Sliding down the mud banks leads Rai to a tiny stream and a fresh scene of broken branches and a struggle. “The kid fell down the ravine.” She determines as she examines the foul smelling dirt, the stench of hogs getting much stronger. “Aria. You follow the creek and see if they dragged him further downstream, I’m going to sweep the area and see if they dragged him into the woods. They’re going to try to bring him back to the nest alive so we have to beat them to it.” The reaver hops up the other side of the trench, boots sinking down into the mud. “If you see a small cave, call for me, that’s probably it. They like mud banks or tree roots.”

And with that Rai lets her glass figurine slip again and her and Grimmorah are off on the hunt, searching for blood, demons or a child. So far, her sweep was rather uneventful, only old evidence of Dretch activity. She did find the remains of a goat that must have been snatched up, but by the look and smell, it was at least three days old. She began to realize the creek was probably the way to go. She could only hope Aria found more than she was finding.

While Aria didn't live in the community for various reasons she did have some strong ties here, more than just Cebra drove her to want to protect this place. If this was going to be a more regular occurrence. She considered moving closer to town and out of the city. "And this is how you live? A life of just fighting... Hmm." It was then the scream had happened. It didn't take more than a second or two to see what was going on, a missing child. The idea of a small child being torn apart by these pig men was enough to put fire in her. "I cant imagine how frightened a little brat must be, these things are usually just in nightmares." She notices how Rai seems unaffected, was it because she'd grown numb or was she really that much of a professional? It was better not to get into that right now though.

She trailed behind Rai to the river, Aria couldn't help but mask her face when the stench hit he. She was used to the smell of pig shit passing many farms along her way here and being in a few, this was a ghastly and putrid stench. "Ughwah! That's just vile."

Following Rai's instruction Aria trails down the stream as stealthily as she can. She does have military training being what she is and can quietly move about. Though this is far more Cebra's expertise as he was made for covert operations. A few minutes of searching and trailing the stream leads her to a ford where the water lies low enough for crossing by foot. Aria's nostrils burn with the scent of rotting swamp pork as she hears some grunts and snarls from around the bend past some rock formations. She cant hear any sound of crying children and grow worried about to rush in and try to handle things herself. Before she does she remembers an old friends words, words about starting a losing fight. To be as quiet as possible and try not to alert the creatures, Aria made a very peculiar bird noise. A bird that was never heard around these parts. She did it a few times hoping Rai would catch on. Though it seems like the creatures might find interest in the bird noises as they sound like they're getting closer to Aria. When she peeks through some stones she see's the unconscious child in one of their grips. "I guess it's go time." She mutters getting ready for a surprise attack.

Rai was having no real luck, trail ending in dead end after dead end. She couldn’t help but linger on Aria’s statement, this was in fact how she lived every day. Chasing demons day and night, following trails of corpses and screaming mothers. Ending one hunt and starting another immediately. The stench of pallid pig flesh grew stronger as she works her way back to the creek before perking up to a strange bird call.. one that she’d never heard and didn’t have the echo that a normal bird did. Then the god awful stench of Dretch hit her like a brick wall. That had to be Aria.

She kicks Grimmorah on, finding herself in a shallow part of the ditch, heading down the opposite end of the ravine from Aria at a full gallop, drawing her Estoc as she goes. One Dretch spots her as she rounds the corner, letting out a shrill screech before she leans over and slices it’s throat in two with one clean sweep. The Dretches seems to freeze in terror at the incoming horseman who was striking down the ones that tried to scatter up the steep creek walls but couldn’t make the climb.

The wise ones turn tail and run, abandoning the kid, only to meet face to face with Aria. They unleash an even worse smell as fear causes them to loose even more musk like a frightened skunk. They lower their tusked heads and charge, just looking to run through her and get out squealing. Meanwhile Grimmorah steps right over the unconscious kids, hooves missing him by a small margin and Rai splits the skull of the stupid pig who decided to try to stay behind to sneak a bite of the boy. She turns Grimmorah broadside as he prances, wanting nothing more than to run down the remaining half-dozen or so that we’re headed to Aria, but Rai was more concerned about ensuring their prey was alright. She hops down into the mud, pulling the boy face up. He was still alive by his fluttering soul, he was covered in silvery scratches and a rather large wound in his head that oosed blood.

Rai was not the first aide specialist in any capacity, all she knew about it was that blood needed to stay on the inside and that any kind of cracking or popping noises were bad.

“Aria?” She asks, not really sure if the kid was truely alright. She lifts the boy rather easily, but quickly moves to support his head as it sags back in a dead-weight fashion.
“He’s alive, but I don’t know how long he will be.” She offers her voice only shuttering with concern now that the demons were away from her line of sight. She could only hope Aria knew a bit more on how to handle a massive head wound.

Rai came streaking like a bat out of hell from around the bend looking like a modern day knight to Aria, she stopped for a moment to watch the galloping. It was impressive for Aria to observe as she'd not been too familiar with horseback combat naturally. It was a graceful and ancient thing to see for a woman so used to more modern forms of martial arts. She snapped back to her current situation as the pig bears barreled down on her with deadly intent. Aria gaged the size and musculature of these creatures as well as their thoughts, very simple minded creatures with simple attacks it seems. She struck her stance ready for the first beast as it closed in and the second. The first snapped at her with its jaw, but easily side stepped by Aria as she grabbed its arm. While the second tried to jump her she swung the first like a hammer and flattened the second one to the sound of crunching bones and sundering ground.  "HeeeAAAAAHH!" Aria had no qualms about being quite loud in combat, releasing that tension build up in every strike. A wide grin stretched across her face as she cracked her neck and she let loose; dodging, blocking, weaving in and out out the larger creatures to the point they struck each other. Her ability to evade predicated on her seeing into their minds.

Despite the fun work out this was no time for toying around with these things, that child looked in a grim state last time Aria looked. Her fist slammed into one of the creatures chest with a loud snap caving in its chest, then came the knee to the skull as she pulled its ears downwards. Blood spurts from its mouth as its bottom jaw is crushed to pieces, not done with the already dying creature she grabbed it by the arm. Her eyes constrict for a moment as an intense chill envelopes the beasts arm, so cold in fact that the entire arm freezes solid in mere moments. With a great heave and a loud "AAAAHHHH!" she rips its arm off as fleshy ice shards fly off. She uses that arm like a club and beats the final beast standing against her to a messy pulp. She tosses the arm away satisfied with the job she'd done and checking to make sure no stragglers got away. When that was said and done she immediately ran up to Rai and the small child fading away by the second. Aria wasn't much of a medic at all but had some first aid training, good enough to patch a soldier up in the battlefield until they could be taken away.

"I... I dont think we're supposed to move him, we need to um." Her eyes darted back and forth remembering her training. "Put some pressure on the wound so it doesn't bleed out, we need to call the hospital to come transport him safely." Aria knew the injury could be far worse than it looks "Just let his head rest there gently... I dont know if there's more we can do right now." Aria's emotions were as plain as day whether on her face or coming from her tone, the worry clung to every word she spoke.

The smell of blood began to make Rai grow sick, she sets him back down as gently as she can after Aria states moving a head wound victim was not the right plan. She did not know what this ‘hospital’ was, but she was well aware neither of them was going to be of much help to the boy. She gives his hand a gentle squeeze, and lets out a held breath. “I’m going to go find someone who can help him.”

She stands, moving to Grimmorah’s saddle bags and searching around in her things for a moment before finding an extra scrap of cloth from an old armor set. They were useful to keep around, especially in moments like these. She hands it to Aria to help her with applying pressure. Rai could see blood, but she couldn’t see specifics on the boy’s head, she knew if she tried, she’d likely place the cloth on wrong. Handing the cloth to Aria, she then swings herself over her saddle and heads back up the creek as fast as she could in an explosion of hooves and sulfur.

Turning harshly up the bank she finds herself back at the park, met by swarms of police and search dogs. They startle, guns drawn and on her in an instant. Rai herself startles a bit as she hauls her horse into a quick stop. She was fully expecting to have to travel all the way to the nearest church to find a practitioner or perhaps an apothecary? In Dis, nobody looked for missing children, they only collected corpses in the aftermath, it was a shock to see so many adults here so fast to search for one missing boy, but for that she was grateful.

“We found him, He needs help.” She huffs, Grimmorah prancing with anticipation to continue running. The cops look to each other, untrusting of the devil woman whose hands were stained in blood. “Follow.” She beckons, whipping Grimmorah around back through the forest with a few police deciding to pursue. They stumble down into the creek behind her as she slows her pace to accommodate for human immobility. Rai makes her way down the creek at a brisk trot. Eventually she leads them down the creek enough to get a visual on the kid and the accompanying paramedics get to work assessing the boy.

Rai shakes her head and dispels Grimmorah with a wave of her hand, boots splashing into the water. “Your world has people readily available. It is… Useful.” Rai had to search for that last word as she sits on a nearby stump as the police began to call EMTs.

Aria nodded and quickly mentioned "There might be some people looking for the boy near by, can't be sure." Aria removes her filth ridden gloves before handling the boy, the stench hung heavily in the air. She peers into his thoughts to see his condition, but they were fleeting with long gaps of just blackness, a bad sign. It was fortunate that Rai was so swift in an emergency having no idea exactly where to look. She waved over Rai and the entire sheriffs office it seemed like, an army of dogs and men came over hesitating for a moment when seeing Aria. She slid out of the way and let one of the officers handle the boy and administer first aid. "Hm? Yes. Essential services er something like that. People for law enforcement and medical services, just part of life here." Aria picks up her gloves and looks around and the massacre. "Oof we really made a mess of things here, Sheriff gon be pissed." As her eyes narrow on a forty-ish woman with frizzy red hair tied back in a ponytail under a sheriffs hat, a pair of black shades and pale skin that reddened considerably in the sun.

"Elma how goes it?" Aria says with some cocky smirk knowing what's coming. "Aria, pretty good. You?" The womans tone was clearly frustrated despite the kind greeting. "Can't complain Sheriff." Elma took her hat off and swiped sweat away from her head, she was reasonably fit for her job role but the sun was coming out harsh, it was getting a bit muggy in-between wind gusts. "Aria what the fuck is all this? It smells like ass around here. You and your... Demon friend responsible for this?" Aria rolls her eyes and puts a hand on her hip "Listen ease up on her yeah? Thanks to this woman that boy is still in one piece and these things aren't roving the hillside. So you have to clean up some gross shit, would you prefer to do the fighting sweet heart?" Aria taking no shit lays it out plainly to the Sheriff. "Listen I don't mean nothing by it, there's just been a lot of shit happening lately. You know. But yeah you young lady" Trying not to look at her tail "You're Cebra's new... Friend?" Not knowing exactly what relationship she was to him.

Rai watches as the paramedics tend to the kid, she wished she could see some progress but all she could see with the silver glittering of life seeping out into the shallow water of the muddy creek. At least she was used to demon stench enough where the aftermath of the slaughter didn’t bother her all that much. She lets out a shallow breath she’d been holding as Aria explained the wonderful services people had here. These men reminded her of the men who breached the building in that strange town by the lake. Every city apparently had them. “No wonder people don’t die here as often. In Dis no one would have even looked for him. I would have had to take him to a church and just hope the nuns could have fixed him.” Nuns were much more hands on in Dis than in this world, they were the closest thing Dis had to doctors and midwives.

Dis was truly an awful place that seemed so distant at times, as if it was no longer home. Ears perk up at the sound of an authoritative voice, sending a chill through Rai’s throat. The brief thought of the pyre that might await her if she’d done something unacceptable. She stands, spine going rigid and tail going limp behind her. “I’m S-” Rai didn’t even get the time to apologize for the absolute mess they’d left before Aria ripped into the sheriff. Rai didn’t really even know what to say or do, she’d never seen anyone do anything like this before. Did she have a death wish or something?

She sits stunned for a second, tail swishing in interest before realizing that she was being questioned. “I’m Rai. I’ve been with Cebra.” She answers, not really knowing what Elma was asking about. “I’m sorry, I probably should have killed the demons here sooner, if I had known how large their numbers had grown I’d have dealt with the dretch nest over the Vrocks I killed last night.” Rai’s accent began to grow heavy as she felt the need to explain herself.

Elma raises her eyebrows and glances at Aria, who in return nods when Rai brings up demons. "So you're telling me actual demons are real and running around, that'll be great for the Christian folks round here." Clear sarcasm in her delivery as she fans herself with her hat. "Listen miss Rai, thanks for helping out this small town, honestly. Just uh... Come to the Sheriffs office when you get a little free time yeah? I'd like to talk to you about a few things." Elma was off after their little chat to organize another clean up effort, likely to involve a lot of lumber and some gasoline. Aria patted Rai on the back and gave her a nice wide grin. "I think she likes you."

In another part of town Cebra entered a junk yard making sure to leave his well maintained truck outside the gates. He stood next to a black gentleman in his mid fifties. Salt and pepper short hair, overalls and a considerably clean and nice shirt on him. The man slapped Cebra on the back before leaving him to his devices, Cebra looked through all kinds of scrap searching for just the right kinds of materials. He had a project in mind and an unbreaking focus like the machine he was. He grabs a destroyed car bumper and begins using his abilities to mold and shape it. Behind those piercing eyes him mind worked through countless millions of calculations. "... Gonna need sand as well, her armor is gonna be interesting."

The next day after relaxing and spending the night together having fun, Aria and Rai are already at the pier where the cruise ship is docked. A considerably low amount of fan fare for a cruise ship departing, as well as very little staff in sight. Aria came knowing there was trouble yet still dressed for fun in the sun. A very colourful tube top and short shorts that showed off her toned round ass, circular black shades and some new shoes. Her bags and Rai's were already being hauled to their room when Aria turned to Rai "Ok soooo, after we get on board don't go all 'BLAH I'm a demon hunter and you're all in danger' yeah? Last thing we need is a bunch of normies panicking and causing chaos. Other than that I guess you're in charge again."

Rai looked incredibly different now that Aria had gotten a hold of her wardrobe situation. No more was the gothic leather armor, but rather a black sundress that extended to just above her knees. The bottom wasn’t much to be noticed but the bodice was a plunging neckline with delicate straps across her shoulders that crossed in the back. It hugged her figure around her waist but had enough flare to it to not make her feel entirely exposed. However, the evidence of her armor was still not faded, across her chest and over her left shoulder and in a few lines down what was visible of her back still showed dark marks where the straps and boning of her armor dug into her skin every day for at least twenty five years.

She gave a light stumble as she works her way up the ramp, the slight heel to the strappy sandals she’d been provided throwing her usual perfect coordination for a loop as she struggled to adjust. The sunlight only seemed to further wash the color from her white skin, making her appear more like a painted porcelain doll than a living person. She would occasionally tug the hem of the dress down to cover more of her legs, or pull up the straps to cover more of her upper body. But that wasn’t what was really making her feel naked. She was unarmed.

Her scythes were stowed away in her bags that were being hauled to her room and any of Rai’s other weapons were on Grimmorah’s saddle… for which the figurine was also in her bag. “I still don’t think the sheriff likes me all that much.” She mutters, arms crossed as to hide the only slight exposure to her bosoms. She could only be glad she couldn’t tell if everyone was looking at her… hopefully Aria was dressed even more provocatively by comparison.

“Understood.” She nods, noting the ludicrous amount of people. Last thing she needed was a panic on board when they were packed onto a floating death trap. She had no idea what was wrong with this ship. Or why she could very clearly see the ship as it seemed the other people do, but even getting near the vessel had her senses perked. Rai could just feel the awful energy coming off this thing, and it seemed everyone else was none the wiser. “Are we allowed onto all of the ship? Even the parts that aren’t necessarily for people to be in?” She asks, wondering just how much investigating she could acceptably do.

Aria had a look about her face as she examined the crew and people boarding the ship. Everything seemed quite normal, maybe it was just knowing that something is wrong that had her wary of people. Her focus was drawn away by Rai's statement, Aria was as oppose to Cebra a lot more openly comforting. "You don't have to worry about Elma, she's just overworked and cranky. She's got a lot of work cleaning up after Cebra and sometimes myself, also a single mother with two kids." Aria hadn't gotten into her swim wear yet and was waiting to check out their room, the tickets indicated that their rooms would be located on the port side with a nice window view. She looked at the crowd below that had gathered to see everyone off, they waved, cheered and said their good bye's. There were a number of other low tier heroes on board that Aria would probably try and avoid if she could.

"Well no we can't just go anywhere we want, there are areas for the crew and for the passengers. If we're caught somewhere we're not supposed to be we'll get in trouble... Or worse. But seeing as this is some kind of spook ship we can safely assume we're in danger regardless of where we can or cant be. I guess we have to sneak around or something?" The ship had all the crew and passengers onboard now and was moments from departing. People on deck waved to the people below and vice versa. Aria leaned back against the railing not so incidentally showing off her backside to the crowd, she waited a few seconds really arching her back into it... Odd, she would have at least gotten one whistle or perverted shout. The ship had set sail with a loud horn and thrust of the engines, the crowd below was slowly leaving the sight of people on board. The fleeting glimpse of the crowd on shore was simply waving... Everyone in unison just waving and staring.

On deck the crew got the passengers orientated with the various facilities on the ship: dining room, health spa, theater, gym, casino, pool area, medical treatment center and many small shops. Eventually coming to where the guests cabins were, Aria and Rai arrived at their room behind an ornate nautically inspired door. The room featured some nice carpeting, furniture made of comfy materials, a separate bathroom adorned in seashells. There was only one large bed in the room however which was an odd thing for two guests. What Aria had yet to reveal to Rai is the fact this was technically a couples room, also that this would need to be a cover they kept up.

“Next time I’ll clean up the demon's remains myself if it’ll make her less upset.” Rai gives a soft laugh, understanding why Elma might be a bit of a grouch. If she were honest, Elma was not nearly as gloomy as most authority figures in Dis.

She couldn’t help the odd sensation in the back of her mind. She felt like she was in a constant state of cringing at an unpleasant sound. “Spook ship is right. This place has had some kind of evil soaking into it for a while.” Staring into the railing as if she was looking at the most disgusting thing in the world. “Whatever is making this place rotten won’t be just out in the open. We may have to be a bit sneaky.” Rai offers, feeling herself cringe at the idea of breaking rules. Then again, she really wasn’t breaking any traditional laws she was used to. Private property laws didn’t apply to reavers and they could go wherever their hunts took them, so long as it wasn’t on church property, and even then not many of the clergy would dare interrupt a reaver hot on the tail of a demon.
Rai’s tail starts swishing under her like a wet cat as a sudden wave of awful feelings hits her. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but all the souls of the people around her all seemed off. They seemed muted and yet interconnected. She was about to say something before Rai suddenly felt her stomach pull a complete flip and sending her gripping the railing. She was apparently not immune to sea sickness.

Luckily Rai did recover well enough to make her way with Aria to their room. She was rather shocked at how fancy the place was, stunned enough to shy away at the door for a few seconds. It didn’t feel like a place she should be welcome in, but alas she did eventually remember where she was. She however, didn’t think twice about the room having only one bed, she had no need for a bed as she didn’t sleep. “It’s weird being able to see the ship. Is this how humans see things?” She was distracted with the curtains she could actually see. She’d never seen carpet before, or all these colors. She holds up the curtain for a second. “What is this color called?”

Aria sat down on the bed and went through their luggage, she rummages through and finds a bottle of sun tan lotion. "Yeah. Colours? I mean not every human sees colour, some people are colour blind. So you dont know the names of the colours either eh? I suppose not much purpose in you knowing that... It's called err teal I think." Aria opens the cap and squirts some on her thigh as she lifts her knee to her chest and starts rubbing it into her skin. "By the way I've been meaning to ask since we left Cebra's place. Can you swim? That might become a REALLY big issue later on if this goes tits up." Aria was a pretty adept swimmer, her training featured a number of survival skills hardwired into her brain like breathing.

Ascending to the deck and pool area Aria walks out in a considerably less than modest purple thong bikini and black top, all her tattoos visible now. She was nowhere near as ornate as Rai with her full body but some fascinating art none the less. The ship cruised out to open waters cutting through the waves with ease, the bright sunshine provided the people on deck with their tanning needs. The pool area was already filling up with plenty of guests making it a pain to find an open spot for the two girls. There was one set of chairs left and Aria pounced on them with her unnatural agility just beating out some blond bimbo and her boyfriend, the two left with a scowl as Aria grinned and waved over Rai. Chirping seagulls added to the picturesque setting as Aria relaxed into her chair, stricken with a sudden wave of comfort.

The reaver thinks for a moment trying to figure out what exact color teal would be. Was that green? Or blue? “I know the names of most colors. I just don’t know what they look like. Except teal now.” She laughs. Even if it didn’t look quite the way Aria was able to see it, to Rai the colors on the desecrated ship were murky and faded in her eyes.

Rai kept looking around, comparing other colors in the room to this ‘teal’. She saw no reason in changing clothes though, she barely noticed Aria’s change in attire. “I can swim. Not for very long, but I think the better way of saying it is I can not drown.” She gives a light shrug as they ascend the stairs. Luckily lack of oxygen being not a problem meant drowning was not something a Reaver was afraid of. However, she was not keen on the idea of her lungs burning as they filled with water.

Just as she looked up Aria had bolted elsewhere, and much to her lack of social awareness, hadn’t even noticed why Aria had all but ran to the set of chairs. She didn’t even notice the upset couple she’d beaten out. Rai sits back in the lounge chair, crossing her legs as she watches people go by.

In an instant she was sitting back up, a wave of rage and fury radiating through her.
“Something isn’t right here.” Honey smooth voice never varied as her eyes locked back onto another set of people who seemed every bit as content as they should be on a cruise. “Humans are flighty creatures. Usually deep down they’re still fretting about something. No one should be this calm.”

Aria hadn't mentioned anything as she wasn't sure exactly what the implications were, but she was having difficulty using her telepathy on these people. It wasn't that she was completely shut down but it was getting to the point of TV static. It wasn't uncommon to run into other beings that could resist her or even devices used to dampen telepathic powers. She waves over one of the service staff there and mutters that she'd like one of those fruity drinks with the umbrella as she listened to Rai's worries. "Well, I might as well tell you something is affecting my abilities. Weird but I'm having a hard time reading these people... Also their thoughts are kinda boring. Not one weirdo in the crowd so far.

"You seem tense, relax Rai. You might attract suspicion from whatever entity is here if you're too uptight. Well, not that I'd really know. So how long have you been doing this? You dont look a day over twenty five." On the far horizon were storm clouds undoubtedly moving towards the cruise ship, it's size made it unavoidable given the course of the ship. The ship had sailed out quite far heading south, it must have been quite a distance since they could see islets and atolls along the seaway like tourists attractions. Despite the aura of unease the cruise itself was quite comfortable and passed some interesting sights. A pod of humpback whales breached the surface off the portside , some of the people went to watch. Interestingly enough the pod of whales slowed down as though to get a good look at the cruise ship, shortly before hurrying away and changing direction directly opposite the ship.

Rai’s elven ears twitch as she visibly tries to relax. Ever realize TRYING to relax is an oxymoron? She slowly takes in a deep breath before laying back in the beach chair. “Is it normal for there to be ‘weirdos’?” She asks, trying to burying the demon-killing itch.

The topic of her age struck her as strange, she realized to humans age meant a bit more than to her. For reavers there were only two mile stones that mattered, 25 and 100. None really kept track of their own age until one day you’d be called to Cappella Sistina and be given a black cloak and then a while later you’d be called again for your white cloak. “I’ve been killing demons since I was spawned but I don’t really know how long ago that was exactly. Reavers consider age differently than humans do.” Rai crosses her arms, drumming her fingertips along the wooden armrests. “Our lifespan tends to be rather short, most of us die within two or three years. However that black cloak I wear, that means I’ve been in service for at least twenty five years. If you ever get the chance to see one of us with a white cloak, they’re at least a hundred”

Rai perks at the slow, lumbering souls in the water, perking as if she’d seen some strange alien creature… too bad she didn’t get to examine it closer as the whales immediately turned tail and fled. “I am considered very old for a reaver. Only about a fourth make it to twenty five and one of about a hundred make it to one hundred. I don’t have as much…” Rai has to think on a word for a moment but the word never comes to her. “Humans do not like me as much as they like a white cloak, however if there were a siege I would likely be put at the head of a unit of fresh reavers as a commander.” Rai tries to convey what she means, not really knowing how to describe that she had almost zero social respect but a fair amount of responsibility.

Rai begins trying to put the pieces of the place together. Animals flee, the people are no alright and the place reeks of demonic energy. “I think we’re on a giant demon nest. Like a moving lair, except instead of dragging people in, whatever is here is just enticing them in. Like fishermen use bait to lure fish into their nets.” Rai sits up, narrowing her eyes as a particularly dazed man stumbles by.

“We won’t find what we want by enjoying the bait. Can you help me sneak down to the lower levels of the place later?” Her voice dips into a whisper, trying to dodge prying ears.