Biting Bullets

Drake looked at the Cage with an extremely confused expression, biting...bullets? Why would humans even...whatever, who was he to judge what people did? He reached inside the bag and took one out, it was about the size of a baby dragon's tooth, and it reminded him of hatch-lings back in his realm, and his eyes softened, almost tearing up a bit. He shook off the feeling and put the bullet between his teeth, then bit down, cracking the bullet in half. It surprised him, and he quickly spit the pieces out.

"ACK! Are these made of styrofoam?! Huh, at least my tooth didn't get fractured."

He almost choked in surprise as Cage handed him a small electronic device with a list on it, rather forcefully. "Have you been to track lately? Horses have been dropping like flies; the news station believes that it may be an illness contracted out on the field. Except for the fact that when veterinarians examined the bodies, several bones were broken. I think it's sabotage so only one of them can have an 'easy win', you know? To the point though; I called you because you're one of the best vet's out there. Maybe you can help figure out what's going on?" He tilted his head in obvious confusion, then looked at the list, trying to figure out how it worked. After a couple of seconds he tried touching the screen, and it scrolled slightly, 'Oh, well damn, she could've told me!' He pushed aside that thought as he read through the list

It looked like a list of names and dates of various people, who were they? What was this talk about horses? When he couldn't scroll any longer he noticed a message at the bottom, 'In other words, people have been dropping like flies and I'm cold when it comes to leads. I don't like it. I can't risk anyone who's human; too many variables. Plus, you're strong and probably the only person I've talked to that I haven't murdered. Police reports say that the bodies found human, drained of all blood. I can't do this alone..' Well damn, he felt like an idiot, now. He nervously handed the phone back to Cage. So...all those names he had read, and it had been a large number, were humans. Most of them probably innocent, too. He felt his tail twitch with rage, almost hitting the waitress as she came back with their drinks, "Wha...that tail just moved!"

"Uh..forget about it. I'm an uh...extreme cosplayer? It's supposed to be like that."

She reluctantly accepted the excuse, and set down the drinks, "Well then...enjoy." She ended that with a slip of paper placed in Drake's hand. A note with her name and phone number, that said "Call me! <3" Drake held his head and sighed, why did human females find him attractive? He thought the tail would have scared them off anyways.

EDIT: ((OOC: I was totally confused too until I read the last part, like "Did I miss something?" x3))

The Black Angels time as an elite Triad Jade, as well as her time spent as a mercenary, operating with many former special forces operators allowed her to quite literally disappear whenever she chose. She could disappear in dense jungle brush, thick grasslands, a wintry tundra, or some place like this.... Urban sprawl... She'd traveled down to where a good percentage of the local bars and clubs were in Portland. It seemed as good a place as any to restart her investigation, seeing as the killing of Fasano seemed to be a bust, not having the intended effect on crime she and O.C.E.A.N had hoped for. It was to crowded for the Black Angel to go down to street level and see everything that was going on, so she used a fire escape, climbing to the top of one of the bars, and disappearing into the shadows of the fire escape. From there she watched, listened, and waited.... Eventually "Baddies" would start to appear, and when they did.... She'd find out who they worked for, one way or another, the only question was how much pain would be needed to extract the precious information.

The Black Angel figured she'd be on lookout from a high vantage point, so she brought a set of NVG7 night vision Goggles. Down below, the green world seemed to bustle with activity, some of it legal, some of it not. The Black Angel could care less about petty drug dealers, pick pockets, and those sorts of criminals.... She was after the bigger fish All the same it was amusing watching so many suckers fall pray to a group of children pick pockets. Watching the group of children made the Black Angel think about her days on the streets of Hong Kong after her mother died. They prepared her for her experience at the state run orphanage she spent time at before she was selected into Program Jade.

Scanning the street, as well as several beyond with heroptical sight, she said "All quite on the Western Front....". She then went back to looking at her O.C.E.A.N comm link, which kept her updated with the happenings within the organization. Now that she was officially a leader, the Black Angel needed to remain in contact with Sailayra, as well as do organizational work required of her. It was difficult to do when in the field, as the Black Angel wasn't interested in paper pushing. Nevertheless it killed time in situations like this, when one simply was waiting for something to happen.

About an hour later

The Black Angel had finished all her paperwork on her comm link and there was nothing left to do. It was only about 12:30 thirty at night, which certainly seemed like the Black Angel was in for a boring night. Their was lots of activity down below however, as it seemed from the large amount of Trailblazer jerseys being worn, that the Portland Trailblazers just finished a home game. With so many people down below, people who were very likely carrying money, the Black Angel hoped beyond hope she'd get some action soon. She needed a break on this case, something that led her down the rabbit hole. A peaceable city doesn't just descend into this kind of chaos randomly,there had to be something more to it.... And the Black Angel didn't like any of the answers she thought of....

Perhaps strangest.... She could have sworn she'd seen the meta and... Cell? She believed her name was. The two meta's from the pit. They were together which was strange, as their didn't seem to be any love lost between the two when they were fighting the other day. "Unless they already knew each other and threw the fight?" the Black Angel supposed. In any event, it was certainly strange the two were here together. Not only was it strange, but it certainly lent credence to the Black Angel's theory that these two were some how involved in the violence. She felt deep within herself that there chance meeting the other night wouldn't be the last time she met these two.... No.... She knew with almost all certainty it would not be the last time.

A strong gust of cold wind blew across the harbor, causing the Black Angel to huddle up in her windswept vantage point. It was moments and times like these that she hated being alone. Ya.... She's had her moments of not being alone. Mostly physical, with all of them ending for one reason or another, usually the Black Angels fault. The Black Angel always said "You don't mind dying once you've peeked over to the other side." and in many ways she already felt like she was dead. The ability to have romantic attachments being one of them. "Fuck it.... Is what it is..." the Black Angel thought to herself, as she placed an ear bud in her left ear, hitting play.

Celtic face palmed, deciding it was unwise to go off and continuously slam his head into the table. No. It wasn't the time to start bitching and causing senseless violence that only made sense to her. Nonetheless, the chaotic avenger patiently waited until Drake looked down at the phone. It didn't belong to her; proof of this was the fact that a speck of blood dried on the cover and had not been cleaned. Fraiser lost the rights to his phone after what he had done. Or rather, what he didn't do.

Not like mattered, though. The boy could keep it if he wanted; she'd already extracted the data she previously was seeking. When handed to her, the Kaia-Mai silently took the phone, returning it to her pouch for later destruction. The chance had arisen to speak, maybe to squeeze a question or two out of him-

"Wha.. That tail just moved!!" Blondie again. Was it illegal to kill with one's bare hands? Who was she kidding, she knew the conduct by heart. Entertained with that thought, Cell inwardly snickered at the thought that she related to Dexter- her favorite character. Pale grey irises as Drake quickly defused the situation, how the way his eyes widened ever so slightly caused the waitress to blush. The blonde nodded in some sort of daze-like trance but not before sliding a napkin to him with the golden digits. With the waitress gone, it left just the two of them. His reaction- the manner in which he deflated -unnerved her. Maybe she didn't care for appearances (it was one's morals that attracted Celtic), but if she did, she probably would've been swooning right along with Ditzy Daisy.

Confidence. Kaia refused to accept this boy if he could not utilize all of his assets. Best to correct this now. Pulling off the hood to reveal the fox mask, deft fingers traveled to the tie on the back of her head. Celtic didn't attend school anymore; nor did she walk around in the daylight often. Her sleeping schedule made her nocturnal by definition. Point was, he wouldn't be able to spot her unless she was out at night. The teen was in no general danger- she handled herself well. Delicately, the mask made of fine china left her face and settled onto the table with a softening thud.

Deep sienna skin. Black rimmed grey irises with a minute ebony pupil. Hair the color of shadows pulled into a loose tail. A marred pair of lips; a claw mark that traveled downwards, barely touching the tip of her chin. Thin eyebrows furrowed. It felt odd without using the mask as some sort of filter.

The Kaia-Mai tilted her head in the direction the waitress had gone. "That right there? Ridiculous. You do understand the definition of attraction, yes? Utilize that next time, you could have gotten me a free bottle." The marred corner of her mouth upturned into a mischievous smirk. "Good looks can be a gift and a curse." Cell eyed her drink for a moment, then brought it to her lips to take a slow sip. Her jaw twinged at the sour sting and sunk deeper into the booth to fully appreciate the feeling. "Use it or lose it." Quite literally in fact. The teen came across a case once where the faces of attractive people were peeled off. Pretty gruesome. The killer's face, at the end of the day, had endure something much more sinister from her.

She snapped out of these thoughts with a brief shake of the head. Another sip. "So. Whatcha' think of this horse case?"
((OOC: I was confused writing it xD The fact that you made sense of it makes you some sort of wizard))

"That right there? Ridiculous. You do understand the definition of attraction, yes? Utilize that next time, you could have gotten me a free bottle."

Drake moved himself into a more comfortable position, his tail now resting on his lap, and he crossed his arms behind his head. Looking up to the ceiling to hide his blushing face, it wasn't that he didn't like the way he looked, he'd just never thought of using it to his advantage before. He never knew that looking appealing to women could be used as an asset to the few traits that he had. He wasn't really the tricky kind of person, he was pretty straightforward, actually. He'd never known about anything like this when he first came to this realm.

When he turned back to her, his eyes widened in surprise, she had taken her mask off. Under it was dark cocoa skin, with a claw-like scar that seemed to add to her beauty, in his eyes, anyways. With her midnight black hair framing her face, and her strange...almost alien eyes looking into him, he felt...different. His face becoming hot, and his palms sweating, 'What? What's this? It's not hot in here...does she have some sort of heat vision?'

"Good looks can be a gift and a curse. Use it or lose it." Drake nodded, then smiled in that sly and playful way he did, "Oh, you'd know about that, wouldn't you?" He laughed to himself, picking up the bottle of liquor and placing it to his lips. He took a long swig, not knowing what he was doing at all. He'd never drank liquor before in his life. Drake almost dropped the bottle from the sudden flavor and sourness of the drink, and he put the bottle down, coughing loudly. "What the he- what even IS this?!"

His face turned serious once again as she asked him, "So. Whatcha' think of this horse case?" Drake mulled it over a bit, they had no leads...it's not like they could go out and kick the heads in of everyone they found guilty, although the thought amused him. He rested his chin on his hand, staring down at the table and furrowing his brow, like he always did when he was thinking hard about something.

The Black Angel scanned the streets with her NVG7 night vision Goggles, looking for something... Anything... It was quickly approaching two in the morning and she hadn't seen shit from her vantage point. Worse still was the fact that she'd heard sirens racing to just about every other part of the city. "I'm usually one luck SOB... Guess tonight's not my night..." the Black Angel thought to herself. It was true, as many people said that the Black Angel had a permanent horse shoe attached to her, as it seemed she lucked out with just about anything. Well anything physical that was.... As the Black Angel continued to scan down below, she saw several things she hadn't been lucky with. Having a family, having lots of friends, or finding love. From her high perch, the Black Angel watched the people down below almost as a voyeur, spying into their lives for small, brief, passing moments.

It was in these moments, when she realized all she'd failed to accomplish in life, that the Black Angels mind went to dark places. And dark places was exactly where she couldn't allow her mind to go.... Once tears came, they often didn't stop.... Looking through the optical scope of her M-4 Carbine, the Black Angel felt the first tear crash from her eye, hitting the metal catwalk below, then falling to the pavement a hundred feet below. Then another, then another, and then it was a waterfall. The Black Angel sat back from the assault rifle, which she dropped across her lap, and leaned against the back of the catwalk. She was sobbing now.... What triggered it.... Maybe the things she hadn't accomplished in life, perhaps loneliness, perhaps the fact she was just letting the numbing cold get to her. Whatever it was she needed to stop it...

The Black Angel took a few deep breathes, then wiped the tears from her face with her knit, black gloves. "I need to get a fucking grip or I'm going to go fucking crazy...." the Black Angel thought to herself, as she sat up again, somewhat calm from the momentary outburst. She sighed, thinking I'm such a fucking loser... I need to stop this...", then peered into her M-4's optical sight once again. The same usual people, businessmen looking to unwind, college students, drunks, hobo's.... Nothing seemed out of place, as if on all the nights for everything to go fine in this neck of Portland, it was tonight.

Then the Black Angel saw something.... A young female, dressed like she was going out clubbing. From the way she moved the Black Angel could tell she was intoxicated. Behind her, a big burly man was pushing her into an alley. Well this isn't exactly what I'm looking for... But that's no way to treat a lady...". The Black Angel left her M-4 on the back of the catwalk, as well as her night vision goggles. She unholstered one of her Glock's, making sure a round was chambered. When she saw it was, she said "Well time to show that fat fucker how to treat a lady...". The Black Angel then acrobatically jumped down the fire escape in truly superhuman fashion. Landing below in a crouched position, with her right hand touching the ground, her left hand holding her Glock.

The Black Angel looked around, satisfied nobody had seen her she ventured out into the busy downtown area. She passed and pushed by the people she'd been observing from a hundred feet in the air only moments before. The whole time she was keeping sight of the alley the likely pervert had pushed the young girl down. As she passed a group of drunken frat boys, one tried to call the Black Angel, saying "Come on girl.... You looking fine... Why don't you come hang out with my friends??". The Black Angel laughed at the sight of the preppy dbagz, would looked straight out of a 90's pop music video. She then said "Oh boys... With your little.... Ya, ummmm no..." then walked away, leaving the guys to try and rebuild their wounded pride.

The Black Angel reached the alley where the big lug had pushed the girl, immediately she could hear them, even before she saw them. She heard the girls moaning in pain, saying in a disorientated voice "No.... I want to find my friends...". The massive guy then said in a deep bass voice "No baby... You know you want it..." then the Black Angel only heard struggling. The Black Angel walked quickly to where the sounds were coming from and when she saw the hulking man towering over his victim, the Black Angel said "Hey!!! Didn't you ever learn no means no?". The guy turned around, saying "What do you want to join?". The Black Angel only snickered, the ended his hopes for a fantasy night with a swift roundhouse to the face. Knocked out cold, the man crashed down to earth, slamming his head against a dumpster.

The Black Angel then walked over to the pretty blonde college student, whose dress was torn at the top, and had a puffy bruise on her face. The Black Angel gave her, her hand, and helped her up. The girl thanked the Black Angel, saying "Thank you.... I wouldn't have...". The Black Angel interjected, saying "Shh... Don't even worry about it... But seriously... Don't come down here anymore. A pretty girl like you is only going to get yourself in trouble down here. This is a place where dreams are broken...". The girl then said "What about you? Why are you here?". The Black Angel dusted the girl off, while softly saying "Well my dreams were broken a long time ago...".

Celtic continued to sip her beverage, eyes searching Drake's as he considered his options. She checked the time on the phone. 1:57 A.M. Humming in surprise, Cell returned the phone to her pouch, laying her head in the palm of her cheek. Boredom took position as her expression. Nothing interesting happened tonight. Same bodies found in the same condition. Yes, there were the usual bastards out and about, but none presented a satisfactory challenge. The Pit provided everything she need. It squelched the thirst for her blood lust but, now that she had left, the slithering hiss in the corner of her mind spoke more often than it needed to.

Urges to kill rose often instead of occasionally. The teen studied the boy a little closer. Something did not feel right.. Something defiant and specifically male kept drawing near. Where the hell did this thing come from? Sixth sense told her that the thing approached just behind her and-

"Half-Bite?"

With great caution, the Kaia-Mai tilted her head to peer at the broad shouldered male wearing a pair of thin framed glasses. Celtic's face comically changed from a bored scowl to the expression of a child on Christmas. Her mouth opened, the only words she'd been able to manage, "Abílio." Abílio offered a wry smile. Clearly, his mood chose to be difficult today. She braced herself for the worst of it.

Abílio cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses accordingly. "Portland is a rather chaotic city, Abidemi. Strange for a young girl of the age of fifteen, no?" He slid into the booth after he fixed Celtic with one nasty glare. "Tell me why it is that I have found you in a crowded bar with some sleezer." Abílio glanced at Drake. This seemed to be his style of acknowledging the boy. Cell grinned and chuckled as the twenty-seven year old male growled in challenge. The teen shook her head with amusement.

"I'm grateful for your presence."

The older male grunted, stealing her cup and gulping down the contents. "Mm. As all women do. You have poor tastes." The glass shook for emphasis. Underneath the table, a single key slid into an armored palm. Cell rolled her eyes at his remark, quietly taking the key. "What are you talking about? The cost of that bottle has my wallet in a choke-hold."

A bitter laugh broke through. The dark haired male slid out of the booth, adjusted the thin-framed glasses as he looked towards. "Dear heart. You have much to learn. Cost does not guarantee quality." Abílio briskly turned on the dime ans left, wandering into the growing crowd. Cell stared at the spot his presence had been in moments before. So many years had passed and yet her teacher still held a tolerance for her gained maturity. Abílio was one of those people who could become anything and everything in a week.

Focusing on the person in front of her, Cell shrugged as her gripped tightened on the key. The time for trust had to be gained, yes. But she did not need to explain herself to anyone- let alone him.