[Elektra]

Why she had come to this dreaded place, Sorren really wasn't quite sure.  There was a younger elf girl by the name of Arya that had asked her to for a hunt, but apparently she didn't realize just how dangerous it was for Sorren to leave the Drains.  Even in there she was affected by that accursed ability of hers, but out here in a town where evil was almost the only thing going for people?  That was simply ludicrous.  For an untrained gray elemental, being in a place swayed by good or evil, that was like a death sentence.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a gunshot rang through the air, and her keen ears heard the body fall to the ground, lifeless.  It was just so horrible, this place.  And yet, she couldn't afford to think such things.  Even then she felt cuts and bruises forming at the thought of despising this place.  It was her role to play the peacekeeper, mediator, or something along those lines.  If she allowed herself to take one side or the other, there was a chance she might not even live to regret that action.  And so she found herself in this rundown old city, trying her hardest not to scream in frustration.

((Hey, I might bring my girl Tsukiko in later if that's alright with you.  She's a reaper as well, but a banished one, and she'd probably get in fights with Marin about valuing being a reaper, etc.  If you need an explanation as to what Sorren is, just tell me.  ^^  And I'm so sorry it took so long to get this up, I fell asleep a little after posting in the thread about it...))

[Atoli01]

Hm... no reapings for today, it seemed! And Lucifer had even told me to take the day off. Take the day off and do some sort of... egg hunt? How strange! I would never understand human customs, it seemed. Who in the world came up with the idea of putting candy and other things inside of plastic eggs? At least--according to him--I'd have some partner to help me out. I wonder if she'd be human~? Ooh, I couldn't wait now!

Strangely, the atmosphere of the place didn't bother me nearly as much as it should have, I was sure. In fact, I was more concerned about the fact that I almost slipped on a puddle of water than the fact that there were gunshots being fired. ...It would really be horrible if I got all of my clothes wet. I spaced out for a few moments, looking at my reflection in the muddy puddle. I had tried not to stand out all that much today; I had my short pink hair tied into a side ponytail and my usual black dress was replaced by a brighter white dress with a subtle flower print covering it, along with a pair of red converse. I suppose it made my look a bit younger than my usual outfit did...

As if on cue, a girl walked passed me just as I was about to resume my search for my new partner. "Hey, are you Sorren? My partner for the hunt?" I asked the girl as she passed. She would hear me, right?

{{Ah, that's fine~ I actually like the idea. ♥ And it's fine~ I would've replied earlier, but I've been busy all day. XD}}

[Elektra]

And it seemed that she had found her partner...  Sorren was ever so tempted to simply keep walking, and do this whole hunt on her own, but she figured that it would be better to have a partner in the end. "Yes, I suppose that would be me..." she answered calmly.  However, she brushed ever so slightly against the other woman's shoulder, and just about fainted.  This woman...  Whoever it was that had paired them together was absolutely crazy if they were aware she was a reaper.  A reaper and gray elemental...  What a pair.

"I guess we should get started..." Sorren said, looking at her carefully.  "So, reaper, are you really here for an egg hunt with me, or are you here to warn me that I've failed miserably in life and should expect to see more of your kind soon enough?"


((Awesome, I'll bring her in later on.  Hopefully we can get some more posts in tomorrow, I'll be home for the afternoon and for the majority of the evening, so that'll be the time to try and post.  ^^;))

[Atoli01]

"Ah, perfect!" I beamed the moment she confirmed her identity. I was so worried that I would spend half of the time that we were supposed to be hunting searching for this girl. Before she even suggested to get started, a spotted an egg near a gutter on the side of the road and ran over to pick it up. A little dirty, but it was still an egg. Just as I was about to announce my find to her, I heard her start speaking again.

"You know that I'm a reaper~? How interesting! You must not be human, then! What are you, anyways? But... but just to answer your question, I really am here for an egg hunt. Lucy gave me a break today!" The last time I had tried calling Lucifer that, he nearly shot me. Quite... quite literally. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen the name 'Sorren' on the lists... You're good for at least a while longer, I think!" Then again... I didn't memorize the lists. The name Sorren was so pretty though that I'm sure I would've remembered it. With all the recent fuss, it seemed that I had even forgotten the egg I had in my hands. "I found an egg, by the way! First one, hehe!"

{{Ah, good~ I'll be home all day tomorrow, so I'll be good on posting too. :3}}

[Elektra]

Sorren raised an eyebrow at the girl, quite interested in a reaper that had the apparent attention span of a five year old.  She was not what Sorren had expected, not after having met other reapers in the past.  Most of then were sarcastic, haughty, or just downright emotionless.  This one, however, she wasn't quite sure what to say about her.

When she questioned Sorren's own identity, the gray elemental had to smirk.  That was always an interesting question.  Of course, it was annoying to have to explain all about it, but at the same time, she would enjoy telling such to the reaper standing in front of her.  She nodded when she noticed the egg, and held out a large bag before opening her mouth to reply.

"I'm a gray elemental.  I'm responsible for handling disputes, for never taking sides in a matter and always overseeing conflicts.  I am forced to stay in that gray zone, where no one ever really ventures.  Taking one side or another in a dispute often results in near death experiences for me, since I've never really found anyone to train me.  And there are only five of us at a given time in the Lands, or so I've heard, which makes it even harder to find a teacher.  I knew you were a reaper because you beings are possibly the closest to that gray zone I stand in.  You are forced to carry out duties regardless of who it is you must take away from their previous life.  Not to say there aren't those few who do care one way or the other, but the majority of you are much like myself."

[Atoli01]

Such a complicated explanation... I sighed as I tried to take it all in. I had definitely heard of gray elementals before, but I had never actually met one. But then again--according to her--with how little there were, I suppose that wasn't too much of a shock. I dropped the egg into the bag, just as I had heard her last words. Those were what really got me.

"I... I guess I'm one of those that honestly don't care that much," I admitted. No, it didn't care whose life it was that I had to take away. Despite that, I still feigned kindness to them. I made children feel like they were loved, I made adults feel like everything would still be okay. I guess it was better than what some other reapers did, but I imagine not really caring would still be frowned on by society. "I-I mean... Well, they still get to live again! Even if they don't remember their past lives, their soul is still there. That's why it's not sad. A life is only really a chapter in a person's--no, soul's--life, y'know?"

[Elektra]

Sorren let out a slight 'hmph' before continuing on.  She listened closely as the reaper explained her own position.  As she had expected, this reaper was no exception.  She had no real feelings for those whom she reaped.  Though it was interesting that she at least tried to comfort them.  Not that Sorren would do the same, but that was beside the point.

She looked around herself, and spotted a pink object rolling around in some grime on the other side of the street.  She made her way over and carefully picked it up, shaking it off.  This was simply disgusting.  Why Arya had chosen such an odd place, she just couldn't figure it out.  But at least her partner didn't seem that bad.

[Atoli01]

When Sorren went off to fetch another egg, I began scanning the are quickly. Maybe she didn't like my explanation? But I guess most beings wouldn't. My brows creased for a moment while I thought about it; I would never understand other people, would I? To my luck though, there was another egg lying right next to the tire of a parked car. It was dirty--it seemed all eggs were dirty here--but it was definitely something. A pale red, the same color as my eyes...

"I found another one, Sorren!" I called out as I ran over to her. I went ahead and dusted the egg off before I dropped it into her bag. I couldn't imagine how dirty the inside of that bag would be by the end of the day. "Hey, do you have any family?" I asked her out of curiosity. I wasn't exactly sure where the question came from, but oh well.

[Elektra]

It wasn't that Sorren wasn't pleased or displeased with her answer.  It was just that Sorren really didn't feel it was right or wrong.  Personally she thought one thing, but had to think about how another person might feel as well.  After all, that was her duty.  To feel for both sides, but never express her own opinion.

She nodded, and took the bag back after she put it in.  She went back to searching not sure if she wanted to keep talking, but she just figured that it would just delay the inevitable.  After all, this girl seemed persistent enough, and they were stuck together for the hunt.

"No, I don't have any family, and almost no friends.  Those things tend to sway a person toward one end of the spectrum or the other.  And that's something that myself and others like me simply can't afford to risk.  I don't expect you'll know how I feel, since I'm sure that you reapers are friendly enough with your squads and captains." she said calmly.  She'd learned a little about their Society from Tsukiko before, but she had no idea if this was how the reaper in front of her worked.  Come to think of it, she couldn't keep referring to her as 'the reaper', even if she wanted to.  "So, what's your name anyway?"


((So sorry if Sorren seems like an emotionless butt at times...  She'll warm up eventually, I swear.  xD;;))

[Atoli01]

I could relate to her about the no family thing, but no friends...? I suppose what she said was true--the risks that came as a result of that--but man, it must not be too fun of a life. Truthfully, I didn't have as many friends as I would like to, but that was because I spent most of my time here on Evelon. Lucy gave me too much work to do back home for me to really be happy there. Besides, when I was there, all he had to do was summon me and guards would go and haul me off back to his place. He was such a pain sometimes.

"Oh, my name? Sorry, I didn't even realize I haven't told you! It's Marin. Marin Tarmavau." Well, that wasn't my true last name. I would never know my real last name, or even the name that I was born with. That was lost along with my parents. "Oh, and I don't really have any family either. I guess you could say I was adopted as a kid, but... it's not really adoption," I said, thinking about it. I don't think that it would be any harm to tell her about my childhood. "Lucy found me when he was taking a stroll. Apparently someone just dumped me in the courtyard or something. He didn't really adopt me, just... gave me a name and said I could live in the castle til' I grew up. You can't really be buddy-buddy with the ruler of the underworld though, so we didn't talk much. I moved out when I finished my training and now I kind of just... wander around here, y'know?" And go back to get assignments, but those were fine details.

"Oh yeah, and that's the thing. I don't really have a squad! More freelance reaper, really. It's because of Lucy, actually. He gives me lists of people that have to go--and I'm expected to take care of it--in exchange for being able to wander around on my own time."

{{It's okay. XD I actually like her~ c: Hard-to-get characters pull me in like a magnet. XP}}

[Elektra]

Sorren just nodded as Marin said her name, but actually listened with hidden interest as she explained her life and relationship with this Lucy man.  She assumed that Lucy stood for Lucifer, seeing as that was really the only masculine name she could think of that would be made into that nickname.  Of course she also thought that whoever this man was would've been irritated to have been given such a nickname in the first place.  But the majority of people she met were in the same situation; Arya had a bad habit of doing her best to annoy people when she was in a bad mood, which tended to be about half the time she was awake.  And her way of doing that was giving them nicknames that made almost no sense at all.  Not to mention those times when she went to bed angry - that was just ridiculous.  The elf teen would start shooting off random spells all over the place, not even realizing it.  Sorren had almost been hit by a stray one herself one night, but hadn't ventured past that doorway since.

She chuckled ever so quietly, thinking that she and Marin would make quite a pair.  But even though Arya had gotten this last slot for the hunt, she'd gone and shoved it onto someone else.  This was what, the third time she'd done that?  Sorren never would understand that girl.

In her thoughtlessness, however, she accidentally ran smack dab into another being.  She growled, frustrated at herself for not noticing and at the stranger for not saying something to warn her.  However, when she looked up, she noticed that it wasn't a stranger, rather, just about the last person she wanted to see in this situation.  Another reaper, with four slightly frozen eggs in her hands.

[Atoli01]

Just as I was about to announce my latest find to Sorren--after I had gone through all the work to dig it out of a pile of dirt--someone else showed up. And holding eggs, no less! I thought it was only supposed to be us two? Hm... weird. "I found another one, Sorren!" I yelled from across the way as I began to approach the pair. I went ahead and dropped the egg into the bag before addressing the newcomer. "Hi th--"

And then I felt a weird pang in my chest. I looked her over from head to toe several times, trying to figure out what was up with this new human. No, not human, I concluded. "Reap... er?" I muttered, slightly confused. For two reapers to run into each other like this... How strange! And with a gray elemental here, too. Well this definitely wasn't something that happened on a daily basis.

[Elektra]

"Tsukiko, what are you here for?" Sorren asked, trying her best to defrost the eggs that the newcomer was holding.  "I just thought I'd drop by.  I was out and about for once, and heard that you were here.  I didn't know, however, that you would be here with another Shinigami..." she said, keeping her distance from Marin.  There was no way she was going to get herself caught by some amateur who thought they could beat her and drag her back to the Soul Soceity, not now.  She frowned, and felt the air around them drop considerably.

Tsukiko was in a gigai, or faux body, so she didn't have access to Miyuki.  She did, however, have the ability to call Melusine if push came to shove.  The odd thing was that she didn't seem to recognize this Shinigami, or their allegiance...  That was almost worrying her.  Almost.

"Whatever.  Just stay out of our way, I can't be troubled by the problems that seem to follow you wherever you wander." Sorren said coldly.  She'd experienced first hand the danger that came with Tsukiko, and didn't want to find herself in such a situation again.  Being mistaken for an accomplice in whatever Tsukiko had done - the woman hadn't been willing to explain what it was that was going on at the time - had gotten a sword at her throat the last time.

"I'm...  Sorry about this, Marin." Sorren said, addressing the reaper directly for the first time.  Apparently she had chosen Marin, practically a stranger, over Tsukiko, and was beginning to warm up to her.  If it was possibly to warm up at all in the sudden cold patch of air around Tsukiko.  She held out the bag to Marin as soon as she noticed the new eggs.  "Thanks.  Looks like this won't be to hard.  Just dirty..."

Tsukiko remained silent, stunned by the elemental's sudden coldness to her.  Sure, they'd gotten in a bit of trouble, but did that really call for the silent treatment?  And before she'd even explained who this other woman was and what she was doing there?  Leave it to Sorren to make her do the talking.  "So, why are you here?  Because if it's for me, I won't hesitate to kill you." she said carefully, adding no emotion to the last sentence.


((Well that turned into a monster post.  Tsukiko is a reaper who had one parent that wasn't a reaper but a bount - human that eats souls live or dead - and is hunted by the Soul Soceity.  So while she's calm she's also kinda internally freaking out/analyzing Marin.  So she'll get into it at the slightest aggravation.  xD;;))

[Atoli01]

As the stranger began talking, I hid myself behind Sorren. I wasn't scared, no... but of course, there was always a good amount of caution that should be taken around other reapers. Just being a reaper doesn't make two people instantly friends. And of course, it didn't mean that other reaper wouldn't hurt you.

"It's fine. I'm just... kind of confused..." I said with a slight laugh to Sorren. Just pass it off like it's nothing. Don't let you feelings show. I had never seen this woman before and certainly didn't recognize her name. Maybe a newcomer? No... Lucy found some reason to rant about every single reaper, whether they were a newcomer or a veteran like me and I had never heard of a girl named Tsukiko. I really got an earful about them when he was drunk, but... well, that was another story that wouldn't be written right at this moment.

I was just about ready to fire some questions at this new girl, but it seemed she beat me to the punch. So of course, her question caught me quite off guard. "I... I'm just here for the egg hunt. Honest!" I said defensively as I gestured towards the bag. "But why would anyone be after you? Have you not done your job or something?"

[Elektra]

"Ah, that's...  Good." Sorren said slowly.  Sure, she might not have been thanking the heavens that Marin wasn't freaked out by another Shinigami showing up, but at least she didn't attack or flee.  She was going to really introduce to the two when Tsukiko took the chance to answer Marin's question.

"Because apparently being a Bount and a Shinigami makes me scum and a danger to the Soul Soceity.  So they want me dead or sealed away.  However, if you aren't here for me, but really are here for an egg hunt..." she said, looking quite perplexed, "why in the world would you even want to hunt for such silly eggs?"

((Fail post, so sorry that I didn't reply sooner.  And I just don't wanna overwhelm you with Tsuki's backstory.  Marin can ask all she wants if you would like, but I don't wanna stuff it down her throat.  xD;;))