Absent Visions

The day had been a long and boring one to say the least, but as the sun dimmed, and the activity slowly diminished, the port city entered dusk. A single boy, with a bowl-cut hair, wearing a school uniform walked down the street. He wasn't particularly busy, however he knew the town had more crimes conspiring by night then by day, and he needed to sate this thing within him every now and again. After all, that's why he became a mage. He wasn't doing this against or for any kind of spotlight, or etc. He was doing for all intents and purposes, to free himself from his addiction. Like some kind of meth or cocaine, he needed something that others just couldn't understand. He was thirsty, always thirsty, and what better way to explain his murderous intent other than doing it to defeat criminals? Was it a sin to kill a sinner? Was there a divine God who'd punish him for that? He doubted it...

The boy's eyes darted from edges of alleyways for anything suspicious, It seemed only logical for that to be the best place to hunt. The smell of a fire from a garbage can was ripe in the air, and the must of body odor accompanied by it. Peering across the small street-- two homeless guys with liquor bottles were trying to get warm, Fade couldn't tell which of them was uglier. The tall fat one, or the skinny short one around his height. Now that he was thinking about it, it was chilly out here, so the fire wasn't out of place. But alas, he was tougher than needing some coat all the time. What he needed was to get this over with as fast as possible. He could ignore his guilt, but not his bloodthirst. That kind of longing was something extraordinarily difficult. The Mage decided these guys were probably the only ones around safe enough to approach without getting weapons drawn on him in the dead of night, so he approached the older men calmly. Fade Kale spoke in his usual, nondescript, and intelligent tone. Jumping right to the point without a moment's hesitation. "Have you guys seen anything strange lately, illegal things perhaps?"

As expected the men laughed at his haircut and his out of place characteristics, they didn't even bother to give him an answer for the first two minutes...  He closed his eyes, took a deep exhale and proceeded to get more information out of them. Patience was a virtue and he'd spent his entire life learning how to deal with this kind of rudeness, surely they'd have some kind of answer to offer him. Sadly, their replies couldn't have been lamer. They gave him a few short sentences explaining that didn't know anything, simply that he should get on home before he found himself mugged from the neck down-- as per usual, his blank faced snarkiness immediately kicked in. "I suppose living in garbage cans can make you forget what you're seeing." Naturally, the guys were ticked off after that little comment. The bigger one went to grab him with those grimy fingers of his. Unfortunately for him, Fade was faster, he grabbed the brute-drunk by the wrist and locked the guy's joints, as his shoe snagged the space in between the victim's thigh and calf. Fade dropped his weight on the leg and the big guy came down like a boulder smashing the dirty sidewalk. The other man took a step-back, a clear disadvantage had been made apparent and it seemed the smaller-fellow was smart enough not to make the same mistake as his bigger-compadre. These losers weren't fighters, not even close. They didn't want to catch violence and it showed on their frightened faces, with an upset sigh, Fade released his grasp.

Fade watched the nasty pig, and his drunken street friend make off in the opposing direction. To a normal person that whole scene might've seemed pretty wicked, but most people trained consistently in martial arts could've done far more in half the time. Truth was, Fade was only D-Rank and didn't possess too many flamboyant tricks just yet, let alone fighting techniques. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but crack a small smile as the two fell into the concrete seeking escape from him. "Goofing off like that is going to get you both killed..." Was it wrong to find a laugh in the misery of others? Quite likely. So many questions, not enough time to think on them though. The boy heard a shriek from down the road and before realizing it, found his legs jogging off to find out what was occurring. Like the curiosity that killed the cat, this was bound to lead him into trouble. But if he was lucky, maybe he could be done with this faster than anticipated, and finally relax for a few more days.

Sliding around a corner, the young man's eyes narrowed as he stood eye to eye with a dark mage. He watched as the taller man would rip claws into the men he'd just terrorized, pools of blood spurting from their chests as the guy spoke. Honestly, the boy felt sorry for them now more than ever, it was different now that he was realizing this was all his fault...But he showed disdain when he realized Vlad's dialogue was directed at him and no one else. Had he known? Had he knew that Fade would come dashing around the corner at the first sound of a shriek... Perhaps. These stronger villains weren't like petty rapists and gang-bangers, things he'd been tasked with drinking before. This was a high-risk character, and he'd have to be smart as to not set it off. Survival comes first, foremost and always. Then again... He couldn't just be a pussy if the moment arised.

Very well, as a heart flew through the air at him, the boy would look away as it slapped itself against his coat and painted a large section of it with goo-y red... The nondescript look still remained, and his emotions were well hidden, even though obvious disgust was in his atmosphere. "Who're yo-- OOMPH!" Nigh less than a second after the heart, came a roaring fist which struck him in the lower abdomen and sent him into the street. Air was stolen from his chest as he raised his head up and winced. He took a few seconds, wallowing amogst the dirt as the dark mage, Vlad, licked his gross fingers. Gross... But was Fade any different? Unlike Vlad, Fade had drunk many different people, it was a wonder he hadn't contracted aids or something.

".. I'm no criminal, nor would I want to be. But I don't have to tell you anything about what I'm doing out here. You're evil. Go crawl back into the bush you murder in snake, with your filthiness." The boy held his bruise under an open palm, he was almost surprised it was still stinging. Then again, this guy didn't look like the type to pull punches at all. "... My name is Fade, I casted off my surname. Whatever it is you want, I don't have. So if this is some kind of game you're playing with me, I'm not interested."

The boy's eyes narrowed, this guy might've been intimidating, but his intellect fell short. Fade picked up every lick of that monologue and tore it into two separate messages, whether Vlad knew it or not he had both admitted to being idiotic and admitted to killing for pleasure, the exact things he had been attempting to deny. Without an unreasonable doubt,famous or not, this might not have been the worst case scenario after all. It was likely this guy was some minion, barely into the A-ranks yet. 'Course that was just speculation at it's finest... This guy could be S-rank and Fade wouldn't doubt it at all, no one ever fights at full potential from the second they take off. If they did, they'd have no surprises left in a battle.

"You do realize killing for pleasure falls under the wide scope of pleasure, yes? Entertainment in and of itself was just a concept developed to please us when we get bored, it gets the juices in our brain moving, and, in many cases, our bodies react to this pleasure too. Such as lip licking, or et cetera, I sure you can think of a few other examples on your own. So with such a large variety of entertainments, torture being your current one, you're acting on that to please yourself. Depending upon how sick you can really are, I'm willing to bet you've tortured people before to get the same pleasure you're wanting right now. After all, once you get a taste of something, you always want more of it..."


Fade paused, realizing he had been talking way more than he'd have liked too. After all, his face never left the books. The boy allowed himself to stand up, dusting himself as he spoke up again, this time displaying more confidence and less agitation. "By your logic then, and if I'm getting this right, you are an idiot who kills for pleasure. The average, run of the mill narcissist. In fact, I'm desperately searching for a characteristic that sets you apart from others and ya know what? I don't see a singly one. Check the facts, the only reason I'm even remotely in the same boat as you is for reasons out of my hands..."

Fade's sarcastic way of putting things together was a simply to buy time, a distraction that he'd learned only moments before as he was speaking. Upon starting his insults, a Herald peeled from his flesh and slipped out of his neck-collar-- after it had pushed itself from his back similar to a goo-y membrane. Soon after the first one, came one of an opposite color. They were large but thankfully the sky had gotten much darker, and they would be able to go undetected for now. So long as the Heralds were focused on; Fade could keep them behind his back, and be ready for any other lightning quick attacks that traveled his way. Which would give him the tactical advantage against a more rash enemy. The chess board was set, regardless of how things went down, he'd play it 'til the death if it was required.

The boy continued to tell himself if that he were able keep an the mental advantage over this serial killer, perhaps he could out wit him. Get away, and then seek shelter behind buildings until he discovered another plan-- basically make this a game of hide and seek and fire off guerrilla warfare tactics until the strategy at hand was assured. The field was his advantage, plenty of tight corners... To say defeating this dark-mage was within his reach was an overstatement though. Fade had little experience in a fight, and even less talent. But what he did have was reaction, critical thinking, and the ability to deduce factors surrounding him, just like a standardized test. This was simply an obstacle, but only with the drawback that if he got an 'F' then he'd be losing more than just a few points on a score-sheet.

Everything needed careful planning and covert movement. After all, the only thing Fade was absolutely sure of was that his opposition was faster, and a little fucked in the head to put it bluntly. There was still too many variables to be absolutely sure of anything just yet. "If you think I'm going to roll over and just let you hurt me then you're out of your mind, but I tell you what, let me out of here and we can leave this as it is for another day. No point in fighting unnecessarily, right?..."

Black Herald x1:

White Herald x1:

Fade was no fool, but this guy seemed awfully peculiar to him, he listened intently on every word presented by Vald and studied it as thoroughly as possible. There was obvious disrespect behind his tone, venomous like that of a cobra. But it wasn't aimed at Fade-- Vlad didn't seem to be interested in killing him, it might've been because he looked younger than his age. Most were never able to tell that Fade was seventeen based on first impressions... FAde was buying the story though, Vlad had been in done dirty by the rich apparently, or so it sounded. He was a criminal simply because he had things against the higher-ups, not the populace in general. But if that were the 'whole' case, why did he murder those homeless asshats laying in the dirt a few feet away? Something wasn't adding up, even so... Fade's tightened fist loosened and un-clenched. He wanted to know more, keen to learn and see the perspective of a dark mage-- after all, this kind of thing didn't happen often. The question at hand was whether this were some kind of mouse trap or not. Fade reminded himself not to be naive with this man, it would only spell disaster for him in the minutes to come.

The boy was smart to keep his Heralds' pressed behind his back, they were his only source of protection in this murder scenario, should he need them. "Could you elaborate please, Harbinger? I don't quite understand what you're getting at, are you meaning to sell me a story that you're some kind of modern day Robin Hood?" The boy's bowl-cut hair swept with the wind and his eyes squinted as he kept himself hesitant, a bead of cold sweat had formed on the side off his cheek. Trust was a crook's favorite weapon after all... "I can respect fighting corruption with destruction. But I don't think either side is completely in the right either." The boy tucked his hand in his pocket, and leaned on his dominant leg. The confrontation was at a stand-still. He wore a blank face, an indifferent atmosphere, but a twinkle of curiosity in his eyes.

A C T I V E :

Black Herald x1:

White Herald x1: