january open log and catch-all

[personalwar]

Who: Soldier: 76 (personalwar) & YOU
What: 76 joins the Knightryders, investigates people working with Cree, and breaks up some fights.
When: January
Where: Wyver
Warning(s): Some violence, will edit to add anything else!


01. joining knightryders
It's about time that 76 gets a permanent job here in Wyver. He's put it off for as long as possible, preferring the free-form quests that he's been able to pick up from various citizens, and more recently through Aranea. It's not going to be enough to pay the bills, so to speak, and so he's had to look for something more consistent. After joining Olympia's guard and having that backfire on him, he isn't entirely sure that he wants to throw his lot in with the Knightryders. But he does his homework, hanging around the headquarters that are relatively close to the apartment he and Ana occupy.

What he learns is that the Ryders are somewhat less choosy with who they let join their ranks, although they've found their own way to weed out any members who aren't worth their salt: primarily, through fights at Falmi's Ring. Anyone who chickens out from the duty is promptly relieved of their station, and while it all seems a bit barbaric, 76 finds that he doesn't mind. He'll go toe-to-toe with someone, if they eventually ask that of him.

Again, he always has the option to leave the Order if he decides he isn't interested, so he decides to go ahead and join up. He can be found at the Order headquarters in the old capital, standing around in their reception area to do any necessary paperwork and get outfitted with his new uniform, which is actually just a special headpiece rather than a full outfit. A passerby might see him there, or hanging around in the general area once he's done.

02. gilded cage recon
76 has seen the job postings popping up in the less reputable parts of the city, with the Gilded Cage's signature all over them. They're scarce on the details and he doesn't follow the instructions to learn more, as he has no interest in working for Cree. Given the part he played in exposing so many innocents to that virus, whatever his reasons for doing so might have been, 76 wants nothing to do with him.

What he does want is to know what he's up to, and why he would need to outsource any of his work like this. 76 figures that at least a few of the refugees will end up taking the work, if only because they need the money, and they'll serve as good sources for him.

So he parks himself outside of the Gilded Cage's current location, waiting for someone to pass by who looks like they're trying to be casual. That's the giveaway.

Once he's spotted someone who fits the right criteria, he nods to them and motions them over. "Wanted to ask you something."

03. breaking up fights
The air in Wyver is buzzing with restlessness and bloodlust. Most of the citizens want to attack Olympia sooner rather than later, and while 76 had realized that there was tension between the two nations, he hadn't realized it was on this level. He can't say he has any interest in fighting a war he has no stake in, so he's been staying out of the conversations, instead listening from afar.

In one instance an argument turns from a heated debate into an actual fistfight, right in the middle of the markets. Normally 76 wouldn't have bothered to get involved (again, this isn't his fight), but he's currently on Ryder patrol, and that means he has some sort of obligation to keep the peace. Besides, breaking up a fight isn't exactly a difficult task for someone like him.

He receives more resistance than expected, though. When he heads over to grab one of the aggressors from behind, the man elbows him in the face, dislodging his visor slightly. The pain isn't bad and his face is still mainly covered, but that alone forces his hand, and he shoves the offender down to the ground, making him eat dirt for his lack of cooperation.

"Who asked you to get involved?" asks the other man, who's sporting a swollen lip after taking a few punches to the face. Apparently he doesn't appreciate that the brawl has been interrupted.

04. wildcard
Want something else? Let's do it! Hit me up at demonology to plot.

Comments

02

[shikomizue]

This isn't Takasugi's first endeavor on behalf of the Guided Cage, and it won't be his last. He's not running Cree's errands enough to call it habit, but he's well accustomed to the way information is exchanged.

Light dim, either from a night sky hazy with humid fog or a closing bar with its few patrons dwindling out in drunken stupor.

Tonight, he exits onto the street with the sting of liquor on his tongue as well, the taste of his single, diplomatically shared, drink fading fast. It doesn't reach his step at all, casual in his ease with this sort of business, rather than forced through nerves.

Even when addressed so abruptly, his composure remains. "Hmm?" Takasugi pauses, regarding the man with dull stare before turning his attention towards lighting his pipe. "What is it?"

[personalwar]

There's plenty that's interesting about this man, even from a first glance. One of his eyes is bandaged, implying that he could be missing sight in it, and yet he carries himself with ease. He doesn't seem to be bothered by his state at all. And if 76's guess is right and this guy is working for Cree, then he also isn't letting the lack of a working eye stop him from getting things done.

Then again, neither had Ana. Or Reinhardt.

76 spends a few seconds eyeing the pipe. Smoking has never been his thing, and if anything it strikes him as antiquated. Especially out of a pipe like this.

"Did you pick up a job for Cree?" He cuts straight to the point, his voice low so as to not reach any of the other people stumbling out of the tavern.

[shikomizue]

Embers burn softly in the pipe's bowl, the instrument perhaps old-fashioned, but the smoke being drawn from it as eternal as any other human vice. Tobacco, scented pleasantly with earthy aroma.

And a bit of something else.

"For who?" Blunt lets Takasugi know what this man may be after - money, the Guilded Cage's entrance, a vendetta, or simple information.

None of which he feels like divulging so easily.

But he's not putting much effort into playing dumb either, his question an invitation for the man to go on, rather than a transparent ruse.

[personalwar]

The smell of tobacco instantly brings a certain person to mind, someone who went back into stasis months ago. 76 can't dwell on that kind of thing, because as of now, they have no control over what the Natha does. He's never been particularly good at letting go, though, no matter how he might try.

Ruse or not, he doesn't find the other man's attitude that endearing. 76 realizes that if he's too gruff, he may end up gathering no information at all, so it takes a moment for him to reign in his impatient urges.

"You know who I'm talking about," he says, but it's not with as much force as he'd been employing before. "You came from the Gilded Cage, right?" If he has to prove that he knows what's up and isn't blindly fishing for information, maybe that will change the stranger's tune.

[shikomizue]

Gruff suits Takasugi just fine. He's been faced with far less savory; from the depraved to the perverted to the nigh incomprehensible. And the baseless confidence of aliens, their technology and influence making them out to be gods.

They're not.

His contempt for that attitude, above all else, extends to the Natha as well.

Takasugi replies with a broad smile, the only confirmation he'll offer. The man's tactic of bulldozing through any coy introductions is successful, though the grin Takasugi bares isn't quite ready to relinquish any information it's biting back.

"Is that what you wanted to ask me?"

3

[shashka]

Other than one idiot, for the most part, Ocelot's been lucky enough not to be involved in any of the fights. For the most part, he's been happy enough to stay on the sidelines. After all, he tries not to keep too high of a profile in either Olympia or Wyver, being well-liked enough in both, but flying under the proverbial radar until the time is right.

Still, when he sees an idiot trying to pick a fight with someone that he happens to like, he figures that it couldn't hurt him to have another highly-trained soldier around. Just in case.

"Calm down," he says, putting himself in between the first man, while keeping an eye on the second. "Do you really think starting another fight is going to help?"

Especially when he's pretty sure this is one that he's not going to win.

[personalwar]

76 isn't expecting help, but he can't say that he's surprised by the turn of events. The thing about their group of refugees is that most of them don't really know how to mind their own business. It's a little surprising that it's Ocelot, as 76 had figured he was a little shrewder than this.

Still, it might be interesting to see what Adam here is capable of, in the event that this turns ugly.

"What's gonna help is if we show those bleeding Olympians what we're made of!" the man bellows.

76, meanwhile, has managed to show the other man the error of his ways through forceful handling alone, and he's gone prone on the ground. "You gonna back off?" 76 asks him, and when he nods, 76 releases him. The man slowly gets to his feet and dusts himself off.

So they've got one of them under control, but the other doesn't seem likely to calm down any time soon.

[shashka]

Is there a chance that Ocelot thinks this might turn ugly? Possibly? Does he want a chance to show off to Jack what he can do in a fight? He certainly wouldn't say that was a motivating factor here, as it's far too childish, but... there is a distinct possibility that might be the case.

"No one's going to be attacking Olympia if you keep fighting each other," he says, gesturing his hand as if it's the most obvious thing on the planet.

He knows it isn't going to calm the man down, and he's sure 76 knows it as well, but it does make him appear reasonable to the onlookers. And that's why he's got the man lunging towards him... though thankfully, he's got a decent enough counter.

The guy, of course, isn't as small as Eli, so it ends up being him falling flat on his ass rather than a total killing blow. But, Ocelot figures it's enough of a warning for now.

[personalwar]

Ocelot makes a decent point. If all of the Wyver people are too busy being at each other's throats to really consider how to take the fight to the Olympians, then they're never going to get what they want. Maybe that's for the best, though. If this does turn into an all-out war, 76 isn't sure how he'd deal with it. He didn't sign up for another war.

He'll cross that bridge when they come to it, though. For now it's apparently his job to try and keep the peace here. The Wyver people are more accepting of in-fighting than most cultures would be, but there's still a point where it gets out of control.

It seems that Ocelot has everything handled, though. His reaction time is instant, and the way he shoves the man down onto his ass is efficient, practiced. The man takes a few seconds to even comprehend what happened, and blinks up at Ocelot in baffled confusion.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he asks, and at that point 76 moves over to stand at Ocelot's side. The headpiece he's wearing denotes him as a Ryder, an ornate metal piece that is reminiscent of his visor, at least in how it covers his face.

"It's over," 76 insists. The other half of the fight has already taken his leave, after all. "Go home and clean yourself up."

03

[verflair]

The tension in the air is not wholly unfamiliar to X'rhun, though his own people had been much more on the defensive than those of Wyver, who seem to be chomping at the bit to go bust some Olympian heads. Honestly, he's not fond of fighting, be it war or a simple bar fight, and he wonders just how long he and the other refugees can teeter on the blade's edge without casting their lot for one or another.

It's probably inevitable that they'll get involved, one way or another. The Natha had made that pretty clear already. He just wishes there was another way.

But given the state of things, it's only natural that tempers are bound to flare. The sounds of a scuffle draw him over, and who should he find but a familiar face- or visor, rather.

76 seems to have his hands full, and the other gentleman- "gentleman" -looks none too pleased to see his fight interrupted. X'rhun slips through the crowd that's begin to gather to step in front of the fellow.

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?"

For his own part, he keeps his hands well-away from the rapier and crystal at his hips, but they are right there for everyone to see.

[personalwar]

76 is usually all for a good bar brawl, relishing in the opportunity to throw a few punches consequence-free. That's a part of Wyver that he hasn't actually minded, that restless nature in its people that he easily relates to -- but again, he's on duty.

So the visor isn't entirely familiar, as it turns out. After joining the Knightryders, 76 had been given a headpiece that, while similar in shape to his visor, fits in more with the Wyver aesthetic, with carefully crafted and ornate metal that covers a good portion of his face. He can still see through without any trouble, and he doesn't know if that's due to good design or some sort of "magic." Either way, the top of his head is still exposed, so it's easy enough to recognize him.

While he's busy wrestling one of the Wyver men into submission, X'rhun steps in to handle the other. The second man takes note of the fact that X'rhun is armed, but doesn't seem particularly put off by it. "The problem is that we haven't made a move on Olympia yet!" he barks, the stench of alcohol heavy on his breath. "This craven fool thinks that if we 'bide our time,' it'll be better. That's dragon shit!"

The man pinned under 76's grip wriggles as much as he can, lifting his face up from the dirt to yell back. "You're the fool, thinking with your sword hand instead of with your brain!"

It doesn't seem like this is an argument easily defused, and at this point 76 would rather separate the two from each other by force. He drags the man to his feet and starts to yank him away, using the advantage of his enhanced strength to leave the struggling man with no other choice but to be pulled along.

[verflair]

A familiar top-of-someone’s-head, then.

X’rhun wrinkles his nose as the man still standing keeps up with being belligerent, the smell of the alcohol all-too-evident, and a bit much to the miqo’te’s sensitive nose. There is nothing X’rhun loves more than an angry drunk who’s gotten it into his head that he needs to fight somebody. It’s right up there with the Garlean Empire and hugging porcupines.

The red mage watches from the corner of his eye as 76 hauls the first man to his feet with the same uncanny strength that helped X’rhun out of a tree all those weeks ago. He really should ask about that.

It will have to wait, however, because beer breath isn’t quite done with his friend here and makes to follow. X’rhun steps in again, taking care to keep himself in the belligerent man’s path. “Leave it be, friend.”

Of course, he doubts it will be that easy, but he’ll deal with it.

[personalwar]

76 has never been a fan of combative drunks either. Mainly because he usually can't get drunk himself, and having to deal with drunk people when you're sober is never fun. Either way, alcohol tends to just add fuel to whatever fire is already burning in someone, and the Wyver people seem to have plenty of that to spare, like the dragons they revere.

Once he gets one of the men a safe distance away, he releases him, then shoves him against a nearby tree to put him in his place. The guy stumbles and gasps for breath, clearly feeling out of his depth now that he's been so manhandled.

"You gonna back off?" 76 questions, and the man waves him off and nods, having decided that all this trouble isn't worth it.

The other man, who's been blocked from his pursuit by X'rhun, isn't quite as cooperative. He looks X'rhun up and down and then advances on him, aiming to shove past. 76 glances back, too far away to intervene just yet, though he begins to head back in that direction.

o2

[punshots]

For his part, Prompto looks very much like someone trying to look casual, an affectation to his stride that he would hope suggests he hasn't a care in the world, while instead rather making him stick out like a sore thumb. He shouldn't have too much to worry about taking jobs from Cree while in Wyver, but still...better to err on the side of caution, when he actually remembers that caution is, you know, even a thing.

Case in point. When 76 addresses him, Prompto straightens abruptly, like he's been touched by an electrical wire, posture taut and almost defensive. So much for being cautious, considering this is the sort of thing he wanted to avoid. But...he remembers this guy, they had gotten along well enough (even if 76 was sorely lacking an appreciation of fistbumps) and Prompto shouldn't have anything to worry about from him. After all, it's not as if he's done anything illegal.

Yet.

"O-oh - hey, sure!" Prompto steps over towards him, hand reflexively running along the back of his neck. "Whaaaat's up, my dude?"

[personalwar]

Prompto clearly hasn't received any training in proper espionage, not that 76 would have expected that. But he's got so many tells it's hard to keep track. That works out well for 76, since it shouldn't take much pressure to get Prompto to cave and cough up some information. That's the plan, at least.

It might be cruel to put Prompto on the spot with no warning whatsoever, and yet that's exactly what 76 does. "You just picked up a job from Cree, didn't you?"

He will say, he wouldn't have pegged Prompto for the sort of person to actively take work from someone like Cree. Then again, it's possible that he's naive enough to not realize who he's dealing with, in which case 76 can at least give him a wake up call.

(He's not really here to give a lecture, though. He just wants his questions answered.)

[punshots]

76 has chosen his target well, as Prompto is possibly the person least suited to espionage on the planet. Stealth he can handle, but keeping up a pokerface for hours on end? Not so much. And true to form, the moment 76 calls him out for taking on a job from Cree, he looks just like a kid who's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Sucking in a quick breath, he breezes, "Saw right through me, huh?" He puts up his hands in mock surrender. "Yeah, I did."

He doesn't ask it, but the question lingers in his tone. Why is 76 asking?

[personalwar]

This is certainly an easier confrontation than some of the others that 76 has been through, which he appreciates. Prompto doesn't act particularly defensive about being called out. The truth of the matter is that they're still on the same side, even if their feelings about Cree are different.

"What kind of work is he giving people? That's all I want to know."

Whether he'll try to sabotage any of it remains to be seen. But 76 would rather not see other people get screwed over the same way that he did. More than that, he wants to know what pies Cree is putting his fingers into, and see if he can piece together his overarching plan.

76 takes a look around them. It's not exactly private here. "We might want to go somewhere more isolated, though." Just so no one overhears them.

02

[beatupgrass]

The person he's just called out to is very tiny and wearing a cloak. Maybe it's a child- a child who is just very surprised to be caught. A child that... relaxes when it recognizes the voice.

A child with a very furry face once he lifts the cloak a bit. "...Dude, it's me. Skip the soldier voice. You almost gave me a frickin' heart attack."

[personalwar]

It could be a child, it could just be someone who's on the small side for one reason or another, but either way 76 is pretty sure he knows what he saw and that's why he doesn't hesitate to address the cloaked figure.

Who turns out to be Rocket. He probably should have known, but he wouldn't have figured that Rocket of all people would be willing to take work from Cree.

76 shifts his weight, his body language loosening slightly, though not completely. "You were just in the Gilded Cage, weren't you?"

[beatupgrass]

Rocket tilts his head a bit, suddenly getting the feeling that if he answers wrong, it's going to be a problem, but he and 76 have always been cool before. Surely, he's gotta understand that a dude's gotta eat and this affiliation business is just as sketchy as whatever Cree's got goin' on.

"Uh... Was I not supposed t' be?" When all else fails and lying isn't gonna cut it- play cute. It's a solid tactic.

[personalwar]

There really isn't anything cute about what Rocket is doing, as far as 76 is concerned. On the other hand, he isn't here to scold him. Rocket can make his own choices and follow his own moral code, though 76 at least wants to be sure that he has all the information he needs to make this decision.

"Just surprised that you'd be willing to work with him, that's all." 76 crosses his arms and inclines his head down toward Rocket. "You know he was behind everything that went on with the virus, right?"

In other words, it's because of Cree that Rocket got framed and fell ill.

03

[respired]

To Koltira, Wyver seems much like the lands he so recently departed. It's raw in the same way, its people just as untamed and passionate. He had never felt any particular loyalty to the Horde, though; he joined their ranks because it was convenient, and because the remnants of the sin'dorei had taken up their banner. But no such pull exists here, and so he has not declared himself one way or the other. Instead, he travels, as he's doing today.

The tension is familiar, too: the Horde was bellicose, spoiling always for a fight. If the greater population had their way, they would have swarmed over Azeroth, slaughtering any resistance in their path--especially the haughty Alliance. That's how Koltira knows war is on the horizon. He's seen this river flow and swell before. And, though he knows he shouldn't, he welcomes the oncoming flood.

He steps up beside 76. Today, he's in his armor, all gleaming dreadplate and fluttering, fur-lined cape. He cuts a strange and dramatic figure, especially with his tremendous sword, now drawn and brandished.

"Are you putting down a rebellion?" he says, his otherworldly voice rough, cold--but maybe a little eager. He might be here to help. He might be here to make it worse.

[personalwar]

Most woulds say that 76 cuts a rather intimidating figure. He stands a little over six feet tall, and even at this age he's well-muscled, and carries himself with the sort of confidence that implies he knows how to bust heads. Today he's even bearing Knightryder gear, which means that he's replaced his visor with a headpiece that also covers his face, but is built of ornate, jagged black metal.

Even with all that in mind, Koltira is on another level. Maybe it's the armor, maybe it's the icy eyes, maybe it's that giant sword he wields. Or maybe it's the combination of all of it into one cold, unyielding man. 76 knows firsthand what Koltira is capable of, but even the two Wyver man look cowed by this addition to the confrontation.

"I wouldn't call it a rebellion," 76 says, shrugging one shoulder from his position pinning one of the men. "Just a scuffle." He's faced much more fearsome foes. This is just part of the new job he's taken on, and it's fair to say that Koltira's addition is overkill.

"How the hell is any of this your business?" the man still standing asks Koltira, his hands balled into fists.

[respired]

Koltira well remembers Jack's prowess in the ring. He was unusually tough, as humans go. Likely he did not require Koltira's assistance at all--but he's not really intervening for Jack's sake.

"You're asking the wrong question," Koltira rumbles. He's holding Byfrost aloft with one hand, and he keeps this position as he lifts the other one, calling ice to it. A shimmering sphere coalesces above his palm, crackling as it forms. "I have clearly made the situation my business. Better to wonder what you're going to do about it."

He talks like he's pretty sure the answer is 'nothing'. Then, a glance to 76.

"Are you meant to apprehend them, then? Perhaps you believe in mercy."

[personalwar]

Koltira doesn't seem to do anything halfway, and 76 glances over as he forms ice in his free hand, while holding his massive sword in the other. This has gone from light intimidation to something else entirely, not that 76 really minds. Maybe it will show these guys to think twice before making a scene.

The man who he's pinning seems to get the idea, and begins to wriggle in panic beneath him. 76 relents and lets him up, and the guy runs away from the situation as quickly as his shaky legs will take him.

"I can't actually take them in for anything, because this kind of thing isn't against the law here," 76 says as he stands and dusts himself off. "Just wanted to break things up."

The second man looks appropriately terrified, so much so that he's frozen in his tracks for now. "I-it was just a friendly fight, that was all! Both of you are just overreacting!"