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Post by Milo on Aug 27, 2007 19:23:49 GMT -5
Dresden led Aerynn to a small rocky outcropping. The non-descript location was ideal for his hideout - it meant anything that didn't know it was there generally remained that way.
He slid between two large boulders and came to a small keypad, set deep in the rock. No lights glowed on the face - that would be far too stupid an idea. He keyed in a 12 digit code from memory and a section of rock clicked. He pushed it open and it swung on oiled hinges, revealing a metal frame ands simple corridor. He stalked into the hideout.
Inside was fairly spartan - lockers for supplies dominated one wall, a doorway led to a series of thickly-barred detention cells with similar electronic locks to the outside door. They also have good old fashioned bolts, in case the generator that powered the den failed.
Across from the cell's corridor was a nook containing a simple bunk and lamp. The rest of the main room was taken up with a table-come-workbench with an assortment of tools and a magnifier/lamp arrangement bolted to one edge.
Dresden walked over to a computer terminal and punched in a code. One of the cells swung open pneumatically with a hiss.
"There you go. There's a bunk in there, although it's not designed for comfort."
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Post by Aerynn on Aug 27, 2007 19:31:56 GMT -5
Aerynn walked into the hideout and looked around at the spartan conditons. Well his apartment wasn't much better, he could definitely live with this. At Dresden's mention of a bed Aerynn smiled.
"You've forgotten something about me. Changeling remember. I'll be perfectly happy sleeping as a raven. That is of course if I can manage the transformation this time."
He walked into the cell and dumped his bag next to the bunk. He pulled out the shotgun and examined it. It certainly was a cool looking gun. He'd need to find some more specialist ammo for it though. It wouldn't be to effective against demons otherwise.
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Post by Milo on Aug 27, 2007 19:36:15 GMT -5
Dresden paused. Then he actually smiled.
"You're right. And I don't forget things that often." He was beginning to warm to his new charge. The kid was inexperienced but showed a lot of promise. He walked to the fridge and opened it, revealing a stack of easily-preserved foodstuffs.
"There's food and drink in here. Feel free to eat when you need to."
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Post by Aerynn on Aug 28, 2007 19:32:48 GMT -5
Aerynn nodded and grinned at having made Dresden actually show an emotion. After some sleep he'd have to have a go at firing the shotgun. It looked like the folding stock would come off reasonably easily, so maybe it wouldn't need shortening. Anyway, time to sleep. "See you tomorrow Dresden." Aerynn concentrated and felt himself transforming, and he didn't get stuck halfway this time. It was wierd but the hybrid felt more natural than either the raven or human form now. He'd have to ponder that later, now it was time to kip. He shut his black eyes and sat on the pillow and tucked his legs up under him. Within seconds he was asleep.
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Post by Milo on Aug 29, 2007 21:26:08 GMT -5
"Good night, Aerynn." Dresden watched his young protegé prepare for sleep in his makeshift sleeping quarters, and then set about preparing himself for sleep.
First, he crossed the small main area to the alarm system, and activated it. An array of motion detectors would signal him with a silent alarm should needs be. Then, he shrugged out of his coat and pulled open one of the lockers. He hung it up and it was closely followed by his boots. He pulled off his vest and threw it in the laundry (Another less glamourous side of any profession, he thought idly, everyone has to do laundry).
Lastly, he unstrapped the twin holsters attached to his thighs and slung them in the locker also.
That done, he moved to his own bunk and lay down, staring at the ceiling. After a while he closed his eyes, and soon after that, he slipped into sleep.
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Post by Aerynn on Aug 30, 2007 17:12:57 GMT -5
Aerynn awoke with a start, he felt far to cramped for a smallish bird in a large cell. He opened his eyes and discovered that he had transformed again in his sleep. He was back in the hybrid form. His head was all pushed up against the wall and his wings were folded uncomfortably behind him. He concentrated for a few seconds and his form shrunk and he was Aerynn the human again, wearing some boxers and a t-shirt. He yawned and stretched before pulling on a pair of jeans from his bag and replacing his t-shirt. Now he needed food. He got up and padded over to the fridge, opening it and pulling out some milk, a bagel and some ham. He found a knife and glass and made a quick meal. He went and sat back down on his bed to eat. He picked up the shotgun when he was finished and examine the folding stock. It looked like it was held on by a couple of screws. He walked over to the work bench and found a screwdriver. Sitting back down on his bunk he had removed the stock within minutes, the shotgun was considerably shorter already. He guessed it was morning so he called out to Dresden.
"Dresden, s'morning. And you said we got work to do."
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Post by Milo on Aug 31, 2007 5:58:33 GMT -5
The door to the hideout swung open, and Dresden walked in. He'd already been awake for a couple of hours, speaking to various contacts in the city. He came in just in time to hear Aerynn call out.
"We do indeed, but you looked exhausted. I gave you a couple more hours while I went to speak to some of my more... cautious contacts." Cautious was one word, although downright paranoid was more appropriate. He sat down at the main table area.
"It seems a lot has happened. Last night saw a coup at the coven tower and our friend Adrian was a key player. The body count was pretty high, but I understand that Adrian and a few others escaped the battle and are now in hiding. Whether or not they still require our services I don't know, but our we need to contact them as soon as possible."
He finished his explanation and eyed Aerynn's work on the shotgun.
"Nice modification," he nodded towards the weapon.
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Post by Aerynn on Aug 31, 2007 13:19:45 GMT -5
"Cheers, now I just need some sort of holster and some special ammo. I've only got flechette at the moment. And is there anywhere I can test it?"
Aerynn picked up the shotgun and the box of rounds and started slotting the shells into the bottom of the gun. He then filled the clip on the side of the gun with extra shells and pumped the first shell into the firing chamber.
"So whats our first task of the day?"
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Post by Milo on Aug 31, 2007 19:20:55 GMT -5
Dresden nodded. "This is a fairly secluded area, you can do some training out the back. As for the holster, I'll see what I've got." With that he turned to the supply lockers and pulled one open. He looked through it, frowned, and closed it again. He did this a couple more times, with different lockers, and eventually pulled out a complex black arrangement of webbing and straps. He tossed it to Aerynn.
"Here you are. This is SWAT, I believe, so it should suffice."
He sat back down and steepled his fingers, resting his chin on the tips.
"as I said, we need to contact Adrian. This thing with the coven is sure to have shaken things up a bit and I need to know whether out contract still stands. There's no point in doing something if we aren't going to get paid for it."
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Post by Aerynn on Aug 31, 2007 19:37:26 GMT -5
Aerynn struggled into the webbing and straps then slid the shotgun into its holster and tightened the straps to make it sit more comfortably. He pulled on his shirt over the top, which mostly hid the webbing and most of the gun. He also picked up his old trench knife and its small belt scabbardand affixed it to his belt.
"Right, I'll go and try it out a few times and then I suppose we'll go try and find Adrian."
Aerynn moved outside and slid the shotgun out of its holster again. He clicked off the safety and aimed at a windfall apple lying on the ground about 30ft away. He pulled the trigger and with a jerk and a roar the apple and the turf a foot either side of it disintegrated. He grinned manically at the results.
"Thats so damn cool."
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Post by Milo on Sept 1, 2007 8:31:47 GMT -5
Dresden nodded. "Ok, take a few minutes. I'll try and reach Adrian on the number he gave me." He watched Aerynn exit the hide and then he crossed the room to the wall-mounted phone. He flicked on the scrambling hardware that would ensure his signal was untraceable, and dialled Adrian's number, not sure if the witch would be able to answer, given the situation developing with the coven.
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Post by Milo on Sept 2, 2007 18:27:52 GMT -5
Dresden hung up the phone, pondering on his agreement to help Adrian. Breaking into the coven tower, even with the split dividing its forces, was still a highly dangerous mission. He thought of Aerynn, about the risks of taking someone as inexperienced as him into such a volatile combat zone. He sighed - he didn't really have much of a choice, and the kid seemed able to take care of himself. He moved over to the hide's exit, swung the door open and leaned out.
"Aerynn, stop fooling around, we've got work to do." He called out. "We've got a new job, and I'll need to take a look at that stone the witch gave you last night." With that, he re-entered the hide and started to ready himself for the coming chaos.
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Post by Aerynn on Sept 2, 2007 18:31:56 GMT -5
Aerynn looked up when Dresden spoke nodded and slid the shotgun away. He walked back into the hide and watched as Dresden sorted himself out. He reached into his pocket for the stone and saw that it was glowing faintly.
"Heres the stone, its glowing a bit. Anything you can tell me about this new job?"
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Post by Milo on Sept 2, 2007 18:38:47 GMT -5
Dresden looked back over his shoulder as Aerynn walked in. He finished clipping on his thigh-holsters and opened a locker. He looked down at the stone, seeing the glow.
"The witches who split off from the coven want our help in pulling one of their allies out of the tower. Adrian is behind it. That stone should lead you to him, I gather." He said, pulling out a sizeable longsword in a black scabbard and strapping it to his back, over the trench-coat. He grabbed another few clips of 9mm ammo and dropped them into pockets in his combats.
"This is going to be very dangerous. Think you can handle it?"
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Post by Aerynn on Sept 2, 2007 18:44:10 GMT -5
Aerynn nodded reasonably certainly. I think I'll be alright. I can do this remember."
He slid the shotgun out and held it one hand. Then he transformed into his hybrid shape snapping the beak and holding up his amply clawed hand in demonstration. He reckoned he'd be okay, he'd just try and stick to the general rule of kill them before they kill you. In a straight fight he'd be okay. He was quick strong and now he carried a high powered shotgun. It was magical fights which worried him more.
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Post by Milo on Sept 3, 2007 5:51:27 GMT -5
Dresden watched his new partner transform, regarding him critically for a moment. After a pause, he nodded, once.
"Good," he said, "Now we need to leave. Follow the stone, Adrian said. They're at some kind of magic shop."
He stalked over to the entrance to the hide, swung the door open, and motioned for Aerynn to go through. "Just remember," he said, as he waited, "In a race over a short distance between a spell and a shotgun blast, the shotgun wins. Keep that in mind and you'll be fine."
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Post by Aerynn on Sept 3, 2007 12:20:32 GMT -5
Aerynn stepped back out into the cool air and glanced down at the stone. It felt like it was pulling him east, in the general direction of the coven tower. He pointed off in the direction it showed.
"I reckon we go this way and thats very true. Flechettes while not being the horrible magical fire of hell do travel pretty damn fast."
((Next post at the shop?))
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Post by Aerynn on Dec 6, 2007 18:52:04 GMT -5
Aerynn landed with a muffled thump in front of the entrance to the hide and after a cursory check began the transformation back to human. Again he got pretty much all the way but his hair remained feathers, and just to make matters worse the stone feather seemed to have gained a friend. He sighed and moved into the entrance. When he got to the door he rapped hard on the reinforced metal and waited for Dresden to open up.
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Post by Milo on Dec 7, 2007 4:15:51 GMT -5
Dresden had been sleeping at his computer terminal; feet propped up on the desk before him and chair angled backwards. At the first sound of the knocking he awoke instantly, immediately trying to source the sound. He checked the security cameras pointed at the entrance to his hideout, and relaxed as he saw Aerynn standing on the other side of the metal portal.
"Well, well," He said to himself as he stood and made his way over to the door controls. He quickly had the door open and stood back to let Aerynn through.
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Post by Aerynn on Dec 9, 2007 7:47:49 GMT -5
Aerynn stepped through the entrance and moved straight into the cell he had slept in two nights before. He slumped down onto the small cot and only once he was comfortable and had divested himself of his boots and the shotgun did he speak.
"I can guarantee your night was less eventful than mine, by a freaking mile and a half, at least. I have quite a bit to tell you, if of course you want to hear it."
Aerynn wasn't sure how this new development would effect his partnership with Dresden, would he even be able to continue to work if he couldn't kill people?
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Post by Milo on Dec 14, 2007 8:06:06 GMT -5
Dresden sat down at the table and thunked his boots up on it's worn surface. His trenchcoat lay draped over the back of the chair and he idly started field-stripping a handgun, although his eyes remained on Aerynn.
"Well right as this moment we don't have any pressing business, so go ahead and talk. Then we can start to figure out what to do next."
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Post by Aerynn on Dec 16, 2007 6:08:47 GMT -5
"Heh, that should be an interesting decision. Anyway, I got taken to this special Shaman place, lots of glowing crystals and wierdness. And the guy got me to touch this massive crystal, taller than you are and at least a metre across. When I touched it I kind of hallucinated or something, because I was in this wierd desolate place with a really freaky river."
Aerynn paused to get more comfortable on the cot and clear his throat before continuing with the abridged version of his story.
" But the best is yet to come, when I was there I got a visitor. He told me I've been interspliced with a spirit or something, one of the ones thats meant to guide your soul to the afterlife when you die. According the them I've got about a month before I complete the whole thing. Then I woke up and it turned out I'd been standing there the whole night and so we left and I came back here."
He leaned forward to pull his jacket off, it was much hotter in the hide than outside and now he was sweating quite a bit. Didn't help that he was reasonably excited.
"Now you have to guess who it was that came and talked to me. I bet you won't."
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Post by Milo on Dec 17, 2007 18:16:32 GMT -5
By the time Aerynn's story was finished, the handgun was cleaned, assembled and say, gleaming under a sheen of oil, on the table's surface. Dresden himself was sat forwards, bare forearms resting on his knees, hands dangling in front of him. He listened intently, aware that his partner was going through a dramatic series of events. As the younger hunter finished, Dresden sat back, bringing one leg up and resting it on the other knee. He gestured with one hand, signalling that he had no clue.
"I have no idea," He said, with a trace of amusement, "Enlighten me."
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Post by Aerynn on Dec 17, 2007 18:47:53 GMT -5
Aerynn threw up his arms and slumped back onto the cot in exasperation at the absurdity of his story.
"Me, I got told all this by me. Stupid as it sounds I have been informed of my future by me from the future."
He jammed the heel of his palms into his eyes and rubbed hard, trying to get rid of the feeling that this was all just some stupid dream. He dropped his hands away and annoyinngly there was the world still, just now it was covered in swirling flashes and colours.
"On the upside, it doesn't look like I have any chance of getting skin cancer in the near future. The other me was so pale he glowed."
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Post by Aerynn on Dec 23, 2007 8:45:36 GMT -5
Aerynn was waiting to see how Dresden would react to this craziness when his pocket suddenly got really hot. He jumped out of the cot in shock and shook the pocket inside out onto the floor. In the middle of scattered loose change and a spare shotgun cartridge sat the stone Adrian had given him. It was glowing a deep ruddy red and now that he looked at it he could hear it whispering to him. He glanced up at Dresden and grinned sheepishly.
"The witch who gave me this has sent me a message. Apparently there is a meeting or something in the coven tower I'm meant to go to for some reason, starts quite soon. You want to come too, see if we can get a job?"
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