The Hunted

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina lurked beneath a nearby window, having used a rune to amplify the sound of their voices coming through the walls. She frowned as she considered their words. It seemed as if he wasn't an enemy; he might, just might, even be an ally. She brought her knees to her chest and rested her chin against them, thinking hard. Perhaps she should approach this 'Musa' and see exactly how much he knew. She might even be able to catch the mysterious benefactor who had organized the whole gathering. On that note, she wondered how many people had received the same message she had. There was no sure-fire way to find out, and at the moment she needed as many allies as she could find.

She sighed and, after cancelling after her spell and replacing her runes back into her coat she came back around to the front of the building. She leaned against the wall near the door, pulling her coat tighter about herself as she waited for the strange man to come back out.

 

[Gardevoir Master]

Illumil eventually caught up to Morlaina. She silently floated over to her and hovered just above her head where she couldn't see her.

"So, what are we doing?" she whispered. Then she gave her a broad, mischeivous smile.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina stared in shock as the fairy approached her. She was about to ask why Illumil had followed her, but it was fairly obvious, given her blatant take-off at the hotel. She silently cursed herself for it.

She was silent for a few moments, before she said, "I'm following someone who may be able to help me with something."

 

[Musashi]

Musa smiled eating at the salade he had ordered, it had been acouple days since he had eaten with Kumo so he enjoyed it. "No more of your disappearing..Im sick of waking up and finding your gone..You have no idea of unsettling that is. " Kumo lectured on, Musa just smiled, "Yes mother.." He replied teasingly, Kumo grumbled at him. "Hey...I'll call you before I go to bed tonight..alright?" Musa said as he finished the salad, Kumo had been done with his for acouple minutes, the man nodded back at him.

They walked out together, "Hey..and wheres my coat?" Kumo asked pointedly at Musa, who laughed, "I forgot it back in my hotel room..Its fine though, if I hadn't run out like that, I probably would have brought it.." Musa looked down at the ground for a minute then back up at Kumo. "You leavin'...?" He asked quietly, Kumo nodded his head. "Have to..Be safe alright..If anything at all happens and you dont call me I'll personally come to the hotel and drag you home by your hair got it?" Kumo glared at the much shorter boy who nodded. "Hehe...kay.." Musa hugged Kumo before watching him get on his motorcycle and leaving. He sighed, watching him leave was always painful, especially because he had to deal with all the lectures instead of just having fun.

He smiled, "Oh well..maybe next time.." He stood outside the resturant staring at the road, bewitched for a moment unable to look away from the motorcycle traveling off in the distance.

 

[Gardevoir Master]

"Ooo... sounds mysterious," Illumil replied. She settled on Morlaina's shoulder. "Mind if I join in?"

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina smirked at Illumil and snorted at the scene playing out in front of her.

"I can't believe your the person I need to get help from." She said gravely, pushing off from the wall put being careful not to displace Illumil. "If you're always this mushy then you will never be able to stop this event from going down."

 

[Musashi]

Musa jumped and turned to see the Pale, Green-eyed woman he had encountered some times before, with the small fairy-type person on her shoulder. "You..saw all that just now..?" He asked blushing alittle. "Well its not your buisness..and what do you mean get help from..I have no idea what your talking about..." Musa said quietly.

 

[Gardevoir Master]

"Oh, now it sounds dangerous," Illumil remarked with a wicked grin. "Now a I really want in. I haven't caused a cataclysmic explosion in weeks!"

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina smiled appreciatively at Illumil; a real, honest-to-goodness smile. "I like the way you think."

"Anyways," she continued, addressing Musa plainly and meeting him eye for eye, "the event. You were off about something in there, oh, I believe it went 'Dangerous? Im just seeing if the rumors are true..I could save alot of lives if I catch whoever is planning something dangerous..Thats why I came..'....That's what you said, word for word, correct? Well..." She stepped forward, hand extracting from her pocket a thin sheet of paper that she had retrieved from Paul earlier. She held it up for him to see:

'Are you enjoying your accomodations, warrior?'

She smirked.

 

[Musashi]

He frowned, studying the paper for a minute. "So..There really is something going down at that Hotel then..Maybe Saraiya's death wasnt a coincidence..." Musa looked at the floor for a minute, shaking his head. "Well..seeing as you somehow overheard my conversation with Kumo-Sama..I can't really deny it..Though I still dont know what you mean by 'mushy'.."

Musa straightened up and smoothed his hair back. "Do you have any idea what this could be about...and why they would be doing something like this..My plan was to find someone suspicious and rough them up until they talked.."

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina couldn't help but laugh at that last part. "'Rough them up'? You, sir, wouldn't have any luck with that. No one involved in this 'event' directly has met anyone else involved, with the exception of myself and the man you saw with me earlier. He, too, received the note. We've been given free accomodations at the Mason's, for reasons well unknown to all of us. However," She continued, giving him a calculating grin, "I do believe we could help each other. You can capture this vagabond in charge of organization, if I am given free reign afterwards to pursue any and all data they have collected, as no doubt they have."

She crushed the note into a ball and tossed it at him. "Take this. Evaluate it. Puzzle it. Even check for fingerprints, if you wish. I do not care. Simply report back to me with the results, if you wish for further assistance."

She smiled at Illumil. "Shall we head off somewhere for a bite to eat, or back to the hotel?"

 

[Gardevoir Master]

"Eh?" Illumil remarked upon seeing the paper. She reached into her purse and pulled out a peice of paper. With a shake, it magically unfolded itself until it was identical to the first paper. "Wow. That's so freaky. They're almost exactly the same."

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina stared at her, then at the note. She started laughing again. "Oh, it seems I've become a magnet for fellow 'warriors'." She 'feh'd. "Still. Dinner or hotel?" She inquired again. "My treat."

 

[Gardevoir Master]

"Well, I..." Illumil's clever remark was cut off by her rumbling stomach. She chuckled and scratched the back of her head. "Heh, heh. Dinner it is then. I don't think I've eaten all day."

 

[Musashi]

Musa blinked tilting his head somewhat as he caught the paper. "Alright, guess I'll do my best, though im rather good at the roughing up part then the CSI kind of stuff.." He trailed off quietly as he started to walked down the street back to the hotel, wondering if he should call Kumo when he gets back to tell him. "Hmm...its not that big of a deal..He would just freak out anyway.." Musa giggled and continued his way towards the hotel.

He hummed to himself quielty as he walked, stuffing the paper into the pocket of his jeans. " I still dont know what she meant about 'mushy' though..." Musa blinked looking up at the lights of the buildings before scoffing. "Im not Mushy.." He entered the hotel and walked up to his room and locked the door behind him. He looked over the paper, trying to figure out a way to find the person behind all this.

"If their going to spring this..they've got to be somewhere close by..or at least have someone or something close by thats a clue..They could even be planning a terroist attack on the hotel..If I could find a bomb..or maybe something like a message or email in the database of the hotel..I guess I should start there.." Musa sighed and shook his head. "First I need to shower though..."

Musa walked to the bathroom and stripped off his cloths and scowled at the scars across his chest from the torture he had been through in his previous years. He got under the hot water and washed off, cleaning his hair out. He muttered out into the water. "I hope I haven't gotten myself into something way over my head..Kumo will kill me if I start another riot.."

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina laughed and pointed down the street. "Smitty's bar will still be open. His coffee and steak are the best. How about it?" She rubbed at her eyes tiredly. "I could go for some coffee. I've been running all over the place following that crazy guy all day."

((OC: Have to head to bed now. Be on tomorrow.))

 

[Musashi]

((OOC:: Alright, Night, I'll post after someone tomorrow as well then.))

 

[Gardevoir Master]

"Sounds good," Illumil replied with a simple smile. She shifted on Morlaina's shoulder slightly. "I better warn you: I may be small, but I eat a lot."

((G'night, Carrie))

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Paul held his own stomach, remembering how he didn't finish his breakfast. "Yes... I can use some supper myself." He looked over at Morlaina's shoulder, to see the other girl from last night. "Is this too, your ally?"

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina nodded. "She received the same note as we did. Besides, she's rather nice to have around."

The bar came into view within minutes, and she took a seat at the bar. Smitty eyed her odd company as she ordered coffee and a steak. She waved to her allies, indicating that she didn't care how expensive their orders were.

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Paul adjusted the colar on his Kung-Fu styled vest. It often got too tight when leaving it untended. He then noted Morlania's hand motion, and the lad politely ordered dumplings and more herbal tea. Paul then looked over to Illumil, to introduce himself. "Before I forget... My name is Paul. I saw you from the night before."

 

[Musashi]

Musa got out of the shower and put on his pink pajama's with black and yellow clouds designed onto them. He brushed his hair back and walked over to the bed. Picking up his cellphone he dialed the number to talk to Kumo. "Kumo..Yes..Im fine why?..Well I think I have a way to get a lead..just telling you whats up..Its alright..Yeah I watched you leaving...I noticed..I already thought you look cool.." He chuckled and shook his head. "Stupid..I've got to go now..Bye.."

Musa hung up the phone. Picking up Souba from under his bed, he slipped it down the leg of his pants and smirked. "This should do fine.." He pulled his shirt over the hilt and walked out the door, heading for the main room. At this hour, No one would be out. Musa was right as he looked around, he was alone with the man at the desk. He walked over and smiled coyly at the man, putting on his most feminine of voices. "Excuse me Sir....I was wondering if you had any extra..Mm..whats that word..Im so foreign..Brochure..For this place?"

The man stared at him for a minute, a confused and flushed look on his face as he jumped somewhat, noticing Musa wasnt talking anymore. He confirmed they did and he started to bend down to get one from under the desk. Musa smirked pulling Souba out for his Pajama's and hitting the man over the head with the hilt, he feel against the floor limply.

"So Easy.." He breathed, jumping over the counter and going into the little door to the back. He looked around, there was supplies, alot of papers and documents, he didnt feel like going through them all. He filed through some, looking for keywords, or anything suspicious. He crushed lightly when he saw there was none. Shaking his head he went over to the desk in the middle. Searching the cabinets and all around it, he found a small laptop and smiled. "I'll take this with me..Just in case.." Musa took the laptop with him as he exited the room, setting it down on the other side of the counter.

He looked back at the man on the ground and shrugged, "I'll come back for him.." He picked the laptop back up and returned to his room, stashing it, and his Souba on the bed, and locking the door behind him. He returned to the man and shook him lightly. "Sir..Sir please wake up.." The man started to open his eyes, Musa giggled, "Silly..You hit your head against the counter when you where going to give me a Brochure.." The man seemed to be confused and apologized quite alot before giving Musa the useless piece of paper.

Musa returned back to his room and sighed, throwing the advertisment away he looked back at the laptop. "At least I have something to go off of now...Or at least I have something to do in the morning..Its late.." He put Souba and the Laptop under his bed, and called Kumo telling him he was going to sleep. Turning his Cellphone on Vibrate he closed his eyes and went to sleep, figuring he would deal with it in the morning.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina sat back from the impending conversation and buried herself in her steak as it arrived, after drowning it liberally in steak sauce. She took the time instead to muse.

Already three 'warriors' had met, and they had no way of knowing just how many others resided in the hotel. If they had some kind of way to question room service about the deliverence of letters they might get somewhere, but in the back of her mind Morlaina knew they weren't delivered by room service.

 

[Musashi]

Musa twitched in his sleep and heard the phone buzzing against the bedspread, signaling it was vibrating. He groggily picked up the phone. "What?...Im fine Kumo..It is not early its.." Musa squinted to see the clock. "Its almost 9 at night..That isnt early..I've been running around..Reporting murders and such.." Musa whinned irritated.

"Kumooo...No..Dont come over..Ahhh...You dont even know my room number..Dammit..I'll meet you tomorrow or..something..Where?..Im to tired for this..Call me in the morning.." Musa hung up the phone and groaned as he turned over away from his phone. "He needs to lighten up.." Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Musa reached down and picked up the laptop. "I might as well get some of this done so I can sleep in tomorrow..."

He turned it on and waited for a minute. He went straight to emails, Checking all the messages, and the sent messages, he found one that was slightly suspicious, but only if taken that way. He stared at the screen tiredly before falling asleep against the computer keys.

 

[Gardevoir Master]

Paul adjusted the colar on his Kung-Fu styled vest. It often got too tight when leaving it untended. He then noted Morlania's hand motion, and the lad politely ordered dumplings and more herbal tea. Paul then looked over to Illumil, to introduce himself. "Before I forget... My name is Paul. I saw you from the night before."

"You know, I think I noticed you, too," Illumil replied thoughtfully. She gave Paul a big smile. "My name is Illumil. Nice to meet you."

Illumil then turned to Smitty, staring pensively at him with a hand on her chin. Then she perked up and said, "I'll have spaghetti. The largest plate you got. You won't believe how hugry I am."

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Paul chuckled breifly. He woundered to himself how a creature her size could eat such a enormous plate of food. The orders soon after arrived to their respective recipients. The young man was uncomfortable with the silverware at this bar, but luckily he had a pair of chopsticks with him, so he took them out of his pocket and tore them apart.

"So, what brings you here, Illumi?"

 

[Musashi]

Twitches slightly in his sleep and rolls over, hugging the pillow against his body and mummbling something about fluffy kittens and groans mashing his fist against the pillow of a minute before it falls back down limply. Musa's phone was vibrating again against the bed and he unconciously shook his head muttering "uh-uh.." As he tried to escape the annoying noise in his sleep.

Opening his eyes, he looked over at his phone and saw a number he didnt know, he picked it up, "Hello...?" He answered but they hung up. Musa narrowed his eyes and sighed. Setting the phone back down he stretched. "Maybe after a walk I'll be better..." He got up tiredly and left the Mason's. Walking down the dark, streetlit sidewalks trying to wake up. "I should be working with that stupid laptop..Guess I dont have time to sleep tonight.."

 

[Gardevoir Master]

Illumil sat down on her knees next to the plate and picked up a strand of spaghetti.

"I was hired for a job, but I wasn't given any specifics," she explained, gesturing with the strand in one hand like one might hold cigar. "All my accomodations were already provided, and I was told to stay at the hotel until I got further instructions, so I thought, 'Hey, why not?' It's like being on vacation, so far. I really don't like being in the dark like this about a job. Makes me think I'm working for terrorists. But a gig's a gig. Girl's gotta make a living, you know."

She stuck the strand in her mouth and litterally inhaled it. It was sucked into her mouth with little or no interruption. The strand got stuck at one point, and with sharp tug it snapped into her face and knocked her on her back. Giggling, she rocked back into seated position and inhaled the rest of the strand.

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Paul took a swig of his tea, then exhaled. "I see. I myself was brought to this hotel because of my grandmother's friend. He set the mug down. "You see, her friend is the co-owner of this astablishment. My guardian was first offered the invite, but she gave to me. I humbly accepted, though denied it at first." Paul felt as if he was rambling, so he ate another dumpling.

 

[Musashi]

Stretching his arms above his head as he walked, he wondered where the Green-eyed woman he had met earlier, maybe she would have been having better luck. Musa spotted a park and smiled walking over rather randomley and looking down into the lake of the cozy looking place. Musa could imagine Kids here playing, their mothers watching protectively as they waited for daddy to come and play with them after work. Musa sighed, he was never one for a normal life though, he liked the abstract view of things.

Starring down at the water, he saw his reflection and laughed breathlessly, he always thought it was funny when he looked totally ridiculous. He had just wondered out in his pajama's. He laid down on a bench and folded his arms behind his head, and crossed his legs. "When I see her again I'll have to tell her that I smuggled the laptop..It could be of some sort of use.." Musa stated, refering to the pale woman who's name he had yet to know. "And what did she mean by 'Mushy'!?" Musa seethed aloud.

Musa then remembered he left his cellphone on his bed. "Oh well..Kumo thinks im asleep anyway.." Sitting up and crossing his arms over his knee's he watched the lake. "Maybe their still out eating and I can catch her and ask....If I dont get home soon Kumo will flip so I should do this as quick as possible..Even with leads it'll take forever.." Musa nodded to himself and sat up, walking towards the bar he had seen her in last, figuring she goes there often, since most people do that sort of thing, and it was the only thing he had to go off of.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina had taken to ignoring their little conversation, focusing instead on inhaling as much steak and coffee as her body would physically allow her. Smitty only served his infamous steak two nights a week, and she wanted to get as much of it as she could. It was rare that she got to eat something like it, seeing as how normally she would never stay in a city for more than three days, and never approached the fancier sides of town. She tuned back into their conversation just as it ended.

"They invited your guardian to this event?"

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Paul nodded. "Even though she is elderly, my Grandmother was once revered as an expert in several different Martial Arts. She still practices them, though she isn't as energetic as she once was." He polished off his glass of Tea, and eyed Smitty for another.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina waved for Smitty's attention and shook her head.

"Wow. Well, at least you two have reasons for being invited. I'm not sure how they even knew I existed in the first place. I'm not exactly stand-out, or have any family members that have noticeable qualities regarding fighting..."

 

[Musashi]

Musa stretched his arms as he walked into the bar, getting alot of stares and a teasing whistle as he walked in, in Pajama's. He blinked ignoring it and saw the Green-eyed woman and walked over sitting down closest to her. "I think I've got something that can give us a lead..Im not sure.." He said yawning. "If not..I have another ideas about..things.." Musa looked around the bar noticing people where still starring.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina gave the staring bystanders a cold glare before turning to Musa.

"Really? Do tell. Have you discovered the identity of the organizer yet, or are you still looking?"

She noticed people were still staring, and she spun around on her stool to face them.

"Find something interesting, ladies and gentlemen?" She asked them smoothly, staring flatly at them all until they turned away. She snorted as she returned to her coffee.

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

The attention broke, though Paul's attention was still fixated on the two mysterious characters in the bar. He had recieved his tea, and resumed eating his meal.

"Who exactly do you think that other woman is? Possibly an ally of his?" He suggested quietly.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina watched Paul's object of attention out of the corner of her eye.

"Not sure. We'll keep an eye on her; see if she's messing with any recording devices, writing something, meeting someone, etc. We have to keep an eye on everyone in here."

As she said it the woman reached into her coat, pulling out something Morlaina couldn't see and setting it on the table. Her eyes narrowed in on the movement, but she still couldn't make out what the other woman was doing.

 

[Musashi]

Musa smiled at the pale woman, "Heh not yet...Though I did happen to find something in the back room behind the desk..Its a laptop..Alot of things are sent Via e-mail..There might be a clue there..We should probably check all messages that they get..E-mail..Letters..Phone calls..." Musa said under his breath, "Though..it is just a puzzle.." Musa said, hoping she would get the code, as to be less suspicious.

"Oh yeah, I haven't yet caught your name.."

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Morlaina nodded in understanding, not commenting further for the sake of cover. "It's Morlaina, by the way. And I already know your name, Musa-san." She drained the rest of her coffee and set the cup down, politely refusing another round. Her eyes found the shady woman again. "'Shady people don't ask shady people what they're doing,'" She said, her own personal motto falling easily from her lips. "Remember that. You do what you need to do; I'll do what I need to do."

The shady woman was standing, scooping the mysterious object back into her coat. She left, and Morlaina stood.

"No one follow. Shady people might not ask other shady people what they're doing, but that doesn't mean we won't follow to find out." She left the pay for everyone's meal on the counter, waving goodbye to Smitty as she headed for the door. "All the rest of you can go back to the hotel. I have snooping to do."

 

[Musashi]

Musa had nodded, making note to remember the name and watched as Morlaina left. He waited acouple minutes, not wanting to leave at the same time as her, making sure it didnt look to suspicious. Musa looked around the bar, watching for anything that seemed suspicious, he figured there would be others that received the note. Maybe they had people watching all of them, if that was it, he would have to make sure to bring Souba and Korosu more often.