Monochrome [Open]

Addison was stuck. She was so badly stuck that had she currently not been freezing to death, she would have been laughing. She had been in many, many sticky situations in the three years since she'd left home but this was beginning to prove itself as the worst of all. There was no way she could cross over 1500 miles entirely undetected. All she had was a map, a passport that was virtually useless and the slim hope that she would meet someone with an incredibly convenient ability. She let out a shaky breath, pulling her flimsy coat tight around herself even as she trembled like she was two seconds away from dying.

If it didn't feel like she was already suffering from hypothermia, she would have thought she had quite a good cover. Except that she was in the middle of nowhere, in some rundown shit-hole whose name she couldn't understand off the creaky sign at the front. It looked distinctly like some sort of hovel but she couldn't figure out whether it was a bar, an orphanage or a whore house. She couldn't decide which was worse.

Addison let out another breath, looked around for someone who looked even remotely educated and promptly gave up. This was useless. She was still days away from Petersburg. Addison threw one last glance at the dimly lit place and then decided that it would be a good place to sleep, if she could safely rule out rape and robbery. Until then, she could do something useful - like look for someplace from which she could steal a meal. Addison shrugged off her coat, pulled her rucksack on and then put the coat on once again. It should keep any urchins off her while simultaneously keeping her warm. Addison flung open the door to the hovel, ignoring its creaks of protests as she stepped out into the cold. The... thing that stretched out in front of her looked distinctly like a town square and she stepped further into the weak light of the sunset.

She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and turned her face skywards, glad for the muted shades of the sunset as it was the only color she could spot in this godforsaken place.

Hayato was returning from China, his mission complete and he needed to report his success to the Syndicate. The cold weather returned as he journeyed through the snowy area, however the pyrokinetic caused blue flames to emit from his body as he walked, which instantaneously warmed his body. He was close to a small town filled with spirits which led directly to the Syndicate.

Suddenly as he walked he noticed something out of the ordinary occuring within Vince Terram; there was a woman walking through the area with dark brown hair barely falling to her shoulders. She was shorter than he was and seemed cold as she wrapped a rucksack and coat around herself while she walked. This was very rare, he had never seen a human walk blindly through the area where it was blistering cold and could cause sickness to average humans.

Hayato approached the girl from behind, it was clear that she was a human and didn't belong in such a place. He walked from behind her to five feet to the left beside her then began to speak in a low monotone voice "You are either brave or very stupid to be walking through these lands alone without any form of weapon." he spoke firmly and without any form of emotion coming from his voice.

He stated this as he knew she was recieving many stares from the surrounding spirits, his red eyes were slightly glowing upon the sight of her shivering body. Hayato kept a calm composure as he looked ahead and walked casually along side the woman and awaited a response. However, he was ready to react at any instant if she attempted any form of attack.

Addison took a few step forwards, her gaze never moving from the sky even as she felt a prickling at the edge of her conscience. She felt the strength of his ability mere seconds before he appeared within her peripheral. A spirit and a pyrokinetic. A shiver ran down her spine and she wasn't entirely sure if it was caused by her allowing herself to pick up his powers or the fact that she was already scared half to death. Addison continued to walk even as he watched her, edging into the shadows none too surreptitiously.

He was strong. No stronger than her, when it came to his abilities, but exponentially powerful when it came to his physique. She threw a sideways glance at him, coyly looking him over before returning her gaze to the blood red sky. Fire-resistant armor. Fancy, she concluded. Addison did not spare him a glance as he spoke, continuing to stare at the sky as if looking away even for a second would cause the colors to vanish from the horizon.

She had half a mind to point out that perhaps he was a little stupid for not considering a third option - that she didn't need one - but he was a spirit and even though she'd already mimicked as much of his powers as she could without touching him, she was still weaker than him. So she pretended to mull it over, silently enjoying her new ability as she let the warmth spread from her chest down to very tips of her fingers. Addison was certain that if she raised her body temperature any further, he would be able to sense it and so, she let the heat linger for a few minutes before dissipating. No use being warm if a silly mistake was going to end up killing her.

She edged further into the shadows, the sky turning a deep purple now so that her features weren't so obvious. Once she was sure that she had no other option but to answer - running away would have been silly since the closer she was to him, the more of his powers she had - she answered. "Don't need one when I've got you," she said it coyly, smiling a little as she wondered just how he would take it.

Addison could already see how her words could be misinterpreted in about ten different ways but she was half-sure that she could outrun this man if the need arose. For now she decided to see if the man was as smart as he was frightening.

(Not sure how you were able to tell my armor was fire resistant, but eh I'll go with it ^^)

Hayato walked along side the girl calmly and without showing any form of emotion. However, Hayato was observing the girl whom he was walking next to. She seemed extremely tired as she had dark circles underneath her eyes. The cold weather was taking its toll on her, she was shivering when he had been watching her before. But then something strange happened, she stopped as if she was warming herself up somehow. The rucksack couldn't be that helpful, could it?

As this was happening, Hayato could tell this human had a slight amount of fear in her due to him being so close. She edged further into the shadows, now her features weren't so obvious to the other spirits in the area. They all knew of Hayato due to the black tribal tattoo on his right arm, they knew him as the Syndicate assassin 'The Black Dragon'. They soon lost interest, the red eyes around the two began to look away because they thought Hayato had already claimed the prey as the two were waking the direction of a Syndicate Assassination base.

"Don't need one when I've got you." the girl said with a smile on her face. Hayato raised an eyebrow, could these words have to do with the sudden raise in her body temperature? In any case, Hayato was unsure of what this human meant by these words. "Don't expect any help from me girl," he said in a plain, yet cold tone "I am an uncaring, cold, and ruthless individual. If any spirits in the area attempt to harm you, you are on your own."

Hayato spoke these words true, he has never used his abilities in order to protect others. Only to slaughter humans in the name of the Syndicate. He kept walking where he was, he didn't even care if the girl tried to run. She was no threat to him, as far as he was concerned she was of no value to him either. The proud spirit kept walking as he awaited her response.

[My character's just traveled a lot. She'd be able to tell.]

Addison couldn't say that she was surprised when his reply indicated that he thought she wanted him to protect her. Perhaps not that smart after all, she concluded just a tad arrogantly but at least he was keeping her alive as long as he hung around. She was determined to keep him talking. If experience was anything to go on, the longer he stayed next to her the longer she'd be able to stay warm - if not longer. To be entirely honest, she herself had thought it uncanny as to how quickly she'd been able to absorb his powers. All the more useful for her though.

"I most certainly don't." Addison said wryly, shooting him a sideways glance. It was probably the truest thing she'd said all day. If there was anyone who looked least likely to help her, it was this man - and she had met quite a lot of unhelpful people along the way. Perhaps Addison had been a little slow on the uptake, but the less she asked around for help, the more likely she was to get out of a city alive. And presently, the last thing she wanted to do was become indebted to a spirit.

"Cold, uncaring and ruthless?" Addison echoed. "Charming." she breathed, just loud enough for him to hear but quiet enough that if he chose to confront her about it, she could brush it off as a whisper of the wind. Even as he mentioned other spirits, Addison cast him another glance. He was even more useful than she'd thought. She hadn't even glanced around but she knew already that the sight of him had driven away most of the other spirits. She could feel their powers ebbing out of her reach. "I'm aware of that, thank you." Addison said lightly.

Addison thought it quite ironic that he should mention other spirits while he himself was leading her to the Syndicate base, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she wasn't certain. She'd been travelling for three years. She'd learnt to scout an area before she settled down, even if it was for a night. Even if she hadn't, Addison would have been able to feel the high concentration of spirit energy from miles away. She herself hadn't wanted to stop here but the weather had been extreme even for her. However, now that she'd found the perfect source of heat - she'd be able to go on for at least three days before the threat of pneumonia and hypothermia returned to loom over her.

And while the spirit, for some reason, continued to waste his time talking to her, she was ensuring her survival for the next few days at least.

Hayato listened to this girl speak, she seemed smarter than she appeared. There was a crossroad coming up which the two would be approaching soon; one went to the Syndicate base while the other lead to an old abandoned prison used for war prisoners. Although she was somewhat sarcastic he didn't really care. "I am not sure if are aware of this, but you are in enemy territory and heading directly towards the location of the most ruthless spirits in Vince Terram." he stated plainly and as if she didn't know where she was going.

The assassin then removed his hood, this would revesal his short black hair and red eyes more quickly. He then placed one hand on the sheath of his sword, it was made from a metal alloy and was cold to the touch. However, he was wearing metal gloves which would look like average leather, so he didn't feel the slightest shiver. It was then that Hayato decided it would be about time to show off some of his true intelligence by speaking more complex and revealing what he could see.

"I notised your body temperature should be below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions in a human to be sustainable. Meaning that there is more to you that meets the eye, as characteristic symptoms should occur such as shivering and mental confusion from the drastic decrease in temperature." he spoke in a calm monotone voice "Yet you are speaking so well as if uneffected and ever since I've began walking next to you the humidity in the air has slightly shifted as if our combined external body heat was warming the area up." Hayato's sense of touch when it came to heat was good enough to detect a shift in climate especially since he had been living in this area since the invasion of russia, he had only felt things like this due to his pyrokinetic abilities.

Hayato kept walking as he spoke, they would be at the crossroad soon as it was only 20 meters away. However he was unsure of which way she would go; to the left was the abandoned jail house, to the right was the trail to the Syndicate base. Hayato was walking at a slightly faster speed than her and knew he would most likely reach the crossroads first. He simply awaited her response to what he had said, would she lie to him or come clean?

Despite the fact that Addison had been well aware of what the spirit had just revealed to her, she was a little puzzled as to why he'd even bothered. She had been watching the spirits for nearly a month - probably being watched by other spirits at the same time. Even before that, all facts had pointed to the rather obvious conclusion that spirits were sick, cruel things. They weren't known for being particularly well-inclined toward humans. If anything, she'd even heard rumors of cannibalism. She wasn't entirely sure as to what was true but the fact remained that spirits weren't kind and they sure as hell didn't throw a heads up to wandering humans.

"Ruthless?" Addison echoed lightly. "Well, shouldn't be much of a problem if they're all as hospitable as you." she said with a grin. Addison paused momentarily and then glanced sideways at the spirit, humor steadily dissipating from both her expression and her tone. When she finally spoke, her voice was level with the slightest shadows of curiosity. "Quite the paradoxical spirit, aren't you? I thought you were uncaring." A smile flitted across her features.

Addison would very gladly have covered the rest of the distance in silence but then the spirit removed his hood and she glanced at him, his tell-tale red eyes sharp against his features. She didn't flinch as his hand found his way to his sword, merely calling the heat to her hands and forcing herself to calm her nerves. He made no further move to unsheathe his sword and she looked ahead, keeping an eye on him from out of the corner of her eye. She had barely looked away though, when he spoke. If anything, her smile widened a little. Not so stupid, after all. "Admirable. And here I thought you were all swords and muscles and no brain." she remarked lightly. Perhaps a little too bold even for her but he still hadn't moved his hand away from his sword and she was prepared to bolt at the first sign of danger.

Until then though, the inquiry behind his words was apparent and as long as they were still walking, she might as well answer. It wasn't like Addison intended to stick around long enough to deal with the consequences of revealing the secret behind her powers to a random spirit. "Well, you can call me an anomaly, if you're one for theatrics that is." she smiled wryly. "While most humans have powers of their own, I can take any power I choose, from anyone I choose - if they're close enough, that is." Addison said levelly. "It's handier than one would expect." Her voice was level even though she was already gearing up to bolt. She didn't make a habit of revealing her powers to just anyone. It was purely a matter of chance that the spirit had been observant enough to catch her in a lie but there'd been a time when she had been naive enough to reveal her powers to just about anyone who asked.

Experience had taught her that not everyone was interested in just humoring a little girl. Most of them quite simply wanted to stick a needle in her eye or something along those lines.

The truth behind warning this girl was not out of concern for her safety, it was simply to inform her of the danger. Usually Hayato was quick to kill a human, however he felt that ths girl was no real threat and wouldn't make any attempt to harm her unless ordered by the Syndicate. Soon after speaking the girl began to speak once again "Admirable. And here I thought you were all swords and muscles and no brain." she said with a widened smile on her face.

Hayato was unsure how to take this, was it a compliment or an insult he wondered. However, he remained quiet and awaited the answer to his question "Well, you can call me an anomaly, if you're one for theatrics that is." she answered with a smile "While most humans have powers of their own, I can take any power I choose, from anyone I choose - if they're close enough, that is."

It all began to make sense, Hayato remembered her words from before when he said it was foolish to wander these lands without a weapon and she responded "Don't need one when I've got you." She wasn't talking about him aiding her in battle, but rather using his abilities to her advantage. Hayato released the sheath of his sword and had a big smirk on his face as he let out an uncontrolable laughter.

The two had reached the crossroads, Hayato was slightly ahead of the girl "You should be careful with using my abilities, human" Hayato stated as he stopped in place and turned to face her. The pyrokinetic raised both palms upward then generated blue flames in each hand. "This is no normal fire used by human pyrokinetics, it is fueled by darkness hidden within hate and rage. If you are not careful, it will corrupt you." with these words Hayato closed his hands into fists, which extinguished the flames instantly. Hayato turned aound then began to walk towards the road to the left, which led to the abandoned prison.

He felt no need to rush towards the Syndicate, and this way if any spirits were still watching they would think Hayato was leading the girl to her death rather than letting her escape. However,this was out of sheer curiosity. How would a human be able to handle his type of powers? He needed to know these answers to get more intel on hr abilities "So how does your power work?" Hayato asked to the girl behind him "Is there any key element required to manipulate somebody's abilities or is it that you drain them of their own power?" he asked, he highly doubted it was the second one because he didn't feel his abilities fade even in the slightest. Hell, he was able to manipulate his dark power so precise that he could even control these blue spiritual flames enough to keep them burning on the surface of a large body of water.

Addison smirked absently to herself as the spirit neglected to answer her first question. Paradoxical and apparently, spacy too. The two traits paired together brought the image of a spirit to her mind who looked absolutely nothing like the one next to her. But then, the spirt hadn't actually revealed anything about himself besides claiming to be ruthless. Addison wasn't one to reveal her true personality either, especially while interacting with people on the road. Even now, she was being much too light-hearted than she actually felt. The threat of death by thousands of spirits hung heavily over her head and if anything, the presence of the spirit beside her was making her all the more uneasy.

Even so, if she were honest with herself, Addison did not view him as a threat that she could not handle. She didn't dare touch him now, but if he made any move to attack her, she would and that would equalize both their powers. He had strength. She had speed. Only his ability hung in the balance. For now, she was content with answering what he had to ask and once they were done, she would bolt. If she was lucky, she would be able to survive a while without sleep. Just as long as she had his power, she wouldn't freeze in her sleep. Maybe an hour of rest later tomorrow would be sufficient.

Addison noticed at once as he let go of the sheath of his sword and his laughter startled her a little. It hung domineeringly over the two of them before drifting away with the wind and if anything, it made him seem even more imposing. Addison came to a halt as he did and looked silently at the flames in his hands. They certainly were different. Human pyrokinetics were scattered all over Europe and she'd accessed their powers more than once. It had only been past experience that had so quickly allowed her to channel the heat through her body.

This was the first time she had ever dared to take powers from a spirit and it felt oddly like something was weighing her down. It was a mere feeling at the back of her head but it was constant, like a nagging worry. Hate and rage. His words hung clearly in her mind and for the first time since their encounter, the humor completely vanished from her face. "Well, I'm a girl from the UK wandering around a desolate shit-hole like this. You can rest assured that I didn't come here willingly. Or happily." she said, her voice level and a little stiff. Where I come from, there's a lot of hatred for your race. Perhaps it transfers after a while. But your people took my family from me. I think it justified to harbor certain feeling of absolute hatred and loathing for your race." Addison forced herself to pause a little.

Maybe she'd gone a little off-topic in her aggravation. "I'm not a spirit but humans too are capable of filthy emotions which fester in darkness. It's easier for me to harness your ability than you'd think." Addison said and just as if a switch had been flicked, her expression lightened considerably. She did not bother adding that she'd rather die before letting a spirit's abilities corrupt her but she'd already said enough. She'd been alone for a long, long time and perhaps it was simply the spirit's indifferent but helpful advice that had unlocked that little part of her that had been boiling with rage for three years.

It would be endlessly useful in harnessing this ability. Already, she could feel the basics of his power rising in her mind, the techniques so detailed it felt like she'd been the one to learn them and not him.

Addison began to walk again, steadily forcing herself to relax and breathe a little. Once she was sure that she wasn't going to throw all her frustrations in a random spirit's face, she began to listen to what the spirit was saying. "I'm not sure how but slowly, the basic techniques of your ability become a part of my mind - as if I'd known them all along." She paused slightly as he mentioned key elements. "I just need to be close enough to someone to sense their ability. After that, it's a matter of choice whether I take it or not." She shrugged, a coy smile on her lips as she said. "If I touched you right now, my powers would increase two-fold and I'd get knowledge of more advanced techniques."

She grinned slightly at his second option. "No, I'm not strong enough to drain someone of their abilities. It's all a matter of mimicry and adaptability."

The cold climate shifted once he had produced the blue flames in his hands, it was sudenly warmer as the cold breeze suddenly stopped. There was something more to this girl than he thought, she definately had what it took to be able to use his abilities. However, it seemed that she required physical touch in order to fully understand how to use an opponent's abilities. Her words of how she felt about spirits interested him, he only had the memory of battle in his mind and knew nothing of his heritage or where he truly came from.

Hayato wanted to learn more of this human, this was actually the first time he ever engaged in a conversation with a human rather than killing them on the spot. The two took the left road and proceeded to wander away from the Syndicate base. He could tell that she had a deeper hatred for spirits, and why wouldn't she? She had every reason to, they were the ones who started this war and brought about destruction and chaos wherever they went.

But why would this girl be foolish enough to wander in their main territory? She claimed to be here not of her own free will and to have absolute hatred and loathing for his race. Hayato was trained by his former master and the Syndicate that all humans were the enemies, however he felt that this girl was only a threat to those who attacked her. What she said peaked his interest, were humans really capible of feeling the same hatred as the pure spiritual race? And if so, could a spirit feel the same peaceful emotions as a human?

Hayato finally decided to speak "There is one problem to your theory." he stated plainly "Yes, you would have my pyrokinetic abilities..."he took a slight pause "However, my swordsman abilities are what really give e the edge in battle."

Addison was silent as the spirit did not respond to what she had said about his race. If anything, he looked vaguely like he was thinking hard about something. She didn't think she'd said something profound enough to confuse him so she assumed that he must be thinking about something different. A part of her was distinctly peeved but another, larger part was glad that he didn't respond any further. Addison would be able to keep a hand on all her suppressed frustrations, just as long as he didn't encourage her any further. People rarely did. She didn't want to imagine how much she might reveal if the spirit earnestly asked her about something.

Addison herself thought it rather pathetic but a prolonged lack of human interaction easily had that affect on her. Back in Britain, she'd been popular - even if it had simply been because people wanted her notes. But the moment her family had been taken away from her, she'd developed an almost pathological fear of revealing too much about herself - as if that would put her at the disadvantage somehow. Yet this spirit's apparent disinterest yet occasional moments of true curiosity were confusing her. What if she'd said too much already?

The question hung eerily at the back of her head and she forced herself to calm down. He couldn't do anything to her. If anything, he seemed a bit friendly by spirit standards. Addison suppressed a sigh. Perhaps it was his detached nature which kept luring her closer and closer, more deeper into revealing things about herself she hadn't spoken of in nearly three years. Pathetic, she thought - that the slightest bit of attention from a random spirit could enthuse her so much. Addison was glad for it when he spoke again and she was finally able to stop her train of thought before she started over-thinking again.

She gave a tired, little smile at his words. "Really? Well, I'm not silly enough to depend entirely on someone else's abilities. Most times, they end up being overtly useless." she remarked. "I myself don't think that being very, very fast is as fancy as swordsmanship but it has its uses." she said with a coy grin.

(Gonna make this short, my internet is currently down)

Hayato suddenly realized that he needed to report his success back to the syndicate as soon as possible. So the swift spirit turned around to face the girl and began walking the opposite direction. The air suddenly became cold once again, a blizzard was approaching. He knew the girl would be safe in the old abandoned prison. However, as he walked he slightly bumped his shoulder against hers before running off to the Syndicate bulding without saying a word to the girl.

*Exit topic*

Addison waited silently for the spirit's response, anticipating it even but when the silence went on for too long, she glanced up at his face. He looked like he'd just realized something. Addison was just about to ask him if spirits like him ever had brain freeze - stupid question, but she was trying to make conversation and it was distinctly fun to tease someone who barely responded back, thus minimizing any chance of getting hurt - when he turned around and began to walk back the way they had come from. Addison's brow furrowed in puzzlement and she had half a mind to ask him where he was going. But then, his shoulder bumped lightly into hers and a positively alarmed expression dawned on her face.

It hadn't been forceful enough to seem aggressive. He didn't really have any reason to be annoyed with her, aside from the fact that she'd been talking a bit too animatedly perhaps, and he hadn't shown much of a reaction to that. Oddly, the gesture seemed almost companionable.

Addison nearly laughed at that. That seemed unlikely. Perhaps he'd just slipped on a rock or something. Even that sounded ridiculous to her but then, she hadn't talked to someone for a long, long time and she wasn't good at this deciphering actions thing anymore. Addison's face finally relaxed, frown disappearing as she realized she was staring after him. She pulled her coat tight around her and then turned away as well, heading for the structure that from here was only a speck on the horizon. Again, Addison had been well aware of the abandoned prison when she'd settled down here. Why had he bothered to lead her here? A part of her instantly jumped to the possibility that it was a trap but he'd proven himself to be friendly almost. Even if he did want to attack her, he wouldn't have left. If bodily harm came into the equation then the spirit had long since claimed her as his prey.

Addison frowned a little and then began to make her way towards the prison, cold already making itself known now that the most of his abilities were slipping out of her reach the farther he walked away. She mustn't have talked to someone in a long while, she thought, if she had actually wanted to talk to him longer. Perhaps it was time for her to actually interact with people on the road so that she wouldn't end up being enthused by the most marginal amount of attention. Addison lightly shook her head, smiling to herself as she walked faster - employing her new power to steadily increase her body temperature and then channel it throughout her body.

Perhaps it had been her furious overthinking, but it was only later that she realized two things. First, that she hadn't caught his name. Second, that perhaps he'd been trying to help her mimic his powers without outright touching her. Paradoxical, indeed, she thought - amused.