Wisdom of the Ages [Aine/Closed]

A shrouded figure weaved its way through the nighttime streets of Karakura. Even in spite of the serene glow being cast upon the city by the full moon, the figure was barely visible as its mysterious form seemed to dip in and out of the shadows. Each time the figure, which seemed more like a mass of vaguely humanoid yet sentient smoke, vanished into the darkness it would appear at another location elsewhere in the city. With each emergence, the smoke seemed to pause for a moment as if in consideration, then slip towards the darkness and vanish again. In the distance, the telltale howl of Hollows could be heard. If one were to track the progress of this moving shadow, they would see that it was moving in the direction that the Hollow calls originated from. Once more the smoky form emerged from the shadow, however this time its form solidified a bit more to have a slightly more defined human form. Where eyes would normally be, two baleful green embers shined through the smog.

Whatever this entity was, it was obviously hunting. Hunting Hollows. It remained perched on the roof ledge, the glowing "eyes" slowly panning from left to right as if searching. Another Hollow howl cut through the nighttime air, this time followed shortly after by a terrified shriek. The eyes immediately snapped towards the direction of the noises then the figure dispersed back into its previous form and rushed towards the noises.

In a nearby parking garage, its interior just barely lit by the structure lighting, a large ursine Hollow feasted ravenously on its recent catches. An elderly couple and two children, just barely into adolescence, lay wide-eyed with their visages twisted in their final moments of horror. So preoccupied with its meal was the Hollow that it failed to notice how the shadows around it seemed to take on a life of their own. The form that had been stalking the Hollow throughout the night erupted from the darkness a few meters away, blackened smog pooling out from its point of landing and seeming to linger. At the small pool's center, the form stood crouch. Bit by bit the smoke fell away and the formed solidified into the form of a hooded woman. As the last wisps of smoke dissipated, the woman raised her head and her eyes gave a fatal green flash before the light gave way to their normal steel gray color.

Nyla cast a brief glance towards the dead bodies and uttered a passive grunt before rising to her full height. She gave a quick, sharp tap with the heel of her boot. The sound that would normally be barely audible became a cacophonous thud as it echoed through the empty parking structure. Startled by the sound, the Hollow jerked its head away from its meal, tearing the limb it had been chewing with it. The crunch of bones and moist squelch of flesh preceded a deep, feral growl. Neither Nyla nor the Hollow moved, both seeming to eye each other intently. It was the Hollow that made the first move, recklessly charging at her with bounding steps....yet Nyla continued to stand unmoving.

Until the last possible moment.

Just as the Hollow reached her and swiped its razor-sharp claws at her with lethal precision, Nyla dispersed into shadowy smoke once again, immediately reforming to the left of the Hollow. Her right leg swept forward in a quick arc to deliver a forceful roundhouse kick to the side of the Hollow's head. There was a sickening crack as the metal-plated instep of her boot collided with the calcified mask of the Hollow. The force was enough to send the Hollow tumbling into the adjacent wall and nearly crash through it.

While the Hollow stumbled to its feet, still reeling from the impact, Nyla closed the distance between them. Her left hand had been drawn back and now glowed with a silver brightness, as if radiating pure energy. When she pistoned her hand forward, the light flashed out in a forceful pulse, blasting the Hollow through the already damaged wall and sending it crashing to the streets below. Reishi swarmed towards her from the surroundings and began to form her cannon. When it had fully formed, Nyla aimed down at the Hollow in preparation to fire. The barrel of the cannon glowed with a dull blue light that gradually increased in brightness. By the time the barrel had began to glow enough that it cast its glow on their immediate area, the Hollow had regained its bearings and now stared up at her with equal parts anger and panic; it knew that she was capable of hurting it now. Even more, it knew that it could be killed by her. The cannon lurched as she fired the blast of reishi at the Hollow. The Hollow managed to dodge, but only just barely. The shot seared away one of the Hollow's arms, causing it to let out an agonized bellow. Nyla smirked and aimed again.

A second shot erupted from the weapon. This one was more on its mark, piercing through the Hollow's chest and leaving a gaping hole in its wake. The Hollow slumped down, already in the throes of demise. Guttural rumbles shook loose from the creature's gullet amid blood-choked rasps. Nyla leapt down from the parking garage, dispersing into her shadow form as she landed and quickly approaching the dying Hollow. When she reformed, instead of the large cannon, she held a single pistol aimed at the center of the Hollow's upturned and damaged maw. A single shot flashed from the gun, obliterating the mask and the Hollow along with it. With a slow exhale, Nyla opened her hand and allowed the weapon to break down into reishi particles then disperse. Gazing back over her shoulder at the ruined wall, the uttered a grunt of dissatisfaction.

"Sloppy...that took way longer than it should have." She didn't care about cleanup nor the unfortunate family that lay dead above her; that wasn't her focus. She was here hunting Hollows, and there were still more to be found in the city. Without another word she turned and began to walk towards another darkened alleyway, prepared to merge into the shadows again to resume her hunt.

A lot had changed in Aine’s life since the night some fool had thrown Hollow bait into the middle of the city. Her perception of what was entailed in ridding the Ishikawa family of a Hollow problem was clearly much larger of an event than that. For one thing, it had been potent enough to warrant the attention of at least three Shinigami, to her knowledge, maybe more. Michael had deemed it more essential to maintain their anonymity with the Shinigami than to reveal themselves needlessly. With that many on hand to deal with the Hollow, their aid had hardly been a necessity that night.

The dark headed woman had heeded her cousin’s assessment and retreated into the night, though the journalist in her wished to chase down the story of the Hollow Bait. Who would be so depraved as to unleash something like that in the city? The obvious answer that it was one of their own kind left her a bit shaken as to the depravity of Quincy who had done just that. Sure, there were other possibilities that the technology involved in its creation could have fallen into the wrong hands but that seemed unlikely. It was not cookbook chemistry, to her knowledge, but required a Quincy to craft. Theft could be responsible and she would not dismiss the notion but neither would she rule out her initial assumption just because she didn’t like its result. She liked her so-called angels and demons to stay in their respective lanes rather than making things murky with ambiguities like that.

”Reporting the news isn’t about what you like and do not like”, the thought made her smirk as she walked to the corner and paused to look both ways. Slipping her hands free from her pockets to swing at her side, Aine stepped out into the crosswalk and made her way to the other side. ”It was supposed to be about truth”, she conceded knowing full well that bias and hyperbole were what ruled the day. Everyone had an agenda and with that she stopped and walked over to a newspaper vending machine. Random headlines on that tabloids spoke of Kaiju that lived beneath Karakura Town causing her to shake her head.

Conspiracy theory was not her cup of tea and she rarely gave it the legitimacy of thoughtful consideration. Tilting her head to one side at the exclusive photo of this proto-Godzilla lurking within the sewers made her tsk audibly in disgust. Her bread dough that had risen out of the bowl and spilled all over the floor looked more alien than this out of focus blob. It was more likely a tarp thrown over floating litter than anything close to resembling a creature created in secret in a lab somewhere. Scuffing the concrete with the sole of her hiking boot she internally grumbled thinking that at least that hack photographer was making money. Her career was yet another of those changes in her recent life.

Food blogging; or rather photographing food for money so her employer could lie about their cooking in a food blog. She hadn’t cared about the by-line, in fact she’d rather that dark little patch in her professional life stayed out of her portfolio all together. After redoing the bread and sending off the image file she had ended the job. There wouldn’t be time for commitments and deadlines anyway, not with Hollow all over the place. Even so, she carried a camera as a matter of habit just in case she came across something she could peddle to the syndicated press.

Just about to turn toward the house she rented with Michael and Jessica, the howl of a Hollow cut through the night causing her to face in the opposite direction. Aine let her senses widen and picked up the Hollow and began speeding through the city. A shriek that sounded all too human caused her sense of urgency to mount dreading what she would find when she reached her destination. Suddenly she detected a surge in spiritual energy she immediately recognized as Quincy. Her mind raced eliminating her roommates from the possible list of suspects and realized she didn’t recognize it at all.

Cognizant that too many highly charged spirits in one location might just drawn out Shinigami who undoubtedly would be lurking around after that incursion earlier in the week, she muted her signature unsure if this Quincy would be friend or foe. It was not a concept she was comfortable having to entertain, but the issue of the Hollow bait had put many of her assumptions up for debate.

Before she even reached the building, a garage she would later learn, the situation had ended in the death of the Hollow. Its sudden dissipation was reassuring to her in that at least this Quincy would kill this monster, but that didn’t mean they might not be the one responsible for the baiting. The structure before her took on dimension, Aine realizing it for what it was, and she slipped in through an unlocked man door beside the big corrugated bay doors. Although she didn’t catch sight of the Quincy, she could detect their signature moving off into the night, what she did see nearly caused her to wretch.

There was nothing to be done save to vacate the premises and yet almost reflexively she pulled out her camera taking numerous photos as she circuited the carnage. Her brief investigation of the site would not be for any publication, however, but rather for her real purpose in being in Karakura Town. Stowing her camera in her pack, she then took out after the mysterious Quincy who had sent this hell creature to its well deserved extinction.

Nyla kept her same gradual pace as she approached the alleyway. Already the threads of her spiritual senses were reaching out across the immediate area in search of another Hollow that needed to be dispatched. She had barely taken a step into the alleyway when she halted, her eyes narrowing by the slightest amount beneath her hood. She sensed something approaching her from the area she had so recently eliminated the Hollow. There was a hushed settling of fabric from her head turning ever so slightly to glance back over her shoulder. Not a Hollow, yet not entirely mortal. Or rather, there was a certain iridescence to her that was obviously different from normal humans. There was something...familiar about her. Nyla stood a moment longer, gauging and probing at the mystery girl with her own spiritual senses. At once it clicked, the reason this girl was so familiar to her yet they had never met.

The girl was a Quincy.

Nyla quirked an eyebrow and looked forward again. Apparently she had not been as precise as she had thought. When Nyla had engaged the Hollow with the intent to kill it, she had also does so under the premise that she would do so while drawing as little attention as possible. Apparently she had only partially succeeded. As she rounded the corner and stepped into the shadows, she merged into the darkness and vanished. The same step that carried her into the alleyway brought her out of a nearby doorway a short distance behind the stranger.

"I take it you saw me kill that Hollow, hm? And your first choice was to follow me? You're a brave girl, stalking after a stranger. But I guess that comes with the territory of being a Quincy." She paused, an amused inflection present in her tone.

"Don't it?"

Aine had become a bit hypersensitive once they arrived in Karakura Town. Knowing you were entering a hunt had that effect on you. Realizing your hunt was actually an ongoing insurgency of Hollow activity set her only reinforced the effect. She was hindered only by her ability to sense because her attention was laser focused. That didn’t aid her much once the quarry caught wind of the stalker for suddenly the presence of the Quincy vanished and no matter how much she strained her sensing capabilities she was left in total ignorance of the person’s location.

Surveillance was a common practice in her line of work and the reporter knew that it was likely the person who had dealt so swiftly with the Hollow would not merely run off once she realized someone was tracking her. Continuing to move forward she tried checking out her back trail but again there was no trace of the mysterious warrior. Passing swiftly by the empty doorways of the buildings along the street was about to dart forward trying to sense which direction the Quincy had gone when the woman’s voice cut the silence behind her.

Turning round, she saw her standing there in one of the very doorways she had just passed by. Perhaps this cloaked figure would be a potential ally? Perhaps she was facing down her own death and this thought was more than sobering. The woman’s assumption was near enough, though she hadn’t seen the actual combat, Aine’s conclusions about what had caused the sudden death of the Hollow were spot on. That the woman named her Quincy was expected but the humor in her voice was taunting, no more so than asking for verification of a fact the woman already knew to be true. In no way did Aine believe that the faint essence of her spiritual energy she had trailed was a measure of her strength. She’d already seen the woman could completely mask her energy. That was something the young Quincy had as yet to achieve and she was beyond fast.

Aine nodded her head and lifted her chin slightly as she said ”I imagine that is something we both have in common. I’m sure you can appreciate wanting to know who is in the neighborhood? Perhaps you’d care to trade a bit of news? It has been a bit since I have shared intel with another. If not, I will carry on and not intrude upon your hunt further.” Unlike the woman, whose features were hidden within the cowl of her cloak, Aine ventured without head covering being decked out in just her supple boots, jeans, t-shirt, and her leather jacket. Her pack was slung across her back filled mostly with her camera gear but the last thing she was going to share was being a reporter. Having her discretion put up to scrutiny might get her in hot water even if this person was not the one responsible for the Hollow Bait.

A sound could have been a chuckle fluttered from the lips concealed beneath Nyla's hood. She had, in fact chuckled, that much was evident by the minute curl that had formed at the corner of her lips. Her sudden disappearance and emergence had caught the girl by surprise, but to her credit she managed to keep her wits about her. Nyla could respect that even if it seemed this girl was a slave to her own curiosity.

The ancient Quincy took a short step forward, her eyes doing a quick downward flick to scrutinize the young girl. From first impressions, avoiding combat was her preference. More specifically, avoiding participation in combat was her prerogative. A second glance was afforded to the pack slung haphazardly over her shoulder but the receptacle itself was held under close guard. There was something important to the girl in that bag, but Nyla had also noticed a hint of reluctance in the girl; that normally meant information was being withheld. Ironically, that was exactly what the girl requested that they exchange.

"You want to trade intel, do you? You know what they say about curiosity, mm?" Nyla took another step forward. It was hardly a threatening gesture even if her tone could be misconstrued as such. She had no intention of harming this child, not unless she proved hostile first. But judging by their interaction thus far, it was a fair assumption to say that the only thing this girl was being was inquisitive.

"What kind of information are you looking for, girl?" A brief interlude to reach up and draw back her hood.

"It seems we're both hunting tonight. Me for Hollows, and you for information. Why don't we start with names, hm? My name is Nyla, and yours?"

Watching the woman slowly approach, Aine didn’t second guess her instinct to search for truth. Had the woman wished to do her harm, there was little she could do in the way of escape now, at least not from sheer speed alone. Although being Quincy didn’t predicate her good intentions or even hint they might share the same agenda in this city, but unless she could make contact with others of her kind, get a broader view of what was going on here, her mission’s outlook did not appear very favorable.

”They say it leads to knowledge”, Aine replied in response to the woman’s initial question. Then she expanded upon the rest by saying, ”With regards to myself, I seek to learn more about the incursion in the city a few nights ago that had at least three Shinigami show up in response. It was an incident involving the use of Hollow Bait.”

Throughout that minor exchange she didn’t shift her ground, and it wasn’t until she prepared to share her name that she moved forward to extend her right hand in greeting. ”The name’s Aine Hayes and I am newly in the area at the request of a local family’s growing concern over an increase in these Hollow attacks.” It was a troubling issue for Aine. A growing threat required aid and she was more than glad to come to the aid of the Ishikawa Clan, however if it was drawing the attention of Shinigami and in such numbers, it might just be time for her to see to the evacuation of that dwindling family from Karakura Town altogether.

Nyla narrowed her eyes skeptically at the information she had been given. As far as she knew, the use of Hollow Bait was a purely Quincy practice. If what this girl had told her was to be taken as fact, then either a Quincy had provided someone with the commodity and the person had used it for their own devious purposes, or the Quincy themselves had used it. From the number of Hollows that had been showing up, though, this wasn't just for the purpose of luring a small group; this mysterious person had the intention of bringing legions of the creatures to the mortal world.

"Hollow Bait isn't something that's easily acquired. Whoever did this, they did it at the behest of a Quincy." Nyla spoke with solemn certainty. In all of her years, never had she imagined that a Quincy would do something this egregious. Then again, that was simply within human nature to be this self-destructive. The movement of the girl's hand drew her gaze downward and she realized that the girl was introducing herself.

"I came here looking for other Quincy. It's probably only a matter of time before the Shinigami begin showing up in larger numbers as well. I've seen a few patrols, but nothing too out of hand just yet. If things continue the way they are, it won't be just small patrols, it'll be platoons." She had witnessed it many times before throughout the decades; large concentrations of Hollow activity resulted in heavier Shinigami presence. Usually she could deal with small patrols on her own, but when the larger groups showed up, she generally left for new locations until the Shinigami's focus turned elsewhere.

"The family you're here for, how many are there? Can they not protect themselves? It seems the Quincy are in a more worse state than I thought." Nyla trailed thoughtfully, her gaze averted as she mulled over the information she had been provided thus far.

"And what of your family? Are you the last Hayes?"

Her hand left unattended, Aine lowered her arm to her side and let her facial features relax into a mask of blandness. Many of her professional encounters required the muting of her ego for nothing was more critical than an editor ripping your work to shreds and sending you back out on beat with the advice to either clean up your act or start up a go fund me while trying to peddle UFO images to the Irish Daily Star. Had she been possessed of a brittle spirit she wouldn’t have lasted in journalism for a week let alone for five years.

She had to agree with the woman’s statement concerning the ease at which Hollow Bait was obtained, but she tried to keep an open mind before assigning blame to anyone. ”Yeah, I know what you mean. It was the first time I had actually gotten the change to be in proximity to Hollow Bait. But I don’t know. It might be possible the item was stolen, or the Quincy in question is being compelled to work against their own impetus. I hate to think that one of our kind did this of their own volition, though it would be naive to ignore that as the most obvious explanation too.”

Nodding her head by way of acknowledgement when the woman provided her own name, she listened eager to learn what she had to say. Still, there was something odd about the way she referred to the Quincy as though she was looking at herself as outside that collection of beings despite the energy she had sensed. Perhaps she had been mistaken in reading her essence? It had been fleeting and luckily what traces she had detected pointed her in the right direction, but even now Nyla’s ability to mute her essence made positive identification no more than speculation. Her pointed questions about the Ishikawa and their numbers, let alone her desire to know about her own family, definitely set her sense of caution on edge.

Giving what details she felt to be inconsequential to the safety of both families, she said ”They are greatly depleted from what they used to be an elderly, bordering on infirm. Otherwise there would have been no need to request aid. My own family is well, thank you. What of your own?” Cautious as she was being, albeit the irony of that was not lost on her for it had been Aine herself that recklessly went chasing down this person in the first place, she could not discount Nyla’s words concerning how bad things could get. ”I’ve no desire to draw the focus of Shinigami let alone incite all out war. I believe such an event would result in our extinction once and for all.” Looking up she thought to inquire, ”Has your search for other Quincy born fruit?”

Although Nyla could respect Aine's opinion on the matter, she had been at this much too long and encountered similar circumstances to recognize the difference between potential malicious intent and coercion through fear or intimidation. From what she had been told and what she had witnessed firsthand by seeing the resulting Hollow activity, the circumstances of this incident were leaning heavily towards the former. When she had first arrived in Karakura, she found it odd that one place had such a large concentration of Hollow activity, but now with the information that Aine had given her, Nyla could see that it had been deliberately caused through outside influence.

"I can tell you're a smart girl, so I'm confident in my assumption that you don't believe this person was forced to do anything. Just from what you told me about the Hollow Bait should be enough to prove it was on purpose." Nyla remarked with patient surety. There was an almost chastising look in her eyes; it was the look an elder may wear when reprimanding a child. A moment later it passed and was replaced by her usual indifference.

Nyla listened quietly as Aine continued, nodding slightly in response. It was clear that the girl was withholding complete information, which was understandable. Nyla and she had only just met, there was no real need or justification for either of them to divulge any real information to one another so early on.

For the most part, as Aine addressed the questions about why she had come to Japan and the status of her client family as well as her own, Nyla wore the same apathetic expression and showed very little reaction. That took a sudden change, however, when Aine put forth the wholly innocent question about Nyla's own familial status. Nyla's gaze locked onto Aine with lethal hostility and there was a stifling sense of rage surrounding the older Quincy. A fatalistic viridian flashed out and thick black smoke pooled at Nyla's feet, gradually spreading in a diameter around her. For a moment, Aine may even feel as though Nyla meant to attack her. But just as quickly as the hostility surfaced, any traces of the smoke vanished and the green glow faded from Nyla's eyes.

"I...apologize for my sudden outburst. I'd rather not talk about my family, if that's alright." There was still furious undertone in her voice, which eventually subsided to her usual casual tone.

"So far, no, I've only met one other....Quincy besides you. It seems the years have made them very proficient at hiding. But I can tell you this; although war is unlikely, I won't sit by and let the Quincy be targeted. I have unsettled matters with the Shinigami, killing them in the process of looking for other Quincy is just a bonus." Nyla gazed off towards the city with quiet contemplation. She had already sensed a small handful of Shinigami among the sea of Hollow presences in Karakura, but had yet to actually pinpoint them. They were patrols, most likely, but patrols could be easily dispatched. Again her attention shifted back to Aine, regarding her evenly.

"Are you able to protect yourself? The only other I've met so far couldn't gather reishi, so I'm curious if that's a commonality among the Quincy of this generation."

Smart or not, it was just the way her mind worked. To be open to all the possibilities cut down on the number of retractions she was forced to submit. Much of that and she would be blacklisted because jumping to conclusions had no place in legitimate journalism. Even so, she did think it more likely some Quincy had done the unthinkable rather than that some complicated plot was to blame. So why did she feel like she had just received a dressing down from her father for speaking out of turn?

Suddenly the woman’s spiritual pressure rushed forth and threatened to press her to the ground, it was so potent and oppressive. ”What the hell?”, she exclaimed. Despite her own force of spiritual energy, Aine staggered back from the woman as the black smoke swelled around the woman and spread across the ground. It was her eyes, however, that drew her focus even as she called up her own Reishi to bolster herself against Nyla’s overwhelming presence.

Before things got out of hand, however, the reason for this spiritual outburst became evident. This woman had suffered great loss, either through death of her family or perhaps dysfunction of people unable to be a healthy family. Her next words made her wonder how long Nyla had been living without a Quincy community in her life. Either way, her loyalty was unquestionable as her successive comments would reveal it to be. Aine shook her head and said, ”My Clann is strong and my upbringing has been traditional.” Certainly the woman would have been able to feel Aine had gathered Reishi when her own came bubbling forth with her emotional reaction to her simple question concerning her family. ”I know there are remnants of our kind, however, who have not been so fortunate. In my own country there have been instances of people who did not even know their own lineage until we encountered them. Though to my knowledge that is more rare than not.

There were a plethora of activities that Quincy in Ireland engaged to which she was not privy, but even she as minor as she was had heard the rumors. At any rate, it was this woman before her upon which her thoughts were centered and she was debating on what question to ask her next before settling on one thing. ”You aura, is quite potent and black like smoke”, she began hesitantly before broaching the issue she desired to know. ”Are you able to travel through shadows?” Her studies in the family archives spoke of those who could do this and if Nyla was such a soul it would explain how she was able to be so swift in circling round behind her and take her so unawares.

She hadn't meant to lash out or let her power escape the way it had, but the subject of the Dusklight's slaughter was still a touchy subject for her even after so much time had passed. Nyla cast another measured glance at the young reporter and grimaced before averting her gaze elsewhere. She reminded herself once again that the inquiry was harmless and the thought that her reaction had been an extreme exaggeration passed through the forefront of her mind.

"I see, and that's Ireland, I'd assume? I say that because of your name and accent, which I know sounds a bit ironic coming from me, hm?" The amused lilt returned to her voice and she flashed a quick smirk to the girl then looked away again. Her focus returned almost immediately after and Nyla tilted her head as the girl questioned about Nyla's traversal capabilities.

The ageless Quincy quirked an eyebrow at the question then uttered a quiet chuckle. Perhaps it was the wording that the girl used, or maybe even it was just how carefully she seemed to ask, as if worried that she would offend unless asked in the proper manner. Whatever the case was, Nyla found the reporter's inquisitiveness refreshing. And while she currently enjoyed her company, she had not yet decided that she would divulge that type of information.

"Shadows? Interesting..." Nyla began to approach Aine, regarding her with the same casual expression she had frequented throughout the evening. With each step she took forward, wisps of black smoke began to trail from her body. A few steps past the girl, Nyla was engulfed completely. A moment later the smoke dissipated and revealed that Nyla had vanished once more.

"I like you child, but I don't think you're ready for that knowledge just yet. Maybe the next time we meet, you'll give me a reason to change my mind." Nyla's voice seemed to originate from both afar and yet close by, the pitch and tone alternating sporadically. There was another amused chuckle, this one sounding as if it were right beside Aine before it faded into the nighttime air.

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