What a time to get lost... [Open]

Crash!!!! BOOOOM!!!!! There's destruction caused by energy blasts, but they came from unknown forces! The sky's covered with dark clouds that seam to block all the light that came from the sun, the only way anyone could find their way through the mess and rubble were the emergency lights that were in emergency kits or carried by soldiers... Thank goodness Kai could find a few of those things.

As he starts the emergency light, it starts giving off a unsettling red glow.
Kai's mind races, who would attack Eirini, and why would they attack the town instead of the military?

"Great, the path ends here."
Kai thinks as he reaches his 5th dead end, this one was caused by half a building... "Just why am I not that good with urban navigation?"

The being had been sleep in its world of darkness unphased by the shifting of the worlds it watched. The balance was peaceful and soothing until from somewhere there was a surge of power that disrupted the peace. The being was shaken awake and pale eyes would shift towards the colonies it could see in its mirrors.  

Eirini, a colony that was said to be peaceful and beautiful, was now the stage for fierce battles between man, machine, and monsters. The battles shook the world around them tearing down homes and forcing the citizen to flee to safer locations. As the people scattered for shelter, warriors fought in another area to keep strange attackers at bay. As for the other colony, the same could be said of it, but why they were attacked eluded the hunter for now.

Due to this chaos that disturbed the balance, the being woke up and out of curiosity it would set to working on pulling itself together in a fashion that would allow it to stand in the physical world. It would take a while, but eventually the being would accomplish this goal.

The end results would appear a few feet away from a boy that had seemingly gotten lost in the broken colony and had come to a dead end. If he were to turn around immediately, perhaps he would’ve seen the dark wisps that circled in the air in a strange fashion almost as if they were trying to sew something together. And sewing was exactly what they were doing. In the middle of the shifting wisps, darkness began to gather and take a form. A form that at first remained unclear, but then slowly they became humanoid in shape. The wisps would continue to work forming the perfect image of a human kneeling.

With their job done, the wisps would vanish leaving the kneeling form in the middle of the pathway. At first the form did not move, but then slowly it began to get to its feet. As it did this, the darkness would slosh off the being standing up. When the being was at its full height and free of the dark shell it had come in, crimson eyes would crack open as the remains of the darkness blew off with the wind in the area.

Unphased by this, the creature’s eyes would look around at the area gauging its surroundings before locking eyes upon the boy with the strange glowing stick. However, after a brief study of the other, the being found the guy unthreatening and so the being turned its back slightly on him as it took to understanding its environment and situation once more.

"Brrr..." Kai thinks as shivers go down his spine... Wait, what where those ghostly flames about?

The "wisps" (or whatever they were) seamed to be dancing and weaving something together...Wait was that a body? Are they stitching a Sfalma together?! He cant bring himself to reach for something that could be used as a weapon though, the lights are almost hypnotic in a way, keeping him from acting...

As darkness seamed to poor off the figure, Kai managed to gather himself enough to ask (Shakily) "Who are you?" The figure seamed to study him, maybe even stare into his soul...

Fear.

The hunter could smell it coming from the boy, but did nothing to sooth or try to comfort him as it continued to scan the area, taking in the damages and the way they were done. They weren’t done by the creatures the being was born to hunt, but something different it had yet to discover. Perhaps the hunter would’ve moved examine the damages closer; however, the sound of a shaky voice drew his attention back to the child it had ignored before.

Hmm. This kid was addressing it and not running?…Not that there was much room to flee unless he ran forward and pass the being of course. However, the boy before him did not do this. He didn’t even attempt to arm himself. He would’ve been an easy target had the hunter been hostile. Luckily, for the boy, the being had no interest in killing things that were not its targets. To the question, the hunter would remain quietly watching the other from under the brim of its hat for what seem like an eternity before it blinked and shifted its weight to the left as one hand went its hip and the other remained lose at its side. It was a casual and relax pose despite the situation.

“Name?” it repeated softly in a voice that could’ve belonged to either a woman or a guy. “You choose,” it would answer back in a slow almost lazy fashion. Then pointing with its free hand at the boy, it would gesture for him to tel it who he was with a light jerk of the head in the kid’s direction.
________________________________________________________________________

Information Box:

The strange man, that had just appeared from the darkness, didn't seam aggressive when he answered Kai's question... This gave Kai a bit more courage as he noticed the answer to the question he posed last.

"You have to have a name..." Kai mumbles as he then says the first name that comes to mind "You look like an Edward to me... And I'm Kai, Kai Togami"

He then asks the person "What brings you to Erini during a war with unknown forces?" as the sound of gunfire is steady in the background and the earth quakes...

The boy seemed to still want its name; however, the hunter’s lips would remain sealed as it instead continued to study the other. It would take note of the behavior change when it took the non-hostile approach to the situation. The boy seemed to become a bit braver, the fear around him vanishing a bit as he spoke. Was it perhaps because he felt safer knowing the hunter wouldn’t attack? Hmph. How amusing, the hunter would think to itself as it blinked crimson eyes sleepily before frowning a bit at the name given.

“Ed…ward…” the creature said in its slow way before pausing to let that set in. Blinking again, the creature would nod. “Mmm…Ed…ward..it be,” it would say taking on the name the boy had given to it. In response to the boy giving it his name, the creature would bow politely towards the other as a small smile crept to its lips.

“Plea…sure…” was the only word that came out of the creature before it was straightening up once more. To the boy’s next question, the hunter would tilt its head upward slightly as it listened to the sounds of battle in the distance.

“Chaos…disturb…Came see,” the hunter said its words become more broken and strange as time went on; however, despite this the creature had told the truth. The chaos really did bring it here and was the whole reason it stayed now. It wanted to know what was going on.
Listening a bit more to the sounds of battles in the distance, the being would lower its eyes back to the boy and point at him. Much like earlier it was asking a silent question. This time it wanted to know why the boy was out here, but could the boy pick that up from his hand signal?

"Did Edward just say that he was looking for this chaos?!" Kai whispers to himself as he looks for the closest metal pipe, mostly to arm his new acquaintance... "I'm not sure he's here on the best terms... But he may be the only help I can get." Kai reasons to himself as he hands the newfound pipe to Edward, and starts telling him what's happening.

"Alright then, It was peaceful here until around noon. Then, out of nowhere, came dark thunderclouds, the monstrous creatures called Sfalma, and strange robotic creatures that we had no idea even existed until today..." Kai explains as he tries to hand the new guy a emergency light "Although, before I can bring you to safety, you'll need to stick with me until I reach the barracks... I still need to report in." He then walks back out to the entrance of the dead end, motioning for Edward to follow him.

A whisper from the boy and then a movement to search for something. Sleepily the hunter would watch the other find a pipe in the rubble and then hold the item out to itself.

“…” the hunter looked at the pipe for a moment and then at the boy. Why was he giving it a pipe? Was it supposed to use it for something? Not really sure what the point was, the hunter would reach out a gloved hand after a moment of hesitation and take hold of the pipe. Once it was in hand, the hunter would lower it to its side holding it loosely in its hand for now. When the boy began to explain what happened, the hunter would listen carefully for a while, its eyes narrowing at the word "Sfalma" and the mention of the bots. While it wasn’t sure about the bots, Sfalma was something the hunter was born to kill. If they were acting a fool, then it was no wonder the being had been woken.

Despite the displeasing news, the hunter would only tilt its head as the other held out a strange item towards it. Unlike the pipe, the hunter would take this new item in its free hand and tilt it a bit trying to figure it out. What was this for? Did it have something to do with whatever the boy wanted it to do with the pipe? Or was the hunter simply to hold onto it?

Perplexed, the hunter continued to examine the item before lowering it slightly as the boy spoke of bringing it to safety.

...What?

Ha! The hunter might’ve laughed or smirk had it been more awake. To think that someone would want to take it to safety! That…that was laughable. Most of the time everything was running away from it, except the animals and children of course, but that was another matter for another time.

Regardless of the thought, the hunter’s face remained neutral as it gave the other a nod, agreeing to come with him and for now play the citizen, but why the hunter was being so docile was a mystery. Maybe it liked the boy. Or maybe he had simply got lucky that the hunter was in such a lax mood.
Who knew.

In any case, the hunter would let the boy take the lead staying where it was until the boy motioned for it to come. With easy and calm movements the hunter would drift towards the boy making sure to stay a respectful and safe distance away from the other. Good guy or not, the hunter's trust was not so easily gained.

"Of all the times to get lost, it just had to be today didn't it!?" Kai thought out loud as he barely dodges a chunk of the closest building, before it hits the ground... After catching his breath, he then (by some miracle) remembers where he was!!! "Right, the shortcut was through this alley. It's blocked though..."

And he was right, there was rubble blocking the way. The only mostly intact building here was an old weapons shop... And the door was open!

"I'm sure the shop owner wouldn't mind if we passed through, I hope." Kai reasons to himself as he leads his new acquaintance through... There were many weapons of shapes and sizes, perhaps Edward might find one he liked?

As Kai tries forcing the back door open, he prays a Sfalma wouldn't hear the noise...

The being would tilt its head at the boy’s first set of words. He was lost? Was this then perhaps not his home? If that was the case, then how was this one to find his way back to the location he mentioned? Surely, he didn’t expect the hunter to help him with that did he?

Perhaps the hunter would’ve said something, but at that moment a crack from above caught its attention. Crimson eyes would snap upward just in time to see the large piece of debris coming. On instinct, the hunter would push itself off the ground as it hopped backwards away from the debris. Once it had landed it would turn away from the stone as it hit the ground and shattered. Chunks of the larger debris flew off in all directions with only the smaller pieces and dust hitting the hunter. Once that was over, the hunter would relax as it squinted through the dust to see the boy had dodge forward and was continuing on his way mentioning something about a short cut.

Hmph. So much for that one playing bodyguard. With the distance and debris between them now. It would’ve been tough for the other to get to the hunter should something attack. It was amusing for sure, but the hunter just let the idea play in its head as it moved at a casual pace towards the debris pile. With careful steps, it would make its way over the pile, discarding the pipe when it became a bit more trouble than help in the matter.

For whatever reason the hunter held onto the emergency light…even if it hadn’t figured it out or how to use it. Maybe the being thought it something worth examining or perhaps it thought the item some form of food. Who knew? Regardless of that once on the other side, the hunter followed the path the boy took finding that he was stopped before area that was clogged up with debris. The short cut was useless…and yet there was a door to a weapon shop open?

How convenient.

The hunter would follow the boy inside, its crimson eyes seeing easily in the darkness. The place was empty and the way the items had been knocked down suggested that the place was either suffering from what was going on outside or someone had raided it.

Either situation explained the lack of life in the place and why the door was open. Not really hurrying, the hunter gazed around the area taking in the items with a disinterested gaze.

It would pause near the center of the store, its gaze shifting to the boy who was struggling with the back door.

“…”

The hunter would look around the shop and after spotting the weapon it wanted, the being would round the corner of the counter.

Placing the emergency light in some hidden pouch in its clothing, the hunter would reach up and carefully pull down the large hammer like weapon it had found. A sound solution for the problem.

Holding the hammer in both hands, the hunter would head towards where the boy was struggling with the door.

“Move.”

That was the only warning the boy would get from the hunter who had fluidly shifted from walking to bracing itself to raise up the hammer and then bring it forward adding some weight to it for extra omph. The swing wasn’t super strong nor was it out of control.

If the boy didn’t move the hunter could change the direction of the hammer...the end result would be putting a nice dent in the wall next to the door.

However, if the kid did move then the hammer would come down upon the door with heavy thud and crack. Not being able to withstand the power of the hammer, the door easily gave with a loud groan before flying open for them. It managed to remain on at least one of its hinges, but it would indeed need to be replaced.

With the that task out of the way, the hunter would toss the hammer to the side, the weapon thudding on the floor when it fell.

Turning crimson eyes back to the boy, it would tilt its head at him.

“You first,” it would say in its usual unhurried speech pattern. Apparently, breaking a door down or causing noise didn’t bother the hunter…

Kai barely noticed Edward rearing back with a large hammer like weapon before barely dodging the strike, with the hammer head barely missing Kai's right ear ! The sound of the door cracking and flying off easily echoed through the streets...

"What the heck man?!? You could have killed me!"
Kai yells, forgetting that he was trying to be quiet. "You need to be more careful, those kind of actions could easily get you in trouble with the law!"

It turns out that Kai's voice also echoes well, as his voice is warped and bounced through the street... It would be a miracle if at least one Sfalma didn't hear the racket that was caused.

"Just come on, We should be close..." Kai says angrily as he walks out of the building's back door.

The boy managed to dodge and keep his head as the hunter brought the hammer forward, so the door was opened more or less; however, the angry reaction that followed was something that had the hunter quietly thinking about how to react for a moment. The boy had a valid point, the hammer would’ve killed him if the hunter had been aiming to do such a thing; however, it wasn’t trying to kill the boy and therefore would’ve done what it could to miss the boy had he not moved.

He was alive wasn’t he and the door opened no? So why was he so upset? The hunter’s would give the other a light frown at first, not understanding what it had done wrong; however, after a second more of thinking the creature would bow its head a bit as it rub its chin.

“Mmm..Sorry…wanted quick way…Not do next time,” the hunter said, its slow pace of speaking still as broken as ever, but at least holding what sound like a true apology. Regardless if the boy accepted the apology or not the hunter would keep its head lowered as it heard the command from the boy and followed.

It figured maybe being submissive would calm the boy down….and if that didn’t work well the hunter would have to adapt wouldn’t it?

"Just don't do that again please." Kai says just loud enough for "Edward" to hear as he watches the closest streets.... By some miracle they weren't set upon by Sfalma, and after a few more minutes of dodging debris they finally reach the barracks, almost being attacked by a few solders as they approached. "Kai? Your alive!!! Do you know how lucky you are?" came a deeper, male voice as Kai and his ally reach the entrance. A taller, well muscled man was standing there, weapon ready as he ushered Kai in "Wait, who's that with you? Another civilian?"
The man asks as he quickly puts his blue bladed long-sword in the path of Edward, ready to guard the few civilians they have found that were still alive from the creatures out there.

"Get inside, get a hot meal, and get equipped cadet, we need all the help we can get." The man says as Kai follows orders, eating a quick meal and grabbing a standard issue sword and shield, ready to fend off the next wave...

"Sir, this person here could be very helpful... I don't know if you'll believe me but I saw him, or her, get knitted out of darkness and weld a battle hammer that, with only a flick of the wrist, smashed a reinforced door." Kai tells his commanding officer... Waiting for Edwards response.

“…Right…” was the soft response back to the command as the hunter marked what was acceptable behavior in this place. He continued to stick close to the boy who acted as a guide for now. As the hunter continued to follow, the path would be unhindered by creatures even if their scent lingered heavily in the air. The only hazards that came the pairs’ way was the debris that fell into their path as the city groaned under the assault that was being laid upon it.

They kept moving until finally they reached the location the boy spoke of.  Once they arrived some folk dressed as soldiers came out to greet them…although from the way they were acting, Sephtis had to wonder if the excitement wasn’t a bit much. Had the hunter been a bit jumpy, this odd behavior wouldn’t have been taken to very kindly.

In any case, the hunter would linger back and let the kid take the brunt of the greetings, watching as the kid got swept into the madness of people that apparently knew him well.  Regardless, a sense of relief and joy seemed to hang in the air, so the hunter remained calm and non-hostile for the moment.  It wasn’t until a well built man with a long sword began to question why the hunter was with the boy that the hunter attitude shifted. As the blade came down to block the hunter from going any further, the being would first glance at the sword before slowly looking up at the one who barred the way.

While the hunter didn’t attack, all it would take was one false move to turn this situation ugly.  When Kai was called away, the situation was not calmed and when he returned and spoke to his commander, the already tense situation was made worse as the boy told what he had seen the hunter do.

While the boy may have thought the hunter useful, there were others who were uneasy about the news. Sephtis could tell by the energy in the air and the way some of the onlookers shifted uncomfortably that perhaps gaining trust would not be so easy. The guard’s next word only confirmed this suspicion.

“Is that true?” the man with the long sword asked in a whisper as he kept serious eyes on the hunter.  The hunter closed his eyes and let out a light sigh.

“Mmm…True…” the hunter would respond back in soft unhurried tones. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, murmuring from the gathered guards began as some looked ready to flee while others looked prepared to attack. It was quite clear that some if not all were throwing the hunter in the basket with monsters. Typical.

Despite this or the scowl the hunter got from the big guy, Sephtis would remain more or less calm as his eyes reopened and focused on those around him waiting to see just what would happen now that the boy’s words were confirmed to be true.

"Don't harm him! He's proved that he's here to hunt the Sfalma, not to harm us." Kai says, moving defensively in-front of the strange man that could be called his friend, "I just ask that we find a place for him to stay until the town is saved."

Ironically, as soon as Kai finished talking, the darkened clouds seamed to clear up and the battle sounds also started to die down...

"You were saying?" Asks the ranking officer, who sheathes his sword. He then says to the both of them, "He can stay in one of the emergency shelters, but were going to keep a close eye on him, and he'll need to help fix the town."