Sniffing Around

[Shinkiro]

The shadows were far thicker than he had anticipated. If it weren't for his sister's intervention, Shin had little doubt that they would swiftly overwhelm his senses. And losing himself in a sea of shadow wasn't his idea of a pleasant experience. There was no telling how long it would take him to come out of something like that. And he wasn't eager to test it. "Don't lose your focus, Raine," he muttered to himself.



Flexing his wings, he flitted down the hall to the room that the sirens had occupied before the first murder. Might as well start here, since this was where the human had struck first. Flying into the room, he made a fast circle of the room before landing on the floor near the false siren's body. Tilting his head this way and that, his pupils constricted as he observed the body carefully to make note of the wounds. "Sloppy. Very sloppy. Not a true combatant by any means.." With a flick of his tail, Shin walked a slow circle around the body before lifting his head to sniff the air.



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[Kels]

There are many scents in the room. Ossires and the dead girl as well as Trish and Amaya from when they ran into the room to check on things. Out in the hall the strong scent of Nick's magical blood where it still lays in a pool. Servants were cleaning it up when Shin passed. A lot of people have passed up and down the hall and bits of their scents all come to Shin now as he sniffs the air. Oder doesn't stop obediently at a door. There are two other scents in the room that are not in the hallway. Not more than just a whiff of air carries them. These scents are concentrated in this room and do not trail into it or out of it. They seem to have no starting or ending point.

[Shinkiro]

No true help to be had there. Though he would be able to recall those two scents and use them later. Taking wing, he flitted from the room and headed for the lower level. Next, the newer crime scene. With luck, the scent would be fresher down there. Spiraling down to the lower floor, he flapped his wings again and followed the cloying scent of blood in the air toward the source. Reaching it, he again flew in a circle around the room before landing and examining the body. The wounds seemed much the same as the previous body. A tiny shiver ran through him as he noted the weight of the shadows around him. Fervently hoping that his sister continued her focus, Shin lifted his head to scent the air once more.



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[Kels]

Unknown to most the guests in the manor, there are insects in the shadow realm as well. This isn't the shadow realm, but the influx of shadow and how often shadow is used has attracted some of these little shadow bees. Their stings carry madness, a strong hallucinogenic type affect that can make the stung experience all sorts of things. Some heard, some seen, some felt deep in the soul. Some mortals never recover from the madness. Possible and most common side affect for mortals is schizophrenia. These little shadow insects are drawn to the smell of blood. A few of them flutter about the dead body in the kitchen as Shin approaches. A few others are in different blood pools shaped like Amaya's footsteps. The suddenly fluttering of the small dragon agitates the bees and can possibly send them into a stinging frenzy. (depending on the roll)

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[Shinkiro]

Shin hadn't noticed the bees, so focused was he on his quarry. But the stings quickly bring him back to the present. Even with the protection of his scales, he feels them, sharp little stings along his tail and sides. With a shriek of pain, he launches himself into the air and away from the little buzzing menaces. Another scream echoes his, female and familiar. Shit! "Raine!" Thoughts of the hunt leave him as he realized how she must be bearing the brunt of his pain in trying to keep him protected.



First things first, escaping the bees. Flexing his wings, Shin put on a burst of speed and flew for the door as fast as he could manage. Hopefully, they would lose interest in him and go back to their little blood pools if he could just get far enough away. As he went, soft whispers seemed to follow. Doing his best to try and ignore it, he streaked for the door. And with luck, the bees wouldn't follow.



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[Kels]

The bees still buzz and swarm, but more protectively over their fallen body than after Shin. They let him escape. Him and whatever servant was trying to clean things up and is now running, screaming from the kitchen. Guards at the door quickly shut the door. The guards and most the servants all have a little Don't Look At Me enchantment about them so the guests will be able to go on with their fun and ignore the hired help. Or forced help.

But before all that happened, Shin would have noticed the scent of the two he smelled upstairs were also in the kitchen. Both of them. Again with no trail leading into or out of the kitchen.

[Shinkiro]

Sides heaving with the pain of all the stings, Shin flapped his wings until he could land on one of the chandeliers. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he glanced himself over for damages. The fact that those stings had pierced his scales worried him to no end. Finding no physical puncture wounds, he groaned to himself. "This is why I hate the damned shadows.." Carefully, he tested moving his legs to gauge the pain in them, wincing as his body throbbed in response. This wasn't off to a very promising start. Scents that appeared and vanished within a few feet, and now those damned shadow bees. He was going to feel this one for a while. Taking a deep breath, he considered his next move.

[Arako]

Arako has been in the kitchen catching bees while Amaya was upstairs trying not to have her throat crushed. He doesn't know yet what transpired upstairs in his chamber. Catching shadows bees is a hard enough task even for someone like him. And he's the only one in the manor that can do it. Such a troublesome pest when you get an infestation. Luckily for Shin the hive of these bees wasn't that big yet so they're not as aggressive as they could have been.

Arako comes running out into the ball room, “Catch that one!” A very tiny little shadow thing buzzes past Shin on his way down, falling off the chandelier. Arako stops next to the little writhing dragon on the floor and looks down at him with a frown. “What's wrong with you?” His tone I both annoyed and concerned. There is work to do and Shin is just laying in the ballroom floor under a chandelier.

Arako holds a large round object made of condensed and solidified shadow. The little shadow bees swarm around it, crawling on it, into it, and out of it. They fly around it and then back in. It is their shadow hive. He holds this out in his left hand, not a full arm's length away from his face, but close with a relaxed and slightly bent elbow. He doesn't seem afraid of getting stung, only of them blocking his vision. He's after the stragglers, but Shin just let one get away.

SPOILER: Click to show

[Shinkiro]

Shin had intended to rest only a moment upon the chandelier in order to regain his senses. But the instant that Amaya allowed her shield to fall, the full weight of the shadows around him struck. His body seized, one front claw coming up as if to try and ward it off before he screamed. Whispers and mad laughter rang in his ears before he went limp. Losing his grip on the chandelier, he plummeted to the floor like a stone. He made a few attempts to flap his wings, to slow his descent, but the efforts were weak and uncoordinated. Hitting the floor, he stared upwards in a daze, only distantly aware of Arako's presence as Amaya rebuilt his defenses.

[Balthazar]

A tiny wisp of smoke visible only to Shin began circling the little dragon's head in a caressing, almost loving way.

"Do not listen to him

 Thou are perfect as can be

 Snub his jealousy."

Tiny little tendrils, like little smokey fingers gently ran across Shin's jaw.

 

[Arako]

“Well, don't just lay there. Find the killer.” The quicker the killer is caught, the quicker he can go back to doing naughty things to Shin's sister. He sighs out and then goes in the direction that last bee took off in. Though if it stings anyone that should produce a bit of fun. He might release the swarm later if things get dull. In the meantime he'll make sure Shin thinks, that Arako thinks it's his fault for agitating the bees and not catching that one. To keep up the appearance of such, he takes a few quick steps away from Shin, but then slows them down to a moderate pace beyond that. He knows what the bees can do and they seem to have already worked on Shin. Fun little creatures.

[Shinkiro]

The little dragon watched after Arako in a daze before his eyes locked on the little wisp floating around him. He blinked several times before slowly flopping over to push himself up. "He thinks he can take her away from me.." Wait. Why was he talking to a little shadow wisp? Craning his neck, he tried to get a better look at it. "Who.. What.. are you..?"

[Balthazar]

The smoke briefly formed into a tiny, bowing, horned demon before resuming it's smokey caressing. 

"Of course! My manners
 Long your greatest fan am I
 Your servant, Balthazar."

[Shinkiro]

"My.. fan?" The words don't quite seem to make sense. "What have I done that is worthy of attracting fans?" None of this seemed quite right. Carefully testing to be sure that he hadn't broken anything in the fall, Shin considered. The brief contact with the shadows could be adversely affecting him. Or maybe it was the bees? His gaze fixed on Balthazar pensively. "Are you even real?" He could have kicked himself foe asking that. Would a hallucination even answer to the contrary?

[Balthazar]

"Stoic, strong, and tall
 Loyalty and bravery
 All of these, in thee."

The wisp circled around Shin's head and wings as it spoke, its voice surprisingly deep and smooth.

"Pray, great warrior,
 Heed these words, from your ill host
 Ignoble intent."
 
    

[Shinkiro]

Finding himself mostly undamaged but for the lingering ache of new bruises and the pain of the stings, Shin paused to watch the little wisp with fascination. "I know that. He can't be trusted. He's dangerous. He'll..." Shin shook his head quickly, trying to rid himself of a sudden ringing in his ears. "He'll hurt her if I don't watch him. I know he will.."

[Balthazar]

"Thine wisdom is sound
 Thine heart, pure. False friends will rise
 Steel thyself for lies."

The little wisp began to float higher, its voice getting more faint.

"Take heart, great warrior
 Thou shall not face this alone
 Thine fan shall remain."

As the last word was spoken, the smoke cleared and was nowhere to be seen.
 

[Shinkiro]

Well, a second set of eyes really couldn't hurt. Could they? Unless he was going mad. Then it probably wouldn't matter. Maybe. Heaving himself up, Shin flapped his wings carefully a few times before launching himself into the air again. He had to see to trying to hunt down this killer. He had a scent. Maybe it was time to start investigating the various rooms of the manor. With that thought in mind, he flew back toward the upper floor to get started on that. Reaching the first hallway of doors, he paused to sniff around.



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[Kels]

The scents are not on the main staircase of floating crystal leading up from the ball room, not scents of the killer anyway, though Nykolas' scent is all over the place on the stairs and the upper floor. On the upper floor the only place with the two scents of the killer are at the crime scene, which is getting cleaned up. The scents are getting washed away by cleaning solutions and pretty scented candles to mask over the bad stuff.

[Shinkiro]

"Dammit." Growling in irritation, Shin propelled himself back downstairs. Nothing on the top floor? Then maybe the servant's quarters? It would give plenty of access for the killer to sneak around the manor. Grumbling to himself, the little golden dragon streaked through an open door and found a perch up near the ceiling before scenting again. There had to be something around here.



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[Kels]

“You're going the wrong way.” A gruff voice suddenly judges.

“Don't listen to him!” inserts a high pitched voice, “He's just grump he can't go nowhere.”

If Shin looks around for the source of the voices, he'll find that random bricks on the wall nearest him have appeared to come alive and now have little faces of various expressions and features.

“Well, I've been stuck next to you all these years, of course I'm grumpy!”

[Shinkiro]

The sudden voices startle him almost into falling off of his perch. Swiveling his head around, he stares at the bricks in open disbelief for a few moments. Had the shadows infected him that badly when his shield failed earlier? Shin contemplated the idea as he watched the bricks. Or maybe they were enchanted. Arako seemed like the kind who would randomly enchant things to throw others off guard. The bastard. He growled softly to himself, tail lashing back and forth before he tried to focus again. "I need to finish my hunt. Please.. excuse me?" Opening his wings, he flitted further down the hall to another perch to try and scent the air again.



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[Kels]

The scent of the two in question are very prominent in the serving quarters. They have been here, but there is no smell of death or blood that followed in their wake on this floor. This late at night there aren't many servants moving about. Most are sleeping. There are a lot of people at the party and a lot of rooms. The shadows also seem to like this floor and the corners are thick with them. Less light is in the servant area, less light in the halls and in the rooms themselves. They're just servants, they don't need much. The shadows watch Shin, but having been touched by shadow so recently, his chances of seeing them increase. Some of them are really even there.

Also there is one of the stray bees. If it picks up the scent of previous stings in Shin, it may sting again. Or at least fly toward him aggressively.
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[Shinkiro]

Aha! The scent of his prey! Finally. Shin might have stopped to gloat if it weren't for the sudden sound of angry buzzing heading in his direction. Catching sight of the shadow bee, he bared his teeth and screeched at it. "Oh no you don't!" Lifting a claw, he slashed at the bee with the intent of slicing its stupid little body right in half.



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[Balthazar]

"Thou draws ever closer
 But caution, friends become foes
 Can foes become friends?"
The wisp was back, snaking around Shins body, its voice in his ear.

"Arm thyself warrior
 Do not play his baleful game
 Victory for one."

[Kels]

The little shadow bee coming for Shin might be made of shadow, but a solidified version of shadow and thus at times can be cut. Dragons are one of the few creatures that can harm shadow. The little bee is gutted and lays on the ground giving it's little black wings a finally flutter before dissipating into nothing, it's essence rejoining the shadows around them. Still the mortals remain sleeping in their chambers, unaware of anything going on.

[Shinkiro]

Was it odd that he didn't seem to think anything strange about the little wisp reappearing? Turning his head this way and that, Shin watched Balthazar, almost a little relieved to have company once more. The shadows unnerved him. The fact that the little wisp was made of the same stuff seemed lost on him. "Yes, I smell my prey. We must act swiftly. If we don't, then he might try to take her away again. No, we can't let him take her away.." His tail began to lash back and forth as Balthazar whispered. "This prey must be killed. Must be. She wishes it so. Come, let us find it." Unfurling his wings again, Shin flew slowly down the hall, sniffing as he went.



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[Balthazar]

"Perhaps a reprieve
 The host must be stopped,weakness
 The quarry may know."

The smoke briefly moved in front of Shin as it spoke before returning to his side.

"More weapons, more tools
 Allies against the darkness
 Light must prevail here."
    

[Howard Grimm]

The scent will lead to a servant room where it gets stronger and fills the air completely. Only two scents in that room, and they are the two Shin seeks. The names on the door read, Idaen and Flamon, servants to Cearrilai Xender. The master's name is written the largest and all pretty with the servant names obviously added later by the servants themselves, as each name is written in a different style and size than the original words that are burnt into the wood and then painted.

Only one body in the room at the moment however and it is a sleeping human with an ugly mustache. He is of average height and build with average colored brown hair. Everything about him looks average. The biggest disappointment his father has ever received and he is told so often by said father. The names on the door are not his or the pixie's. Not their real names, just some aliases they snuck in using.

The fluttering of the wings at the door probably wouldn't be enough to wake Howard, but the turning of the knob might depending how how deep of a sleep he is in.
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[Shinkiro]

Shin pauses at the scent from the door, taking a moment to inspect the names on it. Sister! Sister, I have found them! A triumphant grin, more a baring of teeth in his current form, crosses across his face before he looks to Balthazar. "Yes, he must be. But this prey, I have to kill him. She commanded it. I must obey." But his prey had a gun that used bullets of light. The same gun that had shot Nick. Anger welled up quickly, nearly overwhelming him. His body changed in response, from small dragonling to a full sized drake. Forgoing the door handle entirely, Shin rose up on his back legs and brought his front claws crashing down on the wood.



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