Investigation, Case One: Finale [Finished]

[The Jenn]

Finally, things were happening. No more hunting for elusive clues, no more questioning tetchy people, no more traipsing through abandoned buildings in search of the right one... at least not for this particular case. Fetu was under no illusion that this was the first of many such circuses, but at least they seemed to be approaching a conclusion on this one. Their first. It would be satisfying.

A map of one city district was laid out in front of them with a small circle around one particular building. That was their target, the sleeping place of the criminals they were charged to apprehend. Thankfully for them, the men had cleared out any other sort of inhabitants by their presence and the churlish demeanor of the Club, so they wouldn't have to involve bystanders in this operation if all went well. And thankfully for her, they were performing this raid at night to be sure that they caught the men 'at home', so to speak.

She didn't have many tricks up her sleeve, but her summon was at the ready and she'd brought with her the most valuable - and bizarre - item that she possessed. The bone lantern sat on the table next to the map, covered by a rough cloth to protect the others from its light. Thanks to the odd object, the smell of roses permeated the air. It wasn't smothering at this point in time, merely fragrant.

With her this evening were the other two officers new to the force who would be apprehending the men, as well as one of their seniors, helping them prepare.

"So we know that this building has two entrances easily accessible by ground and one on the roof. The front door is boarded over. The back door is usable, but also likely to be guarded or protected from entry in some way. Probably locked, but I'm good with locks. We know that the Spades is fast and protective of his partner. The bigger threat in a fight is going to be the Club, though. Do we want to go for numbers reduction and focus on one at a time, or would that leave us too open? Or do we just go for the first man we run across, assuming that they aren't sleeping in the same room? What are everyone's thoughts? And what do we have at our disposal? My summon might come in handy. It can knock people out, provided that its aim is accurate." She'd certainly never planned anything like this before and she'd never intentionally attacked someone. She also rarely talked this much and it made her uncomfortable.


Mome: Often tired and slightly grouchy, this Mome is completely obedient to its master and can shoot the tiny quills in its back as projectiles. They contain a mild poison that will send any opponent below a Jack to sleep, make Jacks drowsy and incoherent, and Kings and Queens will be dizzy.


Phosphorous Lantern and Insect: This bone-caged lantern is incredibly intricate and smells of roses, covering all other scents to everyone but the owner for up to a mile in all directions when they wish it to. It casts a dull light that causes no pain to those sensitive to it, but can seem overly bright and even blinding to those who aren't. All Highlanders, pure not partial, will find themselves immune to the effects of both the rose scent and the light spell, but not the remaining part of the lantern, the insect.

Whenever the owner of the lantern feels they are in danger, they may call forth a tiny insect, the size of their thumbnail, with the words: half light. The insect resembles a scarab beetle in many ways, except for its delicate body shape and large pincers. It is an iridescent black with odd Heart shapes on its wing case. This insect will summon itself to attack Clubs ranked ten or lower if it is after midnight and the Clubs in question are within ten feet. If the Clubs move ten feet from the lantern itself, the insect will have to retreat back to its owner...where it will sit and hiss angrily. This is not the case if the lantern owner then sics the insect on the Club, wherein it will act as it normally does when it attacks and be able to travel up to 100 feet from the lantern.

When summoned to attack Hearts, the insect will often pause before attacking. If the Heart is ranked Jack or higher, it will refuse to bite them, though it may still sting or attack in other ways. Queens of Hearts will make the insect return to the lantern, wherein the light will actually go out until the Queen has left. Small crying noises can be heard from within at this time. PM the admin should this occur, as something strange may happen.

Even if struck, shot, or killed, the insect will return with a puff of incense every time its master wishes it to unless the lantern is destroyed. Though it will take up to 15 seconds to reform each time, it can be killed countless times over. If captured, it will die within a day and return to the lantern.

The insect engages combat with swift attacks aimed at soft, fleshy bits of the body, aiming with a sharp sting that causes instant, painful swelling, and thin, clawed legs. It is also equipped with large pincers that can deliver a poisonous sting, capable of knocking Cards ranked 6 and lower out cold, 7-10 to stagger and lose their vision for an hour, Jacks and Kings to begin vomiting copiously for a full thirty seconds (some passing out from lack of air), and Queens to lose the use of their 2-8 Ranked abilities for an hour. Each Card bitten will have a small Heart mark appear where the bite was given. The lantern is constructed from the bones of a young girl...a rather violent one, at that.

If the insect happens to get close enough to anyone its master is not feeling partial to (must be someone the owner holds a personal grudge against), it has the potential to deliver an incredibly unpleasant bite, this one containing a form of venom that will force the person to lose their vision entirely in an eye of the owner's choosing, along with the effects mentioned above. The eye itself will turn a misty blue and the pupil will shape itself into a red-veined Heart.

[Lucca]

Aberforth stood calmly, looking over the map, everything he'd learned on this case going through his mind over and over like a broken record. Despite his cool, neutral demeanor, he was actually rather nervous. Not over the fight (though he'd never...fought anyone before, he had realized the night before) but over having to rely on his team members. What if they decided to turn on him? What if they just weren't any good and fumbled things up? (Though he knew he was as likely to do that as either of them). He just wasn't used to relying on anyone, and he liked it that way.

Joke's on him for deciding to become a police officer.

The only sign of this wariness was his ears, tilted back again his head. But he looked up and nodded to Fetu as she spoke. At least they'd agree to do this at night...he felt far more comfortable in the darkness. "I don't have much to bring to the table," he admitted gruffly. "Just my horns and hooves. And the normal Club abilities."

He'd also broken down a door before. With his head. But he wasn't sure he should bring that up.

((EDIT: um....can't believe I forgot the picture...lol I think this is a first for me...XD))

[Kari Muffin]

Petunia found herself glancing over the map and listening to what everyone had to say. Or what little some people had to say. Okay. That was fine. This was going to take a lot of planning however. She shifted her weight as she narrowed her eyes in thought.

She honestly didn't have much to offer beyond her tongue. When it came to fighting... she had rather lame skills. She was an Esterberry diamond of all things, and hardly built for combat. Though she did have a set of teeth on her, and could probably tackle someone. Rather pitiful in the long run considering what they were up against.

"All I really have is my tongue. I can check to see if there's anyone else with them before we go in. Just in case they decided to have a late night poker match with some buddies or something."

Torn Tongue: This tongue, when touched, instantly crawls up the unfortunate’s arm and forces its way into their mouths. It tears their own tongue off and replaces the stump with itself, giving the new owner a very strange power. The owner is now able to taste the air at will; they are able to taste and identify, the Suit and Realm/s of anyone who has been there within the past three days. The taster is not, however, able to identify gender or Breed/s. This spell does not work on Jokers. Trying to taste where one has been leads to the owner feeling as though their tongue is being stabbed by pins.


The Sergeant, Eloise, had remained silent, watching the three converse for a few moments. She seemed to be assessing the situation as a whole. Who was the leader, and if there was going to be any slacking involved. After the Esterberry finished she spoke rather bluntly. "You should all be prepared for anything. Prefabricated plans can only go so far when you know nothing of each others talents, and really criminals are never ones for following your plans."

She smiled in a friendly and unassuming sort of way. "So maybe you should discuss some of your strengths and weaknesses before charging out in the battlefield? Knowing the information on the criminals by heart can only do so much good."

(( OOC: AHHHH. @_@ I hope this is okay. ))

[The Jenn]

At least they had a wide variation of natural suit abilities between them. That would be useful, wouldn't it? Or at least give them more options. And that was valuable... right?

Never having done this before was a nervous nightmare. Fetu curled her toes but refrained from commenting until the Sergeant had finished speaking. Was that a gentle reprimand or simply a tip? It was hard to say. She didn't know the avian nearly well enough to gauge. 'Be prepared for anything' was the most frustratingly vague description of anything. Ever. "Yes, Sergeant."

Which strength and weaknesses to share? Which would be most important? Which did her associates actually need to know?

"I see perfectly in darkness, but I'll be out of commission for a minute if they throw up a bright light." And have a splitting headache for two or three days afterwards, but that was irrelevant to this briefing. "I can try to catch up with the Spade if he runs - my Spade ability is fast. If I have to whistle, sorry in advance. I'll try to do that only if I have to. If they bright light all of a sudden, I'm probably going to throw out darkness. That's just sort of instinct. My Mome can incapacitate, so I think he'll come in handy for this since we don't want to kill anyone. And, ah, there's a nasty little bug in this lantern. It should prove pretty distracting."

Talking. So much talking. And sharing her powers. It made something in her spine tingle in the worst sort of way. "I won't be any good at talking them down. If we're doing anything like that then Penny, it's got to be you. Otherwise we go in and just attack. My talking would probably make things worse."

[Lucca]

Aberforth's ears pinned back further at the Sergeant's words. Tell these people his -weaknesses-? Was she out of her -mind-? They'd be sure to use it against him, to spread it all around, how could he possibly ever trust anyone?...

Okay. He needed to focus. Calm down. They'd be less likely to betray him if he was...honest. As much as that pained him. So despite every paranoid thought in his mind screaming against him, he spoke...

"Well, I'm a Club, so I'm strong and hardy. I'm good with numbers and keeping track of details. I can ram into something, and it will definitely hurt." He snorted self consciously, feeling like he wasn't telling them anything they didn't already know, hadn't guessed...to the others it may come off condescending or thoughtful. The Goat didn't like expressing emotions and he wasn't good at it even when he tried.

"I've...never actually been in a fight before," he admitted, awkwardly. And then, after a pause, "And my ability to shape iron is useless as a weapon. Anything I make will melt if it's used to try and bring harm to another." He knew this because of some complaints he'd gotten when someone tried to use a wagon wheel he'd sold them as a weapon. Honestly, he wasn't sure why they would be trying to do something like that, but then Cards continued to surprise him with their sheer stupidity and continuous bloodthirsty desires. Or...they did at one point. There wasn't too much that could surprise him, now. He'd just seen too much, known the dark sides of too many people.

[Kari Muffin]

Petunia stared rather blankly at the sergeant when she spoke. Really? That's all she had to say at a time like this? Anyone could figure something that simple out--

The Esterberry swallowed hard as she tried to calm down. The woman was just trying to be helpful. And she was right. They should be prepared for anything. Which meant they really should know a little bit about each other before running headlong into a metaphorical den of wolves.

And it would seem none of them were very skilled when it came to combat. Goody gum drops.

"Okay, well with my tongue I can taste Suit and Realms. So if there's anything other than pure Corvies and a Spade and a Club there's probably a fair chance someone is with them. Though it's just guessing at some point since uh... scents seem to linger for a few days. I still haven't gotten a hang of this thing," She shrugged. "As for fighting I don't have any experience beyond getting knocked out with a baseball bat. My magic is kind of lame... basic charm and language."

Penny had a sinking feeling that this wasn't going to go all that well. Considering she was the only one with social skills ugh.

Eloise looked a little surprised, though her voice was fairly even. "So now that you know all of that, think you can come up with a battle plan for yourselves? Deciding who handles what is a good way to keep yourselves from getting too badly hurt, and hopefully it will prevent any of you from freezing up. Since this is your first time I'm sure you're all a nervous wreak and don't want to drop the ball." Life would move on if someone dropped the ball. These weren't the most dangerous criminals, and the new recruits could probably handle the situation without getting too injured. They seemed capable beyond the lack of fighting experience, and none of them seemed like slackers.

[The Jenn]

Fetu stared around their little circle around the table, her dumpster-find sunglasses protecting her from the lights in the station. She could only thank the stars that they were up against 'regular' criminals for their first case who weren't known as cop-killers, just serious niusances and repeat offenders. That didn't make them safe, however, and the chipmunk had been mugged one too many times throughout her years of wandering to face a physical threat lightly.

"Do we want to try and talk them down first? Would it be worthwhile?" She glanced around the table and looked down at the map. "None of us can fly, so the rear entrance is really our only bet. Going in there is sure to alert them sooner rather than later and they probably know the building very well. My main goal will be to incapacitate. Maybe I could throw my summon at them. If the Spade takes off, I'm after him." Not much better than what she'd said before. How lovely. "If we can catch the Spade in a different room first... maybe we can talk him down long enough for me to knock him out? But we're getting into scenarios again, I suppose."

[Lucca]

Aberforth was...very not comfortable with how they all seemed to be lacking truly useful abilities...except perhaps for Fetu. She had that lantern and her Mome. He didn't really spare a glance for Eloise...slightly annoyed at her at the moment, though his expression wouldn't show this. Something started to gnaw at the back of his mind with worry at the words...'freezing up'. He didn't think he'd succumb to such an urge, but then, he'd never been in a fight before...what if it gave him flashbacks or something? What if one of the Corvies had a an ability like...ugh, NO, he couldn't think like that!

"I doubt we can talk them into getting arrested," he said flatly, then realized this might come off as rude. "Though if you think it's worth a shot, well, it's probably better than an all out fight. If it comes to confronting others, I can try and take on the Club, since I can match his strength with mine. At least I won't fall easily." He nodded to Fetu, not used to talking this much, and shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Knocking them out is definitely the best bet. After all, they're not really dangerous so hurting them over much shouldn't be necessary."

His tail flicked. Enough planning, this Goat just wanted to go out and begin. After all, as the Sergeant had pointed out so astutely, they really had no idea exactly what situation they would find themselves in when they got to the hiding spot.

[Kari Muffin]

Petunia didn't like this at all. She didn't like not having a plan and she didn't like working with people where were tentative. She curled her toes as she listened to the other two express themselves.

All right. Fine she was going to suggest doing things her way even if it was going to be shot down. "Okay guys, I think it would be easier if we look at things this way. You two can take care of the Club and I can attempt to distract the Spade since he's the dimmer of the two. As long as we can keep them apart it'll be easier to handle. And just in case we can't I think it would be safe for you two to pair off with opposite suits. Fetu you should be fast enough to tackle the Club, and Aberforth, you might not be fast but I'm sure you could take down the Spade before he got a chance to speed up."

Hypothetical basic pairing. "It's not a plan so much as pairing each other off just in case."

Now that that was out of her mouth the Esterberry visibly relaxed. Now that she had spoken her mind things should at least go better, and no one could blame for for being an idiot.

Eloise blinked. Well, it was a plan though wasn't it? However if the two agreed with the Esterberry she would hardly protest. "I think you all have your priorities straight. And unless you need my help with anything I'll leave you to your task."

[The Jenn]

That seemed like a general enough plan to suit the situation.Though if the Spade did run off... well, they would take care of that eventuality when they came to it. Fetu thought for a moment, weighing the Esterberry's words, and then nodded slowly.

"That could make sense. And- yes, ma'am. We should probably head out soon." She glanced at the map one more time, looked around to see if anyone else needed it, and then rolled it into a tube that she could stick in the pack she'd be slinging over her shoulders. Handy to have, just in case they got lost in the maze of back streets in the Outer Bazaar. Or if she had to run after the Spade and ended up who-knew-where. Sigh. Just in case.

She checked the cover on the lantern to make sure that it was secure and drew it closer, ready to pick up. She also, after a moment's consideration, summoned her Mome. He arrived on the floor next to her, stretching and yawning as his quills clacked against each other. Then he stared at her with a reproachful expression, as if disapproving of her pulling him away from whatever it was he'd been doing.

"Don't give me that," she muttered. "Be a good boy. We're probably going to need you."

On command, he stopped the sour glare and settled into a more normal sitting position, looking at the others with sleepy eyes and the occasional yawn.