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Bright Journey It's mid-afternoon, and a sunny day.

Bright Journey has to keep reminding herself of that, though, standing in this alley. It's not that it's a small or tight alley--in fact, it's quite spacious as these things go. The problem is the buildings around it reach for the sky like the last desperate lunge of a person in quicksand, blotting out much of the light now that it's well past high noon.

There may be no corpses and no blood here...not anymore, at any rate. But it does not take a sage or master investigator to realize this was the site of a huge, pitched battle. Blackened, pitted surfaces dot the alley here and there, massive gouges score the stone all over the place. A desperate, violent struggle raged across this cul-de-sac, and the pink-haired young lady standing here in the semi-gloom looks in no way surprised to see any of it.

She kicks over trash here and there, toeing through scattered dust and ash with the tip of a boot, frowning to herself in thought as she clearly hunts for something.

Spring Wind The sound of scurrying rats is followed by the sound of rustling cloth, prior to a pair of hands reaching up to place themselves just over Bright Journey's eyes without quite touching her face. "Guess who?~" comes a playful voice that Bright most likely recognizes. "Aaaaand the first two might not count."
Misa It's a curious way to arrive, but one of the few intact crates tucked into this alley is climbed upon in short order- quite nimbly, in fact. The woman who did the climbing is quiet, even in physical motion- once again standing with a pair of short blades on one hip. She's analytical- it's fairly easy to tell she notices the other two, but she doesn't mind them for a long moment, eyes focused on the burnt stone.

Eventually she looks up, head tilting a little. "Hello again," echoes her soft voice- though she stops any continuation when Spring goes and plays her game.

Bright Journey Not that the alley is gloomy, per se, but still, Bright is looking a little tense, eyes shifty and alert as she looks forward and down towards whatever it is she's been searching for.

She would have been far better served keeping an eye behind her. Silk would probably facepalm if she saw that little ineptitude, and slam her forehead into a wall with what Bright does next.

As soon as Spring Wind slips her hand in front of Bright's eyes and says, "Guess who~?", Bright all but jumps into the air, letting out a completely undignified and shrill, piercing shriek before stumbling forward and half turning around to see who it is.

"Augh! Spring, don't DO that! I..." Bright Journey's voice trails off as she sees Misa standing some ways behind Spring, near the entrance to the cul de sac. Looking at Misa directly, Bright gets a rueful smile. "Hello again to you, too. Not my most glorious moment, I suppose..."

Spring Wind "-Oh!.. Sorry." Spring says, taking a step back as she draws her hands in with a slight expression of regret. "Time to be more open and in front of people when making myself known, then." she observes with a quick shrug. "Hell of a fight around here, huh?" she asks, her gaze scanning the general area of the alley. "Dunno what spiders have to do with stuff, though." she adds in a slightly quieter tone of voice.
Misa To call Misa all that perturbed would likely be an exaggeration. Her brow raises a little at the display, but she's ultimately relaxed on her perch, sitting on the edge of a crate.

She scans over the area for another moment, smoothing out her loose pants as she thinks. She glances back at the pair when Spring speaks, questioning; "I don't recall spiders being mentioned. Is there something I am missing about this scene? You seem rather well-informed in the area, Bright Journey."

Ignis "Well then...it looks like the threads of fate have a sense of humor or are busy lining us up for some sort of disaster that I dare not attempt to think on."

Ignis' voice rings clear and sharp into the alleyway..surprisingly bright and good humored considering the location and the subject matter about to be explored. He steps into view with confidence, approaching the trio with a raised eyebrow and recogition of each person present though it has been some time for at least Spring Wind and Bright Journey. Less so with Misa given the dual investigation of sudden Lion Men and all.

"I take it that we're all here due to the same interests? Or is this just a new spot set to overtake our latest Dynast party-house?"

Bright Journey Bright gives Spring Wind a sidelong look when she mentions spiders, a look which becomes accompanied by another, much more rueful smile as Misa asks about them--clearly, Bright is not surprised at their mention and is well aware of the implications of Misa having caught the word. She's not even trying to hide it. It's a little late for that, obviously.

"I admit I thought I'd be alone for this. And instead, here I am meeting two other people. I'm...guessing you saw me and followed me, Spring?" Bright's tone of voice makes it clear it's not really a question. "And maybe you did too, Misa?" Bright sighs a little over-dramatically. "I guess it's the hair. Can't hide in a crowd with it. I guess..."

And the poor girl is interrupted yet again by Ignis showing up. Eyebrows raised quite high, Bright just stays silent and lets Ignis speak, then folds her arms in a mock petulant way and sighs. "I have no idea what your interest is here, my dear Ignis, but mine is apparently being led around on a leash by the very gods themselves. Spring, I don't suppose you have any idea what the chances are of any of this being a coincidence, let alone all of it. All we need are more spiders."

Spring Wind "Hair dye, hoods, sorcery, you /do/ have options you know." Spring says, tapping an extended finger with each option in a counting manner, "But I'd also assume you're not really trying to hide either. Coincidences are... Extremely unlikely here, that almost seems like Fate itself is the issue. And /that/ is an entire barrel of problems I would rather stay away from."
Misa "If I may be so blunt, I had been following whispers from guardsfolk and the talk of potential danger in the streets. Now I begin to wonder if it relates to your ongoing affair- and given the mention of spider creatures..." Misa muses, looking off to the side for a moment.

She glances over her shoulder then as Ignis arrives, head tilting a little. She's as soft-spoken as ever, somehow managing to ride the line of audible even in the disquieting silence of the alley. "You do have something of a way of appearing from nowhere, if I might."

Ignis "It's not as sinister as it may seem." responds Ignis to Misa, "Perhaps it's merely good fortune for I am also following such whispers and Bright Journey and I have similar interests and dealing with certain brands of trouble and have even wielded weapons side by side before." He glances over to Bright Journey and then Spring as well, grin somewhat lopsided now, "Fate? Yes, perhaps. A dirty word but here we are so what shall we do with it?"
Bright Journey Bright Journey reaches behind her head and flips the hood on her cloak, her expression rather wry. "As it happens, I could have been. I just wasn't thinking in a city this size, there's be a -train- of people noticing me or headed to the same place. Suppose I should know better by now." She chuckles and looks at Ignis and Misa.

"It's true that Ignis and I have fought shoulder to shoulder before, to be fair. And Spring Wind and I, as well, though I don't think all of us at once. Yet." Bright frowns and considers for a moment, then her fair features get set with determination and she looks right into Misa's eyes. "Perhaps it was Fate that brings you here, to catch Spring mention the spiders and meet all of us. I don't pretend to know anything abut that. What I will say, Misa, is this: You stand on a precipice. There is danger, and evil, in this city." She smiles wanly. "Not any of us, mind you. But just being here puts all of us in danger, partly of what lies below us--we'll get to that in a minute--and partly because all of us have secrets. I assume you do too, one way or another. What I'm asking is, can we trust you?"

Spring Wind "Well, if she tries to kill us it's a matter of numbers." Spring says rather bluntly. "Or, y'know, leave us to die. She has more to gain by helping us than hurting us." she observes.
Misa Misa glances to the side again, brow raising a little. "I assure you, if I were hostile I would not engage it with this man present, given some recent interactions," she notes, pushing herself off the crate to stand and dust herself off for a moment.

She straightens up and looks at Bright for a longish moment, mostly neutral. "To not put too fine a point on it, if I desired safety I would fish for my food on some remote riverbank. Or carry my favoured sword," she notes, shrugging ever so slightly. She glances over Spring a moment- it's perhaps not the most charitable look at the danger the sneaky stranger might pose. "If you will pardon my saying, this is a rather pointed line of conversation."

Ignis "Was it not even half a season ago that you entertained Misa's presence in a tea house after she had defended herself from attackers and we shared with her the danger of cultists and other threats?" notes Ignis while inclining his head and raising an eyebrow. "While I don't pretend to lack caution or be overly trusting..I don't believe that this place, time, or person is the threat. Circumstances will always bring unusual people together. Such is the way of things. We wouldn't be who we are and do what we do if it weren't for these sort of chance meetings and things that result from them."
Bright Journey Bright reaches over and puts a hand on Spring's shoulder. "Easy there, dear. I don't think Misa even really intended to run into any of us today, let alone wishes us harm. I'm pretty sure we somewhat surprised her as well."

She nods to Ignis in agreement. "I don't think Misa is a threat right now, either, and it's best if all of us stay away from being too aggressive. The real threat is below, to be frank, or at least it was. I'll show you today." She frowns and looks at the trash-strewn ground, covered in rubble. "If I can find the blasted entrance."

"That said, Misa, I just want to make it plain that we're showing more trust than some would think prudent simply by explaining what happened here. I realize Great Forks is as accepting a place as you'll find anywhere in Creation, but still, we would appreciate some discretion. We all have enemies, after all." She gives a lopsided grin, then starts looking towards one larger pile of trash and rubble to one side of the cul de sac, where she'd started before Spring had surprised her.

"Come help me look. It has to be right here, there's not enough junk elsewhere to completely cover a hole wider across than I am tall. Unless they actually managed to fill it in completely. Which would be stupid. Do they think that would stop a pack of demon spiders?"

Spring Wind "Thing is, it wouldn't..." Spring says, crouching down to look at the area beneath her. Picking up a small wooden stick, she pokes at the pile of trash and kicks aside some of the smaller rubble pieces while searching. "...But it would make them feel safer, less worries about stuff they can't change. If it helps them, I don't see any harm in stuff like that."
Misa A faint chuckle from Misa, and she shakes her head. "Convenient... I speak not often of this, but from whence I came my specialty was in tracking down the occult- cults and the demonic in particular were a personal focus." She pauses a moment, looking around the alleyway for a moment.

"Of course, that was not the only one. If I might be so bold once again..." she takes a slight step back- and raps her knuckles against the crate she had been sitting on. A very careful ear might notice the additional resonance of portions of it not actually resting on solid ground. She smiles faintly again, and looks to Ignis. "If you would?" she questions, inclining her head towards the crate.

"Pardon me for blocking your way," she notes to Bright and Spring, stepping back.

Ignis "Hmm.."

Ignis inclines his head at this and at the display of skill from the polite and mysterious investigator.

"Well then. It looks like you're well on your way to showing your qualities."

Bright Journey Her voice at its driest, Bright gets a quiet little smile and obligingly backs up, giving Misa free reign. "By all means. If you've made a habit of tracking down cults -and- demons, you might just be our flavor of weird." She chuckles. "As you can see around you, we've done our share of fighting demons. Spiders here, and Ignis can attest we've dealt with our share of cultists and blood apes as well. That was some time ago, but we haven't forgotten."

Bright looks down at the rubble-strewn ground, thinking. "Maybe it was more to keep ordinary folks out than keeping possible Malfean reinforcements in. The battle was pretty loud and flashy, I can see some people coming by eventually."

Spring Wind "It's weird, people want to know until they don't." Spring says, looking off into the distance a bit. "-But hey! We get to make sure the things they don't want to know about stay away from them." she observes, then looks at the hole. "First in!" she calls out as she jumps down.
Misa "That seemed... hurried," Misa muses as Spring simply leaps, head shaking slightly. "What can I say, though- I took after a portion of my mother's affairs, and found myself curious about demons besides." She waves it off for the time being.

"I have a few talents, but let us not get too hasty about praising them. There are others better than myself." She glances downwards, then back at the others. "After you, if you intend to follow further."