SoulCoil

Today wasn't all that special. There was an album signing scheduled for today, and she was there, sitting at small table at the local mall in front of the seemingly endless line of people that trailed at least for the full width of the first floor. On either side of her were security guards.

The superstar wasn't all that ecstatic to be honest. I mean, what's exciting about writing the same thing on countless CD cases for at least two or three hours straight? Nevertheless, you have to make the fans happy, otherwise, they'll turn against you, and your ratings will drop faster than Icarus after his wings melted off his body.

That was one of Calista's favorite stories. Maybe because it had some sentimental value, or she found it really funny how people didn't listen; no matter how many times they were warned of potential dangers, they still go ahead and kill themselves over silly things. She reached up, taking a CD case from another person and hastily scribbled her signature on the front in the marker before handing it back. Sometimes, she would look up and smile, say a few words of thanks in response to; 'I'm your biggest fan' or 'I love your music', and the occasional 'I have every single one of your albums'. They all said it in different ways, but they all meant the same thing.

Every moment she got, she would glance at the clock to see how much time she had left in this boring place.

Meanwhile, on the roof of the mall, stood a dark, equine figure. The wispy, smoke-like mane of the Revenant blew in the same direction as the breeze did as it scanned the surrounding area with its glowing, purple eyes. Usually, the popstar didn't bring her Revenant along; and while Calista was confident that no one knew she was part of the competition, she was still reminded that there was one person after her ass regardless of whether or not she was in the competition. Hence, the reason why Hades had offered to keep watch while his partner was inside.

Soon, the Revenant trotted his way over to the other end of the roof to check there. This was much less efficient than flying, but he was more easily spotted in the air. He let out a slight snort of affirmation, trotting to the opposite end of the roof. So far, nothing seemed suspicious. He truly hoped it would stay that way.

To be completely honest, Enri had no business being here today short of extremely bad luck.

He'd only ducked down this way to escape the attention of someone else and what did he find? A massive crowd milling around a mall. Convenient way to lose his pursuer, to be sure.

Too convenient, he now realized.

It wasn't hard, disappearing into the milling throng of people. Wasn't hard slipping indoors and busying himself by 'browsing' the small kiosks selling their kitschy trinkets and overpriced cosmetics. Made small-talk and traded smiles with salesfolk while staying aware of the situation outside. Disappeared further inside when he saw his problem curiously scan the line near the door.

Stopped into a few stores, bought some useful things: a classy new coat, stylish shades, some high-end, handsome-smelling shaving cream for when his favor to Severo was done...

The former two were donned in a restroom, after he removed the tags and stickers. The former tucked in a pocket - the one opposite where he kept his switchblade. It was then that he combed his hair into a different style and stepped back out.

Seeing the pop sensation, Calista Terzi, caught him off-guard. Double-take, and all. She was across the way, flanked by security and the line led straight to her table where she traded smiles and signatures to curry favor from her fans. Enri stifled a chuckle, noting that there weren't nearly as many people as he'd expect to turn out for someone of national renown. This mall should be wall-to-wall with people, lined up and otherwise, trying to steal themselves a moment of her time.

Maybe it was nearing the end of the signing and this was just the tail-end of the crowds.

He debated taking a picture, but decided it wouldn't be worth the headache later. And there were plenty of cameras - news and otherwise - doing the same.

No. Not worth the fuss. He slipped into a department store and up the escalator inside to the second floor. He'd kill time wandering the mall until the coast was clear, and then--

A shudder tore through him as he entered into range. That familiar, prickling cold on his arms, down his spine... As the competition wore on, it was becoming more and more clear when it wasn't the usual ghosts. More potent. More focused. More emotion and dread, when a Revenant was near.

Maybe that was Amanita's doing.

Either way, Enri adjusted his jacket, rubbed his jaw, and pressed on. He'd just have to be very careful not to stand out, is all.
Damn it if it wasn't inconvenient, though.

As he made his way through the crowded mall, he kept an eye out for a rather specific woman. He had heard that there was supposed to be an album signing today, and he'd be damned if he missed such an….exciting occasion. He even had his own CD and everything, no matter how much he wanted to chuck it at someone or just throw it into a fire, or something like that.

It was hard enough avoiding the Revenant on the roof. But Damian had gotten more and more slippery over the years. Translation: he had his ways. Moving on now.

Now, there really wasn't any definite way to tell if anyone was in the competition just by their looks. It could be anyone, really. They could be an old man, a young girl, a famous singer.... But there was only person who knew Calista for who she really was. A lying, cheating, manipulative son of a-- His train of thought had crashed as he halted dead in his tracks. A scowl slowly creeped up on his features as he stared at the woman who turned his life to complete and utter shit.

Well, well, well. Speak of the devil.

The line in front of the table had soon been reduced to only a couple of people, as the time for the signing had just begun to come to a close. There was still time; she still had to pack up her stuff and get interviewed by the news. Everything was falling into place. Damian stuck around for a little while longer, but not so long that he would get noticed by her. Eventually, he quickly made his way to the escalator to get to the second floor. As he arrived there, he felt the menacing, almost choking chill of the Revenant on the roof. He had to be careful. He didn’t know what that thing could do, and he didn’t want to stick around too long to find out.

Just think about the plan, Casarano.

As he scanned his surroundings as always, his gaze shifted to someone vaguely familiar. No, he hadn’t seen him before…. Had he? Maybe it was his hair. But who had he seen with purple hair? Damian stepped off of the escalator once he reached the top.

Now to do the deed.

He went on to one of the department stores on the second floor.

Another scan of the floor below showed no sign of his pursuer, though he noticed he'd caught the eye of a 'finely crafted' watch saleswoman. He smiled at her, tilting down his sunglasses to look over their rim. Mostly so she might see his raised brow. She giggled, blushed, and went back to work.

When he turned away to lean back against the railing, he saw an undercover exit the department store with the escalator. Didn't think much of it until he'd already turned to wander elsewhere and caught sight of the man in profile.

Distilled dread sent ice flowing through his veins, and this time it had nothing to do with a Revenant. Outwardly, he didn't react to what he'd seen; Enri was getting plenty of practice at that. But all that practice still couldn't stop his heartrate from skyrocketing.

Enri'd never met this man, personally, but he couldn't forget that old police photo. Back when the man was younger, during better days.
For him, anyway.

But even back then, Damian Casarano was a man to avoid. Zealous, self-righteous, and more than happy to gun down a perp whenever he thought they deserved it. Rumor had it, Casarano brought all those traits with him when he wound up outside the law. Rumor had it, he was even happier to gun down perps now. Played judge, jury, and executioner.

Although... When Casarano was a cop, Enri wasn't part of anything big-time. Just a small and clever crew who kept tabs on the big dogs. As far as Enri knew, he'd managed to stay on the periphery so long, none of the boys in blue even knew about him.

Or knew about him past the early stuff. The petty, dumb teenage stuff that got white kids a night in jail and a slap on the wrist and not even the start of a record. Juvenile shit that got sponged from his name when he turned 18.

That should mean Casarano wouldn't know to look for him. Right?

He mentally kicked himself while he walked elsewhere.
You shoulda bit the bullet and called Juanita. Yeah, she gives you a hard time but no one's faster when it comes to moving guns. Sure, it's expensive. But is that such an issue in dangerous times like these? No. Juanita knows what you like. Juanita knows how to get it discreet. And Juanita woulda made sure you weren't walking around town with nothing to defend yourself but a knife, license be damned! And since when did you care about a license to carry? A real one. You know how to make a fake and make it good. Pull some favors so it's registered and in the books. Perfectly legitimate under someone else's name but the face attached is yours.

Casarano seemed preoccupied, and Enri planned to take full advantage of that. Whatever he was about to do-- Whoever he was about to take out, Enri wanted no part of it.

((I just realized that Enri doesn't have a description yet, of Severo's boss. He forgot to ask, that night on the roof. And he hasn't got the chance to do his own recon yet. This should be fun!))

((it is gonna be fun lol))

There he stood for the longest time, eyeing the camera in the store, primarily focusing on the blinking red light on the side of the small machine. What was taking him so long? God, why couldn't he had just gotten a Revenant that would follow orders instead of dawdling around like a little child? He waited around for a bit more. But eventually, he gave up. Clearly irritated, Damian muttered curses, then went on, proceeding to go throughout the store, pretending to browse for items while he awaited Severo to just do his damn part already.

….Meanwhile, Severo himself was crawling along the ceiling of the mall, wandering aimlessly. Half because he liked disobeying, and the other half was because he was searching for something specific, something so precious to him, that he couldn't hold off any longer.

Chocolate.

Or more specifically, Gianno’s. That stuff was amazing, even in death, he still felt alive whenever he tasted it. But there was one problem; Severo was a law abiding citizen, despite his background, and so it prevented him from just running off with it. Plus, he wasn't a chocolate hog. Other people needed to experience the amazing taste. With that in mind, Severo only sat in front of the store on the second floor, staring into the window, and although he might have slobbered a bit, but it was only natural.

If his boss was going to kill him, so be it. Better than going through with his stupid plan.

Another chill danced up Enri's spine, but the emotions attached weren't so dreadful. Not quite safety, but at least not a direct threat. It was enough to pull him away from fretting, at least.

He scanned the storefronts, taking in his surroundings without focusing on any one thing for long. When he spotted Severo, he did a second slow sweep to be sure Casarano was nowhere near before bringing his attention back. Severo sat, pressed against the window of a high-end chocolatier.

Enri smiled and wandered over to get a better look through the window. A convenient cover while he stood near the bat.

"Gianno's..." Enri rubbed his jaw, pensively, "I hear that's good stuff. Wonder if I should get some for the road...."

A familiar feeling came over the bat after a few moments had passed. His ears perked, managing to pry his eyes and face from the window to get a good look at who was approaching. A smirk came on his face one he saw Enri come up near him. There was hope yet after he said those faithful words.

"Hey pal, do ya mind doin' a poor soul a favor?" Severo began. "This chocolate, it's my all-time favorite. It's the only thing that matters in life--er, afterlife, ya know?"

Judging from his tone, he may or may not seem a bit desperate right about now for this particular thing.

"Eh," Enri shrugged (still pretending to talk to himself), "what the hell. I might as well get a sampler. Maybe more, if something catches my eye."

He wasn't so much for sweets, himself, but the bat was practically drooling all over himself. Didn't seem right teasing the poor guy. Enri knew, if he found himself as a ghost, he'd hope to be indulged every now and then.

Though much later down the road, of course.

Inside the shop, he browsed the displays and shelves, stalling before he made a decision.

((Oh, shit. I think we've accidentally taken over this hunt. Maybe we should take a break from posting until the OP responds? Maybe they just go longer between chances to check in here...?))

((got busy but i'm back again!))

Finally.

As soon as the final case had been signed, the popstar immeditately leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh of relief. She could go home scot free.... After the million interviews she had to finish. ....Ugh. This sucks. She stood up from her chair, mind vaguely remembering something she had seen a little while before she finished. It was someone familiar, from the corner of her eye.... Calista blinked, shaking it from her mind.

No time for that Callie, gotta look good for the cameras.

At that moment, she felt a slight chill. There's another Revenant around here. But the dread was significantly less than usual. It was rare to find one of those things that didn't want to immediately kill someone. ....Oh well.

She turned towards the reporters and cameramen filing in through the doors.

After getting the opinions of one of the employees, Enri settled on a medium sampler and a small box of chocolate-covered cherries. The former, more for Severo's sake, the latter...

Well, Enri wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe it'd be helpful later.

"Thank you!" Enri replied to the clerk's end-transaction spiel. "And a lovely day to you, as well."

Once out the door, he slipped off to a bench in a quiet corner. Near to one of the garage exits and some kind of temp agency - closed for the day.

He popped open the sampler and smiled. "Aaand, you're welcome." He waited a bit before asking, "What brings you to this particular mall? Something tells me it wasn't the smell of chocolate."

Waiting patiently next to the window, Severo kept an eye out for his boss. By now, Damian would've figured out that he was slacking off on the job, and he would definitely go looking for him to tell him otherwise. He soon remembered how that usually went. A shiver went down the bat's spine.

Though he turned his head to see that his friend had now exited the store, and headed to a bench. There was something in his hands. Ooooh boy. Severo hobbled over to the bench, sitting down a few inches next to the bench. Before he gave an answer, he gave the surrounding area another quick scan before looking back up.

"Er, well, I ain't here on my own. Boss got beef with the singer here today. Keep forgettin' her name. He made up a plan and came here to clip her." He replied. "I was on camera duty. But I don't feel like it today."

Their conversation on the roof kept prickling at the back of Enri's mind. Severo's boss was a pro.... Ex-lawman........

He was glad he wore shades right now; kept his eyes from revealing how worried he was. That brief flutter of lashes and the furtive way he kept scanning the crowd - dead give-aways.

At least his voice was too well trained for that.

"...Camera duty?" Enri picked one of the smaller pieces - looked like it had fruit or something in it. Maybe a berry of some kind? "What's that usually like? You crawl around and turn 'em off, or it flashier than that?"

He popped the bit in his mouth and melted a moment. Dark chocolate, delightful dried cranberry, none too sweet and slightly tart. "Ooh, wow. That's good."

That sort of question dug up a couple of unwanted memories, and he made this face that might have served as a frown. He looked around for a moment or so as he clearly hesitated on answering. "Eeehh...."

"Well, uh, he usually tells me to do it in a.... 'flashy' way. I'll spare ya from the details."

"Hmmn." Enri savored the tart flavor while he considered Severo's statement. Maybe it wasn't as bad as Enri was thinking - his brain did so love jumping to worst-case scenarios. Although... That wasn't likely.

"Collateral can't be helped in a thing like this, I guess... Desperate times, desperate measures. And ruthless fear tactics work pretty damn well." He murmured, more to himself than anything.

But that doesn't mean we should be dragging every rando into it.

"So Miss Terzi somehow rubbed your boss the wrong way and now he wants her head..... But you're up here, nowhere near up for the job." He leaned back to study the translucent skylight overhead. "So what now? He gonna go through with it, without you?"

Severo shrugged slightly. "Knowin' him...." He trailed off, contemplating for a moment or so. "He'd probably go another time. He's patient, like a scary sort of patient, yanno?" Then his demeanor seemed to flatten a bit.

"....Won't end too well for me though." Severo muttered under his breath, scanning the area before setting his eyes on a specific spot. In the far distance, Damian had stepped onto the escalator and was currently going back down to the first floor. Scowling, he turned back to Enri.

"I gotta run, gimme three pieces."

Enri tried to see what Severo had spotted, but just barely missed it. "Eh? Just three? Uh, take your pick."

He gestured at the box.

"Sure you don't want more? Not gonna stop you if you do."

Not like I'll eat this much chocolate... He gave a bemused smirk, bouncing one heel on the floor in half a rhythm.

"Er, I'm on a diet--actually, wait. No appetite, really." Severo hopped up onto the arm of the bench, then reached over, taking three random pieces of chocolate. He then proceeded to shove them in his mouth and swallow it.

"Thanks. See ya 'round, and take care of yourself, pal." He got down from the bench, then made his way over to the railing, on the other side, grabbing it and vaulting himself over the edge. Though he flapped his wings and slowly lowered himself to the first floor. After landing, he looked to his left, and low and behold, it was Damian, looking as pissed as ever.

Immediately, Severo knew had to come up with some sort of excuse. So he opened his mouth to say something.

"Save it. We're leaving." Damian turned away, going back towards the entrance. Though the bat didn't question it, and only followed in silence.

Enri shrugged and watched Severo go. Waited another couple moments, gathered up the boxes, and wandered to the rail a few feet down from where Severo had gone over it.

A lazy scan of the floor below saw the local news crews wrapping up and a mid-level music journalist fishing for a few more soundbites. Miss Terzi's expression, he couldn't see - her back was to him at the moment. His eyes drifted between the main exits. Thankfully that Casarano was leaving and--

Enri nearly wheezed. Severo was in step behind him. Casarano? Shit.
This job just got infinitely more complicated.

I'm going to Juanita. Soon as I leave. He glanced at the chocolates, lingered a moment on the smothered cherries. Oh.
He smiled. It was nice when impulse buys weren't so left-field, after all.

Before he left, he sauntered by the camera crews. Then up to one of the pop star's security. "Hey? You got a moment? I got a tip for you."

"Look up an ex-cop, name of Casarano. Just photos - he's dangerous in person. You see him around, you pay special attention. He's got some kind of weird vendetta and it might drag your lovely boss into trouble," he murmured.

Most of the things the reporters were asking of her went right over her head. There was so much that was on her mind right now. Even through the thousands of questions that were thrown at her, Calista still managed to get a glimpse of the person who she had seen a little while before. Her eyes squinted slightly, seeing the dark haired man and the― wait. Revenant? It must have been the one she sensed before. As the pair passed by, she felt the same sort of mild chill from earlier that day, confirming her suspicions.

A glance to her left, and she saw someone going through the group and right up to one of the security guards near her. One of her eyebrows raised in mild interest as she watched the exchange between them.

One of the men in suits turned his attention to the other, listening to his words. But when he mentioned Casarano, he seemed to be put on edge, and it showed, just a little. Finally, the guard nodded in acknowledgement.

"We'll keep an eye out."

Then, he leaned to the other side, right near Calista, and motioned for her to lean in a bit. The singer obliged, and he whispered something in her ear. After a moment, he leaned away.

"....You have got to be joking," Calista muttered. Then, leaning a bit, she fixed her gaze on the stranger who gave the tip, and mouthed 'Thanks' to him. She returned her attention to the crowd right after.

Some of the tension he'd held onto this past hour, it melted away when the guard nodded. Mostly, he was glad they hadn't deemed him a threat and chased him off!

"Good, good... well, then, I'll just take my leave."

He waved, more out of habit than anything. Then as he turned to leave, he caught Miss Terzi's silent word. He returned a slight (tired) smile and thumbs up. And then he, too, was gone. Just another body in the crowd.