SoulCoil

((Slidin' this in right quick))

There were some errands that needed to be run today. Might as well get to them before they pile up…. As much as he didn’t want to go out today. It was sort of gloomy; gray clouds covered the sky, it was slightly humid, and there was little to no breeze. It was almost as if it was about to rain, but the clouds tried to hold it in as much as possible before it let it all out. Not wanting to get caught in the rain, Kai walked a bit quicker than usual, and he periodically glanced up to see if any raindrops began to fall. And when he looked up, he even sometimes gave his Revenant a very brief look.

Yawen had been following him from the tops of buildings, effortlessly hopping from roof to roof, watching him and looking out for any other competitors or Revenants at the same time.

Kai was against taking Yawen out with him as it was only a run for some groceries, but for some reason, she insisted that she go with him to the store. The short version was: he really wasn’t in the mood to argue. The events of last night had drained him, emotionally and physically. Killing people was harder than it looked. Revenants made it a lot easier to cover up your tracks though.

Bags were already in his hands, and he had started to head to the local music store. There was some maintenance he had to get on his portable piano, and they were going to have it done today. He took another moment to glance up at the sky. It had gotten slightly darker already. So Kai picked up the pace a little, wanting to get his last errand over and done with so he could beat this rain. The last thing he wanted was to get punished for not bringing an umbrella along.

She'd only slipped in to avoid the coming rain.

That's what she told herself, anyway.

That the music shop had a surprisingly skillful repairman was irrelevant. That she'd heard him playing a few snatches while he fixed various instruments, it had nothing to do with it. Sure, he wasn't some kind of virtuoso but he had the chops. On so many different instruments, but especially the pianos.

When he'd play, the chords danced across her whiskers. She'd purr if she could.

The only one she didn't like the sound of was a keyboard he'd been working on. Synthesizers just weren't her thing.

He continued to work and she lazed behind him, draped over the empty shell of a beautiful old Steinway. Just watching people walk in and out the front of the shop.

After a bit, he came up to the storefront. First he took a moment to shift the grip on the shopping bags, then proceeded to enter, the bell above the entrance ringing out with a familiar, pleasant tingle. He made his way to the front counter and stopped there. The sounds here.... It felt a bit muffled.... muted. Kai found it strange, and soon after, the possibility of a Revenant had crossed his mind. Not all of them had the icy breeze come in their wake; as his own Revenant brought heat to the air whenever she was near.

He was going to have to be careful, anyways.

Yawen was outside on the roof of a building about a block away from his location. He was certain that she was far enough that she wouldn't be detected.

A clerk came up to the front counter, seeing that a customer had arrived, and Kai snapped back to reality, turning his attention to them.

"Hey. I have a keyboard for pickup. Yamaha PSR-E253?" Kai said.

"We'll get that for you, sir." The clerk made their way to the back to retrieve it, leaving Kai alone with his thoughts.

The clerk walked into the back, Amanita saw the boy at the counter, and for the briefest moment felt a wave of tension. Whatever was on his mind, he just oozed caution.

Odd, that it would be so strong from someone standing at such a distance...

The repairman's growing dismay made sense. She was less than 10 ft from him, had been lingering nearby for over an hour - plenty of time to form a simple, residual sync. That, and she knew the likely cause was her sound-dampening aura.

Her eyes flicked back up in the direction of the customer.

Interesting.

She sighed - chest filling with the half-remembered feeling of air (never as satisfying as the real thing) - and slid sideways from the piano. She debated remaining there in a limp puddle of large cat, but the moment passed.

When the clerk returned to the main shop, Amanita followed closely behind.

It wasn't too much of a problem; calming himself down, slowing his heartbeat, and just pretending to be normal (that came rather easy to him). The real problem here was the Revenant. He didn't know if this particular one smelled or sensed fear, but the idea wasn't too far fetched, especially with Revenants based off of predatory animals.

His eyes shifted as he heard footsteps approaching him—and from the far edge of his vision, something following behind the clerk.

Keep your eyes on the human.

The clerk was back with his keyboard, neatly tucked away in a carrier case. They handed it to Kai, and after giving a quick 'thanks', he promptly headed out of the store and back to the outside. From there, he began heading in a seemingly random direction.

Yawen noticed him come out from afar, and she observed him closely, then soon followed, hopping from roof to roof once more.

Oh. There it was.
This human was slightly similar to her own.

A pretender.

Uncautious, Amanita followed the boy out onto the street. She supposed she'd been inside long enough, and it was certainly time for her to be on her way. Let the humans open doors and slip out before they shut... Sometimes she timed it just right and the door didn't even touch her. Sometimes she didn't, and they shut on her tail.

Most times, like today, the door caught her shoulder and she pushed through without slowing. It was probably a good thing Revenants didn't bruise.

Or, she didn't think they did. How did Revenants know they were injured, anyway? It's not as though they had nerves to feel the pain with or--

She froze mid-step and shuddered from nose to tail. Spines and fur bristling, Amanita shoved herself against a nearby wall and looked to the sky. Another Revenant had just come in range. At a distance, still, (she hoped) but somewhere above her.

Shit.

Soon Kai rounded the corner, and very vaguely, he thought he sensed the Revenant he had sensed before was close by. Guess he wasn't good enough at pretending. Even so, he was fairly confident that Yawen could handle whatever was tailing him, but just in case she couldn't, he would be close by.

On the other hand, Yawen paused, catching wind of another Revenant nearby. Her ear flicked as she tried to hone in on their approximate location. She slowly approached the edge of the building and peered over it—but not so much that she could be easily spotted. It was then her eyes fixated on something pale.

There's the little troublemaker.

Her eyes narrowed, fur bristling slightly in mild displeasure. "I would suggest you go on your way." That was warning number one.

Though she couldn't tell its exact size, Amanita's searching eyes did find the Revenant. Not before she noted the rising heat in the area or heard its admonition, mind.

Another cat? Or maybe a dragon... One with piercingly blue eyes and a striking silver face. (And did she see stripes?) Was her whole body that color? (Oh, how unfair!)

The horned Revenant's heated aura registered as power to Amanita. Strength she couldn't hope to match on her own, and hoped never to need to.

She nodded, showing that she acknowledged this stranger's request with a deep bow of her head. Then she darted around the corner and into the boy from earlier. Headfirst into his thigh.

Slight realization dawned on her, but she had no intention to investigate further. Not today. No, today she needed to get out of here. Hide.

Seeing that the other Revenant had heeded her warning, Yawen stepped back and watched as the stranger darted off—right towards her partner. The slightest scowl crossed her face, but all she did was wait.

Kai had felt the impact of something slamming right into his thigh. Since there was no reason to pretend that nothing was there any longer, he turned and looked directly at the Revenant. There was a few moments of complete silence.

"Go." Was all he said.

If she were still living, she'd have flushed a furious maroon color.

Instead, she just darted around the boy and disappeared down a side alley. Ducked through a few buildings, too, for good measure. (Not that she actually thought they'd follow). All she could do was run.

It served her right for being so careless. And maybe this was a taste of payback from whatever being ran the universe - she'd made another feel helpless, so she, too would be made to feel helpless.

But that other guy--- what?
Deserved it? Ha. Every last person here deserved that and worse. Innocents didn't get pulled into this game. Not really.
Just the weak-willed and easily pushed around.

Every last one of them showed their true colors, in the end.

Somewhere on the far side of town, she came to a stop. Hiding out in an old shed. The suburbs. Some dog nearby was barking at her.
Her fear finally subsided and she curled into a tight ball.

When this is all over, I'll never feel helpless again.

He only watched as the small feline sprinted away. Only when it was out of sight, did he relax slightly. He turned his attention to Yawen, who had moved over to the edge of the building closest to him. She stared into the distance for a little while before looking down at him.

"That Revenant. Who do you propose it is partnered with?"

"No idea." At that moment, something small had hit his head. Kai glanced up. Another droplet the lens of his glasses. Then another, and another.

"....Come on." The two began heading back on their way.