4432/Abduction Interrupted

Abduction Interrupted
Date of Scene:	19 December 2020
Location:	A New York Alleyway
Synopsis:	A mugging leads to an attempted kidnapping. The attempted kidnapping leads to attempted involuntary vehicular manslaughter. None of those outcomes occur, thanks to Saeko and Ariah.
Cast of Characters:	Ariah Olivie, Saeko

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Ariah Olivie has posed:
    It's a late, snowy night in New York City. Holiday shopping is in full swing, or at least, the remnants of it on a Friday night. People are bundled up, and some are huddled around drum fires in back alleys. And some... are taking advantage of others. An older man and his granddaughter are taking the scenic route home, enjoying the decorations, the snow, wrapped up in their coats. He had just bought her a nice piece of jewelry for a present, saved up a little over the course of the year, to hear him tell it to his friends, that sparkle in his eye whenever talking about the girl. But only parts of the story, the most recent ones, make it to the ears in the shadows. A gang of thugs, overcoats, hats, and all, casing the local shops, seeing who buys what, preparing setups for citizens.

    And these two? Easy marks. Laughing and the crunching of snow turns into cries for help going unheard. "Let her go! You already took the necklace..." the elderly gentleman wheezes, clutching at a railing. They'd been forcibly pushed into a back alley, money and jewelry taken. But they're taking the girl, too, dragging her towards a waiting car. Her voice goes muffled, the door slams, and the car takes off with a squeal of tires, leaving the man and some of the muggers in the alley to taunt him.

    The car, though? It's about to crest the opening of the alley when someone walks in front of it. A short woman, wrapped in a long, black coat, fur lining the collar, happens to be walking by the moment this happens. She hears the brakes, looks up, a deer in the headlights. There's a horn, the screeching of tires on icy concrete, and then a flash of blue. Ariah brings a barrier up in the split second it takes before she's hit, but the sound is like shattering glass as she's sent tumbling into the snow, feet away from the sedan, blue particles and shards of what could almost be described as magical glass shards dissipating in the night air.

    The car idles, a door opens, breathless screaming from the girl inside. She saw it happen, they'd just hit Ariah. "Shit! Grab 'er and throw 'er in the trunk!" shouts the driver, his companion moving towards the white-haired girl laying crumpled in the freshly gathering snow...

Saeko has posed:
In the shinto religion the Kitsune were famed for their service, their good fortune they could bring at the will and the whim of Inari. They could inspire, they could protect or they could bring ill down on those who earned the fox's ire. Among the Kitsune, a 'Tenko' was legendary for their supposed omnipitent knowledge of all that had been and all that would be...but like many legends, it didn't work quite like that. Foresight didn't offer infinate knowledge, just flashes of what could be, warnings and insight. With practitioners and outright worshipers of Inari far rarer in America, it was far less likely that she'd hear their calls and prayers.

At least, until she'd loosened the rules a little.

Saeko had been walking the street, indulging in the lights and joy of Christmas shopping, a bag of several sweets in her hand as she made her way. While simple shape-shifting could hide away her ears and tails along with the marks on her cheeks, the unnaturally enticing beauty of the girl was probably earning the odd look. She hadn't minded, she'd enjoyed it even...but her smile was suddenly broken by that 'sting' of panic, the feeling of a frightened girl begging for help and screaming at the accident? It hadn't been a prayer to Inari exactly...but begging for 'anyone' to help? Close enough.

A warping of lights and a sudden surge of eerie blue, a shadowed figure silhouetted appeared behind the sedan, approaching from behind the alleyway...right as the engine of the sedan began to sputter and die.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "Hey... HEY! Who the hell are you?!" angry voices shout from behind Saeko, the three men there abandoning the elderly gentleman and stalking towards the car, reaching into their coats for weapons. As the car engine sputters and dies, though, the driver angrily tries to get it to turn over, pulling on the key before smacking his hands on the wheel. "The hell!" The one in the back seat keeping the girl from fleeing shouts back at him, "I told you to keep it warmed up! You know how cold it gets!"

    In front of the car, Ariah is slowly rolling over. There's blood on her face, the shards of the magic barrier having left cuts. Cuts that make the thug approaching her give pause. "The hell happened to you?" he grunts, then hears the shouting behind him. He turns and reaches into his coat, pulling out a pistol. "The hell is happening to YOU guys?!" he growls, only to suddenly sputter and jerk. He looks at his shooting arm, lifting his free hand towards his shoulder before looking over his other shoulder. There's a bright lance of blue-white energy, coated in his blood, jutting out from his shoulder. It's not a lethal wound, but it keeps him from doing anything else with his arm, or his shooting hand. The source? The girl on the ground, jacket sleeve pulled back, arm thrust towards him. That lance of magic is coming from her forearm, runes etched underneath her skin glowing brightly.

    "...your friends should be more careful... this is a bad neighborhood..." she almost hisses, voice cold and low.

Saeko has posed:
Words come from the alleyway from the figure, a reverberating noise of warning in a language the thugs probably didn't understand, but the figure raises her hands elegantly in front of her, an eerie blue light cast in their wake forming strange arcane patterns.

"Leave now," the voice repeats in english as those flames dancing around the figure begin to shape and reform, illusions stripped away to reveal the multitude of dark tails fanned out behind her, matching triangle ears atop her head. "Or you will be punished for your wickedness."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "It's a fuckin' mutie! Zero this bitch!" shouts one of the three closing in on Saeko. Her warning, obviously, goes unheeded. Two men draw pistols, the third breaks into a charge, running at the eerily beautiful fox girl, pulling a tire iron out of his own jacket. Clearly they're not familiar with the concept of a kitsune, or unimpressed by the fancy light show. They have their prizes, the girl and the necklace, maybe even two or three girls if they're lucky, and don't want to relinquish them.

    A contrast, the first blood drawn is in the front, the man with the spike of energy sticking out of his shoulder trembles and drops his gun. "Guys... GYUS... I think... I think we bit off... more than we could chew..." he stammers, then hissing in pain as the angle on the lance changes. Ariah is standing up. Then it's gone, the energy yanked back into her, her free hand shoving him forward with unnatural strength. He hits the windshield with a pained sound and crumples, body and blood oozing from his shoulder obscuring the spidewebbed glass now.

    "A very.. bad.. neighborhood.." the white-haired woman growls lowly, voice as icy as the winter wind. The man's blood has coated her fingers, and she brings them to her lips, flicking her tongue over them. The driver throws his door open and draws his own sidearm, sounds of gunfire filling the alley as he pulls the trigger in panic. Bullets slam into the white-haired witch, her chest, her shoulder, red blooming and flowing as she calmly steps closer. "...you have found two of this city's monsters, mon cher... do you regret your attempts to be monsters yourselves?"

Saeko has posed:
Bullets and blades hurt, even for a Tenko. She wasn't a brawler, wasn't a warrior to draw swords and slice foes to ribbons...she was a mystic, and magic could be -far- more scary anyway. Bullets fly, sizzling through the air and then literally sizzling as they drop from their paths to the concrete of the alleyway, practically glowing with unnatural heat. Baring her own pointed 'fangs' that were far less impressive than Ariah's own she flicks a hand and the air warps with a blur like a heat mirage before the 'Iron' man is sent flying backwards to slam against the bumper of the car moments after Ariah's victim hit the windshield.

Still glowing eyes look past the pair with guns now, curiousity from the vixin coming at the apparent 'monster' who'd attacked them from the other side. Fortune truely wasn't on their side tonight.

"One chance," the kitsune speaks, that 'spirit fire' barrier still flowing in front of her. "Flee for your lives, relinquish your 'prizes'...or you will find punishment."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    The charging man finds himself sailing towards the getaway car, eyes wide and then clenching shut in pain. He doubles over, his weapon clanking on the ground, arms clutching at his middle. "Fff...." he groans. The other two with their clearly useless guns just stare down Saeko before turning tail and fleeing. "Hell with this! I thought you said there were no capes here!" "You SEE a cape on that broad?! Just tails and magic shit!" they argue as they haul ass down the alley, away from the fight.

    Ariah's problem is the driver, or maybe the other way around, as he struggles to reload after emptying six .38 rounds from his revolver into her. She's bleeding from several places, a graze on her cheek even before she's upon him. The wrestling for the firearm is quick, the sound of an arm breaking following the man's scream. Then the back door opens.

    The last thug, holding a knife, drags the girl out of the car, holding the blade to her neck. He looks between both 'monsters', the mage who has yet to show her fangs, and the multi-tailed fox. "BACK OFF! You want this kid to get it? Step back and fix the damn car!" he's holding her tight, his hand shaking. The girl is... definitely in her teens, making running from the crying she's done, but right now she's too frozen in fear to do more than focus on breathing and stumbling as she's pulled. "...help..." she manages to rasp out.

Saeko has posed:
Bloody and messy, this probably wasn't as neat and elegant as people thought with heroic rescues when they saw heroes and 'capes'. Saeko might look the part, but the vampire riddled with bullets and pouncing on the poor driver looked like something out of a horror movie. Perhaps they weren't fair from right! Saeko however, her smirk at the fleeing men who gave up their guns is only allowed to last a moment before the man with the blade steps out and she's left frowning.

She could teleport, the girl was asking for help, but the rules meant without payment or favor she couldn't simply just transport the hostage out of the man's reach. Divinity was nothing if not full of its own checks and balances! Her glowing flames begin to fade, leaving the pale woman with those swaying tails looking more 'natural'. Or as natural as she could while still clearly not human. Her eyes move past, looking towards the white-haired woman for a moment before nodding her head and crossing her arms behind her back. She was leaning forward, a deliberate distraction of form as much as her words when she spoke. "Don't you see? Running now is your only chance. The police will be here soon, and if you harm the girl then you will suffer every torment and punishment I can envision...if you are not ripped apart first."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Unfortunate for Ariah, really, is that things with her often do turn bloody. If not for her, then for others. She's not quite the normal 'hero' type, really. No cape. No costume. But quite a secret identity to deal with, truly enough. But despite the blood on Ariah's face and body, there's... a fox. A very alluring, distracting, soft-spoken fox. His eyes flash between both the witch and the fox. In the background, the sound of sirens can indeed be heard in the crisp night air. Either the old man had made the call, or someone heard the gunshots. Or both.

    His hand shakes, and his eyes focus more on Saeko now as he backs up against a wall. He's distracted, his hand shaking, threatening to cut the girl's throat by accident. Ariah gives a glance to Saeko, no nod, nothing more than a blink, and then she's moving. Not a faster-than-the-eye movement like her sire can, or other kinds of vampires, but she's still quick. The man's trembling stops, the shorter woman reaching up, fingers wrapped around his wrist. His eyes go wide and his arm slowly is pulled back, the shaking returning but now violent. There's tension, his face screwing up with pain, and then the knife is dropped as his fingers look like they cramp up in an open, gnarled position. The sound of bones crunching as the vampiress crushes his wrist can be heard, and then he's on the ground, clutching his arm with his good hand.

    The girl stares at the bloodied Ariah, a mix of horror but relief in her face, turning and stumbling a little, trying to get away from the scene and to her grandfather. The expression of fear on her face grows a little lighter when she rushes by Saeko, the much prettier and less violent savior earning a nod and smile of thanks.

Saeko has posed:
Distractions worked, thousands of years of tricksters and temptresses among her kind attested to that. Even so, the vicious crunch of those delicate bones and the screaming man had her whincing just a little. She'd seen everything from salarymen to samurai, but that strength clearly could do a number on the kidnapper effortlessly.

When the girl flees past her, Saeko simply nods, that little expression and nod as close to a 'thanks' as she could really take but it satisfied the technicality enough.

Now, about the fool who refused to run...

The vixen walked closer, her irises still noticably amber and inhuman as she leaned down to meet the man's gaze and then reach out a hand towards his struggling form. A tap of her fingers atop his head was accompanied by a glow, the wound not unlike a small chime being rung as the enchantment was cast with a simple word: "Sleep."

As the man slumped? Saeko straightened up, looking up at the bloodied Ariah and taking a small sniff of the air. The shorter woman smelt...odd.

"You are injured?" she questions, those tails still lazily wavering behind her.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah starts to turn away when the fox does her thing. She's adjusting her jacket, pulling the front closed, hiding her wounds. The short woman is about to start walking away when she's spoken to. Slowly, she turns around, appraising the other woman, seeming to sniff at the air a little herself. "...non. Nothing permanent," she says quietly. Her voice is soft, French accented.

    "I wish to depart before the police arrive... have you no such desires, mon cher?" she inquires. "I will find a meal, it will replenish me. Heal the surface damage..." she explains quietly, one supernatural creature to another. Though she hadn't shown her fangs, she did taste the blood of the first criminal. A criminal who is groaning and curled up on the cracked windshield of the getaway car. The man with the broken arm is hunched over in the driver's seat, cursing his luck.

    "...you... must contain potent magic, non?" she asks, giving the kitsune a good long look.

Saeko has posed:
There's an inhaling, a soft breath taken as Saeko's lungs swell with air and her tails and ears begin to fade. Her hair lengthens, color shifts and those whisker marks fade until where the kistune had walked in moments ago now a blonde woman dressed in plain clothing stood, a little smirk on her face and that same eerie enticing beauty the only hints to her true identity. "I am not frightened of the police, evading them is not difficult and they are doing their duty."

There were a lot of creatures out in the world mortals didn't know about, it was quite likely Saeko knew what a vampire was, if not several versions of them, but she hadn't seen fangs nor outright feeding from the witch. That question about her 'containing' magic earns a nod though, a little bow of her head and a shrug of shoulders. "I am a Tenko of Inari....I am born of magic of spirit and divinity...so yes..."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
     While Ariah's paperwork checks out, her SHIELD-provided ID being more than enough to handle NYPD scrutiny, her wounds do not. Even a cursory glance will see blood on her, the hole in her sleeve, the smell on her as well. An unwanted trip to the emergency room would bring up more questions than she's willing to answer. She nods, slowly, "Non, you mistake me. I am not afraid of them. I am, however, inconvenienced by them..." she explains. Then it's Saeko's turn to explain. "I see... your blood must be especially potent, mon cher..." she says quietly, looking the now-blonde over with a blink. Shapeshifters are so fascinating!

    "I would ask if I may sample it, but not here. It is cold and there are too many eyes, and will be many more."

Saeko has posed:
"That is very direct of you," the fox in disguise offers, a little quirk of her lips as the sirens grow louder and she offers out a hand. "But perhaps I can offer you assistance to leave this place somewhere more suitable for not getting arrested and allow you to heal in the privacy you need." Saeko's eyes go to the men, back to the mouth of the alleyway and then finally back to Ariah. "You must however, repay me in some way. A gift, a favor, an offering. As grand as a palace or as simple as a snack, but it must be something."

Why? Well, maybe she'd explain the 'rules' later.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "I do not mind owing favors. You provided aid where it was needed without asking. Oui, I will owe you this favor. If only for the curiosity of where it may lead us," Ariah says quietly, glancing around again. "Let us be off, then, mon cher," she says with a nod, not seeming to mind at all.

Saeko has posed:
Favor it is, though most would balk at such a 'blank cheque' offered to what might be considered a trickster Demigod. At least Saeko seemed to be on the side of 'good' herself. With a nod of thanks that glowing blue-white light sprang to life, swirling into a 'portal' above them that simply decended on the pair and then snapped closed, leaving the crimescene and the sleeping criminal to the mercy of the officers that would find him.

The vampire and the fox however? They simply find themselves on the rooftop of a building far from the ground and overlooking Central Park. A hotel most likely, given the pool that rests unoccupied behind them.

Releasing the hand and exhaling a deep breath, the illusion concealing her tails and ears rolls away, revealing the kitsune for who and what she was for a moment before the inhuman features fade and she was back to the 'normal' face with which the Tenko faced the world.

"You will not have been discovered leaving. You can rest easily here...and then you can go down to the restaurant on the ground floor and order me a drink. That is a debt repayed well enough, given I misplaced the chocolates I had purchased when I came to that girl's aid."