Lumikki listened carefully to Zeno’s thoughts on the case as well as his explanation for the predatory bird within her territory. All the while leaning back into her seat and pinching the bridge of her nose. This all sounded like a mess to her, one she did not asked to be dragged into. Yet she could not ignore this nor her new recruit, who though competent was far too inexperienced and under ranked for the work alone. But were there any other available members? That made her wonder.

”Alvis, out of curiosity, are there any available members this moment?” She straighten her posture to look over in his direction, instead opting to rest her head upon the arm leaning on the chair’s arm.

”No my Lady, it would seem not. Elise is out of touch until nightfall, if she isn’t already busy. Emil is with the kids, but I don’t think him a good suit for this mission given the details I’ve overheard. Brone either for that matter, he’s best left in the forge where he is. Azure hasn’t updated with the guild in sometime as hasn’t been back for even longer—” With waving hands, Lumikki interjected, ”—Oy, I get the point love. Clearly I am one of the few that could help here and sadly I am indeed available to do it. Well, there ye go Zeno. Ye have me on yer squad for this matter. As for the bird, I indeed knew of it but chose not to pursue too many of the finer details. I like for me members to feel they have a sense of privacy. Can’t say their presence is particularly appreciated though, but as of now, it proves to be well behaved and that should suffice.” It was then that Erica entered the room with a cart to bring over the tea. Her heels softly hitting the floor as she neared the pair and prepared the refreshments. Two simmering pots sat atop along with a pair of spoons and cups. A small plate of cookies to sate the Demoness’ sweet tooth and take the annoyance off her tone. Her Pinion already knew how Lumikki preferred her tea, so the Guild Master would simply take it in hand as was. Cooling it with her magic after the swift pour so that she may sip on it undeterred and reaching for a sugar cookie to nibble on. Meanwhile Erica would report back to Alvis as those two were both Lumikki’s lead servants and often made time to share details with the other. Zeno, before enjoying the fresh tea poured just yet, would explain a few more details on their plans, to which Lumikki nodded along as she complied.

”If that’s the case, let me be the one to make the note. Erica, a paper and pen.” Erica, wasting no time and Alvis passing over a pen to her, would step over with Lumikki’s request. ”Isn’t she simply the best, besides Alvis, Erica brews the best cup of tea.”

”Oh you honor me, my Revna. I have a new brew mixture in the works if you would like to try it later.~”Erica took the moment to boast before returning to Alvis’ side, but Lumikki already flashed a smile of excitement by then. ”Here lad, ye could hand him this note of me cooperation As for the plan, I think it is indeed best that we get a look of things ourselves. But for a bit, if ye don’t mind, I’ll be hiding me involvement. If they are as desperate or cunning as ye say, I am sure they’d be observant. So if I were to withheld some factors to their assessment, well then, I sure it would prove beneficial to us. Let them not think they could be more cunning than a raven.”

____

The smell of rain had not yet left the area, the down pour from the two days prior had left the soil saturated and most. Bassein and other open containers by buildings and structures will held gallons of the rainfall with them. But besides those few traces, there was not many hints left of the weather’s passing.

Ravens sat upon the high ledges of the church, an area Lumikki did not very much care for. They sat quietly, awaiting their lady and her companion. Many knew of the grim tale that transpired here, but none had the nerve to tell her. Knowing it would bring her to a destructive rage.

Lumikki and Zeno were approaching the area by then. Though she would not take a form that most would think. It was easy to forget that one of her powers allowed her to turn into a raven herself, and that is what she would do now to escape the prying eyes that knew all too well how to recognize her by then. She’d sit atop Zeno’s shoulder, quiet and observant. Close but hardly in the way, as he took them toward the investigation at the church, or what was left of it by then.

After Lumikki hands him the note of her approval, Zeno reaches forward, taking it from her hand to analyze it. As he read it over he nodded before folding it up and placing it in his vest pocket. “I look forward to doing this mission together with you, Lumi” Zeno politely stated to his guild master. He stood up and bowed out of respect to Lumi and her servants before making his way to the office doors. Just as he was leaving through the office doors he turned his attention to the servants at the table. “I hope to try the new brew you are preparing when I return, Erica.” Zeno said in a heartwarming tone while wearing a gentle smile. He raised his hand in the air gesturing a farewell then closed the door behind him.

He opened the door to his room Zeno saw Raoul perched on the foot of his bed flapping his wings. “Calm down Raoul. It's just me. I got a message for you to deliver” Zeno raised the note showing the large bird before walking over to him and petting him. He squatted down and inserted the note into the capsule firmly attached to Raoul's right leg. Holding out his arm signaling for the Hawk to perch upon it, catching wind of his signal the bird hopped onto his arm. He stood slowly, carrying the hawk to the window, and released him into the air by lifting his arm up and outward. A loud screech, the hawk flew into the distance until he was clearly out of sight. “Good, now it's time to get ready to set out,” Zeno mumbled to himself.
______

As the daylight slowly waned from fiore, church bells rang out in praise for Illumin. The harmonic chimes echo loudly from the church for a decently long time. As Zeno and Lumi grew closer to the holy estate he saw a group of people wearing suits surrounding the entrance to the church, talking to the priest and various other worshippers. Raoul soars overhead landing on top of the church's roof, and carefully watches Zeno and the people in suits. Zeno put his hand under Lumi's feet, lifting and placing her on a nearby tree. “Watch from here, little birdie~” Zeno teasingly said before walking off snickering.

“Greetings fellow members of the Rune Knights, quite the nice wet weather we've been having don't ya say?” Zeno spoke out to the Rune Knights police force from behind. A lady walks over from the church's doors and greets Zeno with a dry intimidating stare. “May I help you, Sir?” she said authoritatively. After hearing her question Zeno revealed his Paradise Dawn tattoo on his right shoulder. “I'm here to talk and lend our assistance. I already informed your high-ups about me coming” The lady met Zeno with a confused expression. “I have heard no word of another guild coming to assist with the case, please excuse me as I ask my chief about this." She takes multiple steps back from Zeno but keeps her eyes glued on him. Mumbles can be heard from the lady as she speaks into a device. She nodded her head and mentioned Paradise Dawn under her breath.

Feeling impatient, Zeno walks towards the entrance of the church and spots red residue in a faint X shape on the pavement. “Hmmm, this is an odd mark to have in front of a church” Zeno hummed to himself while circling the shape on the floor and analyzing it further, the ravens in the vicinity started croaking, making lots of noise to indicate something was up. “Could this be related to the case? Lumi’s raven companions are quite helpful, I wonder if they saw anything regarding what left this mark here” Zeno muttered to himself while stroking his chin and looking at the birds hanging on the gate making noises before flying off. “Excuse me Sir! you cannot just waltz wherever you please on a crime scene, even if you are a guild member, you must follow proper protocols. I did get notified you are here to assist us so I will cut you some slack. So please be more respectful and try not to impede our investigation” The lady spoke loudly to Zeno with an attitude. “My name is Ava of the Rune Knights Criminal Investigation division, Please address me as Ava. What is your name?” Ava introduced herself formally to Zeno, sticking her hand outward.

“Fine…fine, since this is your scene I will follow your rules, knight Ava. You can call me Zeno” Zeno introduced himself to Ava and firmly shook hands with her. Before letting go of her hand he pulled her over to him abruptly. "I need to know what leads you have and what's going on so please try not to waste my time, Ava” Zeno let go of her hand and then patted her on the head before turning around to squat down to look more at the faded X shape on the cement.

Shocked from suddenly being pulled in so strongly her heart jumped for a second. She felt so frustrated with the way he was talking and treating her that her face started to grow red from anger. Taking a moment to breathe and walk away momentarily to gather herself, she returned and spoke to Zeno.“Well… first things first, are you aware of the eXodeus killer? We recently discovered that is the name of the person or group committing these crimes. They are primarily targeting different species doing these ritualistic killings. The most recent one was strange though. They use chalk drawings to signify the species they are targeting. For example, there would be angel wings representing seraphim or bats for vampires, but this time it was ravens. We have no clue what ravens would represent. Demon would be the only remaining race they have not targeted but why use ravens we wondered. It is also possible for this to be a copycat… Any ideas?” Ava explained to Zeno clearly while squatting down in front of him to look him in the eyes.

Zeno listened carefully to Ava's briefing on the case, he too found it weird for a person or a group targeting races to use a raven to describe a race, let alone a demon in a generalized way. If it was an imposter or copycat why would they use ravens Zeno also thought. That's when it hit him like a lightning bolt to his brain, this was a personal attack towards Lumikki most likely. Her being a demon with a deep connection to ravens, they wanted to call her out directly with this attack. Who would do something like this? A person from her past maybe? Could it be the church of Illumin taking a strike at her because she is the guild master? These were the thoughts rummaging around in his mind. Before he could ask any questions to Ava, a loud gutterly screech was heard overhead. Zeno and Ava look up to find a large bird-like figure standing on top of the church. They raised their wings into the air summoning dark clouds across the sky, completely turning the area dark. "Friend of yours?" Zeno jokingly said to Ava, to which she responded “No! Your accomplice maybe?” A sly grin crosses her face before she calls out to her subordinates to stay alert.

The figure flew up into the clouds and threw something down toward the tree where he had placed Lumi. The object smashed into the tree causing it to tumble over, crashing into a nearby house. When looking back up the creature was gone without a trace. The ravens in the area croaked nonstop in a panic while flying around. Ava and her subordinates immediately ran over to the knocked-over tree, followed by Zeno. One of the first things he noticed when approaching the tree was that the capsule attached to Raoul's leg was lying on the floor a couple of feet away from him and next to it was a raven feather. A heart-sinking feeling gripped Zeno's heart as he desperately went to seek out the condition of the two.

WC 1364

Little birdie? Seems the blasted name isn’t behind me…. Lumikki would have to keep this in her thoughts as she grumbled in silence. Her head far tilted in her agitated state and her feathers rising, but like a good little birdie, she silently complied. Stepping onto the branch and looking onto the unfolding scene as Zeno acted out the next step of their simple plan.

The Fae approached the remaining clues of the crime before being promptly met with the aggression of one of the investigating Rune Knight members. Lumikki watching their exchange from afar, would chuckle and the ebb and flow of their quarrel. Normally so polite to her, she now got to see a new face and tone from her charming new friend. Whose sassy quips were proving to be too much for this Ava from which he speaks.

From the little Lumikki could overhear, they were now discussing a something along the lines of chalk drawings. Something that seemed entirely childish to the Demoness already; but when she heard mention of raven wings, it annoyed her just how daft this investigator could be. So clueless to not know of the high rep people within the territory of the North to not assume quickly the meaning of what those wings could be. Of course, Lumikki could not yet voice those frustrations. Instead maintain the guise of a simple raven instead. That was at least until the sudden oddity appeared.

”It returns! The beast shows itself once more my Revna!” All her ravens were croaking at once, their panic as high as the thick tension growing. With the sky now swelling with darkness, the figure up above was hard to ignore. ”Murderer, the murderer returns! It’ll face the Revna’s wrath. She will smite him soon!” More would chime in. It was becoming a lot for Lumikki’s ears. ”Murderer! Murderer!” They now chanted relentlessly, their fury growing with ever addition. Building up like the storm brewing in the sky. ”It grabbed the bird. It snatched the messenger! Keep away!”

Before Lumikki could react, shifting from this form, the fiend took up into the dark clouded sky just as it tossed something toward her. What ever it could be, Lumikki’s eyes created the dotted lines betraying the route of whatever was thrown. She had to time to avoid it and she would, swiftly taking off to reposition elsewhere but with the force of the thing impacting the tree, it split the trunk and forced the behemoth to fall over in one thunderous crack.

Lumikki was dumbfounded, too much so to react anymore than she just had; and when she looked back toward the sky the creature was long gone. Zeno was the first to run toward her with Ava not too far behind once she snapped back into it. Still not sure she wanted to speak, all she could do was glide over and perch upon his shoulder but the Demoness was not yet privy to the state of Zeno’s companion or if in truth the hawk was indeed tossed. She simply pulled the strands of his hair playfully and maintained an intentional silence.


+50%wcr due to dress, ring, companion.

Zeno paused when he saw a raven fly over and land on his shoulder. Wondering if this was Lumi or one of the other ravens that were in the area watching out. He also thought that maybe it was a message from Lumi, and it came straight to him to pass it on. Zeno focused a bit of his magic on his eyes, changing their color to a vibrant reddish orange with glints of yellow. With his fae eyes fully activated, he looked at the raven who perched itself on his shoulders and to his belief it was indeed Lumi. Feeling his racing heart slow down as relief washed over him, he quickly turned his gaze over to the knocked over tree to see if any signs of life were there. Multiple different color auras came from the tree and with his mind not entirely focused it was difficult for him to know the current state of Raoul from here. Racing over to the base of the tree, he found Ava squatted down and hunched over holding something in her arms. It turned out to be Raoul, and he was blooded and badly injured. She looked up to Zeno with a tearful gaze as her comrades continuously performed healing magic on the bird and surrounding animals who fell from the tree. Luckily, nobody was in the house and her comrades had already called for backup to come.

Zeno placed his hand on her shoulder and looked at her with a weak smile “Make sure Raoul is treated well. His spirit is strong and his soul burns just as strongly” Zeno despondently said, as he saw the aura of Raoul struggling. An attack as such would normally instantly kill such small creatures, but the bird fought hard. Zeno did not know if he could survive or not, but he left him in the care of Ava. Stroking the ruffled feathers atop his head gently, “Stay strong and live on Raoul” After sharing his words with his gravely injured companion, Zeno walked off to the side. Ava tugged on the leg of Zeno's pants before he walked away and handed him a stone-like emblem. “Raoul was clutching an emblem that looked like this in talon when I found him. I can't let you take the real thing, but showing you may help in your investigation” Zeno silently nods as he places his finger on the emblem, tracing it with his magic to make a vine mimicking its exact shape. Once he finished reconstructing the emblem with his magic, he placed it in his pocket and walked away. "This will do, Thanks"

“Guild master, can I request you to gather as much information from your ravens during this case? Tracking that thing down will take as much information as we can get. Rune knight involvement or not, whatever this eXodeus is seems to be a threat targeting you. I won't sit by and let this slide. I copied the emblem Raoul staked his life on to get. I am sure we can find something about it in the archives”  A burning gaze filled his eyes with rage and pain as he looked the raven form of his guild master directly into her eyes.

WC 542

1364 +542 = 1906 / 2000
WC met due to Explorer Belt 20% WCR