Peeking [OPEN, party of 2]

[Shizuka Konaya]

This was a terrible idea, absolutely terrible.  Shizuka couldn't sleep again.  By now she was getting used to never getting enough sleep and working through her tiredness, but she would never be able to get used to the idea that there was a horde of monsters outside.  The whole idea of them being there just made it even more difficult for her to sleep at night.  They had already gotten into her family's apartment once, so what was stopping them from doing it again?  What if they ended up attacking her family?  She resisted the temptation to go outside and fight them off for a long time now, but it was getting more and more difficult.  The thing was, she wasn't allowed to leave her room at night unless she needed to go to the bathroom or get something to drink.  Leaving the house was completely out of the question!  She was also still in trouble for apparently setting her pajamas on fire even if that wasn't her fault at all.  If her parents found out she went outside when she was grounded, and went outside after bed time at the same time, well she couldn't even imagine what would happen, but it would definitely be bad.  

After a week of resisting the temptation to go outside and hopefully fight off the monsters, she couldn't do it anymore.  Going outside after bed time may be bad, but letting her family get eaten by horrible monsters was even worse.  They seemed to be getting closer every day, and it made her really nervous.  Her sister at least was completely unresponsive when in this...coffin state, so maybe her parents would be the same?  Even if she shouldn't go outside, if it was for a good reason and her parents never found out anyway, then maybe everything would be okay.  Thus, Shizuka changed into some clothing that would be okay to destroy, grabbed her rifle and carefully opened the door.

She didn't step outside immediately.  Just opening the door felt wrong, and she was still a little nervous about what the monsters outside could do.  Shizuka didn't remember that night very well, but she definitely remembered there being big fireballs.  Even if she didn't believe it, her burnt clothes and the burns all over the front side of her body proved it.  She opened the door just enough to look outside, and then just enough for her head to peek outside.  There were no monsters in her yard area, so the only thing left to do was step outside.  She pushed the door open a little further, and then closed it slightly again.  Was this really okay to do?  She looked down, and fidgeted with her hands, continually shifting between opening the door more and closing it again.  Eventually, she just pushed it open all the way and stepped outside.  It still felt so wrong.

From there, she took a deep breath and quietly closed the door behind her.  She slunk down and made herself as small as she possibly could while still being able to walk.  Shooting a weapon like this in such a small area was pretty scary, but her aim was pretty good.  It would probably be okay.  If she could just find a good place to hide and snipe a few at a distance that would be ideal, but there was no place to hide in this city.  Everything was angular and there were no bushes or anything by her family's apartment.  It was weird to be hunting out in the open like this, but she didn't have many other options.  Maybe she should figure out how to get some money and get some city camouflage.  

((NOTE: It is very likely that I will want to turn this into a social afterwards, so don't join unless you're cool with that.))

[Tristan Carter]

Ah, the place where I almost died to Ivy Goliath. Jacob ran off, I almost died, and the main healer had went down. If it weren't for the healer boy showing up, I would have died. Good times.

With a smile, Tristan was exploring the neighborhood once again. It was because he was curious about something, not for actual training. He remembered the fight, and he was sure that there should have been some marks on the surrounding area. There were explosions and everything, after all. But, surprisingly, Tristan had heard nothing about anything strange. As time went on, he felt the urge to go find out what happened get stronger and stronger until he caved to the temptation.

He wasn't surprised to find nothing. He had sorta figured that was the case, but he had just wanted to confirm it himself. No, what surprised Tristan was a strange girl walking around in a crouched position with a gun. It was almost a funnier sight than Luka trying to be intimidating. Almost.

Tristan was sure that simply being casual probably wouldn't be the best idea. Shouting wouldn't do any good, either. He didn't really know how to approach the girl in any other ways, but he did have an idea of what make the girl more comfortable. He crouched down and approached a steady, yet seemingly anxious pace.

"Excuse me," he whispered once he was sure he was within hearing range. "Excuse me, miss? Do- Do you have any idea of what's going on? There are monsters, and what looks like magic, and... I'm scared. Please, do you know anything?" Tristan made sure that his tone reflected fear, even if he felt none. He also held his arms behind his back so that the girl wouldn't see the gauntlets. He felt she would feel more at ease if it looked like she was in control.

[Satanick]

Sound Balance
Resist: Fire, Wind
Weak: Slash, Light
Skills: Viper Smash, Megido, Recarm

Newlywed Dancers
Null: Dark
Weak: Light
Skills: Twin Shot, Mudoon, Amrita

[Shizuka Konaya]

Because there were no monsters in the area by the door, she decided to start carefully rounding the corner to the side of the apartment complex.  She was sure she saw some wiggling about from her bedroom window, so all she had to go do was go shoot the ones over there and everything should be okay for now.

Then, she heard the sound of something moving through the grass.  It sounded like normal footsteps, but given the different shapes the monsters that attacked her apartment took there was no reason why they couldn't have feet.  Rather than freeze, she quickly turned around and pointed her gun in the direction of the sounds.  She got ready to fire before she had completely turned around, so when her mind managed to register that she was actually pointing her weapon at a human, she quickly pulled her hand away from the trigger.  If her mind took even half a second longer to register that this was another human, she would have shot him.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" she quickly brought her gun back to her side.  "This is a neighborhood, I-I really should have expected there to be other people around..."

Shizuka never once believed that she was the only one experiencing this.  It seemed arrogant to believe that she was the only person special enough to see this world, plus it was a little scary to think about as well.  It was at least nice to have it confirmed that she wasn't going to be alone in all this.  Granted, this was the worst way possible to meet someone and just made her want to crawl into a hole and die.  Because of that embarrassment, it took her a moment to realize that he had asked her something, which just made it all worse.

"Um...no not really," she shook her head.  "I just thought I saw someth--"

As she turned to point out the direction she saw the monsters in, she noticed that there was one directly behind her, just around the corner and likely out of sight of the other person, in mid attack.  Shizuka managed to step back and brace herself, but she couldn't properly guard against the attack.  She may not have remembered her last encounter with them very well, but she remembered how hard they hit.  Just one attack was enough to break several bones, and this one looked even more powerful than that.  The worst part was, even though she was being careful, she still didn't manage to hear this one coming.  It was floating, so it was only natural that she wouldn't hear it coming.  She couldn't even use signs of wings or anything else to identify it. 

However, when the cross monster hit her, it didn't hurt nearly as much as she expected.  Her body was still in tact, and while it definitely upset some of her older wounds, she still felt like she could stand okay.  She blinked a few times in surprise, but she couldn't afford to just stand there dumbfounded.  At this range, she didn't really have to aim, so she just shot at point blank range.  She hurt it, quite a bit even.  Shizuka gripped her weapon tightly.  She was less sure of herself just a few minutes ago, but it was becoming obvious that she could fight these things.  It looked like it would take a few more shots, but she should be able to take it down.

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan wasn't really shocked to see the girl level her weapon at him. It seemed like it was her first time trying to explore, so he was more than understanding. Of course, if he was playing a role, he needed to act the part. He put on a horrified look, but said nothing. He raised his hands in a "don't shoot" gesture, then he faintly felt something behind him. He cursed the timing of it all, although he noticed the girl turned around and braced herself. Seemed like there were two creatures. Tristan sighed internally, not yet willing to drop the scared act. The girl seemed like she would probably react better to that than someone knowing too much more.

All of a sudden, Tristan felt something unpleasant in his back. Two somethings, rather. He whirled around and confronted the shadow that he had felt before. A pair of dancing shadows. That wasn't weird. Rather, it wasn't weirder than most things Tristan had encountered. He looked over at the girl, who seemed distracted with the shadow over there. The boy smiled before summoning Odysseus. He could cut back. And, today, he figured that would be literal. As Odysseus cut away at the creature, Tristan watched the girl. She seemed to be handling herself well, but she simply used a gun. Maybe she didn't have a Persona? It was something he'd have to ask her later.