thenearshore | Pickpocket Problems

Yeah. There should be a function or something for that?

[She wasn't sure if the Heavens had much built in but it made sense to her. And the fact there was two between the two of them made it easier.]

Maybe? If we use one phone as bait and the other phone to track it, we might be able to follow the thief where we need to go. There's a chance we'll pick up a different sort of thief but...I guess that's when we step in early.

Right.

[He hands his phone to her, hoping she can figure it out.]

It's the best we've got, so let's try it.

Okay.... Give me a sec.

[She nodded and swiped through his phone. The phones from the Heavens weren't as advanced as the ones on Prism but the basic functionality was about the same. She spent a few minutes setting up a small app on his phone, before pulling out her phone and pairing the data and handing his phone back to him.]

Here. Right now, our phones are linked, so if one goes missing we can use the other to find it. We just need to find a place we can bait the thief while keeping an eye on what's going on.

[After all, while an ayakashi might not have the mind to try messing with the app or power, a human thief might. If they didn't just break the phone before they found out where everything else was.]

[Forrest looks over her shoulder while she's setting everything up. He'll probably never stop being fascinated with all the things the technology here can accomplish.]

All right. Let's use mine as the bait, since you're more accustomed to this kind of technology. Now all we have to do is find a good place...

[He looks around, eventually deciding on a nearby park bench. It's out in the open enough to be spotted, but not so obvious a place as to be immediately identifiable as a trap.]

[It wasn't a bad spot at all. It wasn't a busy day in the area, meaning there was less traffic to parse through and direct away from the phone. They'd be able to set up on a different bench not far away and keep somewhat of an eye on things too, though Psyche kept the app out on her phone just in case. She fiddled with it as she said, with a faint trace of humor]

I guess it's somewhat reassuring people haven't just run off with it yet.

[At least a few people looked unsure of whether to take it or not, while one had been close to taking it to the police box.]

I suppose so, but that might mean we're in the wrong area to catch the thief...

[Forrest frowns, watching the other bench from the corner of his eye.]

Maybe...it could be a lot of things. Like time of day or lack of opportunity. It's a lot like fishing, I guess.

[Putting down her phone to the side of the bench, she looked around them again. There was a group of high schoolers glugging coffee, a woman walking by with her child, and a curious amount of birds around the area. There appeared to be more than usual, despite there not being any extra food around.]

I wonder if the thief suspects we're watching for it.

Well... perhaps we should move, then. We don't really have to be watching it personally to track where it goes, do we?

[He doesn't completely understand how this works, but seems to grasp that much. He does look around for a moment, though.]

This might not be related, but aren't there an awful lot of birds here today?

Probably couldn't hurt? As long as we can still quickly follow, it couldn't hurt.

[As Psyche began to stand, she frowned about the observation about the birds.]

Yeah...I wonder what's drawing them.

[She idly scanned the bird. Then, she inhaled sharply: there, hidden among the flock, was a blot mass of inky, sticky feathers buried them]

Look out-

[The blot moved and let out a piercing noise. Humans wouldn't be able to hear it but they would and so would, on some level, the birds. Enough that they instantly exploded apart and flew at Forrest and her in a mess of feather and fright.]

Psyche!

[Forrest dives to the side, attempting to dodge the sudden attack. Taking his book out, he calls up a fire spell and shoots it at the ayakashi.]

Be careful! It's an ayakashi!

[Psyche rolled, hand raisig to fire - however, with the close proximity of the ayakeshi and the birds she hesitated. Long enough for Forrest's own spell to fire off.

[As the fire spell launched, however, it ayakashi let out a distorted 'CAW' and launched itself amidst the tornado of panicking mess of birds. Though the birds seemed to wish disperse, inky dark feathers and cording kept them close together, leading them upwards back into the sky.

[With Psyche's phone carried in the ayakashi's talons, along with other 'treasures'. Ignoring the confused murmurs of passerbys by, Psyche immediately bolted after.]

Forrest! Grab your phone. We can use it to track mine.

Right! The phone!

[He pulls it out, running over to Psyche and handing it to her. She's the one who knows how this works, after all.]

At least we'll be able to tell where it's headed even if we lose sight of it. I wonder if it has a nest where it keeps it all?

There has to be something somewhere. It makes no sense that it wouldn't have somewhere to keep everything.

[Maybe. Ayakashi didn't necessarily have the same logic of animals. However, that gave them more reason to catch up with it sooner than later.

[As they moved, she swiped through the phone and called up the app, revealing a moving dot not far from them as the mob of birbs ducked over a building.]

It looks like it's heading towards one of the older districts.

[Based on their changing surroundings though, it'd be a worn down and largely empty one at that.]

At least we'll have more room to move around...

[He does his best to keep up as she leads the pursuit, looking around above them in case there's another surprise attack.]

[She nodded, absently, as she continued glancing at the screen and their surroundings. There was out of business signs, boarded up areas, with only the occasional sign of life behind the windows and rare passerby.]

There isn't many people around, either. So it doesn't look like we'll draw much attention to ourselves.

[For better or worse. At least with the pickpocket, they'd been able to use passersby to their advantage. Here, they'd probably be in the way...especially as, the further the two progressed through the district, towards a large worn down office building, the more birds would appear. More and more of them would have that sticky black cording, to their apparent discomfort.]

...I hope we don't have to go through them to get to the ayakashi.

That's good. We won't have to hold back.

[Although it also means they won't be able to get help or to a safe spot as easily.]

Let's just keep moving. They may not bother us if we don't attack first.

Right. It hasn't attacked us yet, at least, beyond some scratches.

[Though it did run off with her phone, so fighting them probably hadn't been its main objective. It was hard to tell how dangerous it was, then...

[The office building was locked up pretty tight and the windows were boarded up but there were loosened areas, thanks to age and decay. Psyche reached over to tug at of the weaker ones, grunting as she did.]

We can probably get through here - ah - as long as we're quiet about it.

Here, let me help.

[For as much as he can, anyway. Forrest isn't exactly the picture of physical strength. But together, they're able to get one of the boards loose and open up the window.]

Should I boost you up first?

Thanks. Just a little more -

[The board would 'POP' loose from the building, making Psyche automatically shift her weight back to compensate. Fortunately, that one was all they needed, so Psyche moved towards the window with a nod.]

Okay. Once I'm up, I should be be able to help you through.

[She wasn't as strong as some but Forrest didn't weigh that much...maybe.]

[Forrest is pretty waifish for a teenage boy, so it's not too hard to lift him up. What's a little harder is getting him through the window without damaging his clothing in the process, but he manages.]

Whew... we're in.

[Psyche's muscles would tense under contact, both as he helped her up and as she helped pull him into the window. However, necessity made it easier not to think about it, especially between worries like avoiding nails, slivers, and grim. Once they were settled inside, she waited for a moment, listening around them for movement, before speaking in a low voice]

They're not attacking us right now....it might not know we're here, for the moment.

[Remembering the many birds in the district, though, Psyche wasn't entirely sure. She pulled out Forrest's phone and checked the GPS. Sure enough, her phone was blinking away nearby, in the direction of the stairs upward.]

Be careful where you step. There's a lot of unpleasant stuff around.

[Some of it was simply structural: cracked, creaking floors; areas damaged by water and time; and thick layers of dust obscuring their sight. Some of it was man-made, such as broken glass, torn open drawers (as though someone had been looking for something), and even a faint glint of a needle somewhere.]

[Forrest catches that slight tensing, frowning in worry as he climbs into the window.]

...Is everything all right?

[He does lean over to look at the GPS, though. Gotta stay on target.]

Ah... that's easy enough to take care of.

[Cue Lakshmi's power. With a single wave of the hand, the refuse is swept away.]

It's fine, really. It's just...habit.

[Psyche said, a bit quickly, as she forced her muscles to relax. The rustle of Forrest's power, lifting the dust and refuse, helped - lifting the mood and making it easier to see.]

Thanks. At least glass and bacteria are less of an issue, now.

[Could shinki even catch illness? Psyche wasn't sure, but better than stepping on something and finding out later.

[However, up the stairs was a different kind of refuse. Though there was still dirt, dust, and worn supplies and furniture left scattered around, there was more of that black, inky string lying around. As they followed the trail of the GPS, the thicker it'd get.]

All right.

[He doesn't want to pry any further than that. If she says she's okay, he'll believe her.]

It's the same black substance the ayakashi were surrounded by earlier... we must be getting closer.

[She wouldn't want to worry him, either way - especially not while creeping into an ayakashi den.]

Yeah...which means, we'll probably start facing resistance soon.

[Psyche started to reached hand to clear a strand of black hanging in front of them before thinking better of it. She didn't know if it was the same effect gelatin ayakashi. She ducked under it, leading them up another set of stairs.

[On that floor, the black would be the thickest. It stuck to walls and the floor, making it difficult to move without disturbing it. The biggest sign of light was a broken window framed with more birds caught in that black substance. They eyed the pair intently as they'd move towards what was once one of the nicer offices...with a door almost entirely covered in black and throbbing an unpleasant energy. Psyche swallowed and spoke, low]

Any ideas how you want to do this?

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