what kind of creature do we have here

[cursedblood]

Who: Alucard/Arikado, Kuroko Tetsuya
What: Prayer #3 - quieting things down
When: March 27, 2016, evening
Where: A noisy neighborhood on the Near Shore.
Warnings: None? May edit if necessary.

---

He was used to the kind of duties that would lead him to exterminating demons. Assisting with an exorcism, perhaps tracking down some fiend with his senses that had been evading the rest of the Agency - by contrast, this was practically a vacation for Arikado. A literal walk in the park, as things were, with the teleportation having brought them to a makeshift little shrine by some trees. The fact that it was so easily overlooked probably explained why it hadn't been swept away or otherwise removed, and the crude carving of a animal-faced man seemed enough to claim it for Xargi.

Arikado studied it only a few moments before beginning to walk, clearly expecting Kuroko to follow. As the human had admitted his lack of combat skills, this seemingly easy duty - prayer - would hopefully be enough to allow him to assess what skills he did have. It wasn't strictly part of what he understood to be the god's purview, but it hardly mattered.

The park itself was quiet, but the neighborhood on its edge seemed to be undergoing some sort of ruckus, despite the late hour; Arikado glanced over his shoulder towards Kuroko, arching his brow in silent query.

Comments

[punchpass]

"It sounds like animals, or maybe even some troublemakers," Kuroko said tonelessly as Arikado looked at him. He was still a bit taken aback by the whole teleporting thing, but it didn't seem to be that dangerous.

"I can't tell where they are coming from." Perhaps Arikado could sense ayakashi or hear better than him, being a god, but otherwise, he wasn't sure how a shinki could help with this situation.

[cursedblood]

Usually, he could. And there were faint feelings of...things...but as Arikado opened his mouth slightly, inhaling while running the underside of his tongue under pointed canines...

"It seems mundane, relatively speaking, " he mused. "But stay alert. That doesn't mean it couldn't still be dangerous."

Up in the trees, a squirrel chittered, ineffectually punctuating his words. Arikado ignored it, moving instead towards what seemed like the best place to start; the crying child.

Of course, by the time they got there, they'd already passed two cat fights, a stray dog digging in a dumpster, what sounded like someone's attempt to practice drums and at least three arguing couples.

This...was going to take some doing.

[punchpass]

Unfortunately, by the time that Arikado had gotten to the crying child, his shinki had disappeared. In reality, he'd seen the stray dog and had gone immediately after it, something in his heart telling him that yes, that animal was cute and he just HAD to pet it.

The dog seemed friendly at least, if kind of mangy and dirty, coming up and sniffing his hand before licking it. "Hello, what are you doing all the way here? You don't have an owner, do you?"

[cursedblood]

It took about three full minutes before Arikado realized that his Shinki wasn't being his normal, unobtrusive self; he was gone. Grimacing, he resolved himself to backtracking, and nearly got scratched by one of those cats for his trouble. Not that it'd have done much, but it was the inconvenience of it all...

...and there he was. More accurately, there was the dog no longer digging in the dumpster, instead sniffing at a figure that had Arikado exhaling heavily.

"We don't have time for that," he scolded, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice.

[punchpass]

He knew this probably wasn't going to win him any points with his god, but at least he knew the man wouldn't kill him or something. "Arikado-sama, this dog is part of what is causing the racket. Isn't it our job to deal with it?"

He's holding it now and giving Arikado the puppy eyes while the dog licks his face. You're not getting out of this one.

[cursedblood]

...Kuroko. Kuroko no. You don't know where it's been.

"Dealing with the dog is one small part of the problem." A beat. "If anything, it should be found a home so it stops bothering the people here."

[punchpass]

Too late. Arikado walked himself into that one. "So Arikado-sama agrees then that we should take it home with us."

To emphasize his point, the dog barked once in his hands, while the other parts of the racket went on around him. He'll get to that in a moment.

[cursedblood]

Arikado blinked once, slowly. Then he narrowed his eyes, bringing up a crucial point;

"It's alive. You're not. Its place is with the living."

He honestly can't believe he's arguing this.

[punchpass]

Kuroko actually frowned at that line-he didn't like being reminded that this world was no longer for him. He absently pet the little dog's fur. It was strangely comforting and familiar, like a long-lost memory or something.

Arikado would feel his emotions suddenly taking on a dark turn, even if it barely showed on his face. "But he's lonely. We should keep him."

[cursedblood]

A light twinge at the back of his neck, almost imperceptible but for the sting of pain-

Arikado exhaled, closing his eyes for a long moment. "He will be even lonelier with nothing but the caves," he pointed out before opening them, then gesturing at the ground. "We may discuss this later. For now, we have work to do, and the dog is keeping you from doing it."

[punchpass]

Kuroko still held onto the dog longer-it was comforting, and stopping him from saying things he really didn't want to say to his god. He already felt guilty about arguing for this-but it was just a dog. Why did he have to be so mean?

Very reluctantly he set the little dog down on the ground, hoping that it would follow him around as he left to take care of everything else. And as Kuroko began to walk forward, the dog did, a happy dog smile on its face.

[cursedblood]

Was this really how this partnership was going to work? Was he going to have to continually keep Kuroko from getting distracted? Just who thought this was a good idea?...

Heavens, indeed. Arikado ignored the dog as he moved back to the actual reason they were here, which was now accompanied by what sounded like a woman trying vainly to quiet the child. He still couldn't sense any of those phantoms - he didn't think, at least - so, keeping an eye to the mundane...

"Are you ready to test your Shinki form?"

[punchpass]

Well Kuroko was liable to run off when he saw something cute or interesting like a puppy, but he did take his mission seriously. This one wasn't life or death. Besides, he'd really wanted to keep the dog and it would solve the problem they were sent to do.

But instead of saying any of this, he just nodded with a blank expression on his face.

[cursedblood]

Not all the problem, unfortunately.

"Then - Kageki."

Time to see what sort of 'weapon' Kuroko could possibly be.

[punchpass]

Kuroko didn't know what to expect-the words tugging on his body and then suddenly, he was something else. It felt wierd and his field of vision changed and he didn't even have time to be sad because-

He was a pair of black sweatbands on Alucards wrists.

I....thought shinki were supposed to be weapons.

Meanwhile, the dog, confused about where his new friend had gone, started sniffing the ground around Alucards feet before he....vanished completely.

[cursedblood]

Holding his hands partly open, ready to grasp, Arikado was...taken aback, to say the least, when nothing went in to them. Instead, a light pressure around his wrist and...

"...I did, too."

Or at least armor. A tool of some sort, not whatever these were. He felt at one experimentally, frowning down at the dog

and then going very still, as his own feet disappeared. As his hands disappeared, along with the rest of him. Slowly, he raised his limbs, feeling them move but unable to see-

"-Kuroko."

That was how this ended, wasn't it?

[punchpass]

And just as quickly, he heard his own name and suddenly had his human body back. He had to hold out his hands for balance so he wouldn't fall over, and when he caught himself, he looked, confused, at his god.

"I think I can turn us invisible." It had been instinct for the most part. Kuroko was used to shrinking away from attention and it felt odd to suddenly be so different and in the open. So he tried to draw back his presence, and....well invisibility happened.

The dog yipped happily and put his paws on Kuroko's leg, now that he was back.

Ignoring the small sting of guilt that he wasn't something more useful.

[cursedblood]

From the dog, to Kuroko, to his hands - visible once again. Certainly, he knew of magic that could turn one invisible, but he'd never mastered that sort...

Arikado grimaced, reaching up to run a hand through his hair in a mixture of annoyance and frustration. Mostly at himself. "That could be useful," he slowly said, thinking and looking down at the dog once more. "In fact- Kageki."

Sorry for the lack of warning, there. Except- he doesn't seem very sorry.

"Do it once more. I am going to test something."

[punchpass]

Kuroko had been in the middle of petting the little dog when he was suddenly called back into being a set of armbands-he had less warning this time, so Kuroko's surprise and panic spiked before settling down to low-key irritation and confusion.

He had been petting the dog too, which had now gone back to sniffing Arikado's feet for his new friend.

Please give me more warning next time, Arikado-sama. I don't enjoy suddenly being jerked around.

But, loyal as ever, Kuroko shrank their presence as soon the tall man vanished, again leaving a confused dog behind.

[cursedblood]

...right. That had been somewhat- rude.

"...as I can," Arikado allowed, before - abruptly - leaping straight up in to the air.

Or perhaps not straight up; up and back, easily enough to get on the top of the nearest roof. He'd have tried a lightpost, but it was unnerving enough to move without seeing himself. Nonetheless, with his new view, he could not only see the poor pup, but get a better view of the neighborhood - the child was still crying, but the cats seemed to have dispersed. An argument or two was still going on, but he didn't much fancy trying to try his hand at marriage counseling. (Considering how his last relationship went, that was no doubt for the best.)

That left...the drummer. Still attempting their haphazard practice, and apparently in dire need of some soundproofing. Unfortunately, the sound was echoing enough that it made it difficult for Arikado to pinpoint just where it was coming from.

[punchpass]

Kuroko head whirled as Arikado jumped up and around with inhuman strength, giving thanks to whatever god that wasn't his that he didn't have motion-sickness. How would one even throw up in this form-that was something he didn't want to find out.

It really was an amazing view from up here, though. He could see all the houses stretched out, tiny flecks of light and movement in the dark, and even the peace of nighttime, weren't it for the job they were supposed to perform.

He did however suddenly remember the poor dog they left behind, who was now sniffing at the ground and heading towards the caconophy the drummers were causing. He really wanted to follow the dog but Arikado-sama was still angry about that. But maybe if he....

The dog seems to be headed towards the drummers. I think he knows where they are.