tushanshu | 017 ✤ audio

[ this is what he gets for using up all of his allotted Waterbending time for the day earlier. but it was too tempting to just play for a bit, and then little kedan children joined in, and... anyway, it's really, really hard to regret it. but he does. just a little bit.

mostly because his Bending is the way he avoids violent confrontation 99% of the time - just freeze a mugger's shoes to the ground and stay out of range and voila! easy avoidance. today, however, that was not an option, and he wasn't about to use a Fang on a couple of older kedan who didn't even look like they wanted to be mugging him. they seemed so reluctant that had Akito any juulan on him to spare he would have given it to them, but they wanted his gem. the one that - according to what he's been told - houses his soul. and no. he wasn't about to give that up.

the thing about Waterbending that Akito misses the most when he doesn't have it is that it gives him a nice, pain-free, long-range method of self-defense. especially when his would-be muggers are carrying some sort of bowie knives and seem to actually know how to use them. which makes his close-combat training a bit disadvantageous, even if he shifts himself some claws.

a roundhouse kick to the scarred one's side earns him a very nice, deep slice to his calf. which is super lame. and kind of hurts. but whatever. what hurts a bit worse is the kedan's partner getting scared and lashing out unpredictably with his own blade and getting him just under the clavicle.

but hey! the violence scared the kedan off. meaning Akito gets to keep all of his stuff without injuring anyone! all for the low low price of a little pain, and ... well, okay. not a little bit of blood.

the Midnight Hotel is the closest place to go to get some help, so he heads in that direction and arrives within a few minutes. because leg pain be damned, he's going to use his A-Ts anyway.

first thing's first though - giving people the head's up on the consoles. while simultaneously asking for some help. ha ha ... ha... ]

...I think someone might have blackmailed some kedan to steal my soul gem from me. I scared them off so they didn't actually take it, but... Be careful when you go out, and try not to travel alone.

[ he sounds more confused than bothered by this. but with that aside- ]

Um, if there are any people competent in first aid in the Midnight Hotel... Ah... If they could please come to the lobby it would be appreciated!

[ he'll clean up all the blood afterwards, Anton! he promises! ): ]

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[When Xion finishes cleaning, only to turn around and find that someone tracked mud in, that typically earns a sigh and maybe a glare. Someone tracking in blood though? That earns a decidedly different reaction.

She doesn't spot the blood - or Akito - until after he's put up his post, but not too long after. But once she does, she makes a beeline over]

What happened?

[She's more than a little alarmed, already gathering magic for a Cure spell in one hand.]

Ah- Um... [ he recognizes her voice, and it takes him a minute to place it, but he does. he never got her name, however, so he doesn't mention it. ] Some guys tried to mug me.

[ he currently has both of his hands pressed against his shoulder, and the tail he shifted himself wrapped tightly around his leg. #useful ]

[...what?]

Who attacked you?

I mean--what did they look like?

Older kedan who kept shifting their faces. I'm going to talk to Meisheng-san about it tomorrow morning.

[Hmm...that was the issue, though. The kedan were shape-shifters. Maybe a physical description wasn't as reliable as it should have been.]

How did you know they were older? If they could change their faces, maybe they altered their ages too.

It's a little harder to change how old you look so drastically, I think... [ at least that's how it is for him. ] If you're changing your facial features so much it's easier to focus on main features instead of making yourself look older or younger.

[It hadn't been so difficult for her, but that had only been an accident. Honest. The trickier part had been getting back to her then-age.]

I guess that makes sense.

Any idea on exactly how old we're talking? I mean, you couldn't have gotten jumped by a couple of senior citizens, could you?

Older than middle-aged but not old enough to be seniors.

[Still older than she would have guessed. Then again, her dad had been getting pretty up there in years, and he could still put up a good fight.]

[Along with several other Leaguers whose ages she could only guess.]

Anything else that might point us their way? Features that kind of stuck around even with the shifting? Clothes? The way they spoke?

[ nothing he's going to talk about over the network, unfortunately. ]

I'm going to talk to Meisheng about it tomorrow. She promised to help me if I ever got attacked again, as long as I didn't retaliate.

But if someone is wanting to get a hold of Foreigner gems they're not likely to use the same kedan twice.

[Good point. All of them.]

[Zatanna's lips pressed together in a thin line on her end, even though he wouldn't be able to see. She was well aware of the public function of the consoles, of course, and that was actually one of the reasons she had been so adamant about asking--information like this could be made known. It should have been made known.]

[Strangely enough, it was the specification of Foreigner gems that triggered something in her mind. Residual paranoia. Things had been going relatively well until that point, with relationships slowly improving. She and Jack had even visited some of the kedan kids not too long ago, all without incident. But for this to start happening, now...]

Why do you think they want our gems?

[It didn't make sense, but she could think of a few answers. The more pressing question, though, was precisely who they was--did all the kedan secretly still feel that way, was it just a select few working on their own...or was it somebody else altogether?]

I dunno... Lots of reasons. Could be simple malice, wanting to hurt us by separating them from us. Or... It could be someone wanting to see how they work in order to harness the power of them for themselves if there is any. It could be greed, because they're technically all one of a kind...

[ forgive him if his speech gets a bit slower he's still trying to stop bleeding *^* ]

[Forgiven, but definitely noticed. And with little visual to go by...]

Are you alright?

You sound...I don't know...kind of tired?

Oh, um. Yeah. I'm just trying not to bleed out, ne?

[ which is why he made the second part to his post! because he is a smarty pants and knows when to ask for help. :) ]

[There was a long pause on her end. Followed by a very heavy sigh.]

How bad is it?

I just need stitches.

[ not 100% true, but stitches will stop the bleeding long enough that his Waterbending will kick in. and then everything will be all better ♥ ]

[...yeah, not really her area of expertise BUT--]

Is somebody on the way yet?

Mug?

[The term isn't one Xion is exactly familiar with. A mug was a cup, she thought?

Still, gripping his shoulder like that does attract her attention to it, and she takes another step or two forward, frowning.]

You're hurt... [There's a bit of a question in the statement.] I... I know some magic, if you need it.

Un, someone should be here soon.

Un.

If you can just close the wounds that would be good. I just need them to stop bleeding.

Are you sure?

I'm not really much of a nurse or a doctor, but I do know a little bit of healing magic. It might help. A bit.

I just need the bleeding to stop, then I can heal the rest of it myself tomorrow.

[In that case--]

Think you can stay conscious for the next fifteen minutes?

I can be there by then.

Ah, no - that's okay. Someone else has offered to help me.

What makes you think someone blackmailed your attackers?

[He'd ask if Akito's alright and/or if someone's on the way to help, but he knows firsthand that Akito is tougher than he looks. Besides, if the teenager were in real danger, he wouldn't be using the Hotel's console - if only because Anton wouldn't be letting him.]

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