[nathan67003]

Ah, there he was. Good, she was almost to the point where she'd gone on her own. As she heard him start to explain what he'd found on his side, she started climbing down, keeping him within earshot and continued to listen to him as she led the way to the door she'd discovered. Hm, that setup was certainly strange. Why would somebody leave so suddenly? But more importantly, why were those items the only sign of relatively recent activity in the village? Was it because it was the only recent activity in the town and that someone had, in fact, been there within the last few days? While Cobe's theories made sense regarding the entire village, the piece of bread was entirely unrelated... Her best conclusion, though, was that Jackson had been driven to abandon - possibly by the very same effects that saturated this place - before being taken over by whoever had taken that piece of bread out.

Helena answered Cobe's question with, after his first attempt proved ineffective, with "Yeah, if possible, but I brought you here more to be able to take on whatever's behind that door with someone instead of alone." Unlocking the chain had several options - she was pretty sure Cobe had a trick or two for this. As for herself, she could use a kinetic-augmented arrow to sever a link or -

Helena flinched backwards, instinctively reaching for one of her knives - and, oddly enough, the pickaxe to the right of her waist. She wasn't crazy, Cobe'd heard it too by the looks of it - a gunshot had aparently gone off behind the door. Other, far more odd sounds soon followed, after which came more shots. She glanced at her teammate, who glanced back, before more bizarre noises were produced from beyond the heavy-looking wood. His gaze had the words 'I got your back' written all over it.

She needed to get in there. That was what the fake-but-not-really feelings were telling her. She needed to get in there, even if what was in there felt dangerous - again, according to the artificially-induced emotions. She decided to try the pickaxe - no sense in wasting an augment here - and strided right towards the lock and chain. "Cobe, I'm going to try the pickaxe. It might work, or not. Point is, you're far better than I am at this sort of range and I thought it'd be less stupid to let you know what I'm doing beforehand." She stood in position, took aim and brought the pickaxe down onto the chain with all her might.

[Dr. Gustave]

Calen and Teddy: ShowHide

 Calen and Teddy made their way back the way they came, this time through a crowd of concerned or panicked people trying to head the opposite way. That fear, the uncertainty, worry, and doubt of the passing civilians seemed to simply wash over the two hunters in training, covering them for the briefest of seconds before disappearing as the crowd continued to push past them. They were going to be huntsmen, after all, they would face far worse than simple gunshots.

They made their way past the seven stars bar, past the sunshine grocery, neither seeing what the other saw and both feeling a twinge of unease as they passed by. By the time they had reached the end of the street it was nearly entirely empty with only a few stragglers entering what appeared to be their homes.

At the very end of the street, capping the road as its dead end, was an unassuming building. It, like the other buildings in Jackson, had a mixture of brick and steel for an exterior and the soft glow of amber lighting coming from within. A small set of stairs led up to its wooden door and above it, a green neon sign that read, "What's Mine is Mine" and below that, "Pawn Shop".

There was a moment's hesitation from the pair before Calen stepped forward, up the stairs, and opened the door.

Beyond the door, rows and rows of shelves stretched out nearly to the very back wall of the shop, filled with everything from shoes to guitars to lawn equipment to jewelry, all given an amber glow by the lighting fixtures hanging from above. Beyond the shelving, along the back wall, was a glass counter featuring some of the nicer and more expensive items in the store. On top of it sat a lien register, as well as several boxes of smaller nicknacks, and behind it stood a man, his eyes wide as he flinched back slightly as the door opened.

Cobe and Helena: ShowHide

 The lock and pickaxe let out a loud CLANG as they connected for the first time. With a quick examination, Helena saw a small dent where she'd landed her hit. With a deep breath, she raised the tool high once more and brought it down again, even harder this time. With another look, she saw that the dent had grown, not only deeper but wider. Once more, she lifted the pickaxe up, poised to strike, and on the apex of her lift, the sounds from behind the door came a sudden and worrying halt. The sounds of gunshots, swords clashing, and the other strange WOOMP sound stopped as suddenly as they started, leaving only silence in their wake.

The Huntress-in-training exchanged a worried glance with the Hunter-in-training before turning her focus back to the lock, planting her feet, and bringing the pickaxe down one final time as it smashed through the lock, sending it and the chain sliding to the ground.

She wasted no time in taking the same process in opening this door as she had with the others on the outside of the city walls. Though the door was considerably heavier she was able to get it open after putting a little extra effort into it.

The door swung outward, passing inches in front of Cobe and slamming into the rock wall next to him. Beyond the door was a wide, tall dome-like room. The walls showed evidence that some type of mining equipment had been used to mine it into the shape it now took before structural beams were put in place reaching from the ceiling to the floor in the four "corners" of the room, with more beams crisscrossing along the ceiling with bright lights hanging from each. Despite the obvious mining effort, no such equipment was anywhere visible within the room. The only thing that was visible was the girl.

On the opposite end of the room, a girl with silvery-blue hair that ran down nearly to the middle of her back, though it was hanging over the top of her armor. Her eyes were covered by a small white mask with red slits and an ornate red pattern swirling along both ends before meeting in the middle like a third eye. The mask matched the long white robes she wore, though the upper body clung to her like a coat might, the robe from the waist down extended nearly to the floor in the back, reaching around to both hips, and a thinner part extending down from the middle of her waist, covering her pelvis and most of the sides of her legs. All along the front of the armor, the same swirling red pattern was woven, meeting in random places to form eyes. Her white combat boots were the same, with an eye on the side of each foot.

The skin that was visible shown a porcelain white underneath the bright lights of the mine and she smiled eyes she caught Helena and Cobe's eyes.

The strangest thing about the room was perhaps not the girl but what she sat with her back against here deep under the earth. A large tree with full foliage and healthy bark sat, planted into the rocky ground, behind the girl. It stood almost as tall as the dome itself, though despite it's otherwise perfect appearance, one of the many branches on the left side of the tree was broken off, its separated piece nowhere to be seen.

"Oh good," The White Fang girl spoke in a playful tone, her voice sounding no older than Helena, "I was worried you'd never make it here."

[SonicCraftX]

Of all the things Cobe had expected to see on the other side of the door. This was not it. White Fang, here? This didn't seem right, time to interrogate, but first some facts were 100% needed.

Cobe walked through the doorway, and stood in front of the girl. He eyed her carefully before speaking, his deep voice making him sound slightly menacing, as was the point.

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

[Dr. Gustave]

The girl giggled as she stood from her seated position, now leaning back on the tree, one foot pressed to its dark brown bark and her fluffy white dog tail now fully visible as it hung down behind her. "Rainfall." She said simply as she locked eyes with Cobe. Her voice, as young as it was, was unnaturally smooth, comforting even, and despite the mass of distance between her and Helena, her voice carried itself naturally across the cavern as if she was speaking to the girl from mere feet in front of her. "Well..." She cocked her head to one side and placed a finger to her chin and brought her eyebrows together behind her mask. "You can call me Celina." A genuine smile spread across her face as she lowered her finger away. "No harm in it since your friend seemed mighty set on the fact that I die today." Another giggle escaped her lips. "But now she's gone, and when it comes down to me and you lot, welllllll...." She drew out the word, "let's just say I like my chances. As for why I'm here, that is on a need to know basis. No matter what."

Celina leaned forward, placing the rim of her mask inches away from Cobe's face, the smile still stretched from ear to ear. "And you'll have to work on your intimidation skill, Cobe."

[SonicCraftX]

This just got interesting. I don't want to press her, but I need to know more, and "friend"? Could she mean Malina? No, surely not.

Cobe thought to himself, as he just processed the conversation, remaining as stone-faced and stoic as before. He then responded, slightly less menacingly than before, but still enough that he thought he would get something he could work with. He would find out about the strange pillars in the room and how she knew his name afterwards.

"Okay then, Celina. If you truly do know this "friend" of mine, then answer me this. Why?"

He paused letting the word sink in before continuing.

"Why should they want you dead? Surely, no matter if you're White Fang, that seems a bit extreme, right?"

[Dr. Gustave]

Celina let out a full chested laugh and leaned back into the tree. "That... That's hilarious!" She tried to say through sharp intakes of air. "You don't even know, do you?" Her vulpine smile broadened on her face. "They must be doing good work up there in Vale, hmmm?" Again, she drew out the word and leaned her head slightly forward. "If you don't think this is a kill or be killed situation." She leaned back once more and crossed her arms, her tail swishing slowly below her. "And you don't even know about her, the fake, 'miss Narwhal'" She said echoing Calen from the swamp.

The sound of rain coming from the passage Cobe and Helena had entered through rose, almost imperceptively.

"So many things in that brain of yours you don't put together," Celina said as she popped herself into a proper standing position and began to make her way in a circle around Cobe, the red eyes of the mask boring into him, unflinching, unblinking. "Like puzzle pieces all scattered about." A hint of sorrow or pity escaped her voice as she stopped, placing herself between Cobe and Helena, her back to the girl who still stood in the entrance way.

[nathan67003]

Once the door was opened, Helena took out Artemis and nocked the nearest arrow, which happened to be in her bag. She stepped in the doorway after Cobe but didn't go much farther, sidestepping to the right by a meter or so once she was inside the ostensibly larger room. She didn't raise her bow just yet - she wanted to get to the bottom of this. Whether it involved combat with... the White Fang person there (holy shit, what the actual fuck) was currently up for guessing.

As Cobe took the lead in questioning the unexpected discovery, Helena took it upon herself to observe. First: Tree. While she loved trees - or even, life in general, this one was here without any sort of logic about its growth. There was clearly no Sun visible here. Shenanigans were probably involved. Second: The girl. She seemed awfully young for a White Fang member smack dab in the eye of the eldritch maelström, appearing about Helena's age. Although this could very well be in appearance only. Judging by how her voice was propagating about as abnormally as the sound of the rain was in the tunnels, this was certainly a possibility. Whatever was messing with the latter was nigh-undoubtedly affecting the former.

She had to say, though, the girl had style. That outfit was unarguably cool. No identifiably Faunus traits from where the blonde archer was standing, though, but that was hardly surprising given the nature of the aforementioned characteristics.

The friend she mentioned was probably Malina, as she was literally the only other female in the team. And the only female not present, which fit with the absence 'Celina' had referred to. Sadly, no knowing what was happening with Jackson just yet. She elected to not think about the odds of victory for now, though.

Helena continued to watch (and listen) as Cobe asked further questions. Not much gained apart from sarcasm and what she assumed was a derogatory substitute for Nahualli. She did start circling about, though, making Helena follow suit to 1) remain at a distance and 2) keep Cobe out of her line of fire.

Artemis slowly started to rise, the tension on its string increasing as it did.

[Kingnoname1]

'Should have guessed it was pawn shop. It could only be that or a lost and found and to be honest I don't think this is that kind of town.' Calen continued smiling and completely ignoring Teddy's outburst. Nerves get to everyone and Calen wasn't about to hold it against him at least until the immediate danger had passed. Unless he was feeling spiteful. Well, more spiteful. Suprised that Teddy moved quite quickly towards the probably danger Calen had to break into a jog to keep up as they made their way to store. Motioning to his partners gun Calen carefully opened the door ready to dash around with his semblance at a moments notice. But it didn't seem to be hostile, if anything the shopkeeper seemed uncertain about their appearance.

Waving greeting to the shopkeeper Calen moved behind one of the shelves to cut line of sight between them then made a gesture behind his back for Teddy to follow. 'So see anything your like Master Theodore?' Calen asked browsing the closest shelf. 'Anything to suggest why my not-so-lovely crone would send us hear?' Calen continued studying the products the proprietor had available. Frankly it was mostly junk although Calen was pleased to be out of the rain and neon signs nothing could hold his attention for long.

Making his was slowly and quitely behind the shelf towards the shopkeeper Calen spoke up suddenly as he was about to run out of self, half to surprise but mostly out of boredom. 'Good afternoon Sir.' Calen began giving a flourish and a bow as he revealed himself. 'How are you doing?' Calen continued with all the false sincerity he could muster. Small talk would be the best for putting the shopkeeper at ease and as such is a valuable tool in drawing out infomation. Unfortunately it had been a long day and Calen was eager to get home, with or without his allies, and as such has as little patience for small talk as he did building tension by hiding out of sight from the proprietor. 'So good Sir, I wouldn't suppose you would mind telling me why a certain friend recommended me to come this way, someone with a habit of telling unwanted fortunes?' Calen finished leaning on the store front smiling but with no warmth. For all his courtly grace Calen wasn't exactly the most subtle individual.

[SonicCraftX]

So, this is how its gonna go down is it, alright then Celina, I'll play your game.

Cobe now looked...some what puzzled at the wording, slowly understanding, however, he still needed more from Celina. He knew he needed a different approach to find out why Malina wanted her dead, and how she knew his name. He paused to think a little bit. His brow visibly scrunched in thought. What could it all mean. The tower, the fact that the area looked like his home town, the gas, what did it all mean, and how did any of it connect to Celina?

Cobe looked behind him after hearing the sound of footsteps, seeing Helena begin to raise her bow, he put a hand up.

"No."

His voice somewhat boomed and echoed before continuing.

"We need to know if she is really telling the truth. If we are in the wrong to fight, and possibly, kill her."

[Dr. Gustave]

Calen and Teddy: ShowHide

 The man, still somewhat wide-eyed, looked from Calen to Teddy and then back to Calen. "F-fortunes?" He spat out, stuttering slightly. "The man, you mean?" His voice was strung out, one may even say panicked. "The- the greying one! He came through a bit ago with the one with the cuts." He drew closer to Calen. "Told me he was sorry, I asked 'why's that sir?'" The man paused for a moment, swallowing hard. "Said I'd be going back to Mistral soon...I.. I told him I doubted that and he just pushed past me with the girl and went into the back, I think..." He paused again, glancing back toward the cracked doorway behind him. "I think they shot someone down there..."

[spoiler=Cobe and Helena] Celina clicked her tongue and shook her head once. "Not a fan of surprise attacks, Cobe?" She asked, incredulously. "I'll be honest, that's a bold tactic! Not necessarily a smart one, but a bold one for sure." She turned her head slightly so one of her mask's red eyes was barely visible to Helena. "Don't fret too much, Helena, I knew what you were up to." The grin spread slightly on her face, only noticeable to Celina. "You should be careful with that thing though, might put an eye out."

She returned her gaze to Cobe and cocked her head to one side. "It's not surprising you're doubtful, I suppose. Just how much misinformation are they spreading up there, hmm?"

[Mikelobmike]

Admittedly, Teddy was not sure of what he was expecting when he ran toward the shots. Usually, you would find some fighting, or an arrest happening, or, I don't know, a gun. Generally, you would not find some random little pawn shop. Teddy did think about trying to strangle Calen for a second as he walked up to the pawn shop. That man did have a messed up sense of priorities. In this scenario, he did have to follow Calen for his own safety.

The inside of the pawn shop did look nice, and Teddy did take a second to look at the guitars. Teddy did have a guitar back in Vale. It used to be his mother's, but she didn't take it with her when she left. Mac showed him how to play, even though Mac was a bit shit at it. Thankfully, there were a few books at the library that Teddy managed to pick up in order to improve a bit. He still had a ways to go to be great, but he wasn't half bad at the moment. There's really nothing like sitting around a campfire, plucking a few chords as the sounds of the forest echo around-

He was getting distracted...again. This goddamn city and its damn weirdness. The sooner that they got out of there, the better. Shaking his head, Teddy readied his weapon and stepped toward the two of them. "We should, um, check that one out, Calen. It's probably where those shots came from." he said.

[Kingnoname1]

'Maybe it was just an extreme version of pin the tail on the donkey? I'm sure they would be delighted to have a few extras at their party.' Calen remarked picking up a battered guitar and roughly strummed a few cords fiddling with the tuning pegs as he made his way to the counter. Reaching into his pocket Calen brought out a fair amount of lien, far above the price of the guitar even in mint condition, and tossed it to the shopkeeper. 'Such a shame you aren't getting any customers.' Calen continued smiling knowingly. 'It's not that bad a shop after all.'. Regardless of the propireters reaction Calen will move around the counter and move directly through the partially open door in front of him. In all honesty Calen was quite curious as to why the shopkeeper thought he was talking about a man, there couldn't be that many con people in this town, nothing would get done, still like most things Calen's pride prevented him from bringing it up.

'Come on then Master Theodore, it would be improper to keep them waiting. And who knows maybe by rescuing her you might draw Miss Nahualli's favour.' Calen jested turning what was a mostly comforting phrase before this whole ordeal transpired into a another barb to spike his partner with. 'And of course if she was the one shot.... well I'll be sure to leave and let you pay your respects.' Calen added grinning widely at the morbid 'joke' before stepping through the door way into whatever lay beyond casually as possible.

[Dr. Gustave]

The man looked confused for a moment as the lien were laid down but quickly and silently stepped aside to let the two students through a small half door to his right. Quietly murmuring something about Mistral to himself as Teddy followed Calen through the door.

Beyond the door was a well-lit room, much brighter than the soft amber lighting of the showroom in an odd contrast. Two doorways led to other rooms, one with a plaque next to it reading "Bathroom" and the other door with a similar plaque reading "Authorized Personel Only".

In the very center of the room, however, inlaid into the hardwood floors was a heavy looking metal cellar door. Perhaps calling it a cellar door didn't do it justice, however. In addition to the door looking heavy, a solid bank vault-esque wheel lock adorned the cover and despite many cellar doors being colored dark grey, the door was a bright metallic silver color.

[SonicCraftX]

Cobe was starting to see things Celina's way, I mean, it made sense. The team had been told very little about the town, and Cobe's theory on the gas was, well, only that, a theory. Nothing more. He chose his next words carefully and deliberately.

"To be fair, you do have a point. We've been told practically nothing since we got here. So, if you could explain what this all means, I'll be able to see things clearer, understand you, if you will. And who knows? Maybe I'll change sides, from Beacon's to your's."

Cobe smirked a tiny bit, he knew about what happened to Mountain Glenn, and how the Vale Council got all those people killed, so he thought, maybe, it was time for revenge, but first, he had to know the truth.

[Mikelobmike]

Teddy did not pay much attention to the man as they passed. Calen had managed to keep the attention firmly on himself with his shitty jokes. "Come on. Focus, Calen. Don't joke about this right now." Teddy said, Calen's comments obviously getting to him.

Pushing through to the next room, Teddy quickly found the massive door in the middle of the room. It was rather hard to miss it, after all. "This thing looks heavy as hell. Help me try to lift it, we'll see if its locked that way." he said, circling around the door and examining it. The wheel lock did give them a point to grab onto for leverage, so it was slightly less daunting than initially thought.