nexus_crossings | (no subject)

(no subject)

There is a large orange tabby cat exploring around the Nexus. He seems to be looking for someone in particular. Now, that in itself is not unusual.

However, this particular tabby cat is wearing a make-shift holster around his belly and there seems to be a Starfleet phaser encased in the holster. Only the top of the phaser is visible to the eye... but it looks covered with soot.

The cat is also being followed by a glowing blue light very closely.

After a few moments of being frustrated of not seeing anyone's face, from where he is on the ground... the orange tabby cat jumps his way up a few different Nexus fixtures, until he is higher up. He stares around the Nexus and makes a soft meowing sound. Almost questioning.

Anyone care to try to answer his question.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

It is Madam Poppy Pomfrey who Adia approaches.

"Excellent." She takes one from the bunch that Adia is carrying. "These look perfect."

"Could you put one at the end of each bed? Please." There are a dozen beds in the infirmary. Each one currently holds a patient.

The officer's own chin is drawn downward against his person, deep in thought. Every now and again he taps his fingers against it from where he's got his arms folded in front of him while he scans the shelves.

It's been half a decade since he's needed to know his aromatherapy and he wracks his brain while he rattles off the list of things he remembers. Which demons reacted to which blends. Was there one that contained patchouli?

Tap. Tap tap. Murmur.

Ah. That's right. There were rain spirits that enjoyed the musky-sweet scent. Earthy like the smell of fresh soil but much more pleasant. It went well with vanilla if he recalls...Katsuya makes a small sound of satisfaction as he plucks the bottle from the shelf and holds it in his palm so that the label catches the light.

One down.

Crookshanks' meowing draws him out of his reverie and he hurries back over to the other side of the counter. The ginger cat is sitting proudly next to a similar small bottle with his wee chest puffed out and Katsuya nods quickly before picking it up as well.

"What a clever cat you are." His Japanese accent slips in a bit thicker with the soft murmur before he remembers himself and holds out the bottle of Patchouli.

"I've no idea how much of each she needs so I'll purchase both of the bottles whole. Just a moment."

He's off to ask the clerk which type of currency is accepted here so he can convert his own at a small machine just outside of the store before coming back in to pay for both bottles. They're each wrapped in thick paper to protect them from being jostled and nestled into a plastic bag that Katsuya gratefully accepts before coming back to fetch Crookshanks.

Crookshanks sits proudly, waiting for Katsuya to come back. They make a good team. They have two of the ingredients that his witch needs to be rescued.

When Katsuya returns, he jumps down to the ground, and looks up at his friend. Then meows as if asking a question. What is their next step?

The closer the pair get to the windows, the more strange scents Crookshanks is going to be subjected to. The faintly metallic scent Nekomata gives off is stronger in here along with mingling smells notable for other demons. Some musky, others sharp and crisp like a fresh spring rain.

The scents are fresh. Nekomata's lead them right into a demon nest.

She lands soundlessly on one of the rafters underneath the high industrial ceiling and prowls along carefully. Her golden eyes glow softly in the dark of this place.

"Keep an eye out for a snake-lady, nya. I don't smell any close by." Her whisper is laced with a quiet hiss.

Crookshanks has to wonder how one can pick out one scent, when there is so many interesting smells to investigate. He has to concentrate. And as much as he hates snakes, Crookshanks is willing to face anything to save his witch.

He moves onto one of the rafters, to prowl behind Nekomata. His whiskers twitch, as he surveys his surroundings.

She's taken aback a bit by the old-fashioned dress of the woman in front of her, but then again, almost every other adult in the room is wearing wizard robes. She hopes she doesn't stick out too much in her street clothes.

Nodding at the request, she travels down the line of beds, placing a potion bottle at the end of each one. She tries not to stare at any of the patients, but she does sneak curious looks as she goes about her task.

Most of the students who lay in the infirmary appear to be around Hermione's age. It could be safely assumed only older, trained wizards have been battling today.

Adia is approached by a dignified wizard, with a lightning scar on his forehead. "You must be one of Hermione's new friends."

It's something of a relief that none of the students are children. She's seen enough of that elsewhere. She still feels sorry that they're caught up in a battle that should have ended with the death of the evil wizard Hermione told her about.

She's putting down the last of bottles when she turns at the sound of Harry's voice. She has never heard of the Boy who Lived, either through reading another world's fiction or knowing much about his world's history, so he gets a polite smile, but one that lacks recognition. "Yes, we're friends." She offers him a hand. "My name's Adia Costas. I helped Hermione get a few items she needed for a shielding spell, and then she sent me up here. I don't know any magic, but is there anything else I can do to help? I've done a lot of medical volunteering."

"Harry Potter." It is a strange thing for him to have to introduce himself. And he studies Adia carefully for a moment. He has met other Nexus friends of Hermione's... and is assuming that must be the case for Adia.

"Do you know First Aid?" Harry asks.

It does seem a safe assumption to make that Adia is from the Nexus. She's dressed like a muggle, but doesn't seem alarmed or overwhelmed by the magic around her. And there's no reaction to his name, aside from her smile.

"I know first aid," she confirms. "And triage." At the very least, she's another set of hands.

Far below the pair of hunters a cluster of fairies are huddled close to a high pixie as the larger fae tells stories to her little sisters under the sway of the lights above. What looks to be a floating jack-o-lanturn in a cape sits next to them, accompanied by a snowman in a blue jester's hat. They giggle along with the stories.

Nekomata hops to an adjacent rafter, eyes narrowed and tails curled low against her as she creeps along. She's caught scent of the lamia's musk. Far below in a corner there's a woman with a serpent's body curled up on herself taking a rest. A quiet growl burbles through the demon's chest when she catches sight and Nekomata coils up on the edge of the rafter before launching herself down.

This is Dangerous.

The lamia is nearly twice Neko's size and resistant to her charms. But she has surprise on her side and claws sharp enough to take a chunk out of a steel girder. She's already on the demon's back, fangs sinking into her neck when the lamia wakes with an ear piercing shriek that shatters a nearby window. A powerful thrash of the serpent's tail send Neko hurtling through one of several large crates though when she follows it up with a crash of lightning magic Nekomata is nowhere to be seen.

The demon is busy bolting for an exit, blood trickling from her mouth and off the end of her claws. A single scale is clutched tight against her fluffy chest as she heaves for breath.

Katsuya smiles down at the cat and holds the door for him once again before they're back out in the streets of the Nexus.

"Paper should be easy enough to find. Does it have to be a specific type?" Heck, the bottles are already wrapped in some, though that being craft paper may not be what his witch is looking for.

"But the basilisk scale..." He sighs heavily. "I don't even know where to begin with that."

"Oh good. We are limited in the amount of magical healing spells we want to use at this time. So if you could take a look around, and assess who needs the most care first, that would be greatly appreciated." Harry replies.

Crookshanks meows. How can he help?

Crookshanks is worried about the well-being of his new-found friend. But he knows how important that scale is. So he leaps down from his perch, onto the shoulder of the lamia. He moves quickly down her body, avoiding it when she tries to throw him off her body. It is in that moment that he is able to secure the scale in his mouth, and bolt away before getting into any more trouble.

He heads towards the crates, trying to sniff out Neko, knowing that it is important to make a strategic retreat right now.

Crookshanks shakes his head at the first question. The paper doesn't have to be a specific type. He is confident that they can easily find that item.

He sits for a second, twitching his whiskers for a moment. Then meows at Katsuya, leading him down the Nexus streets. He seems to be in hunting mode, sniffing every now and then, stopping and changing his direction. But he keeps an eye on Katsuya to make sure that his new-found friend is still following.

He soon reaches an area of the Nexus that has several shops that specialize in magical ingredients and spell components. He is sure they will find what they need here.

That's a surprise. But maybe magic has its limits here. She'll have to ask Hermione about it some other time.

"No problem," she says. She looks down when Crookshanks meows and smiles fondly. She hopes Harry has a job for him, too, but if not, he could keep Adia company while she navigates the infirmary.

It would have been more appropriate for Harry to mention that all the wizards who have healing magic training are also the ones with Defense Against the Dark Arts Training, thus they will be on the battle field.

"You watch everything here Crookshanks. You know the emergency procedures in case anything happens." Harry gently gives Crookshanks a friendly pet, before heading out of the infirmary and back to where he is most needed.

So long as she can help in some way, that's all that matters to her.

She spares a moment to watch Harry leave in the infirmary. He must be a good friend of Hermione's, to be so familiar with Crookshanks. She gives the tabby another look, reluctant to part ways. He's the only one that she knows here. Still, she has a job to do, and so does he. With a determined nod, she goes back to checking on the patients and determining what sort of medical treatment they need.

"Over here mya.."

It's a whisper, quiet enough that even Crookshanks' magnificent hearing would have trouble picking up on it right away. Nekomata beckons with a bloody claw and leads the pair of them out a side door before the blood in the air starts a frenzy among the demons. They don't want to stick around inside after all of that.

The demon is wiping at her mouth, looking a little roughed up but ultimately no worse for the wear.

"Ya get it?"

"A roll of paper, she said. Well. Here look."

He tips the bag down toward Crookshanks so that he may see the bottles wrapped generously in craft paper.

"We've got that handled too then."

He's going to have to rely on the cat to lead them to wherever they're going to obtain a basilisk scale, however. The officer is used to following others and will be able to keep up fairly easily. Murmuring politely as he slips in between people brushing past and keeping the orange cat in sight at all times.

Ah.

Katsuya has never been to this part of the shopping district before. As the least magically inclined of his group of Persona users he'd never had much of a need for it. But he recognizes spell component shops when he sees them and gives a determined nod before leading them inside a dimly lit and slightly dusty shop.

Crookshanks loves the scent of paper. He is very much at home in his witch's library. And he does put a paw on the bag, when Katsuya tips it down for him to inspect. Then nods as if satisfied.

Once they are in the magical district, Crookshanks feels very at home here. He enters the shop with Katsuya, sniffing around again. His whiskers twitch. Then he meows and heads towards a secluded corner of the shop, that seems to hold the elite and rare magical spell items. He can smell a Basilik nearby, so there must be a scale here.

Crookshanks follows Nekomata out the side door, until they are in a safer spot. He looks over Neko with concern.

But then places the scale on the ground. And meows, puffing his chest out. Their plan worked. They can help his witch!

Crookshanks is not going anywhere. He can watch over the infirmary, and stay close to Adia at the same time.

And the time caring for those injured take a few hours. But with Adia's knowledge, everyone gets the care that they need.

It is close to nightfall when Harry and Hermione return to the infirmary. They both look like they were through a long, worn-out battle, but are finally able to rest.

It's not too different from working triage on the Fleet; Adia treats each patient with professionalism and care, deferring to Madame Pomfrey if it's an injury that is too complicated or magical for her to handle. Still, she appreciates the fact that Crookshanks is never to far from her. It reminds her a little of Bucky, who likes to keep an eye on her when she's in the Nexus.

Keeping herself busy in the infirmary, it's almost a surprise when Hermione and Harry return. Has it really been a few hours? It feels like she only just ran into Crookshanks in the Nexus. "How did it go?" she asks, relieved to see them both but anxious about the outcome. "Is the battle over?"

"Dyon't worry about me, occupational hazard. I knew what I was gettin' into when I agreed to hunt a demon mya."

There's not exactly much in the way of loyalty for these creatures to one another as is and Nekomata is an outcast to boot who has chosen to work with humans. There's no guilt about attacking the lamia, just a profound gratitude that Crookshanks has the scale so they can get out of this world and back to the Nexus.

She'll lead the cat back to the door and hold it open for him.

"Come on, mya."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 7 of 8