Natural order [w/ Abel]

It had been quite some time since the boss had asked Abel to stay for overtime. This time, it was because he had needed an extra set of hands to help set up a display piece that was going to be in the general store for the next week or so. It wasn't even that late, so for the most part, the streets were pretty full. Of course, now that Abel actually knew what signature correlated to hollows..he found himself sick to his stomach. His senses weren't that strong, but he sensed at least three Hollows within about a mile. Their malefic energy usually made him feel slightly when he was up close with them. But from this distance, it was fine. There was an unmistakable air of dread hanging throughout the town. It made Abel sigh as he shoved his hands into the pockets of the thin jacket he wore to carry his wallet and..other things.

One of those other things was a knife. Technically, they were illegal to be carrying. They classified as a weapon. But that hadn't stopped him from buying a bunch of them from various pawn shops. The one he was carrying now was rather large, as pocketknives went. Even given the blade's size of about six inches, it was very obviously meant more as a tool than a weapon. But that didn't matter now. As he walked the all too familiar path back towards his own home, he kept an eye out for anything that was nearing him. For a while, everything was fairly normal. The traces he could sense of hollows were all distant, and nothing seemed to really notice him. After about five or six minutes of walking though, he sensed something..familiar. He had forgotten what Fionn had actually called himself, but it was a familiar feeling of just..purity. It was different from humans, and distinctly different from what Fullbringers supposedly felt like, in terms of their energy signature.

He couldn't make out any particular details..but there was one thing that felt very familiar. The power gap. It was..lo and behold, about twice as potent as the signature he himself exuded. Well..it wasn't like he had anything else to do. And it was very likely that it was Fionn. After all, he knew little about the man, but understood that due to the nature of his powers, he had a completely random daily schedule. So, Abel took a left turn, heading away from the usual route he took in lieu of tracking down this mysterious signature he had detected.

As he got closer, things began to feel more clear, and he was able to sense something different. An inherent aura of silence clouded the air, mixing with that inherent tension that came from the presence of so many potential enemies. It almost felt like that air of silence whenever a dangerous predator reared its head. Eventually, he came to a crossroads..and watched as a woman sliced the head clean off of what appeared to be a spirit. He hadn't had time to actually see how it had been done, but he caught the hint of a blue light that was scattering throughout the air. As the spirit dispersed into mere particles, Abel felt a chill creep up his spine, and he felt his dominant hand clutch the knife in his pocket.

However, he did end up following a fair distance behind this green haired woman. She had killed a soul. He didn't know what her reasoning behind it was, but it had happened. After she sat down, he walked right past her, paying for a can of coffee for himself. As the cash went into the machine, Abel finally spoke up. "I saw what you did." He said as the can of coffee collided with the bottom of the vending machine. He picked it up and popped the tab, the can loudly cracking open as he took a sip from it. He said nothing else, as he was merely waiting for her reaction now.

WC: 674

"I saw what you did."

Those words sent a chill down Cressida's neck as her eyes drifted over to the machine with dread. "Damn, I lost track of focus. Get back on the horse Cress!" Feeling her senses catch up with her, she sensed reiatsu nearby before hearing the crack of a can. She knew she was in potential trouble as someone with that reiatsu, even if he was the bare minimum, could see spirits. Anyone that can see spirits would be able to witness the horrid deed that Cressida had done. Her gaze drifted over to the man as she didn't bother to tremble any further, she had no reason to fear him as long as he was willing to learn or already understands the truth.

Cressida was taking a moment to collect herself as she figured there was no point in running, despite being able to escape. She spent the night searching for someone who can potentially give her answers, and one came to her, even though he just witnessed something brutal. Her eyes scanned the figure, she assumed him to be younger than her by a few years, and slightly shorter. She guessed he was not a happy fellow given his tone, but also factoring in he witnessed her decapitate the spirit of a child that could be make most angry. However she tried to sense anger, but could only feel a cold, emotionless tone. A line of that that worried her was that he was in his mind some sort of judge, jury, and executioner. She didn't want to harm him, but that might be hard to prove given the situation she found herself deep in.

She gulped down half her water bottle before answering the man, wondering what words to even say. Her eyes were full of remorse as she looked at his eyes, hoping that he would at least listen to her plea. "He was on the verge of hollowfication, what I did was not right, but so was letting him go through the process of turning into a monster. That kind of trauma would leave him with endless struggle on the slight chance he could be saved. I couldn't look as I, ended his suffering. He must have died in a hollow attack as he said a monster killed him and his family."

Cressida noted the pause near the end, she couldn't bring herself to think of what that child's parents would think. She wiped his soul from existence to stop him from becoming a monster. True, she saved him from that fate, but for all she knew he could either end up eaten by another hollow or even saved by a shinigami.

Feeling the guilt pass as she confessed, she decided it was best to let the young man decide if he wanted to proceed with this line of thought, change it, or leave. Hoping the result would not be a fight.

WC 490
TWC 959

Interesting. It took this woman a few moments to actually register what he had said. She must have been truly caught up in her own little world. However, what was truly interesting was the reaction she had to her own actions. Remorse filled her eyes. Deep down inside, seeing that reminded Abel of his Father, who always apologized for smacking Abel around on the occasional time where he wasn't either drunk or in the process of getting drunk. That once a month thing where he tried to change his ways, but ended up falling back down the rabbit hole again. It instinctively disgusted him. However, his expression didn't change, and his eyes remained rather blank, even as they were hidden in the contrast of the light behind him, and the dim light surrounding this woman. As she spoke, he continued to drink from his can of coffee, pondering what she had told him.

It was intriguing. Fionn had explained to him the names of the different races. He explained the monstrous nature of Hollows, the self-imposed 'duty' of the Quincy..but that was it. He had no explanation for what Fullbringers were, nor did he explain what the Shinigami were, past what Abel already knew about them from legends and stories. Still, the pause that she left at the end was extended for what would seem like an eternity to her as Abel finished his drink. "Interesting. I knew that hollows existed..but not where they came from." He said as a faint green light came from the can he was holding, causing it to fold in upon itself with the telltale sound of crunching aluminum being crushed. That simple glimpse of light coming from his hand would have been enough to give this woman a look at his face. His expression was almost unnervingly blank.

"But perhaps the more interesting aspect of this is the fact that you seem to think I would be capable of dealing with someone who is twice as strong as me, and dozens of times more informed about this aspect of the world than I am." He said as he dropped the now crushed can into a nearby recycling bin. "Your begging for forgiveness is unneeded. I understand when I am out of my depth. This is one of those situations." He said as he pushed his glasses up a little more, his fingers proving to be surprisingly slender. Was he possibly a Quincy as well? No..there was a definite sign of taint in his spiritual energy. But perhaps she would not notice that. Perhaps her focus would be more drawn onto his tone. It was..calm. Very nearly apathetic, even.

But how? He had seen her murder what was very obviously the soul of a child. Truthfully, he was wary of that explanation. But, logic was warring against his own belief that people were never as kind as they liked to believe they were. Hollows had to come from somewhere, after all. Who was he to say that it wasn't similar to the idea of a spirit turning malevolent? After all..he had seen enough spirits to understand that time in this world was not exactly healthy for them. He laid one of his arms across his chest, the elbow of his dominant hand laid atop his off hand as he lifted his arm, pointing lazily at her.

"Besides. Even if I did deign to fight you, I have no understanding of the powers of a Quincy, or how they work. There are too many unknowns in this situation for it to be worth going into it guns blazing." He said before finally falling silent, his tone still as neutral as ever, along with his expression matching it. He was an interesting subject, certainly. Many people would have been polarized by the actions they witnessed. So, why was he seemingly so okay with it? Even logic could be overrode by strong enough emotions.

WC: 660

TWC: 1334