Plotlogs
Sacrifices In Vain Sr Lanaeis 250419
In a cozy apartment with walls painted deep plum and furnished with a mix of vintage and modern pieces, the story unfolds on a grey, partly cloudy morning. Loralia, trapped inside a high-tech prison, is desperately trying to escape her eerie captor, referred to only by the ominous slurping sounds he makes while communicating through a microphone. Her attempts to use the room—including a box with a mysterious, moving cloth bundle that releases a swarm of scorpions—are frantic but thoughtful. Among the chaos, she glimpses a possible escape code stuck to a scorpion, but remains trapped as her frantic efforts at the door's keypad fail.
Meanwhile, Ritsuka receives a mysterious note urging her to rescue Loralia from the clutches of Dr. Arthur Kalklas. The note guides her to a dilapidated warehouse concealed within a forest, a sharp contrast to her previously mundane clinic visitations. Transforming into a Kitsune, Ritsuka dashes through the forest, her determination marked by the protective ward shimmering around her.
As the situation in the room grows more dire with the emergence of deadly, mutated dogs from their cages, Loralia's plight seems hopeless. Her cleverness shines as she uses one of the cages to kill a scorpion, obtaining a piece of paper from its corpse possibly bearing the escape code. However, her situation remains grim with the imminent threat of the dogs ready to pounce.
Simultaneously, Ritsuka infiltrates the warehouse and faces off against the towering, horrific figure of Dr. Kalklas. Despite his might and resilience to injury, Ritsuka's ferocity and supernatural abilities overpower him. In a stunning finale, she sinks her teeth into his spine, ensuring his demise with a decisive snap. Her actions not only free Loralia indirectly by finding the controls to unlock her prison on Kalklas's computer but also enact a twisted form of justice by incinerating Kalklas's body.
In the aftermath, amidst the destruction and eerie silence of the now-empty warehouse, Ritsuka's discovery of a torn birthday card reveals a twisted backstory of familial betrayal—Kalklas murdered his own daughter, Emma, whose memory he briefly recalled with a mix of remorse and madness before meeting his end.
As Ritsuka slips away unseen, Loralia, now free, collects her possessions, left untouched by the ordeal. She exits the warehouse, leaving behind the mangled remains of her would-be tormentors. Unbeknownst to her, Ritsuka, the mysterious savior who turned the tide, vanishes into the storm, her laughter echoing as a haunting reminder of the cost of vengeance and the errant paths of justice in their dark world.
(Sacrifices In Vain(SRLanaeis):SRLanaeis)
[Fri Apr 18 2025]
In a Cozy Apartment, Living room
The walls of this room are a deep plum, with LED recessed lights installed along the ivory ceiling. An indigo and rose rug ankers the tiled floor, with a plush sofa upholstered in deep purple cushions. A square oak coffee table with beveled edges sits in front of the sofa, while a vintage red recliner and sling chair are set at opposite sides. A black steel shelving unit lines the wall to the right, equipped with a variety of comics and the rare novel. A flat screen TV is mounted above a console, while large windows diffuse the light through soft jet curtains.
It is morning, about 59F(15C) degrees, and the sky is partly covered by grey clouds.
As Loralia wiggles, the zip ties don't resist. In fact, they immediately snap with a light popping sound. "Rules pretty birdie? Why, there are no rules! That would ruin the game!" To Loralia's dismay, as her hand goes for her katar, she finds nothing. In fact, she has nothing aside from her clothing, and, as Loralia notices now, that's not even hers! Its a simple white shift, barely covering her body at all. As Loralia looks around, she can get a better feel of the room. Unfortunately, the second impression is just as bleak as the first. All that is here are the abandoned zip ties, the box, and Loralia herself. There is a slight rustle from the speaker, and then a slurping sound, follow by a clink of a glass mug being set down again, then a satisfied "Ahhh." "Delicious. Now! Where were we little pretty bird? Oh! Rules! Well, the first rule is..." A long pause, the shuffling of papers, then grumbling begins. "Where are the rules... rules... blueprint for bombs... plans for town hall... oh! My daughter 'did' send me a birthday card! I shouldn't have killed her then maybe... Oh well!" The sound of ripping paper and then a "Omfffmf." As the paper is apparently shoved into the thing's mouth. How disgusting. An audible gulp, then again, shuffle shuffle shuffle. "Where the Hell... Fuck this!" Then there's a loud bang and the shattering of glass, followed by a scream of primal rage and the clatter of the microphone being knocked over, followed by the sound of metal caving in under the force of something... did he just punch through a wall?! Several more sounds follow, before footsteps charge the mic and it goes silent with a click... apparently Loralia's captor is busy, for now...
As for Ritsuka. A scruffy looking man sprints up to Ritsuka through the wind, his eyes eerily blank as he hands her a paper, before running off, slipping in a puddle as he goes. Unfolding the paper, she would find the following: Name: Loralia. Gender: Female. Below is a map of the forest, with a marker somewhere to the west. Below is a note: Miss Ritsuka. I have been alerted that this Blood Kin has been abducted by one Doctor Arthur Kalklas. I cannot attend to it, unfortunately. Marcus will deliver this note to you. Please. Do what you can, if you have the time. -L. Back to Loralia. The room seems completely solid, the keypad set into the wall. It appears to be a simple code based machine, with no screen and only the numbers 1 through 0, with a bright red CLEAR and a blue SEND button flanking the 0. Loralia can fashion a makeshift rope, perhaps, but there isn't much it could be used for. The lights above continue to drone, and so far, there is no sound from the speaker. The lunatic seems... preoccupied, at the moment. In fact, Loralia can actually hear screams of fury and the sound of metal tearing from the other side of one wall. Anger issues, much?
Ritsuka rolls her eyes when she sees the paper, stretches out, which leads to the wind pushing her along and then making her way, on foot for now, towards the forest, likely northbound as she was just at the clinic doing her visitations. Once past the apartments, she takes a second look over the paper to memorize it, stuffs it into her satchel and... shifts. Starting to sprint into the direction of what was marked down.
"Sheesh." Loralia says with an exhale, shooting an incredulous glance to the wall. "Note to self. get out of here, and pay someone to set this shindig on fire." that settled, she returns to the keypad. The idea is to test several combinations, as glib as Loralia is, there's a sense of ergency to the various 4 combination codes that are inputted into the keypad.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) The wind whips against Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s fur as she sprints off, rain pelting down and glancing off the protective ward over Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s pelt. Trees blur past, little more then shadows as she passes. The location marked on the map isn't terribly far, just a ways into the forest in fact. Paws pounding the earth, Ritsuka(Kitsune) can soon see the warehouse which is at the exact place on the map in Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s mind. The building is delapidated, crumbling slowly as nature reclaims the area. Out front, a blank white van is parked just by a hole that appears to have been torn directly into the wall of the warehouse. How anyone could live in this place is unclear, but... it appears the note was right. Someone is here. Loralia Loralia is familiar with technology, that much is true. But this? While shitty in appearance, this is very high grade technology. After a few moments, a red light flashes above the door and stays, where as it had been flashing briefly with every failed attempt. Any more attempts after the third are useless, as the red light stays on. The microphone is still silent, but the screaming is slowly quieting, the ripping of metal becoming less and less frenzied, before finally, it stops. Click... buzz... "Well then pretty bird, have you... What are you doing over there now? I told you, my little birdie, the box. The box!!!" The voice is out of breath, but at the last two words, it rises to an enraged shriek, which Ritsuka(Kitsune) can actually make out as a wordless, distant scream. "Now pretty birdie. Your a very boring one aren't you? Maybe I need to spice things up a little, hehehe. Lets see..." Click click clack clack... typing is heard through the microphone, before two slits open in the top of the ceiling, invisible before as they open into small holes. From them, two cages on chains are lowered into the room. Inside are a pair of... what are those? They look like dogs, but they are hairless, with spiky shells on their backs, and dripping fangs in open, slavering maws. A trio of horns protrude from their heads, and twin tails wag energetically behind them as they claw at the cages with wicked claws... and the bars begin to bend... The chains detach from whatever was holding them, and the holes snap shut, before the raspy voice returns. "Good boys aren't they? Dingo and bingo I call them. They're my favorite pets! Do you want to know why?" There is a half second pause, before he goes on anyway. "Because they love human flesh! Hahahaha! They love ripping into it and devouring everything! Just like me hehehe. Now. You need to escape pretty birdie. Or Bingo and Dingo will be having a delicious birdie meal!" Click. And the mic is silent again... for now.
people, she can deal with, bravato, easy charm, whatever. Animals though fuck no no no no. the panic however, is kept in control, as jinjorly, Loralia leans down to open the box. worst case scenareo, and if she were extremely lucky, one of the cages, or the chain could be used to force the door open. another route would be to encourage her capter's desires, push him to lower his guard, but distance proves Loralia's enemy this time.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) circles the van a few times before deciding that she would pounce against one or two of the rocks at the opening to slide her way through between what wall remains and the van. Her vision in the dark is very good, though her perception is far from fantastic in this form, but the point was to hurry over, to not waste time. She sniffs around, not that her nose can notice much, but she searches, looks, for the way that will lead further in.
Loralia The 'dogs' growling in their cages is growing louder and louder as Loralia kneels. The box, when opened, reveals a folded up cloth bundle. And... is it moving? Ever so slightly. Twitch. Twitch. A bulge, then back to twitching. Something is in there... and it wants out. The sound of claws on metal, and the faint popping as it continues to bend sounds from both cages, a loud "Arf!" Sounding from one as the creature inside rips through one bar, sticking its claw out briefly to scratch a deep furrow into the concrete... Ritsuka(Kitsune) Slipping through the wall, Ritsuka(Kitsune) finds herself in a long hallway. At one end stands a large, metal door. At the other end, it opens out into what might have been a loading bay once. Ritsuka(Kitsune) can very faintly smell the foul stench of sweat and blood. It leads to the door, then back the other way to the loading bay. Leading to the door is also the faint smell of someone else... a strange, unfamiliar scent if Ritsuka(Kitsune) has never met Loralia before.
"Fuck." cursing, Loralia darts out of the claw's reach, the woman taking a chance in unwrapping the bundle. she avoids corners as much as she can, given if a cage actually broke, the center would provide her with the most mobility.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) walks around the door, and then opens a leg to pee at the door. What else could a fox, even more, a kitsune be doing here other than mark territory it does not care about? The leg lowers whenever done, and she walks more around the door, trying to see how it is constructed. See if the hinges are outside so she can smash them and make the door topple over with inhuman strength. The plan is to bruteforce the way in, either in this form or shifting back to use her foxfire to see if she can melt the steel.
Loralia As the bundle unrolls, the sack, for that is what it is, is suddenly torn open, spilling out little creatures. Scorpions. They begin scampering around Loralia's bare feet, before disappearing towards the walls. They blend in perfectly with the concrete. But, as one left out of the four, Loralia could just barely catch the sight of something stuck to its carapace, barely, by catching what looks like numbers on a piece of paper, before they've scrambled along the walls. The code for the door? Maybe... The claws are not near Loralia yet, as the cages are in the northwest and southeast corners of the room, and the 'dogs' still have a bit before they will escape. They are rattling the cages violently, however, eager to get free to dig into the human morsel that stands in the middle of the room... Ritsuka(Kitsune) Territory marked, and bladder emptied, Ritsuka(Kitsune) can now inspect her new door. Its made of some of the best metal she's seen. While the hinges are on the outside, Ritsuka(Kitsune) doubts that even her incredible strength could remove it. On this side, there is a keypad as well. As Ritsuka(Kitsune) is studying the door, her foxen ears catch something. "... Pretty birdie... Oh pretty birdie... Good little bird. Scramble around in your little cage, hehehe..." The voice is raspy, coming from far off in the direction of the loading bay... From behind the door, though, Ritsuka(Kitsune) can very faintly hear scrambling, growling, and a feminine voice cursing.
catches those numbers, before she springs for the door, frantically entering the code from memory. one eye is kept on the dog creatures however, while she waits for that infernal light to go green already. If survival weren't the question, she would retort to her capter, but for now, the door takes priority, as much as it burns for Loralia to let the gloating pass.
Ritsuka turns herself back into her human form, her feet were a little lighter like that, easier to stealth her way through as she begins to move towards the loading bay. There was no weapon in her hands, a hidden wakizashi, but why would she need that as she tries to prowl for whomever it is that is speaking. Seems that one will be the most suitable choice to torture and hurt today for being called out all this way. If she is red, maybe she can scratch an eye out before she allows him to run- only to find that there shall be no escape when that last spark of hope diminishes.
Ritsuka misses anything after her last post.
Loralia Unfortunately, SRLanaeis only got a glimpse of the note, just enough to know it had numbers, not to actually view the numbers. The red light has, however, begun to dimm, fading slowly. The dogs, and now the scorpions, have begun to make a scrambling clamor, and as Loralia approaches the keypad, a stinger thrusts out from nowhere on the wall, barely missing Loralia's fingers. Clatter, click click. Tiny legs and rattling metal form a strange, rattling rhythm that almost sounds like a song. A very morbid one, but still... Ritsuka Moving quietly towards the grumbling, SRLanaeis finds herself in a wide loading bay, empty save for a few piles of worthless scrap. Standing open on one wall is a shattered door, and standing inside, back to Ritsuka, is a tall, spindly figure, looming over a desk as he watches a screen displaying Loralia inside her room. A mic sits on the rickety desk by the computer, and the room is cluttered with surprisingly sophisticated technology. The walls, reinforced with steel, at complete odds with the crumbling exterior, have large, vicious rents in them. Whoever, or whatever, caused them must have terrible strength to cause such destruction... This figure is about seven feet tall, hunched as he is. Perhaps eight if he were fully upright. He stinks of sweat and blood, greasy hair falling to his shoulders in matted tangles. "Pretty birdie, pretty pretty birdie... Doctor will take care of you, yes he will... Good good care of you... He'll make you a beautiful little birdie... Oo!" His eyes brighten with excitement as Loralia barely avoids getting stung, red eyes flaring with excitement as he leans even closer, nose squashed against the screen as he fails to notice Ritsuka.
Loralia Unfortunately, Loralia only got a glimpse of the note, just enough to know it had numbers, not to actually view the numbers. The red light has, however, begun to dimm, fading slowly. The dogs, and now the scorpions, have begun to make a scrambling clamor, and as Loralia approaches the keypad, a stinger thrusts out from nowhere on the wall, barely missing Loralia's fingers. Clatter, click click. Tiny legs and rattling metal form a strange, rattling rhythm that almost sounds like a song. A very morbid one, but still... Ritsuka Moving quietly towards the grumbling, SRLanaeis finds herself in a wide loading bay, empty save for a few piles of worthless scrap. Standing open on one wall is a shattered door, and standing inside, back to Ritsuka, is a tall, spindly figure, looming over a desk as he watches a screen displaying Loralia inside her room. A mic sits on the rickety desk by the computer, and the room is cluttered with surprisingly sophisticated technology. The walls, reinforced with steel, at complete odds with the crumbling exterior, have large, vicious rents in them. Whoever, or whatever, caused them must have terrible strength to cause such destruction... This figure is about seven feet tall, hunched as he is. Perhaps eight if he were fully upright. He stinks of sweat and blood, greasy hair falling to his shoulders in matted tangles. "Pretty birdie, pretty pretty birdie... Doctor will take care of you, yes he will... Good good care of you... He'll make you a beautiful little birdie... Oo!" His eyes brighten with excitement as Loralia barely avoids getting stung, red eyes flaring with excitement as he leans even closer, nose squashed against the screen as he fails to notice Ritsuka. (fixed)
Loralia Unfortunately, Loralia only got a glimpse of the note, just enough to know it had numbers, not to actually view the numbers. The red light has, however, begun to dimm, fading slowly. The dogs, and now the scorpions, have begun to make a scrambling clamor, and as Loralia approaches the keypad, a stinger thrusts out from nowhere on the wall, barely missing Loralia's fingers. Clatter, click click. Tiny legs and rattling metal form a strange, rattling rhythm that almost sounds like a song. A very morbid one, but still... Ritsuka Moving quietly towards the grumbling, Ritsuka finds herself in a wide loading bay, empty save for a few piles of worthless scrap. Standing open on one wall is a shattered door, and standing inside, back to Ritsuka, is a tall, spindly figure, looming over a desk as he watches a screen displaying Loralia inside her room. A mic sits on the rickety desk by the computer, and the room is cluttered with surprisingly sophisticated technology. The walls, reinforced with steel, at complete odds with the crumbling exterior, have large, vicious rents in them. Whoever, or whatever, caused them must have terrible strength to cause such destruction... This figure is about seven feet tall, hunched as he is. Perhaps eight if he were fully upright. He stinks of sweat and blood, greasy hair falling to his shoulders in matted tangles. "Pretty birdie, pretty pretty birdie... Doctor will take care of you, yes he will... Good good care of you... He'll make you a beautiful little birdie... Oo!" His eyes brighten with excitement as Loralia barely avoids getting stung, red eyes flaring with excitement as he leans even closer, nose squashed against the screen as he fails to notice Ritsuka. (fixed)
Ritsuka needs to know one particular thing before she makes to move onto him. Is he surrounded by a faint red aura or is he not?
the numbers, those are what matter. for a few moments, Loralia tunes out the yapping of the dogs, the clacking of the scorpions, and the general clammer of her capter. fingers careful of the darting stingers, she frantically runs combinations upon the keyboard.
The man is surrounded by a red glow, indicating that he does not, in fact, have sanctuary.
There are dents and he is tall. Perhaps a werewolf. He is likely not as corrupt as she is, he would probably be more known if he was, but there was no need to be careless. She draws the wakizashi from its hidden sheath, starts to try to make her way over to him and to just outright slice his throat. Might as well make it be in the least dramatic way and rely on shifting if this proves to not work well at all, and so Ritsuka starts to tread forward.
Loralia Loralia's fingers blur over the keypad as she tries anything, everything she can. Buzz. Red light. Another. Buzz. Red light. A final try... buzz. Red light. And this time it stays. Three failed attempts again. The scorpions are scrambling around, and the dogs have begun to cause their cage bars to bulge outward, creaking ominously. At most, once the light fades again, Loralia will have time for one last trio of attempts before they are out of their cages. Ritsuka Creeping towards the hunched figure, Ritsuka is almost upon him when suddenly, something seems to alert him to her presence. Its not enough to save him from the slash, but it does prevent the wound from being exactly on target, instead cutting a deep gash into the shoulder as he spins with uncanny speed, straightening to his full eight feet. Glowing red eyes glare down at Ritsuka. "You! Who the Hell are you! Agh!" A hand rises to probe the gash, before a vicious smile exposes several rotting teeth. The wound is slowly closing, the healing rate on display truly astonishing. "A new pet! Hehehe! The Doctor will loooove playing with you, my pretty new toy!" A fist strikes out, cutting through the air with enough force to blow Ritsuka's hair back as she just dodges the blow. If that fist had hit her... Judging by the force, this thing is at least twice as strong as Ritsuka in raw physical might, possibly even more. The advantage is that he is unarmored and unarmed, at least it appears he is unarmed.
It does not help that much as Ritsuka(Kitsune) was also not exactly armored, only wielding a little blade, but that does not matter when she evades it, and black shadows begin to ripple around her. He may be healing, resisting pain right this moment, but the red eyes tell all she needs. There will be no holding back here, and she doesn't when her form finishes and the dark tide of her foxfire ripples along a slash of her clash against his upper arm, persisting on that particular wound. She will need to burn him later, hypernatural regeneration is a bitch, but regardless, that wound won't heal until she was done with him, and until then, might as well make it worse to incapacitate more. Each of her attacks also try to de-stabilize the ageless demonborn's stance and exhaust him as they come down to weight heavily.
out of options, and unwilling to take chances on luck, Loralia finds the weekest part of the chains, once located, she wraps the thing around one of her hands, making certain she has a secure grip. her own strength isn't much, but what she does has is momentom, as she angles the cage to swing as hard as possible against the wall. If the maneuver were to work, it would at the least remove one dog from her problem. she's alerted to the scuffle through the mic, yet isn't yet to the point where she doesn't believe that she can get out of this on her own.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) Claws slash into flesh, which provides a significant amount of resistance, surprisingly. The reply is another vicious blow, this one just barely stopped by Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s ward. Still, she is hurled across the room, crashing into the wall as the Demonborn cackles madly, wounds continuing to heal, though not fast enough. "Here foxy foxy! Be a good little fox now! Hehehe!" And indeed, in the scuffle the mic has been turned on, allowing everyone to hear one another. "I'll rip and tear and we'll have so much fun!" Lunging forward, Ritsuka(Kitsune) is able to avoid a blow that drills through the wall, creating yet another hole. Loralia As Loralia wraps her hand in the chain, the dog has stuck its head through the hole, its shell keeping it trapped as it snaps those teeth at Loralia's hand. Spinning the cage, there is a vicious Bang! accompanied by a light crunch. A scorpion, apparently caught by the cage, falls from the wall. As it hits the floor, broken and dead, a small piece of paper detaches, fluttering to the ground. The dog, whose ugly head had just had a very personal meeting with the wall, and apparently a stinger, has gone limp, black blood pouring from one eye socket. And impaled on the scorpion's tail? Yep, that's an eyeball.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) gets shunted across the room, but there is still that she is in her full armed combat-state while he was not. Her body curls around and lands with her paws against the wall and then pushes off, rapid fast as an angelborn back over towards the ageless demonborn, and he is dumb enough to bash a wall, only going to exhaust himself more as little paws now are felt over his back to bite for his neck. Her eyes glow viciously as adrenaline pumps its way through her blood. She had all that he had, too, even in sheer unarmed combat, striking or grappling, even unshited, she would likely be on to par.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) There is a tearing sound as teeth close on bone. Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s mouth is filled with the taste of blood, her teeth closing around the man's spine. This could have gone very differently had he been fully armed and armored, but as it is, he stiffens. "Little... little foxy..." As Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s weight comes down, adrenaline surging through her body to give that extra boost, his body goes limp with a ripping sound. The towering figure crumples, an expression of... betrayal? On his face. From the speakers on the computer, a bang catches Ritsuka(Kitsune), and if she were to look, she could see Loralia slam the cage against the wall.
Once the thing slumps to the ground, whatever expression of betrayal crosses him is not even noticed by Ritsuka, and she draws the flame of her being and begins to burn the body. There will be the day when she will do this to Hilaina, too. Her eyes draw over the monitors, to briefly see if a standard base user of computers and their software can figure out if there is a way to remotely open that door with the single free hand she has, her other occupied with burning someone, make sure there is no way for it to be returning.
Ritsuka The body is soon a burning pile of greasy clothing and bones, all that oil providing an excellent firestarter. Pulled up on the computer is a menu, a master control board of sorts for the technology in the building. It would take a few minutes, but eventually Ritsuka could find the controls for Loralia's door, allowing her to open it just as the light in Loralia's room fades back from red. On the desk, Ritsuka might also notice half of what appears to be a birthday card, torn violently in half, and signed "Happy birthday Dad! Love Emma." A half-heart is the end of where the card was torn in half.
Ritsuka sees the card, and then - snorts, and then falls into laughter. Great great laughter. Oh this is fantastic. Doctor stupid had a daughter and thought he'd get away with torturing someone to death, she could see the scorpions, she heard what he said - but there is also that the girl on the video was now likely also on her way out. She does not risk it, but the laughter was probably still heard all the same. Her form shifts again, and then it goes to look for the best way to quickly just make her way out from her, perhaps undetected by Loralia.
Indeed, Loralia would probably hear the laughter, but never see the culprit as Ritsuka(Kitsune) is able to slip away easily, vanishing back out into the storm. Packed into a small, neat stack in a box just outside the door where Loralia was kept, she will find her possessions all in perfect condition. The dog creature and scorpions are still in the room for now, but really, that's not much of Loralia's concern is it? She's free now, and Ritsuka(Kitsune) is on her way home. A job well done, if there ever was one.
Meanwhile, Ritsuka receives a mysterious note urging her to rescue Loralia from the clutches of Dr. Arthur Kalklas. The note guides her to a dilapidated warehouse concealed within a forest, a sharp contrast to her previously mundane clinic visitations. Transforming into a Kitsune, Ritsuka dashes through the forest, her determination marked by the protective ward shimmering around her.
As the situation in the room grows more dire with the emergence of deadly, mutated dogs from their cages, Loralia's plight seems hopeless. Her cleverness shines as she uses one of the cages to kill a scorpion, obtaining a piece of paper from its corpse possibly bearing the escape code. However, her situation remains grim with the imminent threat of the dogs ready to pounce.
Simultaneously, Ritsuka infiltrates the warehouse and faces off against the towering, horrific figure of Dr. Kalklas. Despite his might and resilience to injury, Ritsuka's ferocity and supernatural abilities overpower him. In a stunning finale, she sinks her teeth into his spine, ensuring his demise with a decisive snap. Her actions not only free Loralia indirectly by finding the controls to unlock her prison on Kalklas's computer but also enact a twisted form of justice by incinerating Kalklas's body.
In the aftermath, amidst the destruction and eerie silence of the now-empty warehouse, Ritsuka's discovery of a torn birthday card reveals a twisted backstory of familial betrayal—Kalklas murdered his own daughter, Emma, whose memory he briefly recalled with a mix of remorse and madness before meeting his end.
As Ritsuka slips away unseen, Loralia, now free, collects her possessions, left untouched by the ordeal. She exits the warehouse, leaving behind the mangled remains of her would-be tormentors. Unbeknownst to her, Ritsuka, the mysterious savior who turned the tide, vanishes into the storm, her laughter echoing as a haunting reminder of the cost of vengeance and the errant paths of justice in their dark world.
(Sacrifices In Vain(SRLanaeis):SRLanaeis)
[Fri Apr 18 2025]
In a Cozy Apartment, Living room
The walls of this room are a deep plum, with LED recessed lights installed along the ivory ceiling. An indigo and rose rug ankers the tiled floor, with a plush sofa upholstered in deep purple cushions. A square oak coffee table with beveled edges sits in front of the sofa, while a vintage red recliner and sling chair are set at opposite sides. A black steel shelving unit lines the wall to the right, equipped with a variety of comics and the rare novel. A flat screen TV is mounted above a console, while large windows diffuse the light through soft jet curtains.
It is morning, about 59F(15C) degrees, and the sky is partly covered by grey clouds.
As Loralia wiggles, the zip ties don't resist. In fact, they immediately snap with a light popping sound. "Rules pretty birdie? Why, there are no rules! That would ruin the game!" To Loralia's dismay, as her hand goes for her katar, she finds nothing. In fact, she has nothing aside from her clothing, and, as Loralia notices now, that's not even hers! Its a simple white shift, barely covering her body at all. As Loralia looks around, she can get a better feel of the room. Unfortunately, the second impression is just as bleak as the first. All that is here are the abandoned zip ties, the box, and Loralia herself. There is a slight rustle from the speaker, and then a slurping sound, follow by a clink of a glass mug being set down again, then a satisfied "Ahhh." "Delicious. Now! Where were we little pretty bird? Oh! Rules! Well, the first rule is..." A long pause, the shuffling of papers, then grumbling begins. "Where are the rules... rules... blueprint for bombs... plans for town hall... oh! My daughter 'did' send me a birthday card! I shouldn't have killed her then maybe... Oh well!" The sound of ripping paper and then a "Omfffmf." As the paper is apparently shoved into the thing's mouth. How disgusting. An audible gulp, then again, shuffle shuffle shuffle. "Where the Hell... Fuck this!" Then there's a loud bang and the shattering of glass, followed by a scream of primal rage and the clatter of the microphone being knocked over, followed by the sound of metal caving in under the force of something... did he just punch through a wall?! Several more sounds follow, before footsteps charge the mic and it goes silent with a click... apparently Loralia's captor is busy, for now...
As for Ritsuka. A scruffy looking man sprints up to Ritsuka through the wind, his eyes eerily blank as he hands her a paper, before running off, slipping in a puddle as he goes. Unfolding the paper, she would find the following: Name: Loralia. Gender: Female. Below is a map of the forest, with a marker somewhere to the west. Below is a note: Miss Ritsuka. I have been alerted that this Blood Kin has been abducted by one Doctor Arthur Kalklas. I cannot attend to it, unfortunately. Marcus will deliver this note to you. Please. Do what you can, if you have the time. -L. Back to Loralia. The room seems completely solid, the keypad set into the wall. It appears to be a simple code based machine, with no screen and only the numbers 1 through 0, with a bright red CLEAR and a blue SEND button flanking the 0. Loralia can fashion a makeshift rope, perhaps, but there isn't much it could be used for. The lights above continue to drone, and so far, there is no sound from the speaker. The lunatic seems... preoccupied, at the moment. In fact, Loralia can actually hear screams of fury and the sound of metal tearing from the other side of one wall. Anger issues, much?
Ritsuka rolls her eyes when she sees the paper, stretches out, which leads to the wind pushing her along and then making her way, on foot for now, towards the forest, likely northbound as she was just at the clinic doing her visitations. Once past the apartments, she takes a second look over the paper to memorize it, stuffs it into her satchel and... shifts. Starting to sprint into the direction of what was marked down.
"Sheesh." Loralia says with an exhale, shooting an incredulous glance to the wall. "Note to self. get out of here, and pay someone to set this shindig on fire." that settled, she returns to the keypad. The idea is to test several combinations, as glib as Loralia is, there's a sense of ergency to the various 4 combination codes that are inputted into the keypad.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) The wind whips against Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s fur as she sprints off, rain pelting down and glancing off the protective ward over Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s pelt. Trees blur past, little more then shadows as she passes. The location marked on the map isn't terribly far, just a ways into the forest in fact. Paws pounding the earth, Ritsuka(Kitsune) can soon see the warehouse which is at the exact place on the map in Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s mind. The building is delapidated, crumbling slowly as nature reclaims the area. Out front, a blank white van is parked just by a hole that appears to have been torn directly into the wall of the warehouse. How anyone could live in this place is unclear, but... it appears the note was right. Someone is here. Loralia Loralia is familiar with technology, that much is true. But this? While shitty in appearance, this is very high grade technology. After a few moments, a red light flashes above the door and stays, where as it had been flashing briefly with every failed attempt. Any more attempts after the third are useless, as the red light stays on. The microphone is still silent, but the screaming is slowly quieting, the ripping of metal becoming less and less frenzied, before finally, it stops. Click... buzz... "Well then pretty bird, have you... What are you doing over there now? I told you, my little birdie, the box. The box!!!" The voice is out of breath, but at the last two words, it rises to an enraged shriek, which Ritsuka(Kitsune) can actually make out as a wordless, distant scream. "Now pretty birdie. Your a very boring one aren't you? Maybe I need to spice things up a little, hehehe. Lets see..." Click click clack clack... typing is heard through the microphone, before two slits open in the top of the ceiling, invisible before as they open into small holes. From them, two cages on chains are lowered into the room. Inside are a pair of... what are those? They look like dogs, but they are hairless, with spiky shells on their backs, and dripping fangs in open, slavering maws. A trio of horns protrude from their heads, and twin tails wag energetically behind them as they claw at the cages with wicked claws... and the bars begin to bend... The chains detach from whatever was holding them, and the holes snap shut, before the raspy voice returns. "Good boys aren't they? Dingo and bingo I call them. They're my favorite pets! Do you want to know why?" There is a half second pause, before he goes on anyway. "Because they love human flesh! Hahahaha! They love ripping into it and devouring everything! Just like me hehehe. Now. You need to escape pretty birdie. Or Bingo and Dingo will be having a delicious birdie meal!" Click. And the mic is silent again... for now.
people, she can deal with, bravato, easy charm, whatever. Animals though fuck no no no no. the panic however, is kept in control, as jinjorly, Loralia leans down to open the box. worst case scenareo, and if she were extremely lucky, one of the cages, or the chain could be used to force the door open. another route would be to encourage her capter's desires, push him to lower his guard, but distance proves Loralia's enemy this time.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) circles the van a few times before deciding that she would pounce against one or two of the rocks at the opening to slide her way through between what wall remains and the van. Her vision in the dark is very good, though her perception is far from fantastic in this form, but the point was to hurry over, to not waste time. She sniffs around, not that her nose can notice much, but she searches, looks, for the way that will lead further in.
Loralia The 'dogs' growling in their cages is growing louder and louder as Loralia kneels. The box, when opened, reveals a folded up cloth bundle. And... is it moving? Ever so slightly. Twitch. Twitch. A bulge, then back to twitching. Something is in there... and it wants out. The sound of claws on metal, and the faint popping as it continues to bend sounds from both cages, a loud "Arf!" Sounding from one as the creature inside rips through one bar, sticking its claw out briefly to scratch a deep furrow into the concrete... Ritsuka(Kitsune) Slipping through the wall, Ritsuka(Kitsune) finds herself in a long hallway. At one end stands a large, metal door. At the other end, it opens out into what might have been a loading bay once. Ritsuka(Kitsune) can very faintly smell the foul stench of sweat and blood. It leads to the door, then back the other way to the loading bay. Leading to the door is also the faint smell of someone else... a strange, unfamiliar scent if Ritsuka(Kitsune) has never met Loralia before.
"Fuck." cursing, Loralia darts out of the claw's reach, the woman taking a chance in unwrapping the bundle. she avoids corners as much as she can, given if a cage actually broke, the center would provide her with the most mobility.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) walks around the door, and then opens a leg to pee at the door. What else could a fox, even more, a kitsune be doing here other than mark territory it does not care about? The leg lowers whenever done, and she walks more around the door, trying to see how it is constructed. See if the hinges are outside so she can smash them and make the door topple over with inhuman strength. The plan is to bruteforce the way in, either in this form or shifting back to use her foxfire to see if she can melt the steel.
Loralia As the bundle unrolls, the sack, for that is what it is, is suddenly torn open, spilling out little creatures. Scorpions. They begin scampering around Loralia's bare feet, before disappearing towards the walls. They blend in perfectly with the concrete. But, as one left out of the four, Loralia could just barely catch the sight of something stuck to its carapace, barely, by catching what looks like numbers on a piece of paper, before they've scrambled along the walls. The code for the door? Maybe... The claws are not near Loralia yet, as the cages are in the northwest and southeast corners of the room, and the 'dogs' still have a bit before they will escape. They are rattling the cages violently, however, eager to get free to dig into the human morsel that stands in the middle of the room... Ritsuka(Kitsune) Territory marked, and bladder emptied, Ritsuka(Kitsune) can now inspect her new door. Its made of some of the best metal she's seen. While the hinges are on the outside, Ritsuka(Kitsune) doubts that even her incredible strength could remove it. On this side, there is a keypad as well. As Ritsuka(Kitsune) is studying the door, her foxen ears catch something. "... Pretty birdie... Oh pretty birdie... Good little bird. Scramble around in your little cage, hehehe..." The voice is raspy, coming from far off in the direction of the loading bay... From behind the door, though, Ritsuka(Kitsune) can very faintly hear scrambling, growling, and a feminine voice cursing.
catches those numbers, before she springs for the door, frantically entering the code from memory. one eye is kept on the dog creatures however, while she waits for that infernal light to go green already. If survival weren't the question, she would retort to her capter, but for now, the door takes priority, as much as it burns for Loralia to let the gloating pass.
Ritsuka turns herself back into her human form, her feet were a little lighter like that, easier to stealth her way through as she begins to move towards the loading bay. There was no weapon in her hands, a hidden wakizashi, but why would she need that as she tries to prowl for whomever it is that is speaking. Seems that one will be the most suitable choice to torture and hurt today for being called out all this way. If she is red, maybe she can scratch an eye out before she allows him to run- only to find that there shall be no escape when that last spark of hope diminishes.
Ritsuka misses anything after her last post.
Loralia Unfortunately, SRLanaeis only got a glimpse of the note, just enough to know it had numbers, not to actually view the numbers. The red light has, however, begun to dimm, fading slowly. The dogs, and now the scorpions, have begun to make a scrambling clamor, and as Loralia approaches the keypad, a stinger thrusts out from nowhere on the wall, barely missing Loralia's fingers. Clatter, click click. Tiny legs and rattling metal form a strange, rattling rhythm that almost sounds like a song. A very morbid one, but still... Ritsuka Moving quietly towards the grumbling, SRLanaeis finds herself in a wide loading bay, empty save for a few piles of worthless scrap. Standing open on one wall is a shattered door, and standing inside, back to Ritsuka, is a tall, spindly figure, looming over a desk as he watches a screen displaying Loralia inside her room. A mic sits on the rickety desk by the computer, and the room is cluttered with surprisingly sophisticated technology. The walls, reinforced with steel, at complete odds with the crumbling exterior, have large, vicious rents in them. Whoever, or whatever, caused them must have terrible strength to cause such destruction... This figure is about seven feet tall, hunched as he is. Perhaps eight if he were fully upright. He stinks of sweat and blood, greasy hair falling to his shoulders in matted tangles. "Pretty birdie, pretty pretty birdie... Doctor will take care of you, yes he will... Good good care of you... He'll make you a beautiful little birdie... Oo!" His eyes brighten with excitement as Loralia barely avoids getting stung, red eyes flaring with excitement as he leans even closer, nose squashed against the screen as he fails to notice Ritsuka.
Loralia Unfortunately, Loralia only got a glimpse of the note, just enough to know it had numbers, not to actually view the numbers. The red light has, however, begun to dimm, fading slowly. The dogs, and now the scorpions, have begun to make a scrambling clamor, and as Loralia approaches the keypad, a stinger thrusts out from nowhere on the wall, barely missing Loralia's fingers. Clatter, click click. Tiny legs and rattling metal form a strange, rattling rhythm that almost sounds like a song. A very morbid one, but still... Ritsuka Moving quietly towards the grumbling, SRLanaeis finds herself in a wide loading bay, empty save for a few piles of worthless scrap. Standing open on one wall is a shattered door, and standing inside, back to Ritsuka, is a tall, spindly figure, looming over a desk as he watches a screen displaying Loralia inside her room. A mic sits on the rickety desk by the computer, and the room is cluttered with surprisingly sophisticated technology. The walls, reinforced with steel, at complete odds with the crumbling exterior, have large, vicious rents in them. Whoever, or whatever, caused them must have terrible strength to cause such destruction... This figure is about seven feet tall, hunched as he is. Perhaps eight if he were fully upright. He stinks of sweat and blood, greasy hair falling to his shoulders in matted tangles. "Pretty birdie, pretty pretty birdie... Doctor will take care of you, yes he will... Good good care of you... He'll make you a beautiful little birdie... Oo!" His eyes brighten with excitement as Loralia barely avoids getting stung, red eyes flaring with excitement as he leans even closer, nose squashed against the screen as he fails to notice Ritsuka. (fixed)
Loralia Unfortunately, Loralia only got a glimpse of the note, just enough to know it had numbers, not to actually view the numbers. The red light has, however, begun to dimm, fading slowly. The dogs, and now the scorpions, have begun to make a scrambling clamor, and as Loralia approaches the keypad, a stinger thrusts out from nowhere on the wall, barely missing Loralia's fingers. Clatter, click click. Tiny legs and rattling metal form a strange, rattling rhythm that almost sounds like a song. A very morbid one, but still... Ritsuka Moving quietly towards the grumbling, Ritsuka finds herself in a wide loading bay, empty save for a few piles of worthless scrap. Standing open on one wall is a shattered door, and standing inside, back to Ritsuka, is a tall, spindly figure, looming over a desk as he watches a screen displaying Loralia inside her room. A mic sits on the rickety desk by the computer, and the room is cluttered with surprisingly sophisticated technology. The walls, reinforced with steel, at complete odds with the crumbling exterior, have large, vicious rents in them. Whoever, or whatever, caused them must have terrible strength to cause such destruction... This figure is about seven feet tall, hunched as he is. Perhaps eight if he were fully upright. He stinks of sweat and blood, greasy hair falling to his shoulders in matted tangles. "Pretty birdie, pretty pretty birdie... Doctor will take care of you, yes he will... Good good care of you... He'll make you a beautiful little birdie... Oo!" His eyes brighten with excitement as Loralia barely avoids getting stung, red eyes flaring with excitement as he leans even closer, nose squashed against the screen as he fails to notice Ritsuka. (fixed)
Ritsuka needs to know one particular thing before she makes to move onto him. Is he surrounded by a faint red aura or is he not?
the numbers, those are what matter. for a few moments, Loralia tunes out the yapping of the dogs, the clacking of the scorpions, and the general clammer of her capter. fingers careful of the darting stingers, she frantically runs combinations upon the keyboard.
The man is surrounded by a red glow, indicating that he does not, in fact, have sanctuary.
There are dents and he is tall. Perhaps a werewolf. He is likely not as corrupt as she is, he would probably be more known if he was, but there was no need to be careless. She draws the wakizashi from its hidden sheath, starts to try to make her way over to him and to just outright slice his throat. Might as well make it be in the least dramatic way and rely on shifting if this proves to not work well at all, and so Ritsuka starts to tread forward.
Loralia Loralia's fingers blur over the keypad as she tries anything, everything she can. Buzz. Red light. Another. Buzz. Red light. A final try... buzz. Red light. And this time it stays. Three failed attempts again. The scorpions are scrambling around, and the dogs have begun to cause their cage bars to bulge outward, creaking ominously. At most, once the light fades again, Loralia will have time for one last trio of attempts before they are out of their cages. Ritsuka Creeping towards the hunched figure, Ritsuka is almost upon him when suddenly, something seems to alert him to her presence. Its not enough to save him from the slash, but it does prevent the wound from being exactly on target, instead cutting a deep gash into the shoulder as he spins with uncanny speed, straightening to his full eight feet. Glowing red eyes glare down at Ritsuka. "You! Who the Hell are you! Agh!" A hand rises to probe the gash, before a vicious smile exposes several rotting teeth. The wound is slowly closing, the healing rate on display truly astonishing. "A new pet! Hehehe! The Doctor will loooove playing with you, my pretty new toy!" A fist strikes out, cutting through the air with enough force to blow Ritsuka's hair back as she just dodges the blow. If that fist had hit her... Judging by the force, this thing is at least twice as strong as Ritsuka in raw physical might, possibly even more. The advantage is that he is unarmored and unarmed, at least it appears he is unarmed.
It does not help that much as Ritsuka(Kitsune) was also not exactly armored, only wielding a little blade, but that does not matter when she evades it, and black shadows begin to ripple around her. He may be healing, resisting pain right this moment, but the red eyes tell all she needs. There will be no holding back here, and she doesn't when her form finishes and the dark tide of her foxfire ripples along a slash of her clash against his upper arm, persisting on that particular wound. She will need to burn him later, hypernatural regeneration is a bitch, but regardless, that wound won't heal until she was done with him, and until then, might as well make it worse to incapacitate more. Each of her attacks also try to de-stabilize the ageless demonborn's stance and exhaust him as they come down to weight heavily.
out of options, and unwilling to take chances on luck, Loralia finds the weekest part of the chains, once located, she wraps the thing around one of her hands, making certain she has a secure grip. her own strength isn't much, but what she does has is momentom, as she angles the cage to swing as hard as possible against the wall. If the maneuver were to work, it would at the least remove one dog from her problem. she's alerted to the scuffle through the mic, yet isn't yet to the point where she doesn't believe that she can get out of this on her own.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) Claws slash into flesh, which provides a significant amount of resistance, surprisingly. The reply is another vicious blow, this one just barely stopped by Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s ward. Still, she is hurled across the room, crashing into the wall as the Demonborn cackles madly, wounds continuing to heal, though not fast enough. "Here foxy foxy! Be a good little fox now! Hehehe!" And indeed, in the scuffle the mic has been turned on, allowing everyone to hear one another. "I'll rip and tear and we'll have so much fun!" Lunging forward, Ritsuka(Kitsune) is able to avoid a blow that drills through the wall, creating yet another hole. Loralia As Loralia wraps her hand in the chain, the dog has stuck its head through the hole, its shell keeping it trapped as it snaps those teeth at Loralia's hand. Spinning the cage, there is a vicious Bang! accompanied by a light crunch. A scorpion, apparently caught by the cage, falls from the wall. As it hits the floor, broken and dead, a small piece of paper detaches, fluttering to the ground. The dog, whose ugly head had just had a very personal meeting with the wall, and apparently a stinger, has gone limp, black blood pouring from one eye socket. And impaled on the scorpion's tail? Yep, that's an eyeball.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) gets shunted across the room, but there is still that she is in her full armed combat-state while he was not. Her body curls around and lands with her paws against the wall and then pushes off, rapid fast as an angelborn back over towards the ageless demonborn, and he is dumb enough to bash a wall, only going to exhaust himself more as little paws now are felt over his back to bite for his neck. Her eyes glow viciously as adrenaline pumps its way through her blood. She had all that he had, too, even in sheer unarmed combat, striking or grappling, even unshited, she would likely be on to par.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) There is a tearing sound as teeth close on bone. Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s mouth is filled with the taste of blood, her teeth closing around the man's spine. This could have gone very differently had he been fully armed and armored, but as it is, he stiffens. "Little... little foxy..." As Ritsuka(Kitsune)'s weight comes down, adrenaline surging through her body to give that extra boost, his body goes limp with a ripping sound. The towering figure crumples, an expression of... betrayal? On his face. From the speakers on the computer, a bang catches Ritsuka(Kitsune), and if she were to look, she could see Loralia slam the cage against the wall.
Once the thing slumps to the ground, whatever expression of betrayal crosses him is not even noticed by Ritsuka, and she draws the flame of her being and begins to burn the body. There will be the day when she will do this to Hilaina, too. Her eyes draw over the monitors, to briefly see if a standard base user of computers and their software can figure out if there is a way to remotely open that door with the single free hand she has, her other occupied with burning someone, make sure there is no way for it to be returning.
Ritsuka The body is soon a burning pile of greasy clothing and bones, all that oil providing an excellent firestarter. Pulled up on the computer is a menu, a master control board of sorts for the technology in the building. It would take a few minutes, but eventually Ritsuka could find the controls for Loralia's door, allowing her to open it just as the light in Loralia's room fades back from red. On the desk, Ritsuka might also notice half of what appears to be a birthday card, torn violently in half, and signed "Happy birthday Dad! Love Emma." A half-heart is the end of where the card was torn in half.
Ritsuka sees the card, and then - snorts, and then falls into laughter. Great great laughter. Oh this is fantastic. Doctor stupid had a daughter and thought he'd get away with torturing someone to death, she could see the scorpions, she heard what he said - but there is also that the girl on the video was now likely also on her way out. She does not risk it, but the laughter was probably still heard all the same. Her form shifts again, and then it goes to look for the best way to quickly just make her way out from her, perhaps undetected by Loralia.
Indeed, Loralia would probably hear the laughter, but never see the culprit as Ritsuka(Kitsune) is able to slip away easily, vanishing back out into the storm. Packed into a small, neat stack in a box just outside the door where Loralia was kept, she will find her possessions all in perfect condition. The dog creature and scorpions are still in the room for now, but really, that's not much of Loralia's concern is it? She's free now, and Ritsuka(Kitsune) is on her way home. A job well done, if there ever was one.