Event Open BlackThorn Files: "Operation Dying Widow"

The reaction was strange, but the feeble cry made her worry for the worst. She couldn't tell if it was from the creature, or it was from someone else right by it. Dealing with problems like these were much easier when she was still with the other supernatural hunters. The directive was simple, kill or capture supernatural beings to keep the normal folk safe. Orders often didn't come until someone used their powers threateningly. Now this thing here could just be a deadly animal, but it's just as likely to be... ugh... misunderstood.

"Can't really tell from here. I'm going to need to get a better look, find out where that crying's coming from." Curses... if only Rosetta were here. Her gut feelings could tell them to shoot or not.

Aliasse looked through the hole in the wall in search of some place she could teleport to, someplace hidden, preferably. On one corner, she saw a pile of hospital beds that she could squeeze into. She could sense there was enough space for it. She'd try sensing if what it was by the creature, but it was a little hard to tell at the moment.

She took off her extra ammo kit and handed it to the person who was nearest to her. "Hold this for me."

She looked towards Haru and pointed to her destination, the pile of hospital beds. "I'm heading over there to see what the situation is. I should be far enough away from it for it to not notice me or see me behind the obstructions." Without delaying, she went on her stomach and subsequently disappeared, appearing behind the hospital beds. She silently rose to her knees and peeked through the spaces between the piled up beds to see what the creature was leaning over on to take note of every little detail.

The large creature, bleeding something a deep purple that hued green in the light was doubled over several others of its kind. Infants who mewled and reached up with their small tentacles to touch their parent's face.

The large beast whined, the sound of a parent losing a child. Something of immeasurable pain before it fell to its side and lie still.

The baby-like wailing increased as the smaller versions touched their parents all over, trying to will the monster back to life.

It was protecting its young.

And it died for it.

Nothing new, at least to her.

If Aliasse hadn't seen this scene play out over and over before, she'd be devastated. But throughout her career hunting down supernatural creatures, the scened played out way too often. One could only get used to it.

The ex-hunter teleported a few feet ahead of herself to get out of her cover and eased forward, her gun angled down but ready. "Affirmative. It seems to be the creature's children. I'll go check on them."

Aliasse approached slowly, but everything to her went into slow motion, including herself. Just one of her powers. While it gave her massive headaches, it allowed her to react to danger much quicker. She loomed over the side of the fallen creature and looked at the smaller variants that seem to be trying to wake their parent up. "Hold fire. Keep an eye out for its mate."

Nothing came. Nothing but the lone wails of the babies as danger approached them and their parent still didn't wake. One peered up at Ali with one large eye. Its tiny tentacles wiggles and it shook. Along with the rest of its siblings, it crawled under the body of its parent for cover.

Ali skirted around the corpse, probably closer than some would feel comfortable with, but with everything going in slow motion for her and her ability to teleport, she'd be able to get out of harms way without much trouble. Can't say the same for anyone else in the unit.

She watched the smaller creatures attempt to hide under the body of their mother for their lives. "So long as no one gets close, they should be fine. We'd need a way to contain them though. We don't want them to be running off." That'd just be more trouble in the future.

Aliasse was tempted to touch the creature to check for signs of life, but that was just asking for trouble. Whether this creature was actually dead or not was anyone's guess. She backed away to ease the little creatures' fears if only for a little while, but she kept her eyes out if any of them were to make a break for it. Looking around, she grabbed a bed sheet lying on the floor. She'd rather not touch these things with her bare hands if it ever came to that.

There were no other signs of life in the building beyond a few people who were hiding in other rooms. But as for the threat, that was gone.

One of the infants rolled from under their parent and bounced closer to Ali until it was at Ali's foot, where it reached a tentacle out slowly to very gently tap at any revealed skin. With contact came a stream of childish emotion and images.

Warmth and darkness. Family and security. Portals. Fear. Pain. Screaming. Shots and attacks. One parent murdered. Several siblings lost. And now a mother gone, with only two siblings remaining. Another crushed downstairs.

And while this creature couldn't speak verbally or in any sense that was vocal, Ali could feel its question: why?

She watched the small creature bound towards her. It didn't seem hostile, and she was curious as to what it would do. Her instincts as a hunter told her not to let it get close, but she felt there was something to be gained by letting it get close. She was banking on the fact that if it ever tried to inject poison in her and succeed, her enhanced metabolism will make the poison pass quickly. Still, she couldn't help but feel unnerved as it crept to her feet, feeling for, what she assumed was exposed skin. It didn't seem to sting her boots, so she allowed it access to her skin by crouching down and folding up a pant leg.

The images and emotions flowed into her mind, reminding her of how much she hated telepaths back when she was still a hunter. Always playing with minds, intruding into her thoughts and weaving lies. And then there were moments like this. She knew what this creature was asking. Many before it had touched her mind to ask the same question. And she always choked.

She stayed silent, contemplating an answer.

"I'm fine, Haru," she said quietly. "I've sensed some people hiding in the other rooms. You should have the others check to extract them. And tell them to watch their feet when they go downstairs. They might trample the corpse of one of these little ones. There might be another dead big one somewhere in the hospital."

While Haru gave the orders, Aliasse wrapped the bedsheet around the small creature and picked it up to examine it more closely. And... to whisper an answer to its question. "You were just unlucky."

Once the others were dispatched, she waved Haru over. "I don't think they came here on purpose. It might be mind tricks, but so far that's the only reason that makes sense by the way the mother acted."