Don't You Know Smoke Kills?

Dean

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Jul 12, 2016
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There had been whispers in the criminal circles that had eventually made there way to Vapor, whispers about a child creature who apparently was very adept at making mischief. One could say that this child had exploits that might even rival some of its' own, though this was not so as the smoke monster had a few centuries to hone their own skills while this child had merely a hand full of years. Still von Rauch had felt, if felt was the correct word to use in this case, that while it could respect this child something had to be done to bolster the legacy it wanted to leave behind.

What to do though? While it knew that it's very existence was talked about all across Europe and some parts of the New world in hushed whispers here it was spoke as an oddity, one of many, who seemed to be rather charming if not self centred. It was all a carefully crafted puppet show it put on for these meat creatures but it was starting to get bored with it. Maybe it should 'out crime' this child, or even blackmail it somehow into its' own service?

No, none of this would do! It knew the answer before the train of thought even finished. This criminal child would have to die! No ordinary death would do no, it had to be horrific! People had to be afraid of the shadows, not just weary of them. Vapor von Rauch craved those whispers in the dark, the pleading to whatever gods these meat creatures believed in that whatever was out there would just spare them and their own. This was a smoke monster that wanted to be feared again!

After days of waiting, watching, plotting, and following the child as a harmless smoke cloud wondering exactly how this was going to go down it finally had its' opportunity right here before it! The child was in the downtown area, whatever it was doing here Vapor did not care but suspected it was something illegal, and as it was starting to get dark so this provided it with a flash of inspiration. All these alleyways and corridors, while it was not easy to accomplish one could become lost and end up in a dead end. If one was out of it's mind in fear and being harassed the entire way would also help accomplish this goal. Plus a murder in such a vital place in the city? There would be talk, there would be whispers. This one would make sure of that!

But HOW to do this? That was the question that lingered with Vapor until it heard something playing, some music off in one of the establishments. It was a song popular a few decades ago, one that kept mentioned being as hungry as a particular sort of canine. Those large wild dogs that weren't really dogs, what did they call them again? That was right, wolves! A wolf to a child might be frightening enough, but an over sized all black and grey one with large burning red eyes? Perfection. It was glad it had decided to follow as smoke and leave all the annoying clothing at home.

Vapor stuck to the shadows and waited for the perfect opportunity, when they were alone and the child was near a suitable alleyway, and then shifted into a rough approximation of one of those wolf canine creatures. It started to grow, softly at first and then getting louder, until it had the child’s attention. It was at this point it lept out of the shadows and rushed this Soren child, baring overly sharp pitch black teeth, it's eyes alight with an inhuman fiery light, and gave off an otherworldly howl.

The plan was it herd it, using claw and tooth, to a dead end. If the child started to go the wrong way one would simply intercept and bite, growl, bark, or slash and get it back on track. That was the plan it had formed in its mind. Give the meat creature no time to think, kept it in constant fear and running for their existence! The one thing Vapor knew is the more these things felt fear, the more likely they were to make mistakes and that is exactly what it wanted right now.


((@Emy for Soren))​
 

Emy

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A thousand pardons for my somewhat late response orz

Søren Jørgensen

"Quiet" was not a word often used to describe Søren. Intelligent, accomplished criminal as he was, he was also still very much a child. Not that he would use those words himself, no. He focused more on the intelligent part, the genius that was part of his very being. He was a criminal mastermind, by God, and only at the age of fourteen! The fact that people took him seriously -as they should have- served as solid validation of the fact. It was so easy to make a niche for himself in the Manta Carlos underground that it was nearly criminal.

The only regret he really had was that he still hadn't gotten a good chance to snag some decent teleportation magic from somebody. Not for the first time, he thought about his first roommate. Blonde, bouncy, and a complete bitch. Genius. though. Regretfully, Søren had to grant her that. Years later and he was still trying to figure out how to replicate her teleportation technology. The fact that he had actually failed for once was irritatingly obvious. He still had to walk. That was it. Petty issue, yes, maybe but it had to be empathized yet again that Søren was also a genius. That he was playing second fiddle to somebody who wasn't even around anymore -that was a true frustration.

As he made his way back from a client, Søren took to a familiar network of alleyways ranging from slightly questionable to just plain dangerous. He wasn't particularly worried for himself, however. If there was one thing certain in the world, it was the power of money. Cold cash was the best remedy for potential murder.

Right as he trailed into one of the darker alleys, however, a low sound came to his attention. Since stray dogs were common in these areas, he thought little of it. Ignorance was the easiest way to deal with it but as he continued on his way, the growling unexpectedly followed, growing louder instead of quieter. With a frown, Søren took out his phone, ready to launch one of his single strike bolts in warning.

It was a surprise, then, that instead of the dirty stray he had expected, there was what seemed like a wolf straight out of the gates of Hell. Just as Søren began to slowly back away, the beast suddenly rushed at him with a howl frightening enough for him to almost lose the hold on his cell. Whipping around, Søren began to run as fast as his legs could carry him as the wolf carried on in pursuit. Just a right turn, two blocks, and a climb over the fence - the plan that he had prepared in his head was quickly destroyed.

Yipping as claws dug into his arm, Søren was forced past his initial escape route. He tried to be calm, even as the sounds of the creature behind him made his legs tremble even as he ran. It's fine, it's fine. There's other routes, I know this place- His mind was sputtering to a halt.
 

Dean

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And so it went as the Vapor in wolves clothing harried the boy, biting, clawing, and barking at the child creature until it noticed that it was trying to go a certain way. It was at these times that Vapor would attack, causing some sort of bodily harm to the boy but not enough that the Soren could not run, at least not yet.

As the chase went on Vapor began to feel a rush of what it could only count as excitement deep in its core. It had missed this, hunting and killing for sport! Vapor never had to hunt out of necessity though, as it did not eat, so all of the hunting it did was for sport of course. It had just stopped doing that for a while when the law had started to catch up with it. How long had it been? Decades probably, longer then that though in all honesty. If it could feel joy the warmth of the blood on it's teeth would be pure bliss!

Soon though it would be time to hunt playing and make itself know to this little criminal, and when that point came it would have to get serious and stop this little game of cat and mouse.

OH! it thought. Cat and mouse, hmmm? Yes. Let us add to the confusion!

As it lunged to hurry the boy down another dark alleyway von Rauch smooth transitioned from wolf to the form of a rather large jungle cat, possibly resembling a panther thanks to the all black colouring. These large feline creatures always seemed to be faster then any canine could be, plus the paws on them where much larger as well, able to knock the boy around a bit!

Without giving the boy the time that would possibly be needed to process the sudden shift in predatory forms the panther form swiped at the boy, knocking it towards the alleyway off to the side as it prepared to continue the chase, hissing and roaring at the child creature now. While it was not as haunting as the cry of the wolf, this hissing and growling seemed more bestial as well as more intense.

As it went on Vapor noticed that a trail was starting to form, a small probably crimson trail at that it guessed. In the dying light it was hard to see and thank small mercies for that as the saying went. In the morning though it would be easy to follow if anyone spotted it. This was both good and bad, bad if Vapor took too long but good in that when the deed had been done and it was long gone someone would find the scene of the crime. Then the talk would begin!

Once they got close to the dead end the cloud monster had chosen for the scene of the crime it would bite down on the child's leg hopefully hobbling it so it would have less chance of escape.

No worries! I am back to work now so it might take me a bit to get my replies out too. Also not sure how many more posts I have in this for me. At least two minimum. Possibly more?
 

Emy

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;; I was thinking something like that, yes. But honestly, you can take as many posts as you need to kill him dead.

Søren Jørgensen

I know what I'm doing! Søren thought, clearly not having a clue in the world what he was doing. His usually superior intelligence had taken the backseat to primal instinct now, something that he had never been particularly good with. As a consequence, the only options that his mind had zeroed in on were Run faster and Maybe curl up in a corner and wait for the bad thing to go away. The first option was winning out - barely.

His arm hurt. As an nonathletic child, Søren had never even experienced a broken bone. The fact that he could be hurt had always been a distant thought, something not really worth his time or consideration because it was that much removed from his life. It just didn't happening, it would never happen, there was no chance of it happening. Why is this happening? What did I do? There wasn't a single thought that maybe it had to do with his shady side jobs. He had been doing so well, after all.

The streets blurred together. It was getting darker and the panic was muddling his senses. He swerved away fearfully from a shadow, mistaking a corner for another foe, and saw toothed, eldritch abominations in dirty manhole covers and piles of trash. WHICH WAY IS IT.

He heard a snarl and then fangs through his leg. With a cry, Søren tried to hobble free, using his hands to try and fight the creature off as blood squirted through the open skin.
 

Dean

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It was moments like these that Vapor lived for, the moments when it could just cut lose and do whatever it wanted to. It had basically behaved itself since coming to this island, for the most part, and this had been rather boring. But now that it had finally cut lose? The rush of old feelings that could only be described as excitement and pleasure once again returned to it.

This is what I was made for, a voice inside of its' mind said in that inhuman voice that it loved to use to terrorize folks with.

While this particular chase had been rather entertaining it was about time to wrap things up though, and they were coming to the perfect place for it. The child had reacted as Vapor had hoped for, running in a wild panic instead of anything that could even be called logical, and now it had the creature trapped in a dead end with nowhere to run to! There was blood everywhere now, and he would have to make this quick before the child bled to death and ruined the fun.

Letting go of the child’s leg Vapor circled it as it shifted from the animal form it currently help to something more humanoid. Not the face it normal used to interact with folks, but just something more akin to a featureless mannequin that one would see in shop windows. It was still all black of course, with those burning red eyes, but the teeth in its' grin where all needle like and bunched together while jotting out in different directions.

Hello Child, it is a pleasure to meet you” it said in the most terrifying voice it could muster, something that only a creature of smoke and fire could even hope to create. “I want you to know why this is happening to you. Two simple reasons really, the first is that you are known in these parts. The second? I was simply bored.”

With that von Rauch opened its' maw farther then any humanoid figure should be able to, it's face splitting down the center only for dozens of tentacles to spill out, all of them covered in razor sharp thorns. To do so the smoke creature had to take the mass from somewhere else, so this of course meant that it was now floating there without any legs.

The tentacles rushed towards the child, aiming to wrap around it's arms and legs as the thorns pierce the skin and keep the mind dull with pain. Vapor's hands shifted now, each finger becoming a blade like appendage. As it moved closer to the child a disembodied laugh echoed down the alleyway.
 

Emy

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Søren Jørgensen

No words could describe the sheer, cold terror of coming face to face with a grimy brick wall. As he broke free of the creature that had torn open his leg, Søren managed to stumble a few steps away, just enough for the buildings to snap back into focus and reveal that there was no way out. Sweating profusely, Søren stared in the direction he had just come from, that exit now blocked by the monster. His eyes darted about, futilely trying to hatch another escape plan.

He started badly as the creature began to change, legs giving out and dropping him onto the ground. That, that thing took shape as a human model, like it was mocking him by taking a form that was so close to being relate-able if it weren't for the fact that things like this made into horror media for a reason.

And then, the thing firmly established why it was scarier than any work made by man. It opened its mouth and started to speak. Some people believed that the nothingness, the unknown was scarier than actually knowing. It wasn't. It wasn't. It wasn't. IT WASN'T.

I'm going to die, Søren realized vaguely, beginning to understand. He was still a child and the idea of death was remote but it was approaching him now at such speed that it was bewildering. I'm going to die because somebody was bored. The indignity boiled within him, scrambling fear with anger and the question of why, why, why?

He started, "W-wait-" That stutter, as it turned out, would be his last real words because as the creature took its final form and closed in, all Søren could do was scream.
 

Dean

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That scream brought back a flood of old memories from its' past, back when it lived in London and had stalked the dark alleyways for prey. How long ago had that been? A couple generations now at the very least, how time had flown! Now here it was with a new prey, this child creature, making such sweet sounds for it! If it would have it would have sent shivers down its very being.

Yeessssss,” hissed the disembodied voice, “Sing for me!”

As soon as it was close enough Vapor quickly stuck the now razor sharp claws of one had into the stomach of the boy, tearing at the flesh blood started to soak its' hand. It pulled the claws out slowly and then did it again, then once more, all as it watched the eyes of the child flare with a mix of terror and pain. The boy wasn't dead yet as their was still some life in it, for how much longer though was not really an issue.

Watching the blood drip down its' claws Vapor would have grinned if it could have, it could though as the face was currently a maw of mish-mashed teeth and tentacles. What it did do though was start to slash and cut, tearing flesh from bone as the blood started to collect in large pools. With the other hand though it grabbed the child's throat and then began to squeeze, cutting the child’s cries off and turning them into gargling whimpers. It could feel the boy grasping for breath, trying its' best to fight off the inevitable. It squeezed harder, watching as all signs of life slowly drained from the victims face, and then it went wild.

It tore the arms and legs from the sockets, dropping the lifeless torso to the ground. Then it pulled apart the limbs at each joint. The knees, ankles, toes, each finger segment, and let them all drop to the ground. Then it removed the head from the torso, tearing it off at the neck, letting the torso join the pile of dismembered limbs. It stuck a finger in each eye socket, gouging them out, before carefully placing the head at the very top of the pile.

Covering two fingers in the blood of the now deceased child von Rauch floated over to the wall and scribbled a message on it that simply read 'Fear that which stalks through the night. I am always watching.'

With that it shifted once more, this time into its completely gaseous state, letting all the blood that had covered it fall to the ground. Taking off it flew into the air and got out of site before either a witness or the sun light came. It would not be caught in its deed, at least not this time.
 
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