Lost Way [Ilchy/Cassius]

[jarahamee]

Many streets in Wathias had a similar appearance, and a way of getting the unwary and unobservant traveler lost. Persons unused to travelling in the big city, or perhaps who just did not have the focus to navigate somewhere with so many signs placed in the most inconvenient places. Too many buildings that looked far too alike. Too few distinctive landmarks, and too many places intentionally similar. It was a veritable labyrinth best navigated with GPS and with plain old maps. 

Cassius was never sure what he would find on his unofficial patrols. Sometimes, nothing at all. Sometimes, ordinary small-time crimes, other times, what he was often hunting for; supernatural occurrences, especially those that were not regulated by the WDSA. He had ways of dealing with any of these events, but obviously was best made for finding and settling matters that landed squarely on his department. Generally, only a keen eye and a sense of local events allowed him to understand the underpinnings of any situation he came across.

The dog glamour helped him get away with a lot of this quiet investigation. Especially at the edge of the city, where the woods met the suburbs and things were not quite so well lit, but it hardly limited him. Stray dogs were everywhere, even large ones, and though he was wolf-like even with his dog disguise, no one would mistake him. After all, there were no wolves in Wathias, and certainly not within city limits. Definitely not with a service vest on, like he was today. Within the vest was a radio, a stun baton, and a robe in case he needed a quick cover-up, but really, he rarely needed any of these things.

The large black German shepherd glamour took advantage of the fading light to watch the events in the street before him unfold. The garbage smelled oddly attractive, but he attributed this to his current form's interests. Always the garbage and corpses, never anything pleasant. At least he didn't have to smell the trash for what it was while he waited. And then, he heard something.

Someone had approached the bookstore front of Fitzgerald's Books, just around the corner, and then paused, as if waiting. He padded closer for a better look. Nothing that someone in the street could see easily, but enough that he might see a sliver around the corner and get a better sense of their smell. The wind should have carried the scent of a human back to his keen nose, but he smelled..nothing at all. It was either a mistake in his perception of the wind, or this was some kind of super without a human trace.

How strange.

[Marshmallow]

Blue eyes were wide with anxiety, peering down the shadowy city streets and the rows of neon displays, street signs and storefronts. He wasn't supposed to be out alone. Worse, he wasn't supposed to be out after dark, and the sky was already painted by sunset.

Ilchymis whimpered pathetically as he rounded another samey corner. He didn't know where he was. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten here. Every street in this city was a long corridor of grey stone and glass windows, broken up by streaks of color and blinking lights. The great metal beasts - 'cars', he had often been told - roared to and fro along the roads. Each passing vehicle left the construct wheezing in its wake. He did not like their breath, not at all.


He imagined how angry Sis would be that he'd wandered off, and wrapped his arms around himself. It was an accident! He hadn't meant to get lost! But a moment's distraction was all it took. He'd tried retracing his steps, but that only seemed to get him more turned around...


A frontage window display attracted the construct's attention. Shelves behind the glass were lined with rows of books, and Ilchymis gravitated in that direction. Bookshops and libraries spoke to dusty old memories, and had a way of making him feel safe. As the sky darkened with the oncoming evening and streetlamps clicked on in the deepening shadows, Ilchymis approached the door of Fitzgerald's Books. To his dismay the shop was closed for the evening, so he huddled in the small alcove instead.

[jarahamee]

Cassius rounded the corner after a moment's hesitation, all in favor of getting a better view. The movement was soundless. Though he was a canine, his claws were worn down to the point they did not dig into the cement unless he was running, or if he intended them to. The person was..whimpering? He attempted to catch their scent, moving slowly. His orangeish eyes caught the dying light for only a moment, and then realized, no only did they have no scent, but they also had...a wing? It had been a long time, but realization settled into his brain. The construct from earlier...

The dog stepped out from the alleyway and peeked around the corner. It was subtle, and he was dark, but any passerby paying attention might have noticed him. The German shepherd was large, almost too-large, as tall as a Great Dane with thick, medium-length fur. Startlingly bright orange-brown eyes stood out against the darkness of his body. His large ears were perched upright. It was not his true form; indeed, his body was a nightmare hidden by the glamour, but most persons preferred lies to this truth, and though the dog's form was hardly a friendly one to most people, it was not as frightening as Cassius' reality.

The being looked lost. More than that; he remembered a memo about this being not being allowed to wander alone. This must be why, more than any overt danger.

Cassius considered his options; walking around nude in a robe, with someone he so clearly frightened before, would not be an option. He would just have to make due with his canine form. Thank goodness he had an option like this available to him. He just hoped that a giant talking dog would not also make him afraid.

He hesitated a moment, and then padded into plain view, moving slowly with his head down, and tail wagging. He whined softly at Ilchymis, and then lay down a few feet from him. He was still wearing his police K-9 vest, the WDSA insignia clearly visible on its side. The objects it carried were not clearly visible, but they did not have to be.

[Marshmallow]

It was the spirit that noticed first. With its ward wandering alone, it was especially watchful. Its hollow gaze swept the streets and peered into dark corners. Its ghostly steps carried it a few meters beyond the alcove of the book shop's front door to the end of the its tether, out into the street where it stood guard. Though it had no physical presence in the world, the air grew cooler and stirred with a faint breeze where it passed. The only other hint to its existence was in the shop's frontage windows, revealed when the headlights of a passing car distorted the street's reflection. For a flickering moment in the reflection and refraction of light across the glass, there loomed a large, inhuman shape with a pale mask...

A mask that turned and stared right at Cassius as the canine stepped out of the alley. Moreover, it stared through him. To the Truth of him, and a warning rippled through the tether.


Though the officer's padded steps were nearly silent, Ilchymis turned as he approached. There was a question in his wide, owlish eyes as he stared out from the shadows beneath the alcove. Before him lay what looked like a dog. A big dog, with a brightly colored vest and wagging tail.
A big dog that wasn't quite a dog. He couldn't see past the glamour, but It could. He didn't know what truth sat behind the illusion of a placid animal, only that this wasn't entirely how it seemed. So he watched the canine for a moment, wary.


After a short silence, compelled by the dog's passiveness and his own growing insecurities, Ilchymis timidly stepped forward. He crouched in front of the dog, hesitated, and then reached out a hand to rub the canine officer between the ears.
The beginnings of a smile touched his face. "Hello... Are you lost too?"

[jarahamee]

The large black dog did not move, except to tilt slightly to one side, as if threatening to roll over. The animal did not seem to be able to sense the spirit tethered to him. He grunted and pressed his ears back as Ilchymis rubbed them, before turning his head slowly to lean into the affectionate hand. The animal made soft, unthreatening whine, and then rolled on its side in a lump on the sidewalk. It wasn't an answer exactly, more a motion to set his companion at ease. He scratched at his vest with a foreleg, as if pointing out where he had come from.

The WDSA vest was at least, as solid as could be, and appeared to have several pouches. It was thickened in a way that suggested it might be bullet proof. A small amount of protection around the torso but nothing for his head or extremities. The construct could feel the vague outline of objects that set in various pouches.

The dog then looked into Ilchymis' eyes with vibrant intensity. He waited until Ilchymis was paying attention, and then looked over his shoulder with intent. It was a leading gesture, meant to draw the construct's attention. He then whined softly, and nudged Ilchymis gently with his wet nose, before looking back over his shoulder and whining. He did not rise yet, but his muscles trembled as if he was considering rising.

[Marshmallow]

Ilchymis giggled softly as the dog flopped over and tilted its head into his hand. He adored animals, and took comfort in stroking the dark fur. Bit by bit, his fear of being alone was eased by the canine's presence.


A motion of its paw called attention to the vest fastened around its body. The construct leaned over to peer at it, and the familiar symbol of the WDSA it was marked with. Ilchymis brightened a little when he saw it. "Oh! I know that place! Are you an agent's dog?" he asked curiously. He glanced around at the darkened street and flickering lamps, but he didn't see any other people. No WDSA agents. His gaze returned to the mystery dog, head tilting bird-like in confusion. "Or... Are you an agent-dog?"


Of course, the canine didn't answer. Instead it turned its head, looking somewhere behind it and whining softly. Something twinged in his subconscious. Both Ilchymis and the specter looming at his back turned their gazes to follow the canine's leading glance.

"Is something that way?" the construct asked softly, insecurity dampening his voice. He considered the vest again, and asked a little more hopefully, "You're not lost, are you. Do you know where I am? Can I go with you?"

[jarahamee]

The dog was not looking at any object in particular, but rather, the direction itself. It was human instinct to look where someone was leading, but here, it was merely a place. A where, but not a what. The dog knew where they had to go, and Ilchy had the distinct sense the animal wanted to take him there.

The dog hesitated, and then nodded at Ilchy's first set of questions. Agent dog. It was a deliberate, human gesture. The animal's orange eyes shone with both keen animal intensity and intent. An agent-dog he was, and this was the way to return home. There was a handle on the back of his vest, somewhere to hold him. For most dogs, this was to restrain them and prevent them from running and performing their duties prematurely, but for him, it was somewhere Ilchy could hold and be guided a little more effectively.

He waited until Ilchy seemed to agree to follow, whining softly, and then rose to its feet with ease, before looking back at Ilchy. He made a soft sound that seemed half grunt, half affirmative sound at the questions. He could speak, but nowhere near this publicly.

Agreement again. A slight nod. He knew where he was going and Ilchy could come with him. He then looked over his shoulder, and then back to Ilchy, before walking a few steps in that direction. He then waited, watching the construct with intent eyes. They seemed unsure of themselves, and unsure where to go and what to trust.

He thought for a moment, and then bumped him on the hand with his large head for reassurance. His nose was surprisingly cold and wet. A soft grunt.

[Marshmallow]

The canine rose and padded a few steps forward along the sidewalk. Its obvious display of intelligence and understanding reaffirmed what Ilchymis already, in a subconscious sense, knew. There was even an odd sense of familiarity, but he couldn't place it, and the feeling was gone in another moment.



The dog looked over its shoulder. Ilchymis fidgeted. When he hesitated, the 'agent-dog' returned to his side and nosed at his hand. Insistent, but gentle and reassuring. Ilchymis stroked the soft fur for comfort a few more times, before grasping the raised handle on the back of the vest. If this were a person, he would have held their hand, or even clung to their arm. Contact was soothing. But in lieu of these things, the harness would do just fine.

"Okay, I'm ready," he said, some of the unease finally fading from his tone. "Thank you.."

[jarahamee]

Cassius the agent-dog nodded slightly, as if in affirmation, and leaned against the contact. His fur was a strange mixture of coarse guard hairs and soft undercoat. He was remarkably clean for any dog or wolf. A notted mixture of scars criss-crossed along beneath the coat, creating bald spots in some areas readily covered by his long fur, everywhere but his muzzle.

Cassius grunted softly and waited a moment, before leading forward. A few hesitant trots in the right direction. The light was starting to fade, and the streetlamps sputtered on and shone dimly, drowned out by the dying sunlight. The streets were winding; an old infrastructure that had never been updated. Cramped side streets that had once been the heart of the city now seemed there simply to provide a source of confusion. There was no doubt that they were a long way from home, or whatever Ilchymis considered home.

He knew where they were going, but what had the young man been doing out here? And had he been on a mission and become separated? It was difficult to find the source of the problems now, only the solutions. He looked up at Ilchymis, and then turned right down the street, putting on the confident calm of a guide or service dog as he walked.

Every once in a while, he read signs, and made a turn. Twist, turn, twist turn. A pause in front of the window of a gem and occult shop. He would have to stop by later and look inside. The light was hazy from within, a taxidermied beast stood in the window, with a draped table and several framed deceased bats.