Stupid Kyle (Gia, Kail)

[beastly]

Gia had a routine down by now. Between the late hours of the night, and the early hours of the morning, she would stalk the back allies her nephew had described to her. She was on a mission, a target she had given herself. She was going to find the bastard that tried to croak Vincent and Malakhi, and bop him. She'd gotten permission from the boss himself- well. He'd said she could do whatever she wanted as long as it didn't get back to him or effect his business. That was plenty good enough for the vengeful spirit, though. Plenty enough length on her leash to get out there and cut down the thing that tried to kill her nephew.

She didn't have much in the way of solid leads, but she knew killers. She'd find him.

Kyle.

She looked a little out of place as she walked in her heels down the street, not wearing a coat or anything designed to keep her warm. That was the biggest thing she noticed, she stuck out more in her dress. That didn't bother her terribly, she did make a lovely looking dame, and if she needed to, she would wear the old suit. The suit didn't suit her as much anymore, she felt, so when she could afford to be in her little black dress with the fringe, she was. Tonight, it was fine. She could blip off some wrong number  in any form. She could still burn powder.

[qhostqrowls]

The industrial outskirts of Wathais were just about the only place Kail could hunt in the city. The dark streets and lonely back-alleys had their fair share of humans wandering about them - the types other humans didn’t seem to care about when they went missing.

And the well-dressed woman walking towards him was certainly not of that demographic. Kail ashed his cigarette before taking another drag, watching her in his peripherals, the smoke curling upwards into the cool night air.

It was too cold for a short dress and no coat. Too late for a woman to be walking alone. She wasn’t drunk, not walking in heels like that.

He scented the air, nose wrinkling slightly at the acrid smell of gunpowder and cigarettes wafting off the woman. His interest peaked and his hunger waned.

But he stayed leaning against the brick-wall on the other side of the street, not wanting to spook her by approaching. He could always trail her when she passed. Even at the distance, she’d be able to feel his eyes on her, and he waited patiently to see if she’d change course - or whip out the weapon she must have on her, somewhere, with how strongly she smelt of gunpowder.

[beastly]

Gia scanned the area, walking with purpose and intention. Just as much a predator as the thing she was hunting. The thought made her painted lips curl into a grin as she made her trek. Malakhi had said he wasn't sure what would kill the thing. Most things found it difficult to function without a head, and even fewer were bulletproof on the inside. A variety of twisted murder methods danced in her head.

It was the glow of the man's gasper that caught the flapper's attention first. The curl of the smoke. God, she wanted a cigarette. It'd been so long, and yet when she saw the living partake it always stirred something in her, made her hand want to slide to the pocket where she would've kept her deck.
Then she looked at the man himself, and she was almost impressed. He had a powerful malevolent energy about him, something dark, something violent. And she could respect that, on a level.
The stink what was what really made her stop and stare when she got closer. The same stink Ru and August had, the same glimmering mark of a deal with a devil. Whoever this mug was, he'd been busy. Busy and talking to the same people the vampire boys had been.

Straightening up Gia strutted over to the guy in the hoodie, nothing but confidence and curiosity in her eyes. She was sidetracked, Kyle forgotten.

"So, fella," the spirit gestured at the man in his entirety, "I gotta know. What'd you get from that devil?"

[qhostqrowls]

Kail straightened from his slouch when the woman began to approach, the movement distinctly animalistic. He stared back, gaze tracking over her face, her outfit - not checking her out, but sizing her up.

He lowered the cigarette to his side as she came to a stop, slowly breathing out the last of the smoke before he spoke.

“Hello to you too.” He said, his voice a hoarse drawl. “And uh, what, from what devil?”

He was all faux innocence he tilted his head, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards into a grin. The only devils he knew were Yoshio and Ryu, and it wasn’t like his deal-tattoo was on display. How had she known?

His gaze was cool, appraising, and for all his apparent nonchalance, a little guarded as he looked down at the woman.

[beastly]

"Uh huh, hi, sure."

Gia waved away the pretense of pleasantries and normalcy with a hand and a shake of her head. This wrong number had a soul dark as they came and was doused in devil's magic. She didn't really feel like doing the song and dance around it all.

"Don't give me that baloney. I can see it on you, boy. You stink of familiar devil magic."

Gia folded her arms, lips turned up, and then, reluctantly, toned down her bluntness.

"A gal's curious, is all. Been a slow night."

Her mind wandered back to Ru and August, and she tapped her shoe on the cement. August wouldn't spill the beans about what he'd done, and well, Gia herself was the result of Ru's actions. So. What had this individual gotten? Young people these days, making deals left and right. ...There were a lot of people in this city, she'd only paid passing attention to them all. How powerful was this devil?

[qhostqrowls]

Kails grin widened, flashing pointed canines. Whole lot of attitude for such a little lady, but he knew better than to judge by appearances in this city.

“Hey, I mix with all kinds of people. Ya gonna have to get a ‘lil more specific than that.”

The way she spoke had him reminiscing about an era long gone, and he wondered if it was an act or if she was one of those immortals that never quite managed to catch up with the times.

“Oh.” He said, like he’d realised something. The outfit, the boldness with approaching a random man. “What, you a working girl or something?”

[beastly]

The man had teeth, the sharp kind. He didn't strike Gia as a vampire. Beyond 'vampire' 'werewolf' 'demon' and 'fae' things started to get a little bit blurry and the ghost stopped caring as much. Nothing really was lining up on that front.

She raised an eyebrow at the thin man.

"What, how many devil deals do you have? You shake paws with anything with horns?"

Stupid, but she really only saw the one devil on him. Maybe he was pulling her leg-

Gia didn't have time to ponder before she processed what else had been said. A working girl? The ghost blinked at the kid, taken off guard by the comment. There was a heavy beat, and then she burst out in a loud chuckle. She had to brace herself with a hand on one of her knees as the laughter took her. It was ridiculous, but she could understand the thought- she was a beautiful woman wandering the streets at night. Still, the question was so unlike anything she had been asked before she had trouble stopping the giggle fit.

"Oh," Gia caught breath she didn't need, stifling a giggle, "Oh, no. Pal, I'm just dead. Ghost vengeance, that business."

[qhostqrowls]

Kail shrugged, wondering if he should tell the truth or not.

“Damn, fine. I got a gun off him. Why’d ya wanna know so bad?”

When she started laughing he raised the cigarette to his lips, turning his head to the side, a little embarrassed. He’d thought it was a good guess. At least she wasn’t offended.

“My bad, I didn’t mean nothing by it.” He said, scuffing his boot against the pavement. “What kinda vengeance?”

If she was looking for who killed her, she was about a century too late. But judging how the other spirit dealt with being told that, he wasn’t going to be the one to tell her.

[beastly]

"I've got friends making deals with that devil, see," Gia stated nonchalantly, " and I'm curious. They're... stupid. Is the bean shooter any good?"

Gia smoothed her dress and looked at Kail for any obvious signs he was armed. She wanted to see the gun, she liked those, and unless this mug was a complete idiot it would be magic. She couldn't agree with knowingly making any deals with the devil. But she could get a slant at the thing.

When asked about her vengeance, Gia's pretty face twisted with a nasty expression. She brushed her hair into place and grinned widely at Kail.

"I got this nephew, see. Great guy, good kid. Somebody, this Kyle fella, he attacked my nephew. So, I'm gonna go bop him."

As if to demonstrate, Gia was suddenly holding a shotgun. And then she wasn't. There was a wicked expression on her face. Clearly, this fella was awful. She could bump gums about cutting someone down. What was he gonna do, call the cops? She didn't see that happening.

[qhostqrowls]

"He cuts a fair deal, for a devil." Kail shrugged, though something lit up in his eyes at the chance to talk about the weapon. "And yeah, it's real nice! Here, I got it on me."

Kail reached beneath his hoodie, fishing the gun from the holster at his hip. The clothing was baggy enough to conceal it, and he smiled as he turned it carefully over in his hands to show it off. It was an antique make, at least a hundred years old, made of gold and ivory - not his style at all, but it wasn't as if he'd bought it for looks.

"Got bullets made for certain types of supers." He boasted as he stashed it away, watching Gia's expression morph into something of a snarl.

He rose his eyebrows at the appearance and disappearance of the shotgun, his grin widening.

"Damn, mine don't look so impressive next to that! I didn't know ghosts could, you know."

He made a gun shape with his fingers, and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"Kyle. Dumb ass name. I dunno any Kyles. You got anything more than that to go off?"

[beastly]

"What'd it cost you? It's the berries," the ghost leaned over to inspect the gun curiously, "The special bullets sound... Nifty."

What a pretty gun, came the thought. If she'd ever been rich with money to burn, she would've liked to had a case with lovely little antique artistic pieces. Maybe she'd just been spending too much time at the museum lately.

Gia smirked, a more human expression at the complement. It was very handy.

"I died with it, I get to keep it. That's the rule. And it still works... As for Kyle..."

The ghost looked mildly blood thirsty again, though she was fixing one of her curls back into place it was easy to see her mind had wandered somewhere a bit darker.

"And how!... I don't know a lot, see, I just know he's some sort of monster, looks like a man, turns into a horned beast. I was shown a picture but," She trailed off, then recovered, " I figure a few shots to the face should hurt the mug. That fails, I'll make him eat it."

[qhostqrowls]

“The victims souls or something, I ain’t really sure. Just know it ain’t mine.”

He grinned unpleasantly.

No horned supernaturals came to mind. A demon, maybe. It wasn’t much to go on in a city full of monsters. He considered the woman, flicking the cigarette to the ground and stamping it out beneath his boot.

“Nah, a shot to the face is a quick death for most things. You gotta draw it out for this one.”

He seemed excited by the prospect, and pushed himself off the wall.

“I’m bored. You looking for company on this manhunt?”

[beastly]

"You really ought to get that in writing," Gia found herself advising the stranger, "No matter how good a deal."

Stupid kids. Her eyes followed the cigarette's journey to the ground and the longing in her chest spiked again. It was her misfortune to have died without any smokes on her person. No cigarettes for her. Her lips went thin in a frown as her thumb smoothed over her lighter thoughtfully, but her expression was only that of surprise at Kail's suggestion.

"I do like the way you think, fella. I'd love to make it hurt, see, but I'm told he's hard to blip off... I'll have to crab it..." She trailed off, then blinked up at Kail.

"Why, that'd be grand! I've been on his trail for a while now and it's been a dull night."

The ghost clasped her hands together eagerly, the beads on her dress making soft sounds as she moved.

"If we find him, you can show me how well that swell gun spits lead. It's beautiful."

[qhostqrowls]

Kail smiled, a genuine expression of excitement, eyes narrowing. It was almost an innocent expression, if it hadn’t been for the topic of a torturous murder.

“Hey, awesome! We’re so gonna get this fucker. He don’t stand a chance with the both of us on the hunt. I’m Kail, by the way.”

He held out a hand to shake, waiting for her name in reply.

“You’re set if ya get a few good shots in - take out the legs so he can’t get away.” He helpfully supplied. “Once he’s down we can take our sweet time figuring out how to kill him for good.“

[beastly]

Kail.

Gia blinked. Nice name. She hadn't heard it before.

"Giovanna, call me Gia."

The ghost took the man's hand and shook it, her hand cold to the touch. She liked introductions now. She'd always been very careful with her name in the past- but being able to introduce herself with her new name almost made her giddy. A hundred or so years of stagnation would do that to you, she supposed.

She was also mildly excited to have a hunting partner of sorts. Ghosts were lonely creatures, things stuck in the past. As much as she tried to deny it, she got lonely.

"Good advice. I tend to get more human jobs. Sometimes the odd fae."

The ghost couldn't wait to shoot the asshole. Her poor nephew, Malakhi... The audacity of the beast, attacking her family... She hadn't been there to stop things the first time, but now...