Mexican, Chinese, And Bug Juice

The area of the stairwell becomes slowly illuminated, though that is the only real warning of anyone's entrance as a honey-skinned young latina walks up the stairs. Her candle flickers gently as she nears the top of the stairway and steps out into the laundry room. Wide brown eyes scan the area cautiously as she ever holds her switchblade at the ready, starting for the opposite end of the room.

JianJun is sitting atop some discarded and bundled up sheets. With no other sound present he speaks calmly, neutrally, "Boo!". After a moment's pause, he continues, "Did you eat, hmm? I am hoping their hunt was successful."

The young woman doesn't appeared startled so much as she spins to face the man, switchblade aimed in his direction until she makes out his features from what little light reaches that far away. She laughs softly, closing and putting away her blade as she pads quietly over in his direction, "Oh..no hunt yet. They had much to speak of, but I found food in cans. They would not tell me what is so funny about sausages though." Her brow furrows, lips pursing poutily as she has a seat a pace or so away.

JianJun nods, "I see. Gabriel is a very … potent … individual. I had not realized that at first. I rather like him. But good for you being fed, regardless. Hopefully you had some decent meat to eat in those cans." Looking around, the fellow inquires, "Considered stepping into the moonlight? Anything is better than nearly total darkness."

"Yes, he is very kind to me as well. I am glad to have found food though. Something to hold off until we can hunt. I look forward to fresh meat instead of little sausages in cans." She laughs softly and blushes before adding, "But no…I've not thought of it. I say away from going outside. As you saw, Mister Gabriel is very protective of me, thankfully. And he says I must not go out of the hotel. It is dangerous enough with the lobby broken in for me to cross over to the kitchen in search of food, I would guess." Yasmira seems calm and contented for the moment, the result letting her control her accent to keep it to a minimum for the moment.

JianJun nods and nods again, "Yes. I see that he has your best interest in mind. I believe he sees that I have your best interest in mind, as well. I do not, however, care for the ah-he-he-hick fellow that wanted to remove my face with shotgun pellets. What was his name, again? I should like to know it."

A shrug of the shoulders accompanies the young woman's next words as she hrms, "I am not certain of his first name, but I did hear him called Mister McTierney." She tucks a few troublesome tresses behind her ear as they try to fall into her line of sight, "I am glad that Mister Gabriel takes no offense at your presence Mister Jin. You do seem nice for being a little different. But I have not room to talk. I do not feel I can count as normal truly."

JianJun arches an eyebrow, "A little different? What do you mean by that? There are plenty of Chinese around this country that are quite successful. As I am." Peering at the girl in a curious manner, the man does not seem upset. "And why is it you do not count as 'normal'? Foreign, sure."

"Oh…I don't know, Mister Jin. Being from Mexico…being a girl who has learned to fight and wishes to learn more. Then again…I must learn more. I must defend myself," replies the latina as she turns a little on the makeshift seat of covers, sheets and blankets. "As for you…I meant you are practically wearing around a gun shop, Mister Jin." Her eyes glimmer as she says this, her accent thickening.

JianJun nods and sighs, "Such is the way of things. Gabriel seems to, from the look of him, take matters directly into his hands. Literally. Myself, I prefer to keep a range upon things. It is much more effective to defend others in that manner - which I have found myself doing time and time again." Tilting his head to side slightly, the young Chinese inquires, "This makes sense, does it not?"

Nodding, Yasmira laughs softly, "It does make sense. Though I doubt bullets can piece scales of dragon. An axe…maybe. I do not know much about dragons. But it is good to know you are good with what you carry. I am alright with my gun, but could probably use more practice. I prefer to use my blade, but want bigger one. A nice longer blade."

JianJun chuckles, "Even imported people such as yourself, this America is full of John-Waynes. Bigger and bigger. The best defense is not always the bigger stick." Pondering the implications of what he just said, the man quickly amends, "Not that Chinese carry small sticks. Particularly untrue - any rumor concerning comparisons of certain Chinese anatomy and mini-eggrolls. Exceptionally false. Patently false. I would very much like the find the person starting such an idea." The man winks suggestively at the crude topic, though his face appears to be innocent from any sort of shananagins outside of giving levity to the situation.

For a moment the young woman opens her mouth as if she's about to say something before her brow furrows, confusion crossing her features. Her head tilts to one side before she asks, "Eggrolls? What are those…eggs and rolls don't sound like they would be good together. What do you mean?" Sadly enough, the young woman seems genuinely baffled and unaware of the fact this might be broaching on a taboo subject of any sort.

JianJun blinks a few times. "Eggrolls." Tapping on his chin for a few moments, during which his face shows the consideration his mind must be performing, the man finally responds, "Like burritos, but smaller, more tightly rolled, and far less obnoxious to the digestive tract. A mini-eggroll…think: fried jalapeno pepper." A grin appears across the face of young Jin and he continues, "When the city returns to normal, I will introduce you to the eggroll." He nods, giving finality to the statement of intent.

Nose crinkling a little, Yasmira nods a little, laughing softly, "It sounds interesting. Are they spicy? I like spicy. When living like this, all the food I find is bland. It makes it almost not worth eating except I must. I train too much to not eat." She sighs softly, lips pursing a little before she lifts the bottom part of her ragged and ripped shirt just enough to peek at her stomach. It's flat except that you can see her abs showing. It's clear that her form is nearly all muscle.

Near the end of Yasmira's question, a muffled clapping noise can be heard above the group, barely audible through the dense roof above them. The sound travels over the pair, like the pattering of many feet, eventually finding their way to the stairs leading down into the basement. Dust particles are unsettled by the movement on the floor above, knocked from the ceiling before floating lazily down to the floor, lit up by the light of the single candle left burning in the room.

JianJun peers at the girl's tummy, "Really, I think you could do well with a bellybutton ring. You should consider it. And what is it you're training so hard, for? You've got time. -" Hearing the movement, the young man gets to his feet and raises his shotgun carefully, "I don't suppose your friends sound like that when they make their way back home, hmm?"

The bottom of the young woman's shirt is promptly dropped, all thoughts of piecings or anything else completely abandoned as she gapes at the ceiling, jumping to her feet and drawing both handgun and switchblade, leaving her candle propped up on one of the folding tables. "No…No they don't. Oh no…whatever…whatever it is, it is now over where I stay most my time…What could make that sound?" Her panic is obvious as she keeps her eyes fixed on the last place she'd heard movement, starting to say her rosary in thick spanish under her breath.

The small, filthy child steps forward, into the dim candle light that branches out into the darkness, her features illuminated as she crosses the border from shadow into light. Smudges of dirt line her face, her hair ratty and moist from sweat and jungle dew. Two other small outlines can be seen behind her, reluctant to step forward into the light.

JianJun blinks at little orphan Annie's militia. "Well then. I suppose we have company. I have no idea how they managed to live so long without care…" The man tucks his shotgun into a strap on his hip, though he pulls out his two handguns casually and hails the rag tag crew. "You there, little orphan girls, do you speak English? Do you speak? Where did you come from?"

The rosary fades off as Yasmira breathes an exaggerated sigh of relief, letting both switchblade and handgun rest nonthreateningly at her sides as she offers a kind smile to the girl. "Gracias Dio!" exclaims the young woman under her breath before she motions with a nod of her head for the children to approach, "How are you children alive still?" The question is asked with some amazement.

"Please don't kill us, senor." Says the little child in a mousy voice. She seems to become as reluctant as the other two behind her, because her advance towards the two conversationists has halted. "We are only running from the monsters." Her accent is heavily influenced by central american roots, each word pushed from her mouth with precision and ease.

JianJun stands still, several paces away, "I am not a murdurer, little one. Why not have your friends all come out and say…hola?" The man named Jin does not put his guns away, though he gestures non-aggressively with them. "What monsters were you running from, little friends?"

"Yes, we would not hurt you children. Come…are they close? If they are close…we go out of sight. I will grab my candle and we go hide, okay?" Yasmira says, no longer hiding her accent as she hears their own. She closes the switchblade, tucking it inside her left pocket and then offers her left hand out towards the girl. "Do not be afraid."

"Gross monsters, senor. They were all snappy and icky." Replies the small mexican girl. Her tiny brown eyes stare at the two, her gaze traveling towards Yasmira. "Si, Senora. You are very kind." She steps forward more into the candle light, flashing a small, nervous smile. "This is my brother, Diego." She says, gesturing offhandedly towards a small mexican boy who follows her closely. "I am Dora. And that is our monkey." She says, pointing to the crouched, furry creature which scurries after the pair. "He has been following us through the forest. His name is Boots. Because we woke up with him attacking our boots." She chuckles in a childish, life-like voice, laughter tinkling like silverware in a drawer.

JianJun looks at the crew in amazement, "Alright, alright. Well. Are you hungry? Do we have some cans or something? We're certain those monsters are outside the hotel, are we not? If that monkey plays with fecal matter, he's back out into the jungle. Comprehende?"

There is a warm glimmer in Yasmira's eyes as she puts her gun away now and reaches for the candle with her right hand, offering her left to the young girl, "I see…well you both are very cute, and I guess the monkey is too, but Mister Jin is right. If the monkey plays with poo, he can go do it elsewhere. Mister Gabriel is many things, but I do not know if he is an animal lover." A soft laugh comes from her as she looks to the two children. "You two must be used to hiding as well…come. Much better hiding places with us, yes?"

The little girl smiles and laughs again, nodding her head happily as the monkey scurries off between the machinery, stealing off into the dark places of the room. "I promise he will be a clean monkey, senora." The boy doesn't speak, he merely follows the girl with a look of permanent horror transfixed on his features. "Si, we are very hungry. We have not eaten in many days, senor." Says the little dirty girl, stepping closer to the pair. Off in the corner of the room, the shenanigans of the monkey echo about as he clangs against the laundry machines.

JianJun sighs and nods, "Indeed. Let's see about getting them some food. It is amazing they have lasted so long. Absolutely amazing." Quietly, Jin makes to follow the group to wherever the food is, "That monkey is going to drive me bannanas."

As the girl doesn't take her hand, Yasmira pulls out her knife again, eyes scanning the darnkess vigilantly. She takes up another candle from the folding table, lighting it from hers and holding it out to Jin, "That monkey will want to stay near them. It will be too loud and draw trouble..you are most armed, so will you go grab the food? There are cans in the pantry in the kitchen. It is across the hall from here. I will get them down to the basement so the sound of Boots' playing draws no beasts." She glances to the children warmly as she holds the candle in her left hand out towards Jin for him to take, "Each of you grab a few blankets or sheets that you can carry. It gets cool in the basement sometimes, but it is safer there."

The little girl nods her head, smiling eagerly as she moves towards the blankets. The dirty little boy, however, simply stands where he is, eyes getting wider by the moment. The light from the candle glistens in the boy's moist orbs, and a single tear leaps over his eyelid before crawling down his face, picking up mud and dirt as it leaves a glossy path behind it. Then, his mouth opens wide, and he lets out a hopeless wail that fills the room like a pipe organ.

JianJun blinks at the kid and can't seem to find words to say. After a few moment's pause the fellow begins, "Kid! Shhhh! You've -got- to be quiet. Shhhh!!!" Looking to the latina woman, Jin addresses her in a very flat tone, "Gabriel is going to be pissed." He then turns towards the kitchen and prepares to go get some food.

"Ai!" Yasmira exclaims softly under her breath with worry as she rushes towards the child after propping up her candle so that she has a free hand, rushing over to cup her hand over the child's mouth and whispering soothingly in hushed tones, "Oh..please, shhh…shhh Diego. You mustn't cry. It is loud and will draw beasts. You'll be safe if you stay quiet with me, alright?" She seems to disregard Jin's words for the moment..the last thing she wanted to think about was Gabriel mad. Maybe she could get him to grow calm. "Come Dora…bring blanket and let's hope the monkey follows. We need to get where the sound will now carry."

As the woman clamps her hand over the boy's mouth, the top of her fingers is moistened by his tears, dirt and sweat smearing onto her hand as his crying continues, now strained and muffled. A deep, hot pain floods into Yasmira's hand as the child bites down, hard, his sharp little teeth pinching her skin and causing it to bleed. He frees himself from her hand and steps back, crying even louder with forceful, hopeless sobs. "Diego be quiet!" Yells Dora as she quickly walks over to him and smacks his face, which only causes him to cry even more loudly. The boy's own siren-like wailing have caused the monkey in the corner to begin screeching in a confused fashion, its screams flooding the hotel and echoing out into the jungle.

JianJun looks around the normally silent place and utters a really, really mean-sounding curse in a foreign language. "The kid is going to bring down…." He cuts off in mid-sentence and takes a deep breath, "Alright. Kid. There's candy in it for you if you be quiet right now. Candy the very next time I see you, I promise." The man clearly looks like he'd rather be elsewhere, "I'm going to get the food. Try to keep the noise down? Just maybe something on the WEST side of LA hasn't heard us yet." Jin turns and makes his way away from the noise and towards the kitchen.

The latina woman grits her teeth as she yanks her hand back and shakes it vigoriously for a moment before clamping her fingers in the bottom of her shirt to stem the bleeding as Jin speaks to try to calm the boy before he heads for the kitchen. She looks to Dora and shakes her head, "If he cannot be quiet…we cannot let him down there. You must make him quiet Dora. We can't risk it." She now rips off a small shred of the bottom part of her shirt, which tears pretty easily by now and ties it off around her fingers a few times to give it some padding before she switches the candle into the other hand, "Nevermind…we can't wait. I promise he'll be alright later, but I have to do this…" She pulls out her handgun, and attempting to 'pistol-whip' the boy's head that is just enough to knock him out and not kill him…fully keeping her new strength in mind, however so as not to do the latter. "We ditch the monkey…come. Every beast for miles will come if not!" she says, reaching to grab the boy.

The child dances away from the woman's desperate behavior, eyes screwed up tightly and pouring tears as he turns and runs for the stairs. His cries of horror echo down to the laundry room, still filling the building as his feet bang on the stairs above them. Then, just as he reaches to spot directly above the group, he suddenly falls silent, his footsteps stopped as well. Dora glances up at the next floor, staring at the blank ceiling as if trying to pierce the wood and see her brother. "Diego?!" She calls hesitantly, lips quivering.

JianJun looks towards the kid, just before leaving for the kitchen, "Alright. Let's get the kid. This time, I'll knock him out. The other kid and the monkey can stay put. Get out your weapon of choice and let's retrieve the little rebel. Let's do it quickly before something befalls him." The man motions for the latina to back him up and he heads after the boy.

"I…I…think something already has him. The footsteps…they stopped. He cries no more… I was afraid if I hit harder, he'd not have lived and now he's probably dead because of it, besides…if he sees me, he'll run again. You go get him. You promised him candy, he'll not be scared of you." Yasmira's brow furrows, though she puts away her switchblade, swapping candle to her left hand as she takes out her gun in her right, motioning with her head for Dora to head for the basement. "Go down there out of sight. We will try to save your brother, Dora. Use the blankets and hide down the stairs.

Even as the two discuss their plans for retrieving the troublesome little boy, a scuttling sound can be heard directly above them. Dora's eyes are still transfixed to the ceiling, the look of horror on her dirty face growing more intense suddenly. The scuttling sound stops above them, though the sound of viscous liquids churning like magma in the belly of the earth has suddenly started up. And still Dora stares at the ceiling.

JianJun looks up at the ceiling and frowns, "Well. That doesn't sound pleasant." Jin readjusts his bulletproof vest and checks his equipment. "The kid just /had/ to scream." Looking over to the latina, he adds, "We'll see what we can do for the little fellow. If Gabriel asks, I went forging valiantly and you went along to spectate. Right?"

"I…I can't. He told me not to leave and that is considered outside with the roof ripped off. He would scream if alive. The boy is dead Mister Jin!," exclaims Yasmira as she rushes over, trying to grab up Dora and her blankets without letting the candle in her left hand go out. "We go hide before that… thing… gets us too." There is sadness in her eyes as she says this, obviously not wanting to, but making the hard decision. "Besides…if we go and fail..not only are we dead, but how can we protect the girl? No…You can go if you want and try to find him."

As the woman and man look up to follow Dora's gaze, a small flutter of motion meets their eyes, and a round object begins to fall from the ceiling. The object hits Dora in the face before thumping onto the ground, leaving a smudge of red on the young girl's forehead. Her eye twitches for a moment or two, and the details of the object quickly become apparent. Diego's eyes stare out from his lonely head, turned upward on the floor, neck leaking blood, his eyes frozen in horror as he stares up at the very creature that has just beheaded him. In the shadows of the ceiling, just out of the reach of the candlelight, a growling, sticky thing lurks, attached to the ceiling and dripping saliva and children's blood. It stares out at the three living humans with many glistening eyes, it's jagged maw suddenly opening up, saliva sliding between two spiked jaws. It lets out a screech far superior to the monkey's, something dark and filled with bloodlust. Held between its praying mantis-like limbs is the body of Diego the mexican child, stiff and headless.

The creature's screams die away, though it continues to peer down at the three beings. It suddenly shoves the child's body into its mouth, clothes and all, teeth and arms clicking together, saliva enveloping the child's form, sharp teeth crunching down onto the body relentlessly. Within moments the entire body has been devoured, and not a trace remains with the creature. It suddenly leaps down as Jian flips his guns up and aims them at the thing, firing twice with two quick bursts at the blurring, green-black form. It screeches with the pain and rage as the bullets collide with its side, but, alas, it's entire mouth has been wrapped around the mexican girl's body, swallowed up in a sea of teeth and spit. The force with which the massive mantis-thing hits the laundry floor causes the entire floor to give way and break through, sending the occupants of the room down tumbling down into the basement. Dora has disappeared within the depths of the thing's mouth, screaming and leaking blood from saw-tooth wounds.

Valen is standing near an ironing board, wielding a large jug of laundry detergent. He sniffs at it in a disdainful manner, "..Eugh. I see not how mortals can use to this stench on their clothing…". His pale nose wrinkles up a bit as he groans, seeming bored with the whole affair, "..Isn't there.. Court.. tonight? Or something?", he tries to recall, but shrugs it off after a moment.

Two gunshots rip through the calm air of the basement, muffled by the ceiling above, before suddenly a screech as loud as a table saw is let out, and the ceiling gives way to an explosion of dust and wood shrapnel. JianJun and Yasmira fall into the basement from above, along with a horrifying creature chewing on the squirming body of a small, dirty mexican girl. The creature bleeds purple from one side, its sharp-toothed mouth clamping up and down, muscles moving on its mantis arms to help it eat the girl.

Valentine Carmina almost fumbles the industrial size jug of detergent that he is peering down at, frightened as he is with the commotion of clattering and general din that tends to accompany people and monsters falling through a ceiling. He yelps, almost literally, and in less than a second has foregone the greeting to Markus and is just standing right behind him, peering over his shoulder.

"What the-" Markus says as he flinches back as the ceiling collapses. "-The hell, the hell is-What!" As the man notices Valentine behind him, he takes a glance over his shoulder wide eyed, and glances back to the giant Mantis thing. "Oh for fucking Christ's sake." With that, Markus sinks into somewhat of a position where he could try to dodge the thing, or just book it back down the way he came.

Hitting the ground hard, Yasmira blinks wearily. She'd not even had the time to fire off a round of her own before she found herself crashing down to the ground. Lucky enough for her, she'd fallen backwards onto the pile of blankets that'd tumbled down as well, but that did little but cushion her head and neck from damage. Still, it takes a little while before she can regain her bearings enough from the shock of such a fall to start even trying to push up to her feet. The bottom part of her hand clenches, rather than any of her fingers or her eyes averting to check. Yes…gun still in hand. Her eyes remain dizzily fixed on the mantis, growing more focused as she finally regains her feet and she whips out her switchblade in left hand now. For once, the rosary isn't the first thing to spew out of the latina's mouth as she lets out a brief spurt of spanish curses ending with, "And that hurt!"

JianJun gets up slowly, in a most Army of Darkness type fashion. He is shaken, not stirred and seems to be getting himself poised for an assault on the purple-bleeding people eater. With an effort - and a distinct lack of breath - Jin offers a cautionary suggestion to Markus and Co. "Get the fuck ready, she's a right nasty bitch!"

The creature doesn't seem to take kindly to Jian's insults at all, as it suddenly turns its child-filled mouth towards him and leans back, as though preparing for something. Suddenly it lunges forward, vomiting the girl's half-eaten body at Jian in a spray of blood and saliva, before it follows after the projectile and leaps at the asian man. Dust still floats through the air, making it hard to see in the thick darkness and cluttered basement. The mantis-creatures many eyes glint in what little light there is, its passage through the air upsetting the otherwise serene dust.

Another shriek is ellicited into the room, but this time it comes from Valentine Carmina, who is standing behind Markus and watching the beast spit out the corpse of the Mexican child. His lithesome arm is brought up, and with a grunt he sends the opened jug of detergent hurtling over the shoulder of his human shield, and in the direction of the fell beast. Giving the man a nudge in the back, he hisses, "..Markus! Go and kill it!".

"Damnit, Valen!" Markus shouts as some of the detergent splashes on him. One hand reaches down as he pulls out one of his precious valuable flash lights and clicks it on. With that, he lays it on the ground and rolls the flashlight away from himself in a semi-circle so the beam of light points perpendicular to him. Opening his mouth, his canines begin to grow into fangs as he waits to see if the old myth is true that mantises are attracted to artificial lights.

As the creature leaps after its prey, the heavily-armed asian man deftly spins out of the way of both attacks, ending up right next to Yasmira. The creature catches the half-eaten body in its mouth as it lands, turning its head towards Markus as the man turns on the flashlight. It instantly scurries towards him, ignoring the bottle of detergent that suddenly hits it in the face. The oversized mantis' foot stabs down into the floor and the flashlight that rolls upon it. The black device cracks and shatters, rendered completely useless. The creature is suddenly within a few inches of Markus, its massive mouth crunching Dora's body, the steam from its saliva, the crude stench of blood and viscera permeating through the air from its maw and into Markus' nostrils. The creature lets out another banshee screech, teeth opening wide in front of the businessman's face, breath hot with death and unsatisfied hunger. Still, it does not attack, and suddenly falls silent as its multiple eyes stare at Markus.

From the sloped stairs against the south wall that lean into Elysium, the soft outline of Macha appears ontop of a pair of decorated maryjanes that lack her usual high-heels. A knee length, a-line skirt has been paired with a feminine jacket of smokey gray, worn over a simple white blouse with silver buttons. The slightly padded shoulders and tightened waistline only emphasizes her small frame. Her dark hair is curled into short spirals around her face, and the same elegant, dark makeup highlights her large, pale green eyes and full lips. However, those same doll like features shift immediately as she raises her eyes to the room, and a faultered step is taken that brings her immediately to a rather shaken seat on the floor.

"I said to KILL IT, Markus! Not to shine it to death, you incompetent ninny!", comes another shrieking sentence from Valen as he nudges Markus again, peering over at the thing from the shoulder of the man. He turns about at the sound of Macha's entrance, and his exotic orbs of glowing amber go wide at her arrival. With a flicker of his wrist, he calls out, "Go back down, dearheart! Go back down! The boys are having a talk with the giant disgusting bug!". At his own words, a shiver runs the course of his spine.

As Markus' mouth opens, fangs glinting in the dim light of the room, the creature drops the mutilated body and opens its own mouth. The span from its upper to lower jaw is easily more than a foot, allowing it to clamp down on Markus' entire face. Its powerful neck swings to the side, teeth digging into the man's skull as it hurls him to the side as easily as a sack of cash. It releases the businessman and leaps forward at Valen, once Markus has been flung aside. The creature bares its teeth again, before suddenly exploding in mid-air, purple guts and pieces of green-black flesh showering the foppish, laundry detergent-throwing man. After the bug guts have cleared the air, JianJun is visible ten paces in front of Valentine, both guns aimed up, smoke trailing from the barrels.

"..Mm. Well. That showed it..", Valentine Carmina responds him, seeming to re-gather his calm facade almost the second that the thing is blown into pieces. It's only then that the concept of the bug goo and remainder about his person is realized, and suddenly he shrieks again, the sound of a dying Greek and the death of beauty. Almost immediately, the beautiful man with the raven-coloured hair begins to strip out of his clothing, without a single care for those who might be in the room, "Fetch me some water, or some bleach!", he hisses, quite perturbed and panicked — even more so than when he'd first seen the creature.

Having ducked behind some rubble as she tries to line up her shot, Yasmira cursed silently as the light disappeared, only waiting a moment to find the Chinaman's shot rang true. The rubble managed to keep a good bit of the goo from the young woman, though she still sits shaking behind an overturned piece of the ceiling, heart racing. At the man's girly cry, however, she's shaken from her personaly trauma to stand up and peer bewilderedly into the darkness at the stripping man…eyes only now adjusting enough that she can notice that the man is -indeed- stripping. Her jaw hangs agape as she's unable to do anything else for the moment.

The previously cowering figure of Macha comes to her feet slowly, brushing her palms casually down the front of her skirt to smooth it with a horridly empty expression on her delicate features. Once it seems that she's gathered every bit of composure as possible, she takes a few steps away from the stairs, skirting around each instance of gore while keeping her nose turned up. For now, her attention is clearly focused on the undressing Greek, though just as she stops a few feet away from him, she takes a couple pointed steps backwards with a light groan. "That was the worst thing I've ever seen, I have to say." Her smokey tone drifts out, almost managing a jest, if it weren't for the slight gag to her words as she looks over Valen appraisingly.

Ascending the stairs from below is a black man dressed in a surprisingly clean, and pressed, tweed suit. A blue bow tie is fixed around his neck, and a happy grin burns over his dark features. "Well, now, where the hell have you all been?" He asks, raising a black eyebrow, turning his brown eyes to Markus and Valen as he adjusts his glasses. "And why is that young man nekkid? A-he-he. Such a circus you people got runnin' here."

JianJun calmly places his guns back into his thigh holster. Looking over to Markus, he inquires, "You there, friend, are you alright? I was a bit late on the triggers - the fall was a bit disturbing - I apologize for that." Looking over at the man that is disrobing - and subsequently at Yasmira - Jin calmly extends a hand to cover her eyes.

A soft string of curse words in German slips from the man's mouth as he places one hand on the pavement. With that, he pushes himself up and shakes his head a little bit, causing a small slight spray of blood. He raises his other arm and drags it across his face to whipe the blood away from his eyes and sits up a little bit, blinking twice. He mutters softly as he pushes himself into a sitting position and moves his hands to the sides of head, pushing at it slightly. "I've seen demons, a dragon…and the inside of a fucking praying mantis' mouth." With that, he stands up a little more and bends his head to each side before shaking a little bit. Glancing over to Ruark he leans back against the wall and snickers softly, his eyes glancing over towards Valen before glancing back to the black man. Slowly, he uses the wall to push himself up and calls out to the man, "You wouldn't happen to have a handkerchief, Mister McTiereney?" He then glances to Jian and waves his hand in a dismissive manner. "It's dead, that's all that matters."

Valentine offers Ruark a glare that could melt steel at his comment, and goes silent in the most utter and impossible fashion, his entire, lithesome frame quivering. He stands there, arms wrapped around his slender torso, one leg up and cocked at an angle against that which is standing, as if he were attempting to get as far from the floor as possible. It's almost deadly, the manner in which he hisses, "..If I do not have something to clean up with this instant, this room will know a wrath not seen since the conquering courses of Alexander the Great..". Another shudder of absolute revulsion rips through his lurid frame at this, as his golden-orange sights look around for something that might help in the aid of his cleansing.

The Harpy's slender body stays a few paces away from Valen, though her hand comes out with her palm down towards him after a rather dramatic sigh. "Come darling, there's plenty to clean up with downstairs," she explains in a rather subdued whisper towards the usually striking, gore covered Valentine. With the words, each tremor and shiver of her form stops completely, and she adapts a rather cold, passive demeanor. "All of you should know better than to be upstairs, and those who don't are quite lucky to be alive, I would think in the nicest terms possible." She looks between Yasmira and JianJun, then towards Markus for a moment before her focus returns to Valen. "You'll be fine, my angel. We'll burn those clothes later, once you're a bit better off, yes?"

The latina's shocked stare ends at Jin's hand blocking her view and she shakes her head a little, embarassed blush creeping over her cheeks unseen in the dark, "Bbye Mister Jin. Be careful." The words are finally murmured as the man starts making his way out past the rubble. She sinks down to sit upon some of the less dusty chunks of broken up concrete as she wraps her arms around herself. "No where is safe," she murmurs, staring worriedly at the ground before her.

"Mmm. That was a favorite set of clothing. I vow it that no bug in existence will ever be free of the debt this one has brought upon them..", the arrogant and enchanting man states, lifting his nose a bit at the corpse. Wearing nothing more than his bikini briefs of a dark crimson colouring, he steps over his discarded clothing and sniffs at it in a disdainful fashion, following the Harpy as he is lead downstairs, "..I am never using Markus as a shield again. Useless! The Camarilla needs more investment in the obese, of just to protect the beautiful from harm..". He saunters along, his frigid frame still quivering at the touch and corruption of the mantis' insides.

Reaching up and taking the handkerchief from Ruark, Markus dabs around his head with it, and soaks up some of the blood. "Oh, I'm quite alright Ruark. You know how we come." He grins up at the man and slowly stands up. He glances back to Macha and an eyebrow slowly arches as he affixes her a gaze. He then glances towards Valen and he snickers softly at Valen, "I'm about as useless as a man who shrieks like a woman and throws laundry detergent when in harms way. Oh, might I add speaking of things which shouldn't be said in front of Kine." His eyes narrow towards the man, and he glances back to Ruark and motions with his head towards Elysium. "We should talk, Mister McTierney, I'll be fine, I just need something."

Ruark nods his head and glances to Valen's retreating form, before looking back at Markus. "What you need, sir? I'll help you get it. Patrick and I. He's downstairs, waiting for us. A-he-he."

"Don't say things like that with me at your side, Mister Carmina. For more reasons than just one." The porcelain doll of a woman at Valen's side snaps in a smooth whisper, though so much concern for his well being is still mixed with her voice that it holds none of the pleading she intends. "Suits can be purchased again. Your charm, and your face cannot," she continues with a soft glance back at Markus, her nose wrinkling with a pout against the back and forth of insults. She leans in toward Valentine briefly, letting a whisper fall towards him with her first movements towards him within a few feet due to his gore coated condition.

Looking up suddenly at the ones on the other side of the room, Yasmira stands and calls over timidly, her spanish accent thicker from complete lack of thinking of it at the moment, "Please…please do any of you know if there is an extra sword anywhere. Short enough for me but longer than my switchblade? I have experience with…with the blade." Her doe-brown eyes peer, trying to make out the others, having no candle anymore to light her way as she stumbles, bruised, in their direction.

"Thank you Ruark, I need to go get another flashlight and find something else. It shall only be a moment." He affords the man a smile and turns his eyes towards Macha and a soft snicker is elicited from his lips. "You are quite right, Miss Lucilacu, however in the near future if you wish to suggest something to me, I would prefer it to be told to me. Stress -is- running high in these moments so I do think that all comments said here shall be overlooked by all parties, hmm?" Markus' expression changes from one of respect at the beginning of the statement, as if he were addressing a fellow peer, to his neutral business-like gaze. To finish the shift of expression, both his eyebrows rise slightly at the ending 'hmm?' Blinking, his eyebrows shrug and his facial features relax as he turns back to Ruark, and gives the man a nod.

"..She's Mexican, Markus. The old Spanish is lost on her. In case you were worried of her telling, Oh, the vines. She is Gabriel's ghoul, after all..", Valentine sneers, though the attention from the woman at his side does seem to calm him down just a bit, "..Yes. You're right. I can purchase more clothing. When..the siege has let up. Let us go and cleanse me, before this hideous arrangement leaves me with some sort of trauma..". He descends then, with her.

Ushering Valentine's shaken self down the stairs into Elysium, Macha takes a moment of pause to turn her gaze back to Markus with his addressing of her whispers. "Clearly you heard it anyways, I see. Therefore the notion is completely moot. Those who didn't need to hear it, did not. As whispers should be kept." The whole statement leaves her painted lips with the same cool, dry tone, and she ends it with her decent into Elysium after Valen. "You won't be scarred from it. We will spend the night making up for such horrors, you and I, away from such… rude misfortune."

"I guess not," Yasmira says as she sees the group departing without even answering her question. Not that she'd expected it anyhow…and now her sleeping spot was ruined. Debris is everywhere… she walks over, pulling on the pile of blankets and sheets that she'd landed on, shaking them off and starting to build a softer and notably cleaner area for her to rest, a rather defeated attitude about her for the moment as she works.

Ruark watches the little word-battle with a bemused expression, apparently deciding not to involve himself with the subtle socialites. Instead he turns towards Yasmira and raises an eyebrow, biting his bottom lip slightly. "Young lady, I don't even know you. Matta of fact, I don't even know why you're here. In our sanctuary. Mistah Majesty's decisions confuse me, a-he-he. I am not 'bout ta go rummaging through the weapons supply ta arm you."

"Miss Lucilacu, stay for a moment. I wish to have a quick word with you, please?" Markus watches her, with the same neutral, and cool, expression. His head tilts slightly at an angel as he watches her and he gives a nod to Ruark, although he doesn't look at the man. "Yes, Mister McTiereny. Yasmira, why don't you go upstairs?" His lips purse slightly for a moment as he keeps his eyes on Macha's form.

The honey-skinned latina nods faintly to Markus, starting to gather up the covers, "There is little 'upstairs' left with it having fallen, but I…I understand." Her voice wavers faintly as she hugs the sheets and blankets to herself, stumbling up and over debris as she tries to follow Markus's behest. Words murmured to herself softly can barely be heard if even understood as she says in Spanish, "Seems only Mister Gabriel even wants me around."

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