[PRP] A little bird told me (Shun / Edel)

[Zyphiris]

After a few days spent scouring the reference section of the library, Edel had come to the conclusion that the bracelet was of some unknown source. It barely surprised her by now, having lived through years of being thrown into danger after danger, which could never have been avoided due to the school's unrelenting policy of keeping their students ignorant of the most crucial matters.

The symbol of a dissolving ankh was not to be found in any of the school's records, and she was hesitant to draw a direct link to the actual ankh symbol. It also didn't appear to have any overt links to the legacies – as far as she knew, those were represented by symbols of crowns and colours.

Edel had no urge to test out the bracelet's abilities for herself, the frost demon far too wary by now to land herself in some hunter, horseman, or other jackforsaken trap there may be. She also had no intention to involve Ivar with this matter, though his help would certainly broaden the reach of her information hunting.

There was someone who might know something about this, or at the very least, be interested to know that there had been a strange man peddling these bracelets in town. Pulling out her phone, the ghoul would soon realise that amongst the sad list of 5 contacts, Shun's number was not one of them. Well, she never did ask for it.

Edel would also be sadly informed that the reaper had moved out of the campus by the dorm's resident assistant, which left her with the sole option of sending out messenger pigeons to deliver her message:

Quote:

Someone interesting has appeared in town selling some bracelets and claiming them to be Fear amps; does the name Settimo Accardi ring a bell for you?

I have obtained a specimen, with this symbol on it (a quick sketch of the dissolving ankh accompanied the note)

Should you be interested, I think we should meet at the courtyard we first gathered.

The note was signed off with simply this:

Blade Kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun did not expect to receive mail by pigeon. But when he did, he furrowed his brow at the letter, taking note of both the image of the dissolving ankh and the crest of Penumbra. Both, which he recognized. One of the others must have found something. After getting the letter read to him in full, he gritted his teeth lightly, then quickly set off to head to the school.

A day or so prior, he had received word from his father with some orders regarding a few things here and there. This letter did not bode well with that.

Before too long, he was in the courtyard. There, he looked around, seeking whoever might have contacted him. Xiu had his phonenumber, so it couldn't have been her.

Zyphiris

 

[Zyphiris]

“I think,” she rose from her seat, looking up from her phone a moment later, “It would be nice to have your number, perhaps?” Edel leveled a mildly embarrassed look at Shun. “I'm glad you got my message, nonetheless.”

The bracelet was fished out from her pocket and handed to the reaper, while the ghoul waited to observe his reaction to it. She hadn't expected such a quick response from him, then again she didn't know what he did with his time, but his entire demeanor gave off a vibe that something was not good about this entire matter.  

[Blade Kuroda]

Swiftly, Shun produced his phone and offered it, once he realized it was Edel.

"Call yourself."

When the bracelet was produced, he took it, narrowing his good eye as he looked it over.

"That is the emblem of the Black Sands, alright. Where did you say you got this, again?"  

[Zyphiris]

Edel exchanged the bracelet for the phone, tapping her number into it while he took his time to observe the item. Number entered into the contact list, she returned to the homescreen out of habit to find a picture of Shun and Mitsu set as the background. She may or may not have taken a moment to stare at it, all while trying to keep a straight face. It amused her to see the usually stern reaper look so... blissfully happy.

“A man named Settimo Accardi was peddling them in town,” she answered, handing his phone back, “I have not tested it for myself, nor intend to, but there were a few other students who made a purchase too.” Edel gave Shun a look which told him that they'd find out soon enough if there was going to be trouble.

“The Black Sands?” she repeated, waiting for an elaboration.  

[Blade Kuroda]

"The Black Sands is a gang. Of the organized sort. Pretty damn ballsy to slap their logo on this s**t, but they have been off the radar for awhile. Settimo Accardi does not ring a bell, but if he was the one selling these, he is no doubt one of them," Shun murmured, passing the object back.

"I would be careful with this thing. I am not sure what the Black Sands are suddenly up to. I was warned to keep an eye out for anything out of place. Apparently there has been some... underground activities in the area. Ones not affiliated with the Kuroda."  

[Zyphiris]

Edel raised an eyebrow at hearing Shun needing to justify himself regarding the Kuroda Clan. She didn't know too much about his background, and was happy to leave it at that as long as she could trust him to be an ally regarding hunter and horsemen matters.

“Well I wouldn't worry too much about me, I've had enough experience with things to not trust dodgy people selling dodgy things,” she sighed, pocketing the bracelet, “We might have to keep an eye out for some other students though.” Her thoughts drifted back to Danny and Rikki – who seemed capable of handling themselves alright. But there were others who were probably not initiated into Amity's tradition of s**t happening.

“Hm,” she paused, considering her position on this, “What kind of trouble?”
 

[Blade Kuroda]

"I do not have a whole lot of information on the matter. Mostly things moving around. People asking peculiar questions and the like. That might have had something to do with that Bracelet, I do not know."

Shun ran a hand through his hair and looked around, thinking.

"Best stay vigilant. Their leader is... power hungry from what little I know of her. Then again, there are few mafia bosses who are not."  

[Zyphiris]

“If you could tell me what to look out for, perhaps I could keep an eye out for it,” she offered. “I can't say I know much about the mafia, although -” she stopped, recalling how she has seen Ivar blow up in a fury over some counterfeits a while ago, “-ah, nevermind.”

“My official residence is still here, though I am around town a lot more these days. I guess we could keep in contact via messages, since it appears you have moved out from the dorms.”
 

[Blade Kuroda]

"I live in an apartment now, yes. However, I still come by the school relatively often," Shun replied. He drew in a deep breath at her first question, however.

"I do not know how to be more specific than 'suspicious activity' when I do not know what it is the Black Sands want. They have done trafficking before, from what I recall..."  

[Zyphiris]

"Trafficking?" she echoed, raising an eyebrow. The bracelets ... were probably a little too petty an object to warrant mafia activities, weren't they?  

[Blade Kuroda]

"Yes. But it is hard to say if that is their goal here. This is the first I have heard or seen of them in quite some time."  

[Zyphiris]

"Oh, I meant to say, trafficking what exactly?" she clarified.

"You don't suppose you would know anyone who could study the bracelet, would you?"  

[Blade Kuroda]

"People. For...a variety of reasons. Mostly ones people would consider to be bad," Shun clarified. His gaze shifted back to the bracelet and he let out a sigh.

"I do not have a clue, unfortunately. They must have mass produced them if they are selling them like that, but it is hard to say just what the nature of the item is, exactly."

Meaning it would be hard to find the right sort of specialist to check it out.  

[Zyphiris]

Edel supposed Shun had reasons to keep things vague, and decided not to press further.

"I guess we'll find out if there is trouble on the horizon soon enough," she sighed, "Though I would really rather this be a case of being cautious in vain."

"I'll see you around, or not, hopefully."