detragigante:

He had thought to humor the idea of living in a community full of “his own kind”. Côte Céleste, it was called, or so, that’s what the man in the letter addressed this little place as. At first glance, the little community was quaint, quiet, the only source of life as of now were the newcomers flowing in from the ports and stations, himself included. He had come overseas. 

The more he thought of it, the more it frustrated him, why he made the decision to come here in the first place. Back home, back in his place of study, he felt superior to the others; his “gift” made him such. Adding on to his high intelligence was the conditional strength to push past human limits. With the right preparations, he could overcome almost anyone back home. The thought made his mind’s lips curl with a sense of pleasure. The thought of being a superior in every aspect— no. Such thoughts were interrupted by his past failures— reason enough for his move here to be justified. Everyone knew his “face”, the lunatic scientist the Professor had thwarted many a times. Perhaps here, he would be an unknown once again, able to work without drawing attention, able to go about his research without the automatic assumption of doing no good.

When has he ever done wrong, he wondered? All he wished to do, at the latest point, was study an ancient “urban legend” of a city. That’s it, nothing more. 

To outsiders, or those involved somehow, their viewpoints differed vastly. In Descole’s eyes, he was no criminal, no one with true malicious intent; just a passionate scientist and researcher.

His grasp tight on his bearings, Descole took his first step into the quaint community. Clean, quiet, just as he’d guess before. There wasn’t a single hint of familiarity, no reminders of the stigmas Descole bore in London. This is promising, a start of a new life without these stigmas, without the automatic assumption of him being a scheming criminal. Truth be told, the “scheming” aspect of this claim was fairly accurate.

“’Ello there.”

A greeting, so soon? From the size of the area, he wouldn’t push past the idea of friendly neighbors. He glanced to the stranger, brows perked behind the mask.

He went on and on, introducing himself as “Crow” (already strange), offering to be a guide. Was he sure if he would even accept a stranger’s hand of aid? His pride needed to be swallowed at some point or another.

“Well, Crow, was it? Could you tell me the way to Wrest Street? I could bear my own from that point onwards”

Crow had an interesting past.

Abandoned by his parents for the powers he had, which in reality, weren’t even that shocking. He could move a little faster than others, big deal. But his parents hadn’t cared, seeing him as something that would only bring them shame and unwanted attention, and left him behind. He saw it as no matter and lived on his own, creating the Black Ravens to make up the family he wasn’t able to have. Everything had been wonderful with them. They’d figured out a successful system for running their black market, and none of the kids minded that Crow had these powers. In fact, they looked up to him for them. Made him their leader for it. All this had done was boosted Crow’s self confidence, boosted his desire to want to continue on with his life everyday.

There was one day in particular that had been incredibly successful. He’d heard of another man in his town with powers like his, and went to investigate further. He watched the man, and noticed as through the power of music, he became stronger. Alright, interesting, whatever. What was more interesting was the immense wealth displayed in his home.  Crow made a note of that, and moved on.

The next couple of days were filled of news of a scientist that would be showing off an invention of his in the square. Crow attended, simply because he was curious, and was surprised to find that the scientist was the man he’d seen before. He watched as the man was laughed at, jeered at for his creation, and thought to be a liar. Though there was the slightest twinge of sympathy for him, what he cared for more than anything was his wealth, and when he had heard even further of the things this scientist had done, thwarted by another, well. That in his eyes was all the more reason to have him as a target.

With the Ravens he organized  a break into his home, where they stole a couple of things they’d be able to sell well on the Black Market. They’d been successful in stealing a couple of artifacts, and when Crow had returned later on to see the man’s reaction, he’d laughed at how angry he’d gotten. Laughed at him in general, why he wasn’t sure. Later on, when this man tried to level the city with one of his creations, Crow had played a part in bringing him down.

He did not know fate would bring him to this man once again.

He didn’t recognize him at first, and offered his help, but when the man responded, it took everything Crow had not to let out a yelp of surprise now that he’d recognized him. It was that man. Descole.

It seemed he didn’t remember him. How could he, when they’d never met face to face?

“Yes that’s right, Crow’s my name. What’s yours?” He said as he walked in front of him. Had to play it cool. “Wrest Street you say? Why that’s where I live!” Goodness no. Bloody hell. “Duplex 4000, in fact. Perhaps we’re neighbours.”

Or worse.

He started to walk ahead of him, showing him the way, but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach….

(Source: ravenleader)

respectmahauthoriteh:

So far, today wasn’t a very good day for Hidetoshi. Firstly, he’d had to wake up at 3 am to catch his flight to whichever foreign country this was. Madame President had helped him arrange the flight, but the gray haired teen had been stuck between two bawling infants and a crotchety old woman who’d snapped at him when he tried to help her into her seat. That had been the most horrible and stressful journey of his life, and it had been twelve hours. Twelve. HOURS.

After that there was supposed to be a car there to pick him up. Unfortunately, as luck would have it the car got a flat tire on the road. So he’d had to awkwardly wait at the parking lot of the airport, nearly getting mugged TWICE while he did so. Thankfully, or maybe not, most of the would-be muggers had mistaken him for an old man, and had instead tried to help him cross the street.

Then, once all that commotion was done, it turned out that the car was merely dropping him off at a train station, and not Cote Celeste itself. So there was another journey to make, with the young man barely able to keep his eyes open. Drifting into the throes of slumber, he jumped with a start and banged his head on the window as the train came to a halt.

So… here it was. Cote Celeste. The thing was, the young man didn’t belong here. It was a nuisance, really. He had things to do back at school; standards had to be maintained, for heaven’s sake! But no, Madame President had figured that it would be his final gift to her, seeing as she was graduating. Why Arisato-kun couldn’t be the only representative from Iwatodai the young man simply didn’t know. But this was the path he was taking… for now at least.

Someone needed to maintain order, after all.

Smoothing back his grey hair and taking his sparsely packed suitcase in hand, the young man stepped off the train and onto the platform. “Now… where in the world could Beguile Avenue be…?”

So far, today had been a wonderful day for Crow. Having lived in Cote Celeste for roughly two weeks now, he was one of its first citizens, and had already grown accustomed to life in the calm, cape town. The last few days he’d started to notice people literally flooding in and he found it incredibly curious. Where had they all come from? At first it had been a bit unsettling, but now it was no big deal. After all, there were potential Black Ravens in the mix, right?

He had made himself a decent breakfast, gone for a brisk walk, and heard rumors that another train would be arriving with even more people today. Something told him that perhaps it would be a good idea to go down to the station and welcome anyone that came by. He didn’t mind making new friends, and he certainly didn’t mind seeking out new members for his ravens.

As he watched more and more people step off the train, he was disappointed to see that none of them really matched his criteria. They were either too old, or not what he was looking for. He started to walk in with the crowd, deciding advantage of both his powers and the number of people around, and started using his flash step to pick a pocket here and there. Nothing big, just a bill or two, or an interesting item, until something caught his eyes.

A bright yellow armband, on an old man who seemed to not know where he was going. As he walked closer, he noticed that this was not an old man, but someone who was likely only a couple of years older than him. He knew the trouble of having gray hair too well. He had an iffy feeling about this man, but if he didn’t take a risk, he’d never know. He used his flash step to appear right in front of him, surprising the other.

“Tryin’ t’get to Beguile? I can show you the way, if you’d like.”

enigmaticcomposer:

Joshua had taken just another step closer to his destination before halting, His eyes widened- someone had instantaneously moved to his side. He blinked, before he knew it a new voice had joined the body.

“’Ello there, haven’t seen your face ‘round these parts. Are y’new here?”

His head turned and was soon was met with a boy, the supplier of the question, which looked to be around his own visual age.

“Howdy.” Joshua greeted with a raised hand and a smile. “I am! Lucky me to meet someone who seems well-acquainted with the town.” Admiring the boy’s choice of clothing and his quick feet, he felt obligated to answer the young man’s question as one of the few people he felt was ‘worth’ talking to. With a giggle, Joshua slipped his free hand into his pocket, took out his phone and mindlessly began to press a few numbers.

“As a newcomer, I have a question- do you do this to everyone you come across?”

Closing his eyes, Joshua hit the last digit, and upon opening them he found himself levitating a few feet higher in the air. The young man took a second to call back down at the other, admiring the top of his quick-footed head, as he concentrated on remaining still at the spot with the feeling like a strong breeze could knock him over in an instant.

“There are consequences where I come from about doing things like this- I’m just saying that it’s very bold of you to be so open about it!”

Why lie? The boy had honestly piqued his interests. There was something about the way he looked about the world that Crow had noticed, and he had a feeling that this was someone he’d want on his side. Besides, making new friends was never a bad thing, right? In any place, you needed someone you could trust in.

Joshua knew that first hand, but of course Crow didn’t know that he did.

The resemblance between them was kind of funny, and Crow laughed a bit when Joshua turned to face him, a hand raising in greeting as well. He had no idea that Joshua was only deciding that Crow would be worthy to talk to, seeing as Crow had already decided Joshua was that much to him a while ago. A potential Black Raven. He kept that in mind as he started to walk next to the stranger, talking to him.

“Indeed, lucky you! I don’ talk t’jus anyone, actually. Guess you could say I noticed something special—“ And then he sees him pressing buttons on his strange little contraption. What was that, a remote of some sort? Whatever it was, in a couple of seconds, the boy was in the air, and Crow took a step back, holding onto the rim of his hat as he gaped at him in the sky. How had he done that?!

Special indeed.

“So these are your powers, huh? I hafta say ‘m rather impressed! Well y’know what this place is, a place for lots of kids like us! Y’better get used to seein’ everyone showin’ you what they can do! Now come down from there. Name’s Crow, by th’way! Pleasure t’meet cha!” 

creteaxe:

The boy’s composed behavior startled the robot that it disrupted her recorded statistics. His behavior was different from her calculations, almost returning her the glimpse of hope to be friends. Before she could comment, he disappeared only to appear behind her, causing her to be wary. She could derive that he was no ordinary person - just like her, he really did have his own super powers. This made her wonder what it was for a bit, before she prepared herself for the defensive, in case he ever struck. 

“You’re new ‘ere, huh? I can tell, since y’tried to kill me for no reason. That won’t work though. Don’t worry. You’re already on Wrest Street. And by the looks of it, I’d say we’re probably roommates as well.”

Letting her arm down and hang by her side, Labrys turned around and faced him, her face a blank expression. She was relieved to hear his explanation, since he’d given her new information to work with. At least, she wouldn’t be lost. His mention that she was already in the area made her pale cheeks flush a little with embarrassment and she crossed her arms.

“Indeed, I’ve only arrived. I-I was fully aware. Yes, I was just confirming my suspicions.”

There was a slight accent to his voice, which let her to think about his origin. Since he had set the impression that he wasn’t one to go down so easily, the robot was naturally wary of him. His introduction of his name didn’t seem like a challenge to fight shadow, so she loosened herself from her defensive stance. Giving a short and formal bow, the robot looked back up and returned the introduction with much enthusiasm this time, even stating her title after her name. She was really proud of her title.

“Nice to meet you, Crow. I am Labrys, President of the Student Council back in Yasogami High. Since you look to be more familiar in this area, I take it that you know the way back to our apartments. Please, lead the way.” 

She had an interesting look about her, one that screamed to him that she was perhaps, not all human. Of course, this was a given, since there were clearly metallic parts to her body, but Crow didn’t really pay them any mind. Everyone was different here, right? If Crow had his flash step and advanced reflexes, then this girl could be half robot, and there was nothing wrong with that. His demeanor usually made him suspicious to people – because he never really let anything bother him. Still, he could tell that he had surprised the girl a bit, but he had no intention of harming her.

Finally, she brings her arm down and turns to face him, her expression completely flat. So flat, that it makes Crow chuckle and wonder who put a bee in her bonnet, but he doesn’t say anything about it. When she blushes a bit from embarrassment, he can’t help but find it a bit cute, especially when she crosses her arms. He only laughs in response, light-heartedly.

“Sure sure, I believe ya!” He shook his head a bit when she bowed at him, he wasn’t about to do the same thing, that was incredibly stupid. At least in his eyes. Instead, he tipped his hat at her, eyes widening a bit.

“I hope I don’t hafta call you all of that.” Another chuckle as he turned and started walking in the direction of the apartments. “Sounds like a pretty fancy title. I do, let me show you! I’ve not a problem so. Do you know which apartment you’s in? I’m in Wrest too, duplex 4000! Perhaps we’re neighbors, miss.”

Or you know, roommates.

thats-how-iroh:

If anyone had a question, a comment, a concern, they would often keep it to themselves. That’s just what humans do, nobody wants to be a burden. Especially to a stranger. But in Cote Celeste, any trainee could tell you that if there is someone you need to talk to, someone who could help you it would be him. 

‘The fat guy with the beard?’

‘Yeah, that’s right. Mr. Iroh. He’s the best! Y’know he helped me become the super hero I am today!’ 

‘Huh, alright…’ 

Iroh never thought of himself as ‘the best’. He only thought of himself as a spark. Sparks were nothing big, but they could create magnificent flames, big flames that would never die out, flames that would shine brighter than anything anyone could ever imagine! And today, Iroh was on a routine route. He walked down the halls of the training center, over viewing the trainees, those who couldn’t control their power and those who had full mastery over each motion, who could stay in suspended levitation for so long as they pleased, who could move great objects of matter with only their minds.

Yet he noticed one who was struggling, a new student perhaps. He noticed you. He slowly waddled his way over, as you struggle to finish the obstacle course, you barely made it, but you were glad you did. Maybe you felt disappointed in yourself, that this was just the extent of your power, maybe accomplished, because this is the most physically strenuous thing you’ve done in your life! Either way, he sat down next to you, placing a steaming teapot, and a two cups. Iroh smiles, pouring the cups full, ushering you to take it. 

“So, I see you have completed your first day in training! I am glad that it was not so harsh on you. However the road to mastery is filled with folly you must make several mistakes before you learn how to correct them.” 

Iroh raises his cup to you before drinking it, a sigh of deep satisfaction escaping his lips.

“Aaahh… another splendid cup of tea!” 

What a strange man. 

Crow wasn’t a bad kid. No, not in the slightest.

He’d had a harsh childhood, his parents having abandoned him for having the strange powers he did, but he hadn’t let it bring him down. He’d used it as strength to carry him on through life. Maybe his parents hadn’t wanted him, but he wanted himself and that was enough. He wanted to make a name of himself and so he started the Black Ravens.

Made himself the family that life had denied him, and he was happy, incredibly so. He had his own set of morals, the likes of which people didn’t completely agree with, but it didn’t matter to him because he was getting what he wanted to get done done and that was all that mattered. He was helping kids out who had similar issues to his own and bettering their lives. Sure, they stole, sure, they ran a black market the likes of which rivaled any any adult had ever started and sure, they didn’t have the best reputation in London.

But what did it matter? They were well known, they were admired and feared.

And they were just a group of little kids.

Every time Crow thought about it, it brought a smile to his face. He helped out those who he felt were worthy of his help, or who could pay the right price. Other than that, it was the Black Ravens looking out for the Black Ravens and what else did they need? Absolutely nothing and no one.

He was happy, and yet, there were things that bothered him.

He’d had to leave them behind to come to Cote Celeste, to get a better grip on his powers so that he could be satisfied with himself. So that he could show his parents that he could live a normal life despite the way he was. Even though they wouldn’t be there to see him. He wasn’t the sort to do things like this,  but one morning he woke up and decided to go to the training center. To go through a day of training. The old man there hadn’t really sat well with him – too relaxed. It was awkward, and it was suspicious, but whatever, he was there to learn.

He got through most of the obstacle course with ease, at least it seemed easy to him, though he had been a bit winded by the end, but it was nothing his flash step and advanced reflexes couldn’t handle. Still, he sat on his own by a wall, a frustrated expression on his face. If it had been so easy, then why was he so upset with himself? Suddenly, the mentor appeared at his side, and Crow jumpe a bit. A teapot, two cups, one poured for him and suddenly thrust into his hands. The tea had an odd, oriental scent the likes of which he hadn’t smelled before in London. He listened to the man, and tipped his hat down with a scoff once he was done talking.

“What mistakes are you talkin’ ‘bout, oldie? I got through that thing like it was nothin’! Some challenge y’gave me, really! You coulda been harsher. I coulda handled it.”

Would’ve preferred it, perhaps. He only continued to eye the old man as he drank his tea, staring at the cup in his hands. It was still too hot for his tastes.

Loneliness.

That was all he felt here so far. He didn’t understand it - this place was supposed to be different. A place where he could feel at home, be accompanied. A place were perhaps, he could receive the love he’d failed to receive from the people that were supposed to give it to him. But…no, those hadn’t actually been his reasons in coming here.

These strange powers that had kept him isolated all of his life were not something he had incredibly refined. And with his powers being what they were, they could severely damage him if he wasn’t careful, so he needed to learn to control them better. He’d had to leave home, and the truest family he had ever known, behind. Marilyn, Wren, Socket, and the rest of the Black Ravens had been incredibly upset that he’d had to leave them, but he’d asked them to take care of the Black Ravens in his absence.

He would make a new set of Black Ravens in Cote Celeste. Not to replace the originals, but to fill the void left in his heart. They were his closest friends, his family, and to suddenly be without them was so…so incredibly lonely. He would use this as a means of meeting new people and of course, as a means of getting exactly what he wanted here, and using this situation to his advantage. 

Crow was quite the charming boy, able to get a person to like him in a flash, and he’d use this to his advantage. He tilted back his Black Raven mask to get a better look at the seashore and pier. He stood by it, watching as a ferry arrived, one that would bring more people to the place that had previously been nearly empty. Pulling the mask back over his face, he blinked, and in a second, he’d stepped over to being on the pier, right in front of a stranger who’d just stepped off the ferry.

“’Ello there.” He said in a cheerful tone. “Th’name’s Crow, just that. Welcome to Cote Celeste. Obviously you’ve jus’ gotten of the boat ‘ere, and you’re gonna need a lil’ guide. So how about it?” He stops to pull off the Black Raven mask, giving a smirk to the stranger.

“Care t’try me on?”

creteaxe:

The sound of the calm waves; the slight breeze that brushed the light blue locks against her pale face. Thanks to her android nature, Labrys was calculating the time that would take her to locate her newly appointed home and the amount of effort required to support her baggage, which dangled as her hand held onto it. At the same time, her red pupils took in every inch of her surroundings intuitively; the slightly crooked path she was walking, the plaza in which she was supposed to find her newly appointed home. Yes, robots were specially programmed to think systematically, so no matter that she had emotions - practicality always came first. 

Truth be told, she wasn’t programmed with a location tracker and this was a new area; a new town she hadn’t checked out, so it was only natural that she’d be a little late. She was still wandering and it was already an hour past her prediction time. Getting a little panicky, the robot surveyed the area for any strangers. Choosing one and marching up to them, she held out her arm at the stranger’s neck as a form of warning.

“Tell me how to get to Wrest Street, or I assure you that you will never wake up to greet sunrise tomorrow.”

It came out as a threat, which caused the stoic robot to feel guilty. She hadn’t had that many interactions with others, and most of the people she talked to were mostly her bullies. Labrys wasn’t trained to socialize - only combat - which was why the robot prayed that they wouldn’t get the wrong idea since she didn’t dare to say any thing else.

For his outing today into the city Crow had been in for a couple of weeks, he decided to stay close to Wrest Street, opting to walk its cobblestone paths and think of how he would start up his beloved Black Ravens here. First of all, more people would have to arrive. He found it so odd that he’d been one of the first ones here, but he expected more people to arrive at any moment.

The streets were so awkwardly empty. He wasn’t used to this. He was used to liveliness, to jumping from rooftop to rooftop adorned in his Black Raven costume, seeking more recruits and anyone who sought to buy something from his beloved Black Market.

But all that was gone now, wasn’t it? Unless he brought it here, he had none of what he used to have, and it was sort of depressing. Only sort of, because he was confident he could bring it back. All he needed to do was—

“Tell me how to get to Wrest Street, or I’ll assure you that you will never wake up to greet sunrise tomorrow.”

Suddenly there was a young girl the likes of which he’d never seen before standing in front of him, her arm held up towards his neck as a sort of threat. She seemed sort of panicked. So panicked that in fact, she didn’t realize that she was already here!

Crow didn’t flinch. He just looked at her and tilted his head, before chuckling a bit. In a flash, he was gone from in front of her, and instead, stood behind her.

“You’re new ‘ere, huh? I can tell, since y’tried to kill me for no reason. That won’t work though. Don’t worry. You’re already on Wrest Street. And by the looks of it, I’d say we’re probably roommates as well.”

“My name is Crow. Just Crow. What ‘bout you?”

enigmaticcomposer:

The wind blew gently. It was sweet, different than the city air he had always been suffocating in. It was bright as, while some parts of the town had impressive buildings, none of them provided the dark shade like Shibuya did. But did he miss it?

Not at all!

At least, not for now. Everything is interesting the first time you see it. It’s only later that it gets boring. That did bring up the question: How long had he been here now? Even he couldn’t recall. Minutes, hours and moments slipped into nothing when no one was around, bustling or rushing to get things done. Today, he decided, it would be good to explore from the ground. Sweat wasn’t his “thing” but, Joshua had become accustomed to walking, it would be best to know where everything was in person instead of just looking at the map and fumbling around later. The first thing to find was his new home, but that was somewhere in- what was it? Comely Court.

Barely a person had passed by him on his walk. Those he encountered seemed interesting, certainly different, but few of those few were worth talking with. The only thoughts that distracted him were questions on which direction to go next.

“Hee Hee.”

Bonus points to the town! It made him question himself. Already, this was fun- if not on the verge of becoming odd. Being in a place he knew nothing about… But, if they can actually hit you with them, you roll with the punches.

With that, he continued onward to dear sweet Comely Court. Filled with the curiosity of if it would live up to it’s name.

How long had Crow been here now? It had been a little over two weeks since he’d first arrived at Cote Celeste, and already he’d grown accustomed to nearly all of it. He was the sort of person who took to new situations with excitement and curiosity, and because of this, he’d already settled in fairly nicely in the lovely cape town. However, he’d been one of the first people here, and had met well…nobody.

In fact, he had only just begun to get neighbors and roommates. He hadn’t met them yet either actually, as he’d been too busy wandering around trying to see if he could meet more people on the streets first. His travels today brought him away from the familiar Wrest Street, to a place he hadn’t visited much before: Comely Court.

He wasn’t quite there yet, but fairly close, and already, he’d grown rather bored.

“Nothin’ interesting here either, huh?” He sighed a bit as he tipped his hat over his eyes, shaking his head. Then, as if the wind carried it, he heard a small giggle, and it caught his attention. He looked up and saw another young boy, probably around his age, that he’d never seen here before.

A potential Black Raven. That was his first thought, and a smirk took over his expression as he considered the possibility of having another set of Black Ravens here, just like he used to have back home. Well, he wouldn’t get another Black Raven just standing here!

He took a step forward – a normal step, but the next took him much further, much faster. His ability – the flash step – brought him to the silver-haired boy’s side in mere seconds.

“’Ello there, haven’t seen your face ‘round these parts. Are y’new here?”

“I’ve got a terrible feelin’ that things are about t’get real…stupid. Real stupid ‘round ‘ere.”