Night 59: Courtyard

[zanuff]

[ from here ]

The cold breeze and fresh air of the outdoors really was a welcome feeling as Chipp barreled outside, only stopping once he was made some distance between them and the door. Just in case something followed, if those stupid monsters were smart enough to push it open. For now, nothing followed them out, and Chipp deemed it safe to stop.

Of course, as per Venom's wishes, he let go of the other man before doing so. He immediately turned around, back to looking at the door. Just in case. Still, it looked like nothing came out to follow them and he let out a frustrated sigh. It seemed like this damn place was just frustrating to go through no matter what the circumstances were.

It was still best to keep going rather then linger around. At the very least, maybe they were clear of any annoying vermin. Chipp turned back around to see what was next. Venom ... did know where he was going next, right? Something about looking for Landel... wait, wait a minute.

"Wait, how do you know he's out here an-"

Before Chipp could say anything else, he was promptly divebombed by something big, feathery and nasty.

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[anemptydecapo]

Hmph. So it was just a scratch.

"I'm fine," Venom stated quietly as he made his way back to the other man. He craned his head to the side, examining the wounds Zanuff had begun bandaging. Yes. Just scratches, as estimated. They would hurt a bit, but ultimately do nothing to slow the ninja down. The most concern was saved toward whether cutting oneself on those monstrous appendages could cause infection, but... "Worry about yourself." Venom wasn't going to do it for him.

Once it was assured Zanuff could help himself, the Guild Head took to wandering against the Courtyard walls, peering at their snow-covered tops. It'd only been a few nights ago that he and Sora had taken to climbing them to search out Landel themselves. That effort had gone... disturbingly bad, but with Zanuff's speed and both of their abilities back in order, they should be able to clear the area in a timely manner. They had to be able to do this tonight. He was not going to stand for another failure, not when he was so readily able to actually do something.

They had to find him. For Master Zato and Ms. Littleton.

Despite having been sedated the first trip, his memory was clear enough to recognize which direction it was they needed to go. Venom turned his heel, putting his back to the wall to again check the taller man's progress and speak to him directly. "We should be able to get to the forest by going over this wall. If he hasn't fled the area, Landel should be hiding there somewhere." They had to find him, damn it.

[zanuff]

Venom's instructions revived an extremely recent memory of Chipp attempting to ask Venom exactly how he knew that Landel was here, and because he was Chipp Zanuff, he proceeded to ask that question. "So, how do you know we need to check around here?" His question was not accusatory though, or not even angry; Chipp merely wanted to know exactly why Venom chose to look in this direction, or why he chose to go outside, or if he had any more information. Chipp just liked knowing where to start was all, and he evidently did believe that whatever reason Venom had for starting here, it was a good one because he started towards the wall once he was finished bandaging up his wounds, pulling tight to make sure the pressure was right.

If his Ki hadn't returned, climbing it would be easy. With it, he didn't even have to touch the damn thing, knowing he could make the jump. So could Venom, Chipp guessed, so he didn't make any offers to help out. Besides, someone had to check if it was clear first, right? With all these monsters running around, Chipp wouldn't be surprised if the forest was hiding something nasty itself.

Daemon did warn him about that, didn't he... He was starting to see what the other man meant when it came to catching food. Damn, was there really nothing he could actually eat out there? The ninja sighed, but finally made the jump, crouching down and then leaping up to grab the top of the wall. Instead of completely climbing over, he stayed on top of it, looking out into the darkness. As he should have expected, only the darkness was staring back at him. He strained his ears, knowing sight was only going to tell him so much anyway. In the distance... Nothing that he could really pinpoint, but the forest wasn't quiet either. There definitely were things in there, and Chipp had a feeling it wasn't anything they'd like to encounter.

"Dunno what's out there, but I bet it's just as nasty as the monsters here." He shrugged, and then motioned to Venom that it was fine to drop down. "Whatever, let's just find Landel and kick his ass."

[anemptydecapo]

That question... Should he tell Zanuff about his strained relationship with the vampire and his fiance? The blinking pain behind his eyes that sprung up at the very notion of doing so told him no. It was horrible enough to attempt having Bella listen to him, regardless of whether or not she was a good person. It was horrible enough having Edward listen to him, who, despite all his loyalty, could never be counted on when the woman he adored was still on the chessboard. It was simple to say they had garnered enough of his respect for him to not disdain the two of them, but he couldn't imagine the lengths of insanity they'd drive him to with Zanuff in tow. God only knew what he'd end up encouraging them to do...

The thought visibly creased the line of mouth into a deeper frown. He shook his head to himself to clear it away. "An acquaintance of mine stumbled upon the location of the man on the radio," came the Guild Head's vague explanation, his voice somewhat distant from watching his partner leap onto a six-foot tall wall with zero effort. He still couldn't find it in himself to be impressed. "As Landel is working with that same man, it only makes sense for the two of them to be in the same place." If he hadn't fled by now. He always had to keep that in mind.

With Zanuff having landed safely onto the barricade's surface, Venom made quick work of following. Though he was never one for gaining enough height as the presidential hopeful through sheer strength, there were other means: mainly by placing the bumper of his cue to the ground and putting his weight on the tip to pull it down. When enough force had been gathered and, with the help of his Magic, it was only a matter of leaping upward and using the force of the straightening cue to spring up and onto the wall. It may have been an interesting show of abilities to his company if he hadn't implemented that same method to kick him in the face when they'd met.

He was going to insist that Zanuff deserved it.

"All right." Beating that mess of a man was an easy sentiment to agree to. With a nod, Venom leaped down to the other side.

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