Chats and Warnings

"you know it's rude to leave without saying goodbye"

Slowly turning around Cane quickly perceived two individuals standing in the hallway behind them, a man and a woman he quickly recognized. The woman had short black hair and a pair of dark purple eyes that reminded him of Alice, although far less piercing and the other was a large man, his tux straining nearly as much as Kira's, his golden eyes and hair brightening the surrounding area

Leandro drake and Linda De Maggio

"Leandro" Cane exclaimed with a smile, walking over to him and leaving the arm of Kira to give the man a nod "haven't heard from you since the hospital visit, and Linda I haven't seen you since the bar that night" he continued, giving the woman a small smile

"HaHa, It's good to see you out of bed and back in action" Leandro Laughed, pulling him into a short bro hug "Me and Linda saw you fight! it sure was Bloody as hell!"

"Yes, it was quite the spectacle" Linda confirmed with a small smile of her own, although her attention was clearly somewhere else, as she stared a hole passed them "Care to introduce your guest?"

"Ah, quite right" Cane acknowledged, before moving next to Kira and indicating towards her "this is my date for the night, Kira…" he couldn't quite remember her last name

"Valeriya, Kira Valeriya" she finished for him, before returning the stare of Linda, who was slowly placing herself in front of Leandro and appeared to be fiddling with something in her pocket, likely a weapon, as metaphorical sparks flew between them

Both of them appeared to be ready to fight, but choosing to ignore it Cane continued the introduction, indicating to his friend "and this is Leandro Drake, a childhood friend of mine, as well as Linda De Maggio-"

"His girlfriend" Linda finished for him, crossing her arms and daring anyone to refute, her eyes seemed to give no option of denial from Leandro, Cane, or anyone. Not that it was needed as all Leandro did was send Cane a smug smile that was soon wiped off as Cane knocked it off his face with a well-deserved jap to the ribs while the women weren't looking

Hearing this Kira appeared to loosen up her harsh gaze on Linda and gave a smile before walking over and shaking the woman's hand. And while Linda looked like a small animal in front of the larger woman, she greeted her with no less gusto than was usual for a hyperactive killing machine "good to meet the friends of MY dear Cane" she exclaimed with a smile, a smile that was returned by Linda as if Kira had just told an inside joke

"Lovely to meet you" Linda responded, displaying none of her previous hostility "I would love to know how you and Cane met and decided to spend an evening at the Midnight Brawl of all places"

From there they lapsed into discussion as both pairs made their way out of the Midnight Brawl and onto the street, it turned out that Linda worked at the fight club and Leandro had been picking her up for a date when he had spotted the two of them in the arena.

As they talked Kira seemed to seamlessly fit in with the group, either talking quietly with Linda or laughing with Leandro, who was practically a smaller and slightly more tame version of her. A comparison that made Cane sweat at the thought as he worried what would happen should they ever become drinking buddies

no chandelier or wine cask would survive that night

Eventually, they reached a point where it was time to part ways and said their goodbyes, Linda and Kira shook hands with a strangely knowing look, Leandro scooped Cane in for a bone-crushing hug, one that neither Cane nor any of the others enjoyed aside from Leandro and they were about to make their separate ways as Leandro stopped with a quick few words

"Just a heads up, the Cult has been acting up again," he said, pointing towards a series of walls in a nearby ally that had been marked with a series of symbols "the syndicate plans to remove them, but for now they have been acting… abnormal" he finished before promptly walking away, a blushing Linda, whom he was now carrying like a newlywed bride, held in his arms

The Cult, or to be more precise, The Cult of the Eminence was a collective of powered individuals that had existed for thirty-odd years and was well known for its activities within the underworld of La wiser. Formed by a man known as "Lapis" the Cult worshiped an idol known as Emansia who they believed to be the bringer of gifts, "gifts" of course being power, however, unlike many other power-based religions that had arisen in the time since The Collision, The Cult of Eminence believed that any person who didn't use their powers in the name of Emansia was simply a lost sheep or a wolf in sheep's clothing, to be killed or returned to the fold and by returning to the fold they meant brainwashing

They would kidnap people off the street and in their homes, sometimes in entire groups or families, subjecting them to starvation, isolation, torture, and whatever else until all they could see, hear, smell, and believe were the words of either Emansia or her "priests", creating an army of believers for The Cult to use as cannon fodder, hostages or whatever else they needed at the time

However, nowadays they were scattered and lacking resources due to a crackdown from both the heroes of La Wiser and the Ivory Syndicate after they attempted to burn the city down entirely "in an act of martyr sacrifice" so he dismissed them for now, deciding to focus on his "date" with Kira

not like he cared about some wackjob fanatics anyway