[M e w]

The city was unusually quiet that night, the usual horn honking and yelling in the streets somehow muted. The moon hung high over the grey buildings below it, casting an eerie light onto them.
Jack Noble was running through the vast labyrinth of alleyways and quiet streets, a determined look on his face.
He had a long knife in his right hand and a large handgun strapped in a holster around his waist.
He could tell that he was closing in on the atrocities ahead of him, and that was because they were obviously inexperienced. The beast was huge and it left cracks in the concrete, leaving an easy trail for Jack to follow.
A grin raised the corners of his mouth up as he heard a low growl in a dark alley in front of him. They were cornered.

Slowly Jack set his weapon down on the ground and raised back up, confident that he didn't need it. Instead of charging into the alley like a mad bull like some other Hunters might do, Jack stood there with a menacing smile and spoke to the Controller and its creature.
"Alright, face it, you're cornered and you know you can't beat me in a fight. So why don't you just come out now and face your death? I promise to end it quickly. If you choose to attack then I won't be so merciful," he said into the shadows.
The Controllers who were inexperienced like this had obviously been changed to the state and knew the fear and pain of being truly human. Like human beings, they tended to fear pain, and so these words could get through to them, making Jack's job that much easier.

[Juneberry]

((This post may or may not be the best. Sorry. xD I have a general idea though!))

Linear had followed from the rooftops of the alleyway. Though she wasn't a beginner, it was commonly thought that she was, considering her natural ability to completely sabotage a mission without even meaning to. Aqua eyes darted any which way when she noticed that the Controller was now cornered in. A perfect time to strike!

She took out a small leaf from her pocket, putting it to her lips with one hand. The other hand reached for a small hand-gun that lay on her belt, which she held out to shoot. Using her need for music to aim- or so many assumed was the reason she always played that leaf- she made noise from the leaf whistle eminent, shooting at the target quite easily- but forgetting that the monster was still there. The monster blocked it, and was barely injured. Pulling the leaf from her lips, she cursed under her breath.

Now she was doomed, since she'd used the noise and gun at the same time to give away that there were hunters there- and that it was safe to climb the rooftops.

[M e w]

Jack was sure that his words had gotten through to the Controller and that he was surely about to call off his creature. Then he heard the whistle and gunshot.
The beast must have blocked the shot, and it was now leaping out of the shadows, the Controller on its back, straight towards Jack.
SHIT, Jack cursed in his head as he ducked out of the way of the huge monster. He was taken by surprise and by the time he remembered to take his gun out and shot three rounds at the pair they were gone. He knew they would not be easily caught now; with adreneline running as well as fear they would be fleeing as fast as they could.

He knew he shouldn't have brought her along, he knew it! But he thought he would give her yet another shot, in hopes that she might prove herself at last. Some Hunters were late bloomers after all, and Jack believed that they should be given chances to prove themselves useful to the cause.
This was becoming ridiculous though, and he was losing patience.

"Lineeaarrrr!!" he growled to the rooftops around him, not even caring to controll his temper.

[Juneberry]

Linear had been able to shoot at the monster when it moved, but was too late as it got away anyway. She grumbled- why did that always happen? She was never told a plan, so she always did what seemed like the most logical thing. Now, of only logic had been her specialty.

Hearing Jack's growl, a gulp of air went down Linear's throat. I've done it now alright... She winced slightly, and had jumped from the anxiety peaking in her veins. Trying to fumble with her gun, she got it on her belt but dropped the leaf, causing it to start to float to the ground. She jumped after it, falling as well, landing mostly headfirst from the roof. How was it she always did that, but still was alive?

Bowing politely, she frowned and never actually looked at him. "I'm sorry... I thought you said to use the leaf and the gun at the same time this time, but I didn't know of any plans or anything..." She wouldn't cry, of course- but as she stood there, waiting to be scolded, she wondered why she had ever joined the Hunters anyway. She'd never had an interest, for one thing- but as well, it was never her specialty to stop monsters or Controllers! "This really isn't something I have a knack for at all..."

[M e w]

When Linear fell from the roof Jack winced a little but didn't rush over to see if she was alright. She had always been clumsy and even though she was incredibly tiny she rarely seemed to get hurt badly.

When she came over to him and started mumbling apologies he sighed and ran his hand through his wild black hair. Jack felt that he was a good leader; he could be encouraging and uplifting to those under him but he could also scold them when the time called for it. But this tiny, clumsy girl in front of him always made him think of a small, frail animal and he found it hard to be too harsh to her.
He sighed once again before saying, "Linear, I know you try hard and you mean well... but you need to pay attention to what's going on around you! I was about to take care of it, the job was almost complete. I want to believe that you will show amazing skills in hunting soon, but every time I let you out on a job you blow it!" He threw his arms up in exasperation and anger and waited to see if she would say anything in return.

[Juneberry]

"I was never meant to be a Hunter," Linear replied honestly in response. It was something she'd been told for a long time and knew well she agreed with. "I've thought many times it'd be better if I quit...But quitting isn't an option...If I don't keep trying..." She looked down, then shook off the thought. "I know I"m horrible at this job. I don't deserve to be let out on a job...But..." She looked at him soon after, still encouraged enough to try. "I can't just give up, even if I know this isn't what I was originally meant to do." He's still out there...It's not like I can protect myself really, but I have to try to stop him...

[M e w]

After she replied, Jack raised his hand and put it on her head.
"Look, I don't know why you chose to do this, and I won't bother asking if you don't want to tell me... but for your own safety, I need you to try and get better," he said to her in a sincere voice.

He then walked over to where his knife lay, picked it up, and stuck it into the sheath at his side. There wasn't anything else they could do now, so getting back to HQ and figuring out the next step was the only logical option.
Jack walked back to Linear and gave her a weary smile.
"Now, come on, we should get back home and make sure you don't have a concusion from that fall," he teased her before walking away from the deserted alley.

[Juneberry]

As she stood dazed, she felt her lips curl into a pout. "Hey, I've fallen plenty of times without a concussion so this time should be no different!" She did laugh, however, soon afterward. It was a relief, not being forced to explain all that happened with her brother. And even if she had failed again, she would be sure to get better at the job- or at least, she always told herself that. "Hey, you wait up, Jack!" She whined playfully, rushing after him. Though none of it was fun and games in reality- she'd have to accept that.

[M e w]

As soon as the chase was over, it seemed as though the city came back to life; sirens blaring, phones ringing, and people chattering everywhere you looked. Even though it was the middle of the night the excitement was pumping more than ever. A city as large as this never slept or slowed down, and Jack didn't mind since he'd been living here for a great deal of his life.

He and Linear walked through the crowds of people who didn't take any notice of them; even if they had their weapons out in the open they probably wouldn't have caused much of a stir. These people were too caught up in themselves and their busy lives to care about what anybody else was doing.
They walked for quite a while until they began seeing abandoned warehouses and run-down buildings. Jack knew this city by heart and never got lost, even in the chaos of a hunt. He navigated his way through the monsterous buildings until they encountered what appeared to be just another of the rusted concrete and metal shells.

Home sweet home Jack thought with humor before walking through the gaping hole that served as the entrance and continued to the large set of stairs in one corner of the space.
There were several floors of the rather large headquaters; first was the lobby, relaxation, and mess hall and kitchen where Hunters spent their free-time and ate their meals, second was the training floor which held weapons and practice equipment, and third was the rooming for most Hunters who called this place home or who were simply staying over for the night.
The fourth and final floor was off-limits to most members; it was where higher-ranking Hunters discussed battle movements and plans to destroy the Controllers. It also had rooms for those leaders and was where Jack slept himself.

He looked back to Linear who had been following him back here.
"Obviously tonight didn't go so well, but tomorrow try to start over with fresh eyes. I'm going to assign you someone to train with and I want you to pay attention and really try to learn how to fight better. I really want you to learn for your own safety and prowess, and I will be stopping by to check in on you. Linear, please don't push this off as a joke or anything, you need to get better," he told her, voicing his concern truthfully, which he usually never did. He normally was joking around and teasing the other Hunters, but matters like these shouldn't be joked about.

[Juneberry]

"I never took it as a joke to begin with," She responded rather bluntly. "I was never put into training though and barely know how to fire a gun. I do what seems like the best method, but no one tells me the plans, so I have no other choice but instinct." A frown was eminent on her face as she spoke. She hadn't really thought much when she followed him- she tended to leave thinking for the battles.

"I don't know how much longer I'll stay part of the hunters... I can't hunt. I can barely lift my gun half the time without accidentally pulling the trigger. I'm like a bio-hazard..." She laughed nervously- the laugh was only to try to ease the pang of regret. "I joined the Hunters because I wanted to help stop that stupid Slick Salamander...But I'll only get in the way anyway, won't I? Be honest."

[M e w]

Jack was too tired to argue with her so he just shook his head.
"Linear, I don't understand your obssession with the Salamander... but yes, if you were to be on a hunt after him, you would get in the way, I won't lie to you. If you're so set on killing him, then use that as motivation in your training," he told her seriously.
A yawn escaped him involuntarily and he said, "Now go to bed, you're going to need rest for the training tomorrow."
The sentence rang with a note of finality and Jack walked up the stairs, opened the door, and continued through the next two floors to the final one where he went to his room, thinking about the nights' events.
"I'm going to have to write up a report about tonight..." he mused with another yawn.

[Juneberry]

"You'd want him dead too if he killed your family right in front of you...and tried to kill you." It was a murmur and she wasn't meaning to say it, but this time she'd said it aloud rather than so small under her breath that it was inaudible- realizing it, she stared at the ground even more, her hands curling into fists.

"All the training I've ever done...It was all to stop him so he can't do this anymore... Mark will die. He will stop his murders..." She winced just thinking of it, causing her hands to whiten as the pressure seemed to drain blood from her knuckles. "I'll die if I must to assure it..."

She shook her head off quickly, a renewed nervous laugh escaping her. "Forgive my...tantrum, there. Sleep well, sir." She bowed politely, trying to hide her own embarrassment, amongst other things. With that she fled to another room, taking a seat on the bed. She rubbed the handle of her hand-gun with a sigh, before being given permission to play the leaf whistle to calm her enough to rest.

[M e w]

When Jack woke up the next morning, he felt as though he'd slept for about ten minutes. He hadn't even changed out of his hunting gear he had worn the previous night before collapsing on his bed and passing out into a deep sleep.
He groggily sat up on his bed and shook his head.
Even though he had never actually put thought into it, his decision for who would help train Linear was already done.

After taking a quick shower and changing into a fitted black shirt and black pants, Jack went down to the housing floor.
The floor was seperated into mens and womens rooming, and Jack sneaked into the womens' area. There were quite a few women Hunters who would raise quite the ruckus if they were to see Jack, even though he was their superior and most of the time men came and went. He wasn't a player or womanizer by any means but he had somehow managed to get a reputation of the sort among certain circles of girls.
He had to duck and hide several times before he got to the room he had been in search of. The sign on the door read "Lily Shear" and Jack turned the doorknob and walked into the sparsely decorated room.

Lily was sitting on her bed in shorts and a tank top reading a thick novel, and she looked up with dry amusement on her face.
"Why Jack, how forward of you, sneaking into my room with such a look on your face," she said to him, causing a slight blush to color Jack's cheeks.
He shook his head quickly and told her, "Don't be crazy Lily, that's not what I'm here for. I have an assignment for you. You're going to oversee Linear Carina-Lamari's training."

[Juneberry]

Linear had woken up easily alongside another Hunter, who happened to be a young girl around her age that had taken her into the Hunting business to begin with. "I really don't think I can keep doing this, Lisa... I know I told you I wanted to, but this is ridiculous! I just hold everyone behind."

"Nonsense, Linear... You are trying..."

"Yes, but all I do is cause trouble. You're a great hunter, Lisa. I'm not like you with that..."

[M e w]

Lily was not the type who refused orders, even if they were coming from Jack. So when he told her she would be training Linear she just nodded and said she would do her best.
She had never talked to the younger girl much, but she had heard from other Hunters that she was a lost cause.
There were plenty that didn't seem to accept her because they thought she wasn't good enough, but Lily wouldn't let that taint her own judgement. After all, when Jack had brought her into this world many Hunters didn't share his acceptance.

Jack had left immediately after she had told him she would do it, and she changed into some exercise clothes and left her room.
Jack probably wasn't going to go tell Linear that she was her trainer so she might as well go down to her room and tell her herself.

Lily navigated the halls in the women's quarters until she came to a door with Linear's name on it. She knocked on the door and let herself in without waiting for a response.
Linear was sitting in bed and another Hunter, Lily thought Lisa was her name, and Lily nodded to her.
"Jack assigned me to be the one who helps you train," she told the girl bluntly.

[Juneberry]

Linear nodded slightly, standing from the bed and looking warily at Lisa before looking back to Lily. She didn't know many people by name unless told, but she had recalled hearing Lily's name once during a meeting of some kind, and had seen Lily respond. So, she gave a gentle smile, though clearly worried. "Thank you very much."