[Private Roleplay] ~ Eternal Eden

bunnyshadow • 26 June 2016 at 3:36 PM

Isale

"Yes." Isale said. "Well, no." The young woman stood then, before turning back to Jules. "Yes I am alone and no I do not need anybody...." She trailed off.

"I'll be okay by myself. Always have been, always will be." Ise mumbled under her breath. Her hands rubbed against each other in an attempt to get the dust and dirt off her pale skin. The longer she was spending with this young man, the more comfortable the woman was getting to his company. However, she figured it was time to cut it short now that both parties have completed their parts of the deal.

A quick glance into the distance proved that dusk would fall soon. The interlacing orange rays spouting from the yellow ball spilled over the flat dirt surface of the desert.

"Uh..." Isale trailed off hesitantly, before awkwardly pulling several strands of her ebony hair behind her ear. The woman's lips pulled up into a small toothless smile as her hands trailed through her hair and mingled near the bleached ends.

"We done here?" Her unrefined words contrasting greatly with her smooth movements and light voice.

Fang

He hummed to himself as the beast was beat back into submission. Fang's fingers tapped impatiently against the cracked wooden table as the men responsible for subduing the animal returned to their places to take a break from the workout they had just received.

"Who is in charge of the mutant trade around here?" He said eloquently. "I'd like to speak to the warden in regards of the pair I just brought in." Fang smiled now, and his sharp canines peaked out from behind his closed lips. His dark eyes slid across the faces of the men meandering nearby as he awaited a reply.

poe • 27 June 2016 at 2:36 PM

@bunnyshadow

Jules liked her sense of independence, but for some reason he couldn't shake the hint of worry. A feeling of foreboding about this small place in the heart of gang territory had been slowly impressing upon him, and it made him want to get out of here. It wasn't like him to care about a stranger, the government would know he'd killed enough of them without sparing a thought. Knowing what would happen to her if the gang knew about her though... It wasn't his place to impose on her independent lifestyle.

"Yes, I suppose so. Take care of yourself. Even the strongest should be wary in a place like this." He paused, then without knowing quite why, he offered, not leaving room for refusal, "here. Take this."

With a quick motion, he pulled out another small portion of the jerky from earlier and added, "whistle if you find yourself needing a hand."

He didn't wait for her response as he turned to meander into the dimming streets with a dangerous, elegant litheness. Not so much as a hint of a sound from his refined movements. An annoying headache accompanied by a twinge of illness was coming on and he wondered if the cravings would ever end.

jupiter_hollow • 4 July 2016 at 6:10 PM

@bunnyshadow
@takatheeducatedkid
@dada_dragon
@asi
@taffy

Shady's back



Name: Francis "France" Valentino

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Appearance: A buff, tall man with a boyish face and body language that screams 'teddy bear', Francis looks equal parts approachable and dangerous. The dimpled smile usually shifts scales. He has shortly cropped dark hair, navy eyes and is in possession of an odd combo of blade-straight jawline and pouty lips. His face is angular, but somehow short and that, coupled with his occasional childish behaviour, makes him look a few years younger when clean shaven. Also appears douchy due to sharper-than-should-be-allowed eyebrow arches. His age, mood and intentions are a mystery. He cute as heck, though.

Personality: A people person through and through, Francis manages to be a social butterfly even during the apocalypse. He wants to be everyone's pal; always initiates conversation in a friendly manner, but eventually becomes intrusively chatty. He's curious about people and also very easily attached; tends to leech onto others and ask a lot of questions. Very tolerant and forgiving, he prefers to see things from the human angle rather than analyzing. His dislike towards silence makes him annoyingly talkative and he purposefully won't stop yammering even in situations where it's desirable to shut up. Acts tough, is actually a perpetually terrified cinammon roll. Scared to death of death. Good guy attention-seeker, tries to keep all eyes on himself, but immerses everyone in the conversation. Has an unfortunate affinity to danger, mystery and enigmatic personalities. Takes other people's antisocial behaviour as a challenge. He will chase you down and make many poor attempts at befriending you.

History: Used to be have a heart defect and type 1 Diabetes before the development of his powers and the radiation initially worsened his condition to the point where his family decided it would be more convenient to flee their hometown without him rather than going through the fuss of transporting him. In their defense, he really did seem like a hopeless case. Doesn't blame them for their decision in the slightest - at least they're okay. He's still in search for them even though it's been a little over ten years since he last saw them.

Power: Fairy tale-esque explanation is that he can't die, but the whys and wherefores are more complex. His body heavily accumulated radiation for a few years and, after counteracting his already existent health complications, it developed an extemely powerful healing agent. His immunity is otherworldly and his cells - brain cells included - are capable of rapidfire regeneration in the case of injury. If his brain is harmed, regeneration usually renders him catatonic until the damage is repaired - appears dead in the meanwhile. After 'waking up' he's very sluggish and verbally and physically incapacitated for a few hours, during which he experiences constant pain.

Weakness(es): Has experienced death and fears it accordingly. Avoidant of serious physical altercations unless absolutely necessary. Doesn't know what's going on 89% of the time. Prone to mistakes. Neural regeneration takes a painfully long time.

Other: Read rapidfire regeneration as significantly faster than regular humans', but not instantaneous. Takes a day or two for him to heal completely from serious injury with medical aid and twice that time otherwise. Minor wounds take a few hours

asi • 4 July 2016 at 7:35 PM

@bunnyshadow

Two men looked at each other and then laughed. One just sounded like a hissing kettle, while the other gave a full body guffaw, slapping the first's back obnoxiously while his chest shook with mirth. The latter seemed less affected by the captive's show than the others, as he condescended to advise the Fang; "Ey, kiddo, ya best not whine to Gerald. He's a mean'un, he is. Ya better count each coin he gives ya lucky."
His fellow agreed with a crooked grin, "Tha's right, ol' Gerald don't give a dime more than 'e has to. Mis'rable bugger'd sell 'is own muther if 'e thought she'd get 'im a meal."
"Oi!" The other protested with a sudden stricken look. "That ain't right, he loves his mom." The first man frowned while the second reproached him. "Remember that sonnet he writed t' her mother's day last? That was just beaut, that was! Brought tears t' mine eyes, it did."
Apparently not knowing what to make of this defense, the first and slightly smaller man nodded after a small falter. "Alright, but 'e'd for sure sell out Stephen, wouldn't 'e?"
The bigger of the two snorted at that. "Sell? Ey, the man'd PAY t' get rid o' him, anyone would!"
And they grinned at each other, both sets of equally bad teeth on display. They also seemed to have clean forgotten Fang and possibly everything else in the world until the door swung open in a hurry, a thin and balding man jumping to the fore. Despite his lack of body mass and also hair, in motion he still appeared fairly vigorous and certainly able-bodied, especially as he snapped out soon as he sprung into the room; "Now what in the world was that rumpus, I swear to god Stephen you start one more fight-" He broke off only upon realizing the annoying chloroform guy was nowhere to be seen.
"'Ey Gerald," the smaller man called out as the newcomer stared around in rather sheepish confusion. "It was jus' this 'ere animal the boy brought in," he jerked a thumb in Fang's direction, finally recalling his existence. "'E wants 'is pay, too," he added with an eye roll.
Hearing that, Gerald's ears practically pricked up at the word 'pay', and his eyes narrowed into a piercing, razor-edged glare.

bunnyshadow • 8 July 2016 at 2:46 AM

Isale

"Thank you." She muttered habitually under her breath. However, his retreading back was already several dozens of feet away from her, and before long she blinked--and he was gone. Her fingers tingled in excitement from the usage of her powers, and the young woman shifted her weight from one foot to another for a few short moments, then headed on her way.

Isale ventured towards the merchant's camp in the distance, before pausing. Which way was going to be her way? She bit her lip uncomfortably, and sighed before making her way back towards the dozens of tents and stands still set up in the marketplace.

It couldn't hurt to stay for a day or two; she needed the break anyway.

@asi

Fang

His knuckles whitened from how tightly he was clenching his fists. Fang's features were lined with annoyance, but it was obviously overlooked by the two obnoxious men making conversation in his face. He seemed about to open his mouth to speak over both of the buffoons when one of the doors were thrown open--Fang was honestly surprised it still remained attached to the creaky hinges. The young man cleared his throat, tugging his collar as he did so.

"Greetings Gerald." He said, as he eyeballed the man's receding hairline. "I would prefer some privacy, if I can say so myself..." Fang trailed off as his eyes darted towards the men noisily speaking nearby. "The two mutant's I've brought in." He continued with a vampiric grin. "A shapeshifter and a healer--both can provide valuable assets to your crew." His dark eyes flashing brightly in the dim light given off from the flames trapped inside the old lanterns hanging nearby.

poe • 28 July 2016 at 1:49 AM

While he walked, Jules could feel his skin cooling with the evening air. His whole body was getting clammy with cold sweats. Many thoughts were racing through his mind in a haphazard fashion much like a disorderly bee hive. He could hear in his mind the desire knocking.

There was a heavy gang presence here, so he knew there must be someone in this hub... Jules felt angry with himself. His even steps faltered slightly and his shoe scuffed the ground. He stopped as his stomach turned and he drew in shallow breaths. He tried to swallow carefully. Jules had done this to himself, but if he hadn't, would he have left his old life?

His stomach turned again, and Jules wandered between the nearest buildings to empty it's contents. He hated the heaving. Especially when his stomach was empty. Jules leaned against the building, trying to bring himself out of the state he was in. He needed to stay clean, but the nausea, the chills, the sweating, it was all enough to drive him insane. His mind would race back and forth. Satisfy the craving. Don't fall back off the wagon.

He walked a few more paces indecisively, unsure where he was headed. His head hurt, everything was much worse than uncomfortable at best, and his stomach still felt like it was jumping rope. Jules leaned against the next building over and sank to the ground against the wall. He felt like a starving dog in a room with a poisoned piece of meat. Unable to have it, but stuck desperately wanting it.

dada_dragon • 8 August 2016 at 5:23 AM

Indigo moved her hands, searching with her fingertips for anything sharp. She felt the rough edge of shattered glass... From the feel of it, it was a broken bottle of some kind. Didn't matter.

She gripped the shard, maneuvering her hands so that the sharpest edge was pressed up against the rope. From the direction the majority of the noise was coming from, it seemed as though the area behind her was a wall, so no one should be able to see her cutting away at the rope.

What was she planning on doing after? She would have no idea of the possibilities until she could see, and by then, it could already be too late...

She rubbed the glass up against the rope, simultaneously cutting her palm on the other edge. It was painful, but considering the alternative, of being some sloppy gang member's pet... It was nothing.

@bunnyshadow
@asi
@poe
@takatheeducatedkid
@jupiter_hollow

asi • 31 August 2016 at 5:49 AM

@bunnyshadow

The balding man gave a distinctly unpleasant, thin-lipped smile as he appraised the boy. Then he chuckled, albeit quiet, strained, and nervous. He was smart enough to not like the look of that grin.

Still Gerald made a point of looking down on Fang and snorting, derisive. "Very well," he seemed to deign to agree. "We can go to my office to ah, discuss this further." He gestured out the door he'd came through. "Come along now," his lip curled, he spoke condescendingly as if to a child, before spinning around and leaving in a flurry of short but fast-paced strides intended to leave the other struggling to keep up.

The term 'office' was generous for the former storage closet turned room-barely-big-enough-to-squeeze-a-desk-in. But squeeze in it did, along with a sturdy metal cabinet besides, which Gerald hopped around to unlock. From within he pulled out a pouch clinking with what sounded like a rather meager portion of coins. He dropped it down on the desk with barely a sound, little more than a light 'plop'. Then his hand closed over it possessively.

"So you're after your cut, hm?" he smiled without the least hint of emotion or expression, except perhaps some little dry humor. "Persuade me of what you deserve," Gerald instructed.

takaedakumi • 5 September 2016 at 11:04 PM

*So... I don't suppose you have an escape plan?* Arlo asked.

"Well you know by some crazy chance, if it'd been my idea to go causing this messed-up chain of events I suppose I would, but you're out of luck here, buddy! I'm officially out of solutions to fix your incurable stupidity." Creed answered his counterpart in an annoyed tone.

Things weren't looking too good for either of them, and with Fang in charge of the outcome to this situation, it appeared that the undesirable possibilities far outweighed the positive ones--especially since to begin with, neither of them could picture any good endings to getting wrapped up in the wrong side of an apocalyptic gang dealing.

They could do nothing, at least for the moment, until someone would hopefully unbind Creed for even a fraction of a second so he could make his getaway. For now though, he was stuck sitting in one place--something he quite loathed--waiting for someone to try and decide his fate for him.

"If they think they're going to own me, they're about to have some serious problems." Creed murmured impatiently through gritted teeth. He wished he could see the faces of the gang members around him, so he would know who to put on the top of the blacklist later for payback.

dada_dragon • 7 September 2016 at 1:38 AM

Indigo had barely made any headway on cutting the rope when she felt someone's hot breath on her neck.

"C'mon, girlie... We ain't that stupid."

She yelled out in pain as the shard was ripped from her hand, slicing her palm. She clenched her hands tightly together in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

The blindfold was removed from her eyes, and for the first time, she was able to get a good look at her surroundings. She was unsettled by the filthy den of the worst humanity had to offer, but she kept a straight face. People like this fed off of weakness, so she couldn't afford to show any.

The man crouched down so that he was at eye level with Indigo. He was perhaps in his mid thirties and reeked of filth and sweat, making her gag. She held her breath, not wanting to throw up with the metal mouth covering on.

"You had better get used to it, darling." he said. "The boss 'as plans for you and the rest'v yer kind. You got talents that make ya useful... But if ya misbehave, suddenly yer talents no longer matter... Savvy?"

She glared at him. She understood what he meant.

Looking around, she spotted a seemingly unconscious Shimon, bound with a liberal amount of good chain, which at today's price would be worth a week of food and shelter, she was sure. And then there was that guy... Arlo... He was there too, a little bit closer to her than Shimon.

"Don't be gettin' no ideas..." the man said, laughing. "We seen stronger than you. An' Gerald's ol' lizard friend's 'ere. He ain't one you wanna mess with, girlie."

Indigo maintained eye contact until he stumbled away, off to join a table of his friends. She wished she could see her hands to assess the damage... They burned like fire and would likely become infected in this environment...

She wished she could call over to Arlo, but when she tried, she found that the mouth covering muffled nearly all sound.

She wondered how many fire-breathers they had ever captured that they had a metal mask like this readily available. And then she realized that she didn't want to know how many mouths had been on that mask, knowing how unlikely it was that they had ever washed it.

@asi
@bunnyshadow
@takatheeducatedkid
@taffy789
@poe

bunnyshadow • 8 September 2016 at 1:51 PM

@asi

~~~

He followed suit after Gerald, with nothing more but a last glance towards his dark stallion. The young man was unsure if it was a good idea to trust the animal around these ruffians, but didn't have a choice in the matter. Fang had to duck down a little at the entrance to avoid hitting the the top of the doorway, and the first thing he noticed about the room was how tiny it was. If one thought it already looked small from the outside, well...

Fang chuckled at the small gold glint the coins gave out from within the pouch and he sucked in a breath at how tempting the money appeared. He arched a brow at how Gerald's hands loomed protectively over the currency, then closed over the coins all together.

He felt a slight strain in the back of his neck, and twisted his head to the side to crack it noisily. The resulting noise gave him immediate gratification. Fang cleared his throat, before focusing on the task at hand.

"I'm not interested in money." Fang said. "What I want in exchange are othe-" Fang corrected himself. "What I want in exchange are three of your people... Or mutants for that matter." He dropped his gaze onto the older man's, holding it heavily in the dim light. "I give you mine for yours." The young man smiled sleazily. "The girl tied up outside caught my eye, that's for sure." He coughed, then continued.

"That man with the silver hair and the giant as well... I have a score to settle with both of them." He shifted his weight from his right foot to his left as he waited impatiently for Gerald's response. "The two mutants I brought in will certainly be worth your time... And with proper training? I'm sure the duo will be a force to be reckoned with."

asi • 10 September 2016 at 1:37 AM

@bunnyshadow


Gerald flinched, ever so slightly, at the harsh cracking sound. Although he was a guy who spent a long time around punks who practically made an art-form out of the different noises human knuckles could make, that didn't mean he liked it, or could stop the involuntary reaction his body gave at the implied discomfort it provided. It was just... Ugh. He suppressed an additional shudder.

He felt a pinch more comfortable when they got down to business. Now, Gerald wasn't a man who really understood the phrase, 'not interested in money', since the last word described all of his interests. If he had his way, he'd keep all the money he could in his safe, and the only thing that would be 'spent' would be Gerald's time, on counting it all.

But the gang leader had instructed him to buy mutants. So he did, making sure to keep a tight, clammy grip on what money he could.

Still, despite his distaste, and distrust for this boy, Gerald was rather taken with the opportunity he presented- keeping more coins in Gerald's bony little hands.

His beady little dark eyes narrowed until they looked to be in a squint. "Why should I do that? I've heard impressive things of those new three. Something about the big one being strong enough to toss a stall, and the girl having enough firepower to reduce it to ashes," Gerald leaned back in his chair, pouch of coins still held firmly in one hand. "Who's to say how valuable they could turn out to be?"

Truly, he wasn't sure what they were worth yet, not having had a chance to inspect them. It was more than likely that the shapeshifter was more valuable than any of the others... And there was always a use for a healer around. Plus, Gerald hadn't even heard anything about the silver-haired male except that the gang had brought in one extra. But Gerald wasn't going to admit any of that during bartering. He was going to get a good deal, and save himself a lot of coins.

bunnyshadow • 13 September 2016 at 2:34 PM

@asi

~~~

Fang chortled at Gerald's miserly actions, watching closely as the older man toyed with the pouch of coins. He couldn't believe that the guy was even bartering with him. The young man liked getting what he wanted, and getting it immediately. Nevertheless, he held his attitude.

"If the man is really as strong as you say he is, I doubt he'll be easy to take care of. Big men have big attitudes, and it'll be too hard and take too long for you to break him enough so that he'll follow your orders. In the end, you'll spend more money trying to keep him alive then you would have if you just let me have him."

He cleared his throat, before continuing. "I'm not looking to take your gold. I'm just looking to trade my mutants for yours. It's an easy exchange, and you aren't losing much, if not anything at all."

"Keep all your coins, just give me the girl, the big one and the idiot associated with the other two instead."

takaedakumi • 16 September 2016 at 10:13 AM

Creed sat quietly for about a minute, but he was already done waiting--or at least, more done than he had been before. "This is for the birds." he mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. The low jangle of his binding chains caught his attention, though. There was a grainy sound as they rubbed together, and he could feel small dust-like particles falling onto his hands from the clearly rusted chains.

It seemed as though they had used all their best restraints on Shimon and Indigo, or perhaps they just didn't have good equipment to begin with. Whatever the reason though, they were stupid to underestimate his abilities, and a devilish grin crept across Creed's face at the thought of their faces when he tore this place to shreds.

Although, he would need to enlist the help of that giant and the fire-breather. There was plenty of metal around here, so some sparks would probably be easy to conjure up. He could only plan so far however, since his blindfold kept him from evaluating his surroundings completely.

Waiting it out didn't seem as hard when there was an end-game now, though. He needed to react at the perfect moment, and right now there were no distractions for him to break free unnoticed.

*You've got an idea, clearly. What's the plan?* Arlo asked, feeling a bit out of the loop.

"Like I'd tell you." Creed chuckled quietly. He figured the other would find out soon enough.

dada_dragon • 20 September 2016 at 4:40 AM

Indigo shifted uncomfortably. She still had her hand clenched tightly around the other. It was quite painful still, a sharp throbbing pain. Her back ached as well from the position she was in.

She watched the men around her playing some manner of card game... likely one that didn't require a full deck... those were in short supply these days...

There were no coins out on the table, as men used to do in the old days... The men had piles of small food items, pouches of spices, bottles of water, and smaller weapons to wager.

She watched as one of the men got up. It was the man who had come over and removed her blindfold. He disappeared into a more private room after giving Indigo a quick glance that made her blood run cold.

"Ey Gerald!" called a man, walking into his office, barely acknowledging Fang. "Remember 'ow I said I wanted a lady next time ya got one? 'Ow much fer the one out there?"

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pouch of coins, tossing it tantalizingly in front of Gerald. He could tell by the looks Fang was giving the girl out there that he was also interested in buying, and he wasn't about to let that happen.

@bunnyshadow
@asi
@taffy789
@poe
@takatheeducatedkid

asi • 25 September 2016 at 4:26 AM

@bunnyshadow
@dada_dragon


Gerald scoffed, enjoying for a moment that arrogant look in the boy's eye, almost as much as he reveled in the feeling of coins sliding between his fingers through the silk of the pouch. "It is as you say about big men." Being a small one himself, he snorted in derision. "But as you will see, if you take a look around," Gerald continued to rock back and forth on his chair, at ease rather than threatening as his words might imply, "We have plenty of our own here."

He looked the teen up and down, from his long dark hair and wine-red eyes, to his distant shoes. Gerald frowned. "I don't see how you'd be in a better position to handle the brute. What's to say he won't cut lose from you and come after us for revenge? That'd be a bother, if he turns out to have the braincells for anything so complex, that is," he added in a snide aside.

"It hardly seems like a fair trade, what you're offering," Gerald sniffed, then added more seriously, "Besides, the boss pays me to buy mutants, not the other way around, despite MY wishes," he was about to continue, suggest that Fang take this issue up with the boss on his behalf when-

They were so rudely interrupted.

"Knock before you enter my office, you oaf!" Gerald cried out in anger, and was about to repurpose an untidy stack of accounting papers as weak attack to make this goon pick up, but then his ears caught the singing of coins and his dark, beady little eyes caught sight of the bag...

And they lit up like a pre-apocalypse child's at Christmas.

He stroked at the straggly little hairs on his chin, left over from his lousy attempts at shaving. "Why," Gerald purred, eyeing the pouch like a starving man might his saving meal. He was practically salivating. "Why, you might just be able to afford her, my friend..."

bunnyshadow • 26 September 2016 at 1:36 PM

@asi
@dada_dragon

~~~

Fang glowered at the intruder. His hands balled into tight fists, but he held his ground and forced himself to relax. He shifted the rifle from his shoulder to the ground, where he leaned against it threateningly. Though he knew if he tried anything, he would be dangerously outnumbered.

When Fang first began bargaining with Gerald, he did it out of spite of Arlo and the giant. The girl was only an addon, of which he wanted to get the most he could out of the deal. Now, however, it was a competition between him and the new man. He could tell he was losing ground, and he was offered with no choice now. The young man reached into his bag and pulled out a pouch of his own. He was unsure if it was more than what the other man had to offer, but if it wasn't... He could figure something out.

¨I won't leave without the girl.¨ Fang said in annoyance. He glanced over at the other man, almost as if challenging him to a duel.

It didn't matter how much he gave up for the fire-breather... He would find it back in his hands later.

asi • 1 October 2016 at 1:45 AM

@bunnyshadow
@dada_dragon


The teen's weapon was about as far from Gerald's mind as the moon and the stars, now. His hands were rubbing together with the cold silk of his own money pouch cradled between them, his movements spurred by eager anticipation. Two bidders were much better than one. Nothing like a little friendly competition to drive the price right up, eh?

"Well," he said slowly, savoring the rare, fine flavor of being the one in control, and smiling thinly to show it. "If you're both going to be so stubborn about this lovely-" his smile twisted in amusement, he suffered from no attraction to what she was- "mutant girl..."

Gerald's eyes traveled from one man to the other, as if weighing them up, or more likely, weighing the contents of their purses. In fact, that was exactly what he was about to do. "I suppose we'll just have to let the coins decide."

The look he gave them was anything but lacking in smug satisfaction.

dada_dragon • 1 October 2016 at 1:59 AM

The man glanced sideways at Vladan before setting his bag on the table. The other man's pouch was of a similar size and it was hard to say whose was bigger, but he knew he had to pretend to be more confident than he was...

"Ya might as well go home, boy." He said, laughing. "Ain't no way ya have more than me..."

Perhaps he'd be eating his words in a moment, but for the time being, he would act as though he had no doubt.

@bunnyshadow
@asi

taffy789 • 10 November 2016 at 10:31 PM

“W-- --at -e-o- ---- a---t ---s -ir- tr--?”
“I du—o, --ems ---e -ie- to -e, an- I k-ow lie-.”
“Ler-- -eem-d to bel-ev- it.”
“Su--. Seemed.”
“Well, one thing is ----.”
“----?”
“--- ---- -s an ugly thing, ain’t she?”
One of the large, burly men dragging Ismene down the flight of stairs snorted, and the young girl fluttered her eyelashless eyelids frantically, as if that could disperse the sickening, blurry mess that danced in front of her, mocking her impaired vision.
The stone corridor swayed, and she could hear the faint creaking of ancient wooden floorboards reverberating around her, too loud, too entirely loud to be real, to be possible. Her senses overloaded and her ears gave up again, deafening her to the next two minutes of the conversation the men dragging her down, down, down the stairs were having.
By the time her hearing and vision had fully recovered, Ismene found herself laying behind rusted iron bars with her cheek pressed against the cold, moldy stone of the floor beneath her. She shivered at the damp, pulled her hoodie tighter around her, and then finally sat up.
The rest of the cell was empty, but looking into the room beyond the bars, Ismene saw she wasn’t alone.
A bald woman covered with tattoos sat on a stool and whittled away at a piece of wood with a large, gleaming knife that looked bigger than anything Ismene could ever hold in her own tiny hands. The woman, however, had no problem with the large blade, as she herself was a massive, threatening mountain.
Ismene stared for so long that the woman eventually looked upwards, met the girl’s eyes, and gave her a silent, deadly look.
Ismene averted her eyes immediately. She coughed before managing to say, weakly, “Don’t suppose you could be convinced to let me out, huh..?”
The woman continued staring daggers before wordlessly retreating back to a very detailed woodwork of a human skull.
Not for the first time, Ismene tried not to think about how bleak her situation currently appeared to be.

asi • 5 December 2016 at 4:25 AM

@bunnyshadow
@dada_dragon


As soon as both pouches came into the man's grasp, a thought seemed to strike him, and Gerald's oily smile stilled as he turned it over quickly in his mind.

First off, it was obvious from the look of the pouches that there was no great difference in coins between the two. Visually, it definitely couldn't be determined which had greater value than the other. Gerald could simply count out the contents at length to find out, but...

Instead, he bounced the pouches up and down in his hands, wearing an expression of acute concentration as each pouch took turns at peak and bottom positions as he weighed them against each other. Then Gerald's hands stopped, scales entirely balanced. This caused him to frown down at them. He seemed to have demonstrated the difference between the two to be truly imperceptible.

He then looked up to the thuggish youth and the older thug and explained, successful for the most part in stemming the leak of excitement from his voice, and appearing as serious as he was. "As it happens, I'm very adept at the weighing of coins!" he boasted a little, sticking his thin, lean and unimpressive chest out as he spoke. "And I can tell just from holding these bags in my hands that they both carry the exact same sum, to the very last cent coin! Therefore, this is a contest that will have to be decided by who is willing or able to add the most... In services, future payment, or any form," he told them, licking his greedy lips as he clutched the pouches tight.

bunnyshadow • 5 December 2016 at 1:21 PM

@asi
@dada_dragon

~~~

"Listen up." Fang said irritably. "I'm sure anything that fool can do I can do a hundred times better." He said, gesturing to his opponent. The young man hefted his rifle over his back, the strap straining from how tight he had been clenching it. His dark eyes traveled from Gerald to the other man. "However... I don't owe people, I don't like owing people, and I don't plan on owing anybody anything anytime soon."

"How about we settle this the old fashioned way?" He muttered, cracking his knuckles threateningly. Fang's eyes narrowed irritably, and he cocked his head to the side.

"Winner gets the girl, and Gerald keeps both the winner and the loser's gold. It's a win win situation for me and Gerald." He said with a arrogant grin. His body faced openly towards the man now, and he stanced himself slightly, digging his heels into the ground in preparation for a fight.

"Show me what you've got, you backwater ape." The young man taunted. He knew that though the other man was a bit bigger, he probably had more experience than him.

dada_dragon • 5 December 2016 at 1:47 PM

The man smirked. He wasn't one for debts either.

"Kids like you should really learn to respect yer elders."

Without warning the man aimed a punch at the boy's chest and shifted his weight so that he could deliver a solid kick to his shins once the punch landed.

He'd learned a thing or two about fighting since being here. The men often brawled when there was nothing to do, and he had proven himself a worthy competitor. He almost felt sorry for the kid...

Then again, he was cocky and arrogant and he was trying to steal away his prize, so any thought of sympathy was immediately transformed into an intense desire to teach this punk a lesson.

@bunnyshadow
@asi

bunnyshadow • 6 December 2016 at 2:54 AM

@dada_dragon

~~~

"It'll take years until I respect a rat like you." Fang said. He was cut off mid scoff as the man's punch knocked the wind out of him. The young man managed to keep his ground through the first hit, but was knocked onto the ground by the unexpected kick to the shins. He hit the floor with a thud, but managed to scramble up onto his elbows.

Fang twisted around, and used his booted foot to hook around the man's legs. He pulled outward forcefully, in an attempt to drop the man to the ground.

dada_dragon • 6 December 2016 at 3:45 AM

Suddenly finding himself landing on his backside, the man growled, launching himself forward like a savage animal. He grabbed the man's waist and tried to push him into a wall.

He'd landed a couple hits... that was good. He was at a size advantage and he had no qualms with putting the kid in his place...

@bunnyshadow
@asi

asi • 6 December 2016 at 8:23 AM

@bunnyshadow
@dada_dragon


As the fight took off without any warning, Gerald scrambled back to press himself against the far wall, cursing out his shock with a few choice expletives. Although he was already positioned behind the shelter of his desk to begin with, the space in the office was so tight that it was more comparable with a closet than any other room. With that said, it was only natural that Gerald hardly felt himself safely out of the range of violence.

"Savages, you should really learn to take your brawls outside!" he tried to reprimand them, however, it quickly became obvious that the two men were very much focused on each other... And admittedly there was very little risk of anything in Gerald's office incurring damage from the fight. That was because its sole inhabitants were the hard wooden desk, and the harder steel cabinet in the corner. The barren environment lacked any other kind of decor to damage, because, simply put, the owner was a complete miser who would refuse to spend even the smallest coin on any such things.

Now Gerald was able to recognize the merits of his position, he hastily turned his back on the scuffle in order to fumble with his keys. In a flash, he was able to drop the pouches filled with gold- all three in his possession, including his own that he had meant to pay Fang with- into the drawer and slam it shut.

His money and grand future prospects secured, Gerald was at leave to watch the fight for the firebreathing mutant girl play out with only the smallest concern for his own safety or that of his possessions... And in any case, the balding man did at least not need to worry about any of his remaining hair going grey, as they already were.

bunnyshadow • 6 December 2016 at 2:16 PM

@asi
@dada_dragon

~~~

Fang hit the wall with a thud, and he could feel the other man's breathing from how close they were standing. It was a losing fight, but the young man had no problems with cheating if necessary. He brought up his fist to uppercut his opponent, before bringing his other one around for another punch at his face.

dada_dragon • 6 December 2016 at 2:43 PM

The man managed to block the first punch, but the second caught him off-guard. He grabbed the younger man by his shirt and attempted to throw him to the ground, hoping to give himself a little more room to work with.

He wasn't very good in such close quarters where he couldn't see where the punches were coming from...

@bunnyshadow

bunnyshadow • 6 December 2016 at 3:01 PM

@dada_dragon

~~~

The wind was knocked out of him when he hit the floor. He dragged himself back, then used the wall to help him stand up. Fang's eyes darted from where Gerald cowered behind his desk, and his opponent standing several feet away.

"Y...You think you can win?" Fang growled through heaving breaths. He pulled out a folded knife from inside a pocket, and flipped open the blade.

"Let's see who has the upper hand now."

dada_dragon • 6 December 2016 at 9:12 PM

The man's eyes widened.

"'Ey there... that ain't allowed!" He said, backing away slightly. He reached for his own knife, the colour draining from his face as he recalled leaving it stuck in the table...

"Come on there... This is against the rules, right, Gerald?" He said, turning his pleading gaze to the man behind the desk.

@asi
@bunnyshadow