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Run!
Jul 18, 2007 2:34:37 GMT -5
Post by Chani {♥} on Jul 18, 2007 2:34:37 GMT -5
ooc;; Might as well start this poor girl out in a damsel-in-distress setting. xDD
ic;; Lola had been singing to her fussy child for nearly an hour before he had finally drifted into sleep. She had continued humming, just to be on the safe side, while curling up next to him on the grass of some forest. She did not know its name; she never paid attention to such trifles. She kissed the auburn-haired boy on the forehead.
"I love you," she whispered, closing her eyes and pulling the extra skirt of her dress up and around him.
She had just been dozing off when a thwack awoke her. The source of the noise was obvious as she looked up, where an arrow had stuck in the tree of whose roots she had been using for a pillow. She sat up quickly, pulling Adrian into her arms and standing. "Stop, woman!" shouted some man. She ran into the darkness of the forest as fast as she could, still a bit groggy but mostly awake. "You fool, Rio," he growled. "We could have just slit her throat in her sleep if you weren't so eager to test out your new bow!" An arrow zipped by her, and another got stuck in the ample skirt of her dress. She heard horses' hooves thundering against the ground behind her. Adrian began crying.
Before long, the trees stopped and a large mountain appeared. Lola remembered seeing it from afar before she had entered the forest two days ago, but it was so thickly vegetated that she had not seen it again until now. She was up against a rock wall, and there was nothing she could do. She looked around for a cave or something, but there was nothing. And she could run nowhere, the horses were already piling in.
"Just give us your money and we'll let you live." She looked at him, eyes wide and heart pounding.
"I need this money for my baby," she said firmly. "I'm not giving you a single copper."
"You will if you want your baby to live," growled the man. "Now give it to us!" He dismounted his horse and started walking toward her, an evil smile on his lips.
Lola crouched, not knowing what to do. Without the last bit of their money, they would be in some trouble. Starve, perhaps. No one had sympathy for a woman with a fatherless baby unless she lied and told them that the father had died. And even then, few would believe her. Suddenly, she felt that too familiar pain grow in her stomach, begin ripping at her soul so it seemed. She cried out, opened her eyes. They were aglow, she was aglow. The pain continued, the men backed off, and they faded away into a deep blackness.
When Lola felt aware again, she was a mile or so outside a small town. The dirt path that led into it was overgrown and a few yards away. The town itself didn't look too far, but she was so weak. So tired. Her arms could barely force themselves to hold her dear Adrian. She fell onto her side, clutching the crying child to her chest, and fell asleep.
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Run!
Aug 28, 2007 10:48:13 GMT -5
Post by valter on Aug 28, 2007 10:48:13 GMT -5
Fwip!
A shadowy man had landed almost inaudibly next to Lola, crouching level with the overgrown grass. This man was an oddity. He was clad head-to-toe in various wraps of purple, except for a small triangle of tanned skin showing on his face. On this was an oval-shaped, molten orange eye, along with a shock of hair and the tip of an ear. He slowly rose, the sun reflecting off the handles of a myriad of daggers strapped at his waist. Surely this man was some sort of bandit?
He crept closer to the sleeping woman with her baby. She looked so helpless, so weak, so... vulnerable. Did the man's eyes gleam? He was barely a foot away from her now. One hand drifted to his belt, while the other hand stretched out towards the woman. It came closer... closer...... and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey. Wake up. It's not safe outside, especially not for you." Demi whispered insistently into her ear.
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Run!
Aug 29, 2007 10:13:21 GMT -5
Post by Chani {♥} on Aug 29, 2007 10:13:21 GMT -5
"Mrmm," groaned Lola. Her eyelids trembled before opening, revealing her pale eyes. She examined Demi for a moment and checked to make sure Adrian was still in her arms. He was, she could feel his warmth and that he was breathing. Relief swept over her. "How long have I been here?" she asked weakly, forcing herself to sit up. She felt the inside of her left calf to make sure her dagger was still there. It was. She pulled her skirt around her to find that the arrow was still sticking out of it. "Where am I?" she asked, ripping the arrow out.
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Run!
Aug 29, 2007 14:33:24 GMT -5
Post by valter on Aug 29, 2007 14:33:24 GMT -5
"You're in Eria, a mile or so away from the quaint town of Terra Nevessa. As for how long you've been here, I'm not exactly sure. A couple days, perhaps. It's 5 AM." Demi said quickly, standing up and glancing quickly around. "It's a good thing I was the one that found you first. Can you stand or walk?" he asked brusquely, still keeping his eyes on the shadowy forests and the road.
"Listen. You're in danger. You know those bandits you ran into? They were part of the Romai underground crime syndicate. By escaping, as a seemingly unarmed woman with a baby in tow, you've put shame to their organization. This wouldn't be quite a problem, if there wasn't someone out there who specifically wants you dead. An elderly gentleman, past his 50s at least. Now they're trying to find you and kill you. I'm pretty sure you don't want to die... do you trust me?" Demi asked, glancing back over his shoulder and making eye contact for the first moment. He winked.
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Run!
Aug 29, 2007 15:36:12 GMT -5
Post by Chani {♥} on Aug 29, 2007 15:36:12 GMT -5
"I...I...," stammered Lola, obviously having a hard time absorbing all this. She pressed her palm to her forehead as she sat up, thinking. "How..? How do you know I was being chased by bandits? An elderly gentleman? I..." She shook her head, staring into his face hopelessly. She couldn't think of anyone who was angry with her. She kept to herself for the most part, drifting in and out of towns quietly. Perhaps the man in front of her was insane. She pulled Adrian into her arms and stood. She still felt a little light-headed and slightly groggy, but she was sure it would wear off with walking and food. She looked to the village, deciding that she'd buy some sustenance for her baby and herself there.
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Run!
Aug 29, 2007 16:17:27 GMT -5
Post by valter on Aug 29, 2007 16:17:27 GMT -5
"How do I know? Isn't it... obvious?" Demi asked, and for a second, his eyes flashed again. In a lightning motion, he flicked out two daggers, and with another fwip, he vanished into the tall grass. Three seconds later, a whistling noise pierced the air, and Demi reappeared [/i]behind[/i] Lola. Before the woman could scream, draw a weapon, or even gasp, his daggers flicked out, slicing and cutting. Two seconds later, Lola was standing in the center of a ring of cleanly cut grass, trimmed percisely to 3 inches. "I could very well be counted as one of the bandits." Demi said lightly, sheathing his weaponry. "World travels quickly among thieves after all. Luckily for you, I can't abide anyone who'd kill a child."
"As for the old man, I don't know much about him. I wouldn't exactly call him a gentleman, in fact, he's quite ugly on both the inside and the outside. He did seem to know you though. Anyway, I think we should probably get moving." Demi added with a light laugh. "Do you need a hand walking?"
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Run!
Aug 29, 2007 16:36:21 GMT -5
Post by Chani {♥} on Aug 29, 2007 16:36:21 GMT -5
"Thieves?" Lola choked, stepping back from Demi. She felt as if her private space had been deeply invaded, but she knew that, whatever the case, Demi was her only hope. "Yes, let's move," she finally said, starting toward the village. At least this man knew what he was doing with daggers.
Move, run, rush..., she thought silently, and hope to God, Zeus, and every other deity in this world that there is honor among thieves.
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Run!
Aug 30, 2007 17:35:52 GMT -5
Post by valter on Aug 30, 2007 17:35:52 GMT -5
Demi nodded with an invisible grin and trailed lightly after Lola, keeping a respectful distance away. "Y'know, you seem a bit tense. You ought to save that for when we run into a battle. I guarantee that they won't make this easy for us." Demi said cheerfully after a few minutes. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. Demi at your service." said the enigmatic man, bending into a quick bow.
"You don't absolutely trust me, right? That's very smart of you." he added after a few more seconds.
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Run!
Aug 30, 2007 18:37:21 GMT -5
Post by Chani {♥} on Aug 30, 2007 18:37:21 GMT -5
"Being tense in a fight against bandits won't help me," whispered Lola helplessly. "I can't fight," she admitted, drooping her shoulders and looking more hopeless than ever. She turned around and gazed into the one eye of Demi's she could see. "I'm Lola. And I hope you can do more than trim grass with your daggers. Adrian's life is at stake and I will not see him dead." She turned back on her heels and continued walking. She felt horrid for being so mean to him. How did she know he wasn't leading her into a trap?
One of the "Romai" surely wouldn't send someone to lead me into a trap, she decided. If he was working for them, Adrian and I would be dead right now and he'd be collecting his cash prize. No, he wants to help. But... why? She decided against asking him and instead being grateful. Adrian woke up and started crying, no doubt very, very hungry. Lola looked at him, tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, honey," she whispered to him. "We'll get some food in your belly soon, Mama promises." She kissed him on his forehead and began humming melodically. This soothed him a little, but he still emitted tiny sobs here and there. "We need to hurry," she said more to him than herself. "He's been without food for so long..." He doesn't deserve this life, she snarled at herself mentally.
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Run!
Sept 1, 2007 10:56:55 GMT -5
Post by valter on Sept 1, 2007 10:56:55 GMT -5
"Don't worry. No one will lay a hand on your baby. Thief's honor." Demi said, tapping his temple with two fingers, with a roguish spark in his eyes. He sped up until he was walking level with Lola, peering curiously at the crying baby. "True, it looks like we'll have to hurry. I guess we ought to stick with the road then." Demi sighed. Sticking to the road was merely asking to be ambushed, but they had little choice.
"I don't mean to pry, but isn't it a little dangerous for a single lady with a child to be roaming the wilderness?" Demi asked. "I mean, what happened to the father?" They passed a puddle at the side of the road, and a few minutes later, Adrian's crying seemed to get on Demi's nerves. "Look, why don't I give him something? I think I've got some bread in one of these pockets." he said, rummaging through his belt with both hands.
"Heh heh!" came a sound from behind. Demi turned around, a dagger in his right hand, and with an open left hand, palm down. A look of shock and fear crossed his eyes as he saw what was behind him. "You two!"
Their assailants were a pair of large, shaggy men with long black hair and a murderous gleam in their eyes, but what really seemed to scare Demi were the spiked guantlets on their hands. As one, the two men thrust out with their weapons, and two chains formed from sharp stars lashed out from the holes on their guantlets. In two seconds, Demi was tightly bound in steel, the sharp ends cutting into his skin. At the same time, a gust of wind ruffled the grass to his right.
"Uagh! Lola, cover the kid's eyes and run for it!" Demi shouted, shutting his own eyes tight. In the next instant, the two assassins pulled back on their guantlets rapidly tightening the sharp chains, until... Schwip! Demi was gone, cut into a thousand pieces.
(No, I didn't just kill my character off. You'll see. Or you might already know, if you've watched Naruto.)
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Run!
Sept 1, 2007 15:04:38 GMT -5
Post by Chani {♥} on Sept 1, 2007 15:04:38 GMT -5
ooc;; Alrighty. Thanks for telling me. lol I wouldn't have known since I don't watch Naruto.
ic;; Lola had covered her baby's eyes, much to Adrian's dismay, instinctively. But she didn't want to run. Then, she realized she had no choice. She turned just as the assailants yanked back on their gauntlets and began running. It was the only thing she knew how to do. She strayed off the trail, into the trees, legs swinging under her frantically. Adrian was only being held in one arm so she could use the other to balance herself when she needed it. While she was off the path, she still was headed for the village in a rather roundabout way she had invented entirely on the spur of the moment. She decided not to go into the village, however. That would be far too predictable and would endanger others' lives. She looked into the foliage above, wondering if she could climb up there without dropping Adrian.
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Run!
Sept 2, 2007 21:01:19 GMT -5
Post by valter on Sept 2, 2007 21:01:19 GMT -5
"Too late!" growled the gravelly voice of one of the assassins. In the moment where Lola had paused to think and glance upwards, the two men had caught up to her; apparently they were faster than they looked. The two men surrounded Lola, with one in front and in back, so the formed the endpoints of a V. Every other path out was covered in thick bramble. The other assassin's claw-guantlets were raised. "Heh heh. She's a pretty one, eh Kin?" grunted the taller of the two.
"Ya got that right, Mobi." sneered the other man. "It's a pity she has to die. What'd the boss say again?"
"All we need is the head."
The two men lashed out. Once again, two long chains shot out of their claws, formed by lethal shuriken stars. They snaked rapidly towards the lone woman, and then, when they were a mere few feet away from her body, something flashed from the woods.
It was a dagger. It flew faster than an arrow, and pierced through the center of one shuriken from each chain, before burying itself in another tree. The two assassins tugged and struggled, but their weapons were pinned firmly, and with them, their arms. "Drat it all! Who did this?" cursed the taller man, Mobi. Those ended up being his last words, as he found out when he saw the bloody dagger protruding through his chest. Wordlessly, he dropped to the ground, revealing the dark-robed, orange-eyed, and very much alive figure crouched behind him.
"You! You-you're dead!" Kin cried, horror struck, now frantically trying to extricate himself from his guantlet. "Really? I don't feel all that dead." Demi smirked, crossing over to the man in three quick bounds. He chopped a pressure point before the man could react, and watched as Kin crumpled, temporarily out of control of his limbs. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Demi yanked the man out of his weaponry and proceeded to roughly tie him up to a nearby tree with a length of rope from his vest. "Hmm. I feel a pulse. And look, not bleeding. I guess I'm alive. You okay Lola?" Demi asked, turning with a reassuring smile in his eye.
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Run!
Sept 3, 2007 3:00:25 GMT -5
Post by Chani {♥} on Sept 3, 2007 3:00:25 GMT -5
Lorelei was panting, crouched against the tree in an attempt to avoid the chains.
"Do I look okay?" she barked, her lungs expanding and contracting painfully. Adrian was wailing loudly, afraid as he always was when his mother ran. She held him against her chest as her breaths came slower and talked to him softly. He calmed down a little as she used her hair to tease his hands into distraction from his dreadful hunger and confusion.
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Run!
Sept 3, 2007 9:43:16 GMT -5
Post by valter on Sept 3, 2007 9:43:16 GMT -5
"Sorry I couldn't help you right away. At least you're still alive." Demi said matter-of-factly. "Here." he added, handing Lola a piece of bread from inside his belt. "It only gets worse from here." he reminded her.
"But I don't understand!" grunted the assassin tied fast to the tree. "We killed you! And how did you know..."
"Heh heh." Demi laughed, cutting across the man's babbling. "You brothers were pretty sloppy. First. A puddle? After it hasn't rained for two days? That's when I knew. Second. D'you expect me not to know what's in my own pockets? You should have known I was going to thwart you." As if to enforce this point, he flicked his hands to his belt and withdrew the dagger, and a small, tightly sealed pouch. "Third. You should've known you wouldn't kill me that easily. I tricked you." He opened the pouch, and flicked his hand towards the assassin's face, while twirling his dagger. The man blinked, and then there were six Demi's standing in front of him, all speaking at the same time. "Hallucinary powder. Odorless, invisible. Did you think I wore this mask just for fashion?" Demi laughed coldly.
He paused for a moment, and gave Lola a resigned shrug. "Sorry, this must be horribly dull for you. I just need to get some information from this guy and then we're off. Now-" He'd turned back to Kin, "Who's next? Where do they plan to attack? And who exactly put you up to this?" Demi growled. "Tell me, and I won't have to kill you. Thief's honor."
Kin glared bleakly at Demi, and then began speaking slowly, deliberately. "Zan takes over for us if we fail. They're watching the village. And our employer is named Dra- urk!" "Darn! He's killed himself." Demi growled, backing away from the dead assassin. He sighed. "Well, this is a problem. D'you think we can afford not to head to the village?"
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Run!
Sept 3, 2007 16:53:38 GMT -5
Post by Chani {♥} on Sept 3, 2007 16:53:38 GMT -5
Lorelei growled.
"Sure, fine," she said, feeding Adrian the bread. "I mean, it's not bad enough that I'm taking care of a child out in the middle of nowhere with no skills at all. No, that's not bad enough. Some moron out there has to be concerned with killing me, so concerned that these lowly thieves have to risk their lives trying to kill me. I'm harmless. He has the wrong woman. Yet, he's wasting a considerable amount of time, money, and men to kill me. It's not bad enough that I'm a single mother, raising her kid in forests, feeding him when she can afford to, and just barely clinging onto what little life I have left. No, I have to be stalked by bandits because of some silly mistake. And, I mean no offense to you, but for God's sake! I'm depending on a thief to get me out of this mess that I had absolutely nothing to do with." She hit her head against the tree in frustration before standing up. While she seemed angry, flustered, and nearly impossible to talk to, especially if your name was Demi, the baby seemed to like him. Adrian waved a tiny hand at him and made small sounds that could have been giggles.
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