Pain and Revenge pt.2 (Raylan)

by **Aenisa** on April 21st, 2017, 7:21 am

14th of Spring - 517 AV

The bow was a hindrance to Aenisa and so she slung it over her head to hang around her back and over her shoulder, the string pushing up against her chest. The frame of the bow was pushing uncomfortably against her shoulder and lower back. She held her arrows in the hand, thinking that she might as well carry them with her for the time being. Gold was an issue she had come to realise, not everything was catered to her like it had been at home and even the bird that she had, was expensive and she knew that. Although she had learned to be frugal with her expenses, it was hard to start a life of one’s own when all you had was a few coins to your name.

Emerging out onto the streets of Alvadas again, it was quiet, at least in the side-street into which she had come out into. Aenisa was leaving the Bizarre behind and headed down the narrow street. Today it seemed like there had been one main avenue for the haulers and merchants but that the rest of the city had formed itself into a maze of alleyways, side-streets and dead-end pathways. Colourful houses lined both sides of the small street that carried Aenisa towards an ever-growing bustle of life, no doubt it was something to do with the festival. It was nice with the festival but it was a festival to the annoyance of a god who made his living making sure most people were either miserable or euphoric. Aenisa was hoping that the god would eventually turn in her favour and make sure that she was not punished in every turn that she made in the city. Ionu was no doubt testing all of the newcomers and as time grew by, so the illusions would lessen most of the days. That is what she was hoping for at least.

Coming forth from the smaller street and out onto a larger street again, what passed Aenisa by could only be described as a moving carnival, with the colourful houses as backdrop to the people’s celebration, it was quite comical. Looking like a circus almost, dancing, acrobatics and lots and lots of drinks and food. Appealing in its nature, to Aenisa it all seemed like a big illusion, an illusion that would draw her into an heavenly state of mind before she would be dropped back down to earth, hard. With the earlier scare still on her mind, Aenisa didn’t really feel like trusting the moving festival and so instead moved along with it, staying to the side. Shouting, hollering and laughter carried along the streets like a big wave of fun and festivities, there were food merchants moving with the crowds, selling what they could carry with them. Silver and gold changing hands fast to the benefit of the cooks, merchants and owners of the establishments along the busy street. It was a literal bonanza for all those involved, a lot of money changing hands made Aenisa all the more aware of her own problems.

It would be a good idea to have one of the raptors that she was training, to steal stuff from these people, nobody would notice and if they did, probably wouldn’t care. The idea seemed like it would be great to Aenisa, it would be easy and quick too, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything at all. Shelving the idea for now, Aenisa was moving past much of the crowd, being pushed to the side she was almost scraping the side of the houses that she was passing by.

The urge to try out the new bow made her look for the Gaping Maw, no doubt it was too late to try and find it again where it had last been and so it was wiser to move with the crowd and see what happened. Even if the festivities were in the city, they would no doubt be moving out of the city eventually and Aenisa was hoping that maybe she could get to see that strange man that she had met in the woods. He too after all had been practicing his bow in the meadow when she had gotten ambushed by his companion.

Thankfully it didn’t take long before she was standing before the Gaping Maw again, this time as she had suspected, it was in a completely different location as to the time before. It wasn’t the feeling of the atmosphere that made Aenisa stop in her tracks but rather what she had seen before her. Why was it that the location had to be guarded by the same guys that had chased her before? Aenisa didn’t like where the situation was going so she stepped to the side of the moving crowds, more than she already was and removed her bow from around her body. Watching the group as they stood, conversing on the other side of the crowd Aenisa started to wrap her arrows up around the bow. Slowly she undid the ropes and tied them up around the bow instead, hoping that she wouldn’t be recognized but fearing that she might. Once they were secured, the bow went back around her chest again, hugging her tighter than before due to the arrows.

Crossing the street, pushing and shoving her way past the moving festive crowd she was soon on the other side of the street.

SPACER

by **Aenisa** on April 21st, 2017, 10:14 am

14th of Spring - 517 AV

“You heard of that new shop that we found yesterday?”

“The one near the alleyway?”

“Yeah, that one, me and Leon here tried to get the woman to pay up her dues, she was in our section.”

“So?”

“So, she didn’t.”

“Yeah? And?”

“Me and Leon, we came back just before nightfall and busted up everything in her little shop, also beat her up real good.”

To this, Taniro found himself slapping his hand together with Leon, he brought him into a half-hug as they both were laughing loudly, clearly proud of their deed. Taniro had worked in the protection business for a long time within the walls of Alvadas, he never made enough noise to attract any attention from Ionu and for that, he was thankful. Taniro’s nose was still slightly crooked from when the stupid redheaded woman had thrown her fist into his face, it couldn’t be described as a real punch, because it wasn’t. Thankfully the Gaping Maw had appeared at Taniro’s section and he could tax all of the unknowing and easy targets that came through for the day, it would be a good day for him. Taniro zoned out Leon and the other man for a moment as he took in the power and fear of those that knew who he was that passed by them. It was an intoxicating feeling to Taniro.

Someone stood out by pure essence in the moving crowds, Taniro flinched a little as he felt it like a wave or perhaps it was something that he had seen. Whatever it was that made him start to look around more carefully at the moving crowds, it was unwelcome news for the Inarta moving among them. Eyes shooting wide open, he saw her.

“There!”

--

Aenisa hung her head down low, trying to make her hair as non-descript as possible as she would be moving past the man with the crooked nose. There were people coming and going to and from the Gaping Maw and the best chance that she would have of sneaking past would be with one of these groups, blend in with them. Taking follow on a group she tried to stay as far away from the small group that she was hiding from as she could, two seemed to be talking and one of them, the one man, was looking around, carefully. A few more steps and she could dash for the Gaping Maw in case they saw her, it would be closer to it than it would be to run back, just a few more.

“There!”

The shouting, accusing tone, mixed with surprise and a little confusion, allowed Aenisa to know it, she had been spotted. Terrified eyes shot over to the man that had the crooked nose, his hand outstretched, pointing at her. Her heart jumped from a cool pace to a racing pace in a moment’s time. For a split second Aenisa felt the world stop, time did not exist any longer and she knew that this was bad. The finger that was pointing at her was like the sharpest of swords, swung directly at her, it cut so deep into her mind, deeper than any real weapon could ever do. She had been running from this man for most day ever since they had first met, so far, she had been lucky, gotten away. Now, they were three, she was almost too deep in to go either way and there was people every which way around them, back was the crowd of festival-goers. Forwards the crowd was migrants and merchants, coming and going from the city gates, both offered hindrances and opportunities for Aenisa.

Slowly the time was coming back again, the two goons that stood behind the pointing man gradually turned towards her to see what was going on with their friend. Aenisa’s red hair stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd, something she hadn’t thought about when she tried to sneak past. It was however too late now to rectify her mistake as it had already lead to her discovery, she wouldn’t have more than a second or two at most to decide what she would do, the Gaping Maw or the crowd. If she went for the crowd, she could easily disappear within them and try to lose her would-be pursuers there but the crowd might also ensnare her and make it easier for them to catch her. Should she choose to go through the Gaping Maw instead, chances were that she would emerge outside of the city in some random location, into which her pursuers might also get deposited to, leaving her totally exposed. On the other hand she might emerge all alone and make a clean getaway. The choices were hard and the time limited, snap decision.

Her feet dug into the side of the stones on which she walked as she turned around, her posture sinking down like that of a well-trained athlete about to take off in a sprint. There were people in the group that she was with that had turned to see what the shout had been all about and they were just in time to see Aenisa leg it back towards the crowd. Confusion gave way when the next shout roared through the street, this caught the attention of almost everyone in the vicinity.

“Get her! Stop that redheaded woman by any means!”

It was filled with sudden fury unlike the first one which had been a mix of confusion and surprise, this was hard and firm. Aenisa was already half-way down the stretch towards the crowd when her pursuers gave chase. Panting, shallow, brief breaths was all that Aenisa could afford to do, pushing as hard as she could to put distance between herself and her pursuers before she would reach the fast-approaching crowd of festival-goers. It wasn’t like Aenisa to always run from the things that she was being hunted by, they were three however and she had to keep her dignity, so she ran.

SPACER

by **Aenisa** on April 21st, 2017, 2:28 pm

14th of Spring - 517 AV

A small valley opened up through the crowd as they saw the redheaded woman quickly approaching with three thugs in tow. It was like parting of the seas, some of the festival goers had no-doubt snapped up the shouting of the man before they had given chase to Aenisa. Elbows up and hands out, in case anyone tried to step in front of Aenisa she would be quick to push them aside and keep moving. Like a fish in a shoal, Aenisa was swallowed up by the crowds that were moving through the streets, it seemed like the valley that was opened for her, shut behind her. Terrified expression on Aenisa’s face made all those that locked their gaze on her feel sadness or pity for her.

Her heart was racing as she began to wade through the crowds, sliding between people, squeezing through groups of festival-goers. Moving quickly and constantly casting a glance over her shoulder out of fear, Aenisa was making some ground but her pursuers were closer than she had anticipated. In the corner of her eye, Aenisa saw one of the men slide into view, he locked eyes with the young Inarta woman and smirked as he started to push people aside, roughly. Panic, Aenisa almost ran through the crowds now, she could hear how those following her were causing a ruckus in their wake.

“What do you think you are doing?”
“Hey, don’t push me!”
“She is up there! Get her!”
“You stupid thugs, leave me be!”

It was all a blend in Aenisa’s head, a big mash of words that didn’t mean anything to her, all she wanted to hear was silence and know that she had gotten away. This guy was an annoyance to Aenisa, a thorn in her side, a chink in her armor. Aenisa wished that she didn’t have to shove all of these people out the way, sooner or later she would encounter someone who struck back, no doubt. Hoping that it wouldn’t happen today, Aenisa was now gradually moving towards the outer edges of the crowd, heart still beating hard and her paranoia causing her to constantly search for her pursuers. Where were they? Would they still have their eyes on her? She didn’t hear them any longer, then again, she didn’t hear anything, it was all just a mixed soup. Aenisa felt very helpless and strangely, far away from home and comfort, this was not what she had imagined at all. When would her luck change, when would she feel the embrace of this city? She had been there for long now.

What Aenisa didn’t know was that the group that was hunting her had moved along the side of the crowd, they were searching, ensnaring her, trapping her like a hunter does an animal. Maybe she had gotten away from them already, if so, it was a bit too easy for Aenisa, she continued to push on, her heart slowing down a little as she felt a little more secure with knowing that she couldn’t see them at least. They surely wasn’t following her any longer now, Aenisa stopped shoving the people out the way and went with the flow, moving towards the edge of the group, up towards the houses and side-streets that shot off in any which direction from the road she was on.

It did not take more than a split second once Aenisa had reached the edge to spot the guy, the guy spotting her in the same instance, the red hair giving her away, once more. A call to the others above the bustle of the crowd left Aenisa with no choice, her chaser was now only a short distance from her. Once again, Aenisa had to dash. Hiding in the crowd was not an option again, the others were wading through it towards her side. Her head shot in every direction as she was slowly backing away from the guy who was slowly following her, preparing to give chase, should she run. Aenisa ran. They ran.

Leaving the crowds behind, Aenisa shot into a side-street, her feet carrying her as quickly as they could, her entire body pumping adrenaline like that of a charging rhino. She told herself that she could now feel the breath of the man behind her; he was that close, she was getting into dangerous territory. She leant forwards a bit more, trying to gain any advantage that she might have, the steps of her pursuers were fully audible at this point, she wasn’t fast enough. The realization made Aenisa fearful, would she be swept off her feet any moment now?

The street in which the chase was going through was a narrow one, the colorful homes were but a blur for the running team as they were racing through the street. Through some windows and doors, people peeped out to see what the commotion was about. The entire chase was being announced by the leader of the trio, shouting crazily after her, almost certainly to instill fear into Aenisa. It was working. Before Aenisa even had time to cast a glance over her shoulder they were at the next street, moving quickly, skidding over the rocks in the street. The gang moved north, up the empty road, they were far away from the festivities and deep into regular Alvadas now.

She didn’t want to cast a glance over her shoulder for fear of how close they were, she knew they were close already because she heard them but she didn’t know how close. Soon enough she wouldn’t have to wonder anymore in any case. The leg came into view right next to Aenisa, with a startled look she turned to see one of the men come up beside her.

SPACER

by **Raylan Ramsey** on April 22nd, 2017, 8:52 pm

A man dressed in a black coat, adorned in darker night leather armor walked up a set of stairs leading from the Streets Below. He stood in the middle of the door frame holding his backpack in his hand by a strap. It was replaced by a mandolin he wore draped on his back by its strap.

He walked out of the door frame, struggling to hold the oversize backpack that had his tent and supply of usual goodies. He grinned, whistling, and pulled out a black fox mask he'd. Then shifted the pack to hold the pack over one shoulder as he set the mask over his face. Once it was properly set, he wrapped a black scarf around his neck and pulled the extra slack on the back of his neck up over his head to use as a hood.

It was the yell which caught his attention, then the sudden rush of bodies flowing past him. If he'd walked up the stairs any faster, he would have noticed Aenisa. But his eyes tracked the back of a man running after someone. He shifted his eyes to find who was being chase and spotted the lush running sway of a nice back. "Hmm... firm. Nicely shaped." He mused as his eyes traced up her back to find equally delicious red hair. "Hmm... Aenisa?"

It had been a good day when he met Aenisa. Or rather, when Foxface met Aenisa. Raylan had no idea what was happening to Aenisa, just that it was possibly bad. Which meant he simply had to see it for himself. And so he slowly followed after the group giving chase. He made sure to keep his distance, just in case Aenisa tried to call out for him to help her. Because he did not want to do that.

When the group caught up to her, he glanced around the empty streets and realized he stuck out like a obsidian colored sore thumb in the colorful surroundings. It was then that his eye fixed on the side of a house, then rushed to hide behind it. When he peaked around the corner he could only see the backs of people so looked up. "Sure... I can get on top of this house." He thought to himself, then took off his pack to throw it up onto the roof.

He was six foot three inches tall, so jumped up to try and grab the edge of the roof. It was a failed venture. One that he needed to solve since his pack was now up there. He tried to jump to grab the edge again, this time brushing his fingers against it before landing on the ground. "A running start?" He questioned, knowing that he was missing the action going on with Aenisa.

As he looked at the wall, he noticed a window. And a face. "Uh..." He said as he just locked eyes with an old woman trying to hide in her house that oddly had a mural of a giant boot on the side of it. Raylan backed up a bit to run at the wall, gathering all the strength he could muster and jumped.

"Yes!" He thought while swinging his foot to stand on the window sill. With the window ledge as support, he jumped off of that foot to use the ledge to aid as he pull himself onto the rooftop. "Petch.. why was that so hard. Why am I out of breath?" He talked to himself as he laid on a flat rooftop that had grass on it for some reason.

He laid on a house with a garden. As he looked around, the flowers were all shoes. Just green stocks with leaves ending in shoes. They all turned to look at him like sunflowers looking at the sun. It was slightly creepy, but he ignored the illusions to crawl to the other end of the roof to hide just over the ledge and have an areal view of the commotion below on the street.

Still ignoring the boot-flowers looking at him. One flower illusion glided across the purple grass to imitate Raylan and secretly watch the action with him.

by **Aenisa** on April 22nd, 2017, 9:03 pm

14th of Spring - 517 AV

Out of focus, the fear of getting caught had made it even more tangible that she would, the misstep that she took had sent her into a series of errors. Her pulse was racing harder than it had ever done in her life up to this point, there might have been one more occasion when she was being chased by a bear. It was the uneven road surface among the colourful houses that had caused her such annoyance and that had been her downfall, she cursed the streets in her own mind as the wind was catching her, pushing her. One wrong foot had been the first of many, each one and Aenisa had to compensate even further, her body leaning even more forwards, like that of a tower about to fall. With every step, her arms was rotating like a windmill, trying as a last, desperate attempt to keep Aenisa on her feet, all the while the hollering of her pursuers allowed her to know, they knew, she was going down. It was as if Ionu themselves delivered the last push, a gust of wind, a hand on her back, whatever it was that sent her over, sent her over.

The crash could have broken many bones, her body coming down against the stones like a sack of potatoes. As if by reflex, her hands had allowed for a somewhat soft crash saving her any bone-crushing injuries but she was in danger. The speed had sent the bow over her head and down onto the stones, sending the arrows spreading out into every direction. Heavy footsteps flew past Aenisa, her pursuer that had been with her had now overshot her, he would no doubt be able to stop in a moments time though. It would not be many seconds before the others would be with her as well. Aenisa scrambled up on her knees and then quickly she was with her bow, her hand grasping onto it as she was frantically searching for the arrows, picking them up as many as she could. Aenisa had forgotten in the chaos, she was being hunted, wanted for a beating and perhaps more.

--

He had overshot the Inarta as she had gone down as if she was about to dive into the water, the stones weren’t as friendly towards their shoes as they might have wanted them to be. All the same, the thud caused him to cheer out into the mostly empty street that they were in, the cheers were echoed by the other two that were a few paces behind them.

Once he came to a stop, running his hand through his short hair, it was sweaty. With a racing pulse and breathing hard, he turned to face the Inarta, what was she doing? He cocked his head to one side as he seemed puzzled by the woman, she had just fallen and now she was on her knees, collecting her bow. Behind the Inarta woman, just two steps behind, the others had just come to a stop, all of them now surrounded the redheaded woman. This would be a sweet revenge for the three of them, but mostly it was for Taniro that they did this. It was principle, they had to.

--

One arrow, two arrows. She was quick to count them and then she got no further. A heavy foot came down onto her shoulder blades, she was forced face first into the street, the bow underneath her, the two arrows she released with an audible complaint. No time was spared, the force would be relentless, she knew it, they knew it and anyone in the streets, watching, knew it. Most people that had been on the streets had moved away, fearing that they would get dragged into the fight, there were one or two still out, watching. The next kick was send down into her back, this sent all her air out of her in one big go, she gasped loudly and chipping for air, was greeted with another foot to her lower thigh. Swiftly one of the men dove down on top of her, before she had the time to even move an inch, her body struggling just to breathe, her mind telling her to stay alive, it was all that she could do. Panic was setting in, he was locking her down, Aenisa started thrashing about, her legs trying to kick her attacker in his back as he was preparing his attack. The soles of her feet were sent into the lower back of her attacker, she could feel the man on top of her buckle forwards, he swore loudly, berated his companions and in the same instance, ordered them to hold her legs together. Aenisa was like a packaged fish at this point, no hope of escape, no hope of striking back, thrashing, trying to get free still. Small cuts had already drawn the first blood.

Distant words were all that she could hear, however the feeling of the fist as it came down into the side of her chest was far greater a conversational tool. Aenisa winced and cried out aloud as the next fist came down into her other side, it felt as if something broke within her body as the second fist came down. Agonising cries for help echoed across the empty streets as the man on top of her ordered her to be quiet. As if to make his point even better, he sent an elbow into the back of her head, smashing her face down into the street again, blood spattered out from her nose and lips. It wasn’t worth complaining about the pain any more, a cry was all she could muster again, it wouldn’t be awarded with anything, only laughs and more strikes. Adrenaline from the chase was starting to die down as her body was in an impossible situation, the fighting spirit was waning. Aenisa stopped thrashing about as she got her nose busted, contemplating her situation for a moment, that moment being shattered with the pain of two further fists into her stomach this time.

“Go on! Kick her!”

Aenisa didn’t hear the words of the leader for the group but as she felt the weight of her back lighten a bit, she thought that it might be over, she might get away with it, it would be enough. Aenisa was so very wrong. As soon as the attacker had stepped off and her feet had been let loose the feet of her attackers came crashing into her, two against her hips, one into her ribcage, thankfully the arm was still along her side and took the brunt of that hit. Aenisa was bleeding from several spots at this point, the cracked skin allowing for her life-essence to leave, soaking the streets of Alvadas. Several more kicks followed, hips, legs, stomach and head, the fury was like that of a feeding frenzy out at sea. The world around her were slowly fading, her body having rolled up into a small ball of a human, arms, legs and back taking most of the hits. Aenisa was nothing but a punching bag for the furious trio. The tunnel got shallower and shallower, colour faded from her vision as the kicks and punches came in at a steady stream. Aenisa was soon unconscious.

SPACER

by **Aenisa** on April 22nd, 2017, 9:43 pm

14th of Spring - 517 AV

“Wake up, wake up!”

Open palmed, his hands were slapping her face, slowly the pain was coming back to her, it was the first thing she noticed when she came to. She was being held by her two arms by someone behind her back, the pain was tremendous and it was impossible to ignore, it felt like someone had ran her entire body through a meatgrinder. Slowly her eyes opened to the pretentious smile of the man, there he stood, before her, either foot on either side of her, an arrow in his hand. She was sobbing, through the sobbing, a low groan came from the bruised, bleeding and battered Inarta woman, she wanted nothing more than to roll down into the sewers and die at this point.

“Focus, this is your only chance you stupid, arrogant, annoying little Inarta.”

He addressed her by her race, not by any other means, no doubt did he have something else in mind, the next words were preceded by cursing and then he raised his voice. It was a booming voice that made her feel so small, so afraid and at the same time, she was getting angry. The beating was over, she was alive, they weren’t going to kill her. Wanting to burst out, kick out and kill the man that stood before her, for all the pain and misery that he had caused her. Looking at the man, Aenisa burned the image of his face into her mind, she opened her mouth and was about to speak when she saw the arrow, she kept quiet.

“Now you listen here...” His eyes were filled with fury and fire, the knuckles by his side bloodied from the beating, no doubt most the blood was from Aenisa. Blood was dripping down her entire face, her lip swollen already, it all looked as if she was being held like a piece of meat at the butcherer, ready to be slaughtered. “… If I ever see you again, I will drive this arrow straight through your ugly face. I will find out who your family is, enslave them and sell them to a Nurit.” The stare allowed Aenisa to know that he was expecting her to somehow answer what he had told her. She was not able to disobey. Opening her mouth to say something, she tried, only thing that came out was bubbles, red, bloody, bubbles, she had to spit, it wasn’t much help, she resorted to nodding her head, rapidly, fearful of what might happen otherwise. He seemed pleased at this, he spread his hands wide open, still holding the arrow between his palm and the thumb though and said in a happy tone.

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Before she had even been allowed to answer, the arrows were driven with force through the air, Aenisa registered the swift movement just in time. Her eyes shot open and as her mouth opened, she tried to scream out, plead to the man, it was too late. It was like getting stung by a bee, before it pierced the skin and then it felt like her entire leg was pushed aside, like something was tearing through flesh and blood. It was like a knife tearing through her leg. The man kept it there, his hand firmly on the arrow as Aenisa was crying out in agony, her body slumping forwards due to the horrific pain that she was in.

“I will always find you, you are safe, NOWHERE!”

He screamed in the face of the fading Inarta woman that he had trapped. No reaction from Aenisa was rewarded by the man twisting the arrow in her wound, he watched as her head lurched forwards, groaning under the pain. Aenisa had reached her threshold for the pain, she found herself somewhat okay with the pain, the little adrenaline and other chemicals that her body produced, no doubt pushing much of it away. Breathing heavily, she managed to nod her head. She was released, her limp body falling to the street in a package of blood, tears, sweat and agony. All her supposed dignity that she had, it was taken from her in the few moments it had taken them to administer the beating to her. Aenisa was broken. She was bleeding from more than one place, the arrow sticking out from her thigh, she didn’t want to move, she lay, alone, still, in the streets, quietly sobbing. Underneath the sad, pitiful exterior of the redheaded, bloody woman lay the fuming interior, like that of a volcano, she wanted to stand up, shout at everyone in the street. It wouldn’t have helped but she wanted to act out, she wanted to take her own self-worth back from the men who had stolen it from her.

SPACER

by **Raylan Ramsey** on April 24th, 2017, 9:32 am

Ray had a slight smile on his face as started to play a game as he watched the woman receive her beating. The name of the game was called, guess what hurts. When the feet of the woman's attackers lifted to stomp against her hips, Raylan whispered. “Iliacus, hip flexion muscle. Spasms will make it hard to walk.” In a way, it also helped him keep an eye out for any life threatening danger. He wanted his game to keep going, not for her to be outright murdered. “Intercostal muscles, control of rib cage. Breathing will be labored.” He whispered to the boot-flower illusion. “Skull...That had to hurt.”

He mused with a chuckle. It was almost as if the girls attackers had wanted to give him a challenge as their heels increased In fury. Causing him to stumble over a few words as he searched for the right muscles to name that they battered. He canted his head to one side as he watched Aenisa curl up into the fetal position. It made his game less fun, since he knew they'd only be able to hit specific places on her body as a result of it.

Raylan found himself eavesdropping intently on what her attackers needed to say. He was curious as to why they wished to beat the red head within an inch of her life so openly. Because that wasn't a normal thing to do on the streets above. Too many eyes, too many ears, lots of ways to be punished by the city itself.

It was only when Aenisa had been stabbed by the arrow that he pushed off the roof to stand on up on all fours. He didn't want her dead. Death was boring; well most of the time. He narrowed his eyes to looke down at where the arrow was embedded into her leg. "Vastus Lateralis. Leg to knee spasm and pains. nonlethal." He'd pretty much started to talk to the illusion as if it were interested in what he had to say. Then lowered himself to lay prone on the roof again, happy that he didn't need to interrupt the action below.

“Oh? I will always find you, you are safe, Nowhere.” Raylan whispered to the Boot-lower in a mocking tone. "That is bold statement to make." His lips pursed in amusement as he watched the scene come to an end. It was all like a tragic play when the actors exited the stage. Once the men were gone, Raylan stood to his full height to walk along the, now rainbow colored, grass over to retrieve his backpack.

He walked over to the edge again to drop the backpack down onto the ground. Raylan's tent tarp hit the ground first which kept anything from being damaged in his pack. Afterwards, he crouched down to grab the edge of the roof as he lowered himself on the edge. He swung in midair for a moment before he let go to land on the ground with a heavy thud... and a 'snik'. He looked down to see that the blades in his bladed boots had been triggered from the extra force, so he had to press his heels again to retract the blades. He chuckled at the premature erection joke, then reached down to put his backpack on fully.

"A girl was lying on the ground. Her face was bloody, bruised, broken. One of her arms seemed limp. Her face was sticky with blood. Every time her face moved, it stilled just a second after, as if she was trying to keep the movements to a minimum." Foxface narrated all of the things that Aenisa did as if she were some character in a story.

There was suddenly a man who stood over her, looking at the crumpled mess beneath him impassively. Foxface crouched down, touching the broken girl’s cheek with a gentle motion. “And as she laid in pain, she knew what she truly wanted...” He spoke softly, almost singing to the girl. Raylan tapped into the foundation of his soul to will his djed into empowering the very words that he'd spoken. The arcane energies flooded into his vocal cords, allowing the words they emitted to be laced with hypnotic power.

“And as she laid in pain, she knew what she truly wanted...” Within those words, Raylan used a Sudden thought. And unlike most times, he used wised for her to have an extreme thought that she might be privy to listening too.. From what he'd seen, she was the strong type. The type of woman who wished to fight. And so as soon as he'd finished speaking, Aenisa would think to her self in her own voice.

"I'm going to kill them all."

Raylan left her alone with her 'thoughts', she she could think over what he'd set into her mind as he started to wander around the area collecting her things off the ground. It took him a moment, but he managed to find a way to shove one end of her bow into his backpack as the rest protruded up into the air along with her arrows.

Afterwards, Foxface shifted his mandolin aside his backpack to move it out of the way as he crouched down to get a better view of the arrow in her thigh. He rose from his crouch, an impassive coldness once more in his voice as his arms were set under the back of her knees and behind her back to lift her up off the ground as he stood up.

A vague sense of pride, perhaps on his hidden smile as he started to walk down the street off to find the Ionu's Mercy while humming a tune that started to turn into a song. ""Do you think me mad for singing, apples and the hounds are tweeting. Swine and crow are here and beaming. Don't you think me mad for singing~" Singing to the woman as he carried her.

As he sung, Raylan doubled down on his attempt at manipulation. He still felt the flow of arcane that lingered within his vocal cords. The sensation of arcane felt like the warmth of a campfire on a cold day. It was a sensation that grew hotter as he willed his djed to empower the las words he'd sung. Don't you think me mad for singing~

He used the words to fill her mind with a subliminal message, "Foxface is your friend." And given that he was the only one helping her at the moment, hoped that idea would stick to her mind like the blood on her face.

It took a few chimes, but as he walked down one street to turn onto another... he just happened to find. Ionu's Mercy and kept singing as he walked through its doors. His tone lowered once he'd seen Irene Caene. "She was chanced and beaten for some reason... suffered damage to.." he then started to tell the woman all the places she'd been kicked or punched that he'd kept track of through his game. Mistress Caene was the only one on staff for the day, so told Foxface to follow her to a medical chamber where he then set Aenisa down on a medical bed to be cared for.

He was going to stick around since he had nothing better to do, so he leaned in to press the flat mouth of his mask against her cheek to act as a kiss. He left her with that caring gesture before whispering into her ear. "Get well soon." Then removed himself out of Mistress Caenes way.

Raylan started to play around with Aenisa's shortbow, notching an arrow as he pointed it at a wall. He needed something to keep him busy while the woman was being patched up, so drew the string back with the end of the arrow against it; the front end of the arrow wasn't even set against the bow. He just figured the string would fling it forward. "This how this works?" He thought to himself as he let the string go to try to fire the arrow. The end of the arrow slipped off the string causing the butt of the arrow to fall to the ground as the string snapped forward. As he glanced around, he slowly picked up the arrow while making sure nobody saw that little mishap. He'd return the weapons once Aenisa was awake.

by **Aenisa** on April 26th, 2017, 8:14 am

14th of Spring - 517 AV

The fading footsteps of the group as it moved away and left Aenisa in the street, her body battered and bloody, the arrows and the bow, strewn all around her. It had become quiet as the group had moved on from her. Nobody seemed to be moving in the street and Aenisa cursed everyone that lived there, everyone that had watched. It had been painful enough to be on the receiving end of the pummelling but if the trio hadn’t stopped, she would have been dead by now. Finding the thought disturbing, Aenisa shrunk into a ball again as she left her leg unmoved, the pain pulsating like a second heart.

The distant thud did not move Aenisa, she didn’t much care any longer and all that she wanted to do was to die. Life had not ever come so close to the end as it all seemed at that very moment. The redhaired Inarta lay on the ground as the man was slowly approaching, the thud had been his backpack as it had hit the street a distance away. It wasn’t until the man was standing above her that Aenisa knew that there was someone there for her, another person had dared to enter the still empty street. In her deepest corner of her bruised and beaten heart, Aenisa had some hope, some ounce of still sparkling life essence that wished for her not to be ignored, for the man to help her. Silky fingers gently brushed along her cheek and the feeling of someone touching her made Aenisa almost lash out in defence, almost pushing back, afraid that it might be the trio that was returning to finish the deed. Spitting out blood onto the streets under her battered body, Aenisa opened her eyes, fearful of who it might be that stood over her. A sudden confusion came over her when she saw a familiar face.

Wanting to express her surprise at the man that stood towering above her battered body, all that Aenisa could muster was a whimpering cry for help. Aenisa hadn't gotten much further than to complete her pathetic and agonising cry for help when the fox-clad man started to speak but to Aenisa's ears it could have just as well been a song. "And as she laid in pain, she knew what she truly wanted...” a pulsating thought came crashing before all else within Aenisa's head, pushing all other thoughts out of the way. Visualising the thought before her very eyes, blood poured down the steps of a dark alleyway, seemingly empty of people and left to its own devices. The blood wasn't her own either as she could see the weapon in her hand. Aenisa knew what she had to do, she was going to have to... "Kill them all.". It wasn't just the thought that had come out of nowhere and although it had done so, it did seem like the logical answer to a question that she hadn't asked. Aenisa had to figure out how she would do it as well however it wasn't the time right now. The implication that had been put into Aenisa's mind was strong, for the moment however the pain was stronger.

Like solid as a pair of tree branches, suddenly Aenisa was scooped up from the ground. A spike of pain was sent through her body as her body was moved, disturbed from its resting position. It was the fox masked man who had returned after a moment of walking around. Groaning under the pain she was soon laying in his arms, she wrapped her arms around the neck and hung on tight. Thanking the gods for sending the man and at the same time, cursing them for not allowing her to fade from life. Aenisa had been so close to meeting Dira but instead Ionu had colluded with Krysus, illusions and pain but not death was what they had in store for her.

The words of the supposed song that foxface was singing didn’t much touch Aenisa but she felt it roll over her like that of a warm blanket in the winter. Finding herself slowly getting more and more sleepy as the adrenaline was fading away even more, the pain taking its toll on her mind as well. The safe feeling of being in the arms of someone else had not gone unnoticed either, she wouldn't have to be afraid, foxface would care for her. There were a few things that her mind was continuing to tell her, she needed to kill them and foxface was her friend, he had helped her, nobody else, him. After these things had made their rounds inside of her head a few times, Aenisa was asleep in the arms of the man, or rather, unconscious. Still knocked out, she was carried into Ionu's Mercy.

SPACER

by **Yisanareysin** on May 27th, 2017, 12:32 pm

The ssssssnake hassss your gradesssss...

Aenisa

Skills

Lores

Rewards & Retribution

Comments
Oh boy. This was a thread alright. I look forward to seeing how this plays out. I'm also impressed that you're willing to let your PC get seriously beat up. A lot of people aren't.

Raylan

Skills

Lores

Comments
Raylan is the worst. And I play a man eating snake. XP
Keep in mind that your singing and storytelling are almost nil, so you should be a little clumsier with those. Aside from that, congratulation on making trouble for everyone involved.

Don't forget to delete your post in the grading queue, and if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me about your grade!

Closed Pain and Revenge pt.2 (Raylan)