Closed [The Blood Pits] Snake and Wolf

[Fallon]

40th Spring 514AV

For a while, Fallon simply watched. There was a glazed expression as the fists of fighters collides with flesh below. The grunts, the snarls as man fought with tooth and nail for the right to live. If she had her own way, she would have interrupted such antics the moment she walked in. But this was not her territory, she had no rule or control as to what occurred on the premises. Thinking about it, she did not have any territory and that was something that needed to be fixed. Even an idiot knew it was necessary to have a base to work out of. And a tent was no base.

The betting book was passed on when it reached her, barely a glance down to the exact nature of it or who had put their names for blood. There was an internal sigh, the chorus of ‘Kill’ ringing into the air. Her head and hood turned away at that point, a gentle raise of the hand to guide her way through the crowd. Some quickly filled her space anyway, and it was only the piercing gurgle from below as she walked away.

”Petching stupid,” she muttered, escaping the thick mass od bodies that pressed in to see the killing blow. More cheers, announcements, the clink of coin and the price of life to entertain. That was the nature of the blood pouts though, to refuse it would result in nothing but plain. Then again to accept it also generally spelled someone else’s pain. Chewing upon her lip, Fallon frowned. Another thing to add to the long list of change. Then again it was the city of anarchy, and if one toy was taken away it would simply find another. Take it by force if need be. Of course, the other option was to try and convert it into something more suitable and in a way to not serve it to pointless killing. Bodies thinning, Fallon moved and leant up against the wall of the blood pit. Brow furrowed with thought, eyes drifting and counting. No, reputation was needed first, along with a city left standing to establish change to.

What a learning curve it was turning out to be. She needed to understand more, to have the points of perspectives covered and the best answer that could be achieved. Fingers drummed, there was a shuffle and shout of glee as the next was brought forth. A scrabble in the background, the begs of mercy as whoever it was, was pulled out into the pit and forced to fight. Lips pinched together, wiry expression as she thought to herself. And for more perspectives, she needed more people. She released a mutter, ”God’s above, I need a plan.”

[Shelven]

Mercy, how quaint and distant did the word sound to Shelven as he stood alone in the crowded Blood Pits. His eyes staring distantly over the combatants, a scrawny man who had been thrown in like a dying dog against a massive man clad in leather and a vicious guise. Honestly, did such a thing exist in the world, true unaltered or bought mercy. He chuckled as he rubbed his chin for a moment. His eyes all the while swaying in some odd rhythm across the combatants, and the hounds whom howled for more blood to tinge the air.

He heard a loud crack like splintering wood. and a chant of ,“More… MORE,” growing from the center of the betting mass and expanding to the outer edges. He cracked his knuckles and turned about before noticing the woman. Her lips pinched as she looked about with such disdain, an inaudible mutter leaving her. Curiosity picked at him from the back of his head as he attempted to simply turn back to the proceedings of the fight. His fortitude failed him.

His feet were carrying him towards her before his mind recognized the motion. Then he was there, standing next to here. Clearly his presence would be noticed, he wasn’t exactly to most inconspicuous man. His coat pulled about him and his right hand subconsciously fiddling with the tip of his chin as he looked over the fight.

“Why might you be heree young lady,” he asked as his posture relaxed and his hands slid into the pockets of his coat. “You don't sseem to be enjoying yoursself,” he said his voice seeming to stutter as he attempted the hiding of the drawn s sounds in his speech. He looked off now waiting for a response, eyes glazed over as he looked in no particular direction. His body wavering in toon to a light song he hummed as he waited.

[Fallon]

Fallon was deep in thought, eyes came to a narrow a chew upon her lip as her mumbling moved down from anything audible to the simple twitching of silent words. Ideas gave a flicker, the brow creasing firstly and then forming into that of a scowl. Not at any one in particular, but to the long list of things that needed to be achieved – the cruel and necessary base layering to reach the end goal. In order to deal with some of the establishments of Sunberth one needed power. In order to have power, one needed people. And to have people, one needed to be able to prove themselves. And in order to do that, one needed a big enough plan. Nostrils gave a flare.

It was deep enough of thought that she did not register the one who had approached her at first. There was the natural reflexive response of the eyes flickering upwards to whatever tall brute had approached her, but it required the second look to truly take him in. Fingers gave a wriggle, a small swirl round to discard the present trail of thought and save it for later – a sense of business was at hand, though the sort she was not completely sure of just yet. Cocking a single dark brow at him she watched his awkward rock, the strange stutter and actions that did not seem to match his appearance. How bizarre, she mused as she finally turned to answering his questions. Her fingers massaged at her throat, a long inhale as she focused on attempting to mute those lilting tones behind a rougher purr. A necessary evil for the face of ‘Bitzer’.

”Well, could be one of two reasons that,” she began, the frown easing off and the words being drawn out slowly, ”I could be here because I’m an unwitting victim that is about to be thrown into the cage and forced to fight for my life – else I would get lynched anyway. Or I could be a simple spectator observing the lovely entertainment Sunberth has to offer… I’ll let you decide why I’m here.” Lips gave a curl, a rub of the gloved digits before she inspected the worn tips of them. There was only the flicker down as he placed his hands into his coat, wary almost that he was about to pull something out of its depths. It was not every day a stranger came and leaned up against the same wall space.

”Spectators don’t have to enjoy themselves, just like the pit prey,” Her head lifted at that point, her eyes looking towards the cheering crowd as another blood curdled cry escaped into the air. She had to restrain from wincing, but it did not stop the stomach from knotting up tightly. A raucous cry sounded out after that, and it was with a purse of lips that she moved the conversation onwards. She gave a gesture to the blood pits, ”What makes a place like this successful do you think? What draws the people in to such an establishment…?” Her eyes flickered up to the man, ”Why are you here? What attracts you so?”

[Shelven]

She was thinking was she, face contorting in images of thought and imagination as she went about it without the notice of Shelven. Then she discarded these thoughts, no she stored them, placed them somewhere for later this possibly important wisps of thought. Then she spoke to him of victims and of being but a common spectator, but she seemed to hold herself much differently then the blood hounds and gamblers that currently took up a common residence of the blood stained pits.

Then she spoke of its success, of its draw, and most of all of what pulled him to such a place. " In all places and all ssocieties there has always been thosse who look for violence as a means of sport, and it just so happens there are others who enjoy it as well, " he spoke in turn to this as he eyes flickered across the battle, remorse flickering behind his eyes as he thought of why he was here.

"To sstudy possibly, I sstill have much to learn of this place," he whispered distantly as he tapped his side with his right hands fingers. An odd sensation pricked at the back of his head as he looked at the women, "Well then since it would appear I have shown my reason will you not allow me to know yours." He looked at her his eyes narrowing into slits as his form seemed to enlarge slightly.

[Fallon]

Fallon inhaled and exhaled . The stench of fresh blood was pungent, and the way her teeth clenched together to release a whistling sigh proved that notion. Her shoulders gave a roll, her eyes lifting to stare between the sea of bodies. Their cheering had quietened down for now, dipping into a mumble of voices as several of the people staggered away from their position. An obvious pause in the fighting for the moment, it must have been clean up time. Ears gave a twitch, the picking up of the subtle dragging of the 's' in his words. Was it a lisp of a sort? Or was there another reason behind it - it was hard to tell with what was going on around her.

Lifting her chin she gave him a look up and down, eyes falling onto the squared jaw and the way he held himself. Reactions, the flickers of the emotions somewhere within. No, he was thinking carefully and choosing his words wisely - but why? What was the reason behind it all? Fear or respect?

"Ah, a knowledge seeker then," her tone rippled, matter of fact replacing the once cooler edge. She gave a nonchalant shrug. An interesting notion, it suggested he was a more practical learner as opposed to a reader of books. Lips curling, she let her attention slip to the people who passed her by and the way their forms swayed back and forth, "Sunberth has a lot of things to learn of. Lots of different ways of dealing with things in this lawless city. Need to learn the taboos to avoid them. I take it you are not a local then?" The orbs stared back up at him, only the subtle flick in recognising the increase in form. Who did he take her for? Did he really think such a petty growth would make her buckle? She discarded the thought and promptly moved on with a teasing tone, "So, what have you learned then so far on your quest to study?"

After a few moments of pause she looked once more to the man and once more the tone snapped back to its cold edge, "I am here to plan. To understand. To know what to work with, recognise the tools at my disposal and then formulate the best way to use them." She tilted her head to one side, "I suppose, you could also call it learning. But of a more tactical kind." Fallon chose to leave the rest to his imagination, let him work out what exactly it was off his own back, "Or, you could just call it the understanding of business and its structure. Your choice."

Flicking her hand out she rubbed at the glove tips and proposed another question, "If you had the opportunity to cause change, not little things but the big, would you cause change to create something new? Or would you just let things stay the same as they were before? Stuck and festering in their ways?"

[Shelven]

Shelven subconsciously smiled at her distaste of the bloods aroma sifting through the air. She seemed to ,but only for a moment, look him over for his intentions and then she began to speak. "Ah, what have I gathered of this lawless hell hole built only on the greed and lusst of man," he stared off towards the pits muttering to himself, "Yess the greed and lusst of man." His eyes narrowed as he began to speak, "I have learned of new horrors that not even those of which plagued my homeland ever instilled such a fear and want of end."

He looked about calmly now listening intently to the words of which the woman had to say. "Tactical learning of the citiess infrasstructure," he muttered as he listened enthralled to the woman's speech of what her learning might be considered. Then she truly caught his attention. An opportunity to change it, not trivial matters but the larger of which would be changed to bring something else into creation. Yet there was the easy way out, let it fester, die, choke on its own poison and drown in its own bloodshed. "That iss a rather odd question misss, of course I would wish for nothing more but to change it all," he spoke as his voice trailed off.

"Yet how might one do this, act upon ones impulse of almost revolutionary proportions," he whispered as he wished for no one but the woman to hear, "It seemss almost impossible logically." He relaxed his frame was no longer any bigger than it had been originally and his eyes did not hold their usual shifty persona of regret and anger of which drove many away from him, odd.

[Fallon]

"Greed and lust is a powerful thing," She looked down the bridge of her nose, the brow meeting into a line for a moment, "It makes one strive for what they want, a twisted desire for more and more. Desire whilst good for leading one forth, and good for gaining power, too much and it corrupts. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lips were licked, her form pressing against the wall as she let herself lean there. Thoughts however continued to twist, "Sunberth, nowhere else is there a truer hive of scum and villainy. Whatever goes in more than often comes out a darker shade than before."

There was the faint crack of knuckles, the mumbles once more growing up into louder voices and a cheer as another victim was brought out to the crowd. Whistles and shouts, the gleeful claps as the urged the starting of a fight once more. Fallon rolled her eyes, arms folding as she kept to her lean against the wall and simply shook her head. It was little more than blood sport, nothing more or less. Her jaw tightened as she simply listened to the sounds and imagined what was going on below. Still, this man - whoever he was - had his attention now caught within her words as she ensnared them around his mind. It was easy to plant ideas, or at least the tickling of thought that made one question what was going on.

Lips pulled round into a curl, her brow rising as she regarded him. It was only then that she dropped into her own whisper, "Odd questions often give odd answers. And require the mind to think. Or for some to obtain suspicion or even discard it as words of madness," the hand gave a flick, the eyes looking up to his as he relaxed himself and seemed to almost lean in. She pulled away slightly, fingers steeping as she continued to speak in those low, quiet tones, "One does it by performing a noticeable stunt, having an idea, by rallying up the cry for change within the city through a variety of means and gathering like minded individuals under one banner," she paused, thoughts stilling and gathering for a moment, "People are easy to gather if they believe there is opportunity."

"If I was to say, by chance, that there is such a possible group forming to look for change within the city. To rise up and reach for such revolutionary action..." She let the thought rest there for a moment, "As only an, if this was occurring... What would you do? Would you simply let it pass as a rumour, or would you go and chase it until the end for the answer?" She gave a simple curl of the lips, and inclined her head towards the exit of the blood pits, "Shall we escape to fresh air and privacy?"

[Caela Dorin]

Grade Awarded Fallon Experience Skill XP Earned Investigation 1 Persuasion 1 Lores • Lore Earned • Location: The Blood Pits • Fallon: A Tent is Not a Suitable Base of Operations • Investigation: Using Hypotheticals to Uncover Information Shelven If you decide to make a reappearance and update your ledger then feel free to PM me for your grade. Additional Comments This thread was cut off too prematurely for it to even begin to show its full potential, shame that. Not a lot that I could give as a result what with so little happening but if you think I missed something, you know how to contact me. Please edit or delete your grade request and PM me if you have any questions or concerns about your grade. x