Kesai
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The Forgotten
Posts: 35
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Post by Kesai on Apr 8, 2007 22:41:56 GMT -5
The girl ducked through the alleyway, drawing her tattered clothing around her shoulders in an attempt to ward off the dirty snow that fell on her shoulders like ash from a fire. The grey stuff landed in her hair and across the slender, shivering body. For all she was over twenty, she looked like she could have been fourteen for all the coltish limbs seemed disproportionate to the lean torso. Head turned left and right, staring into the darkness with wide, too-green eyes - as if she expected someone. Or something. What was she up to? Forever a question, in her case. Unowned - but no less marked a slave by the heavy iron collar round her throat, she slid through the shadows like a theif in the night.
Her breath looked like clouds - like fog - as she exhaled and stumbled over a half-buried pipe, knee slamming into the unforgiving concrete. The city didn't like mistakes. The city didn't have patience for the fumblings of a faux adolecent girl that seemed unable to keep her bearings. And it had no compassion for halfbreeds. People passing by stared into the narrow crack, eyes narrowing as they saw the form stumbling about - mortals dismissing her for some sort of drunk, the other beings, the Masters and Mistresses dismissing her as a slave. Neither sorts stop and offer a hand, neither so much as pause their stride.
She could vanish here. It was why she'd come to begin with - she could vanish into the silence of the snowfall and find some sort of peace. What she hadn't known was that peace was only bought at the cost of suffering and loneliness. But it was peace in its own way. She answered to none - was left alone. The only time it was truly miserable was in the winter, her feet so cold she could barely feel them and the rags she'd clutched around her emaciated body thin enough that one could almost see to count the ribs. Were she not so dreadfully scrawny and pitiful, she could have been attractive, perhaps - the long black hair and bright green eyes were stunning, delicate features very refined. Under the layers of dirty and grime, that is - as it stood now she looked like a ragamuffin, like a leper, perhaps, wrapped in bits and pieces of the cast off leavings of others.
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Post by lyiat on Apr 8, 2007 22:59:07 GMT -5
A cloaked figure drew his hood closer about his face, shivering slightly. It twas not from the cold, but from the feeling of being watched. He locked his eyes ahead, as to not look behind him to see his follower, if one was there, that is. His green eyes flashed in the moonlight darkness, his steps echoing back to him.
He could never turn back. Here, no one cared about who he was, about what he was. He was just another face, to be forgotten. Just the way he needed it to be. His skin crawled. Why did he feel like someone was following him?
He drew his cloak tighter around his body, his hand clasping the rapier by his side. Well... we'll see whos there... he thought to himself as he stepped to the wall, pressing against it, deep within a shadow of an old, crumbling building.
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Kesai
New Member
The Forgotten
Posts: 35
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Post by Kesai on Apr 8, 2007 23:46:28 GMT -5
As the figure drew into the alleyway, Kesai straightened, ignoring the scraped knee that she'd accrued and the numb feet. She didn't have any shoes, so the cold was all the more keen. Quiet. She backed a few steps - her feet silent on the snow as she stared wide-eyed at the stranger. He wasn't human, he had a weapon. Oh gods, what could he want with her? What...
She trembled and backed away further, hitting the back of the alleyway and finding no way out - crouching in a corner and hoping, praying, that he didn't notice her.
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Post by lyiat on Apr 8, 2007 23:56:01 GMT -5
His sharp eyes flashed again as he focused on the woman, surprised to see a human just walking around. He relaxed, stepping away from the shadow and peering at her from under his hood. He had nothing to fear.
He started to walk twords her, hands outbefore him, his palms up. His face, however, was still hidden beneath the cloaks hood. "Hey... don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you." He said softly.
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Kesai
New Member
The Forgotten
Posts: 35
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Post by Kesai on Apr 9, 2007 0:10:48 GMT -5
Her head lowered slightly and she backed closer against the wall - though she couldn't get further away from him. The entire body tensed as he approached, head ducking and the oddly bright green eyes lowering. The green nearly glowed in the twilight darkness, the snow only accenting the ethereal color. For a human, she certainly had strange looking eyes, didn't she? Arms circled around herself, hugging tightly as she shivered, the cold suddenly slamming into her body with ruthless and deadly force.
No, he'd nothing to fear from her - there was nothing she could do to hurt him. She didn't have a weapon, nor was she proficient in hand-to-hand combat, so what was there she could do? She looked quite pathetic, in truth - even for a human. No words passed her lips, just a couple panting breaths that misted around her face like the coming of night.
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Post by lyiat on Apr 9, 2007 13:49:20 GMT -5
His gaze went flowed over her body, assessing her silently. He could understand why she was afraid of him. He knew about the human's history with the magical creatures but... Her eyes didn't seem human at all. It puzzled him. He continued to watch her, immune to the cold air, being a being of the undead.
He stepped back slightly, spreading his hands further. "I am not going to harm you. I sware." He said again in his soft voice. His eyes set on hers, even if she wouldn't meet them, "Don't worry." he continued on, trying to look as friendly as possible.
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Kesai
New Member
The Forgotten
Posts: 35
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Post by Kesai on Apr 9, 2007 13:55:36 GMT -5
His assertions that he wouldn't hurt her didn't really do much to promote trust, but she kept watching him, looking like a cornered wild animal. She didn't bolt - she didn't think she could make it past him in time for her to make her escape. The illusion that covered her real nature slipped slightly, giving a flicker of broad feathered wings and delicately pointed ears for a half a moment before she pulled the cover of magic back around her like a cloak. Fingers flicked, weaving a complicated pattern in the air around her and the human guise was restored. The dirt and grime were no illusion, they were very real - the only fallicy about her was the hiding of wings and ears from the eyes of passers by.
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Post by lyiat on Apr 9, 2007 13:59:15 GMT -5
His eyes flashed once more as he paused. What was what?[ he wondered, blinking in slight confusion. The elf took an experamental step forward, keeping his hands away from his weapon. "... What is your name, Miss?" He said as a small smile spred to his face. He tilted his head a small bit while he said it.
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Kesai
New Member
The Forgotten
Posts: 35
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Post by Kesai on Apr 9, 2007 14:00:47 GMT -5
She couldn't see the smile, masked as he was in the shadows of the cloak. The question prompted an answer, "Ke... Kesai." It was stuttering and very quiet, but the snowfall was so silent that even the most fearful and timid words were clearly audible. The step forward was watched, but she couldn't get any closer to the wall as it was - so she remained still. Very, very still.
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Post by lyiat on Apr 9, 2007 14:18:56 GMT -5
Nodding slowly, he slid the hood down and looked at her, his deep green eyes watching the shining etheral greens of hers. His hair, now free of the offending hood which kept it hard pressed to the elf's head, fell down past his shoulders, almost to middback. He smiled again at her, taking another step. "I am Lyiat. Lyiat Gissairth. Are you lost, human?"
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Kesai
New Member
The Forgotten
Posts: 35
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Post by Kesai on Apr 9, 2007 14:22:01 GMT -5
"I am not lost." That was said clearly, maybe even with defiance? Another step closer provided a slow change over the trembling body. She straightened, standing to her full height and watched him. Still nervous, still ready to run - or fly - or in any way escape this place. But she was standing. Perhaps that was a good thing? Perhaps it wasn't.
She lifted one of her feet out of the snow, tucking it against the marginally warmer flesh of her calf to try and regain feeling again. The skin was blue and bloody, but she didn't feel the cuts. There were some mercies to frostbite, perhaps.
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Post by lyiat on Apr 9, 2007 14:27:18 GMT -5
He blinked slightly, surprised at her reaction. He stopped his approach, electing to stay where he was for the moment. He watched her eyes for any hint of aggression. Seeing none, he relaxed the sudden tension that had formed in between his shoulders. He lowered his hands down to his sides, letting them relax abit. He wasn't sure how this was going to turn out himself. "... I'm glad. Do you have a place to stay?"
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Kesai
New Member
The Forgotten
Posts: 35
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Post by Kesai on Apr 9, 2007 14:39:15 GMT -5
There was no aggression - but even if it was what could she have actually accomplished? Probably very little. The question caught her off guard and she tilted her head slightly, eyeing him she was silent for a long few moments. Not sure how to answer, what should she say? What is it he wanted of her?
"I do not." She decided that she would be honest. The other foot warmed enough to be afire with the pain of reawakening nerve endings, she shifted feet, putting that one down and lifting the other to attempt to warm it. She was obvously very, very cold.
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Post by lyiat on Apr 9, 2007 14:47:48 GMT -5
"I know where there is an inn... it costs less to rent a room for two people rather then just one. You seem like you haven't had a bed in days..." He looked her over again for a moment. "Or a bath for that matter. If you would like... you could come with me." The elf paused after he said it, wondering why he was being nice to this creature. Truth told, it was lonely being alone. Brazier kept him compony, true, but it wasn't like being around another humanoid. That, and he pitied her.
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Kesai
New Member
The Forgotten
Posts: 35
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Post by Kesai on Apr 9, 2007 15:32:56 GMT -5
Distrust was obvous - but it was either that or freeze to death. So after a few moments of tense consideration, she nodded slowly. Once the decision was made, however, there was no turning around and going back.
Pity was unwelcome, but she couldn't see it so she didn't remark on it. "If you desire my company," it seemed reluctant. Too-green eyes blinked and she drew her arms around herself, trying to keep warm as she again switched feet. Her knee was scraped and bleeding - but she didn't seem to notice and her footprints were red and raw. Poor thing.
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