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Blissful Ignorance in Tatters (M) Reserved

Started by zearea, March 07, 2017, 09:28:00 PM

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zearea

The disguise seemed to do the trick, no one even batted an eye as the tall, dark haired woman strode through the gates of Zantaric in the early hours of the night, or so she thought, her reddened eyes sweeping the busy streets with intense interest. There were quiet a few about, many of whom scuttled about in a frankly suspicious manner that Zyllenna did not quiet understand. Perhaps it was their law, where fervently glancing around and diving for shadows was enforced. It seemed quiet counter productive to her. Nonetheless, this only worked to peek her interest more.

What an odd place...

The Fae paused in front of a window, the curtains leaving a shaft of space where she could peer with her sharp eyesight, inside. The building was dully lit by a few candles, although seeing past the grimy glass was becoming a challenge. Squinting, Zyllenna tilted her head as two men stood before a desk, where a young woman sat, her face seeming sunken despite the clear youth. Zyll didn't really care about human beauty, or beauty at all, but when comparing her disguise with that woman? Well it appeared the woman was diseased! A shame...

The young woman stood up, her features pinched with anger? She was not sure. Then one of the men, their backs to her, dived over the desk, his hand wrapped around the woman's throat as he slammed her against the wall. Zyllenna blinked slowly, an eyebrow arching and leaned closer, pressing her hand against the window for support, to watch the second man emptying a chest with the key the woman threw at him in seeming anger. She looked for no better words, fed up.

'One key'

Suddenly Zyll felt a tiny tug against her gown at her left hip, her attention being pulled away in an instant as the Banshee twisted her head to glance behind her, only to witness a small human dashing away. Zyllenna did not think much of it until she caught a glimpse of silver knife, no more then a letter opener clutched in 'it's' hand. It was a trifle more then a simple letter opener however and the idea of it being taken spurred her into action.
"You hairless molerat!" She seethed, comparing the humans to naked baby moles was quiet fulfilling to the Fae who sprung after the child, swerving by citizen's of Zantaric with unusual agility.

The child glanced behind her, features turning from mischievous delight, to chagrin upon seeing the victim chasing her. Turning back, the child made a quick left hand turn and dived into an alleyway, skirting the drunken and homeless sprawled out for the night, and through a partially open door where the heady scent of smoke, alcohol and vomit permeated.

Diving in after the child, Zyllenna halted for a moment, brows pulled together quizzically. It was a bar, one where scantily dressed woman flaunted on stage, and men watched and occasionally threw moon shaped metal at their feet.

She wished they would stop, her gaze zeroing in on the thrown metal circles.

Eight...

Zyllenna squinted, the lighting was not making it easy to count them, maybe she aught to move closer? Some of the men stopped throwing the metal pieces, and began muttering under their breaths and jostling one another. This pleased Zyllenna who looked away from the stage and swept the establishment with her eyes, barely noticing when a few of the men cocked their heads in her direction with keen interest. She may not be wearing what the girl's were wearing, but she was by all standards, rather attractive in a ignorantly conservatory way. "Where did it go? It has something of Zyll's!" The Banshee's oddly compelling voice rose as she moved to a table and leaned over to peer beneath. The child was not there.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

It had been a quiet night. Hildegarde Von Musel sat in one of the booths at her favorite bar, The Alchemist's Storeroom, stirring her cocktail pensively. Her nurse Chrysanthemum sat opposite to her, fidgeting uncomfortably. Hildegarde had hoped this meeting would help the woman to open up to her, but so far she wasn't having any luck. She seemed to be very resistant to Hildegarde's friendship, but it made sense given the circumstances. "No matter. I'll get her to like me soon enough, they always break after enough time".

What had been an awkward conversation about Chrysanthemum's childhood- or lack thereof, as Chrysanthemum didn't seem to have any past to speak of- was soon interrupted by Hildegarde noticing a new face walk into the bar. Hildegarde came to this bar nearly every night, and as such she knew all of the regulars. The tall woman's wide-eyed expression betrayed any hopes she may have had to blend in with the the crowd. The woman began to call out for something, although Hildegarde was too far away to make out exactly what she was saying.

Getting Chrysanthemum's attention, Hildegarde motioned to the new woman. "So, what do you suppose her deal is? Mental invalid?" Chrysanthemum didn't seem too interested in the woman and neglected to respond to the question, choosing to take a drink from her flask instead. "Rude." thought Hildegarde with a frown. "I've been nothing but accommodating to you, and this is how you treat me?" Deciding to hurt her nurse for daring to ignore her, Hildegarde continued. "My money's on her being a hag, they usually act really odd in social settings like this. She seems tall enough to be one." She gave the midwife a look of curiosity. "Do you know many hags? You'd probably get along with them, infants tend to die when their around- just like they do with you." Hildegarde gave Chrysanthemum a cheeky smile, which was met by a look of absolute hatred. "Don't you dare compare me to a hag you putrid-" she began to say before she was cut off. "Careful Lynnette. Don't forget who's letting you live in this city- my city- with your reputation intact." Hildegarde said pointedly.

A commotion from across the room caused the two to look in the direction of the newcomer before their conversation could get any more heated. The tall woman had attracted the attention of the Gorwood brothers, two of the bar's rowdier patrons. Hildegarde was still too far away to make out what was being said over the music and laughter, but she saw Adam Gorwood make some very crude groping gestures with his hands, and Clem Gorwood was laughing in drunken glee. "Well, this should be interesting." Hildegarde thought, raising an eyebrow. "The girl managed to make it here without being killed, so she must have something going for her." Leaning her head against her hand, she would watch the scuffle unfold.

zearea

Straightening from bending over to look under the table, Zyllenna pursed her lips in mild anger that the child was not to be found. As she turned, readying to stride over to a booth against the wall, the Banshee noticed that two men had risen from their seats and openly gawked.

Had her disguise slipped? Apparently not...

Zyll arched a brow when one of the two made grabbing gestures toward her, a ghastly smile on his mole-rat face. "Come here sweety, give me a feel of them cheeks, and then lets have some fun. What say you eh...?" The man drawled, his words slurring slightly as behind him the second who seemed similar in build and looks laughed boomingly.

Was this some kind of human greeting? The Banshee cocked her head to the side, eyeing the man silently. This seemed to encourage him because both men began to approach, the second staying back a bit to watch but seeming unable to leave it as a laugh. "Don't be greedy brother, share her around." The 'brother' licked his lips which curled down at the corners with scorn. He was now directly before Zyllenna, who wrinkled her nose at the smell of whisky on his breath, looking curious rather then frightened or upset, but in their drunken state they did not seem to register the bird like intensity in her gaze.

The man leaned forward and snaked an arm around her waist, but was obstructed by something long and solid that he could not see. A frown marred his features as he felt the cured leather scabbard, until eventually his mind clicked and the scabbard become visible to those in the room. "Zyll recommends against touching the blade..." The banshee said in a rather flat, matter of fact tone, her features equally deadpanned and received hoots and whistles from the other patrons who were watching them.

Slightly startled, Adam's leering features momentarily faltered before he grinned, other hand sliding about her waist and finding no such resistance there, he would pull her in against his side. Zyllenna blinked, then twitched when his hand squeezed at one of her ass cheeks. "Is this the way you humans greet one another? I saw your hounds greet, they also seemed to have a fascination with one another's behind. Zyll doesn't like it, you hurt." She replied in a thoughtful, yet miffed voice, before she leaned forward and snaked a hand around his waist. "Is this correct?" Suddenly Adam squawked in pain, and shoved Zyllenna back to grab at his ass cheek where five tiny holes now adorned his pants, and his hide. Being thrown back, Zyllenna stumbled but quickly caught herself and fell into a crouch, the room erupting in laughter once more.

This seemed to infuriate Adam who swept the room with a glare that only minutely quieted the rowdy men. "That fucking hurt you wench!" He snarled, and stormed forward, his pride had taken hit and he wasn't happy.

Puzzled by his reaction, the fae creature withdrew her blade, the inscriptions a coal black as of now, and drew back her lips, barring her shark like teeth. "You wench!" She mimicked, then added. "You threaten? Zyll does not like that, you will bleed now." In her crouched position, Zyll sprung at Adam, the fae blade hissing as it arced through the air. However, before her blade could connect, his brother dived in from her side, knocking her to the ground and then rolled to sit atop.

Zyllenna snapped at him, her free hand closing into a fist and slamming into the side of the drunken's face. Just as she does so she felt a tug on her blade, followed by a hiss. One of the other men, not the brother, had tried to disarm her only to be stung by the blade. He wrung his hand, dancing back, while the second brother's head snapped back from the punch. The Banshee shifted her grip on the blade, bringing the hilt down on his head.

The brother went limp, black out for a moment, and was heaved off, the fae rolling to her feet to plunge toward Adam's abdomen. He fumbled for his own blade, but it slipped from his grasp when Zyllenna's blade sunk in. No blood seeped from that wound, yet the inscriptions on the blade would light up crimson and she wrenched the blade free.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hildegarde grinned when Adam was thrown backwards by the girl. "He had that coming. This new girl is feisty, I like that." Her opinion soon changed when the fight broke out and the girl began stabbing people with a glowing sword. "...And there goes my pleasant evening. I didn't even get to finish my pasta yet, god damn it."

With a sigh, Hildegarde filled half of the room with nitrogen and, twirling her index finger as you would a spoon in a mixing bowl, combined it with the oxygen in the other half. Soon the entire room had fallen asleep, leaving only Hildegarde, Chrysanthemum, and the newcomer awake. "Chrysanthemum, you should go home. I don't want you to get caught up in this, I know you're not a fighter." Hildegarde said quietly, not taking her eyes off of the tall woman. The nurse nodded hurriedly, and gingerly stepped over the sleeping bodies and out the door.

Now, heels clicking on the bar floor, Hildegarde approached the woman. "Well, you certainly know how to make an entrance. I'm honestly rather impressed." Smiling, she shook her head. "But this simply will not do. Really, making a scene like this is incredibly rude, you at least could've taken it outside." Glancing at Adam's lifeless body, she raised an eyebrow and returned to studying the woman in front of her. "I take it you're new to Zantaric? The Gorwood family has a pretty lucrative drug trade set up here, most know better than to target them." Pulling up a bar stool, Hildegarde sat down and motion for the woman to do the same. "Do you have a name?"

zearea

As the sword was wrenched from his body with a slurping sound, things began to shift as around Zyllenna humans began to drop like flies, their eyes rolling back in their heads and thuds announcing their body's meeting the floor. Not only this, but there was an odd taste in the air, although the actual gas hadn't specifically reached her.

Zyllena spun, ebony hair snapping about her form when she heard a woman's voice, the fae creature's crimson eyes narrowing slightly. There were two of them, her gaze snapping to the second whom was making a quick exit, before returning to what really resembled a giant fairy in a ghastly pink dress."It is faded, it is old, it is supposed to look like this." Seamlessly, the gown she wore turned misty, obscuring Zyllenna's entire form before rapidly coalescing to form an almost doppleganger version of Hildrgarde in a crimson dress. Once again, Hilde's eyes were red.

The glowing sword's edge lowered as Hilde's approached her, silence met as she stared wide eyed and curious. She wasn't reacting like others she had met recently, maybe she was right! Zyllenna's nostrils flared.

Smelled human enough...

"Lucrative drug trade?" She mimicked, ignoring the gesture to sit and skirted sleeping bodies to stand beside the human, chin cocked. "I am Zyll. Where are your wings? Did they break them off?" Zyllenna swept the room, indicating the sleeping humans. "Zyll is new, yes, and she saw you use magic that she has not witnessed before."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Her eyes narrowed when the woman turned into a near perfect copy of Hildegarde. "Are you fucking serious? Do you know who I am?" Calming herself down, she let out a sigh. "No, of course you don't. You're clearly a non-human." She studied the girl- who was now standing beside her, apparently deciding to ignore Hildegarde's hospitality- with interest. "Zyll, huh?" Crossing her arms, Hildegarde scoffed. "What do you take me for? I know I look angelic, but really. If that was supposed to be a pickup line, you're wasting your time."

"...You're right though, red does look good on me. I should try to mix up my wardrobe a bit." Hildegarde admitted reluctantly. She didn't like being shown up, but she had to admit that the woman had good fashion sense. She decided to ignore the question about her magic for the time being- one of the biggest strengths she had was the fact that it was difficult for others to figure out what she was actually doing until it was too late. Instead, she focused on trying to figure out what exactly this odd creature was. "So, Zyll, where are you from? And why have decided to come to Zantaric? Even a newcomer to Le'raana should have heard of the reputation we have here."

zearea

Zyllenna did not know how to take the woman's stare, was it threatening? No, the Banshee didn't think it was, although she did not seem all that pleased... "What is an angellic?" The fae creature replied, cocking her head quizzically. "Pick up line? Zyll doesn't understand..." She said bluntly, and blankly stared at the non-human-Angellic-Fairy. "Zyll doesn't use words to pick up things, she uses her hands." Lifting her hands above the table, she would flex them. "And why would I want to pick you up? That would be a waste of time as it serves no purpose."

Zyllenna's expression did not shift much, as if Hilde thinking otherwise about the colour choice was simply out of the question, then shook her head, golden locks swinging. "Zyll doesn't know, but heard something that sounded like a name of a place? Conloth?" The Banshee pursed her lips, index finger tapping the side of her chin. "Connloath! I did not like as humans tried to hurt Zyll lots there. Am I to expect the same here?" Her gaze snapped to the lifeless corpse of the Gorewood brother, looking more thoughtful then anything else. "Who are we? Zyll knows fairies are not to be trusted, she also knows not to breath in their dust. Is this the reputation you mean?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hildegarde stared blankly at the girl. "What's this about fairies now?" she thought, now incredibly confused. Zyll was unusual, but her skills with a blade were formidable. More importantly, she had killed a Gorwood- something that Hildegarde would no doubt get blamed for.  As much as she wanted to dislike her, there was a sort of... innocence to the woman, as if she really had no idea what she was getting into. "Perhaps, if I play along with her game, I'll get better results."

"Ahh, Connlaoth! They have a reputation of killing magic users, yes. Here in Zantaric, we have have a reputation of killing anyone who hurts our friends. That man had a lot of friends." Hildegarde said, pointing to the corpse. "More than just the sleeping men in the room- his friends were very frightening! I'm worried for Zyll!" Hildegarde gave the odd woman a sympathetic look. "Not to worry though, I understand. You're new, you didn't know. It's not your fault we have strange customs. Luckily, I can help you get out of this alive- if you'd let me, of course."

"I play my cards right, I make a new ally and get rid of the Gorwood family. It's a win-win!"

zearea

What the woman in the ghastly dress said cause Zyllenna to frown almost in a petulant manner, the idea of having to leave again, or being chased out, not really appealing to the Banshee. Lips pursed, she glanced down at the sword still in her hand and then sheathed it. "How will you help me? You are not friends with this Goorrwooord?" She rolled the name over her tongue with her foreign accent, attempting but not quiet sounding the letters correctly. "Will Zyll be able to stay here awhile with your help or only survive? Zyll will just leave now otherwise." What was the point accepting the human's help if she was just going to have to flee Zantaric anyway? It hadn't occurred to her that the family would actually openly hunt her, she figured getting some ways from the town was enough.

A few glasses and tankards had been left on the counter and in other various place, one such was but an arms breadth from her. The Banshee suddenly distracted by the stinging aroma of whiskey, scrunched up her nose and reached out, slightly abnormally long fingers enveloping the glass and drawing it under her nose. "... What is this? You humans drink it?" She glanced over at Hilde, a blank look contrasting to the tone of disbelieving curiosity in her voice.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Gods, the last thing you need is alchohol."

Hildegarde gave Zyll a kind look. "Oh no, I'm not their friend. In fact, you could I'm the opposite of their friend! Another custom we have have here in Zantaric is befriending those whose enemies are the same as our own. If you were to come with me, not only would I let you stay, I'd make sure you'd never be driven away by those who don't understand you. You could have a home here!" Upon finishing, she noticed that one of the bar's patrons was beginning to stir from his slumber. "We need to go now Zyll, it's too dangerous to stay here any longer."

This was, of course, a lie- Hildegarde could kill everyone in the bar right now if she wanted to, Zyll included. She wanted to instill a sense of urgency in her new "friend" however, so she gave Zyll a worried look before continuing. "We can discuss this at a safer place, for now it's best you aren't seen here.

Taking an empty bottle from the counter, she shattered it against a table and walked to where Clem Gorwood's sleeping body lay. Kneeling down and rolling up the sleeves on her dress, Hildegarde began to repeatedly stab the man's face and throat. After she was sure that Clem wouldn't be waking up, she stopped and stood back up. "There, now it looks like he just died in a bar fight- nobody will suspect my involvement." Walking briskly to Zyll- who still looked like her- Hildegarde spoke in a rushed tone of voice. "We need to leave, now."

zearea

Zyllenna liked that idea, never having to run again, that sounded less frustrating to the banshee who pushed away from the counter when Hilde slipped off her chair. she bounced almost, pale locks all springy and the like. The she blinked, the human knelt beside the other brother, a broken bottle being brutally stabbed into the man's face and neck. A beautiful spray of blood coloured his shirt, and now the floor.

Such a waste! Zyll unsheathed the sword, her lips drawing down at the corners in a disproving frown. The frown turned into a grin soon after, crimson eyes glinting as she strode to follow Hilde. As she passed the body the fae sword trailed lightly through the blood, which was sucked into the blade like metal to a magnet. What should have been a pool, turned out to be a trickle of blood left on the ground after Zyllena was done, before she slipped through the door just behind the human. The banshee followed close behind, STILL LOOKING LIKE Hildegarde. She giggled, cheeks flushed and sheathed the fae blade which disappears under the illusion. "Where are we going?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Immediately after stepping out the door, Hildegarde quickly looked around to make sure that nobody was watching them. The woman stepped outside after her. Hildegarde suddenly realized that a second Hildegarde would draw suspicion if she went home the normal way.

"Fuck. Looks like we'll have to use the tunnels."

"Somewhere we can discuss things without interruptions." Hildegarde replied, and she began to quickly make her way to the nearest back ally, dragging Zyll behind her. When there, Hildegarde began to feel around for something on the ground before finally pushing on a small stone that looked out of place in the middle of the ally. A small hole opened up in the ally wall, just big enough for a small person to fit through. Getting on her knees, Hildegarde slipped through the hole and down a ladder that went down about twenty feet. After Zyll had also made it down, Hildegarde pulled on a small lever, closing the entrance behind them. The tunnels were dark, lit only by very sparsely placed candles. Hildegarde began to slowly lead the woman down one of the more narrow passages.

"My lieutenant Griselda discovered these tunnels back when she lived on the streets. Stay behind me, there are weird, dangerous things living down here."

zearea

Zyllenna didn't really care to crawl around in tunnels, but it was either this or have to deal with more troubles... Getting onto her hands and knees, the fae squeezed through the gap with a little more trouble then Hilde due to her size. The illusion only made her appear as the human, it didn't change her structures. The sword got caught, cause Zyll to pause and then wriggle to get it free, lips drawing into a pout.

First she peered down the dark hole, large eyes blinking as Hilde shimmied down the ladder, before almost experimentally, turning and doing the same. She bounced the last few rungs, scarlet dress ballooning out. Luckily it was dark...? "There are creatures living in here? Zyll can handle them, she has sword yes?" She placed a pale hand atop the sheath, patting it almost affectionately. "We meet this Grisss?" Certainly the banshee's shriller voice remained unchanged.

The walk through the tunnels was eerie, the sound of rats squeaking and scampering about, the odd inhumane wails, and constant 'drip, drip, drip', that was utterly driving Zyllenna insane, all amounted to discomfort. What else lingered in these damp, mold smelling, creature dwelling tunnels?

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"The... things that live down here don't die that easily. At least, not by normal means."

Placing her hand along the wall of the tunnel, Hildegarde began to walk forward at a brisk yet cautious pace. The tunnels were easy to get lost in, but she had memorized how to get to her base of operations from most of the entrances. It would only be a thirty minute walk, assuming they weren't interrupted. "Unfortunately, Griselda is in Serendipity at the moment. I had things I needed her to do." Briefly looking at the girl behind her, she laughed. "Good, she probably wouldn't like you. She's a bit-"

Hildegarde was cut off by an odd sound coming from further down the tunnel. "Shit." It was a bizarre noise, as if a woodpecker had tried drilling into a glass jar full of mice. Hildegarde had heard it before, but never this close. She frowned, There was a fork in the tunnel up ahead, hopefully the noise was coming from the passage they didn't need to go down.

Of course, it was sitting in the middle of the split waiting for them...



zearea

Zylenna skidded to a stop before crashing into Hilde at the sight of the giant insect, its bulbous black and yellow exoskeleton startlingly glowing from some internal light, and curving pincers that one would find on a Stag beetle, thick as Zyll's arm, attacked the wall adjoining the three split paths together. The creature chittered, it's thick and sturdy pincers continuously coming together against the wall which was cracked, fissures formed by the attack. While not making much of a difference to the sturdiness of the wall, would leave visible and recognizable marks for others to fear.

On closer inspection, the banshee noted tiny glowing dots skittering away from the pincers, hundreds of them. The weird keening sound seemed to be coming from them!

"Oh, it looks like a Cagafix! Delicious, have you eaten one before?" Zyllenna glanced to Hildegarde, her eyes wide, tone seeming excited as she questioned her new 'friend'. As she waited for an answer, the fey readied her weapon.

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