[Flaxen District]The Ugly Truth (Samael Nox)

[Ils'a]

Ils’a continued to tremble, but her words seemed to have gotten the kelvic’s attention and that was some small comfort. In a flash of light, where there had been a huge white tiger, there crouched a naked man, with that mop of white hair that was becoming more and more familiar each time the Konti saw it. But he did not recover the clothes he had tossed aside, not immediately. First he hurried to one of the dead men and ripped the clothes off the still very warm body. With these, he cleaned himself off as best he could and then shoved the gory wad of cloth into his pack. Swiftly, he pulled on his own discarded garments and dressed. Ils’a would have looked away and given him his privacy but it seemed quite pointless. The horror of all that she was witnessing seemed to far outweigh any and all polite sensibilities and social niceties. As it was, she only half turned away, for she was growing more and more anxious with each passing moment. Surely the noise of the short battle would have attracted someone’s attention. All she could think of was getting gone from this awful place, and, for some reason, her urgency to find a safe place now included this creature who had twice helped her. This second time he had probably prevented her from being enslaved. That thought made her feel sick all over again.

“Hurry! Oh, please hurry!” she gasped, looking wildly about the street, sure that monks would be descending upon them any second now. But the kelvic did not heed her. Instead, he went next to one of the inert forms. But as he dragged what Ils’a had assumed was one of his victims, she heard a low moan and realized that this one was still alive. What he did next really turned her stomach and she felt its contents rise into her constricted throat. By a great effort, she kept herself from hurling. She wanted to ask him what in the world he had done that for, smashing the man’s head against the wall. But once again, her head was in a whirl and all she could think about was getting the hell out of there. So she only stared with a shocked expression, listening to his words, seeing his smile, both of which she was sure were meant to be reassuring. Not much was sinking in, though, at this point.

In fact, her legs were now shaking violently and her vision was beginning to blur. The ground seemed to be tilting and just as she lurched, the kelvic moved closer and easily caught her in one arm. Once again, like a child, he lifted her to his chest, and Ils’a could only lay her head against it, her eyes closing, willing herself not to retch. Her limbs felt like lead and her head felt like it was filled with cotton fluff. She had no idea what he planned to do next, but she had no strength left to protest or direct him. Limp in his arms, she could only go along and hope somehow this worked out without them both ending up in the gallows, just as he had thought too.

The kelvic walked at a fast pace and within just a few minutes he was whispering to her, telling her to trust him and follow his lead. Ils’a looked up into that face, those blue eyes so vibrant, so alive and so intense, and she wondered if this was what a person looked like when they killed. She nodded, silently, and placed her hand flat against his chest, feeling the beating of it, wondering if he was as scared as she was. In another breath, he was talking. She turned her face completely away, burrowing it into his chest, not trusting herself to look at the monk, and she heard the fear in his voice, as he lied. She felt the trembling of his arms, as he portrayed himself to be a complete coward, the exact opposite of what she had seen, back there. It was a convincing act, and she felt a great wave of relief wash through her body as the monk hurried away. Slumping against him, she let out a groan, half sigh, half whimper.

Then she felt those arms loosen, lowering her, gently, until her feet were on the ground. He held her a moment longer as she regained her balance, and then the kelvic stepped away. His words were politely dismissive, but his tone seemed wistful. He seemed weary too, as he leaned against the wall.

Swaying slightly, Ils’a ran her hand through her hair, pushing it back from her distraught face. The other she still held gingerly against her body. Her face was leached of all color, her lips practically white. Her eyes were as big as saucers, and her voice trembled as she spoke, softly.

“That, that was well done.” She looked at his strained face, thinking of what he had just done, for her. “I can’t begin to thank you. I, I think I owe you my freedom. I don’t know, don’t know what those men meant to do. Were they slavers?” She shook her head, almost numb from the paralyzing effect of the fear she had felt. “I can’t thank you enough, and, I don’t even know your name.” She shook her head, like a confused child. “This place, it’s awful! Is, is all the world like this?”

[Samael Nox]

Samael Ran his fingers through his hair knowing for the time being things seemed to be going fine though that may not last more than a day. "Yea those were slavers,I'm just happy that I reached you in time. This is all my fault ,if I never pulled out my sword you would have never ran away like that.I might as well brought you to them myself ." Samael began to bang hit head on the wall until it started to bleed. He gently grabbed her hand and lead her into dark alley. He dropped down to the grown her hand still in hers,quickly letting go once he realized he was still holding her hand . "I hope you can forgive me for all this trouble I caused you, this is why I shouldn't bother others ."

[Ils'a]

Ils’a watched the kelvic as he too seemed to be decompressing after that horrible incident. But his words perplexed her. How could he consider himself responsible for any of this? It was clear that he had nothing to do with those villains that he had dispatched so efficiently. It wasn’t his fault they had trailed after her. In fact, if he hadn’t done the same, she’d probably be in their clutches right this very minute. And that was a truly terrifying thought.

“No, no,” she began to say. But then he was thumping his head back against the wall, in some agony of distress over what he perceived to be his own wrong doing. Ils’a quickly closed the gap between them and placed both hands against his lower chest.

“Stop! Please!” She begged him, aghast that he should wish to hurt himself, when all he had done was to help. What a horrific day this was turning out to be!

“Don’t do that! Please!” she intoned more softly, Running her hand up to his shoulder as if she could somehow hold his head still. But her words must have sunk in, for he did stop, and then his hand moved to cover hers. As his fingers closed about hers, Ils’a tried to smile, though it was probably a very sick attempt indeed.

“That’s better,” she said encouragingly, though she had no idea what she should do next. What they should do. She felt exhausted, as if she had had about all she could handle.

The kelvic was looking down into her upturned face, and then he moved. Keeping a hold of her hand, he pulled her gently with him, around a corner and into a narrower alley. Seemingly as tired as she was, though perhaps it was more a fatigue of the spirit than the body, he flopped down and pulled her down next to him. Ils’a was more than happy to sit, feeling like her legs were about to give out anyway. She was looking at him, wondering what he might say, if anything, and when he released her hand, she felt a little sad, for in the past few minutes he had suddenly seemed to be quite a solid rock of shelter for her. Again, his words were non-sensical, to her way of thinking.

She placed her uninjured hand lightly on his arm, and looked at him with a very frank expression. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all. If you hadn’t been around, I guess, I guess…” She paused and looked down, feeling so frightened still. “I guess I would have been hauled off by those men. Those horrible men.”

Ils’a shook her head, having a hard time finding words to express the maelstrom of emotions raging about inside her. Fear. Anger. Relief. Gratitude. Disillusion. And complete and utter fatigue. She leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder.

“I’m eternally grateful to you, you must know that. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m very, very glad you showed up.”

[Samael Nox]

Samael felt weird around this woman,most people made him violent and blood thirst she made him feel like he belonged. She even tried to stop him from hurting himself and most people he'd come across would and of cared less regardless of what he'd done for them . He could also tell she no longer feared him and was even be grateful for what he had done for her. "Just know, I'd die before I let you or anyone else get enslaved . I've been there and refuse to let anyone else ,if I can help it."He hoped to of made the girl feel somewhat secure and it seemed he did when she rested against him. Though his dark skin hid it well ,Samael was blushing up a storm. He hadn't been this close to another person and a long time and he liked it. He rested his head against her ,he felt like a dog at the pound that would finally get a new home. "With my luck this moment won't last long".

[Ils'a]

The kelvic did not shift or try to move away, so Ils’a sagged a bit, unconsciously using him as a prop for her wobbly muscles. His words about slavery were tinged with both resolution and anger, and perhaps a bit of sadness as well. It was painfully obvious that he must have endured slavery himself at some point, and Ils’a felt so sorry for him, and felt a resurgence of fear in the pit of her stomach. It seemed she had come so close herself. Gods, could anything be worse? Death perhaps, but a life lived in chains, no, that was terrifying to think about.

With her head propped against his shoulder, she felt his cheek come to rest upon her hair, and she wondered greatly at this unfolding scene. The shared experience of violence and fear, at least on her part, appeared to have torn down the many walls that were usually in place when two strangers met for a first time. Her whole experience of this odd man was surreal, from his picking her up and plopping her down on the bench back in the Flaxen district, to having his sword pointed at her throat, to the intense, brief, extreme aggression he showed towards her would be captors, to this rather tender moment of quiet lassitude. His last words made her turn her face upwards a bit, though, and they were almost nose to nose.

“This moment?” she asked, curiously. “Well, no, we probably shouldn’t sit here too long. Those monks might come looking for you, to ask questions.” Ils’a considered a number of things in a brief flash, but foremost was her fear that if she rose right this very moment, her legs would not support her weight. Hopefully they could sit where they were for a few more minutes.

“My name is Ils’a, by the way.” She had no idea if he cared to know it, but she thought given all that had happened, she would at least offer it. Her pale blue eyes looked into his deeper sapphire-like orbs, and she frowned a bit. “And I didn’t even ask you, are you OK? I, I didn’t see… all of it. The fight.” Her eyes dropped, as she felt a bit ashamed to admit her cowardice. “I was too scared, to watch. It, it sounded…horrible.” Her eyes rose again, anxiously.

“You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

[Samael Nox]

Samael felt as Ils'a shifted her head and the distance between there faces decreasing .He opened his eyes only to see their faces were now basically touching ."I meant me having some close that means me no harm,I don't think the gods wan me happy but that doesn't matter we should go .Wait I mean you should come with me if you like,I promise I'll keep you safe and I'll try not to cause you trouble. Wait the monks, they will be to distracted for the time being they will most likely go looking for me in the hostel if at all. You don't need to worry about any of that I'll take care of the monks you just rest.Ils'a hi, my name is Samael and it's a pleasure to meet you.Am I ok?"Samael hadn't thought to check himself for wounds after the fight and only now that it was over did he even realize he could of been hurt. Running his hands up and down his body Sam searched for any wet spots or tears in his clothes but none could be found. putting has hands on Il's cheeks and his forehead to herssmiled."It's ok that you were scared and I'm glad you closed your eyes. I wouldn't want a nice person like yourself carrying the burden of seeing me do such a horrible thing. Your being alright is all that matters to me, so smile. " Taking his forehead from Ils'a,he realized his had bleed on to hers ."Sorry I forgot ,it seems the only one that could get me was me ." Licking his thumb ,he wiped the blood from Ils'a forehead. Samael gazed out into the street making sure he hadn't been followed and wasn't being watched. Seeing it was clear he covered his tired friend in his cloak. "You stay here and stay safe ,I want you to take my sword and keep it safe for me while I'm away "

As he made his way through the city already had rumors started about what he had done. His ploy had worked everyone believed some beast to have done it ,with no innocent kelvics being blamed due to their true forms being incapable of do such damage.Just gotta get some gear was all that went through his mind as went through the entire city in search of a store with what he needed . From the great chasm the city was known from he could see a building with just what he needed, oddly enough it was the only store front facing the Aperture. "Wow these people fear that thing so much they don't even faces stores at it ,pathetic. Well guess I gotta get to the bloo,bloody, the bloody hunter ."Samael couldn't help but feel slightly paranoid as he pass a few monks on his way to the bloody hunter as well as inside it. He already knew what he wanted when he entered the store,he placed a list on the shop counter."Excuse me sir, can you please I please get the things on this list. Samael watched as the well dressed man behind the counter shook his head and filled the half empty bag.Let's see what we got Canvas tent,Hemp /50 ft ,Canvas Tent ,Two Bedroll ,Hunting Knife,Pelt (2 yards),Lantern and some Lantern oil. Yup that's every thing and here's what I owe you . Dropping 30 golden rimmed miza on the counter he rushed out and back into the streets to make sure his partner was still ok. Rushing to the alley he had left Ils'a he made sure to avoid monks and not draw attention. After minutes of running ,he was finally back where he left Ils'a though he feared she wouldn't be there he entered anyway.

[Ils'a]

The young man’s words were so sad. Ils’a wondered at what he had been through to have him believing that he was despised by the gods themselves. His eyes held a depth of sorrow and anger that the Konti had rarely, if ever, seen in another. Yet he could be so caring too, as if he strove, at least in this instance, to do better than he was ever done by himself. His hands came to her face and she felt the rough, calloused skin of his palms and fingers. It was obvious that he had known no life of ease or leisure. What slave ever did, save for those who worked on their backs, and that was hardly easy either, was it? Then his forehead touched hers and it was such a sweet, gentle gesture that Ils’a thought the layers that the kelvic had swathed himself in to keep the world at bay were probably not as thick as he might have thought, or as he might have liked for them to be.


“Yes,” she replied, as he swiped at her forehead with his thumb. “I’m guessing that you are your own worst enemy, Samael. And that’s saying quite a lot.” She gave him a small grin, thought there was little enough to smile about, given what had just happened back there in the street, and what risks lay ahead of them, of him especially.

But before she could say more, Samael rose, handing over his sword and covering her with his cloak. Ils’a just nodded, trusting that this unusual person who had already done so much for her had some sort of plan in mind that would see them progressing towards finding a safe place to avoid any hassles from the monks. The kelvic took off, disappearing around the corner, and Ils’a thought with relief that at least he had not been hurt. In the intervening moments while she waited for his return, she thought about this very odd acquaintance that she had made with Samael. Though he had certainly saved her from the slavers, and she was grateful for that, she also felt he was very…unsettled. It was something hard to put her finger on. He was unpredictable, and though he seemed to desire her company, he also seemed very much a loner. She pondered this for many minutes, wondering where he had gone, and when he would return. In the end, she made up her mind. The thing that resonated with her the most was that Samael had said he would protect her and that she should not worry. She knew, really, the best thing for him was if she just disappeared and then he’d have no reason to have to watch over someone else, other than himself. A tiger kelvic must surely be very self-sufficient, she thought. He would not have had to kill those men if it hadn’t been for her, and for him trying to protect her. She didn’t want him to get hurt if something like that should happen again. But the thought of being on her own was just too frightening. She had been an idiot to think she could just trek about the world on her own. She wasn’t happy to admit it, but she needed someone like Samael.

It wasn’t so very long before she heard hurrying boots and she rose, gathering the cloak and sword. Sure enough, it was Samael coming around the corner once more, and she smiled, a genuine smile of welcome, and pleasure.

“Thank goodness you are back, and safe!” she exclaimed softly, already moving towards him, looking at the bulky sack in his hand. “Where did you get all that, and what is it?” she asked, looking at him curiously.

[Samael Nox]

As he turned the corner, Samael beamed with delight that Ils'a was still where he'd left her. With a sigh of relief Samael lifted Ils'a into the air, she was still where he had left her and safe , that was all that mattered. Putting Ils'a back on her feet he wrapped his arms around her, with a smile. "I'm glad you're ok,I was afraid something might of happened to you when I was gone. I got us some gear so we can stay out in the wild for a bit. I mean, that's if you do want to come with me. I can hunt for our food but I'm not much of a cook, I usually just eat my food raw. I'll figure out how to cook though if you want. Sorry, hearing myself talk I sound pathetic. Dropping to his knees, Samael began to layout what he had bought on the ground in front of him . Tents,lantern,rope,bed rolls,a hunting knife , and a pelt for keeping warm at night everything they would need was there. I couldn't find any food or water in this stupid city,I don't know what your plans are but for me it's to travel the world in search of my parents. They are the key to me finding happiness. Sorry, I'm rambling. Once I'm done repacking we can go .I should of just told you instead of showing you hehehe.

Samael ,having finally gotten the gear he had came for was rearing to go, though he seemed to be leaving with than he planned. Samael had no clue where he wanted to go so it seemed he'd be letting his new partner choose there next location.Ils'a I don't have any where I specifically want to go so it seems you'll bet to choose our destination. I can tell you aren't much of a walker so if you'd like, I'll carry you. Samael slung his bag over his shoulder his sword in one hand and Ils'a hand in his other . You lead and I'll follow.He smiled awaiting Ils'a plans.

[Ils'a]

Ils’a was glad to see the return smile on Samael’s face as he stepped towards her. She was not quite as surprised as she might have been to be caught up suddenly, and then lifted into the air by him. She was getting almost used to this propensity Samael had to pick her up in these spontaneous moments. But it wasn’t a bad thing, she thought, as he set her back on her feet and she held onto his sleeves for a moment longer to make sure she wouldn’t lurch and stumble. She needn’t have worried though, for Sam kept her in his arms and gave her a hug, which she returned perhaps a bit less forcefully but with as much satisfaction for knowing that he was safe as he felt for her being still there and all in one piece.

As he offered his explanation for where he had been, and what he intended, she looked at him thoughtfully. Yes, she herself had already decided that she would leave Nyka. But her plan had, naturally, envisioned that departure being via the sea. She hadn’t realized that Samael was also intent upon leaving, and it was obvious a tiger kelvic was in no way equipped for long distance swimming. As she looked at the supplies he had purchased, for overland travel, and listened to what his own goal was, she considered his proposal. They should travel together? By land, on foot? This was really something she had not planned for, as far as her own journey went. She did want to see more of the world. It was just that she had anticipated doing so by swimming from port to port. But now a different method was being offered to her, one she would never have chosen originally. The incident of the past hour, though, had made her realize that entering strange cities and wandering about clueless was an extremely dangerous thing to do. It wasn’t a certainty that Sam could thwart any and all adversaries that might pop up. But his skills with his sword and his natural fighting ability as a tiger would surely provide a great deal of protection, wouldn’t they? The Konti looked at him as he repacked his supplies, wondering how insane it would be to take him up on his offer and go trekking off into the wilderness with him, or how insane it would be to keep traveling on her own.

And he was ready. He was sure an enthusiastic one, once he had his mind set. Ils’a had to smile at his offer to carry her. She looked down for a moment, at his hand holding onto hers, and she thought it was a good feeling, to have someone to share this with, travel, danger, life. Her eyes turned back up to his and she nodded, slowly and then more positively.

“Alright,” she replied, with as much certainty as she could feel over this rather crazy non-plan. “I think I’d like that, Sam, to travel with you, together.” Ils’a gave a brief laugh. “But I think I can walk alright. You can save your strength for the all those bad guys out there.”

She glanced back down at herself, her light dress and sandals. They were the only clothes she had with her.

“I’ll need to get some warmer clothes, though, and some boots.” She gave his hand a squeeze and smiled. “Sorry. I guess I’ll have to pull you back into the market. But it won’t take long, I promise. We can be out of this place before the curfew, and then, we can talk about where we should head next.”

She gave a gentle tug at his hand and together they exited the alley and went in search of some more fitting travel garb for one soon-to-be landed Konti.