Closed A Punch to the Face

[Reign]

Summer 23, 513 AV On the 12th Bell Breathing heavily, Reign slunk down the street. Her limbs ached, and her head throbbed. Ugly black and purple bruises lined her slender arms, making the small girl appear as if she were a failed art experiment. All that trouble just to gather enough money to purchase a new shirt, to replace the tattered mess that she currently adorned. It wasn’t ideal at all, her job, but it was the most welcoming task Reign could perform in order to crawl by. Though many a day, while out on her runs, did her eyes wander to the welcoming doors of the Loveless. No, she’d be forced to convince herself each time, you cannot go down that road again. The sun was high in the sky, its bright rays almost out of place illuminating the filthy street. East street, she loved the repugnant smell of the place. The sketchy folks and dark alleys were not a cause of fear for her; they were comforting, as she blended with them. Prostitutes, murderers, petty thieves, deep down they were all sewn from the same soiled cloth. If you belonged, no one really messed with you; it was almost like a mutual understanding. Bad things happened only to the righteous, the people who never saw the ugly side of life. Grr… Reign stared down at her growling stomach, “sorry old fellow…” she sighed, patting the flat surface, “I forgot.” It was not an unusual thing for Reign to go hungry. The nights were the hardest to bear with a gnawing stomach; although, nights were hard in general. Sometimes in the dead of night, when sleep refused to claim her, the haunting figures of Jair and Daryl would materialize by her bedside. Nightmarish and jeering, those were the nights where she would flee into the streets and curl up in a back alley into a shaking ball. A gnarly scar on her left forearm was earnede by brandishing her eating knife at those visions (she had tripped and slammed her arm onto her cheap bedside table.) From all the abuse Reign was taking, she was sure lucky that she didn’t scar easily; though, even poking her with the butt of a dagger could give her a bruise. Grr… “I understand!” Reign seethed, though her hollow belly was unrelenting, grrStealing food from vendors was simple and childish, but she was tiring of surviving off of purloined produce. Surveying the street for potential targets, her eyes wandered to a man strolling scarcely four yards before her. He was muscular and powerful looking... but she was starved. Looks like he may have something worth taking on him. Picking up her speed she casually walked past him, slipping her hand into his pocket…

[Khrassvallen]

East Street was his kind of place. Not because of the thieves, whores, and possible murderers. No, because if he were take someone here, it would go largely unnoticed. The perfect hunting grounds, right here in the relative safety of the city. But really, it wasn't safe for anyone. Not for him, and especially not for them. The people that resided here so close to the fish market, they were so different from the eloquent middle and upper class of the rest of the city, especially around the University. At least they were on the outside. Deep down, all humans were the same. Greedy, insecure, violent. But their masks were often diverse, and sometimes impossible to see through. East Street just didn't try to hide. They practically threw it in everyone's faces. The smell of fish and sea were stronger here, almost to the point of discomfort. For a man such as Khrassvallen, who didn't spend a lot of time near the ocean, it was something to get used to. But he always adjusted quickly. One had to when they were Dhani. Being able to live in all sorts of conditions was a necessity if you wanted to life, especially for his kind. There were so few left. Humans were taking over, and it wasn't even slowly but surely. They bred like rabbits, and killed that which they deemed dangerous or didn't understand, like a pack of crazed wolves. Brainwashed masses, that's what they were. So being in his human skin was a sad necessity. How he sometimes wished to make these people cower in fear at the glory that was the Dhani. They would fear him, but surely grow to envy him. As they should. A trio of prostitutes meandered by, eyeing him and flashing seductive smiles. He stared at them, blank faced, so they moved on. Prostitutes were smart, they knew when someone wasn't interested. And he never would be. Pay to have sex with a human? Disgusting. It was a quiet day, at least for a bustling city. The sky was overcast and there had been a few light showers, no more than mist, making for a lethargic mood. It even made him a little sleepy, which was why he didn't hear the woman come up behind him, and it even took him a moment to notice her fingers in his pocket. But he noticed. Oh, did he notice. Without hesitation, he turned and locked his fingers around her thin neck. Khrassvallen didn't even look at her. He backed her straight into the alley next to them and smashed her against the building on the left, its walls faded by the salty sea air. Carefully, he gave her windpipe a squeeze. He was stronger than humans, even in this body, but not as much as a constrictor. It would do, though. Rather quietly, he spoke, his voice laced by an undertone of malicious warning. "Humanss ssshould be more careful. You never know what you might get into. Were you hoping for ssome money?" He looked at her brown eyes, unblinking. She felt weak under his firm fingers, and she was small. Possibly emaciated? Khrassvallen couldn't tell under her clothing, which definitely needed replaced.

[Reign]

He was fast, not even providing her with a chance to yelp before she was ruthlessly slammed with excessive force into a building; something in her back making an unpleasant cracking noise as her bones met the unforgiving wall. The thief definitely didn’t foresee this turn of events. His grip on her neck was too strong for her to muster up a scream. But, even if she were able, she always had an inability to scream extremely loud and help was scarce on East Street. Where was Daniel when she needed him? Wouldn’t that Isurian mutt feel horrible when he discovered that his “sister” wasn’t coming home? All because he wasn’t there to protect her? She could already imagine that undertaker, wandering out in the alleys and discovering his sister's little, lifeless body, lying broken in a muddy puddle… "Humanss ssshould be more careful. You never know what you might get into. Were you hoping for ssome money?" Her attacker’s voice was chilling, and he spoke with a strong sibilant accent. Spluttering out blood, Reign desperately tugged at the man’s meaty fingers that were crushing her neck, gasping for breath. She kicked out at him meekly with her battered legs. Reign felt bile rise to her throat as it suddenly struck her what the violent stranger was… a Dahni. Which meant physically escaping was out of the question. Stopping her struggles, Reign closed her eyes; was dying truly that bad? She had nothing really going for her anyways, and the mere thought of reuniting with her hauntings made her mouth drool. No! You can’t think like that! You’re smarter than him, you’re smarter than most, think, think. Not thinking got you into this mess. Looking up into his rancor filled eyes, Reign flashed the serpent man a smile, her teeth stained red with blood. “Kill me, d-do it! Pull me out of my m-misery good f-friend, I’d call you savior and embrace you i-if I could,” talking was a task, but with strained breath the mad girl managed, “Why yes I was looking for money, who isn’t? But go ahead, k-kill me. Who would mourn? No one, not even the crows that I share bites of food with would miss me, they’d just r-rip flesh of my rotting bones. No, the l-little thief won’t be missed. You don't scare me, I'm not scared of death. A tomb sometimes is as warm and welcoming as a bed!” Don't taunt him too much, just enough, just bring yourself to his level. Slither, slither goes the snake Snapping little girls’ necks all over the place Proving himself in a useless place Slither, slither goes the snake Killing little thieves with senseless rage

[Khrassvallen]

Khrassvallen tilted his head and smiled. He loved when they were dramatic. What is it supposed to do? Touch some sentimental spot deep in his soul? She had tried to steal from him, and now she was throwing about her sob story. Did she think he would admire her courage in the face of death, send her on her way with a new found respect, and maybe a donation with his blessing and good luck? He wanted to laugh, deep down. But they never realized the most important thing that sent him apart from them. He just didn't care. About any of them. Their lives, hopes, dreams, families. Nothing. He had never felt guilty after taking a human's life, nor any other. Did the butcher pity the chicken hanging from the ceiling about to be beheaded, or the pig who's bacon he carved from its body? Perhaps this girl would show her fear, like she should, if she really knew how little of a shit he gave about her petty attempts at relating to him on some microscopic level. They were nothing alike. "Do you really ex-," he started, but was cut off by her little rhyme. Khrassvallen stiffened, watching her with a peculiar look on his face. A mix between interest and anger. His body grew very still as he examined her more closely now, the only pieces of him moving being his narrowed eyes. Was it that obvious, what he was? He knew of course that his speech was marred by his sibilant hiss, and that he gave hints, sometimes very clear ones, that he wasn't human. But was it so obvious that he was Dhani? Quickly, he switched his grip to her hair, holding close to the roots and tightly knotting his fingers into the tresses, using it to drag her deeper into the alley. Several yards in, he threw her to the ground in the shelter of some rain barrels, away from prying eyes. "Do you truly wisssh for death?" He could bring it to her, easily and swiftly. His hatchet hung from a loop on his backpack, which he almost always carried, like today. People probably thought he was some kind of woodcarver. That was far from the truth. Khrassvallen didn't want this child running and shouting in the streets about the Dhani who'd nearly strangled her. He would have to leave quickly, if this happened, or risk death. Imprisonment at best. Both were undesirable possibilities. "I can sssnap your neck, like you ssay. Or cut you to piecesss." He said this matter of factly, even smiling a little. Maybe she could be the first human he ate in Zeltiva. Like she said, who would miss one little thief, who was already battered and bloody? He could make it look like an accident, or just eat what evidence he could and burn the rest, possibly throw her clothing into the bay. So many possibilities.

[Reign]

Shyke! Shyke! Shyke! Reign cried out desperately from within her head. Cursing foully as the Dhani dragged the thief further into the depths of the alley. Fate seemed to be enjoying sending her circumstances on a downhill spiral. Never before had she been placed in a fix such as she was stuck in today. Talking her way out of her certain looming death had deemed itself useless. And self-defense was out of the question; she couldn’t fight with fists, weapons or anything. The only brawls she had ever been in were against staggering, swearing drunks in bars, and the thief had always fled at the first opportunity provided to her. No, her odds of surfacing from this particular fix were slimming with every second. The snake had his meaty fist knotted in her chestnut hair. Making struggling even more futile with the grip he held now, twisting and kicking could only cause her further damage. At this point she also stopped sending silent prayers to the heavens; she doubted that even the gods recue her from this one. Singing her poem to him was a mistake, the man only grew more furious when he realized she knew his secret. To the average folk, he would just appear to be a heartless loon (like her, but…more intense) but Reign was not stupid. The hours she had toiled over her brother’s notes and books had not left her deaf and blind to the signs of a Dhani. She couldn’t exactly recall everything she had studied about the serpent race, but she knew enough to know that today wasn’t her lucky day. Breaking her off from her thoughts the serpent slammed her roughly against the ground, any sliver of hope she held for a friendly (or extremely strong) passerby were disminished, no one could glimpse her now. Coughing out splatters of blood, the thief propped herself up. Watching in horror at the hungry glint in his eye when he said, "Do you truly wisssh for death? I can sssnap your neck, like you ssay. Or cut you to piecesss." The pity approach (the most attractive) had failed miserably, and her mind was pulling an unfortunate blank. “Well this isn’t exactly desirable, I was hoping for something more symbolic. Or to get rich first. You have to learn sarcasm my frien-, never mind, my slithering adversary.“ Licking her lips, which tasted of blood, she continued, “Do you seriously want to snap me? I’m just unnourished bones, it would be too easy. I’m nothing, and I’ve already cut myself to pieces.”

[Khrassvallen]

Khrassvallen crouched low, leaning in close to the girl. He breathed in her scent, mixed with the dirty, salty air of East Street. Appearing to have ignored her next words entirely, he grabbed her arm, and none too gently yanked it forward for examination. Grime, blood, cuts. This human was a wreck. But that was alright. Casually, he licked the skin of her forearm, tasting her metallic blood, then smiled at her. It was out of place with his cold, icy eyes. A cruel expression. "You may not have much meat, but the organssss alwaysss make up for it." Then, as if to prove the seriousness behind his threats, he bit her arm.

Even a human has the jaw strength to piece the skin of their own kind, and Khrassvallen's physical advantage, no matter how slight it was, in this form made it all that much easier. His teeth punctured her dirty flesh, though he kept the wound rather shallow, and blood filled his mouth. He closed his eyes, relishing the taste and her pain. It sent a shiver up his spine. Once disengaged from her arm, his head reared back, and he sighed, almost in ecstasy. "Humansss are sssso deliciousss. Do you want to know why thiss isss?" He disregarded her sounds of pain entirely, speaking casually, almost as if they were friends. To him, this was intimate.

"The human diet variesss sso greatly, you all tassste sso different. I believe it isss the location." Then he looked at her, smiling. "Location, location, location." Khrassvallen leaned in close, almost brushing his nose against hers. Her blood trickled down his chin, bubbling at the corner of his mouth. His breath smelled of it. "I tassste your fear," he whispered, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "I am glad you are afraid. You are sssssmart. What isss your name, human child?" He licked his lips, smearing the blood around his mouth with his tongue.

[Reign]

In horror, she watched as the Dhani drank in the air around him, tasting her scent like a deranged animal might. His eyes were cold, unforgiving, as though they were made out of shards of ice. Never could she have ever foreseen that her death would be consumption by a monster. Obviously deaf to her pitiful reasoning’s he yanked her doll-like arm forward, putting his foul mouth to the battered skin of her arm. Shaking, Reign debating screaming for help; but she quickly banished that thought. Who would want to save her anyways? And from that freak of nature? No, no she was going to die, and Reign was almost certain of it. How long would Daniel wait for her? She had promised to meet her “brother” for dinner that night. But it was not uncommon for her to simply not show up. The loon was a terrible cook, and Reign despised the meager supply of fish that Daniel seemed to always have lying around his make-shift kitchen. As a result “dinner” often became an all-out drinking party, where they’d either awaken to find themselves penniless, or find that they had smashed all of their furniture and broke a gaping hole in the wall. Suddenly, lost deep in the mists of thoughts, she felt something slimy make contact with her arm. Glancing down she realized with a whimper that the snake was licking her forearm. Leaving a line of fear induced goose bumps along the path of his eager tongue. Grinning at her with a startling cruelty, he bit down. Agony flooded her, screaming in pain as his teeth broke her skin. Tears running down her face, she felt him greedily suck up her blood before disengaging from her arm. "Humansss are sssso deliciousss. Do you want to know why thiss isss?" he said rather calmly as his body shivered with sick pleasure. Breathing heavily she did not catch his next words, although she had a sense she wouldn’t have wanted to anyways. "Location, location, location." The creature leaned in, their faces not even inches apart. She wondered what someone would assume if they walked past this scene; maybe at first they would assume by the closeness that she and the snake were lovers, entangled behind the sight of prying eyes. Though soon the non-existent passerby would strong waif of blood, notice the broken way she was sprawled, and the cold predatory look in the Dhani’s gaze. Brushing a blood soaked piece of hair behind her ear he asked with a hiss for her name. Perhaps this would be the last face she would ever see again, the thought itself was terrifying. “R-Reign,” she managed to huff out. Even if he killed her she wouldn’t die as a nameless victim. No, she would die as Reign; the lousy thief who couldn’t protect herself worth shyke. Racking her brains for anything an idea struck her, bite back. Shoving her head forward, she nuzzled the side of his neck. Before he could have time for a reaction, she bit hard into the flesh of his left shoulder. Her teeth were not strong enough to pierce his skin.

[Khrassvallen]

When Reign made to move forward and press against him, he was startled. What? he started to wonder, until the pain hit. She'd given him a taste of his own medicine, and he didn't like it. "Human whore!" he snarled, rearing away from her little teeth and grabbing at the apex of pain at his shoulder. He could feel the indentions of her teeth even through his shirt. Khrassvallen's lips pulled back from his bloody pearly whites and he hissed, reeling so hard in a haze of fury that he was practically intoxicated by its suddenness and potency. "I am going to bite your throat out and break your bones," he hissed, thought not in Common but in Snake-tongue. He was so lost in the sudden rage that he'd completely forgotten her native tongue.

When the prey fought back it was both exciting and infuriating. It drove him to another plain of thinking. One more cruel - more primal. If only she had chosen her actions more wisely, she could have been gifted a quick death. But now, he would take his time. Oh, how he would enjoy hearing her scream and cry for the mercy she'd just thrown out the window. His heart beat faster, and he licked his bloody lips, smiling in excitement. Khrassvallen laughed quietly, crawling forward on hands and knees to loom close to her once more. His hands were unsteady, but in a good way, at least for him. He stroked her hair and cupped her cheeks, ran his hands down the sides of her neck, and gently grabbed her shoulders.

He licked his lips again, trying to find his mind so he could bridge the language gap once more. "I will begin with the handssss and feet," he finally told her quietly, giving her narrow shoulders a tender squeeze. "I will bite off each finger and toe, then sssslice all tendonsss." He leaned in and smelled her hair and neck. "You will watch me do thisss." Khrassvallen shuddered with excitement, gently touching one of her eyelids. "Becausssse I will tear thesse off." Again he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. He felt an intimate connection with those he killed. In his hatred for them there was also love. Each was an offering to Siku, and a precious meal. He wasted nothing, and respected them for their sacrifices to prolong his life, however unwilling they may be. Life was unfair when one could not defend themself.

He respected her for trying, but surely she must know it was futile? "It will hurt more than any pain you have felt." Why lie? "It may take you dayssss to die." His breath, tinged with the smell of her blood, fanned across her face in silent laughter. But when his mirth died down, his mood took another sudden change. Without warning, he grabbed her around the throat and shook her violently, cracking the back of her head against the stone wall she rested against. "You ssshould not have bitten me, human child!" he growled, gnashing his teeth and glaring at her with pitiless savagery. "You will regret it until I releasssse your pain with death."

Suddenly, a voice called to them from the mouth of the alleyway. "Hello? Are you two alright?" A male, and seemingly wary. Silently, Khrassvallen cursed. Hatred and fury contorted his face for a brief moment, before he could collect himself enough to look only severely annoyed. He stared at Reign for a long moment, holding his index finger to his lips in an order for silence. His shoulders shook with the effort of not instantly lashing out when he stood to face the man, after quickly wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "We are alright," he told the man, who looked more a little worried. His eyes kept darting to Reign's legs, visibly protruding from behind the crates and barrels next to Khrassvallen. "My wife, ssshe is very drunk and became sssick. I am going to take her to a physssician now." The man didn't look convinced. "Is that blood on your mouth?" he asked. Shyke. "Yesss," the Dhani admitted.

"Ssshe hit me by accident, when I pulled her from another drink." He tried to smile to soften the uneasiness of his strained voice. "D'ya need any help?" Khrassvallen winced internally when he answered too quickly, "No!" The human man looked from between him and Reign's legs several times, before turning and quickly jogging back into the crowd. Khrassvallen couldn't help but assume anything other than the possibility that the man had gone to fetch a guard - or even several.

[Abstract]

Khrass

Skills

+ Observation - 1
+ Intimidation - 3

Lores

+ Zeltiva is the perfect hunting ground
+ Reign: A particularly annoying human

Other:


Notes

Reign, if you ever come back, just PM me for your grade! Otherwise, not much to give here.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this grade, please PM me and we can work it out!