Completed Fire! (Amon Torque)

[Kechaiya]

Timestamp: Fall 40, 514 AV Location: One of the smaller Sunset Orphanages Time of Day: Just before the 24th Bell Kechaiya pulled her cloak tighter around her to fight the cold that night had brought. It got cold in the desert at nights back home, but never like this. She dreaded winters, and hated snow so much. She wished it would skip winter entirely, but Kech couldn't get so lucky. Normally she'd never be caught out on the streets this late, it was dangerous. Sunberth was always dangerous, but at night, it felt even more so. But she'd been with a woman all day delivering a baby and the damnable thing refused to come out for twelve bells, nearly killing the mother in the process. The baby was a hideous thing, even after cleaned up. It was healthy for all intents and purposes, but looked like a dog had petched a bullfrog to make it. But she had received a hefty pouch as payment, and aside from tired and sore from crouching next to a woman's groin for most of the day, she was content. She'd been trying to teach herself how to walk more silently lately, and was doing so now. Her black eyes watched the ground, looking for anything that could make noise, sticks, leaves, small stones, and was doing her best to avoid them with her footfalls. She worked at stepping in such a way that the heel landed first, and she kind of rolled her foot forward. It reminded her of how the wheel of a cart worked in a way. As the rolling foot reached the toes, the heel would lift itself and continue onward. It wasn't as easy as she thought it'd be and soon found some muscles deep within her calves aching. Perhaps those muscles were very undeveloped from the method of walking she normally used. Turning a familiar corner that would bring her on a long straight shot toward her home. She continued practicing her footfalls, working to ignore the fires burning in her legs, when a small child came into her view. He was far too young to be out on his own, clutching to a ratty blanket, not saying anything. He just stared up at her, as if he had literally nothing better to do. She immediately assumed that he was from the nearby orphanage. Kechaiya crouched down in front of him, smiling at him, giving him a chance to get past the common shock of seeing one with eyes like hers. He didn't give two shykes. "You from orphanage?" The little boy nodded. "I take you back. You need sleep to become big and strong." She gently took his tiny hand, and steered him toward the orphanage, only a few doors down from where she was currently. This orphanage was one of the many that she stopped at on her rounds, and she would find the caretaker to get this boy to bed. As she approached the door though, she saw it skewed on a single hinge, open and immediately stopped in her tracks. If someone had broken in, that would explain why a child was out and about. Her head snapped to the right, as a young, hushed voice squeaked, "Byron! Where did you go?" An older girl, maybe twelve years old rushed out of a nearby alley, and grabbed Byron's hand. Kechaiya knew the girl, and was pretty sure her Faschia. "You Faschia? Broke arm last spring?" The girl nodded, so Kechaiya continued, "What happen? Why out here? Where rest of children? Where caretaker?" Instead of answering, the girl just burst out crying. This outburst caused several other children to leave their hiding places, none of which she'd seen, and all came forward. Varying children began answering her questions in no particular order. Men broke in, hurt the caretaker, and took a bunch of the children away. The ones here were either unwanted or had managed to hide. From what they'd said, she knew that that the caretaker was injured inside and that the men had left. "I check inside. Stay hidden, stay safe. If I no come out, wait for Syna, go to Jillene. Know how to get there?" Several children nodded, and they all disappeared back to their hiding spots. Kechaiya turned on her boot and peered into the inky blackness inside the orphanage. She took a deep breath, readying herself for what she might find within.

[Amon Torque]

Each step sent another droplet of sweat through the air under the dark sky. He was out late, much too late for any safety light offered. Maybe it would teach him a lesson, never fall asleep in the wilds, especially in the evening. It had been an extremely stupid mistake even for someone as oblivious as Amon. It shined a brand new light on his inner workings, innocent and dumb. He would have to fix that, and soon, or else he would surely be killed as easy prey to some old woman that happened to have a evil intentions hidden under her oh-so innocent old lady eyes. He took a turn, feet continuing to slam down against the loose ground, the air cold but his running keeping his body warmer than any coat. It was a race to get home before he became prey, and a race he did not intend to lose. His legs ached and it felt like his heart was a burning brazier, but Amon continued in his sprint down the dark but familiar roads. He moved with purpose, which meant he moved much faster than his usual grazing pace, which was around that of a tired cow. Another turn, feet sliding through the grit and arms flailing to sustain his upward position. "Petch!" He cried out, body continuing its plummet to the ground with a few painful scrapes, but his cloak and pants took most of the beating, although he could feel warm crimson droplets oozing down his hand. Later, he thought, knowing to stop here and fix himself up would be suicide. He picked himself up, wincing as his fingers probed the new scrape on his hand but quickly getting over it. He began to move again, feet taking him down his usual path. It was only moments later his head whipped left, hearing high pitched cries coming from the street over. He sighed, ducking into an alley and traveling through it, coming out in front of the orphanage. Kids stood sucking their thumbs or simply staring off into space, others bawling, eyes red from rubbing. He saw a form duck into the orphanage after talking to a child, his hand moved to his belt, encircling the handle of his kukri and seizing it, ready to whip it out toward any threat. His feet led him to the door, opening it and slipping inside, glancing down both hallways, seeing the same figure. He ran toward it, taking out his kukri in the process, reaching out and gripping the shoulder of the cloaked woman. He spun he around, dagger held back in the position of a snake ready to bite, angled downward to her neck. Black eyes stared back at him, cold and dark. It was dim light, but it was obvious who it was, the same woman who had saved a few and killed another. Kechaiya. A sigh escaped his lips, the kukri returned itself to its sheathe, no need to kill for now. "What's going on?!" He whispered, rushed but hushed to stay quiet.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya drew her dagger as she was about to step inside the orphanage. Then a hand gripped her, and she found herself being spun around. Her mind immediately assumed it was a threat, and she jabbed her dagger forward from her low held grip. But the moment she recognized who it was, Amon, the incompetent herbalist she'd met a while back, she stopped her hand, the tip of the blade a tortoise hair away from stabbing him in the genitals. Her brows turned stern, "Never sneak like that. Very stupid. You get stabbed for that. Orphanage attacked, children kidnapped." She had strongly considered slapping him up side the head for such a foolish action. That seemed to be the story of this man's life. Foolishness. But he could be of use. He had some training in healing people, and he was another hand with a weapon. She didn't know if any of the kidnappers were still in there. "Come with me. Help search orphanage. Try not stab children." She turned away from him, keeping dagger in hand, as she once more moved over to the door. She peered inside, waiting a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Slipping one foot in, remembering to keep an eye on where she stepped, trying to remember to step heel first. The wood still creaked, which forced her to slow the pressure that she had applied. Step after almost silent step she continued inward. There were no candles, and very few windows to let in Leth's light. She kept her back to the wall, so no one like the fool of an herbalist that was with her could startle her again. She turned and whispered out the door, "Need light. Have candle?" She continued to sweep her eyes back and forth across the entryway she was in, looking for any movement, as she waited for the fool to reply.

[Amon Torque]

His eyes went wide for a moment, she nearly gutted him with her dagger. She chastised him for sneaking up on her, to which he simply stared blankly toward her, only hearing the part about the orphanage being attacked. Even most gangs wouldn't go as low as to attack the orphanage, why kidnap kids? She was angry, not a good sign considering in their last encounter she randomly stabbed a man after demanding mizas. She told him not to stab chikdren, to which he sighed, wondering how foolish she truly thought he was. Yep, lets just go stab some kiddies, shall we? He mocked her in his head, but kept it restrained from slipping out his mouth. His hand traveled back to his kukri, drawing it in the dark and then following her down the blackened hallways, ground creaking underfoot. He wondered why she moved so slow, deducting it must be because she was worried she would trip in the dark, which was not the reason whatsoever, but it satisfied Amon. He had his pack and a basket of herbs, looking innocent besides the curved blade in his opposite hand. "No, no candles," he replied quietly, voice hushed to a whisper, "don't usually come out after dark, no need." The shoulders moved up in a shrug, invisible in the dark, "what's your plan?"

[Kechaiya]

"I think candles in kitchen, back of orphanage."

Kechaiya crept along, a single slow step at a time, coming up on a doorway that led into a common room, where the children played for the most part. Her eyes were mostly used to the dim light provided by the door, but she knew it was never safe to walk past any darkened space, especially with your back to it. She moved to the opposite side of the hallway, eyes locked on the doorway, dagger out in front of her. Dark eyes tried to make out anything within, but it was simply not lit up enough. She continued creeping along, really hoping her caution wasn't needed, that all of the kidnappers were truly gone. Kechaiya stumbled into a small table of sorts, letting out a slightly pained 'oof'.

Moving around the table, rubbing the spot on her thigh. The kitchen was just ahead, and had one window letting in a little bit of moonlight. She stopped at the door, sticking head in and looking around. The kitchen was trashed, it seemed they stole what little food the orphanage had. Dishes and cooking utensils were strewn everywhere. Peering back over her shoulder, "We search for candles, watch step, need stay quiet."

Creeping in, Kechaiya was trying to step around dishes, spoons, as she went toward the left end of the kitchen. She made it halfway across when she tripped on her own foot, forcing her leg to kick forward as she practically punted a metal pot off he wall, clanging louder than most of the noises Kechaiya had ever heard in her life. It bounced off the wall, the counter, and came back at Kech, who darted to the side with a startled squeak. It clanged along the entire length of the kitchen, before coming to a rest against the opposite side wall. Shyke.

Kechaiya had frozen in her current spot, waiting to hear any movement from inside the orphanage. Ticks went by in complete silence. Nothing happened. Saying nothing, she started rummaging through the cabinets and drawers looking for candles, hoping The Fool would do the same.

[Amon Torque]

It was only seconds after Kechaiya spoke that Amon nearly snorted, although he managed to avoid doing so with a hard bite on his inner cheek, resulting in a sharp pain. Yeah, 'cause I know where the back of the orphanage is. His tongue moved to probe his cheek for a wound, finding a bit of pain but none of his red blood spilled. It was lucky, now he wouldn't have to deal with a cut in his mouth, a painful nuisance that would get in the way of even the most basic tasks. Turning his attention back to Kechaiya and sneaking through what appeared to be a kitchen, he looked around to try to make out shapes in the dark. His eyes had begun to adapt to the dark, slowly transforming to be of more use. He turned his body, hip nicking the edge of a large table he only now could see. The hand moved from in front of him to his hip, massaging the bruised bone. He listened to her command to search for candles, to which he found himself shrugging and unable to find anything better to do than listen, no point in arguing with tactics to someone who barely understood the language. His hands flung out in front of him, feeling the wall until he found a hold on a cabinet. He pulled a little too hard on the weak rusty hinges, resulting in a high pitched squeak that echoed through the kitchen. He found himself turning to Kechaiya, preparing to be rebuked by the foreigner, who tended to have little patience in past past experiences. He received no anger, only a loud slam against a pot that was sent screeching across the room, bouncing as it did so. Well. There goes any and all stealth we had, if we had any reason for it. Even in the dark he hoped she could see or feel his sharp glare aimed toward the general area from which said noise came from. He was nearly overpowered with the urge to usher a 'shush' toward her, although he limited himself from the rude action with another softer bite to the cheek. Body turning, he found his hands entering the cabinet only to find nothing. He hopped up, moving to the next drawer and opening it, reaching inside nervously, hoping the drawer wasn't full of knives that would slice up his hands. He felt wax, and found himself wrapping his hands around a bundle of candles. "Found 'em," he whispered, setting down his basket of herbs and reaching for his bag he carried on his back. Feeling around inside he found his block of flint, which he promptly pulled out and struck a few times with the dull side of his kukri, resulting in hot sparks drifting onto the flammable wick. He did it several times before getting one to settle down on top of it, spreading its heat into the wick and igniting into a small burst of flame. Although small, in the darkness filled kitchen it danced across all walls, shining upon the pans to help increase visibility. "Come get a few," he said, already lighting another with his already lit candle and holding it out to offer it, "then we will hurry to the kids."

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya heard the familiar sound of flint and steel, and looked over her shoulder to see that The Fool found some candles and was in the process of lighting them. At least he wasn't completely useless. When he got one light, she stepped lightly across the kitchen, avoiding the many dishes on the floor, picking up three candles, slipping two into the breast of her blouse, and lighting the other with his dancing flame. She held the light in her left hand now, dagger in right. Nodding her head to the door, she moved to leave when there was a very audible creak in the wood above them. She looked up, more as a gesture than expecting to see anything, then looked at Amon. Someone was here.

Once more, the doctor moved into the hallway, rolling heel to toe, trying to move silently. She peered into the common room as she came by the door. It appeared to have been mostly untouched, just a few toys strewn about. Continuing onward, she made her way to the stairwell. From experience, she knew this particular one was especially creaky. One soft step onto the lowest step, nothing. The next quiet step up however resulted in a short, sharp creak. As hard as she tried to be sneaky and silent, each step had a mind of its own. Finally at the top, she stood to the side of the door, and pushed it open, all the way it could. Holding out the candle, she peered down the hallway of bunk rooms. Nothing seemed out of place, the occasional toy or blanket the only oddities.

Stepping into the hallway, she moved along, a bit more steadily now, stopping before reaching the first set of doors. They were both forced open, but neither was the object of her attention. There was a really unexpected smell. It was sweet, floral, pleasant. It was perfume. She knew none of the children or caretakers could afford perfume, and most probably wouldn't be caught dead with something so fancy. Turning toward Amon, she tapped her nose, hoping he'd get the message. She decided she'd take the room on the right, and pointed to the one on the left for her partner.

Stepping inside, the scene utterly broke her heart. Beds were overturned, toys, clothes, blankets thrown everywhere. But the first bed was perfectly fine, aside from the young man laying in it with his throat slit. She recognized him as Yorah, a boy that would have been old enough very soon to leave the orphanage. He slept by the door because he always tried to protect his siblings from harm, be it attackers or nightmares. And here he was, dead in his sleep, a pool of blood haloing his head. She crouched down, shining the light beneath the bunks, looking for anyone, anything. She continued along the rows, noticing the smell of the perfume growing weaker. All the way at the end, she stopped. This room seemed to be clear. She turned, when she heard a small sniffle nearby. There was a child nearby.

She looked toward the sound, seeing a small alcove formed by the way mattresses were skewed. Moving closer, she saw a little girl holding her knees to her chest, crying slightly. She looked up at Kech, immediately recognizing her as the orphanage's doctor. Kech moved her candle to the same hand as her dagger, then held out the empty hand and the little girl grasped and stood up. "Is okay. You safe now." The tiny fingers gripped her own, and the pair moved toward the door, Kech purposefully putting herself between the girl and the dead body, the little girl clutching at a small blanket. Leading her into the hallway, the girl tugged at her hand, "Where the bad woman?" Kechaiya looked down at her, confused. "She was laying here," pointing at the floor between the doors. "I was too ascared to leave cuz of her. She was here just a bit ago. She stinky." Kechaiya knew this wasn't good. It meant the perfumed woman was still up here somewhere, and wasn't one of the normal staff. Kech let go of her hand for a moment, though the little girl just took the reprieve to grip onto her skirt. She pulled out one of her candles, and lit it, handing it down to the little girl.

"Be careful. No burn you self."

The little girl nodded. Kech continued, "I need you to be big girl now. Go downstairs and outside. The children are there, they keep you safe. Me and friend will find the bad woman. Can do that for me?" The little girl nodded, hugging Kech's hip, then leaving, going carefully down the steps. Kech returned her candle to her spare hand, waiting to hear back from Amon before searching further.

[Amon Torque]

He followed her with gentle steps, trying to follow her stealthy movements but finding it difficult on the squeaky wood steps as they climbed. The few sharp squeaks were inevitable, two from Amon and one from Kechaiya. They ducked into a room, candles shimmering off of a puddle of crimson and highlighting the overturned mess, which had clearly been the target of the assault. Why the children? Nothing of value in the orphanage, nobody has the mizas to pay for it. And nobody would pay for ransoms, these are orphans, their parents either abandoned them or were dead. It seemed like pointless violence, but to cause such chaos it seemed you needed more than one person. His eyes followed his companions gaze to the body of a young adult, soaked in his own blood in stark contrast with relatively. It was sad, the boy seemed nearly old enough to be leaving, yet he had his life cut short just before he got the chance to truly spread his wings and take to the skies of oppertunity. Amon let out a small sigh, then inhaled a strong pungent scent through his nose. It was perfume, much to strong but still perfume. He coughed once, trying to get the smell out of his system, opening his eyes to find Kechaiya approaching a little girl. She talked to her with a uncharacteristic soft tone, reaching out to help the small figure stand. They gently conversed, Amon listening in closely while they did so, taking note of 'the smelly woman'. He looked around the room closely, searching for any sign of her besides the smell, finding nothing. His body made a sharp turn back to the doorway, feet leading him out into the hall hurriedly. Footsteps echoed down the hall, running away from the two doctors quickly to avoid pursuit. The little girl walked out behind him, turning the opposite direction of the footsteps to leave the building and join her fellow orphans. "Kech, footsteps, this way. Let's go!" A small moan echoed from a room a few doorways down, clearly in pain. Now it was a important decision to make, help the injured or kill the attacker. He turned toward Kechaiya, his thoughts clashing and looking for guidance.

[Kechaiya]

As soon as Kech turned back from the little girl, that fool Amon was screaming. Kech was finding that she had the urge to slap this man up side the head every few chimes. Did he not realize that these were the only steps that led to the second floor? And the building wasn't fancy enough to afford glass for the windows after the children had inevitably broke them, so they were boarded up. She was effectively trapped. She'd heard the child moan, sounded like a young boy, but the sound was a little off, a little too deep and nasally. And after seeing Amon's treatment days back, there was no way in Hai she was going to let him treat one of the orphans in her charge. In a hushed whisper,"Get her! No kill if can. I get child!"

Kech pushed past him, rushing to the room the moan emanated from. Holding the candle aloft she looked around for a child, eyes scanning the ransacked bunkroom. She heard the moan come from beneath a few overturned beds. He must've gotten trapped underneath in the raid and was left for dead. She struggled pulling at the heavy mattresses and wooden frames, huffing and puffing, covered in a layer of sweat as she removed each one. She pulled at the last one, the moan intensifying until it was free. She lowered her candle to get a better view, only to see that it was a man, not a child. And it was not the caretaker of this orphanage. The reason his moan sounded so weird, so much like a child, was due to his very shattered nose and several newly missing teeth.

"Please... help me..."

Kechaiya immediately assumed that this was one of the kidnappers, her eyes narrowing in anger, brows furrowing deep. She held her dagger out in front of her candle so he could see it, though he didn't appear to be in any condition to be a threat anyways. His one good eye that hadn't been swollen shut widened in fear.

"You answer questions. No answer, I kill slow."

She set down her pack out of reach of him, the crossed one leg over his form, his own legs still pinned by the bed frames. She knelt down, moving the dagger close to his eyes, in a very unsteady voice, shaking from anger, "Where orphans?"

"I don't know, they didn't tell me!

This only made her angrier. "I ask again. Where orphans?"

"I swear I don't know!

She shook her head as if to say 'Your choice' then grabbed his right ear with her hand, still holding the candle. She pulled it out a bit, then using her dagger, started sawing through the flesh, pulling as she went. He began screaming loudly, painfully, begging her to stop. But she ignored him, continuing until she pulled the ear free, holding it up for him to see. He was swearing nonstop, "No talk. Just watch."

She plunged the dagger down into his shoulder, just to keep it out of his possible reach, then moved the ear into her right hand, candle still in the left. She tilted the candle a bit over his face, letting the hot wax fall around his eyes. She then lowered the ear into the flame, and held it there. It took a while, but eventually it began to sizzle, blacken, crackle, the smell the flesh gave off stinking the entire room. She then shook the flame out and tossed the ear toward the doorway.

"Where. Children."

[Amon Torque]

His feet moved before he got a answer. His body was tense, each step springing him forward beyond his normal stride. He was moving as fast as he could, reaching the stairs and taking them two a time, hot wax spilling from the candle onto his arm. Cringing, he silenced his breath. The air was quiet besides screams coming from behind him, near Kechaiya. Maybe she is giving stitches? Lets hope that's what it is... He didn't know where her morals were or to what extent they went to. Would she really force an orphan to pay for basic medical services? No. Nobody would. Well people also aren't supposed to abduct orphans. Guess that hints at what kind of people we all are. The pounding of footsteps sounded again, the woman ducking out from a doorway and running again. Amon charged after her in pursuit gaining ground quickly. The door into the orphanage swung open, slamming into the wall with a loud bang as the wood doorknob contacted the wall. His feet followed the woman's, stride length larger than hers but feet moving at the same speed, which allowed him to get close. His hand moved to the belt, encircling the hilt of his kukri as air puffed from his lungs forcefully in short breaths. He pulled it out, using a last burst of speed to catch up to the woman, pulling his arm to the side as he prepared to deliver a slash. The blade whipped forward, slicing into her arm deeply, trying to get her to slow. She cried out, clutching the arm but continuing to move. Amon moved again, cutting into her side, a devastating wound that without treatment would be fatal. He lunged, missing the woman and tripping as he did so, falling down into the ground face first. His skin scraped against the ground as he watched the woman scuttle off holding pressure on her wounds. He stood, hand pressing against his own scrape and feeling a bit of liquid coming out. The candle had been dropped and gone out, leaving him only his imagination to see how much blood was on his fingers. He got up too quick, vision flashing red and blood rushing from his head. Ignoring it, he trudged on to the door, entering inside into the dark rooms without even the light of the sky to help him see. He fumbled to the stares where he climbed, entering the previous room at the top. Nobody was in it, so Amon moved to the next room, peaking into each one before finding Kechaiya in a room that smelled like burnt... Something. He didn't know what the smell was, only that it did not smell good. "She ran off, but cut her pretty deep," he said, "she won't be going far without a healer or doctor, otherwise she will die. Who is this man?" He wondered, looking over him in the candle light and seeing the blood dripping down his face. "What happened to him?"