Solo Enter the Tigress

Kaie reverts to her clan's traditions while declaring war against an unknown entity.

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A lawless town of anarchists, built on the ruins of an ancient mining city. [Lore]

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Enter the Tigress

Postby Kaie on July 17th, 2015, 5:03 am

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1st Day of Summer, 515 A.V.


"The petch are you doing?!" The captain hollered as he emerged from his quarters, eyes bugged in panic as the weapon's metal edge caught Syna's kiss. The ax sunk its teeth into its wooden prey with a definitive thunk. The bearded sailor's knees weakened at the sight. His pleading gaze quickly turned dark. "That's my bloody main mast, you damned savage! The petch's the meaning of this?" Bronze fingers danced along the hazardous cutting edge. A fierce, amber pair of orbs shifted to find the muddy brown hues of the huffing captain. Without so much as a chime to linger over his expression, they quickly found the ax wedged into the ship's main mast once more.


"Blessed Myri, the people of this wretched barbarian city have made themselves an enemy to our people. I tried to bring them freedom, to ease their suffering in league with the Scars, a gang led by leaders with a strength and conviction even you might commend. We were rewarded with nothing but betrayal and bloodshed," she growled out in her mother tongue, fingers roving down along the weapon toward the wooden handle. The captain paused in his tirade at the very sound of the brutal, foreign language. "They turned two of your children against one another, Zedra and I. Zedra of the Scattered Bones sacrificed herself to save my life and the lives of my allies. The barbarian horde mistook her for me and they killed her. They celebrated in her murder. They mutilated her remains and mocked us, dishonoring us as a people and you by extension. They must be punished. My Sister must be avenged, as the laws of the Cutthroat Shadows clan demands it." The captain shook his head, ridding himself of his awe before he began to storm her way. Lips twisted something foul beneath his scraggly black beard, and a calloused hand raised in a fist to shake at her.

"Hey! Get yer petchin' ax out of my ship or I'll--" was all the man managed before the savage turned in time to snatch his other hand as it reached for the buried weapon. With a fearsome curl of her lips, her left hand gripped upon his reaching right hand. In a tick she twisted the man's wrist the opposite way, as if he were waving at himself, before pushing it inward toward his shoulder. Then her left leg shot back into a half circle pivot. Thrown off balance and manipulated at the wrist, the wide-eyed captain had little choice but to fall onto his back with the Myrian's turning momentum. Still controlling his wrist, Kaie adjusted to place her right knee upon the side of his head. The sailor raised his other hand in a defensive surrender over his head.
"The next time you interrupt me when I'm speaking with my Goddess, I'll offer her your tongue," came the unnervingly steady monotone of the woman's warning in Common. The captain swallowed hard and nodded fervidly without so much as daring to offer a verbal affirmation. Kaie waited a tick before she relinquished her hold of the man's wrist and rose back to her feet. Then it was right back to pacing near the ax.

"I cannot wage war upon a city alone, Myri. Not this far from home. This barbarian horde did not act on its own, either. It was incited on someone's orders. It is them I declare war upon this day. For you, for my people, for my clan, I will hunt those who have hunted us. I will answer Zedra's murder and honor her by spilling their blood. Only then will the debt be repaid." On that note, she tore away from the ax embedded within the mast toward the shadowy docks beyond. The nervous clearing of a throat behind her caused her to temporarily pause. "If you're done now, I'd like a little explanation as to this ax business. Please." Kaie offered half a smile at the question, though it never reached her smoldering eyes. A few steps upon the ship's deck brought her back toward both captain and weapon. "My clan has special traditions, ones that are very sacred to us. When one of our own are slain, we believe that their death must be answered with another. Blood for blood, life for life. That is how we mourn them. That is how we honor them."
"And the ax?"

"A declaration of war. One is buried into a tree when it is declared, or in this case a mast, and remains there until it is finished. Then it is buried. Not a moment sooner."
"So don't touch it?"

"Don't touch it."

Her cloak hood was thrown up to conceal her very Myrian features. Then she began to stalk toward the gang plank and the docks beyond once more. Without so much as an inquiry over when she might return from wherever she was headed, Captain Swiftfoot was content to nod his firm understanding behind the woman's back as he watched her disappear into Akajia's embrace.
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Last edited by Kaie on August 29th, 2015, 4:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Enter the Tigress

Postby Kaie on July 18th, 2015, 5:59 am

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There was only one place on the Myrian's mind, only one way in which her feet were truly programmed to go in that wretched city. Shockingly, it wasn't the Pig's Foot nor was it the Drunken Fish. Not even Ruby's was considered an asylum to the threatened foreigner. No. The location she was headed to was perhaps the very last in the barbarian world to which her loyalty was stubbornly bound by a sort of nostalgia. For two seasons by the time she'd landed in Baroque Bay the venue must've been abandoned. No doubt by now someone had broken into it somehow and ransacked what was left. She was no fool to that reality. However, in her head, it was still the fortress whose giant doors she'd passed through with unquestionable pride. It was still the place where the ghosts of fond memories and good intentions were tied. Yet when she finally arrived and cast her gaze upon the familiar structure, the longing she felt was not of old times but of the presence of the chosen family that had made its home within The Quay.

It was hard to fight the urge to approach, to pry open the massive doors and dare to wander within. The passing foot-traffic was the leading deterrent. Not too long ago she had served as an enforcer to the Scars' philosophies in the streets surrounding The Quay. Rapists, slavers, and thieves alike were cast out by force or by intimidation. The attention she had brought upon herself at that time had made her familiar face, and given the fact the Scars were no more after the mob had chased them from the city, the last thing she wanted was to be identified. Even a Myrian knew that a lone wolf never lasted long without its pack, especially when that pack was led by the Red Wolf herself. The very notion had her moving along the rows of buildings until she was directly opposite The Quay. It's still here...even after all this time, she thought bitterly as she gazed at the wall. Despite the rain that must've come since their departure, it was still there. Faded, but very much there.


"'Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?'" she recited the bold red words written upon the wall aloud as she did so long ago. Kaie slowly shook her head. She remembered the day she had first seen them. Locals in their territory had crowded around the giant words the morning they appeared, whispering, gossiping over who could've done it and whether they were truly safe in the Scars' protection. The Myrian herself hadn't known what the commotion was about. It was only when a bystander read the words to the illiterate savage that there was any comprehension. At first there had been outrage, anger that someone had dared to strike them so close to home. Anger in the openness of the challenge. It was at that moment that she was caught in the brash confidence that came with belonging, with having loyal swords at her back.

"Not afraid of the Red Wolf? How about the Myrian Tiger?"
"A tiger may be fierce, but anyone with a shovel and some sticks in the jungle can catch one in a tiger pit if they know its prowling about. Tread carefully, Myrian."


And thus had gone her mental strategizing in the past. The author had been right all along. Sunberth no longer feared the wolf that once reigned. Orvin had been slain and The Quay attacked when every Scars member was within. Even Kaie herself had been utterly wrecked by the combat that ensued. Sunberth forever feared the gangsters, the ruthless slavers, and the rogues that preyed upon the common citizen in the streets, and the vicious bandits that roved the dark alleyways. They were the same fears she'd come to understand were the consistent ones. Oddly enough, the citizens often became the very individuals that resided in their nightmares. Leaders rose and fell quickly in the city's state of anarchy. No single terror reigned long. She would see to it that those added to her hit-list would be treated no differently. A bronze palm pressed against the aged stone just below the words. A final glance was thrown toward The Quay. A whisper through the wind beckoned her to step inside just one last time. It was the blood-curdling scream that demanded her attention instead.
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Enter the Tigress

Postby Kaie on July 18th, 2015, 10:21 pm

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She should've stayed put. No, she should've turned her back and wandered back onto the ship where Swiftfoot awaited. Common sense or strong devotion to self-preservation would've had her forsaking her own declaration of war in favor of survival, and sent her fleeing from Sunberth as quickly as she could. Pragmatic as she was, the boiling blood of the Myrian convinced her to do just the opposite. Bladed boots turned on their heels and tapped a rhythm upon the street as she sprinted, winding her way between alleyways and vaulting the clutter that blocked her path. The shriek came again, a woman's cry. Heart pounded. The rush of blood quickened. Adrenaline flooded her veins and fed hungry muscles. Rounding a corner deeper into the maze that was Sunberth's back streets, she found herself at a dead end enclosed by the three buildings that entrapped it. At its end she found the source of the sound. A snarl rattled up her throat.

Three heads snapped to spot the challenger behind them. Each was peculiar in its own way. The one to the far left had patchy brown hair and a nose so large she swore a god with terrible humor stuck it on the wrong human face. The man to the far right was pock-marked with flesh that seemed permanently blushed, which wasn't helped by the mess of curly red hair atop his head. The man between them had the most distinct features of them all. Clean-shaven with a head so bald Kaie swore she might've been capable of seeing her reflection in its shine, he was, and spanning his entire face was a pair of distinguishable line-like scars. One split his face directly in half from would-be hairline to his chin, while the other halved his face in width from ear to ear. He clutched a young woman no older than the Myrian by the shoulders with large, gritty hands. Her olive colored eyes widened at the sight of the cloaked figure at the end of the alleyway. For a split tick, everyone paused as if frozen, gauging the situation and the intentions of one another. Surprisingly, it was the patchy guy who broke the quiet first.

"Oi, move 'long, mate. Nothin' o' yer concern 'ere," he warned as casually as one might inform a passerby to watch their step on uneven ground. The ominous intruder did not budge. "Ay! Ya deaf? 'E said move 'long!" the ginger-headed thug piped up, making a very obvious show of his dagger in hand. Still, the cloaked figure did not move. The olive-eyed woman's panicked gaze was set upon the stubborn newcomer, but the pleads that lingered upon her tongue were never voiced. "Don't make us make ya, mate. Get goin'." Patient no longer, the ginger gave a wicked twirl of his dagger and whistled a chilling tune. His steps toward the cloaked figure were slow, deliberate. "I ain't gonna say it 'gain." Once more his threats found no purchase in sending his new found enemy fleeing the scene. With a twist of his pocked mouth, his feet hurried in pace before he threw out his knife-wielding arm in a wide swing at hood-level.

The blessing upon her skin surged a motivating burn. A pair of bronze hands whipped upward. The left caught the man's attacking lower arm with her own as she stepped forward. The heel of her right hand's palm shot outward to ram into man's nostrils. A sickening snap echoed about the space and the man gurgled a bloody groan of agony. Not a tick later, she switched gears, left hand sliding down to capture the knife-hand at the wrist and trapping it down against her left hip. The right hand reappeared to clutch the man's throat, right foot stepping behind his left as she threw him ground-ward with the power of her momentum. The patchy man stood in the same place he did chimes ago, mouth unhinged as the scene unfolded before him with surprisingly speed. By the time he finally willed himself to action, Kaie had slammed a foot down upon the ginger-haired man's ribs and had taken the dagger-wielding arm out of commission with a knee to the back of his extended elbow. The weapon clattered along with the downed man's shrieks, and then it was swiftly foot-swiped far behind the savage as she disengaged.

"Petching bitch! Petching get him!" the ginger wailed to his companions. The scrawny, patchy-haired boy turned to look at his scar-faced, so-far silent leader. The hair-shorn man gave his fellow an affirmative nod before he threw the olive-eyed woman down against the ground with a huff. A wicked blade was withdrawn from his hip. The Myrian had no trouble doing likewise. The ancestral gladius shined something fierce within Syna's embrace. The patchy-haired boy shook his head and lifted his heavy mace. "Last chance, mate."


"I'm not your petching mate," Kaie hissed between clenched teeth, lip curling beneath the shadows of her hood. Both thugs blinked at her feminine voice. "It's a bloody woman!" Kaie rushed him the tick she recognized the break in his focus. The swing of the mace was delayed, yet effective. Before the savage knew it, she was reeling back to escape his range on her heels, cursing. A warning jab of her blade kept the attacker from advancing. "Let the girl go."
"I don't bloody petching fink so, woman."
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Enter the Tigress

Postby Kaie on August 26th, 2015, 9:00 pm

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Why was she choosing to be a hero? After all, that olive-eyed woman meant nothing to her. There would be no consequences for her suffering. It mattered not, in truth, to the Myrian whether she lived or died when the men were finished with her. Yet there she was, sword in hand like she planned on saving the day. Perhaps it was her heritage's emphasis on a woman's superiority over men, and her culture's utter hatred of crimes against women. Then again, the pains of the recent past were still open wounds. Through the streets surrounding The Quay, the ghostly whisper of an agenda forgotten still echoed empty promises of protection, and the rising of the populace from the darkness of their savage city and into the light of a potentially brighter future for all. Whatever the reason, like prey between a tiger's jaws, Kaie could not let it go once she caught the scent of blood.

The patchy man shook his head as if almost remorseful for what he planned to do next. Then he was rushing her despite the previous warning jabs of her sword, the mace slugging its way through the air with a heavy whoosh that put her hair on end. Kaie grit her teeth and took another hasty step backward, bailing beneath the head of the weapon and rolling nearby back to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she could spot the scarred face of another assailant beginning his advance. The cruel curve of his blade reflected what little light remained in the alley. The mace returned after a long step and a heavy back-swing. This time the savage adapted, stepping into the weapon's range rather than all-but-tumbling backward out of it. She gave with the rotation of the mace, sword rising to the challenge. Metal shrieked at metal when the edge of her blade struck the mace shaft. Having given the weapon pause, Kaie let her gladius swing back the other way with a vicious roar. The patchy man tried to reel away, but an angry red line appeared through the fabric of his chest anyway.

He gasped. The mace held out before him defensively, his free hand wandered to assess his new injury. Red began to dye the fabric of his dull shirt rather quickly. His gaze found the Myrian with a new fury, reminding her that her next shot outta be far more fatal than the last. However, with his disengagement, there was a new threat to take on before she could find her focus back on him. Just as before, he never spoke. There came no taunting, no last chance for her to high-tail it out of certain death. All that baited her was the self-assured calm that washed over the expression of what could only be an experienced fighter. Kaie's lip curled to reveal angry, bared teeth. Did he really think she would scare so easily?

The scarred man gave a deep exhale, giving his blade a casual twirl before he moved in. A forward thrust had the Myrian moving off center and parrying away, but like he anticipated such a reaction, he was pivoting and whirling his weapon again with all the grace of a street dancer. The blade lashed out at her backside. Only a quick adjustment of her gladius saved her from its fury. Distance separated them, and though he seemed to be herding her, Kaie dared not play to the tune of his dance. A foolish circling like the one he encouraged would land her with her vulnerable side for the patchy man's picking, and having recovered from the surprise of her blow, was back in the game to approach toward her left flank.
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Enter the Tigress

Postby Kaie on August 28th, 2015, 7:13 pm

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"Just kill the bitch already!" snorted through his broken nose, paralyzed by the agony in his snapped arm and rib cage. A foot gaze a frustrated kick down into the dirt where he laid. "Shut up, will you?! I can't petching concentrate with your wailing," the patchy boy hissed in return without so much as a glance backward, fearing the folly of turning his attention away from his Myrian foe. Both men still on their feet began to close in. Adrenaline and the knowing scorch of his gnosis upon her flesh fueled the savage. Nothing more tricky than playing Monkey in the Middle. Was she ever so alive as she was in moments like these? "Let's end this." Hurried steps from the patchy boy's direction had Kaie whipping his way first, a forward step and a cocking of her sword challenging him. Her speedy reaction caused a hesitation and a backward retreat, but his wide eyed aimed just over her shoulder foretold a new method of death.

Her head snapped the opposite way to spot the shorn man, in all his scarred glory, attacking her flank with a wide horizontal swing of his sword. Shyke! Gladius swung likewise to meet the curved blade with a metallic hiss. The tick his primary attack was foiled, her assailant switched it up by throwing a punishing hook into the side of her face. The Myrian let out a grunt, feet stumbling backward with his force. The gladius was up in a guard again, warding looming attackers off as she alternated turning one way and then another. "What are you waiting for?! Petchin---Agh!" All pairs of eyes had turned to find the ginger where he laid. Over him knelt the olive-eyed girl. The bloody knife in her grasp began to flow down the handle to color her hands. Kaie spied the tell-tale disconnection in her eyes. A first kill. One she will not forget. If only the girl, who apparently found her spine sometime during the trio's duel, knew that each kill further detached her from the rest of the world. Like each reaping made a killer less human. There was no time to ponder nostalgically over a first blooding. Noticing the horror that temporarily distracted the pair, it was time to move, and already was the shorn man finding himself back to the trouble at hand. The other man wasn't so clever.

Kaie launched herself at the mace-wielder with the panicked speed of someone working against time, time before the distraction's effects wore off. Just like that her gladius plunged through the man's middle. He hadn't the time to make more than a surprised breathless gasp before his legs failed him. The Myrian planted her foot on his chest and ripped her weapon free. Misting eyes watched her in wordless horror until he became a corpse on his way to the ground. One left.

She swiveled around to find the shorn man's jaw slack, surely baffled at the speed it took for everything to fall so violently out of his control. "You should've left when you could," her final combatant cursed at last. His voice was airy, strangled even as if each word was laborious to utter.
"You forget I made you and yours a likewise offer," Kaie pointed out, flicking blood from the length of her short sword in a tone lacking remorse. Muscles convulsed strangled upon the man's face like his many scars were dancing a tight rhythm. A hateful cry erupted from his lungs before he leaped forward, hacking like a mad man with his sword. Kaie reeled back out of range. He kept coming, his assault never ending as he lit up the distance between them with wild cuts. Her back hit a wall. Amber eyes grew wide, and right before he managed to lacerate her throat, Kaie dove down out of his way. Rotten wood rained down upon the filthy ground. She rolled onto her back as her assailant rotated and stormed in her direction. His elbow lifted to cock back his sword, the blade gleaming its murderous intentions.
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Enter the Tigress

Postby Kaie on August 29th, 2015, 1:22 am

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Before it came down to fell her in one swoop, the savage shot a cocked leg forward to send her heel just below his knee cap. He groaned and dropped to his other knee to catch himself. The same foot came back again, this time finding purchase flat against the man's face. He shot back onto his rear, sword still clutched tightly in his hands. Kaie's hips rocked back and her feet sprung outward to complete a successful kip-up. She a tick she wavered, finding her balance again, but her guard had returned. Likewise, the scarred man wasted no time getting back up.

Alright. Regrettably, he's clearly the more killed with a sword between the two of us. What do I have? The curved blade shot out toward her, and she beat it back with a brutal downward strike of her sword. The scorching sensation returned upon her flesh, frenzy alighting within her muscles, fueled by the power of faith. Bronze fingers wrapped tighter upon the gladius. I have my Mother. And with a new confidence voiced with a shriek, Kaie launched herself at her foe.

She juked left, then right, gladius making a wide horizontal arc toward the scarred man's left arm. His sword was slow moving across his body, and despite the step away he managed, an angry red line burst across his bicep. The Myrian disengaged, backing away like a hound baiting strong quarry without the support of her pack. Behind her, the olive-eyed woman rose from her bloody kill with a gentle quiver.
"Myri, if you're still watching, don't stop," the devout Myrian uttered in her native tongue. "I'll deliver this last one to Dira yet." Her foe stood precariously in light of his busted knee. Blood dribbled down the length of his hairy, tattooed arm in one heavy flow. For a tick she swore she saw a look of panic in his hateful stare.

The two circled in again, both baiting the other with jerky fake advances and swats of swords. The olive-eyed woman remained firmly in place, hands gripping her bloody weapon fiercely but seemingly betrayed by her body's unwillingness to return to action. The scarred man seemed to sag, breathing heavier than before. Age, lack of endurance, or fatigue? Either way, he's tiring. Time to capitalize on it. Kaie lunged in without any true intentions, sword swinging to elicit a reaction. Sure enough the curved blade rose to block her, but as soon as it appeared, her gladius danced away with the pivot of the Myrian. Then it came down again from a new angle, forcing the man to rotate and adjust. Again and again she darted in and out of his range, baiting him with false promises of victory before she retreated. A tired body leads to a tired mind. Thus far, Yitmah's long-ago advice had proven true. Though her own arm was starting to ache, the older swordman's body began to sag under the weight of the sword even in light of his experience. All she had to wait for was desperation. Then he'd meet his end. She needn't wait long.

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Enter the Tigress

Postby Kaie on August 29th, 2015, 1:26 am

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"You die now, you bitch!" he rasped before he rushed her with a hopeful, powerful jab forward with his sword. Kaie stepped off center and outside his body, gladius beating his sword across his body as he rushed past her. Then, just as Yitmah had taught her so long ago, she merely jerked the gladius the opposite direction, using his own blade's length and sword arm as a guide. Its edge slammed into his Adam's Apple until it was stopped by the spinal column. One final, lasting wound that would never heal to become a scar with its brethren upon his pale flesh. Beady eyes forgot the world and the curved blade slipped from his fingers. There came a single gurgle from his throat before he was on his knees. Blood soaked his front long before he faceplanted into the earth. A pool of blood pulsed around his head.

Lungs sucking for air, Kaie looked skyward for a tick before she rested eyes on the cadaver collection she's gathered in the alley. The other woman remained frozen where she stood.
"Goddess Queen, accept my sacrifices and bless my victory. Dira, take pleasure in the reaping of their souls." She found a spot on her first victim's clothing that wasn't blood-ridden to clean her sword. Only then did she finally address the last living person in the alley.

"Did you take pleasure in the death?" Her quizzical gaze fell upon olive eyes, who stared at her with all the cluelessness of an animal before it was properly weaned. "Wha-what?" The Myrian shoved brown curls from her face and made a gesture with her sword toward the corpse with knife wounds. "The death of a man who would do you harm. Did you take pleasure in it?" The other woman swallowed hard and shook her head. "No. No, I don't think so." She bit her lip, and let the knife drop from her stiff fingers. "Why'd you do it then?" Kaie sheathed her gladius and stepped over the scarred man's bloody heap. She knelt down beside the woman's first kill, the mouth of the deceased trio, and cast her eyes across the carnage. "I-I don't know. I wasn't-"
"Thinking," Kaie finished for her with a slow, knowing nod. Eyes never left the body. "What's your name?"
"Idalene." Kaie hovered her fingers over the series of gouges through his clothing. Even now she could still feel the heat of its expulsion, cooling in the darkness of the cooler new environment.
"We are all animals, Ida. Survival is not always a thought when Dira draws near, it's a do. I don't know if you gave up and resigned to fate before I heard your screams, but when you picked up that knife and plunged it into this man, you were defying that end. There is no shame is wanting very desperately to live. Don't forget that."

Bronze fingers fished through the dead man's pockets, finally procuring a handkerchief, which she tossed toward Ida. The woman wasted no time purging herself from the cursed crimson that marked her hands. Kaie rose to her feet, turning on her heels to wander back into the open city streets. "They were my father's slaves." She paused mid-step and turned back toward Ida. Olive eyes welled with the threat of tears. "Not all of them. Just that last man you killed." Amber eyes wandered to her final victim where he gave the alley ground a fresh painted walkway. "They called him Cutter. Slavers took him when he was just a boy. He's worn shackles under my family for nearly four decades."

"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because it's my family's fault he looked that way, with all the marks. My father put him in the ring and made him kill the other children for Mizas. When he got older they took him to the Blood Pits and he never left. Not until a mercenary bought him from us. His master, an acquaintance of my father's, died recently. Then he was finally freed."

"And that's why he came for you." Ida nodded and swallowed hard. Try as she may, but she couldn't find a place to look that wasn't filled with death. "We caused him a lot of pain. When he found me, I think he wanted at least someone from my family to feel it."

Kaie walked back toward the woman, scooping something up from the dirt on her way. She took the handkerchief from Ida's hands.
"There are many people in this world who deserve to be punished for their wrongs. It can only be just when you remember to punish the ones responsible. The ones who deserve it. Your father should've been the one to face Cutter's anger, not his daughter walking down the gods damned street." With the knife wiped clean, Kaie pressed it into Ida's open hand. She curled the woman's fingers down upon the small weapon. "Those wrongs were not your doing, and those men chose to die today. Learn from what has happened here today. Pray for their souls, perhaps, but do not let their blood weigh on your conscience. There will come a day when you may have use for death again. Do not shy from it."

Ida nodded solemnly, staring at the knife with both fear and admiration. She slipped the object into her pocket and cleared her throat. "Thank you for what you did today. I won't forget it."

"Do."
Ida's expression contorted with confusion. Kaie shook here head dismissively.
"Forget my face and the debt will be paid. You should go." The woman nodded, took one last horrified look at the carnage, and navigated through the evidence of violence. She gave a pause before she vanished around the corner. "I stabbed that man because I wanted to live, but I also did it because I was angry. People in this city do not risk their lives for strangers. I think you came here because you were angry, too, like Cutter. Try to remember what you said about punishing only those who deserve it. If you forget, I fear you'll end up like him. Think of the message you want to send." Ida hastily moved out of view and disappeared into the wider world that was Sunberth's main streets. Kaie, however, was left in the small dimension that was her killing field. Something about Cutter's corpse and his tale haunted her for a tick before she smothered it away.
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Last edited by Kaie on December 3rd, 2015, 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kaie
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Posts: 1558
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Joined roleplay: May 9th, 2013, 3:13 am
Location: Sunberth
Race: Myrian
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Medals: 7
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Enter the Tigress

Postby Kaie on August 29th, 2015, 2:02 am

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What is the message you're trying to send? She stood there oddly among the dead, Ida's words still resounding within her baffled thoughts. Should I get rid of the bodies? No, let the birds have their meal with this lot. But what was she to do next? Continue her aimless wandering? No, there was an agenda to complete. An ax had been planted and a war had been declared. She'd made Myri and her ancestors a promise. Zedra needed to be avenged. Those responsible needed to feel her wrath. Somehow, this moment needed to count for something. Something more than saving Ida and blooding the streets. It was a massacre that could not be claimed by Kaie. People in this city knew her, once employed her. It needed to be anonymous, and yet she couldn't bear the thought of some other heinous bastard taking her glory.

"Think of the message you want to send."

As if possessed, the Myrian knelt beside Cutter and dipped her hands into the blood. It was still hot upon the ground where it gathered. Fresh crimson paint upon the ground. Bronze fingers were her paint brushes. She rose and moved with blood soaked hands to the back alleyway and began her work. Ten fingers moved together in one thick, long stroke that left bold lines behind. Several times she ventured to Cutter's body to harvest his blood for her creation. Before long it was a complete, ominous, dripping mess upon old stone not unlike a similar message just around the corner. Kaie took several paces backward to see it in its bold entirety. Bloodied fingers ran critically down her lips as she stared. Then, a feral grin revealed ivory teeth. Each letter of the words brought her a certain pride.

"The Tigress"

She couldn't read Common, but Matthew had written down words for her to search in the library in Zeltiva. They had been words associated with her culture and her people. Time and again she'd find the striped animal and the corresponding T-word that went with it. It was the same animal Zandelia and Fallon had nicknamed her when they went about their mercenary work at the docks. Spider, Wolf, Tiger. Those days didn't feel so long ago now that she was back. The empty Quay told another story. Yet before Kaie wiped her hands of her victims' blood and followed Ida's lead out of the alley, she couldn't help the bitter, challenging thought that passed through her head.

Sunberth didn't fear a clever wolf. Let's see how well they hunt a very anger Tigress. Do they realize she's hunting them, too?
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Kaie
Player
 
Posts: 1558
Words: 1635197
Joined roleplay: May 9th, 2013, 3:13 am
Location: Sunberth
Race: Myrian
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 7
Featured Character (1) Overlored (1)
Donor (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
One Million Words! (1) Riverfall Seasonal Challenge (1)
2013 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Enter the Tigress

Postby Royal on January 21st, 2016, 5:55 pm

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Kaie
Skills
Prayer +2
Intimidation +3
Unarmed Combat +3
Acrobatics +1
Philosophy +5
Rhetoric +1
Stealth +1
Land Navigation +2
Logic +4
Running +1
Endurance +4
Weapon: Gladius +5
Tactics +4
Acrobatics +4
Planning +1
Rhetoric +5

Lores
A prayer to Myri
Zebra of the Scattered Bones: Myrian sister, deceased
Myrian Philosophy: Blood for Blood, Life for Life.
Myrian tradition: An axe into a tree (or a ship mast) as a declaration of war
Stealth: Concealing Myrian features with a dark hood
The Quay: A home away from home
Philosophy: A Lone Wold never lasts long
The Scars: No longer feared in Sunberth
Unarmed Combat: Breaking noses with an open-handed hit
Gladius technique: Forward thrust
Gladius technique: Defensive stance
Observation: Recognising a first kill
Philosophy: First kills are never easily forgotten
Faith in Myri is rewarded
Observation: Recognising a superior foe
Philosophy: A tired body leads to a tired mind
Philosophy: We are all animals
Idalene: A stranger, a victim of Sunberth
Idalene: ‘Ida’
Philosophy: Punish only the guilty
A message written in Blood: The Tigress
Kaie: An Angry Tigress

Comments
I’m not the best at wording lores (there’s sometimes so much information to try and get into one line!), so if you think of a better/catchier way to word any of these, just let me know and I’ll reword them. Likewise, I rewarded a couple of observation loves even though you’ve maxed out on the skill.

I really enjoyed this thread. Sad Kaie = Angry Kaie, yikes!


Questions? Comments? Please don't hesitate to PM me!
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Royal
You can call me Queen Bee
 
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