Fun in the Sun

[Maria Talwa]

From Maria's point of view Lo'Campo was handling himself quite well, not in need of assistance. Her opponent still wasn't quite dead, but there was no fight left in him, now the man was struggling just to remain conscious. Turning to face him for a moment she looked down at the skinny man. His face was long and slender, pot-marked by some small disease that mostly affected appearance. Set by a large hooked nose and small beady eyes, then man gasped a few times trying to suck air passed what few yellowed teeth remained in his wide mouth. The brown hair was uncombed and even appeared matted in a few places. Now laying in a pool of his own blood the man's slender body twitched a few times and was clad in old patchwork clothing.

Watching the last moments of the man's life Maria felt no sorrow or pity over this death, in fact the only thing she felt was disgust. This piece of garbage was weak, pathetic, and in her mind didn't even deserve to live. He was worthless, nothing more than a waste of space, and she had committed a public service in slaying him. Scowling at what was now a corpse Maria leaned forward and spit on the man whom she had no respect for. As her body leaned forward a sharp pain ripped through the woman's side and she grunted while looking down. There was a slash wound on Maria's side, one that had gone unnoticed until now because of the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Now that it was wearing off the pain began to set in.

There was blood seeping into the dress and it would likely need stitches in order to close properly, but the injury wouldn't immediately threaten her life. This would no doubt leave a scar and it wouldn't be the first or likely last. The sound of the other man crying out indicated to Maria that Lo'Campo was almost done with his victim. Taking a deep breath she sheathed one sword and placed a hand on the wound as the pain increased. Now highly annoyed Maria turned to see that Lo'Campo had made quite a mess of the larger man. The red haired loser who'd struck the waitress and slapped her on the ass was now in quite a few pieces. The injury caused Maria to walk with a slight limp due to muscular injury. Pain only made her angry, although in retrospect there wasn't much that didn't. Putting the other sword away she watched Lo'Campo shoulder the ax and was about to say something when a noise caught her attention.

There was a small child hiding behind some barrels in the alley, but his attention wasn't focused on her. The child was more concerned with the man holding the massive ax over his shoulder. It was also about this time that Maria noticed something was wrong with Lo'Campo, there was a change in his stance but mostly importantly, his eyes. "It's ok child. I know that you are afraid. Scared of what you just witnessed but don't worry. I'll take the fear away,” Lo'Campo said.

The child was tossed onto the ground next to the body of the larger man, "Come now child. It will be painless. I will have mercy upon you, but I ask please carry yourself with more honor than these two bastards."

It was in that instance that Maria realized what the look in his eyes was, it was plain old fashioned crazy. There were a lot of things she was willing to do that many others might consider reprehensible, but there were limits even for her. Killing a child was a line that Maria wouldn't even cross unless unavoidable, and she quickly picked up the pace. Upon seeing this sudden change in attitude and willingness to kill a child she put the pieces together mentally. As Lo'Campo began to raise the ax, the sound of a blade sliding out of the sheath could be heard and within a moment the blade was next to the man's head, quite easily within peripheral view. The positioning also made the message loud and clear.

“Fun time's over Oumoc, back in your cage before you make me do something we're both likely to regret,” Maria said. There was also more to what she'd just said than most might realize. While Lo'Campo seemed to have problems with going just plain crazy, if the two of them did get into an all out fight, she'd likely have to let the demon out of the cage as well. In Maria's case it wasn't crazy, but never the less something that had to be controlled at all times.

[Lo'campo]

He had paused as the ax came only halfway down to it's target. A small glint of the tip of her blade threatened the corner of his eye. It grew silent though many things were being said by the situation alone. A grin grew upon Oumoc's face as the child began to hyperventilate and piss himself. He looked to Maria who had a look of courage and seriousness in her eyes her blade straight, steady as she made her demands. Figures she favored Lo'campo. The noble and courageous type with their morals and such. Made him sick to his stomach. He believed it was a dog eat dog world. A big fish swallowed by bigger fish. Not some telltale story about honor hand peace and all that crazy shenanigans.

"Let me ask you something. If I were to ignore your request and kill this child. What would happen then? Of course you would probably strike obviously damaging my face as well as my eye, but then what? I do admit you are very skilled with your blades, but I am bigger, stronger, and don't really care for my life let alone the life of others. I could live with loosing an eye if not my life, but could you live with Lo'campo? Or did you think killing me would only kill me? Ha. We are connected for life, till death do us part. Now ask yourself. Could you really kill the man that gave you ale to drink and put food in your belly?"

He stood still now standing upright at his full height towering over the smaller woman. His attention had long gone away from the child who had began to scurry away from the blood filled alley leaving the two to their business. He looked into her eyes locking in with them. They had a familiar look in them. Cold, ruthless, unforgiving a look that he only noticed when looking into the mirror at himself. She wasn't completely dead of emotions though clearly after saving that child's life, but she was no different than he. She was a killer he knew it. Another like his lighter personality killing those that they thought should be killed. Using it as an excuse to justify why they feed their addiction. It was a load of bull. He called them like he saw them, killers , cutthroats, death bringers. All the same.

He had to admit though. Even as they stood their possibly ready to bring bodily harm to one another. Her attitude attracted him. It was a feeling that he couldn't understand either, but it was something about her that made her stand out from the common women of Sunberth. That would have to wait for another time though seeing that they were about to decide where this encounter would lead to. He dropped the ax letting it bounce on the ground. If things were really this serious he would need to be prepared. Taking a step back he retrieved his lakan, holding it in his hand ready for battle. He looked into her eyes once more showing her that if she wanted to cross blades it would be until the last breath was taken.

[Maria Talwa]

“I would do what I had to in order to stop you, even if that meant killing you both, though I would rather not. I've been called many things in my life, most of them true, but baby killer is one I'd rather keep off that list,” Maria said. “Besides, there aren't enough people like us around to be killing one another.” Putting the swords away she kept a hand on one, to show she didn't want to fight, but wasn't about to back down either. Standing up a little straighter she looked at Oumac, the expression in her eyes not one of fear as one might expect. Her comment was something of an acknowledgment of the fact that unlike most people who tried to justify or rationalize killing, it was simply something Maria accepted. It was a part of her life as much as eating or drinking was to someone else.

“Oh, and for the record, I don't care if you're ten foot tall and made of steel, if you think I'm scared, you're barking up the wrong tree,” Maria said. “Now let me ask you something, why don't you care if you die? That would mean no more killing, no more feeling the warmth of fresh blood on your hands, seeing the look of fear and shock on the faces of your victims. If you were dead you wouldn't be able to feel the rush of power you get from hearing someone beg for their life, right before you take it. You don't care about any of that?” With a slight grunt she looked down. “Besides, I really need to tend this wound, so unless you're going to take a swing at me, we really should get going.”

Maria waited a moment to see if he would follow, them walked out of the alley. Covered by the dress the wound was hard to see so she walked down the street as if it were another day in the life. They passed a number of shops and homes that were either closed for the day or getting ready to do so, then came to a residential district. Like the rest of Sunberth it was old and run down with a lot of homes close together. They finally came to a stop in front of one that was a little different than the rest. Here the property was marked off by a few makeshift posts in the ground both in the front and in the back. The windows were covered by shutters and the front door did have a lock on it which Maria used a key to release, then walked inside.

There was little inside to indicate that she possessed anything of value within the single room home, mostly what one would expect to find in such a place. There was a bed in the far corner of the room along with a table in the center and a few chairs. The view of the backyard offered a rather interesting sight. There were what appeared to be two burial mounds along with a third that was dug up and open. Each had a wooden sign hammered into the ground next to it. 'Anoying Neibor #1, #2, and #3' it was anybody's guess if there were actual bodies buried there or not. From under the bed Maria took a small bad with a few basic medical supplies in it, including a needle and thread, and got ready to tend the wound.

In a fairly smooth motion she pulled the dress up and over revealing a pair of plain cloth pants, shoes, and a strapless top that covered little more than her chest, all black in color. Her build was athletic, showing some muscular definition though it was likely from considerable physical activity than any attempt to actually body build. She also had a number scars on her back and arms, along with one or two on the front, and from their look some were old, some weren't. Regardless there was an open wound a little over an inch in length under her left arm that was still bleeding and needed to be closed. Taking a seat on the bed she took a small flask of low quality alcohol in hand, the type used for sterilizing rather than drinking.

[Lo'campo]

He had to admit he admired the answer that she gave. It still came down to the simple fact though that her words though courageous and filled with honor did not faze him one bit. Still though she did seem serious enough and he was itching for a fight. The two stood for a moment staring each other down, their eyes shooting beams at each other. In a movement she sheathed her blade before she turned around to walk away. He looked a her for a tick as she tried her hardest not to cradle her wound. It was hard to see if a person didn't know what they were looking for, but for someone aiming to mug or due harm upon her.

Giving his signature murder grin he followed in step with Maria following her to a run down shack to which he would assume was her home. The had passed a multitude of abandoned homes where doors were either wide open revealing trash and caved in ceilings or boarded shut. There were shops along the way as well as owner began to close their stores down for the day giving a prayer that no one would rob them or harm the building of which they made their livelihood.
They paused at the door, the home looking as if it were on it's last standing leg. The windows were covered by dirty cracked shutters that looked ready to collapse at any given moment. He stood watching as she went into her pocket before taking out a key to open the door so that they both could enter.

There wasn't much in the house. It was dark, dusty, and too small for him as he ducked under the door to enter and found himself hunched over a bit like some kind of creature. He followed her to a part of the room taking a seat to relieve his back watching as she began to undress. His eyes moved across her body noticing her curves and athletic build. She completely removed her dress revealing another set of clothing and a top the revealed more of her chest. He gave a smirk. Another motion brought in a bottle of cheap alcohol used for cleansing wounds. He remembered those days having to tend to his own scars and gritting his teeth.

[Maria Talwa]

Maria enjoyed fighting, she enjoyed killing, tending wounds, that was another matter. This was the first time in a while that she had been forced to do this, but it wasn't new, nor was her apparent lack of skill in this regard. Some of Maria's more visible scar hadn't healed as well as they could have because she was the one who had sewn them back together, and only accomplished enough to make it heal, though not entirely in a proper fashion. Opening the cap on the flask, Maria raised her arm and poured some of it onto the wound. Unlike most people who would likely scream and holler over something like this she only winced and grunted slightly. Next came the part she wasn't looking forward to, and involved the threading of a small bone needle and knotting the other end of said thread. Now with the arm behind Maria's head she looked down and began the rather unpleasant process of stitching the wound together.

As carefully as possible she began the slow and rather painful process of closing the wound. Pushing the sharp end of the needle through her skin Maria once again winced lightly but continued on. The sewing wasn't the best but it would keep the wound close, then in the process of being nearly finished she struck a nerve. Closing both eyes Maria let out a low, slow growl, and managed to stop her eyes from tearing up. The last part was largely pride as she didn't want to shed any tears in front of Lo'Campo, otherwise a few likely would have escaped over that. Once the whole operation was finished, roughly ten minutes later, she put stuffed everything back into the bag and crammed it under the bed.

“Pain, life's way of letting you know you're doing it wrong,” Maria said. While there was a small amount of blood on the undershirt she was wearing, the dress had managed to stop any from getting on her pants. Somewhat pissed off over this as she didn't have a wide assortment of clothing to choose from, Maria walked over to a modest chest close to the bed and took out a simple shirt, black was apparently a theme with her. With that she pulled the top off revealing where two of the other earrings were, although the young woman's assets could be more accurately described as mosquito bites. With the shirt in hand it seemed to register in Maria's head that there was company, and looking over at Lo'Campo briefly she quickly turned around.

It also hid the fact that she blushed slightly, while there were many things the young woman cared little about, though flashing people wasn't one of them. It was so rare for Maria to have company that she had undressed without even thinking about it. The shirt was quickly put on and she took a moment to try to hid the embarrassment over the whole situation. Now able to face the man she turned around and took a seat on the bed, looking around the tiny shack for a moment, then held both arms up.

“Welcome to my hovel,” Maria said.

[Lo'campo]

He sat in silence not wanting to startled the concentrated Maria and cause her to harm herself or screw up her terrible stitching not that he could judge seeing that he didn't know how to properly close a wound either. He had to admit that she was a pretty tough lass to be able to jam the needle and thread into her skin in smooth movements though he thought he caught a quick glimpse of her tearing up. The stitching was done though it wasn't the best procedures, it would leave a scar but for the most part would heal correctly.

"Pain. Life's way of telling you that you're doing it wrong."

She chimed when finished. Oumoc raised an eyebrow to the expression. In his line of business pain meant that he was doing it right, but he wished not to start a debate on it so he continued to sit and stare as she fumbled with a stain in her top. Her gaze followed to a chest as she moved across the room to retrieve another piece of clothing. For what happened next, he would have to describe Maria as one to easily forget her surroundings as she took off the top that she currently was wearing exposing her rather small but breasts to the giant blue man sitting only a few feet from her.

If they were the normal typical breast then he wouldn't have reacted the way he did, but Maria's were different being adorned with two shiny rings that pulled Oumoc to attention. He liked shiny things. Especially if they glinted in the light. Now that he had seen them, they were more obvious to notice as she pulled another shirt over them, moving as if she were totally comfortable with what had just occurred though the red hue that began to cover her face said other wise.

She turned to him saying something that he did not hear due to the fact that he was now zoned in on the shiney's that lay under her shirt. Reaching out he placed a hand upon her chest feeling the area before finding the ring . "How did you get those?" He asked in a monotone voice but was truly amazed at how shiney they were. She'd better hope that she didn't die because he would be coming for those babies.

[Orakan]

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Grade withheld due to powergaming. Please contact Regime if you have questions or concerns.