Staring Chaos In The Eye (Murmur pls)

[Cassandra Coven]

Cassanda had expected to be humiliated, to be forced on her knees and have her reputation smeared, to have her conquest be bragged about by the man among his friends and fellow Ebonstryfe. Or perhaps pressed against the wall and be violated in the most unsavory of ways. And so she braced herself, steeling her mind so as not to scream or cry out, relaxing her body so as not to tremble or resist. She needed to pretend that she would actually enjoy what was to come, to feed the man's pride and ego. Such was what a man of corrupted authority would want from a woman as powerless as her, wasn't it? But she had underestimated him, especially his cruelty. What came next went beyond anything she thought would happen out of their scenario. She tried a smile as he chuckled, a weak one, and expressed that she aimed to please him for his generosity. An outright lie to be sure but she felt that it needed to be said. And then the Ebonstryfe slammed her against the wall, catching her by surprise. The impact compounded her headache, bringing forth lancing pains in her skull like shards of glass exploding in her brain. Cassandra bit her lip, refusing to cry out. She had prepared herself for this after all. She tried to understand. Some men just liked violence, she thought. It excited them... some sort of primal need. But when the dagger came out, its curved blade smiling wickedly at her, Cassandra shrank back, trying to make herself as small as possible. She did not want it kissing the flesh on her neck again. Just the memory of it left her flattening her body against the wall. The man had other plans for it, however. As he forced her legs wide open with his hand, the dagger followed. He played the blade lightly on her skin, its cool touch sending shivers running up and down her spine. And then with a jerk, her skirt was torn open, the keen edge of the weapon slicing through the fabric easily. Cassandra gasped before she could catch herself and, as if the sound she made was some sort of signal for him, the man flicked his wrist in a small but strong motion, nicking her in her most private of places. Cassandra's eyes widened as she felt the burning pain of the incision. Instinctively, her hands shot out to grab the man's arms, her sharp nails digging through the fabric of both her glove and the man's shirt to bite into his flesh. He hardly seemed to notice as he whispered into her ear, his sweet tone a stark contrast against his threatening words. Cassandra could only nod with every word. Her face was a rictus of pain but she dared not cry out, fearing that another piercing wound would soon follow. As quickly as he had pressed himself against her, the man pushed himself off and turned to go, giving her orders when to expect her papers. Briefly, Cassandra considered lashing out by inflicting the same amount of pain she was feeling upon the man. It was within her to do this, a god-given gift - or curse, in her opinion - but she knew such an act would only result in her death. And so she just froze in place, trying not to move, trying not to make a sound, until the man had gone far enough away, before she allowed herself to crumple to the ground, sobs escaping her lips. Alone at last, she had finally allowed herself to succumb to the fear instilled in her by the Ebonstryfe. Tears streaming down her face, she moved to tear a strip of cloth from her skirt, to use as a compress to staunch her bleeding. Her hand trembled uncontrollably however, and it took a while before she could accomplish her task. By then, a small puddle of blood had pooled between her legs, a crimson stain that would forever mark the spot where the dark deed between her and the man had occurred. She pressed the cloth on the wound quickly to stem the bleeding. Through her sobs she hissed as the makeshift compress made contact to her skin. The pain of it made her forget everything else, and it would be a while yet before she would find the strength to get up. In her agony, Cassandra did not even realize that her headache was gone. -o- Cassandra returned to the Silver Sliver much later than she was supposed to, or even allowed to. She did not give the reason why when Mama and Papa came to ask her, merely telling them that she had gone to get her papers done. The truth was, as soon as she got out of the alley, she went to a doctor to get herself patched up. The one she found took advantage of her situation by forcing her to strip and examining every part of her body for half a bell before finally giving her bandages and a cleaning unguent for her wounds. It was a most terrible day for the dark-haired barmaid. Even as she sat by a table only big enough to accommodate two persons waiting for the Ebonstryfe man to arrive, Cassandra wondered if getting her citizenship papers had been worth all the pain and humiliation she had gone through in the day. Indeed, she feared seeing him again, though from his parting words, she knew she certainly would see more of him in the days to come. It was inevitable.

[Murmur]

He walked quickly. Partly because of the growing desire to throw his dagger straight between the woman's eyes, and partly to escape the stench of destitution. Outwardly Murmur may have appeared nonchalant; just another prim and proper denizen of the city of Chaos, but his gray eyes reflected the ire that grew in his mind. Curse the stupidity of the common man. Curse his confounded ability to get himself into situations where someone conveniently required papers. If anything he was little more than a dog who fetched near constantly for the filth of the streets. The Vitrax took only at most 15 chimes to get to. The grounds were familiar to him, even comforting, but the halls of the grand central headquarters and the decore did nothing to soothe his animosity. He knew where Sir Fren would be at this time and his swift steps lead him up the stairs and into the first room in the hallway. Sure enough, the imposing form of his less than benevolent commander was sitting at a desk with a myriad of armor sprawled across the surface. He seemed to be cleaning them. "Sir," Murmur interrupted with a salute and a clear rigid stance before his superior. "Well if it isn't Deven, come for another backhand, boy?" "Gladly, if you'd allow me to speak first." "Speak." "I've a woman employed at the Silver Sliver who requires her registration papers." "Papa sent you?" "No." Sir Fren smirked and passed a worn rag over the keen edge of his sword, "What'd she do, suck one for favor?" "She wasn't very good at it. Should I go back to Papa to inquire?" "Not worth it," He growled out as he rose from his desk with a drawn out sigh, "I'll be back in five with the paperwork, take them to the tavern. Papa will let us know if it was not required." Murmur nodded and waited solemnly for Sir Fren to return with the paperwork, to which he was true to his word. With a copy in hand, the Ebonstryfe apprentice walked the remainder of the way toward the notorious tavern. It was painfully easy to spot the abused woman from his position from the entrance, and he said not a word as he walked the distance between them and placed the papers in front of her. "I'll expect that favor in due time, Miss Coven." His smile was dangerously charming, but his eyes only held contempt.

[Cassandra Coven]

Cassandra kept very still as the Ebonstryfe approached, her face losing all color as she watched him draw nearer. She would have bowed at him were it not for the lingering pain between her legs, a wound his wicked knife had inflicted. She thought it doubtful that such an act would assuage his disdain for her, however. His eyes reflected it even if it did not bleed out in his actions, his movements. As the man placed her citizenship papers before her, the barmaid could not help but let out a small sigh of relief. Written in block letters, her name was unmistakable on the most important piece of paper she would ever possess in Rhysol's city. The seal of whoever Ebonstryfe official the man took it to was stamped on it, making her free from slavery in Ravok. She remained a free woman. "Th-thank you," Cassandra said automatically as she clutched the document close to her breast. The man's reply stole much of her peace of mind, however, as she realized what she had give in exchange for her 'official' freedom. She still owed him. "Yes, of-of course," she mumbled through stiff lips. As the man walked away, she bowed her head in shame, fear and regret, dreading for the day when he came back to collect his dues. Knowing how the system worked, Cassandra knew it would be a long time still before she could even 'repay' him in full. If at all. -fin-

[Seth]

Cassandra: + 3 Persuasion XP Lores: The Feel of a Cut in the Wrong Place, A Truly Terrifying Man in Ravok, Where to Find the Pretty Things in Ravok, The Purpose of Registration Papers. The Method behind my Madness : Cassandra didn't do much but cry, beg, and offer her body up! Just another day, eh? And you do it so well... Murmur: +3 Intimidation XP +1 Interrogation XP +1 Dagger XP Lores: The Pleasure of Sadism, The Pleasure of Domination, A True Whore of a Woman in Ravok, Something's Wrong at the Silver Sliver. The Method behind my Madness : You know how to make Murmur scary, and you know how to roleplay him super well! In this thread, everything about Murmur was intimidating, from his body language to his words. Seeing you and Cass interact was a blast, even if Cassandra was basically begging for it the whole time! Lovely thread, guys! <3