[Flashback] Things that go bump in the night [Solo]

[Kiara Killraven]

3rd Day of Summer, 510 AV The little man hurried along the darkened streets. The man's short legs taking him swiftly down the dark streets. It was a bad idea to go out in Sunberth alone during the day light. Your life expectancy dropped sharply when the sun went down, and continued to go down the longer you stayed out. It was a common thing to find the bodies of dead individuals come morning, either murdered or killed in self defense. The only law that prevailed in the city was that of the various syndicates and street gangs, the laws varying drastically for each of their respective territories. The man seemed well aware of his dangerous actions as he quickened his pace. In his hurry, the man didn't see one of the many shadows along the street detach itself and follow him around one of the many corners that the streets of Sunberth were home to. Kiara followed the man at a distance. The first thing she had learned when she had started stalking others when she was younger had been to keep your distance. Especially at night. During the darkness of night it was nearly impossible to see very far away, relying on what little light the moon or torches put out to see what may be lurking there. Fortunately for Kiara, Sunberth didn't have an over abundance of torches lining their streets at night. Even so, Kiara tried her best to stay out of the stray light here and there, using her peripheral vision more then anything to keep from running into anything. Kiara followed him for a short time but for her it seemed like hours. It wasn't easy following someone and not being seen. She peered around the corner of a building, looking down the street at the retreating figure. For a moment her features were revealed in the street's flickering torchlight. Her cold dark eyes followed her quarry's movements. The snow white hair that flowed from her head easily picked out even in the dim light she stood in. Suddenly the man stopped in his tracks. Kiara lifted an eyebrow in confusion. What are you doing? The man began rotate his head, turning it in her direction. She ducked back behind the wall as quickly as she could, muttering a curse to herself. Did he see me? Slowly, gingerly she moved her back to the corner and peeked around. He didn't seem to have seen her, or if he had he didn't know she was still there. The man finally made a fatal mistake. The unsuspecting man decided to take a short cut through one of the many alleys that littered the city. Kiara silently drew one of her daggers. Looking back and forth along the street one last time she slipped quietly into the alleyway behind the man. To her own credit the man barely felt the dagger slip into his back from behind. He didn't even have time to yell out before light faded from his eyes. Kiara pulled the dagger out of the man's body and wiped the blade across his clothing before checking the man's money purse. Once again Kiara found herself muttering curses as she found the purse empty. As it turned out, the purse being empty was more of a blessing then a curse. Had it not been for the lack of money she would have been paying attention to the purse and likely missed the feeling creeping up the back of her neck. She might have also missed the slight clicking sound she heard further down the street. It was instinct, not thought that made her move now. Instinct honed from living on the dangerous streets of a city renowned for its danger. Without thinking she threw herself to the side. Time seemed to slow for a moment as her body hung in mid air, a cross bow bolt passing mere inches by her, piercing the air in which her chest had resided moments before.

[Kiara Killraven]

Kiara hit the ground a bit more roughly then she had meant to. She didn't have time to think about such things, or even worry about injury at the moment. Such things would get her killed in situations like the one she was in. Despite her rough landing, Kiara let the momentum from her toss roll her body fully around. She rose to her feet as quickly as she could, somehow managing to keep hold of unsheathed dagger the entire time. Cursing to herself she first one way then the other down the alley, trying to catch a glimpse of the person that launched the bolt. It only took a single glance to find the source of the sudden attack. The man wasn't even trying to hide. There he stood at the end of the alley maybe two dozen feet away. The look on his face spoke volumes of surprise at Kiara's lack of being a pin cushion. Kiara just crouched there for a moment, her cold murderous eyes gazing at the man. He seemed pretty average for someone native to Sunberth, if a bit young. From this distance she could tell he wasn't much over 17 summers. Kiara slowly and dilliberately drew her second dagger. She had grown up on these streets. She had no qualms killing another. It didn't matter to her how old they were, if you threatened her life, it was a matter of survival. Her second dagger leaving it's sheath seemed to break the man's petrification. The young man slipped his foot into the metallic loop at the tip of the cross bow. With his foot keeping the crossbow from moving, he attempting to pull the string back far enough to slip another bolt into place. To the man's credit he would have succeeded had Kiara not burst into movement the moment her second dagger was unsheathed. Even with her smaller frame, Kiara's sprint at the man ate the distance between them in what seemed like nothing more then the time it took to take a breath. The would be assassin looked up as Kiara closed in on him. He seemed to abandon his attempt at reloading the crossbow, instead choosing to throw it at the approaching woman. Kiara was able to easily dodge the makeshift projectile but doing so caused her to have to slow down, giving the man time to draw the rusty long sword at his hip. Kiara slowed down, stopping just outside of his range as they began to slowly circle each other. This isn't going to be easy, she thought to herself. A long sword had a considerable amount of range on it compared to her two daggers. The swings wouldn't be as quick as the ones she could make with the daggers. She would have to wait for openings before out right attacking or she risked losing her life.

[Kiara Killraven]

The two combatants continued to circle each other for a few moments. For what seemed like ages, the two were content to stare each other down. Contrary to popular belief such exchanges weren't meaningless. These exchanges were a type of fight all of their own. This was a battle being waged between their two wills. Who would make the first move? Whose will was weaker? These were things that were going through both their minds as they circled, neither of them willing to attempt the first attack. As they say, all good things must come to an end. It seemed the kid had finally gotten tired of the stand off. With little warning the kid thrust his sword at Kiara. That might have worked against a common criminal. But not Kiara. She had grown up fighting for her life. This wasn't the first time she had faced someone with a larger weapon. Nor was it the first time she had been ambushed by someone wanting to kill her. One could say it was almost a common occurance in this city. Kiara moved the dagger in her right hand out, sliding it along the longsword's blade to keep it from cutting her as she twisted to the side, out of the way of its tip.Once again Kiara was in for a mild surprise as the the young man she considered a boy, took a step forward and brought the sole of the leather boot into her chest. Pain exploded in Kiara's chest as the boot connected. The man she was facing was perhaps 5'10. He wasn't particularly muscled, but Kiara only stood at 5'3, her body was lithe and lacked any substantial weight outside of that of her small toned muscles. She had practically no fat on her at all, such things burnt off long ago by strenuous work and the lack of food common to those that grew up in the slums. Kiara's body was picked up off the ground for a moment from the force of the kick, landing roughly a few feet further away. Once again she had managed to keep a firm grip on the dagger in her right hand. She had lost her hold on the other one when the boot had propelled her into the air. Luckily she heard it skid to a halt near her prone body. The white haired woman coughed for a moment as she got back to her feet, lungs not wanting to work for a moment after having all of the air forced out of it from the sudden blow. The boy had made a mistake that only those that were inexperienced would make. He didn't press the attack when he had caught her by surprise. Kneeling down her fingers wrapped around the steel hilt of her second dagger. The boy lifted his sword, pointing the tip at Kiara again. The woman looked at him for a moment before a small grin slide across her face. Down the side of her chin ran a small stream of blood from where she had accidentally bitten into her lip. Normally people would have simply wiped the blood off and went about their business. Kiara's hand moved up, wiping away part of the blood dripping to the ground before moving the finger up to her mouth. A small, almost delicate tongue slipped from between her lips and cleaned the crimson liquid from her finger as her grind grew wider. Her eyes no longer shined with that cold almost dead look that they were so accustomed to. As the boy looked into her eyes he could see something else stirred in those dark irises. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Well if that is true that at that moment, Kiara's soul was one of lust and murderous glee. Blood always had this effect on her. She loved the liquid that coursed through living beings. It didn't matter to her what color it was so long as she could could release it from it's prison. The sensations she got when she caused another to bleed did more for her then any man ever had. But she was a picky one. Just any blood at all wouldn't due. It had to be the blood of a fighter. When she tasted such blood she could almost taste the strength of their spirit. Or so it seemed to her. In actuality there might not have been any difference in taste at all between a warrior and a farmer. She knew the blood lust she got from seeing blood in a fight was an addiction. She knew and didn't much care.

[Kiara Killraven]

For just a moment the moon's light broke through the buildings and illuminated Kiara's features. Her hair seemed to shimmer for that faint moment, catching the moon's light and holding it there. At that moment, with her hair glowing with light and her eyes shining with an unrivaled lust she seemed like much more then she was. She seemed like a demon. Or perhaps a goddess. As quickly as it happened the moment passed. "Now its my turn," she said. The words seemed to drip from her lips as she spoke, the sound of her voice almost sweet and innocent. That grin never left her lips as she suddenly bent her legs at her knees and propelled herself forward. The young man, who had been expecting such an attack, thrust his sword forward a second time. The first time it had had little effect the first time. This time it had an even smaller one. Kiara ducked under the extending blade, her height allowing her to get below the blade without a problem. Closer she moved, trying to get to close for the man to be able to properly use the length of his sword. Somewhere the man was still able to bring the blade down at her before she could close the distance fully. The close proximity to the blade however did prevent the attacker from being able to put any large amount of force into the swing. Kiara was easily able to bring her dagger up and block the sword's swing. The action must have been an unexpected one because the man's eyes widen in surprise for a moment. Kiara was far from new to combat. That was an opening that she had been waiting for. Twisting her body she let the sword slide off the blade of her dagger, her body turning as she brought the dagger up then back down across the man's forearm. The gash was deep due to the man's lack of armoring but it wasn't crippling. Kiara moved back, back out of the man's range, that grin still dancing across her face. She had been disappointed at her victim's lack of money or any other valuable possession. But now she counted her blessings. She had been sent something as a recompense for her bad luck. She certainly wasn't going to end it quickly. She brought the dagger she had used to cut the man, her tongue slivering along the part of the steel blade that was covered in the man's life blood. Again she bent her legs at the knee, dropping back into the stance she used to fight with her daggers.

[Kiara Killraven]

Kiara moved her body to the side as the sword made a glittering arc through the air. The sword past mere inches from her body. But such a close dodge had been on purpose. The smaller the movements she made to dodge the large sword, the longer she could stay in the fight. Fights like this were all about endurance. If she missed a dodge, or got careless she would die. It was just that simple. Kiara let a slight giggle escape from her lips as she ducked under yet another swing from the boy. It had been a while since she had enjoyed herself. Her laughing only intensified as she darted in, scoring yet another shallow cut on the man's arm. It seemed fate took a disliking to her yet again. In the distance she could hear a faint shout. Not paying much attention to it she continued to focus on dodging the sword strokes from the boy. At first neither her nor her opponent took notice to the shout, being more focused on each other then their surroundings. It wasn't long till another shout was heard, this time much closer then the one before it. This time the man did notice it. He pushed Kiara back long enough to let out a loud shout of his own. The shouts obviously were coming from men that he knew. Now it was his turn to grin. He had help coming. The odds of her surviving were dropping. Kiara's smile turned to that of a scowl. This was a fight between the two of them. He already had the advantage of a larger weapon. Was he truly pathetic enough to need others as well? Either way her mirth had effectively became anger. The man backed away a bit, trying to keep her at bay until his comrades could make it to them. Kiara had other plans. She darted forward, her body energized from fury as her right arm darted out. As expected the man was able to block the attack. But she didn't let up as she continued to press the attack, the dagger a shining blur of death as it continued its relentless assault. For a moment the attacks continued and it seemed as though Kiara would actually get caught by the man's approaching friends before she could land another hit. That is when the man made a mistake. As he moved back again, he lost his footing for a moment. It wasn't a large opening. In fact if Kiara had only had a single dagger the attack likely would have met the same fate as her other useless attacks. Kiara went to thrust with her right hand, but pulled it back at the last instant. The young man brought the longsword up, attempting to block the attack she had pretended to make. As she brought her right arm back she extended her left, the dagger biting into the soft part of his arm and severing the tendons in one fell swing. The man's sword fell to the ground, his hand lacking the ability to grasp the sword firmly anymore. He looked down at his arm in horror, shock keeping him from feeling any pain from the wound. Kiara stepped in closer, bringing the dagger in her right hand up, sliding the steel blade between the man's ribs. The wounded man gasped once before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body crumpled into a heap. Kiara didn't waste time after she killed the young man. His friends had gotten very close in the time it took her to finish off the kid. As she wiped her bloody dagger off she could hear foot steps approaching quickly from one end of the alley. She sheathed both of her daggers as she moved to the opposite end of the alley. She stopped at the end, straining her ears to see if she could hear anything approaching from this direction as well. Satisfied that there was nothing waiting to ambush her, she exited the dark alley, her snowy white hair being the last thing visible from the alley as she disappeared into the darkness of the night.

[Leviathan]

Thread Award! Kiara   Skills Skill Gain Info. Stealth 1 -- Camouflage 1 -- Weapon: Dagger 2 -- Observation 1 -- Running 1 --   Lore Sunberth Geography: Slums (Night) Fighting With Range Disadvantage

Additional CommentsYour CS needs fixing. You get two starting Lores.

Also, make sure you are RPing within the limits of your skills and items.