[Flaxen District]The Ugly Truth (Samael Nox)

by **Ils'a** on August 8th, 2012, 3:50 am

Summer 82, 512 AV

Ils’a hurried away, turning her head back over her shoulder from time to time, as if she feared pursuit. But in truth, she feared more contagion. Not from virulent disease of the body, but from the sickness of what she had just experienced. Yes, she knew, in her head, that slavery existed. Even in Mura, they knew of course, that all beings in the world were not free. But to know something was one thing. To wander amongst the ware was an entirely different one. Ils’a had had no idea how it would affect her, to see men and women, even children, marked and even shackled, or caged. It was so… sad. It was… terrifying. She could not recall a time when she had felt so upset, so sickened, and she had to get away. Fast. Unfortunately, she had been so unbalanced internally once she had taken in what she was really seeing, in the Theater, that she had gotten a bit disoriented and stumbled from there to the Post, and been even more alarmed. The young Konti had only wished to view the jewelry which she had been told was for sale in the Flaxen District. She had some thought that she might even sell some of the coral she had in her pack. But no-one had mentioned what the main inventory was in the various “shops.” It was with a dawning sense of disbelief, and then nausea, that Ils’a had noted the way the slaves were put on display, the various ways their status was denoted, earrings, pins … shackles. Once she was fully cognizant of what was on offer, she had hurried away, feeling the need to get out of this vile place. Nyka, her first stop in her trek to see the world, was not a nice place.

As she put as much distance as possible between herself and the Post, her delicate webbed feet almost stumbling in her haste, she looked behind her once more. As she looked forward again, she saw too late the small child who darted right in front of her. They collided and both fell to the ground. Sitting on her bottom, her wrists stinging in pain from catching her weight on the hard cobbles, Ils’a looked at the little boy. He merely looked back, in a frightened way, and leapt up and scurried off.

“Are you alright?” she called after him, but too late. He disappeared in the crowd, leaving Ils’a still sat upon the roadway. No-one offered to help her up, and she bent forward, rubbing her sore wrist, thinking it might be sprained. She would get to her feet, she thought. She would get to her feet and walk to the docks, slide into the familiar caress of the comforting sea, and leave this vile place behind.

by **Samael Nox** on August 8th, 2012, 6:09 am

Samael looked at his sword having just gotten it back from that damn monk. No one touched his sword,NO ONE! He would have to let it go ,due to the circumstances he couldn't control. He shook his head at the thought of anyone looking down on him. I"m tired of being looked down on,maybe I will cause some trouble."He looked around noticing he had now become part of a crowd,oh how he hated crowds. He took a deep breath , fighting back his urges.The urge to kill grow unbearable when he was in groups,his true form shinning through . With every breath his darker self made its self more apparent. He pushed and shoved sending those around him violently to the ground as he stood bent over against the wall that surrounded the city. His shaky breath a clear sign he wasn't alright but luckily the crowd was all to busy picking up those he had knocked down and traveling to there predetermined destinations. Who would care about a freak with white hair and blue eyes coupled with his dark skin,... like a konti reject. He pushed himself away from the wall ,wiping his face as he walked back into the crowd.

His breathing still heavy, he wiped the sweat from his brow ,with a gulp."You're ok Sam,you're not gonna hurt anyone .It's all ok." He stumbled back as a little boy running through the crowd bumped into him."Watch where you're going kid, it could save your life!"Sam's tone now had a hint of ecstasy in it,he was now back to his senses and it felt so good. He threw his hood back over his head as he began moving through the crowd again, zigging and zagging until he was amongst the shops. Samael froze mid step as a oddly pale woman stood before him similar to him but much paler.

by **Ils'a** on August 8th, 2012, 11:06 am

Ils’a sat for a few moments more, now inspecting and testing her wrist gently. Flexing it was quite painful. She’d just have to keep an eye on it for the next hours or so, she thought to herself, as she rose gingerly, knowing no-one was likely to stop and solicitously offer her any assistance. Cradling it protectively against her lower ribs, she thought about her course of action. If it was truly sprained, returning to the sea this very moment might not be the best idea. But she really did not wish to stay in this city a minute more than was necessary. What to do?

As she mulled over this problem, her light blue eyes rose to take in the fact that someone had stopped nearby and was looking at her. She shot a rather unhappy look at the person, about whom she could tell very little other then he or she wore a hooded cloak and the hood was up. Their features were thus obscured, but she could guess whoever this was, they were wearing the same scowl most in this city cast at her Kontinese self. Ils’a was by nature a quietly friendly person, but Nyka and its bad attitude were wearing a bit thin at the moment. She felt less than pleased to be here now. So as the person, whoever they were, just seemed to be staring at her, she frowned a bit, almost glaring back.

“What?” she asked, curtly.

Thinking perhaps this other felt her to be in their way, she stepped back, though in truth they could easily have moved around her.

“Go on,” she said, her voice strained with the upset she was feeling. “You can get past me.”

Unhappily, she turned her attention back to her throbbing wrist.

by **Samael Nox** on August 8th, 2012, 8:17 pm

It felt like forever he had been looking at the girl, curiously staring . A konti in these part is odd. He thought this but wouldn't dare say it aloud knowing his own presence was no doubt less welcome than h own. Cocking his head ,he noticed something seemed to be wrong but turned away regardless. Taking a few steps in the opposite direction he stopped, glancing back he noticed the girl looking at him. He gulped, unsure if she had been thinking he had any bad intentions. As she began yelling at him he stood stunned ad confused by her comment .

He looked from left to right making sure it was him she had been talking about. "Me?"He pulled back is hood granting him a better field of vision to be sure without a doubt she meant him . Without his hood his snow white hair in blue eyes were now visible to those all around him . The large man walked around the konti woman in a circle three times,with the curious look of a animal or small child upon his face. Dropping to a knee he looked at her wrist ,seeing she was clearly not ok ,he stood. In a single motion Samael scooped the woman up like a baby and began to pushing through the crowd placing her on a stone bench .You should be careful where you lay around here ,even if you are harmed. I doubt anyone would think twice before stepping on you or anyone else that isn't human for that matter. Samael sighed as he walked away from the konti unsure where he could find a safe place to lay his head for the night .

by **Ils'a** on August 9th, 2012, 4:20 am

The hooded one continued to stare at Ils’a, and she felt more uncomfortable by the second, wondering if he had some sort of malevolent intent focused on her. It wouldn’t make much sense. She sure didn’t know him, and there wasn’t anything so odd about herself, was there? On second thought, she had to admit that she hadn’t seem many of her kind in the city. Maybe he was just regarding her as some curious insect that had lighted upon the wall and merited his close scrutiny. Finally though, he moved on, and Ils’a breathed a little more easily. She continued to watch him depart, as much to make sure he did indeed leave as from any curiosity on her part. But he had not gone many steps before he paused and looked back at her over his shoulder.

That made the Konti quite uneasy, and a bit scared. Her fear prompted her to anger and she called out after him in a terse voice, “What? Do I have two heads or something? Don’t you know it’s rude to stare at people that way? Or at least it is where I come from. Don’t you have any manners?”

As quickly as her anger bubbled up, it fled, replaced by more fear. She saw him raise his hand, as if to throw his hood back, and she thought this might be a bad sign, one that he meant to confront her more directly. She stepped back slightly, now wishing she had kept her mouth shut, keeping a careful eye on him. Just as she had feared, her taunting words did seem to have drawn his attention, for he asked the simple question, Me? More than anything now, Ils’a wished she could honestly answer, No, no, sir I wasn’t being rude and spouting off to you. But no answer of any kind came to her lips.

Then his hand gesture was complete, and the hood was thrown back to reveal a shocking thatch of pure white hair sprouting from his pate. Her mouth formed in an “O” of surprise, simply because the color was so unexpected, here in a city peopled with mostly dark haired individuals. Of course, in the Theater and the Post, Ils’a had seen all sorts of beings with any number of colorings. But out on the streets of Nyka, most sported a more swarthy complexion and hair tone. He looked almost like one of her kind, but that was impossible, as all Konti were female. She was so absorbed in his appearance, that he was walking back towards her before she really registered that he was returning. Once again, she stepped backwards and this time managed to trip over an uneven cobblestone, falling again onto her bottom. This day was really turning out to be quite an awful one, she thought miserably.

There was no time to scramble to her feet. The man had already reached her side. She sat as still as a statue, her knees pulled to her chest, her large pale eyes following as the stranger circled her, like some sort of animal. She would not have been surprised if he had stuck out his nose and sniffed, so like a dog he seemed in his scrutiny of her. Once again, he caught her completely off guard when he dropped to his knee beside her and actually bent closer to examine the wrist she held so carefully against her breast. Ils’a could only stare and stare at him, speechless, wondering if he was mad, or if she was the one who was somehow lost in a moment of lunacy. In the next moment, she felt sure it must be the latter, for he had scooped her up and risen, as if she was as light as a feather, and began to walk away with her in his arms. She really must, she thought, be imagining all this. Perhaps when she fell that first time, she had struck her head and this was all some unconscious dreamstate. For a good few seconds, she rested, limp in his arms, staring still at his face, those deep blue eyes, and the mop of albin hair surrounding all.

But at the end of those three seconds, Ils’a found her senses, and her voice. “Put me down! Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” With her good hand she pressed against a very unyielding chest and her torso and legs wriggled in his grasp. “Put me …” She got no further for he was in fact granting her request. In fact, he was depositing her on a bench. Her face turned up to his, her mouth open in a comical way, ready to blast him with a dozen questions about just what in the hell he thought he was doing, but he beat her to it.

His chastisement left her speechless. Flabbergasted, she just looked at him with her mouth hanging open. Already he was turning, and still no sound could she find, no voice for her complaints and her remonstrances for taking such liberties. What the hell! How… why… who did he think…All of a sudden, she realized that he was getting away, disappearing into the crowd. She blinked. She had no idea what to make of him.

Rising to her webbed feet, she hurried after this strange stranger, perhaps the oddest person she had met so far in this odd city. She caught him up easily, for he wasn’t moving fast. His back was to her, so she reached and placed a small, delicate hand with long, slender, webbed fingers on his upper arm, to get his attention.

“Hey, wait!” she said, in a voice louder than she usually employed but far less acerbic than the one she had addressed him in previously.

“Wait, please. Why… why did you do that?” she asked, truly burning with curiosity to know what had prompted this odd looking man to offer her kindness in such an odd way.

by **Samael Nox** on August 10th, 2012, 5:27 am

Though the girl had struggled the entire time he carried her ,Samael knew he was doing the right thing. She could push, scratch, bite and anything else she wanted, but he would not leave her injured on the ground. Savages, he muttered to himself pushing through the crowd. To think, of all people, he would have to be the one to help her. He was never a fan of strangers but for some reason he couldn't help himself. Samael did his best to continue to look ahead as he walked, though he could feel the konti staring. All Samael could think of is how she surely hated him, that must of been why she was staring. I shouldn’t have just picked her up.

Samael placed the girl down and walked away, thinking that would no doubt be the last time they'd see each other though that may be for the best . As he walked away Samael could hear someone rushing towards him from behind . Drawing his sword as a hand touched his should,his blade stopped at the woman's throat. Realizing who had been approaching him ,Samael's face from fury to fear. Shacking from the giant mistake he had almost made ,he dropped his sword ."I'm so sorry about that, I just don't like being touch from behind. I hope I didn't scare you miss.You want to know why I did what I did ?I don't know, I guess it is because you're different like me and if I didn't do it no one else would have. "

by **Ils'a** on August 10th, 2012, 11:29 am

There is just something about having a sword to your throat that makes a person stop and rethink a lot of things. With the white-haired man’s weapon pointing at her gullet, Ils’a was thinking how much she wished that she had never left Mura, how she wished she had not come to Nyka, and how foolish and naïve she was. The world was a dangerous place, incredibly so. And it seemed that she was likely to be finding her way out of this world very soon, if she didn’t wise up. It really didn’t matter that the man’s expression went from rage to regret, or that he apologized, or that he explained why he had drawn on her. Nothing mattered in that moment other than one thought, and that was to get away from this obviously deranged individual. Or perhaps he wasn’t the crazy one. Perhaps she was, for venturing forth into the world so blindly, with no real means of protecting herself. What had she been thinking?

Ils’a did not even trust him long enough to blink, even when he lowered his weapon quickly. She nodded, feeling a huge lump of fear in her throat. Thank Laviku and Avalis that she still had enough throat to have a lump in! He spoke and she heard his words but she was completely focused on just how and when to make her getaway. Forcing a tremulous smile to her pale lips, she said very quietly. “I see. Well… many thanks. I owe you one.”

Nodding one more time, she turned abruptly on her heels and darted off as fast as she could into the crowd, too fearful to even glance back to see if he would follow. She thought not – he had no reason to. Ignoring the throbbing in her wrist, she ran until she could run no more, having no idea where she was. Lost in this horrible city, with not a single kind face to look upon, she made up her mind. Tomorrow, she really would leave Nyka.

by **Samael Nox** on August 11th, 2012, 12:15 am

Samael could see the fear in the konti's eyes ,even as he dropped his sword. From Ils'a bad attempt at hiding how afraid of him she truly was he doubted he would see her a third time. He had a chance to make a friend and lost it in lest than a second and that pain hurt him more than any spell,whip,arrow or blade he had ever would. As he picked up his sword he realize she wasn't the only one afraid, his actions had caught the attention of almost everyone in the area. The crowd of at least a hundred had froze silently as if he had but a blade to each any everyone of their throats. He always said the only person he could trust was himself but he wished that wasn't true,he wanted to be depended on him and to know someone always had his back but what he wanted didn't matter to anyone but him.

Walking through the still frozen crowd all Sam could think of was the monks appearing to remove the threat that was himself. He threw his hood back over his head and hid his sword in his cloak,know though he hadn't harmed anyone humans didn't much care. Clinching his fist , Samael knew getting out of the city could now be trouble but that didn't matter. All he cared about was making sure the woman knew he meant her no harm. Though he only had been near the girl for mere moments her sent was imprinted in his mind . The faint smell of the ocean lead him all through Nyka and to the konti woman. "Found you".from thirty feet away Samael could see the snow white hair of the woman he was looking for but it seemed he wasn't the only one .

A gang of what was surely 4 slavers were closing in on her with knives and rope in hand. This woman would find the only empty area in all of nyka with slavers . "FUCK,I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS!" The men jerked their heads back as they heard Samael's shout and turned there attention on him. Throwing all but is underpants and sword aside he began to walk towards the group . I'm sure you fine gents would prefer a me over her. The men began to move towards the young man laughing at his appearance."Why the hell would we want you kid,I'd think you were a kelvic if you didn't have that sword. Everyone knows they prefer hand to hand" Samael chuckled at the fools words as he fling his sword at the group leaving his blade stuck in the deadman's chest . "You're right, now come get this rare white tiger kelvic ,I know you to ."The man came charging forward his knife extended, Sam grab the man by his wrist with his right hand and push his elbow in with his left sufficiently breaking his arm. As the man stood doubled over in pain his throat was slit with his own blade . Samael flung knife he had taken firing it at the slavers head horribly missing and hitting another in the leg."Damn,I missed" Having dealt with all but one ,Samael pulled down his underwear and got down on all fours. A blinding light appeared for his body and when it was gone he had become a large white cat with blue eyes and black stripes. This form was the his greatest strength and cause of despair and few that had seen had lived pass that day. The one remaining slaver able to fight lost his will to as soon as he saw what he was up against. With a thunder like roar the large beast was on him , ripping him into pieces with his massive claws. Once everything was over Samael slumped back towards his clothes figuring though he had saved the woman she would now fear him more than ever.The last slaver could run if he liked because Samael was no longer in a fighting mood.

by **Ils'a** on August 11th, 2012, 2:28 am

Ils’a bent forward, trying to catch her breath, her body unused to the different muscle movement required for running. Swimming was easy for her. She could swim for hours on end, gliding through the water. But pounding down the hard cobblestone streets, her body felt wrenched and abused. One hand went to her thigh to support her weight, an unfamiliar pain stabbing in her side. Her injured wrist she held against her stomach. Panting, she let her eyelids close for a moment, thankful to have escaped the madman, not paying any attention to her immediate surroundings. She was lost, she knew that much. But it wasn’t as if she knew her way around Nyka otherwise. So what did it matter? She would follow her ears and her nose and find the harbor and then, she would be free of this despicable place.

After resting for a few minutes, when her heart rate dropped back to normal and she could breathe, the Konti began to walk. She would not ask anyone for directions. She didn’t want to feel so foreign, so rejected. She’d had enough of that. Trying to feel the set of the wind, reaching for the slight tang of salt air, she wandered down a street hoping she was going in the right direction. So intent was she upon her quest, she had no idea that she was being followed.

For many minutes she walked, sometimes with a purpose, when she thought she had a lead. Sometimes she hesitated, slowed, when she thought she might be going the wrong way. Finally, she came upon an intersection that seemed fairly devoid of people, and she came to a full stop, looking first one way and then the other. Which to choose, that was her dilemma. And then it seemed like the spot erupted with noise and violence.

The first she knew that she had been followed came a voice, that didn’t immediately register but sounded familiar. She whirled about, a surprised look on her face, and saw him, the one who had acted as if he might skewer her. Her startled look changed instantly to one of terror, and she turned to run, only to see the others.

Ils’a had been totally unaware that several men had spied her, back at the Flaxen District. When she had taken off running, they had followed in her wake, and as she wandered looking for the docks, they had awaited an opportunity to pounce. Of course, at first glance, the Konti had no idea who they were or exactly what they were planning. But the weapons and rope were more than enough to clue her in that, whatever intent they had, it was not a benevolent one. Instantly she thought of the other one, the white haired lunatic, and she knew, she knew, he was part of this. They were here because of him. He was their leader. And now, she was doomed.

All this passed through her mind in the blink of an eye. She turned a terrified face to the lone attacker, and heard his odd words, and she blinked. Her head whipped back and forth between the group of men and the white haired one, and her confusion grew. Unbelieving, she watched as he tore off his clothes and flung them away, issuing his challenge. At last his words, and their hostile reaction, made sense. He wasn’t one of them! Their derision made that abundantly clear, and they moved forward boldly. But suddenly a blade was wizzing through the air, striking one of the group squarely in the chest. Down he toppled, without even a chance to clutch at the weapon protruding from his body. Ils’a thought she screamed, but in reality her stricken lungs could only produce a harsh gasp. Her eyes were starting out of her head, and all she could think was that she was caught in the middle of this nightmare conflict. Without thought, she dropped to her hand and knees and crawled as fast as she could to the side of the street, there to huddle pressed up against the wall of a building. She wanted to look away. She wanted to, desperately. But her eyes seemed riveted to the unfolding brawl. A second interloper rushed at the soloist, weapon drawn. But a fluid motion of the white haired one had this one too rolling to the ground, a bright crimson gash forming below his chin.

It was too much. Turning her face to the wall, she pressed her cheek against its warm solidity and covered her eyes with her hand. Make this stop! Make it be over! Make it be over! Please, please, please! She prayed silently, not even knowing who she offered her prayers to. There were horrible noises, like nothing she had ever heard before. A roar and many screams and the sound of ripping flesh. The air filled with the scent of blood and entrails and there were more gruesome cries and moans and Ils’a pressed her face even more tightly against the stones, trying to make her body as small as possible. And then there was silence.

She did not want to look. She really did not want to, and for many long seconds she kept her eyes tightly shut and covered. Trembling from head to toe, her muscles quivered in the most extreme fear that she had ever known. Ils’a had spent much of her life in the sea, and it was not a peaceful place. The water held its own dangers, its own violence. But she had never seen this type of behavior between humans. Or, humans and… kelvics? For the white haired one must be some fearsome beast. Overcome by a dread filled curiosity, Ils’a peeked out and found him, an enormous white cat striped in black. A tiger! Again, there were certainly kelvics in Mura. But she had never encountered one such as this. His beautiful white fur was spattered with gore and Ils’a could not avoid seeing the bloody scene now spread over the cobbles of the street. Three corpses, where there had been three living, breathing men but a few moments before. Men who had intended… what? They had been armed. They had rope. The stranger had said something about preferring him over her?

Ils’a felt a wave of nausea wash over her. She thought she would be sick, right there on the cobbles. But as she stared at the tiger who had saved her from capture, her brain was pressing her to think. Think! There was something she needed to remember. Something important.

“The monks!” she whispered.

Ils’a leapt up and ran to the kelvic. “The monks! You can’t let them find you here. They’ll take you!” Her hand shot out and she pointed at the messy bodies. “They can’t find you, and them!” Her voice was urgent, almost hysterical.

“Come on! We’ve got to get out of here!”

by **Samael Nox** on August 11th, 2012, 3:50 am

Samael turned as the woman mentioned the monks ,the reality of the situation hit him . After a quick transformation he tore the the clothes from one of the dead ,using the cloth to wipe himself clean of blood than hiding them at the bottom of his bag and quickly dressing . Dragging the only man still alive over to a wall he slammed his head against the wall being sure to check that he was still alive. He did his best not to make eye contact thinking the woman no doubt feared him now more than ever.Don't worry about the bodies If there is one thing I know how to do It is get rid of slaver bodies.They continue to make the mistake of trying to capture me and if if anyone get in trouble it'll be me . I won't let you be a victim for what I've done ,it would make saving you pointless." Sam flashed Ils'a a reassuring smile as he picked her up walking away from the gruesome crime scene. Noticing a near by monk samael , whispering for the girl to follow his lead . This plan would either work or land them in the gallows.

Samael ran up to the monk ,drenched in sweat and a look of fear in his eye . He shook as he attempted to speak, the konti's face dug into his chest to hide the expression on her face."Th,the,their dead in the alley!Their all dead please,help, there are dead people in the alley! There was some kind of fight I think. One guy looks like he was attacked by a animal and another was bleeding from his chest and there was one who had no clothes. What kind monster would do that!What could do that ? I just please don't make us go back to that nightmare ! "The monk not wanting to deal why such a coward he dismissed Samael for the time being so he disappeared into the crowd he has drawn in with his roar. No one would believe sniveling coward like that could have possibly done anything so bloody and horrific. "You're safe now miss you can go now." Samael placed the woman on her feet and rested his head against a near by wall."This was a short visit ."