[Zintia Peak]The Sky Was Bruised, and So Was I(Pain)

[Julian]

Edge of Surya Plaza Early Dawn 41st of Spring, 511AV Damnit! Another dead end. Julian forced himself to a stop, staggering as he fought to rein in his momentum. Stunned, he stared wide-eyed at the broad, apathetic face of the sheer wall that thwarted his escape. As he struggled to catch his breath, he turned and quickly glanced around the alleyway, bathed in the shadows of a nascent dawn. Though the starry sky had begun to glow a dim, bruised purple, the streets were still dark, and now relatively empty as the decidedly nocturnal Lhavitians began to retreat to their warm beds. Unless Julian had the luck of running into the Shinya in these back alleys, he was completely on his own. And lost, to boot. As the cascading shuffle of fleeting footsteps began to resound louder from the alley behind him, he knew he couldn't hesitate another second. Like the shadow of a frightened housecat, he darted off again, choosing another narrow passageway between two tall buildings. If only he could find his way back to the main roads, then he would at least be able to tell where in the Plaza he was - and if there were still people about, the thieves on his heels might lose their gall and go victimize someone else. Of course, if Julian simply cried for help, someone was liable to come running. It would have been the smart thing to do, but his pride stepped in the way of that. It was bad enough that he was running like a coward. If he started yelling like a sodding woman, he might as well be throwing his dignity off the peaks and into the chasms below Lhavit. It was no matter anyway. As the dawn grew brighter, suddenly he realized he recognized one of the buildings ahead. At least, he was almost certain he did. Another corner and he'd be able to make it into the main streets. His legs aching and his feet in minor agony (these shoes were NOT made for high-impact running), he willed himself to sprint faster. Glancing over his shoulder, he could just make out the shadows pursuing him, drawing in closer. It seemed likely that they did this sort of thing often, so were much faster and more apt at dashing madly through back alleys than a panicked Syliran bard. One of the thieves let out an alarmingly loud whistle. Julian didn't need experience with thieves to know it was a signal for something not in his favor. When a fourth thug stepped around the corner ahead just as Julian was about to run past it, he didn't have a chance to react. Before he could even try to stop, the thief lurched forward and aimed a blow in Julian's face with the broad side of his forearm. He hit the ground before he could even remember getting hit. His hands scraped on the ground as his momentum sent him rolling. Predatory laughter rang in his ears as, dazed, he tried to push himself back up. That blow had been right in his eyes, and his vision swirled and bulged while the fatal sound of footsteps closed in around him. As he was about to find his feet, someone kicked him in the side and knocked him over again, sending a spasm of pain ripping through his upper body. This was utterly humiliating. What was he, an old woman? He couldn't let himself go down this easily. Reaching madly for the small knife in his pocket, he felt someone new loom over him. As a hand reached in and grabbed his collar, Julian made his desperate attempt to retaliate, lashing out with the flimsy blade in his hand. It dug into the back of the thief's palm, eliciting a loud yelp as he promptly let go. The others seemed to laugh at him as he staggered back with his hand impaled, then closed in around Julian. The satisfying rush of victory he felt was short lived. "Flames, now what," he muttered to himself, grunting as he tried to futilely edge away. That had pretty much been the entirety of his self defense. So much for that reverie. Someone said something in Lhavitian, and then a fist launched itself toward his face. All in all, this wasn't likely go down as his best night in Lhavit.

[Elhaym]

Acolyte's didn't typically patrol. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Pain was not a typical Acolyte. She was just as well suited to provide a sense security to the residents of Lhavit as some of the Shinya who walked the streets, and it was for this reason that her superiors often called on her to walk the innards of the city during the odd hours of dusk and dawn. Pain didn't mind; she had always loved the morning and her ensuing workouts back in Syliras. Though she had spent the day training and learning her craft as a Shinya, she walked these glistening alleyways as the sun threatened to dominate the hold night had once had on Lhavit. Pain lazily walked with her hands behind her back, the blue of her robe slowly shifting hues amidst the now faintly glowing structures that towered at her sides. She rarely even saw anyone awake during these hours, but that was alright. It gave her time to think, and as she often did she seemed to slip into a meditative state as she walked. It was easier to focus when under physical duress for her, but she practiced none the less. Her mind became centered on her breathing, the constant and rhythmic sound of her footsteps, the... piercing whistling sound that erupted nearby!? "What is this?" Pain said aloud, her mind jumping to the present and her body instinctively turning to her right. There was a solid fence of prismatic crystal, but behind it was a steep drop that led to a lower level of the city that was shrouded in darkness. Pain lunged towards the fence, planting her palm on it's surface and vaulting over it's height. She felt her body descend briefly into freefall, blurred vision hastily picking several figures below. Before Pain could fully assimilate the images into a coherent thought, she landed hard on her legs and found a fist traveling straight forwards her face. Pain's body did the thinking for her, weaving away from the brute's attack. She responded without remorse, pivoting on her hips and lashing out with a right kick that sent her knee and upper shin crashing into the area between the assailant's belly button and crotch. His own momentum did more for her attack than she could have hoped, his legs flying out from underneath him as she followed through with her blow. Pain spun back full circle, quickly planting a heel on the downed man's shoulder and taking hold of the pinned arm by the wrist. She forced it upwards, evoking a whimper of pain from the man who had attacked her so unexpectedly. She had him now, and if he were to move or resist she could break his shoulder in a severe way. Only then did Pain take in her surroundings. There were others, their chests heaving up and down as if out of breath. They looked at her with predator's eyes, but seemed wary of her martial arts display. The sound of heavy breathing was coming from behind her as well, and Pain snapped her head back to find Julian's battered face only inches away from her own. "What's going on here?!" Pain growled. If Julian knew anything about the Shinya, he would probably be able to pick her out as one of the Acolytes who had yet to become a full member of the order. Oddly enough, she seemed quite old for the role, and obviously a bit more skilled than the average student. The men in the alleyway would most likely know she was an Acolyte, but whether or not they would continue their mugging attempt with Pain's intervention was yet to be seen. Pain searched for an answer in the midst of Julian's quivering eyes, jerking her prisoner's arm after she spoke to affirm her control over him.

[Julian]

OOCOrange is Lhavitian. Julian met his wife this way, you know, being robbed. Back then it was a charming affair. She did this little laugh as she sprinted through the alleyways clutching the purse she'd stolen off of him. He yelled as he chased after her. The entire jaunt ended with a reluctant kiss and a winning smile that not even a writer and an army of poets could have made feel more romantic. This was nothing like that. Julian was lying on the ground with his arm out to shield his face as a cascade of feet and fists hammered away at his side and the back of his head. Pain had become less of a sensation and more a state of being - which is a very eloquent way of putting the incredible, excruciating hell he was in at this moment. He could feel every hit that connected, every kick to the small of his back sending shockwaves of agony right through his bones. At the time, his mind was barely functioning, but still had enough of his wits together to muster up two thoughts: Maybe he could grab a foot or a fist as it came at him and trip someone up to break the pattern of what was happening now. And the second, it probably wouldn't have been this bad if he hadn't plunged his knife into the hand of their friend. Mixing hope with regret was never a lucrative combination. Though it felt like they'd been going at it for half an hour, the beating stopped only a few short seconds after it started. Relieved but puzzled, Julian hesitated before unfurling himself to see just what was going on. To his stupefied surprised, he was no longer surrounded by three brash Lhavitian muggers. Instead, nearby, he was able to watch a young woman put one of them into a shoulder lock. Not sure that he was really seeing this, he slowly got himself up into a more dignified sitting position. His mouth tasted coppery and he could feel something warm on the side of his lip, so as he wiped away what he hoped was blood and not drool, he squeezed his eyes closed and open again a few times to clear his vision. "What's going on here?" the woman demanded. Now that he could get a better look at her, he recognized her outfit as Shinya guard attire, but there was something different about it. Didn't he usually see older children wearing that sort of thing? Sod it, he could barely tell some of these Lhavitian men apart from women. Placing age on their round, soft faces was beyond the question. "Oh, you know." Julian grunted after he spoke, then tentatively felt around a cut on his eyebrow. Speaking made his face hurt, so he held his jaw in one hand as he rolled it around. "Just love these morning walks." Julian was feeling a little too shaken to be relieved just yet. The tables may not have been completely turned. Even if the woman was Shinya, Julian certainly wasn't, and these muggers didn't act like novices. One of them - the one with the stabbed hand - was having a personal dramatic episode as he sat against the wall of the alley a little further up. He'd removed his shirt and wrapped it around his profusely bleeding hand. Julian's knife was lying guiltily nearby. Looking over at the woman, his eyes widened as he clumsily got to his feet without using either of his hands. Without hesitating another moment, he turned and bolted into the darkness. The two other thugs standing nearby, still gauging what their chances were against a lone woman with one of their comrades in a crippling lock, looked between each other. "Yuan, she's Shinya," one of them said to the other. They were speaking Lhavitian again, but whatever they were saying, Julian was sure that it wasn't important. The other rolled his eyes. "She's only an Acolyte. Don't be a coward." He rolled his shoulder and put on a daring smile. That expression made Julian's blood run cold. "Sh-sh's going to break my arm!" the third shrieked, then squealed as he ever-so-softly struggled in the woman's grip. The others didn't seem to hear him, or they did (Julian was clueless), because they started to close in Julian and his newfound friend. Not ready to let her intervention go unrewarded, Julian painstakingly rose to his feet. He hadn't asked for help, but if she hadn't come in, he'd likely have ended up about fifty kina lost and a few ribs broken. The thugs both hesitated as Julian stood up. For a moment that stretched into half a minute, it felt like a stalemate as two predators eyed each other down. Then one of them laughed as they dashed forward and launched a kick straight into their imprisoned friend's chest. As that happened, the other started to come around with his fist flying toward the girl's face. Appalled that he'd been entirely ignored, Julian, though not exactly an expert at the art of any kind of combat, rushed his battered self into the second thug with all the strength he had left. Colliding heavily with the young thug's solid, but altogether smaller body, it was enough to ram him into the far wall. Though he felt the both of them hit, a fist planted in Julian's stomach sent him sliding back to his knees. His adversary rushed past him to help his comrade.

[Elhaym]

So it was a mugging then. Pain had to stifle the smile the began to curl on her lips at his response, so nonchalant despite the situation he had faced only seconds ago. Her Lhavitian wasn't perfect, but her smile faded when her presence was discounted as trivial simply by the markings of her robes and sash. It wasn't her ego that stuttered, but her uneasiness in dealing with such a situation as an Acolyte. What was she supposed to do? Would she be reprimanded for hurting these men? Pain barely knew how to fight without inflicting grave injury on her opponent. Her mind wandered for only a moment, but it was enough to let her attention lapse. It was always surprising, even for a seasoned fighter, how quickly someone can close in on you. Stooped over the first thug, Pain was hardly in position for any proper counterattack. Luckily for her and quite unluckily for the man she held, he was struck in her stead with a vicious boot to the chest. He let out a gasp as the air left his body, and Pain relinquished control in order to hop back and give herself some space. In the dark and having not had time to properly judge her surroundings, her slight hop ended with her back slamming against a stony wall and the back of her head cracking against it's surface. Her eyes rolled for a moment as the sharp pain enveloped her, scarcely thrusting her body to the side as her quarry fired a hook punch that likely would have broken a few ribs. "Guh!" He cried, his hand impacting the wall just as Pain's head had. Damn shadows, cursing everyone all around. He was stunned for the moment, turning and clutching his fist while baring his teeth. Pain stumbled backwards down the alley, watching with hazy vision as Julian was cast aside like a rag doll by the other thug. Then his sights set on her, and Pain had little recourse but to dig in and defend herself. He actually attempted some sort of thrusting kick, an odd choice by Pain's standards if she did say so herself. Pain sidestepped away from the brutish attack, the thug's foot slamming down awkwardly as his momentum caused him to stumble forward in a stupor. Hence, an odd choice. Pain let loose her right leg, balancing on her other foot and swiveling her hips as her body's most potent was unsheathed once again. It was a high arcing kick, such that Pain's upper body dipped down to allow more height for her leg, allowing her lower shin to impact right along the bridge of the man's nose and forehead. His body flopped backwards, legs flinging uncontrolled out from under him as he smashed back into the ground in a heap. Pain followed through with her kick, gliding back into a normal stance. Yet the pain in her head was sharp, and she faltered again. She'd hit her head pretty hard. Having lost track of Julian and the other thug for the moment, Pain was even more unaware of her surroundings than before. Pain looked down at the heap of flesh and bone beneath her, his breath ragged and quick. He probably wouldn't be getting up for a bit. In that moment she felt something close around her midsection, incredibly tight and constricting. Her entire body was lifted from the ground, the sensation of the force in her midsection and the loss of terra firma's comfort compounding with the fuzziness in her head to create shear panic. Her world spun and spun, and the the unease of being in freefall consumed her. It was a shock when her body impacted something hard, rattling her to the bone. Yet the turmoil continued, as she bounced below to the ground with a thud. Pain let out a low groan, having just been picked up and thrown against the wall like a rag doll. A considerable feat, as she wasn't exactly a small woman. Subdued, Pain meekly pushed herself to her elbows and forced her head level. She could see Julian a ways away, but more importantly were the two thugs before her. The one who had thrown her stood, his gaze fixed on the man Pain had so quickly eliminated from the fight. The other was the one whom he'd kicked in the chest, though in her fuzzy state she could scarcely come up for an explanation for that tactic. It was obvious that he wasn't happy with the decision either, for his face was a mask of contempt. He seemed to be contemplating something, but Pain's attention was more fixated on getting to her feet than deciphering the psyche of a common street thug. Yet, her body hurt everywhere. It was an unpleasant and humbling reminder that it only takes one good shot to end a fight. She had only precious few seconds before the head thug redirected his efforts on her defenseless body. Unless Julian could come up with something, she was in for the beating of a lifetime.

[Julian]

OOCWhoops. Used a different orange this time. Also, some of the Lhavitian is untranslated - you can guess which. The muted sound of scuffling and pained grunts echoed in the alleyway. Pain's personal, lone confrontation of the two others felt more like background noise as Julian tried to get his vision to stop spinning. An arm over his stomach, he was on his knees with a hand planted on the paved street to hold himself up. His mouth was agape as he desperately gasped for the breath that had been knocked out of him, the pain surging in pulsing waves across his chest being an entirely secondary problem. He squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them, trying to re-orient himself to the situation while he knelt, paralyzed. Finally, coughing, Julian caught his breath again. Unsettlingly, his coughs seemed to evolve into a brief fit of laughter. He wasn't sure why, and it made him incredibly uncomfortable, but he found something about all of this just so very... funny. It was the first time in a long time he could remember getting knocked around without it involving an incident at a bar. The fact that a woman was involved, albeit by sheer chance, at least helped the world continue to make sense. But Julian was no fighter, he wasn't valiant, these sorts of things just seemed to happen to him. It was so hilarious. Stumbling to his feet, but still hunched over as he clutched at his agonized abdomen, he managed to find the wherewithal to look toward his heroine. He spotted her amid the fray just in time to see one of the thugs hurl her against a wall. His face contorting in shock, Julian watched her begin to try to get up, but she was hurt badly. Now both of the other two men were closing in on her like wolves coming in for the kill. Julian was battered and could barely move, but if he didn't do something soon, this was going to get a hell of a lot worse. And it'd all be his fault. If another woman died because of him... Desperately, he looked around the alleyway for something, anything, that could help. Like a divine sign from the Star Lady herself, the smoky morning light from the sun shrouded in clouds glinted off a small object a few yards away in the alley. It was his blood stained pocket knife, abandoned by the fourth thug with the skewered hand. But he could barely walk, let alone dash in with a knife he barely knew how to use to help an injured woman against two seasoned street thieves. Seconds seemed to slow into minutes as he turned toward the thieves, looking for some weakness he could exploit - a limp, an injury, something. Then something suddenly occurred in a devious, more sinister corner of his mind. He saw the conflicted anguish on the second thief's face - the one who'd been kicked in the chest to throw Pain off balance. Like Julian, he was still hunched over, clearly in pain, with one hand clasping the shoulder sore from the Shinya's arm lock. There was a fire ignited in his eyes, but it seemed directed more toward his companion than the woman on the ground. Maybe if he... should he? Well, what other choice did he have? "Now THAT'S camaraderie!" Julian shouted at them, then immediately choked as his throat seized up. The air in his lungs was still a tentative existence. He struggled to find it again as he began to amble slowly toward the knife. It took nearly all the concentration he had left to channel what Djed he had available - Hypnotism may have been his and Pain's only hope by this point. He was careful with his tone of voice - removing the obvious strain of his injuries and attempting to sound as mocking as possible. "That bitch could have broken your shoulder, and there was your friend with a boot to your sodding chest to help a bloke out! And look at you - LOOK! Not a shred of love lost! You could have been crippled for life if that went badly, but there you are at his side again!" He was very much hoping they spoke common, but if he was trying hard enough, that may not have mattered. It was the tone of his voice he was counting on more than the words. The second thug paused, training his eyes more readily on his friend. Good. "Museun?!" The first thief glanced back at Julian, who by now had picked up the knife and hid it in his palm, under his sleeve. He was purely unaffected by Julian's imposed charm - that was fine, he wasn't trying to manipulate him. "Look at that arrogance on his face," Julian growled. "He's not even THINKING about you, only the money! Only that whelp who slighted him! Your loyalty is BOUNDLESS, isn't it? You might as well be his bleeding DOG!" "Aahh!" The second thug cried out suddenly, turning toward his friend and throwing his balled fist squarely in his face. There was a sickening crack before the other man was thrown off his feet, then landed on his back on the road. His friend's attack had been completely unexpected, and he went down like an amateur. Gasping hoarsely, he stared up through squinting eyes at his friend. "Wh... why...?" was all he could manage to get out. "I... I don't know..." And then it clicked. The second thug whirled to face Julian, but the musician had already used the distraction to come up behind him. Without warning, he was face to face with the long-haired man he'd intended to rob only moments ago. Before he could react, Julian seized the instant and lunged forward, burying his knife in the top of the thug's shoulder, between his neck and his arm. The thief threw his head back and cried out, squeezing his eyes shut as his hands rushed forward to desperately cradle his wound. Julian quickly ripped his blade out, shuffled it in his hand, and then with all the force he could muster slammed the pommel end into the man's temple. Like his friend before him, he went down, crumpling onto the street. Unlike his friend, he wasn't moving. Shit. Julian had been so caught up in the rush of the moment that he didn't realize those injuries... might actually kill him. But, no, he didn't have time to worry about that now. He and Pain were still in danger as long as they were in this alleyway. Gray sunlight was beginning to fill the streets and spread across the sky. If he didn't hurry, he might become conspicuous to whatever Shinya patrols were going to be out at this hour. Casting a glance over to the first thug, he could only smirk as he rolled over into a fetal position, cradling his face. Blood coursed between his fingers. Oh yes, that nose was very broken. Julian was glad it wasn't that thug who'd punched him in the gut or he might have been dying from massive internal bleeding. They were down for now, but there was no telling when or if they were going to get back up for another shot. The fourth thug might have even been nearby, but Julian had to get out of here. He limped over to Pain, still clutching his abdomen, and knelt down to her. "Hey, girl, can you hear me?" He tentatively put a hand over her shoulder. "Listen, we, nrh... we need to get out of here. Now. Can you walk? Don't take this the wrong way but I don't really want to carry you. I will if I have to."

[Elhaym]

Pain was struggling to her feet when she felt Julian's hand upon her shoulder, and in her spastic attempt to slap it away collapsed onto her side yet again. She was disoriented and groaning in pain; stone cared little for experience in battle or natural talent. She struggled to raise her head, fuzzy eyes taking in the scene before her. The man who she thought had been in the middle of being mugged stooped over her, and she could see the lumped forms of the other men along the stony ground of the dark alley. Julian's words slowly tumbled in Pain's mind, and she worked them slowly until they made sense. Surely, as an Acolyte there was a proper procedure to follow in this situation. Pain had no idea what it was. Getting help, or just getting out of there period would probably be for the best. The guilty could most likely be found when they sought care for their wounds. With Julian's assistance she got to her feet, one hand clutching her head. She felt a wetness there that she hadn't expected, and when she pulled her hand away it was smeared with crimson. Alarming, but Pain retained enough sense to know that head wounds bled a lot, whether or not they were serious. Her neck rolled backwards, evoking a groan from her lips. It wasn't just her head that thumped with pain, but the left side of her body as well. Julian's statement had hung in the air to the point of awkwardness, Pain clutching her head and letting out short wispy breaths. "Let's go." It was all she managed, and Pain turned and began to stumble forward in the growing light. The correct course of action would be to find the nearest Shinya, inform of them of what happened, and have Pain escorted to someone with medical expertise. However, she had little resolve to communicate that much to Julian, and essentially their destination fell to him. However, their destination would have to wait. It wasn't long that Pain stumbled along before she stopped, pressing her back against the wall of a looming building as she sought rest. "I don't really know what just happened. Just wait a second here... I heard a whistle, or something. I jump down there, and next thing I know I'm in a street brawl." Pain winced as she spoke, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. She wanted a bed, and Kota, and little Tanny snuggled up next to her. Her first real action as a protector of Lhavit had ended in... honestly, she didn't even know. She had gone from a perfectly one sided fight to stumbling down an alley arm in arm with a stranger. "I don't even know where we are anymore." Pain muttered. She rightly should have.

[Julian]

Secretly relieved that his new acquaintance needed a moment to rest, Julian took this opportunity to make his way toward one of the nearby buildings and press his weight against the wall. Every breath was a painful strain on his lungs, and his stomach still hurt where he'd been punched. His disorientation had passed, but every step he took seemed to compound his pain and make more parts of his body hurt that weren't even injured to begin with. It was a little humbling, looking so beaten up and fragile in front of someone else, but the truth was if she hadn't arrived, it would have been a lot worse. "I'm glad for your intervention, anyway," Julian said back to her, squeezing his arm around his abdomen. As a cool morning breeze wove its way between the tightly cluttered buildings and washed over them, an extraordinary chilling sensation on his right hand startled him. Why did it feel wet? Turning up his palm, he looked down at his hand. Red splotches glittered on his skin, and stained the cuff of his sleeve. What? Why would he be bleeding? No, wait... it was from that man he stabbed. Wiping his hand on the building, he inspected his jacket, spotting a few specks of blood, most likely spattered from when he pulled that knife out. Disturbing. "If you hadn't come in to help, I would probably still be lying there in the street in worse shape than I am now." On that thought, Julian drew his knife out of his pocket, still extended. Like a proud killer, it reflected the gray morning light brightly through its dried brown stains, but it was now bent and warped beyond use. He scowled at it in disappointment, then tossed it to the ground. He'd have to get a new one, now. "I've never seen a woman fight like you," Julian said suddenly, trying not to think about whether or not those thieves were still lying there, or if that man he'd stabbed was dead. There was a flavor of vindication to it all that tamed his repulsion by the blood on his sleeve, but he didn't want to become a murderer. He couldn't be if it was self defense, could he? If he was, he would have felt a lot more disturbed and frightened of himself than relieved, surely. He wouldn't be feeling this... numb. Figuratively speaking, only. Every limb was still wracked by jolts of sharp pain timed with his heartbeat. "Or anyone, really. In Syliras, it's all swords and scowls with the Knights. Nothing so refined as what I saw you doing, unless I was imagining it all." Pain's newest remark confused him. "You don't? Aren't you Shinya?" Could have been some sort of tributary costume, he supposed. Lhavitians did seem partial to dressing up in flamboyant ways for a mind-reeling plethora of tiny reasons. "Usually when I'm lost at night, I follow the lights to the Plaza, but in the daytime it all looks so different." Lifeless, even. He was becoming more used to the idea of a nocturnal city. Lights and music and conversation always seemed so much more comforting at night. In the daytime, it all looked dead like a forest of barren trees. In another city, it might seem the same way at night, but the daylight here was different. Piercing. Instead of merely being dead, everything looked soulless too. "I think I remember that building over there, with the symbol painted on it. I may be able to find my way back to my room at the Shooting Star. Is there somewhere I should bring you? A medical center or a family or the Shinyama Pavilion?" Not that he'd know where any of those things were. "Not that you need my help getting anywhere, I'm just worried those cretins will come again for another round."

[Elhaym]

Pain's teeth ground together as Julian praised her skill. Stellar as it may have seemed, she had been fighting in the dark and her own lapse in situational awareness had been her downfall. She couldn't say for certain what had transpired after she had struck the wall, or even how that had happened. She did notice as her eyes slowly fell upon Julian that he bore the blood of another, obvious from the lack of any open wounds on his skin. She simply shook her head as he commented further, knowing all too well that his description of the Syliran Knights wasn't quite accurate. Out of their thick armor, there were more than a handful of Knight's who could have beaten her squarely. "I'm an Acolyte, not yet a Shinya." She said, but her voice was hoarse. With a jerk she pushed herself free from the wall. The sharp pain in her head had lessened into a constant but noteworthy ache. She still felt disoriented. "I don't have much time to wander." she added, hoping Julian would be content with her short explanations. Talking hurt, but his voice provoked a spike amidst the agony in her head. "If we come to the Plaza, I can make it to the Pavilion." She said, but in that moment her body seemed to betray her. Her coordination had been clumsy, but now the formerly graceful warrior seemed to crumple inwards and fall to the ground. Catching herself only with her elbows, Pain groaned audibly. To further the matter, her chest began to rapidly heave back and forth, her mouth slack and eyes glazed over. However hard she'd been struck, it was clear she wasn't going anywhere.

[Julian]

Still rubbing off the drying blood crusted on his fingertips, Julian watched the woman shake her head in modesty. She was angry at herself, he could only guess. He hadn't seen much of it, but he saw her put up an incredible fight while it lasted. It wasn't his area of expertise by a long shot, but he knew well the pain of giving something your all and coming up short. When someone else's welfare was at stake, it was all the harder to bear. The way she fought was amazing, so he'd told her as much, if only in a weak effort to console her presumably chiding inner monologue. In truth, Julian had never actually seen Syliran Knights fight. Despite the way things turned out this morning, he was never much for making mischief aside from being thrown out of bars. Liara though had never been particularly fond of the Knights - few thieves were. So, by proxy, he shared in her enmity. That's all he ever knew of them. Not yet Shinya? Well that still didn't exactly answer his question. If she worked for the city, she should have been able to... well no, that depended didn't it? She could have been new to the area - meaning Julian had made an amusingly hypocritical mistake. Being partly Lhavitian himself, he was occasionally confused for a native of the city. It was very possible that this woman was in the same boat as Julian - if the Shinya accepted foreigners into their ranks. It might explain why someone who looked as old as she did was only a trainee. Or an acolyte, as the case might have it. Again, he was uncertain as to her age, but she was no child. "If we come to the Plaza, I can make it to the Pavilion." Julian only nodded, barely listening. As she was attempting to recover her strength, Julian had been collecting himself in the meanwhile. The jolting pain in his limbs had passed, leaving a crushing headache that throbbed against his temples. He was certain it was nearly a migraine, but he'd weather it until he got back to the Shooting Star. No need to... In the corner of his eye, Julian saw the woman sink to the ground. Quickly he looked up at her, jostling the floating ball of pain in his head. Wincing only a moment, he held his stomach as he quickly limped forward toward her. Was she more hurt than she realized? He couldn't see any obvious wounds on her aside from cloudy red marks on her face and arms that would eventually turn to bruises. Kneeling at her side, he rested his arm on her back, gripping her shoulder and trying to bring her around, but she was lost in her own personal strife. She was definitely in pain. This close up, Julian noticed a dark wet patch in her black hair. Tentatively with his clean hand, he very lightly touched a few strands of hair around the area, trying not to touch it directly. Tiny streaks of red came off on his fingertips, and a new wave of panic welled in his chest. Head wounds were bad, weren't they? A soft sound from the alley behind them brought Julian to shoot a paranoid glance over his shoulder, worried the thieves had followed them to get payback. There was nothing, but the small shadow of a rat scurried from one shadow to another. Growling at himself, he slowly took one of Pain's arms and anchored it around his neck, then wrapped his other firmly around her waist. "You know, I have the worst luck with women," Julian told her, as if she'd find the information useful. He knelt with her a few moments longer, letting her get her bearings. "I always seem to meet them in dark alleyways. I'm standing up now, are you ready? One... two... up! Oh!" The sudden strain on his abdominal muscles sent another extremely unpleasant shockwave through his body to remind him that he'd taken a beating too, and he was only in marginally better shape than she was. Assholes. "Ow... damnit. Not for any, nrh, sinister purpose, mind you. I don't actually take to dark alleys often. Just bad luck, like I said." With Pain on her feet, he began leading her down the street, toward what he hoped could be the Plaza. These streets all looked the same in the day, gray paths that interwove between strange buildings that looked more like artful statues. "My wife, she was a thief. Not violent like that, but... Well, I spent my life trying to rescue her from the shadows, after she robbed me. A woman shouldn't live a life of desperation, that's what I thought. Stealing is dangerous, especially with Knights abound." Keeping the woman in tow, he slowly rounded a corner. More winding streets. More buildings he didn't recognize. "A fool's errand, saving women. That's what it is. I don't know how this sort of thing keeps falling on me." Julian looked down at Pain, or rather the side of her hanging head, draped in silken, raven hair - mussed with blood and dirt. He found it oddly lovely but he couldn't place why. "If I end up marrying you, I'll know for sure my life is one long cosmic joke. A god somewhere is toying with me. I'm almost certain of it." As he pulled her, he could feel himself getting weaker. The pain in his head was only growing stronger, which made him worried. He'd taken a few hits to his head. So far as he knew, he wasn't bleeding from anywhere by now, but his eyes felt sticky, as if he'd been crying. Julian wouldn't be surprised, or even ashamed really, if a few blows had brought him to painful tears. He'd had the last laugh after all. Ruined his eating knife, which had no business sticking in anyone's shoulder (or hand), but it'd given those imbeciles something to think about. Then, to his great relief, he saw movement ahead. As he tried to make out what it was, he realized his vision had blurred more than he'd thought. He couldn't quite focus on the person (he was sure it was a person) sauntering on the road head of him. From what he could make out among the blotchy colors they wore, it looked like Shinya - as if the confident stride in the open daylight wasn't enough. Thank the bleeding stars. "Hey!" he called out. The figure ahead turned, paused, then came jogging forward. He really hoped it was Shinya, much to his surprise. Perhaps Julian wasn't over-fond of guardsmen, but at this point, it seemed like his only option. As the Shinya came near, Julian led Pain to the edge of the street, slowly kneeling and setting her against the wall. Suddenly losing his balance, he caught himself against the wall too with the flat of his hand. Shouldn't he be feeling better? Why was he disoriented again? Julian clawed at his head through his hair. Ugh, this headache! "Annyong? Hamnida put'ak?!" the Shinya guard demanded as he came closer. "What?" Julian turned toward him. "I don't know what you're saying. Look, just get her some help. I'll be fine. I was getting mugged in an alley over that direction, and she saved me. They did a number on her. You can help, right?" He gestured vaguely back toward the way he came. The Shinya stared at Julian for a lingering moment, then knelt down to Pain. Tipping her head, he examined her head wound. Concern creased his features, then he looked back up at Julian. "You? You injured?" he asked in accented Common. "Just a little dizzy, and bruised. I just need to lie down. You're going to help her, aren't you?" "Museun?" The Shinya narrowed his eyes, looking confused. He lifted his hand and pointed to his face, drawing what looked like a trail of tear drops from his eyes, then gestured to Julian. "Ppalgang? Uh... r... red? Injured?" "I... I don't..." Julian shook his head, not understanding. He followed the Shinya's gestures and traced his fingertips over his own face. "Ah!" The area around his eyes was surprisingly tender, and touching it made his vision flash purple for half a second. That's right, he'd taken a blow directly in his eyes. That fourth thief - he could still almost see the point of his elbow zeroing in on his face, looming closer and closer in his vision in slow motion until he couldn't see anything. Great, yeah, this was perfect. So now he had blackened eyes. That was attractive. More alarming however was the slightly damp, but soft and crumbling substance sticking to his cheeks. The way he could feel it pulling at the hairs on his face, he suddenly knew exactly what it was. Julian rolled pieces of dried blood between his fingertips. Blood on his face? The cut on his eyebrow hadn't been that bad, had it? The Hypnotism. That made sense. Julian must have overgiven, which was no real surprise considering the heat of the moment he'd used it in. His headache, the disorientation - his eyes had been bleeding. In a moment of realization and fear, his breath escaped him - it was a dead giveaway to the Shinya, identifying what he was. He'd heard that wizards had to register within Lhavit to identify themselves, but Julian neither considered himself enough of a wizard to apply to the rule, nor did he specifically want to identify himself. He was only passing through Lhavit - there was no need to announce what he was. As he understood it, it was counterproductive to a self-respecting Hypnotist's cause as it were. But... because Julian's eyes had been badly bruised... oh sweet mercy. He began to breathe again. The Shinya only assumed his eyes had been injured and so they bled. It was unusual, but not unbelievable. Close sodding call though. He would definitely have to be more careful. "No, I'm fine," he assured the guard. He used the back of his sleeve to wipe at his face. At this point, he was very sick of blood. Its coppery taste and smell had become ever present. He needed a nap. And a bath. And a good glass of wine. "Just point me to Surya, uh, Surya Plaza?" The guard understood, then pointed ahead. Julian could see the roof of the Shooting Star from here. He'd been much closer than he'd thought. Figured. With the Acolyte taken care of, Julian later found himself in the enclosed comfort of the upstairs corridor at the inn. He didn't even want to think about how that evening had ended - he just wanted to collapse on his bed. Let his ribs heal, let this headache pass. Later clean himself up. He could only imagine how terrible he looked - clothes ripped, stained, dirty. His hair was half untied and must of it hung disheveled to one side of his head. He was just glad no one was awake to get a good look at him. Barely capable of threading his key into his door's lock, he eventually made his way into his room. It shut loudly behind him as he stumbled toward his bed. No sooner did he collapse on top of it, his legs still halfway in midair, did he go completely out cold. -- End --

[Ophelia]

Julian: +1 Running, +2 Knife, +2 Hypnotism
Pain: +1 Meditation, +2 Unarmed Combat, +1 Interrogation


Julian: Chased by Baddies, Beaten Up, Hysterical Laughter in Awkward Moments, Saving Damsels in Distress, Overgiving without Realising, Pain/Elhaym (Partial)
Pain: Shinya Patrol, Walls (And the Pain They Reap on Bodies), OWNED, Disorientation as a Result of Wounds, Julian (Partial)


A nice, concise thread that I enjoyed reading very much. Julian was kind of hilarious in his awkwardness in the fight a lot of the time, but he ended up surprising me (and I think himself) in the end. Pain, nice to see you get knocked down a few notches, baha! Julian, your blackened eyes will last for a few days after this, and the headache will disappate after a day of rest. Pain, you will be tender and move slowly for the next three days, and the scab on your head will heal over as of 50th Spring. You will be fully healed 60th, bruises and soreness and all. If you have issues and whatnot, PM me or reach me in someway. I enjoyed this thread and I hope you did too!