Abysmal Souls: Chapter 2

[Jaybee]

"What the hell is the point of giving me a bandage if I can't put it on, idiot? Can't you open the damn door and help, at least?" Elune tried to move over onto the left side of her body, to show the guard her bound hands. "Or be like the rest, and leave me here. I don't care anymore."

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh, I'm going too fast? What was that back on the mountain with you whispering into my ear?" Adrian wasn't going to try and excuse his behavior, but she wasn't exactly being innocent herself. "Or grabbing my arm on the bed last night, or, fuck, sleeping with me?! And then I try to move it forward a bit more, and then I get 'oh, stop, it's too fast!'. How long do you think you can tease a guy before he thinks you mean it?! I'm sorry I just did that, but you weren't helping!" Shouting back at her probably wasn't the best idea, but he was upset that she was throwing all the blame onto him.

[ReformBlade]

"That was me playing around. Were you just playing around there? Because it sure didn't look like it, and I'm not sure where you were hoping to go with that! Just..." She didn't want to finish that sentence. She knew he had a point, but to admit defeat wasn't in the plan here. He overstepped the line, and he knew it. "And we didn't 'sleep together', I have no clue where you're getting that from. Are we jumping ahead again, Adrian?"

The guard looked over at Elune, noting she was unarmed and basically helpless. "Go ahead, mate, but if you do anything funny in there you're getting jailed too."

Edited June 12, 2011 by SlaveBlade

[Nanami Touko]

"And if I wasn't? W-What then?" he blushed a little, as he was... sort of being serious with it. He laughed at what she said next, wondering if she was being serious. "Yeah, 'cause I could totally go somewhere with that on top of a fucking mountain! Don't treat me like a kid. I know what I did was wrong there, alright?" Not like what you've been doing has been much better. "Oh, then what do you call sleeping in the same bed together? I think it'd be best if I gave you some time to cool off..." he said, mumbling the last part. He rushed past her, up the mountain, as fast as he could.

Edited June 12, 2011 by seph1212

[CT075]

Teis

"Oh, I apologize. I didn't notice you were still bound." Teis glanced at the guard. "Don't worry, I'll only be a moment."

He threw open the door and tied the makeshift bandage over the wound, making sure to stop the bleeding. Now that he was in there, he didn't really know what to say. For whatever reason, he'd had some certainty that she'd be able to help him find his father's murderer. But once he was actually in her cell, looking her in the face... he didn't know.

Teis stood up, walked out, and slammed the door, locking it again. Then he walked out of the jail, ignoring the guard. Maybe...

[ReformBlade]

"You'd be fucking surprised at what I've seen people doing, Adrian. On top of a mountain seems tame in comparison. And please don't run off in front of me, we may not be being followed, but there's still shit to worry about up here... like-" An odd howl sounded from relatively close by. "Adrian! Get back here, NOW." Why are they around here at this time of day?! She was prepared for a skirmish, and she hurried to Adrian's side.

Grant watched Teis enter then exit rather quickly, no dialog exchanged. Grant gave a confused look to the jailer, who shrugged in return. The knight walked up to the Jailer, "Sir, if I may, and I'm being a bit bold here... could you release the assassin unto my custody?" The jailer rubbed his forehead for a moment before looking at the knight, expecting some sort of punchline but getting none. "OK, I'll bite, why should I make such a fucking stupid decision?" Grant was taken aback, but he should've expected it. "Well, my group is going up against the Crimson Witch, we are trying to track her down and bring her in for a bounty. I figure that if we can get her to cooperate with us, we'd have better chances." The jailer looked down and sighed. "Alright, pretending she does go with you, what could she do? She went down rather quickly to a group of what I'd call sellswords, what can she do?" Grant thought about it for a moment, moving in closer to the jailer to keep his voice down. "Fodder, to be honest. Look at it this way. If you let her out with me and she helps bring in the Witch, she can possibly be pardoned, and if she dies, she dies." The Jailer frowned. "I don't like it. How about this. I send one of the town's guards with you to keep tabs on the assassin, that way I know it's a fair assessment of her contribution?" Grant smiled. "Deal." And with that, the Jailer called to a guard outside. "Seilynda, get in here!"

[Sakusa]

"Seilynda, get in here!"

The girl ran over as fast as she could, shaking a bit. This particular man didn't seem to like her much, and he was known to be somewhat ruthless. "Yes, Captain?"

"Release the assassin and accompany her with this group of sellswords."

"P-Pardon me, sir? But what abou--"

"Are you questioning orders, whore? Women should shut up and obey men!"

"But sir how am I--"

"We'll deal with it when you return, now get going!"

"...yes, sir." Seilynda, crestfallen, took the ring of keys off its hook and unlocked the assassin's cell. "Hey, you. You're getting let go, but you gotta stick with me. If not, well... just think yourself lucky to even be alive now."

Edited June 12, 2011 by Rathian

[Nanami Touko]

He stopped and sighed. He wasn't getting out of arguing this with her any time soon, and running from it was just immature. "I honestly don't care what you've seen, I'm talking about me. Do I really seem like the kind of guy who would push down an omnipotent witch in the middle of a mountain whilst we're trying to run for our lives from people who are mercilessly hunting us, just to have se--" the howl cut him off as well, and he shuddered for a second, his eye beginning to twitch. "Alright you FUCKING MOUNTAIN! WHAT NOW?!" He'd had enough of the bullshit this mountain was bringing to him, as he screamed up at the source of the howl. He wasn't going to deal with this, and would seriously try to kill whatever had howled with his bare hands.

Edited June 12, 2011 by seph1212

[CT075]

Ormis

Ormis didn't really care what happened to the assassin after she had been carried off. It was pretty clear that she'd be hanged for murder, but Ormis had no care in that. He sighed. My first chance to make a name for myself and I spend it all yelling at some religious nutcase.

Of course, that line of thought only lead him to be surprised when he spotted axe-man (as Ormis had dubbed him) walking back, Grant and some other guard coming in shortly afterwards. And they had the assassin in tow as well? Ormis couldn't make head or tail of it.

Teis

Teis had started heading back to where they had caught the woman without really thinking about it, then quickly had an afterthought and went to go grab his spare axe from the inn. It was hefty, slightly heavier than a standard battle-axe. Teis could swing it without thinking, as he'd become accustomed to the ridiculous weight of his father's gift (the other axe).

[Jaybee]

"Hey, you. You're getting let go, but you gotta stick with me. If not, well... just think yourself lucky to even be alive now."

What the hell? They're... letting me go? But... why... She felt herself being lifted onto her feet and brought out of the cell. She was too tired to speak, but she could recover later, wherever she was going. She'd eventually find out what was happening.

[Sakusa]

Seilynda was surprised this assassin wasn't putting up any resistance. She helped her walk, since being tied up like that would make it pretty difficult to walk, and on top of that, she was wounded. "Um... excuse me? Mister? Where are you planning to go, and what are you planning to do?" the girl asked shakily, scared to make eye contact. She tilted her head sightly toward the killer's direction. "And um... what's your name? I need something to call you by."

[Jaybee]

Can I trust these people? In any case, they don't seem too bad, and maybe they can help me for a while. "... Elune. Can you also untie these ropes? I'll be fine."

[Shin]

Aurelio

Aurelio had seen the assassin being carried off, it was quite a surprise to see her back. Grant was talking to one of the guards, so it was likely that he was involved in this. Deciding now would be a good time, he went over to Ormis and his new friend. He wanted to hear Ormis' side of the story for quite a while now.

"Yo, Ormis. What d'you know about that Adrian kid? I was wondering, we're talking a lot about that witch but not much about him. What's up with him?" he asked, trying as hard as possible to not make fun of him. He wouldn't answer him if they did. He completely blanked Lucinda, he had no time for upper-class snobs.

-----------------------------

Ken - Phirias

He had arrived at last at Phirias, although he still wasn't sure what he was meant to do. He was let through the gates by the guards, both of which didn't seem too pleased to see him. He approached the first young man he saw in the street and asked;

"You are a child of the Goddess of Light. Do you wish to follow her path?"

The man didn't look too pleased, he walked off only saying;

"Keep your goddess trash to yourself, lady."

[ReformBlade]

"Alright you FUCKING MOUNTAIN! WHAT NOW?!"

As if on cue, a rockslide came crashing down on the travelers! Carrion made a mad dash to Adrian, dragging him to a nearby groove in the wall that could protect them for the moment. "Adrian goddammit, how many times have I told you to just stick with me? Why do you keep running off like that! You're gonna get yourself killed doing that, and especially with your shouting! We're on a mountain, loud sounds like that will carry, and then avalanches and rockslides and... Dammit, look, I'm sorry about all that shit I pulled earlier, alright? I may be pissed but that doesn't mean I hate you, OK? Can we just... get some more solid communication? You've never been outside of the nation of Sapphire much, have you? I have, so please please PLEASE just take my word on things, don't question it if time is of the essence...OK?"

Grant was appalled with how the jailer just treated his subordinate, solely because of gender, but... now he at least had 2 more allies, one of which was reliable he could guess, the other... remained to be see. He stayed with the two in case any trouble started brewing.

[Sakusa]

"... Elune. Can you also untie these ropes? I'll be fine."

"And I'm Seilynda. I apologize for treating you so horribly earlier. If I didn't I'd..." she shuddered a bit. Foul memories cropped up again, but she squashed them back down. She unsheathed her dirk and made quick work of the ropes. "I'm sorry, but I can't trust you to leave my line of sight. We should also tend to your wounds and probably pack for the journey."

Edited June 12, 2011 by Rathian

[Jaybee]

Heh... at least she's giving a shit about me. "I've already got a horse back at the inn. I just need a crossbow and a sword or knife, and I'll be fine. Help that armoured guy or something, I don't care."

Elune started walking to where she'd left her crossbow, leaving Seilynda to catch up to her.

[Sakusa]

"H-HEY! I can't trust you with weapons!" she ran to catch up to her but was outpaced. Darn armor... "HEY! WAIT! Seriously, I might get in trouble! What if you shoot and kill one of us or something!?" Seilynda groaned. She never had to do this kind of thing before, and she was still naive.

[Nanami Touko]

He was ready to strangle whatever had howled, not the avalanche that came barreling towards him. His eyes grew wide as he stared up at the oncoming torrent of boulders, barely noticing when Riya shoved him into an opening in the wall to dodge it. It wasn't until she started yelling at him that he popped back into reality. He couldn't say anything against what she'd said, and if she wasn't almost on top of him, he'd probably be kicking himself. "... I really am just a kid..." he finally said. A few tears began to well up into his eyes. "I... thought I understood you, I really did. I know what it's like to loose family at such a young age, so I thought... that I could be there for you, but I..." He bit his lip to stop himself from sobbing, forcing the tears back. He didn't want to seem even more immature than he already was. "I thought I could be there for you, like that, but all I did was try and force this onto you." He couldn't stop himself from hugging her, burying his face into her shoulder. He didn't want her to see him cry.

-----

Amera, finally becoming un-transfixed with the studded sword, handed it back to Lucinda. "S-Sorry about that. Shiny things have always been a problem for me. Just something turns off in my mind and I have to play with them, heh heh..." she was quite embarrassed about it, and would rather it stopped happening, but she'd never been able to stop herself. There was another two women coming out of the jail, now. Amera hadn't noticed anyone enter, too busy with the sword, but Grant had walked out with the both of them. She walked over to him, tilting her head a bit. "Uh, Grant... who're they?"

[Jaybee]

Stupid little bitch. "Look, it's obvious why I'm not in there anymore. You guys want me to fight something, right? I can't fight up close now, and I've used that thing for over 20 years. If I shot you, I'd be hanged anyway, so what the hell?" Elune continued walking, sure she'd find it somewhere around here.

[Sakusa]

"Look, it's obvious why I'm not in there anymore. You guys want me to fight something, right? I can't fight up close now, and I've used that thing for over 20 years. If I shot you, I'd be hanged anyway, so what the hell?"

"B-Because once we're out of town, the only people you'd have to deal with are me and the rest of the group, and nobody would know, and well... I'm probably one of the easiest of targets. B-But I have family I need to take care of, and they're relying on me for su-support so I... I..." she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and choked down a sob. "I... can't take any unnecessary risks! So p-please..."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lucinda took back her treasured sword gratefully. "It wasn't a problem, and it was quite understandable, Miss...?" she frowned a bit, since the Anri girl darted off again.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Rathian

[CT075]

Ormis

"Yeah, I met him a few days ago, one some mercenary mission. Scarlet- Sorry, the Witch was there, and Grant just happened to be there. We got ambushed by some soldiers from Astarte, which eventually resulted in Grant's capture along with another member of our group. I got away, barely, but Adrian nearly died from some spear wound in his shoulder. A little while after we found each other, the Witch came out of nowhere and started menacing us. I don't think I need to tell you what happened. I barely managed to survive, and Adrian, being already wounded... didn't."

Ormis sighed. "When I woke up again, Adrian was alive again, somehow. From what I heard, Scarlet's magic gave him a second life, or something. I don't know any more than that, I swear."

[Shin]

Aurelio

"Eh? He was brought back to life? If that's the kind of stuff she's capable of, I can sorta see what's going on here." he replied, quite shocked at the story. Once people died, they stayed dead, right? "I guess that's part of the reason he's following her."

[Jaybee]

"B-But I have family I need to take care of, and they're relying on me for su-support so I... I..."

That was it. This girl was getting on her nerves far too much.

"You shut up about your damn family! I haven't had parents for 14 years, and you continue going on and on about them... I never knew my father, and my mother died in front of my fucking face! So, just... stop, alright?" Tears were starting to form in Elune's eyes. She brushed them off and picked up her crossbow.

"All right... let's go."

[ReformBlade]

"It's... gonna be alright, Adrian." She didn't know how to respond to this, but she felt she had to say something to the kid. "If it makes you feel better, I did like it. It's just like... it was too sudden for me and I freaked out and now this. Let's just try it again, shall we?" And then she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then tried to wipe away his tears. "Come ooon, be a maaan, stop crying! Or if you'd rather be human and continue, go ahead." she said with a smile.

Grant was sick of this. The guard that was just assigned seemed on the verge of crying, and the assassin kept prodding. "You ungrateful little bitch!" He grabbed Elune by the collar of her shirt to get her attention. "Listen well. If it wasn't for me and for her, you wouldn't be walking around out here right now in daylight! You're disrespecting her and me, but honestly I don't mind if you disrespect me, because I really really don't care. Her, though? She's doing her goddamn job, and you're giving her so much shit! Apologize. Now. Or you're going right back in that cell, with a few more cuts. All I'm asking is that you show respect and do what you're told here, nothing more, and if you do it well, you'll be free again." Grant had almost forgotten about Amera's question he was so flustered. "A couple of 'friends' who will be joining us, Amera..."

Edited June 12, 2011 by SlaveBlade

[Sakusa]

Though she never intended to, Seilynda broke down into sobs. It was one thing to feel sorry for this assassin, but it was another thing that a complete stranger would stand up up for her. She was so sad and touched and overwhelmed by everything that just happened that she couldn't help but wail. The tears wouldn't stop flowing. "I-I'm sorry, I..." she choked on a hiccup and coughed. "Th-Tha--hic-- Thank you --hic--, Mister. I--hic--'m sorry I--cough-- caused s-so... so much t-trou--hic--ble."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lucinda glared at the assassin. Though she had a hard life, that was no reason, in the name of the Goddess, to lash out on a poor girl that was only doing her duty! She walked over and pulled the young guard into a hug. "Hush now, dear. As horrible as you feel at the moment, the Goddess of Light brought us together for a reason. It is fate that we met. There will be good things to come, do not worry." She brought out a lace handkerchief, wiped the girl's face with it, and smiled serenely. "You have a whole life ahead of you, so buck up! A lovely young lady such as yourself will surely be met with happiness." She was met with more sobs and muddled thank yous, but she could spot the teeniest of smiles playing across her lips.

My Goddess, my deepest, heartfelt thanks go to you for allowing me to bring some semblance of joy to this lost soul.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Rathian