Nothing's Shocking

[Razielle Alastor]

A lone woman made her way from the respectable streets of Iziz, deeper into less friendly territory. She had a loose flowing black shirt draped over skin tight black pants and boots. Her hair was tied back into a severe bun and her face was covered by a cap. She blended into the night not warranting a second glance, which was exactly how she wanted it. Anxia was tired of the games. She didn't mind her life, but the constant need to appear one way when she felt another was wearing her down. She needed to escape the palace, at least for a little while. Callidus had forbidden the Wilds to her without him at her side, and she was aware of the need to keep up appearances, but he had said nothing of her leaving the palace to go to the city..

She was looking for something, scanning the streets as kept walking, her face settling on faces every so often until she found exactly what she was looking for. She approached the prostitute, with a smile. She was of a similar build, and she too seemed to want be be in diguise, there was no way that was her real hair.. "How much..?"

"Excuse me?!" She looked shocked that a pretty young woman had approached her. She usually got drunken brutes on their way home from bars.

"How much.." Anxia repeated.. "..for your clothes? I wish to trade you and pay you for your troubles. Name your price."

A short while later, Anixa was wearing a chain mail shirt, a platinum blonde wig and an indecently short black skirt over her own knee high boots. She'd been unwilling to trade them for the street walkers own. She rather liked them, as it were. She walked into the first bar she came across, as if she owned the place and scanned the inside. She still wasn't quite sure what she wanted, but she was sure she would know it when she saw it.

"Well look what we have here! Don't think I've seen you in here b'fore girly! Got a name?" She turned to give the man a smile, but shook her head.

"Sorry, hunny. I'm looking for someone.." The lie came easily.

She moved past the burly man and closer to the dance floor, when her attention was arrested by a man, dancing with a laughing red head. It couldn't be! Her eyes focused in on the man, same build, same stance..so many similarities! It could have been Salem..but it wasn't. She decided upon a table and sat, ordering a drink and watching the man with a disapproving eye.

[Razielle Alastor]

"Here's your ale. Anything else?"

"No, I'm fine." Her drink was plopped down onto a napkin, spilling a bit of dark foam down the sides and rendering the makeshift coaster useless. Anxia rolled up the mushy napkin and tossed it to the other side of the table for a waiter to pick up. She sipped the brew, not one she'd ordered before. Then again, she was just familiarizing herself with the pleasures of the fermented drink. She liked it.

She crossed one leg over the other and tapped her toe to the music, trying to blend in. She really had to let go of her other life in order to do so. Her posture was too straight, her mannersims, too gentile. She was nothing remotely like the other females who frequented this place and would attract too much attention. She slouched back in the seat and watched some of the other girls, mimicking their movements subtly.

The man she was watching ended his dance with the red head and moved past her to the bar to order a drink for himself. The red head headed off to another table. Apparently they weren't accquainted, just happened to meet on the floor. Anxia couldn't help but be entranced, the similiarities were there, he could have been a body double, except for his eyes.. Instead of white Arkanian orbs peering into her soul, dark ones settled on her with a jaded eye. She looked away immediately. It was one thing to gawk a bit, another to have him notice her. Too late, he was already walking toward her table.

"New here?"

"You could say that.."

"Me too, just arrived to town recently. How about a dance?"

Anxia shook her head. "I don't think that would be a good...." He pulled her to her feet and tucked her around his leading her out onto the floor as a new song began to play. She should have slapped him, but her intent was to blend, not cause a disturbance so she allowed him to pull her close and begin to move. His eyes weren't the only thing that was different. He was badly in need of a razor, he was a bit shorter than Salem and his all too human fingers were cutting into the bare skin of her back, holding her tight to prevent her from walking away. She leaned back, away from him as far as she could and tried not to look like she was uncomfortable. She knew how to dance. She had no problem dancing with other men. In fact she and Captain Dejan had made quite a show of it at the masquerade ball, but now she couldn't seem to get her feet to move.

The nameless Salem double seemed to think she was under the influence of something and took it as a cue, leading her away from the dance floor and out into the night. When they emerged onto the street he laughed and tapped her under the chin.

"You don't look like you should be in there anymore, pretty eyes. Let me take you home?"

The flattery which normally would have gone to her head sickened her. She nodded though, she needed to get off the street. He led her a few blocks away and up the back stairs of a cheap motel, the gawdy neon lights hurting her eyes. Yet.. She liked it. The feel of the dirty clothes on her skin, the stench of the streets, all of it was alien to her and she was seduced by it. By everything she'd been sheltered from.

He opened the door of his room and let her pass inside. As soon as the door slid shut he was on her, trying to press his mouth to hers. She stumbled away from him. "I need the 'fresher.." She was going to be sick..

He pointed wordlessly and she followed the direction indicated and closed the door behind her. What the hell was she doing? She took a few deep breaths trying to calm the nausea floating up her throat. The dark ale she had been drinking was threatening to make a reappearance. Anxia gazed at herself in the mirror.

Blonde. Trash. Monster.. Oh yes, that was the heart of it. She knew now what she wanted. She splashed a bit of water on her face and emerged back into the sleazy hotel room.

"You going to make it, pretty eyes?" He pulled her wrist, toppling her onto the bed with him, pawing at her. He was too eager, too rough. He would leave her skin marked if she allowed him to keep this up. She couldn't have any evidence. She couldn't stand his touch, a mockery..

"Yeah, I'm in for the kill.." Anxia smiled and reached for a discarded tie hanging off the side of the bed... "Lie back..."

[Razielle Alastor]

The rest had passed in a red haze. She remembered tying the young man to his own bed. He laughed thinking he'd scored big. It never once occurred to him that the pretty blonde that he had been so eager to make a conquest of would take her own pleasure, brutalizing him. Not only that, she had made it last.. Taking her time, toying with him at first.

"Tell me what you see."

"I see your pretty face, of course." She struck him hard for that, a backhand to the face that sent his teeth into his fleshy cheek. It had him cursing almost immediately, calling her all manner of foul things. She loved it. He spit a mouthful of blood at her.

"Now. Tell me what you see?"

"Are you nuts? Get the hell off me you psycho!" She smiled at that, leaning close, but not close enough that he could so much as touch her.

"But I thought you wanted me...baby."

From that point on.. Anxia wasn't so nice with him. In the end she had made him tell her that she was beautiful to him because she was a monster. She bled the words from him about how he wanted her to kill him, take his life.. It hadn't been easy. He had been quite strong, but he had, through no fault of his own crossed a forbidden line. A part of her felt sorry for him, it wasn't his fault that he personified what was wrong with her life. All the same, she would slake her hunger to destroy the ones that she really wanted dead, on the man who resembled the one who held her back for her own good. She knew that in time she could have what she wanted, but for now.. He would do.

How dare he look like Salem?

When she was sure that he was gone, Anxia felt a conglomeration of emotions. Elation that she had released some of her pent up fury toward General DeSang. Sorrow that such a beautiful creature had been so easily wiped from the world. Longing for what she couldn't have. Disgust at the gore that covered her. She didn't regret her actions though. The only one the news would have hurt would be the Queen. Adraudia wouldn't have understood the deep urge to destroy, that had taken ahold of her ward. Perhaps in time, Creas may know such emotion, but not yet. Like it or not, Anxia was quite adept at taking life..

She ran soft fingertips across the eyelids of the deceased, shutting them forever. She curled up against him, almost comforted by the still warm body. After a minute, she rose and went back into the bathroom to clean herself up. She stood for what seemed like an eternity before the mirror, fixated on her bloodied skin. After a while, she washed, donned one of his clean shirts over her skirt and boots and left without looking back.

[Hawkins Grime]

"Where is he?"

The voice cut the cool night air like something wretched being pushed down a hill in a roll of sandpaper. It was dry and yet wet, like the man who claimed the voice hadn't drank a thing in his life and was now choking on his own blood for it. The man it belonged to stepped out of the alley across the street; the moon over Onderon casting a dim shadow that melded into the darkness.

He was tall, his wide brimmed hat made him seem even taller. His shape was lanky, at least those limbs that could be seen for the better part of his body was enveloped in the folds of his cloak. His face seemed to catch the moon light though, it was that pale and perfectly sculpted that it almost resonated its own glow. But the eyes were shadowed and gave no glint or reflection, almost like he was wearing a mask. But even without seeing his eyes, it was obvious he was staring at her, the woman who had just stepped out of that house.

That house. Where Lyman, a docks worker for the market was supposed to live. Someone who was supposed to have met Grime across the street in the alley he had been waiting in almost two hours ago. Hawkins Grime was not virtuous and therefore did not claim any patience.

[Razielle Alastor]

She drew in a deep breath upon emerging out onto the street. She had no idea how long she had been gone, time had escaped her once she had lost control of herself. Princess Razielle could not be away so long. Lira of course, could be depended upon to cover for her, should her presence be missed. Still, she could not allow it to ever happen again.

Anxia glanced up the street, trying to decide which way she had come. Her violet eyes settled on a rather disturbing vision of a man directly across the street from her. If she had been the fanciful sort, she would have definitely taken the guy as a bad omen. It was just.. unnatural the way the pale oval of his face seemed to peer at her out of the empty darkness before the rest of his body, cloaked in black, came into focus. She frowned and started walking in the opposite direction.

She was being ridiculous because she had just killed a man. She was shaken because that man had resembled Salem. She shook her head to clear her mind and kept moving. She had nearly convinced herself that she was suffering panic induced delusions when she was alerted to the fact that she wasn't the type to ruffle easily. As she neared the corner, she turned to look back..

[Hawkins Grime]

The tall figure with the pale face was nowhere to be seen behind her.

Grime had obssessively memorized the mapping of Sector 6 and 7, which after scouting out the demographics, he determined was more or less his turf. Or would be his turf soon enough. And disappearing in the night's encroaching shadows was not difficult. Hawkins had stepped into the alley across from him, leaving her line of sight when she glanced back. She had started off in the opposite direction, like prey that notes the scent of the predator and runs away from it.

Grime had been more or less stalking Lyman for some time now, watching to learn his habits and get a general idea of his life and from that determine when best to strike. He had already done that. That first conversation had been to shock Lyman into a state of fear, readily prepared for the following interrogation that should've happened tonight. Two hours ago. And counting.

This woman, Hawkins had not seen before, and his course of action was to determine her purpose in existing. In this case though, he was already irritated and disregarded the observational role. He'd pry the words he wanted from her rotten teeth if it came down to it.

Hawkins stepped out of the alley he had taken, which led him to appear right before the woman when she once again faced in front of her. Grime had taken something of a shortcut to put it simply, his exoskeleton's noise muffled beneath his cloak so that his sudden emergence from the shadows sounded more like the wind than anything else.

She could see his eyes now from this distance. They were deep set in the perfect face that showed nothing but a stoic calmness. They were tired, pained, as if bloodshot merely from having to continue to take in life.

"Where is he?"

His voice was no more pleasant when directed at her now.

[Razielle Alastor]

Although she was not really surprised, she body jerked at the severe demand. As if she knew who he was talking about? He couldn't possibly mean.. him. She had known the dangers of strolling about the less savory side of Iziz dressed like a common harlot. She was dressed exactly like the sort you wouldn't be surprised to see lying in a gutter strangled by some common crazy - just like the one in front of her.

"Listen, honey.. I have no idea who you mean, there are a lot of 'he's' in that particular hotel, that I spend time with.. frequently. You want more information than that? It'll cost you for my time. Like everybody else."

[Xanatos Etanial]

The road seemed a bit emptier than usual. Perhaps it was the lack of a warm body beside him? He wasn't too sure - things seemed almost a haze as of late, an increasingly distant Laurent who seemed to have far too much on his mind was spending less and less time with him. It had been several days since he had even seen him, to be precise.

He would simply have to trust that Laurent would always do what was right for him. Quiet whispers echoed through his mind, calling him to remember a life he had been all too happy to put away. A life that Laurent had taken, along with his pain. Here he was, lost in his thoughts yet again! Foolish little Xanatos, think about where you are going, not where you have been.

Glancing up he caught sight of a most interesting scene. What appeared to be a street walker, at the mercy of a rather imposing man, and yet... something seemed off. Even beneath strands of blonde the face was familiar. Oh dear. He didn't want to make any quick motions, no telling WHO this individual was, so he continued at the same pace he had started, walking towards them slowly, until he was almost on them, and he paused.

"Excuse me, miss... is everything alright?" he glanced at her, then at him. Then back at her. The heft of his blade against his back, hidden just under the long jacket he had become so fond of lately gave him at least some level of comfort as he spoke.

[Hawkins Grime]

Grime knew the smuts in this part of town, not because he'd ever bother with any of the disease ridden mutts but because he memorized faces, names, clients, addresses, all in case he needed them, all in case someone wronged him in some fashion. He'd know where to start. Or in this case, what was out of place. She was lying.

And then this thing... this person decided to interfere. Not that they could tell, but Grime was struggling to control his breathing, his exoskeleton and life support system regulating it that it went unnoticed to the other two. The edges of his vision were slowly taking on a red tinge.

Hawkins just needed the simplest things done, the simplest questions answered. Where was Lyman? He lived in that hotel. Two others lived in that hotel and several whores frequented it. And this one just happened to come over to sector 6 for this business? To note, he'd never seen her on a corner or alley, ever. Where, oh where was Lyman? And why, oh why was this man bothering Grime when all he needed was this nasty little mutt to say...

She wasn't nasty. She dressed nasty but with that skin... She was lying more than Grime had noticed at first.

The temperature around Grime and the other two was raising to an irritating degree. It was the middle of the night and it felt like the hottest noon day of Iziz' dry seasons. One metal hand extended into the air and held up in a halt signal.

"This has nothing to do with you, stranger... This one owes me an ounce of truth."

There was nothing of a question of negotiation or pleasantries in the tone of his voice. The porcelain like face had no expression but for perfect pearl white teeth barely visible, gritted behind pale lips.

[Razielle Alastor]

That was one of the things she loved most about Xanatos and Laurent. They both were blessed with an uncanny ability to appear at either the very best, or very worst time. Right now, she really wasn't certain which it was.. She doubted he'd have gotten involved at all if he hadn't recognized her. That was't a good thing, if he could pick out her face, so could someone else. She was running out of time and options and.. Damnit it was getting hot!

Anxia didn't have time to play with her grim friend, or the inclination to tell him anything. If he persisted she was going to have to get.. creative. She could feel his gaze, it seemed to penetrate past the layers of her disguise, seeking out the truth. She didn't like it at all. His scrutiny was a tangible thing. She doubted he'd believe the truth even if she told him, so she elected to keep with her pretense for the time being..

"Yeah.. I'm fine. Shiny there was just asking about..... Uhh.. Who were we talking about again?" She tossed a flippant look back to the pale one.

[Xanatos Etanial]

He kept a steady gaze on the tall man, he wouldn't allow him to harm his friend. He would be sure of that. He gave as pleasant a smile as he could muster, and nodded. "Well as long as it's all friendly." He could feel the sweat start to form on his brow, the area seemded to have gone up several degrees in just a matter of minutes, an odd occurance for sure.

"Come on buddy, just take off already..." He kept the smile as he let his thoughts wander, if only Laurent were here. Heh, if Laurent was here he'd have probably already jumped this guy. Different styles, he supposed, Laurent was aggressive - forceful. He preferred a more passive attempt, at least at first.

[Hawkins Grime]

The rotten, pain immersed flesh of his corpse squirmed in irritation at the scenario playing out before him. Blah blah blah blah... That's all he heard coming out of their mouths and nothing of the answers that he wanted. They were stalling. They wers stalling on purpose, holding Grime off because they had plans for him. Yes, Lyman must have hired these two. This was a trap. Grime wasn't friendly.

The woman was some seductress, horribly disguised by the way, that Lyman had paid to distract Grime in that Lyman was hiding and Grime would think exactly what he had been thinking, she would know where Lyman was, of course. And once she had led Grime out of view of the building, Lyman would escape and send this dog after him. Between the two of them, they thought they could probably catch Grime off guard. Obviously, Lyman had not received the proper impression as Hawkins had intended earlier. He would make an example of these two. Short work indeed for a false trap laid. And then return to Lyman. Grime didn't want his help anymore. He'd make do with hearing Lyman trying to negotiate between gasps as he tried to stifle the flow of blood from all the veins and arteries Grime intended to slice open.

Hawkins couldn't suppress the sensation of rage as it rose up like a sharp spike from his very being, pressing out and piercing what control he had over his furnace of hatred and passion. That spike became something else when he willed it, a blast of heat and pressure that would hit the man like a train. Grime's extended hand, ice cold metal seemingly immune to the heat, shot forward for the woman's neck. He'd squeeze the answers he wanted from her last few breaths or Grime would watch her eyes bulge until they popped from her skull.

[Razielle Alastor]

This night was proving to be tiresome. Anxia was now faced with the conundrum of either keeping up with her charade and letting Xanatos worry about her rescue, or revealing that she was a Force user and simply taking the macabre crazy man out. Such a public display would reach the ear's of her Master and she would displease him yet again. It was not something she wished to do.

Instead she bore the pain of the crushing grip around her throat, allowing herself to go wide eyed with panic, near to sputtering a choked out plea for mercy. She tried to claw at the man, kicking and thrashing and trying to get free. Just like any good little girl would.. In truth, she was having rather fanciful visions of Xanatos getting her free and the pair of them taking Whitey around to the darker sections of Iziz for some fun..

[Xanatos Etanial]

He stumbled for a moment, a feeling of incredible heat and pressure forcing him back. It was disorienting, and to a degree painful. Pain, however - was something he was all to familiar with, Laurent did so love to play, after all. He shook it off and narrowed his eyes. The man had taken his friend in his grasp and was choking her... but why was she just letting it happen, so? No time for questions like this, he had to act.

Reaching back he drew his blade and held it out for but a moment, drawing it to his chest as he leaped towards the pale giant. He brought the blade down, aiming to take the hand that clutched onto her off at the elbow.

[Hawkins Grime]

Oh! So the trap was sprung! Fools! Bloody Fools. The woman futilely struggled in his grasp as it slowly tightened and the male stumbled and then drew a large sword. And was now bringing it down towards Grime's arm. Idiot. Grime, in another life, had been a prize fighting duelist and a sweeper for one of the fattest slugs in Hutt space. Not that he was in the same respects or physical fashion, but a brawl was easier than breathing in his opinion.

Still holding the woman by the neck, he jerked her towards him and placed her back directly in the path of the oncoming sword. And in the same fluid shift of stance, his free hand gripped his longsword, blade out and drawn. The temperature had jumped again in the second that had passed when Grime drug the slut into the path of her idiot-to-the-rescue.

[Razielle Alastor]

Oh now see? She was being forced to show her hand.

Anxia had had just about enough of Whitey. She knew without even glancing back that Xanatos could halt his own swing, he was far too level headed to make such a rash move, she trusted him to avert the blade. Whitey, on the other hand, had made the mistake of assuming that she even knew who he was talking about. For all she knew he could be asking after a great number of somebodies in that hotel. He would be sore if and when he found out the guy he was after was also the corpse that resembled her Salem.

Immediately the pretense of damsel in distress was dropped, her full furious gaze slammed into him. Her eyes narrowed slowly and her hands dropped to her sides. Without struggle, she dangled in his grasp like a doll. Her hands suddenly curled into fists, her gaze bored into his eyes, probing.. seeking.. Oh he was a man alright, and he could feel and hurt and bleed, and before she was done with him he would do all of them.

Her violet eyes still locked onto him, Anxia focused pressure and pain directly into his eyes. Pain.. Squeezing.. Unyeilding pressure and torment.. She saw him blink against the pain and chose that moment to lift both feet and kick out, one boot slamming into the hilt of his sword angling it upward and away from her, the other landing squarely into his chin, knocking his head back, releasing his hold on her. She dropped to the ground, spun and took the sword from Xanatos with a growl. She was sure he would have another means of defense..

The tables had just turned in her favor. Choking against the crushing pain in her throat she swung the blade up in front of her, defensive and threatening at the same time.

"You were saying..?"

[Tartarus Eros]

A lone pair of eyes surveyed the scene in the open road. At first, it just seemed like a local lady of the night was getting into trouble again, which the eyes were used to. But something was different this time. The eyes didn't recognise this particular dame, which was strange.

As for the pale faced man, well, that was a different matter. The eyes had spent 15 years spying the streets, observing the activities of the city. The gentleman in the hat had been around the area on several occasions, and it seemed now his true nature was being revealed. No doubt the owner of the eyes had been seen by the man in question numerous times, but in the darkness, Tartarus would be hard to see right now.

The 17 year old moved silently away, only to creep back along a different alleyway facing in on the street a dozen seconds later. It was a strange situation indeed. He wasn't used to the girls around here being able to take care of themselves, and he was even less used to strangers coming to their rescue. For many years, Tartarus had been one of the only ones. Of course, the chivalrous youngster got...special attention for his deeds, but that wasn't wholly why he did it. A night with one of the girls meant a night with a roof over his head; a welcome treat.

He knew the streets better than he knew himself even. A simple youth, trying to survive, and an unknown Force potential. Well, unknown to himself anyway. The rooftops and alleys were his playground, and his arena.

Once again, he retreated, only to re-emerge atop a roof, peering down at the three. He lay silently, a handmade bow poking out, arrow poised. He knew what the Force could do, from tales and stories, but he'd never witnessed such things. With events unfolding as they were, Tartarus' eyes widened, but his aim stayed true. Maybe he was too slow...maybe he'd been sensed. Nevertheless, he remained stone still. For now, the girl, whoever she was, was fine, but Tartarus remained ready to strike.

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

She could only hope that Grime had found something more worthwhile than she. The bar had been full of the usual; every usual except the one she was seeking. Gossip mongers spread such dirty little tidbits and her snooping ears were all too ready to pick up on anything that might useful. The subject of pursuit, this Lyman fellow, had been seen earlier within the establishment pawing some young thing. It was believed that they had gone down a few blocks to a motel catering to that sort of thing.

Valeria noted mentally, in amusement, that all the events of her collateral role under Grime had led to braces catering to that sort of thing, thus far. Ah well, reality. What was a girl to do?

She slipped from the bar unnoticed and was greeted by the night air, brisk, and annoyingly so. Her black hair swirled about her face volantly and her aloof perse eyes closed against the lively breeze. Then, heat. The crispness of the wind was assailed by a fever.

Grime.

A swift stride through a few streets and alleys led her to the side of a building that protruded into the shoddy boulevard which two men and a woman gathered. Valeria arrived just in time to witness Grime take a blow from the woman. Her body grew hard and rigid beneath the combat jumpsuit she wore and a frenetic rumble hammered at her vocal processes. How dare they...?

It was not her place to interfere yet. Not yet. However...

Her neck became angled harshly and those undulating eyes shot up the wall to her right. Then, her agile anatomy set into motion. Her lengthy arms, now brandishing acute claws at their end, bore into the wall of the building and her muscular legs spurned prolonged landings violently. The roof was reached within a matter of seconds and there, she landed in a beast-like bearing. The thunder swelling in her larynx flew from her lips and set the architecture a-flutter, a roar worthy of a hellish fiend.

A man, poised. This hindrance to their plans.. he would know her wrath.

[Xanatos Etanial]

She pulled the blade from his hand in a rather violent manner. It left him awe-struck, to be honest. He was certain she'd be careful with it - but still to have his family's blade pulled unceremoniously from his grasp? It was simply not done. There was no time to request it's return, no time to argue with his friend. He would have to make do - and so he brought his hands up defensively. She was more than capable of defending herself. He would simply provide assistance, where needed then.

[Tartarus Eros]

Tartarus' eyes were torn from the scene on the street as a roar blasted him from his right. He looked over the girl, not recognising her, and set his bow down where it was.

"Where the..." he muttered, his voice but a whisper, pulling a 7-inch, rusty knife from a pouch at his side.

"Well this is a suprise" Tartarus murmered, pushing himself to his feet, but keeping himself in a low crouch, knife ready in his left fist. "Anything I can help you with?" he spat, his voice still quiet.

[Hawkins Grime]

Grime had stumbled back a bit, ensuring more distance now that the slut had decided to show her true colors. She was no doubt an assassin, and one of these nitwits could use the Force. Hawkins noted the woman, now holding the other man's sword and determined after that last bit that she was ultimately responsible for all of this and the use of the Force, most likely. Really, Grime didn't care either way.

His now free hand was cradling his face, which displayed nothing of the pain he was in upon its perfect surface. His head screamed and the hatred within him struggled to such a point to overcome him that it felt as if it really were some physical beast, his body merely the host and the shell, incubating it until it could rupture from inside and devour everything else. In a fog of pain, Grime wasn't sure if it was just some sick joke, a means to an end for a greater entity, this hatred, this deadly passion to mutilate reality and plant the seed of pain and despair in everything else.

His chest burnt with that familiar pain of frailty within and he made one long gasp of a breath as his dead set eyes went from the woman and to the fool of a man. The hatred seethed as the pain seemed to grow; Grime winced, and for all that the flesh underneath actually spasmed, the pale white layer on top actually drew inwards in an expression of distraught pain.

In the span of a few seconds...

Grime wanted to murder the prostitute. He could tell by her stance, he had her. She would die in three steps using such a sword with her frame. Hawkins could sustain himself on the hatred, use his juggernaut momentum to knock her heavy weapon out and by the second step, turn his sword back around and on the third, her head would be missing. Hawkins saw it, he bloody saw it happening, but the demon, the monster of destruction inside him wouldn't have it, it wanted him to suffer now, wanted him to savor his own pain.

Hadn't he done that enough?! Hadn't he already suffered and now it was their turn?! As if Grime could actually negotiate with the darkness that shared occupancy with his mind. But Grime wanted to submit, to the pain, the absolute self loathing. This had all been so simple, find Lyman, change plans to kill the prostitute and then find Lyman, and now... now... to concede and just let the death and obliteration loose. The feeling reminded Grime very much of when he could sigh, and it almost felt relaxing to do so.

Almost. This sigh was actually Grime falling to a knee, his sword dropped from his grasp, as he screamed. And this was a new pain, as his own laughter rang somewhere in the back of his head, tears mingled with blood ran down the porcelain white face as the scream became something else. A pain wrought by the Force, and even something of his own volition at that.

It was like an explosion, but Grime wasn't protected from this. There was a wave of immense pain that was released first and then another, one of the physical type, and the destruction ensued. The shockwave came from inside of him and he felt like he had just liquified his frail corpse. Something popped and blew out on his back... one of the two life support units hidden under the mantle. The explosion was first a shockwave, that hit the two before him and shook the foundations of nearby buildings. The sound was deafening and Hawkins closed his eyes to stop his vision from becoming anymore red. He could still hear the windows shatter as glass fell on the ground. The stone ground beneath him trembled and almost gave under him. Pipes in the sewers directly beneath him, aged and most rotten, gave and bent away. The explosion hadn't even subsided when the slivers of flame ignited all about him and spread as the atmosphere just seemed to become nothing but heat. He couldn't breathe. Grime couldn't feel it by now, but blood dripped from his open mouth freely, sizzling as it hit the street.

[Razielle Alastor]

Anxia and Xanatos were tossed backward together, she slammed into him and they both crumpled to the street in a dazed heap. Thankfully they both recovered with all haste and got to their feet.

That man.. He had more issues than Iziz Faire..

Anxia rolled her eyes, thankful that she had cradled the sword belonging to Xanatos against her body in the fall, keeping it safe. In truth she did know what it meant to him and despite her darker side, she elected to keep him as her friend and not her enemy. It was just thather sense of self preservation, along with a strong desire to seperate the pale ones head from his body, had taken ahold of her rationale..

She had to get off the streets and back to the palace before her presence was missed. She could not afford to be found out. Darting away from the scene with Xanatos close behind, she gave him an apology, returning his blade to him. Apologies, not being her strong point, as royalty she rarely felt the need to do so.

"Apologies for the sudden removal of your weapon, X. I really needed to gut that guy. I cannot believe he had the audacity to attack me. I don't even know for sure what he wanted.. and you.. You would probably be better off not asking me what I have been up to tonight." They stopped just shy of where the neighborhood became less dangerous and closer to the elite section of the city.

"I'll be in touch. Thank you for recognizing me beneath the facade." She touched him on the shoulder briefly, then turned and fled in the direction of the palace, seething inside, vowing that she would have her revenge on the pale one....

[Xanatos Etanial]

He watched her go and nodded a bit. She had met no harm in taking his blade - he understood that. He smiled.

"Of course..."

He watched her vanish towards the richer part of town and sighed. It was good to know he had a friend, especially with Laurent missing as he was. Sighing at that thought he vanished back into the alleyways of Onderon - unsure as to his next move. Perhaps he would find his way to Coruscant, and regain something of himself he had lost...

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

Anything I can help you with?

There were several ways to achieve exactly what she wanted done and none of them included his help, unless he chose to jump off of the roof himself. The outcome of each bloody scenario playing through her twisted cognizance was either this pest crushed into a gory mess on the rooftop before her or smashed on the ground down below. There had been a time when the mere threat of her roar would send such subsidiary rabble fleeing from the spectacle. And yet, he remained stalwart in his fortification, she deduced upon noticing the rusted shiv and his hunched stance. He was either impossibly brave or incredibly stupid.

She opened her mouth to insist upon his departure or impending doom, revealing a strand of serrated fangs. No sound escaped her lips, however, for she had felt it before the tremor had caused the building to churn precariously. Hatred, pain, anger. Waves of it seemed to course up the front of the building like a thin but potent mist, wrapping them both in a caustic haze.

Valeria's frame writhed with the intensity of it all, the force casting a translucent
image of the monstrous visage pending. Grime. The area boiled with his blazing signature. She had to get down there. Her voice, thick with the abandon weighing down upon her, sounded like cannon fire aimed directly at the young man she faced.

"You should depart with your friends, kid. You'll have plenty more opportunities to play hero in the future." She informed him in that perversely exhilarated tone, then added.

"Besides, I wont be able to control it much longer.."

With that warning issued, she crouched low and dug those harsh claws into the steel support she poised upon.

[Tartarus Eros]

Tartarus stumbled backwards, unable to keep balance as the building shook violently. What the hell was going on? Clutching the knife in his left hand, he planted his right on the roof, regaining a little composure. He grunted softly, straining to keep upright for the moment before the shaking subsided. As soon as it had, Tartarus was up on two feet again, still crouched.

His eyes darted between the woman before him, and the apparently pale-faced man still on the street. Had he caused the tremor? The girl and her friend had fled the scene, and so Tartarus had no-one to protect tonight.

However, his mind was torn. Perhaps he should try to finish off the guy, before he plagued any more of the night time girls. But this one before him...the Force? It seemed Force users were all coming out to play tonight.

What to do? What to do?

"I've got no fight with you, lady. What is it you want?" the youth replied, his voice still low.

[Hawkins Grime]

Turning on his side, Grime parly collapsed, his face up towards the direction of the roar he had caught amidst his own business. Valeria... and she was talking to someone... obviously another person that Grime had been unaware of the entire time. The other two twists had ran fast enough but Hawkins couldn't tell how long ago that was. The world kept swelling into a red mist, and he kept coughing splurts of blood into the air.

"Bloody Dren... Valeria!..."

Was it supposed to hurt that much? His voice was bad enough, but now it sounded like someone had run a blender through his vocal cords.

"Valeria..."

Hawkins wasn't in the condition to stand on his own, much less tell Valeria to just kill whatever she was talking to and come help him. The darkness, the hatred, the bloody desire to destroy was overwhelming as it fed off the inconceivable amount of pain he was enduring at the moment. His hands twitched uncontrollably as he squirmed on the sidewalk. There was no comfort, there was no peace, there was no luxury for Grime, and there seemed that there never would be.

"...Morghelia..."

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

"What is it... that I want..?" She repeated the question to herself, aloud. Her expression was puzzled yet analytical as she pondered the inquiry quite seriously. She stumbled upon the same reaction every time - it was an interrogation she often placed herself under. Recently, however, the thought had been absent from her mind.

Her perturbed eyes wandered to the edge of the building occupied by this living, breathing obstacle. She could hear Grime's shattered voice drifting sparingly through the air, attempting to draw her down so that she might assist him. It was because.. because he needed...

___

You'll never amount to anything! You are worthless!

Each abusive word was said with such painstaking sincerity. It was far too difficult to discern the gruff tone her father used. He was shaking her so hard, her face throbbed where he had struck her. He didn't dare spare his child the violence of his nature. She would learn to grow under this handling and flourish into a far more vile creature than he. When she had achieved that, perhaps then she could be accounted as something of value.

No one will ever need a miserable little worm like you! Do you hear me, Valeria? No one!

___

"He needs me." She murmured. At some point during the reminisce, her head had canted downward. Her eyes wandered the ground and her fists clenched, those jagged claws tearing into the darkened flesh of her palms. Her teeth gnashed together in that menacing way and she began to stalk forward.

Valeria..

"I want you to stay out of my way." She stated. Valeria was only a few feet away now. The tension in her frame, the promise of torture radiating from her very gaze. She intended to scale or avoid this obstacle.. or tear through it with her own two hands.

A vibration before the rush was the young man's only warning. The paws that had appeared through the already inflicted holes of her combat boots tipped and sliced into the roof. Driving herself around the knife wielding boy, she pivoted about at the last possible moment and flipped over the steel banister. Her fiendish hands sank into the smooth make of the building's face, occasionally thrusting off the windows that had burst. Sparks flew around her and she avoided thinking about the pain ripping through her hands.

Her boots crashed down atop some of the fallen glass once she reached the ground. She didn't wait to steady - rather, she tottered around swiftly, uneasily, and sprinted to Grime's side. Kneeling, she grabbed his arm.

She could only hope that the boy had more sense than she had thought and would stay put. There was little time.

"...Morghelia..."

"It's Valeria, Grime.." She corrected softly.

[Tartarus Eros]

Tartarus had remained stone still the whole time the girl had rushed past him, too sluggish to react. He'd spent a lot of time fighting and speeding through the city, but damn, he wasn't that fast.

Shaking his head, as if to bring himself round, he turned back to the edge of the roof, perring down to the street. So, she was with him. No use attacking now, she would clearly rip the youth to shreds. Tartarus had missed his chance, and there was little point hanging around now. He slipped the knife back into it's sheath, scooped up the bow and retreated, back across the rooftops of Iziz and into the shadows.

[Hawkins Grime]

Blood spluttered in a restrained cough and slipped along the perfect contours of his lips and his eyes seemed to sharpen and focus in on reality once more.

"Bloody... Get me back... to the frelling... Wyvern... That runt, she'll... she can fix it..."

An ice cold metal hand, trembling, reached up slowly and with a pathetic gentleness, one finger tip ran along the edge of Valeria's lower lip and Grime's eyes seemed to be staring at Valeria and something else that wasn't there simultaneously once more.

"...Please... take me with you..."

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

Her eyes, which had become a significantly darker shade, lifted from the deep claret twisting along those lips to the sharpened intensity of his gaze. Grime spoke and she listened intently to those broken words, nodding her head in affirmation when he was finished. She had just about begun to lift him when an icy hand moved toward her face.

The touch was different this time and the barbed seeming of his eyes had dulled into something she couldn't comprehend. It was most puzzling, being observed that way.

...Please... take me with you...

Her hand lifted, wrapping about his own in a not so gentle manner - that was never something Valeria had ever sought to practice. With effort, she pulled him into the desired bearing. Then, with a huff, she pivoted and began to make their way toward the location of the Wyvern.