One step forward, two steps back [open]

[Emily Rochette]

The Jysbena never had been good with commitment. She always let herself disappear from the lover's life. First Salem, now Jeseth. But it hurt worse, leaving Jeseth. She carried a part of her inside of him. A part that would grow and become a living reminder of the man.

What's the matter, Emily?

"Gone.." The girl huddled slightly, her arms loosely crossed over her stomach. Her dress, dark, tattered, red, had been stitched back together. Her pale skin was soaked and shimmering with rain as the cold water beat down from the sky. Her oversized boots were partially filled with water, each step making a heavy, sloshing thump.

Ah, so the slut misses her "lover"

"...I don't even know what that means," Emily responded with a dull tone. She could feel that the words were meant to be cruel, and it had not been the first time she'd heard them, but she'd never been told of their meanings.

So..What shall you do about it?

A hand fell upon her stomach as she froze, midstep. It had barely began to rise with the sign that anything was inside it. She let her gaze fall on the dark pavement, drops of rain creating brief spikes across it. She'd honestly never been given any choice in the matter of whether or not she wanted a child. She didn't even know what she and Jeseth had been doing.

"...I want it out..."

http://future.boomspeed.com/gitane/lookdown1.jpghttp://future.boomspeed.com/gitane/main.jpg

[Andrue Dimitri]

There was something about water he hated, although he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Perhaps it was the cold that accompanied it with the grey skies overhead, with the smell of asphalt in the air.

The twelve year old boy ran down the street, his brown eyes searching for shelter. The few buildings and homes that were around seemed locked up and deserted, making things worse. The wind kept blowing the water into his eyes, making it hard to see when he heard a timid voice speak out.

"I want it out."

He slowed down to a stop while raising a hand to shield his eyes, looking around. That was when he saw a girl - or young woman - with a hand placed on her stomach. She was just ahead of him by a few steps, and cautiously he hurried up to her side. There were strange, red marks on her face, causing him to lower his hand and touch his left cheek. A crescent-shaped scar was beginning to appear there, burning whenever he felt fear or anger.

He would've moved on, except for the fact that she looked so forlorn and sad. It was then that a guilty feeling washed over him, causing Andrue to cast his eyes downward.

"Are you ... okay, miss?"

She looked as if she could be cold, with a tattered dress on and oversized boots, but he wasn't better off. Clad only in a torn jacket smeared with blood - with a shirt underneath - and pants didn't make him immune to the chill in the air.

[Emily Rochette]

Her eyes widened as Emily realised she had company. She stared at the child, her head slowly tilting to the side as she took a few steps forward. Her voice seemed half dazed as she spoke, the quiet tone nearly drowned out in the sounds of the rain.

"You shouldn't be out here.."

A faint smirk crossed her lips as she touched a sopping lock of his hair, taking a moment to study his face. Her hand hovered in the air, before tapping lightly against the boy's nose.

"You'll catch your death of cold, and then who will live your life?"

A childish giggle left her mouth as she folded her hands behind her back, leaning over so that her eyes stared directly into his.

"So...What's your name?"

[Salem Ave]

There was something different, something that he did not like.

The vampyre clung to the wall with bare hands, the talons he bore working as holds to keep him ‘stuck’ into the brickwork. His boots were pressed up hard against the surface to stabilize him, whilst he looked back over his shoulder down into the street at the little boy and Emily.

“What hasss he done to herrrr?”

Though it was only a habitual gesture to the undead, Salem’s chest rose and fell as if he were breathing. His teeth locked together for a moment as he watched the face he had not seen for so long. It had been a mystery to him where she had gone, and he had been so swept up in the creation of the Krath that he had not thought to look for her. Only now, in his ennui, had his thoughts come back to her.

“He hasss corrupted herrr…”

The something different was inside of Emily. It was like she now had two beings living in her – and not in the sense of the force acting as a parasitic symbiotic entity, but offspring developing in her. Salem heard Emily giggle and felt a sickening shudder work up his spine.

“Sss-he was mine!”

One hand tore out from the wall then pounded instantly in back against it, scattering rubble down into the street below.

[Emily Rochette]

The girl seemed to jump at the sudden crash that was echoing down the street. She spun around, trying to figure out where it came from. At that moment, she seemed to forget about the child, her attention fully resting on the noise. Curiosity was taking over her mind as she started racing down the alley she'd been standing at the mouth of. At one point, she lost a boot, though the lopsided steps didn't seem to effect her pace. She skid to a stop, stumbling a bit as she saw the man.

"You.."

Her eyes were wide, full of amazement and sorrow, as she slowly realised who she was looking at. A sad expression took over her face as her voice was reduced to a hoarse whisper that would have been inaudible, if she were to say anything else.

[Salem Ave]

Both hands now came swinging back out of the wall as Salem spun 180 degrees, pushing himself outwards. His cloak instantly smacked up into the air as he was pulled down by gravity, landing with an all-mighty thud on the wet concrete. Left crouching, he pressed both hands against the stone beneath them and stared up with black-hot eyes at the girl. All at once he felt a sudden rage fill him and wanted with all his will to strike out at her and tear the taint straight from within her. A slur of mutters began to roll past his lips.

“…minehowcouldhewellI’llseehowhelikesifIsssoeasssy sssmoothtakeitallaway…”

Damp hair was matted down Salem’s temples as rain spilled over his face from the clouds above, though still he stared at the exact same point on Emily’s face.

[Emily Rochette]

Emily took a stumbling step backwards, her heart pounding hard in her chest. She kept her eyes locked on the vampyre, her hands creating loose fists keep them from shaking. She had never really known why she left Salem. She'd never really given it much thought. Although, she'd also never thought that she would see him again.

Shame make her blood warm within the cold veins as she slowly turned her head to face away. The..thing... inside of her, it was all she felt at that moment. Her bottom lip quivered as her mind seemed to writh, making a sudden ascension downward.

"...out." She started muttering, though to no one inparticular. "Get it out.." Her thin frame seemed to crumple onto the ground as her fingers moved to her head, gripping at wet hair. She closed her eyes tightly, screaming out a few repeated words before she curled into a shakey fetal position.

[Salem Ave]

Pity and rage were an odd cocktail. As Salem crawled over to Emily, a moving shadow phantasm, he felt compelled to do what she had asked, but knew he had no such ability and was therefore pushed into feeling some sympathy for the girl. She had a simple mind and had probably been used by his Master for purposes unknown to the both of them. Was it not for his underlying jealousy, loyalty would become paramount in his thought process, causing him to strike her down now, at her weakest.

“… I can’t.” Salem rasped and gave a faint shrug of his shoulders. Her sobbing started to annoy him within seconds, and he pulled her up into a sitting position with a hard tug on the shoulder.

“Ssssssh!”

[Emily Rochette]

Emily slowly calmed herself, her body loosening its position a bit. She murmured a quiet apology, her finger scratching at the pavement as she kept her gaze to the ground.

The woman's mind worked in odd ways. She could be on the verge of jumping off a building, one moment, and the next, be enjoying life. She could almost feel it piece itself back together as her eyes lifted to look at Salem. Her head lifted high as a faint smile crossed her lips, her entire personality seemingly oblivious to her break down.

"..Where has Salem been?" Her head cocked to the side as a finger traced along the side of his face. "Emily is sorry she wandered away.."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth had done his best to follow Emily's trail... but it hadn't been very easy. She had left without a word... without so much as saying goodbye. His eyes vacantly looked on ahead, trying to catch some glimpse of her. Tears obscured his sight, as did the rain that so quickly washed them away. He turned the corner, and then recognized a second presence... but it was too late. Jeseth blinked as he watched Emily touch Salem's face. Those feelings... they ripped through him so quickly.

Jeseth unclipped his saber and dropped it down in front of Salem. It was an invitation.

[Salem Ave]

A barely perceptible sound like a purr rumbled out of Salem’s throat at the cold touch. The pleasant feeling soon left his body, however, as he felt the presence of his Master. A clink of metal and he could see that a saber had been lain within his grasp. At this moment his mind was drawn back to his training and to the way of the Sith, the deceptive treacherous ways which they were taught. With this in his thoughts he had no second thoughts about taking up the blade.

“Sssssth…”

The Knight span from his crouch, seized the weapon in his left hand and launched a blow straight into Jeseth’s torso, dragging his claws down across Cloak’s chest as the beam he held was ignited with a sharp hiss.

[Andrue Dimitri]

".. Andrue," he muttered, suddenly feeling akward of his presence. She was odd, but in a nice sort of way. More like ... demented.

He was about to ask her name when a loud crash rang through the streets. It caught the woman's attention and instantly she darted down the streets, leaving him alone in the rain.

"Wait!" He called out, then silently cursed to himself. Why was he even bothering? Because who knows what's out there ...

Curiousity, along with a feeling of dread, overcame the boy and, before he realized what he was doing, began to ran after her. The rain and the mist raising from the ground made it hard to see her, but he continued his pursue. At last she stopped, but she was too far ahead of him to make out was going on. It was then he noticed something in the middle of the street ... her boot. He picked it up, examining it, then continued to run forward, knowing that now he actually had a purpose following her - to return her boot.

Finally, when he was only about a yard away, Andrue stopped and slowly started to walk forward. Now she had crumpled to the ground like ... like something, or someone, had hurt her deeply. It was after she curled into a fetal position when he realized just how fragile life was.

The rain continued to pound relentlessly on his small figure as he drew nearer, his heart beating faster. Then, a dark figure seemed to appear out of nowhere and grabbed her, pulling her up.

He wanted to call out, to tell the person to stop, but felt as if his jaw was locked in place. Clenching his hands into fists, the boy grit his teeth together, expecting the worse until the woman reached up and touched the man's face. Instantly he relaxed, realizing that the two must've obviously known each other, and was about to leave them when another person appeared. And dropped something infront of them.

The man that the woman had touched immediately grabbed it and then attacked the intruder, when the thing was ... ignited? Yes, it was a lightsaber.

Panic seized Andrue as a hoarse yell escaped from his mouth and he started to run, stupidly in their direction. He slipped and fell foward, skidding forward. By now he was close enough to see their features, and quite frankly, they both looked evil. After getting back on his feet, he could only stare at the spectacle infront of him.

[Ansatsu]

I smiled looking from atop a building. It was quite hard to see in the rain. I closed my eyes and opened them again. They revealed an orange glow. My thermal scan was now active. I looked down. Two men fighting, and a boy just watching. The woman was quite hard to make out. I unsheathed my sword, and looked at the youngest one. He stood doing nothing. He was so awed by the fight. I lifted my arm and tensed, out came two poison darts heading straight for the child.

I smiled watching the darts fly toward him. I leapt to one side of a building and grabbed on. I sat there silently watching, waiting for the child's reaction. He needed to learn how to fight like anyone else. I saw the potential of a Fuma ninja in this boy. A fourth ninja. Hopefully he would accept, if he didn't then he would never live to see the light of day again.

[Andrue Dimitri]

It was then when he felt something bury itself in his arm when Andrue was drawn out of his shocked state, looking at his left shoulder. Pulling it out, he grimaced and let it drop to the ground. There, by his feet, was another one.

Brow furrowing, Andrue realized that there were darts, and tried to figure out who would shoot at him. The men were busy fighting, and the woman was just ... there. So who - ? The wind kept blowing the rain in his eyes, so he merely sighed and looked back towards the fight.

Then his arm began to turn numb. What the hell? Pain began to steadily stream through his body, causing Andrue to grit his teeth together. He clutched tighter onto the boot, his knuckles turning white, when he did the only thing that came to his mind:

"Miss! Miss!" He yelled out, trying to start running again.

His movements were becoming sluggish and he started to see red spots infront of his eyes. Moving behind the men, he held out the boot to the woman before slumping down the ground.

"Miss ... Y-you .. left this behind."

[Darren Caerdeth]

His steps made no sound. His breathing, inaudible. Quietly, Darren stood. He had found that his vantage point to the street below was occupied tonight. Both hands were braced behind his back, keeping a careful eye on the ninja before him. He had just witnessed the senseless attack on the boy in the alley. There was no honor in attacking a child. Coward......

"I fail to see a reason for your attack. Do you thrive on randomness, or are you fueled by idiocy?"

[Ansatsu]

I leapt from the building, and landed looking at the new man. "I have my reasons. I will make a Fuma Ninja out of this boy. He will serve a great purpose." I looked at the man before me, "Why do you care? He is not your son is he?" I laughed.

My sword tinked the ground and I walked toward him. The swords diamond edge slowly cut into the ground. As it dragged behind me sparks flew and I then stood about three feet from the man. "Well do you plan to do something about it?" I said chuckling. I would wait and then scoop the child up. After that he would become my fuma ninja. My family would grow.

[Emily Rochette]

Emily growled lowly as she stared at the "ninja". Her firey eyes seemed to illuminate admisted the shading of her skin. "Don't touch that boy..." She momentarily forgot about Salem and Jeseth; She wasn't even sure what was happening between the. Her fingers touched against the wet ground as she moved closer, staying in a crouched position. Her gaze shifted briefly to the boot she'd lost. Her eyelids twitched a bit as she called it to her, trying not to bring notice to the movement.

There suddenly seemed to be another man that joined the gathering. Emily barely paid attention to him. He didn't seem to be a threat.

After hearing the first man's words, her upper lip curled into a snarl. The Jysbena hurled the boot at his head, thumping it against the back of his skull. She rushed forward, her left hand hooking under Andrue's arm. Her movements seemed to be little more than a blur of colors as she dragged the boy to the opposite side of the alley. Standing, slowly, she lifted the boy into her arms, her arms clinging on to him protectively.

"You won't touch him.." Her mind seemed to be suddenly focused. She didn't understand why she was protecting the child, but she somehow felt she had to. Although her senses contentrated on him, constantly, she barely noticed his weight; It was a trace of her people. She could lift multiple times of her own weight with ease.

[Darren Caerdeth]

"Maybe he is my son. Maybe he isnt. You obviously know nothing of the boy, so your attack is still random and senseless, no matter how much justification you think you have...."

Darren smirked. It seemed the ninja wanted to fight now. Darren's head lowered a little, though his eyes stayed firmly set on the man before him. He quietly whispered, though his words were intangible. The whispers seemed to echo around slightly. They seemed to detach themselves from Darren. He looked back up towards the ninja. The whispers echoed his words now as he spoke....

"You will be leaving now"

The ninja could not only hear Darren speaking to him, but he could now hear Darren's voice in his mind...

"You will forget about the boy and go home...."

[Ansatsu]

I heard the voice in my head, but it did nothing but pique my interest in this man. "My life was spent meditating. Those tricks only work on the weak minded. You should know this." I smiled and brushed my hair out of my face. I leapt forward and delivered a side kick to the mans chest. The she got up.

I heard the woman behind me. The boot hit me in the head, and I shrugged it off. I turned to the woman, "Wrong you shall go nowhere, and the boy will come with me." I jumped in the air and spun. My foot connected with her face and then I hit the ground. I quickly concentrated some energy into my fist and punched at her chest releasing it all. The fire flew from my hand and she fell back the boy still in her arms.

I lifted my arm and tensed firing two more darts. One into her leg and one into her arm. They too had poison in them. That gave me sixteen more darts. I looked down at her, "Now sleep." I said as my foot connected with her ribs. That was a bit of a waste of energy, and my body felt it....barely. I turned back to the man. "We have business to conclude."