Is This All You've Got? [NSFW]

It took Sevastian a moment to understand what he was seeing.

The woman's paleness struck him first, and not in any pleasant way. If a plague victim had given the darkwatch the slip... Ah, but no. A ribbon of the woman's hair--long and white and lustrous as silk--tumbled out of her dark hood to hang against her cheek. Not the White Plague, then. But what? Was this an albiness? A Karrian Snow Shade? Something else?

Undoubtedly something else, Sev concluded, catching a glimpse of the woman's eyes. There was something of the Water Women in them, something luring, something abyssal. And the scales speckling her cheeks spoke the same.

But the colors, and the markings... Sev felt his brow furrow as he watched the woman traverse the crowded tavern. In all his travels, in all his myriad maritime maraudings, Sevastian had never seen a Naiad with looks akin to this one's. There was a glow to her. A brightness. An outward manifestation of a powerful soul.

And Sevastian wanted to understand it.

"Oi, pale face!" he shouted, shrugging out of his heavy coat. "Come have a dance with me. Show us what you're made of."

The tavern patrons fell into a hush, whispering amongst themselves. "...have a go at a woman?" Sev heard one say. He tossed his coat onto a table, smiling.

This was no woman.

... Pale face? Ciel thought almost incredulously, her eyes widening a fraction. Usually her odd looks kept people from her, if they noticed her at all. But, this man, this weathered, raucous man not only noticed, but provoked her. Ciel smiled her best Naiad smile, but her eyes remained somber with only a touch of amusement. Her hand gripped her bo staff a little tighter, unsure of how to best handle this odd situation. She didn't want trouble, but she didn't want attention either. If she was forced to unleash her power here to avoid such trouble, she would only reap attention. Ciel was stuck.

From her peripheral, Ciel felt more than saw a darkness unfurl and threaten only a couple stools over. A faint twitch revealed her only reaction, but Ciel knew she had definitely walked into the wrong tavern. Slowly, she stood, held up by her bo staff, and met the wolfish man's eyes. Left without much of a choice, Ciel stepped toward the center of the tavern, where men and scantily clad women stared, hungry for a fight.

"I am hardly a fit match for such sport," she shook her head delicately and chuckled softly, trying to appear weak and, well, womanly. "He, on the other hand--" Ciel gestured toward the dark little boy drinking mead, "may be more suited to this task, hmm?" Her voice was calm, but commanding--a voice used often to address her people. That seemed like a lifetime ago. No, she couldn't yet risk obvious use of her power, particularly if it was only for her own benefit. After all, death awaited soon, either way.

Thank the goddess for a scapegoat. Sorry young one, she thought, staring invitingly toward the unnerving boy. Perhaps when all were focused on the fight, she could slip away. That was her hope, anyway.

"He, on the other hand, may be more suited to the task, hmm?"

For goodness sakes. Vayne thought. I'll stay seated as long as I possibly can, that man doesn't look like he would appreciate what humors me. Just then, the door burst open, and silver coated beings walked in, shouting. Now this, I can work with.


Vayne slammed the rest of his mead and stood up. He turned and walked straight up to one, craning his neck back to meet their eyes. "What is so important that you have to burst into a tavern to get some sort of recognition?" Two guards went to Vayne's right and left. Wonderful. Now we can begin. Vayne burst open his wings as fast as he could, making them go as high as they would. They slammed into the faces of the two guards on his sides. He drew his hand back and hit the guard in front of him in his stomach, making him stumble back. "So," he said, "how would you, 'pale face', and you, pirate man, like to help me have some fun?"

"What is so important that you have to burst into a tavern to get some sort of recognition?"

Bold boy, thought Sevastian, twirling his sword. He widened his stance in preparation, counting the shouting Queensmen as they ran. Twelve? he thought, brow furrowing. Why so many? And here, in the slums after sundown?

They can't be here for me, he thought. I--

"...the white woman!" someone shouted. Captain Ferron. "And alive, gods damn it! Not a scratch on 'er!"

Sev froze. "Pale face?"

A guard charged forward, sword drawn, face ruddy. Sevastian threw up his blade and caught the blow, muscles cementing against the man's armored weight. Clenching his jaw against his leg's protestations, Sevastian thrust forward, plowing his shoulder into the guard's chest and sending him reeling.

His leg screamed in pain. Ignore it, he thought, searching the chaos for a glimpse of the Water Woman.

There. Sevastian saw her. She was still near, standing close to the winged boy.

"So," said the boy, catching Pale Face's eye, and then Sevastian's, "How would you, 'pale face', and you, pirate man, like to help me have some fun?"

Sevastian felt his eyebrows raise. A very bold boy, he thought, grinning brilliantly. Like any good pirate captain, Sevastian was always ready for a brawl. But Pale Face was in some sort of danger. He needed to...

She was gone. Sevastian blinked, twisting to look around. When had she left? Had they taken her? "Bird Boy!" he shouted, trying to catch the lad's attention. "We need to--"

White hot pain flashed across Sevastian's back. Vision blurring, he whipped around and thrust out his sword--a Queensman lurched backward, black blood dripping from his blade. No need to guess to whom it belonged.

Gods damn it all, thought Sev, bracing himself for the guard's next attack. "Bird Boy!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Get Pale Face and get out!"

Her power continued to work on the few men she targeted, but it wasn't enough. The other men continued to wield their swords, one landing a blow on the wolfish man--for that was what she named him in her mind--and one almost hitting bird boy. Still more cut down what few people resisted, and she felt the soldiers' eyes beginning to look toward her.

Oh no, she thought just as someone grabbed her wrist. Instinctively, Ciel released her power on the men to use it in a different way, but before she could target again, bird boy met her eyes. Relief momentarily washed through her, making her feel guilty.

"We need to get you out of here. Whoever these people are, they are looking for you. Will you follow me?" Ciel blinked, understanding his words, but not understanding the why.

"Why are you--" her words froze in her throat as a silver coated man came at bird boy from behind, his eyes staring hungrily not at his target, bird boy, but at her. Without thought, Ciel released the power still painfully simmering in her veins. The man's sword ripped free from his grip, swinging at its master. The poor soldiers eyes widened disbelievingly as the sword came down on him, cutting him from shoulder to hip. He fell, a cry on his lips. Her power reluctantly returned to her, its job done.

Stumbling from the new use of her power, Ciel nodded distractedly to bird boy, "I'll follow you." But as she let him pull her toward the door, Ciel knew she couldn't leave the tavern in its current state, for it was because of her the soldiers had come.

I need to end this. Or equalize it, somehow... "Swords," she whispered, stopping after a few steps. More soldiers noticed her fleeing, but she ignored them, hoping bird boy could hold his own. She had something else to do. Turning, her eyes found the wolfish man in the chaos, then found his sword. Making sure to target all swords drawn but wolfish man's sword, Ciel implemented her power.

Horrified cries filled the tavern as the soldier's weapons--and accidentally some of the other tavern goers' weapons--grew too hot to hold. Some tried to fight through the heat, and the smell of burning flesh filled the tavern. Swords dropped with clanging sounds, adding to the brawling cacophony. As the swords dropped, so did Ciel, her knees crumpling beneath the cloudy weight of pain. Still, she stubbornly held onto her power. This pain was nothing compared to the life she once knew.

"They warned us of your strength," an unfamiliar, accented voice said from behind her. She turned her head, and from her peripheral, she could tell the silver figure blocked the doorway, sword hand singed. Now, hopefully, the playing field is at least leveled, she thought tiredly.

"Boy! The door."


A bit overemphasis I think, but I can put up with it once I'm out alive. Vayne thought to himself. Either out of jail, or out of this tavern, both work. Both are easy, too. 


Vayne shifted to the man picking up the woman, then to the door, where five guards waited to kill the ones fleeing. Fun fun fun. He thought to himself. More death! He ran at the group of guards, letting darkness flow out of his palms, which were pressed together behind him at the moment. He pulled his hands apart a few feet in front of the guards and tackled one, killing him with his immense dark magic. He rolled over off of the guard to see the four remaining guards, swords drawn, surrounding him while he was lying on the ground.

Now what to do here? He thought. He let his head fall to the side, and saw that one of the guard's greaves was loose. Bad mistake. He thought. He rolled over toward the guard with the loose boot. He pushed himself sideways so his head was facing the guard's greaves. He reached out and yanked one of the guard's boots with both of his arms, knocking him over. He rolled over again so he was on his back, and threw the greave at one of the other guards. 

He pushed himself up and stood between the two guards. Then, he had a twisted idea. He ran to one of the guards and pushed the sword out of his hand. He put his head against the middle of his chest, his hands by his head while still on the guards chest. The guard, obviously too confused to react, stood there frozen. "Do you hear that?" Vayne asked. The other guard attempted to stab Vayne, but, for whatever stupid reason, the guard he was hugging signaled him off. "Hear what?" the guard asked. "Your heartbeat." Vayne said. "I don't like it. It should stop." He shot darkness from his palms, killing the man. 

The other guard fell to his knees and started begging to live. Vayne bent down. "I don't spare people." He looked at the mortified look on the guard's face and smiled. "But this is the first time it has ever happened. I like it." He grabbed the guard's arm and pulled him up. He looked up at the guard's face and signaled with his hand. "Shoo shoo now." The guard sprinted out of the tavern. That solves that. He thought. Now we wait for the man with the woman. He stopped for a second. That just sounds weird.