You Talkin' to Me? (Open) (NSFW?)

Elphame watched the very human scene from distant, safer shadows. A boy, young and rowdy by the looks of him, struggled on the roof of a building across the street, and a gang of yelling, stinking men stabbed up at him from below. The shots from their muskets made Elphame wince, the sound annoying to her Scathé ears.

"Eh, you! Just gonna stand there! Help, I'm being mugged!" The boy yelled at a random woman, drinking with a smirk on her face just a building over from the commotion. Elphame watched as the woman, dressed in superfluous, tacky attire sauntered over to the crowd of men, who themselves now chuckled as if in on a private joke.

Is the boy drunk? Elphame wondered exasperatedly, or is he naturally this abrasive?

"Oh no, little one. You see, these pirates work for me. You're on your own," the drinking woman purred with sadistic, drunken pleasure.

Elphame sighed at the boy's combination of bad luck and idiocy. But she wasn't here to save hapless youths in the middle of a dirty, primarily human city. No, she was here for her people. Or for her sister. She hadn't yet decided.

The pirates' boisterous laughter and subsequent yelling distracted her from her thoughts.

Swearing under her breath, Elphame quietly traveled the shadows, her shadowy form too quick for the common eye to track. Within seconds--she had had to make weird detors thanks to the plethora of light the pirates carried--she was behind the building the youth stood upon. Now she stood, invisible in the deepest of shadows, debating with herself just what she had intended to do by traveling closer to the annoyance.

As soon as a ball of fire flew from the boy's fist, Elphame jumped back, suddenly defensive. Worlds center, she swore to herself, gritting her teeth. What have I gotten myself into? Her shadows gathered around her, ready to snap out at a moment's notice. Elphame knew she should run--better to deal with normal humans in a city of light than some fire human. But she couldn't look away. The boy acted with such recklessness, yet such confidence, it was hard to look away from the light show.

When the boy fell in the alley next to her, she startled, torn between stepping back in retreat and stepping forward to see if he was alright. He was just a kid, after all, no matter how annoying or reckless. She was torn, that was, until he started running toward her. Elphame began to turn, so he would run past, however not only was he faster than she thought he would be, the alley was also a lot smaller than she remembered it being. Damn, she cursed as the boy stopped just inches from her thick, protective shadows.

The kid lit something, and Elphame dodged as he lunged at her, the cigar falling from his fingers, burning oily shadow as it fell. Looking for a way out, Elphame noticed the deep shadows just under the lip of the roof; she could use it to travel around the boy without the kid ever realizing a thing.

However, before she could move, a mass of angry, drunk pirates rounded the corner.

"There he is!" one of the pirates shouted, just as Elphame cursed aloud, "Damn." I just can't win. "Don't use your fire," she hissed at the boy quickly. If he used his fire, her shadows would pay the price.

Sighing, Elphame backed up, away from the boy, as she ordered her shadows to move. The pirates may be creatures of the day, but here in the alley, shadows reigned. Her shadows sprang like snakes toward the men, tripping them, twisting appendages, anything they could do to knock the humans down. Anything but kill them, anyway. She couldn't make too much of a stir alone in a city of light.

"Leave," she barked in her commander's tone to the pirates; it was a voice her assault team knew well to fear. The pirates began to pile up in the alley as the shadows left prone bodies on the ground; in such a small alley way, a couple incapacitated bodies made great barriers. Despite herself, Elphame smiled sadistically at her prowess.

Cluttered noise distracted Elphame from her rather enjoying show of power. Her shadows still hungrily played with the pirates as her eyes fell on the fiery boy. As words poured from his lips unchecked, Elphame's eyebrows rose incredulously. Despite herself, Elphame's mouth opened with disbelief. Oh, how the young do blunder, Elphame snorted to herself.

"Please don't kill me?" the young boy--Orpheus--ended. It took a couple seconds before Elphame realized the boy was finished blathering on in panic.

Elphame closed her mouth mutely, then opened it again. "Peace, child. I mean no harm to you," as long as you stop playing with fire around me, she added silently. She eyed the boy warily, then glanced behind him, toward a pile of moaning pirates. Many had fled before her shadows could get to them. She wasn't sure if she should expect them to stay away or return for their revenge. She would rather stay under the radar as much as possible, though she knew she had little chance of that now. 

"We can't stay here," she decided, returning her eyes to the boy, inspecting him with narrowed eyes. Would he be able to help me find her? she wondered, her mind on another subject entirely. A scalawag from the streets? She had little time to decide. Shrugging inwardly, she asked, "Know any hiding places, kid? Preferably dark ones?"

The boy bounded off like the child he was, and Elphame groaned as she followed his pace. It wasn't that she couldn't keep up--travelling on the shadows was more swift than most human transportation. The boy simply had so much energy, it was almost daunting.

At least he's helpful, she told herself, dodging light of the city as best she could. As she rounded a corner, unanticipated light sliced across her cheek, incinerating its way past shadow, skin, and blood. She paid it little mind; she'd had worse before. Soon after, the boy stopped, opening a hidden door for her. Elphame's eyebrows raised in appreciative surprise.

"Get in!" the kid told her--was that boyish eagerness in his voice?

Elphame walked in, more careful this time to avoid what sparse light lit the room. "I made this place with stuff I've taken over the years. Once I found this little shack, it seemed as good a place as any to hide everything. So who are you anyways?" The boy asked her. Seeing as how he had led her to a safe haven in the middle of enemy territory, Elphame felt obliged to tell him at least a little of the truth.

"Elphame, princess of Shadow," she introduced herself then winced inwardly at her overly proper sobriety. "For someone your age, you are rather slick," she moved on, folding her arms thoughtfully. She walked to a darker corner of the room, subtly gathering shadow. Elphame eyed him, an iconic eyebrow raised. "What's a kid like you doing with those pirates?"

As the boy explained his reasoning, Elphame found a corner of her mouth lifting in an unbidden smirk. The kid was incorrigible. And gutsy. Perhaps she would find a use for him yet. Distantly, she wondered why the boy seemed bent on fortune and money; it seemed he had plenty in his little cove. However, Elphame knew little about human society; perhaps their need for riches and gold overruled all else. She shrugged a shoulder, supposing she'd find out soon enough.

"Wanna drink?" the kid asked, holding up a bottle of wine. Elphame couldn't help the low laugh that escaped her at his question.

"I never thought I'd have a kid ask me that question," she told him genially, arms unfolding to allow one hand to rest on her hip. "Your drinks have little effect on me, so I'll decline your offer. But don't drink too much on your own," she added, shaking a finger at him. "I'll need you at least somewhat sober soon." First, I'll need to pick your brain. Alcohol will probably aid me in that, she thought, a little smirk on her lips.

"What's your name, kid?" she asked as the readied shadows at her feet stirred. Elphame held out her hand, beckoning the darkest of the gathered shadows to pool in her palm. With her other hand, she swiped a finger over her bleeding, stinging cheek. With that same finger, she dropped a couple drops of the collected blood into the shadows in her palm. Shadow whirled chaotically in her palm as her blood bonded with the shadows. It was a low-level bonding, something limited in its use to her. But she didn't need it for much.

Elphame tried to follow Orpheus' speech, even attempting to answer or intercede here and there. However, interrupting a drunk man, or kid in this case, was not at easy task. Again, Elphame found herself with her jaw open, swirling shadows in her palm and stinging burn momentarily forgotten.

"So you need me to help you with something or other? I must warn you, I've been half drunk all night and I'm going to have a major hangover after all that whiskey I had at the saloon." The kid paused to squint. "Wanna drink?"

"Ohhh dear," Elphame muttered, hand still full of bound shadow. With a twitch of her other hand, shadow snaked up the wall behind the boy. At Elphame's bidding, the shadow coiled around the wine bottle's neck, gripping it tightly. The eager shadows then snapped suddenly to the side, flinging the bottle across the room. With a loud, liquid smash, the bottle shattered against the wall, far enough away from the boy and even farther from Elphame.

Whatever liquid was still in the bottle, now sprayed haphazardly around the room. While most of the wine sprayed in a more concentrated area, some drops even made it into Elphame's open cheek wound, reminding her that she was injured. With a little hiss, Elphame touched two fingers to her cheek, but decided the boy would need to be dealt with first before she could patch up the burn.

"That's enough, child." Elphame spoke calmly, counteracting her rather violent act. "Do you have any water?" she inquired expectantly.