A Painful Confrontation {Jenn}

[Mora]

The night was quiet and still, not a soul ventured through the abandoned gardens. A crescent moon provided a pale stream of yellow light, but it was still hard to maneuver through the maze of foliage and cobble paths. The silence was almost deafening, no crickets chirped and the silver brooks stifled their gurgles. Darkness and silence created an ethereal haze rarely known to legacy creatures, let alone to mere humans. For this reason one could be seen in the shadows, hiding from invisible stares.

No, not seen: smelled. Fresh crimson blood, infected wounds, and fur matted with sweat brought a pungent odor to linger in the windless air. Disgusting, but only the cause of the stink was there to smell it. An Agony, by the way he moved; a yelp of pain escaped his muzzle at every step, his limbs suffered from arthritis. And yet he was hard to spot, for he never escaped a crouched position, he was used to hiding. Hiding from who he was and those ready to cause him more harm.

The creature moved slowly, taking in the tranquil beauty of the flowers, slumbering till dawn. He rarely had time to relax, to enjoy himself. Enjoy himself? Ha, that was a laugh! Constant pain caused living a challenge, he was forever in a battle against his body, and he always lost.

But despite oozing wounds and brittle bones the canine was in decent shape, perhaps it was the calm the gardens inspired. No one to be revolted by him, no one for him to fear; he was truly finding himself at peace.

A small smile cracked his face, usually so anxious with the future, and the Agony allowed himself a rest, a treat for his tiring body. He made a bed of tall grasses and curled his body into a tight orb, and soon his breathing became labored. His eyelids became heavy with the need for sleep, and he could not resist the urge.

The dear moments of respite from the pain lasted only a few minutes, but they were enough to send a burst of energy through the male, and gave him the will to battle through the pain for at least another day.

“Sleep, you are too rare.” The Agony sighed as he regained his stance, bringing himself to trot down a stone path, with no true destination in mind. He was in good spirits, why muddle them with thoughts of an awful future? The future brought fear; he feared the unknown future more than death. And yet, is not death the final respite from the terrors of being an Agony?

[Jenn]

Aoibhin wandered quietly though the carefully sculptured maze, her long nose detecting something injured and possibly dying within its depths. Her self-appointed duty in this city, beyond educating the masses as to the word of God and spreading his wisdom among the people, was in collecting the injured and unwanted left exposed to the night air and finding them someplace to tide over the night. No one should have to sleep on cold, hard ground, especially if they were suffering other pains of the body or spirit. There was usually a church willing to take the poor creatures in until the following morning.

She continued her search, the smell at times fainter and at times stronger, but she got the general impression that she neared the source of the painful smell. A bit of blood, perhaps infection, and certainly the sweat of fear or illness lingered on the breeze. They egged her on, demanding that she find the poor creature lost within the hedge-maze.

When she finally alighted upon its source, she stopped in her tracks, thin legs almost rooted to the ground. Her eyes widened, easily exposing more of the whites, and a brief trembling overtook her limbs. One of the demons!

She didn’t know what to do and stood as if frozen for several minutes before taking in a slightly frightened breath, likely audible to the creature facing the other direction. Never before had she seen such abject suffering condensed in one living being. The range and bizarre nature of the enemy never failed to take her breath away, their capacity for the base and primal emotions – fear, anger, pain, sorrow – something she could never understand. Horrified, she made no move.

[Mora]

Jakaemel paused to observe an ancient statue, cracked and long forgotten but still a beautiful sentry in the night. It was a figure of a man atop a rearing horse; to the Agony's eyes he was the bravest creature to behold. Courage was something the canine never experienced, but it would have been hard for one in his...condition to be anything but pathetic. Pathetic, yes, that was he. Hideous in appearance and weak in spirit; thoroughly an Agony, his bloodline was as pure as could be. But then again, at least he wasn't a Puppet.

He blinked in surprise; usually he wasn't so optimistic about his position. An improvement in disposition, that was interesting. Jakaemel sighed and leaned his gaunt spine against the cool stone of the bust, a whooping cough bubbling in his throat. The hack caused him to shake and spew blood over his dull grey coat, the pain had returned with a vengeance. His head started to pulse thunder, and his body swayed with sudden dizziness.

At least he was not walking on eggshells, waiting for the pain to shoot back through his blood. He was accustomed to it; it was forever apart of him. Sadness welled up in him as he thought this; to become accustomed to hurt was a bit frightening. Ah, but at least life was monotone, no surprises. This Agony was not one for surprises.

Suddenly a scent caught to the Agony's nose, causing him to double back in, well, surprise. Amuni, he could smell its odor. But why was one here? An Euclide like Jakaemel did not try to conflict with the other legacy species, especially the God-loving Amuni. Would they attempt to fight him?

Damn, he was no fighter. He would not win, he would die. Death, it forever surrounded him; he did not exactly fear it - in a body such as this it would be impossible - but to die from an Amuni would be terrible indeed. The last embarrassment to end a life full of them. No, for now he would keep hidden, although with his smell it was fruitless.

[Jenn]

Watching the creature suddenly shake and cough out its life blood onto its own fur, Aoibhin trembled slightly, like a deer caught in the headlights. What manner of monster was this demon, that it coughed at the drop of a hat and looked to be in more pain than she had ever endured in her entire life? The thought of it terrified her beyond reason.

What should she do? Her upbringing and devotion to the cause of her Pope told her to stand her ground, to fight, to destroy this horror and purge its taint from the world. It would be in keeping with all of the tenets they stood for. If anyone else stood beside her, the attack would have already been made. As it was, however, she stood on her own, a missionary and messenger faced with the choice of battle. She made a poor warrior, too skittish and delicate to attack effectively alone. Its pain was likely deceptive, luring a potential attacker (or potential prey, which made her blood run cold) into thinking it harmless and out of a fight. Every instinct screamed at her to run, to leave this scene and not look back, report the activity to her superiors and let them try to hunt the creature down.

Oh, she would pay for this hesitation and lack of conviction later, she just knew it. How could she ever look one of her own in the eye again, knowing that she had not immediately jumped upon and slain this harbinger of evil? "Father, forgive me," she whispered before turning to run-

-and stopping short as another figure loomed behind her, its pale fur shining like ermine, silvery-lilac markings creeping and crawling along its body. It smiled at her delicately as she halted once more, sharp needle teeth visible in the expression. "Hello there, lovely," it - no, she - purred, her voice like a wash of velvet smoothing over the ears. "Out for a nightly romp, are we?"

The appearance of the enemy mustildae so startled and frightened her that she actually backed into the small open square where the Agony rested against his statue, moving slowly to his left and eyes flicking frantically for another easily accessed exit to the area. An escort...next time, she would not travel at night without an escort. What folly! The Euclides smiled and slowly walked forward, smelling but not noticing the Agony.

((Hope you don't mind my bringing in Nebi, but I realized halfway through the post that Aoibhin really would have just run away if I hadn't, and that would have ended this thread rather quickly. XD))

[Mora]

{ooc| Whoo, that took forever, sorry about that. >.>;}

He watched the Amuni approach, a small cervine female by the looks of she. Nervous creature, her steps were faltering. Perhaps he had a chance to escape then, for even if she was agile her light frame should not be too powerful. But why was she hesitating, was it not Amuni nature to attack the 'filthy' Euclides? Doesn't God drive them to save the world from sin?

Ah, but here was an Amuni he could handle! He could smell her uncertainty, her fear. He, an Agony, scared her? A new feeling indeed, he was not nearly as formidable as other Puppeteers. Usually he was the weakest link, never feared but merely a disgusting, pitiful thing.

Wait...was she running away? Some soldier of God she was. Oh but wait, the scent of another creature was penetrating the park. An Euclide by its odor, but where was it? Now Jakaemel had a new foe to fear, and this one yet unseen. He would have already been off by now, trotting through the gardens, but for the fact his dripping blood would be a signal of his stay. And he was too slow on his feet to have escape by running an option.

The mustildae soon did make an appearance, a Poison by the look at it. It - she was too preoccupied with the Amuni to take notice of him, and his heartbeat slowed. Two against one, if the Euclide female agreed to it. Those were much better odds. But for now he would sit in the shadows, waiting to see how the tides turned. It was the only way he could fight, waiting for the weakest to fall before he attacked them. A bit of a cheat, but he would starve if he didn't do so.

[Jenn]

Soulless eyes watched scornfully as the delicate-seeming Amuni backed away from her. Nebi had hoped to startle her, make her jump and either attack or flee, but this was even better. It filled her with a sense of power, watching the two-toned creature shrink back. She took a few slow steps into the clearing and the scent of blood immediately assaulted her senses. Human blood didn't smell like that...no, this smelled of her own kind, another Euclides. She glanced around without moving her head, the motion of her blank white eyes unnoticeable. So far as the pathetic creature in front of her knew, the gaze remained unwaveringly focused on her deer-like form.

There, in the shadow of a statue...was that a canine? It looked like one, covered in cust and smelling of blood. Perhaps it was one of the more miserable types, Torn or Agony or something akin to those tortured souls. Had it been hunting the Amuni, running from it, or was he merely a victim of poor placement and timing? She had no way to find out without alerting her newest fascination to his presence, so she ignored his presence for the moment.

Aoibhin didn't answer the other female's light, taunting greeting, too intent on escape to bother with the words of a demon unless they bespoke action on its part. Then she would listen. Only Gabryjel knew where she walked this night, and he wasn't likely to come after her unless she didn't return by midnight, several hours away yet. No one would come to save her from this dilemma. She had to find a way out herself...but how? Where could she run? What could she do? Until another idea came to her, she stood and trembled.

"Care to introduce yourself?" the Poison called out in a friendly tone. It was unclear who she addressed, leaving the invitation open.

[Mora]

{ooc| Just noticed this, sorry. XD;}

Should he reply, could he dare? She was one of his species, but that meant nothing to many Euclides. The Agony stood; tail drooped and ears pricked, watching for any possible attacks. He nearly forgot about the Amuni, she nearly was a lack of a threat. But the fellow Euclide seemed to be content ignoring him, and Jakaemel sighed with a mixture of relief and resentment. Always ignored! But then again, he really didn't mind.

He shook, attempting to throw off the nerves. Fur, caked blood, and pus flew in all directions and Jakaemel cringed in self-disgust. Lovely, just lovely. Oh well, no one was noticing his actions anyway. The pair was speaking a few feet ahead, and the Agony could not hear them very well. Whatever the white female was saying seemed to have a terrible effect on the cervine; she was quaking as if trapped in a nightmare. By the glint in the Euclide's eyes a nightmare may be soon in coming...

The Euclide female throwed a question out to the Amuni and himself, or at least that was what he could tell. Nervous but reassured by the friendly tone - hopefully not a trick - the Agony trotted up slowly to the conflicting pair. He wagged his tail in what he hoped was a friendly manner; eyes alight with gentle servitude to the white female. The Amuni was largely ignored, though he kept his distance. The Euclide was the main obstacle, befriend her and he would experience smooth sailing.

"Hello there Miss. Jakaemel, at your service." He introduced in his hoarse whisper, a fearful eye warily viewing the Amuni.

[Jenn]

”Jakaemel.” Nebikaerty rolled the name on her tongue as if tasting it, expression idle and friendly. His submissive tone was encouraging, as was the downward slant of his neck and his lowly wagging tail. This one posed no threat to her and so she smiled, almost beckoning him with the expression. ”A pleasure, I’m sure. You may call me Nebikaerty if you so desire.” The formal language was spoken playfully, the white female obviously feeling herself in no danger at present. She might even be able to have a little fun tonight.

Aoibhin watched the two of them introduce themselves, wondering if they were truly strangers or merely putting on this act to let her stew in worry and fear for longer. She took a deep breath and straightened her stance, legs stiff and trembling, ready to bolt the second she had the opportunity. Time to make certain of something. To that end, she invoked a power granted her by God. ”Do you plan to kill me?” she asked the female in what she hoped was a strong voice, seeing her as the leader of the two. She didn’t know what Type she could be.

The Amuni’s question attracted Nebi’s attention and she smiled, showing her evenly spaced needle teeth clearly. ”No, of course not. Whatever would give you that impression? I’m just up for a little…chat. It’s been so long since I last spoke with one of your kind that it should be refreshing.” Why kill you when I can just poison you and let that do the rest. After all, it’s not like I’m the one choking off your airway.

Eyes narrowed, the cervine assessed the situation. With that ability in effect, the mustildae was incapable of telling lies until she released it. So she wouldn’t die by the female’s hand…but that didn’t mean the male wouldn’t kill her when all was said and done. She didn’t realize how tricky it could be to use her ability on someone with a different idea of murder than her own, then ask a question like that.

[Mora]

So, this creature was not the enemy at the moment. What was her name? Nebikaerty? A Puppeteer then, like him. Like him. So subordination was not required, at least not excessively. Not when the female had other prey to play with. As if resolved his spine straightened and Jakaemel's intelligence - although not extraordinary - could be of use. Fleeing was out of the option, so he would have to muster enough bravery to survive. He had survived the Agony's curse, so this shouldn't prove too difficult.

"Nebikaerty." He repeated and stood, watching the her with those empty eyes. "Are you here for sport, then?" And if so, who was your victim?

Obviously the Amuni didn't see him as a threat, she was right in seeing the female as the leader. But he would not be forgotten, not again. His strange black eyes grew cold and what remained of his fur puffed out. Almost aggression, a mimic of what he had seen been done before. But he did have a few short canines, perhaps they would see some use.

The thoughts of violence caused the throb of pain to be quieted, for the time being his was euphoric on ideas of bloodshed. Quite unlike him, but maybe it wasn't. He didn't know, and for once he didn't care. Attacking, causing harm so the Amuni could feel what it was to be like him, that was important.

So the fellow Euclide was something cunning? A Mystery maybe? A Poison? He didn't know, but she was suave. Best to watch his step. But for now her attentions were thrown to the Amuni, who seemed strangely calm. Why? Perhaps not as helpless as this Nebikaerty undoubtedly thought.

[Jenn]

Nebi smiled and inclined her head towards the other Puppeteer. "Sport, entertainment, it's all one and the same. I was merely out for a stroll to see if I might capture any wayward humans wandering alone at night until I caught the scent of this lovely little thing." Arrogant, oh yes, she was indeed. She'd been out hunting and smelled the scent of an Amuni, normally enough to drive her away from an area...but this one was alone. The situation had been intriguing enough for her to sneak up and investigate. She found herself a lone doe, no others about, and couldn't help but take advantage of the situation.

The male's aggressive display silently amused the Poison, who no longer regarded him as any kind of threat after his submissive display. Again, the arrogance of a proud, successful hunter. The posturing sent another tremor down Aoibhin's spine as what she perceived as the male's true colors were finally coming into play. Perhaps he was the warrior or 'attack dog' of this female? There was no way for her to know. Seeing herself as having little choice, the cervine slowly drew in a deep breath before springing forward and jumping right over the female, out to the entrance of the clearing.

Startled by the sudden movement up, a direction she hadn't been expecting, Nebi reacted as quickly as she could and managed to rake one of the female's legs with her small claws. She gave a strangled sound of pain but seemed otherwise unaffected by the attack, venomous though she didn't realize it. Adrenaline sent her sprinting forward as fast as she possibly could, which, for a deer, was remarkably quick.

Nebi snarled and took off after her. Stupid little Amuni didn't want to play her game, did she? Fine! She would die all the sooner. "Come on," she hissed.

[Mora]

Argh, the arrogance of her, this Euclide in front of him! It was enough to drive him up the walls, not that he wasn't used to it by now. His whole life had been driven by the object to please and serve, but now that calling disgusted him. He was an Agony, yes, but no Puppet. And he was not going to bow down anymore, at least not to a fellow Puppeteer. So let her laugh at him now, he would try to show his worth. For all his infections and sores he also had a powerful jaw, and his canine figure was large, if a bit worn.

So fixated by these thoughts was Jakaemel that he missed Nebi's condescending speech to the Amuni. All the better, he was not eloquent with words enough to spook anyone like she was. It would prove more beneficial to frighten the doe he was facing, and by the shivers down her spine he was right in that respect. He had never stirred terror in another creature, the mere thought of it caused him to be high with euphoria.

But he was snapped from this newfound joy when the Amuni decided to leap clear over the female Euclide, and although he was too dazed to react with an attack he was quick to respond to Nebi's hiss. Quickly he raced off towards the fellow comrade, the thrill of the chase blocking all pain. Because of this he was able to keep up with the white Euclide easily, an action so new to him the canine couldn't help howling with uncontrollable glee. Jakaemel, who had never thought of being blindly violent, was beginning to show his true colors. He was a creature of passion now, and the passion was to hurt.

[Jenn]

If Aoibhin hadn’t been so intent on running as far and fast as she could out of the maze, she would be whimpering with fear in her headlong rush for freedom. Members of the Church were always cautioned to go out with a partner anywhere they went, but she had the foolish habit of forgetting that warning anytime she wanted to be alone – or even just stroll about. She didn’t like people following her everywhere she went and her speed made her a very effective messenger for her Pope, but solitude was a dangerous thing in a city like London, infested as it was with demons. Perhaps this would teach her to better heed the warnings of others.

She ran and ran, darting down one turn and then another, no idea where she was headed in her panic. The layout of the hedge maze, once so well known to her, left her conscious thoughts like smoke on the wind. Soon enough, she found herself stopped short by a dead end.

Only a few yards behind her, though that distance increased as the swift doe ran and leapt away, Nebikaerty let loose a jubilant hiss when at last the thick green walls of the maze stopped her quarry cold. ”Well, pretty thing,” she purred, the sound almost vicious enough to be a growl, ”it seems like you have no choice now. How would you like to play this?” Again, the direction of her question was unclear, addressed to both her companion and her prey.

[Jenn]

((I know you've been on a semi-hiatus. Are you interested in continuing this or should we end it?))