Murder II
Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:26 pm
34th of Searing, 120 - Continued from here.
Run. That was his first thought. Immediately, he turned to sprint, but stopped himself. A second guess came, a part of him that couldn't bear to leave someone helpless to fend for themselves. unfortunately enough, it was that smaller part that won over his self-preservation instinct, and he looked about the street in search of something to throw. "Remove your hold before I remove your arms," threatened the woman, calm and collected. Arkash panicked, the men laughed. Quickly, he settled on a loose stone in the pavement and pried it free with his claws. He kept low to the ground and close to the wall as he slipped around the corner, and closed up to a barrel that rested against the wall. They hadn't noticed him. What the hell was he doing? Did he want to die after all? A little, but...
In a split-second decision, the young Rath peered over the barrel, aimed, then lobbed the rock as hard as he could at one of the men. He missed completely, but the stone bounced off one of the walls and landed on the floor in a way that startled the attackers. The larger of the two looked back and met Arkash's eyes. "OI!" he all but screamed. Arkash ducked too late. "JON, THE'S A FACKIN LIZARD OVA 'ERE!" He was a dead man. Arkash had witnessed a crime, and his skinny legs couldn't carry him for another sprint. He sat and hid as the two men conversed. "Take care of 'im, Mike. I'll get staAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he broke off mid-sentence with the sound of sharp, metallic shriek followed by splatter. Arkash's yellow eyes widened in shock. What just happened? "JON?!" Cried the other man as he turned back.
The sound of squelching, accompanied by crunching bone echoed from down the alley; it reminded Arkash of the time he found some chicken in a dumpster and pulled one of the wings from the body. the small series of pops that came with the pull of flesh, followed by a satisfying rip. "WHAT THA FACK!" Cried Mike as something heavy hit the floor, muffled. Jon was quiet, Arkash could only assume that he was what hit the floor. "Y-YOU'RE INSAY-" was all Mike managed to scream before another metallic shriek cut him off, followed by an audible gurgle, and the sound of choking. The second sack of flesh hit the floor, and silence filled the night again. Was she still there? He couldn't hear anything; not a word was spoken, not a breath was drawn. He'd have looked if terrible fear hadn't seized his muscles.
Just when he was starting to compose himself, the metallic shriek sounded again, accompanied by a spray of fluid. Footsteps followed shortly after, drawing closer to him. Fear had paralyzed him. No matter how much he willed his body, he couldn't move. Then, she stepped out from the darkness and stopped before him. The lizard shivered a little with his head pressed to his knees. Like a helpless child, he sat there with his legs to his chest. His yellow eyes strafed upward and eventually settled on her crimson ones after taking in all the details.
She was still dressed in her cloak, so most of her apparel was hidden from him. But, her clothes were mostly made up of luxury leathers which were likely worth more than all the money he'd made in his life and some other expensive-looking materials. The cloak alone must've been crafted by some of the finest tailors in all of Lorien, maybe even from another kingdom. The backpack she wore appeared to be nothing special, but it was what drew the attention of Mike and Jon. he couldn't help but wonder what was inside, but he found the thought of being murdered in an alley to be a terrifying, effective deterrent. It was difficult to tell in the lighting of the alley, but her skin was exceptionally fair, only contrasted by the darkness of her clothes and a ribbon of a red tattoo that ran over her eyes. In her hands, beneath her cloak, were two shortswords. Both dripped the rich iron-smelling crimson of blood. He'd thought he was dead before, but now he was certain.
"Such a waste," she huffed, then lifted her weapons. Arkash flinched, covered his head with his arms and shut his eyes. He was dead. That was it, no more struggle, no more stress, and worry... Except... The deathblow never came. Instead, the sound of sheathing swords sounded, and he opened his eyes to find her with her weapons stowed. "Idon'twannadie," stammered the lizard with a sudden gasp, and he drew stiff, shaky breaths. The woman tilted her head with a squint and a smirk. "Are you dense? I just put my swords away." With that, she took a knee before him. Full panic ensued, and he tried to back into the wall, desperate to get away from the killer. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you before you'd thrown that rock," What? How?!
"What do you want...?" The lizard spoke through his stiff jaw, which resumed pressing hard as his venom glands activated. He began to drool. "Want? Well, many things," she replied with a smile in her voice, "but right now? I want to thank you. I mean, I had the situation under control, but the added confusion made for quite the thrill." What the hell is wrong with this lady? She could read his expression with ease and did so without mercy. "Oh, you are funny," she chuckled in a sort of sadistic glee, which made his blood run just a little colder. "What's your name? And don't lie; I hate liars."
"Arkash," he replied without pause and incredible ease. "Well, Arkash. You're amusing. I do hope for the chance to meet you again, but I hope it isn't because you've blabbed about the lady that killed those poor thugs in an alley." His heart sank, and he shook his head, "I-I won't, I swear." he slurped hard and swallowed the venom that pooled in his maw. The woman tilted her head a little at the sight, then smiled even further before she reached a hand out to him. At once, Arkash shut his eyes and curled his lips in a painful cringe, as though he expected she might hurt him. Instead, he found her leather-wrapped hand petting him on the head, as though he were a dog or some other lesser animal. In this case, he was. "I hope that's true," was all she spoke before she stood, then dusted off her hands. A flick of her wrists lifted her hood overhead, and she flashed the Rathari a smile before she walked to the edge of the Alley, where the light of the moon enveloped her, and shimmered on the deep red of her satin cloak. "Take care, Arkash. And don't hang around here too long."
And just like that, she took to the streets with a calm stroll. Finally, the rathari snapped from his trance and rushed to the street. There, he turned to look for her but found nothing. Had he just met a ghost? No, ghosts aren't real. Ghosts don't kill people. What was her name? Did she even say? The stress forced his breathing to pick up, and he looked back into the alley to see the outlines of two people laying on the floor. They were dead, he knew it was so, but morbid curiosity demanded he looked for himself. The reptile drew ragged breaths as his eyes watered, and proceeded carefully into the alley. The cut of flesh that had been taken from Mike's throat was abundantly clear, along with the pool of blood that had formed around him. His toes met with the cold, thick fluid, and his tears began to stream. He'd just witnessed a murder, for sure. Another glance of his eyes revealed the second corpse: missing both his arms, with a darkened patch of blood in the sternum of his chest. A double murder, nonetheless. Another hard slurp drew a whimper from his lips, and he rushed to the street before he threw the upper half of his body forward and emptied his stomach of its bile and venom.
They were so fresh, so clean. He'd not seen anything like it before. To think that something that was just talking, living and breathing could be ended with such little consideration frightened him. They were humans after all, and he was just a rath in their city. The cold in his bones brought on feelings of dread and insecurity. He couldn't linger there. Someone would find the bodies or he'd freeze. So, with a deep, shuddering exhale, he willed his legs to move and wrapped his arms around himself. Another hard slurp pulled his venom into his mouth, and he used it to wash the taste of vomit from his palette before he spat. A shudder of disgust ran through him, then he carried on to work, where he hoped to forget all about the events of that night.
Run. That was his first thought. Immediately, he turned to sprint, but stopped himself. A second guess came, a part of him that couldn't bear to leave someone helpless to fend for themselves. unfortunately enough, it was that smaller part that won over his self-preservation instinct, and he looked about the street in search of something to throw. "Remove your hold before I remove your arms," threatened the woman, calm and collected. Arkash panicked, the men laughed. Quickly, he settled on a loose stone in the pavement and pried it free with his claws. He kept low to the ground and close to the wall as he slipped around the corner, and closed up to a barrel that rested against the wall. They hadn't noticed him. What the hell was he doing? Did he want to die after all? A little, but...
In a split-second decision, the young Rath peered over the barrel, aimed, then lobbed the rock as hard as he could at one of the men. He missed completely, but the stone bounced off one of the walls and landed on the floor in a way that startled the attackers. The larger of the two looked back and met Arkash's eyes. "OI!" he all but screamed. Arkash ducked too late. "JON, THE'S A FACKIN LIZARD OVA 'ERE!" He was a dead man. Arkash had witnessed a crime, and his skinny legs couldn't carry him for another sprint. He sat and hid as the two men conversed. "Take care of 'im, Mike. I'll get staAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he broke off mid-sentence with the sound of sharp, metallic shriek followed by splatter. Arkash's yellow eyes widened in shock. What just happened? "JON?!" Cried the other man as he turned back.
The sound of squelching, accompanied by crunching bone echoed from down the alley; it reminded Arkash of the time he found some chicken in a dumpster and pulled one of the wings from the body. the small series of pops that came with the pull of flesh, followed by a satisfying rip. "WHAT THA FACK!" Cried Mike as something heavy hit the floor, muffled. Jon was quiet, Arkash could only assume that he was what hit the floor. "Y-YOU'RE INSAY-" was all Mike managed to scream before another metallic shriek cut him off, followed by an audible gurgle, and the sound of choking. The second sack of flesh hit the floor, and silence filled the night again. Was she still there? He couldn't hear anything; not a word was spoken, not a breath was drawn. He'd have looked if terrible fear hadn't seized his muscles.
Just when he was starting to compose himself, the metallic shriek sounded again, accompanied by a spray of fluid. Footsteps followed shortly after, drawing closer to him. Fear had paralyzed him. No matter how much he willed his body, he couldn't move. Then, she stepped out from the darkness and stopped before him. The lizard shivered a little with his head pressed to his knees. Like a helpless child, he sat there with his legs to his chest. His yellow eyes strafed upward and eventually settled on her crimson ones after taking in all the details.
► Show Spoiler
She was still dressed in her cloak, so most of her apparel was hidden from him. But, her clothes were mostly made up of luxury leathers which were likely worth more than all the money he'd made in his life and some other expensive-looking materials. The cloak alone must've been crafted by some of the finest tailors in all of Lorien, maybe even from another kingdom. The backpack she wore appeared to be nothing special, but it was what drew the attention of Mike and Jon. he couldn't help but wonder what was inside, but he found the thought of being murdered in an alley to be a terrifying, effective deterrent. It was difficult to tell in the lighting of the alley, but her skin was exceptionally fair, only contrasted by the darkness of her clothes and a ribbon of a red tattoo that ran over her eyes. In her hands, beneath her cloak, were two shortswords. Both dripped the rich iron-smelling crimson of blood. He'd thought he was dead before, but now he was certain.
"Such a waste," she huffed, then lifted her weapons. Arkash flinched, covered his head with his arms and shut his eyes. He was dead. That was it, no more struggle, no more stress, and worry... Except... The deathblow never came. Instead, the sound of sheathing swords sounded, and he opened his eyes to find her with her weapons stowed. "Idon'twannadie," stammered the lizard with a sudden gasp, and he drew stiff, shaky breaths. The woman tilted her head with a squint and a smirk. "Are you dense? I just put my swords away." With that, she took a knee before him. Full panic ensued, and he tried to back into the wall, desperate to get away from the killer. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you before you'd thrown that rock," What? How?!
"What do you want...?" The lizard spoke through his stiff jaw, which resumed pressing hard as his venom glands activated. He began to drool. "Want? Well, many things," she replied with a smile in her voice, "but right now? I want to thank you. I mean, I had the situation under control, but the added confusion made for quite the thrill." What the hell is wrong with this lady? She could read his expression with ease and did so without mercy. "Oh, you are funny," she chuckled in a sort of sadistic glee, which made his blood run just a little colder. "What's your name? And don't lie; I hate liars."
"Arkash," he replied without pause and incredible ease. "Well, Arkash. You're amusing. I do hope for the chance to meet you again, but I hope it isn't because you've blabbed about the lady that killed those poor thugs in an alley." His heart sank, and he shook his head, "I-I won't, I swear." he slurped hard and swallowed the venom that pooled in his maw. The woman tilted her head a little at the sight, then smiled even further before she reached a hand out to him. At once, Arkash shut his eyes and curled his lips in a painful cringe, as though he expected she might hurt him. Instead, he found her leather-wrapped hand petting him on the head, as though he were a dog or some other lesser animal. In this case, he was. "I hope that's true," was all she spoke before she stood, then dusted off her hands. A flick of her wrists lifted her hood overhead, and she flashed the Rathari a smile before she walked to the edge of the Alley, where the light of the moon enveloped her, and shimmered on the deep red of her satin cloak. "Take care, Arkash. And don't hang around here too long."
And just like that, she took to the streets with a calm stroll. Finally, the rathari snapped from his trance and rushed to the street. There, he turned to look for her but found nothing. Had he just met a ghost? No, ghosts aren't real. Ghosts don't kill people. What was her name? Did she even say? The stress forced his breathing to pick up, and he looked back into the alley to see the outlines of two people laying on the floor. They were dead, he knew it was so, but morbid curiosity demanded he looked for himself. The reptile drew ragged breaths as his eyes watered, and proceeded carefully into the alley. The cut of flesh that had been taken from Mike's throat was abundantly clear, along with the pool of blood that had formed around him. His toes met with the cold, thick fluid, and his tears began to stream. He'd just witnessed a murder, for sure. Another glance of his eyes revealed the second corpse: missing both his arms, with a darkened patch of blood in the sternum of his chest. A double murder, nonetheless. Another hard slurp drew a whimper from his lips, and he rushed to the street before he threw the upper half of his body forward and emptied his stomach of its bile and venom.
They were so fresh, so clean. He'd not seen anything like it before. To think that something that was just talking, living and breathing could be ended with such little consideration frightened him. They were humans after all, and he was just a rath in their city. The cold in his bones brought on feelings of dread and insecurity. He couldn't linger there. Someone would find the bodies or he'd freeze. So, with a deep, shuddering exhale, he willed his legs to move and wrapped his arms around himself. Another hard slurp pulled his venom into his mouth, and he used it to wash the taste of vomit from his palette before he spat. A shudder of disgust ran through him, then he carried on to work, where he hoped to forget all about the events of that night.
. Don't forget also that every time you change speakers you, in general, start a new paragraph. There was one point in your story above that the Arkash started talking but it slid into her talking and I had a bit of trouble following the transition.