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Extra Terrestrial Cattle Rustler
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I'm probably gonna get a post up here soon if nobody else has anything in the works.
Somehow the lights and smells around her became more intense, the sounds became clearer and more diverse and the contours of her body under her trailing hands became softer, more sensitive and far more worthy of attention than they had been before. To her it seemed the whole world had slowed down and she was allowed to experience it in more detail than ever before. A simple act such as walking up to the bar and letting her jacket slide off her arms became extremely sensual. Every nerve tingled as the fabric caressed her skin and exposed it to the air.
"I was..." she began to answer Annabelle's question but trailed off while slowly tracing her lips with her fingers. The atmosphere at the pub was so welcoming. So warm. Brooklyn stared at the fireplace at the far end of the room. She felt her body heating up. Was she dreaming? She could still feel the succubus' flesh on her own and caught lingering wafts of her scent. That was real? It had to have been.
"I was..." her brows knitted together as the past hour came flooding back in excruciating detail, "Holy shit."
"You were what?" Annabelle pressed her.
The girl's cheeks blushed deeply and her eyes we wide. Her nails dug into the bar, "I got lost! Okay!? Dammit, I told him that I was going for a walk so I went for a walk and that's it! It's none of your business I'm fine leave me alone!" Barkeep!" her defensive yelling petered out into an exhausted request and her voice cracked, "I need a Kavorkien."
"I was..." she began to answer Annabelle's question but trailed off while slowly tracing her lips with her fingers. The atmosphere at the pub was so welcoming. So warm. Brooklyn stared at the fireplace at the far end of the room. She felt her body heating up. Was she dreaming? She could still feel the succubus' flesh on her own and caught lingering wafts of her scent. That was real? It had to have been.
"I was..." her brows knitted together as the past hour came flooding back in excruciating detail, "Holy shit."
"You were what?" Annabelle pressed her.
The girl's cheeks blushed deeply and her eyes we wide. Her nails dug into the bar, "I got lost! Okay!? Dammit, I told him that I was going for a walk so I went for a walk and that's it! It's none of your business I'm fine leave me alone!" Barkeep!" her defensive yelling petered out into an exhausted request and her voice cracked, "I need a Kavorkien."
Earning money out here was so easy it was almost wrong. Actually wrong was just the right word for it she thought as Gabe punched the lights out of yet another sucker. All she had to do was add a little purr to her voice, bat her eye lashes and smile at just the right moments. Once they had cleaned up her face and picked all the leaves out of her hair it worked every time. Some shmuck looking to buy a girl a drink would approach her, they would flirt, get close and then Gabe would storm in with the over-protective boyfriend act. Too easy. As he pocketed the man's cash Brook heard yelling coming up the street. She squinted to see through the people walking down the street and there she saw armed guards running toward them.
"H- Hey, we should go," she stammered, "Now!"
"I see 'em. Run!" Gabe grabbed her roughly by the arm and drug her down the street and around a corner. They didn't stop there though. The mercenary lead her down alley ways, up ladders, over rooftops, across bridges and through buildings as they made their way through the maze of the cities.
"No! I knew this would happen! We're going to be sent back to the island, I know it!" she cried.
"Stop it!" he yelled over his shoulder, "We'll lose 'em!"
"Don't you people keep bank accounts or something!? Do you even know what a bank is!?" she kept going.
"Pushin' my patience, kid. Just so happens I got cleaned out the first and second time I went to prison. You learn after a while."
"Wait you-- This isn't your first time as a prisoner!?" her eyes went wide.
"Nope!"
She was having second thoughts about the people she had thrown her lot in with.
After Gabe felt like they had put enough distance between themselves and the city watch he finally slowed to a stop in a quiet residential area. Brook was winded. She sank and put her hands on her knees struggling to breathe. Her lungs burned, her legs ached and she thought her heart would rupture any second now. He watched her with his hands on his hips, chest barely heaving as he caught his breath.
"Yer outta shape," he frowned.
As much as she wished she could have managed to say, "Shut your dick holster," all she got out was an inaudible wheeze.
He started counting their money and after a minute or so she heard him mutter something like, "Yeah, should be enough if that bastard is still around."
"Who?" she managed to gasp.
"This way," he started to walk off.
Brook stood up straight and threw her head back and then stomped along with him, "Where are we going? When are we going to get our gear already?"
"I know a guy," he said.
"You know a guy?" she rolled her eyes, "Just tell me what we're doing!"
"Look, Tony's not exactly running a... legal business."
"... No wonder you keep getting thrown in jail."
"Hey. Point is, he owes me one and he's not the type to go back on that sorta thing."
"Are you sure about that? I'm all for doing what it takes to get out of these rags but I really don't want to get sent back to--"
"I get it," he interrupted, "I'm sure. Oh, try not to stare much. He might take it the wrong way coming from you."
Brook was nervous. Her imagination painted pictures of this Tony person that were unsavory to say the least. He was probably big and mean looking. More so than her Tenau companion. There was a scary thought. This man was probably unshaven, covered in muscle and fat and surrounded by men just as mean and ugly. What kind of hell was Gabe leading her into!?
Soon they came onto a peaceful, mostly empty, street lined with well maintained houses and shops built from an older style of architecture. Trees grew along the walkways and flowers grew in window boxes. Gabe approached a shop with a young man smoking an e-cig and reading a book on the front porch and an intricately woven sign that read, "Fine Jewelry." Brook was still looking around for the back alley drug dealers.
"This is it," Gabe said, "Tony!"
The man on the porch glanced up from his book, raised an eyebrow and got to his feet. He was tall and slender wearing a dress shirt and slacks. His hair was black and combed, his face was clean shaven. When he stood and walked to the steps it was incredibly controlled and graceful. He did not smile. Tony only watched them as they approached.
"Kinsley," he said matter-of-factly, "What are you doing here?"
"The fuck do you think I'm doin' here? Time for you to pay up."
Brooklyn cringed. Things were tense. So this Tony wasn't nearly as ugly as she had imagined. He wasn't even close to the images she had concocted. Truth be told she found him rather... A wicked grin split his lips and he pocketed the e-cig before jogging down the steps.
"You son-of-a-bitch," Tony chuckled and caught Gabe in a bear hug that looked far more painful than affectionate to Brook. Men. Then she realized why Gabe had told her not to stare. Tony was clean, professional, handsome and the left side of his face was webbed in deep slashing scars. His nose twisted where it had obviously been broken, his left cheek bone seemed more caved in compared to the right and several large chunks were missing from his left ear. He turned to her with a dashing smile.
"And who might you be?" he swept up her hand in his own, "Please don't tell me you belong to this brainless dog."
"N- no. He's not- I'm-" she stuttered.
"That's Brooklyn," Gabe chimed in for her, "She's an... accomplice."
"It's a pleasure," Tony's smile softened and he placed a gentle kiss on her hand. She was left speechless and blushing. By some miracle Gabe did remember her name after all and it was a good thing because she sure didn't.
Tony released her and turned back to his old friend, "I suppose you'll be wanting to come downstairs."
"Downstairs" was in stark contrast to the meticulously clean shop upstairs. The shop was carpeted with spotless display cases along the walls and sitting areas complete with cushioned chairs and flourishing house plants in the corners. An elegant door in the back lead to a dark concrete stairwell. At the bottom a cellar spread out and a large steel door with a wheel in the center and a complex security pad on the side dominated the far wall. It put Tony through a gauntlet of procedures to unlock the door the final one being a scan of his left eye which turned out to be fake and contained a sophisticated quartz encryption chip in the iris. No magic here.
"Who's side are you on?" Brooklyn muttered.
"Whichever side is paying more," Tony chuckled.
Gabe folded his arms and frowned, "Don't forget which side saved your life."
Inside the vault was what heaven must look like if there was one. She didn't know were to start. It was cavernous. Several rooms were partitioned in the space with steel grates. Hooks were set on the grates and shelves filled in the space between. On the hooks and shelves hung more guns, swords, tools and miscellaneous military equipment than she possibly could have looked through in the time they had. Most of these items, she noticed right away, were illegal for civilians to own.
"Ditch your weapons," Gabe told her, "Won't need 'em anymore."
"He's right," Tony confirmed, "Take your pick... As long as it's a reasonable pick of course. I have to turn a profit here."
She did as she was told and went to go wander through the collection. Gabe seemed to know exactly what he was looking for because in no time he was back chatting with Tony in a hushed tone with a powered down laser sword and a few supplies. There were some extremely dangerous weapons in here. Some of them were only fresh out of production and one or two she recognized as projects that she had been assigned to the past couple of years. Incredible. Eventually she came across a rather unassuming pistol and pulled it off the hooks it was sitting on. She also took the liberty of picking up a suppressor, several magazines of .50 caliber slugs and hollow points and a scope. She didn't want to miss after all. Then she returned to the front of the vault.
Tony smirked, "Do you know what that is?"
"I know it can take a man's head of his shoulders," she smirked back.
He snorted, "Good eye."
Gabe also forced a long dagger made of a curious black steel on her before he was satisfied with her choices. With some of the money they had conned out of the locals she also picked up a nice little tool kit that came with a leather case and rolled up into a neat little package. As they were leaving Tony kissed her hand once more and told her she was welcome anytime she wished. As long as she had money next time that was. Brooklyn noticed after getting closer to him again that a deep red scar cut across the entire width of his throat. It was jagged and thick, almost reminiscent of an electric bolt in shape.
"But you," Tony turned to Gabe with a grin, "I'd better never see you here again."
Gabe nodded and waved and they took their leave. Once they were some distance away Brook tapped his arm with the back of her hand to get his attention.
"Hey, so why did he owe you again?" she asked.
"I'm sure you saw his face," Gabe shrugged, "Well I was there for that. Stopped the bleeding. Got 'im out alive. That's all."
"Wow," she said quietly, "That scar on his neck. Must have been a lot of blood. How did you manage to--"
"That's all," he ended the conversation.
On the way back they also stopped to spend the rest of their ill-gotten cash on new, more appropriate, less filthy clothes for Brooklyn and a shower. Then Gabe started off toward the pub where he was to meet Annabelle. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon.
"Sebastian is probably going to be there, huh?" Brooklyn said quietly.
"Might be," Gabe replied.
She sighed deeply and looked away, "I'm going to take a walk. Need to think about somethings and I'm not sure I want to be around that guy right now."
He stopped and looked at her with a very concerned expression.
"I'll be okay," she assured him, "I'll stay where people can see me, I won't go down dark streets and I won't take candy from strangers."
He didn't find her joke amusing, "Fine. You be careful though, ya hear me? Anybody gets too friendly with ya, end 'em. If yer not at the pub in an hour I'm comin' lookin' for ya and you don't want me to come lookin' for ya. Got it?"
Brooklyn nodded and turned the other way stepping into the Yolduga night.
"H- Hey, we should go," she stammered, "Now!"
"I see 'em. Run!" Gabe grabbed her roughly by the arm and drug her down the street and around a corner. They didn't stop there though. The mercenary lead her down alley ways, up ladders, over rooftops, across bridges and through buildings as they made their way through the maze of the cities.
"No! I knew this would happen! We're going to be sent back to the island, I know it!" she cried.
"Stop it!" he yelled over his shoulder, "We'll lose 'em!"
"Don't you people keep bank accounts or something!? Do you even know what a bank is!?" she kept going.
"Pushin' my patience, kid. Just so happens I got cleaned out the first and second time I went to prison. You learn after a while."
"Wait you-- This isn't your first time as a prisoner!?" her eyes went wide.
"Nope!"
She was having second thoughts about the people she had thrown her lot in with.
After Gabe felt like they had put enough distance between themselves and the city watch he finally slowed to a stop in a quiet residential area. Brook was winded. She sank and put her hands on her knees struggling to breathe. Her lungs burned, her legs ached and she thought her heart would rupture any second now. He watched her with his hands on his hips, chest barely heaving as he caught his breath.
"Yer outta shape," he frowned.
As much as she wished she could have managed to say, "Shut your dick holster," all she got out was an inaudible wheeze.
He started counting their money and after a minute or so she heard him mutter something like, "Yeah, should be enough if that bastard is still around."
"Who?" she managed to gasp.
"This way," he started to walk off.
Brook stood up straight and threw her head back and then stomped along with him, "Where are we going? When are we going to get our gear already?"
"I know a guy," he said.
"You know a guy?" she rolled her eyes, "Just tell me what we're doing!"
"Look, Tony's not exactly running a... legal business."
"... No wonder you keep getting thrown in jail."
"Hey. Point is, he owes me one and he's not the type to go back on that sorta thing."
"Are you sure about that? I'm all for doing what it takes to get out of these rags but I really don't want to get sent back to--"
"I get it," he interrupted, "I'm sure. Oh, try not to stare much. He might take it the wrong way coming from you."
Brook was nervous. Her imagination painted pictures of this Tony person that were unsavory to say the least. He was probably big and mean looking. More so than her Tenau companion. There was a scary thought. This man was probably unshaven, covered in muscle and fat and surrounded by men just as mean and ugly. What kind of hell was Gabe leading her into!?
Soon they came onto a peaceful, mostly empty, street lined with well maintained houses and shops built from an older style of architecture. Trees grew along the walkways and flowers grew in window boxes. Gabe approached a shop with a young man smoking an e-cig and reading a book on the front porch and an intricately woven sign that read, "Fine Jewelry." Brook was still looking around for the back alley drug dealers.
"This is it," Gabe said, "Tony!"
The man on the porch glanced up from his book, raised an eyebrow and got to his feet. He was tall and slender wearing a dress shirt and slacks. His hair was black and combed, his face was clean shaven. When he stood and walked to the steps it was incredibly controlled and graceful. He did not smile. Tony only watched them as they approached.
"Kinsley," he said matter-of-factly, "What are you doing here?"
"The fuck do you think I'm doin' here? Time for you to pay up."
Brooklyn cringed. Things were tense. So this Tony wasn't nearly as ugly as she had imagined. He wasn't even close to the images she had concocted. Truth be told she found him rather... A wicked grin split his lips and he pocketed the e-cig before jogging down the steps.
"You son-of-a-bitch," Tony chuckled and caught Gabe in a bear hug that looked far more painful than affectionate to Brook. Men. Then she realized why Gabe had told her not to stare. Tony was clean, professional, handsome and the left side of his face was webbed in deep slashing scars. His nose twisted where it had obviously been broken, his left cheek bone seemed more caved in compared to the right and several large chunks were missing from his left ear. He turned to her with a dashing smile.
"And who might you be?" he swept up her hand in his own, "Please don't tell me you belong to this brainless dog."
"N- no. He's not- I'm-" she stuttered.
"That's Brooklyn," Gabe chimed in for her, "She's an... accomplice."
"It's a pleasure," Tony's smile softened and he placed a gentle kiss on her hand. She was left speechless and blushing. By some miracle Gabe did remember her name after all and it was a good thing because she sure didn't.
Tony released her and turned back to his old friend, "I suppose you'll be wanting to come downstairs."
"Downstairs" was in stark contrast to the meticulously clean shop upstairs. The shop was carpeted with spotless display cases along the walls and sitting areas complete with cushioned chairs and flourishing house plants in the corners. An elegant door in the back lead to a dark concrete stairwell. At the bottom a cellar spread out and a large steel door with a wheel in the center and a complex security pad on the side dominated the far wall. It put Tony through a gauntlet of procedures to unlock the door the final one being a scan of his left eye which turned out to be fake and contained a sophisticated quartz encryption chip in the iris. No magic here.
"Who's side are you on?" Brooklyn muttered.
"Whichever side is paying more," Tony chuckled.
Gabe folded his arms and frowned, "Don't forget which side saved your life."
Inside the vault was what heaven must look like if there was one. She didn't know were to start. It was cavernous. Several rooms were partitioned in the space with steel grates. Hooks were set on the grates and shelves filled in the space between. On the hooks and shelves hung more guns, swords, tools and miscellaneous military equipment than she possibly could have looked through in the time they had. Most of these items, she noticed right away, were illegal for civilians to own.
"Ditch your weapons," Gabe told her, "Won't need 'em anymore."
"He's right," Tony confirmed, "Take your pick... As long as it's a reasonable pick of course. I have to turn a profit here."
She did as she was told and went to go wander through the collection. Gabe seemed to know exactly what he was looking for because in no time he was back chatting with Tony in a hushed tone with a powered down laser sword and a few supplies. There were some extremely dangerous weapons in here. Some of them were only fresh out of production and one or two she recognized as projects that she had been assigned to the past couple of years. Incredible. Eventually she came across a rather unassuming pistol and pulled it off the hooks it was sitting on. She also took the liberty of picking up a suppressor, several magazines of .50 caliber slugs and hollow points and a scope. She didn't want to miss after all. Then she returned to the front of the vault.
Tony smirked, "Do you know what that is?"
"I know it can take a man's head of his shoulders," she smirked back.
He snorted, "Good eye."
Gabe also forced a long dagger made of a curious black steel on her before he was satisfied with her choices. With some of the money they had conned out of the locals she also picked up a nice little tool kit that came with a leather case and rolled up into a neat little package. As they were leaving Tony kissed her hand once more and told her she was welcome anytime she wished. As long as she had money next time that was. Brooklyn noticed after getting closer to him again that a deep red scar cut across the entire width of his throat. It was jagged and thick, almost reminiscent of an electric bolt in shape.
"But you," Tony turned to Gabe with a grin, "I'd better never see you here again."
Gabe nodded and waved and they took their leave. Once they were some distance away Brook tapped his arm with the back of her hand to get his attention.
"Hey, so why did he owe you again?" she asked.
"I'm sure you saw his face," Gabe shrugged, "Well I was there for that. Stopped the bleeding. Got 'im out alive. That's all."
"Wow," she said quietly, "That scar on his neck. Must have been a lot of blood. How did you manage to--"
"That's all," he ended the conversation.
On the way back they also stopped to spend the rest of their ill-gotten cash on new, more appropriate, less filthy clothes for Brooklyn and a shower. Then Gabe started off toward the pub where he was to meet Annabelle. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon.
"Sebastian is probably going to be there, huh?" Brooklyn said quietly.
"Might be," Gabe replied.
She sighed deeply and looked away, "I'm going to take a walk. Need to think about somethings and I'm not sure I want to be around that guy right now."
He stopped and looked at her with a very concerned expression.
"I'll be okay," she assured him, "I'll stay where people can see me, I won't go down dark streets and I won't take candy from strangers."
He didn't find her joke amusing, "Fine. You be careful though, ya hear me? Anybody gets too friendly with ya, end 'em. If yer not at the pub in an hour I'm comin' lookin' for ya and you don't want me to come lookin' for ya. Got it?"
Brooklyn nodded and turned the other way stepping into the Yolduga night.
Sorry, man. I got really depressed as soon as I wrapped that pic up. Applied for a job and now I'm going to sleep. I'll post soon I promise. Don't know what is wrong with my stupid art skills lately. EVERYTHING COMES OUT SUCKY.
Gods, I am having the shittiest day. Going to paint through most of the night and get a post up after I finish something for Brook. Will be on Skype after I get home and set up.
Firecrotch? Gabe had no idea what this guy was getting at but he let it slide for now. He was glad Sebastian had refused Annabelle's company for a drink. While the Illuminavit had his high-tech blasphemy to supply him, the rest of them were going to have to take a more old fashioned approach. To take the old fashioned approach one needed money. Gabe scratched his chin coming up with a few ideas as he watched the girl walking away from them. She had slipped off the dragon as soon as they landed and stomped off without even listening to the conversation. Looking between the two of them the mercenary could almost taste the tension. Soon he was heading into Yolduga as well.
"Just where are you going?" Annabelle followed him.
He tapped the pommel of the long sword strapped to his back, "This isn't going to cut it. Need proper weapons if we're gonna frolic through IVT territory... So I need to find someone who's got heavy money bags and who's lookin' for a fight. Wouldn't mind if you wanna lend a hand."
Yolduga was as happy a little town as there ever was with birds singing overhead, ducklings and their mothers paddling all in a row through the canals, people laughing, talking, and going about their business, the sun shining down to illuminate the colors of the buildings, clothing and boats on the water, and the bouquet of scents that wafted through the air. Brooklyn sulked through it. To her relief she didn't stand out too much. Many of the people wore clothing similar to what she had picked up but most of them were cleaner and more luxurious. The only reason she would stick out was from looking ragged and dirty. She sighed. She didn't know what she was doing. A lone pebble called to her from the edge of the walk and of course she stopped to kick it into the canal. Then her stomach growled. Though she didn't know what to do or where to go she knew she wasn't ready to die just yet especially not from starvation. In order to live she needed to take care of her basic needs first then she could start focusing on the more complex issues. Work from the ground up.
However she wasn't sure how she was going to do even that. Frustrated and discouraged she leaned against a wall and slid to the ground putting her hands on either side of her head. Think, think, think. She could feel the cold steel of the gun still shoved down the back of her pants and wondered how much she could sell that for. Maybe a little if nobody around here knew what a piece of crap it was. She scratched her scalp. Maybe the sword? She didn't know much about these old style blades but it seemed to be in decent condition. If nothing else it could at least buy her a meal or two. A gold coin landed between her feet bounced and rolled to a stop. Brooklyn looked up to see where it had come from and saw a well-dressed man walking away. Had he just dropped this for her? But, no she wasn't some washed up beggar. No!
"Hey! I'm not--" she was cut off by an identical coin being dropped in front of her this time by a woman with a bag of groceries. She growled. "I don't need your--" This time another coin, smaller and silver. Cheapskate, she thought.
What was she doing!? She was absolutely mortified! Taking these people's money like some filthy vagabond. She was no beggar, dammit! Back at the station she created weapons of war that could mow down armies and wipe small cities off the map! She and the rest of her development team had built things that could obliterate these people walking around like they were so far above her with the flip of a switch! Her stomach growled again and this time it was painful. Brooklyn frowned and her temper cooled. She couldn't obliterate anything if she was starving and she had to admit this was working. She had at least a little something now.
"Oh, you poor dear," an old woman stooped to look her in the face and smiled. She took one of Brooklyn's hands in her bony fingers and shoved a couple notes into it. "Here, I hope this helps. Pretty little things like you shouldn't be out on the street."
Yeah tell me about it, the girl thought, but instead she decided to go with a polite, "Thank you."
Once she felt like she had enough to work with Brooklyn wandered from her spot, letting her sense of smell guide her toward food, until she came up on what looked like a market district. For some reason, perhaps it was the money in her pockets regardless of how she had gotten it, she was able to hold her head a little higher than when she first arrived in Yolduga. Already she was on her way back up. It'll be okay. I can get through this, she reassured herself. Almost immediately she parted with one of her gold coins in exchange for a dumpling the better part of which ended up on her face as she tore into it like a ravenous dog.
"No, no! I'm sorry! Your mother is a saint! You win! I'm sorry!" a screaming man stumbled out into the street and tripped. His face was bruised and bloodied. On his back he tried to scramble away, offering money and apologies. After him stomped the Tenau brute she was-- had been traveling with. He grabbed the man by the front of the shirt and delivered one final punch to the man's face. He sagged. Gabe reached down, snatched up the man's wallet and dropped him where he curled up and sobbed. People in the square were silent and stared as he examined the wallet's contents and pocketed the money. Gabe simply glared up at all of them and frowned.
"You heard 'im. He deserved it," he growled. The people went back to what they were doing, many of them muttering about what had just happened.
Brook tried to disappear into the crowds but it was too late. Gabe locked eyes with her and started coming after her. She struggled to get away but the busy market goers blocked her path and only moments later she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. Gabe whipped her around effortlessly and loomed over her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I- I'm- ... Mind your own business!" she shouted back.
"Right now this is my business. What happened between you and...?" Gabe trailed off.
"Sebastian?" Brook hissed.
"Yeah, whatever, that guy," he waved a hand dismissively.
She glared at the pavement and ground her teeth together, "I'm not going to lower myself to hang around with some ass who constantly throws me into terrible situations and treats me like I'm a joke. I'm better than that and can take care of myself."
"Fine. I'm still askin' ya to come back though."
"No! Did you hear any of what I just said!?"
"Did ya hear any of what was written in that book?"
Brooklyn was silent.
"I dunno 'bout you but I heard somethin' about four people, not three and that hunk of movin' scrap that guy's got with 'im doesn't count."
"Does it even matter?" she rolled her eyes, "It's just a stupid old book with some stupid nonsense magical mumbo-jumbo scrawled in it. We don't know who wrote it or where he got it."
"Best remember where you are," he whispered.
She looked around and noted that she had gotten a few suspicious glances.
"Look," he continued, "I don't care if you don't believe in this stuff, but where the well-being of your whole world is concerned ya should be. Even if it's fake nobody should be takin' that risk. The rest of us see that. Even what's-her-face."
"Annabelle." Brook mumbled. At this rate he probably didn't know her name either.
"Whatever. Point is yer actin' like a stupid child."
"Excuse me!?" Brook exclaimed.
"Yer sitting here telling me about how yer sick of being treated and how you hate so-and-so and about how yer better than this, but you refuse to look at the big picture. You only think about what you want, what makes you happy. Guess what? If the whole world goes to shit you ain't gonna be happy and you'll have to carry around way more guilt than any one person can live with. Ya talk about lowerin' yourself but I know you didn't have any money when we got here so where did you get that?" he pointed to the partial dumpling she was still working on, "You either stole it or begged for it or whored yourself out for it. I'd say yer pretty low already."
Brooklyn didn't respond nor could she bring herself to look him in the eye.
"It doesn't matter if you don't like any of us because this ain't about you. Come back and do something with your life. Or just stay out here and whore around because you're better than us, right?"
Gabe finally released her and started to walk. Brooklyn furiously stuffed the rest of her lunch in her face and fumed over what he had just said to her.
Several minutes later he heard the tapping of boots on the stones behind him. The little blond bounced up beside him and kept pace. They walked in silence for a little longer but a knowing smirk spread across his face.
"I'll come back," she finally said, "I won't be of much use. I don't know how to fight. But I'll come back."
"That'll change," he said, "But we're not done here. If you don't mind a little more dirty work we might be able to get you some decent gear by tonight."
She pouted, "What do I have to do?"
"Break a few hearts. Not much," he grinned.
"Just where are you going?" Annabelle followed him.
He tapped the pommel of the long sword strapped to his back, "This isn't going to cut it. Need proper weapons if we're gonna frolic through IVT territory... So I need to find someone who's got heavy money bags and who's lookin' for a fight. Wouldn't mind if you wanna lend a hand."
Yolduga was as happy a little town as there ever was with birds singing overhead, ducklings and their mothers paddling all in a row through the canals, people laughing, talking, and going about their business, the sun shining down to illuminate the colors of the buildings, clothing and boats on the water, and the bouquet of scents that wafted through the air. Brooklyn sulked through it. To her relief she didn't stand out too much. Many of the people wore clothing similar to what she had picked up but most of them were cleaner and more luxurious. The only reason she would stick out was from looking ragged and dirty. She sighed. She didn't know what she was doing. A lone pebble called to her from the edge of the walk and of course she stopped to kick it into the canal. Then her stomach growled. Though she didn't know what to do or where to go she knew she wasn't ready to die just yet especially not from starvation. In order to live she needed to take care of her basic needs first then she could start focusing on the more complex issues. Work from the ground up.
However she wasn't sure how she was going to do even that. Frustrated and discouraged she leaned against a wall and slid to the ground putting her hands on either side of her head. Think, think, think. She could feel the cold steel of the gun still shoved down the back of her pants and wondered how much she could sell that for. Maybe a little if nobody around here knew what a piece of crap it was. She scratched her scalp. Maybe the sword? She didn't know much about these old style blades but it seemed to be in decent condition. If nothing else it could at least buy her a meal or two. A gold coin landed between her feet bounced and rolled to a stop. Brooklyn looked up to see where it had come from and saw a well-dressed man walking away. Had he just dropped this for her? But, no she wasn't some washed up beggar. No!
"Hey! I'm not--" she was cut off by an identical coin being dropped in front of her this time by a woman with a bag of groceries. She growled. "I don't need your--" This time another coin, smaller and silver. Cheapskate, she thought.
What was she doing!? She was absolutely mortified! Taking these people's money like some filthy vagabond. She was no beggar, dammit! Back at the station she created weapons of war that could mow down armies and wipe small cities off the map! She and the rest of her development team had built things that could obliterate these people walking around like they were so far above her with the flip of a switch! Her stomach growled again and this time it was painful. Brooklyn frowned and her temper cooled. She couldn't obliterate anything if she was starving and she had to admit this was working. She had at least a little something now.
"Oh, you poor dear," an old woman stooped to look her in the face and smiled. She took one of Brooklyn's hands in her bony fingers and shoved a couple notes into it. "Here, I hope this helps. Pretty little things like you shouldn't be out on the street."
Yeah tell me about it, the girl thought, but instead she decided to go with a polite, "Thank you."
Once she felt like she had enough to work with Brooklyn wandered from her spot, letting her sense of smell guide her toward food, until she came up on what looked like a market district. For some reason, perhaps it was the money in her pockets regardless of how she had gotten it, she was able to hold her head a little higher than when she first arrived in Yolduga. Already she was on her way back up. It'll be okay. I can get through this, she reassured herself. Almost immediately she parted with one of her gold coins in exchange for a dumpling the better part of which ended up on her face as she tore into it like a ravenous dog.
"No, no! I'm sorry! Your mother is a saint! You win! I'm sorry!" a screaming man stumbled out into the street and tripped. His face was bruised and bloodied. On his back he tried to scramble away, offering money and apologies. After him stomped the Tenau brute she was-- had been traveling with. He grabbed the man by the front of the shirt and delivered one final punch to the man's face. He sagged. Gabe reached down, snatched up the man's wallet and dropped him where he curled up and sobbed. People in the square were silent and stared as he examined the wallet's contents and pocketed the money. Gabe simply glared up at all of them and frowned.
"You heard 'im. He deserved it," he growled. The people went back to what they were doing, many of them muttering about what had just happened.
Brook tried to disappear into the crowds but it was too late. Gabe locked eyes with her and started coming after her. She struggled to get away but the busy market goers blocked her path and only moments later she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. Gabe whipped her around effortlessly and loomed over her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I- I'm- ... Mind your own business!" she shouted back.
"Right now this is my business. What happened between you and...?" Gabe trailed off.
"Sebastian?" Brook hissed.
"Yeah, whatever, that guy," he waved a hand dismissively.
She glared at the pavement and ground her teeth together, "I'm not going to lower myself to hang around with some ass who constantly throws me into terrible situations and treats me like I'm a joke. I'm better than that and can take care of myself."
"Fine. I'm still askin' ya to come back though."
"No! Did you hear any of what I just said!?"
"Did ya hear any of what was written in that book?"
Brooklyn was silent.
"I dunno 'bout you but I heard somethin' about four people, not three and that hunk of movin' scrap that guy's got with 'im doesn't count."
"Does it even matter?" she rolled her eyes, "It's just a stupid old book with some stupid nonsense magical mumbo-jumbo scrawled in it. We don't know who wrote it or where he got it."
"Best remember where you are," he whispered.
She looked around and noted that she had gotten a few suspicious glances.
"Look," he continued, "I don't care if you don't believe in this stuff, but where the well-being of your whole world is concerned ya should be. Even if it's fake nobody should be takin' that risk. The rest of us see that. Even what's-her-face."
"Annabelle." Brook mumbled. At this rate he probably didn't know her name either.
"Whatever. Point is yer actin' like a stupid child."
"Excuse me!?" Brook exclaimed.
"Yer sitting here telling me about how yer sick of being treated and how you hate so-and-so and about how yer better than this, but you refuse to look at the big picture. You only think about what you want, what makes you happy. Guess what? If the whole world goes to shit you ain't gonna be happy and you'll have to carry around way more guilt than any one person can live with. Ya talk about lowerin' yourself but I know you didn't have any money when we got here so where did you get that?" he pointed to the partial dumpling she was still working on, "You either stole it or begged for it or whored yourself out for it. I'd say yer pretty low already."
Brooklyn didn't respond nor could she bring herself to look him in the eye.
"It doesn't matter if you don't like any of us because this ain't about you. Come back and do something with your life. Or just stay out here and whore around because you're better than us, right?"
Gabe finally released her and started to walk. Brooklyn furiously stuffed the rest of her lunch in her face and fumed over what he had just said to her.
Several minutes later he heard the tapping of boots on the stones behind him. The little blond bounced up beside him and kept pace. They walked in silence for a little longer but a knowing smirk spread across his face.
"I'll come back," she finally said, "I won't be of much use. I don't know how to fight. But I'll come back."
"That'll change," he said, "But we're not done here. If you don't mind a little more dirty work we might be able to get you some decent gear by tonight."
She pouted, "What do I have to do?"
"Break a few hearts. Not much," he grinned.
LQL! 'Tis quite alright, good sir. Why Aurora is also a city in that quaint little colonist state of Colorado if memory serves. Oh, ho, ho, those colonists. Mm, yes, quite.
Pyro V said
Ew, I slept till almost noon.Pyro is disgusted.Time2Read post.
I just woke up @.@
Omg, that post. I do love it when shit hits the fan >:D
Silence gripped him as the events of the morning unfolded. Normally he was a man of few words and now that things seemed so far out of his control he found that he had absolutely nothing worth saying. No words could change any of this. They couldn't stop the great beasts from swarming them, they couldn't get him off this island and they couldn't stop what was coming for Arcadia. There was no use for them.
Gabe clenched his fists. It was all he could do to keep from making for the trees when the multitude of dragons swept down. Of course it was a magnificent sight, one he most likely would never see again. They were incredible, graceful, lithe and filled the sky with color and motion. Perhaps that is why he stayed put. With such a stunningly beautiful variety of creatures on display he had to wonder what happened to this one.
Of course the biggest, nastiest, ugliest, brute would step forward to challenge him after he had turned his nose up at the waif Annabelle had been eyeing. It was a monster. A jagged under-bite, small smoldering eyes, thick neck, hunching posture, and thick slabs of muscle rippling with every motion gave this thing a look only it's mother could love. Now it breathed it's foul, caustic breath down the back of Gabe's neck. He stood his ground despite every nerve in his body telling him to flee. The Illuminavit had taken off already and he was still coming to terms with what he had to do next.
"He's just like a horse," he remembered the Prosthetic telling him. Gabe shuddered and his ribs suddenly ached where they had never fully healed after a vicious kick suffered in his childhood. He turned to face the creature.
It... He... growled low in his chest so much so that the ground rumbled under them. He opened his mouth in a snarl that felt almost taunting and revealed a long lolling tongue and a yellow-green glow from somewhere deep inside. The great dragon spread its wings and threw its huge tail from side to side posing a threat to the trees around the creek. The Prosthetic was so wrong. Gabe smirked and tilted his head at the dragon. This was nothing like a horse.
His legs seemed to move on their own while part of him screamed to stop what he was doing. There was no way he could back down now. It was time to step up to the plate and of course he had his pride as a cut-throat, do anything, go anywhere mercenary to uphold. Gabe stepped up on the dragon's shoulder and mounted at the base of its neck carefully situating himself between the ridges that ran the length of its spine.
Then he held out a hand for Annabelle, "Get on," he said. The woman did so but rejected the hand he offered and any of his help what-so-ever. Gabe made a face and rolled his eyes.
"Can this beast even take to the air?" she asked, incredulous, "It's built like a rock."
"More like a boulder," Gabe snorted... "Boulder." He liked the sound of that and so did the dragon from the sound of the gravely chuckle that boomed from under them.
With a great pumping of his wings flinging up dirt and mist and leaves Boulder did indeed heave himself into the sky and with far more power and grace than either of his riders had expected. At first the lurching made Gabe worried he would lose what little food he had scrounged up the past day, but once into the clouds it was a completely different and exhilarating experience.
Brooklyn screamed a slew of barely audible curses over the rushing wind. Her body shook violently as she clung tightly to Sebastian and her knees dug into the dragon's sides. She glared out over the clouds. They were beautiful but it only took the edge off of her seething.
Truth be told she was in awe of what was happening to her right now. She couldn't even be sure if she was awake. The skies and clouds stretching forever were just so surreal and beautiful. However she was disgusted, furious, sick and worst of all frozen by terror. Aurora's wings beat the air to keep them aloft. Brooklyn could feel her muscles with every stroke and became very aware of the creature and how it had treated her as some kind of hilarious play thing. She knew she should be feeling wonder in the prescience of such a legendary animal thought to be extinct, but disdain filled her heart.
As Sebastian pointed out the station in the distance and spoke about beautiful cities she listened, but said nothing. What an ass. One moment he was saving her life and seemed like he cared and the next she was being ignored or made-fun of. One thing was for sure. She was done with it. She was done with being dragged around for fear of dying. The life she had built was gone now anyway. She was done with being powerless. And she was done with Sebastian. His smell and voice and body touching hers were making her livid.
"Am I alright?" she repeated his question back to him slowly with venom, "I hate you," she hissed.
Her hands loosened their grip on him little by little as her anger overtook her fear until finally she let go of him. When she had completely separated herself from him she placed her hands on Aurora's neck to hold herself steady. Inside her chest she could still feel her heart pounding miles a minute. She was still scared. Death was all around her at this height and with her life in the hands of this, this, this demon. Humiliating herself by handing herself over to the will of others only made it feel all the worse. She could handle being scared and stressed. No longer could she handle losing herself and her dignity. Moisture laden winds whipped past them snapping their clothing and she let their eerie voices fill the bitter quiet.
Taking deep breaths and focusing on the clouds and the spire of the space elevator Brooklyn waited for her imprisonment with these two to be over.
Gabe clenched his fists. It was all he could do to keep from making for the trees when the multitude of dragons swept down. Of course it was a magnificent sight, one he most likely would never see again. They were incredible, graceful, lithe and filled the sky with color and motion. Perhaps that is why he stayed put. With such a stunningly beautiful variety of creatures on display he had to wonder what happened to this one.
Of course the biggest, nastiest, ugliest, brute would step forward to challenge him after he had turned his nose up at the waif Annabelle had been eyeing. It was a monster. A jagged under-bite, small smoldering eyes, thick neck, hunching posture, and thick slabs of muscle rippling with every motion gave this thing a look only it's mother could love. Now it breathed it's foul, caustic breath down the back of Gabe's neck. He stood his ground despite every nerve in his body telling him to flee. The Illuminavit had taken off already and he was still coming to terms with what he had to do next.
"He's just like a horse," he remembered the Prosthetic telling him. Gabe shuddered and his ribs suddenly ached where they had never fully healed after a vicious kick suffered in his childhood. He turned to face the creature.
It... He... growled low in his chest so much so that the ground rumbled under them. He opened his mouth in a snarl that felt almost taunting and revealed a long lolling tongue and a yellow-green glow from somewhere deep inside. The great dragon spread its wings and threw its huge tail from side to side posing a threat to the trees around the creek. The Prosthetic was so wrong. Gabe smirked and tilted his head at the dragon. This was nothing like a horse.
His legs seemed to move on their own while part of him screamed to stop what he was doing. There was no way he could back down now. It was time to step up to the plate and of course he had his pride as a cut-throat, do anything, go anywhere mercenary to uphold. Gabe stepped up on the dragon's shoulder and mounted at the base of its neck carefully situating himself between the ridges that ran the length of its spine.
Then he held out a hand for Annabelle, "Get on," he said. The woman did so but rejected the hand he offered and any of his help what-so-ever. Gabe made a face and rolled his eyes.
"Can this beast even take to the air?" she asked, incredulous, "It's built like a rock."
"More like a boulder," Gabe snorted... "Boulder." He liked the sound of that and so did the dragon from the sound of the gravely chuckle that boomed from under them.
With a great pumping of his wings flinging up dirt and mist and leaves Boulder did indeed heave himself into the sky and with far more power and grace than either of his riders had expected. At first the lurching made Gabe worried he would lose what little food he had scrounged up the past day, but once into the clouds it was a completely different and exhilarating experience.
Brooklyn screamed a slew of barely audible curses over the rushing wind. Her body shook violently as she clung tightly to Sebastian and her knees dug into the dragon's sides. She glared out over the clouds. They were beautiful but it only took the edge off of her seething.
Truth be told she was in awe of what was happening to her right now. She couldn't even be sure if she was awake. The skies and clouds stretching forever were just so surreal and beautiful. However she was disgusted, furious, sick and worst of all frozen by terror. Aurora's wings beat the air to keep them aloft. Brooklyn could feel her muscles with every stroke and became very aware of the creature and how it had treated her as some kind of hilarious play thing. She knew she should be feeling wonder in the prescience of such a legendary animal thought to be extinct, but disdain filled her heart.
As Sebastian pointed out the station in the distance and spoke about beautiful cities she listened, but said nothing. What an ass. One moment he was saving her life and seemed like he cared and the next she was being ignored or made-fun of. One thing was for sure. She was done with it. She was done with being dragged around for fear of dying. The life she had built was gone now anyway. She was done with being powerless. And she was done with Sebastian. His smell and voice and body touching hers were making her livid.
"Am I alright?" she repeated his question back to him slowly with venom, "I hate you," she hissed.
Her hands loosened their grip on him little by little as her anger overtook her fear until finally she let go of him. When she had completely separated herself from him she placed her hands on Aurora's neck to hold herself steady. Inside her chest she could still feel her heart pounding miles a minute. She was still scared. Death was all around her at this height and with her life in the hands of this, this, this demon. Humiliating herself by handing herself over to the will of others only made it feel all the worse. She could handle being scared and stressed. No longer could she handle losing herself and her dignity. Moisture laden winds whipped past them snapping their clothing and she let their eerie voices fill the bitter quiet.
Taking deep breaths and focusing on the clouds and the spire of the space elevator Brooklyn waited for her imprisonment with these two to be over.
GravityFlux said
Well, I'm losing the spark for this RP. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel it from this anymore, and to lie and continue would just cause my posts to get worse and worse. I'd say its for the RP. You've got the people to replace me! ITs finnnnneeeeeeeee! And I'm not close to being a good RPer here, so no big loss! I'm so sorry though.
Grav... :C
I really wish you would reconsider. Vash made some good points I hope you'll think about, but if you've really lost interest that badly I guess we can't stop you. Just don't sell yourself short, okay? You are a good role player.
Sep said
*snip*
Quite a few of us had character interaction in our bios actually :b
I, personally, think it looks pretty good and I like the idea of having a mechanic around especially one who focuses on vehicles and the like. Might be able to do some cool stuff with that *coughassaultrangeroverspleasecough*. Kind of interested in this "war machine" too.
You have my approval. Just need to wait and see what the others think.
Lucy said
New job stuff :C
Augh, I'm sorry! I know how that feels. Good luck with the switch and all! Keep us posted and let us know if you need anything.
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