The Chronicles of Nadia: The Lions, the Bitch, and Her New Sword

[Elijah_Morendale]

A quick "get back into the game" solo. This is from Nadia's perspective; I'm forgoing the usual red font to make the whole thing easier on the judge's eyes.

It was beautiful.

I spent the better part of the afternoon ogling my precious new eight hundred gold coin toy--a shiny, brand spankin' new mythril katana. Elijah probably won't appreciate it as much as I do, probably because I used his money to buy it, but fuck him. He'll get over it eventually.

It was a very simple-looking twenty seven inch-long blade. Elijah's visage vaguely reflected in the white metal. The sword was lighter than I was used to, not that I minded. It meant that I could swing it an awful lot quicker than my old ratty steel blade, which meant faster and more efficient bloodletting. Which begged the question: Should I keep both swords and learn to dual wield?

There were advantages to both styles. With two swords, I could deal twice the death, but I'd only be swinging each sword with one hand, which meant less power and speed. Besides, I don't think my attention span would allow me to keep track of two wayward blades. One of those "left hand doesn't give a shit about what the right is doing" sort of deals. I'd end up poking one of Elijah's eyes out. Then he'd be really mad at me.

Sigh. The dilemmas we artists face in these harsh times.

Oh well. There was only one way I could really find out, and that would be to actually try it. The old steel sword was still strapped to my back, and I had my new toy clutched tightly to my chest. All I had to do was find some unlucky slashing post to test some techniques out on... Somebody who wouldn't be missed.

Plenty of homeless beggars littered the streets of Radasanth's ugly south side, offering an all-you-can-eat buffet of blood and flesh for my mythril beauty. I looked up into the nighttime sky. A light haze blanketed the sky, dampening any light that the moon cast off. I could barely make out anything fifty feet in front of me. As I walked the empty cobblestone streets, I kept my ears open for any telltale signs of human life.

"Who's first," I murmured to myself with sadistic glee.

[Elijah_Morendale]

Much to my disappointment, however, the first half an hour found me walking the streets by my lonesome. What the shit is wrong with everyone? This is the notorious bad part of town! Where are the drug dealers? Where are the prostitutes? Where are the teenage hoodlums with matching bandannas flashing their crazy hand gestures at me, threatening with a butchered version of the common tounge? My swords are looking for you! They hunger for your flesh!

My face contorted in annoyance, I quickly ripped my new blade out of its sheathe and let the tip drag on the cobblestone street. The high-pitched scraping echoed throughout the otherwise silent night, announcing my presence to the world like the trumpets of heaven. The call went unanswered for a brief moment. I huffed lightly and decided to park my ass on a nearby stoop.

The stone steps were still slightly damp from the rainstorm that hit earlier in the day. I could feel the traces of water seeping through my pants as I squinted hard into the darkness.

Just one measly soul, is that too much to ask?

My prayers were answered when I heard a door softly shut somewheres down the road, followed by light but hurried footsteps swiftly approaching. I cracked a wide, bloodthirsty grin as I leaped off the stoop and ducked into the closest alleyway that I could find like the insane creep that I was. The taps grew louder and more frequent... Someone was definitely in a hurry, but that was quite alright with me. I prefer the joys of chasing someone down as opposed to a boring old stationary target anyways.

I could feel my heart jump into my throat as I grew more and more excited about the upcoming kill. Barely audible cackles escaped my lips as the running slowly died down to a jogging pace. A blur of dark blue and black slowly came into view at the alley's opening, pausing for a brief moment before taking off once more.

It was time.

[Elijah_Morendale]

I slid out of my tight hiding spot, hands wrapped tightly around the plain black hilt of the mythril katana. Whoever this person was, they were completely oblivious to my light own footsteps as I quickly drew closer.

What are you running from, friend? Me? No... We haven't even met yet... But we will soon enough... Oh, yes, we'll get acquainted nice and pretty really soon... And if I like you enough, I'll introduce you to one of my other friends as well!

I decided that I was being ignored long enough. I let the tip of the blade drop back to the ground, filling the air with the intense grinding of metal against stone. The figure let out a slight gasp--a feminine gasp--and took off with renewed intensity. "Where are you going," I shouted after the black and blue blur as I picked up my own pace. Maniacal laughter filled the air as we played cat-and-mouse down the abandoned streets.

The stranger ducked in between two shacks so quick that I almost didn't see it. I quickly skidded to a stop on the rough, wet street and instantly pivoted my feet. The woman was tipping over steel cans that clattered as they hit the ground and spilled their contents all over the place. As I juked and jived my way through the makeshift obstacle course, I silently thanked Elijah for keeping our body in top form throughout the years.

"Hold on, sister! I just wanna'--whoa!" Nearly slipped on a banana peel there. "I just wanna' know how I can get to the inn!"

The chase eventually led back to one of the main roads. I must admit, though. Had I not heard the bitch's thundering footsteps as I emerged from the labyrinthine alleyways that snaked in between the shacks that littered this side of town, I would've lost her. Pausing for a brief second to catch my breath, I took off once more. I had to admire my latest victim-to-be: She was putting up much more of an effort than anyone I'd usually run through.

But alas, as much as I was enjoying the chase, I decided that it was time to let my new toy get its first taste of action. I picked up my pace, effortlessly closing the distance between predator and prey. I lowered my sword once more at a downward angle, adjusting my white-knuckled hands so I was ready for a quick strike.

"Heeeeeee-yah!" With a lightning-fast upward stroke, my katana kissed the woman's back, easily tearing through the fabric of her tattered blouse and cleanly slicing open her soft flesh. Even in the low amount of moonlight, I could clearly make out the river of blood that flowed freely through the air as the woman screamed in agony and immediately dropped to her knees. I quickly sprung to the right so I wouldn't trip over her and skidded to a stop.

A few drops of blood slid down the smooth blade of my katana as I lowered the weapon. The nighttime air was filled with the smell of inevitable death and the woman's pained whimpers. Yeah, sure, my baby was happy to have been broken in, but there was something not quite right about the scene. It took me a few seconds to realize what it was.

"You're doing it wrong."

Even in the darkness, I could see the woman look up at me with pleading eyes, begging for me to spare her life--or end her pain. Could've gone either way.

"Dying. You're doing it wrong." I made no attempt to hide the fact that she was still living annoyed the shit out of me.

[Elijah_Morendale]

I couldn't help but to feel a bit disappointed at the scene. Take into account the speed I was going at, the velocity, force, and angle at which my sword was traveling, and the pure awesome factor of swinging something mythril... I should've one-shotted the bitch! But no, here she sat doggy-style before me bleeding all over her rags like the injured rat that she was!

Luckily, solving a problem like this isn't advanced alchemy. I slowly moved towards the sobbing woman. With each step I took, she tried to scuttle away, but only ended up whimpering louder and louder, aware of her immediate fate. I quickly raised my sword above my head, gripping the hilt tight before baseball-swinging the razor-sharp blade at her neck.

The crying suddenly stopped. Silence filled the dark streets of Radasanth once more, save for the loud thwack of the woman's freshly severed noggin hitting the street and the telltale trickle of blood pooling around her body.

I stood in amazement at the ease and cleanliness of the cut. There was almost no resistance whatsoever--it was as if I had stuck a hot knife through butter, or some other overplayed metaphor of a similar nature. I took a deep breath, holding it for several seconds to try and kill the impending euphoria.

The kill... It was so clean! Oh, Elijah, if only you could've seen this!

My laughter shattered the silence. A light chuckle at first, but it nearly instantly exploded into a psychotic giggle that perfectly matched my horrible deed. I heartily strolled to the severed head, squatting down and picking it up to get a good look at it. (Oooh, should I bring this home as a trophy?) In the dim light that the clouds let through, I could make out the features of this woman. She must've been in her late twenties--not ugly by most standards, but not something I'd allow Elijah to bone unless there was a vast quantity of alcohol involved.

"Thank you for providing my entertainment for the night, my dear friend," I said with a smile as I stood up, my eyes locked onto the woman's own. Her face was twisted in a final, defiant mix of pain and horror; a look I'd expect anyone to wear when faced with a sword-wielding psychopath.

I walked back to the rest of the woman, throwing the head near her feet and kneeling down to wipe the blood off on her worn rags. I held the sword high, inspecting it for any stray blots of red.

"Yes," I cooed lightly. "You and I will get along just fine."

I had come to my conclusion--this one sword would serve me well. I unslung my old toy from my back, tossing it to the side of the road into a pile of half-rotting garbage. Maybe some lucky schmuck will happen across it and sell it for some booze money. Satisfied that it was clean, I slid the mythril katana back into its sheathe with a twisted smile etched on my face.

"Mom...?" The voice was weak and small, like that of a child. I snapped my gaze upwards, immediately spotting the dark outline of a short figure. A boy, perhaps seven or eight years old by the sound of his voice. His posture spoke of unease and curiosity, as if he registered what he was seeing, but didn't quite know what to make of it.

Well, this sucks, I quietly mused to myself as I remained motionless. A witness.

[Elijah_Morendale]

There's two things I could do whenever I was caught with blood on my hands, face, clothes, and/or sword: One, I could run to the hills, hoping that the soon-to-be-alerted authorities didn't catch up to me; or two, jump to the much more acceptable conclusion of kill them all...

"...Mom?" The child's voice sent a chill down my spine. I had no problems killing adults, but children... There are just some lines you don't cross--if you're a normal person, that is. I wasn't going to get busted by some seven-year-old street rat.

I figured I would have some fun with the kid first, before sending him in search of his mother in the afterlife. "What's your name, son?"

There was no response, save for a light whimper as I drew closer to the woman's corpse. "I asked you a question."

"J-Jeremy..."

"Jeremy..."

"Jeremy Lions," came a nervous response.

"Jeremy... What a nice name for such a little boy..." I knelt down and picked up Ms. Lion's severed head by her thick, filthy hair. Blood was slowly oozing out of the neck, occasionally disrupting the chilly midnight calm with the pattering of thick crimson drops hitting the cobblestone street. "What a lovely looking son you have, Mom..."

I tightly gripped the side of her jaw with my free hand and turned my victim into a ventriloquist act. "Yes, I know! Isn't he just the sweetest thing? But Jeremy dearest, why are you out of bed at this time of night? You should go home before some lunatic gets a hold of you and kills you!"

"Yeah, Jeremy," I let go of the woman's jaw long enough to shake a scolding finger at the boy. "You better do what mother tells you--hey, wait a second." I glared into her dead eyes, already glazed over. "Are you calling me names, ma'am?"

My voice went back up to a higher, more feminine pitch. "No, of course not! It's just that--"

I interrupted myself. "Ms. Lions, I don't know about you, but my mom taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, keep your damn pie hole shut!" I let go of the head, which collided with the road with a sickening thud. Young master Jeremy shrieked in prepubescent terror and immediately took off into the night.

[Elijah_Morendale]

I could hear the pitter-patter of little feet fleeing as I spent the better part of five minutes chasing him through the streets of Radasanth. Jeremy had led me through labyrinthine alleyways and down dark, unfamiliar streets. The little boy was quick--almost quicker than Elijah and myself--but I could always find him, thanks to the screaming, crying, and constant tipping over of anything that could've been used to slow me down. Too bad his techniques didn't work. They didn't work the first time when I was chasing down his mother.

The mythril katana, slung securely over my back, clattered in its sheathe as I jumped makeshift hurdles and took sharp corners with the greatest of ease and a big ol' smile on my face. I also had to hand it to the boy that he sure knew his way around this part of town. Every time I could make out the black and blue blur of Jeremy ducking into another alley, I would hope that it would be a dead end; only to find out that it led to another street.

What I wouldn't give to corner that little brat and strangle him with his own small intestine, I darkly mused to myself as I slowed down for a few seconds to catch my breath.

I took off again, following the fading sounds of Jeremy's little escape. As I turned a corner, I could hear the footsteps stop for a very brief second before they picked up again. But they were getting louder... Was he doubling back? I squinted into the darkness, barely making out his tiny frame approaching me, his labored breathing echoing between the old brick walls.

A punctured laugh burst from between my lips. This was too good to be true!