Inside the Fire

[Dissinger]

Closed.

It had been a week, and as he shambled through the streets of Radasanth his hands clutched his head. Each step was agony; he longed to run, to feast, and to feed. The thoughts of feasting upon the flesh of the living rang relentlessly through his mind, forceful and insistent. It was all he could do not to cry out in anguish as he attempted to hold onto some shred of humanity. It was times like this he was reminded of one disturbing fact,

...he didn't have much humanity left.

The moon shone its soft rays upon the land, giving a muted light to the battle ground of the night. The creature that wandered the streets seemed to buckle slightly, leaning against a wall, the feral cry within its head rising as it detected weakness. He was in an alleyway, and he could sense them. They were all around him, and all he had to do was reach out and snuff their light, so he could ignite his own. The alleyway was dark, but he didn't care. He could feel them, milling about, almost hear them as their lips moved in some semblance of civility.

Moving down the narrow alley he could almost taste the flesh that would be his, shuddering in anticipation. Piles of trash occasionally were in his way, only to be kicked aside as he continued forth. A sickeningly sweet smell met his nostrils as he stopped, eyes fluttering shut as he inhaled it deeply. A young woman was nearby; her scent drove him wild with hunger. He wasn't sure how he could possess such knowledge, but the sweet smell of human flesh was overwhelming him as he gave a shudder.

He felt the grip on his humanity slip, before he cried out a feral howl that could not have come from human lips, and yet it did. As the howl pierced the air he moved to all fours, moving swiftly as he leapt after bounding and landing on a nearby rooftop, pressing form wall to wall as he did so. The hunt was on, and he required fresh meat. Moving slowly he sniffed the air, following the sweet scent as he went into a ghoulish frenzy, finally consumed by his desire to feed. His eyes looking about quickly, searching for the target, so he could feast upon it.

Hunched on the roof he looked every bit the part of a demon as his eyes held a hungry fury in them. Drool over the sweet scent flowed from his lips as the trench coat he wore fluttered in the breeze up on the roofs of Radasanth. Exposed to the moon it only seemed to deepen the shadow his fedora hat expanded upon as he raised his face to the moon once more and howled. He had marked his territory; anyone who interfered would be dealt with.

Dropping once again down to the streets he jumped form wall to wall before he bounded down the alleyways, seeking the prey he could catch on the winds.

[Karuka]

Bunnies for this thread about 90% sure to have been bounced over AIM first.

"Pbbbbbbbttttttttttttt."

The sound was part exasperated and part weary, and it escaped Karuka's lips all too readily as she left the docks. It had been a while since her travels had bounced her back to Radasanth, but she might just stay for a while. In Radasanth, there were no forests that wanted to eat you, no shipwrecks, and if you met a pirate, it wasn't on a ship.

Pirates. I haven't had to deal with real pirates since I was sixteen, and them? She just hoped she could find an inn. It was well past dark and she was beyond weary. Even a coarse straw pallet would be marvelous, as far as she was concerned. True rest was a gift she hadn't been able to cherish for far too long, and she fully intended on taking advantage of it...just as soon as she could find a place.

Shftik, shftik, shftik. Though she could hear the muffled murmur of other people about despite the lateness of the hour, the loudest sounds to fall on the exhausted red-head's ears were her own footsteps, dragging along the coarse cobblestone road as the butt of her staff kissed the ground every now and again. She passed by buildings she'd seen and visited in daylight hours, colorful shops and inns that filled up early in the evening.

The yowl came as she crossed the invisible threshold between sea and city, echoing off of wooden walls like the call of death itself just as the smells of salt, fish, and rotting seaweed were replaced by the stench of urine and feces, the sure signs of horses and indigents. This was the reason she normally tried to stay out of a city; it smelled so...stale.

The cry didn't really earn her attention. People got killed more often than anyone would like to admit, and Karuka didn't have the energy to go avenge a murder. She'd avenged so many murders, among other things...and she really just wanted to sleep.

[Dissinger]

High atop one of the buildings of Radasanth sat the monstrosity that had once been Seth Dahlios. It sat at the steeped top of the building looking down at its prey as its jaws began to salivate at the precious morsel that the winds had spoken to him of. Gone was the humanity that would have objected to one so young dying. The creature growled lowly in pleasure as the sweet scent of her flesh reached him, it would be a tasty morsel to be sure.

As it leapt from building to building following his prey he observed the red hair, the casual demeanor, it didn't even seem afraid. The predator seemed curious with this prey, wanted to hear the scream, taste the fear upon the air before the feast that would surely not satisfy his hunger, but also go so long on that path. Leaping after a running start he reached the next building roof before he scrambled once more to the steeped top and observed his prey.

Finally he sprang forth, this time not aiming for a building as he landed heavily on the street before the woman. His impact resounded through the small street as cracks formed a delicate spider web about his body. A feral grin was on his haggard face as he looked at his prey, looking for that look of shock, of fear, or surprise. As he remained low to the ground he moved forward, obviously human, but lacking the common decency of humans as to walk on two feet. He moved forward slowly as he let his grin widen sickeningly, before coming to a halt a few feet from her.

He took in the look of the woman seeing her garb, her weaponry, her look. In the deepest recesses of his ghoulish mind he could vaguely recall her as a one time ally. Tilting his head this way and that he pondered just what she was before the creature that was Seth Dahlios decided its time of pondering was over. The feral hunger gripped him once more as he lunged at the girl with a growl that spoke volumes, he was hungry and he wanted to eat.

[Karuka]

Ten minutes previous

Two figures sat on a bench on the broad street, one blond and relaxed, the other red-headed and grumpy. The first tapped his foot, somewhat impatiently, while the second kept looking around.

"Why in Hel's name did we have to come here?" the red-head asked his companion, who merely shrugged. "The three said that tonight -"

"Oh yeah. I'm not denying that," the other interrupted. "But something tricksy is up. I can feel it."

The red-head grumbled, falling silent. That was, until another red-head trudged down the street...and a monster fell into her path. The heavier, more muscular of the two bolted to his feet, grabbing his hammer and the chains he'd been told to bring, only to be restrained by his blond comrade.

"Hang on. I wanna watch for a second."

Now...

As the monster fell into her path, Karuka whipped her staff around, bringing its prevalida spike to bear. The motion was automatic; she didn't even really register that she was about to be attacked until after she had him lined up with her weapon. Who...or rather, what, it was perplexed her; it seemed to be some combination of man and ape huddled under ill-fitting clothes. Even when it lifted its head to regard her, letting the dim moonlight illuminate its face, it seemed more than a little foreign to her...as well as a little familiar.

A ghostly image of the monster leapt at her before the real thing did, and she thrust the sharp, spiked end of her staff at it, hoping to at least stun the thing long enough to get away from it. Unfortunately, however, it twisted away, dropping so that the weapon lashed over a shoulder as the heavy frame hit the street, once more sending a web of cracks through the worn cobblestone.

A punch flew at her, one with more than enough force to shatter bone, but the lithe Karuka leapt up, propelling herself into an aerial back somersault that would send her staff right into his face.

Rather, it would have had he not been so damn fast. Before her body could so much as start twisting in the air, a hand grabbed onto her ankle like a steel vice, then flung her hard enough to tear muscles like bread and snap tendons like hair. She hit the side of a building head-first and dropped like a stunned fish, blackness closing in on her vision as blood dripped into her eyes.

With a growl both fierce and fiercely joyful, the starved creature leapt toward his prey, looking forward to sinking his teeth into the sweet, sweet flesh he had so rightly earned.

It never happened.

Out of nowhere, a fist propelled into Seth like a wrecking ball bent on wreaking destruction upon everything in its path. It sent him reeling, and as he whipped around to snarl at the hammer-bearer who thought he would stand between a monster and his meal, a pair of cord-like arms slipped under his shoulder and a pair of hands clasped behind his neck. The creature struggled as much as he could...which wasn't much, considering just how tightly he was held.

"Sorry, friend, no Karuka on the menu tonight. How about another knuckle sandwich instead? My buddy Thor there serves up a right mean one, when he's so inclined."

Seth didn't stop struggling and screaming, enraged that he couldn't get to his quarry. "Yeah, I know the feeling. There's no justice in the world when you only get one knuckle sandwich."

Thor, however, had a mission which did not include bantering with a ghoul driven mad by hunger. He'd forged the chains a few years before, and now he clasped them onto Seth's wrists. Without so much as a word, he walked over to Karuka, passing a hand over her. Healing wasn't his forte, but at least instead of bleeding out from internal injuries, she'd be left with only a mild concussion and some pretty severe aches and pains.

"I'm going home, Loki," he grumbled as the blond let Seth go. "Be sure to come soon."

Loki chuckled, looking at the still-unconscious red-head. "Happy birthday, baby girl. Your first present ever from your great-grandfather...a flesh-eating pet! ...What a horrible gift."

Still famished, Seth growled, turning and sinking his teeth into the man's arm, since he'd been denied the woman. Loki raised his eyebrows. "Okay, okay, I get it. Geez. Children."

An instant later, a few streets away...

The thug pummeled the wormy little man with his fists. He'd been told that if he wasn't given the money, he was to take the payment out of hide. That's how the underground of Radasanth worked, and he was good at his job, and wasn't expecting what was about to happen.

Suddenly, instead of the little rat he was supposed to be pummeling, a handsome blond man stood, shaking his hand.

"Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Spalding, Captain Spalding, and this is a treat, your treat.*"

The blond's other hand whipped up, hitting the thug square between the eyes. It was the last thing he'd ever see.

And back again...

"Here, kid. Your very own big mac. No fries, though." He tossed the man he'd acquired to Seth, then parked himself beside Karuka, waiting for the ghoul to at least have his wits about him before he told him just what was happening.
*Blatantly stolen from Groucho Marx's 7-cent nickel routine.

[Dissinger]

Fury fueled the ghoul as he struggled against the strength of the man. No matter how hard he tried, he could not reach him. He could not flex, could not strike, could not flail at the man who held him tightly. The animal's groans and howls became desperate as the predator became prey. However the ultimate insult was to place the chains upon his wrists. As they locked in clasps the beast howled in outrage.

When he was released by the blonde haired man he looked back at the downed form of the girl, a growl issuing from his lips as he steadily moved forward. Finally seeing nothing between him and his prize he leapt, only to find the chains stuck to the ground and held him anchored. He fell to the ground hitting it but a few feet as he howled and screamed clawing at the girl, leaving trenches in the pavement. He tried relentlessly to get at that tender flesh, but to no avail as he slumped to the ground.

He had gone from the predatory growls that had punctuated the ghoul's initial charge, to pitiful groans and moans, as he looked hungrily at the young woman. His form hunched as he looked upon the girl pitifully. With the return of the blonde who had bested him, he jumped forth only to land upon the flesh of some mortal man. Unable to contain his hunger anymore he began to tear into the offering, not even bothering to kill his prey. Hands tore open rib cage as he began to devour the flesh of the man, who screamed into the night in agony as he watched his very organs enter the ever hungry maw of the beast before him.

He continued to feast long since the man had passed out form pain and died from the extreme loss of blood. And the blood had gotten everywhere. It smeared the face of the ghoul, his hands, the front of his shirt and his jacket. The hat that had hidden his face had long since fallen in the feeding frenzy as he tore clothing and continued the feast, picking the bones dry in his desire to feast. As he finished leaving nothing more than a bloodied skeleton on the pavement a bestial howl issued from his lips as he cried out his triumph to Radasanth and the Moon above.

As he grunted softly he hunched over the bones of his victim before he groaned softly and shook his head, as if coming out of a fog. The chains clanked softly reminding him of his predicament, and further of the people who had intervene. As he wiped his mouth on the coat he stood up and carefully placed the hat upon his head. Tilting his head this way and that he felt the bones of his neck pop before he flexed his shoulders and felt the bones along his spine follow suit.

He then glowered over at the blonde man as he spoke, "Give me one good reason I shouldn't strangle you with these chains..."

[Karuka]

Loki shrugged. "I could have torn you apart for beating the crap out of my favorite niece here, but instead all I did was hold you down. It's really not very nice to eat your friends. After all...she took care of you when you got your knee shot out, didn't let the other passengers kill you - for all the good it did. Nice going, champ. What else has she done for you? Let me think...oh, yes. She midwifed at your daughter's birth. Now, what part of any of that makes it all right to eat her?"

Seth stiffened. "I never talked about eating her, I talked about throttling you. Let's leave her out of this."

Loki's gaze shifted toward Karuka, still lying in a heap on the ground. A nasty bruise had formed on her forehead, but it was better than what there had been. "I would, because after all I've been through, the threat of you strangling me is pretty funny, but I wouldn't have ever needed to have anything to do with you at all if not for her sake. And as for why you shouldn't strangle me? Sure, your chains will start being a burden if you're too far...say, more than a mile or two away, so you're stuck with her, and yeah, try to harm her at all and you'll be stuck to the ground like a pancake, but...help her out, and she can help you. And we're talking big."

"So you're forcing me to baby-sit her," Seth hissed, anger thick in his voice. "That's what you're telling me. But you should know something about me. I don't make a good pet."

Loki shrugged, locking his hands behind his head and leaning back. "Hey, wasn't my idea. Thor wanted to get her something for her twentieth birthday, a nice little pet of some sort. I say a kitten, she'd do well with a kitten, but no one listens to me. They think she should have a ghoul with a mission. So then we find out that you're going to try to attack her. I say 'hey, easy, torch it.' But again, they don't like that idea. I'm going to have to talk to these people, I thought that I was the oddball uncle. But I was the one saying 'hey, I gave my daughter a ghoul for her twentieth, and she never got over that fascination. Now she's stuck as ruler of Hel among all those dead people.'"

He shifted position again, leaning forward to look more at Seth. "Really, she more has to baby-sit you. You're volatile and hunger more for flesh than even my son Fenris, and once she gets her head and soul back in order, she will have no trouble finding what you seek most. We are talking years off your journey, and what does she gain from it? Truth be told, not much. Sure, she can be attacked and pulverized, but this kid's a survivor. She'd make it."

Seth's eyes narrowed. "So, let me get this straight. You and your other god friends decide to turn me into a slave, and in exchange you're going to do my goal for me? Am I so pathetic that I need all this 'help?' Am I supposed to be relegated to your bitch boy just because some high and mighty gods will it?" He snarled and spat. "Well fuck you, and fuck the rest of your gods, too. As far as I'm concerned, you can take your plan and these chains and shove it."

"You want free of your chains, kid?" A grin slashed Loki's face. "There are two ways to get them off, and two ways only. She has one way in her possession...and the other way is completing your mission and going back to sleep."

"Pray you never fight me when these are off, pray to whatever gods you can, because I will not rest until I have torn that fucking smile off your face. Am I clear?" Pure malice dripped from every word that slithered from between Seth's lips, and Loki chuckled, standing.

"Sure bet. But...by the time you get your chains off, she shouldn't need me to pop on over every now and again anymore." Loki stood up, pulling a hat from nowhere and setting it firmly on his head. "But really...when you were done eating and saw this," he held up the little bag that held Karuka's runes, letting them clack softly against each other, "wouldn't you have regretted eating one of the few friends in this world that you have?" He shrugged, tossing the pouch back into Karuka's bag. "One way or other, you two kids are stuck together for a while. Try not to drive her insane. Oh...and a hint...you can wrap 'em up and will 'em invisible. You'll know they're there...but no one else has to."

He stepped out into the empty street and was gone, leaving Seth alone with a still unconscious Karuka.

[Dissinger]

A chain whipped out even as the blond haired man disappeared from before him as he growled lowly. His eyes narrowing as he scanned about the area, looking for any trace of the man who had tormented him. Sighing as he looked down upon the chains he growled before he punched the nearby wall, watching with a morbid satisfaction as the wall cracked around his fist. The chain dangled off his wrist as he looked at the shackles that surrounded his wrists.

A hand moved and began to pry against the metal bonds, for if he could life large sections of building, how well could a small metal band around his wrist stop him? His lip pulled back in a sneer as he tugged and felt no give in the chains, or the bracelets themselves. Punching the wall again in frustration he sighed, his chest heaving with the exertion as the sound of a crack echoed down alleyways and the streets of Radasanth. His thoughts were in a disarray as he plotted, planned, devised ways to remove these chains. To free himself from this bondage, regardless of the fact he had been informed of two life changing occurrences.

If ever there was a notice of how different Seth in death was, it was the fact he was not even thinking of his newly born daughter.

Sitting down in a huff he looked at the six foot chains before he began the process of wrapping them about his wrists, as the god had indicated. Grumbling as he did so he muttered about the gods and what they could do with their ideas of faithful servants. Once both sets of chains had been placed around his wrists he sighed and leaned against the wall looking at Karuka's downed form. A soft snort left his lips as he muttered, "Happy Birthday, hope your day was better than mine..."

Seth then closed his eyes as he pretended to sleep, ignoring the skeleton in the street of the thug that had been ruthlessly devoured by the ghoul. Looking up at the sky he muttered as he said, "Could you just wake up already? I'm not in the mood for this right now..."

[Karuka]

Shapes wavered in and out of Karuka's vision; all she remembered was that she was being attacked. She couldn't afford to not get back up...even though she had her hands pressed against the cobblestone and still felt like she was standing sideways.

"Unnnh..." With a mighty effort, she shoved herself upward so that she was leaning against the rough wooden planks that were a shop wall, and there she gave up. If she wasn't dead, she was either about to be or she'd been spared for whatever reason. Her head was pounding, and she couldn't tell up from down, much less right from left. She hardly dared open her eyes.

When she did, the world blurred back and forth, swimming in a nauseating whirl, before finally settling. Her head pounded, and though she could feel her legs, she was sure it was supposed to be a lot more painful than a dully pulsing ache. She couldn't feel her toes at all, nor her fingertips.

There didn't appear to be anyone in the street...unless a picked-clean skeleton counted. Slowly, she reached for her spear, picking it up by the smooth handle, and looked around. Just because she hadn't been attacked again didn't mean she wasn't still in danger. Not far away was a sleeping heap in a cloak, and she sighed. It didn't look like there would be any further attack.

With a soft groan, she planted the butt of her staff on the ground and used it to gain wobbly feet. It didn't seem like she was missing anything...so what...

"Malchadan..." She didn't have the energy for this. She needed to find an inn. She could sort everything out in the morning. Or maybe hope it was all just a bad dream.

[Dissinger]

Seth sat alone in the streets as the red head continued her slumber. Whatever had happened he had done a pretty number on the girl, and he was more than certain her only saving grace was the two men who had stuck these damned chains on his wrists. Looking at them he sneered in defiance as he saw the glyphs etched into the metal bands, and along the chains themselves, glowing faintly in the faint moonlight. Magic bound him to the girl, and magic was perhaps his biggest weakness.

Still as he sat there and remained deathly still he finally heard the groans that marked her awakening. She pushed herself to her feet, desperately clutching at the toothpick that formed her spear even as Seth looked upon her form. She seemed to mumble something in that odd tongue of hers before he got up quickly. Taking a position against the wall he watched her continue down the street. With each step she took further the weight on the chains seemed to increase, not quickly, but noticeable enough to let him know that the blonde man had been correct.

Moving down the street, the skeleton was ignored, even as his boot kicked a random fragment down the street past the ornery woman. Carefully wiping the remains of blood from at least his face he cleared his throat as he called out, "Hey um...wait up..."

He had forgotten her name, even as the memories of the ship came crashing back in his mind. That had seemed so long ago, just before the trip to Otaria that ended his life. It was odd to think of things in such ways, but it made the fact no less true. He racked his brain for anything, a first name, last name, even a memory he could identify her by. It wasn't until the recent argument with the blonde, that he remembered that he had heard a certain name in relation to his eating habits. Even as he fumbled for the name he finally managed, "Karuka, right?"

It was a shot in the dark, but if he was stuck with the girl, he might as well try to be humane about it. It had been a long time since he had to be humane about things, the NWO had seen to that. While he preferred having nothing expected of him, it was odd to realize that he had lost so much of his former self, in the thrill of the hunt, and of taking lives. Could he even call himself Seth Dahlios anymore? He wasn't sure he liked that line of questioning, and refused to pursue it further.

[Karuka]

Unlike her sense of sight, which told her the whole world was made of two, her sense of hearing worked fine, and when someone called her name, Karuka turned. Slowly. While still holding tightly onto her staff. What she saw was the image of two men in battered cloaks and matching hats coming toward her. Or it would have been two men, if they hadn't been sharing feet.

It was too dark to make out a face, but even from a distance she could smell the blood on him, and her hands moved on her staff, keeping it steady as her support but ready to whip out in an instant if she had to fight.

"Perhaps," she forced herself to reply, even though her suspicion. "Who asks?"

"You saved my life once," answered the man, in a voice familiar enough that she had to have met the man, but strange enough that it was either a brief encounter or distorted by the passage of time. "And I, yours. 'Course, that was a long time ago, and I'm sure you'd rather forget that boat ride."

"I've had too many boat rides from Hel to pick one out at the moment."

"How about the one where you unleashed a demon?"

Demon? The closest living person she'd met on a boat that could be considered a demon was...but...that wasn't right.

"Storm Veritas had a smoother voice than you do."

"So you've met Veritas? I'd laugh at the irony of you running into the worst people on Althanas, but then I guess that's your dharma or whatever you called it. Guess beating around the bush isn't going to help this one. I'm Seth Dahlios, and you helped me kill a lot of people before we got the innocents to safety."

That might have worked, if not for one thing: Seth was dead. She'd learned about it almost three years before, when by chance, she'd wandered into the Ambria house during a snow storm for the ages.

"Seth Dahlios died a few months after I met him. So you aren't him."

"So I keep telling myself, so I guess that leaves both of us in denial."

Karuka sighed, rubbing her pounding head. "I am way too sober for this."

"Then let's get you a drink. Might help kill that headache."

"Taverns closed hours ago. I'm going to go find a room." She turned, starting once more to hobble her way down the starlit cobblestone streets.

"Do what you've gotta. Not like I have to sleep anymore."

Karuka didn't get very far before she realized that Althanas had always been strange. After all...she'd seen the universe get destroyed right in front of her, and yet she was still standing here. Maybe there were ways of the dead coming back here, as well. But maybe not. So...she could test who he was rather easily.

"...Samantha."

Seth froze as the name dropped from the deep red lips that had first announced that the baby was coming. "What about Samantha?"

"The last time I saw her, she was healthy."

"She gave birth to a girl?"

"On the night of a blizzard. It was an easy enough birth."

"So Liliana is alive?"

"She was when I saw her, almost three years back."

Seth, on the verge, of asking more questions, bit his lip to keep them from pouring out. "You should sleep. There'll be enough time for my stupid questions later."

Karu turned, once more making her way down the road, hopefully toward a safe place to sleep for the rest of the night. "At least now I know that you are who you say you are...even though it's impossible."

[Dissinger]

"Don't I know it," Seth muttered as he followed behind in tow of the girl. The chains were a constant reminder of just how screwed up the current situation was. He was bound to protect this girl, who was destined to do a few things that apparently required his help. As he looked around the area he gently tilted his neck and felt the stiff bones of his neck pop releasing a bit of the tension stored up in them. A defeated sigh was on his lips as they finally came to the inn.

Samantha...

It reminded him of a time far away. Liliana and he had decided to have a family, to settle in Lavinya and just let Seth's legacy decline to the point he became a bogey man, to frighten the bad kids into going to bed. It had been perhaps one of his most peaceful moments in his life. Liliana beside him in the bed, her smile letting him know no one cared.

It almost jerked emotion from him.

As he walked down the street he kept his hat low, to hide his face as he followed behind the tawny redhead. The inn was one of many that Seth had stayed at, and with the advent of his death, he probably had to come up with some new name. A sigh of boredom left his lips as he watched her go about finally getting a place to sleep.

His eyes never wandered from the girl as he came to realize just how important she was to his survival anymore. If she left the city, and he remained, there was no telling of how in trouble he would be. What would happen if he couldn't feed as a ghoul? Would he disintegrate, perhaps become mortal again? Was the desire to feed something he could be weaned off of? He didn't know anymore, and frankly he doubted anything good would come of not eating.

It merely cemented into the place the thoughts that he should be alongside the girl, at least for now. Perhaps down the road he could find a way of removing the chains, and figuring out how to get back to sleep.

Spoils:

Two Prevalida strength shackles covered in runes. At this time the shackles are attached to his wrists and are irremovable. There is roughly fifteen feet of chain to each shackle, and they currently have three properties.

1) If Seth should attempt to attack Karuka in any way shape or form, he will find the chains will immediately bond to any surface, and refuse to yield no matter how strong he gets, immediately halting any aggressive action towards her.

2) Should Karuka get more than a mile from Seth, he will find the chains will be not unlike encasing his arms in cement. He will be unable to move, unless that movement will allow him to move towards her general direction. This again, is regardless of any strength he gains as a Ghoul.

3) The chains can be willed invisible so long as they are wrapped about his arms. Observant people may hear a soft clink of chains, but otherwise it is impossible to perceive the chains once they have been willed out of sight. With a single mental command the chains will immediately unwrap from his arms and drop to the ground becoming visible immediately. Should he attack with the chain, it will become instantly visible. The only way they remain invisible is if they are wrapped about his arms.

[Karuka]

Delicate fingers tapped idly over a sharply defined jaw as icy eyes slowly followed the ghoul and girl. It was mildly interesting to note that they had wound up together, but the observer wouldn't stoop to calling it coincidence. The ghoul, that brooding creature, barely even caught her attention; rather, her eyes watched the red-head's every move carefully until she went out of sight. She sat in silence a few more moments before shifting so that the tiles of the roof were digging into a different part of her ass.

"She's so...pathetic. I'd expected her to be more than a weak little corpse in waiting."

A shadowed figure sat next to her upon the roof, unflinching gaze resting upon the ghoul. His eyes blazed angrily beneath his cowl and disgust lanced venomously through his voice. "You think that's pathetic, look at the moping fool next to her. I doubt he even realizes what he's missing, and probably is still bemoaning fate and destiny."

The woman shrugged, the motion pulling on her nearly skin-tight armor. "I really doubt these two are even worth our time. Even so...it would be prudent to watch them for a while before killing them."

"Don't underestimate him." The man's voice was almost a growl. "He has a way of surviving things he shouldn't. I wouldn't be surprised if he has an idea of what happened at that tournament."

The caution didn't seem to affect the woman, though, and the mention of 'that tournament' merely brought a snort. "Who could say? I know she doesn't. She's probably the same little fool she was at sixteen." The woman stood up, stretching out stiff muscles after a fairly long stakeout. "They say that people aren't any better than the sum of their parts...but if the parts were split...I wonder...which would really be greater..."

"I have no doubt in my mind, we're the greater ones, if only for escaping that hell hole." That was all the affirmation he needed, at the least.

"And there's nothing great about those two. Let's give them a couple of weeks to let them think they're a 'team' before introducing ourselves, shall we? It should make for interesting entertainment." Maybe, but probably not. All she was after was a first hand inspection of those two, their strengths, and those pesky but wonderful little opportunities for sadistic exploitation...their weaknesses.

"Sounds good, gives me some time to get some more magic before we go at it..." The other figure, standing up while shooting a last, disdainful glare at the retreating back of the ghoul, "I don't think I'll need it, but better to be safe than sorry..."

Safe, sorry, didn't matter much to her. The only ones that would be sorry were the stumbling lass and the walking tinderbox. "If you want, you could take her and I him." She flashed a little tablet at him, before twirling it in her fingers and secreting it back to its hiding place. "Just a little of my magic would be enough for him, and she's no match for sheer brute strength."

"I'd like first crack at him, I've been waiting too long for it..." The figure replied as he shifted. The movement disturbed his cloak, and revealed an arm with an unnaturally grainy texture. "I thought it was receding, damnit."

"We'll be able to find a way to fix you after we kill them."

"I trust you will. After all you've done already I have no other choice."

"No other choice..." red lips twisted upward into a wicked little grin. "That seems to be a common theme tonight..."

[Ashiakin]

In the beginning, you seemed to be approaching this thread with different tones and only a goal of what you wanted to accomplish story-wise, not how you wanted the overall thread to feel. This was largely straightened out by the end, though. Your spoil request and its development are pretty novel and seem like they should lead to some interesting threads.

Continuity - 6. I was a little confused by how your character's came to be in the thread and what there relationship was in the beginning (this is not necessarily a bad thing.) By the end of the thread I felt that you had clarified most of my questions and led into a new dynamic fairly well.

Pacing - 6. The intrusion of Loki and Thor threw me off at first, but upon looking at it again I feel that it works well enough. Karuka's last post seemed to change the tone of the ending, but I'm not going to count off too much for it because I feel like this is a point you will develop later.

Setting - 5. The setting seemed largely irrelevant to the story.

Dialogue - 7. Doing a lot of your dialogue through AIM was definitely a smart move. Being able to have longer exchanges in one post allowed everything to flow much better than a typical Althanas thread. Also, your dialogue was pretty well-done and character appropriate.

Action - 7. You managed to combine a variety of elements--an abortive fight scene, divine intervention, old companions getting reacquainted, and an interesting new character relationship--into a relatively short thread without making it seem like it was too much.

Person - 8. I did not really detect any problems with the actions and emotions of your characters in relation to the way you presented them.

Mechanics - 7. A few minor issues, but nothing major.

Technique - 6. Karuka had the Groucho Marx allusion, haha. And I suppose Loki and Thor count as references. There was nothing too complex on this front, though.

Clarity - 6. There were definitely some points where you could have used a few less adjectives in your sentences, but it was not an overbearing problem throughout the thread.

Wild Card - 8. I really like the concept you introduced with the chains.

Total - 66.

REWARDS/EXP

Dissinger receives 2750 EXP and his spoil request is granted.
Karuka Tida receives 2140 EXP and 130 GP.

[Witchblade]

EXP and GP added!