View Full Version : Brand New World ((open))
Twenty years of imprisonment doesn't do a man too good, especially when his 'deserved imprisonment' started at the age of seven. Some may say he deserved his punishment and that man slaughter is evil at any age, whilst others believe he was doing right even if he did go a bit too far, or it was probably a discrimination against his race. The Lamia. "What's a Lamia?" The people masked from the secretive race might ask this question. Lamias' are blood relatives to long no-legged reptiles - snakes. Except lamias look human. They are normally frowned upon, here in Althans, by humans. To be honest, it's mostly out of fear. Lamias' have unnatural abilities, which terrify those who do not understand. Some can transform into large snakes, others have speed and agility or the reptiles, some can even dislocate their jaws and others can communicate with the serpents.
Now, this is where Orochi Xiao comes in.
Now this twenty-seven year old man, wasn't the healthiest of his kind. He had spent twenty years of his life in a dark damp prison cell. His only company was a psycho roommate who loved him with all his heart. His diet was rats and mice because his tastebuds would never accept the taste of any other meat, also he never wanted to hurt an animal. His stomach rejected processed products and he craved for blood instead of milk. He was succumbed to illness after illness in his years with Kaien, but the man took care of him as best he could. Kaien would of done anything for a hug from the feeble lamia but unfortunately the younger man wasn't released with Orochi. Tears flowed from Kaien's eyes, when they left each other...
It was total chaos in Orochi's mind when he entered the huge world once again.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
With his unusual eyes shadowed, Orochi approached the market or a small town, his mind confused and bewildered of what to do. He was hungry for starters, and there weren't many rats were it was clean and crowded. He approached a stall filled with apples, bananas and other fruit, mainly exotic, and the man looked up at him and smiled. Orochi only knew how to speak from learning from Kaien so he tried to put across what he needed. "...Sour. Yellow.." He was looking across the stall for this fruit, and the man looked at him strangely before showing him a lemon. "Don't get out much do yer'?" And Orochi shook his head, taking the fruit from the man and looking at it. Tearing it in half easily, he looked at the man and said, "Thank you." before turning his back on the stall and walking away.
"Hey! You need to pay for that!" The man shouted, and as Orochi turned to look the poor stall owner saw his eyes, then noticed how his hair hardened as it got lower down his back, the ease when he tore the lemon in half, and the forked tongue accompanied by fangs when he started drinking the lemon juice. Then he noticed the weapon attached to his back, the long staff with a sharp blade. A lamia with a weapon was enough to frighten this man. The original shouting of being told to pay, was then changed into a whisper which passed from person to person throughout the square were he was stood. Orochi had heard none of this though and was fascinated by the buildings and different species walking past him. He didn't even notice their glares, or gasps. He was totally awestruck.
And there he was. He didn’t seem to notice anyone staring at him, instead he just looked around in awe, gazing at his surroundings and the passers by. It made it easier for VII to get close to him and make sure he was the mark given to him. And sure enough he fit the description, whether he was the one that was recently released from prison or not was still to be seen.
VII continued walking past him, it was a busy day in the market so no one really noticed the weapons that were so plainly in sight. They were all too busy with their lives or gawping at the "Lamia". VII had never encountered one before, but the description given to him was a positive match; the forked tongue, the fangs, the hair... it all fitted.
He walked down an alleyway and found a staircase leading to a roof, once he was up there he began to watch the movements of the Lamia. As he had never encountered one before he did not know what they were capable of, the client simply said that they were dangerous and this one needed "cleaning up." He watched carefully, it was still in awe; its eyes darted from left to right, spinning round when ever it saw something new.
This must be him, the way he looks around, its as if he has never seen anything outside of four prison walls. This is it, this is the prisoner. This is the mark.
After agreeing with his thoughts he released the blades from the vambraces and grasped them in his hands. The chain had come out longer on the right than it had on the left, he didn’t think much of it as he wasnt going to be fighting yet. He was simply doing it for comfort reasons, the blades poked him the legs everytime he swayed his arms and it did it less when they were in his hands. He headed back down the stairs and rejoined the crowds.
A cold breeze blew through the crowded town as Orochi pulled his jacket around him hiding the birthmark which he thought people had noticed, not realising he was almost totally abnormal from humans. He lowered his head. He suddenly felt... misplaced... and uncomfortable. He looked around, wishing he was back with Kaien, his eyes showing fear but could of been mistaken for craftiness. Back in prison it wasn't this hard.. It wasn't this cold... It wasn't this lonely. But of course, Orochi didn't know what he felt, he just wanted to be back in the dark cell with his best friend.
Why was this world so huge? He only remembered the outside world as a small little village which he used to play with his pet balalaika, Montagu, his furry little friend. Unfortunately, Montagu wasn't here right now to comfort him in this packed claustrophobic area of town. Where was Montagu anyway? His parents must of given him away to other family members... How he missed that little guy...
He suddenly came back from his thoughts when someone knocked into him causing him to recoil a little. Realising he was just stood in the crowd in people's ways and in the way of people's stares, he started thinking about where he should be heading, but... he didn't know his way around anywhere in Althanas apart from the prison grounds. He didn't want to think about how big the world was when this small town was huge. Then he suddenly felt like he was being stared at when a shiver ran down his spine eerily.
Turning his red eyes locked on a calm, almost too calm, man who seemed to be eyeing him up strangely. Who was this man? Why was he just.. there? Everyone else had passed him...
Not knowing what to say, Orochi stared back blankly, the wind blowing the hair out of his thin pale face.
After rejoining the crowds, he walked and found a spot to stand that was out of the way. He continued to watch the mark, double checking if it was the right one. He wasn’t going to have a repeat of the last assassination, he needed the money. He watched as the impatient citizens moved around him, rushing around with their busy lives, not ever noticing an assassin among the crowds. He stopped paying attention for a few seconds as he watched them walk from stall to stall, shake their heads, complain about the prices and then move to the next.
He was instantly brought back when a passer by knocked into the mark. He hadn’t moved since then and the knock seemed to have made the mark realise his surroundings, then something happened, VII didn’t know what it was, but the mark suddenly realised that VII was watching him. He turned to face VII and stared, a gust of wind rushed through the market, it revealed the marks face and his red eyes.
Crap, he’s noticed me, what do i do? Its too crowded to retaliate, but this is defiantly the mark. He just keeps staring, does he know what I am? Dam, I think its time to take my leave.
He dropped the blade in his right hand and left it to dangle from the chain. He grabbed the loose coils of his scarf and placed them over his face, then taking a last glace he began to walk into the wind. He grabbed his blade again and began to traverse down the streets. He would have to make sure he didn't move too far away, just enough to loose suspicion. Once that was done he would double back down the back alleys and hope he could find the mark again.
Orochi watched him leave, then blinked stupidly before being knocked again. "Watch out!" A passerby shouted at him, but the lamia said no apologies. What was he meant to say? He never had to say sorry before. He didn't even know what it meant! This is not the place he wanted to be. He wanted to find somewhere quiet hopefully, much like his village. He lowered his head once more and headed in the direction of the trees to the edge of town.
Upon reaching the overgrown vegetation, he suddenly relaxed. He had been tense ever since that man had been staring at him. The town was too full of eerie looks and disdain. This is where he liked it he decided, but knew, he have to go to a lot more of those crowded areas. Stepping through the undergrowth, he saw no-one at all. It was just him, the trees... a rat...
Without thinking, he darted forward and snatched the rodent from the ground, breaking it's neck with his thumb, before looking around cautiously... then swallowing the thing whole... with lemon juice. Coughing up the bones, he threw the remainder of the fruit to the floor, then regained his posture. Now where?
He walked up the streets, holding his left hand blade at an angle. The reflection from the blade showed him the people behind, and the mark. He waited till he turned around, and then darted down a nearby back street. Finding the nearest staircase, he darted to the roof and scanned the crowds. It wasn’t to hard to loose a mark so distinguished as this one, even in a busy market like this one. He was instantly focused on the long silvery lilac hair. It looked like he was heading towards the outskirts of the town, towards the open areas of the woods.
This is perfect, finally something is going to go my way.
He spoke aloud as he re attached the blades to their vambraces. The chain was still hanging out on the right hand side, and somehow it had become slightly longer that when he had originally released the blades. He didn’t notice and began to dart across the roofs. When suddenly he was yanked backwards and left dangling in between two roofs. The chain had become caught on something. He grabbed the chain and pulled himself up back onto the roof. Once he was up the chain began to return, ripping the pole that it was caught on from the roof.
You really know when to time yourself don’t you? Oh crap! The mark!
He turned and scanned the streets again. The mark was just leaving the town. He darted across the roofs and dived into the clearing. His target seemed to have just finished eating, he hid behind a nearby tree. Releasing the right blade once again he threw it up the tree. It hit a thick branch and allowed him to climb up. He only hoped he didn’t make too much noise.
Wiping his purple lips to remove the spit, the lamia man turned as he heard a slight noise. Unfortunately, his eyes weren't infra-red like usual snakes, so he had to make do with trying to find the noise without that aid. It was definately in a tree, he could tell by the direction. A squirrel maybe? He shrugged to himself like Kaien used to do and looked around. Lots of trees and grass, and more trees, a bush, more trees... Wow, it was quiet too, with lots of exotic smells.
A different smell... A human smell... His tongue shot out like a snake and back in almost as quickly, tasting the air. He did this multiple times, with his eyes closed before turning sharply, his hair flicking around behind him, and looking straight up in the tree. It was that man again. What did he want?
He tried to speak but didn't know what to say... He thought back to his time in the prison. How did he normally get out of situation with shady-looking men? He looked blank as he stepped back cautiously, then finally spoke, "What is it you want from me?"
His gloved hands were tightly clenched into fists by his sides as he kept reluctantly strong yet uncomfortable eye contact with this man. He could feel his body shaking, his mind racing, his breathing slightly quicker, all nervous actions. His heart thumping against his chest made his ribs almost shake with the force. All he wanted was to be left alone.
Heh, looks like he found me.
He hadn’t removed the blade from the tree yet, it was still stuck there. He had thrown it too hard and it seemed like it wasn’t going to come out any time soon. He decided to lower himself using the chain. It had already returned into the vambrace, it was an annoyance. The chain, in fact the whole vambrace, seemed to have a mind of its own, and enjoyed mocking VII, at every opportunity it would change its length and cause VII to mess up. It had happened a few times before. Each one on an assassination attempt, the chain would do something to hinder his attempts. Seven times he failed the assassination exam with his former guild, each time it was due to the chain; sometimes it would stop dead, others it would become too long and cause him to trip over it. All he knew was he needed to learn how to control it.
He prepared himself briefly for the jump, he knew the chain wouldn’t behave and was going to make him fall. He jumped, the chain began to unravel. He could see the floor approaching fast. He grabbed the chain with his right hand to try and slow himself down. It worked, but not enough. He hit the ground a little bit harder than he wanted to and stumbled. His hand would have been severely burnt if it weren’t for his gloves, but they were beginning to wear down now.
He slowly stood up and yanked the chain. The blade had become loose from the landing and came out easily. It plummeted to the ground, landing but a few inches from VII it slammed into the ground. If it had hit him, it would have killed him. Looking back towards the mark he knew he would have to buy some time while he recovered from the fall.
My name is seven... He leant back against the tree stump. And what might yours be?
He looked at him uneasily. The chain made him feel nervous, it moved so fast and it was sharp. He took another few steps back calculating the length of the chain by sight, not very accurate but it would do. His fingers twitched slightly as he felt himself becoming more and more nervous. This was his first proper encounter with someone he didn't know, and they seemed to like following him and staring at him. It made him feel terribly uncomfortable, causing him to fidget a little.
This man seemed so calm leaning against the tree, what was going on? His long locks of smooth hair fell off his shoulder as he turned his head to look away. He couldn't keep eye contact with this eerily weird man. For a human, he was the creepiest he'd ever encountered. What did he want anyway? He starting thinking of ways of escape, just to get away from him. After all, he could run fast so surely he could lose him deep in the woods, but maybe this man just wanted to help him? It seemed like he just wanted to get to know each other. Maybe that was how people conversed in the outside world? In front of him was VII and the tree on which he was leaning, behind Orochi was two trees, and surrounding them was a mass of clumped together trees, a true thick forest.
The lamia looked up quickly as VII spoke. That was an easy question! He'd been saying his name everyday on check-up with the prison guard, "Orochi Xiao." he said almost proudly, but his voice stayed monotone with a slight lisp. He went back to looking at VII, narrowing his eyes which, without pupils, made it hard to see exactly where he was looking.
Orochi Xiao huh, sounds like the guy. I should check just to make sure. Now where did I leave the contract notes?
He reached into the pocket on the right hand side of his shirt. It was quite low down and was handy for keeping notes on his targets, and the loose change that he had. Reaching in with his right hand, the chains rattled and then retracted about a meter, it was still long enough in case he needed to react. He removed a small, folded slip of paper and began to examine it. It was only a small piece of paper, but it held all the information he needed;
Full Name: Orochi Xiao
Race: Lamia
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Silvery-Lilac
Eye Color: Red, White iris & pupil
Skin Color: Pale
Height/Weight: 6ft 4in, 64kg
For some reason this one didn’t contain details on combat style or possible weapons like the other few that he had had from this client. But it would do. The description fitted. He returned the paper to his pocket, looked at Orochi and smiled. He still needed a bit more time to recover.
Looks like your the guy, you were in prison right? I was hired to "take good care of you"
He stood upright, bowed at Orcochi, and then returned to leaning against the tree, just a few more minutes, and he would be able to do his job.
"Take... good care of me?" He blinked at him, his red and white eyes almost glowing with happiness. Maybe, just maybe, this person could help him around this brand new world... He seemed nice, and he reminded him of Kaien a little. The way he was calm was definately a reminder. He thought back to his time in prison as VII mentioned it.
He was shoved into the small cell, and almost as soon as the steel door was shut and the eye hole shut, another boy with scruffy white hair launched himself onto the seven year old. ''Awww! What's your name?'' to which Orochi replied nervously, "Orochi Xiao", the older boy, around 11, grinned and pulled him close into a hug, 'Don't worry Chi, I'll take good care of you...''. That was when his prison life started.
Coming back from his memory filled mind, he shook his head raising a gloved hand to his temple. He didn't like to remember, he already missed being back there. Brushing his hair out of the way, he inhaled, then exhaled a long breath before standing straight, before looking up at VII. "Take good care of me..." He repeated again smiling. He almost jumped forward to shake his hand as Kaien had when they first met. But, the chain by his hand stopped him from even moving.. Orochi looked at VII with slight suprise and suspicious, if he was here to take care of him, why did he have a weapon? Or was that for his defence, like his pudao? He took another step back, but fell against the tree, so he asked just to make sure. "So you are here to be my friend?"
There was only one way he'd react now, whether this man attacked him.. or if he hurt an animal.
Slight bunnying has been approved by Orochi :D
At that moment, VII froze. That question made him stop and question why this person was a target for assassination. But that was quickly removed by the feeling of the small change in his pocket, quickly followed by the memory of his last meal. No matter what you put on it, stale bread still tastes the same. He knew he would have to do this.
Oh I’m sorry, I may have been miss leading when I said take good care of you. I meant to say that I was hired to kill you.
He grabbed the chain and yanked the blade from the ground. In a split second he released his grip on the chain and grabbed the handle of the blade. Wiping the dirt away with his left hand, he looked up at Orochi and wondered how good his reflexes were. Lets test him out
He threw the blade as hard as he could. It arched a little but was still going to hit, if the chain didn’t retract at all. But, as he suspected, Orochi had prepared himself since he had mentioned that he was going to kill him. Orochi ducked out of the way of the blade, it stopped in midair as the chain retracted slightly. VII yanked the blade back and grabbed the chain quite far down so there was a bit of slack. As the blade came back towards him he whipped his wrist and began to spin the blade as he walked away from the tree.
Heh, you’re good..... But just how good?
Hired to kill him? Hired? So that was what humans did these days. Didn't do it themselves, oh no, don't get your own hands dirty. Hiring! It's so... so human! A human, the most common of creatures, hired to kill a Lamia? Hired! He still couldn't get over that. Who would pay to have someone killed off? Wait a minute, why would someone pay to have him killed off?
The blade flew at him before he had time to think this over and his natural reflex caused him to duck and roll to his side, jumping back up to his feet in no time. That was fast for a human... and that blade was weird. Orochi didn't like the look of this fight. As VII spun the blade he watched as it looked as if it was twirling at normal speed. For Orochi, the whole world seemed a little slower than it did to humans, that's why his reflexes were so fast. He could almost see it coming.
His fingers twitched as he reached for his pudao but then stopped halfway. He had no idea how to use that weapon and would probably only end up hurting himself. Lowering his hand he looked at VII silently, but not aggresively or intimidatingly. But in a terrified way.
"Why?" He said quietly, but VII wouldn't of heard him over the twirling chain swishing by his body. He didn't move to react, he didn't know what to do. This man wasn't aggressive. That's what scared him.
He was focusing on spinning the blade, he knew that the slightest slip would end up in loss of a limb. He could only hear the sound of the chain rattling and the blade as it whipped past his body each time. The grass around him was blowing in all directions, the branches on the tree behind him began to sway. He concentrated hard; he waited for the right moment to throw the blade. He watched as Orochi reached for his weapon, he stopped for some reason, he stared at VII. The expression on Orochi's face began to make thoughts circle around his mind again.
Why am i to kill him? He doesn’t want to fight me, he refused to use his weapon. Is this person such a threat that he was to be thrown in jail and then killed by my hands? He looks terrified. NO, I must do this; an assassin shows no remorse or has any second thoughts. Wait... what did he just say?
He has missed what Orochi had said, he wouldn’t have been able to hear him over the sound of his blades anyway, but he may have been able to read his lips. Still, it was time. Orochi still hadn’t got back up from dodging the first throw. It was time to end it. He waited for the blade to do 5 more rotations and then, as the blade ripped through the grass, he threw his body forward and released his grip on the chain. The blade flew with immense speed but was inaccurate. A gust of wind blew past and curved the blade slightly, it was enough. The blade flew past Orochi's face and blew his hair aside. With an almighty thud it smacked into a tree behind him. What made things worse was that the blade was now embedded deep into the trunk of the tree, and the chain had extended again. Knowing his was vulnerable he released his left blade and jumped back. Tightening the slack on the chain and enabling him to lean back.
Orochi didn't move but let the blade fly past his face, blowing his hair to one side dramatically. It had missed him, but the wind force behind and around sliced the air, and the skin on his cheek slightly, and blood drizzled down his pale skin. The same look of fear was on his face until the stinging pain in his face sharpened. He swished his head a little and his hair fell back into pale, and his fringe fell scuffily over his eyes. He hissed under his breath as the pain drilled into his jawbone, then he looked up, his eyes wide and wild.
The pain seered around his cheek as he clenched his fists. Pain wasn't Orochi's strong point. His skin was vunerable, and the pain really got to him. His eyes were almost watering. This guy really meant it. He thought he had a friend. This man wanted to kill him. Unless, the back of his mind told him, he killed this VII first...
He opened his mouth slowly as his eyes narrowed, then he hissed showing his fangs, and darted forward incredibly fast. His hair flowed behind him, and from a birds eye view it made him look like a huge snake. He jumped from one foot to another, then jumped in the air, fist raised then threw it towards his face as he fell, giving it more momentum.
He moved with such speed, VII only managed keep an eye on him long enough to realise he was going to punch him from the air. He couldn’t block it though, he didn’t have enough time to fully block his face. Orochi struck his face with immense power; the momentum from the fall gave the punch more power and forced VII backwards. However, because the blade was still jammed in the tree, the chain was still tight and the force of the punch caused him to slide to the right instead of falling backwards. As he slid he released the blade from his left hand and it swung blindly in the air. He didn’t notice where it went or whether it had come into contact with anything, he was grasping his face with his left hand and looking down at the floor.
He looked to his left, the grass had been torn and ripped up from his shoes. He followed the trail and looked up at Orochi, he was still grasping his cheek where the blade had caught him, but Orochi was no longer scared of him. He had changed, he was now focused on killing VII before he killed him. The fight had now begun.
He stood up, flicked his left arm up and caught the blade. His right arm was still stretched out, with the chain leading right towards the tree. He was serious now, too focused on keeping his life by removing Orochi's. He yanked on the chain hard, the blade loosened a little and then the chain began to rapidly retract. The speed pulled the blade out of the tree and caused it to come hurtling towards VII. The chain stopped retracting, he shifted to the right and caught the blade, continuing the blades path and keeping its momentum he spun round and threw the blade, only hoping that it didn’t become stuck again.
Orochi watched VII with amazement and hate. For a human he was strong, but a little clumsy. Thankfully, Orochi wasn't so much of an idiot. He grinned insanely as he watched VII slide, then laughed a little. 'Now this is going to be a good fight.' He loved a scuffle, but he personally found it much more fun when they were screaming for forgiveness, and writhing in pain as he slowly burnt away their flesh, and tearing away the skin on their limbs with his nails... But VII didn't seem that type to fall victim so easily. Well, he'd just show him what he had learnt over the years... and the power of the lamia species.
Watching the blade, he smirked as it flew towards him. In his eyes he could see exactly where it was going. VII would have to learn some new tricks to make this at least, slightly interesting. He stepped to one side slowly just enough for the blade to skim his left arm, then grabbed the chain with his left hand as it flew past. It tore at his gloves, friction burning through to his flesh, until he tightened his grip and the chain came to a total halt, the blade dropping and swinging by his side. He turned his hand quickly, the chain wrapping around it, then pulled sharply hoping to make his lost his footing, a smirk still lining his pale now insane face.
The blade hurtled towards Orochi but, as if it was child's play, Orochi stepped to the right. The blade flew past him, almost hitting his left arm. VII watched as Orochi grabbed the chain, there was no pain on his face as the chain tore at his hand. Before he knew it, his foe had grabbed the chain and created a loop around his hand, the blade was dangling beside him. Knowing what was coming he quickly adjusted his feet. Orochi pulled the chain hard, VII's arm jolted forward but he didn't move far, his positioning reduced the amount that he was moved.
Quickly looking around, he noticed nothing that would help his situation. There were many tree's around but it would be costly if his free blade become stuck. Acting quickly he threw his left blade, it had less power than the previous throw as his left hand was his weaker hand. He thought that it would be harder to grab the chain a second time and hoped that Orochi wouldn't try to, he had something planned. Everything had to fall into place for it to work, but it would practically. immobilize Orochi and allow VII to do has he pleased. He watched as the blade flew, only hoping that all would go to plan.
Watching him cautiously, Orochi realised the pull did nothing but tug him a little closer than before. He stepped forward, crushing a branch under his boot, as his mouth was almost a seductive yet nasty smirk. His forked tongue slid out and licked his purple lips, as his eyes narrowed and his mouth shifted into a grin, as he started wrapping the chain around his arm more and more with immense speed. Then he stopped suddenly, and his smile disappeared, as his eyes darted to VII's left hand. What was he up to?
The blade throw, weak and off target landed near his feet to his right. At first he just looked at it, then smiled a little and glared at his assassin. This guy wasn't the smartest of killers it seemed. Orochi went to kneel down and pick it up before stopping mid-crouch. Looking up, he stared at him blankly yet eerily, then outstretched his hand to pick up the chain, his eyes still on VII. He too had a plan in his mind, but one more shot of pain, he knew, would send him into an animalistic rage and strategy would be forgotten completely...
The blade throw was of target, using his weaker hand had forced him to sacrifice power and accuracy. It landed short of Orochi, just to the right of his feet. VII watched as Orochi leant down to pick up the chain, this was bad. He had to think fast, there was nothing he could do to stop Orochi from picking up the chain and leaving VII practically unarmed. He didn't know anything about the Lamia race, he didn't know if Orochi would be strong enough to pull VII around if he had hold of both chains. He had to ditch his previous plan, the throw had made it impossible to carry out.
His eyes suddenly widened, within an instant a new plan had emerged. The chains were the key to his success, although they didn’t comply at times, they seemed to be behaving. The seriousness of the fight somehow caused the chains to respond, although. He knew there was something in the vambraces, he would have to get it checked when the fight was over. Deciding to put his new plan into action, he did nothing, he allowed Orochi to pick up the second blade. The only thing that was on his mind now, was the determination to win... By any means necessary
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.