The Hunt (Aunna)

[Cassus]

Xedhu sat inside the meditation chambers of his ship. Though he wasn't meditating as usual. Instead he was sitting on the ground with a small datapad in his lap. On the datapad was information acquired from a number of sources that were all put togother by DMB-1, Xedhu's protocol droid. The information itself was about a single person; Aunna Borgonia. She was a major in the Republic military and Xedhu's next target.

There were several reasons that he wanted to capture her. She had killed a few dangerous outlaws and some Dark Jedi. That meant nothing to him other than a challenge. Then she was also a major in the Republic military, that meant she had information other would know. His plan was to capture her, torture her for the information, then the next step was up in the air.

As he flipped through the datapad looking at all the information, the doors to his meditation chambers opened. DM walked into the room and looked down at Xedhu. "Forgive me master for intruding, but we have arrived at Manaan." Xedhu continued flipping through the datapad for a few moments, then set it on the ground. "Are you sure this information about the Sergeant is all acurate DM?" Xedhu asked as he stood up.

"Yes master, and she is a Major, not a Sergeant." Xedhu glared at the droid. "Though... You... Should take all information with a grain of salt master, such as her rank." DM had gotten good at covering his story when Xedhu was in a bad mood. "Alright then, I shouldn't be long. Be ready for a quick exit when I get back."
"Of course master." The droid said humbly.

(Don't know much about Manaan so sorry for the short post.)

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

((starwars.wikia.com search for Manaan. ^_^ ))

It had been a week since the bomb had destroyed the military base in Ahto city, and the reconstruction had only begun three days ago. Much of the charred remains of the previous building had already been cleared away, and the foundation laid for the new one. It was in the midst of this, at the end of the third day, that a rather grim looking major stood surveying the scene. Things were not going smoothly, and this only managed to add to her already high stress level. As if it weren't bad enough her company was only at half staff, but add to that the paranoia that came with constantly looking over ones shoulder for a dark jedi stalker...or perhaps he was some dark guardian angel?...and the fact that she had only learned last night that her brother had turn-coat and joined the Sith military after years of working for the republic. Aunna could all but feel the grey hairs growing in.

With this thought a dark chuckle came from the sandy brunette's throat and she shook her head slightly. What a difficult path in life she was treading these days. Sighing, she glanced at the setting sun, the wind picking up the tails of her coat. Like it or not, buildings did not just sprout up over night and it was time to go get some rest for the next day...or in her case, time to go lay down and stare at the ceiling for a few hours before exhaustion forced her to sleep. Without a second thought, she turned in the direction of the building she would be staying in for the next few weeks as a temporary quarters and office.

The walk normally didn't feel quite so long as it did today. Perhaps it was the mental and emotional strain that were finally taking its tole on her body once again, but she felt downright heavy and tired. Yawning slightly, she turned down the darkened street that led to the front of the building she had been bound for. The shadows ruled the narrow street, pools of light forming here and there beneath small lamps along the way. Part of her wondered what Vex was up to...things had been particularly quiet lately, and that was an abnormality when it came to the mind sucking dark jedi. Typically a sith or two would be found dead or worse...only barely alive with their mind destroyed...but lately, nothing. The calm made the major more nervous than hearing about the various and sporadic attacks because of her already paranoid mindset. Knowing Vex, the silence meant he was up to no good. Inwardly groaning at the thought, Aunna put it aside to be dealt with later.

It wasn't until she was half a block away from the doors to the building that she started feeling uncomfortable. Something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on what. Eyes narrowing, she glared at the various shadows as she continued her walk, stepping up the pace a bit to get to the doors sooner. There was a chill in her spine, and that lately had come to mean 'dark jedi' or 'sith'....and unfortunately, she didn't think Vex was the cause this time.

[Cassus]

This was the first time Xedhu had ever been to Ahto City, though he was traversing it as if he was just another person living there. He wasn't using memory or sight to find his way around either, he was using something much more powerful; the force. His target was a fair distance away, he could feel it, but he was closing the gap quickly. The citizens of Ahto city, as he noticed, were a race he had only seen on the Holonet and never up close. They appeared to be a mixture of man and fish, very odd. He quickly wiped away these thoughts. He was her to kidnap, not sight-see.

A small glance at the sky made him smile slightly at the sight of the sun here setting. He always liked attacking during sunsets. Growing shadows and the coming of darkness were perfect for hiding and stalking prey. It is hard to tell whether a moving shadow during a sunset is just the sun fading, or something more sinister; something like Xedhu. Things like that always made his job easier, if you could call it a job.

As he turned the corner out of a dark street he walked right between two slow walking Selkaths', knocking them aside. As he continued to walk on he heard loud gurgling nosies behind him, obvious protests at his actions. He stopped then turned and faced the creatures, slowly lifting his head to reveal his hooded face. The two creatures looks of anger disappeared into fear of Xedhu's expression. Normally when something challenged him with anger he would accept the challenge with violence and strike it down. Now was not the time for that however, maybe later. Every second wasted was a second his target got farther away. So after curbing his lust to kill them, he turned and began walking down the street again.


One street corner later and he was alone on a virtually empty street, save for a single woman. The woman was his target, he knew that before he even turned the corner. Though instead of trying to speed up to catch her, he slowed down and stuck to the shadows of the alley. He was content for now just stalking and watching her. The street was long and empty, but at the end was a building .As they got closer to the building she was obviously headed towards, she began to quicken her pace. It wasn't a change of pace as though she was late, more like something had spooked her. Could she sense Xedhu or perhaps just danger? Either way it caused Xedhu to smile a little.

When Xedhu was a little over a block away from the building he completely stopped and sunk deeper into the shadows of the street. From the shadows he stared at his prey. There was a time for rushing in, lightsaber blazing, and causing mayhem. Then there was a time for patience and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Now was the time for waiting and watching, which was exactly what he was going to do.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

((bravo. btw, Metal Gear had awesome music for this thread. ^_^))

Aunna paused in her walk slightly, knowing she was being watched, her green eyes flickering to a half lidded state for so brief a moment that it didn't even appear to have happened. With that glance over her shoulder at the shadows where Xedhu waited, the major's pace changed to one that was slower, but would allow her better footing should her stalker decide to attack. Her hands went casually to her pockets and she forced herself to look calm once more as if whatever was bothering her had passed from her mind. The opposite was true, however...for now she knew very well that it wasn't Vex stalking her...he would have confronted her by now. Not only that but...this felt different...colder, more sinister, and certainly more threatening.

With her hands in her pockets, her right hand gripped the spear that was held there, barely noticeable. Only a little further and she would be safe inside where there were others from her squad waiting, even a dark jedi would have to be a fool to enter such a place unprepared.

[Cassus]

((Thanks, lol))

As Xedhu waited and watched the woman, a little bit of suprise came over him. He had hunted down many, many different types of aliens, humans, and droids. Rarely, though, do they slow down after they have apparently sensed danger. Then again, he has never exactly hunted down a high ranking military official either. Perhaps they delt with fear differently, more like a Jedi would deal with fear.

Xedhu began weighing his options carefully. If he attacked now, when she appeared to be calmer, and she was just calm it would be easy to take her. If she had calmed down because she saw something he didn't, such as an a friend, that would be bad if he attacked. If he attacked and wasn't able to capture her, then it would be much harder if he tried it again. He gave a short glance at the sky again, the sun had fallen enough that the whole street was almost in shadows. They were far enough that the people in the building ahead probably wouldn't notice a scuffle in the street. If she saw a friend nearby he could just kill the friend. Yes, that was a good plan.

Xedhu deciding to take this course of action, came out of the dark shadows which seemed to envelop him. He began making his way towards his target. His pace was fast enough that he would be able to catch up to the major quickly since she was walking slower now. He placed one hand on one of his lightsabers, ready to attack if need be. Even though he was walking quickly his feet made no sound, as if he weren't even there. Soon he was close enough that he could make out every detail of her wadrobe. He took his hand off of his lightsaber. It wouldn't be needed, for now. He was going to do this the old fashioned way. He lunged through the air, arms open, ready to tackle her to the ground.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

A feeling of dread swept over Aunna and her gut told her to defend herself. Acting on this instinct, she spun around as she launched herself backward and pulled out her spear, the weapon appearing gracefully in her hands, the light hum barely heard as it charged up. Sure enough a dark cloaked figure was lunging at her as if to tackle her to the ground, but she was now effectively out of range as she skidded to a stop, her right leg bracing her as she slid along the pavement of the street. A small crackle sound told her her spear was charged and with a swift movement the blade of the spear crackled to life with blue electricity. Hopefully the spear would hold out against one more saber battle...she thought wearily, her eyes narrowing to slits.

Who are you, and what do you want of me?

She snapped, not really expecting to get an answer...however, it was habit by now to ask questions while preparing to fight of some random insane dark jedi. She scoffed slightly...how pathetic her life had become, constantly hounded by dark jedi for no apparent reason.

[Cassus]

Xedhu was a little more than angry that his tackle hadn't worked. He flew through the air, grabbing nothing but air. He had to tuck his head under him and do a slight sommersault to lessen the blow as he hit the ground, rolling in to kneeling position. He stayed there for a moment as he examined the weapon pointed at him. It was some type of electrically charged spear, probably like a force pike, likely resistent to lightsabers as well.

Xedhu had to let out a small laugh at her demanding questions. Though he did not answer them, they would have plenty of time to talk later. He slowly stood up and pulled out a single lightsaber. In an instant the dark purple blade shot from the hilt of the saber. Hist stance showed the most basic form of lightsaber combat, Shii-Cho. It was usually the first he chose unless he knew the fighting style of his enemies. He used the style as a test, then would switch the form depending on their strengths and weaknesses.

With both hands on the hilt of the saber, he took a small step forward with his left leg. Then he struck. A soft swing aimed high towards her right shoulder, then another step forward and a fast swing directed at her left leg. He would test her defense first, then hopefully make her take the offense and test that.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

No answer. It wasn't surprising, in fact, she couldn't help but smirk a little at it...and if she hadn't been afraid for her life, she might have actually chuckled. As his saber appeared, she narrowed her eyes once more, preparing to launch herself backward once more. Maybe, just maybe, she could trick him into getting foolishly close to the building by just staying out of his range of attack. It was a long shot, but it was better than being caught or dying. He dropped into a stance and she eyed him cautiously. It was different than Vex's so she wasn't quite sure what to expect. What met her was surprising to say the least. Two basic strikes, one at her shoulder the other at her opposite leg.

Darting backward to where she was just out of range once more, she crouched slightly, looking like a cat preparing to spring away in any direction. Her spear was tucked slightly beneath her left arm, her left hand holding the back end, her right the front, and prepared to block anything she couldn't move out of the way of easily. Watching him out of green eyes, she felt the darkness settling in more around them and she sighed inwardly. Something told her this was going to be a long night.

[Cassus]

Again it annoyed him that she jumped back. Though he controlled the fury inside him. What brough his fury down the most was a glance towards the building she had been heading towards before. He hadn't noticed it until now, but they were much closer. Was she trying to lure him there or just avoiding attacks. If she was just avoiding attacks then she would wind up luring him there anyways, that had to be avoided.

A quick glance around the narrow street found him virtually nothing. A stack of boxes of to his right in front of the Major, lights lining the walls every 30 yards or so, and his opponent. He turned off his lightsaber, then ran at her. A moment before striking range and he darted off to the right. In one jump he was on top of the stack of boxes, then a leap and he was in the air headed for a lamp sticking out of the wall. He grabbed a hold of the lamp with both hands but kept his momentum going by pushing off of the wall with a flip. He landed a few yards behind his target, between her and the building. His hood came off as he flipped through the air, revealing his face, but it didn't matter anymore In one fluid movement he grabbed a lightsaber off his waist and lunged in for an attack.

Xedhu was afraid she might try to keep going backwards to avoid his attacks. To hopefully counter this he continued to press forward with each swing of his saber. He followed the basic techniques of the Shii-Cho form. He brought the saber down from above, aimed at her head. A long step forward and he brought at quickly to her right arm, then spun in a small circle and brought it to her left arm. Then a fast slash at both her legs.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Damn. He'd caught on to her plan and now he was moving. Cursing softly, she watched as he darted off to the right, barely missing the strike from the butt of her spear she'd aimed as his shins. He sprung off the boxes to the side of her, pushed off the wall after having grabbed hold of one of the lamps and now sped toward her, lightsaber poised to strike. Luckily, the attacks were easy to guess...simple moves that anyone who knew anything about swords should know. The swing from above was blocked, as well as the two strikes at her arms, and she darted away from the slash at her legs.

As she lept backward, Aunna brought her spear around her body so the spearhead was behind her. As soon as she had found her footing again, the butt of the spear came down toward his head, without stopping she circled the spear around from the right to the left, the crackling spearhead slicing through the air toward his ribs. He was trying to push her backward, she could tell, but she wasn't about to give in that easily. Ducking, she swept a leg around toward his legs, using the momentum from her earlier move to propel her. Stopping with her right leg tucked under her, the left outstretched to the side, she pushed with all her strength, forcing herself up and to the right, trying to get around him.

[Cassus]

She block his moves with ease and speed. The ease at which she blocked the attacks showed that she knew something about fighting. He wouldn't be able to beat her with Shii-Cho without giving into his emotions to use during combat. The problem was that if he gave into his emotions for Shii-Cho, he would probably end up killing her; something he didn't want. The speed at which she had been dodging him suggested enough energy to fight for quite some time. Makashi would be able to tire oppenents out eventually, but he didn't have time to wear her out. Niman was perfect for one-on-one combat with someone who knew how to fight, but the fact that it would take too long to beat her again made him hesitent about it. He would have to see how her offense was to be able to determine the correct form.

As if she read his mind she went on the offensive. He bent himself almost completely backwards to avoid the hit, but he wasn't going to back up and let her gain ground. As he bent his body back to a normal position again, she was already bringing the spear around to cut his side. He brought his saber up vertical to her spear, barely blocking in time. Just as he though, the spear was resistent to lighstabers. Again he under-estimate her speed though. Thinking he had time to wait to strike her was a mistake. In speed that nearly matched his she attacked low, trying to take his legs out from under him.

He pushed off from the ground into a backflip, landing a small distance in front of her once again. She had speed, endurance, and skill which made it hard for him to choose a form. In the end though it was her weapon that gave it away. She would have to have a lot of strength, or use of the force, to be able to attack as quickly as he could with a lightsaber. That defined his choice of combat form. As he stood there staring at her he switched his stance from that of Shii-Cho, to Juyo. Though still just a single lightsaber, for now.

"Does it bother you at all... Aunna? Not knowing why you are hunted, who is hunting you, or if your next fight will be your last..." Xedhu spoke slowly, pacing back and forth in the narrow street, staring at Aunna. His grip on his lightsaber was much more relaxed now, as if he no longer intended to fight.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

She didn't even bother to answer. Aunna wasn't interested in 'whys' right now, she was interested in safety. Continuing with her movement, she used her momentum to force herself up a wall, clinging to a lamp post and swinging herself up onto the low roof. Obviously he hadn't noticed her lunge off to the right in enough time to stop her, and she took full advantage of it as she landed on the roof top and started running toward the building. The shingles were slippery from the damp night air, and it could potentially cause problems, but for now she had to get past this menace.

Spear in one hand, she pushed herself to sprint at full speed toward the swiftly nearing building. Cursing her lack of midichlorians she doubted she would have been in this position if she had been a jedi. Her brother may have been happy with his military life, but right about now, she was seriously regretting not having the blood of a 'true' force user. Vex dammit...where are you. I knew it was too quiet around here! she thought as she raced along the low roof. No doubt that by now the dark jedi was hot on her heels.

[Cassus]

Xedhu gritted his teeth in anger and began running down the street. He shut his lightsaber off and re-attached it to his waist. The building up ahead was getting closer faster than he would like. She had to be stopped, no more playing around. Following the same pattern as her, he jumped a grabbed a light, then swung himself onto the roof. Only the difference was that she was on the right side of the street, and he was on the left.

The roof was slick, but he managed to keep his grip as he ran as fast as possible across the rooftops. After catching up to her he continued running. Then he ran to the edge of the roof and pushed off, leaping towards the opposite rooftop. He hit the shingles in front of her, which were slippery enough and sloped enough that he began to slide down the roof. Thinking quickly, he whipped out his lightsaber, stuck it in the roof, and pulled himself back up. Now she had made him mad. They weren't far from the building she was heading towards either, he would have to take her down fast, no more playing.

With his teeth still gritted in anger, he raised both hands towards Aunna. He could feel the force coursing through him, almost eager to be used in such a manner. In less time than it took him to raise his hands, lightning shot from them. It arced all over the damp roof top, popping and crackling like a true thunderstorm. He hadn't been trained extensively in using the force like this though, so it wouldn't last long, but he intended on putting it to better use when he could no longer hold the electricity.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Sure enough, it wasn't long until she saw him dive to the roof in front of her. Skidding along the shingles as she tried to stop, Aunna dug her spear into them, forcing her movement to halt. Looking up, she saw the lightning arcing along the roof. Eyes wide, she launched herself off the roof without a second thought. The last thing she wanted to be struck with was that lightning...she'd had one to many injuries for her taste this year and she wasn't looking for another. The major landed on the pavement below on one knee, causing it to throb badly from the impact...luckily she didn't think anything was broken. Either way it didn't matter now, she clambered up as swiftly as she could, grabbing her spear from where she'd tossed it to the ground and started toward the building again, even though he was still ahead of her.

She was tiering swiftly from the running and leaping around trying to avoid this man, but she refused to let herself give in to the pain that was now shooting up and down her leg from her left knee. Panting, she looked for more options. She didn't have the energy left to get to the other rooftop, and she didn't have much more strength to fight should she need it. The building was still a good few yards away and...suddenly a pain shot through her side where she'd been injured by the light saber nearly a month ago causing her more recent injuries light on fire with new pain. With a cry of pain, she stumbled, loosing her footing and having to catch her fall with her hands.

[Cassus]

Xedhu followed Aunna with his eyes, stopping the lightning when she hit the ground. It appeared as though she had hurt herself from it. She wasn't moving as fast, and she was favoring a leg. As she tried to continue running Xedhu walked towards the edge of the roof. Then after examing the distance from the roof to the ground he jumped gracefully off the roof and landed in a kneeling position in front of Aunna.

He began walking quickly towards her as she fell to the ground. He pulled out his lightsaber and extended the blade. Though as he got closer to her he decided not to use it. He shut off the lightsaber and put it back until it would be needed again. For now he took a more 'blunt' approach. He ran forward, trying to close the gap between them before she could get up, then formed a fist with his free hand and brought it down towards the back of her head.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

With an unexpected impact to the back of the head, Aunna was sent sprawling. She hadn't even heard him hit the ground! As she barely managed to keep her head from hitting the ground, her hand gripped her spear and she retracted it, making it seemingly disappear. Moving her right hand slightly, she extended it again, the tip aimed toward his ankle. It was a useless act, perhaps...especially since her mind was becoming foggy from the hit...but she wasn't about to let him escape unharmed if she could help it. Retracting the spear once more, she shoved it up her coat sleeve to that it was hidden completely from sight. The Major knew she'd been caught, and trying to run further would only end up in more injury, so she simply tried pushing herself up into a kneeling position...perhaps, if she caught him off guard she could injure him badly enough to get away.

If he didn't knock her out first.

[Cassus]

Anger and delight in seeing Aunna hurt seemed to have clouded Xedhu's judgement. It was always his first masters policy that you should absolutely, positively, never count an enemy out; even if you consider them dead or knocked out. Yet Xedhu had obviously forgotten this rule. As he raised his fist to strike again pain shot through his ankle. Her spear, which he seemed to have forgotten about, sliced through his boot and skin like butter.

The only sound Xedhu made, however, was a growl of anger. When he lowered his head to look at her again he saw her in a kneeling position. If she was trying to get up then Xedhu greatly admired that. An enemy that never stopped fighting even when they were defeated was brave, if not a little stupid too. If she was kneeling trying to show she had given up then she had made a big mistake. Either way Xedhu brought back his arm again, trying to ignore the pain in his ankle, then brought it fast and hard at her head again. It took quite a bit of effort to resist whipping out his lightsabers and simply killing her.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Barely seeing him pull his hand back, she reacted by grabbing out at his wrist, but it was too late, the blow stuck her square on the side of the face, making her grunt ans waver slightly on her knees. She glared up at him angrily, but with as much effort as she could muster, Aunna launched herself forward, tackling him to the ground even as her head began spinning from the pain in her head and knee. No sooner had they both hit the ground than her vision blacked out, her consciousness soon following.

((sorry it's short, but i had to get her out somehow. time to make off with your prize then? lol))

[Cassus]

(Sorry for the late reply, stomach felt pretty bad yesterday.)

Finally, he could see that she was about to finally black out. To his suprise though she still had enough energy to tackle him to the ground. Though he couldn't exactly see why she wasted her energy taking him down. Quickly he rolled her unconscious body off of him. Then he ripped off his cloak and wrapped it around her, just in case anyone was still out tonight. Then after throwing her over his shoulder he quickly departed the scene.

On the way back to the ship he made sure to only take the darkest alley's and streets. This made his trip a little bit longer than when he was simply chasing her down, but it was better than being caught. It would appear all of this hiding and sneaking around would be for naught though. As he approached his ship he saw two Selkath's walking around his ship. What made it worse was that they were dressed in what appeared to be security uniforms. He couldn't risk leaving any body's lying around otherwise he would just kill them. He would need a distraction.

The docking bay that he was in still had a few Selkath's and other species walking around despite it being nighttime, this would help provide the perfect distraction. When he chose his target it was human and the farthest person from his ship. The human was talking to someone suddenly the human let out a scream and fell to the ground; shaking in fear. Just as he planned the two Selkath's by his ship rushed over to the him and Xedhu was able to slip undetected up the loading rip of his ship.

"DM!" Xedhu shouted and the familiar clanking of metal running on metal filled the ship. Soon the protocol droid was in sight.
"Master, you finally returned. I wa-" The droid began but was cut off by Xedhu.
"Tell the navagation droid to get us out of here." Xedhu said as he began walking towards the sleeping quarters.
"Where do I tell him to go master?" The droid asked as it basically had to run to keep up with Xedhu.
"It doesn't matter, just get us out of here fast." The doors to the sleeping quarters opened and Xedhu stepped in.
"Right away master!" In an instant the droid left and headed for the cockpit.

Xedhu dropped Aunna on the ground with a thud. Then after pulling his cloak off of her he stepped out of the sleeping quarters. The metal door slid shut and Xedhu typed a few numbers into the keypad to seal it shut. Xedhu then limped from there towards the pathetic excuse of a medical bay to get his ankle patched up. His protocol droid came over the speaker of the ship as Xedhu patched his wound.

"We are headed for Nar Shaada master." A droids voice over a speaker always seemed to sound more robotic than usual.
"Excellent choice DM." Xedhu half-shouted back.
"Master, scanners indicate that you are in the medical bay. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, the Major gave a little gash, nothing to worry about. Why don't you go make sure none of her wounds are too bad and give her something to make her feel better when she wakes up." He had finished patching his "little gash" now, though it was more like a "little chunk" gone.
"Of course master." The droid came through one last time through the speakers.

Xedhu got up and headed to his meditation chambers. He would probably only leave once the Major woke up. As he walked into the center of the meditation room he took off his lightsabers, kneeled down, then sat the sabers in front of him. He would have to clear his mind of all anger he had towards the Major before he tried to interrogate her. In only a few moments his breathing steadied and he began the process of relieving his anger.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

((first off. i'm sorry about your stomach, hope it feels better today. second. Nar Shadaa...zomg, vex is gonna be PISSED. third, bad idea not locking her up. ^_^ ))

It wasn't long before Aunna started to wake up, her body screaming with pain. It wasn't pain just from where she'd been hit across the head, though, she was sporting some beautiful purple bruises by this time. No, her side where she'd had a dance with death from a lightsaber was killing her, not to mention the various other cuts and bruises she'd gotten from her "little bout" with Vance. Groaning slightly, she sat up on the cold floor, her hand going immediately to her head as she tried to discover just where she was. Squinting her eyes to focus more, she wasn't surprised to see she was on a ship, and by the movement and cold air...they were in space. Great, this was the last thing she'd needed...to be kidnapped. Oh her commanding officers would have her head for this, even if it wasn't her fault.

As her mind became less foggy, she knew she had to find a way to get help to her...since obviously she couldn't just up and walk away in the middle of space. No, she would have to play nice for now. Sighing, she leaned back against the closest wall for a moment before forcing herself to stand up. As pain shot up her leg, she cursed...loudly. She'd forgotten about her bloody knee...great, so even if she COULD run away, she couldn't run. Sliding back down the wall, she decided to wait and see what would happen next.