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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 16, 2010 20:14:59 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 16, 2010 20:14:59 GMT -5
"It's no problem. Take your time." Kvothe waved a dismissive gesture at Alindra as she gathered herself. "The past can be a hard thing to look back on at times," he said quietly. "We all have our ghosts to deal with."
Kvothe finished off the last of his drink and sighed as he set the empty glass down. He certainly knew what having a hard past was like, though his was quite different than what Alindra had spoken of. Still, everyone had their demons, and there were some things that Kvothe would rather forget that had happened in his life. But there was nothing to be done for such things now, so for the time being, he simply sat quietly, and waited for Alindra to resume her story.
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Mar 17, 2010 0:29:08 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 17, 2010 0:29:08 GMT -5
Taking a deep breath, Alindra jumped in, ready to go once more. "It started out with me and a bunch of other girls being told we had to learn how to walk properly. I thought it was one foot in front of the other, but that wasn't enough for the etiquette teachers. They made use walk around with weights on our heads. If we didn't hold our heads just the way they wanted, they would shoot us with stun rays and make us try again. Stand this way, walk that way, this goes over here, only use your first two fingers when you curtsy, put your forehead on the floor when you bow.
"I hated every second of that training. I can still do it. I don't even have to try. In fact, I don't even speak in the same accent as I did before then. Truthfully, I don't mind. I'd rather speak in a proper tone of voice than sound like some foolish farmgirl." The last word came out of her mouth in a different form, almost a different voice. It was a minor testament to how different the accents were and how much Alindra used her native voice.
For a moment, she drank from her glass, looking at it with care. Alcohol was something she'd never been allowed to have during most of her life. "I could serve drinks like this," Alindra said, "but never have one myself. This is a nice change of pace." She put the glass on the table.
"At the first party they made me work--you know that's wrong. They didn't make me do anything. I had a choice: be a good serving girl or get sold off somewhere else. Even in the most horrific circumstances, a slave always fears being sold. There are always worse hells to be endured.
"But at this party, there were a few Senators and a lot of their campaign contributors. They ate, they drank, and they didn't care who they stepped on in the process. Of course, one of them stepped on me. I lost my footing for a moment before turning on my heel and sweeping the tray in an arc. Not only did I not fall on the floor, I kept everything on the tray. Alko noticed and got it into his head that I shouldn't be serving drinks and carrying trays; I should be dancing for his entertainment. Well, him and his patrons."
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 17, 2010 16:41:43 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 17, 2010 16:41:43 GMT -5
Alindra resumed her story, and Kvothe listened on in a solemn silence. A few stray thoughts flitted through his mind--most of which had something to do with his disdain for the sort of people who'd press a child into labor--but he didn't pay much attention to them.
His eyes widened a bit in surprise and a bit of amusement at the sudden change in Alindra's accent. The difference between her two voices was distinct, that much was certain. It must have been hard, going through all of that training, he mused as Alindra took a moment to drink from her glass. Kvothe idly tugged at the end of one of his gloves as he she drank, and drifted off into his own thoughts for a moment. Alindra's voice drew him back out of them.
"I see," he said when she came to a stop again. "This Alko... did he buy you, then?" It seemed the next logical step, given the way Alindra had laid things out up to this point. Kvothe's eyebrows furrowed in thought and he started muttering, more to himself than to Alindra. "Or was he the one that already owned you? I don't think he's been mentioned, but I forget..." His cheeks reddened as his eyes snapped up and he realized he'd been talking to himself, and he laughed when a slight feeling of embarrassment came over him. "Oh, uh... forgive me. I do that every blue moon. Please though" he said with a polite nod to her, "carry on when you're ready."
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Mar 18, 2010 2:31:21 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 18, 2010 2:31:21 GMT -5
"Sorry, I guess I should have cleared that up a bit." Alindra took a brief drink and said, "Alko was the one who bought my way out of the mines. He actually treated his slaves quite well, though he did have a little gambling problem. Most people never noticed because he usually won."
She licked her lips and tilted her head, like she was putting her mind back on track. "So I was sent for dancing lessons and let me tell you, I really thought I'd found my calling. I didn't have any idea what contentment was until I started dancing. I took to it right away. I worked at it, no matter if I started to sweat or get tired or bleed. I wanted to do it, and I wasn't going to be stopped.
"I put on my exhibition, along with several others girls. Palaces, parties, raves, we went everywhere. Name a kind of place, I've probably danced in it. Now, I said Alko was good to his slaves and here's one thing that really proves that: he didn't let anyone touch us, even when I know he was getting offered a decent amount of money."
She didn't say that was why she smiled. Alindra had been afraid that Alko would change his mind. He could have sent her back to the mines or taken her dancing away from her. To go back into a moer severe lifestyle was too devastating a proposition. She put on a smile to convince everyone that she was happy with her role and it stuck. A facade, a persona, something Alindra wore to make herself seem to be what others wanted from her.
"The problems started when Alko started losing to a Mandalorian who knew what he really wanted." Alindra took a longer drink, then stared at the table.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 18, 2010 23:31:42 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 18, 2010 23:31:42 GMT -5
"Ah, makes sense," Kvothe said with a nod when Alindra clarified for him that the Alko character had been the man who bought her from the mines. Once again, though, he fell into a respectful silence as she told more of her tale.
From the sound of things, she'd found something she enjoyed in dancing, and that, at least, was a good thing. And it's good that this Alko was good to his... slaves. It felt odd using the phrase 'good to' and 'slaves' in the same sentence, but Kvothe was not so naive as to think that there were good slave owners and bad slave owners.
Alindra then moved on to hint at problems of some sort, and paused to look down at the table. Fas stirred from his place near Kvothe's feet, and walked over to gently rub his nose against her leg; perhaps it was a reflection of the tinge of worry Kvothe felt at whatever might be coming next in the woman's tale, or maybe the Flickercat just wanted some attention. It wouldn't at all surprise Kvothe if it was a mixture of both.
"And I'm guessing," Kvothe said as Fas continued to seek Alindra's attention, "that whatever it was this Mandalorian knew was not a good thing for Alko, then?"
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Mar 19, 2010 1:45:50 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 19, 2010 1:45:50 GMT -5
"No, it wasn't good for Alko," Alindra said in a perturbed voice. "The problem with gamblers is that they'll always make one more bet than they should. For Alko, he bet something that he'd never in his wildest dreams think about betting."
Alindra felt Fas rubbing his nose against her leg. It was a primal sort of affection, almost like he knew what came next in the story. Putting her hand close to her leg, Alindra didn't try to force her hand upon the exotic creature, but let him know she was there and willing to touch him.
"This Mandalorian--whose name I never heard--played Alko into making a wager. Not with money, but with slaves. Temporary use, just overnight. Alko thought it was a cheap bet." Alindra took in a deep breath. "I did not."
She paused, letting the silence in the air sell the situation to Kvothe. Through all the guises Alindra had used, the first violation still burned deep. "Alko lined all his slaves up and let this Mandalorian take his pick. And I had to stand there and play weak little girl, smiling like I loved the prospect of what could happen. Everyone else looked away; they showed their fear. Since I didn't and since the Mandalorian at least knew what beauty was, he picked me.
"I'll spare you the details of what happened after that," Alindra said. "You strike me as the kind of man who can piece that together easily. I will say that it hurt. It was like my heart beat slower and my blood had been replaced with razors."
She drank. The ale evened her breathing and let her ease her defenses a little more.
"Alko got the bright idea that he should sell us out every once in a while. Exclusive perks, getting to play around with his serving girls and dancers when they didn't have other things to do. He was still kind enough to keep us on something of a rotation; I didn't have another turn for some time. But the other girls, when I looked at them, I knew what they'd been turned into.
"I don't have any illusions that I'm exempt from that. I'm just not defined by it. The other girls, they got passed around like towels. They were passive. But when my turn came again, I knew in my heart that I couldn't just lie there and let someone I didn't know do as they like. What was I going to get out of it?"
Alindra finished her glass off and slid it over next to Kvothe's. She also lowered her hand a bit more and felt Fas' ears and the back of his head.
"The poor bastard who got me next was a Twi'lek. Unlike the Mandalorian, this guy barely got to put a hand on me. The thing about Twi'leks is that, when a slave girl has repressed her desire to lash out since she was little, all that girl is going to see are a couple of thick cords, perfect for strangling someone."
Taking a deep breath, Alindra exhaled a laugh and asked, "These flying lessons, when do you think we could arrange that?"
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 19, 2010 19:16:17 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 19, 2010 19:16:17 GMT -5
A pained expression flicked across Kvothe's face as Alindra told of what she'd been put through after Alko decided to put the serving girls up in the bet. Sorrow's blue played at the edges of contentment's green in his irises, and he shook his head ruefully. He was indeed quite capable of figuring out what it was that'd happened to Alindra, and it disgusted him. Perhaps he wasn't as good a slave owner as I thought, then, he thought to himself. A pity, that.
But Alindra surprised him. He had a feeling he knew what the next thing in her story would be, and the blue faded from his eyes as he chuckled lightly at the thought. "I'm sure the surprise he got was most unpleasant then, yes" he asked as he threw his arms out to either side to stretch with a satisfied groan. Fas withdrew from Alindra's side and returned to sit at a place about halfway between the two before he stretched out on the floor once again. "It's... truly a shame that you had to go through what you did," he said slowly once he'd finished with his stretch. "You have my condolences, for what it's worth. But as for your question..."
Kvothe looked to one of the windows to see the sun hanging in the clear blue sky outside. It was a bit lower than it had been before, and he guessed it was getting into the late afternoon. Not that that really mattered with flying--at least not to him--but it was good to know what time of day it was.
Before he could continue, he turned his eyes to see that the waitress had returned. "Are you ready for your tab, or do would you like something else to drink?"
"You can give us the tab," Kvothe said after a quick glance at Alindra, "if we get something else we can always just pay again. And just one tab," he added. "I'm paying."
The waitress smiled at him as if she knew a humorous secret before giving him the bill. It came out to a little over forty credits. Kvothe grunted softly at that. It was a good deal more than he'd intended to spend, though it hardly came close to putting a dent in the money he'd left Aiaru with; it would be quite hard to travel from place to place if he didn't have enough money to buy the things he might need on occasion.
He gave the waitress the money, and she went off. Kvothe shook his head amusedly when she turned to mouth the words 'good luck' to him once she was behind Alindra. It was an amusing though, but he wasn't there for the reason that she so obviously thought that he was.
"Anyway," he said when he returned his attention to Alindra, "as I said earlier, I'm just a wanderer for the time being, with no preplanned things to take care of. So we can start on that whenever you're ready. I think the place in your story that you've reached would be a good pausing point, if you're willing."
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Mar 20, 2010 2:03:30 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 20, 2010 2:03:30 GMT -5
When Kvothe spoke again at the conclusion of the tale, Fas took the opportunity to move back to his previous place at Kvothe's side. There was something comforting about the flickercat's presence that Alindra noticed was gone immediately. It was a sullenness that stacked softly upon the tale she had just told, the hardest chapter of her life. Kvothe offered his condolences and Alindra hardly knew what to think.
For a long time, she had been lost, drifting from one thing to the next. The Force flowing through her, touching the darkest parts of her soul was the only thing that had given her direction. Her hatred had no real outlet, her loss, her pain, given little to latch onto.
It wasn't purely strife that Alindra felt. There was a gratitude she felt for Kvothe, in paying for drink as well as giving her the flight lessons she needed. She still believed in giving someone what they were owed. So few had earned the good things they carried with their lives. If they'd only seen what Alindra had, they might think differently.
The day was creeping through the afternoon and Alindra started to suspect there was no time to lose. Even if she figured out flying fast, she would still have to find a way back to Korriban should she miss the supply shuttle's departure. "I think I'm ready," Alindra said, gazing at the skyline outside. Upbeat about her upcoming prospects, she looked over and said, "Shall we?"
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 20, 2010 22:44:58 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 20, 2010 22:44:58 GMT -5
{Hrm... decided to throw in a little something for a quick change of pace as we continue onwards. Hope you don't mind.}
"Right," Kvothe said before starting to stand, "let's get to it, then." He straightened the sword that hung behind him from his hip and took his staff from where it'd been leaning against the table while he waited for Alindra to make her preparations to leave. He called Fas to his side with a few quick clacks of his tongue, and proceeded to leave, presumably with Alindra in tow.
Kvothe lifted his free hand up to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun when he stepped out into the light of the afternoon. It was pleasant enough, and a cool breeze blew in down the street the bar faced out onto. "Nice place," he muttered to himself as he turned to head back down the street in the direction he'd come from the space port. The city reminded him of one of the cities on Aiaru, really. The thought crossed his mind for a moment that it might not be a bad place to live, if he didn't live on Aiaru. But Aiaru's my home, and I won't be on this world much longer, anyway. Well, not for more than a few days, anyway.
"So, I'm assuming this is will be your first time getting some sort of flight lesson," he asked Alindra with a slight turn of his head. "It's my first time ever teaching someone how to do it, now that I think on it, but it can't be that bad, right?" Kvothe was about to say more when a voice from behind the trio cut him short.
"Hey! There he is! That idiot that broke my datapad!"
Kvothe recognized the voice; it was that man from earlier. The man came into view a moment later, and Kvothe was surprised to see that there were two men with him. Two armed men. Not this idiot again, Kvothe thought with a shake of his head. He felt a surge of wariness from Fas and he gave the flickercat a sharp look to keep him from doing anything hasty. His gaze turned to the man and his companions, and he kept his expression purposefully neutral. "Can I help you?"
"Don't play that game," the man--who Kvothe noted was now carrying a club of some sort--spat. "You know damn well what y-"
"My client tells us you broke a datapad that was in his possession earlier today," cut in a fairly large man, who was a Kiffar, going by his dreadlocks and tattoos. "The information on that datapad was nearly invaluable to my... organization, and now someone needs to pay to cover the cost."
Kvothe wasn't an idiot. He heard the threat in the man's words. Though, truthfully, he was more irritated at the interruption of his business than anything else; he'd been trained to fight for years, and knew these men had probably learned all they knew of fighting from drunken rages in bars.
"You'll have to forgive me, then," he said calmly. "I don't have any money on me at the moment, nor am I giving your 'client' anything to compensate for his clumsiness."
"Well that's just unfortunate," he Kiffar said darkly. "Now we'll have to think of some way to make up the cost."
Kvothe shook his head slightly before turning just enough to see Alindra out of the corner of his eye. "Tell me Alindra, what do you think should be done with these buffoons?"
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Mar 21, 2010 1:38:57 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 21, 2010 1:38:57 GMT -5
Just outside the bar, Kvothe's opponent from the previous battle returned, bringing with him armed assistance. A Kiffar stepped out, professionally informing Kvothe that someone had to pay the price for the broken datapad and the information it contained.
As they came to an impass, Kvothe looked over and asked, "Tell me Alindra, what do you think should be done with these buffoons?"
"Oh, I think you're wrong about them being buffoons," Alindra said. "I'm sure they're quite reasonable." She smiled at Kvothe before saying, "Excuse me a moment."
Giving no furher explanation, Alindra stepped forward, taking place directly in front of the Kiffar. She glanced at his tattoos and noted the length of his dreadlocks, wondering if they would make a good enough weapon. "I may not be the most uninvolved observer," Alindra said, "but it was your client's clumsiness that caused him to drop the datapad. It was your client who decided to start a fight with the gentleman behind me. If your organization requires compensation, I would tell you from my own eyewitness testimony that it was him who caused any inconvenience to begin with.
"Of course, should you choose not to believe me, you will no doubt wish to start a fight of your own." Crossing her arms, Alindra carefully released the catch that concealed her lightsaber, though she kept her hand up her sleeve so she might still draw it on the fly. She made sure to lock her gaze with the Kiffar and smile at him, laying another level of sweetness into her voice. "Earlier today, I had to deal with someone who was unwilling to negotiate. If you look down that alley, you might still find him. But rather than asking his advice, I suggest that you ask yourself 'Why am I working for someone who can't take care of something important?' I'm sure if you do, you'll see that your client is nothing more than a spoiled child."
Alindra knew someone would laugh at her or call her bluff. One of them might even try to attack her without any real provocation. She wanted it to be like that. It had been too long since she'd had an opportunity to show what she was capable of, even to herself. Should an attack come, she would be able to cut someone down, or at least take a piece of them with her.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 21, 2010 16:04:38 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 21, 2010 16:04:38 GMT -5
Kvothe snorted amusedly as he watched Alindra have her talk with the men, and, in spite of himself, started to smirk a bit. He wasn't arrogant--far from it, given his years living in the shadow of his older brother--but he knew what he was capable of, and he knew the type of men they were dealing with: fools, and prideful fools, more likely than not. He shifted his weight slightly and readjusted his grip on his staff as he laughed when Alindra finished speaking.
"She's right, you know. It's hardly my fault that your man here can't pay attention and not run into people when he's walking through a crowd." He took a step forward, and adjusted the set of his sword through his sash in a not-so-subtle hint to the group of men before them.
But that and Alindra's words seemed to be lost on the man who'd had the datapad broken, as his face had only gone through ever-deepening shades of red. Why, Kvothe even thought he could see a vein pulsing on the man's temple.
"Someone," he spat, his anger readily apparent, "is going to pay for the loss of that information! I don't care if you don't have the money!" He started to pace irritably, throwing his hands--and his club--around in ridiculous gestures as he spoke. "It took me almost a year to get that information, and you just think you can ruin it and walk away?! And you," he said, turning on his heel to glare at Alindra, "you should know to stay out of affairs that don't involve you, girl. And you should know not to insult your betters." He paused, as if he'd been about to say more, but turned to walk behind the Kiffar and the other armed man. "Get them. Both of them. I don't care what you do to the man, but save the girl." A twisted smile spread across his face. "She's a pretty one. I might have a use for her later."
The two armed men looked to each other for a moment before shrugging and starting a slow advance toward Kvothe and Alindra. Kvothe wasn't cowed though, and only rolled his neck and sighed when it popped. "And here I was," he said to Alindra, "thinking that this trip might be boring. Silly me."
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Mar 21, 2010 23:20:14 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 21, 2010 23:20:14 GMT -5
"I appreciate the compliment," Alindra said, not breaking her pleasant smile. "But I'm afraid no one gets to use me without my consent any longer."
She took a deep breath and remembered what it had taken to break free to begin with. Alindra didn't want to go back to the way things were. If she was to ever be near slaves or servants again, they would be hers. A lifetime, a youth spent in one form of bondage or another was far past enough. And Kvothe's playmate had decided that she should belong to him.
Rage flowed into her fingers as she pulled her hands out of her sleeves. When she knew the device was clear of her limbs and head, Alindra switched on the old lightsaber she carried with her. The dirty yellow blade hummed and sputtered as she shifted to an attack pose.
"The game is tag," Alindra said, "and right now I'm it." Then her smile grew to involve her perfect teeth, gleaming in the birght light around them.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 22, 2010 0:09:07 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 22, 2010 0:09:07 GMT -5
Kvothe's eyebrows lifted a bit when Alindra revealed her lightsaber. They were legendary weapons, and Kvothe'd never seen one in person. Still, he knew of them, and the deservedly fearsome reputation they held as weapons. To be honest, he hadn't expected Alindra to have one, but the woman seemed to be full of surprises.
In any event, Kvothe turned his attention to the man that was advancing on him. He might have been imposing to someone else, with his broad shoulders and arms that were taut with cords of muscle, but Kvothe only gave him a short grunt of recognition. I could end the fight without laying a finger on him, he mused, but I think he'll need something a little bit more physical to get the point across.
"I'll take the big guy, and maybe the Kiffar, should he come to me," Kvothe muttered to Alindra. "I'm sure you have some, uh... business to attend to with that man that had the bright idea of announcing his plans for you." He spared another glance to the three men before turning back to Alindra to add on something else. "And from the looks of things, they're common street thugs." A short snort told what he thought of that. "I doubt this will take long."
With that, he moved off to the side, and noted that Fas had disappeared off into the crowd of people that was starting to gather around the group. Good, Kvothe thought as he focused on the man before him. Often times, if the situation allowed, Fas would sneak off when Kvothe engaged a foe, and find a way to attack from behind. It was often quite painful--and lethal--for the victim. Hopefully this'll be over before he decides to attack. He wasn't looking to kill, though he certainly would if he had to; he wasn't sure if he could say the same about Fas.
"So, you sure you wanna do this, big guy," he asked to large man as he drew nearer. To the big man's credit, he ignored Kvothe's response and continued to advance, club held at the ready. "I guess you do, then." Kvothe suddenly lunged forward, staff and his staff became a blur as it raced toward its target. "Don't say I didn't try to give you a way out."
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Mar 23, 2010 2:11:58 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 23, 2010 2:11:58 GMT -5
"You're taking both these thugs? No. I'm at least getting a piece of one of them."
Alindra watched as the leader, the coward was getting away, or at least getting away from his minions. She ran directly for the Kiffar, but instead of attacking, she jumped in the air at the last second. With a little bounce in the Force, Alindra started to soar just over the Kiffar's head, letting her free hand grab one of his dreadlocks as she passed. Pulling down on the rope of hair, she managed to use her inertia to also spin the Kiffar around.
Part of her thought about simply killing him, but there was an audience growing larger every minute. With that in mind, Alindra used the last of the inertia from her jump to drag the Kiffar forward while she did a side kick with her left leg. Every bit of breath was knocked out of the Kiffar, leaving Alindra satisfied with herself.
Then there was the matter of the coward. He'd told his thugs to keep her alive, since she was pretty and useful. Alindra felt so useful, she pushed herself to run faster, not only catching up with the coward, but eventually passing him by. As she cleared enough distance to safely get in front of the coward, Alindra turned around, holding the tip of her lightsaber out, just in front of where the coward's neck would be.
He stopped, seeing the warm beam of energy flowing too close to his skin. He didn't feel like being cooked or having part of his head taken off his shoulders.
"What's wrong?" Alindra asked him. "Don't you still have a use for me?" She leaned forward with her lightsaber, bringing it closer to the coward once more, even though he tried to keep away from it. "I know one of your darkest fantasies is to have a woman beat the hell out of you before a live audience. Isn't that your dream?"
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 23, 2010 12:45:07 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 23, 2010 12:45:07 GMT -5
"Have it your way, then," Kvothe called to Alindra as he closed in on his target. If she wanted the Kiffar, then she was more than welcome to him.
The man he was attacking struck out when Kvothe was within range, and Kvothe ducked under the blow. He reached out and grabbed the man's wrist before he dropped his staff and slammed his fist into the man's stomach. To his credit, the man took the blow well, and using brute strength--something he had a greater amount of than Kvothe--wrenched his wrist from Kvothe's grasp and struck out with a wild punch aimed at Kvothe's side. The hit never landed though. Kvothe reached out with the Mythos, and a blast of telekinesis threw his opponent to the ground. Kvothe's staff was drawn to his hand once more with pull, and he was on the man when he rose to his feet. His strike was fast, and had two components. First, he swung the bottom of the staff at his foe, cutting into his chest with the wickedly sharp blade that was attached to that end of the weapon. As the man reeled, Kvothe swung the staff around his own torso, bringing the heavy head of the staff to bear and slamming it into the side of the big man's head, though, fortunately, the blades that were on the head of the staff were retracted for the time being; he would live. Maybe.
Kvothe's attention then shifted to the Kiffar, who he pulled toward him. In a move he'd learned--and had used on him numerous times--from his brother, he caught the Kiffar by the throat and slammed him down onto the hard pavement. There was a sickening crack when the Kiffar's head smacked against the stone, and a moment later, the blade on Kvothe's staff, already red with blood, was hovering an inch away from his neck.
"You are beaten," Kvothe said calmly. "Don't throw your life away." The Kiffar complied, and kept his head on the pavement, though Kvothe did not remove the blade from its position.
Instead, he turned to look toward Alindra, who seemed to have the man who'd made his lewd threat toward her under control. In fact, the tables had turned, and now it was she that was making threats toward him. Kvothe heard some pathetic whimper from the man, but he was too focused on the lightsaber hovering near his neck to form any form of coherent speech. The thought passed through Kvothe to call Alindra off and let the man be, but he pushed it aside. This matter was between her and him, given the threat he'd made. Kvothe wouldn't interfere.
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last online Apr 10, 2014 12:08:08 GMT -5
Knight
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Mar 24, 2010 1:13:03 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 24, 2010 1:13:03 GMT -5
"Well?" Alindra asked. She tried to push the lightsaber closer to the coward in front of her, but didn't want to kill him. At least not so easily.
"I--I think it was a mis-mis-mis--"
"Miss what?" Alindra's voice boomed at the man. She watched his skin quake. "If you want to say something, then do it. You didn't have a problem talking before."
"It w-was a mistake."
"Really?" In a single move, Alindra closed the distance between her and her prey, moving the lightsaber where the blade rather than the tip of the weapon was close to the coward. "I want something for your mistake. You do want to make amends, don't you?"
He nodded to the best of his ability.
"Good. I want you to tell me exactly what was on that datapad--that way I'll be able to figure out what you can to do make it up to me."
There was a loud wubsh-wubsh sound. Alindra didn't look down, even though she heard it. She knew exactly what the sound was. The coward found his curiosity winning over him and glanced beneath his chin to see the intermittent flickering of Alindra's lightsaber.
Confused, he said, "It doesn't work?" The lightsaber shut down, though Alindra concealed the switch enough where someone might think it would still be able to come back on, just as easily as another person might claim it shut down completely. "It doesn't work... Hey!" He grabbed Alindra's sleeve. "What kind of game are you trying to play? I'll teach you to--"
Alindra's right fist ruptured along the edge of the man's chin, dazing him for a moment, long enough for Alindra to kick him in the gut. The man collapsed on the ground, trying to scrape a single breath off the ground. "I'm sorry," Alindra said. "I don't need to learn how to lick pavement. It looks like a filthy habit."
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 24, 2010 20:24:06 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 24, 2010 20:24:06 GMT -5
Kvothe's face was a mask of impassiveness as he watched Alindra handle the man. He was certainly cowed, that much was for sure. Kvothe could feel his terror through the Mythos, though, really, just a look at the man's skin, pale and slick with sweat, would've been enough. Still, part of the Rilan wanted to tell Alindra to kill him and be done with it all, but he resisted.
His attention was diverted at the sound of a groan from the first man he dispatched, and he looked to see that the man was sitting up. The man's hand went to the back of his head, and he paled as he felt what could be nothing other than the slick wetness of blood. Suddenly, Fas leaped from the crowd, and ran to stand before the man, each of the sharp barbs on the end of the three prongs of his long tail held forward threateningly. If Fas willed it, he could strike the man with enough force to send one of those barbs completely through him, in what would be an obviously deadly attack. But, the man seemed to see the danger the flickercat presented and made no move to do anything.
Kvothe, blade still held to the Kiffar's throat, returned his gaze to Alindra just in time to see her lightsaber go out. Strange. Why would she turn it off? His rusty eyebrows furrowed as he remembered the way the blade flickered for a moment before finally giving out. Did she turn it out intentionally?
Whatever the reason for the blade's disappearance, it led to the man, who only a moment ago seemed to be on the verge of pissing himself, finding a sudden surge of confidence. Not that that lasted long; Kvothe found his eyebrows rising with some surprise as Alindra handily put the man down onto the ground. His eyes flicked between her and the man for moment, but he said nothing, and only watched to see what would unfold.
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Knight
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Mar 26, 2010 1:25:51 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 26, 2010 1:25:51 GMT -5
Alindra paced around her prey, stalking in slow steps as she smiled. There was a hidden satisfaction inside her, seeping out of her features as she came closer to doing something with the coward lying down in front of her. The Rodian she'd tricked and assaulted earlier had done nothing for her, but the idea of taking a man who'd looked at her and lusted, then forcing him to flee in terror before humiliating him, that was power to Alindra. And the show had only just started.
She reached down and emptied out his pockets, taking anything that looked even slightly important. "What are you doing?" the man whispered, hardly able to move at all.
"Oh! You're awake! How wonderful!" Alindra exaggerated her joy, using the moment to stomp the heel of her boot down onto the man's spine. "Are you in pain? Don't you realize how much better it is for you to hurt than to feel nothing?"
Removing her foot from the base of the man's spine, Alindra started to pace around once more. She made a half-circle before stepping in and kicking him in the abdomen. "What was on that datapad?" She kicked him again. "What was on that datapad?!?"
The only answers she got were hollowed groans of agony and pain. She kept hurting him, part of Alindra only wanting to cause pain, though another part of her wanted to learn why all this had occurred in the first place.
"Fine," she said, disappointed that she had yet to gain an answer. Moving where her feet were standing on opposite sides of the man's torso. Without warning, she sat, flipping the man onto his back so he was looking up. Alindra held out her lightsaber, the deactivated opening looming close to the man's face. She leaned in and started to whisper. "You've already seen this, so I don't think you're too scared seeing it again. But you have to wonder, if I switch it on, will it stay dead? Will it come back on? Will it come on in spurts, fading in and out every few seconds?" Alindra leaned in, almost kissing the man's lips before leaning up once more.
"Of course," she added. "Should where will I be holding this thing when I want to turn it on again. Next to your face? Your hand? Your knee? What about something more important to you? What are you willing to let me remove?"
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
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Mar 26, 2010 14:08:59 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 26, 2010 14:08:59 GMT -5
Kvothe's eyebrows furrowed more as he watched Alindra lay into the man. He could honestly say that the brutality that she was showing surprised him, and in spite of the fact that he held no love for the man, and knew that he probably deserved what he was getting, Kvothe could not help but feel some sort of sympathy for him. The fear, which had blossomed into the deepest form of absolute terror, that rolled off of the man like water from an oilcloth cried out to Kvothe's Mythos senses, and even if he didn't have those, the man's expression, or his cries of pain and whimpered pleas for mercy were all he would need to know the state that the man's mind was in.
He doesn't deserve this, a voice within Kvothe's mind whispered as he watched Alindra hold the hilt of her deactivated saber threateningly over her prey. He is a fool, yes, but this shouldn't be happening to him.
It's not my concern, the other part of Kvothe whispered back. After what he said to Alindra... After what she's been through...
That's no excuse. Perhaps she has some right to him, but to do this? What purpose does it serve, other than establishing her superiority over him? And she did that when she knocked him to the ground.
The other voice of Kvothe's conflicted conscience was silent for a moment before speaking out again. Even so, it's her business. I shouldn't interfere. Let some of the onlookers help, if it is so wrong.
And what would they do, the first voice retorted. They just watched us dispatch these men--who they think to be accomplished fighters--like they were children. Why should they risk themselves to save some man they don't know?
Why should I interefere to save some man who as threatened me and made the kind of remark that he did to Alindra?
It was the original's voice turn to go quiet for a long moment, before it quietly asked If I had Vorian in the same position that Alindra does that man, would I do the same?
Kvothe shook his head a bit and his thoughts fell silent. Vorian was quite easily the person that Kvothe hated more than anyone else, but he couldn't answer his own question. Would he do the same as Alindra was doing? He pushed such thoughts aside with a sigh and decided to reach out to Alindra.
"Alindra," he said, using his mind speaking ability to speak directly to her and only her, "is this really necessary? If you're going to kill the man, then kill him and be done with it, but this... It seems a bit extreme, don't you think?" Of course, he was just making his thoughts known. He'd make no move to do anything one way or another, but if bringing it up silenced his conscience, then so be it.
"Gregar," the Kiffar--who was apparently having thoughts that were similar to Kvothe's--said as he slowly turned his head to look at the whimpering man, "just tell her what she wants to know and be done with it. She'll get it out of you one way or another; you might as well just let her know now." He paused for a moment as his eyes flicked to the blade that still hovered a breath away from his neck. "If you don't tell her, I will. I'm not getting killed over this."
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last online Apr 10, 2014 12:08:08 GMT -5
Knight
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Mar 27, 2010 3:05:40 GMT -5
Post by Nightender on Mar 27, 2010 3:05:40 GMT -5
In the moment Alindra waited for her prey to respond, she felt something. It was unlike anything she had known before, the speaking she heard, not around her, but in her mind. It was Kvothe, speaking his peace, saying that she should end what she was doing, one way or the other. To make things more interesting, the Kiffar spoke out begging Gregar to tell Alindra what she wanted to know.
"Gregar... what are you thinking?" Alindra stroked the side of his face with the lightsaber. Alindra tapped the fingernails of her free hand on Gregar's collarbone. "Do you want to keep playing games, or are you ready to be done with your weak little life? The seconds are starting to fade away and my thumb is getting closer and closer to this trigger." She looked disappointed in Gregar, but still offered a shadow of a smile. "I guess I should just go ahead and press it, since you're not going to--"
"It was a control program!"
Hearing Gregar speak, Alindra pulled her lightsaber away from his face. "What sort of control program?"
"It's for a tactical weapon based on a Mandalorian design. We only have parts of it. We can't even turn it on. It was the last thing we had to do to pay off our debts."
"That's all? You got that pissed off because of a program for a weapon?" She jumped to her feet, shaking her head. Once she'd clipped her lightsaber to her belt--there was no sense hiding it any longer--Alindra said, "Get away from me. And take your friends with you."
Gregar looked at his friends for reassurance, then back at Alindra. They all started to take off running, much like they had a moment before.
Displeased with how it had turned out, Alindra stepped back toward Kvothe and shrugged. "Well?" she asked. "Want to go straight into flying lessons or try for something more fun?" Alindra gave Kvothe and excited smirk before adding, "We could always go after those guys or try something else? What do you think?"
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