Murder: Victim #9

[Matalina]

It had been two days since the shadow had ran away from the Mistress of Trainees.  It was dying for another kill.  It didn't want to wait much longer, and its own blood lust made it go out early.  The sun was still well up in the sky when the shadow moved into the shadows of the nearby alley.

 

It stalked the alley ways like a lion looking for its prey.  It wanted blood and it was impatient to have it.  It was a nice change of pace to be out in the daylight for the others, but they were frantically trying to get the conscious stream back before this next kill.  They really didn't want to have to deal with the problems that were starting to arrise.  It was hard but they fought, and the shadow laughed.  Only Cari sat and waited, she did nothing inside their head.  The others glared at her but she didn't see she was only feeling what the Shadow felt, feeling its need, its desire.  They wondered what she was doing but no one could imagine or even get an answer from her, so they too waited for what she would do.  If she did anything at all before they all were killed.  It was only a matter of time.

 

A young girl walked passed Cari, she was in a hurry away from the yards.  She muttered to herself, Cari could only hear a snatch or two from it.  "I can't believe I'm still trying to stand on these barrels, it won't help me at all I'm sure of it!"  A trainee, a girl with a whiny voice not meant for tower training.  It is best to end her life now, end it before it has even begun.  But this time the shadow wanted to play with the little girl.  Watch her scream, watch her bleed.  The joy it felt raced through their mind, nearly knocking everyone but Cari back.  It didn't want to just kill, it wanted to torture, Marosa's own pleasures started to rise and her attention was now on their prey.  Kayla and May held Meeghan and closed their own eyes, they wanted nothing to do with this.

 

Cari stepped out of the shadows several paces behind the girl, and followed her to her destination.  From her ramblings it was clear she was going to the Ogier Grove.  The shadow did not pay any attention to anything other than this girl.  It wanted blood and it wanted it now.

 

Cari

[Raeyn]

 

Glowering to herself, Audie huffed her way to the armory after her meeting with the Mistress of Trainees.  That <i>awful</i> woman was <i>never</i> happy, no matter what Audie did.  This time, she was irate that the young woman had gone to lunch with Jesse instead of <b>not</b> having lunch and working herself to death!  “As if she doesn’t want anyone to be nice to me, the awful cow,” she muttered to herself as she gathered up sword and staff.

 

Part of her punishment was that she had to go train alone in the Ogier grove on the island.  Thera had felt that if Audie weren’t able to stick around the Yard without letting the first person that talked to her lead her away from her travails, that the young woman could do with the solitude off in the grove.

 

It was a lovely day with a sky full of sun, but as Audie strode off in a dark mood, she didn’t notice.  She complained to herself as she walked, of all the <i>stupid</i> things she had to do, like balancing on barrels, and polishing armor.  She thumped her staff as she walked on; the loud thudding noise marked her anger at the absolute injustice of everything in the world as it rang along the paved walkways.

 

The press of people waxed and waned as she crossed out of the Tower grounds and through, a flickering of bodies and shadows moving to and fro in the corners of the trainee’s vision.  As she approached the grove wreathed in a ring of mid-day shadows, her staff caught the edge of a raised paving stone, sending her to her knees.  Yelping sharply, she levered herself back up in a flurry of whinges, only to find someone standing statue behind her.

 

“Oh, hello!”  Audie said cheerfully to the woman before her, “I have to go train by myself, or else Thera will be mad at me.”  After all, the other woman had the look of a warrior, so she <b>had</b> to be someone from the Yards too… right? 

 

[Matalina]

The shadow stopped still when the girl fell over a cobble stone.  When the girl saw here the shadow was unsure of what to do.  Panic followed but the girls remarks were overtly innocent almost foolhardy. It was like she was oblivious to the world around her, caring only about herself. 

 

"I'm only here to make sure you go where you are suppose to.  Don't mind me."

 

"Oh, okay!"  Audie picked herself up and made her way towards the Ogier Grove. The shadow looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary, but it didn't look long or hard at anything it's blood lust was nearly all that it could see or hear.  The sound was deafening in their mind, all but Cari huddled in their mind trying to hid from the shadow's desires.

 

They followed the girl into the heart of grove.  It was quiet, almost too quiet.  There were no birds only the crunshing of fallen leaves as they walked. She walked and walked and muttered to herself.  Cari wasn't sure how deep the girl was going to go.  "Haven't you gone far enough?"

 

She looked back at Cari.  "Oh no, I've got to go deep in the forest to be myself."  Is she dumb, there is no one but us around.

 

The Shadow quickedned it's paced and walked up behind the girl and wrapped its arms around her.  "Oh but I think it is."

 

Cari

[Raeyn]

 

 

Blinking in surprise, Audie tried to shake off the arm holding her.  “I told you, Thera said that I had to be alone to train!”  Levering the arm away with her staff, she glared at the other woman, “I’m here now, don’t you see?  You can go back and tell Thera that I’m doing what she said, okay?”

 

Shaking her head, the blond woman started to turn around.  However, a sudden jolt of pain in her arm distracted her, and she was momentarily fascinated by the red spreading down her arm to drip on the dirt below.  “You cut me!” she whined incredulously, “Why would you cut me?!  I’m doing what I’ve been told, I am!” 

 

She failed to catch the glint of murder in the other woman’s eye, but she was just bright enough to realize that someone approaching her with a bared blade draped in her own blood probably didn’t have her health in mind.  “Go away!” she cried, trying to poke the other woman back with her staff.  The murderess-to-be easily dodged, and continued her slow approach.

 

Another slow realization dawned in the blond woman’s head as she backed away slowly – hadn’t there been someone running around killing lots of people in the Warder’s Yard lately?  Could this.. could this be?!  Not waiting another second, she threw her staff at the other woman to distract her, and started running as fast as she could.

 

<i>Audie Acker

One Scared Little Dimwit!</i>

 

[Matalina]

Cari caught the dagger with her left hand.  Stupid girl!  The shadow sheathed the bloody dagger and then hurled the quarterstaff at the girls legs toppling her over to the ground.  "Leave me alone!  I didn't do anything to you"  After a pause she continued, "Oh, no, my husband sent you didn't he? But.. Butt.."  Cari only smiled at the girls innocence.

 

"No my dear, I'm just here to kill you.  No reason other than I can. Your naive little blood will smell so very sweet in this morning evening light!"  The girl tried to get up but Cari was faster, she was on the girl before she could stand up.  The shadow pinned her to the ground sitting on her chest.  "Now my little pretty you are going to scream for me."

 

The shadow leaned down and kissed the girl, tasting the fear in her.  "So afraid little one, so very afraid." The girl tried to struggle.  Cari laughed.  "Come come little one, hold still or it will hurt more."  With a smile the shadow spoke again.  "No do struggle please struggle. I want you to hurt."  The shadow ran the blade of her a newly unsheathed dagger down the girls cheek.  The shadow leaned in and licked the blood that started to trickle down.  "So sweet!"

 

Cari sat in the shadows mind she sat watching, waiting.  The fear of the girl was fueling the shadow but the shadow was taking too long, and Cari's own desires of blood and torture were growing stronger, enough, maybe enough to break free.  Cari let the shadow play with the girl longer. She screamed and Cari's own persona shuddered with the sound of it.  It rattled the others to the bone, to hear this girl scream for no reason, but they watched in silence as Cari soaked in the new found power.  The shadow was not paying any attention inward or it would have ended it's play time for fear of losing control.  It would lose control if this death didn't happen soon. 

 

Another well of blood ran down the girls other cheek. And various other areas were not red with blood.  The girl was sobbing and crying out with pain.  Cari seized the moment, and pulled the shadow back into the darkneess.  It howled in pain and the others screamed with it.  Cari was the only one who did not.  The shadow had been removed and Cari had forcefully taken the conscious stream.

 

A noise from behind them brought Cari's attention outward. The girl was muttering.  "Help! help me, save me."  Cari didn't take need to take a look to know someone was behind her.  The girls throat was slit in an instant but at that instant a man toppled her to the ground.  They had been caught. How they did not know but they had been caught in the unlikist of places.  It was not going to end well!

 

Cari

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric had been walking along the street when he saw the two figures skulk into the Ogier's Grove in the city. What he really had wanted to do was head on to the tavern he was about to frequent and ignore what was likely a lover's tryst in the trees, but he couldn't. It just didn't sit right with him for some reason so he set off for the grove, it was then he saw the third figure entering the grove, same spot and same direction as the first two. That occurance <i>really</i> did not sit well with him. He doubled his pace and entered the grove at a trot and came upon a grisly scene. One girl dead, another being attacked by a man who had knocked her to the ground. Kyn called out as he drew his sword and laid it upon the mans shoulder as he was about to strike. "Hold that weapon and stand down." He held steady hoping the man was braver at the face of two women than one armed man.

[Matalina]

The man who had attacked Cari stopped dead in his tracks and Cari took the oppurtunity to run.  From behind her Cari heard.  "You dumb idiot, she just killed that girl."  Cari knew the ogier grove like the back of her hand when she was living in the yards, but it was growing so things changed.  Ten years changes alot of things.  Cari sprinted through the forest dodging trees left then right and ran towards town.  There was no place to hide better than out in the open.  She knew if she didn't get away this time there would be a heavy price to pay.

 

Why had the girl come so far into the forest.  Cari slipped on a moss covered rock.  Her knee banged hard on the jagged rock and a searing pain ran through her body.  To pair that with her injury from two days ago, Cari wasn't feeling the best she should for a chase like this.  But Cari ran as fast as she could injured leg was a hinderance now.  But she had to get away!

 

Cari

 

OOC:  I left you with an easy catch :P now you got to chase her

[_Kynwric_]

OOC: It seemed too easy...

 

IC:

 

Kynwric muttered a curse as the girl began to sprint away. He didn't bother trying to put the sword away and took off in pursuit. He was slower than she was, but he kept his eyes on the ground and took the time as he ran to compress his thoughts into the spring, using it to focus his senses. He kept a methodical pace and listened for other clues. He paused for half a step as he heard her tumble and adjusted his course and now he could clearly see the trail she was leaving now from her injured leg... it was just a matter of time.

[Matalina]

Cari ran towards the waterfall  that lay in the Ogier Grove.  It was a good distance jump but she had to try, she really didn't want to do what she planned, but she knew it was possible, she had seen Alex do it so many years ago.  That thought alone made Cari stumble.  Alex was dead!  And because of her, maybe she deserved to be caught. 

 

At the edge of the waterfall Cari stood looking over the edge.  Tears running down her cheeks, but the fear inside her pushed her forward.  She dove into the blistering cold of the deep pond below.  She wasn't the greatest of swimmers but she managed to swim to the other side with out too much trouble.  Cold and wet she hoped that the jump would at least hamper the man following her.  But now her body was cold, and her run was slowed dramatically.  Tears slide down the side of her face as thoughts of Alex ran through her head.  Stop it girl, we got to get out of here. -Please We need to get away, Alex is dead you can cry later.- *I have to agree.  Go!*  Cari moved at a snails pace but she kept moving tears still flowing but she kept moving.

 

Cari

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric saw the girl dive into pond and groaned inwardly, he knew that pond was freezing at this time of the year. However, he had no choice so dropping his sword on the bank he dove in. <i>Light! It is cold!</i> he thought as he propelled his way through the water faster than he had at any time since he was a boy, glad now for the time spent swimming in the pond near home. He had gained on the girl who now seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the wood, he ran until he was almost upon her and then slowed. Calling out to her to "Stop!" as he reached for his dagger.

[Matalina]

From behind he called "Stop!"  Cari kept walking, she'd given up on running.  "I said Stop!"  Cari turned around tears drying on her face, the void grasped cleanly and effortlessly.  There was nothing on her face, no remorse not saddness from the past few miniutes. 

 

"I'd really like to see you stop me."  Cari wished her sword was at hand, she might have to start wearing it again, she kept getting into these type of prediciments.  Thankfully it was in a safe spot for her journey home, if she ever managed to get there again.  She thought of the twins, of Fawne, of Jeffery Kincaid.  Maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way if Demus hadn't left or...

 

A smile grew on Cari's face as she drew her last dagger from her sleeve.  The man eyed Cari with a certain amount of caution and hatred.  She had been after all killing his friends, Cari wondered if he had any personal vestment in any of her victims. Cari didn't bother pointing the dagger at him, she turned it towards her own chest and with both hand plunged it into her body.  The dagger didn't go where it had been intened, it had glanced off of a rib bone totally missing her mark.  Cari collapsed, the blood pouring out of her own body brought a smile to her own face.  They would not take her easily.

 

Cari

 

OOC:  Take her to the Yellows, it'll set up for the next step. 

 

 

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric  started towards her as she drew the dagger, not wanting this fight but willing to finish it. He moved even quicker when she turned the dagger towards herself and cursed all manner of obscenities as she plunged it into her chest. "I should leave the bloody girl to die..." he was complaining as he hefted the limp body and tossed her over his shoulder as he began the run back to the Tower infirmary.