((And now, for the explanation of the disappearance of Nai Resh!))
“…and if you need anything, you know how to contact us.†She finished, and turned to walk away. It was true, after all. The IRF had been given a number of routes by which they could contact the Black Market. What they did with them was none of her concern. None of that concerned her now.
But perhaps, when she said ‘contact us,’ she had fibbed just a little. She wouldn’t be around when they came asking. But Nai Resh was no stranger to dishonesty. After all, the leader of a criminal organization’s ‘street teams’ usually has a great deal of experience in the area of theft, lying, stealth, and killing. That was part of the reason she had been assigned to the task of rescuing the children the local pit lord had decided to take hostage. The other part was that she had specifically asked to do it.
She had been teamed up with four members of the Doman Inner Resistance Force, one of whom was the leader of the whole crew, a guard by the name of Griff. Nai had been grateful that he had come personally, and also that he was willing to listen to her orders for the expedition. The others, a jester, a mage, and a young, sword wielding girl, had all performed admirably as well. Although she wouldn’t want them along on a typical midnight storage house raid, they had proved more than capable of helping with the rescue. All told, they had succeeded in rescuing forty-seven children from the demon lord’s prisons. But it was the forty-eighth child that was bothering her. It was the child that Nai had not seen that day which caused her to turn around and walk away from the group without more than a curt thank you.
The ‘Leftsider’ was no sentimentalist. She didn’t wish she could have saved one more child, just so that he or she would be OK, so that he or she would be reunited with his or her family. No, her reasons were more selfish than that. It was the child she had sent to Nocket for protection, who had disappeared after the Malachian army swept over the town, who she had kept secret and safe for three years… that was the child she had been looking for, the reason she had pushed so hard for Ree to let her take the rescue mission personally. Had the demon army killed him in an act of cruelty? Was he executed as part of Malachias’ ploy to make the IRF turn itself in? Did he die painlessly as the magic beam that was meant for Malachias vaporized half of Doma Castle?
These questions whirled around in Nai’s mind as she worked her way through the city in an ever-growing mental haze. In time, the only thing she knew for certain was that her son, whom she had tried her best to protect from the painful effects of her choices, and those of his father, was now dead as a result of those very same choices.
The feeling of a hand grasping her arm broke her reverie. She looked over, and saw the hellish, black skinned face of one of thousands of demon guards who patrolled the city streets. He was asking her something, demanding that she return to the human quarter of the city. A sudden, white hot hatred burned in Nai’s mind, and she resolved that this demon’s mother would never see her son again either. With a single, swift motion she whipped out one of her blades and severed his head from his shoulders. Vaguely, she was aware that he had two companions who were coming after her now. She readied her weapons. What did she care? Let them come. This was war, and in war, mothers were made to mourn… <p>
"Strenghten your lyre and sing
The hymn of death
The sky opens to us
They fly to the ray"
-Cante per me, Kajiura Yuki</p>
From the Cradle to the Grave
Moderators: KingOfDoma, NebulaQueen
First unread post • 8 posts
• Page 1 of 1
- Uncle Pervy
Re: From the Cradle to the Grave
by Uncle Pervy » Mon Nov 03, 2003 8:07 pm
Interestingsome.
Well portrayed, as always. Sadly, I don't know a great deal about Nai, so I cannae say much more. Still, you've done well portraying her.
Of note, though...I imagine her being quite impassioned and angry by the end. The last line feels too cold for me, too emotionless in what should be a rather charged situation <p>------------------
Greetings, large black person. Let us not forget to form a team up together and go into the country to inflict the pain of our karate feets on some ass of the giant lizard person.
</p>
Well portrayed, as always. Sadly, I don't know a great deal about Nai, so I cannae say much more. Still, you've done well portraying her.
Of note, though...I imagine her being quite impassioned and angry by the end. The last line feels too cold for me, too emotionless in what should be a rather charged situation <p>------------------
Greetings, large black person. Let us not forget to form a team up together and go into the country to inflict the pain of our karate feets on some ass of the giant lizard person.
</p>
- JoshuaDurron
Re: Yay!
by JoshuaDurron » Thu Nov 06, 2003 1:46 pm
<_<;; yeah, 'cold fury' was what I was thinking of here. Working on more, but I'm schoolwork's bizzatch right now, so it may be a tad bit longer than I'd like. <p>
"Strenghten your lyre and sing
The hymn of death
The sky opens to us
They fly to the ray"
-Cante per me, Kajiura Yuki</p>
"Strenghten your lyre and sing
The hymn of death
The sky opens to us
They fly to the ray"
-Cante per me, Kajiura Yuki</p>
- JoshuaDurron
From the Cradle to the Grave, pt 2
by JoshuaDurron » Fri Nov 07, 2003 11:26 am
The flask lay on the ground, its open mouth mutely staring at Nai like a single black eye. Pooled around it on the ground was a sticky white mass of half-solidified, half-evaporated healing potion. She wasn’t sure if she had dropped it when she staggered down into the sewers, or if she had opened it and tried to drink it before she passed out. In fact, she wasn’t really sure of anything that had happened after she had lunged at the demon she had encountered.
She wasn’t sure how long she had been in the sewers either. Most likely, the sickeningly sweet scent of the healing potion had kept the plague rats from finding her. It was possible she had been down there for several days. That was probably how long it would have taken for her wounds to close.
As the siren half slowly returned to a higher state of consciousness, she began to take stock of her situation. She could tell, just by trying to move, that she had eight different major wounds. A slash across the face and neck which had just barely missed striking important veins and breathing gear, two stab wounds in the gut, a third in the chest, a slash across the ribs, another across the shoulder, a kneecap that had been bashed well out of socket, and a foot that was missing two toes. In retrospect, she probably had gotten some of that potion down, or there was no way in hell she should be alive now.
For a moment, Nai was not sure if she would be able to stand. Then, certainty settled in. She was not going anywhere any time soon. Breathing heavily as a result of her efforts to rise, the siren half noticed for the first time that she stank. Not merely of the sewers and three day old healing potion, but also of dried blood, her own and that of demons. With a sigh, she settled down into a slightly more comfortable position and waited for her body to heal itself some more.
She had first met Boreas in the sewers… She had been an enforcer for a small time gambling ring, and he had been a bookie for them. Guards had shown up looking to bust the place open, and the two of them had made a break for it, both winding up going down the same sewer entrance to get away. At the time, Nai did not have the majority of the sewer layout memorized, as she did now, and the sewers were, by default, quite dark, as no one bothered to put lights in them. Thus, she had been forced to rely on Ree’s lowlight vision to guide her through the sewers. Of course, they had had to hold hands the whole way. Perhaps not the most romantic way to start a relationship, but somehow Ree had made it seem special.
In the year that followed, they had spent a great deal of time together. But both had made it clear that a lasting relationship was not what they were interested in. So when Nai had discovered she was pregnant, she had broken off her relationship with Ree and used her own formidable string of contacts to, almost literally drop off the face of the earth. Several months later, when her son Jared had been born, she had sent him with her cousin to Nocket, where they had lived for the past two years.
Only Nai and her cousin’s family knew who the true parents of Jared were. Not even Ree knew he had a son. The siren half had hoped to protect him from the repercussions of the lives his parents lived. And it had worked. Jared had never been threatened as part of a deal in the underground, he had never missed his parents because they had been arrested or were running from the law, and couldn’t come home for months. For three years, Jared had known a normal life, had never even seem to notice the mysterious woman with green hair who would come and watch him from afar every six months. Now he was dead as a result of Nai’s decision to protect him combined with a freak intervention of hell.
For the first time in her life, Nai found herself truly regretting a decision she had made. All the while before, there had been ways to go back and make up for mistakes she had made. But now, there was no going back. Nai had chosen not to be a mother. And now, her son was dead.
That truth ate at her heart as she lay there, causing far more pain than any of her numerous wounds… <p>
"Strenghten your lyre and sing
The hymn of death
The sky opens to us
They fly to the ray"
-Cante per me, Kajiura Yuki</p>
She wasn’t sure how long she had been in the sewers either. Most likely, the sickeningly sweet scent of the healing potion had kept the plague rats from finding her. It was possible she had been down there for several days. That was probably how long it would have taken for her wounds to close.
As the siren half slowly returned to a higher state of consciousness, she began to take stock of her situation. She could tell, just by trying to move, that she had eight different major wounds. A slash across the face and neck which had just barely missed striking important veins and breathing gear, two stab wounds in the gut, a third in the chest, a slash across the ribs, another across the shoulder, a kneecap that had been bashed well out of socket, and a foot that was missing two toes. In retrospect, she probably had gotten some of that potion down, or there was no way in hell she should be alive now.
For a moment, Nai was not sure if she would be able to stand. Then, certainty settled in. She was not going anywhere any time soon. Breathing heavily as a result of her efforts to rise, the siren half noticed for the first time that she stank. Not merely of the sewers and three day old healing potion, but also of dried blood, her own and that of demons. With a sigh, she settled down into a slightly more comfortable position and waited for her body to heal itself some more.
She had first met Boreas in the sewers… She had been an enforcer for a small time gambling ring, and he had been a bookie for them. Guards had shown up looking to bust the place open, and the two of them had made a break for it, both winding up going down the same sewer entrance to get away. At the time, Nai did not have the majority of the sewer layout memorized, as she did now, and the sewers were, by default, quite dark, as no one bothered to put lights in them. Thus, she had been forced to rely on Ree’s lowlight vision to guide her through the sewers. Of course, they had had to hold hands the whole way. Perhaps not the most romantic way to start a relationship, but somehow Ree had made it seem special.
In the year that followed, they had spent a great deal of time together. But both had made it clear that a lasting relationship was not what they were interested in. So when Nai had discovered she was pregnant, she had broken off her relationship with Ree and used her own formidable string of contacts to, almost literally drop off the face of the earth. Several months later, when her son Jared had been born, she had sent him with her cousin to Nocket, where they had lived for the past two years.
Only Nai and her cousin’s family knew who the true parents of Jared were. Not even Ree knew he had a son. The siren half had hoped to protect him from the repercussions of the lives his parents lived. And it had worked. Jared had never been threatened as part of a deal in the underground, he had never missed his parents because they had been arrested or were running from the law, and couldn’t come home for months. For three years, Jared had known a normal life, had never even seem to notice the mysterious woman with green hair who would come and watch him from afar every six months. Now he was dead as a result of Nai’s decision to protect him combined with a freak intervention of hell.
For the first time in her life, Nai found herself truly regretting a decision she had made. All the while before, there had been ways to go back and make up for mistakes she had made. But now, there was no going back. Nai had chosen not to be a mother. And now, her son was dead.
That truth ate at her heart as she lay there, causing far more pain than any of her numerous wounds… <p>
"Strenghten your lyre and sing
The hymn of death
The sky opens to us
They fly to the ray"
-Cante per me, Kajiura Yuki</p>
- SALSAlys
*huggles*
by SALSAlys » Fri Nov 07, 2003 1:24 pm
Again, I like the tone here. Personally, I think the transition between her history and her thoughts could be made a little smoother at the beginning, but it's not a major issue. Have to respect and admire the character though— you did a good portrayal that way.
- JoshuaDurron
Re: From the Cradle to the Grave, pt Next
by JoshuaDurron » Wed Nov 12, 2003 1:02 am
(Yay for totally new perspectives, and stuff.)
Amanda hurried down the streets, the skirts of her green mage’s robe slapping together as the petite black mage made her way through the streets of Nocket. The reward had finally born fruit, almost two full weeks after the fall of the Demon Lord Malachias, and more than three weeks after Nai had disappeared. Someone had found a woman matching Nai’s description two days ago, and right now she was staying at a local inn, under the watchful eye of her discoverer. Interestingly enough, the inn’s owner, and not the finder himself, had signed the message.
Either way, Amanda had managed to wiggle free of her responsibilities long enough to come investigate the claim personally. Due to the chaos created by having the three remaining Doman Black Market lieutenants manage Nai’s responsibilities (which included such things as making sure people had bodyguards) in her absence, Amanda had been forced to come alone. Still, she doubted anyone would recognize her outside of Doma.
When she arrived, the innkeeper showed her upstairs, to where she was ushered into a small sitting room. Apparently, Nai’s discoverer had the money to see that she was kept in comfort, at the least. Inside, a tall, lithe young man stood next to the door, almost at attention, hands folded behind his back, eyes half closed. His loose, disheveled brown hair fell all the way to his shoulders, catching the light and seeming to form a halo about him. Amanda, almost a full foot shorter than he was, craned her neck upward and spoke. “Where’s your father, boy?â€
One eyelid opened, and he looked down at her. “I’m sorry?†He asked calmly, clearly unruffled by the black mage’s tone.
“We received notice that someone claims to have located Nai Resh, an associate of ours. I’m assuming that’s your father,†Amanda answered.
“It is not,†the boy answered, “as my father is dead. I asked the innkeeper to send that message as he told me the woman I found three days ago matched the description of a person who went missing during the recent war.â€
Amanda nodded slowly. There was more to this boy… or was it man? Either way, there was more to him than met the eye. “Alright, where did you find here?â€
“The South part of town. She was leaning against the side of a burnt out building, crying. It took me a while to convince her, but I managed to bring her back here for healing.â€
“Healing?†Amanda raised an eyebrow.
“She was half dead when I found her.â€
The black mage stiffened a bit, but decided not to ask. “You’ll be reimbursed for your trouble, then, along with the promised reward.â€
To her surprise, the young man shook his head. “No, the innkeeper paid for that. And I wouldn’t have known to contact anyone except for him. Give your reimbursements and rewards to him. Do you wish to talk with your friend?â€
Amanda nodded, leaving the boy’s cavalier attitude towards money to be addressed at another time. Really, what he wanted done with the money was his own business. He took a few steps across the room, opened another door, and stood to one side. Amanda took the cue, and went through to another, smaller room that overlooked the street. It was like walking into a tomb.
Well, perhaps not entirely. But at first glance, the emaciated, weathered figure shrouded in a blanket and propped up with pillows bore little resemblance to the supple, active, vibrant person who Amanda remembered as the Black Market’s head enforcer. Two bright, angry red scars were visible on her face and upper chest, and Amanda didn’t doubt there were more elsewhere on her body. Clearly, Nai had traveled the distance between Doma and Nocket without eating, and perhaps had been without food for some time before. At a glance, Amanda was willing to bet the siren half had lost more than a third of her body weight. But there was more to it than that.
Nai’s eyes were deep and sunken, red rimmed and puffy from shedding tears. She looked haunted and nervous, her usual lighting quick perception failing to even notice Amanda’s entrance for several minutes. Finally, her roving eyes settled on where the black mage stood. Amanda slowly lowered herself down onto a nearby chair. “Nai…†She asked cautiously, “It’s me. Are you OK?â€
The siren half stared at the black mage intently for several moments, then shook her head slowly. “No, Tower, I’m not…â€
“W-what are you doing here?†She asked, bewildered by all the questions that were supposed to have been answered by finding her.
Nai turned to look out the window once more, and with a start Amanda realized that there were still tears shining there. “Mourning my son.†<p>
"Strenghten your lyre and sing
The hymn of death
The sky opens to us
They fly to the ray"
-Cante per me, Kajiura Yuki</p>
Amanda hurried down the streets, the skirts of her green mage’s robe slapping together as the petite black mage made her way through the streets of Nocket. The reward had finally born fruit, almost two full weeks after the fall of the Demon Lord Malachias, and more than three weeks after Nai had disappeared. Someone had found a woman matching Nai’s description two days ago, and right now she was staying at a local inn, under the watchful eye of her discoverer. Interestingly enough, the inn’s owner, and not the finder himself, had signed the message.
Either way, Amanda had managed to wiggle free of her responsibilities long enough to come investigate the claim personally. Due to the chaos created by having the three remaining Doman Black Market lieutenants manage Nai’s responsibilities (which included such things as making sure people had bodyguards) in her absence, Amanda had been forced to come alone. Still, she doubted anyone would recognize her outside of Doma.
When she arrived, the innkeeper showed her upstairs, to where she was ushered into a small sitting room. Apparently, Nai’s discoverer had the money to see that she was kept in comfort, at the least. Inside, a tall, lithe young man stood next to the door, almost at attention, hands folded behind his back, eyes half closed. His loose, disheveled brown hair fell all the way to his shoulders, catching the light and seeming to form a halo about him. Amanda, almost a full foot shorter than he was, craned her neck upward and spoke. “Where’s your father, boy?â€
One eyelid opened, and he looked down at her. “I’m sorry?†He asked calmly, clearly unruffled by the black mage’s tone.
“We received notice that someone claims to have located Nai Resh, an associate of ours. I’m assuming that’s your father,†Amanda answered.
“It is not,†the boy answered, “as my father is dead. I asked the innkeeper to send that message as he told me the woman I found three days ago matched the description of a person who went missing during the recent war.â€
Amanda nodded slowly. There was more to this boy… or was it man? Either way, there was more to him than met the eye. “Alright, where did you find here?â€
“The South part of town. She was leaning against the side of a burnt out building, crying. It took me a while to convince her, but I managed to bring her back here for healing.â€
“Healing?†Amanda raised an eyebrow.
“She was half dead when I found her.â€
The black mage stiffened a bit, but decided not to ask. “You’ll be reimbursed for your trouble, then, along with the promised reward.â€
To her surprise, the young man shook his head. “No, the innkeeper paid for that. And I wouldn’t have known to contact anyone except for him. Give your reimbursements and rewards to him. Do you wish to talk with your friend?â€
Amanda nodded, leaving the boy’s cavalier attitude towards money to be addressed at another time. Really, what he wanted done with the money was his own business. He took a few steps across the room, opened another door, and stood to one side. Amanda took the cue, and went through to another, smaller room that overlooked the street. It was like walking into a tomb.
Well, perhaps not entirely. But at first glance, the emaciated, weathered figure shrouded in a blanket and propped up with pillows bore little resemblance to the supple, active, vibrant person who Amanda remembered as the Black Market’s head enforcer. Two bright, angry red scars were visible on her face and upper chest, and Amanda didn’t doubt there were more elsewhere on her body. Clearly, Nai had traveled the distance between Doma and Nocket without eating, and perhaps had been without food for some time before. At a glance, Amanda was willing to bet the siren half had lost more than a third of her body weight. But there was more to it than that.
Nai’s eyes were deep and sunken, red rimmed and puffy from shedding tears. She looked haunted and nervous, her usual lighting quick perception failing to even notice Amanda’s entrance for several minutes. Finally, her roving eyes settled on where the black mage stood. Amanda slowly lowered herself down onto a nearby chair. “Nai…†She asked cautiously, “It’s me. Are you OK?â€
The siren half stared at the black mage intently for several moments, then shook her head slowly. “No, Tower, I’m not…â€
“W-what are you doing here?†She asked, bewildered by all the questions that were supposed to have been answered by finding her.
Nai turned to look out the window once more, and with a start Amanda realized that there were still tears shining there. “Mourning my son.†<p>
"Strenghten your lyre and sing
The hymn of death
The sky opens to us
They fly to the ray"
-Cante per me, Kajiura Yuki</p>
- SALSAlys
Re: From the Cradle to the Grave, pt Next
by SALSAlys » Sat Nov 15, 2003 1:22 pm
....huh. Funny, I thought I had commented on this already. o.o
The change in perspective, after skimming through the past bits again, seems a bit abrupt, though it's not that bad, really, I suppose— just that we were used to seeing it from Nai, sort of.
Other than that, though, 'tis good.
The change in perspective, after skimming through the past bits again, seems a bit abrupt, though it's not that bad, really, I suppose— just that we were used to seeing it from Nai, sort of.
Other than that, though, 'tis good.
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