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Marina's eyes widen a bit as she barely catches the stranger come up behind her attacker, and for a spilt second she thought that he was there to help rape her. Then as the thug is drug away from her she makes a feeble attempt at running, however, the best she manages is a few steps before she falls still trembling to her knees. Catching the sound of the struggle she rolls over onto her butt and scrambles back a bit. Before she comes to a halt for the second time her attacker is in the air and in need of a change of clothes.

Gasping for breath she watches as her attacker tears down the street and then disappears down an alley. Then she turns her gaze to her rescuer. Still shaking like a leaf she simply sits there and gazes up at him. Her eyes linger on his for a second then look away so as not to be rude.

Staring at the ground she speaks up, her voice wavering and breaking a bit, "Th-Thank you..." Pausing she tries to think of something else to say, but her mind is blank and she settles for sitting silently to wait for her heart to slow and her breath to return to her.

((Angela rocks my socks ^.^))

Taking the man's hand, she carefully pulls herself up. As she stands she gets a clear look at his face, and while it is different, she simply smiles weakly and looks him in the eye.

"Thanks, that was horribly nice of you." Sighing a bit she wrings her hands, unsure of what to say or do. Glancing down she notices thet the front of her shirt is splattered with the water she threw in the thug's face. Distracted the brushes at the splotches as if they would brush off. Then she looks back up. "I, uh, don't really have anyway to thank you properly, but if you'd like, my apartment isn't too far away. I could at least give you a warm drink in thanks?"

Smiling and nodding a little she glances at the ground to find her purse. Frowning slightly she sees it laying in the puddle she had gathered the water from. Quickly she walks over and kneels gracefully down, bending her knees and back so that her underwear would not peek out from beneath her skirt. Then she rises and turns toward Liath.

"Well, My name is Marina, feel free to call me Rina. I don't really have a last name.... It's not a custom where I'm from. My middle name is Nicole, you can call me that too I guess, or Nikki. I'm gonna shut up now." After rambling a bit she flashes another smile and sets off down the street for home. Subconsciously she can't help but jump at every sound, and she continuously glances around, peering down alleys and into shadows.

Ryudo Kazamaru was in a grumpy and disapointed mood. Not one of his angry grumpy moods mind you, but more of a "meh" mood. After much searching and questioning of the local populous, he'd finally figured out where his brother, Ryugi, had been hiding. However, apon arriving at the inn where Ryugi had been staying for the past few weeks he was met with an unexpected turn of events when talking to the desk clerk...



I'm looking for a man named Ryugi Kazamaru... I had heard he could be found here...

I'm terribly sorry Sir, but it seems that he checked out about a week ago.



After inquiring a bit more, he'd deduced that his brother had gone off on some "Adventure" for no apparent reason. How like him, Ryudo thought, to go off with no plan in mind and with no clear destination. His brother always HAD been the free spirited type, going and coming as he pleased. However, this situation irked Ryudo into a state of overall grumpiness. All his weeks of searching going up in smoke because of his brother's carefree attitude. Such was the curse of a vengeful sibling.

Ryudo had wandered in Latent ever since that afternoon, looking for SOMETHING to remove this chip on his shoulders. And as luck would have it, nothing worked. It was sometime in the late evening when the sun had just slipped below the horizon and it was just beginning to turn the sky into a darker shade of blue that he noticed a strange carriage roll into town. Stranger still, the man that exited said carriage was giving off a very strage aura indeed, and one that was very strange for a human, if thats what he was at all.

Ryudo, being ever curious about these strange powers and auras belonging to ANY species, decided to investigate. He called upon Lethe's dark abilities and sunk into the shadows of the rooftop he was currently adorning, only to reapear a good ten feet, out of a shadowed wall, behind the strange person with the odd aura. He then moved quickly and quietly, following the man with the intent of eventually talking with him to find out more about him...

It was at this point that Ryudo decided to speak. Ryudo's perceptive mental senses had picked up a shift in this man's awareness simply by reading the energies coming off from his body. He didn't want a fight at the moment, and he thought it better to voice that he was around so as not to alert the man. Still hidden in the shadows, nothing but his red eyes were visable. They glowed a slight red from the light that they picked up, giving the feeling almost that he was but a spirit with its eyes floating in a sea of black.

Well...well...well... What have we here...? A being who appears like a man, yet has the distinguishable aura of the supernatural... Quite curious indeed... What are you that gives off these strange and perplexing auras?

His voice was dark and semi evil sounding, but not threatening in the least, and it had the distinct flavor of curiosity mixed in with it. He was ready to counter an attack if the need arose, however, his curiosity was the main thing he wanted satiated.

The cloaked person didn't say anything or seem to even have heard the figure in the shadows, until afew minutes later he came to a stop. His eyes half opening again, he didn't bother looking over his shoulder.

"I am but a passing nobleman, any sort of supernaturality you might detect is just your imagination. And I would think it rather rude to just trail someone, and then accuse them of being inhuman, then demand to know who they were without first identifying yourself. Manners and Honor has it's place in many aspects of the world. Even here in the backallys of this port."

He pushed aside his cloak, extending his right hand out to his side, turning around slowly, showing his left hand was resting ont he hilt of his broadsword. He wore a black button-up shirt that was a quarter of the way unbuttoned, with white sleeves which ended in thick looking gloves. His belt was simple leather, a bright red color, and his pants were a mild tan and mixed with his dark tan boots. His hand pulled back more and pushed his cloak over his right shoulder somewhat so it wouldn't fall in front of him and get in his way in case of danger. his hand resting on his hip as the man calmly gazed at the being in the darkness.

I am not one accustomed to the manerisms of others, my intriguing friend. I am merely one who is curious about things outside my experience... Surely you can appreciate this...? The aura you give is faint, yet has the distinctive feel of the undead... Your aura surrounds you with a dark energy. This energy appears to be under much pressure, as if being held back...

This information might come as a bit of a shock to Victor. How could this man see what even hunters could not? It was a simple matter of knowing Ryudo. His keen psychic abilities combined with his natural abilities to sense energies around him gave Ryudo a strange way of looking at the world, if he didn't filter it out. His vision at its fullest was sharper and clearer than any human and moreso than many other animals as well, but due to his energy awareness, he got a bonus.

In a sense, Ryudo could "see" energy as well as sense it. The thin bit of energy he could see from Victor was dark, and it pulsed in such a way that it looked as if it was trying to expand, but as it did so, it was pushed back by an invisible force. This led Ryudo to believe that Victor was trying to conceal what he really was, whatever that may be, by forcing back his energy aura to avoid detection.

Still concealed in the shadows except for his slightly glowing red eyes, Ryudo spoke again in the same manner as before, dark, yet highly curious.

However, if you wish to know my name, then I shall happily give it to you upon knowing who, and what, you are...

To be honest, little could shock him, he knew only another creature tied to darkness would be able to penetrate his disguise, it was geared towards hunters specifically in any case. However, his eyelids partially closed, narrowing his gaze at the man in the shadows.

"If one went to such great pains to hide something, might you not assume there is a -reason- for it? And yet again, if there was a reason for hiding something, when you bring it to light, that nullifies the reason. Thus endangering the hidden object to discovery of others. Once again, I believe you are mistaken, I am simply a nobleman from a far away land here to partake of the pleasures of the Arena and this city. My name is of no import to one such as yourself."

So saying he turned around, as if the conversation was over, his arm moving to pull his cloak back around to hide his body. Absolutely no emotion showing in the entire process.