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 Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:29 pm
 
SCENARIO
Cherry Tree Hill
Trying to recover from her heart break, Shin-mu becomes bitter when she overhears Kyung speaking about Huang. In an action of rage, she smack talks him and disrespect ensues from both sides.
Retracing Old Steps
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:32 pm
• [ THE OUTCOME OF THIS BATTLE: ] • A predetermined Shin-mu victory.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:58 pm
Kyung breathed in sharply as he felt the back of her hand connect with the side of his face. Blinking slowly to regain his sense, he wiped the blood running down his chin from his now busted lip with the back of his hand before the blood in his mouth at the ground. Looking up slowly at Shin-mu, he glared at the other noble with cold steel eyes. "You little b***h." He spat out. He had taken her trash talk to the best of his abilities, but now this. Grabbing her by the wrist of the hand she had struck him with, he jerked her back roughly with surprising strength. "Have a taste of your own medicine." He hissed. Raising his other hand, he swiftly struck her across the face with an equally hard blow, if not harder.
"Did you believe for the briefest of second that you could really get away with striking me? Shin-mu, I will personally teach you never to look down upon me again." Letting her go, he took a step closer towards her to kill the distance between them.
"Normally I wouldn't strike the opposite sex. But from your blatant rude behavior, it's obvious you're no better than a common legionnaire. Lady Shin-mu? What a joke. If only your parents knew how shameful you really were." He cupped her chin gently, locking eyes with her. "I wonder, how would your parents take to knowing that you once had feelings for a legionnaire? Would they disown you? Or, perhaps they'll lock you up in a room where you can't cause them any more shame." Letting go of her chin, he shoved her hard against the tree.
"I also believe that you have forgotten I am still a male. I am physically stronger than you. Clearly, you don't think things through very well." He gave her a mocking smile. "Will you run to your parents and tell them that the b*****d mongrel Kyung hit you? Will you make them come over and force me to apologize to you?" Reaching over, he grabbed the collar of her clothes in a tight grip. "Don't ******** with me unless you're ready to take the consequences." He hissed.
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:50 am
Her finger tips tingled, knuckles stinging from the impact against his cheek, but it was a satisfying thing, and even as he spat his insults at her she smiled at him. A wide, slightly manic grin that lay coupled with half lidded eyes. Faltering only as he grabbed her arm to jerk her forward, lily green eyes widening as his hand rose against her before falling against the side of her mouth and cheek with enough force to rock her head to the side.
It hurt, and she could feel the heat along lips and cheek from the blow. Copper blooming sweet along the bud of full lips, the tender flesh split. She didn't immediately turn back to look at him, not until he spoke again, and even then her movements were slow, oddly calm. That cold smile curling back over bruised lips. "I did," she chuckled, gaze lingering on the blood on his lips. Their injuries matched, what a pair they made. "And you, teach me?" It was laughable.
Yes, the back of his hand hand hurt, but compared to the beating she'd suffered at the hands of Zhongxain, Kyung's strike was nothing. She let him move closer, cup her chin, and through it all she regarded him with calm, unimpressed eyes. Even as he turned to threaten her as she had him. "A common Legionaire, like your dear Huang-fu? See now here's where we differ, Tae Kyung. You are aware of his alliance and yet you still seek his attention. I didn't learn of my sweethearts loyalties until the day we parted ways." He shoved her, and the peaceful mask she wore cracked, anger apparent in the tightness of her eyes and the heat of her voice. "Beaten and still bruised from the hands of his friends, he realized I was noble, and any love or affection that had once been dissolved in an instant and he broke my heart, for hate of our alliance, and he walked away."
The rage was back, bubbling up to the surface once again with the recanted story. Huang was to blame for all this, but Kyung was here, and he too was guilty.
"Stronger, then me? You really believe that?" She stumbled as he took hold of her shirt, a hand going to his shoulder to catch her balance before snaking up to tangle delicate fingers within the dark lengths of silken hair. Clenching around those soft locks and jerking him back as she stepped to the side. Prying his hand from her rich attire, she used it and the grip on his head to reel him back and turn him from her then shoved. One foot hooking around his ankle to spill his pretty a** to the ground.
It was while he was down, or off balanced that she reached around for the dizi at the small of her back, drawing the flute from the metallic cinch that accented the slender line of her waist.
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:17 pm
Kyung’s expression darkened ever so gently at Shin-mu’s words. As angry as he was towards the fellow noble, what she said did not strike him as lies. In all honesty, he was not the least bit surprised that Huang had caused her that much pain and grief over her alliance. He had seen that side of Huang at this very place only several months back. The two had met for the first time face to face, and bad moods had sent tempers flaring. Without a second thought, they had throw alliances in the other’s face. Huang had gone so far as to break his nose with a swift punch.
But then, there was also the other side of the Legionnaire. The one that apologized and tried to make amends with him despite their differences in alliances. The one that continued to come after him no matter how many times Kyung spurred Huang’s advances. A small smile came upon his lips and he couldn’t help but shake with laughter.
Just what was Huang?
”I am not sure what to make of you, Shin. Surely you do not believe that I am a noble by choice.” He gave her an all to amused look. ”I am one because I live in my father’s estates. Alliances have no meaning to me, it is just another unfortunate detail of life. If it makes you feel better, Huang gave me a broken nose the day he found out about my alliance. Of course, the circumstances surrounding our whole friendship was strange to begin with. Needless to say, despite having broken my nose over our differing alliances, it was he who decided to overlook it in favor of our friendship.” From his peripheral vision, he could see her hand moving to grab his shoulder in an attempt to steady herself.
”Of course. No one is stronger than me, Shin, when it comes to a battle of wills. The things I had to go through to make it this far, you cannot even begin to fathom what obstacles have stood in my way.“ Then everything happened so quickly. He felt her fingers tangling in his hair before she gave it a rough tug, pulling him back. His head jerked back, he let out a hiss of anger as he caught flashes of her in his peripheral vision. His natural reaction was to take steps in order to steady himself, except Shin’s foot hooked his ankle and caused him to fumble forward. Quick to move his feet, he managed to avoid falling on his bottom but nevertheless canted forward because of his momentum and found himself grabbing onto a small sapling to stop himself.
Turning on his heels, he glared at Shin and watched as she took out some kind of flute. ”Do you plan to knock me around with that? Or maybe you’re so musically challenge that you plan to give me a headache from whatever horrid notes you make.” He mocked. Taking rapid steps towards her, his hand shot out to grab at one of the long locks that came neatly down her front. It escaped his seeking fingers at first, but his fist quickly closed around the hair, and he gave it a hard tug. Quickly wrapping his hand with her hair to keep her from pulling free, he pulled her close to him before hissing in her ear. ”Having fun are you? Well I’m sorry to say this but all things must come to an end Shin.” His other hand to shot out to grab at her neck.
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 9:58 am
"By choice or happenstance, it means little to me." She glared down at the young man as he caught himself on a sapling and regained his balance much quicker then she would have liked. "Do you think we're so different? At least your father loves you." The words were sudden and clipped, and the voicing of them seemed to only enrage the dark beauty further. One more thing this mongrel b*****d had that she did not.
She realized then that perhaps Tae Kyung was not innocent, and her hate could expand to include him as well. It had all started with him being a simple means to an end, but now? She would enjoy his pain, where she might not have before. The guilt in her conscious eased, ever so slightly.
"You're hardships, your woes. You are not the only one in this world that has suffered, Tae Kyung!" So he thought he was stronger then her? Fine, let him come, let him prove it. She would not fall easily.
He spoke again, taunting her, criticizing her musicality, and she met that heckling with a cold smile as she brought the flute up to meet her lips, fingers sliding along the length of the warm bamboo to poise over a series of dainty holes. "Oh, you will most certainly have a headache," she chuckled, then took a step back, but too slow as he advanced on her and made a grab at her hair. Yanking her forward with an accompanying howl of pain that was followed by a rage fueled snarl. He grabbed at her neck, and she swung the length of her flute to knock his hands away from her. The bamboo connecting solidly with tanned flesh, and she turned on her toes to place herself out of arms reach before bringing the flute once again to her lips.
"So you have said, Tae Kyung. Now prove it." Hurt her? She thought not.
She took a deep breath, holding it as she focused, forced herself calm, and called force the power within her. Channeling that magic as she exhaled and brought her flute to life. The first few notes were soft, beautiful and calm, but the music didn't stay kind. Without warning the tempo changed, and what had once been so sweet to the ears took on a grating note. Like the call of hundreds of angry birds, shrill and painful, and made all the worst by the magic she imbued into it. It echoed, and it rung, and it attacked at the ears, the mind, and unless interrupted it would distract and cause great pain.
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 9:17 pm
Her words suddenly had the noble retainer laughing. It wasn't one of those, 'oh that's a funny joke' laugh, it was a demeaning 'what the hell is this b***h spouting' laugh. Sides hurting from laughing to hard, he looked up at her and snorted."Love? Would you say love is being locked in a house unable to leave? Love is forcing the very things a person hates unto them? Perhaps your father shows his love for you like that Shin, but my father has naught but an obsession for me. An obsession that as stemmed from that stupid whore he slept with. An unsightly act that led to my conception." Sneering, he approached her again. "I am not proud of my father. Nor am I fond of my dead mother. I did not ask to be born from a man who has no regard for his fiancee and has the nerve to sleep with some mongol woman visiting the city." Seething with rage, he he took a step forward. What would this stupid girl know about his relationship with his father?
"You're right. I am not the only one who has suffered, but I am one of those few who are damned to suffer for the mistakes and frivolous actions of others!" He shouted. "You Shin-mu, have at least felt the arms of your mother and father as a child. At least your day of birth is celebrated, and at least you have people to share that with." He hissed, stepping all the closer towards the other noble.
His hands on her neck, he let out a yelp of pain as the bamboo flute connected with his knuckles, sending out a painful vibration through his fingers. Taking a step back, he glared at her. Oh, he was going to enjoy hitting this girl. It was uncharacteristic of him to show this much rage, this much emotion. But something Shin-mu had said had rang true, had pulled away at the mask he worked so hard to build to make it seem as if he didn't care about everything.
Kyung was about to take a step forward when he heard the first notes. Soft, melodious. It was like the gentle landing of a flower petal on still water. And then, suddenly it had all changed to a horrid sound. It was like a thousand sparrows chirping in his ear. Building and building, the chirping grew worse as it increased in volume as well. Panting for breath, the noble stumbled forward and found himself on his hands and knees. He was hard to think, hard to breath. This incessant chirping was going to drive him mad! Feeling the pounding of an oncoming headache building, the boy suddenly found himself puking just inches away from Shin's feet.
The pounding headache and grating noise was making it difficult to think, to control himself. As the song neared the height of his attack, he let out a scream of pain. The sound was deafening, and all he could do was raise his hands up to cover them, protect himself. But, it only seemed to do worse, the sounds echoing between his palm and ear canal and growing all the stronger. "MAKE IT STOP!" He shouted, clearly distraught and disorientated.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 9:42 pm
He could talk as he liked. Carrying on about family woes and the pains of his youth. She could sympathize, really she could, and it was a sad shame things between them had fallen so south. If not for the barest tweak in circumstance they could have been friends, with their shared youths, and familiar pain. Ah well, it was too late for that now. And what would her parent's have said should she befriend the mongrel spawn of the one of the Noble's highest lords?
Besides, he didn't know of what he spoke. There were no arms to hold her when she wept or when she laughed. No kiss on the cheek, no kind hands to tuck her in. Not of her parents. They were in her life, but an absent fixture. There, but never seen, and there was no love between daughter and sire. Kyung knew nothing.
It was hard not to smile as she watched him fall to his knees in agony, hands clamping over his ears to muffle the erratic barrage of alternating notes. That wouldn't do, you couldn't simply unhear it. Inwardly she laughed, mirth brightening her features and even glittering in eyes gone wide, near manic. It was exciting, this coldness. She'd never before been a cruel soul, but if this was satisfaction brought by causing pain, goddess above, but she could become addicted to this.
He screamed, and she softened her song into something just shy of torture, velvet brows arching curiously as she tilted her head. Fingers dancing endlessly along the dark length of fondly worn bamboo. Stop? Oh, but why? She was having so much fun now.
He'd promised her pain, boasted his impending victory, and now here he knelt at her feet, begging. It was sweetly ironic.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:11 am
As the notes softened ever so gently, Kyung shuddered violently before throwing up once more. He could at least hear himself think, even if the gentle twittering in his ear was starting to give him a blinding headache. He could feel the oncoming nausea of hypersensitivity. This wasn't just a headache, it was a bloody migraine. Suddenly, everything was too bright, too loud, too painful. It had been impossible to move with the crippling pain shooting through his body before, now it was just inconvenient to move. Slowly raising his arm up to cover his eyes and ease himself of the strong light of the sun, he looked at Shin and knew.
For all his boasting and shouting, this battle was clearly in her favor now. First, he had underestimated her and that had been his downfall. He should've taken into consideration that flute hadn't been just a regular instrument but a medium of sorts for her to channel her powers through. But, who would have thought that someone could use their powers like that? The whole situation was suddenly so shameful to him. He had taunted, heckled, and hit Shin-mu. It seemed as if he would be getting what he deserved with whatever the Noble woman decided to do next. Trying to not to move too much, he groaned softly as his head throbbed painfully. It was literally as if someone was hitting his skull repeated with a hammer.
Struggling to rise to his feet as best as he could, he glared at Shin through his fingers. It anything the boy just seemed to be squinting. There was just too much light here. Swaying lightly on his feet, he tried to force himself to stand still so he could lock eyes with the noble retainer.
"It's not over." He hissed hoarsely, his hand reaching up to grab her collar weakly. He really had no energy for this. It was quite possible, that he didn't have the energy from the beginning. "I won't let you win like this."
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:36 am
He retched, and the girl automatically stepped back from the growing puddle of sick that was now littering the grass between them. Elegant features pinching in disgust. He was clearly in pain, and and even after all that had happened there was a part of her that felt sympathy for him. She'd allowed the magic to flood her own ears once before, testing the spell, and she knew the sensory torture that could come of it. Never before those had she been allowed to carry the chaotic melody so long though, and she had to wonder what it may be doing.
It was enough to still her fingertips, breath slowing so that last fierce note floated in the air between them like a painful memory. She had wanted his pain, wanted him to suffer as Huang had done to her, and that had been accomplished. Sweet as it had been, she was not entirely heartless.
She watched on almost passively as he flinched in the light, squinting up at her, and she gave him only chilled indifference. Satisfied by what had transpired. He'd taunted her, mocked her, struck her, and boasted of a sure victory, and she had reduced him to a trembling thing on his knees at her feet. She had won, she knew it, and she could see that knowledge in those pained features. Fair as her own. He really was lovely, she understood what the b*****d saw.
He didn't stay down though, but instead struggled to his feet, reaching for her even as his finger shook in the air before curling weakly within the silk above her breast. Even now he spoke as if he had a chance.
Whatever sympathy the dark noble had mulled over faded at his hissed declaration, and once more those pretty features twisted in rage. He wouldn't let her? "Do not touch me!" She snarled at him, twisting free of his grip. "You won't allow it? Still think you have a chance in the world at beating me?" Fool! "You are powerless here, and I will drill that fact into your pretty little head!" Her arm rose, and the dark wood of the dizi blurred in the afternoon sun as she brought it down to smash into the side of his head. Hand tingling with the impact, finger tips stung, and she soaked it all in.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 10:08 am
As his eyes locked with hers, he knew that she was seeing perhaps what she didn't want to see. What Huang saw in him, that not even Kyung could see. It was a strange feeling knowing that for the briefest second, he and Shin-mu had connected on a surprisingly deep level. He had seen in her eyes the pain she had suffered at the hands of Huang, and it made him mourn for her ever so gently. It was shocking that Huang could do such a thing to her, and yet, he wasn't completely surprised. The legionnaire had always been a work of art.
And then, she shouted. And that very shouting sent his head pounding. Eyes scrunching in pain, he shook her by the collar weakly. "Shut u-" The words never finished. Suddenly, he found himself being roughly shoved back and before he could regain his balance he saw her raise that wooden flute of hers. He knew what was coming. That was a batter's grip. No one grabbed their flute like that unless they had every intention of beating someone with it.
He could feel his body tensing, waiting for the bamboo to collide against him. And then he felt it. Suddenly, the world exploded in brilliant color as sharp pain flooded from his temple. He found himself falling forward, unable to catch himself, unable to break his fall. Falling to the soft grass in a thud, he found himself staring at Shin's shoes. And as tired as he was, he found himself muttering these words to her. "I hope that one day you will forgive him." There was no reason for him to reiterate who him was, they both knew. Eyes growing heavy, they eventually shut like iron doors against his will. And slowly but surely, the noble retainer found himself sinking into darkness. And he found it wasn't unpleasant. Quite the opposite in fact, it was actually a nice escape from the blinding, crippling light of day.
His body laid on the ground, motionless. If anyone had passed by, they might have mistaken the boy to be dead. His clothes covered in dirt, leaves and dust, there was no mistake that his father would have a cow when he saw his son. However, the noble lord's cries of revenge would go unheeded. This confrontation was between Shin and Kyung, and even if his father did manage to find out, what could he possibly do to a young lady of good standing for beating up his b*****d son?
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 11:02 am
She watched her fellow noble fall, and she couldn't help but dwell on the fact that she had just beaten someone who was supposed to he her alley. He was Noble, he was a conduit in training, and she had dueled him, tortured him, defeated him. Was it wrong? No.. Not not after all she'd been through. Not all in her faction were her alley, that had to be true, because people were flawed, and there would be feud and pain where ever you turned. This was right, this was just, and she was satisfied. Not the revenge she had wanted, but perhaps the best she would get. She would take this victory, and she would savor it.
And still.. She looked down at the boy at her feet, lip curling at the very sight of him, yet she couldn't simply leave him there. She had become cold hearted, but it still beat. Forgive him, that's what Tae Kyung had requested. Forgive the cruel b*****d that'd caused her so very much pain. Even defeated, on the brink of the abyss, and he mustered the strength to utter that, of all things. She hated him, she knew it then, but she had to respect his heart.
Sniffing sharply, the dark lunarian slipped the dizi back within the metallic cinch that bound her waist, palms brushing habitually along the cool length of her silk skirt. "Lui." Her voice was clipped as she called the spirit.
"Young Miss?" The refined voice of the musician sounded just beyond her left shoulder, and she glanced his way despite known she'd see nothing there. He'd been watching, she knew he had. He always materialized when she used his flute. "I don't care how it is done," she turned her gaze back down to the dark haired youth. ""But I want you to find someone who will make sure he his found by the right people."
There, one small kindness. She'd make sure he was retrieved by allies, and not enemies. It was the least she could do.
"Yes Miss." There was a pause, and then, "are you alright?"
She turned away from Kyung's unmoving form and proceeded back down the hill without so much as a second glance, pausing in her stride only long enough to answer Lui. "I'll be fine." More then fine. She felt calm, whole. Satisfied in a way that victory had never provided before. Striking Kyung at the end had been over kill, completely unneeded, and it had felt unnervingly elating. She wanted more.
-----
With the distant pillars of cherry tree trunks boarding the hill, someone, or something had been watching. Drawn by the rage within the girl. But only time would relieve it's true nature and form.
((hurp hurp, foreshadowing, what?))
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 4:45 pm
From the shadows of the forest, a stranger stepped out. Despite the piece of fabric covering their mouth and nose, it was evident this man was under the service of the Tae family from the small family insignia inscribed on his clothes over the left side of his chest. He had the build of a fighter, lean but muscular. Tall and well built, he took quick strides and kneeled beside Kyung's unconscious body. So, the girl had been right. He had been sent by one of the maids in the young master's quarters after she had 'spoken' to a spirit whom had claimed that Kyung was unconscious at the top of the cherry tree hill. He'd been dubious but listened to her request nonetheless. After all, in his profession, it was better safe than sorry.
Reaching down, he pressed the tips of his fingers against Kyung's throat and let out a sigh of relief as he felt a pulse. It was weak but still there. Had the young master been dead, more than a few men and women would've lost their heads today. Taking a moment to observe Kyung once more, Wen slowly turned the unconscious cobalt lunarian on his back. He could see thin dark blue, almost black, bruises forming along the back of the young master's hands and on his left temple. A fight, or confrontation of some sort.
Let out a sigh, he picked up Kyung in his arms and slowly made his way down the hill. It was time to get him home. By the coloring of the bruise on the young master's temple, he would need some medical supervision. It wasn't uncommon for such actions to have lasting side effects, and the sooner he saw a doctor the better.
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