|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:24 pm
Luxor had been wandering for a while, mostly in a daze. He had lost a lot of blood and he was not sure where he was, exactly. Something in the back of his head remembered the shadow of a conversation, as he glanced around. This area had some sort of significance, but in his battered state he could hardly remember what it might be.
He leaned on the window of a building, not really seeing what it was. It turned out to be a restaurant, open late and still entertaining a few diners inside. he didn't look into the glass, though a few people were looking out at him in wonder. It was tinted, so they couldn't quite make out who he was, or what the smear he left on the window as he moved away was.
Just a bit of blood. To the credit of his magical powers, the bleeding had slowed and stopped for the most part. If he were a normal person, if he powered down, the story likely wouldn't be the same.
He had a bad head injury from where he had been smacked by a piece of wood, and his side wound, a prize he'd won from an encounter with Painite, had been reopened by a few vicious kicks by Leucite, the source of all his new bruises and cuts.
Where was he, again?
Luxor stopped, looking around in confusion, his head light and empty, and his instincts trying desperately to get him somewhere safe.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:24 am
Zia often didn't share the fact that she left Sovereign Heights a paltry few credits from her bachelor's degree in business. She especially didn't share that she had been accepted to the college of her choice and that the acceptance letter was rotting somewhere in the bottom of a drawer in her files, because this had occurred during an especially violent bout of Blood Moon Court turmoil and she had not been allowed to pick up and leave for something like education out of the state.
So she especially didn't like it when it occasionally came to light that this is what she did now. Brokering deals, but not in especially good faith. Thomas Wilson, son of the man who put the 'Wilson' in Davis & Wilson Brokerage would proudly tout he was her partner in crime if he wasn't her boss. Zia had been turned down for an apprenticeship with one of the more respected and tenured representatives two years back, based on her inexperience and attempt to make it in on the nepotistic fact her father was on the board before he retired. So she ended up with 'Tommy'. Younger and less traditional and ethical, Tommy was willing to let her into his employment based on being pretty and their shared history of growing up in the same spoiled clique of teenagers. And Zia accepted this, because she didn't think she was capable or worth much more. And he paid her enough to maintain her spoiled lifestyle, whether she made the effort to or not.
Except she was not a sales rep. She wasn't a broker or a contract writer or even an accountant. She wasn't being mentored. She was officially in title his 'administrative assistant' and when he was feeling especially tetchy would demean her to 'coffee wench' in the office.
Out wining and dining clients she was more of a partner, but only in the sense of the con. Things were more lucrative when your opposition and your client were both overstuffed and drunk and constantly looking at a pretty girl and not the unrealistic numbers she'd created.
'Working late' tonight, she was at a crowded table with loud business suits with people attached. Low cut gown, upscale dining, lots of liquor. But not for her. It was her job to feign an interest in keeping the topic on business while she flirted and distracted until somehow the target was convinced that this was totally a good business deal, so she was pretty sober outside of one glass of wine.
Exploitative? Totally. But Zia had at some point between Nehelenia and Ares grown so accustomed to being an exploited object that bringing herself down to it in civilian matters was almost something she didn't spare a thought to. Exploitation was so integral to her self worth that she was a willing player at this point.
When Luxor hit the window and those who weren't stuck in their decadent haze enough to notice and start murmuring and staring, Zia's mind self centeredly slapped back out of her stupor and into a place capable of free thought, shame, and embarrassment.
And then quickly followed up with panic. He was bleeding. But worse-- at least in her mind-- he was in an area of town where people would definitely call the authorities over a terrorist.
She left her table. She didn't even think about her table. Most of her thoughts were focused on the fact her dress didn't allow for easy movement and she didn't run out quite as fast in heels as she would've in sneakers.
"Luxor!"
She didn't know why she yelled. She didn't need to get his attention or anything since she grabbed him, frantically scoping over the battered markings on his body and worked up into a full on panic. "What are you doing? What did you do? Oh god you're bleeding--"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:30 am
"I was in a fight," Luxor said, blandly, but in as conversational a tone as he was able to. He looked at her, blinking in an effort to clear his vision and, at the same time, clear his mind. As hazy as his sight was, his brain was much further muddled.
He noticed she was wearing a dress, and he wondered if she had been on a date.
"You look very lovely tonight," he said thoughtfully.
The side of his face was covered in blood, from where his temple had been split open by a very well placed blow to his head. His ear had been split as well, and his shoulder and neck was bruising pretty badly now that a little time had passed since the fight itself. It was the stab would from Painite, which had been kicked far too many times tonight for his tastes, that was causing him the most pain.
Though at the moment, he didn't seem to be feeling any of it.
He was wondering why she had hurried to him, and why she looked so panicked. He was woozy and a little punch drunk, as it were, and he smiled in an effort to look reassuring.
"I'm alright. I was in a fight, but it didn't go well. Am I ruining your date?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:26 pm
"I see that," Zia was trying to gain some sense and composure and stop panicking, but it was still clear in her voice and her expression. She just managed to gain the good sense to pull him away from the window and an audience.
"Oh god..." She managed out in a weird hybrid of muttering and whimpering as she cupped one hand under his jawline to deliberately look at his face. Her brain had fully exploded with all of the worst possibilities and every which way this could end. Exsanguination, permanent brain damage, comas. Ugh, comas.
She was dwelling on this while he complimented her and apologized for ruining her date.
Well it was kind of a date if a pair of attractive people getting you to give up key pieces of your business and living for a commission check was a date in anyone's book. And speaking of, the other half was exiting the restaurant and he didn't look too happy.
"Oh, come on, my car's around the corner. You need to--"
"CONNOLLY!" Tommy was practically barking as he stormed over. Heated exchanges with them were obviously frequent, because she didn't even flinch or seem worried when he made an obvious attempt to be intimidating with the way he used his height and approached her with presumptuous closeness. "The ******** are you doing?"
"He needs a hospital--"
"I'm sure the hostess already called authorities or something," He was honestly trying not to look at the half naked and bleeding terrorist. "In the meantime Mr. Jiang's back at the table wondering 'where the girl went' and I am sorely lacking the tits to make him pay attention and switch his account over. Zia," He grabbed her arm and lowered his voice as if to impart the seriousness of the matter that was apparently miles above a random bleeding hobo-terrorist in the street, "I want that account. I don't care if you have to make up some magic numbers bullshit, flirt, or get under the table and suck his d**k. Get your a** back inside."
Zia was tuning him out. She didn't even lean back away from his stance as she dug around in her purse for her keys. "Come on, it's the silver car right over there," She directed to Luxor, obviously still stuck on the hospital shtick. She wasn't concerned about verbal humiliation, it was pretty par for the course and she would be reprimanded later, but right now she was a little afraid of someone's gray matter rotting in his skull from all the concussive force and blood loss.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:15 pm
At first, Luxor thought that the man storming up to them was her date. He did not look very happy, but it was made clear in a few moments that this was not the case. In fact, this man was not very pleasant at all, and he did not seem to be her type, not that he knew what he type was. But in his estimation, this man did not have any right to be talking to her in the manner that he was.
Luxor narrowed his eyes at the man, even as Zia began to tug him in the direction of her car. He didn't go with her for a moment, staring blankly at the man as his temper stewed under the haze of his injuries. His brain decided he was healthy enough for one more fight, and he swung his fist at the man's face.
Hard.
After that he was glad to follow Zia to her silver car.
"That man was not very pleasant. You shouldn't go on dates with people like that. You can do better." He seemed to have forgotten her previously mentioning her boyfriend to him, but that was probably because he'd lost a lot of blood and his brain had been rattled.
"I won't let people treat you that way."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:41 pm
The fact he didn't immediately follow her as she tugged on him made her stomach drop. When he swung at Tommy's face, his body dropped with a yell and she yelled as if in response.
"You dumbass!" She snapped, even though she couldn't figure out who she meant right now. Either her boss for overstepping his bounds or Luxor for all of his stuff right now. But she was happy to cram him in the Impala and rev up the engine.
Everything was happening too fast for her to be mortified, but it would sink in later when she wasn't rushing to be very far away before the cops that were definitely being called now-- if they weren't already-- arrived.
"That's very nice, sweetie, but try to focus on keeping your bodily fluids on the inside," She complained and managed to slip another panicked whimper in there. She slammed her brakes when traffic became too congested for her to run a red light she totally would've if there wasn't a wall of cars in the way. But she took the opportunity to reach over and grab his face again. "Oh... what have you been doing?"
She felt guilty. Not so much for the incident that had just happened a few seconds ago but because she hadn't gone to see him since she checked on him after the carnival, which she ended by totally ditching him for stupid reasons.
"You should tell me the story," She urged, mostly for the benefit of knowing he wasn't dead yet while she drove.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 10:55 am
Luxor looked at her peacefully, nodding his head. He put his hand lightly over his side wound, closing his eyes and leaning back against the chair. He was hoping in the back of his mind that he was not bleeding all over her car, but he thought he had it pretty much in check.
It was beginning to slow, he felt it caking to the side of his head in an entirely uncomfortable way, though even in his dazed state he knew better than to upset the process.
He took a breath and opened his eyes, having dozed off a bit for longer than he was aware, looking around with a question in his head. He forgot it, though, and looked at her in time to catch her question as she touched his face again. He wondered vaguely why she was so worried about him, half forgetting what he'd gotten himself into.
"I was hurt. I met Painite. She says she organized the attack on the Carnival... I wanted to kill her, but I couldn't. Then another Nega tonight... and a girl thinks I'm a stripper." He sighed. He really needed a day off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:12 am
"You're just a page," Zia complained. "You can't manage Painite, there are fully grown knights that can't manage Painite."
Though, since he was listing, she also grimaced at her windshield and took note of her Blackerry's alert noises signaling new emails, texts, and phone calls she'd been ignoring. "You also punched my boss."
City traffic was annoyingly hard to navigate through and after a particularly hard swerve to get into the right lane she found herself halted again. And worse, the engine on her old Impala was starting to make an unpleasant noise.
Her poor car maintenance might've resulted in a happy accident getting Troy into her index before but she didn't see any upside to breaking down in the middle of the street with a bleeding terrorist in the car.
She just proceeded to rev up the engine and hope the foul mouthed muttering she was directing to the vehicle somehow magically motivated it to not be a total d**k right now and keep puttering along just a little while longer.
"What, did you think getting killed was going to salve your non-debt for the carnival?" She seemed to have shifted from frantic whimpers and whispers and concerned touches to sounding almost angry about it. Zia was very selfish and possessive of people, it wasn't fair he thought it was just okay to get mortally wounded and stuff after she'd gone and claimed him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:37 am
"I learned that fairly quickly," Luxor said with a wrinkle of his nose. Anger stewed in the pit of his stomach over it, but at the moment it just served to make him feel nauseous. At least he wasn't in direct danger of flying into a blind rage, and was actually able to talk about it. "A senshi was with me... she was hurt, too."
He was quiet for a long moment, though, when she told him the man he'd punched out was her boss. That made sense with what he had been saying, ordering her around, though at the time Luxor had just shaken it all off as drunken babble, or something. It was more the tone, and the use of some less than savory terms, that had gotten Luxor's fists up.
"I should power down," he said, noting that he was still half dressed.
He did so, leaning back against the chair and regretting his decision, but lacking the strength now to power back up. He let his head lull to the side and watched her quietly, seeing the concern on her face, but also noting how upset she was with him. When she put it that way, it did sound like a ridiculous path for him to have taken.
"I don't want to be killed. I want to avenge them... I want the Negaverse to stop."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:30 pm
Zia opened her mouth to say something, but he was already powered down. She would've preferred he waited, if only for the boost in strength and constitution being powered gave a person. Instead she just stayed quiet, looking tense and unhappy.
With a jerk, the car came to a halt and she leaned over and grabbed his arm. Superficially, the look on her face was just angry seriousness, but there was a hint of something else, especially in her eyes and her brow. Grief, sadness, something softer in the mix.
"My queen is dead, Chester."
And here it came out of the blue.
"She gave me one job, and then she died. To look after one person. And when that person turned on me, she took everything we built. She killed and corrupted and built her empire on the grave of everything I ever loved. I am angry, and I am alone, in a dead court."
With a breathless exhale, she reached up to touch his face and steady it as gingerly as she could. "I am nothing against a usurper's court like you're nothing against the Negaverse army. Nothing. A battle won't solve anything except leave you broken and dead. There's nothing for you in facing them directly. You want revenge? Well you have to stay alive for that. Even when you don't want to. Especially when you don't want to. It is an awful... slow... decaying process. You have to want it bad enough to suffer through it and give up these stupid ideas like honor and good somehow winning no matter what."
The door clicked.
"And we're here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:06 pm
Chester watched her in his punch drunk haze, the pain settled in now and his body telling him he was a moron in all the different ways it knew how. He swallowed hard as she spoke, listening intently.
"Zia..."
He let her words sink in, trying to process what she was telling him but it was a really bad time for him to be trying something like that. He closed his eyes and found himself drifting off.
It would take an emergency crew to drag him inside, and he would not know where Zia went to when he woke up, but her words would at least remain with her. He had no intention of staying in the hospital, though, so he would have to catch up with her as soon as he could.
As soon as he was conscious, anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
