La Souffrance Éternelle - "Victorian" Horror - A/O

[Iradesca]

You wanna fight? Then bring it on!

~Arin Decoorum~

Outfit for Jobs and Fighting

The source of the man's discomfort was obvious. Most people reacted in the same manner when they saw her in this outfit. She ignored his behavior and instead focused on his words. "I was a guest at this little party. Now I am the prey," she spat the word, "In this hunt, just like you." She became angry when the man would not even look at her, but her anger turned to pity when he spoke again. "Don't you see? There is[ /i]no way out. They wouldn't allow it. At least not an easy way. I'm afraid you'd have to kill the Duke and Duchess and all of his servants before you could leave this place. We don't have a chance of winning." She knew how the traditional hunt between the predator and the prey ended. She had seen it played out time and time again, and had played the part of predator many times before. Now the shoe was on the other foot. The arm holding the knife lowered, then rose again. "But I'm going to fight anyway. I'm not going down easy." She started to slink along the hallway back in the direction she had come from. "Good luck to you." She called back to the man. She continued on for a few more feet, then stopped and turned back. "My name's Arin, by the way. Might as well have someone else here know it before I die."

Once I'm through, you'll see I've won.

 

[N K Cake]

Okay not all people in the world were nice, but what kind of a person invites guests to their house, seals them in and then hunts them down in their large estate, as if hunting foxes or something. Neill already had a headache trying to cope with that fact and the situation he, no they, were in.

He turned to her with a look of confusion and surprise when she mentioned the supposedly only way to get out of here. How did she even know all this? She sounded uncomfortable professional talking about manhunt. "Kill them? You can't be serious." He scoffed. The concept of harming someone in the slightest had always been out of question for him. Now he was expected to kill or be killed.

Maybe it was all a bad joke, or a nightmare. He would soon wake up lying in the gutter after having fallen and hit his head.... As if. Neill insisted on at least not staying alone and walked after the woman when she intended to leave. "I'm Neill, Neill Banker. It's a pleasure, Arin." He replied softly. Neill could not complain about the fact that he had the company of a very appealing young lady, the one good side to all this.

"I'm sorry but this is all still a bit over the top. How exactly are you so prepared for this kind of thing?" He caught a glance at the knife she still had in hand. Was this kinda thing supposedly normal to someone? Something kept distracting him from his thoughts too, and it was not his worries. Neill had to keep catching glances at Arin's form in that clothing. He did not stare so he would not be caught, but every time some other detail drew his eyes to her body. "... Would you like my jacket?" He ended up asking, and kept his eyes firmly on her face if she turned to look at him. "In case you're cold in something like that." The excuse dropped naturally.
 

[greendragonfly52]

Alexander smirked, watch his guests scurry from the room like mice, likely in search of the nearest exit. Pity they were all locked, from the outside. And if they could find a way out of the castle, there was still the gate to try and get over without skewering themselves, also locked at the entrance.
The duke dabbed his lips with one of the linen napkins at the table. He did not appear to be disturbed at all by Miss Arin's rash actions before sprinting from the room. "Alas, so much good food wasted. The cook will be quite disappointed." he murmured.
His eyes then fell on Clarity, pouting little an innocent little girl who had her candy taken from her. "Oh Clarity. Haven't I taught you that you need to let them think they have a chance at survival. It wouldn't have been fair to prey on them while they were still ignorant of their purpose." Alexander grinned, tossing the napkin atop the pile of food now littering the floor and table. "Go on and play now Miss Clarity."  

[Iradesca]

You wanna fight? Then bring it on!

~Arin Decoorum~

Outfit for Jobs and Fighting

Arin slowed and turned towards Neil. "I always have to be prepared. That's the kind of life I've become used to. You'll have to get used to it for now if you want to survive for very long." She continued down the hallway, remembering from her first trip through the magnificent arching corridor with sumptuous decorations. She frowned when Neil spoke again. "Thank you, but no. I'm perfectly comfortable. Besides, a jacket would only constrict my movements if we were to happen upon a fight, and it is only a matter of time before we do. Are you able to defend yourself?" She could easily defend both herself and Neil if they were to come up against a smaller opponent, but eventually she would run out of energy, or meet an opponent too strong for her to fight alone, and Neil would become a handicap. She needed to make sure that she did not have such a dilemma to look forward to.

Once I'm through, you'll see I've won.

 

[M3Gnificent]

Maxine couldn't help but look rather amused at the look of fear so many of the guests atopted at the very moment blood was spilled. Some ran feverently without another word. Others cried, screamed, hesitated even. The most amusing reaction to her, though, was that of the gypsie woman - she grabbed her silverware and ran off as quickly as possible. Maxine hoped that the gypsie was willing to use whatever possible to defend herself, but wasn't about to put it past the woman to steal and later pawn it off somewhere at the first chance she got. "Any estimates on which will last the longest, beloved?" she asked Alexander, her gaze wandering towards him once all the guests had successfully fled from the room.

 

[N K Cake]

What manner of person was prepared for this in their regular life? Neill was not sure he wanted to know what sort of background Arin came from. Besides being different and unusual, it sounded quite harsh and not proper conversation material.

Neill could only be disappointed she did not take the coat, even when she seemed to have a perfectly reasonable excuse. He would have to fight off more than the maniacal duke in her presence from now on. Neill of course did his best to keep his eyes on the surroundings, looking over the art on the walls and the potential freedom outside the windows they passed. Maybe one of those could be broken...

When Arin asked if he could defend himself, Neill looked at her with slight puzzlement. "Well, yes..." He stated hesitantly, adding a simple nod as well. "But you don't really expect me to be fighting off some crazed hooligans do you?" There was a hint of concern in his question, and Neill feared the answer. To clarify, he would do his best not to get... bitten? By the Duke, but he was no combatant. The only thing that came close to that in high class society was fencing, which he never had had the time for either.  

[ScuroFenice]

Clarity's face immediately brightened when Alexander gave her permission to go off and play and she jumped up from her chair, motioning for Dallian to follow. Her guardian drew up beside her, still invisible and waited for the girl to lead them towards the playroom. "This is going to be fun." She said, bouncing up and down in excitement. "I won't fail you Sir Duke!" She gave him a mock salute, her face determined, then marched out of the room, giggling happily. Her laughter lingered for a bit as she skipped down the hallways and disappeared into the vastness of the manor.

Keeping silent save for the soft swish of her skirts, Ariana headed in the general direction of the front doors, remembering that the servants had carried her luggage into a room near there. Frowning in concentration, the thief stopped every time she came to a corner in the hallways and tilted her head to the side, listening hard for anything. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she emerged into the entry room and went to her goal. Seeing the familiar shape of her luggage, Ariana rummaged through the one that had her profession items and outfit, then closed the door and locked it. Sure, they were being hunted down like animals, but she still maintained a sense of modesty and quickly changed, getting her dagger and placing it in the side of her boot before making sure everything was in place before unlocking and opening the door again. She felt more confident now that her outfit allowed her to be more mobile and there was an energy to her step as she started down another hallway.

((finally got some time to post, still midterms but ALMOST DONE biggrin so expect more writing from me))  

[Iradesca]

You wanna fight? Then bring it on!

~Arin Decoorum~

Outfit for Jobs and Fighting

Arin chuckled a bit. "I only wish that was all we would have to face. Do you really think they would let that kind of vermin in here when they're trying to exterminate us? That would soil the grandeur of their magnificent palace. At least we're higher class pests." She said bitterly. "You're going to have to defend yourself from something a little more threatening, I'm afraid." A noise behind them sent Arin whirling, a knife in each hand poised to fling or strike, depending on how close whatever had made the noise was.

Once I'm through, you'll see I've won.

 

[N K Cake]

Neill smiled when Arin chuckled, finding it uplifting in the dark moment, but her reply made him frown. What were these people? He did not feel very comfortable around this individual either but he had already taken the risk of trusting her and would follow it through.

"L-like what... exactly?" Neill asked nervously concerning those more threatening things they supposedly needed to defend from. Maybe he should find a weapon like she had. The cane would not exactly suffice against .. well much of anything. Neill had never been in a position of physical danger where he had no protection. Even if he was dealing with someone ... aggressive, he could always have hired a few goons to make sure nothing went too far. That was of course if his usually flawless smooth tongue failed.

Neill did not hear the noise from back down the hallway, but Arin certainly seemed spooked. Neill backed up and his grip firmed on his walking cane. "What is it?" He asked in whisper, his eyes darting from the girl to the dark path.  

[ScuroFenice]

Ariana continued down the hall, trying to keep as quiet as she could, though someone or something definitely heard her because she picked up the unmistakeable shick of a weapon being drawn. Suddenly wary, the girl brought out her dagger, holding it horizontally across her front and slowly moved forward, determined not to run. What she didn't expect was to see two of the guests facing her, ready to attack. The girl assumed they had thought she was a monster and lowered her weapon, showing she didn't want to hurt them, though she still kept it in her hand.
"So...." She started, wondering what to say. "I guess we need to figure out how to get out of here.....do you mind if I join you?" Ariana shuffled her feet, looking down at the ground. She was unused to working with other people, her profession mainly dealing out solo missions. "We could scout out this place and see if there are any areas they missed we could escape from, plus knowing more about the building will give us an advantage....."
Lifting her head, the girl noticed both the guests had alarmed looks; the man had fear in his eyes and she knew she probably didn't look much better.
"I'm Ariana." She held out a hand, the one not holding the dagger and gave them a small smile.  

[N K Cake]

Neill looked more puzzled than ever when from the darkness appeared the most unexpected... enemy? A young lady, certainly as young as Arin was. He stared for a moment, unable to help it as he tried to sort the situation out in his head. Well, he guessed they were being just a bit too jumpy assuming everything that would come would be an opponent. He had seen this new girl in the dining room when the Duke did... what he did ... Ugh, he still felt sick thinking of that. Neill's hand relaxed it's grip on his cane.

The thing was though, this girl also had a vicious looking dagger in hand, as Arin did. What was it with young women and knives? Was this supposedly normal, or was the Duke just very popular with... whoever these kinds of people were? But then what was he doing there, not having any maniacal intentions nor the desire to keep weapons on his person? Neill's head ached, this would be a stressful evening. His face expressed his confusion and slight misery at this situation.

There was one thing Neill could not neglect though - his manners. The man took off his hat, held it to his chest and bowed to the female. He forced a smile and shook her hand with his gloved one. "I'm Neill, it's a pleasure." He said softly. "That's a good idea. At this early stage, information is key to our survival, as well as sticking together." He supported Ariana's plan. Neill could not help but wonder why she was able to think so far ahead considering the situation, like it was ordinary in her daily job.. whatever that was.
Perhaps it would be best for him to just ignore the abnormalities and be very, very glad that he had two very good looking young female companions who were armed and able to work under the circumstances.  

[Iradesca]

You wanna fight? Then bring it on!

~Arin Decoorum~

Outfit for Jobs and Fighting

Arin shook her head. "I don't know, but seeing as the Duke isn't exactly human, I expect whatever we'll face wont be either." When the girl revealed herself, Arin relaxed her stance. She smiled and introduced herself. "I have an idea for an escape, but it's a long shot." She was worried about the girl joining them. She knew from hunting in the forest that larger groups made more noise and therefore attracted more attention. She had already had her hands full with Neill, who was obviously inexperienced. She didn't know of the skill of this new girl. She hoped grouping up wasn't a mistake. "So, any of you good with costumes?"

Once I'm through, you'll see I've won.

((SORRY! My family took a sudden trip, and I wasn't able to get to a computer. But I'm back now, so I should be able to get back to posting.))  

[Iradesca]

((COUGH!))  

[N K Cake]

(( -rolls over on the floor- ))  

[Iradesca]

N K Cake

(( -rolls over on the floor- ))

((Why you no post?))