Glowering to herself, Audie huffed her way to the armory after her meeting with the Mistress of Trainees. That awful woman was never happy, no matter what Audie did. This time, she was irate that the young woman had gone to lunch with Jesse instead of not having lunch and working herself to death! “As if she doesn’t want anyone to be nice to me, the awful cow,” she muttered to herself as she gathered up sword and staff.
Part of her punishment was that she had to go train alone in the Ogier grove on the island. Thera had felt that if Audie weren’t able to stick around the Yard without letting the first person that talked to her lead her away from her travails, that the young woman could do with the solitude off in the grove.
It was a lovely day with a sky full of sun, but as Audie strode off in a dark mood, she didn’t notice. She complained to herself as she walked, of all the stupid things she had to do, like balancing on barrels, and polishing armor. She thumped her staff as she walked on; the loud thudding noise marked her anger at the absolute injustice of everything in the world as it rang along the paved walkways.
The press of people waxed and waned as she crossed out of the Tower grounds and through, a flickering of bodies and shadows moving to and fro in the corners of the trainee’s vision. As she approached the grove wreathed in a ring of mid-day shadows, her staff caught the edge of a raised paving stone, sending her to her knees. Yelping sharply, she levered herself back up in a flurry of whinges, only to find someone standing statue behind her.
“Oh, hello!” Audie said cheerfully to the woman before her, “I have to go train by myself, or else Thera will be mad at me.” After all, the other woman had the look of a warrior, so she had to be someone from the Yards too… right?
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05 October 2008 (6:20pm)
Blinking in surprise, Audie tried to shake off the arm holding her. “I told you, Thera said that I had to be alone to train!” Levering the arm away with her staff, she glared at the other woman, “I’m here now, don’t you see? You can go back and tell Thera that I’m doing what she said, okay?”
Shaking her head, the blond woman started to turn around. However, a sudden jolt of pain in her arm distracted her, and she was momentarily fascinated by the red spreading down her arm to drip on the dirt below. “You cut me!” she whined incredulously, “Why would you cut me?! I’m doing what I’ve been told, I am!”
She failed to catch the glint of murder in the other woman’s eye, but she was just bright enough to realize that someone approaching her with a bared blade draped in her own blood probably didn’t have her health in mind. “Go away!” she cried, trying to poke the other woman back with her staff. The murderess-to-be easily dodged, and continued her slow approach.
Another slow realization dawned in the blond woman’s head as she backed away slowly – hadn’t there been someone running around killing lots of people in the Warder’s Yard lately? Could this.. could this be?! Not waiting another second, she threw her staff at the other woman to distract her, and started running as fast as she could.
Audie Acker
One Scared Little Dimwit!
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06 October 2008 (3:09pm) Posted by Matalina
Cari caught the dagger with her left hand. Stupid girl! The shadow sheathed the bloody dagger and then hurled the quarterstaff at the girls legs toppling her over to the ground. “Leave me alone! I didn’t do anything to you” After a pause she continued, “Oh, no, my husband sent you didn’t he? But.. Butt..” Cari only smiled at the girls innocence.
“No my dear, I’m just here to kill you. No reason other than I can. Your naive little blood will smell so very sweet in this morning evening light!” The girl tried to get up but Cari was faster, she was on the girl before she could stand up. The shadow pinned her to the ground sitting on her chest. “Now my little pretty you are going to scream for me.”
The shadow leaned down and kissed the girl, tasting the fear in her. “So afraid little one, so very afraid.” The girl tried to struggle. Cari laughed. “Come come little one, hold still or it will hurt more.” With a smile the shadow spoke again. “No do struggle please struggle. I want you to hurt.” The shadow ran the blade of her a newly unsheathed dagger down the girls cheek. The shadow leaned in and licked the blood that started to trickle down. “So sweet!”
Cari sat in the shadows mind she sat watching, waiting. The fear of the girl was fueling the shadow but the shadow was taking too long, and Cari’s own desires of blood and torture were growing stronger, enough, maybe enough to break free. Cari let the shadow play with the girl longer. She screamed and Cari’s own persona shuddered with the sound of it. It rattled the others to the bone, to hear this girl scream for no reason, but they watched in silence as Cari soaked in the new found power. The shadow was not paying any attention inward or it would have ended it’s play time for fear of losing control. It would lose control if this death didn’t happen soon.
Another well of blood ran down the girls other cheek. And various other areas were not red with blood. The girl was sobbing and crying out with pain. Cari seized the moment, and pulled the shadow back into the darkneess. It howled in pain and the others screamed with it. Cari was the only one who did not. The shadow had been removed and Cari had forcefully taken the conscious stream.
A noise from behind them brought Cari’s attention outward. The girl was muttering. “Help! help me, save me.” Cari didn’t take need to take a look to know someone was behind her. The girls throat was slit in an instant but at that instant a man toppled her to the ground. They had been caught. How they did not know but they had been caught in the unlikist of places. It was not going to end well!
Cari