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postAgora Forum Archive

This page conserves the character fiction forum of the Agora forums. The posts have been left unformatted to make it easier for users to copy them here and paste them into the new forums.

postThread table for forum City of Lost Angels - Character Fiction

Oren Itanooren12/10/08 18:25View
Missy12/10/08 22:22View
The backstory of Vulpes.Vulpes12/11/08 01:46View
Erica KesselErica Kessel12/11/08 07:52View
Missy's Story.. a Do-over and another ChapterMissy12/11/08 22:38View
UsrBinPerl12/11/08 23:48View
oren12/11/08 23:57View
Kwekwe's BackstoryKwekwe Karu12/12/08 01:02View
UsrBinPerl12/13/08 00:35View
Eternal SunsetMissy12/13/08 12:19View
Kit Ristow12/14/08 00:01View
ShyMathys12/14/08 00:27View
MasksAlissa12/14/08 00:58View
Lorae12/14/08 01:24View
UsrBinPerl12/14/08 22:07View
Missy's Story Continued..Part 3Missy12/16/08 08:43View
Missy's Story Part 4: Innocence ShatteredMissy12/16/08 18:34View
Missy's Story Part 5: Innocence AnnihilatedMissy12/18/08 17:16View
Small DangersVox12/18/08 21:36View
Saint of The Abyss: Part 1Luciferiel12/19/08 05:21View
Zero....-1Justa Zero12/19/08 17:38View
Zero....1Justa Zero12/19/08 18:26View
Óðr’s Daughter. Chapter I: A Guiding DreamAsil Karu12/20/08 02:39View
Omega To Alphaerinnic12/23/08 16:49View
Her Bloody Tears [-Past Event-]Methias12/23/08 18:09View
Lost Kitsune - A Shattered MindKiera12/25/08 18:51View
Usr's story Part IVUsrBinPerl12/27/08 20:34View
The EssexHeir Maelstrom12/29/08 04:23View
Kwekwe's shameKwekwe Karu12/30/08 18:11View
Joint Round Robin Fic Anyone...?erinnic12/30/08 19:07View
God Was On Her Lips As She Diederinnic01/02/09 23:31View
Love and Betrayal - A New Beginningkessjuliesse01/03/09 13:46View
The Diary of Cody Woodhencodywoodhen01/05/09 21:35View
Missy's Story Part 6: Innocence AbductedMissy01/07/09 06:23View
Cursed BladeYannis_Martynov01/08/09 21:27View
Story Thread: Community Round Robin Ficerinnic01/09/09 23:25View
The demon withinCanly Fargis01/11/09 16:14View
Ziau- CoLA's Very Own CasanovaZiau01/13/09 02:09View
Twisted Attentionserinnic01/21/09 20:34View
Inspiration- music and roleplayZiau01/26/09 08:01View
Compilation! Where were you when it all happened?Ziau01/28/09 09:12View
The Clock Struck MidnightMalice Ashdene01/28/09 22:31View
With Precision- a poem by Kelly Welch A.k.A Ziau Jua.Ziau01/29/09 04:36View
Alisa's dicovery of a new world (character sheet + story)Alisa Draconia01/30/09 19:17View
The Shadow Stepper- Ziau the Enshadowed.Ziau02/01/09 07:26View
Krista Lemon arrives to the streets of Lost AngelsKrista02/03/09 00:09View
Back Story Upto the Excile of Rune.RuneCrimson02/03/09 21:59View
War with the Brood, war with the Coven, and the Pack.Ziau02/07/09 04:11View
-- Halcyon's Backstory --Halcyon Nacht02/08/09 00:22View
Planer/Exonar family (aka, Erinyse, Khalan, Viridian, Cummere, Selena)Cummere Mayo02/08/09 03:53View
Kit's BackstoryKit Ristow02/10/09 18:40View
Eyes in the DarkKeyla02/11/09 09:47View
Surfacing Part ILlyr02/13/09 22:21View
Surfacing Part IILlyr02/13/09 22:35View
Tama-Chan: A Cat's Story (Tamara's background)Tamara02/17/09 07:35View
Project: A map of Post Apocalypse North AmericaTamara02/17/09 19:21View
Dreamtime RevelationsWinter02/19/09 18:08View
Reaver-the echo of the BlackwindAntiZero02/23/09 00:43View
On the Origin of SpeciesTamara02/25/09 22:38View
ConfessionKit Ristow02/26/09 01:39View
Personnel File: Pointe, Zsuzsanna C. (Inactive, Deceased)Su Pointe02/26/09 03:32View
Malice, in a Different Kind of WonderlandMalice Ashdene02/27/09 18:07View
The Dark of InspirationKit Ristow03/01/09 21:42View
Jheric: CrucifiedKayle Ashdene03/03/09 10:53View
It's my lifearsene_Braveheart03/05/09 18:18View
The Tradgedy of the HybridDigital Enigma03/29/09 07:09View
The Sin of Wrathmolly switchblade04/02/09 21:28View
Golden BoyEphran Ehrler04/15/09 06:12View
Story About A GirlAesendria04/24/09 15:34View
Climaxe by Smith and WessonSloan04/28/09 06:19View
My new project ATTENTION Russian Characters!Ziau05/01/09 06:42View
**NSFW** A Typical Tuesday Night for MissyMissy05/06/09 20:48View
Post your profile links!Cortero Landar05/07/09 10:25View
Making Logan SufferAesendria05/12/09 07:09View
Jeanne VarunJeanne Varun05/14/09 08:24View
The Vanguard's True PurposeLogan05/16/09 01:03View
Cortero's Infernal ArmorCortero Landar05/16/09 06:52View
Bookstore SurpriseAesendria05/16/09 23:16View
Post your profile links if you have in-story info in them!Cortero Landar05/18/09 10:33View
PromisesAesendria05/24/09 02:44View
Cyber Evolution Bios, Anur Seda, Cyber Reaper, and Commander of CETheassassin06/08/09 11:28View
Was any of it real?Youko_Giha06/12/09 15:28View
A shift in prioritiesLogan06/17/09 04:21View
Going homeLudvig06/17/09 19:10View
'Ren in Japanoren06/18/09 23:11View
Thelma across the boardThelemaJuliesse06/26/09 15:09View
Pre-fiction: How Kayteear got here.Kayteear07/15/09 16:43View
Story TimeCharissa07/17/09 19:03View
Pack Airship RP.Tai07/27/09 02:49View
My CharacterLilith1308/05/09 22:34View
LilithLilith1308/06/09 09:30View
The Haunter in the DarkShadow08/14/09 21:50View
The Flying HeadsKwekwe Karu08/16/09 16:52View
Why selling coffins is impossible in CoLAZiau08/23/09 04:14View
Paint it red!Ziau08/23/09 07:51View
Young Cowards.Ziau08/23/09 08:28View
Great video for RPers and people passionate about writing.Ziau09/05/09 08:55View
Dux - 264 BCDux09/10/09 18:41View
The Thing at South Gate SanitariumShadow09/15/09 22:09View
♪♫ Do you wanna RP my avatar ♪♫Kayteear09/17/09 14:45View
Jessica's MotherJessica Susser09/21/09 04:19View
Ziau Challenged me to. NSFWChasityDawes09/21/09 07:17View
The Divine Machine.................Theassassin09/21/09 22:29View
I Bleed my Blood for Myself.Ziau09/22/09 22:28View
Cronicle of a deathKayteear09/24/09 01:34View
"Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself"DavidJoshua Artful09/26/09 17:07View
Old Versus NewDigital Enigma09/27/09 20:28View
The Shadowed Order, The Eternal Order, Ordo MachinaTheassassin10/06/09 06:55View
Elamyrath's HistoryElamyrath10/10/09 00:52View
The here, the now, the dead. The Minus.TheMinus Ziskey10/10/09 12:41View
Before bed ritual.Amy Guisse10/17/09 04:13View
Alone?Ike10/18/09 15:34View
IS this High School again?Theassassin10/24/09 12:49View
Sidhe vs DrowOrlok Lectar10/29/09 04:08View
Daddy bluesarsene_Braveheart11/17/09 19:01View
Chronicles of SIEagentlyseria11/22/09 12:27View
The Lady In Black(A Drokan Exile Twisted Love Story)AntiZero11/29/09 06:36View
The growing Darkness.Leirain Koray12/01/09 11:04View
The lycanKayteear12/01/09 16:00View
City of Lost Jackman: The Untold Hollywood BlockbusterAntiZero12/02/09 07:11View
Coming home for christmas ..Kes12/10/09 22:17View
Bunneh Vs. Lich, DBZ styleKarsha Yutani12/14/09 11:59View
A FarewellRoland12/16/09 20:50View
Of Death and RebirthDigital Enigma12/21/09 20:14View
The Story of ReocoReoko Farspire02/06/10 20:47View
Homecoming......... The Story of Orpheus DarkfoldOrpheusDarkfold03/11/10 02:27View
The Story of Orpheus Part 2OrpheusDarkfold03/13/10 23:15View
Who owns who?Kayteear03/22/10 22:03View
Missing the Oceanricercar03/23/10 22:27View
Letter to the editor: Manners in LATink03/25/10 16:58View
Chasity BackstoryChasityDawes06/14/10 19:43View
Something Black and Violent...DavidJoshua Artful06/19/10 22:23View
Doctor Visiterinnic07/12/10 04:26View
Gabby Perdidevacantghost07/19/10 04:42View

postTopic Love and Betrayal - A New Beginning

PosterMessageDate
kessjuliesseA short piece on where Kess came from before CoLA.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The wind was whipping outside, rain splattering coldly on the big window panes as night closed in. The alley mouth across from the bar was just a dim shadowed maw through the miserable downpour and the Zodiac sign a bare glimmer above the doorway. Winter was coming, the cold rains a harbinger of things to come.

Slow night tonight, I thought, my hands endlessly wiping glass after glass behind the bar. I let the stripper go home, the brass poles gleaming dimly on stage unused. No point in dancing if there was no hope of tips. Maybe tomorrow night.

I glance over at the only patron in the bar. Dark matted hair, slouched over at his table, hardly the pleasant type. Never saw his eyes under that shaggy mess. Kept to himself, didn't say much other then to order. Been in every night the last couple of weeks. Tipped pretty good. Didn't know his story. Yet.

People liked to talk. They always relaxed after a couple of drinks and I'm a good listener. I know everyone's story eventually. Maybe more then they knew themselves. In here the walls don't talk, but they listen.

The door opens with a squeak over the constant roar of the wind and rain, a tall figure stomping wet combat boots on the wooden floor as they move to one side of the entrance. The door hesitates as the wind plays with it and then slams shut again, the rain noise lowering to a dull roar on the windows. A shrug of a big worn duster, patched in places, makes more of a puddle beneath the heavy boots. Another shift of the figure's shoulders settles a pair of sword hilts more comfortably across their back. I give a nod, hands picking up another glass, wiping it clean as I watch from the bar.

The figure watches me for a moment and then scans the room, settling on the shaggy drifter for a minute, measuring. I could see a shift of the shoulders, relaxing as the newcomer finally moves towards the bar.

The wet duster squeaks slightly as the stranger takes a stool. Fingers pull off the black knit hat and drop it on the next stool over, water soon dripping off the leather surface. She looks back at me with brown eyes, slit irises taking in the glass and bar towel in my hands. Tall for a neko, I thought, her ears moving through her damp hair, "What can I get you?" The words fall on the room as I ask, the first in over an hour.

Her eyes flick to a menu on the bartop. Her brows furrow as she frowns, lips moving slowly as she makes out the short list. I watch her from the corners of my eyes as I move about cleaning up. A frustrated sigh slips from her and then, "Do you have anything hot?" her voice having a slight rumble common to alot of the feline hybrids coming through.

I shrug and place both hands on the bartop, turning my full attention to her, "Just some leftover stew from earlier. Should be still hot." I nod over my shoulder, gesturing towards a big pot behind me.

"I'll have that. Please." she adds, her hand digging into the pocket of her coat, fishing out some coins. She spreads them out over the bartop, her gaze on mine, "Will you take these?". I looked at the metal curiously, different currencies, some old, some I'd never seen before. I pull a few out, push the rest back to her before moving to fill a bowl, "Some water too." she adds behind me.

I slide the bowl and a spoon in front of her and then pull a glass from beneath the bar. I pour a draft and slide it across, answering her questioning look, "No clean water, we just got through a water shortage." I nod to the beer before picking up my towel, "Beer and liquor is all we have." I pick up a dirty glass and forestall the sarcastic remark I know is coming, "This is the first rain we've had in a long time. You want to go out and collect some you're more then welcome to."

The neko nods, accepting that and cradles the warm bowl in her fingers for a minute or two, warming them as I went back to cleaning glasses. I glance over at shaggy's table. Didn't need a refill yet, looked like he was nursing the last one.

I examine the glass, blow into the bottom and then replace it on the bar shelf, "New to the city?" I ask, not looking at her.

She pauses, spoon halfway to her mouth as she looks up at me, "Yes. I arrived this morning. I'm looking for a place to stay." she continues eating as I glance at her, her attention back on the food, ears flickering attentively to the room. Odd, she doesn't talk like most nekos that go through here.

I toss a couple of empty bottles out and add, "Tribe has a decent place across town. They're usually pretty good about taking in stray nekos. They're good to their own."

Her spoon plays a little in the stew before she murmurs, "No. I don't think that would work out." I shrug, "Other factions are always looking for new members." I add, watching her a little as she eats and leaning back against the counter behind me. A twisted black mark on her left cheek catches my attention.

I pick up the bar towel and set about putting away some of liquor bottles, "Interesting tatoo. What's it mean?"

The neko flinches slightly, ears setting back as she looks up at me. Her fingers lift to rub at the mark and she answers, "It means a lot of things." she pauses, "Betrayal. Traitor. Exile."

I nod, not really looking at her, "So someone marked you I guess? Family? Nekos back home didn't like you much?"

An odd look moves across her face as she answers, "No, demons marked me."

I nod, making an assumption and murmuring as I set another bottle behind the bar, "Oh, so you were a pet?" A soft growl makes me look up.

Narrowed eyes look at me as she shakes her head, "No. Not a pet." she spits out the last word.

I shrug, lifting my hands palms out, "Just making small talk. Slow night you know." I turn and busy myself behind the bar. I could hear the soft clink of her spoon in her bowl, the growl dying off. She would tell her tale, they always did.

Grabbing another bowl I fill it up, turning to slide it across to her. The neko nods gratefully after a moment and digs into the second bowl, slower then the first, "I come from out in the Wastes. Past the mountains. One of the older cities was rebuilt from the ruins, mostly nekos and demons." She looks up at me, gaze measuring as she continues, "I was not always a neko. I was a demon of the Greater flight." she continues to look at me, perhaps half expecting me to laugh or dispute her claim. I just raise an eyebrow, not saying anything as I wait for her to continue, wiping the bartop.

She finally turns her attention back to the stew, eating slowly now as she mulls through her memories. "I was a soldier, an assassin. I was good at what I did, I was my Queen's right hand." The neko stops, playing with her food as she remembers.

"An advisor?" I prompted.

"No...", she pauses, "I was a tool, I was not privy to her secrets. Wasn't consulted on her decisions." shaking her head as she murmurs, "Politics, how she ruled, they weren't my concerns." Her eyes turn to the mirror over the bar for a few moments, "She told me who she wanted removed and I carried out her wishes... neko, vampire, demon... it didn't matter."

"What happened?" I asked.

She looks at me, shoulders lifting and falling in a slow sigh after a few moments, "The Flight ruled the city. We'd purged it of any competitors. The nekos worked for us and we protected them." She stops to take a long swallow of her beer, "There was little dissent. At first." The glass clinks on the bartop. A soft smile moves across her face for a moment, "There was one neko. A strong willed woman, charismatic, passionate. She chafed at our rule. She spoke out and gained followers. At first my Queen was amused and bade me just to watch her." she pushes a piece of stew around, looking into her bowl, "I would cast a veil over myself, I would listen, follow her."

I shift behind the bar, listening to her tale, "After a time I stopped hiding myself. I would sit and listen to her for hours. Often just the two of us. She tried to convince me that things could be better." she chuckles and looks wistful, her ears flickering as she remembered. Her face slowly darkens and then she continues, her voice lower, "But trouble followed as I knew it would. Nekos started to rise up, little things at first but it got worse." A long pause as she plays with her glass, "Then my Queen gave the order to kill her." she finishes quietly and then takes a swallow of her beer.

Silence but for the weather filled the bar for some time until I ventured, "You loved her."

Neko ears flicker slightly, the woman staring into her half empty bowl and not really answering, "I hid her. I slaughtered another and presented the body to my Queen. At first it worked, but it didn't last. We were found out." Her face hardens as she moves on with her story, "She was pulled from hiding and killed. I was disgraced, fallen. My Queen, enraged at my betrayal, hunted me herself with the Greater flight at her back. She ripped my mind from my demon form and thrust me into this shell, leaving me with nothing of my former power." the woman's shoulders slump slightly, murmuring, "Just a neko."

"You lived. How long ago was it?" the bar towel makes slow circles on the countertop.

Her head tilts slightly, "Ten, maybe fifteen years. I have no way of knowing for sure." she takes in a long breath, "At first the Greater flight imprisoned and tormented me. They grew tired of my screams and pain and I was thrown to the Lesser flight as further insult, for their amusement." a shake of her head, ears moving slowly, "They too grew bored with me over the years. Eventually their vigilance slipped and I escaped." she shrugs, her eyes lifting to mine, "I have been wandering ever since."

I look out into the dark street in front of the bar into the shadows before turning back to the neko, "Does your Queen still hunt you?"

She shakes her head, remembering her food as she eats a spoonful, "No, I doubt she spares me or my mistake any more thought." Brown feline eyes glance into the bar mirror over my head again, "Sometimes one of the Lesser flight thinks to capture me and drag me back for some favour with the Queen." a ghost of a smile flits across her lips and she shrugs, turning her attention back to her stew, "The Lesser flight tend to make mistakes fortunately. Should one of the Greater flight take an interest instead..." she shrugs, "I would be dead."

I look around the bar as she eats. Shaggy had left at some point, I hadn't even heard the door open. I shrug to myself, moving around the bar to bus the table quickly, sweeping the change he'd left into a pocket. Hadn't finished his drink either.

The neko had started to get up, fastening her coat around her as she readied to leave, "Thank you for the stew." I nod, moving behind the bar as she turns to go, shrugging the swords into place over her back.

"You must hate her." I add, looking at her back.

The neko pauses, looking back at me in confusion and then slowly shakes her head, "No. I betrayed my Queen and my flight for a neko. She was right to punish me. Now I must live with it."

She smiles sadly and then nods again, a slow incline of her head and then she's gone, the door banging shut, closing out the weather.

I start to put away the remains of her meal, busying myself with clearing the bartop as I listen to the night.

Two screams from the alley sound over the roar of the wind and rain, one challenging the other. A deep feral snarl, squeals of pain and anger, and then distant thumps, something hitting the big dumpster in the alley hard. Silence takes over but for the weather's drone.

I continue to clean the bar top, my gaze down as the door slams open a few minutes later. A heavy awkward gait echoes through the room as boots drag on the wooden floor. I can see her in my peripheral vision as the neko limps in to the middle of the room, the glint of her blade in one hand, the other hanging limp and useless at her side. I can see stains on her duster, darker then the wet from the rain, seeping into the heavy material.

I pause in my cleaning and wring the bar towel out, looking up at her. She's breathing heavily, raggedly pulling in each breath. Inhuman claw marks had ripped her clothing in several bloody places and a deep rent in her coat showed pale skin, parallel cuts along her ribs leaving red trails behind. A deep jagged cut started just under her chin and went up over her cheek just under her tattoo, face and neck glistening wetly with blood. She'd narrowly avoided having her throat cut.

We watch each other for a minute and then I gesture to the stool beside where she'd sat, "You forgot your hat." I pick up another glass and start wiping it. Her feral eyes dart to the hat, staring at it. Her gaze looks confused for a moment and then she seems to sag, eyes dimming and shoulders slumping tiredly, "Thank you." The words were thick and slurred, the cut on her face painfully hampering speech by the looks of it. She limps to the stool and picks up the hat, turning without a word and moving slowly to the door. The wind and rain lick eagerly at the entrance as she leans against the doorframe, staring dejectedly into the darkness.

"Hospital is nearby." I watch her turn her head slightly, neko ears flickering as she listens over her shoulder. I start to clean the beer taps, "Two blocks down and a block over. You can't miss it." Her head turns that way and she nods, a painful murmur lost in the rain as she staggers out into the dark, the door slamming behind her. Only the muted music from the jukebox, the howl of the wind, and the steady roar of the rain were left behind.

I continue to clean up, head bowed as I listen to the downpour and the night. Probably no more customers tonight. I put the last glass on the shelf behind the bar as everything starts to fade.

I know everyone's story eventually. Her's might be interesting. If she survived. Might be all too short. Hard to say.

From outside the Zodiac seemed to dim, hunch in on itself. Empty. Waiting for the next customer to wander in out of the night. Waiting for next story to be told.		01/03/09 13:46
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