Snippet #2343300

“Well... Miss Talon... You were wondering how I knew your name... There you have it.”

Essence had her eyes on Sean, noting how his expression had shifted from innocent awe, quickly melting to something beyond disgust. Violet eyes brightened and flashed dangerously, something she couldn’t control as the light momentarily bled out from her sockets, appearing as if they held fuses burning to two mini, internal bombs. Tiny, blue veins accentuated the eerie light below her eyelids, her skin actually taking the illusion of a similar delicate and fragile decor of stone cracking under pressure as it spread. Her fingers appeared discreetly along her corset to slowly retrieve a small, purple vile she hid in her hand as she crossed her arms lazily. Blinking a few times, the glow emanating from her orbs dissipated, accompanied by a sly smile through grinding teeth. “Fucking bitch...I guess I was too kind to you when last we chatted...” She snarled, somehow her tone still remaining sweet. “I should have taken both of your haggard eyes...”

Ebony chuckled, staring at Ess whose back was still facing her and her mercenary entourage. “Oh, I’d be willing to forget that minor...transgression, little Birdie...if you give up that dagger of mine and come along quietly. It could be like...” Ebony sighed, pausing as if she were reminiscing about the good ol’ days. “...be like old times. Remember how much fun we had?” The old woman added with a mocking sarcasm. “Well....I remember how much fun I had....” She sneered.

Still holding the small vile, Ess turned slowly to face the group behind her, raising her hand to absently scratch the back of her head, the end of the vile nicked to spill its contents all along the fan like blade that was tight among the braids, nestled in her curls. Lazily she let the vile drop behind her, simultaneously as one of her braids fell loose, the barrette swinging in an almost hypnotizing fashion so that the razor edges were now coated with the sap like ooze.

“Riiight....because standing by and making money while children were raped and tortured was just SO MUCH FUN.... Children Ebony... It wasn’t a secret what kind of Mistress you were...”

“I ran a respectable business!” The woman hissed. “That is, until you tried to have me killed...and not to mention what you did to my brother...”

“At least...when I put a hit on someone..I have the balls to do it MYSELF.......Mistress...” Essence snapped, noting how Tala began to circle the group while staying just out of arm's reach; white foam dripping in bubbling clumps to the floor.

“Oh, we can see what a great job you did, aye Pigeon..” Ebony retorted with a wink from her good eye.

“Lucky for you, I was only a child and -” Ess inhaled sharply, her hands resting along her waist as if she were hugging herself, a chill creeping up her spine as a blond, green eyed man about her age stepped forward.

“Aw, now Beautiful, I seem to remember you had mastered quite a few...talents for one so young..” The man stated in a complementary tone, bowing his head slightly.

“Joffrey...” Essence breathed, nails tracing the outline of her throwing daggers tucked along her curves. “Finally...came out of hiding...”

The man smiled, nodding casually at Ess’ comment. “Well, after the rumors I heard about Vincent..and then recently with the..disappearance of Jasper...could you really blame me?”

“Vincent...Vincent....” Ess tapped her chin thoughtfully and shrugged. “Not sure who you mean..” She lied, not hiding a mischievous sneer crossing her lips. “Oh come now, how many times did you cut your tongue from all that boot licking? Although I think you may have enjoyed it. But, sadly, I can’t take all the credit there...” Essence bit her lip, glancing back at Sean as if to verify he was still there.

Joffrey chuckled, “I doubt you’d forget Vince, Pigeon..besides I saw you...but no worries..” He raised his fingers to his lips as if he was meaning to keep a secret. “You mean...you weren’t responsible for Jasper? How interesting...” Joffrey began. “I may have enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed you. So, since we are admitting things...I also seem to remember how much you liked it...”

“Tsk tsk..” Ess nodded as if she were agreeing with Joffrey’s words, but her attention was directed towards Sean in an unspoken agreement of sorts before turning back to the group. Firmly she stated, “Smart men...know how to treat a Lady... Maybe I’d play nice, if you got on your knees for me...

Ebony thought she was being sneaky, foolishly assuming Ess was distracted as she motioned for three of the men to go for Ess. Tala didn’t even let the first mercenary unsheathed his blade more than an inch before her teeth were piercing through flesh, followed by a girlish scream from the back of the group. The sound of blood gurgling and bones breaking, and the man was down in seconds. Essence’s head was already in full swing, long braids snapping outwards in a whip like motion, the sharp edges of her barrette slicing through empty air and then Joffrey’s cheek twice before the man was able to dodge. Another nearby man-for-hire felt the blade slice below his chin, spilling his blood in messy spurts so that it freckled across Ess’ porcelain skin, yet enough left in the man to not end him. It wasn’t meant to, nor needed once the poison began its work in paralyzing both individuals. Ess needed some leverage, even though she was able to move somewhat easily, the excessive folds of her gown constricting her movements enough to make the oncoming advances a little tricky.

“Ebony!” Essence screamed aloud, not caring that her voice echoed to blend with the chaos that was beginning to spread throughout the room. She was done with this woman and she would be damned if she let this fateful opportunity slip through her fingers. Another figure drew his sword, moving with the others to hold a circle surrounding Ebony. Ess released two of her finger sized daggers into the man whose throat she had cut, aiming for his hands to penetrate through his palms so that he dropped whatever weapons he held. One dagger went clean through, while the other only made it half way so that the man moved to use it to attack despite his anger and fury at the pain. It made it easier to block, Ess’ relic blade pushing back against the larger man for only a few seconds. Tala leapt from the side to rip through the man’s arm, hanging on until he stumbled backwards.

“Get your bloody wolf off me!” The mercenary barked from her feet, attempting to scurry backwards but his movement was slowing between the poison and blood loss which was also noted by the rapid, pale discoloration of his skin.

“She’s not mine....more like I am HERS...” Ess retorted in amusement, yet a look of concern crossed her eyes. It wouldn’t be long now for the poison to work it’s magic. A sudden breeze sent a chill up her legs, making her realize that somewhere along the way she had torn her gown, a clean slit just pausing along her naked thigh. Somewhere around that time it began to dawn on her that there were fewer mercenaries standing and more upon the floor than she could take credit for. Both Ebony and Joffrey had managed to slip away in the hustle but not without Tala already hot on their heels.

Catching Sean out of her peripherals she sighed, staring down at her dress, she slid her dagger along the tear to rip it in a horizontal fashion. Essence looked up to see a familiar dark, curly haired boy rolling to his feet, the image blackening as everything went dark followed by sporadic panic that echoed against the walls. With a sigh, Ess blinked, trying to make her eyes adjust. “Oh, this will not do...not at all..Uh, Sean, you still there? Would you be a gentleman and help a lady out? I can’t run in this thing..” Ess eyes flickered in their familiar glow; a violet beacon that quickly toned down but was enough to give her a glimpse of the man’s expression that sent giggles bouncing down her shoulders.
~~~~~~~~~

Darren snorted, holding back a chuckle when Jake poked at his side, playfully whining still about the shirt. His attention was more distracted so that it appeared he had to put effort into the jest as opposed to his normal, comical self. Quirking a brow he quickly glanced from Jake to the second fallen body, lightly tugging on his goatee in thought. “What the hell did you stick em’ with?” He asked curiously, his attention already wandering through his surroundings in pursuit of where the woman had disappeared into the crowd. “You’re from BlackPond, Jake...The name Ebony sound familiar? We don’t have time to get into it now, but let's just say I discovered she’s an old associate of my father’s...and more of a reason to finish much needed research.” Darren sighed, his expression momentarily blank before shifting to one of loss. He moved in one direction and stopped, turned around glancing in the direction of random shouts of guests as they moved to avoid the staircase. People began to push back; either from choice or by force. If they wanted to be apart of the battle or avoid it all together, Darren knew many wouldn’t be given much of choice as things began to escalate.

Turning abruptly away from the staircase, Darren began pressing through the crowd until he managed to pick out the small group of men encircling Ebony. In all honesty they stood out. It wasn’t hard to spot them as many began to push towards the blocked exits, against every corner and wall within the room. He didn’t need to turn around to know Jake was still within earshot as he spoke, “Hey...think I found who came here with that wolf...that...Redhead with no name..” Darren flashed a curious smile before it slipped away. He quickened his pace, zigzagging his way towards Ebony, determined to finish their conversation. Casually he kept his distance, coincidentally circling the group in the opposite direction of Tala so that they passed each other, only looking at each other long enough to acknowledge each other’s presence.

Only mere seconds went by before he witnessed the wolf take someone down with a graceful ease Darren felt only the female sex, no matter the species, carried alone. She was silent and deadly, and she wouldn’t have been noticed by others if not for the piercing scream of the man whose throat she had clamped down upon, silver fur stained in a sticky crimson. Darren saw a tall, fairly large man wearing a black, large brimmed hat with single red feather hanging off the front, approach Tala from behind. Raising a small ax over the wolf, the man was distracted with the blood feud so he didn’t notice Darren as he approached. “Aye Guy, nice...Hat.” The man hadn’t turned his head even half way when Darren’s fist collided with the side of his cheek. “You’re wearing it all wrong man...” He joked, popping the hat off the man’s head and catching it. “What the hell is this?” Darren laughed, plucking the feather from the hat and stomping it on the ground, his fingers crunching along the flexible brim to create a narrow, slanted point. The hat fit snug just above his ears, curling higher on his left along his temples compared to the right and just dipped low enough to cast a shadow over one eye.

“Thanks, Guy. I know it wasn’t suiting yo-” Darren took the first swing like a champ, barely budging even though his jaw was screaming. Stretching his jaw, he heard a pop, a subtle snort of amusement escaping him. Dropping low he swung his leg to bring the large man down, a smile spreading when the man lept out of the way, sending a series of low and high kicks in a fluid blur. Darren countered with several more kicks, dodging a boot to the face and the man paused to look at him curiously and nodded as if satisfied before attacking again. Forearms crossed before one another’s faces, mirroring each move as if they were dancing and couldn’t decide who would lead. A few moments passed and they shoved each other backwards unable to get in a proper hit and stared into one another’s eyes. Tipping his new hat, Darren winked before leaping forward into the air so his boots used the man’s torso and shoulders as steps to flip backwards while his heel connected with the man’s jaw twice. Hunched over in a small daze, Darren took the opportunity to repeat the move but instead of flipping again he locked his legs around the man’s throat and brought him down to the ground as Darren fell himself, putting pressure along several points at once so that the man’s eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out. He gave an extra squeeze before releasing and pushing the man away and somersaulting back to his feet just as the lights went out and he was encased in darkness. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t be seen, Darren adjusted his new hat in a fashion he thought suited him and stood as still as a statue, listening to the sudden shrieks echo around him.