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Tulia Avens

Silence is a virtue.

0 · 503 views · located in Carthan

a character in “Assassination Game”, as played by sinisterlupa

Description

Image


Name: Tulia Avens
Nickname: Tulls
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Trade: Dancer/Waitress, Thief

Personality: At first glance Tulia is quiet and shy. Its once you get to know her that you realize that her being quiet is not by choice. Shes not shy, shes watching and listening. Tulia smiles and lets her dancing speak for her. She spends her time at the bar she works at dancing, and when shes not dancing shes waiting tables. All the locals know her. Everyone speaks to her, almost as if she were a bartender. All their troubles, their guilt, their happiness. For good reason, Tulia is one of the most trustworthy people you will ever meet. To most people, that is. She keeps their secrets and only uses it when she has a job and never in a way that would break anyones trust in her.

Likes:
Dancing
Heights
People who can understand her
Running
Climbing
The chase

Dislikes:
Ignorance
Chauvinistic people
Being broke

Fears: Being trapped somewhere and no one can hear her scream

Crush:

Advantages: Tulia is like a spider. She'll climb her way into the tiniest spot completely silent and wait for the perfect time to catch her 'prey' before leaving with it just as silently. Has the complete and utter trust of most of the more less fortunate community. Knows just about everything there is to know about the workings of the 'underworld'.
Disadvantages: Tulia was born mute. She is unable to verbally communicate with anyone around her, which makes her work solo most of the time. No one trusts her to be able to warn them in time. She also has a bit of a temper that gets her into more than a fight or two. Her size makes most of these fights almost impossible for her to win.

A brief history: Tulia has been in the slums her entire life. Her mother was a druggy who became knocked up at a young age. Luckily, the only thing that Tulia aquired from the nine months of involuntary drug use was the inability to speak. It could have been much worse. The people at the bar her mother worked at took care of her. They made sure someone was always there to keep a roof over her head as her mother lay passed out on the floor. As she grew she rarely even saw her mother, taking more to the people on the streets than the woman who birthed her.
It was on the streets that Tulia witnessed her first dancer through the window of a bar she was not old enough to go into. This wasn't like the bar she was raised in...no...this dancing was emotional not sexual. Tulls wanted to dance like that and was willing to do anything to learn. She began pick pocketing to get the money she needed for dance lessons. As the years progressed she continued her lessons and was molded into a beautiful dancer. Her other skills progressed as well. No longer did she rely on simple pick pocketing, she was an accomplished thief.
She dances in the bar she grew up in, mixing the emotional and sexual dancing to produce movement fit for the environment around her. On her down time, if you know who to talk to, she will take the occasional job.

Image


Appearance: Tulia is such a tiny little thing, weighing in at only about 92lbs. Long black hair with a bit of natural curl to it. Despite her size, her body still has shape to it. Her eyes are as crystal blue as the sea set in lightly tanned skin.

Clothing style: Jeans, tank tops, and boots

Height: 4'11

Build: Very small, but still contains the curviness of a woman. She is lean and muscled, keeping her body well toned for both her careers.

Distinguishing Features: Ears have 2g black plugs in them. Her naval is pierced with a black hoop. No tattoos. Scar to the left of her naval, a few inches over, from being shot in the abdomen.

Other information: Tulia can speak sign language. There are many regulars at the bar, with whom she grew up, that can also. She carries a little note pad and pencil in her back pocket in case someone can not understand what it is she is trying to say to them.

So begins...

Tulia Avens's Story

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Tulia Avens

The music began and Tulia slowly and gracefully walked onto the stage. The music was fierce, almost animalistic though it carried no words with it. Her long black hair was loose in a cascade of ringlets around her shoulders and down her back. She refused to come onto the stage and strip like the rest of the girls, but she did try to wear something a little more revealing than her normal attire. The top was a rich black while from just under her ribs down to just brushing the tops of her thighs was a flowing grey. All in all, it looked like something you would wear into the bedroom. It was loose and easy to move in while allowing the more disgusting part of the crowd to get a tiny bit of a view.

Honestly, it didn't matter to Tulls what they were looking at while she was on stage. Once she was there, the world transformed for her. The music, the moves, her body spoke volumes of what she could never say out there. Here, on this stage, everything was crystal clear. Everything she did as she moved across that floor conveyed something about herself, something she wanted to share with someone. She danced for everyone yet she could see no one. Everything disappeared as her feet hit that floor. Nothing else mattered but the flow of her body to the beat of the music. Then, the song ends and life comes barreling back. Tulia opens her eyes and looks out at the familiar faces and a few newer ones as well as she slid down off the stage into a pair of waiting boots. She didn't care if she was raised her, you weren't paying her to walk barefoot across a bar floor. It wasn't going to happen.

Quite a few of the regulars stopped her and told her how much they enjoyed it. She smiled nodding her thanks. "Tulls! My lovely girl! Beautiful as always!" She didn't even have to turn to know that it was Danny, the bar owner. She turned towards his voice anyway with a beaming smile. Danny was like a father to her, now in his late 50's, he was one of the main ones who took care of her as a child. Her hands moved quickly, the smile never leaving her face. <You always say that. But thank you anyway.> Her smile began to slide as she saw the tray he was pushing towards her in his hands. She shook her head, the smile completely gone. <Danny! I haven't even changed yet. For God's sake my boots aren't even laced!> Her movements in her hands were different now, more heated. Even without seeing her face you could tell that she was unhappy with the task at hand.

Danny looked pained, truly, but still he handed her the tray. "I know, Tulls, I know. But Carly never showed up tonight and the place is packed. There are a lot of new customers here and I don't want to run them off. Please. Please. Take this tray real quick, then I promise I will let you go change." Typical Danny. Yet, she couldn't say no to him. She snatched the tray from his hands and ignored his grin. Turning towards the tables she looked at the ticket to see where she was going. Looking up and finding the table she groaned inwardly. Definitely not locals. In fact, it looked as though some of the upper class snobs had come down to slum. Great. She plastered on a flirtatious smile and walked to the table. Two men, one woman, all very much bigger than she was and situated in one of the bars corners.

Approaching the table, she was at a disadvantage with these people. Normally, one would announce their arrival by saying everything they were bringing on the tray. In this case, a pitcher and 3 glasses. Tulia couldn't do that. She sat the tray down on the table and began passing out the glasses trying to keep that smile on her face. It was the girl that spoke first. Her snobbish attitude coming right through to soak every word she spoke. "Excuse me. You do not have to be so rude. How do I know you even got the order right. I expect you to speak up the next time you come to this table. I am a customer, you are here to serve me." Oh, there were sometimes where she wished she could say exactly what she wanted to. Now was one of those times. Of course, it didn't get any better after that.

"Danielle. Leave the girl alone. Can't you see she is just a dancer. She probably doesn't even have an IQ high enough to be a server. Im sure they just have her filling in for someone at the moment. You know all those strippers are dumb as dirt anyway. She might not even know how to read." The table erupted in laughter and Tulia's temper was beyond rising. She was trying so very very hard to simply walk away from this table. She would tell Danny to get someone else over there. Yes, thats what she would do. She picked up the tray and turned to walk away when she felt a hand snake its way under the little dress and grab a handful of her ass. The hand was too small to be one of the men, it was the woman. Tulia was having a very very hard time holding in the urge to be a little violent. One more teeny tiny drop was all that was needed to make it overflow.

The girl laughed with the guys. "Look boys, she likes it. Maybe we should take her home with us tonight. Of course, someone would have to go first and make sure all the valuables were locked away." There went that drop. Tulia lifted the tray in her hand, turning toward the girl and swung with all her might at that snobbish little face. She felt the crunch on contact and knew that she had, at least, broken the girls nose. She had broken the tray as well. The girl was screaming as blood flowed from her face. Tulia threw the pieces of the tray into the floor and turned to see the two men standing, moving so as to back her into the corner and they were succeeding.

Danny had just realized what was going on, but just like the security, he was too far away to prevent something from happening before he got there. They were surrounded by newer customers, even most of the locals were too far away to prevent her from getting hit at least once. It wouldn't be the first time, but it really wasn't ever that pleasant. Tulia was still angry and her hands and arms were moving at a rapid pace. <That snobbish b*tch deserved it! You come here, to our bar and expect me to listen to you talk about me like I am trash! I swear to God that if you lay one tiny rich finger on me I will come in and take everything you f*cking own. Right out from under your sleeping nose. Then I will gut you like the piece of trash you are!> She spit at them. They had no idea what she had said, but it was the bodily fluids that tipped the scale for them. She saw the fist coming toward her, felt her arms being held. Danny's voice echoed above all the others, "Tulls!" Oh, this was going to hurt.

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Tulia Avens
Tulls watched as the rich snot's fist came closer and closer to her face. She struggled as hard as she could. Twisting and kicking, trying to wiggle out of the grip of the second guy. Nothing else in the room mattered right now, nothing but the three of them. It was as if someone had blacked the rest of the bar out and left only the three of them in a bright spot light. She should have been screaming. Screaming her rage. Her lips never moved. She felt the need to make noise, to bang on something or kick something, but not to scream. It was odd seeing her struggling with no attempt to call out for help. They were holding down her only means of communication.

She tried to brace herself for the impact, but what could she do really? The contact of it felt like her neck should have broken. Pain exploded around her right eye and cheek, radiating across the rest of her face. She stopped fighting for a moment, attempting to hold on to at least a tiny bit of consciousness. The one holding her began laughing and threw her down against the wall and into the floor. She tried to brace herself but failed miserably as she felt her face hit the wall before her hands. Holy hell if she could let out a string of obscenities right now! She could taste the blood flowing into her mouth as she fell completely to the floor. The wall had so graciously slid her lip harshly against her bottom teeth. She lifted her head towards the two men. She really should just let this go, but she wouldn't. A smile spread across her lips before she spat the blood in her mouth onto their feet.

"You stupid b*tch!" Oh, the look on their faces was well worth it all. The kick to the ribs that followed, she wasn't so sure about. It lifted her small body completely off the floor as her breathe was forced out of her. The sounds of guns cocking made the room eerily quiet. At least five people had guns pointed at the newcomers. Danny's voice was even and calm. "I hear the sirens so I know that one of you called the police. That isn't how it works here. The three of you will leave this bar and keep the cops away. If one of them even sniffs too close to this building, I can promise you that they will be cleaning up a lot more than just a broken nose." The others made sure that the three of them were escorted out while Danny went to Tulls and helped her up. "Tulls, my girl, go upstairs and get cleaned up. Go out the back and be scarce until the cops are gone."

Danny's attention was already back to business as she nodded and slowly walked toward the stairs. Her head felt as though someone had literally taken a sledge hammer to her, her lip was still bleeding, and with the difficulty she was having breathing...she was sure there was at least one broken rib. She made it up the steps and to her room, kicking off the boots before struggling to get the dress off. She grabbed a rag and wet it, heading for the mirror. What she saw made her hesitate. Her eye was already swelling horribly and there was bruising down the side of her face. Her lip was huge, blood still oozing from the slit in it. She sighed and cleaned her face the best she could. She needed to get the swelling down, but she couldn't do that here.

Tulls grabbed a pair of jeans, a black tank top, and her boots. Wincing as she pulled everything on, she took a band and pulled her hair back, grabbed a tiny notebook and slid it into her back pocket with a pen and headed out the door. It was raining, so she was glad she pulled her hair up, but it did nothing to hide her face. She would walk back alleys as much as possible until she came to the little flower shop. By the time she got there, her eye was completely swollen shut. She took the notebook out of her pocket before she went inside and wrote, <Fight. Cops at bar.> She didn't really come here for Paz to cure her, it was just where she ended up. She trusted Paz and she knew that the cops wouldn't look for her here if the stupid brats gave her up. She held onto the pad and opened the door, walking inside.

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: The Gardener
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A bouquet of white lilys for the couple who lost their infant daughter, then it was a basketful of alstroemeria for a melancholic librarian mourning for his recently deceased wife, and after that, the shop was slow again. Paz was behind the counter, whittling ugly chess pieces out of scrap wood and contemplating the feasibility of a flower delivery system, when who else but Tulia Avens should limp in looking like hell. Bruises adorned the right side of her face, centered around the cheek and eye area, which had swollen up rather viciously, and her upper lip was puffed and split. Paz also noticed a careful and deliberate prudence to her walk that suggested further injuries more internal in nature.

“Damn it Tulls! What the hell happened this time?” Paz put down the bishop she’d been butchering and scanned the notepad that Tulia flashed at her. Fight. Cops at bar. The ex-assassin sighed very loudly and grumpily. She could never understand how the mute brunette could get into so many fights, especially when at such a disadvantage considering her tiny size. It was stupid. Probably even Tulia knew it was stupid. But that’s how she was. She didn’t take shit from anybody for her handicap. Despite forbidding herself from becoming attached to any of the slum-dwellers, Paz was somewhat fond of her.

She had met the girl a few months earlier, when as a new florist, she had made the mistake of pitying the bar owner Danny enough to help alleviate his indigestion with a simple herb, but pretty soon the whole neighborhood thought she was some kind of miracle worker and kept shoving their infirmities through her door. One night Danny burst in and pleaded for her help, that he had a girl who had been shot in the gut and could she please do anything. That had been a nightmare, but it had worked out in the end, and it had introduced her to the twenty-year-old dancer, who was now very familiar with the back room.

“C’mon, you dumbass. We’ll hide you in the back.” She pushed open the door to the back room, which had now started to stink of alcohol due to the drunk passed out on the floor, and retrieved an icepack from the freezer. She wrapped a clean rag around it to form a compress and tossed it to Tulia. The untouched plate of biscuits and mug of now lukewarm tea still sat on the counter, but now they were joined by a pot of a homemade topical cream. “Smear this on, it should help.”

A siren blared in the distance. Paz peeked out the door into the shop to glance out the front window. Yep, there they went.

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: The Gardener Character Portrait: Shin Blackthorne
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Tulls looked around the shop remembering the first time she had come here. She had agreed, against her better judgement, to go on a job with a partner she didn't know very well. Real high end art that could be fenced for a lot of money. The job had went well until they were leaving and the owner of the art came home early. They were separated, but unseen. They could have escaped clean. Her partner lost nerve, got scared, whatever you want to call it, because she couldn't see Tulia. The man came out with a gun and her partner called out to her. She couldn't answer her, not that she would have at that moment, so her partner did it again. Tulls looked around the corner to motion for her to be quiet when she heard the shot and saw the blood blossom against her partners chest. She dropped everything, her only focus now was escape. When she made it outside, the owners wife was standing by the car, gun in hand.

She remembered hearing the shot, feeling the intense burning in her stomach, but she just kept running. She couldn't remember much after that. Danny tells her that she came into the bar looking as though she had already died and collapsed. She could remember the smell of the flower shop. Not something that everyone would appreciate but it was something she had grown fond of. She remembered waking up in the back room not knowing where she was but too weak to do much about it except sign some mildly inappropriate things to someone who was saving your life. Luckily, Paz couldn't read it. After she healed, she felt like she owed the woman more than just free meals and drinks from the bar. So she went out and acquired a rare plant for her as a thank you.

Now, here she was again, and she must look terrible given the reaction of Paz when she walked in. She tried to smile at the woman calling her a dumbass, but her mouth wouldn't quite cooperate. She followed her into the back and looked curiously at the man on the floor. Taking the icepack and pressing it against her face, she sat down in the chair. She began writing again, <Do I want to know why you have a man, that smells like he drank the entire bar, passed out on your floor? And by the way, if it had just been the girl I wouldn't be here. Apparently, the two guys with her didn't take kindly to me hitting her in the face with a tray. Then, like the snobbish rich kids they were, they called the cops. To the slums. They're lucky no one shot them.>

She laid the icepack down and picked up the ointment, smearing it across the entire side of her face. It felt this bad now, she didn't want to know what it was going to be like later. Especially if she hadn't come here. She didn't know a lot about plants and healing, she just knew that if you knew what you were doing, they worked. She began scribbling again, <How long do you think it will take for my eye to open? Its been a long time since someone did this much damage with one hit.>

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: The Gardener Character Portrait: Shin Blackthorne
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#, as written by Fencer
It was a nightmare that made him writhe, the awards and recognition for excellence, the sounds of bullets, his dead wife and the spiral of decay, the kindly and sensible advice from his friend, the box, that damn box containing the love letters, the collapse of all he believed, the useless struggle to remain stable, it was a nightmare full of memories that could only indicate that alcohol was slowly but steady leaving his system, the image of his friend and his wife mocking him, then suddenly the blue man came for a fight, suddenly everything went black and then a green woman appeared.

Shin awoke, he was sore from sleeping in an awkward position and the smell indicated that he was in a unknow place, "Just another night" thought the man without opening his eyes, he wanted to check his vague and fuzzy memories to find some clue of his location, the last night (or rather the day he came out of his house Shin had no way to be sure until he finds the date on a calendar) he came from the high district to the slums, his favorite bar was there full of alcohol and indifference things he liked in a bar, he bought a lot of bottles and that were all his accurate memories, after that everything becomes confusing.

He put his hand on his face and tried to force his memory, had a fight and collapse on the street, how do he get to this place? without opening his eyes he knew that wasn't the street, a green woman started kicking him and for some reason in his memories appeared a yellow and pink polka dotted rhinoceros that guided him to a place where he could rest... that wasn't much help, opened his eyes and saw two women in the room where was it had many plants and their care-related things, one of the womens was rather small and the other should have his height maybe a couple of inches less, out of nowhere the green woman and the rhinoceros in his memories became one and the rest of the information came in the same way.

She was a florist and offered him a place to shelter from the rain, why he accepted the help from a stranger? that wasn't something he could did, not even drunk... right the conditions, the conditions he set to accept her help, She had to think of a way so he could repay for the help, wanting to end the situation quickly and go to his own house stood slowly, the small girl's face was unrecognizable, not that he know her, but it seem that had been beaten those things happen often in these neighborhoods.

He had the feeling that had said too much, but his head was killing him and wanted to go so cleared his throat and said, "Did you thought about how I can repay you?", Shin had other questions like what day and time it was, or if it had stopped raining or what happened to the little girl, but two of those answers could be achieved without help and the third wasn't really his concern.

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: The Gardener Character Portrait: Shin Blackthorne
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Once again the notepad was up in the air with, surprise surprise, a written inquiry about the drunk. “He just collapsed outside right in front of my store,” said Paz with a careless shrug. “I didn’t want him to die out there, so I let him sleep in here.”

After reading the new text that appeared as Tulia scribbled down more details about her fight, she ‘tsk’ed disapprovingly and lit up a cigarette. Paz took a lazy drag and exhaled noiselessly. “Those trust fund babies didn't know any better. But you do. Tulls, if you don’t start reigning your fists and temper in, then one day you’re going to be the one facing the barrel of a gun, or worse.” She leaned against the counter and blew out a hazy cloud of smoke, enjoying the way each wisp curled away from her and filled the room, permeating the edges with a heavy, cloying scent. “You’ll probably start being able to see out of your eye again by tonight and have full use of it tomorrow. But it’s going to look pretty nasty for a week. Take that tub with you when you leave.”

At this point the drunk awoke, making his presence known by shifting awkwardly on the floor. He eyed them out of bleary eyes and brought up his previous offer of repayment. She’d come up with several while he was asleep, including one that insisted he could repay her by never drinking again, but that would be asking for more than he was capable.

“Yes, actually,” Paz said huskily, stepping toward the door to lead him out of the store. “Your earlier theories, about that ZERO group, were fascinating. Maybe you could tell me more about it over coffee sometime.... Mister...?“

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: The Gardener Character Portrait: Shin Blackthorne
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Tulls raised the only eyebrow that would at Paz. She didn't say anything else about the man, believing that Paz had her reasons. Tulls knew the woman helped out in the neighborhood, but she also knew that it wasn't because she particularly wanted to. It was almost as if it was forced sometimes. Like she was forcing herself to help out. Not that Tulls was going to complain, Paz's help is what kept her alive. Everyone here had secrets. Its why you come to the slums, or why you stay. Far be it for her to judge someone.

She closed her eyes as she heard the words that Paz was saying to her. She knew it was true. One day her temper was going to take her somewhere that she wasn't going to come back from. Hearing the words about her being the one facing down the barrel of a gun made her hang her head slightly, her hand automatically sliding to her stomach. It wasn't her temper that had earned her that one. She nodded lightly, opening her eyes, and wrote slowly. <I know. I know. I'll be careful.> She was glad when Paz spoke about her eye. Tomorrow. Not bad. She was about to write something else when she noticed the heap in the floor had begun to stir.

Tull's shifted her seat a little away from him, more so that she could see him than anything else. She was just as curious as to what Paz was going to request for repayment as the man was. What came from her lips was not exactly what she had expected. She knew for a moment there had been recognition in her eye, across her face, and in her body. But she quickly recovered. She had heard things about a group. Mostly from drunks saying that they heard about it through other convicts or cops or whatever. Nothing definitive. But it was enough to make her not want to get involved with it.

While Paz was escorting the man out, Tulls scribbled quickly on a piece of paper. <Thanks again. Be careful.> With that, she grabbed the salve and slipped out the back door and into the alley.

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: Saul Flynn
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Tulia walked quietly through the alleyways. She avoided the main roads due to the way she looked at the moment. Even in this part of town, people noticed when a girls face looked like someone had run over it. There wasn't much activity out and about this early in the morning. A few drunks passed out here or there, stumbling drug addicts. Most of the night life had already went to bed. It was where she needed to be, but she wouldn't return to the bar for a few hours. Give the cops time to clear out completely.

She smiled as she passed a dumpster with a bag beside it. Clothes. Despite what everyone thought about the slums, they took care of their own. There were many businesses that put out old clothes for people to have instead of throwing them away. Danny was one of the owners that did the same. Usually, she walked by them, but today she was hoping that there was something in there with a hood. She dug through the clothes, wrinkling her nose at some of the choices, but attempted a smile when she found a plain black hoodie. It was too big for her small frame, but it did the job of covering her face and keeping the rain off of her.

The rain had washed away most of the salve that she had applied to her face. It had her soaked to the core and her hair plastered to whatever piece of skin it could find. She could only imagine what she looked like right now. She was coming dangerously close to the edge of the current quadrant she was in. Someone that looked as she did right now would get the cops called on them just for walking down the street in the northern quadrant. She was about to turn around when something...no someone...caught her eye above her. She didn't even think about it before she was pulling herself up onto the fire escape, climbing toward the roof. The pain that exploded through her ribs every time she moved was breathtaking. It slowed her down, but it didn't stop her.

She could only see the figure moving ahead of her, too far to see anything any more distinguishing. By the time she reached the ground again she had thought she lost him. Scanning the area, the police cars caught her eye in the distance. Even more interesting was the black figure that she had been following sneaking into the back of the house. Hmm. She crept slowly, looking for a viewpoint that was not in plain view of the cops. There wasn't much to choose from. Unlike where she lived, these houses were spaced out and had large yards. Finally deciding to creep up to a large oak tree a few hundred feet away, she pulled herself painfully up into and scanned the windows of the house.

She didn't see anything at first, but movement caught her eye as she realized that the figure she had been following had been found. Call it stupidity, or what you will, but she couldn't let the cops get them. She loathed the cops and already knew exactly what would happen if someone from the slums was caught in the neighborhood no matter what the crime. She looked around. There was only one cop still outside, one inside. Backup hadn't arrived yet. Good. She lowered herself down from the tree, pulled the hoodie off and threw it to the ground. She pulled the ponytailer out of her hair and mussed it quickly. She grabbed the end of her tank top and ripped upward enough to expose the horrible bruising along her ribs. She wished she could scream, but this would have to do.

Stumbling toward the cop standing outside, she bit the split in her lip until she tasted blood and felt it slide down her chin. She reached up and smeared it with her hand, wiping some across her face. The cop had yet to notice her, thats okay, he would soon enough. She picked up the pace and just as the cop heard her and turned around and saw her she fell to the ground before him. Scrambling away from him as he tried to touch her she signed hysterically. In case he could read them, she made it believable. <Help me! Help me! He raped me! Please!!! Please!!!> Over and over again.

The cop didn't know what to do with her. He had no idea what she was saying, but he knew that something had happened to her. She looked horrible and terribly skiddish. Obviously, she couldn't speak, but he had to help her. He nodded hoping she wasn't deaf. "Hold on. Just, hold on. I'm getting help." He called out, a little panicked, not used to being unable to rectify the situation. "Mack! I need you down here! You got a cousin who's deaf right?? This girl, shes hurt bad and I got no clue what shes trying to tell me. Get down here!"

Tulls smiled to herself. That worked out perfectly. Who would have thought that one of them could actually understand her. Now, she just had to figure out how to get herself away from them.

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: Saul Flynn
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"Hands up" said the cop. Saul obeyed. Thank God he had his ski mask on. "Now put the camera on the floor and turn around. Slowly!" The cop had a 9mm glock pointed directly at Saul's head, he looked young... inexperienced.

Saul slowly took a knee and set the camera down. 'how the h*ll am I supposed to get out of this one?' Saul thought

As if God sent him yet another boon, the olde cop called out from the first floor.  "Mack! I need you down here! You got a cousin who's deaf right?? This girl, shes hurt bad and I got no clue what shes trying to tell me. Get down here!"

The young cop let his guard down, turning his head, and looking away from Saul. He realized his mistake and quickly snapped his head back, but the mistake had already been made.

Before Mack knew what happened Saul already had a grip on the barrel of the cops weapon.

Saul kneeled down, threw his hands above him and made a quick 360 turn. The cop found himself sitting on the floor, arms twisted and in pain.

Saul pulled down on the cops pistol hand, using his other arm to push up on his elbow, resulting in a muffled snap. The pistol fell to the floor.

Mack opened his mouth the scream, but Saul swiveled around and catapulted his leg onto the cops throat. The force caused the cop to hit the hardwood floor, dazed.

Saul grabbed his camera and opened the window of the room. Just before jumping out he caught a glimpse of Mack grabbing his pistol with his other hand and pointing it out the window. 'shoulda broke that one too' Saul thought as he let go of the window sill. A shot was fired, clearly a miss.

From the bushes below the window Saul recovered from the fall, and was about to take off when his eye caught an unexpected sight.

'Tulia?'

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: Saul Flynn
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The cop was still trying to calm her down as he waited on a response from his partner. She wouldn't let him too close to her and continued to sign as if he would suddenly be able to understand what she was saying. All the while, the only thoughts passing through her head was how she was supposed to get out of this nice little situation she put herself into. Not that they could do anything to her, she was a beaten woman. Once they took her to the station though, ran her prints, they would know exactly who she was and the jig, as they say, would be up.

The cops back was to the house, more focused on her than the situation he knew nothing about upstairs. Tulia, however, never let her peripheral vision stray from the window she had spotted the figure in. She watched as that figured vaulted out of the window and into the grass and bushes below. Now was another time she wished she could scream for effect. Instead, she did something just as rare, she opened her mouth as if she were screaming. Scrambling away from the officer at the sound of the gunshot. She played the victim very well as fake tears began to stream down her bloodied face.

The officer looked a little peeved as he turned around and shouted back up at the house, still very unaware of what had happened. "Mack!? What the hell?! You are scaring the shit out of her! What are you shootin' at anyway?" The officer never figured that there was actually something up there, his partner was still green, he figured he had gotten spooked and fired. It happened. HOwever, Tulia took this opportunity to run. Her eyes locked on the black figure as the cop turned toward the house and then she sprinted. Pain shot through her body as each step seemed to shift that broken rib around. She didn't stop. The cop didn't pursue her as he figured out that something else had happened.

She didn't wait for the figure, she still hadn't figured out who it was. She assumed that they would catch up to her eventually, she wasn't exactly at her best right now. She ran until she found a fire escape on a building that was finally beginning to be close enough to the other buildings around. Grabbing it she climbed up quickly. Making it to the top, she decided to rest for a minute. She sat down beside an air conditioning unit, using it to prop up against. She pulled the damp writing pad out of her pocket and the pen, writing slowing, "You're welcome." and laying it beside her as she closed her eyes for a moment.

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: Saul Flynn
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Saul was already leaning agains the AC unit by the time Tulia shut her eyes.

Saul read the paper. 'It's those cops that should be thanking her. Probably would have got off with a lot worse than a broken arm if she hadn't come along.' he thought quietly. 

Saul had watched Tulia as she ran, there was clear struggle. She was injured. Saul looked down to see her favoring her weight to one side, and guarding her other side with her forearm. Probably a broken rib, blood covered her face too.

He took off his mask and swallowed, it had been a while since he last talked out loud. "You going to be alright?"

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Tulls was tired. She was over doing it and she knew it, but what was life if you didn't push it a little? She knew that the cops wouldn't find either of them. They had already crossed the border and were technically back home, in the slums. It was rare for a chase to actually make it this far. The cops just basically gave up because they could never find them in here. No one would answer questions, no one would help them look. It was useless. She was safe for the moment beside the masked figure she had helped escape. There was something familiar about his structure but she couldn't place it. It wasn't until she heard his voice that she knew exactly who it was.

It had been a long time since she had seen Saul, go figure he was still sticking his nose into hairy situations. She smiled at the sound of his voice though, as much as she could without causing more bleeding from her lip. She wondered how horrible she must truly look for him to ask her that question. It wasn't the first time he had seen her with injuries from fighting, probably wouldn't be the last. She turned her head toward him, opening up the only eye that would to look at him. She had always had a bit of a crush on him, not that she would ever make it known, not purposefully. He had never even hinted at the feelings being returned, his head always seemed to be elsewhere.

Tulls nodded her head at his question, picking up the pad of paper and pen. Writing slowly, up under her previous note to him, 'I've been worse.'

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Character Portrait: Tulia Avens Character Portrait: Saul Flynn
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'I've been worse.'

And that she had, Saul thought to himself. Tulia probably couldn't deal any real damage in a fight, but d*mn did she take a lot of punishment; Saul respected her, maybe to much for his own good. But could he help it?

They spent a lot of time together as kids, both growing up on the streets, avoiding gangs, and getting in and out of trouble together; that was a while ago though.

Saul grabbed her wrist as he kneeled down next to her. "That you have Tuls" Saul took Tulias arm over his neck and placed his hand on her good side. "let's get you somewhere dry." Saul said, and helped Tulia up.

Saul began to think of where 'somewhere dry' would be.

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Memories fumigated Saul's mind, and he found himself smiling openly. Without thinking he quickly suppressed the smile. 'why?' he thought as he looked at Tulia Avens. 'Why shouldn't I be happy?' he allowed himself a grin and took a leap over a dumpster, pushing off the wall mid-air with his hand. He landed the 360 behind Tulia, a he watched her squeeze into the hideout.

The hideout was darker than Saul remembered it... And smaller. He took his backpack off his shoulders and let it drop to the ground with a loud clang. His ski mask fell on top of that. He sat down cross-legged, taking off his left boot. As he emptied the boot of the pebble he had been annoyed with he looked around. "Been a while since we've had to hide in here." he said as his eyes wandered to Tulia.

She had grown up. She was fit, and rather... Beautiful. Well, as beautiful as you could get with that much blood covering your face. "What happened?"

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Tulls saw him smiling and it made me want to smile herself. It brought back fond memories. She mostly ran alone now. She didn't have anyone to hide out with in little abandoned holes anymore. It was turning out to be a better day than it had started out being.

She watched him take off his boot and laughed silently as he poured out a pebble. She could feel his eyes on her as he asked his question. She was used to not being able to sign to everyone, but she'd always secretly wished that Saul would have learned so that she could speak to him more openly, more easily. She grabbed the pad and pen and began writing quickly. <I was dancing at the bar. When I was done, Danny made me take a tray to a table. They were joking about how dumb I must be because I wasn't speaking. I tried to walk away, the girl grabbed my ass. I broke my tray over her face.>

She held it out to him to read before she flipped the page and began writing again. <There were two guys with her. They held me down. Punched me, threw me into a wall, and kicked me in the ribs. It looks worse now. The swelling. The bleeding had stopped, I busted it again for dramatic effect with the cops.> Again she held it out before flipping the page again. <They called the cops. The rich brats at the bar. So, Danny made me run. The rest...well..you know.>

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Saul read the account of events as they came. "yeah, I heard when the cops got the call" He said. 'Pricks will get what they deserved for calling the cops in that area.' he thought with unintentional anger. He reached into one of the pockets of his pack pulled out a spare dry shirt, and then a water  bottle out of another pocket.

"I suppose I never actually said thank you for helping me out." Saul unscrewed the cap of the water and wet down a corner of the folded shirt. After returning the water he handed the shirt to Tulia. "for your face." he explained.

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This was not how Tulia had wanted to reunite with Saul. However, at the same time it was perfect. How many times had they come into this spot only for him to have to take care of her injuries? She was a big girl now, though. She knew how to take care of herself. She did wish that her face wasn't as swollen. There was a time where he could read every expression on her face, she didn't write or sign around him. That had been years ago. She nodded to him and took the damp shirt.

As she was cleaning her face, it became apparent that she had made it look much worse than it actually was. The lip was split and puffy, but it wasn't the worse busted lip in the world. Her eye...well, it was swollen shut and the bruise went down the side of her face and was about 15 shades of color. All in all, it wasn't terrible. Her eye would open tomorrow, in a week she'd be good as new. She couldn't tell if she had gotten all of the blood off of her face, but she handed the shirt back to him with a thank you nod and a slight smile.

It was slightly awkward being here with him. She never would have thought it would be but it was. It was quiet and she didn't know what to say exactly. She worried at the split in her lip with her tongue, a sure sign that she was a little nervous.

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Saul put his boot back on as Tulia washed the blood off her face, then shoved the shirt back in his pack after. He looked at Tulia, she looked a nervous, though he couldn't tell why. Then again, it had been a long time since they had seen one another

"how have you been? It's been a long time." he said, at last pointing out the obvious subject. "how many years? Almost 5"

'a lot has happened in that time.' Saul thought about his missions. He had kind of turned introvert after the fire, he didn't want to drag anyone into his self imposed vindictive life style. Much less someone he once considered one of his closest friends. Saul's mind briefly wondered if Tulia would approve of his decisions if she knew of them. That however, was a subject he planed on avoiding.

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Saul could feel his heart drop when he saw the scar. He had been shot a few times, but never without body armor, and it never broke skin. It was an experience he did not wish to have. He briefly wanted to console Tulia, but he decided it was pointless as the damage was already done.

"Still in the game hu?" Saul remembered back. Tulia had always been a better thief than he had been, he lacked a certain... Subtlety, she however, seemed to be graceful in everything she attempted. "You were always good at it." he said reminiscently. For the first time in a while Saul felt something, happiness maybe. He regretted the loss of their relationship, but after what happened to his father he didn't have time for this sort of thing... Relationships, friends, even family for the most part; they weren't for him right now.

"And you're still dancing, I'd like to stop by sometime." he said honestly, although weather or not it would happen was another matter.

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She wasn't sure if he would actually come to see her dance. There was something about him that was different, distant. She wanted to ask him what it was, why he was putting such space between them, but those weren't words for a piece of paper. She kept her thoughts to herself before standing up in the dimly lit hole. She was small enough that the small space wasn't cramped for her at all.
She played the music in her head for a moment before her body began to move with it. She was limited with what she could do in such a small space, but none the less she was as graceful as she was on stage. The pain from her broken rib was intense but it never showed on her face as she turned and dipped and spun in front of him. She was about to stop on her own, when her foot caught a loose rock and stopped her a moment too soon. Her body went tumbling onto his as she buried her face against his shoulder, laughing. She should have known that the little show wouldn't go perfect for him.