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Post by MIRACH DIA on Sept 18, 2013 19:37:20 GMT -8
Mirach paused at the entrance to a familiar alleyway, her back to the brick wall of an abandoned building. Her brown eyes simmered with mischief as she looked on from the shadows. The windows were boarded up, a ‘condemned’ notice pasted to the rotting front door, but the front porch and the sidewalks were burdened with hoards of uninvited guests camped in makeshift tents or sprawled across cardboard beds. They were cocooned in layers of clothes—not because they were cold, but because it was the easiest way to keep their important possessions close—while shopping carts, litter, and their precious garbage-found treasures were huddled close by. Given a few days to a few weeks, all of the homeless here would find themselves uprooted by the authorities in one of their typical publicity stunt sweeps. Literally, each man, woman and child (teenager or otherwise) would find themselves inexplicably picked up and moved like common trash. They would migrate to new alleys and streets, resuming a semi-nomadic state of life in which they lived from someone else’s trash to another person’s nothing. Perhaps they’d find temporary shelter at kitchens or poorly run facilities that catered to their sort—or were meant to, anyway—but otherwise, they would only have themselves to look to for support.
Mirach slid her bare hands into her leather jacket coat pockets. For once she was not out here as Mirach “Asclepius” Dia. No trench coats, grotesque masks, or duffle bags filled with medical equipment. The Faux Caduceus was hidden away in her jeans pocket, and she had a few meager weapons on her for an emergency, but nothing more. She was simply Mirach tonight, and as most people do in Skid Row because they’ve descended from all walks of life, she meshed with everyone else. She did of course, feel odd about it, almost naked. Asclepius was not a side of herself that she typically abandoned, especially not at this hour. As she waited, she felt uneasy, as if she didn’t belong. But of course, there always had to be days where she smartly called it quits on her second half for the sake of eluding the police or letting the heat die down on her reputation.
She supposed what really boggled her was that tonight she had ditched Asclepius for something else entirely. An unheard of reason, actually.
Mirach glanced over her shoulder to the darkened alley behind her. Naughty, naughty, Jun Shi. Where was that man, when they had agreed to meet here? She snorted and looked back out into the open street, resisting a cattish smirk. She was starting to like his company a little too much.
Time Stamp: May 14th, 11:00p.m.
Notes & Shit: N/A
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Sept 19, 2013 8:44:42 GMT -8
tagged: Gabriel Kingston. time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. The streets were dirty on his head. Not physically, though in a sense they were in that part of town, but dirty. It was the sort that manifested in his mind more than anything of a physical sense ever could. It didn’t feel grimy on his hands, but it let a residue in his thoughts. Despite how it sounded, it wasn’t a negative thing. Not exactly positive either; he was a clean man, physically speaking.
Jun Shi glanced up at the street lamp, one bulb dead, as he passed underneath it. It cast a long shadow onto the cracked and black-spotted sidewalk and he had to wonder why he’d asked to do a rendezvous at suck a dirty place. Trash accumulated in the corners and up the walls, graffiti painted the concrete and windows were barred up or punched out or both. The light cast a sickly, yellowish glow over the people who wandered there like ghosts, with no place to hide when the winter came except in the hollowed husks of buildings.
He could almost paint it. In fact, he would. Not tonight, though. Maybe when he got home, in the wee hours of the morning and he was left with his private thoughts. He’d sketch it in his book then, and perhaps draw it out before dedicating it to a canvas.
Darkened alleys formed lines between the buildings, and she had to be in one of them. Well, there were probably dozens upon dozens, but he’d been in the neighbourhood enough to know what was where. How many people had scars on their sides or elsewhere because of him? Quite a few, he supposed. Other scars, elsewhere, too.
But he was thinking too much.
”Now, where oh where are you?” He muttered to himself, peeking into darkened alcoves with each step. He wasn’t subtle whatsoever, but who could stop him? He was a mere shadow that could slip out of one’s grip with a moment’s notice.
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Sept 20, 2013 20:30:41 GMT -8
Speak of the devil himself—there he was.
Mirach smirked, pulling away from the corner. She pressed her back fully to the rough brick wall behind her though, keeping to the shadows that pooled there, her bare hands slipping slowly from the cover of her jacket pockets. It would be difficult to spot her immediately, especially from the angle Jun Shi would be entering the alley at, and she could use that knowledge to her advantage. A keen glint entered her eye as she waited, gaze locked on that corner, holding her breath. Honestly, she doubted she could do any harm to that man, even if she wanted to and managed to jump him, but there was nothing wrong with having a little fun at his expense. He’d kept her waiting anyway; he had it coming to him. Mirach ticked seconds off in her head, calculating the appropriate amount of steps he’d have to take before crossing her alleyway. She was almost certain he hadn’t seen her too, which of course made everything ten times better. Tension snapped through her back and her heart raced as he drew closer. The entire situation was reminiscent of a cat, every coiled muscle in its body poised for the inevitable pounce.
But when the moment came, the mouse didn’t arrive. All of that pent up energy almost made her stumble forward in confusion. She frowned immediately, her gaze darting back and forth for a few seconds, wondering if she had miscalculated. But Jun Shi never showed. Confused and partially aggravated, Mirach pushed away from the wall and out of the shadows, her brow furrowing. She crept up to the corner and peered around it—but surprise, surprise—Jun Shi wasn’t there, or even lingering up the street. There were still people passed out on the sidewalks and in front of the building, but that man was nowhere to be seen. She growled under her breath, then stepped out into the open. Maybe she’d mistaken him for someone else. Or maybe her count was off.
“Mistake my ass,” she muttered. He must have gone elsewhere—down the next alley, maybe, still looking for her? Mirach threw one last glance over her shoulder and went after him. If she was quiet enough, she could still sneak up on him—though somehow that seemed less fun now that she was deliberately prowling after him like a predator that had lost its prey in the dark.
Notes: Ah. There's nothing like games of Hide and Seek or Cat and Mouse with Satan and the Hellspawn. Nope. Nothin' else like it.
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Sept 22, 2013 19:54:01 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. To say that he was ill prepared for a situation to arise in skid row was vastly underestimating him. Like his brother, he often carried firearms wherever he went, and his parents had enrolled him in various martial arts classes when he was young, ‘just in case’. Of course, that worry over him had faded over the years until Kun Shui was the only thing left in their hearts, but he didn’t complain too much. At least, he’d stopped complaining over the past few years and preoccupied himself.
The alleyways were dark and the lights did little to help him along. Still, he was on a mission, more or less. Locate the target, but beyond that, he wasn’t entirely sure. He paused under one of the lights for a second, peering around when rather suddenly, the bulb flickered out and he was plunged into gloom.
Well, wasn’t that ominous? He immediately sidestepped into another alleyway, eyes trying to refocus in the dark as he made his way to his destination through another route. He heard faint and far off noses, but nothing distinctive. There was nothing there, standing out in his mind, until he heard footsteps. Purposeful, though very faint, barely present… But there they were.
He turned down another way, so narrow he had to turn sideways just a bit, making it through the crack. Looping around seemed like a good idea.
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Sept 23, 2013 18:56:48 GMT -8
Now Mirach stood at the edge of the next alleyway, her eyes adjusting much faster to the dusky, Skid Row side streets than she gave them credit for, even without the glow of a street lamp nearby to help her out. Asclepius was partly to blame for that—how, for so much of her life she’d grown accustomed to the night. She had an instinctive edge about places like this, where the buildings almost crept up amongst one another, slowing, squeezing, or trapping unwelcome visitors or fugitives in forgotten capillaries. Since she’d lost Jun Shi moments ago, the urge to search this one strengthened, but Mirach could tell that the buildings would press in on each other; her brown eyes glinted as she glanced up at the looming walls that were their sides. Earlier she thought she’d heard a scuffle of movement further down—the scratch of shoes on pavement, but there was nothing there now. If Jun Shi had come this way, he had pushed forward and moved on. Mirach smirked.
Well, she wasn’t exactly on the run from anything tonight, so she could afford to follow after him. Mirach took her first few steps into the mouth of the alley, still careful to avoid debris, like the trash that sometimes found itself scattered across the ground. One hand dipped back into her pockets though, clasping the Faux Caduceus out of habit. She knew more than enough to defend herself, but it was always the ‘getting away part’ that absorbed her mind the most. Asclepius had always needed fast escape venues, and it was a hard thought to break as her gaze darted from one object in the dark to the next. But by the time the pathway narrowed in front of her, she had stopped in her tracks entirely. Her gaze narrowed again, but primarily because she had heard something up ahead. However, yet again, it wasn’t who she was looking for.
A stray, black cat wandered into her alley instead, tail flicking back and forth. Its green eyes glowed back at her, but the cat folded its ears and spat at her. Without missing a beat, Mirach hissed back, suppressing a growl of frustration that could have gone with it. She also feigned a small lunge and finally laughed under her breath when the animal fled, however, a second later, she was unhappy again. Still no Jun Shi. Maybe she had made a mistake earlier, though she’d never admit it out loud. Rather than squeeze through this end of the street, Mirach turned around, but it was difficult to tear her eyes away. She wasn’t entirely convinced; she had a distinct feeling she had missed or overlooked something. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to.
Time Stamp: May 14th
Notes: Leave the cat alone, Mirach. Hissing at it, I swear.
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Sept 23, 2013 20:24:54 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. Why had he asked to meet in the night, anyways? He should’ve asked for a nice coffee date in the afternoon, maybe at a little café in a nicer part of town and hope that was good enough. But of course, asking to meet in one of LA’s many dumps was just part of his appeal. After all, a lady that was afraid to get her hands dirty would barely be worth his time.
Jun Shi took another deep breath, finally re-emerging on the other side of the narrow alley that he’d slipped into. The sky was dark but clear, though there were no stars that he could see. The streetlamps probably dimmed them out; a pity, he’d never seen true stars before. He’d lived all his life in various cities and even while travelling, he’d stayed in well-populated areas. Sure there were stars in the city, but none so pretty as the photos of the countryside.
No time to look at the stars, though maybe he’d convince Mirach to do so later, when she finished punching him for sneaking up on her. Yes, he had it in his mind now. He crept around the corner, peeking with his back close to the brick wall but ready to push off and bolt if it was needed.
He picked up a hiss that was definitely not quite cat, and he turned towards that. Dark, dark alley and a faint shape somewhere in there. There was the report of a tin can getting knocked over, likely from some stray. He took a couple of light footed steps in before he finally picked up on the human figure standing, facing where he’d just squeezed through.
There she was. There was his little kitten.
Jun Shi grinned, almost a bit too wide, creeping forward with a glint in his eye. He was actually holding his breath, not daring to make a noise. Just a few feet away, yes. Two or three more steps, until he was barely a foot from her back.
He leaned forward, stuck out his tongue and ran it up the back of Mirach’s neck.
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Sept 23, 2013 21:37:38 GMT -8
Okay. There were things you expected to happen. These were normal things. The sun rising. Falling. Time moving on. Whatever. And then there were abnormal things too. Like monsters. Monsters were fairly abnormal. And superpowers. Those were weird and unusual too, and Mirach wasn’t new to any of it. She could pretty much admit that she was prepared for almost anything that attempted to surprise her in the dark, and even then, she was capable enough to handle it accordingly and then make an escape, if it was necessary. It was difficult to trump a Dia that had spent her entire life undergoing specialized combat and tactics training, so she never, not for a second, felt as if she couldn’t handle the threat factor here in Skid Row. In fact she felt fairly certain of herself, and comfortable here.
But then Jun Shi happened.
And he licked her.
For a microsecond, she tensed, her heart seizing for an entire breath, an extremely unusual reflex for her. The comprehension that a tongue had just slid up the back of her neck didn’t even exist yet. She was just aware that she was no longer alone—and then the details of something wet and warm across her neck started to dawn on her and she snapped. “Vete a la mierda!” she snarled instantly. It was followed quickly by so many colorful, lightning fast, insults—all of them in Spanish—that none of it would have been easy to follow. Quite a few of the words that left her mouth were not her own—they were nasty, terrible things she had learned and heard of from her father. To hear her repeat them now, at such a rapid fire pace, even he might have balked, and he was one intimidating man. Nonetheless, Mirach had yet to fully realize who it was standing behind her, but her elbow shot back into his gut in the midst of all that ugly, foreign vocabulary. She could barely remember twisting around in time and taking advantage of any prone position he might have assumed, but she did. Mirach shoved him against the nearby wall, her hand unknowingly whipping up from her pocket with the Faux Caduceus gripped between two fingers, the pointed end of the blood red jewel pointed right at his chest, acting like one of the many knives she normally took with her as Asclepius.
It was almost funny.
But by then she had begun to realize who she was dealing with, and the words she had been so eagerly barraging him with began to fall away. Her other free hand gripped a piece of his shirt, knuckles ghostly white. Her heart hammered in her chest though, but slowly, so slowly, the insults began to taper into longer breaths. Those breaths began to change too, first to shorter sounds as her shoulders began to shake, then small laughs. She was so pissed, and for some reason, that was funny.
“Did. Did you really,” she managed between laughs, “Did you just lick me. You sneaky bastard. What the hell is wrong with you? What a simple, 'hello' isn’t good enough?” She lifted her gaze up to his, her brown eyes flickering with hints of still beating frustration, but she was unable to keep the smirk from her face. “You didn’t scare me. But if you ever do that again,” she said, “I’m going to castrate you.”
Not really. But touché, Jun Shi, you clever, sneaky, shit.
Time Stamp: May 14th
Notes: This thread amuses me. I am enjoying myself. /has no shame
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Sept 27, 2013 11:52:55 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. If Kun Shui had been present, he would’ve rolled his eyes and called his twin brother a child for doing such things. What was he? Six years old? When did licking girls count as courting? Jun Shi, quite frankly, couldn’t care less. He was expecting a startled yelp, perhaps a jump, because that was a rather common reaction to having the back of one’s neck licked. Unfortunately, he seemed to fail in realizing that Mirach was not at all a ‘common’ sort.
A fist in his gut almost made him double over. The sudden shock of pain was unexpected, but not unusual. When he was younger, his parents made him spar with his brother all the time, and others in the various courses and classes he was expected to take. A sudden smash right in the belly wasn’t enough to make him fall to his knees, but it was enough to make him gasp in pain. He was in the process of hunching over, too, when a hand shot out and shoved him back against the brick.
The urge to hit right back rose; an instant sort of defense that had been drilled into him came to the forefront right then and there. Strike right back, it said. Grab her wrist, twist, get her legs out from under her and pin. A sweep to the back of the knees should do it. But no, what sort of gentleman would do that?
And if nothing else, Jun Shi was a gentleman, right?
Instead, as calmly as his mind would allow without bursting into laughter right in her face, he wrapped his arms around her waist and waited patiently for her to calm down. The harsh words began to taper to short breaths soon enough, and he grinned all the wider.
”Why yes, I did. Would you really have expected much else?”
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Sept 29, 2013 18:42:01 GMT -8
Was she supposed to answer that honestly? Mirach laughed, unclenching her fingers from his clothes, slipping the Faux Caduceus back into her palm, away from his chest. It wouldn’t have been that much of a threat anyway—Jun Shi had not only managed to sneak up on her, but she was aware that he could easily have dished out as much as he got in that tussle if he had actually tried to retaliate. Honestly, it was a panicked reaction anyway; the Faux Caduceus was not a weapon that was meant to kill or inflict damage on others. Nonetheless, she was slacking in the stealth department and needed to get back in the game, but hey, at least she hadn’t been wrong. “From a naughty boy like you? Surely not,” Mirach said slyly, pausing for a moment to slide her hand around the back of her neck; it was still wildly unsettling that he had managed to do what he did, but amusingly enough, now that the laughs had died and she had calmed down, a delicious quiver climbed up her back. Had she underestimated him or overestimated herself? Either way, as she pulled her fingers back from her neck and glanced down at them, her smirk grew. “Nothing quite says hello—or sexy—like a lick at the back of the neck,” she joked, eying him as she returned the Caduceus to her pocket.
“Such a gentleman,” Mirach said. She loved the wide, cattish grin on his face, though she wouldn’t admit it. The brat. Mirach snorted quietly, her gaze drawn to his lower abdomen, where she pressed her palms to. “You were late, by the way. What have you been doing, Jun Shi, hm?” She smirked, sliding her hands further up, her eyes lit up with amusement. “Tormenting some poor, unfortunate soul who crossed your path before you remembered to come here? Kicking puppies? Breaking more fingers? The works? You horrible man; have you been having fun without me?” she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. Mirach snapped her gaze to his, her hands now at his collar; she tugged gently, leaning up and a little closer, her smirk growing. “Can’t think of any other reason a gentleman like you would keep a lady like me, waiting.”
And of course she enunciated the words, ‘gentleman’ and ‘lady’ with a particular tone, knowing damn well neither of them fit into those categories.
Notes: Gentleman and lady my ass. xD
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Oct 7, 2013 6:41:20 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. The struggling had thankfully stopped, or else he’d have to turn the tables and flip her against the wall. He was more than capable of handling himself, despite a more wispy build compared to the man that tended to stalk these areas. But the wild one did settle eventually, resting against him as she checked her neck. There was no skin-contact poison there, though he could find some if he wanted. Employing it with his tongue seemed like a horrid idea, though.
Jun Shi twitched only slightly when her hands rested against his stomach, and his grin grew just a little. Getting feisty, now wasn’t she? Though he wouldn’t exactly put it past her.
”Who, me?” He seemed to mock hurt for a second, before that completely melted away. ”Well, call it fashionably late, then.” How long was it? Ten minutes? Something along those tiny, short lines that didn’t really count for him. He didn’t have business like his brother, where a minute could cost him and the family billions. He was a lot more freelance than that.
Jun Shi smirked when she tugged at his collar, but didn’t do much more than lean down. ”Come now, what is a lady like you doing in a place like this?”
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Oct 14, 2013 22:51:07 GMT -8
“Nothing, apparently,” she retorted, smirking. Nothing at all. Well. Maybe she was having a little fun and testing her luck while doing it—pretty much routine for her—but hell if she’d admit she had a problem. The point being, Mirach did not shy away as she tugged on his collar and he leaned down in response. A challenge lit in her eyes instead. She might as well be courting trouble. “Though to be honest, this was your idea,” she pointed out, lowering her voice playfully, “remember? Why don’t you tell me, Mr. Fashionably Late? What am I supposed to do with you?” Her thumb smoothed the edge of his collar before she finally dropped her hands back to his chest and pulled away, slipping out of his arms. Mirach grinned, glancing down the alleyway. It was a good night, she was already having a bit of fun; Jun Shi could have suggested anything else and she probably would have gone along with it.
Of course, normal people would not consider a stroll through Skid Row as remotely fun, or even argue it to be an actual date. Normal people would be concerned about how quickly they could get off the streets. Mirach flicked her gaze back to Jun Shi though; she wouldn’t exactly peg either of them as normal. “Care to lead the way? Since you’re such a gentleman, after all," she teased before shrugging. "Can’t really have a lady walking off by herself at this time of night in this kind of neighborhood, now can we?"
She smirked. "I might hurt someone."
Notes: -snort-
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Oct 20, 2013 19:52:56 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. Mirach seemed to finally have her fun at close proximity and pulled away from him after toying with his collar for a second Jun Shi just grunted faintly as he watched her glance down the alley. She was still close enough for him to grab, but he decided against it, lest he get something pointy embedded in his chest. That Faux Caduceus was rather dangerous looking in the night, after all.
Jun Shi sighed, stepping forward and offering Mirach his arm. A little stroll down a dark alley, right? A little glance here and there, perhaps get a few stares. Woe befalls the mugger who decided they were good targets. ”Come on, then. Where would you like to go?” Something to eat? Somewhere to play? Maybe a nice fountain to sit down next to. Somewhere nice.
Somewhere horrible, or somewhere nice. Maybe. ”I’m open to anywhere, really. Perhaps a nice fountain? Though I doubt Kun Shui would let us back to the Crystal Palace anytime soon.”
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Oct 24, 2013 12:16:10 GMT -8
“Your brother,” she said, amused. “I don’t think he’d care to know I was running around the building so soon after his doll’s accident and the latest stitch work it suffered from either,” Mirach admitted, accepting the offered arm. Yes, Kun Shui would have a difficult time recognizing her without the get up—but she suspected he and Lucien might not be quick to forget the subtle nuances in the way she talked, for example, or her infamous personality, which was difficult to smother. Not impossible, otherwise Asclepius would not still be an enigma, but difficult to do when she had yet to check on her patient’s progress. Lucien had already proved himself to be a fun toy to play with, sure, but Kun Shui was, more or less, the kind of babysitter she did not want to bother at the moment. However, she had admired that fountain and she’d bet anything the view from the top of the crystal palace was as breathtaking as some of the others in this city. No one could say the twins didn’t have a sense of style and presentation, and Mirach could both respect and appreciate it.
So what should they do today? Other than terrorize the local homeless population. It was late, but Skid Row lived in a state of perpetual irony; on one side you could have men and women sleeping on concrete and clinging to cardboard, while not even two blocks down there were businesses that catered to money makers and people that didn’t have to rummage through everyday garbage to find what they needed. She could think of a few things she wanted to do though, which, because of what they were, might have sounded surprising to the people that knew her—but even Mirach had moments where she had no intention of stirring up trouble. Well. Not much trouble anyway.
“It’s a little bit of a walk, but if you don’t mind some breaking and entering, there’s a public garden nearby that’s usually open for tours during the day, but at night they light up the fountains and ponds and believe it or not, it’s actually really nice. Peaceful, even. The gates might be closed now, but the city obviously showboats it every night—fortunately, they don’t guard it or watch the entrances; it’s not like somebody’s going to go in and steal all the plants. And let's face it, it's difficult to vandalize a flower short of ripping it out of the ground, which to most, is a waste of time and better suited elsewhere.” She snorted. “But I hid out there once when the authorities were crawling all over the area; last place they’d suspect to find somebody like me. Not as beautiful as the fountain in the crystal palace,” she said, glancing slyly at him, “but a good place nonetheless. I make an effort to visit from time to time, but I’ve been neglecting it lately. It would be nice to go and see it again.”
It was a good place to chew over future plans and smirk smugly to yourself over current accomplishments.
And maybe it looked nice too.
Notes: N/A
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Oct 29, 2013 15:07:54 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. Of all places, Jun Shi wasn’t exactly expecting Mirach to send him on a riveting chase… though a public park. A nice public part apparently, but not quite what he was expecting. A park wasn’t exactly a carnival of terror, and Jun Shi practically operated his choices based upon how much suffering, exactly, he could inflect upon a general population. Hell, he might’ve felt a tad disappointed when the park was brought up, breaking and entering or not.
”Ah, so we’re going on a more peaceful date this time around.” He grinned, but sounded a tad disappointed nonetheless. No matter; he’d deal with it. Just a bit of a disappointment, but perhaps he’d discover new grounds to stride and a new placed to squirrel things away. Finding new crawling grounds was always fun, now wasn’t it?
”Well, whatever you wish. A garden sounds nice, sneaking in or not. I’d really hate to have guards breathing down my neck at any time, anyways.” He let Mirach lead the way, eyes sweeping up and down the dingy, dirty streets. ”But I did expect something a bit more chaotic of you, you know.” Just as a thought, an aside to the main point.
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Oct 31, 2013 0:10:06 GMT -8
“Oooh, Jun Shi. You,” she said, entertained, “you are insatiable,” Mirach commented, wearing a smirk. Her eyes flashed. “I suppose that proposal of yours for the fountain was not what a sane, rational person would have assumed it to be; no, we were probably going to drown someone in it, weren’t we? Maybe crack open a wine bottle afterward?” She could see that; his mean streak complemented by her own—what an amazing way to end the night, with a touch of irrational violence. Mirach snorted, intrigued. No one else would see it that way, and maybe that was an interesting thing to think about when she was alone and away from her companion. “You sir, are a terrible influence on me; I like it. So how about we make it a game.” She thought for a moment, her eyes lighting up until she slid her gaze toward him, stopping in her tracks and pulling her arm out from his.
“Pick someone,” she said softly. Mirach gestured to the darkness surrounding them, her gaze practically on fire. “A passerby. A thug. The first man or woman to catch your eye when we get there. I doesn’t matter to me; but you pick.” She walked closer, reaching out, fingers ghosting across his sleeve, sliding away as she circled around to his back, still glancing back at him. “If it strikes your fancy, Mr. Personality, point them out to me. And whatever you want to do with them,” she added slowly, “I will help you with. Obviously we can’t murder everyone all the time but,” her eyes flashed as she walked around his other side, “what’s the harm in some fun, hm? You have first pick tonight; next time, it’s my turn. Sound fair?”
She smirked and leaned closer to his side, “Any. Person. You want,” she emphasized, the words barely more than a teasing whisper. “Think about it,” she said. Mirach pulled away from him, leaving the offer out on the metaphorical table. Maybe it would help sap the disappointment out of his tone, or maybe it wouldn’t. But Mirach was nonetheless, enjoying herself. Besides—either way she’d get to have her trip to the garden anyway. All the better if she needed to come off any adrenaline high later; but she had to wait. She couldn't just jump ahead.
That would be assuming.
She smiled to herself.
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Nov 5, 2013 20:18:34 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. Well, it would either be a very pleasant night, or a very not-so-pleasant night for those around them. Realistically, Jun Shi could’ve swung either way when it came to that. The park sounded like a nice distraction from everything that was going on, and maybe a nice, normal date would do him very well. Perhaps he’d finally get to know Mirach a little better outside of a murder-everything context.
That was, of course, before she seemed to offer pick of the crop. His eyes swept the small area they were in, still headed towards the park as Mirach did a borderline predatory circle around him. But what had he to fear? Certainly not her. He seemed to tighten his jaw just a tad as his gaze hopped from one person to the next as she pointed them out.
There were quite a few that caught his eye, and he remained fairly silent about them. Still, if Mirach was paying attention, she would’ve seen the ones that he lingered on the longest.
”That’s such a sweet offer, but I’d hate for our night to be ruined by police.” Or rather, his week to be ruined after the police started trying to sniff out who murdered a poor homeless hound in skid row. Certainly he’d never been caught before, but he’d never had an accomplice. Despite the carefulness he was sure Mirach had, he still much preferred to work alone where he had complete control, or with someone he could easily shift all blame to when things got tight.
But he did think about it, he really did. His eyes lingered on a particular young man, probably a runaway by the looks of it. Vulnerable, likely new to the area, wearing clothes that were a tad too nice for him to have been here long. There were, of course, telltale signs that he’d learned to recognize. After all, targets were targets in his trade.
”But if you do insist, then that one looks like a likely lamb, don’t you think?”
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Nov 19, 2013 16:54:19 GMT -8
This wasn’t like baiting a hook and casting a frail line into the water, hoping to score a small bass or a muddy channel catfish like the ones she used to fish for back in Florida. Jun Shi ranked higher on the predatory ladder, higher even than the gators; she was more or less, coaxing a hungry shark into the open waters, tempting him to go on the prowl. Mirach was vaguely amused that, for all his silence, Jun Shi still considered her offer eagerly, his gaze sweeping from one individual to the next. Eventually she came to rest against the back wall of a brick building while he contemplated his choices, her arms crossed patiently over her chest, a dark humored glint in her eye. He might not admit it immediately, but she could tell she had snagged him, and she even went so far as to snort at his immediate response, smirking. “Really?” she inquired quietly, dragging that one word out. “Are you really sure, Jun Shi,” she added in another teasing whisper. He was still considering, and she almost laughed when he finally spoke up again. Almost.
He had picked one.
Really she couldn’t have found a better partner for something like this. Her eyes skipped to the young man Jun Shi pointed out actually, her brow rising slowly. “A lost lamb,” Mirach commented, pausing after a quick examination of the target. “Young. A little out of place for this side of town, but slightly weatherworn. Probably eager enough to cling to a friendly face.” She flicked her gaze to Jun Shi. She could manipulate that easily enough. “I think I can work with it. I have a few temporary places around this section of town we can use if you’re looking to torment the poor thing in privacy.” She smirked. “There are a few people in the area that owe me favors.” That was all she was going to explain. Jun Shi was smart enough to guess how and why, and what type of people would legitimately let her borrow a room for this sort of thing for a little while. “You follow from a distance; once I have him separated from the main street, grab him. Sound fair?”
The minute that young man entered an abandoned side street with her, he was done for. What a date.
Notes: Can't believe I let this sit so long. Sorry about that. I'm also thinking we should skip ahead a bit after your post so that obviously we don't go into too much gritty detail on site about the obvious terrible things that are going to happen. 8I
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Nov 19, 2013 21:22:13 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. Like hounds closing in on a sheep, he was aware that it wouldn’t take long. He licked his lips, just a little, tilting his head as he slunk off to the side to stay out of his immediate view. After all, sight was a very valuable thing to have in Skid Row. You could run as soon as you saw something mildly threatening, or describe the faces to the cops if you happen to escape. He wasn’t putting much weight into the latter, though. Instead, he tilted his head just a bit to get a better view.
Weatherworn, indeed. He nodded silently, not at all questioning Mirach’s connections in the area. He had a few himself, and he ‘owned’ a warehouse not too far from here, but sullying that place with contaminants wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do with current projects going on. If there was nowhere else, they’d go there. There was somewhere else, though. Somewhere a lot better. He’d leave that to Mirach.
”Well, favours are favours.” He said in an oddly soft tone, glanced over his shoulder at Mirach, and then slipped off to the side, into the shadows of an alley. He was glad he’d worn a dark coat, but then again, he knew he was coming to Skid Row.
Gliding around in the dark like a ghost, Jun Shi plucked up a ragged looking plank of wood. He had nice leather gloves on, and it’d be a shame if he soiled those.
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Post by MIRACH DIA on Nov 22, 2013 21:05:39 GMT -8
“Indeed. Now go on, and shhh,” she teased, pressing one finger to her lips, smirking around the gesture. He really inspired the worst in her personality. Mirach could already see Jun Shi melding into the shadows out of the corner of her eye, but she quickly left him to his own devices to focus on her own task. Thankfully, as she walked forward, she was no stranger to this type of game. Wordplay and masks—even metaphorical ones—were some of her favorite tools of the trade. Really what it all came down to was an understanding of the human nature, of knowing which threads to clip when she wanted to hurt someone, which ones to pluck to unnerve them, and which ones to tug when she needed to lead them to water and convince them drink. It was fun actually, sort of like playing a game. Plus the adrenaline rush of the endgame was nice; she thrived on that kind of buzz.
Of course, every now and then things didn’t go precisely the way she expected they would. Like the plank thing. Maybe that was overkill, but it wasn’t the kind of surprise that made her balk or hesitate at the thought of what she was doing—or at what she had done. It was the kind of surprise that sent a jolt to her heart sure, but she didn’t feel bad. Mirach really hadn’t seen that one coming. By the time she finally managed to lead their little lamb astray and close enough to their ultimate location, she gave Jun Shi a clear signal to move in. And then the plank came out. Instead of grabbing the poor kid he decided to whack up him upside the head with that god forsaken hunk of wood instead. Naturally, the sheep crumbled to the ground in an instant. And Mirach, instead of feeling sorry or even upset at Jun Shi for the surprise, let out a huff of air that almost sounded like the beginning of a laugh. “Shit. Subtlety, Jun Shi,” she breathed, her heart pounding. “What is subtlety?” she joked. “Nice hit though. Quick. Let’s get him inside—there a few rooms on the upper floors that I know we can use without encountering any problems.”
It wasn’t all that hard to guess what happened next when they dragged the barely breathing thing into the building and to the upper floors.
[-insert ridiculous amounts of violence here because that’s a sexy thing to do on a first date apparently- 8I ]
“You know. Normal people go to the movies or something on their first date,” Mirach mused, smirking as she ran a towel over her water soaked hands. She had just finished washing them off, actually. “Or at least from what I hear. Such a shame. They don’t know what they’re missing out on.” Her gaze flicked to Jun Shi. “He squealed quite a bit for such a small thing. You really know how to pick them.”
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Post by JUN SHI WEI on Nov 22, 2013 21:29:43 GMT -8
tagged: Mirach Dia time: May 11th, 11PM. speech: jun shi. notes: - - -. Jun Shi had never played a second of baseball in his life. Oh no, baseball was too much out of his league. American sports were lost to him; he didn’t know why people completely lost it when it came to football or whatever. He did some martial arts because he was told to by his parents when he was young and it just stuck. Really, a lot of the things he did was because his parents made him when he was young.
Learning to swing a plank of wood… Well, that was a very recently acquired skill. The thing even had little nails sticking out of it that he didn’t notice until a small smattering of blood hit his chin. Bonus points.
Jun Shi was breathing hard, the hairs on the nape of his neck bristling. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and made him giddy, but he was otherwise level headed and of the right mind. Sort of. ”Subtlety was never exactly my speciality.”
Sneaking around? Sure. Playing the pied piper? Also sure. He was great at shenanigans and trickery and playing with his words to convince, but subtlety was not his thing. ”Well, come on, then. It’s filthy out here.” Jun Shi tossed the board into a nearby trash can and reached down, swinging the young man over his shoulder.
Violence ensued.
But it didn’t last long. Humans were delicate things, and as Mirach washed off her hands in the washroom, Jun Shi was still busy rummaging through the warm corpse, elbow-deep in the man’s abdominal cavity and rifling through his intestines to find that one kidney they both seemed to miss. Maybe he only had one. He didn’t know.
”Yeah, if only I could pick ones without obscure body parts.” He called over his shoulder, finally giving up himself and tossing the one he did find into a small, dirty box nearby. If only he could put it on ice… He didn’t gnaw on hapless people for fun, after all. Anything he did, he did with a purpose.
Still, there was some fun to it. He got up, heading to the washroom himself and starting to wash off his own hands. His jacket had been thrown aside and his sleeves were pulled up past his elbows. He was still a mess. ”It gets quite messy, though. And it smells in here. We’ll have to clean up, don’t we?”
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