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Post by tessa on May 22, 2010 0:36:29 GMT -5
[/b] She sighed distractedly as the cool harbor waters surged around her swollen, aching ankles. The sinking sun stroked and rubbed her shoulders free of tense muscles and the squawking 'gulls percussive vocals soothed her racing mind. She focused on them, the sounds of the waves breaking at shore and the boats rocking back and forth next to the dock. She liked the ocean, and especially at this time of the day. She was still dressed in her waitress's uniform. Sweaty and drenched in the scent of coffee. She never cared for it. It had this disgusting, earthy, offensive taste to it that never failed to make her recoil. She shrugged her bag from her shoulders and un-zipped it slowly. Begrudgingly, almost hesitantly, she rummaged through and pulled out a small book. It was something that someone her age should not be reading. It should be too easy. But she stopped her education when she was taken in by Ted, and was still learning how to read. She was advancing fast, eating through an average of ten books a week. But it was tiring work and beyond frustrating, and Xara was still tired from a long full days work. A long, busy full days work. God it was busy. She had one good break and that was when the shop was only barely busy. People and their caffeine addictions. Pah. Almost as bad as nicotine, if you asked her. She flipped open the small, 200 page paperback and began reading. She noticed how easy it was now for her. She was reading now at a grade 7 level, which was almost good enough. But she was determined and self competitive. She challenged herself to do it. She read like a maniac through the setting sun, trying to beat it. Despite all that, however, she only managed to read 50 pages before the light had completely disappeared from the harbor. Xara sighed, stretched, and folded the book closed, sliding it to the docks surface and stretched again. She then brought her feet in from the salty waters and curled her legs onto the dock, fumbling in the dim light for her after work sandals. Her hands clamped on them upon contact and she stood, slipping one on her now frozen foot. As she stood to put the other one on she felt her weight tip backwards, and she stepped back to compensate. Big mistake. She stumbled back, and felt her left heel catch on the edge of the dock. "shit!"She flailed her arms in vicious circles, but to no avail. She felt gravity pull and the waters close in around her head, and she inhaled hastily with the frigid shock. She was drowning. Her lungs filled with water and her mind panicked. She tried to scramble to the surface. Her ankle was caught on something, but she fought even harder. It was stuck. She jerked her leg. It was stuck. She swam harder. It was stuck. She passed out... And it came free. She blearily pushed to the surface and clung to the dock, vomiting water. Shakily she pulled herself, like a wet cat, to the dock and sat shivering and embarrassed. How so very graceful of you.[/blockquote][/size][/ul]
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Post by max on May 22, 2010 2:31:36 GMT -5
The sun cast its last, wistful rays across the ocean waters. Its light created a myriad of fire in the scattered clouds, a masterpiece over the city of Shelpey Alley. Max stood at the end of one of the fishing jetties, his hands enclosed in the pockets of his knee-length black coat. The fading light changed his thoughtful hazel eyes from an amber-flecked green to a darker brown. They followed the movements of the gulls wheeling overhead, then settled on the foaming waves below. It was quite windy this evening; it dragged his coat and hair backwards, but Max stood still, ignoring the cold, lost in his thoughts.
He had been pacing up and down the jetty for half an hour, occasionally stopping to ask a fisherman whether he or she had caught anything. Eventually, he had paused to watch the sun sink below the horizon. Max, of course, was doing what he did best: procrastinating. With two assignments due and a speech to do at the end of the week for his University course, he wasn’t exactly the king of free time. It was only his first two months in Shelpey Alley and at that particular campus, and already the workload was tough. He placed a hand on the wooden railing of the jetty, cursing softly to himself. Just five more minutes, then I’ll get some of those amazing fish and chips ... A hungry Max turned to glance over at the row of shops along the harbour. The scent of fish, vinegar and fries reached his nose, and he decided that it was time to fetch some dinner.
“Caught anything yet?” Max asked the two kids who had been fishing for the past thirty minutes. The girl, maybe ten, turned to glare up at him. “Nothing, it’s so boring!” “C’mon sis, we’ll get something eventually. We’re supposed to be patient fisher-people!” her older brother said. Max smiled. “Well, keep on fishing. You’ll get something eventually.” He walked back to the docks, pulling his hands out of his pockets and folding them as the wind tried to drag him backwards. He wasn’t a tall or solid kid, standing under 5’10, and his coat caught the wind, almost making him trip. He stumbled slightly and caught his balance. “Bloody wind,” he muttered.
Max might have noticed the unlucky girl’s decent from the docks if, at that moment, a large mangy mutt hadn’t shown interest in him. The animal capered over to him, tail wagging, tongue lolling out of its mouth. It barked loudly, and Max glanced around for the owner, extending a hand to pet the dog on the head. “Woah, no jumping,” he said desperately as the dog leapt up at him. “Hey!” Possibly, the dog had smelled Max’s animal form; Max had shifted into a wolf-dog the night before and had slept on his coat, leaving long black furs all over it. Brushing it off never worked. A loud whistle made the dog jump back down, much to Max’s relief. It wasn’t that he didn’t like dogs; it was that he didn’t like overly affectionate dogs. Max wasn’t the most affectionate canine in his animal form either. He was fairly quiet in comparison to a normal dog, even shy. He didn’t really like having his face licked. “Sorry man!” the owner called. Max shrugged and waved, signalling that he was fine with it. He turned around just in time to see a very bedraggled girl climbing onto the docks. Bedraggled, but definitely fit-looking. Huh? Wasn’t it a little too cold to be swimming?
The girl threw up. Max’s natural concern kicked in. Nobody else seemed to have noticed her, and she looked as though she might have had an accident, fallen in maybe. “Hey, are you alright?” he called as he jogged over to her. He quickly pulled his coat off despite the freezing cold, revealing a black Pink Floyd t-shirt. He offered her the coat, realising she must be freezing with the wind evaporating every last droplet of water from her body mercilessly. “Here, you cold?”
[/color] ((OOC: Hope you didn’t mind me jumping in! Hi, by the way =^-^= ))
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Post by tessa on May 22, 2010 12:49:28 GMT -5
[/b] she manged to chatter through a shivering jaw. She brought her arms around her chest, half for warmth and half to cover her undoubtedly cold-'enhanced' nipples. That would be embarrassing. She looked up at him, glad that he had come and now a little nervous. She was not good with people, least of all attractive men. Oh, she had tried being a lesbian before but it wasn't the same, and she didn't get it. She tried it because women didn't scare her. Men did. She looked away bashfully. "Thank you. I am not... " she chuckled nervously, Not that graceful, it seems..." ((No I don't mind ;D Thanks!)) [/blockquote][/size] [/ul]
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Post by max on May 22, 2010 20:05:47 GMT -5
As the sun’s struggling light completely disappeared over the ocean’s horizon, the wind grew chillier. Max shivered, now devoid of his warm coat, but his concern for the girl outweighed his own discomfort. “You probably shouldn’t try to stand,” he told her gently. “Just let the blood warm your extremities for a moment, get the circulation going again.” He hoped she didn’t think he was being rude, telling her to stay sitting. Max had had bad experiences helping others and getting kicked in the face for it. At least one of those times had been a literal kick in the face. It didn’t stop him trying, but it made him wary of people and their unpredictable nature.
Now that the girl was sitting a little more calmly and the dock lights had come on, Max could see her more clearly. She was around his age, maybe a little older, it was hard to tell. Very attractive. Long red hair clung to her shoulders, wet and hence perhaps darker than it would have been if dry. To complete an exotic look, she had the nicest green eyes Max had ever seen. His own eyes had become amber in the light, with hints of green at the edges. His expression showed a gentle concern. He didn’t do what a ruder guy might have done; Max made sure she knew he wasn’t looking down her top or anything. The water would have made her shirt pretty clingy to her body, maybe even see-through if it was a pale colour. Max was glad she was now wrapped in his coat and had her arms folded. Regardless of her being covered up, he kept his eyes on her face.
“Yeah it’s cold,” Max nodded with a rueful smile. “Not the spring wind I was hoping for tonight.” He shivered again, kneeling down so that he was at eye level with the girl. “What happened? If you don’t mind me asking? You look a little too smart to be swimming around this kind of night...” Shit, did I really just say that she ‘looked smart’? She’s gonna think I’m hitting on her...badly... Max ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably. He hadn’t had it trimmed in a while; it was growing longer, hence it looked like a complete mess in the windy environment. “Um...you’re welcome. And don’t worry, if it wasn’t you falling off the docks or whatever, it’d probably have been me,” he said with a grin, hoping to make her laugh.
It was time to move, Max decided. It would only get colder out. He could see clouds on the horizon; a cold front perhaps, and potential rain. It wouldn’t hit for a while if it built into that, but surely the girl had somewhere to go, and he was willing to help her. “You need any help getting home?” he offered, hoping she didn’t think he was a total dork and kick him into the water. He was a little shy around girls. Even if they found him attractive, they didn’t find his lack of self confidence very inspiring though he had been told he’d gotten points for having a sweet nature. Over the years, he was growing to be more confident. “Oh, my name’s Max, by the way,” he added.
((OOC: welcome to the site! I'm still mostly new here myself, but I still extend a welcome))
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Post by tessa on May 23, 2010 0:45:06 GMT -5
[/i] she wondered self-scoldingly. He is just being nice and I can't go around throwing myself at the first man that throws a coat on me. Right? Right. She was just a silly, lonely girl. This encounter had to be totally formal. Although... She couldn't help but to smile at him and his...him-ness. His almost just-as-awkward-as-she-was way of speaking and acting. He seemed, to her, to be harmless enough. Almost...cute. She forgot her freezing cold, numb limbs and fingers and toes as she gazed up to him and listened to his voice. It had been a long time since some one had spoken kindly to her. And it was an odd feeling, and something that she did not know how to react to. He brought himself to eye-level with her and she fought the instinct to back away. That would be both rude and resultant in her falling back into the waters. She didn't want to do either of those. She also stifled a cough of disbelief as he called her "smart". Smart? She wasn't smart. She was dumb. She was worthless, unless to make coffee and serve angry, stressed out people. She was a servant, not smart just...robotic and dumb. She frowned and turned her eyes away slightly. "Well...its alright." she muttered, "We all fall sometimes." Some more than others, she added thoughtfully, to herself, of course. Xara Brubeks hair was not drying anytime soon and if she did not return home, hypothermia would claim her soon enough. She did, indeed, need to get home. She looked up at the man, hoping her eyes did not betray her nervous fear, her unwillingness to admit that she did, indeed need help home. She opened her mouth and made as if to speak, her mind working for an excuse to say 'No'. She did not want to be alone with this seemingly harmless man. Men were not harmless. Her fear had returned, and she was twelve again, in the harem, knowing she was singled out for the trade, imagining man after man after man after man... She closed her mouth softly and swallowed slowly, "I don't want to be a bother... I mean..." she lifted her arms under her coat and offered a meek smile, "I have already stolen your coat."The waves crashed against the dock, not so violently, but she had lived near the ocean long enough to recognize that as a warning of storms to come. She should really get home. With rain came a temperature drop. Hypothermia was creeping into her flesh, burrowing into her like worms. She looked back up at the man, "Max." she repeated, then sneezed suddenly, her face drawn of blood (though it could have all gone to her eyes). "I am Xara."[/blockquote][/size][/ul]
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Post by max on May 23, 2010 1:32:14 GMT -5
There was something about this pretty, water drenched girl that reminded Max of a girl he had gone to school with. She had always seemed so sad, so careful. Max had always tried to offer her a kind word, but she had mostly cast her eyes away and returned no more than a muttered, emotionless response. Then, at the beginning of twelfth grade, she had simply disappeared. There had been an overwhelming lack of caring from the other students, with the exception of Max and a few others. “Yeah, trust me, I trip over something in my apartment at least three times a day,” he said, aiming for a joke. “Not that it’s a total mess, it’s just...” Shut your mouth before you make a total ass of yourself, he thought angrily. He managed to shrug and smile slightly at her. She probably thought him some dork who was too nice and worth laughing at in private later.
“Look, you’re not a bother,” Max assured her. There was something about her gaze which made him think she was a little nervous about something. Maybe she didn’t want to go home? Angry parents, angry boyfriend, or maybe she was just embarrassed about the situation. “I can’t feel the cold anymore.” He laughed slightly, letting her know that he was joking, that he didn’t really want his coat back. He was so cold now, his body was numb and he was obviously shivering, but he had been in much colder places than this. After all, he had grown up in New York. “Xara, that’s a cool name. Never met anyone named Xara before.” Stupid comment number 3.
Max’s eyes were also drawn to the sounds of the waves pounding the beach. “It’s gonna get pretty rough here soon.” Lightning bounced through the distant clouds, reflecting in his eyes. “The wind is putting up a bit of a fuss...and you’re already sneezing.” He stood up, ready to help her stand if need be, offering his hand. “Can you stand up? Look, I’d offer to drive you home or something if you needed to, but I walked here. I’m happy to walk with you home though. It’s getting dark and...there’s some weird people out on the streets at night.” Being a college student meant Max didn’t have a lot of money. He owned a car, but he rarely drove; if he could walk somewhere, he would walk. Being able to shift into a wolf-dog helped at times. He often used this form to get home at night; he wasn’t at all a big guy and while he could throw a punch, Max knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against a couple of thugs with knives. Not that he had much they could take, except ten bucks or something. Tonight he did not have a choice. They would have to get home somehow, if she had walked here herself. And if she accepts my offer of help. She seems kinda nervous. But I can't just leave her here...
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Post by tessa on May 23, 2010 12:42:40 GMT -5
[/b] she added hoarsely, though very much sincerely, un-curling here legs and placing her palms flat on the ground. She forced herself to a slow stand, and stood hunched over for a moment, her arms out instinctively to grab something if she should fall. She didn't. I can stand... she thought blearily as she tried to stand to her full height. Her legs shivered, maybe with cold or maybe with the exertion, or maybe both. But she took a tentative step forward. Her knee bent forward and she fell with a jerk toward the ground. Her hands shot outward and, if it were not for Max, she would have fallen right back into the frigid ocean. As it was Xara stood, her left knee bent awkwardly, her hands clutching Max's shoulders like a cat's claws. She loosened her grip apologetically, but continued holding on, her full weight almost on him. She could not stand. "S-sorry..." she muttered quietly, averting her almost tearing eyes. Don't cry, she thought to herself, dismayed, you weak bitch, don't cry!She straightened herself again and attempted to walk, one hand firmly placed on Max's shoulder. "Should we...go...now?" she asked once she reached the extent of her arm. She let go of his shoulder experimentally and walked a few steps on her own, her legs appearing to be behaving, nothing swollen or broken (although there was a small rash on her ankle from where she was caught). She absent mindedly clutched her right forearm, checking to see if the salt water had effect on her month old tattoo. A sign of her 'abilities'. It didn't hurt, but she would be sure to clean it when she got home, to ward off infection. Hopefully, when she was crawling out of the dock, Max had not seen it. Hopefully. ((OOc: It kind of sucks... sorry about that )) [/blockquote][/ul][/size]
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Post by max on May 23, 2010 18:57:54 GMT -5
Xara’s smile lit up her face momentarily, or so Max thought. It was nice to see a little brightness on the woman’s pretty face. He nodded patiently as she decided to make the effort to stand. Max wasn’t sure he could have carried her very far. “You’re welcome. Just try slowly,” he encouraged. Her ascent was shaky, but Max let her try by herself for the moment. In truth, his decision to do so was based on the fact that he was a guy and she was a girl, and she might not like it if he touched her in any way. Max was completely harmless, but he understood why girls were wary of men. Xara didn’t exactly exude confidence. Suddenly, Xara tumbled forward. Max grabbed her arms as hers gripped onto his shoulders. She was almost the same height as him, maybe a couple of inches shorter, and her weight nearly sent him backwards. He steadied himself quickly, smiling ruefully as she used him to hold herself up. He didn’t mind, but with their faces this close, he blushed. Not that it was visible in the dark.
“You alright?” he asked again as, to his relief, she moved away a little and put her hand on one shoulder. “It’s okay, just use me for support.” Despite his offer, she seemed a stubborn sort, aiming to walk on her own. He probably would have done the same. Max couldn’t help but glance at her. She was slim and muscled, but not in an unattractive way. It made her look sleek, but still feminine, and he wondered if she was an athlete. He was fairly sure asking would get his face slapped, so he didn’t.
They made it past the row of shops easily enough, Max occasionally casting a wary eye in her direction. He walked slowly, at her pace; if she should fall, he wanted to be able to catch her, and he didn’t want her to lag behind. “So, um...you work at that coffee place,” said Max conversationally. “Sorry I just...your uniform. I sometimes go there for a coffee. It’s good coffee.” He actually preferred the coffee down the road from the University campus, but he didn’t want to make her feel bad. It was growing dark on the streets now. There was a park nearby, something Max would have preferred to have avoided at all costs. Strange people hung out at the park. Unfortunately, they were already close by.
Max’s eyes scanned the area. He saw a group of loud, obnoxious people across the street. Some of them were staggering, clearly drunk. The sound of a bottle smashing made him frown. “Hey fuck’n c***, o’er here!” one shouted to another. “Gimme that fuckin’ beer, hey, let’s smash that cop car...oh man...I dare you...” Max turned to Xara. “College kids,” he hissed. “I mean I don’t know them, but judging by the stupid stuff they wanna do, I’m gonna guess they’re college kids. Hopefully not from my campus. That leaves us the park...” Hesitantly, Max started towards the park. More whooping and yelling echoed to their left, but they evidently hadn’t seen the pair heading over the grass behind a couple of trees. Most of the park was well lit. That wouldn’t stop someone from attacking them, since they were enclosed in trees.
It wasn’t long before Max’s nightmare was realised. He paused as two men came out of the trees. One of them had a Mohawk, the rest of his head shaved bald. Too many piercings mottled his aging face, and a scar running down the side of his chin made Max wonder what other scars were hiding under the punkish clothes. His companion sported a leather jacket and longer, scragglier hair. He also wore several different kinds of wristbands and jeans complete with holes and tears. Around his neck sat a spiked collar. Max wondered what would happen if the man fell over and spiked himself. They both chuckled, glancing at each other. Max’s muscles tensed. He didn’t take another step, looking to make sure Xara was still on her feet. The man with the collar wasn’t much more than a couple of inches taller than Max, and slight of build, but Mohawk was taller and much bulkier. Both were nearing forty, in Max’s honest estimation.
“Hey kids, looking for some fun?” Mohawk smirked. Spiky, or whatever his name was, made a strange giggling sound. “Not really,” Max said cautiously. He had never really been in this sort of situation before. There had been that crazed cheetah Noxx, but she hadn’t intended to kill him. These two were looking for more than a fight. “Hey look, we don’t want any trouble.” “Awww, we just wanna meet your lady friend there, kid. Just for a little while. Promise we’ll give her back after.” “Back the hell off,” Max said, his stance protective. He quickly glanced at Xara again...and his eye caught something on her forearm. A shifter tattoo... She was a shifter. Max wondered what kind; something dangerous, he hoped. Yet if they changed forms in front of humans, they might bring worse trouble upon themselves. He didn’t know how to communicate to Xara that he, too, was a shifter; his tattoo was under his clothes on his shoulder blade. He was sure he could take Spiky on, but not Mohawk; and their odds didn’t look good. Xara, athletic as she looked, wasn’t in the best condition to fight or run.
[/color] ((OOC: Your post was fine! Mine’s a bit hurried I’m afraid. Work. Thought I’d let you respond because I was going on and on here. Sorry. Haha! Will note, Max is kind of ignorant when it comes to shifters. He knows very jumbled things and isn’t in a Guild as a result of his naivety.))
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Post by tessa on May 24, 2010 3:16:54 GMT -5
[/b]she said with a bit of sly humor. Xara bent shakily and gathered her pack (leaving the soggy book behind) and walked slowly beside her newly found escort, her paces becoming less and less of a pain. Her natural body temperature was rising the further away from the ocean they got, and the coat was a big help. In truth, with practice, she could have been one of those extreme temperature polar-bear swimmers but, with her exhaustion and her general lack of time for athletics, her little fall had her a bit shaken and a little more off-balance than normal. She straightened her shoulders and wrapped the jacket around herself, her eyes watching observantly as they passed through the night streets. she continued smiling as she walked onward at their slow, slow pace. She folded her hands into the sleeves of her jacket and walked non-hurriedly through the night, her drying hair heavy against her shoulders. It would dry faster if it wasn't tied up in the tight tail it was bound in. Moments after folding her hands into her sleeves she pulled them out and began working at releasing her drenched hair. “So, um...you work at that coffee place, Sorry I just...your uniform. I sometimes go there for a coffee. It’s good coffee.” Xara paused in her untangling for a moment to regard him with a slow look. Not dangerous, not warning, just a look of confused disbelief. How anyone could enjoy the sludge that came out of that place was beyond her but, hey, it was his body. "Well...its paid work, that's all I can ask. Where do you work?" she was assuming he did work, because she felt it to be rude to assume he did not-- her head twisted uncomfortably to the left, her questions forgotten. Normally Xara would be jumpy and nervous being downtown at night but, with Max, she felt safe. Not in the sense that he would protect her because she couldn't. It was nice to have back-up though. Even though she knew enough about fighting, living in the place she did, to take care of a couple of assailants well enough for her to run away. One of the things she learned while with Uncle Ted was mild self defense. She expected college students to be the cause of all that noise, being as drunk as a they were, and chuckled softly as Max commented on the annoying students. She knew they were likely not as jack-ass-ish as the alcohol had made them, but made a point of keeping close to Max just in case. She was so intent on watching the drunkards she did not think to look ahead until the grating noise of malcontent, bored old men. Bad news for her. She felt her heart drop to her stomach and she shot a look to Max. Would he give her up? His reaction was answer enough. She stayed behind Max, her eyes resting coolly on the two men, never wavering, her coldness lost. She stiffened as the two men moved in closer, and felt her skin heating, threatening to morph into the smallish but deadly serval form. Calm yourself, she thought tensely, if I shift in front of them now there will be more than just these punks to worry about. Besides, what would happen if Max found out? He'd sell her out, supposing he was human. But she shook the thought away and concerned herself on how they were going to escape this. One of the men, the taller and larger one, was making his way to her side. The smaller one moved onto Max's side. She snarled pleasantly, "Oooh.. You don't want me.""Oh yeah?" the man challenged, "'Cause I'll take any bitch." Xara chuckled, "Yes, but...I'm not just any bitch." her chuckle soon became deadly serious, her eyes flashing warning. Fuck the humans. She'll shift to save herself if they're going to rape her, serves them right. His expression changed to confusion, then dismissal. "Whatever you say, you'll still spread your legs for me. All of them do!" he laughed obnoxiously and, though Xara did not flinch, her fear was mounting. She looked to Max, then immediately to the man, daring him to make a move as she un-shouldered her bag. Bad idea. ((You can have the big guy attack her, that'd be fine with me )) [/ul][/size][/blockquote]
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Post by max on May 24, 2010 20:34:43 GMT -5
They were in desperate trouble here. Although Xara looked better, Max wasn’t so sure she should be getting into a fight. His general protective nature had kicked in straight away. Had he been a canine one hundred percent of the time, he would have made a good pet. What are they gonna do to us? Max wondered, his eyes scanning the area briefly before resting back on their opponents. He was looking for a way to utilise the area. There were trees to their right, a water feature behind the men, and an exit path to their left. It would take them back around the trees towards the drunks, but in Max’s view, a bunch of drunken college students were less of a danger.
As the larger man moved towards Xara, Max considered whistling for a dog, running into the bushes and returning in his animal form. He quickly discarded the idea; he couldn’t leave Xara, self-assured as she appeared to have suddenly become, to these dickheads. Not even for a second. Something Retz had said about humans killing his friend ran through Max’s mind as he considered the pros and cons of changing forms in plain sight. He died. Those dirtbag humans murdered him for being a shifter. They tore him apart for it... These words echoed in his brain. He couldn’t change here and now. He might even endanger Xara by doing so. But would she change? These men evidently didn’t pick Max as a threat. The larger man would have his fun with Xara while his dog, Spikey, kept Max out of the way.
Max glanced at the smaller man. He was going to have to try to take him out if he had any hope of helping Xara with Mohawk. The bigger man’s mouth curled into a snarling grin, his teeth mottled from years of dental neglect, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. “Save some for me,” Spikey laughed. He suddenly lunged at Max, then darted away, daring the young shifter to follow him. Max made his first mistake; he turned briefly to check on Xara. Mohawk chuckled, his hand shooting out to grab Xara’s wrist. Max didn’t get a chance to see if he had succeeded; he felt cold, clawed hands grip the back of his shirt collar, yanking him backwards. Max stumbled, choking. “Pink Floyd, I seen ‘em in 1975,” he said, confirming Max’s opinion that he was too old to be dressed the way he was. “Good taste in music,” he added, letting Max go before punching him in the jaw. Max jumped backwards just in time, the man’s fist clipping his chin but not doing too much damage except a split lip. “Pity I gotta kill ya, rare to find a kid into good music these days.”
There was no point making conversation with the murderous rocker. Max wiped blood off his chin. He wanted to help Xara, but Spikey was upon him before he could even look. This time, Max was quicker; he rammed a fist hard into the man’s face. “Man, you’re brave,” said the punk, uttering a guttural sound that might have been a laugh or a growl. “You’ve got a death wish!” “You talk too much.” Max clenched his fists, ready for another round. Spikey’s hand moved. Max’s eyes followed it warily, and his heartbeat quickened as Spikey withdrew a knife from somewhere in his baggy, holed jeans. Shit... “You really wanna fuck with me, kid? Hey, I like you already. Let’s make this easy. You be a good kid and sit with me while Guznik has his fun with your girlie. Or I can stick this in between your ribs and let you choke on your own blood, howzat?”
There had to be some way out of this. “You’d kill me after anyway,” he said carefully, standing ready for fight or flight, eyes studying the man in front of him. He wasn’t going to submit to this fuckwit, but he wanted to know what his options were; it might tell him a lot about who they were dealing with. “Well, maybe not...if your girlfriend pleases the boss, he might wanna keep ‘er. And I’m sure we could find a use for you. Hey, man, I don’t make the decisions, but if you’re good, I could speak for you. It might keep you alive.” They must be part of some gang,Max thought desperately. He had to take this guy out and fast; he didn’t dare turn to see how Xara was doing. There was no point getting himself killed, or he would be of no use to her.
[/color] ((OOC: Wondering if they absolutely have to shift; could be fun if they do. It could be an interesting plot device later on if the punks get away with the knowledge. If anyone will believe a couple of drug addicts. Could have some people hunting our characters later. Or maybe these guys are shifters themselves. Lots of storylines could come from this. They could be part of some big renegade shifter gang; either catch our characters or our characters get away and the gang comes into play later.))
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