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« Last post by RandomRabbit on September 25, 2023, 12:16:20 am »
Dial-A-Fiend
The name of Mercy Island was so ironic that it amused Bellindra. The island was anything but. She heard originally Arachnos would dump off abducted ne'er do wells in Darwin's landing and force them to fight through snakes Hellions and Skulls to make it up to the upper areas. Darwin's Landing was an apt name for it, for the social Darwinism Arachnos engaged it. Bellindra was sipping on a bloody Mary from Larry's Tiki Bar, an establishment in the upper areas of Mercy. It was a run down looking place, but at least it wasn't the ruins down below. Despite the run down appearance she rather liked the Tiki Ambience. But her concentration was more on the lad before her. Mid-tone skin, short cut hair, wearing a T-Shirt with some game emblem she didn't recognize. The locals simply called him J and he was good at hooking people up with electronics. "So this phone should be clean. Using this won't get traced like some of the standard fare you'd buy around here. No tracking software. This is the cellphone number. Do you want me to show you how to dial again?"
Bellindra Nodded, the boy was hesitant to work for someone looking at devilish as her, but she could tell he had worked with a few freakish sorts before in Mercy and by keeping a pleasant demeanor she was able to keep him cooperative. More flies with honey then vinegar and all that. Sometimes being nice was the easiest way. That's when the call came from behind her, back towards the door, "At last I found you!" It was a rather beefy man hefting an axe, "Bellindra, the Beast of a Thousand Torments, I have come to send you back from whence you came."
He purposefully strode down towards her Bellindra held up a hand, gesturing a stop, "Wait, can we do this outside please."
The man stopped, laying his axe over his armored shoulder his brow furrowed beneath his wild brown locks and his square jawed mouth turned to the side in thought, clearly taken aback at the lack of aggression in the reply, "Why?"
Bellindra gestured to the occupants, "There are people here, the staff are terrified. And there is a lot of furniture that can be damaged. I rather like the Bloody Marys here and I'd rather they continue serving me."
The man nodded, seeming to agree with the plea to limit collateral damage, "Fine, you shall face me in the street." He walked back out.
Bellindra looked to the kid, "Sorry Jay I'm going to deal with this quick and then I'll get back to you." She walked away from him and the table, towards the door. She barely noticed the two men dressed in grey going by until one of them rudely bumped her in the shoulder, pushing right past her. They had skull masks which clearly spoke of their gang affiliation. They were both carrying baseball bats.
Bellindra glanced at the two men approaching Jay, she saw Jay's face go pale as the Skulls approached him, "Took us a while to find you, squirt, you think you could do business in our turf like that without paying the fee?"
Bellindra scowled, "HEY! That kid's my tech support. Hands off if you want to keep them."
The Skulls turned about, glowering at Bellindra through their masks, "Stay out of this Hellion bitch! We'll clip those wings later!"
Bellindra had no patience for this with a quick gesture she snapped a whip of hellfire that hadn't existed until this very moment at the left Skull's feet. It snatched around his ankles and she gave a sharp tug, his arms flailed for balance as he was thrown on his back, his head connected with the heavy table Jay and Bellindra had been sitting at a moment earlier with a solid thud. The man fell to the ground knocked unconscious. The second man ran after Bellindra with his bat. Bellindra ran for the door. She burst out into the open, the axe-wielding man was watching the whole scuffle curiously from the street. He didn't impede Bellindra as she spun around just in time to take a hit from a baseball bat. The blow caught one of her horns, she rolled with it, there was a sharp pain where it her horn met her head but she had felt far worse. She grasped on to the pain seeping through her mind and slung it back at her assailent in the form of a fiery punch. He fell backwards to the ground, she was upon him in an instant, throwing him into a painful lock-hold. She wasn't called the Beast of a Thousand Torments for nothing, this man was riff-raff, it was easy contorting his body into a highly painful hold leaving him crying out for mercy. She hissed out, "I am no Hellion, I am Bellindra, the Beast of a Thousand Torments. Harm that kid and you'll have an awful lot of cut-throats at your throat, including me, and I will kill you, and every instant of that death will be an agony you'll beg for me to hasten to the end."
She let him simmer in a couple beats of pain before she released him, tossing his bat aside. The thug leapt to his feet and Bellindra made a start at him, bearing fangs. The SKull lept back in a panic and sprinted off. Bellindra laughed and rubbed her horn where she took the hit before turning towards the would-be Demon hunter. "So you wanted to dance?"
The man considered her a moment more, axe still balanced on his shoulder. She could tell this man was not going to be an easy fight, and the thought just left her more eager to fight him. She knew it would be a good fight. "You didn't have to protect the kid."
She stretched her arms and her wings, "Sometimes being nice is the most pragmatic choice. Are you going to fight me?"
Her shook his head, "You aren't the destructive fiend I was lead to believe you are. I shall see what you do here. You may call me Rogan, the Hunter"
She smirked, "Suit yourself. Fighting with or fighting against you look like fun."