The Wastes

[Angel]

((The scenario is thus:

Its a small town on the boarder between the land controlled by a government and the land of some very violent barbarians. the no-man's land in between is called the Wasted Ground, usually shortened to the Wastes. To the south is the Burnt Ground, no-one comes back from there sane, usually not at all. The government controlling the land to the north was very corrupt until very recently and the new powers are purging the ranks. the waifs and strays that once flourished in the big cities now come crawling away from the gleaming metropoli and hope to disappear into the dust of the Wastes.

Many succeed and the town is growing into a city of squalor without name or laws, on the no-land. Under constant threat of bandit raids, only the harshest, strongest people survive. It is the hub of criminal networks spanning a continent and the mobs rule.

The technology is mid-twenty second century level but the city has little power,barely enough to light the streets during the busiest time of night. Transport is a strange mix of dilapidated hover craft and horses, anything with wheels soon looses its bearings to the driving and abrasive dust.

This is a semi-private RP, for myself and a few others who know who they are, please ask before joining.))

*Angel adjusts the cloth over her mouth and nose and squints through the dust, little moves in the daytime heat and dust storms but a flicker of movement makes her look again.

There! a hastily muffled dust cloak had flapped in the wind and she makes eye contact with her target, he dives behind a wall before she can get a shot off. with a hidden grin she hares after him, chasing him through the warren of narrow alleys that he got his name from. She has been sent by the Sharks to kill one of the alley rats, she neither knows or cares why, as long as she gets the pay-off.

she rounds a corner to see him only a hundred meters away, sprawling over the outstretched leg of an alley Cat. Angel takes little notice of the inter-gang wars but she thanks it now for speeding the kill. without ceremony she takes aim and fires. With a wet noise the Rats brains explode onto the wall and the man who tripped him. She holsters her oiled gun quickly to fend of the corrosive dust and pulls her knife instead.

Her presence keeps the Cat pack away but even so she works quickly. She cuts his shirt open and fishes for the rats tooth pendant that will be her lunch ticket. she finds is in moments and rips it of his scrawny neck. she dangles it from her fist to see the status of the man she has executed, six sets, not bad at all, she thinks to herself before tossing the teeth up and catching them to be shoved into her chest pocket. she leaves the corpse for the human scavangers and heads back to the club for her rewards*

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph was pretty bored. He was sitting at a table in the local saloon after a hard days work. So far he had been ordered to chuck out two drunks after they almost started a bar fight. He then sat back and swigged from his whiskey.

Seph was currently working as a bouncer of sorts. He was payed to fight people out of a bar, he thought that it was a good deal, getting payed to do what he likes.

The barkeep pointed and Seph stood up. One person had raised his glass to hit somebody over the head with it, drunks around here often started fights, they needed someting to vent their anger on. Seph quickly grabbed the mans wrist, disarmed him, and booted him out of the swinging doors and into the dusty road.

He flicked his dusty, torn black leather coat off, tipped his hat and sat back down again.

Another days work.

[Angel]

*Angel dodges a raucous drunk without thinking as he lands face first in the road. she grins slightly behind her mask and steps over hi, to the swinging doors, for a moment she stands just inside the doors, looking for her client then spots him in the middle of a group of six or so. he is tall, thin, with dyed blue hair and she assumes the hover outside was his. the tooth tattoo carefully exposed by a cutaway in his shirt bears a number four. Angel takes careful note of the distinguishing detain in case she ever takes a contract on him.

the morbid necklace lands on the table with a rattle, knocking into a whiskey glass,*

a Rat, as promised. Level three too,

*she takes a chair and sits backwards on it, facing the Shark and refusing to be intimidated by the petty murderers and thieves he has surrounded himself with.*

Get the dear Missus a drink so we can talk money, Ashes.

*a grey haired man pushes a glass towards her and there is the merry chink of glass as her pours. she waits until he finishes before beginning negotiations. she manages to haggle the price up but doesn't push her luck, one of the men already looks like he might pick a fight. Eventually her money is pushed across the table and she hides it away under her dust jacket. she gets up quickly and steps away from the increasingly drunken group.

she eyes the room in general and spots Seph, apparently taking his ease and heads over. pulling up a chair she sits beside him, saying nothing.*

[Sephirothsicase]

"Another job done hmm?"

He sips his whiskey without looking at her. She wouldnt see much anyway. He was wearing his reflective red sunglasses. The ones that had a gaurd around the edges meaning that there wasnt a gap around the glasses. He sniffed, she reeked of a fresh kill.

"Be glad that the people around here do not have good noses, I would be ordered to throw you out."

[Angel]

hah! you really think anyone in here hasn't killed? this is a city of the damned.

*she shifts slightly and pulls her mask down under her chin, while she doesn't like the smells of this city it looks odd for her to be wearing a dust cloth inside.*

since when did you take orders any way? this job is getting to you, keeping the 'peace',

*she eyes the Sharks leaving and relaxes only slightly when they have gone. Calmly she sips her drink, apparantly oblivious to everything around her.*

you've got a job, left corner, man with the green jacket.

*she can see him shifting an arm loaded pistol in its sheath under his wrist*

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph only pulls his own pistol out. An extra large gun that seemed to fire rifle-like bullets. The barrel of the gun was about thirty centimetres in length. He raises it over his shoulder and blind-fires. About three other people all jump up and draw firearms. The bullet his the man in the shoulder, putting his shooting arm out of action. He cries out and seph stands up.

"Settle down." Seph mutters. At this, they all slowly put their guns away and sit down. Seph approaches the man, grabs him by the collar and lifts him up. The man made to spit at him, Seph only lifts him higher, feet off the ground and shakes him hard. The man soon gets dizzy and gives up. He walks over towards the door, and throws him out again. He dusts himself off to the drunk cheering before he sips his whiskey.

"Hey, I get payed to shoot and throw people around, wouldnt you take the job?" He winks at her.

[Angel]

Good shot.

*she comments idly as he sits back down and sips his whiskey. his next question surprises her*

to be honest? less chance than a city guv' in the Burt Grounds! you know I don't like wages. Besides look at my apartment compared to yours,

*she says quietly, still eyeing the pistol toter's companions, who are now sweating more that the heat can account for. she grins softly and dismisses them when she sees a thin yellow trickle from the bottom of one of their trousers*

It's you're coice so i'll just leave you to your servitude, *yawn* i'd like to get some sleep before Lights Up.

*she gets up and ties the cloth back over her mouth and nose, heading for the door*

((note: this city works upsode down, daylight is so hot and harsh that things that usualy happen during the day have been moved to the night. Lights Up is a term for when the street lamps come on and most people begin their day.))

[Sephirothsicase]

"Good plan. You might want to get in before I start my second job."

Seph finishes his whiskey. The barkeep calls for "Last Orders, closing down in ten minutes!" and a few people usher out.

"I need to get ready myself."

[Angel]

*she tsk's between her teeth at his arrogance then leaves without another word, that arrogance! She soon shrugs off his behaviour, that's just Seph, deal or leave. IT irks her slightly though, that man never used to take orders from anyone, let alone of his own will.

as she makes her way through the early afternoon streets she watches with contempt as ruined and drunken men sprawl out of the taverns to blink in the light. Half are addicted to Flash and wear thick black goggles to cover their whitened eyes, the others pass for normal in comparison, she spots a pack of Rats tumble out of a rust heap of a bar. News hasn't got around yet but it soon will.

As she nears her district she spots a black haired young man through the dust, the streets are virtually empty now and she catches up to him quickly. She falls in beside him quietly and he gives her no more than a glance and keeps a sharp eye on the rapidly emptying streets, this is the most dangerous time of day, when most people have gone to hide from the heat and sleep off their drugs or liquor, some prowl through the dust storms.

She grins at the serious look in his eyes, he wears a mask the same as hers but slightly darker, she shakes her head. no one's been able to surprise Zed since he was fourteen, he is too quick and sharp. They don't speak until he pulls open the door to their building and have shut the door behind them. as the door closes a bright and sharp light is almost hidden by a screening curtain but not quite.*

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph stood up and picked up his wages from the barkeep. He walked out as all the rest cleared out, holstering his pistol underneath his jacket. He tipped his hat forward and walked across the path.

Eventually, he moved up his stairs and placed three keys in three locks. Not that anybody would dare steal from his place though, but a little caution never hurt anybody. He places his hat down on the table, and picks up the bottle of hard whiskey. He swigs this and places it back down again. He takes a large mask from the wall, it was made of a black metal. No indent for eyes, mouth or nose, just plain metal. Only thing about it was it had a slightly triangular chin. Two large red circles for eyes and a large, V curved purple mouth were the only things shown.

"Time to go to work..." He muttered as he strapped this to his face.

[Angel]

*Angel pulls off her dust mask in the entrance room and hangs it on a small peg, along with her coat and gun belt. She takes her time in he scruffy room and stands for a moment watching the lights moving under the curtain.

Zed has hurried in front and there is a faint buzzing and sparking sound from the next room. she pushes the curtain aside to reveal the room beyond. It is quite large and well lit with electric lights and machinery around the walls and half repaired hover craft on the floor. The only sign that this place is a living space is a rough and unmade bed in the far corner.

Zed is working furiously at a machine, pumping electricity into a large capacitor. Angel can never understand how he has so much energy. she remembers just in time to shrug her jumper off before relaxing and letting her wings sprout painfully from her shoulders. she slumps tiredly now that she's away from prying eyes and her wing tips drag on the floor.

She pulls open a silver box and rummages through the ice inside to pull out a packet of blood and retreats to the bed with her meal, falling asleep almost before she is finished. Zed finishes his chore and comes to sit beside her, lightly brushing hair away from her face. a yawn reminds him how tired he is and he turns the lights off and pulls a blanket over them both.*

[Angel]

*The night passes with little incidence, Angel wakes shaking at about seven but Zeds calming words sooth her and she drifts off again. Zed rises early, a little before true dark, and sits at his bench to work on a small palmtop computer.

When Angel wakes she looks around with a slightly confused expression. A small clicking and whirring from Zeds bench makes her look over and the confusion disappears. She realises she fell asleep in her clothes and blushes, feeling horribly dusty and sticky. she ducks into a back room for a shower.

Mean while, Zed begins to rummage for his light gear, they're planning on an outing to a techno-club tonight and he wants to check over their things*

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph climbs the stairs once again and opens his door, grunting slightly, he drops the bag that was over his shoulder onto a tabletop and quickly gets changed. He put a thumb through the new hole he had aquired and sighed. He'd have to buy a new coat at this rate. He removed his mask and hung that up, leaving it untill tommorow.

He pulled the guns he had out of their holsers, and put them back in the drawer, along with the large, curved blade he was carrying in a sheath behind his hips. He sat down, and took another swig of the whiskey. And waited untill sundown.

"Ruddy thugs..."

[Angel]

*Angel dresses quickly and hides her wings again. Zed glances up and pushes a bag towards her before bending back over his work*

I put his things in there, I know you promised.

*she laughs softly and leans over his back, slipping her arms around his waist, under his arms. she feels him stiffen*
I promised lots of things, promises I'll never break

*he swallows hard and mumbles, cheeks flushing hotly. she laughs and goes to pick up the duffel-bag.*
I'll drop this off and give him the kick he needs. I'll be back soon, maybe dragging him along.

*She breezes out of the door and walks briskly towards Seph's apartment. The city is coming alive now, in the twilight. The air is dark, hot and somehow alive. it hums with the expectant sounds of a city about to begin a hard and dirty night. Large numbers of neon tubes, in all colours, bedeck the buildings and cast eery coloured shadows around the crowds.
it takes her longer than usual to get to the building in which Seph lives but she makes it and raps on the door*

[Sephirothsicase]

He perks up, keen ears picking up footsteps coming up the stairs. He picked the large gun from the drawer, he clicked a large clip into the gun and carefully put the gun towards the door.

He opened the door slowly, and pushed forward with the gun. The barrel was placed against the forehead of the opener. He noticed that it was Angel, but he still didnt put it away. He had seen mimics do such things.

"Yes Angel? What can I do for you?" He asked, keeping his eyes straight towards hers.