In the wrong place at the wrong time

You sit quietly on the beach, your toes half buried in the warm sand. You cuddle your knees, watching the waves numbly. Your lusus was hibernating; you'd read that dragons hibernated every ten sweeps or so, and you supposed that DragonMum had slept early in order to recover from her injuries. You feared she wouldn't wake, and since her slumber your hive had been too quiet. There was no one to nag to you to go to sleep or eat something or stay underwater, which was nice at first but now you missed. You were just having one of those nights where you felt incredibly lonely.

Sighing, you swept your long and thick braid over your shoulder, your fins fully on display. You didn't really care if anyone saw you, to be honest. The ocean was right there, you could just dive right in. So, for now, you moped, half awake and not paying any attention to your surroundings.

You are Aarush Dasura, and you are almost completely flooded with messages pinging out of your trollian when all you are trying to do is get some motherfucking shut eye after a rather bad hunt. You are about to toss your mobile communications device across the room when the ingsinia catches your eye.

Oh... fuck.

These messages were all the same. Official Imperial Symbol up top, a message to get your 'glubben clown-fish ass moving' and a location, blood color and how much time you had before the drones come to check up on your pathetic self and collect the head.. or your head. You've fought the drones before, you have no desire to repeat that experience. You have no clue how you had survived that first time.

With a groan you push yourself off your couch and roll onto the floor. From under the overstuffed furniture you pull out a flat box in which you keep your armor. It was mostly made of a leather-like material. It was a bit of a pain to put on and you could never wash out the blood stains. They would stay on the faux-leather like bright patches of paint. You strap on your golden shoulder guard with the Imperial Trident stamped in red in the dull gold finish. It stays on you by a brown leather buckle that goes across your chest in one belt and around your waist with another. You automatically tuck all different kinds of knives into the open loops on your belts. It wasn't widely known, but laughsasins were trained in different weapons beyond the strifibus allocation, training supposedly left over from a time when such technology was not even imagined. You plug the coordinates into your GPS, and before leaving you pat the carprise of your lusus that hung on the wall.

Goen out pops...

You leave a small coin in the offering bowl in your shrine to the messiahs for luck and then leave your hive. You own a small personal craft in the form of a jet bike, bright red with accents of indigo and silver. You love the thing, and how it just cruses threw the air and sea like it was nothing. The seashore was a good bit away from your mountain, so you figure it would take an hour or two. Switch that bad baby gear, and off you went.

Despite sunrise being over four hours away, you feel rather tired. You had done a lot of swimming today, perhaps that had worn you out. You didn't feel like swimming all the way back to your hive, so you decided to find somewhere along the beach to rest without being burned alive. After standing and stretching, you wander along the shore, remembering that there should be a recently abandoned hive nearby. You tried to keep track of who lived on the sea and observed them from a distance to try and figure out if they were a threat to you.

Your webbed feet left footprints in the sand, but you told yourself not to worry about them, the tide would wash them away at sunrise. You now stand at the door to the abandoned hive and force the door open. The movement stirs up a cloud of dust, giving you a minor coughing fit. You close the door, your damp feet making prints in the dust, and collect pillows and blankets from around the hive, making yourself a little nest in one of the smaller rooms.

You re-braid your hair into a dozen braids, then braid them into one thick braid. You check your nearly-dead palmhusk, finding messages from the Condese. She wanted more monsters faster, and you typed out a very polite reply reminding her that the creatures you had made her would be ready for transport in a week. You tried to be as diplomatic as possible, but her demands were beginning to cause you stress.

Turning off your huskpalm, you rubbed your eyes and settled down to sleep.

When you arrive at the hive, you are on foot. You had left your bike back on the beach away from the hive. There was no reason to alert whoever might be in the hive. You slide a mask over your face, it had been your ancestors. It had dim lights and lenses on the inside that worked like a filter to make day-light bearable. The rest of you was covered in your armor and a black cloak so that you would not get burned. You had been waiting for a while now for your target to re-enter the hive. You would not admit it to yourself, not now anyways, but you always felt a thrill just before a kill. Unfortunetly for her you were now just steps away. Culling a sleeping opponent was boring, so instead of just clubbing her outright you bend over and tickle her fin. She would get a face full of glowing green mask whens he woke up.

You grumble in your sleep, swatting at your fin to get rid of the tickle. It takes you two seconds to realize that you swatted a hand away. You are awake instantly, seeing glowing green eyes staring at you. You scream bloody murder, your foot connecting with whatever part of the intruder is closest. Or were you the intruder? It doesn't matter at this moment. You scramble to your feet, not realizing one of the blankets is tangled around your leg. Your eyes are wide, your fins flared as well as your gills, a primal instinct to try to make yourself appear larger to predators.

You bolt for the door, knowing your way out of the hive, and you are running down the stairs in an instant. Halfway down the stairs, you trip on the blanket and tumble to the floor, robbing you of precious seconds needed to escape. Once on your feet again, you were at the door, trying to pry it open. You'd landed hard on your bad arm, the one you had broken sweeps ago, but you didn't have time to think about that. You manage to pry the door open, falling backwards as it swings open.

Ah fuck, she kicked you right in the bulge. You snarl in anger and run after her. Maybe you should have clubbed her right away. Already you were planing what to do with her 'paint.' She would be running out for the door and into the day. You would have the definitive advantage there with all your gear. You skip over the stairs and jump from the second floor landing down to the first as she would be pulling open the door. You had heard her fall, and if you had recovered from that kick in time you would have had her then. You make a grab for her as the daylight would shine in from the door.

You didn't realize it was daytime, which completely dashes any hopes you had of escaping. You'd be blind before you reached the water. The troll grabs you by your braid before you can really process anything, making you cry out in a mixture of pain, fear, and surprise. This must be the owner of the hive, you're sure of it, but then you see his armor. Oh sweet glob, he was a laugh-assassin.

You're now trying not to cry as you attempt to free yourself from his grasp. You twist and claw at his hand and wrist while trying to kick him in the shins. Come on use your voice! Pretend to be the high and mighty powerful troll those of your caste are supposed to be.

"Release me at once landdweller! Do you have any idea whom you are dealing with?! I am employed by the Empress herself! When she hears of your assault she will have you hang!" Ok that sounded rather intimidating. But there were tears and fear still in your eyes.

Her nails would catch your vambraces, and she would probably be doing more damage to her nails as she clawed at the metal buckles there. you wrap her hair deftly around your fist as you pull her closer, to expose her neck to you. You were just about to take one of your knives and finish the job when she started to speak.  Of course there was the usual huffing and puffing that all unsanctioned... wait, employed by the empress? You nick her throat with your blade to check her hue, it was a very shallow cut, just enough to check and it the wrong color. You relece her at once and slam the door shut so that the light would stop streaming in. You even use your cloak to block out any light that came from a large window nearby. You tare off your mask and look at her.

And who the fuck are you? Her Red? Black? Pale? Talk. Fast.

You keep your voice low and intimidating as you crouch over her anyone harboring someone marked was as good as game. But if the target had a quad that was employed by the Empress, maybe that was the informant?

You tumble to the floor, quickly pushing yourself against the wall. You frantically try to activate your strife deck, only to find it empty. Glob you're stupid, your crossbow is still hanging above your coon in your hive! The only sharp thing on you is your epipen, which is tucked into your pantleg pocket. So you pull it out, clutching it like a knife, your hands trembling with fear. Tears are streaming down your face, and you know how awfully pathetic you look.

"W-who's red? M-my quadrants aren't f-filled! I live in the s-sea I d-didn't even k-k-know who lived here! I just slept h-here so I wouldn't get b-burned!" Oh sweet fuck why did you have to mention you had no quadrant mates? That could get you culled, at nine you should have at least one. But you felt so small, with him looming over you, knife in hand. Your head throbbed from where he had pulled your hair, and you could have sworn your heart stopped beating when you felt the knife at your neck.

AHHHH FUCK!

You snarl stand up and step away from her kicking a metal object away from you, sending it out a window with a roar.

Motherfucker already left...

You rub your face as you try to calm down some and think. She found out somehow before you arrived and definitely before this female arrived. You play a bit with your knife that still had her color on it, juggling it absently from hand to hand as you thought. You need to find a husktop, preferably one that was stationary and was still in working order in this hive. You stalk into the next room, you are running on adrenalin now, there was a hunt to be had.

You flinch and close your eyes when he moves, sure that you are going to die. You are desperately clutching your epipen, but really what would stabbing him with that do? It would give you chance to run but then what, you'd die from the sun. You open your eyes to find he's left, and you frantically try to think of what to do. Maybe you could find something to shield you from the sun as you made a run for the ocean? But you didn't have anything on your feet, the burning hot sand would hurt like hell. Then again, it was a small price to pay.

You stand slowly, your back still to the wall, then make a mad dash for the stairs. You snatch up your palmhusk as you pass by where you slept. Gogdamn it, it was dead. Your heart pounding, you hide in a linen closet. The laughassassin was looking for someone, and might think you have information since you live close by. He could think you're lying. You hold two fingers to the cut he made, trying to stop the bleeding, and press the other hand to your mouth, trying to stop yourself from sobbing.

You can't help but to curse out loud.

That motherfucking bitch... she took it.

You would have gone from room to room looking for the hive owner's husktop, or journal, or anything that might give you a clue. You sit on the top of the steps and let out a sigh. You would slide the mask over your face as you would lean back. A dark shadow would over take you as you activate your chucklevoodos. The spirits of the dead would come to you as you call.

Search for her...

You growl low, manipulating them in this manner was new to you. Ever since the disastrous attempt in the swamp with the witch doctor to remove your ancestor from your mind, you have started to feel and notice other worldly spirits in a different way. Like something had woken up inside you.

You had resigned to sitting in a curled up ball, quietly crying. You were terrified, and it seemed your natural reaction to fear was sobbing like a wriggler. Glob you were pathetic, what would the Empress think if she saw her monster-maker like this? What would your ancestor think? Maybe if you were lucky, the laughassassin would leave you be and you could escape the second the sun set. You cradled your arm, which you had probably at least sprained in your fall. It was easy to injure your bad arm, the bone never healed correctly. You hoped it hadn't fractured again.

A chill ran down your spine. You lean your head back to rub your eyes, only to make eye contact with something... something unnatural. Later, you would realize that it was a spirit. You screamed, trying to push yourself farther into the corner of the closet. You try to kick it away, but your foot goes right through it. Moments later, its gone, like it was never there.

There was a faint trail of the one you had hunted. You knew where she was heading. Into the city, most likely to try to hide among the crowds. You release the spirits from your grasp and lay back against the stairs with a tired sigh. Blood dripped from your nose, you wouldn't be going anywhere else today. You let your head drop back. Muffled crying noises come to your ears.

You are still here Miss?

Your voice just sounds tired. Nothing to be had for it, but you feel a bit bad for scarring that highblood lady unnecessarily. She could get the drop on you from this point. But you didn't think that she would try to attack you unless you attacked her first... again.

You press your hands to your mouth, trying to stop crying. You needed to think clearly, you needed to figure out how to escape. You hear the laughassassin call out, but like hell you're going to answer. He could turn on you at any second. From what you heard about laughassassins, they weren't exactly stable. Your scream might have given away your hiding spot. As quietly as you can, you open the door to the linen closet and crawl out. You stand on shaking legs, you would have bruises tomorrow from your fall down the stairs. Now slightly calmer, you open the door to the room, still without a weapon. The troll is on the stairs, and you pray that you can sneak into another room unnoticed.

With your eyes glued to him, you tiptoe down the hallway. But of course, with your attention elsewhere you do not see the clutter on the floor. You trip, tumbling to the ground, smacking your bad arm as you do.

He would turn to look at her.

Are you alright?

You really have no reason to be asking or really any right to after how you had treated her but still you get up slowly, wiping the blood from your nose. You loosen your shoulder peace and knife belts. They rubbed against your neck like crazy when you were actually aware of it. You probably should go up your mountain to be fitted with new armor, but you really don't want to deal with the others of your Cult.

You crouch near her but at a distance that she would be safer at.

What's your name?

You scramble to your feet, fear still coursing through your veins. The nick on your neck still bled, mainly due to your elevated heartbeat pushing your blood faster than usual. Holding your arm to your chest, you take a few unsteady steps backwards, your eyes wide with fear. Your hair is unraveling, strands of tyrian coloured locks hanging in your face.

"I'm f-fine." You wonder if you should reply to his second question, then again if he ran your name through the name identification system it would prove that you did work for the empress. "M-my name is Eisire."

Eisire...

You would nod slowly as you would speak her name. You sit down and press your back against the wall. Fuck, your nose won't stop bleeding. You need to calm down. Your heart was still beating hard with all the adrenalin that had flooded into your system from the hunt. You wipe it again with the back of your hand.

You said... You worked for the Empress?

You would keep forcing yourself to stay awake. You should have known better then to use something like that power, when you have not fully controlled it or rather when you had figured out how to not let it completely suck the energy right out of you. You couldn't sleep now, if you did you would miss the deadline for the head.

You held your arm tightly, making sure to catch his every movement. This could still end with you bleeding out on the floor. You've never been one to look threatening, particularly due to your small stature. But currently you were dressed in capris that were rolled up to your knees and a loose light pink shirt, whereas he was covered in armor. Did you even own any armor? And walking around barefoot didn't exactly say 'fear me' either.

"Y-Yes, I do. I supply her armies." You didn't want to go into much detail really, and technically you did supply her armies. With monsters.

You nod slowly. Not slaves she didn't look like the slaving type. Maybe some sort of beast trainer.

Tell me more about what you do... Help me stay awake... I don't care if you fall asleep talking... I just can't... I can't miss the deadline.

Ah fuck. Your head was becoming a giant hollow drum, your heartbeat just pumping in your ears. What energy you had was fading away with each pump. You take a canteen from your dex and take a swig of it, this wasn't any faygo, just straight up hot liquor, something to keep your self warm and awake.

You wondered if you should help him, after all he had nearly driven a knife through your neck. You absent mindedly rubbed where he had cut you, failing to smother a hiss as your arm moved. It didn't hurt as badly as when you had broken it when you were barely a sweep old, but it still hurt pretty bad. Biting your lip, you decided it was in your best interest to help him. You would rather not anger him, you were still scared of him, mostly because you were still wary that he may decide to kill you after all.

"Um well um I uh I creature monsters from a molecular level. I arrange the DNA, insert it into host cells and then raise them until they can be sent to the army. I um I make anything the Empress wants me to make, j-just like my ancestor did." Glob you sounded pathetic. Your voice was trembling and quiet.

You look like one of her monster makers...

You let out a chuckle and a groan. Fuck you are pathetic, every movement just accentuated the pain in your head. You notice she is still bleeding so you uncaptalog a roll of bandage and some ointment and toss it to her.

That'll work... to patch you up...

You don't know why but you just start thinking of your morail. Shit, you should have left a message for her at your hive. You run a hand threw your jade dyed hair. You could really use her right now.

We all end up working for... the bitch fish...

You mumble it a bit. A part of you resented her for forcing you into the same work as your ancestor but another part of you did not mind so much. Maybe you were just becoming numb to it.

You catch it, clenching your jaw when your arm moves. "T-thanks." You quickly covered the cut then set what he tossed you on the ground, too nervous to get any closer to him. His hair was green, you've now noticed, which you find quite odd. His nose had been bleeding before, and you could have sworn his blood was purple. Additionally, you could easily of ripped away from a greenblood.

"Um, what do you mean by I look like one of her monster makers?" You weren't sure if that was insulting or not. Your ancestor became governess of a quarter of Alternia, she was the Empress's right hand woman, a position that if you were very lucky you may grow into. You weren't just another monster maker. There was a tiny part of you that was convinced that you could lead Alternia.

Any time sis...

You look at her. Your eyes were definitely purple.

She has... a few other who make monsters. All pritty much look the same. Small, fishy, a bit panicky in a pinch... Sorry... not trying to be insulting.

You shake your head as you drink more. You weren't the best of drinkers, but it kept you awake. You would stand slowly to get the items.

The sun didn't burn you did it?

You would plop right back down after picking them up and capataloging them, as you bent over your blood would drip from your nose onto the floor. You wipe it away again, but you knew what you needed was sleep and rest. Both you could not afford.

You froze when he moved, relaxing once he sat back down. You kept glued in place, still nervous. If his blood was purple then why on Alternia was his hair green? Despite that he said he didn't mean to insult you, you couldn't help but feel angry. You were tired, which is probably why you were easily bothered. "I'll have you know that I am the best at what I do! And perhaps I was a bit panicky but you did loom over me and nearly kill me!"

She huffed, trying to calm down. "No, I didn't get burnt. I just hurt my arm in the fall."