A Fresh Kill (Open)

“This one goes out to the man who mines for miracles
This one goes out to the ones in need
This one goes out to the sinner and the cynical
This ain't about no apology

This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungry
This road was paved by the winds of change
Walking beside the guilty and the innocent
How will you raise your hand when they call your name?

Yeah, yeah, yeah

We weren't born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe

Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow
And that your saints and sinners bleed
We weren't born to follow
You gotta stand up for what you believe

Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah

This one's about anyone who does it differently
This one's about the one who cusses and spits
This ain't about our livin' in a fantasy
This ain't about givin' up or givin' in

Yeah, yeah, yeah

We weren't born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe

Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow
And that your saints and sinners bleed
We weren't born to follow
You gotta stand up for what you believe

Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah

We weren't born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe

Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow
And that your saints and sinners bleed
We weren't born to follow
You gotta stand up for what you believe

Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah

We weren't born to follow, oh yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
We weren't born to follow, oh yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah.”

Astareal didn’t know why, but she felt… rebellious. It was a nice feeling. She enjoyed it. Too bad she didn’t have enough spirit to care. With a blank expression resting upon her deathly pale face, she stretched and entered Death. It was the same way as usual, of course. The woman drew Saraneth a rang the bell loudly, a spirit becoming linked to her. It was fresh, obviously, for it hadn’t yet entered the second precinct. It was a straggler, a wanderer. Someone had recently slaughtered the person, but she didn’t care. She wanted a buddy. Within a few seconds, she had a full functional Shadow Hand at her side. She’d have to find that person’s body first, before she was going to make a Dead Hand. She always had enjoyed a fresh kill… mainly for the body that didn’t smell of decaying flesh or squawk every time it advanced upon it’s prey.

Those were the main flaws in Dead Hands. Mordauts weren’t worth it. Greater Dead took too long to summon up, and they risked going into the Ninth Precinct…. That wasn’t a good thing. Astareal went back to life and drew her blade, ringing Saraneth once again. The bell’s deep voice echoed over the area, sounding pleasant to her, but perhaps a little melancholy to someone else. Hopefully they weren’t listening too hard, or they’d probably be charmed by the bell, too. That would be fun. Having a living slave…

It was in the dead of night, pitch black, a little sliver of moon hanging in the sky. It was peaceful, no one seemed to be out. Besides the mystery killer. Astareal smirked and walked along, her Hand following behind her. It didn't need to talk. Now wasn’t the time for words. It was time for her creature to feed upon the living, preferably the killer of the spirit. That’d be a nice little treat; two fresh bodies. And one spirit. Meaning she’d only have to go into the third precinct, at best. The girl grinned, as wide as she could. It wasn’t rare for her to do so, only this was a real smile. Of true happiness.

The Necromancer's 'death sense' tingled. She was getting close to the body. It was like a game of 'Hot and Cold'. The more her sense tingled, the closer she was getting to the body’s location. Hopefully they had been careless and hadn’t buried it… or perhaps… The brunette jumped when a little white cat meowed innocently. She looked at Yrael and shook her head. Dang cat was giving away her presence… dumb servants. No wonder she didn’t have any living companions; they were annoying and unpredictable. She sent the Shadow Hand ahead, to check things out. Those creatures were practically invincible and invisible in the dark… not to mention hard as hell to kill, unless you had the proper weapon, running water, or spells. She doubted her next victim did, but if they killed her Hand….

((OOC: Song is 'We Weren’t Born To Follow' by Bon Jovi))

Akuma had recently killed a traveler for no reason other then it was fun. He was bored and just relaxing by the falls wasn't cutting it. It was enjoyable watching the man as he slowly went insane when his worst fears came to life. However upon hearing someone near Akuma decided to cut his play time short. Whoever it was seemed to be singing how ever it wasn't long when he heard the person come nearer. Akuma didn't bother to hide himself. Since he was wearing mostly white he probably stuck out. He did however walk away from the body and used some of the jagged rocks in the area to conceal his movements as he attempted to go around and catch the person from behind. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a shadowy figure coming toward him. Remembering his education he immediately recognized it as a shadow hand. One of the many dead spirits a necromancer could summon. A rather weak thing that could easily be disposed of with some water. Unfortunately he didn't have any water but.....Using his powers he managed to convince the shadowy hand that it was walking toward a vast amount of water and sent it scurrying away. Akuma smirked as he waited for the inevitable encounter with the necromancer.

Astareal felt death, smelt it's very presence. the smell was sweet, wonderous. delicious. Heavenly. Snapping herself out of it, she was aware of her surroundings. She drew her sword, which glowed and eerie blue. It light up the night and revealed her figure. She also drew Saraneth, to get a better grip on the Shadow Hand. It returned to her, quickly. It wasn't far away. With this, she looked to the little white cat. "Yrael, you're scoping. You have my permission. Don't do anything stupid." The cat shifted into a small boy, his golden eyes thankful in the darkness. "I will not fail you this time, mistress." The cat boy left after a moment, and quickly returned. He pointed. The woman smiled. That cat deserved a fish.

"A person. Probably a demon. Reeks of the death you so desire. I vote we kill him. Probably wouldn't be that hard to fool. Although, there is one thing..." Yrael shifted back into his previous form, the little collar snug around his neck. It was nice to know that he was firmly in her grasp, not going to change anytime soon. Astareal replaced Saraneth with Ranna, the sleepbringer, and grinned. This would be an interesting ideal, no doubt. She began to sing a wordless song, her voice like a sweet lullaby, one that would draw another nearer, bring them closer... lure them into a trap. She had weapons, and she would use them. Although she knew that he probably wouldn't fall for the trick...

Yrael plodded along beside her, looking cute and happy. The miniature Ranna tinkled around his neck, a cute little sound that kept the beat of Astareal's song, adding to the sleeping portion of the whole thing. There was a figure in white, undoubtedly a demon, and Astareal came to a halt. She stared at the boy. This wasn't wierd, at all. What the heck was he doing here? The body... she looked around, spotted it, and smiled maliciously. Now to find a nice place to go into death... she wanted another body, though. She didn't want to fight that guy for no reason.

Akuma smiled upon the arrival of the sorceress. "I knew it wouldn't take you long to find me." He said coolly as he flipped his hair. The sound was fairly nice and was no doubt enchanted but what ever power it had didn't effect him. He noticed her eying the body. "Take it and conceder it a gift from me to you." Akuma told her in a charming manner giving her a bow. Perhaps she would be of use to him. Her dead minions could be helpful later on.

He was up to something. Plain and simple. Normal people didn't just kill someone and then hand over the body. that didn't happen. This realization made Astareal a little angry, for she didn't know what to do. She wanted the body, but she didn't trust the demon. She hadn't know him for very long, didn't like him, Yrael didn't like him, and he seemed a little freaky, like no one in the right mind wold trust him. Hopefully she was still in the right mind. "I'll take you up on that offer." Astareal walked out, to the ocean. She waded in, and then dove under, holding her breath. From there, she entered Death.

She figured that as long as she was submerged, her body frozen in time, that she wouldn't be as vulnerable. The Shadow Hand that she had summoned was led away by Yrael, going to prey on some random innocent being. It was fine with her. Upon arriving in the cool river, she followed it down into the second precinct. From there, she rang Saraneth and Mosrael in unison, bringing up a spirit into the body. It had already been prepared. From there, she rushed back and remembered that, back in life, she was holding her breath. From there, she continued holding her breath, and went back to the world of the living.

Astareal, soaked to the bone, went back into life and surfaced. She went back to shore, and tried to ring out her clothes. She sheathed her stilll drawn sword and spotted Yrael coming toward her. She walked over to where the spirit had met the body, hoping that her new Dead Hand didn't go after that boy. She didn't care, but she didn't want his body. It had a spoiled, corrupt mind. The brunette shook her hair and walked forward, Saraneth and Ranna in hand. "Where'd my hand go?"
"I sent him to a small village. He'll be back soon." The cat boy grinned maliciously and walked alongside the woman, laughing internally. He needed control over the dead. Soon they would be back to where the body had lay, to see if the other Hand had taken care of that boy. They were ravenous when coming back to life, but they were also stupid. Dead Hands were stonger than normal races, and they were also a bit better fighters than they looked. But they could be lured right into water. Hopefully that boy wouldn't kill off her new friend.

Akuma watched the Necromancer go into the water. She appeared do be going into the realm of the dead. Taking advantage of her absence and the absence of the cat thing he moved to higher ground. What a pity that the women didn't seem to like him. From his vantage point he could see everything including the zombie hand the sorceress had summoned. It would take a while for the hand to reach him. By the time it started attempting the climb, Akuma had guessed it belonged to the traveler he killed. Akuma used the mans fears to lure the hand right into the water where it died...again."You have a strange way of showing gratitude." Was his comment when the woman resurfaced.

"Oh, so you kill my hand? Do you know how risky it is to go in there? You have got to learn some manners." first she made a 'ts, tsk' sound. Then Astareal glared at the boy. Apparently he was a worthless know-nothing, like may of the others who were still alive. Yrael reappeared, his little cat ears twitching. "If he angers you, kill him mistress. He seems to have no real place in this world, and I'm sure that no one would miss him." The cat's voice was soothing, manipulative. The brunette glared at the cat. Since when was he the one issueing orders?

Astareal drew one of her favorite bells, Kibeth, the one that worked on both the living and Dead. The only other was the seventh bell, the one that she dared not ring. The one that she was named after. Astareal was the sweet singer who lived in the bottom of the well... she was a wonderful spirit, but her voice, the song she sang, woulld send you to death all by itself. Too bad she couldn't take hold of that spirit. Then again, it was best not to take something that you couldn't handle. Even Saraneth's binding would come undone against one of the seven themselves.

"I'm not one for words, but I really think you owe me an apology." That hand wasn't worth summoning and then killing again. If she really wanted to, she could summon a Greater Dead and kill him then and there. Like a fallen Necromancer who could control the dead themselves. That'd be a bit too powerful, though. A power hungry brain is one that was easily corrupt. Therefore, it wouldn't do to summon up a large beast. She could handle that twerp on her own.

The brunette crossed her arms defiantly and blew her hair across her face. She was debating on telling Yrael to go scout out a few decent bodies, but then that wouldn't do. Doll Face, as she was calling him, would probably just try and kill them off. Too bad she couldn't make it back in time to stop them... or could she? If she had a fresh spirit... Heck, this would be a good time for a worthless little Mordaut. It would attach itself, like a leech... Or a Mordicant! It was always by it's master's side, like a faithful dog. The gentle sounds around her, however, prevented her from doing anything like that. She was too calm. That led her to thinking if this was worth her time.

((For some reason, I like playing her. She's too unlike me for me not to enjoy it.))

Akuma raised an eyebrow at the girl. Her reasoning didn't make any sense. She sent that thing after him and expected him to apologize? Putting on a sad expression he came down from the high ground he was on. "It really hurts that you would treat me so horribly after i tried so hard to be nice. After giving you a body to play with, you thank me by trying to kill me. Perhaps you should apologize to me?" Akuma said wagging his finger at her. He wasn't threatened by the girl at all, on the contrary he was enjoying this encounter. At the moment the girl seemed to underestimate him and figured she would be able to kill him off at will. But this was not the case, it was quite the opposite. If he weren't having fun he would have destroyed the women by now. However, she did seem to be powerful to. So he would not return the favor and attack her without knowing the limits of her strengths.

"When on is in Death, the spirits they had conjured are not in their contro.. Therefore, that Hand attacked you completely on its own. Those creatures, in order to exist, must feed off of the living." Astareal said this matter-of-factly. She had a cocky air about her, liking the way it felt. If there would've been a few more soothing sounds, she wouldn't have reacted in that way. Instead, the boy's tone, it fueled the anger that was non-existant. It wasn't good to be controlled soleyly by sounds; it made one too unpredicatble.

Yrael wrapped himself around the Sorcerer's legs. He would be a good weapon in battle, if it came to that. Especially if it came down to fighting hat little twerp. Astreal rotated her shoulders, a few stubborn cracks sounding in the quiet, still air. A few of the night time sounds could be heard, but nothing major. When one worked with death it was rather impossible for them to die.... unless they lost the possession of their bells. That wouldn't be good. Without them, she was useless. Her sword wasn't all that great, she did have her voice but... her physical appearance and her charm didn't seem to have any effect on that demon.

White was a rather odd choice in color, too. It seemed as if that boy was just a child, looking for people to harass and control. Astareal realized that, in fact, she didn't even know hims name. It would probably be a rather strange one, indeed. She didn't care, however. Names were nothing, unless they had a title, like 'King,' 'Queen', 'Prince', or another title involved in hiearchy. Yrael stopped where he was and looked off to the left, his little cat ears twitching. Something was probably on it's way over here; more than likely just a foolish animal. The likes of which were never intimidating.

Akuma without warning pulled the Sorcerer close and planted a kiss on her lips. He quickly broke the kiss and stood there smiling at her. "I couldn't help but kiss those lips of yours. They looked so soft and were quite tasty. I wonder if the rest of you is as delectable as your lips." He said in a pervy manner. She was too calm and he figured this would be just the thing to send her over the edge. Unless of course she happened to like it, which would be all the more fun. " By the way my name is Akuma Roku." The demon added after a moment of thought. Despite what the lady said about her not making the hand go after him, he didn't believe it. None the less it didn't matter now since it was gone. Akuma could hear the sound of the approching animal to, but it didn't seem to be worth paying attention to.

(( muwahaha. I couldn't resist having him do that.))

((You are extremely evil. Now I have to think about this...))

With the kiss, Astareal was momentarily stunned. That stunning energy quickly turned from no emotion to a dull anger. That comment only strengthened said anger, until she retorted; "Oh, it is. And you aren't allowed near it." She debated upon whether or not to smack him, but then restrained herself from doing so. It was best to keep that calm expression on her face. That way anger was there when she would need it. Anger fueled rage, which could quickly turn into that of a deadly rage, of which her senses were a little more alert, but she was controlled by the strong emotions. "Learn when and where to make your first move. And I assure you, try anything else, and you'll get attacked. By him." The woman gestured to the cat at her side, who hissed, as if on cue.

As he finally introduced himself, the brunette simply nodded. "Astareal is my name. Don't use it. You scare me. Not in a pleasant way. If you must call me, use the name Ranna. It's much prettier." The brunette had an empty facial expression, she talked quickly and flawlessly. She had the faint idea that Akuma liked to make things happened, liked to be in control. Or perhaps her thoughts were completely wrong. Perhaps he was the kind that studied and waited, like her. But that was doubted, as the way he had just randomly kissed her... she wiped her lips off with her hand. Yuck. She didn't know why, but somehow, she seemed a little attracted to him. She had a taste for spontaneous men.

((I had to end on that note.))

(( ^_^ LOL. ))

Akuma just smiled at her reaction. It was every bit as entertaining as he imagined it. When the cat hissed he just snarled right back for the fun of it. The lady already thought he was nuts, so why not? When she mentioned the name thing and him scaring her he chuckled. " I scare you.....and yet here you are suggesting a nickname for your self. It's one of the first things would be couples do, pick nicknames. I personally would prefer to call you sugar lips. " He said in an amused tone. After a moment the demon sighed and said "But if you insist i will call you Ranna." Then he clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "Alright now i get to pick one." Akuma said and pretended to think about it. Meanwhile he invaded the cats mind trying to find what it's fears were so that he could use them to get rid of the cat. The cat was really annoying and ruining the fun he was having with Astareal.

Yrael shifted into a boy. He was sick of being a seemingly defenseless cat. "Get your nasty mind out of mine. It's not yours, and it isn't smart to be trespassing." Astareal kicked Yrael in the leg. He was really annoying at times, wasn't he? "Shut up." "Yes, Mistress." "Take the Shadow Hand and return in about... five minutes. Make sure he has a good... dinner." The cat boy nodded, his eyes remaining fixated on the demon the whole time. He didn't like him, and wanted nothing to do with him. If he killed Astareal, he didn't care. That would grant him his freedom to wander about and prey upon the weaklings... like that Akuma. Yrael walked away, an evil smirk of his face.

"Anyhow, if you call me 'Sugar Lips', I'll punch you in the face." Astareal grinned, halfheartedly. She'd never actually punched someone in the face before, but it seemed fun. Perhaps it would be. Perhaps she could do it to Akuma first. "Do you really need a specific nickname? Or could I call you whatever comes to mind at the moment? Like doll or asshole, depending on my mood?" Astareal had that sarcastic little, cocky look resting on her pale features. The moon was creepy across the sky, making her a little impatient. She would love to get out of there and bring back some more dead before the dawn rose... then she would have a few bodyguards, and that would work, if she stayed in the woods.

((I do love this post. It's very entertaining.))

((Did I mention that Yrael is a talking cat? Or that he has somewhat psycic abilities? Now you know. ))

(( .....your lucky this isn't a crime drama or i would have you charged with withholding information. dang i wanted to find out what Yreal was afraid of. I love the whole thread, Akuma and Astreal are entertaining together. Although Akuma is just as fun alone. ))

Akuma just laughed at the cats reaction. It was rare to come across someone who had phyc abilities. Most people didn't even realize that he had intruded their minds. Perhaps the cat would be more fun then he first thought. He let the cat leave and for the moment abandoned his invasion of it's mind. There was no point since it appeared the cat was leaving, which is what the demon wanted. To Astearels comments he merely laughed. "I love it when women are feisty like you. It makes things more interesting. And you may call me whatever you want, though i would like the same privilege in return." He told her. Now that he and the dead raiser were alone, the demon wondered what he should do. The cat would probably come back soon. "I wonder if it's necessary to have the cat around....he isn't as fun as you are. Why not ditch the fur ball?" Akuma suggested. Astreal didn't seem to fond of the creature either so he figured she wouldn't be upset by his suggestion, she would probably agree with it.

((Lol. It wasn't that big of a deal, though.... was it? And this is a rather fun thread to be in.))

"Fine, then." Astareal folded her arms, the cute little grin replaced with that blank, emotionless look that had been there previously. That one that was usually there. "I only keep Mogget around when I need him. He's a rather helpful little creature. That and I do control him... somewhat. That little collar is the thing that... nevermind. It's best not to leak valuable information to untrustworthy sources." Astareal grinned and studied Akuma. He was a character, that was for sure. But it was a good thing that she hadn't slipped what the collar did. Or perhaps it would've been better to, since she started it, to finish it. But that didn't happen. Wouldn't happen.

Astareal fixed a small crease in the dreary pink fabric of her dress. The boots she was wearing weren't really a good match, but she enjoyed her look. It wasn't that bad, and everything she wore helped her out in some way. Her long, brown, plaited hair with the little red ribbons really brought out the bright color of her eyes. The dress added to her body's appearance. The boots were the ideal footwear to travel in, waterproof so that even Death didn't stop her. Her pale skin made her almost glow-in-the-dark, gave her an eerie presence. She liked that. Akuma apparently did, too. Normally most demons wouldn't get caught dead -she smirked at the thought- in all white. Most people who messed with the balance of things wouldn't get caught wearing pink, either.

(( no i was only playing around. Although i was thinking of changing Akumas profile a bit to add more abilities. The powers he has now are not aggressive enough. I want him to eventually become one of the main evil guys (if it is ok with you). So he needs a more attacking ability. But I want your permission first before i do it. ^_^))

Akuma simply nodded to her remark. He bowed and motioned in a random direction with his hand to indicate that she could take the lead. Normally he would have decided the place. However, he didn't know the area well and figured she would have a better idea of where to go. All that mattered was getting her alone and far away from the crazy cat she controlled. "So what makes you want to work with dead things? Their so boring." Akuma commented. He had always been curious as to what the appeal was.