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If Rain is What You Want

J

Jabonicus

In the mid-afternoon the sky had closed itself with a layer of compacted and disagreeable clouds, which came in like a wave and blotted out of the light of the sky. Though the day had been cloudy, the anger and darkness of the sky had not come to pass until it washed over the area like a torrent. In the following moments the sky gave only the briefest warning, minutes as the cool and crisp air became soggy and heavy with the humidity that would drag it all down. Then, all it in instant, the sky came crashing down, a quick escalation from the first drops to a downpour that that threatened all the senses with its intensity. To the flesh was discomfort of heavy pellets of water carelessly pounding its victims, to the ears was the incessant and tempo-less drumming of the rain hitting the world, to the ears the horizon grew closer, and the gray wall that the water formed shut the world off.

To call it a park was a vague description, an excess of open grass and trees centered around a pound, one that supposedly ran deep into a cavern more treacherous than it appeared to be. That did little to stop swimmers, but with the torrential downfall no one dared to disturb the surface aside from the fury of the sky. Small stone pathways scattered themselves across the grass of the park, and alongside them often were small pavilions, wooden structures with open walls, often closed only by a roof and a small fence of which benches lined the edges. Some were connected, and mainly focused themselves alongside the pond. While rustic and often unused in the busy days that the place saw, they found use today.

Shelter.

Eve had brought an umbrella but with the downfall and its intensity she found it too uncomfortable to tread out for home. She could have someone come get her if she truly needed to leave if the rain did not let up, but she had grown patient of such things, keeping such items as braille books in her bag, kept safe by the sealed latch. She would be stricken if her books became ruined as a result of the weather, and she did not trust in her umbrella enough to give it the chance. So for the time she sat patiently in the pavilion, connected by roofed walkways from one to the other as she read a borrowed book, her fingers lightly touching across the pages. It was an enjoyable book, and despite how it limited where she could go for a time, Eve truly smiled at the weather.

Perhaps it was the touch of wetness to the air, the closed in atmosphere that such pressure caused, or simply the soothing noise of the rain tapping against the roof, but she found that rain was a pleasure, and it was a pleasure to be its prisoner.
 
Lazy silver eyes, hidden by the shadow overcast by the narrow eyesockets of the skull she wore, looked up to the roiling clouds. She felt it, it would start raining soon. And while it excited her, it also did part to annoy her. It was hard to hear anyone coming in heavy downpour. Though it was a double edged sword. It was a fun challenge, yet a blatantly unoriginal one. Though challenge needed prey. Softly, she rustled around in the taller grass few to none had tread in the park. As expected, soft, fleshy weaklings fled from the weather, there was barely anyone here. A disappointment in and of itself. She would've loved to show these people what an apex looked like.

Though there was a lone figure. From the distance, even Koroleva couldn't make it out who he... Or she? Was, or what they were doing. But their back was presented to her. And with a soft giggle, she pushed her now soaking robe open. Even though robe was more of a glorified sheet, with stitched sheathes for the crude shivs she carried on her frame. Though she snuck across the open field, right to the small pavillion Eve was sat in. One hand grasped at the concrete base. A metal hand at the wooden crossbeam under the vertical rail, which was grasped by her third hand. And with barely a noise, she pulled herself in, drawing out a glass shiv from her robe.

She ceased all movement for a moment, watching Eve intently for a solid minute. Not even her breath audible, before she proceeded to get very close to Eve. Her form looming over the pure blind girl. She pressed the flat side of the shiv, containing a crystal clear, blue liquid, against Eve's cheek. At the same time, softly clicking her teeth together.
 
In the time that Koroleva watched Eve, a few things would be notable, whether they were notable enough to stop and investigate further however was unclear. Her head remained oddly still as she 'read' her book, only shifting as she focused on some noise or another. Her eyes didn't even focus on the pages of the book, though from Koroleva's angle that might have been hard to tell, but the way she dragged her fingers across bumps pulled from the pages made it clear that she wasn't reading with her eyes, assuming of course that Koroleva payed the mind to pay attention to the scene. Eve was a proper dressed woman, and though young still head an almost noble air to her, as if she held a level of politeness and discipline in her demeanor to shift the air around her.

-The sound of a click just to her left, within touching distance resounding in her ear, and in the same moment something cold and hard pressed against her cheek. She wouldn't pretend to know what it was, but this wasn't something to take lightly. If this was a prank, it was most certainly done in very poor taste. "If this is a joke on my sight then I'll have to ask you to stop." She tried her best to maintain her composure, but the lack of warning of someone approaching paired with an unknown object to press against her. Was it a prank? Or a threat? "-If you are serious, please just say what you want." She kept her body rigid and still as she spoke, her tone following the same pattern.

Her arms went still as one hand rested in her lap as the other held up the book she was reading. The distance between her emergency call button on her watch and her other hand was quite literally inches, but it seemed much too far away to risk.
 
A soft, almost disappointed and guttural whine followed from Koroleva, before that selfsame clicking of teeth resounded again. Though she was disappointed, this girl didn't even properly flinch. Her voice was solid, her spine solidified. Slowly, the shiv slid across Eve's cheek before being pulled in the air. She'd scream and cry after the poison took over. After her nerves started to burn up, after she was petrified by the near lethal, crude injection of Koroleva's own blood into the bloodstream of another. Her words didn't reach the apex predator, or rather she just didn't understand.

With a silent heave, her arm was stretched in the air, the shiv ready to jab down into Eve's shoulder. Then the voices would be silent, her screaming would soothe the mind. Koroleva could only lick her lips behind the mask as she glanced down. The second steel arm, first one holding the shiv and human arm resting on the bench, moved up to softly caress Eve's cheek, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Almost as if she appreciated the care the blind girl put in her hair.

Much like a viper striking it's prey, the shiv came down in a blur of motion, though halted just inches shy of Eve's body. Something she missed. With a soft murmur, she leaned over and took note of the odd book. Weren't there supposed to be letters in there? Putting her full weight on Eve's shoulder, she leaned over to get a look at her face. Only to conclude the poor girl was robbed of her sight. A soft, murmured grunt resounded as Koroleva withdrew, sheathing the dagger again and pushing herself away. Feet thumping as she now accentuated her movements to make sure the girl heard where she was and what she was doing. Prey that was blind? Not a challenge, she'd never forgive herself to harm someone that didn't prove at least a proper challenge.

She sat down infront of Eve, unsure what to do or how to go about apologizing. She could hardly speak and this time around, the words were far too scattered in her mind. Drowned out by the crying and screaming. With surprising gentle hands, one of which being metal, she grasped Eve's hand and put it on the skull she wore. Inclining her head apologetically. And hoping just the touch and motion was enough for the blind girl to comprehend.
 
There was a shifting limbs and a creaking of wood that supported the limbs, and in her mind she could only assume that whoever was here was some form of humanoid, some biped with arms that had snuck up upon her. She would not pretend to know how it sat or structure its body as it shifted weight onto hardened hands that gripped at her shoulders. Her mind could only scramble to try and imagine the way it carried itself, shifting and warping to try another possible form as the wood creaked and the weight increased on her. She tried her best to remain sitting upward, but as she kept deathly still she could only tolerate the uncomfortable tinges of pain that came with the weight onto untrained shoulders. Where was this beast looking? The false projections flashed in her mind, imagined feelings of a face warping around her own head to give some odd perspective as to where it might be.

Then, as the moments seem to drag on all too long the weight was gone, and the human-beast hit the ground, solid thuds, notably exaggerated moved in front of her. She knew that the time she had been under silent threat had only been seconds yet it felt like so much longer. The steps, though quite audible, stuck out to Eve in a way that caused her to pause. They were loud, but this beast had not made itself known by being loud, it wanted to be loud. Perhaps it did not want to be heard, but now it was making an effort so that she could hear it. What did this beast think of her?

A hand gripped hers, one cold and metal, and she had no hesitance in thinking it as some prosthetic that lacked the warm touch of flesh. It raised her hand outward and quite suddenly she felt something hard. Her fingers spread against the center of the skull-mask, spreading outward as she gently felt along it, her brow furrowed, blinking slowly. It was bone, that much she new, and she knew of no beings with an exposed skull being a common trait, much less one that showed any level of intelligence or humanoid posture. Her middle finger raised from her others, giving a solid tap against the bone. It was more difficult than other materials to decipher but it was there, a hollow nature, a mask or some helmet, either of bone of chitin. Was this meant to scare her.

Who was this? Why have they not spoken? Was this some sort of game to them? "I'm not a toy for you." Her voice held a cold tinge to it. She spoke with an open tone, well aware that the rain would keep anything said private. "Who are you?""
 
More words. More speaking, another voice that pierced through the storm that was the madness in a damaged mind. Koroleva's silver eyes slowly slid upwards to Eve's face as she sat up just a bit straighter. She had heard what the girl said, clearly so. But comprehending it was another matter. She had no clue what Eve meant with toy, but it was something she was used to. The irritating matter of neing unable to comprehend someone and vice versa. A soft, annoyed grunt came from Koroleva. Mayhaps Eve would misunderstand, but it was at her frustration of the entire situation. Here she saw perfect prey sitting out in the open. Someone she could spook. But the prey was blind, impaired. And boy, it was an insult to hunt prey that had some kind of disability.

She ultimately only preyed on the healthy of body.

Maybe it finally clicked, or maybe Koroleva thought giving a name would help to ease the situation. This girl wasn't prey, even more. This girl required protection. "Koroleva-" she grunted out, before stretching her jaw and swallowing. Talking was... Weird. Difficult, even. "No-..." She thought it over, how she'd best explain this with her severely limited vocabulary. "Little... Few-" did those describe it well? Now, she only needed to know exactly what formed sentences. "...Symbols... No, letters! Letters?" She questioned, looking up at Eve's face. Her hands, albeit one made of cold metal, still gently holding Eve's ontop of her head.
 
Eve wasn't quite sure what to make of it all, there was something naturally dangerous about the person before her that set every bone in her body on edge, but at the same time there was some sense of rhyme and reason that she had somehow slipped between. Some unsettling aura about this woman that told Eve's body that it was wrong and could not be trusted, but it was as if some clawed beast had posed to strike her and had halted with a brief flash of humanity. Could such a thing be trusted? More importantly, could such a decision that lead to this docile state last, or was it only temporary until the danger once more sprung to life, to press a blade to her once more, or worse, bring her life to an abrupt end?

She swallowed hard, her other hand relinquishing her book and placing it gingerly onto the bench, face down as to preserve the page in some humorous sense of importance, before she slowly inched her hand towards the mask where her first stayed, paired with the metal prosthetic of the woman. Her hand would carefully feel over the hand first, most notably to sense it's artificial nature before moving to the bone mas that was fastened over its owner. She did not know the situation that called for such a mask but she was far too cautious to attempt to reach under it to feel at the perpetrators face, even though she craved to know what kind of face could carry out such odd acts.

"You're not good at speaking then." She repeated, her voice lowering to something more kind. Her life rested entirely on how this woman reacted to her, she could most certainly not outrun her, nor get help in time. The rain drained out all noise, and she was not foolish enough to think she could outrun anyone, much less in a place she was not familiar with. "Then I won't get much from asking questions and expecting a full response." She verbalized her thoughts, perhaps to try and appear more social to the feral woman. "Then I'll just ask simple ones, and you don't need to make a sound, just nod your head for yes and shake your head for no." Her mouth suddenly felt dry, a cruel irony considering the torrential downpour just inches away. She kept her voice calm, but held a tinge of warmness to it.

"Are you going to hurt me?"
 
More and more of her voice. Shreds of sounds she could barely make out between the manical screaming and obsessed sobbing in her head. Though she felt hands slowly slipping across the smooth features of the beast's skull that she wore. And let out a soft purr, leaning back ever so slightly, out of Eve's reach. Swiftly pulling off he skull and placing it down. Furry ears twitching as she leaned in once more, as if reading the blind girl's thoughts. Though she had no clue what she was saying or asking. And just remained seated there, allowing Eve to feel her surprisingly gentle, yet smudged and grimy features. And while she couldn't see it, deep silver eyes stared right through her.

Hurt.

Hurt? She understood that. Putting two and two together, the woman was most likely asking whether Koroleva would hurt her. It was something understandable. Even more, it rubbed her the right way. Being intimidating from appearance was one thing, having an overbearing presence was another. She saw it as a compliment and let out a soft, crackling chuckle. "No-..." She stated whilst shaking her head slowly. A grin forming on her face. "Prey-... You, no." She stated. "Weak-... Disfunction." She looked up again, pulling out the extent of her limited lingual knowledge. "No... Challenge fun." She concluded, tilting her head slightly. Mayhaps it was offensive, or mayhaps it was a testimony to how much of a damaged mind Koroleva possessed. But Eve was a prey impaired before even entering the scene. There was no fun in that. It was attest to a weak and opportunistic predator. Not a versatile, apex hunter like herself.
 
Eve gave a frown as she regarded the statements of the woman, her fingers now delicately searching the features of her face. Her touch was impeccably light, deft in how it scanned her features, taking advantage of the sudden docile nature that was presented before her. It was an odd thought, and perhaps a little insulting in how it came to be, she was free from an attack by this beastly woman, solely because she was blind, and for no other reason. She was impaired in the eyes of the thing, and that made her unworthy to be hunted as she was no longer a challenge.

The creature was human, roughly, or some similar thing about it, she would not be surprised if she was some hardier offshoot. With both hands on her face, a morbid thought came to mind that sent a shiver through her lungs as a look of contemplation came over her. Both her hands were on this hunters face, and though it was given to her in some level of faith, there was the urge to betray it, out of nothing but built up spite. She was weak because she was blind, was she? She was in a position to deliver the same fate unto-

...

The thought passed as quickly as it came, presenting itself as nothing more than a momentary tensing of her arms. "You're an oddity." She spoke with sympathy. There were many questions that Eve had about this woman but she could unfortunately predict that there was no way of getting the information from Koroleva herself. What was her status in society, especially if she openly admitted that she would have attacked Eve if she were not blind. "I am impaired." She repeated, but a stern look overtook her as she leaned forward, gray and cloudy eyes vaguely staring at Koroleva. "But are you really any different?"
 
The breathing, the rising and falling and rising of Eve's chest. The flaring of her nostrils. Koroleva saw and noted it all. Her head tilted and she brushed her cheek further against one of Eve's hands. There was a moment of silence from the girl as her she felt hands tense momentarily. In anger, spite, most likely. But she didn't care. Unlike this woman, if her eyes were torn out, they'd slowly be healed again. And while it would be extremely painful. It wouldn't compare to the pains Koroleva was able to put people through on a whim. A soft purr started in her chest at the revelation. Impaired and weakened-... Yet still considering fighting. Delightful.

More of Eve's voice reached her ears. A voice that soothed the crying and torrential madness that whirled through her mind. And her head tilted to the side as silver eyes widened. Taking in more and more of Eve's physical details. "Words-..." She muttered. Swallowing thickly. "Much-... No meaning... ?" She was grasping at straws here. Frowning. "What-... No weak-..." A toothy grin formed. "Never... Weak."
 
So she was completely and utterly convinced of her superiority. Maybe she was right, after all, where they were now, Eve was defenseless, she was only unharmed because Koroleva found her impairment an issue. If she struck without thinking, without checking, Eve could very well be dead, either from whatever horrid act Koroleva had planned, or because she would be unable to find help in time. She was well aware of how the deviants of society acted in terms of cultural rules, they simply did not abide by them. Whether or not they fit in around them and acted out on occasion or constantly was up to the individual, but Koroleva seemed to be one completely disconnected from societies rules.

One could follow the rules and structures of their society to the letter for their entire life, but all it takes is one deviant, one person who does not or cannot fit into that to ruin everything. Eve would not describe herself as similar to Koroleva, but she understood what it meant to be disconnected, a world meant for those who could see it, while she could only hear meaningless descriptions from people who didn't know how to empathize. Koroleva however, seemed to be a wolf, a predator that jumped the pastures short wooden fence, unaware of the panic of the sheep when they realized that following the confines of the fence did not protect them.

But there were downsides to stepping outside those boundaries. What made her this way, and what effects did it have on her? Was she alone in living like this, and if not, how many tread the world like hunters of chance? Did she even have friends? It was a bizarre thought, this woman was a killer of men, something dangerous, but perhaps it was the way she approached and the way she regarded Eve with some primal aspect of thought and socialization. "Do you have friends?" She tried to keep the question simple, it was clear that words was not Koroleva's strong suit. Perhaps this was why, maybe she didn't talk to people very often, or perhaps something else was wrong.

Her fingers felt downwards of her face, to her jawline and her upper neck. She kept her touch light, she knew she couldn't hope to hurt her neck, but there was no telling what kind of response she would have to having her neck touched. While she did not do it, she was somewhat tempted to feel within her mouth in some morbid curiosity, to feel what kind of teeth they had. If she was as predatory as she claimed, maybe she had purely carnivorous teeth.
 
"No fear-..." Koroleva started with a rasping cough. It didn't seem just the case she was unable to form properly constructed sentences due to her mental being. But the rasping and grunting that arose from her momentarily seemed to hint at an anatomical or physical issue. An impaired voicebox. Ripped lungs, maybe even strained vocal cords? "No death... Here... Planet..." She was told not to kill on Osman. And while it took more than an hour to make it clear to her. And apparently her trying to negotiate, she had given in much like an annoyed child. She'd kill no one on Osman. But no one in the most literal sense. No enemies, no allies. None would suffer her.

She also never stated she wouldn't harm them. Physical harm didn't immediately mean death. Certainly not with one as her. Who derived pleasure and amusement just from seeing the shock and horror she could put people through.

"Friend-...?" Koroleva asked in return. Shutting her eyes to the touch again. She had no clue what meaning the word had. She knew it meant companionship. Being around another and telling her emotions to them. She had friends, thousands if not millions of them. Screaming their emotions in a torrential madness to her. Screaming their thoughts, suggestions, their laments and even their morbid humour at her. Though she didn't understand half of it and assumed they were words she could make out. But wouldn't. She had a mate. Which was different from friend. And even though the primal instinct she had of bearing young, she knew pregnancy was impossible, the instinct of reproduction was too strong. A soft huff came from her as she nodded. "Voices... Much," she strained to speak again.

When Evelynn's fingers passed down her cheekbones, she could feel some sort of etches in her skin. A smooth line that seemed to be cut inwards. The slith between her cheekbone and jaw apparent. A feature that was repeated vertically in the middle of her chin. It seemed her mouthpiece wasn't too traditional even outwardly.
 
"Would I be your friend?" It was an odd request, and odd question, but as she regarded the primal woman before her it quite simply occurred to her that it may not be a question she received often. She seemed so odd, as if she had been sculpted like a weapon, a biological tool to be released on an unsuspecting populace and picked up a few hours later when nothing else was left to be slaughtered. The thought abhorred her, but she was not one who could judge another when she knew so little about her. There were so many questions about the woman that she had, but she knew that none would be answered here.

"And what other friends do you have?" A simple question, hopefully simple enough for the beast before her. If she knew who to ask about Koroleva, then perhaps she could get closer to understanding her. After all, it would be easier to get answers from someone who better understood what she was asking, and could better answer it with more... Descriptive words.

A thought occurred to her, was she simply communicating to Koroleva incorrectly? After all, Eve was blind, and giving her information via visual cues was a lost cause, could something else be used to communicate to her better? She mentioned voices, and though it was an odd though it was possible that she meant voices in her head, something that would drown out other thoughts and ideas. Could those be cleared? "Can I... Help with the voices?"
 
A tilt of Koroleva's head as she regarded Eve with a frown. Snorting softly. The blind girl could feel her head whipping to the side momentarily. A soft, alert whimper coming from her. As if she was spooked by a sudden sound. But not even Eve's enhanced hearing picked up anything that might've caused it. Though she overcame this sudden shock and just turned her head back to regard Eve closely. "-... Friend?" She questioned with a frown. Well, somewhat? She had "shown" her face to Eve. And allowed for physical contact, something which would lead to broken or mayhaps severed fingers mostly.

She had to question herself. She had met physically impaired people before. Then why did she feel as though she wanted to protect this individual sheep? Since when did a wolf like her care for the opinion of mere sheep? Yet for some unfathomable reason she did. And she wouldn't fight it either. She was always so whimsical.

The second question made her think. Deeply so. Yet again, with surprising gentleness, Koroleva grabbed one of Eve's hands with her human one. Slowly guiding her to clench a fist, yet keep her index finger extended. Which she proceeded to prod against her own temple. "Dozens-... Friends... Enemies, followers..." She coughed again and cleared her throat again. "Never-... Alone. Almost... No silent-..." She seemed to linger for a moment. "Silent!" She barked all of a sudden. Before shaking her head in confusion. Squeezing Eve's hand gently again. "One-... Mate...? Meat." She stated simply.

The third question she posed, was met with a shake of her head, which Eve could feel due to Koroleva holding one of Eve's hands, so at least one was still on her face. Somewhere, she found herself enjoying the touch. The shake of her head was slow, faint. As if filled with melancholy.
 
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