Abandon: The City on the Edge of Hell

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~Cyrus~

"...what?" Were the only words Cyrus was able to utter as the girl asked him a rather...odd question. Had she just followed him because she was curious about the cigarette? From the way she was talking, it didn't seem like she knew about them. Who the hell didn't- right. A new arrival. This girl was probably one of them then. Which meant, he had just overreacted. He sighed, lowering the knife but still on guard. He still didn't trust her, but trust was something he didn't have a lot of. Not to mention she hadn't even flinched when he threatened her. He was pretty sure this girl could kill him if he didn't play his cards right.

"It's a cigarette," He cautiously replied. "It doesn't really have a purpose, and no, it's not really dangerous. B-but wait-" He stuttered, still trying to wrap his head around the fact she had been following him out of curiosity of his cigarette. "You were following me, because you were curious? For the love of god, you can't just follow random people because you're curious! That's like, asking to get killed."
 
"Ci-gar-ette," Sylus repeated to herself, her eyes turning back to the small object on the ground. Her gaze seemed to be so intense, like a predator eyeing its prey. The man continued talking and though it didn't seem like she was listening, she was all ears. Honestly, she didn't see what was wrong with being curious. Was it bad if she wanted to know more? She stood up and walked towards the man, standing a few feet from him and her eyes looking at him emotionlessly.

"Then kill me. If you really were going to kill me, you should have done it right away. In the time you took to threaten me, I could have suppressed you," Sylus said, tilting her head to the side. She wasn't cocky or arrogant, but was at least confident in her abilities as a Forbidden. "Besides, you don't seem like a killer to me. "
 
While the timer ticked down, displaying Sohli numerals to Aran's eyes -- he never did have a good grasp on written English -- the reptin assessed the obstacles laid out before him. None of them looked particularly difficult or dangerous. The counter hit zero and he rocketed off, weaving and jumping through the course with his arms tucked in close. His tail helped him keep balance on the sharper turns, but he was a bit out of practice with such tests of agility and caught the end of it on a few obstacles. The cushioned wall drew ever closer nonetheless; when he finally reached it he turned around at the last couple steps and flew with the momentum, colliding with his back where his hide was tougher. Unbeknownst to him, Shiro had reached the end several seconds before.
 
After a few seconds, the door in the cushioned wall slid open, and Shiro moved through it, still catching her breath. A monitor on the wall showed that Shiro had gained the point for that trial. She would have to watch the recording of it afterwards to see how much she had won by. The man from earlier entered the room, and led them through yet another sliding door to yet another preparation room. "The next trial will be a test of strength. You will be presented with 4 targets of progressively more resistant material. Through whatever means you find necessary, it is your objective to break those objects. There are sensors in the targets. The point will be awarded to the one that put the most energy into the targets. You know, there is someone in the Guild already who could strike so hard that they broke the sensors. One of you will likely meet them at some point. Now, once you have regained your energy, please proceed through the appropriate door." With this, the official left, presumably to set up the next room. Since Shiro had regained most of her breath, she decided to break the ice. "Hey, Aran, is it? I'm really weak so go easy on me, please?" She smiled in a cute way. Then again, pretty much everything she did was cute - she had been designed for that purpose.
 
"Fear death and fear life? But that means an existence of fear, Nari." images of the other peoples blowing down as Solari passed the streets moved in front of his eyes - did those poor fools feared their lives? Most likely... Could this female come from a similar world, where one tribe rules supreme? He wondered how would the people of his world feel if they came to this place " Or perhaps I am missing something? In my culture we see fear as a byproduct of ignorance. As such, it is our sacred duty and sincere wish to learn and study the unknown, not to cower before it." Upon her words about the plants, he came to look at the vegetable-like parts of her body. "You seem to be connected with the nature, aren't you? I will assume your world had magic also, just as mine? If that's the case I'm afraid I can't really help you - the transition will be painful - it feels like having a limb cut from your body, but you will get used to it, eventually. You mentioned your sister - in my ample experience talking about your world can release memories of one's previous life. Please, tell me more of your culture, anything you remember. This city's rulers want you ignorant of your previous existence, which automatically means you should try to remember it as well as you can."
 
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~CYRUS~

That emotionless stare of the girls felt like it froze his blood. Whoever this girl was, he was certain she had killed before while he had just been bluffing - at least as far as his memories were concerned anyways. At the same time though, she seemed...incredibly childish. Maybe she was just some...quirky person from some far off universe or something and was having a hard time adjusting?

"Then kill me. If you really were going to kill me, you should have done it right away. In the time you took to threaten me, I could have suppressed you, Besides, you don't seem like a killer to me. "

Those words really hit home for Cyrus. She was right - he wasn't a killer, and he was obviously way in over his head when it came to this girl. She had skill enough to fight, that much was sure. In fact, he was certain that even if he had followed through without threatening her he would have been killed. Cyrus sighed, shaking his head and putting the knife back in his pocket, pulling out his lighter and a carton of cigarettes.

"Aren't you a confident one." He started, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "But you're right, I guess. Killings not something I make a habit of doing." He breathed in, the red end of the cigarette lighting up upon the following exhale. "So, what do you want?"
 
Sylus continued her stare, unsure of what to think of the man as he put his weapon away. She knew he wasn't a killer or anything along the lines of one, so surely he was an okay person. Or atleast, better than the lowlives around here. Her eyes soon followed the box of cigarettes and the one that went into his mouth as he lit it, the weird object still fascinating her. Surely if her home has such things like cigarettes, she'd be anle to remember then. But then again, she barely remembered even her own name.

"I want to try that. Please allow me to try it," she said, pointing to the cigarette in his mouth. Her want for knowledge seemed endless and she wanted to experience many things, especially since she was in a world surrounded by new things.
 
"Yes my culture is connected with the nature. We are born in flowers, that's why my ears and my tail looks like this. It has the same look, like the flower I'm born in. Our whole world was filled with, what you call magic, but no one could use any magic, or need it. The only Magic we needed was to get born"

She looks at him a while. Ponders if he was something like she would call an Elder.

"Were you a Elder or something like this in your culture? Elder in my culture were the only one who could use magic. They used it to heal someone, and became 200 years old I'm now 9 years old, but I heard that this is in other cultures really young. Well we have almost 730 days per year, but I'm sure there are cultures with more or less days."

She smiles, her first real smile since she is here. She then looks down abit shy and blushes.

"I hope I didn't bored you with my story."
 
"Hmmm, yes, 9 years is like a very, very young child in most cultures. In your case, though, you could be a young adult by our standards. My advice is to be mindful when dealing with strangers, better give them a larger number - many people here like to take advantage of others."

"Were you a Elder or something like this in your culture? Elder in my culture were the only one who could use magic.

"An elder... hmm you could say that, I suppose. I was certainly able to use magic, I was an extremely powerful magi." he noticed her confusion and quickly added "That is how the higher magic users of our empire are called. And I was close to 200, though in your years my age would probably be around 60 or 70. I was never particularly wise, though" he laughed and handed paid the waitress as she brought them a plate of dumplings "Your tale is by no means boring, as a matter of fact, it is most intriguing to me. Did your world have kings or any other rulers? What about natural enemies, apart from the rain I mean." - he smiled at his own ill attempt for a joke "Whichever the case, here you have none of those. You also have all the free time in the world AND you cannot die, trust me I've tried. In fact, the act of killing is more dangerous for the killer than for the victim, since they would lose quite a lot of karma. Some guilds have found a way around it, though..."
 
"We only had an Elder for each folk. I heard the word king once, and think what it could be, but I don't exactly know what a King is. The only enemy was the fire and my personal one was also the rain."

she looks surprised at him and also abit questionly.

"I can't die here? So will I stay here for ever? And what have I to do to get good karma? To be good to other people? And what will I get for good karma?"

She whimperd abit, quite overwhelmed from all of this
 
~Cyrus~

"No." He scoffed. "Get your own. These are an expensive habit." He grumbled, walking past the girl. He had no desire to keep talking to her if she was simply going to mooch off of his cigarettes. He may not be a killer, but that didn't meant he liked people. He tended to avoid long term relationships here in Abandon. "And unless you got actual business with me, we're done here."

And that's when his stomach growled again.

"I got uh, business to take are of." He grumbled, face going somewhat red.
 
"A King is someone..." he tried to think of a word to best describe Athem "someone who is a paragon of his people - wise and just. He is the one who rules all the elders. And no, you can't die, so basically you will stay here forever... unless you get sent to Oblivion or find a way to get out of this prison-dimension, which I still haven't, apparently." he smiled upon her comment regarding the karma "Clever thinking, Nari. But what constitutes a good deed? There are some rules - first - it must be done selflessly, meaning you would not be getting anything in return. In this case, I don't think I will be getting any karma for helping you, because I gain knowledge of your world in return. That way of getting karma is rather slow, so many people choose to enlist in a Guild and go on killing monsters outside the city. If you were a good fighter in your previous life, that is really a good option, because it allows you to accumulate a great deal of positive karma, which you can use to buy stuff at the black market. Oh yes, there is a black market with all sorts of useful things that the Watchers apparently allow to exist. I wouldn't take you there, though - new people here get tempted into spending too much rather easily and end up in the gladiator rings. Those guilds. though... hmm" he was going to say something else, but decided to bite on his dumpling instead - his biased opinion was the last thing this new girl needed.
 
Sylus sighed when he answered, following behind him as he walked past. She didn't see or understand why he was being like this, but then again, she didn't know him personally. Suddenly getting a great idea, she sped up to walk beside, trying to match her speed with his, but it proved to be a bit difficult with her shorter stature. Before she could share her idea, the sound of his stomach growling interrupted her. In response, she let out a laugh.

"Hungry? I've only come here recently and haven't eaten, or done anything with the money yet. Forget wanting the cigarette, I'll buy you food if you exchange some information with me. Is that acceptable?" She proposed, patting the small pouch attached to her waist. Even if he would reject her offer, she'd probably end up following him around anyways. After all, she was a persistent person.
 
Aran was barely panting at the end of the trial; endurance was by far his strongest physical trait. He could tolerate all kinds of labor without tiring; a quick run like that was nothing. He watched Shiro catch her breath, and then looked up at the screen while their guide was talking to see that he had indeed lost the previous trial. The next test was one of physical strength, something he couldn't claim to be too good at.

Shiro walked up to him and asked him to take it easy on the next trial; Aran was more than happy to oblige. "Oh, oh, of course!" he said, his thin tongue hissing out between his fangs as he smiled. Whether or not this cat-girl really was his leader reincarnated, he felt like had to play it safe. Plus, what kind of person could refuse such a polite question from such a pretty lady?
 
Cyrus turned his head in mild disbelief. So she was new here. That would explain her...oddness. Newcomers were always much too...friendly or odd. To him anyways. Either way, it seemed this girl was being persistent, and would probably not leave him alone. If there was one type of people he didn't like, it were those who continued to press an issue or be friendly to someone who simply wanted to be left alone. Unfortunately, he doubted she would simply go away. Also, free food. Free food was always welcome.

"Fine." He sighed, turning to her. "If you're buying, I'll go with you. Information, though..." He continued as he started off down the street again. "That depends on the question."
 
"Don't worry. Just... some questions about this place," Sylus reassured, yet her face seemed to show that she was desperate for answers. In her previous life, she was usually a steady person with a good grip on the situation, but now it was different. She knew nothing in a place where everything was different, and it made her uneasy despite her carefree behavior. "Besides, you seem to have been here longer and know more."

She pulled her cloak hood down to expose her white hair with a single strip of black on her right side. A small sigh escaped her lips as she followed beside him.
 
She listens to him, about what a king is, how to get karma, and waited until he ended. She looks down on her legs.
"I see, well then I was right, we didn't had anything like a king, we never had something like a leader, everyone knew what we had to do in life, and no one broke any rule. So well....I guess it is my only choice to get good karma, to be good to other people. Shouldn't be difficult, cause it is my nature."
She giggles and sits closer to him, lying her head on his shoulder.
"I'm not a fighter, and I don't want to be."
Her ears move slowly over his cheek, and they don't feel like a leaf from a tree or a flower, it feels more like fur.
 
"Thanks so much!" While Shiro knew she was putting on a front, she also knew that due to her general appearance and characteristics, pretty much anyone would believe she was being honest. Nobody ever expected she'd be able to lie. The doors slid open, and the participant proceeded appropriately. The next room was just as the man had explained it to be. It was a small chamber, with 3 foam padded targets, each with springs attached of visibly thicker material than the last. A selection of tough and sturdy equipment of various shapes and sizes was piled in one corner - through previous trials, the guild had learnt that scores were no where near satisfactory if the participants had to use bare hands or feet alone. After a short amount of decision, she picked up a medium length very light item shaped a little like a hammer. She knew she didn't stand a chance at physical strength, considering her opponent was both an adult and male while she was still quite childlike in both appearance and function and would remain so until she died. But there wasn't just one way of applying energy...

She stood as far away from the target as the room allowed, then charged, weapon held out to the side so that it hit the target as she ran. The resistance of this target was low, and it bent backwards to allow her weapon past. She did the same method on the second target, but the resistance here caused the weapon to fly out of her hand as it tried to move over the target. The third target was also approached in the same way, but at the last minute, when the weapon was about to fly out of her hand, she had the sudden idea to step onto the wall. She did so with one foot and twisted around, effectively applying a second swing's worth of force to the target, before she fell to the floor.
 
It was dawn of yet another murky day. Since there was no sun, the Watchers used magic to control the light level to simulate the day and night cycle. The man, if that was what you could call him, stood on his balcony in the high tiers of the huge skyscraper that formed the very center of Abandon, looking over the city and the grey haze that covered it, penetrated occasionally by a tower or a roof. On the horizon of his vision, the omnipresent Wall rose up, a great black creation that served as a constant reminder of what Abandon represented. He stretched out a long, slender finger in response to a chiming sound that echoed within his head, never passing beyond the boundary of his cranium. He drew several symbols in the air, his fingernail leaving a faint trail of white wherever it went. When he released his finger from the final character, the trails dissolved into nothingness, and he wandered back inside, the glass door sliding closed behind him. As he did so, a second chiming sound appeared, this one of which he answered. "A Rakshasa has been sighted approximately 28 days away from Abandon. Notify Requiem." He waited, listening to the response. "almost four hundred thousand years." "No, not since the last era."
 
~Cyrus~

"I suppose I do." Cyrus replied, walking down the sidewalk with his new companion. "Information is something I'm good at." It was partly true. Aside from his job as a bartender, he always liked to stay alert and keep his eyes and ears open for any happenings. Not to mention, he knew quite a few people who'd be willing to talk way too much if plied with a bit of alcohol. Most information though, he kept to himself unless he needed it.

"And yeah, I've...done lost count of how long I've been here. I don't even remember my first time waking up here." He continued as he walked, suddenly realizing he was revealing more about himself than he actually intended too. Thankfully, they were already fairly close to where he was headed and he didn't have to keep talking much longer. Well, about himself in any case. "Anyways, we're here."

The place they arrived at was a restaurant and a bar, that just also happened to be the place he worked. It was a smaller place but it looked well cared for and if the noise from the crowd inside was anything to go by, quite popular. The blinking sign above the door named the place as 'The Silent Kings Bar'. Cyrus walked up to the place, holding the door open for her.
 
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