[Ashlio+Peregrine]

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Peregrine

Peregrine

Waiting for Wit
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. Multiple posts per week
  3. One post per week
  4. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
On fairly regularly, every day. I'll notice a PM almost immediately. Replies come randomly.
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Primarily Prefer Male
  2. No Preferences
Genres
High fantasy is my personal favorite, followed closely by modern fantasy and post-apocalyptic, but I can happily play in any genre if the plot is good enough.
Table of Contents:​

1: We Never Rob...

In a dystopain world where electricity is all but gone and the elite rule everything, a young rebel finds his life turned upside down when a brush with four goons leads not to his death, but to his stepping into the realm of immortality with the aid of a mysterious figure who only calls herself "Death".

2: Carnival Games

A man with the ability to alter probability finds himself at a local faire, and ends up playing games with one of the faire workers.
 
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...we simply borrow a bit from those who can afford it.


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A crow screamed over Audric's head as he shot down another dark alley, his feet splashing through the puddles. The caw ment they were right behind him, so he tried his best picking up some speed even though he was already panting from exhaustion. Most of the times his mission did go well, but this time he had had some bad luck, so once again he was running away with his heart beating in his throat.

"Shit!" he hissed as he almost stumbled, but he managed to catch himself and even threw down a trash can behind him, but he didn't even manage to count to three before he heard someone kicking it away. He made random turns here and there, running completely on instinct as he tried to shake them off his trail. Unfortunately this neighbourhood was unfamiliar to him, so he had nothing to go on.

When he ducked down another alley, he came out in an open space enclosed by tall buildings on every side. When he couldn't see any way out except for the one he came in, all air went out of him. He was trapped. "Fuck," he sighed under his breath, already hearing footsteps down the alley behind. Reaching for his belt, he pulled out his knife and spun around just in time to duck away as a man cam running straight for him, knife raised.

He went for the man's right legg, kicking it hard enough to make him fall over and yelp with pain. Now, if there had only been one man chasing him, he would have been able to escape. But the next one was already coming at him, and Audric jumped back, the tip of the knife just inches away from slashing his face.

Fighting was not something he would say he was bad at, but he wasn't especially good either. Running away had been his thing, and so far it had been working out well for him. So when he saw there were four of them, he already knew he was doomed. The crow did its best to help him, flying down and attacking the back of their heads, but it didn't make much of a difference.

Audric fought as best as he could, a bit clumsily and stumbling around as the fight went one. One knife after another made contact with his body, leaving small cuts here and there. The men knew they had the upper hand and were laughing, having their fun with him as he didn't give up. Not until his knife was knocked out of his hand and one of theirs was plunged into his stomach.

He gasped and buckled over, falling down on his knees. Another knife stabbed him in the back, hitting right between a couple ribs. The pain was excruciating. He fell to his side and gasped for air, suddenly struggling with breathing. They must have reached a lung or two. His field of vision was already narrowing, and it seemed like the men's laughter were echoing all around him. The knifes were pulled back out and someone kicked the back his head before he heard them walking away, complimenting each other on their victory.

Audric's whole body was aching and he was shivering, all of the sudden feeling very cold. He was dying, he knew that, but the thing that bothered him the most was that he had failed his mission. It had been an important one, a lot of people depending on it, and here he was lying bleeding to death instead. He let out a last breath and slowly closed his eyes, and right before everything went black, he felt his feathery friend land on his head.
 
Dying. Everyone died again. Death was the only true inevitability of life. She had never considered herself death, even if that was the realm in which she dealt. Some certainly would. Long, dark hair, pale skin, and milky white eyes without trace of iris or pupil made her nothing short of a stereotypical image of a reaper. But it was not her role to pick when people died. That was the job of something else, something far more sinister than the dark-robed figure that now stood in a narrow courtyard before a bleeding man.

She watched him, curiously. Watched him, and waited for the life to bleed out of him. And as she watched, she wondered. Was this the person she'd been waiting for? Did she dare save him from his fate? Could she bear the consequences if she was wrong, and remain sane? Could she suffer her fate in silence if she was right, and didn't choose to act on it? How many times had she thought these exact same questions? Every time. Every time another dead body lay in front of her eyes.

So instead she knelt down next to him, leaned in close. Her dark hair swung out from behind one ear and brushed the ground, but she didn't care at the mud and dirt that marred the night-black lock. The raven turned beady eyes on her, sensing her presence as only the carrion-feeders ever could, but she ignored it. "What would you do," she whispered, voice melodic. "To live?"
 
Audric felt like he was floating in a black empty space, but if he concentrated hard enough, he could still feel his body, the hard ground under him, raindrops hitting his face, the pain in his chest. At the same time he couldn't feel anything. It was as if he was balancing on a thin tread, swinging from side to side, between the living and the dead. Or more like klining on to life. He didn't want to die.

The voice came from far away and right beside him, making him even more disorientation. It took him a moment to piece together what she had said, to make sense of it. His thoughts were working slowly, fumbling in darkness just like the rest of him. "Anything," he finally answered, but he couldn't feel his lips moving.

If he could live, he could continue helping people, and taking down the rich and gready. Work towards a more fair world, a better world. He wasn't ready to die, there was still so much he could do.
 
"What would you do if you lived?" It was nearly the same question. Only a few simple words changed. Yet those few words could alter the meaning of her sentence so drastically. If she'd still had a heart, it would have been fluttering with excitement. Somehow, she already knew her decision was made. Yet she would still go through the steps, the same questions she always asked. Everyone would do anything to keep living. Mortals clung to life so dearly, no matter what hand it had dealt them. It would be the following questions that really mattered.
 
The voice spoke again and he wanted to turn his head to see who it was, but he couldnt move and everything was dark anyway. "Same as before." He had liked his life, why would he change anything? Well, maybe practice fighting a bit more... "Help those who need it, take down those who deserve it." He might be a thief, but he didn't see it that way. He never took anythign from someone who needed it.
 
"And those who don't deserve it?" Her voice was getting more heated. Perhaps they had finally come to the most important question. The raven cawed indignantly, but fluttered a few hops away when her hand gave a quick shooing motion. "Will you be able to take down... to kill those who might not deserve it? To live?"
 
Audric had never killed anyone. He didn't want to become a murderer, to sink to that level. It was wrong to take life, it didn't gain anyone. That was what he had been thinking before. But now, after what they had done to him... "Yes." He'd kill every bad person he could, to save others from his fate, to stop them from hurting the world any more than they already had.
 
A smile spread ove rher face, even if there was no one there to see it. Even with her natural beauty, it wasn't a particularly attractive smile. There was something venemous hidden in it, or perhaps something greedy. A moment later and it faded. "Then we have a deal." Her hand stretched out, almost as though she was aiming to shake his hand, before it suddenly twisted downwards and plunged into his chest. Half a second later, and the wounds covering his body began to heal at lightning speed.
 
Audric gasped and shot up into a sitting position, and then leaned forward as he threw up. The raven screamed and flew away to land on top of one of the buildings surrounding them. "Oh god," he groaned after and rubbed his chest, grimacing. He did not feel good, and the world was spinning.

As it slowed down, he realised he could see again. The hand that had been rubbing his chest raised up in front of his eyes and wriggled a bit to confirm that his vision was in fact back. Then he looked down. His clothes were covered in blood, and the same with his skin when he pulled his shirt up, but the wound was gone. "What the hell..."

He quickly stood up and tried to twist around enough to check his back wound. In the process, he noticed he wasn't a lone. A very unflattering yelp escaped him and he jumped back.
 
"Welcome back to the realm of the living, Mr. Audric." If the beautiful, cold-eyed woman was offended by the man's actions, it certainly didn't show on her face. "Do you understand what just happened? What has happened?"

There was a smile playing on her lips, something between coy and strong self-satisfaction. She had no way of knowing if her choice was correct, but no one ever did and she had a good feeling about this man. Even if he didn't go all the way, she just knew he'd make it far.
 
Audric's eyes widened a bit when she said his name. How did she know... He tore his eyes away, the sight of her making him dizzy, and looked down at his own bloody hands. What had just happened? They had stabbed him, he had been lying on the ground, and everything went dark and cold. "I died," he answered and forced himself to look at her again. Her eyes, he had never seen anything like it. The complete opposite of his almost black irises. "What did you do?"
 
"The question isn't what I did, Audric, but what you did." She finally moved her way to her feet, graceful and lithe, before taking a step towards the slightly panicked man before her. "You made a deal. A promise, in order to save your life. In order to enter into the realm of the immortals."

Immortals. They were the content of legend, but that didn't mean that people believed they didn't exist. No, everyone knew the immortals were real. 62 years ago, one man had made sure of that, when he single handedly brought all the countries of the world together under his iron-fisted rule. But legends didn't suddenly appear in the lives of average people. She couldn't help but tilt her head slightly to the side, almost in imitation of a raven, in anticipation of his reaction. How would he take it, this announcement that he had just stepped into the life of a legend?
 
Shit... what had he gotten himself into now. Deal to enter the real of the immortal? None of that sounded good. He couldn't even remember making a deal, just answering a voice that asked some questions. Her voice. He sighed and made a mental note of not answering voices in his head ever again.

He looked at her as she stepped closer, following her every move. Immortal... Well, that would explain his wounds disappearing. Or this was just some very crazy dream. He swallowed and stepped over to where he dropped his knife, and slowly picked it up, putting it back into his belt. Then he made a low whistle and the Raven returned, landing on his shoulder.

"And you are...?" he asked and turned to face her again. He wasn't the one to have an instant reaction on thing, but instead stayed calm until he got all the facts. Then he could at least panic with good reason.
 
"The one you sold yourself to." If Audric was looking for a name, he was going to be sorely disappointed. She may have had a name once, but it had long since been lost. Now, her name hardly mattered. All that mattered was what she had to do, and what she could do to get there.

"You are lucky. I am not a demanding master. You will be free to do whatever you choose with your immortality. But that also means, when the right moments come, you will not have the right to refuse."
 
Master... he really didn't like the sound of that. All his life he had been his own boss, and he did not want that to change. But he could freak out about that later. "Sounds great," he mumbled and then turned to walk back down the alley.

He kept going, following the route he gad come, walking fast but quiet. Soon he caught up to his murderes, and he stayed back, clinging to the shadows as he watched them and calculated his next move.
 
His lack of reaction earned the exact same thing any other action would have, an unconcerned blink. The black haired woman fell in behind her new charge, her special one, without either comment or sound. She moved silently through the city, and unless he glanced behind him Audric would never have been able to tell she was there. Anyone else who happened to glance in her direction would see nothing, except perhaps a slight wobble of their vision or a twisting shadow. She was hardly there at all.
 
Audric was not good at fighting, but that didn't mean he wasn't good at killing. He just needed to take a stealth approach, take them down one by one, being patient. Eventually the group of four started splitting up. Since he couldn't follow all four, he went for the one who seemed to be the leader. That should send a message.

It took almost half an hour before he was alone, in a small street with no one to see. Audric grabbed his knife and snuck up on him, carefully placing each foot to make as little sound as possible. He wasn't quiet enough though, the guy turned around just the last second. Audric struck forward and stabbed him straight in the throat, stopping any scream or other protest the guy felt like making.

"Surprise," he said and shoved him down on the floor, pulling the knife back out. The guy certainly looked surprised, staring up at him with big eyes as he gasped and gurgled. "I really hope you don't make a deal too," Audric sighed and wiped his knife on the guys clothes before standing back up.
 
Audric's silent companion had patiently followed him for the entire length of his self-appointed "task". If she thought anything of his choice of activity it certainly didn't read on her face, but it might have been just possible to make out a satisfied tilt in the corners of her white eyes. It was only once the knife plunged into the man's throat that she took any action other than sticking a pace and a half behind Audric. She moved around the man, pausing over the corpse. Were Audric not behind her back, he would see her eyes begin to swirl with black, before becoming as pitch dark as her hair. A faint wisp of light flew from the man's mouth, and her hand reached out to snag it before it could vanish into the breeze. She folded the reluctant light up in her hands, before promptly squishing it.
 
Audric observed her work as he put his knife away. "What did you do?" he asked when the light had disappeared completely. He could probably guess, but he preferred to know for certain. "Was that his soul?" He then looked at the body and kicked his boot, grimacing slightly. "He's not waking up again, is he?" He held a hand on his knife, just in case.
 
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