"How Long Have You Been Standing There?"

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Tamika raced downstairs, letting out a small scream when she missed a step and nearly brained herself on the tile floor below. She should really pay attention to her surroundings more...But never mind! Now wasn't the time to reprimand herself! Now she had a job to do! A big, gross, puke worthy job covered in icing.

As she entered the kitchen, the sickly sweet smell of Bernadette's 'Triple Love Layer' cake seeped into her nose and Tamika had to stop for a second and compose herself so she didn't projectile vomit all over the room. Taking a few step forward, the girl clenched her fist and stomped over to the cake that was covered by a floral decorated cake container. She glanced left and right quickly before pulling off the covering and setting it aside in the sink. As soon as the cover was removed the scent of the dessert hit her full blast.

"Huurk!" She gagged, turning away, her eyes watering. Tamika grabbed a fork and jammed it into the too soft bread of the cake. She brought the utensil to her mouth and hesitated for a second before squeezing her eyes shut and jamming the forkful into her mouth.

It went on like that for about fifteen minutes before the entire cake was gone, and all that was left was a broken girl, with icing all over her face and a dangerously gurgling stomach. Trembling harshly, Tamika opened the fridge rummaged through it for a bit before pulling out an identical cake to the one she had eaten. The only difference was that this one smelled a hell of a lot better and wouldn't poison anyone who ate it.

"Oooh..."She groaned clutching her stomach and leaning against the counter. "Uuughh..."

A snicker behind her caused her to whirl around. A move she instantly regretted for the contents of her stomach sloshed violently and she felt a burning in the back of her throat.

"Dani! How long have you been there?!" Tamika hissed, keeping her voice low.

Dani burst into not so quiet laughter that she quickly smothered with her hands. "Wow, I can't believe you ate all of Bernie's disgusting cake! I guess having an iron stomach has its perks, eh?"

Tamika glowered at her sister. "If you were there for that long, you could have helped me! You have an iron stomach too, remember?"

Dani gave a 'well what can ya do' shrug and turned away. "Next time, promise. Now come on. Bernadette's fiance's family will be here in a couple of minutes and we need to get busy 'pretending not to exist' remember?"

Still glaring, Tamika nodded and followed her sister back up the steps. On the sixth step, Tamika stopped abruptly, her eyes wide. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? What do you mean 'uh o--

Unable to keep it down anymore, Tamika's stomach let out a sickening gurgle, and before Dani could leap out of the way, a stream a vomit burst from her sister's mouth.

"Eeeeee-eeeewww!!" Dani shrieked as her clothing was drenched by the spray.

Tamika giggled nervously. "Uh, my bad."
 
"Run kid! Before you get hurt!" The kid stared wide eyed as a pirate woman defended him from another, more angry pirate. The kid had stolen the man's coin pouch so the guy had every right to be angry, but to kill him was kind of drastic in his opinion. The kid hid behind a barrel and watched the scene take place.

Nani, the pirate woman with a set of goggles on her head, stood on the edge of the docks, her ship anchored near her. "Pick on someone yer own size!" She pulled out her sword and he did the same.

"Fine I'll cut you down before I gut the boy like a fish. He needs ta be taught not to steal from pirates!" The man spat out and then glared at her. "You might wanna stand down. Ya seem way too purty to be gettin' into fights with men." Nani merely rolled her eyes and attacked the man. Their swords clashed and sparked. The man was a bit surprised at how skilled she was, but held his own. "Your good, heh, you should join my crew."

"I'm not fixated on killing random children. I'm no monster like you!" Nani was pushed to the edge of the dock, thankfully she had enough balance not to fall off. She kicked one of his legs from under him causing the sword coming down on her to change direction. Suddenly, an unholy scream came from Nani as she gripped her left arm- She gasped when she realized it was cut clean off. Blood was dripping everywhere and fast.

"This is the end of the line for you-." BAM! A bullet went straight through his chest and he was pushed into the water. Nani's own arm was kicked into the water as well and she grimaced.

"How long have you been standing there kid?"

"Y- Your arm! It's gone! Th- This is all my fault! You shouldn't have helped me!" He ran over to her, dropping the gun he pickpocketed, and helped her up. Nani had tied her jacket sleeve tight as a makeshift bandage in order to slow the blood. "Come on! We've got to get you help!"

"Relax kid...It's just an arm. My ship is right here. Just help me aboard."

The kid looked frantic. "Just an arm!? What do you mean!? You could've died!" Nani chuckled and started walking, making the kid follow.

"Look kid. There's far worse things than just losing an arm, like say dying. You and I are both alive, so I see no reason in complaining. Obviously the gods wanted me ta keep on livin and that's what I'll do. Besides, my father is the best shipwright and inventor ever and my mom knows her way around medical supplies. They've taught me all I need ta know."

The kid mulled over her words in slight shock. He couldn't believe how calm she was about it all. "Well...I owe you my life. So, I'll help you in anyway I can. My name's Marcus by the way!" If this pirate wasn't going to cry over her lost arm, then he'd be strong as well.

"Nani's the name. Nani Sterling to be exact. Nice to meet ya, and glad you're willing ta help because you're going to help me build an arm." Now, the kid just thought she was going crazy from blood loss.

Well, she did say her father was an inventor...
 
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You can do this... Taking a deep breath Steph found her center, her balance and raised her arms to fourth position; one arm arched gracefully above her head and the other held out in front of her chest, gently bended. The starting position she had been taught since she was a small child.

The music began. Her body held as she flowed gracefully through the floor work. Each spin, and step igniting her body with flames of pain shooting from the bottom of her feet all the way through her hips. The mirrors betrayed the pain she was feeling and she struggled to maintain her face and her body all at once.

The beat pounded through her body, pushing her forward, building to a strong and emphatic climax. So far, so good. Pirouette, pirouette, leap. Steph landed hard on the dance floor, the mirrors capturing the horrible landing and her body giving out.

In the corner of the mirror her lean framed instructor stood leaning in the doorway. Oh, God! "How long have you been standing there?" Steph didn't even bother to look directly at him as she asked, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink.

"You won't be dancing next week." Disappointment tainting his usually steady voice.

"Kyle, please," she begged, looking over her shoulder. Steph felt the sting of tears filling her eyes. "I worked so hard. This is my baby, I'll die if I can't perform. I have poured my heart and soul into this dance."

"Absolutely not. I won't allow you to ruin your body by pushing it too hard. Were you even going to tell anybody you were still in pain?"

Clambering to her feet, Steph filled her posture with as much pride and defiance as she could muster in her current state. "I know my body, and my limits better than anyone else! You think that just because I landed wrong and fell that I'm not ready to take the stage? No, this isn't going to bench me. I waited the required 6 weeks to heal, and I will be dancing!"
 
Ilias stifled an agonised cry as the bullet hit him, his leg completely failing and sending him into a tumbling fall. Breath heaving, he managed to get himself moving in just a couple tortuous seconds, the primal instinct to flee helping him on his feet. He could not afford to be caught.

The assassin's dark clothes helped camouflage him among the shadows of the forest, and he soon slowed his frenzied pace, settling into a near silent limping stride, forcing himself to control his breathing. A quick glance at the compass he pulled from his pocket gave him a set direction, and he hobbled purposefully forward, zigzagging slowly through the trees until he no longer heard the rustling of distant pursuit. Finally he could relax a little, his breaths coming in sharp. He picked up the pace, his limping gait somewhat louder, teeth clenched, leaning on trees for support.

He eventually came to a riverbed, where he gratefully collapsed to the ground, submerging his leg in the water. Red flowed into the river as he laid with eyes closed. A long minute passed before he sat up, proceeding to clean the wound. He slipped a knife, a needle, and a small bottle of clear liquid from inside his coat, slicing fabric from his sleeves before covering the blade with the liquid, wrinkling his nose slightly at the smell of the astringent.

Exhaling slowly, he carefully cut into the wound on his leg, blood quickly spilling over. Ilias extracted the bullet as quickly as he could before cleaning the wound again and stitching it up. The job done, he again laid down, eyes closed, before the slight sound of leaves rustling brought him instantly to his feet, pain forgotten.

A teenage boy stood staring at him from beside a tree.

"How long have you been standing there?" Ilias asked calmly, though his dark brown eyes were icy.

"Um, a couple minutes I guess?" the boy replied nervously, voice tremulous. "Uh, are you, uh, okay?"

Sighing, Ilias pulled his gun from his pocket and shot the boy between the eyes in one swift motion before taking off in a silent sprint.
 
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