Post by Failure on Aug 22, 2017 2:01:12 GMT
A brisk wind swept across the fields, helping the corn stalks wave at the passing moon. In the distance, the low rumble of thunder and the dank, earthy smell of rain made one assume there was quite the downpour occurring not too far from the lonely ranch. In no time at all, the winds would carry that same storm right through the dry, but freshly tilled, ground and bring a rejuvenating wave of energy through the sickly-looking crops.
Somewhere, hidden within the countless rows of corn and silenced by the ambient thunder, two girls sat. Though the corn towered over them and the darkness of night encouraged monsters and demons alike to prowl amongst the mazes, they sat with little fear.
The eldest stood with her hands held behind her back. Still only a young teenager, but she wore a wise face that put a few years onto her. Thick rimmed glasses peered up at the moon, reflecting its pale glow, and a bush of thick, white hair floated in and around their view.
Below her, sitting with knees curled against her own chest, was the younger sister. Her long, white hair flicked around in the wind, brushing against the leafy greens of the vegetation behind her. Her face was sharper, narrowed eyes burning with a sort of passion that brought an almost unhealthy glow to them.
“If you keep staring at me with that face, it’ll stick that way,” the older sister said with a grumble.
Slowly, her attention fell from the moon and to the downtrodden sister. She took a moment to push her trimmed hair from her face and behind her ears, but because it was so short it almost instantly fluttered free. Still, a tired hand ran across her head and then down to the neck, holding the hair back despite the winds.
“Maybe I want it to,” came the lame response from the less witty of the two. “Ever think of that?”
The older sister sighed and reclined back on her heels. Her back brushed up against a corn stalk and her plaid shirt clung to the tiny hairs that coated the leaves. She rolled her blue eyes and then crossed her arms before rebalancing herself and evening out her expression.
“It’s a bad idea and you know it,” she pressed with a gentle voice. “What would running off and becoming a fighter accomplish for anyone? Mom would worry herself to death about you and you’d just come home with a dented head.”
The younger sister blushed with anger and then pulled herself to her feet. She patted her dress free of whatever dirt and grime had clung to it during her stay on the floor and then pressed the heels of her palms into her hips. She leaned forward and pursed her lips.
“It’d make us money,” she said bluntly. “We could buy a proper house. Buy actual treatments for Alpe instead of using those silly home-made remedies.”
“Natarine,” the older sister sighed out her sibling’s name. “The world isn’t that simple. You can’t just go out and be good at things.”
“Then I’ll fail over and over until I’m good!” She interjected with a voice that bordered on a shout. “You’re my big sister, Nanab; you’re supposed to believe in me and help me pursue my dreams.”
Nanab’s features relaxed a little and she offered a small frown to her feisty sister. “I’m also supposed to protect and guide you.”
Silence divided the two sisters, both unwilling to budge on their stances. Neither of them had bad intentions and neither of them were entirely right.
Lightning cracked the quickly approaching clouds. Though mostly protected by the shadows of the corn, enough light pierced through to cast deep shadows on each of them. Thunder soon followed, shaking the ground with an aggressive rumble.
“I love you, Natarine,” Nanab said softly. “That’s why I’m not going to let you run away and join some dojo.”
Natarine’s tiny hands balled into shaking fists. Her jaw tensed and then she let out a loud ‘tch’ before turning her attention away.
“If you really want to help mom and Alpe, you’ll stay here and help on the ranch,” Nanab continued. “We’re all she has left.”
“It’s not our fault both of her husbands ran off on her,” Natarine said lowly, a scowl painted across her face.
Nanab took asset forward, her foot crunching the soft ground beneath her. For a moment, her muscles tensed and she couldn’t help but raise her hand. The back of her palm glared at Natarine’s face as it was raised into the air.
The younger sister just stared with daring eyes, mocking Nanab’s anger at every turn.
Nanab’s hand shook, but was soon dropped back to her sigh. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.
“Get back in the house.” She put on her mom pants when she opened her eyes again. The compassion was gone and in its place was the tone of someone who had been in this same position far too many times. “I’ll talk with mom in the morning to work out your punishment.”
Natarine’s face relaxed with disbelief. She flung out her arms, gesturing to the situation as a whole and leaned forward a little.
“Seriously!?” She barked, her voice rivaling the roaring thunder. “You’re going to tell mom?”
“This is the third time in just a week, Natarine,” Nanab said with a strained voice. “Clearly, you’re not listening to me, so I need to get her involved.”
Natarine scoffed, crossed her arms, and then looked away. Her glare reached down the rows of corn, away from their home.
“Start marching, young lady,” Nanab said as she jabbed a thumb back towards home.
With a groan, the younger sister pivoted on her heels and pushed by a stalk of corn. Following suit was the older sister who carefully watched her sibling, as if expecting her to bolt at any minute.
“Ah...” Natarine’s voice choked out as she stopped dead in tracks with enough force to make her stance shift ever so slightly. She stumbled to regain her footing and then took a half step back.
For a moment, Nanab’s brows furrowed and her lips parted as if ready to scold the disobedience, but her eyes quickly looked beyond her sister’s and found a peculiar sight just before the two of them.
A man and a woman stood there, each looking decidedly out of place.
The man was tall, but well built. A suit tailored specifically for him was stretched by defining muscles and a bit of sweat that, even in the darkness, could be seen. He awkwardly tugged at his sleeves as he peered past the mat of black hair that was parted over his left eye. The remainder of his hair was held upward by what one could only assume was a ludicrous amount of gel. The spiked, frayed ends looked like they were desperately trying to pry themselves out of his skull.
He was, at least to Nanab, devilishly handsome.
“Man, it’s humid,” he groaned with a deep voice, his chiseled jaw reflecting the moonlight perfectly.
To his left and ever so slightly behind him was an ethereal woman wearing a long, water-like dress that pooled around her and seemed to reflect light like gently rippling water. Her pale skin glowed in the darkness, as if she was exuding some sort of liquidy aura.
At first glance, it wasn’t noticed, but after a second glance over, it was obvious something was not entirely right with this woman. Concealed by the shadows of her long, flat hair were bits of black metal that glimmered when she moved. Though impossible to see at that very moment, if one got a good enough look, they could see the way her flesh was concaved towards the metallic bits and watch as the fleshy bits moved as she breathed.
The largest chunk of metal was splattered across the right side of her face as if someone had thrown mud directly at her. The largest portion scarred where her other eye would be, leaving only a faint, blue glow from somewhere deep behind them marking where the orb should have been. A series of thin, tightly woven wires made a crisscross, stitch pattern across that area, as if there had been manual attempts to hide where her eye had been.
Other places, like her wrist, arm, and legs showed these same bits of blackness, though they were all comparatively minor to the work that had been done on her face.
Unlike her companion, she did not speak. Instead, she just stared with unnaturally wide, blue eyes that seemed to soak up every single detail around them. Her focus did not shift away from the two sisters.
“So, these the ones, 32?” The man said once he had finished fidgeting with his clothes. He craned his neck back and towards his companion. “I’m really getting’ tired of wandering around this glorified rock.”
The woman’s eyes flicked between the paralyzed sisters and then she nodded.
“The first one will do,” she said a low, even voice.
The man let loose a wicked grin and his once dark eyes flash a deep, crimson red.
Before either of the young girls could react, Natarine had crumpled over the man’s arm. His fist was lodged into her gut and a disgusting, vomiting sound sputtered from the girl’s lips. In seconds, her knees gave and she hunched over. As she fell to the ground, the man slipped an arm under her and then tossed her over his shoulder.
Speechless and frozen with fear, Nanab stared with horrified eyes. Her body trembled and sweat poured down the side of her face as the man straightened his posture and started to turn back towards his accomplice.
“Let’s get going,” he said casually. “I don’t want to get my new suit drenched.”
“W-Wait!” Nanab called out without thinking. Her body jerked forward and the next thing she knew she had grabbed at the back of the man’s suit. She gave a stern tug, but it felt like trying to pull a brick house.
Her fingers trembled.
The man made a low ‘hmm’ noise and looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah?” He humored her with a surprisingly calm tone. “What can I do for you, little lady?”
The girl, shocked that she even got this far to begin with, let go of his top and took a half step back. She blinked once or twice and felt her throat go dry.
“You can’t just…” she stammered quietly.
All interest was lost the moment she backed away. He turned his back on her and then started to lift off the ground. No build up, no earth-trembling wave of power. Unceremoniously, he flew upwards and then called down to the ominous woman.
“32! What are you doing?” He said as he came to a stop. “Doc only wants one subject for now. Leave the other one, got it?”
The lady, despite her companion’s words, stared into Nanab’s eyes. The young girl felt as though she was being violated. Like the lady was gleaning every secret there was hidden within the young girl’s soul. Slowly, her head tilted and she took a step forward.
“S-Stop…” Nanab whimpered and took a step back.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, washing away the sweat that had once been there. Surely, her face was a red, disgusting mess, but hopefully the shadows made an effort to hide her shame.
Still, the lady approached. When she was close enough, she knelt before the girl. The white dress wrapped around the lady’s legs and pooled around on the ground. As if having a mind of its own, it wandered and reached out, like tiny streams of water trying to find the path of least resistance.
“Are you scared?” The woman spoke in that monotone, dronish way.
Nanab couldn’t find it in herself to respond.
“You love her, don’t you?” The woman continued, as if actually interested in the situation. “So why don’t you fight back? Are you that pathetic that you will stand there and let us take her?”
Silence, still.
“I’ll let you fight me,” she said. “Give it your all. Maybe you can save your sister.”
The woman stood up straight and took a step back. Unlike Nanab’s, her hair didn’t flicker and wave in the wind. It stretched towards the ground, weighed down by something, or perhaps it was just thicker than regular hair. It was obvious she was some sort of robot at this point, but one that had been poorly made. Or, maybe more accurately, one that had been through some serious shit.
Despite the words of the kidnapper, Nanab just stood there. The look of shock had mellowed and, supposedly, a bit of rationality had returned, but still, she did nothing.
“I… You…” She stammered, searching for something to say that would make all of this disappear. “This is wrong. You don’t have to do this!” She suddenly blurted. She shot an arm out to wave away the absurdity of the situation and shot a glare to the woman and then to the man who watched from his place high in the sky.
“She’s just an innocent girl – she’s not even ten years old!” Nanab pleaded. “What could you possibly want from her!?”
The lady sighed gently and, finally, she closed her eye. She shook her head and then gave a half-lidded stare to the naïve girl.
“I give you the chance to save her and still you do nothing?” She said in a disappointed tone. “How… stupid.”
“C’mon, 32,” the man groaned from above. “If you want to take her, then do it. But you’re the one who’ll explain it to the Doc when we get back. I ain’t catching no flack because of another one of your impulsions.”
With that, he turned and shot into the sky like a reverse falling star. Nanab had hardly enough time to breath before he was well out of sight.
“No..!” She gasped and started to run forward, towards where he had gone.
She would have easily ran past the woman, uncaring of whatever she had to say or do, but the moment Nanab started to cross her, the world went black. The last thing she felt was something hard hitting the side of her head followed by the sickly color of red pouring over her eyes.
Somewhere, hidden within the countless rows of corn and silenced by the ambient thunder, two girls sat. Though the corn towered over them and the darkness of night encouraged monsters and demons alike to prowl amongst the mazes, they sat with little fear.
The eldest stood with her hands held behind her back. Still only a young teenager, but she wore a wise face that put a few years onto her. Thick rimmed glasses peered up at the moon, reflecting its pale glow, and a bush of thick, white hair floated in and around their view.
Below her, sitting with knees curled against her own chest, was the younger sister. Her long, white hair flicked around in the wind, brushing against the leafy greens of the vegetation behind her. Her face was sharper, narrowed eyes burning with a sort of passion that brought an almost unhealthy glow to them.
“If you keep staring at me with that face, it’ll stick that way,” the older sister said with a grumble.
Slowly, her attention fell from the moon and to the downtrodden sister. She took a moment to push her trimmed hair from her face and behind her ears, but because it was so short it almost instantly fluttered free. Still, a tired hand ran across her head and then down to the neck, holding the hair back despite the winds.
“Maybe I want it to,” came the lame response from the less witty of the two. “Ever think of that?”
The older sister sighed and reclined back on her heels. Her back brushed up against a corn stalk and her plaid shirt clung to the tiny hairs that coated the leaves. She rolled her blue eyes and then crossed her arms before rebalancing herself and evening out her expression.
“It’s a bad idea and you know it,” she pressed with a gentle voice. “What would running off and becoming a fighter accomplish for anyone? Mom would worry herself to death about you and you’d just come home with a dented head.”
The younger sister blushed with anger and then pulled herself to her feet. She patted her dress free of whatever dirt and grime had clung to it during her stay on the floor and then pressed the heels of her palms into her hips. She leaned forward and pursed her lips.
“It’d make us money,” she said bluntly. “We could buy a proper house. Buy actual treatments for Alpe instead of using those silly home-made remedies.”
“Natarine,” the older sister sighed out her sibling’s name. “The world isn’t that simple. You can’t just go out and be good at things.”
“Then I’ll fail over and over until I’m good!” She interjected with a voice that bordered on a shout. “You’re my big sister, Nanab; you’re supposed to believe in me and help me pursue my dreams.”
Nanab’s features relaxed a little and she offered a small frown to her feisty sister. “I’m also supposed to protect and guide you.”
Silence divided the two sisters, both unwilling to budge on their stances. Neither of them had bad intentions and neither of them were entirely right.
Lightning cracked the quickly approaching clouds. Though mostly protected by the shadows of the corn, enough light pierced through to cast deep shadows on each of them. Thunder soon followed, shaking the ground with an aggressive rumble.
“I love you, Natarine,” Nanab said softly. “That’s why I’m not going to let you run away and join some dojo.”
Natarine’s tiny hands balled into shaking fists. Her jaw tensed and then she let out a loud ‘tch’ before turning her attention away.
“If you really want to help mom and Alpe, you’ll stay here and help on the ranch,” Nanab continued. “We’re all she has left.”
“It’s not our fault both of her husbands ran off on her,” Natarine said lowly, a scowl painted across her face.
Nanab took asset forward, her foot crunching the soft ground beneath her. For a moment, her muscles tensed and she couldn’t help but raise her hand. The back of her palm glared at Natarine’s face as it was raised into the air.
The younger sister just stared with daring eyes, mocking Nanab’s anger at every turn.
Nanab’s hand shook, but was soon dropped back to her sigh. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.
“Get back in the house.” She put on her mom pants when she opened her eyes again. The compassion was gone and in its place was the tone of someone who had been in this same position far too many times. “I’ll talk with mom in the morning to work out your punishment.”
Natarine’s face relaxed with disbelief. She flung out her arms, gesturing to the situation as a whole and leaned forward a little.
“Seriously!?” She barked, her voice rivaling the roaring thunder. “You’re going to tell mom?”
“This is the third time in just a week, Natarine,” Nanab said with a strained voice. “Clearly, you’re not listening to me, so I need to get her involved.”
Natarine scoffed, crossed her arms, and then looked away. Her glare reached down the rows of corn, away from their home.
“Start marching, young lady,” Nanab said as she jabbed a thumb back towards home.
With a groan, the younger sister pivoted on her heels and pushed by a stalk of corn. Following suit was the older sister who carefully watched her sibling, as if expecting her to bolt at any minute.
“Ah...” Natarine’s voice choked out as she stopped dead in tracks with enough force to make her stance shift ever so slightly. She stumbled to regain her footing and then took a half step back.
For a moment, Nanab’s brows furrowed and her lips parted as if ready to scold the disobedience, but her eyes quickly looked beyond her sister’s and found a peculiar sight just before the two of them.
A man and a woman stood there, each looking decidedly out of place.
The man was tall, but well built. A suit tailored specifically for him was stretched by defining muscles and a bit of sweat that, even in the darkness, could be seen. He awkwardly tugged at his sleeves as he peered past the mat of black hair that was parted over his left eye. The remainder of his hair was held upward by what one could only assume was a ludicrous amount of gel. The spiked, frayed ends looked like they were desperately trying to pry themselves out of his skull.
He was, at least to Nanab, devilishly handsome.
“Man, it’s humid,” he groaned with a deep voice, his chiseled jaw reflecting the moonlight perfectly.
To his left and ever so slightly behind him was an ethereal woman wearing a long, water-like dress that pooled around her and seemed to reflect light like gently rippling water. Her pale skin glowed in the darkness, as if she was exuding some sort of liquidy aura.
At first glance, it wasn’t noticed, but after a second glance over, it was obvious something was not entirely right with this woman. Concealed by the shadows of her long, flat hair were bits of black metal that glimmered when she moved. Though impossible to see at that very moment, if one got a good enough look, they could see the way her flesh was concaved towards the metallic bits and watch as the fleshy bits moved as she breathed.
The largest chunk of metal was splattered across the right side of her face as if someone had thrown mud directly at her. The largest portion scarred where her other eye would be, leaving only a faint, blue glow from somewhere deep behind them marking where the orb should have been. A series of thin, tightly woven wires made a crisscross, stitch pattern across that area, as if there had been manual attempts to hide where her eye had been.
Other places, like her wrist, arm, and legs showed these same bits of blackness, though they were all comparatively minor to the work that had been done on her face.
Unlike her companion, she did not speak. Instead, she just stared with unnaturally wide, blue eyes that seemed to soak up every single detail around them. Her focus did not shift away from the two sisters.
“So, these the ones, 32?” The man said once he had finished fidgeting with his clothes. He craned his neck back and towards his companion. “I’m really getting’ tired of wandering around this glorified rock.”
The woman’s eyes flicked between the paralyzed sisters and then she nodded.
“The first one will do,” she said a low, even voice.
The man let loose a wicked grin and his once dark eyes flash a deep, crimson red.
Before either of the young girls could react, Natarine had crumpled over the man’s arm. His fist was lodged into her gut and a disgusting, vomiting sound sputtered from the girl’s lips. In seconds, her knees gave and she hunched over. As she fell to the ground, the man slipped an arm under her and then tossed her over his shoulder.
Speechless and frozen with fear, Nanab stared with horrified eyes. Her body trembled and sweat poured down the side of her face as the man straightened his posture and started to turn back towards his accomplice.
“Let’s get going,” he said casually. “I don’t want to get my new suit drenched.”
“W-Wait!” Nanab called out without thinking. Her body jerked forward and the next thing she knew she had grabbed at the back of the man’s suit. She gave a stern tug, but it felt like trying to pull a brick house.
Her fingers trembled.
The man made a low ‘hmm’ noise and looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah?” He humored her with a surprisingly calm tone. “What can I do for you, little lady?”
The girl, shocked that she even got this far to begin with, let go of his top and took a half step back. She blinked once or twice and felt her throat go dry.
“You can’t just…” she stammered quietly.
All interest was lost the moment she backed away. He turned his back on her and then started to lift off the ground. No build up, no earth-trembling wave of power. Unceremoniously, he flew upwards and then called down to the ominous woman.
“32! What are you doing?” He said as he came to a stop. “Doc only wants one subject for now. Leave the other one, got it?”
The lady, despite her companion’s words, stared into Nanab’s eyes. The young girl felt as though she was being violated. Like the lady was gleaning every secret there was hidden within the young girl’s soul. Slowly, her head tilted and she took a step forward.
“S-Stop…” Nanab whimpered and took a step back.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, washing away the sweat that had once been there. Surely, her face was a red, disgusting mess, but hopefully the shadows made an effort to hide her shame.
Still, the lady approached. When she was close enough, she knelt before the girl. The white dress wrapped around the lady’s legs and pooled around on the ground. As if having a mind of its own, it wandered and reached out, like tiny streams of water trying to find the path of least resistance.
“Are you scared?” The woman spoke in that monotone, dronish way.
Nanab couldn’t find it in herself to respond.
“You love her, don’t you?” The woman continued, as if actually interested in the situation. “So why don’t you fight back? Are you that pathetic that you will stand there and let us take her?”
Silence, still.
“I’ll let you fight me,” she said. “Give it your all. Maybe you can save your sister.”
The woman stood up straight and took a step back. Unlike Nanab’s, her hair didn’t flicker and wave in the wind. It stretched towards the ground, weighed down by something, or perhaps it was just thicker than regular hair. It was obvious she was some sort of robot at this point, but one that had been poorly made. Or, maybe more accurately, one that had been through some serious shit.
Despite the words of the kidnapper, Nanab just stood there. The look of shock had mellowed and, supposedly, a bit of rationality had returned, but still, she did nothing.
“I… You…” She stammered, searching for something to say that would make all of this disappear. “This is wrong. You don’t have to do this!” She suddenly blurted. She shot an arm out to wave away the absurdity of the situation and shot a glare to the woman and then to the man who watched from his place high in the sky.
“She’s just an innocent girl – she’s not even ten years old!” Nanab pleaded. “What could you possibly want from her!?”
The lady sighed gently and, finally, she closed her eye. She shook her head and then gave a half-lidded stare to the naïve girl.
“I give you the chance to save her and still you do nothing?” She said in a disappointed tone. “How… stupid.”
“C’mon, 32,” the man groaned from above. “If you want to take her, then do it. But you’re the one who’ll explain it to the Doc when we get back. I ain’t catching no flack because of another one of your impulsions.”
With that, he turned and shot into the sky like a reverse falling star. Nanab had hardly enough time to breath before he was well out of sight.
“No..!” She gasped and started to run forward, towards where he had gone.
She would have easily ran past the woman, uncaring of whatever she had to say or do, but the moment Nanab started to cross her, the world went black. The last thing she felt was something hard hitting the side of her head followed by the sickly color of red pouring over her eyes.