Mistakes are made...

[Teal]

Aura didn’t know where she was going, just so long as it involved putting as much space between her and town as possible. She couldn’t believe he’d been so… so… stupid! Blurting out her most closely guarded secret, just like that…! How long before everyone in town knew? How long before there were pointing fingers, the looks of disgust…? She didn’t think she could cope with that…

Quite by accident, she stumbled across a scent. Vaguely familiar one – she sniffed at it; yes, she knew it – belonged to that red one, the one everyone was after… she put her nose to the trail and followed it…

It took surprisingly little effort for her to find him; she thought he’d have been carefully concealing the scent trail, what with all the troops around, but no, seemed he was still a little over-confident of what he was capable of… She found him in a clearing, sunbathing against a low, rotting tree stump, the high noon sun turning him into a brilliant red flame in the greenery.

Aura swallowed, thickly, swiped the tears from her eyes and coughed, faintly. “Uh… hi,” she called.

One yellow eye opened a crack and regarded her for a second. “Well well, who do we have here, hmm?” the red crossbreed asked, pushing himself lazily upright. “If it’s not my little friend. What do you want?”

She sat on her branch, and watched him walk over through a haze of tears. “Nothin’,” she replied, swabbing at her tears with the back of one dark hand.

“Crying, my dear?” he mocked, in that velvet voice. “My my. Broken up with your boyfriend?”

She sniffed. “You could say that,” she whispered, faintly.

“Not going to run, hmm?” he asked, cocking his head, pausing literally an arms length from her.

She shook her head, silently.

“You do realise that you won’t get out of this clearing alive if I get my paws on you, don’t you?”

“Yep,” she nodded.

He frowned, reached out a paw and lifted her off the branch, almost tenderly, and set her down on the stump he had been sunbathing against barely a minute or two ago, then sat and considered her for a while. “You have one f**ked-up psyche, you know that?” he asked, dryly.

She gave him a hopeless, teary smile. “I know.”

He gave her a prod, pushed her over. “Well, if you’re so determined for me to kill you, you might at least give me a little bit of sport…”

She lay on her side, didn’t try to get up. “That’s all I’m good for, isn’ it…?” she whispered. “A plaything.”

He poked her with a claw, leaned closer and sniffed her; his breath was hot and sweet and stank of carrion.

“Well,” he shrugged. “I was getting hungry, anyway… And they do say torture sweetens the meat…” He frowned at her, getting no response, and gave her another poke. “That was your cue to scream and run,” he said, leaning his face very close to hers, and gently took her left hand in his teeth.

“I know,” she sighed, shakingly, didn’t try to pull away. “I guess I don’ care no more. Just… get on wi’ it.”

He frowned, closed his teeth a fraction.

Nothing. Not even a faint wince. She lay still as a corpse. Never even flinched slightly when he closed his teeth the rest of the way and carefully snipped the littlest finger off her hand. He straightened up, gave her another of those considering looks. Wasn’t every day dinner went to him, but, well… It wasn’t as fun as hunting it down himself. Mauling her would be like mauling a corpse.

Oh well, he mused, as the heady tang of fresh blood in his mouth awakened his baser instincts. I did say I wanted a challenge…

[Sl'askia]

Spider was walking beside Ludd, looking for the rest of Ludd's bounties.
Suddenly he smelt something strange on a passing breeze. It smelled like him....yet it didn't and it was coming from a direction he knew he hadn't come from. He stopped and looked in the direction the breeze came from. Ludd noticed.
"What is it?" Ludd asked.
"I smell somethin'" Spider replied, "Be back in a mo..." Before Ludd could stop him, he ran off.

*****

Malice was getting frustrated with this slig. He had beaten and biten it and she still wouldn't scream. It was getting to the point there he was going to give up and just kill the darn thing....

*****

Spider reached a clearing and his eyes widened at what he saw.
Dear Odd that bounty was right. He thought. Before him was another Drakkic, skin as red as freshly split blood with three rows of red spines running down his back.
Then his eyes narrowed when he saw this Drakkic, who had to be the 'Malice' Ludd told him about, in the process of claiming his next victim, a young slig. He snarled and forgetting what Ludd had said he burst out of his cover and charged....

*****

Malice only just saw the attack in time. He just managed to dodge out of the way and back up to see who it was that was attacking. There, standing firmly between him and his victim, was another crossbreed like him, only this one was dark green in color with yellow eyes, a silver dragon tattoo on his chest and was wearing mechanical pants which legs looked like a spider's. Malice recognized him immediately and grinned.
"Well, well, well." Malice said with a chuckle, "We meet at last Spider."
Spider narrowed his eyes and snarled. "How der yer know my name? I have never seen yer before in my life."
"Oh...daddy Myron told me all about you..." Malice laughed as he took a couple of steps toward him.
"Myron...." Spider growled at the mention of his father's murder, but put it aside, "Well I believe I have heard 'bout yer as well....yer must be Malice."
Malice grinned, "Ah you must have heard about me from the few that managed to elude me." He sneered, briefly, then grinned again, "Yes...I am what you could have...no... should have become. I represent the dark part of you that never fully matured. I am who they call....Malice."
Spider's eyes widened slightly in shock, what Malice just said sounded all too familiar. Then he remembered that one dream he had...the one where he fought with his dark self.
So that dream was a prediction... he thought scowling slightly.
"I serpose yer goin' ter tell me yer my evil twin or somethin'?" Spider said sarcastically, folding his arms.
Malice laughed and walked over to him. "Very close...but I am much more then just a twin to you...You see....I am your..." he got right up into Spider's face, "clone."
"What!?" Spider cried in shock, he wasn't expecting this. Malice bounced away laughing like a manic.
"That's right Spider." Malice laughed, "Other then a few external physical differences...we are exactly the same." Malice broke down into hysterical laughter as Spider just stood there in shock.
"No..." Spider mumbled.
"Yes..." Malice said, suddenly turning serious, "They released me under the orders to hunt down and kill you for being a pain in the neck to the Cartel and being a goodie goodie. But I figured it would be more fun to see about turning you to the 'dark side' as it were...make you like me."
"No..." Spider growled, lowering his head and arching his back in a threat posture, "I will never be like yer..."
"You were at one time..." Malice pressed grinning, "Remember when you used to hunt worker sligs for food in the labs?"
"I had no choice then...I did it ter survive. There is a difference between killin' fer survival and killin' fer the 'fun' of it."
"Well..." Malice said with a frown, "That just shows how weak you are...no wonder Myron chose you to do all the experiments on...you are obviously not worthy of anything else...daddy always said you were a sickly one when you were a hatchling...Bastek should have just let you die."
Spider just stood there, trembling with fury.
"Well since you are not going to turn over to my side...I might as well kill you." Malice said with an evil grin, "Should prove more challenging then tormenting that sorry excuse for a slig...puh...blasted thing want's to die! No fun at all!"
Spider was fighting hard to keep himself under control, he knew he would stand a chance against him enraged like this. He wanted get out of this encounter in one piece...and with the victim still alive. So he decided to do something he rarely did...bluff.
"Yer sure yer want ter try it yer red freak?" Spider said, "What makes yer think...I am here by myself hmmm?"
Malice's eyes narrowed.
"I don't see or smell anyone else other then you or that slig." he said, growling.
"Doesn't mean there isn't anyone else there...they could be upwind of us. Ever thought of that?"
Malice didn't answer, he just shifted slightly, looking at the trees.
"Tell me Malice...how many can yer take at once...with me ter help them?" Spider pressed, "Two...three? How many hmm?"
"And why would you be helping them Spider!?" Malice growled, "After all...they are after you as well..."
Spider smiled, "Not anymore..." he said, "They stopped coming after me the moment they realized you escaped and were the greater threat. I'm helpin' them get rid of a greater evil....yer."
Malice shifted again, looking, almost desperately at the trees beyond. Finally he had enough.
"You won this round...." Malice growled, "but the game is not over yet." With that Malice turned and disappeared into the trees.
Spider sighed with relief and turned toward the slig. Fortunately the slig was still alive.
"Yer ok?" he asked, gently....

[Teal]

[ooc: collaboration between me and dragon-lady, sorry I took so odd-damned long to post it… ]

Yer okay…? she almost laughed at the words. “Do I look it? Of course I’m not okay…!” she sob-howled at him, jerking her tail up to her chest and curling into a convulsive ball. “Why did you have to pick now to come along, anyway…?” her voice sank to a whimper. “He was going to kill me.”

The big green creature – Spider, she guessed, from what she’d heard pass between the two a minute or two beforehand – cocked his head, looking a little shocked at what she’d just said. "Jus' what has happened in yer life that makes yer think yer no longer worthy of it?" he asked gently.

She didn't answer, just hugged her arms round herself and wept.

"Obviously yer had a rough life so far young one..." he sighed, "What's yer name?"

"Aurora..." came the muffled reply, "Aura for short – not that it matters any more..."

Spider thought a moment...trying to figure out exactly what to say. Finally he said:
"Well Aura… we all have our tough times, and personal demons that haunt us… hell, mine haunt me every single frackin' day. But I have learned that yer shouldn't let the past control yer life. Learn what yer can from it… but that's it, don't let it consume yer. Because if yer der… and yer give up on life… those demons and those peeps that have hurt yer would have won. And yer don't want those bastards ter win, der yer?"

She hugged her tail up to her chest, barely feeling the fire of the wounds the red one – Malice, that was his name – had inflicted; her heart was the most wounded, and that was what hurt most. “Leave me alone,” she wept. “Jus’… leave me alone, an’ let me die with all the lack o’ dignity I had in life.

He straightened; he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting her to say, but it hadn’t been that. “Hey, stop that, it’s stupid-talk. Besides, I ain’t lettin’ no-one die,” the massive creature gave her a stern look, and nudged her gently with his snout. “Come on, kid, surely things ain’t so bad…?”

“He lied to me,” she whispered through the tears, trembling. “He said he’d never tell anyone - he promised me, dammit…! And now the whole damn world knows…” she crushed her eyes closed.

Spider just gazed down at her, for a while, as though trying to decide what he should do.

Finally; “Come on, kid, y’can’t lay there forever.”

“Watch me,” she managed.

He sighed. “Stubborn little thing, ain’t yer? C’mon, I’ll carry yer.”

“Don’ want ter go back,” her shaking tones had turned into a petulant little whine.

“Yer want ter bleed ter death instead, that it?”

“Pretty much.”

Spider shook his head, solemnly. The little creature was a mess – he was amazed she’d actually gone to Malice, of her own volition, to willingly have him do this to her… Her psyche must be shot to pieces at the moment.

He gave her a cursory visual once-over; none of her injuries were particularly life-threatening on their own, but combined together she probably would bleed to death if he left her here, and quite quickly, as well… Her left hand was bleeding quite freely – there was a finger missing, he noticed – and a whole flock of little bites ran up the outsides of each arm. The paler skin around one eye was already blooming in an ugly purple bruise.

“Listen…” One last try, he thought. And if I don’t get anywhere I’ll give up and just take her to Pyke. She’s probably got friends there who can help her. “I know as well as anyone that peeps can be cruel, but… sometimes they don’ mean ter be. They ain’t all like him,” he jerked his head in the direction Malice had fled. “We ain’t perfect, no-one is, an’ we all make mistakes. Sometimes they hurt people, but mistakes don’ make peeps evil,” he gave her another gentle nudge. “Give ‘em another chance, yeah?”

Aura just hugged her tail and cried.

Oh well. At least I tried… Spider shook his head, carefully gathered the mutilated little body up into his arms, and headed off back towards Pyke.

[Sl'askia]

As Spider entered the village he was suddenly surrounded by a dozen sligs.
"Well...the slig population certainly has risen while I was away..." Spider said with a faint chuckle, "Bet Arim doesn't like it one bit. Now if yer excuse me..."
Spider tried to break through the circle only to get a bunch of guns pointed at him.
"O...K...what the frack is goin' on here?" Spider growled warningly, "I got a slig ter get ter Olm fer medical attention."
"Then one of us well take her ter the doc." one of the sligs said, "Yer will be comin' with us...Malice."
Spider raised a brow at the slig, then burst out laughing making the slig jump.
"Yer got yer 'breeds mixed up slig...I am Spider." Spider said after he managed to stop laughing.
"Yer still a 'breed" the slig said, narrowing his eyes, "So the boss will still want yer. Hand over the slig peacefully or will have ter put yer ter sleep then take her from yer."
Spider growled.
"I was told all the contracts were taken off of me." he said, "By a reliable source. So yer have no reason ter take me...now get out of my way!"
The circle of sligs held firm and Spider heard several guns cock.
"The Boss will decide that." The slig said, "Yer got ter choices...the easy or hard way."
Spider snarled fiercely, but knew he had no choice. He spotted a Mud walking by, looking at the scene as he went.
"Hey Mud!" Spider called to him, making the sligs jump.
The Mud stopped in his tracks.
"Yes?" he said...a bit nervously.
"I need a favor from yer."
"Don' try anything funny..." the slig warned.
"Shut up." Spider growled at the slig, "I am jus' makin' sure Aura is taken care of."
"What sort of favor?" the mud asked.
"I need yer ter take this slig I am holdin' ter Olm...she needs medical attention." Spider explained, "I would take her ter him myself but...well...yer can see why."
"Yes I can do that." the mud said as he walked over, "I am Olm's assistent."
"Perfect." Spider said with a nod, as he handed Aura to him, "What's yer name?"
"Mirv." the Mud answered as he gently took Aura into his arms.
"Alright Mirv. I owe yer one..." Spider said as the sligs guided him away, "If I get through this..." Spider added with a mumble, "How the frack der I get into these messes?"

OOC: Hmmm....Rettick your turn!

[Danny]

[OOC: Surely it's Fuzzy's turn?]

[Sl'askia]

OOC: doesn't matter to me. I said you because it deals with Spider. It might make more sense if FF posted his bit in a new topic.

[Abe's son]

(sroy if this is spaming)
were are you and can i join(if i can't pls don't spaz and rip my head off)

[Sl'askia]

ooc: everyone is in Pyke or not far from it. Unfortunately this current plot is pretty much planned out with no room that I can see to add in any more major players. Sorry.