Taking care of Business (Open)

[Nimiane Aragon]

Picture of Nimiane in her Dire Wolf form: images.epilogue.net/users/megaflow/direwolf.jpg and www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/upload/yuiupload/1446782146.jpg

Nimiane crept silently through the forest, placing padded paw after padded paw without arousing suspicion of anyone around her; not even the birds who nested overhead. Her silent steath and agility kept her from making a sound as she passed a small congregation of men who were circled around a warm, crackling camp fire who were none the wiser to her existance. The amplified sound of bird song sounded from above her giving her the knowledge and confidence that so far she had gone about completely unseen. Nimiane spread her weight evenly across the ground trying her best not to let her weight crack the bits of wood and bark on the floor or upset the crisp fallen leaves that littered the ground. Once the sights and obstacles of the forest had been encomposed from then on her job would be made a lot easier.

After narrowly avoiding a run in with a horse and cart and dodging herself through various streams and ponds she had reached the outskirts of the forest and could now smell the distinct aroma of Camelot. She could smell ripe apples and fruit, the smell of thick smoke coming from the heated homes of the unsuspecting citizens of Camelot; the sweat and hardgoings of men and women struggling to ample by to earn a living. She struggled to overcome the animal rage and instinct that was locked deep within her form but her human conscience and human nature soon shone through, outweighing the distruction her mind wanted to commit. She let a single snarl slip through her lips as she saw the sight of several army recruits and knights fleet past on their way back to the castle.

She stood, slightly crouched and fully reserved and alert behind a hut where hopefully no-one could see her. She had been told to single out a guy who was posing a considerable threat to the druids, threatening to give up their current location and the positionings of their new camp. That was a risk the simply couldn't take so she had been sent to kill him. Nimiane was careful not to get emotionally involved as she new the more she found out about the guy the more reluctance she would have to kill him. She didn't like it, but it was just one of those things that had to be done. She didn't want know if he had a wife and loving children, she didn't want to know that he was the only son of a lonely widower; that would only make the matter more difficult.

Nimiane shifted her weight as doubt began to set in and as she began to talk hersef out of it she broke through the small straw building taking down the foundations completely before hiding behind another building to get her bearings right. This was only a small village settled in Camelot; there was only about 10 to 15 people that surrounded her so hopefully news of this beast would not get much further. She found the guy that she was looking for and was just about to pounce when her feet refused to move. She was disappointed in herself that she was struggling to carry out this simple task yet everyone was so reliant and dependant on her to do this. Come on, get a grip you have to do this. She retracted her claws and scraped them against the grassy ground trying to compose herself, snarling again as she tried to get into the right mentality before carrying out the deed.

[The Dark Knight]

The Knight walked slowly, silently though the woods, his footfalls not even making the dry leaves under his feet crunch. He was looking for a particular plant that grew in this part of the forest, Deadly Nightshade. As the name implies he planned to make a powerful poison from it. It was one of the most accessible poisons as well as one of the most effective. It caused fever, vomiting, hallucinations and shortly after, death. His cold eyes scanned the ground before him looking for the plant.

He suddenly heard a branch snap behind him and he leapt into a nearby bush and crouched down. He watched as a large, black wolf passed before him. He realized that this was no ordinary wolf, but a human in wolf form. A druid perhaps? In his life he had seen many things, but a druid was not one of them. As the wolf stalked away he forgot about the nightshade and began to follow it. Should things go south he did have his claymore strapped to his back, and that would make quick work of the beast.

He sat silently at the edge of the forest as the beast entered a town. The place was small, in fact the Knight doubted it had a name. He wondered if this was the druid camp that legend spoke of. He decided it best to wait and see. He crept and hugged the wall of a house and peeked around the corner. He had lost sight of the wolf. He knew that it would appear again if he waited.

The breath left his lungs in a thick white fog but cold didn't bother him. His heavy armor creaked slightly as he leaned further around the corner. He couldn't see anything down the main street of the town, no people and not the beast. Where are ye beast? He wondered inwardly as he patiently waited.

[Nimiane Aragon]

Nimiane's quick and nimble eyes followed her target. She waited until he was alone and was out of view of any possible witnesses who could account for the murder. Her body was crouched low to the ground and the tufts of fur on her underbelly rested on the floor beneath her. She watched as the man standing only a few yards away from her current position said goodbye to the baker and left with his armful of breadrolls and barmcakes. Her mouth curved into a smooth but unrecognisable smile as he slumped away into his own small home to unwind from his hectic day. Nimiane began to move closer now, trying to manouver herself closer to see the man and make sure that no one was watching.

She studied her surroundings; getting her bearings just right so she wouldn't overshot her running pounce. After picking herself up and persuading herself she was doing the right thing she bounded into the mans house, nimbly fleeting past his door and settling herself under his window. The man still did not recognise that she was there as the move had taken barely seconds. It only took him to turn around, eyes wide in fear about to scream that she then made her move. The flash of her sharp, bearing white teeth was going to be the last thing that he ever saw for in only a few seconds he would be dead.

Nimiane clasped her mouth around his neck trying to make it as easy and painless as possible. She swallowed the large lump in her throat as the man began to struggle, silently yelping and strings of shocked tears escaping from the corner of his eyes. She let the dead, lifeless body drop from her mouth and watched as he lay motionless on his concrete ground; his blood slowly seeping out over the floor. Her deed had been carried out now yet somehow she didn't feel any better for it. She supposed she should be feeling happy and at least useful because she had been doing her bit for the community but this had just been one more to be added to her death toll.

She made a rapid escape from the crime scene, not wanting to be seen anywhere near there when the dead man was discovered. So far Camelot was unaware of her and her talents, having no inkling that she was solely responsible for many of the unexpected deaths that had happened there. Nimiane didn't really take note of where she was going, instead she let her feet carry her back into the forest and where she had set her clothes. After several painful minutes she had transformed back into her human form and clicked several of her outplaced bones back into place. Her right shoulder was slumped slightly, hanging, displaced sticking out from an odd angle. She popped the ball joint back before approaching the small basket she had left for this very moment.

She clothed herself again, and quickly drenched herself in water to rehydrate her overworked body. "Disgusting" She remarked as her face contorted and curled somewhat as blood dripped, trickling down her face and her mouth and gathering in a small pool on the ground. Nimi had become prepared though and had several towels folded neatly in her basket; she was well-rehearsed from doing it so many times before. Silently and wordleslly she began cleaning herself off trying to rid any evidence of her ruthless murder.

[The Dark Knight]

The Knight watched with unfeeling coldness as the wolf mauled and killed the man. If she had been a little more alert the wolf may have seen him at the window but it didn't matter, he wasn't going to be the one to turn her in. He ducked low as the wolf dashed off into the woods, and the Knight gave chase, using his skills in sneaking to make sure he would not be heard. He moved quickly and silently behind the wolf as she ran deep into the forrest.

He crouched behind a rock as the wolf stopped and watched as she transformed into a beautiful woman. The transformation was a slow process and looked quite painful but the Knight didn't so much as flinch as he heard the strange sounds and the sickening pop of a joint being put back in its place. She got dressed and began to wash the blood from her face and hands, they were drenched as they were once a snout and paws.

He made the decision to approach the druid, perhaps convince her to join his ranks with the Brotherhood. If she refused or became hostile he was confident that he could hold his own against her. He had faced much fouler things than a shapeshifter. He stepped out from behind the rock and approached her. He stood about twenty feet away and he broke the tranquility of the forest by speaking. "Tha was quite the interestin' trick ye jus pulled." He said, his voice sounding like steel grating on steel, low as a roll of thunder.

[Nimiane Aragon]

Nimiane was caught up in her own little world, replaying the old man's dying face over and over again in her head. She figured the way that she could make herself okay with what she had done was becoming familiar with it, not shunning the unspeakable act from memory and instead trying to become assustomed to it; so far it had been working. She knew she would get a 'heroes' welcome when she went back to the camp; the sheer thought of steaming hot, freshly cooked crispy bacon draped over a warm, crackling fire was enough to get her backside into gear. She erased the mental image from her mind and carried on removing the evidence of blood on her face. The once white towel was now stained in dark red blood which was still dripping from her form.

She heard a noise coming from behind her, was it speaking? She had not expected to be followed at all so the voice was almost blanked out in her ignorance. The presence of this unknown man was only confirmed when she turned briskly on her heels to see him staring her in the face. Had he seen her? She replayed the sentence back in her head "Tha was quite the interestin' trick ye jus pulled." Yeah, he had. Nimiane tried to hide the fear and shock her eyes so wanted to convey and instead posted on the thick exterior she often did. This man had made things even more complicated now; she didn't need witnesses.

Having someone view the attack she just made would not only put her in danger, but also that of her family and friends. She tried not to think of the consequences if the man handed her in now she was sure she was going to have to commit another murder. She stared deeply into the man's eyes; cold, dark and black. Something about him warned her, spurring a deep set subconscious feeling of fear and anxiety. She took a few mindless steps back and struggled to tear her own eyes away from his. With a quick recovery she cleared her throat ande made out he was senile.

"I don't know what you mean." She brushed his comment aside with ease, knowing ignorance would not only make herself feel better but avoid a confrontation with him. She knew this tactic was not going to work though, judging by the fact she was still slightly covered in blood. "Berry picking..." She concluded as to the reason why she had taken on a rather reddish appearance. A few long seconds of silence passed and she knew she was just blinding shooting unreasonable excuses that were never going to be believed in a million years. "Okay, you know what, that was never going to work, Um." She paused before picking up her sentence again. "I'd be grateful if you didn't inquire into this any further. I don't need any more casualties" Nimiane didn't want to have to kill him, or even throw an attempt at it. Fate said she would lose but maybe if she bluffed he would back away? Well, it was always good in theory.

[The Dark Knight]

The Knight laughed evilly, his horse chuckle projecting and echoing through the clearing. "I don't believe tha there will be any more casualties today. A leas not me. I've fought things much more terrifyin' than a lass that could turn into a wolf." He said. The girl was frightened, and he didn't care, nor was he going to try and calm her. Fear could be used to his advantage, perhaps he could intimidate her into joining the Brotherhood. He took a couple of strides forward and began to speak.

"Yer talents could be put to good use if ye were to join the organization I represent. Killin' doesn't seem to be a problem fer ye, an ye seem to be good a stealth. I wonder wha else ye can do?" He said and took another couple of steps forward. He wondered what her name was. He stared into her eyes and used a powerful dark magic to peer into her mind. He didn't pay attention to any of the thoughts or other things floating around in her head, just the name Nimiane.

"So Nimiane, ye interested?"

[Nimiane Aragon]

Nimiane's nose curled slightly as he began to walk forward towards her. She was about to step back but rather preferred standing her ground and trying her best not to look intimidated. She didn't much appreciate the way this guy was addressing her but simply bit her tongue and focused on ignoring him. Before she knew it she could see herself back in front of the camp fire, laughing and joking along with her friends and family that was once she had got this guy off her back. Nimiane half-listened as she continued to wipe the blood off her face, only dropping her towel when she realised what he was trying to do, trying to recruit her?

For a few seconds she considered it, maybe she would be more appreciated in this man's 'orginization', maybe she wasn't so likely to get pushed and shoved around being ordered to do all the nasty jobs that no one wanted to do? Someone that didn't seem likely and her fiercely strong loyal nature soon kicked in as her brain began to doubt it. He had said killing had not seem to be a problem for her but he didn't know anything. She was happy her fears and concerns did not show on the outside but internally she was far from feeling comfortable with the whole idea of murder. But as long as that fear and concern continued to keepy at bay it didn't pose a problem for her.

So far her mood had been fairly elevated, not in the least bit peeved or ticked off but when he invaded her privacy and spoke her name that was something she did not like. How did he know that? She was sure she had not told this man her name and neither would she ever. She liked to be a women shrouded in mystery yet this man of whom she had never met knew more about her than she liked. The distance now between herself and this mystery man was beginning to get to her so she stepped back, unable to retain the look of anger and confusion on her face.

"No! You can't just come up to me claiming you know everything about me when you don't! I have no idea how you know these things but that's as far as it goes. You want to see what else I can do? Watch this!" Her voice was beginning to take on a much higher tone and her previous anxieties of this guy had been washed down with bouts of adreniline and sudden surges of courage and concerns of self preservation.

Nimiane set her nimble eyes on the man, moving with such speed barely a blur could be seen from the last position she was standing. One minute she was there and the next she had gone, using her surprising speed to navigate herself behind the man to take him by surprise. If he couldn't see an attack coming then he would have no chance at defending himself from it, or at least that was how the theory went. Whilst in mid-run, Nimiane took the opportunity to shift and change her human form only minutely. The organs in her body began to change accomodating a new Hunter's Organ and a Sach's organ comprimised with electrolytes enabling her to generate large voltages of electricty; something an electric eel had the ability to do.

Her brain then sent a signal to the nervous system to the electric cells in her 'new' organs which soon began to generate a current which she soon mastered and controlled. The pain was only temporary until endorphines began to flood around her body drowning out her low shreik and squeel of pain. On the downside this process had taken a lot longer than she had expected making her lose her initial element of surprise. She knew the man had probably spotted her new location by now so sent the deadly current shooting off in his direction knowing this attempt was probably futile.

[The Dark Knight]

The Knight was impressed by the girls speed. Another spell or transformation he figured. He barely had time to react to her movement. Whatever she was planning it was an attack from behind. He didn't bother to turn around, or even move for a moment. His fighting senses were heightened from years of combat and even more training, he knew he had to wait until the last possible moment to make a successful dodge.

Suddenly a small crackling noise and the smell of ozone shot through the air. Now was the time to make his move. He quickly dropped to one knee and a blink of an eye later a bolt of lightning rocketed over his head and slammed into a tree across the clearing, causing it to quickly be reduced to smoldering splinters.

He pivoted on his knee and held his right hand up, palm facing his opponent. Perhaps she needed more of a reason to listen to him. He muttered a quick incantation and glowing black ropes shot from his palm, moving quickly towards Nimiane. If they caught and ensnared her she would be completely immobile. If she wasn't such a promising ally he would've just killed her.

[Nimiane Aragon]

Nimiane watched as the tree standing only a few yards in front of her buckled and shattered into peices. The smoking, smoldering remains lay in bundles and gave off heated smoke which began to rise into the air before being extinguished by the bitterly cold evening. Her attention was shortly focused on the burning tree and she barely even noticed that the man in front of her was planning his attack. She tore her eyes away from in front of her and they darted towards him, her incredibly quick reflexes and miniscule attention to detail noticed just what he was about to do. A normal person with normal human reflexes and eyesight probably would not have been able to dodge this attack.

Nimiane dropped to the floor with speed, rolling out of the way of the black ropes which seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She felt them brush over her head and her shoulder, landing just next to her. She drew in a relieved sigh before feeling a shoot, agonising pain in her ankle. She heaved her body up, ignoring the blinding pain and trying to shake off the rope that had entangled around her appendige. Everytime she did she felt it constrict and get tighter cutting off her blood circulation and making her foot toon a very odd colour of blue. "Ahhh" Was the only sound she could emit choosing to incite all the cuss and swear words she could think off in her head.

"Get...off" Nimiane squinted her eyes hard before hearing the 'pop' of her ankle bone dislocating and detatching from the rest of her body. She used to constriction of the rope to finish the job of, her ankle then lay seperate from the rest. She wriggled away from the rope so she could not get wrapped up again. Seconds later her ankle began to recontruct again before a completely new ankle was completly formed. Nimiane then stood up and shook off her new foot to re-circulate the blood. "Earthworms, amazing things they are" She beamed a smile before carrying on. "They have the ability to re-grow lost body parts and well, so do I"

Nimiane thought about making a run for it, clearly this man was too dangerous to be messed with. The feeling in her ankle was still a bit dodgy and running on a numb foot whilst trying to maintain a high speed was difficult.

[The Dark Knight]

The Knight thought that he had seen it all. That was until he watched as Nimiane's foot regenerated itself not more than fifteen feet away from him. He withheld his look of disgusted curiosity and kept his neutral demeanor though. "Tha's interestin." He said under his breath as he looked with wonder at her new foot. This girl had more tricks up her sleeve than he could imagine. First the shapeshifting, then the lightning, now she can regenerate? Strange as this was the Knight was only more convinced of her usefulness to the Brotherhood.

He wondered what he had to threaten her with? Bodily harm did not seem to be an issue, so cutting her thumbs off would not coerce her. Perhaps he needed a more psychological factor. Fear might work. He rose from his kneeling position and snapped his fingers.

He disappeared in a thin black smoke and quickly reappeared behind her. "Les see an animal do tha." He said evilly and held his hand up and a wave of psionic energy bursted out. It was weak, he didn't want to kill her yet, the most it would do if it made contact would be knock her forward. He hoped that just the face that he could use powerful magic as well would be enough to intimidate Nimiane.

[Nimiane Aragon]

Nimiane tried to regain the feeling in her newly grown appendige but it was taken longer than thought to re-circulate her blood. She had never gone that big before, only ever going to the extent of re-growing fingers and toes as an ankle, she thought would be much too painful to try an attempt. Mind you she had never needed to go that far before but at least she knew it worked now. She carried on shaking her ankle and re-applying the pressure to get it working again yet pins and needles were beginning to set in so she doubted very much that she would be making a quick escape.

Nimiane was about to set about another attack yet with a click of his fingers the man in front of her had disappeared completely. She saw the puff of black smoke that seemed to engulf the man and afterwards he didn't seem to materialise. Her eyes frantically searched the atmosphere tried to find him; a feeling of deep set vulnerability began to kick in. There was nothing more frightening than loosing sight of an opponent and now she risked an attack from any direction. Nimi turned on her heels trying to locate him and began to wonder if he had fled completly. Somehow she doubted that thought; he didn't look the type to run away from the face of trouble. Nimiane herself was rather strong-willed and persistent yet running away from this wasn't looking like such a bad thought.

Before her brain had even managed to register what had happened she was face down on the ground staring at the leaves buried beneath her. She could feel the vibrations of the man now standing behind her and almost felt the blast that the guy emitted. At first she only wobbled but then lost balance completely causing her to fall. With a quick swallow of her pride and dignity, she rolled over to recollect her bearing and tried to stand up. "Ow." She moaned as she tried to focus all of the weight on her new ankle. Instead of maintaining an upright position, Nimiane opted to take a sit down for a bit trying to get rid of the sense of disorientation.

Nimiane then held her hands up, not wanting to bear the brunt of his powerful magic anymore. "Okay, okay." Nimiane had to admit she was a little scared of him. Well, the word 'little' was an understatement but she had had enough now. "What do you want from me? I'm no good, I can't help you" She struggled to believe what she could bring to his so called 'gang' and plus her allegiances were already pledged to the druids. She didn't want to be cast out from her family yet at the same time on no level did she want to experience the wrong side of this man for much longer.

[The Dark Knight]

The Knight chuckled. His ploy had worked, the girl was powerless against him and she knew it. He snapped his fingers and a scroll of parchment appeared in his hand. He tossed it to the ground at her feet. "I want ye to consider me offer. Ye could make a good scout, or an assassin if ye need to. The Brotherhood hall is marked on tha map. Go there tommorow nigh at seven. I'll be waitin for ye." He said with a dark tone.

If she did indeed show up he would show her what the brotherhood had to offer her. If not, perhaps he would need to seek her out again. He did a quick about face and walked out of the clearing, snapped his fingers, and was gone.