A lot like a tragedy..., tahlian & amalyn <3

[Emma Ryan]

The night was dark and eerily silent, the only light came from the crescent moon that hung low in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the streets below it. A shadow crept across the illuminated wall of a nearby building as dark eyes scanned the general area and blood tinged fingertips found their way to delicate lips. A smirk tugged at the corners of said lips as the owner stepped into the light of a nearby street lamp, revealing herself to the dead night that cloaked the streets. Emma Ryan had always liked the darkness, she always liked watching the way that flames would illuminate the darkness, the way the moon seemed to reflect on the surfaces of the streets. She liked the fact that she could be hidden in the darkness and she could watch people. It was one of her favourite things to do. The rhythmic clicking of boots echoed off the walls that lined the streets as she continued on her path, slipping into the shadows every so often before her figure would be revealed in the light once more. She wasn't being cloaked by them in the sense of having an ability, but it didn't mean that she couldn't use them to hide, that she couldn't wish she had such an ability. Regardless of the fact, this was the part of the night that went relatively undisturbed.

A soft wind blew through the trees, drawing attention from the monotonous silence that had enveloped the area and Emma found herself drifting into thought. She was uncomfortable, at least at the time being. She had loved the last man that had left her and now she was here, without her family. It wasn't her fault that she had stabbed the idiot with a box cutter for touching what was hers. She pulled her arm across her stomach slightly, as she walked, grasping it at the elbow with her free hand. She would even have appreciated the company of her brother at this point in time. She pulled her lighter out of her pocket and the metallic swish and flick of the flame and the lighter itself filled the air. She was at peace for the time being, feeling the heat from the flame.

Her eyes and ears were constantly scanning the area around her, listening, looking for anyone who might think they could pose a threat, especially since she appeared to be so young and alone. Last time she had been wandering like this she had been faced with someone thinking that she was harmless, she'd been attacked and didn't have quick reflexes, this time, however, she was not so naive. "Alouette, gentille Alouette, Alouette je te plumerai. Alouette, gentille Alouette, Alouette je te plumerai." As if she could stand the silence no longer, Emma's lips began to form the words of an old song that, if you knew the words in English, could be taken rather horribly coming from the lips of someone as psychotic as herself. "Je te plumerai la tete, Je te plumerai la tete. Et la tte, et la tete, Alouette, Alouette. O-o-o-o-oh Alouette, gentille Alouette, Alouette je te plumerai." The sound that drifted from her lips was almost frightening and the way she formed her words made her sound mildly insane.

Suddenly the singing ceased as did her steps and Emma was on full alert. The feeling of being followed had strengthened the last few blocks though she found herself unable to determine what sort of presence that had taken an interest in her. The lack of shadows in the general area meant that she couldn't hide from view temporarily, to ambush anyone who would come past, not that such a thing could make such a difference. The sound of footsteps behind her made her turn on her heel and look around. Someone was there, she could hear them, but she couldn't see them. "Show yourself" she demanded, her voice sounding far more confident than she was at the moment. She hated not being able to see.

[Tahlian Miathil]

Tonight the twins were riding high. Having just been paid, and subsequently having just shared the company of a lovely couple of strangers - though Ama and Tahl's definition of lovely did differ strikingly from most people's - they were now wandering the streets. Well, Tahlain was wondering the streets. Amalyn was prowling the rooftops, drifting invisibly and intangibly from shadow to shadow, but they were as close as if she had been at his side. Tahlian felt every breath of wind that whipped through Amalyn's hair and she experienced each steady footfall of his along the pavement. They were as together as always, and nothing could change that.

Now, however, there was only one passion left to satisfy. They had dealt with business and satisfied their carnal desires. Now, as Amalyn would put it, they needed someone to play with. Who better, said she, than someone foolish enough to wander the streets alone at night? Tahlian had not had a counter argument, and so here they were, looking for their particular brand of fun.

It was not long before they found it. Amalyn had seen her first, spotting her vibrant hair in a street lamp, and soon both twins were on her tail. Amalyn would be, quite naturally, undetectable, but Tahlian had to work a bit harder at stealth. Not that he intended to remain invisible, of course; this was no attack or assassination. Even so, there was that little extra fun to be gained from the element of surprise, and Tahlian's sadism was not so limited as to be touched on by simple physical pain.

It was several blocks before Tahlian got within what he would describe as 'hunting distance' and several more before he got close enough for her to hear. To her credit, he smiled to himself, she did pick up on him quickly when he could keep silent no longer, but now it was merely time for the next stage of the game. She could not see him, but thanks to Amalyn's eyes, Tahlian could see her. Ama could not risk getting any closer due to the lack of shade between her and their target, but her vantage was more than enough for Tahlian to begin the game.

At this juncture, speaking was, quite natually, out of the question. That would both give away his position and his nature. The world being the way it was, this girl had absolutely no idea who or what was stalking her, and it was in Tahlian's best interests to keep it that way as long as possible. Already a plan was forming in his mind, and while Amalyn would not initially like it, she would go along when she realized what he was truly up to.

Tahlian stopped in his tracks at the woman's voice, letting silence sweep over the area. After a sufficient amount of time to make her doubt her own sanity, Tahlian moved again, getting closer but only by a few steps.

Ready for some acting practice?

Tahlian did not need to send his plan to Amalyn; she knew now what he wanted of her, and she was ready. All that remained was for the fish to take the bait.

[Emma Ryan]

There was no response to her demand and the area around her remained as still and seemingly empty as when she had first started walking through this area. She knew someone was there, though, the question remained as to whether it was one someone or if they had the company of others. Emma wasn't afraid, she was rarely afraid. Some said it was because she was too far gone to distinguish between danger and pleasure. It was a strange thing, really, but she was delusional and no-one in their right mind would bother denying it. Except her, on occasion, and she certainly wasn't in her right mind whatsoever. She glanced around as silence fell over the area and Emma felt her lips twitch. "I'm not stupid, I know you're there" she said again, turning the lighter over between slender fingers. She'd say she wasn't insane but even she knew that it wasn't strictly true. She wasn't about to reveal her powers just yet, not a single one of them. She wasn't about to give whoever was here the upper hand, that was for certain.

There were two things Emma had learned, outside of her powers, that were actually useful to her. The first was how to manipulate others. It was nothing more than sweet talking and making sure your story was convincing. The best lie always had roots in the truth. Of course, wigs and other things aided in it. She doubted that anyone knew the little blonde Emily Holmes was her, or that the short, black haired Emilia Watson was her as well. She'd manipulated people both with aliases and her words over the years, starting at a young age. When someone found her out, she made sure that she moved or silenced them. The second, and perhaps the most useful thing she'd learned, was not to play all your cards at once. Search for weaknesses in your opponant before you reveal anything about yourself and don't reveal anything about yourself unless you have no other option.

Using that logic, it was prudent that she keep her powers to herself for now. Especially since she had no idea who she was going up against.

The metallic swish and flick of the lighter filled the silence in the air a few more times as she toyed with it. She was careful not to let the flame hit her fingers because she knew that she wouldn't react to its heat, she would barely feel it. She was fast getting bored, but she was wondering whether or not that was what they expected of her. This whole situation was strange to say the least. Perhaps she was a little too confident in herself, a little too cocky. It wouldn't be the first time that she had been, but it also wasn't like she was going to tell someone that she was unable to do something. Emma was proud some of the time, and it wasn't always the best thing, that was for sure.

"Fine then, if you're not going to show yourself I'm out of here. I have more important things to do than to stand around here being bored" she said, sounding a little irritated. It wasn't what it seemed, though, she was wondering if she could flush her follower out by threatening to leave. There was a reason they were here, and she wanted to know what it was, she wasn't about to stop until she did. Turning on her heel she set off, the same rhythmic click clack of her shoes hitting the pavement filling the air. She seemd to be calm but the irritation that she'd just shown, however false it had been in that moment, was starting to fill every crevice of her body. It was starting to bubble up inside her and she could feel it building, slowly.

[Amalyn Miathil]

Paranoia had become the way of life for a lot of people, and the woman's taunt was a natural reaction to Tahlian's skulking about. Even without their connection, Amalyn knew he was not about to be goaded by the girl's threat to leave. Of course, even if she did leave, which Ama doubted, there were always other people to have fun with. No, for now he would hold onto his cards, and let Amalyn spice the night up a little in the way that only she knew how, and Amalyn was all too happy to oblige. Even if she couldn't use her deadly claws, she could still fuck with this woman good and proper using her other talents.

In many ways, Amalyn and Tahlian were equals, or at the very least opposites. Tahlian's strength countered Amalyn's agility, and her stealth matched his guile. Similarly, Tahlian had never managed to come up with a pain that Amalyn could not handle. One thing, though, that she could do like no one else was scream. Amalyn had incredible control over her voice, and while she usually used it to sing to herself (in a much more pleasant voice than the woman in the street below), it had other uses. It was Amalyn's favourite weapon against her brother when things got rough, and indeed was generally very handy in the bedroom with anyone that was sensitive to sound. While Tahlian was an incredible liar with his words and his body, Amalyn was a faker of sounds. More than one victim had been lured into an alley by the cry of an abandoned baby that wasn't there, and Amalyn was going to be up to similar tricks now.

Amalyn's first thought had been to get closer to Tahl before doing her thing, but a moment's consideration led her down to street level on the opposite side of the woman. This was now a guessing game, and the woman's behaviour thus far suggested that she would not approach Tahlian on her own, perhaps not even if someone else was in danger. Saving someone else's skin while getting away from the stranger, on the other hand, well maybe she could do that. Amalyn did not yet know whether Tahlian wanted to play a short trap or a longer one, but knowing her brother, it would be the latter. She preferred the short game, but she would let him run the show. At least she'd get to play with this girl, one way or the other.

The woman was out in a clearing, so Amalyn alighted down an alley ahead of her, where there was plenty of shadow to blend into. Taking a breath, Amalyn did herself proud with a particularly blood-curdling scream of a woman in pain. She could not hear it with her own ears, but their connection allowed Amalyn to see that Tahlian was also moving, swiftly closing the distance between himself and the woman, and making as much noise as possible, but still staying out of sight behind buildings. Now she would have to react quickly, and what she did would dictate what they would do next. Amalyn and Tahlian were in their element, and you just didn't bet on the mouse when two cats were in play.

[Emma Ryan]

Emma wasn't paranoid, but perhaps she should have been. She was too psychotic to be paranoid, which was rarely a good thing. She was far to use to the idea of people hurting, of herself hurting, and she enjoyed it too much. Pain didn't bother her, though she had a threshold, and neither did the verbal remarks. There was a lot that should effect her but it didn't, and it was something that was dangerous for her livelihood.

If she were honest with herself, Emma wasn't sure if she was going to leave. She wanted to know what was going on, who was there, and she hated not knowing. Still, she headed off in one direction, hoping that she would be pursued or something of the sort. Things fell silent for a while and Emma thought that, perhaps, the other person in the street had left. Then something stopped her dead in her tracks. A blood curdling scream filled the area and Emma spun around, glancing at the alley that the noise had come from. Her movement wasn't one of fear, it wasn't one built from a desire to help someone or some other heroic notion, but it did hold curiousity. A smirk toyed on her lips for a moment. She was curious, wanting to investigate, wanting to see the blood or the pain that was being inflicted, but she wasn't sure whether or not she was going to approach the alley. Did she really want to reveal that much of her power in one go?

She twisted the lighter between her fingers once more and pondered for a moment before she moved towards an abandoned bench on the other side of the street. Sitting down and watching the alley she continued to toy with the metallic item between her fingers. She was contemplating what to do, contemplating whether she should try and see or wait until whoever was in there had left. She wanted them to come out and play now. Her head cocked to the side in a curious manner as she watched the alley in front of her, still tempted to throw a fireball into the area, to bathe it in light as oppose to the shadow that encased it right now. She wanted to know, she needed to know. Regardless of that fact, though, she was still fighting with the thought that she didn't want to reveal her powers just yet, not until she knew who she was up against.

She held out for a moment, but she knew she was going to like this person, they were psychotic. It was taking too long, however, and Emma was impatient at the best of times. "Make her scream again, it wasn't loud enough" she called, sounding a little psychotic in the moment. To Emma it was normal, she was normal, but to the rest of the world, she was far from it. of course, her psychosis made her very easy to manipulate, but it wasn't like she realised that fact. She sat back properly on the bench and watched, waiting, listening. She wanted to know just what it was that she was going to see. "Make her bleed too" she added, letting out an almost insane giggle, though the sound was not strictly a giggle, falling somewhere between that and manic laughter.

[Tahlian Miathil]

Amalyn's shriek had made Tahlian proud, and it had also allowed him to get a lot closer to the mystery girl. Now he could see her, but his cover made sure she could not see him. Well, not without looking directly at him, and her attention was far too focused on the alley where Amalyn was. Now the two of them were in a pincer position, and this girl had nowhere to go, though it was quickly becoming obvious that she had no intention of going anywhere. The purpose of the scream had been to discern her nature, and it had certainly done that. All that really remained was to analyze and make a decision based on this knowledge.

It was an unexpected reaction, to say the least, but one Tahlian could still work with. The psychotic demand and insane laughter suggested to Tahlian that she was twisted, but in a very different way from Amalyn or himself. She had gone from being concerned about the person behind her to being casual and entirely focused on the alley ahead. Her speech made it sound like she thought that he, the one following her, was the one causing the screaming, when in fact that was impossible without the ability to teleport, and even in this day and age, that wasn't something you just assumed. No, something was definitely not quite right in her head, and Tahlian fully intended to take advantage of that.

A different sort of play, Brother. Amalyn's voice resounded in his head, and Tahlian had to agree. This called for a change in the game, certainly, but what change? There were always options, but now there were options upon options depending on how badly they wanted to fuck with this girl. Amalyn, he knew, was only truly sadistic around this type of woman - with a man or a stable woman, she tended to be more masochistic - and he, well he was just sadistic all the time. Breaking her mind would, quite naturally, be a pointless exercise, but he could certainly have his fun with her.

You up to continue the soundtrack? I'm going to go make a friend.

You couldn't scare a woman like this; at least not easily. Tahlian preferred a different approach, and one that his telepathic connection would allow him to execute beautifully. Striding confidently and casually out of the darkness, Tahlian walked up behind the bench the woman was sitting on, leaning against the top of it and giving her a glance. "You're awfully demanding, you know that? Normally, I charge to put on a show, but since it's your first time..."

What Tahlian did next was something that he and Ama had practiced many times. Flicking his hand in a rapid motion, Tahlian simulated lashing a whip through the air, and Amalyn screamed again right on cue. To those without a knowledge of their powers - which was everybody - it was a fantastic trick.

[Emma Ryan]

Her reaction was, perhaps, not what one would expect. Any normal person, upon hearing a scream, would turn tail and run, hoping that the perpetrator was destracted enough with whoever had screamed that they could get away. Emma, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She sat down, she watched and waited and tried to see if something else was going to happen, if another scream was going to resonate through the streets. She was cloaked in the light as oppose to the shadows, clearly visible, and she didn't care. Emma was still as she sat there, watching the alley with a curiousity that could only be explained as extreme. The sound of the scream had sure as hell caught her attention, if that was what he was aiming for, and there was no way that she was leaving now. Of course, in her own little world of make believe, he had been after her attention. Sometimes it was a wonderful thing to live in your own head, with your own delusions of grandeur. She pulled her legs up onto the seat and crossed them in front of her, watching, waiting to see what would happen next.

It was rare that Emma could be scared, mainly because she saw danger as exciting. Her perception of everything was what made it difficult to terrify her by any normal means. There were things that frightened her, though, and those were things she sought to eliminate. The idea of someone leaving her, the idea of being alone, she hated it, and she had killed for less once before. Of course, she had never let anyone in on that fact, she'd never even shown it until it was too late, though that was not through any doing of her own and rather habit. It was for that reason that, when the man approached her, Emma merely met him with a mildly curious gaze for the moment. She would have to wait, she would have to see how he reacted. She didn't want to talk to someone who was just going to be stupid about it all. Emma giggled a little bit, though the sound was more psychotic than joyful. Long ago she'd lost that joyfulness, even in her singing she sounded insane now. Once upon a time it had been far more melodic. "You've got to be demanding to get what you want or people just take it from you" she said, simply.

The man, who currently had her complete attention, flicked his wrist and, instantly, Emma's eyes were drawn back to the alley as a scream resounded from it. Emma's head tilted to the side and her eyes glinted rather sadistically for a moment. She could switch between her sadistic and masochistic natures by simply feeding off the other person, and right now this man was playing to her sadistic side, she was enjoying it, and she probably shouldn't have been. Of course, it never occurred to her these days that someone might hurt her or use her. She turned her attention back to the man beside her and rose up a little so that she was sitting higher and turning her attention to him. She wasn't sure what to say but she did have a mild look of sadistic glee and awe on her features. "Do it again?" The words were both a question and a demand and she looked almost giddy with glee in that moment.

The fact that she had just asked him to make a woman scream again, in a way that didn't involve carnal pleasures, would have struc anyone as odd. Anyone else, that is. She had no idea that he was fast figuring her out, it didn't occur to her, not even once. "I like it when they scream" she had to add, though exactly how she caused a reaction from those weaker than her was something that he was not about to find out yet. She wasn't just going to give in to him on a whim.

[Amalyn Miathil]

One mistake that people often made with regards to Amalyn was to assume that because she was masochistic and often deferred to her brother Tahlian, that she was submissive in nature. If anything, both siblings were Dominant, and those who assumed otherwise quickly learned that at their own expense. Having said that, Amalyn had to admit that if she could ever submit to anyone, it could only be Tahlian. Not only did he know her inside and out, he was just so delightfully evil, and he could plan things that she was just too impulsive to think of. Like tonight, for instance, she was glad that she had allowed him to run the show; her plans would have backfired on a target as fucked up as this girl, but his were working beautifully. As a bonus, Ama even got to scream. In short, she was loving it, and they'd only just begun.

While she waited for Tahl to cue her again, Amalyn studied the girl through his eyes, trying to apply her own keen mind to the situation. What was Tahl ultimately after? Even Amalyn didn't know that yet. The girl was certainly pretty enough, but they'd just had a delightful couple and didn't need seconds. He was playing the game so slow that it was impossible to judge, and Amalyn could only go along for the ride at the moment. Frustrating, perhaps, but Tahlian hadn't steered her wrong yet. She let out a long, low moan of pain in the silence, and listened in.

"Oh, alright, but only because you're such a pretty girl." Tahlian gestured again, and Amalyn smiled as she let loose once more. Her vocal chords strained as she kept the sharpness of the pain tempered by the faintest hint of esctasy just for fun. One thing she had learned early was that the best sounds were not simply from one emotion, so it paid to splice multiple ones in.

Tahlian's words left Amalyn no more illuminated to his motives than she had been before. His tone was elevated, almost the way he would speak to a child, but he knew better than to patronize the deranged, so what was he after? Was he keeping her close long enough for his powers to kick in? Did they even work on the insane? Amalyn shook her head violently, throwing the questions from her mind. She would know all soon enough; it did no good to speculate. That only distracted her from her acting, and if she fucked up, Tahlian was going to be pissed. She didn't want that.

"Why do you like it?" Tahlian had hopped over the bench now, and was sitting beside the girl, maintaining a non-threatening distance for the moment. Most people would have led with an introduction, or to ask for her name, but this girl was not most people and neither was Tahlian. He was going to have to figure her out on the fly, but his instincts told him this could have repercussions long beyond tonight.