Embrace the Dark [Private w/Koko]

Bellmuse...this place… It’d had been awhile since the pink-haired Faunus had been here. Last time was way back then… happier times. Everything changed for her back then, turned her into something to be feared...an unpredictable monster… Although Sophia would never refer to herself as such. Maybe something a little more subtle..? Rogue? Yeah. That’d had a nice little ring to it. She sighed as she walked Kompress Beach, it was probably the only place left in Bellmuse that she liked, most everywhere else just had bad memories and baggage. Her boots left prints in the sand and the now empty night lit beach was relaxing, the sound of the waves splashing and the occasional chirp of crickets and other critters would accompany the night's orchestra. Sophia mainly walked aimlessly for a good 5 minutes before stopping at the far east end of the beach, it was relatively secluded over this way, a perfect place to stop and reflect. She made her way over to a set of rocks and sat down, one slender leg hanging off and the other curled into her opposite knee. Her red eyes scanned the water's horizon and her ears had twitched slightly. Sophia generally wasn't one for moments like this, she rather been amidst chaos than sitting on some beach. Perhaps she was remembering better times? Was that it?

'Yes... Better Times...' she thought as her foot started slowly tapping against the stone. Back before... everything. She remembered family outings, playing with her younger sister, Miho, her older brother Koko and how they'd build sandcastles together. At the thought of her family, Sophia's hand instinctively gripped her sword's handle. She clutched it, her fingers trembling around the blades grip. She hated thinking of them as they would eventually lead her mind to a single thought, to "him" that detestable old man... the bastard, he's responsible! That was her reasoning behind what she did... what she was. Her Father... but it was more than that... the Hanazusaki name as a whole and everything associated with it. Sophia's free hand clenched up and with almost blinding movement her sword was out of his sheath and it sliced the rock by her side. She let the blade sit there and she breathed in and out angrily. Maker... ugh! Bullshit! She had to learn how to remain calm if she wanted it to change but even as she placed her sword away and closed her eyes and saw his smug face... his crooked smile... she knew that she would never be happy till she sliced his neck open and wiped the blood from her sword.

Sophia turned her attention back towards the water in an attempt to regain control of herself, her body was still shaking, she wore her overcoat so she wasn't cold, she was shaking in anger. She was just pissed off. She stood and parted from the rock leaving a mark of her cruel abuse cut into the stone. Sophia started walking back towards the side of the beach from which she came, a wind blew toward her and she covered her face with her arm. Sophia's pink hair twirled in the wind and before it slowly died down she felt something brush into her foot. She removed her arm from her eyes and glanced down. At her feet and wedged under her boot was a page of a newspaper. Sophia bent over to pick it up and read the side that was facing her.

"The Obituaries..." she muttered to herself thinking how ironic that she got that specific page. She began reading the left side column. Old people, some baby and... her eyes narrowed at the last 5 names. Teenagers, all Faunus, Sophia frowned. So, was this the "Faunus" Killer's handiwork that she had heard about? Pfft, he or she was probably just a little prick who couldn't fight for shit, picking on teenagers and hiding in the shadows. She tossed the newspaper over her shoulder as she dismissed the words, whatever, she'd like to see that Faunus Killer come at her. Her previous frown turned upside down at the thought of slicing him open and looking into his/her eyes as they glazed over. She felt her body shiver, she would so enjoy that. Sophia continued walking now it a slightly better mood. She'd figure that heading back soon would be wise or else she might be found chopped up by the big bad "Faunus Killer" she laughed, what a joke.

The beach was desolate, a faunes couple holding hands walked past Sophia, giving her a small wave, smile, and hello as they had just left from a date. They continued their peaceful night walking down the beach, enjoying the fresh air and the smell of the water, and were joking amongst eachother on plans for the future like any couple would. Everything seemed so peaceful, the waves were relatively calming, the air held a comfortable temperature, little bits of trash littered the beach but that was the filth humans took with them everywhere as they rarely ever picked up after themselves. As if it were planned, as if it were a sick joke, a scream ripped through the air, loud, feminine, and full of horror. The scream went on for a few seconds, it was then cut off completely, and the air was filled with an unnerving silence like it was before. Dead silence, all except for the sounds of the waves crashing against the beach. Suddenly a figure burst through the darkness drenched in blood and bits of flesh, it was the male patron from the couple. His frantic eyes searched for anything to help him, and spotted the girl he passed earlier. He rushed to her, grabbing onto her shoulders frantically as he kept peering over his shoulder, panic filling his voice as terror affected his mind.

"Please! You gotta help me! Something is back there, my girlfriend... She... She's gone. Her blood is everywhere. We were just walking and something came from the darkness, it split my girlfriend in half.... We have to go, it's not safe here. It's not-"

His sentence cut short, as a figure approached silently behind and placed a hand over his mouth, slipping the mass of serrated steel down his throat, into his body, and out near the mans tailbone. The figure placed his boot against the back of the body, and forced outwards towards the girl as the blade basically cleaved the body in two. A man appeared from behind, evil in his eyes, covered in blood from hair to chest, a grin plastered on his face wearing the severed ears of the faunes girl that had accompanied the man like it was a trophy for his accomplishment.

"Such a shame we allow such filth to litter our beaches and streets, sinful abominations with a human body. Disgusting filthy vermin. But I am the clean up crew, one by one they fall, only to be replaced by more. What can one man do?"

He chuckled, looking at the girl. He chuckled up until he spotted the ears, and twitched, raising Abomination up. The man was mentally corrupted, he wouldn't know who this woman was if she socked him in the face, especially at this range where she could. His eyes lost color and his brain took damage and corrosion, and with time he hadn't and possibly wouldn't realize at the given moment who the girl was, could be, or couldn't be. He only paid attention to the ears, his teeth chattering softly, and suddenly it stopped, leaving silence around them. Again, unnerving silence.

"You are... faunes. You are.... Vermin. Humanoid vermin.... Sick... Filthy.... Corrupt. You litter the beach with your presence, how sinful of you."

He spoke and looked down to the weapon she had, it never made sense to him what it was but just by the design he could only assume she came from or was getting ready to join Syne Academy. Or she was just a hunter, as so many of them lived in the area. A hunter was the least of his worries, without a few of them they were relatively easy to pick off, nothing special at all about them really. He tilted his head, letting out a small fit of laughter as he grew closer and closer to her, stepping on the body on the sand with the sickening sounds of bones cracking beneath his boot, growing louder as he pressed down.

"Tell me child.... Do you believe in the devil? Because once I split your corpse in half I'll eat your soul so you don't have to meet him. Does that sound nice? I think that sounds lovely."

Sophia regained her breath from her laughing fit. A couple passed her and waved, the both of them were Faunus. She gave them an odd eyebrow raise and kept walking barely acknowledging their presence. The beach tonight was filled with “Potential Targets” for some boogeyman to come out a kill everyone. It was absolutely ridiculous, killing without purpose but maybe she was being too critical, she had taken lives as well, many lives although her kills came with mostly an agenda tied to them. Sophia had murdered all walks of life but she felt no shame, she did what she had to survive… except that one, that first one. She still remembered her first kill. Twas the night before she would leave Bellmuse, she was nervous and constantly looking over her shoulder. She was young and at the time only carried a small dagger with her. She walked alone that night when a group of roughly six boys between 12 and 16 cornered her on a street curb. They looked her up and down and explained the situation of what was about to go down, they were going to use her, take her belongs and dump her like the Faunus trash that she was. Sophia remembered wanting to run, to get away as fast she could but one of the boys, the eldest had already jumped for her. Her dagger flashed out and she sliced his arm causing him to curse. This dance went back and forth and she alternated between one on one fighting to swerving and stabbing all of them, she tried to not make contact with skin and mostly used her martial arts to keep them at bay, the knife was mostly a scare tactic. Unfortunately as the boys realized she wouldn’t be easy to pin down she nicked one of the youngest boys legs, a long deep crimson gash from her blade causing panic among the group, they took off and as their bleeding friend cried and screamed for them not to leave him she looked over him, foot on his back. Sophia had originally planned to let him live but she felt something rising in her chest. She was angry… she so mad but it wasn't all directed at them, just bad timing. It was almost a gut reaction to send her blade down and into his back which caused him to cry more, he squealed like a stuck pig and as she ended his life with more repeated stabs and he murmured his last words, “Sorry Mom…” and after hearing that she ran, she had just sprinted, her own tears wetted the ground. Sophia remembered how her hands shook, it probably took him a few minutes to bleed out, those last few minutes as his world grew darker and colder… what did he think? Was he at peace? Or was he crying because he knew he could never sleep in his bed again, he could never wake up to the smell of breakfast or say hi to his siblings ever again? Sophia wasn’t one for remorse but that one particular kill… just that ONE… it haunted her.

…

…..

…...UGH! What was wrong with her? That kid wanted to rape her! He deserved his death… All the pain and his tears… he deserved it! She was so wrapped up in her own head that she didn’t realize how quiet it was on the beach now, the waves seemed softer as the splashed on the shore, the wind was nice but something seemed…. off...Sophia had made a bit of distance since she got lost in her memories when a screamed pierced the night's quiet veil. It was loud and held, it sounded female but was followed by another horrified male scream and then...silence. She glanced around doing a complete 180 before seeing the shadow running towards her, she squinted and slightly recoiled at the sight now in front of her. It was the boyfriend or husband… whatever. The same Faunus from earlier, he was covered in blood, his hair a wet mess of what looked to be flesh, he was breathing heavily, his blood soaked hands grabbed her jacket and he slightly shook her.

"Please! You gotta help me! Something is back there, my girlfriend... She... She's gone. Her blood is everywhere. We were just walking and something came from the darkness, it split my girlfriend in half.... We have to go, it's not safe here. It's not-"

The man didn’t even have time to finish his sentence as someone slipped behind him and killed him, his hands dragged down her shoulders before he fell face first into the sand, staining it a dark scarlet. Sophia grabbed her blade and pulled it out, it’s pink hue flashed to life before she took a few cautionary steps back. Judging by the now visible assassin who was wearing a pair of fresh cut Faunus ears which probably came from the girlfriend. It seemed fate had a cruel sense of humor as Sophia immediately recognized the fact that she was mostly likely face to face with the infamous Faunus killer that she had just read about, how ironic. His eyes met her red ones, she felt a cold run down her spine, something she had never felt since she looked her Father in the same position many years ago.

"Such a shame we allow such filth to litter our beaches and streets, sinful abominations with a human body. Disgusting filthy vermin. But I am the clean up crew, one by one they fall, only to be replaced by more. What can one man do?"

At his words, her slight moment of fear and weakness vanished. What a disgusting creep, how dare he step all over the Faunus like he was some hero.

"You are... Faunes. You are.... Vermin. Humanoid vermin.... Sick... Filthy.... Corrupt. You litter the beach with your presence, how sinful of you."

‘Ugh...monologuing…’ Sophia thought and rolled her eyes.

"Tell me, child.... Do you believe in the devil? Because once I split your corpse in half I'll eat your soul so you don't have to meet him. Does that sound nice? I think that sounds lovely."

Sophia had enough of his bullshit. She gripped her blade, she wanted to swing and end him right now but there was something about him, something she recognized but couldn’t quite place it, she was curious, curious about this psychopath! She stepped forward and while being significantly shorter than the man she stared him down. She moved her blade so just the tip was touching his throat, he could probably feel the heat from her gaze and from her blade’s current.

“First of all… did you seriously have to ruin this jacket?!” she asked in a sarcastic but annoyed tone trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. She was referring to the blood stains that now littered her shoulder pads and chest area, she continued. “And second… if the devil exists then I’ve already met him… and he looks nothing like you. I’m his spawn!” Sophia seemed so confident in her words that you couldn’t help but feel the sharp edge they carried, she loosened her feet, she was ready to spring away if this clown tried any tricks. She wouldn’t just be another name in the newspaper, she had to live, she had so much left to do...

A blade to his throat, a seemingly normal response for committing murder infront of someone. He expected nothing less, though... he did expect a little more. Why stop there, after all they were both close enough to each other for some real damage to occur, though things seemed to be at a stand still. Normally one would perceive such violence as a threat to their own safety, so he couldn't tell if this girl had confidence, was skilled, or just stupid.

He wouldn't be the wiser, he hadn't worried about what she could do to him, as she wasn't worried, or seemingly not bothered, of what he could do to her. He tilted his head, a small, quiet laugh escaping his lips as he felt the burning tip of her energy weapon against his throat. He plucked the severed ears off his head, tossing them onto the once living body of the owners partner in a distasteful manner. Atleast in death the two could be together, somewhat.

"Pity, normally people run when they sense danger, and your reaction was quite... eh... distasteful, boring, uneventful. Are you alright in the head madam, not?"

He asked, though he didn't quite care for the response as this girl was feisty, he could figure she'd probably react with some courageous words or spout off insults like he just did not a moment ago. He moved his eyes to her blade, an interesting design of sorts, a look of care free feelings rested on his face as he shoved the girl back, removing the blade from the vicinity of his throat. Was this woman a threat he wondered to himself softly, his entire demeanor changing from this crazy freak to that of a calm collected individual, causing him to raise a brow as he caught onto her scent.

Curiously enough, it was familiar, a feeling he didn't quite like as familiarity normally led to trouble in his sake. Why did she of all people smell familiar to him, and where was the scent originally to be familiar at all. He could see the eyes in the darkness, a furry four legged creature watching over them from where the light was lacking, whom wandered over to inspect the drama her master once again got himself into.

Karla, the little obnoxious cat, bumbled over quietly to inspect the woman closely, also catching the scent of familiarity as she hopped up onto her masters shoulders, taking her place as he kicked the split sections of corpse out of his way.

"You... You seem... Familiar. I don't quite like that, especially from a faunes. Were you amongst the group that called me out the other day... no... Karla would remember you... Strange."

He pondered, thinking of where the familiarity could be from, nothing was making sense. Could she have been someone from back then, before his wife got ahold of him? He did lose memory in the time from then to now, but why would her scent be the only familiar thing about her? He hummed softly in thought, snapping out of it as he forgot there was more to the conversation.

"Claiming to be the child of such a distasteful figure, wouldn't you be lowering yourself in a way? You show no proof of such, and you seem to be cautious of your life still to draw your weapon... I don't seem to understand. And you don't quite listen... I never said that I was the devil, dummy."

He spoke, raising his blade up to rest on his shoulder, gripping the handle as he was getting ready for any hostile actions. Now that the hostilities seemed forever in the air, he brushed his hand against Karla's fur to activate her semblance, forming a ball of fire in his hand. He held it up between them, allowing light to reveal both of their faces in full, their attire, and everything in between. She was right, blood coated her jacket, as well as most of his clothes, both looking rather unfit for public appearances.

"Such a pretty girl master! Her ears are cute!"

Karla spoke in the human tongue, causing a sigh from Koko as he didn't want another relapse of the other night. Koko tapped the cats head, her claws dug into his shoulder to keep him from pulling her off. The small cat eyed the girl, looking her up and down with as much interest a small animal could.

"Tell me Karla, what colors does she have?"

He asked, growing curious now of the woman before him, a little too curious for his own good.

"You useless color blind idiot... Pink, her hair and eyes, both pink. She kind of looks like a pretty doll. I like her face, it carries a sense of beauty to it, maybe she's important?" "Pink hair and pink eyes.... Why does that sound familiar, I don't like this. I don't like this at all..."

He spoke, growing uneasy as he made constant eye contact with the woman, curiosity literally killing the cat in this situation. He walked forward, closer, until he stood within a foot of this girl, looking down at her as his teeth chattered softly. He brought the fireball closer, illuminating the woman further, almost burning her by accident before flicking the ball of fire over to the remains of his victim, burning them to ash.

"You're making me very uncomfortable, child. You're presence is unsettling, the familiarity burning a hole in my damn head. Who the hell are you?"