Pistol for a MOUTH [C]

[Ebony Lancaster]

Chaos seemed to be sweeping over the Ring in a most unfortunate way. The news had been spreading through the ranks, though whether it was truth or rumour was still undetermined. The higher ups had disappeared too, perhaps discussing what was to be done next. Would they even survive such an event? Then again, the Carna had been through a lot more than this. As the young hunter walked along the dock towards the sea, she passed another group of hushed voices. Their heads were turned down as they murmured amongst themselves, presumably about the same rumours that Ebony pondered as she walked. The smell of fish did nothing to hinder the young girl as she neared the edge of the boardwalk. The fish appeared to be hiding from her, as she saw small ripples begin to fall away, signalling their departure from the shallows and fall to the depths. Rolling her eyes, she perched herself on the end, with her legs swinging over the edge. The autumn air swept her hair every which way and in slightly anger she pulled her hood over her head to tuck the hairs away. “I’d kill for a hair elastic right about now,” she muttered to herself, head shaking slightly in mild annoyance. They lacked certain important beauty products within the Menagerie. Sure, back in the Collective she hadn’t exactly had access to mascara or anything like that, but they at least had a good supply of hair elastics. For females with long hair, they were entirely necessary. A few Carna moved along the other docks and occasionally she joined eyes with one or two of them. There seemed to be an uncomfortable tension between everyone, even those that weren’t involved in any of it. Ebony understood why though; Manic and Crash had been so important to all of them. Though she had never once had a conversation with either of them, she had seen them around camp and the air of importance they held was evidence. They had led Carna to many victories and kept the Ring safe for many years. Without them what would happen? “We’re all f***ed,” she cursed, once again rolling her eyes, her standard response to anything. Bonnie was so consumed with her thoughts that she took her safety for granted. Perhaps she was simply ready to throw in the towel. Either way, at that moment all of Boone’s teachings were nullified. She simply sat there in her own mind, not paying any heed to the figures moving around her. Carna walked up and down the boardwalk, but Ebony didn’t notice any of the movements. She simply stared angrily at the water, her mind considering all future possibilities. “Well it was nice while it lasted.” OOC: eh not my best...

[Lovely]

With a steady pace Lovely made her way towards the docks. It was one of the few places the Carna Hunter actually enjoyed. The grass crunched a bit under her feet due to Autumn making a grand entrance. Winter will soon be approaching and this is the first year Lovely would ever be fully prepared. As a snake shifter the cold was always harsh. Now, with a second shift as a Black Leopard things were different. Normally, the chill coming in from this time of year chilled Lovely closer to the bone. With this new shift she noticed that the breeze did not feel as cold and adapting became easier. Lovely wanted to tell, Crash, the news about it, but it would never come to be. A heavy weight lifted from her heart about the news with the Carna Alpha and Beta. In the very beginning Lovely made a small and odd connection with the Beta, Crash. While most people were not around in the night Lovely drank the night away filled with laughter along side her Beta. Despite the fact the Carna Hunter did not spend too much time with her Alpha, Lovely, still admired him. With both of them gone Lovely worried for the existence left of the Ring. No way would she even bother joining up with the Fulsi or Fallen so she knew she would become a Rogue as a last resort. As Lovely came closer to the docks the Carna Hunter overheard someone speaking. Due to the direction of the wind Lovely heard a girl not too far away saying the Carna was f***ed. Anger built up in her chest due to such language. It was a direct insult to her and their former leaders. With speedy steps forward towards the stranger she stomped her foot on the dock to get the girl's attention. "Excuse me?" she snapped. "Listen, little girl. Shut your damn mouth or you're the one who will be f***ed." Lovely squatted to get a closer look at the girl's face one on one. "Do you understand me? Being next to water right now is not the best place to be when you're in range of a pissed off Carna with no higher ups to punish them," she spat with a way too sincere smile that did not match the venomous tone of her voice. OOC - Not my best either, but we gotta feel out this thread first. Lol

[Ebony Lancaster]

Visibly jumping, Ebony looked up at the woman who had grabbed her attention. Her words were harsh and the teenager frowned, clenching her teeth in order to restrain herself. It took all her might not to reach down and grab her knife, but clearly this woman was Carna and Ebony didn’t quite have a death wish. So instead, she kept her expression steady until the blonde had fallen silent. Of course, Bonnie had to admit that perhaps the blonde was relatively right. She could basically get away with anything at the moment, however Bonnie reckoned that perhaps she wouldn’t do anything too bad with witnesses still hanging around the boardwalk. Despite that, Ebony knew when to pick her fights and when to admit she was in the wrong. “Wow lady calm down!” Bonnie hissed, rolling her eyes and taking a deep breath. “I was just exaggerating okay. It’s not like I’m gonna go be a dumbass and run off to Fallen. We could still destroy those losers blindfolded,” grinning, Ebony raised her eyebrows at the blonde. She had to admit that the older woman certainly had balls, and she was clearly not afraid of anyone. Of course, Ebony wasn’t exactly instilling fear into hearts; she was just an eighteen year old girl attempting to survive the big bad world. Sighing, Bonny turned to look back over by the water, unsure if the woman was going to continue her assault. She just needed to look away; staring into the blonde’s eyes was way too intimidating and Ebony didn’t care to admit it. “Look, I’m sorry if I offended you okay. I’m just pissed off that they’re dead.” Shaking her head, Ebony silently chastised herself for saying such things to someone who clearly didn’t feel fear. Then again, the woman seemed to display anger, so perhaps she could understand where Ebony was coming from. The teen slowly shifted herself a little to the left, giving the other shifter the option to either sit and continue their strange conversation or simply leave the girl to her own devices. Something told Eb that the blonde would probably want to school her a little more before letting her escape to the confines of her room. If only Boone was around to bail her out; she had to stop relying on him for everything though. He was past the mystery age so it was a wonder the Keepers hadn’t already disposed of him. Or maybe they were extending their experiment. Either way, one day she would have to learn to live without her mentor. She would also have to survive this blonde without him. It couldn’t be that hard could it? OOC: idek... this post was so lame...

[Lovely]

Normally, the rolling of the eyes and the sassy tongue would tick Lovely off. Instead, it left her a little uneasy. Nothing in the intimidating and insecure kind of way. To see the young Carna girl reminded Lovely of herself when she was around the age of 16. Still, it did not change the fact that she wanted to slap the girl across the face. Lovely managed to hold off on that one since it would not benefit anyone. Even if there were witnesses the experienced Carna Hunter would still gladly slap the girl if she truly planned to. The cockiness of the young girl talking about easily taking on the Fallen made Lovely laugh right in the girl's face. "Destroy those losers blindfolded? Are you kidding me?" she questioned in a patronizing way. "Do not underestimate your enemies, my dear. That gets you killed. Even you should know that much." There still seemed to be a lot for the new girl to learn. To even hear that the Carna could somehow take on an entire ring while it was in the middle of chaos was unreal. "Just so you know, the Fallen aren't wusses. There's a huge difference between being defenseless and a pacifist." Examining the girl up and down the girl smelled quite intimidated. They do say that animals can sense fear and as a Shifter it tends to do the same as well. Lovely has been in the Menagerie for quite a long time and has lost most of her humanity through all of it. Makes a great poster-board for the Keepers to display to the outside of the dorm. There was a part of Lovely that hoped she may be on a T-Shirt somewhere. "No regrets. No apologies. That will make your time here a lot easier," Lovely responded to her apology as she got out of her crouching position and copied the way the new girl was sitting as she sat next to her. "So, tell me your name," she demanded. Over time the Carna Hunter stopped asking questions and started just telling the person what she wanted to know. It was like a strong suggestion that came across far beyond that. "Why are you in the Carna? Not gonna lie, you don't seem quite like Carna material. Give me your reasoning. Now." OOC - Mine wasn't that great either. u.u

[Ebony Lancaster]

Pulling back slightly as the blonde laughed, Ebony’s face fell into a clear scowl. Whoever this woman was, she wasn’t taking any crap from the teenager. It was best for Eb just to let the blonde school her, then maybe she would be left alone again. It wasn’t as thought Ebony was trying to make trouble, she just had a habit of it and it seemed every Carna was more on edge than usual that day. Fair enough though; losing their leaders was a tough ordeal for anyone. They were vulnerable and if any of the other Rings found out disaster would be sure to follow. They all just needed to keep it together and refrain from killing each other so as to keep their numbers up if an attack did come. Pursing her lips, Ebony looked back out into the ocean, drawing her attention elsewhere as the blonde continued to speak. “I wasn’t saying I was going to go off and get myself killed. I get the difference but they’re no fighters. Not the same way that we are.” The young Carna had the urge to turn back and stare the blonde down but she thought better of it. No good would come of an internal struggle now, not when Carna needed to be close. Ebony only hoped that the blonde had the sense to keep it purely a mental struggle and not a physical one. Killing off each other would only make their Ring weaker. She could sense eyes crawling up and down her skin, but Ebony held her gaze outwards. Her discipline and control took over and she let the woman size her up. Perhaps she was trying to gauge just how easily she could crush the teenager. Bonnie wondered if anyone would come to her aid. There were Carna aplenty along the docks, some gazing over at the pair every now and then. But would they help? Or would they simply let the blonde tear her up into tiny pieces and scatter her in the ocean. Bonnie knew what she would do in that situation. As the blonde spoke and sat beside her, Ebony finally allowed herself to turn her gaze back around. The words were clearly an order, full of authority that Ebony didn’t think she deserved. She had a habit of disobeying those in higher powers, but perhaps the blonde was not one to be trifled with. “I’m Ebony,” she said clearly, her voice rather expressionless. It was a vast contrast to the way she had been speaking early, but her British accent made it easy to convey a lack of emotion. “I am fully capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. I trained under the best here and I wouldn’t have been promoted to Hunter if I wasn’t ready.” There was a certain bite to her words this time and Ebony’s jaw tightened as she watched the other Carna. “I think you should learn not to underestimate those who look the most innocent.” Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under it. The words of Shakespeare rang through the girl’s mind, just like they did almost every day. That’s what she had been taught to do in the Collective and that’s what she would continue to do as long as she could. Youth did not necessarily mean inexperience and Ebony was living proof of that.

[Lovely]

Without any hesitation Lovely laughed about how the girl talked about the Fallen. For as long as Lovely has been in the Carna she had seen many different shifters from different rings. "Yes, they do fight differently," she retorted. "I've seen fierce Fallen before. They have no hesitation to kill if so be it. Just keep that in mind." The fact that Lovely was schooling the girl surprised herself. This was a rare moment for her since she was more of a loner. It felt much easier that way to the blonde Carna to be alone rather than hang around a group of people. One thing that Lovely liked about the young girl was her spunk. Of course that could lead to the girl's downfall if she continued her cocky attitude. "Hunter or no hunter that doesn't change much. Going into combat can change many things about yourself," she spat back quickly. To hear Ebony say that she was underestimating her was quite on point. Only this time it caused Lovely to chuckle compared to a full on laugh. "Darling, there is no innocence about you. Just ignorance." Lovely wanted to see the girl's facial expression so bad after saying that. During the conversation Lovely used her Telepathy to listen on the girl's secrets. Made the conversation a lot more amusing. "Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under it," she mimicked back. "That's an odd quote. Not very fond of it. I prefer kill or be killed. Has a nice ring to it." Whether Lovely was finding entertainment through mental or physical trolling it was worth every second of it to keep herself busy when off duty. To pass the time in the Menagerie without boring herself to death Lovely always found something to do with herself to pass the time. She needed to do something to stay "sane." Lovely put out her hand for a handshake as she looked at Ebony with a sly grin. "I know you didn't ask, but I'm going to tell you anyway," she started in a childish way. "The name's Lovely. Not exactly nice to meet ya, but you're not so bad." It was getting bothersome to Lovely that the young Carna didn't know her name. If she ever saw her walking around she wanted to make sure that if she spoke about her that Ebony would not say "that blonde lady." Image is everything and Lovely had to make sure it kept up with itself.

[Ebony Lancaster]

Listening to the blonde talk about the Fallen was an interesting affair. Everyone seemed to have a different opinion on the Ring and Ebony often liked hearing what others thought about their enemies. It was true, they too could fight, but the fact of the matter was that they were pacifists at heart. They much preferred to talk things out, which often ended disastrously. At the same time, it could work out in their benefit too. Perhaps each Ring could benefit to learn from each other. “Oh I will,” she replied nonchalantly, turning her gaze away from the other woman, a smirk across her face. She hated being treated like a child and it was starting to get on her nerves. Passively listening, Ebony watched the ripples along the surface, catching only a few words that the blonde mentioned. Ignorant? That seemed to have pushed a button that caused Ebony to flick her head back, eyes locking onto the blonde’s. Her face remained relatively composed, the corner of her lip turning up almost in challenge. But Bonnie knew her place and she recognised well enough that this woman was higher up than herself. So instead she relaxed her posture slightly and simply rolled her eyes in denial. She was not ignorant. A shocked look crossed Ebony’s face as she heard her own words repeated. Surely she hadn’t said that out loud? She hadn’t meant to at least. No, she had definitely thought it. “Gee, that’s a neat trick,” she said, a slight edge to her voice as she watched the woman carefully. Everything was telling her that this lady was dangerous and she wanted Ebony to know it. Ebony obliged, if only for her own safety. Self-preservation was of course a human’s strongest instinct. It was a childish gest but Ebony smiled at it regardless. Taking her hand, she shook it, adding in a small head nod. Whether or not that could be taken as somewhat of a white flag was open for interpretation; Ebony simply wanted Lovely to know that she would do no harm. She had earned the younger girl’s respect and that was no easy feat. The name was familiar, Ebony thought but it took her a few moments to work out where she had heard it before. Smiling across at the blonde, Ebony leaned back on her hands. “You have a bit of a reputation among the more impressionable hunters it seems.” A soft laugh rang out as Bonnie waited to see Lovely’s reaction. She assumed that the older woman would like the idea of terrifying new recruits. Boone had mentioned her once or twice himself but Bonnie couldn’t quite remember what he’d said of her. All he remembered was the scared little tenderfoots unsure of themselves and chattering about some horrifying woman. Their assumptions had really only been partially correct.

[Lovely]

Even though it was quite obvious that the younger Carna was only taking everything she said with a grain of salt Lovely still wanted to at least shed some wisdom onto Ebony. Naturally, being a snake shifter made her want to shed in all sorts of ways. One thing Lovely was grateful for was the first day she stepped foot into the Menagerie and came across the former Carna Beta, Crash. On the very first day Lovely had gotten into a brawl with a Fallen woman which ended up in the enemy's downfall. From that moment on the Carna Hunter felt alive when taking the life of another. To be congratulated on the kill by Crash boosted her self esteem tremendously. After that it felt like she was taken under his wing. That glorious man made her face harsh realities about the Menagerie. Whether the girl wanted to hear it or not Lovely was determined to just give back a little every now and then to the unfortunate. In Lovely's mind the girl was a Tenderfoot despite the fact that Ebony was also a Hunter. The look of shock on Ebony's face when Lovely quoted her had the Carna Hunter laughing out loud. To make such a priceless facial expression made her wish she had a camera to take a picture of it, frame it, and show it to everyone in the Carna. Since no cameras were allowed in the Menagerie Lovely just planned on keeping it locked into her memory bank as she called it. "Neat. Splendid. Useful. All those words are correct when you learn to hear what someone else is thinking. Can also be a little weird when someone is thinking that they need to pee really really bad." Lovely noticed how the girl started to adapt to the situation by slowly becoming submissive. Just as part of the plan the Carna Hunter marked her territory as the dominant female. "Yes, I do have quite a reputation with the Hunters, Captain Obvious. Probably should take our meeting as a lucky one. Why don't you ask around and get your opinion about me through the Carna ranks and get back to me on what they said." Like dealing with a child Lovely gave Ebony a quick pat on the head. Lovely felt as though she did all that she could for the girl with a mixture of boredom for having to talk to her fellow Carna for so long. Without any warning the Carna Hunter pushed herself up into a standing position, turned around, and began to walk back to the sewers away from the docks to her crawl space of a room. While leaving she waved her hand a little back at Ebony to make it clear that Lovely planned on leaving. "Bye, little one. Have fun with your mentor or whatever. Ya tend to think about him a lot. Adios, muchacha." --------------------------------------- OOC - End Thread? :D

[Ebony Lancaster]

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