A Mercenary Job (Open to anyone)

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

"You don't ask help... Unless you want to die..." replied Eris in a sadden and even-toned way as she looked back to the sky. She felt her heart sink down as she closed her eyes.

"It isn't my destiny... I will not be able to kill him... Only the Vulpuz Bloodline can..." Slowly her eys closed as she lowered her gaze from the window. She keep them closed for a long moment, clinching her hands into fists as she gasped for air for a moment offseting the onset of a panic attack.

"I'll never be free from the empire... Never... This places happyness is sickening to me... I never saw sunlight until I was set free... I wish... I wish I could tell you it all... But you wouldn't understand.... No... That's not it... I am too ashamed to explain... That's all... How can I move forward when all I feel is hatred and rage... vengance... They always told me that I couldn't run from the truth... I never gave up... I'd never let them win... But... Maybe they did..." She closed her eyes as memories seemed to appear before her eyes, some that were memories she made up. Her eyes shifted from the broken look to more of a warrior look.

"I can't explain myself anymore then I have... I don't want to... Omitting the truth would destroy me... Do you know anything about the empire I speak of?"

[William]

Will stopped just before the door as Eris spoke, his paw on the handle as he listened to her. Turning around he looked back at her. "I don't know about this Empire, but from what you've said there are very influential and powerful. But I think I can see something that they didn't want you to see." He pulled out his sword at this, and swung down toward Eris, to neatly cut the ropes tieing her to the bed. "They give you all this talk of how powerful they are, that only one creature can kill him. To me it sounds like they were afraid of you, so they didn't want you to think you should win. There is no special power that this fox has, you can kill him, all you have to do is believe you can. But if you continue to believe you cant then you will fail." Standing back he sheathed his sword back across his back. "Maybe you did let them win, maybe you did let them conquer your mind. But the fact that your telling me all this shows that they did not conquer all of you. That should be enough for you to see that you don't have to be like this."

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

"They were that powerful..." replied Eris as she instantly knocked the ropes of after William had cut them. She didn't look like she wanted to fight as she quickly moved off the bed, completely repulsed by it. She looked at William, her amber eyes bright and hard with what was some sort of defiants or pride. It slowly turned to more anger then anything.
"I NEVER gave in to them. NEVER! I hated them... Hated them with a fiery vengence that would NEVER be fed... I would gladly burn them all down for what they did! I hate them... They tried to make me into one of their servents... A 'Pristess to the True Way', the way of Vulpuz... Ruler of Hellgates... The darkest reaches of the Dark Forest..." Slowly, the anger faded as Eris crossed her arms.
"Tch... You don't understand at all..." she said in a way the was obviously different then how she had spoke moments ago.

[William]

Will sighed as he leaned against the door. Just like that she had completely blocked out his words. Within a matter of seconds she was back to her former self. Shaking his head slightly he knew that they had broken her. Both physically and mentally, she could never be rid of the memories they had planted in her. She would never be free from her desire to see them all die. No matter what he said she would still try. Looking up at her he decided to try one last ploy to get her to stop chasing after her death. "So they were that powerful huh Eris? Then why do you keep going after something that will only lead to your death!? If only this one creature can kill him why do you keep trying when you know your going to fail!" He made sure he put emphasis on the you, to make sure she knew that this was all her thoughts that made her think this way....

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

((Sweet, you figured out she was broken, good! You are halfway there in figuring out what happened))

"I want to be able to say I stood up against him... He stole something preasious to me..." Eris sat down on the stone. It felt much more nicer on the hard ground, so much more then it was on the soft bed.
"...Why are you saying that...? Nothing happened...hehe... Nothing... Why are you saying that?"

((Sorry for the shortness))

[William]

(Yay? Its fine for the shortness.)

William shook his head and turned around , setting his paw on the door again. "Yes, he took your mind and your sanity." He said simply before walking out the door, leaving it open as he walked down the hall. His mind was still on Eris as he walked down the hall. His footpaws carrying him where his mind was not he soon found himself on the wall tops looking out at the road. Leaning against the wall he looked at the sun streaked early morning sky. It was clear that they had broken her. But the fact that she told him all of this proved something didn't it? Sighing he just looked out at the quiet woodlands, trying to clear his mind....

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

Eris watched as the warrior walked away. She was still hired to take the weapon, but something told her that she didn't want to take the weapon. She just didn't feel like fighting or feeling the coldness and hatred in her heart. She stood up walking threw the halls that were field with other 'early-birds' that had gotten up early. They gave her looks, saying that she was strange, but they were curious about her. She put the cape she was wearing over her face and hurried away. She walked outside at the happyness that seemed revolting to her. Quickly, the black squirrel ran to a place she could be alone. Alone on a stretch of walltop, she stared at the sky, humming to herself, trying to remember something that seemed broken and gone.

"Occulto meus oculî
Occulto meus auris
Dico mihi illa lacuna es a recubo
Is can non exsisto verus
Ut Ego sum perdo vos
Sol solis can non cado ex divum"

Eris swayed slightly as she sang out the words that many of her people would sing to each other. Her voice was clear and completely focused on her words. She remembered them so clearly, so utterly. Slowly she sat down sing still, her voice echoing with a gentleness that hadn't been there.

"Can vos audite Aura vox
Lacrima of an angelus
Lacrima of aaaaaaaa
Lacrima of an angelus
Lacrima of an angelus"

The warrior squirrel stared at the sky watching the clouds floating by. She could make out shapes, and even saw the small birds flying about in the skys. She seemed less cold, less angry and more sad then before.

"Subsisto sulum chorous
Astrum es in offensus
Flumen mos flow ut profundum
EGO moris permissum vos no
EGO moris narro bonus
EGO moris permissum vos subterlabor me"

The squirrel closed her eyes for a moment, still singing in her native language as she watched the sky.

"Can vos audite Aura vox
Lacrima of an angelus
Lacrima of aaaaaaaa
Lacrima of an angelus
Lacrima of an angelus"

Tears were in her eyes as she sung the song in its meloncholy tone that seemed to be to it.

"Sic carpo
Exsisto validus
Sulum in nos mos vado
EGO sum hic, operor non vos vereor.

Parum unus Operor non amitto
Operor non amitto
Operor non amitto."

Eris was silent for a long moment as she stared up at the sky. Her eyes were heavy with sadness as she looked down. She allowed a few tears to come out. Her people would sing this song everytime one of their own would die. She remembered singing it when the Resistance had tried so hard to fight against the empire. She could remember how slowly their culture would begin to look only at death as the only way. None wanted to join the empire, many died... in fact, every single one of the elders died. She didn't know if any of her own people were alive anymore.

"Occulto meus oculî
Occulto meus auris
Dico mihi illa lacuna es a re-cu-booooo."

[/i]

((Special thanks to RyanDan for the English version of the song, which was translated into Latin... Cause I am to lazy to make up a language from scrach...))[/size][/blockquote][/color]

[William]

William's ears twitched as Eris's voice floated along the wind. He kept looking out at the woodlands as she continued to sing. He couldn't even begin to guess what the song meant, but to him it sounded low and slow. Like a song of morning. Letting his head drop into his paws he kept listening to her. Soon the song finished and Will looked up and around to try and find Eris. Looking along the wall he could make out the unmistakable tail of a squirrel standing on the wall. Slowly walking toward her he could seen see that her eyes were full of sadness. So he stopped a few meters from Eris, just standing there, not speaking to her...

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

Eris's eyes were closed as she sat at the wall, looking at the distance. She was silent, listening to William's pawsteps as they approached. A part of her was telling her to jump off the walltop, but the other side was much stronger telling her there was no reason to do so.
"... I was singing for my people..." she said not even being asked a question. She smiled softly away from William to the distance. She held out some burnt-dust and released it into the wind.
"...We would always sing whenever someone died... We would send their soul away so it may join the others whom fell..." Eris hummed to herself the tone for a moment. Tears came out after a moment.
"I remember singing it to my only friends... And then... The singing stopped all together... No one was left to sing it..."

[William]

William listened as Eris once again told him details of her old life. Before she became what she was now. She was indeed a strange one, rock hard on the outside one minute, unable to let anything change her mood, to telling stories about her past and feeling sorry for what happened. Only time would tell if one side prevailed over the other, but Will would still have to watch her, after all, she had tried to kill him. "But you remember them singing Eris, so there is something to sing for. The memory of those that have passed on. You can sing to remember them, sing to remember what it used to be like."

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

"Of course.... I still remember... I was the last one singing by the end of it all... The children forgot... they forgot our ways... I song to them to remind them... The Sephron overlords heard me sing and..." Eris closed her eyes as she shook her head before looking at William. She stared at him for a long moment, not truelly doing anything to say she was going to kill him right there.
"...And they died... that is all... Ignore me... I'll leave tonight... You don't need to worry about that, and I'll deal with those vermin I made a deal with..."

[William]

(Hummm, I cant think of what to post here. How did you envision having this thread going? Did you want Will to help her or what? Sorry for the question but I'm just drawing a blank here.)

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

(Well, I did imagin that he would try to help her or ask about where she came from so that he could understand her a little better. I was also thinking of adding another character... or complain to Rose to add one of his.)

[William]

(Sorry for the wait Dark, I've just been busy )

Will bit his lip as Eris said she was leaving. He wasn't sure why he wanted her to stay. But something about all she had done, she had done to avenge her now dead people. Looking from her out to the woodlands he sighed. So she wasn't completely insane, yes they had broken her, but she wasn't obsessed with money like he thought she was. No, she was risking her life, putting faith in other beasts, just to avenge all of her family. Finally turning back to her he just asked a simple question. "Eris, where did your people come from before the Empire came?"

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

"My people came from a long way from here... Far west of here, south of New Azurria, and east of the Empire... We were a small collection of islands... called the Medias-Aurâ... The Middle realm between Aura, and Abyssum.... At least that is what we called our land... We were traders, ship sailor... most of all we were artists... My people loved the muses, the arts... We loved to sing, dance, create beautiful art. We leaved in constant competition, to try and see who could make the most beautiful thing... always their was something... I was born in the time were we no longer sung happy songs, or danced to the tones of our ansestors... " the black squerral said after a moment as she looked at a small stone in her hand. It was a black opal the size of a middle sized marble. On it, markings that were probably her peoples was on the surface.
"And you? You said you were a slave at one point in time... where did you come from?"

[William]

Will respectively stayed silent as Eris spoke of her old home. He glanced to the side as she stopped talking. Looking at the small stone he could only begin to guess what it was, or why she carried it around. Looking up at her as she asked him about being a slave he simply shrugged. "I don't remember it all that well, only fragments of memory from that time, the slavers made sure i forget mostly everything." Sighing he looked out into the woods. "As well as I can remember I was born and raised here in Mossflower, when I was still just a kid I was talking with another young creature. A ferret. He started to walk off and told me to follow him. I was still young so I just followed him." Wiping his eyes on the back of his paw quickly he kept looking over the woods. "I never saw my family again, I don't even know if their still alive or not, but I was captured as I walked away from my family, pretty much from then till now I was in a mine. Working all day for no food, every day....."

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

"...And they would hit you to make sure you remembered who was the master..." finished Eris as she looked at the sky.
"The Empire is the same way... They oppressed alot of the other nations... Mine fought back and for it, we were killed... This land has remained untouched by the Empire... Perhaps someday... your people can save our broken world...I heard rumors that your---Redwall defeated the Magus Nova an' Salaman-a-thing defeated the former Overlord Hector.... True?" asked the squirrel as she stared at William.

[William]

Will just nodded at Eris's comment then remained silent as she kept speaking. He nodded again as she asked about the war that had happened. "Yes Eris, for both of those battles, I had just escaped the mine when that happened. So I was only able to take part of the final battle. I still remember the look on the vermin's face that I was fighting when all their leaders fell. They just lost to the will to fight, those that didn't flee were quickly slain." He shuddered slightly. "Then I could see the price of the war. So many of Redwall's allies had been slain, many more injured." He stayed quiet for awhile, looking from the woods then back to Eris, not sure what to say to her. In some ways she was so much like him, for some reason he emphasized with her, and wanted to help her....

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

"I heard of the victory... but I never believed it...Many of those who were under the empire heard the rumors... We heard them, and we even prayed that the day would come when they would be gone forever..." Eris was quiet for a moment as she put the small opal close to her heart for a moment. She didn't really say anything for a moment before looking at William.
"I'm sorry for trying to hurt you... I just... All I'm good at is fighting... That's all... I'm not good at anything else... so in the wilderness, I had to fight and survive on my own after I escaped from them... I was alone for a long time.... I just stopped thinking others as beings...." It was sort of an unconsious lie. It was evident she knew someone, a warrior named Aaron, however, she didn't seem to remember him now.

[William]

(Sorry for the wait >.<)

Nodding slowly as she spoke of her people after hearing the battle. "Well Eris I think the victory then should prove that they can be beaten....Though the cost of life on both sides would be sever."

Falling silent as Eris confessed to him he looked back to the small stone she was holding. It seemed as though it was the last thing she had from her people and her old home. Not saying anything as she finished he just though for awhile, before lightly setting a paw on her arm.

"Don't worry Eris, you didn't hurt me, and you confessed the reason for your decision, and I can understand your choice." He looked into her eyes awhile before he spoke again, taking a deep breath before speaking. "I want to help you." He said very simply, looking into her eyes to show that he wasn't lying...