Cowards [Open]

[Guest]

"Cowards..."

Caught somewhere between a wannabe scoff and being choked for proper breathing a childish declaration sounded. Against the crafted stone of the coliseum floor a single being remained sprawled against it's unforgiving surface. Body visibly battered in numerous places as they struggled to move even a muscle. Their power exerted, their energy depleted. Not that they had much of a choice otherwise. Suppose they had anything left to provide a fighting chance it would all but be beaten out of them by force considering the three on one advantage of their opponents. A predicament of their own consequence. Thus the unfavorable price of arrogance and tainted pride.

Three men center stage stood waiting for their victim to rise. That was to assume that he even could by this point. Though it made no difference for their advances as it was easier to kick a man when he was down rather than up. The brutality transcended competition the moment insults were flung around. They had little to no considerations to hold back on the punk. If anything it was a direct invitation to engage a free-for-all. Which as they kicked and stomped came and went in violent waves.

Sounds of agony echoed through the open air as legs thrust down from above not unlike vengeful hammers ready to execute punishment. One kick, one painful surge to follow. A vicious cycle that the man had instigated unto himself with nothing but a few uncontrolled words of spite. Laid out and nearing closer towards broken a reptilian creature remained trapped. An easy target for the taking. The reptile in question was humanoid in figure and yet clearly animal in appearance. An oddity unlike some words had yet seen though this world of gods and titans was a little more exceptional to his design. However that didn't seem to stop the awkward stares and even now the wrong kind of attention. Then again this situation was more fueled by his ignorance and less on his design.

One last kick to the head and the reptilian's vision was blurred. His head smacked dead against the pavement one more time before the three other men decided that justice had been served to their desire. In retreat they glanced down upon the pitiful creature. Their backs turned to him as they went to leave the coliseum and him for dead. Though his heart raced in an unsteady fashion and his body cried for release from the pain. His muzzle opened in an attempt to speak. At first all that came out was disjointed groans. Each time he tried to force the words his lungs felt like their were on fire. Eventually he was able to dribble out something in a tone that was almost a whisper.

"Is... That it..."

One of the three assailants stopped to look over his shoulder while the other two continue out into the city. The smirk on his face of disgusting delight. He had gotten his victory this time. Not a word was said. Instead the man simple shook his head and turned away again. This time exiting the arena and leaving Tech behind to fend for himself. In this case leaving him to pray that help came soon.

[Changeling]

Under the shadows provided by the many standing pillars, one person was standing by, watching as the unfair fight quickly took its toll on the reptilian humanoid. Whether by brash arrogance, or blinded pride, the solo combatant fought till the bitter end, the utterance of surrender never gracing his lips. When he laid there almost like a lifeless sack of produce, the soldier-for-hire shook his head, dissatisfied with the outcome.

He saw the four coming in, and he took his seat were none of them could ever see. Somehow, he expected that the reptile could have at least done more to the trio, but alas, he was mistaken. It was a pretty one-sided battle, a landslide victory that the one left in the arena was, unfortunately for him, buried under. For some reason, that left a bitter taste in the mercenary's tongue. The trio walked out, obviously satisfied with the damage they had done and decided they had better things to do than watch the poor soul die. For a second, the mercenary really thought that the reptile was already dead, and he himself stood to take his leave, but then he caught sight of one of the attackers stopping to look back at their beaten pray, flashing him a smirk.

Zulu, now feeling that the kid was still alive somehow, switched off the safety of his rifle, looked down the sight, and trained the red mark a little above the assailant's head. To the changeling's dismay, he just continued to leave. And just when his trigger finger was a quarter of the way from releasing the hammer too. He lowered his gun and waited a minute or two after the delinquents were out of sight. He knew he had to check on the reptilian, but he had his doubts he'd be happy to see someone looking so close to the people who'd beaten him down.

No problem.

A pair of dim blue rings shone from his midsection and split off towards his head and feet, making a faint buzzing sound as they went. It took less than a few seconds, but the man looked completely different. He was still clad in a black suit bearing red marks, but the armored vest had disappeared, as did his helmet. Noticeably, he had a tail that hung just above the ankles. His arms and legs were slightly slimmer, but still defined some muscle. His head had taken on a similar shape to the injured fighter, but changed a few things around to make his new identity look battle-worn in addition to making his skin--or rather, scale--tone a darker shade of green, like decayed leaves. He added a scar running diagonally down from his left temple to the corner of his right lip, making the line cross an eye. Speaking of eyes, he made sure to make them slit and golden, but not too intimidating. He didn't bother with the hair, and simply left his head bald. Normally, he wouldn't have put this much effort unless he was impersonating someone important, but the kid might not be too welcoming otherwise.

After he was satisfied with his disguise, he threw a dagger that landed a fair distance away in front of the reptile, and a few seconds later, he appeared in a cloud of blackened smoke where the dagger landed, crouching slightly as if catching himself from a fall. He squatted down to retrieve his weapon, and looked the reptile in the eyes. They were somewhat dilated, but responsive nonetheless. "You're breathing. That's good." He had also changed his voice to sound raspier, like he had been screaming nonstop for a whole day, but the tone--although friendly--was still laced with harshness. While waiting for the lad's reaction to his presence, he took the time to see the damage. He wasn't given any mercy, that was for sure. He barely looked alive; Zulu would have been convinced he was dead if he didn't see his form breathing and eyes responding accordingly.

[Eno Vale]

Nostalgia. A word that accurately describes the feeling Eno is experiencing. Sadly, it doesn't come with a sense of happiness. There isn't a single memory of this world that the ex-servant could recall where something joyous ever occurred. Well, except for a select few.

His previous master, Hades, thrust him upon this world with the intention to learn about it. Being blind forced Eno to try his hardest to memorize every nook and cranny of the city surrounding The Olympus Colosseum. What were nothing more than bright, white outlines now assaulted him with buildings made of concrete and stone.

Years of near perfect masonry and carpentry have obviously gone into this, the structures offering so much as far as viewing space is concerned. Large balconies litter the upper portions, dozens of people enjoying the night can be heard, their voices raised in an uproar. The noise, now that was something the ex-hand couldn't get used to. The other universe was just as populated, and just as rowdy as this current rendition.

Plenty of men wander the streets in small groups. Arms around one another, goblets of wine sloshing about in their hands. Others had partaken to the company of the opposite sex. Some, of course would act out for the thrill, however, there were plenty of one night stands in the making. Ah, the wonders a little liquid courage could grant a person.

Great job Aphrodite, really flaunting your power here. Did that weird heartless in underwear really want your power for himself, or did he just wanna smack down some sassy bitch and show her what a real woman could do? Either way, all this closeness is sickening, and only causing Eno to become anxious from the sight.

For every couple that held an air of love, there is plenty with darkness dictating their actions. While it may difficult to detect, the slight shift in balance is all but ignorable when its spread over dozens of denizens to this world. If the God's didn't want this, they'd do something about it. It's not as if they would even if they want to. They'd just send their errand boy Hercules instead.

The giant just wants to enjoy what he managed to procure in peace. He knew that as soon as he lit it there would be plenty of deadbeats wanting this for themselves. If there's anything he did remember from his time serving the Tyrant, is that anything he could enjoy through smoking would be bummed off of by others in his regiment.

Do they realize how many heartless he had to eat to be able to afford all of this? Five, that's how many.

Munny doesn't just fall from the sky, unless one of those dark creatures dies mid air, but that's not the point. The ex-hand worked his ass off for this, he's gone nearly a century without, and by the Gods he's going to enjoy it.

A few minutes of ducking and dodging around drunken crowds, a small adventurous journey through some narrow alleys, and of course, avoiding those trying to conceal themselves in the dark corners of the sparsely populated areas, and soon he's alone. With a sigh, Eno reaches for one of the interior pockets of his chainmail trench coat. Seconds of fumbling later would produced an item one might confuse for a cigarette from a distance, if this world had any to sell.

With his gloves in his pockets, he could actually hold the thing comfortably in between his fingers without worry of dropping it. If there's anything gloves do is make it much harder to grip something delicate, and he wasn't about to drop this. With a chuckle, he brings one of the rolled ends to his lips before using his free hand to light the other. If lightning was good for anything, it's definitely great for lighting this. Such pinpoint accuracy and no chance of there being more burnt uselessly than smoked.

The ember burns softly in the darkness, lighting up as Eno starts to inhale. Ah, a familiar burn, one that starts to rise in intensity the longer he breathes in. However, the smoke enters a little thick, putting him into a small fit of coughing as a result. This body isn't familiar with these kinds of things, the lungs are brand new. But, in the ex-servant's mind, there's no better use for them than this moment...

Ten minutes tick on by, every few seconds being spent alternating between inhaling, holding in the smoke for as long as his lungs would allow, than exhaling. It was gradual at first, the area in his peripherals became hazy, and that only intensified as the time went on. His balance would wane next, even standing place would make the world spin a little, throwing him off.

However, like all good things, this has to come to an end. At least for now, he still had a few more lining his pockets. For now though, with his extremities feeling sufficiently numb, and the colors becoming vibrant, he believes he's found a good stopping point. After all, he didn't want to get too loopy and act like a fool. At this point he still is somewhat aware.

And that means Arden and the others will finally shut up. If he knew that eating those demons back in Tartarus would leave a part of them in him he'd have starved. It's annoying really, having so many voices speaking at once, some louder than others depending on how much was consumed. All of them with their own unique personalities, and all of them trained on making the giant's third life as annoying as possible. Oh, he's perfectly capable of tuning them out on his own, but items like this make that task oh so much easier.

He contemplated smoking another on his little journey, if his red eyes didn't see something that made him stop in his tracks.

A beaten lizard lying on his back, barely wearing anything, and another reptile wearing some sort of  black body suit kneeling next to him. The ex-hand is used to seeing humanoids such as them, be it back on his own planet or around the worlds he's visited, but to find sentient reptiles in the middle of the city, regardless of reason, is rather odd.

The others around here might mistake them for monsters, and judging by the one on the concrete ground, his face swelling from what was probably a recent altercation, a group may have already made that assessment. As Eno starts his approach, he doesn't think of how he might come off as. Judging by his imposing size he may be seen as an enemy. Who knows?

Either way, despite what might come about doing this, he can't ignore someone in such a state.

“Hey,” as he gets into earshot, he keeps his voice level, “mind giving me a moment with your friend there? He looks like he could use some help.”

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