The old woman leaned against a wall as Patrick walked towards her and she smiled sweetly pleased that the boy had taken interest in her wellbeing and they had just met. "Such a kind young man" she said softly "My grandchildren would have liked you, perhaps..." her voice trailed off. "Don't worry about the blood" she said while standing up "It's not mine." That being said she quickly raised her cane that she had been leaning with, at a speed much surprising for one her age, and she swung it in the direction of Patrick's head.

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"What's so funny mister?" asked a little girl dressed in rags looking up at the Pitre with wide green eyes. She was scrawny, and didn't look like she had eaten much, her stomach gurgled and she patted her stomach. In her hand she held a stuffed rabbit, it must have been white at on point, but now it was very black with splotches of brown where it was less dirty. Her hair was dirty blonde, or perhaps it too simply required a wash. Overall she was remarkably dirty and it was quite apparent she had never had a lot of money, she was most likely from Odin District.

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Aaron had surprised the group of men and women. Surely they had anticipated someone stupid enough to act chivalrous at the call of a woman's cry to which afterwards they would beat and then rob the "hero" leaving his barely living body on the cold ground. However, what they had not anticipated was that their "hero" would be jumping from a rooftop to the ground, nor had they anticipated him landing with such precision as to knock out one of their cohorts.

"Oh now you've done it scrub" murmured one of the men who was rolling up the sleeves. Another woman lay beside the corpse, sobbing momentarily before she got up, turned to Aaron with a fiery passion burning in her eyes.

"Your skin will make a nice parka once I'm through with you" she hissed through gritted teeth. Taking a long piece of wood with nails usefully hammered into the top in a fashion so that the nails would do further damage than the wood alone, the woman menacingly stepped towards Aaron. The rest of the group of men and woman surrounded Aaron in a loose circle, there were no walls or terraces here for the boy to escape. They chanted kill, and held out various weapons while the woman continued to walk towards Aaron, her eyes never losing contact with his.

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"I have a pocket knife?" she said in an unconvincing manner in reply to Kain's question, she didn't know how she with her pocket knife and he with his sword had any chance against six men. It would be three men for the both of them. Yes, she was confident of her fighting prowess, as she was from Odin District, but she wasn't crazy. Three to one was crazy, taking a breath she prepared to fight and went to grab her pocket knife.

However much to her surprise, she was grabbed by a stranger from behind. She cursed her luck, she hadn't bothered to check if Lucas had any more of his cronies hanging around. The average person would have panicked and attempted to struggle, but she knew within that split second he had his knife on her neck as well. She sighed, frustrated, was it so much trouble just to get to one simple crack in the so called great wall that surrounded New Moscow in a back alley of the Odin District? Apparently so.

The situation however seemed to turn on it's head once again as she heard him whisper in her ear to play along. She remembered a saying a very old saying, that had supposedly existed long before the Night of White, something about chivalry being dead. Trisha truly did not trust this stranger, but she didn't really have many options at this point, since the man had a knife to her neck. In hindsight she probably should have blasted the entire group with a dose of fear and then run for the hills herself, but then again that would mean leaving Kain behind.

"Let me go!" she exclaimed while pretending to struggle. Opening herself up to the stream of emotions around herself she felt for the emotions coming from Kain and began to subdue them, sending him a sense of calm and apathy. She did this so that he would not overreact and try to do something crazy and attack the lunatic who held the knife to her neck presently.

Lucas and his men had not expected the sudden arrival of the man, and they were slightly frightened by his sudden appearance. "Hey man...we don't want any trouble" at heart Lucas was a coward, but then he remembered that he had five other people backing him up. Taking one man, and a snot nosed brat would be no problem. "...Er I mean. Give us the girl and YOU won't have any trouble. Heh heh"

"Oh I'll be done with her real soon," Frank replied, grinning as maniacally as he could, "Or would you rather join me?"

They were cowards, or at least their leader was. He needed a narrower space to lead them in to so that it would be easier to fend them off. He spied a narrow alley way with barely enough space for one person to walk through normally on his way here though. Frank started backing off, the knife moving away from the woman's throat. It was in case they made any sudden moves. The alleyway would connect with a parallel street that still lead him to where he needed to go. Frank tried his best to whisper to her as he moved.

"There's an alleyway behind us, once we go in, you free to go, but I would head to the Kremlin if I were you."

Arthur heard a voice which seemed to be calling to him. Moderately confused, Arthur made a few gestures pointing to himself. The man nodded back in response.

"Are you one of us?!" The man shouted out.

Arthur assumed he meant mentals. He nodded in agreement and ran towards the man, not letting his guard down.

Kain drew his sword in one swift motion, ready to fight Lucas off.

"I wouldn't inderestimate me," Kain replied. "If I were you." He sensed that Trisha was faking her panic, because otherwise she would not have been so long in panicking. He focused straight on Lucas and his goons, waiting to counter any attack that came his way. His other hand lay on his knife handle, ready to stab out unexpectedly in retaliation to attack. He did not know the man, and kept bringing up in his head why he would do this. Was he going to kill Trisha and him? Or would he help them escape? Kain kept thinking about that while awaiting an attack. His muscles tensed and he awaited an attacker to come his way.

The Kremlin's ruins stood tall above him in the square as Hadrian passed through a back street stepping over shattered glass and items that were flung about the cobbled path, he stopped only to examine a tarnished violin hanging from a broken window on the first floor of a home. Slowly his eyes passed through the window searching for signs of life, he found only a destroyed shell; reaching down he took the violin and the bow, which was hidden just under neath glass shards, and made his way into the ruins, climbing through broken stairs and collapsed passageways he eventually found his way to the roof of the destroyed fortification. Sitting silently he observed the destruction beneath him, fires were beginning to kindle in the square and rioters continued to battle one another, calmly he raised the violin and began to play he couldn't help but feel his heart grow heavy as he thought of all those beneath him that were now trapped but he continued to observe it was not his place to stop what the people themselves have started.

"Partita in d minor.." He whispered to himself as he continued to play, he felt a chill fall down his spine as the images of a story he was told long ago flashed before him. It may have just been a tale but the legend of the Monarch playing a fiddle as he watched his capital burn to the ground was enough to make him feel uneasy, the music continued none the less.

He grinned when the girl asked, almost gleeful in his response.
"That, pauve ti bete, is a hilarious sight. They lose their senses and they don't understand how to get them back." He explained.

He ripped off a chunk of meat and threw it to her. He then stood up and motioned towards her to follow him.

Nothing ran through his mind that led to this act. He was still a vile fiend who ate humans, but this action was not caused by his instincts. That is to say, his killing instincts. He also had a terrible feeling. He usually had these right before running into trouble. It wasn't anything supernatural, it was how any animal would have acted when ruled by primal instincts.
While he was selfishly ensuring his own safety, he called upon her to do the same. With little compassion in his heart, he acted without thinking.

Patrick quickly tried to dodge by hopping back, but not before the cane hit him, causing him to a sort of roll away from the old lady. He touched his forehead, he already felt it throbbing, but couldn't feel if there was any blood. "I don't want a fight." he said, his right hand on the taser in his pocket. It was made for taking down a large attacker, not against an frail old woman.

A shocking scene played out before Ivan, who was just returning from looting the nearby Kremlin ruins: The entire city, which only minutes ago was filled with dancing and festive music, was now a bloodbath. How the hell did all this happen? He thought. Since Ivan was new to this city, he didn't know much of its history. He didn't even know what the festival was about. Fortunately for him, he had just entered the city through a shortcut in the walls so the chaos had yet to spread to his location.
Just as he was about to make his escape, the sweet sound of a violin caught his attention. He gasped in surprise when he realized the song was a classical piece from the old world, one which his father had been quite fond of. How would anyone here know of Bach? He wondered to himself. Intrigued by the mystery violinist, he climbed to the roof of the building. Of course, Ivan was too naive to consider how this might scare the s*** out of the other person.
"Partita in d minor?" he shouted over the ruckus of gunshots and screaming, "How do you know that song? Where are you from?"

Hadrian paused, but he began to play once again his eyes closing ever so slightly.

"Music is music." he shouted back taking a moment to relax, his fingers still working the strings.

"It is there for all ears to hear, for all eyes to read and learn, and for all bodies to play. Be it old or new world, music can always been found."

His eyes opened looking down at the stranger on the roof top, he thought for a moment if he had seen him in the square, but he was unable to pull his face from anywhere in his memory.

"And why do you concern yourself with who I am?"

Ivan was shocked when the man turned to him. He had expected to see an old man, considering his knowledge of decades past, however the man was actually younger than him. What's more, the man radiated a sort of aura of knowledge and peacefulness, as if he had no worries or uncertainties.
It took about five seconds for him to recover.

"Uhm, well," he stuttered, "That song is from a long time ago, from even before everyone had electricity. I was wondering who taught it to you."

He smiled, holding out his hand to shake. "Well, anyway, you don't have to tell me. Would you like to come with me? The rioters will be here soon, and I know a way out of the city."

Tanya looked around nervously. A crowd had gathered around the biggest stage while someone in a snazzy suit walked up to the microphone. He looked terribly important and the crowds din died down with a raise of his two fingers. He started to speak, but the man began to regain conciousness and she became distracted for his well-being. He moaned and began trying to sit up to which Tanya supported his head like an infant. Checking for a pulse, she smiled; relieved that the man had merely fainted and it was not as serious as she had thought. With the man better, she turned her attention the speaker. However, she could not take it in as the man recovered with surprising speed and beckoned that she follow him on the notion that "Quickly, we must go, else this fool will be the death of us all!".

She knew not where the man would lead her, but followed him blindly through the chaos in the Square. She began to question whether it was right to follow this man, after all, he was leading further into the chaos. She was scared, like a child lost in a shopping centre after wandering off to take a look at the lollies only to find their parents are nowhere in sight.

"Gramps~! Where're we off toooo?"

The old man looked at her quite surprised. He wasn't sure what to do, and was even more taken aback when she clamped her hand into his as if she would never let go. However, the old man was much too intent on getting to his destination and held back just as firmly while hobbling through the crowd as quickly as he could.

Lucas chewed on his lip uncomfortably, he wasn't the type of guy to share what he thought was his, and he definitely saw Trisha as his. Always walking around being sweet and nice, saying hello to him whenever she walked by his terrace. She had the hots for him, he knew it, she was just too shy to show it, and he was doing her a favor. If he wanted her though, he'd have to fight for her, and quite frankly his back was aching from the load of stuff he had looted from his neighbour's homes, and besides he could get hurt.

The man assured him that he'd be done with her quickly, and Lucas nearly protested, opening his mouth to throw a jab at the man's stamina, though he shut his mouth as the man grinned oddly and asked whether he'd join as well. He had it coming he supposed seeing as he had been so adamant about keeping Trish for himself, but the man creeped him out enough, he probably had some sort of weird fetish as well. He stopped his train of thought realizing what he was thinking in the first place, it wasn't like he was actually contemplating it or not.

The man pulled Trisha away into an alleyway while Kain followed with his sword drawn. In a last attempt to make himself feel macho Lucas yelled "Yeah! Run you....you cowards! Run!" He began to laugh and nudged his cohorts he began to laugh awkwardly with him.

Once in the deepened shadows of the alleyway, Trisha could feel the pressure of the knife against her throat relieve and she was set free. Immediately she bounded away from him out of instinct, but then she turned to face him, realizing that he had in fact made what could have been a very messy encounter much better. She nodded to his suggestion to head to the Kremlin.

"As a matter of fact, he and I will be heading there right now, there's a crack in the wall that we can escape through deeper into the Odin District. Thank you for helping us." she said sincerely before turning to Kain "Come on Kain let's get farther away from here and get to the Kremlin" She waved her hand to follow and began running down the alleyway.

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The man eyed the boy cautiously as he approached, and once he stood in front of him he looked down on him skeptically. After a moment the burly man smiled widely and clapped the boy on his back in a friendly manner. "Come on out folks he's one of us" There was a collective sigh, and a skinny girl, a young man holding a shy little boy's hand and an elderly woman walked out from the shadows. They seemed to have a relieved expression on their faces.

"Thank goodness" exclaimed the old woman, "I don't think we can afford another run in" she said wiping her brow with a very old looking napkin. "The great doors leading out of the city may be closed, but I've been around long enough to know every nook and cranny in this city. We can and will get out."

"That's good to hear granny" said the burly man. "Oh and I guess we should introduce ourselves" laughed the old man apologetically. "My name is Shamus, that beanpole girl is my daughter Olivia. The young man over there is Josef and his little brother Nikolai. The old woman we all call granny. That's the way she likes it. I can tell you're a mental, it's my gift. We're all mentals just trying to find a way out of this crazy place. What's your name, son?" asked Shamus.

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The little girl laughed, though not because she understood what Pitre was saying, moreso because she found his accent entertaining. When he threw her the piece of meat she quickly grabbed it up. Being raised in the Odin District she'd learned that she had to be quick when food was given. She didn't want any of the other children to steal it, even though there were no other children around currently.

She bit into the meat hungrily, and when he told her to follow through signal she passively obeyed like a little sheep. She had never been outside of the city, despite the occasional screaming and weeping she could hear on the wind from people nearby and from New Moscow she found the wilderness peaceful. More peaceful than anything she had ever witnessed in her short life. She took her meat and pushed it against where the mouth of the stuffed rabbit before taking another bite of the meat herself. She smiled.
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"Yes, dear boy" replied the old woman with a sadistic smile "I don't want to fight either...SO JUST LAY DOWN AND DIE" She ran menacingly towards Patrick with her cane over her head and swung at the boy again. "Stay down abomination!!" she called out while swinging her cane viciously.

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The crowd pushed and shoved around Tanya and Elias. There was a crack of a gunshot that pierced the air and a woman fell to the ground dead. Another man who had sprained his ankle reached out and grabbed for Tanya to pull her down with him. He wasn't going alone he thought, but to no avail his grip slipped on the woman's leg and he was soon cut off from her sight by a group of evilly smiling children with various assortment of bludgeoning weaponry.

As they distanced themselves from The Square the chaos lessened, though only to a slight degree. Windows crashed as homes in the liberty district were broken into. Women cried on street corners, though it was probably wisest to stay away from them. If they listened carefully they could make out the sound of a violin being artfully played but it was interrupted by the sound of an explosion as chaos continued to spread throughout the city of New Moscow.

Pitre continued through the forest, traveling in what he believed to be roughly the same direction he came when entering the city limits. It probably did not matter where he went though, because the path would eventually appear if they walked far enough.
While walking he constantly turned his head to see if the girl was still behind him. He was not moving at a fast pace, but he wanted to make sure she was paying attention and not wandering off into the thick woodlands.

"Pitre is my name," He muttered loud enough for her to hear.

"What is your name and how old are you, pauve ti bete?"

He was not in the mood for a full conversation, but when he thought about that fact that he would eventually have to care for the child until she could fend for herself, he decided he needed to know more information. As a matter of fact, he had been more talkative today than ever, which was strange considering that he not only hated social interface at any level, but he also was inadequate when it came to interacting in those kinds of situations.

He realized he had just cursed himself with the misfortune of acting as a babysitter for what would seem to be the rest of his life.

Elias grabbed the young woman’s hand and started running, bending to pick up the staff that lay where he had fallen earlier. He knew not where he was going, only that they had to escape this city that was soon to become the sight of a massacre. A man grabbed the woman’s leg, but she managed to shake him loose and the pair continued their blind flight. Making his way as best he could over the bodies of the fallen, Elias pulled her with him into a narrow alley. Here, he stopped, trying to catch his breath. It pained him to leave the wounded to this horrible fate, but there was nothing he could do to turn the tide of this chaotic uprising.

A tall man, six foot three at least, spotted the figures hiding in the thin passage and started running towards them. He was wielding a heavy pipe, and he wore a disturbing smile on his face, obviously happy at finding two easy targets. He reached the alley and lunged forward, swinging his makeshift bludgeon with terrifying ferocity. However, he only made it half way through his motion before his chest made contact with Elias’ staff. Or rather, the other way around. The man crumpled to the ground as though dead.

“He will not stay like that for long,” Elias said to the woman. “We must hurry.” Panting, he turned, speaking through halting breaths. “I can fight, but I don’t know the way to escape. Can you guide us?”

OOC: In case you hadn't realised it yet, Tanya has transitioned into "Tan-tan"

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"Graaaaamps~ I'm t-tired! I want Ms Fulton~!"

The old man half-dragged Tanya through the crowd as he pushed and shoved as hard as he could to get them both into a narrow alley he could spy in the distance.

"Eeek!" Tan-tan squealed as something pulled at her leg. She kicked back in a violent tantrum and the thing recoiled. Stumbling over the bodies, Tan-tan and the old man collapsed into the narrow alley he saw earlier. Tan-tan started to cry softly and muttered about how much she wanted Ms Fulton*.

With a quick flick, the old man swung his cane above her head, where she recoiled and fell under the heavy slump of a body. She crawled out, obviously shaken before standing up and pointing at the old man screeching, "Y-You killed him! You killed that man!". She was clearly terrified, yet perhaps so terrified that she just stood there in time for the old man to ask her to fight or something or other.

Such a request she couldn't do, and she started off into the alley, tripping over the high-heels to which she promptly threw at a nearby dumpster to the cry of "Stupid shoes!". The soft patter of her feet against the slightly damp concrete echoed through the alley and soon her figure was a mere silhouette against twilight evening.