So a Blind Girl Runs into a...Sociopath? (Riiiina!)

[Anonymous]

Huff huff huff....she could hear her own breathing in the otherwise quiet hall, her ears practically straining for any sound they could catch, whether it be her panting, the pounding of her shoes on the smooth surface of the ATC hall, or the rapid beating of her own heart. Then again, when your world is drenched in darkness, you have to compensate somehow...and though her pale pink eyes were wide open, she could not see a single thing around her.
Ellie Noah, Pilot Candidate, was completely blind.

Which might lead one to wonder what a blind girl was doing running down the hall in what could only be described as a terribly haphazard feat of daring.

Well, there was a terribly good reason for doing so of course. It also had something to do with the multitude of scrapes she had on her knees, elbows, and palms. It even concerned her split lip and black eye. And most importantly, it concerned that one important item not currently with her, though in normal instances it would never be left behind.
Jaxx, her mechanical seeing-eye dog, was the cause for this mad dash. With her left hand stretched out to trace the wall as she ran, mouth open as she tried to keep her burning lungs full, she was aware of the tears drying on her cheeks as well as those that ran down to replace them.

Terrible, terrible, this was absolutely terrible! It was one thing if they wanted to bully her for being a weird little girl with pink eyes and white hair (albino through and through), but to do something to Jaxx?? He didn't do anything to deserve it! And without him...she was practically useless...
Taking a turn a little wildly, reaching out nervously with whatever empathic ability she was aware of, she didn't catch the figure in her way until she had already run right up to him...which meant there was definitely no time to put on the brakes.
"Eep!"
This was going to hurt...

[Anonymous]

His classes were over and Nika wasn't really sure what he wanted to do. He wasn't doing very well on his interactions, but he found it hard to meet people. Starting conversations was just strange. He really didn't care about how their day was.

But...it seemed to nice when other people did it. Walking down the hall, Nika was absorbed in his own thoughts, not paying attention to the people around him. It didn't help that his blind spot was to the running figure that was suddenly slamming into him.

Caught off guard, Nika's arms wrapped around the girl as he took a halfstep back, catching himself. His one eye blinked down at the girl in his arms, not really noticing that one hand was firmly clamped on her breast.

His first response was to just drop the girl and he actually started too before he stopped himself. That wasn't a good reaction. Going quite still, Nika instead kept his arms around her, frowning "You should watch where you are running."

[Anonymous]

"Oof!!...owie..."
Her eyes had squinched shut on instinct, though as she recovered from the abrupt stopping...she realized she was actually still standing. Wow...that never happened...at 5'3" and a very airy weight, she was used to ending up sprawled out on the floor after one of her token klutz moments. Although it seemed this time, she'd run into a person, which was probably why she hadn't gone down on her face.
"I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean...mean to..."
Wait a moment here. Let's take inventory of body parts....two arms...two hands...where was that second hand again...
"E-Eek! E-Excuse me, b-but please l-let go right now!"
This was Ellie's first ever grope. And it was turning out to be quite the traumatic experience, a blush igniting along her cheeks, turning them a vivid red thanks to such pale skin. Granted, Ellie had very small breasts, being as petite as she was, but she still had them! And she did not like having them grabbed by random strangers! Didn't keep her from being polite about it though, of course.
She almost pushed at the boy (she could only tell by his voice), but she remembered just in time that her palms were bloody and scraped like her knees, staining her own uniform crimson in places. She'd hate to make this situation worse by getting blood all over him!

[Anonymous]

Nika's hand was still on Ellie's breast, not really understanding that was the cause of her discomfort. It was just the easiest place to hold her. Though with all her squirming, it was becoming hard to even do that.

Frowning, Nika looked down at her, "Let go? Why? Do you want to fall?" He was finding it a little hard to think around her, the feel of her blood teasing his mind. She was bleeding, not much, but enough to distract Nika. He should put her back on her feet, he knew that much was probably a good idea. But he didn't want too. He wanted to bury his face against her skin and lick at her blood.

"You're bleeding."

[Anonymous]

Oooh, why hasn't he let go yet?? Shouldn't it be obvious why I'm so uncomfortable?? Unless...he's doing it on purpose...he could be one of those people...
Of all the luck...after everything she's already been through today, to run into yet another bully...
"Y-Your hand...p-please move it..!!" She couldn't quite bring herself to say 'from my chest' but she hoped he got the point...and that he wasn't doing it on purpose after all. And all the while she couldn't help fidgeting and squirming, hands held apart from their bodies to avoid getting blood on him. Blood that he appeared to notice, and she swallowed awkwardly at the odd vibe her empathy was picking up from him now.
"Y-Yes...I, um...i-it's a long story...a-and I don't really have time...I-I have to find Jaxx...before they do something terrible to him...."

[Anonymous]

Nika's tongue slid across his lips, eyes dark with desire. She was bleeding and he wanted it, "Jaxx? Who is Jaxx?" He kept a hold of her, fighting the urge to nuzzle against her. She had such pretty blood.

"You want to protect this Jaxx, correct? Well, I'll help you. If you will do me a favor then." Nika gave Ellie an angelic smile that she couldn't see, "I help you and you help me. How does that sound?"

[Anonymous]

Drat, drat, he wasn't letting go!! Her cheeks continued to burn red with a vivid blush, and she swallowed hard yet again, lips pressed together as she began to tremble. This was the last thing she needed...no more bullies today, please, please! E-Especially ones who wanted to touch her like that...
And as she was still being held tightly to Nika, her touch based empathy could not help but pick up on his odd vibes. I-It was desire...but...it was odd...what exactly was it that he wanted...?
"J-Jaxx is my...my seeing-eye dog..." She barely managed to squeak out, the entire situation slowly causing panic to build up in her chest and creep up her throat. Please don't end badly, please don't end badly, please don't end badly...

Nika's next words caught her off guard, and she blinked up at him a few times, though indeed she could not see his smile.
"...O-Okay but...w-what do you want...?"
I sort of have...a bad feeling about this...

[Anonymous]

"I just want some of your blood. It wont hurt at all." Nika slowly released the girl, waiting for her response. If she said no, he wouldn't press it, but he also wouldn't help her with her dog. He found himself staring at her thigh, wanting the blood that pulsed through there.

[Anonymous]

"....E-Excuse me?" Her voice ringed with surprise at the request, her still slightly blushing face also reflecting the shock. He just...wants some blood...?? W-Who asks for blood??
Finally released, she managed to stay on her feet, though she swayed slightly due to fatigue, her slender legs wanting to give out on her after all that running. Not to mention some of that initial adrenaline was quickly washing out of her, leaving her that much more tired than before.
Unable to see him staring at her thigh of all things, she was left to fret at the hem of her uniform top, not quite sure what to say. He did mention it not hurting but...he could just be lying...oooh but I really need to find Jaxx! Every moment I spend standing here, they could be dismantling him!
"A-As long as...y-you're not planing to b-bite me or something...then I-I agree..."
She managed to squeak out before closing her eyes tightly. Oh just get it over with quickly! Some blood really isn't that big a price to pay in order to find and save Jaxx...even if the whole idea of him wanting some was a bit strange to say the least. Then again, it wasn't as though anybody here was exactly 'normal'...least of all herself, being blind and an albino and all that...So she really shouldn't judge him...right? Um...oh but that didn't stop her from being terribly nervous!

[Anonymous]

Nika smiled, though she couldn't tell, "It's a deal then. Where is your dog?" He would get the dog back first, as it would negate the deal if it got messed up. He was glad she had agreed though, he wanted to try her blood. Wanted to play with it. He had never gotten to meet an albino's blood before.

[Anonymous]

(Lol he wants to 'meet' her blood...Ah Nika XD)

"Huh?" Oh...he was going to wait? Until we got Jaxx back? Somehow, that one little detail made her feel so much better about the entire situation. He would hold up his end of the bargain first...and Ellie, being as good natured as she was, would never entertain the idea of not upholding hers.
"I-I'm not exactly sure...th-they took him away when they were b-beating me..."
Where exactly WOULD they take a mechanical dog anyway? The candidates who had attacked her had used their fists and feet, not psychic abilities, so they probably weren't terribly good with their abilities yet, like her. But they had definitely wanted to destroy him so...where? Where would they go?
Suddenly she shivered and her pinkish-red eyes went wide.
"W-Where is the pool?? P-Please take me there!!"
Water! They would put him in water and he'd short circuit! No no no please let me be wrong, but I can't think of anywhere else they would have taken him!

[Anonymous]

"Then why didn't you fight them?" Her blood was interesting, but the girl was so weak. So timid. Just like his sister. Nika glanced down the hallway. The pool? He was pretty sure he knew where it was, as he had studied the layout of the ATC when he had arrived.

The boy started off toward the pool, "This way."

((OOC: xD What can I say xD Nika has special views on people))

[Anonymous]

"....I-I'm not strong enough..." She mumbled softly in return, fully aware of her own shortcomings. Sure, she was actually a bit afraid to hurt others...but even in a do-or-die situation, she could only fight so much without the help of psionics. She was tiny and weak, and everyone knew it. Especially herself.
"O-Okay, th-thank you!"
She swallowed hard, trying to keep her madly beating heart from crawling into her throat along with the panic and fear she was feeling on Jaxx's behalf. She realized then the boy was walking away from her, and she trotted forward, reaching out to grab hold of the back of his uniform gently with a few fingers. She just needed to be able to keep track of where he was going in this maze of a building. Normally Jaxx's navigator was all she needed to be able to find her way around...
She really relied on him a lot, and now that he was gone...she felt incredibly helpless and lost.

(Haha, it's awesome XD)

[Anonymous]

"Then you should get stronger." Nika's voice was flat and matter of fact. He wasn't trying to be cruel or mock the girl. He stiffened slightly when he felt her hand against his back, but he didn't stop moving forward.

It didn't take long until they arrived at the pool, "We're here." He pressed the door open and stepped inside, his gaze finding where the other candidates were struggling with a strange dog.

"Let it go. Or I will take it back by force." Not that Nika looked much like he could. He was short and slender, built like some pretty doll. While he had some muscle on him, he was a far cry from impressive looking.

[Anonymous]

"Yes..." She wasn't offended, because he was being honest, and she knew that. But it was...easier said than done...so many of her troubles would be gone if she could hold her own in a fight...
Once they entered into the room where the pool was held, she could feel the slight humidity on her skin, and smell the water itself.
She could also feel the cluster of people on the other end of the room, who were currently trying to shove the silver-and-black mechanical doberman into the pool. Jaxx was clearly resisting, but he was not actually fighting back. Ellie had de-activated his defense and attack protocol when she had been brought here. She didn't like the idea of Jaxx ripping open somebody's throat with his sharpened metal teeth. So for now, his mouth was toothless, his paws clawless, the dangerous parts currently sheathed within his body.

Ellie felt a strange surge of emotion when Nika actually spoke up on her behalf, demanding that Jaxx be returned. She didn't even know the boy's name, and he was here trying to help her out. She was suddenly afraid he'd end up getting himself hurt too, and it would be her fault...it was one thing if she got beat-up due to her own weakness but...she didn't want him to suffer the same just for trying to help. The hand at his back clenched a bit more into his uniform as she tried to bite back her worry.

One of the candidates lifted his head at the words, and at least knew better than to judge a book by it's cover in a place like this - just because Nika was rather small didn't mean his mind didn't pack a punch.
"Get lost. You got no reason to help that little freak or her bizarre dog."
The lot of them gave another push to Jaxx' rear end, and the scraping of his metallic paws (the rubber pawpads long since worn down from years of use) on the tile floor echoed in the building.
"No, please stop! He'll break, please let him go!" There was definite panic in her voice, because even if Jaxx was not a living thing, he was still her best friend and beloved companion. If he were to ever stop working...she didn't know how she'd be able to fill that void...

[Anonymous]

"Yes I do. She made me a deal." Nika tilted his head, studying the other candidates with that strange stare of his. He debated giving them one more chance, but it would probably be wasted effort.

So he gave a small shrug and concentrated. And all of a sudden the room was think with the scent of blood as Nika took control of their blood. It burst out of their eyes, ears, nose and bubbled out of their lips. Lose enough blood and they would pass out.

The boys fell to the ground, screaming and grabbing at their faces. They lacked real skill with psionics and didn't know how to block Nika's ability. Smiling and licking his lips, Nika kept pumping the blood out. He could remove far more than they could afford to lose.

Once they had lost consciousness, their bodies shutting down, Nika carefully put the blood back, just enough their loves weren't in danger.

"There. Your dog is safe now."

[Anonymous]

Ellie had no idea what had just happened, one moment she was okay and standing and crying for them to stop, and in the next she had collapsed to her knees with the sheer force of the pain billowing out of the candidates as they bled from the orifices of their face.
Gagging on the force of it, she shivered where she sat on the ground, enduring the entire painful process as though it were happening to her. She couldn't block it, she couldn't escape it - her empathy, though usually strongest when touching somebody, seemed to spike whenever somebody was in pain.

Once it was over, she remained on her rump, still shivering and feeling as though all the heat and strength had gone out of her, her skin feeling clammy.
Jaxx studied the candidates with luminous red eyes, checking their vitals, before calmly trotting toward Nika and Ellie. He skirted the unknown psychic a bit in order to get to Ellie, and quickly scanned her as well.
"Status report Miss Ellie."
Swallowing hard around the lump in her throat, she managed to lift her head and smile weakly in Jaxx's general direction.
"I-I'm okay...j-just give me a moment..."
"Affirmative." Jaxx planted himself on his metal haunches and waited diligently for his mistress to get the breath back in her.
"Ah, um...th-thank you..." She spoke this time up at Nika, again hoping she was at least facing in his general direction.

[Anonymous]

Nika looked down at Ellie, puzzled by the fact she was on the ground, "What are you doing?" He glanced back at the boys, panting slightly with desire. All that beautiful blood was everywhere, calling to him.

But he shouldn't play with it. He had hurt them to help Ellie, though, honestly, he didn't care much about her or the dog. He reached down, "Would you like some help up?"

[Anonymous]

"I...u-um...my empathy...I-I could feel it..." She mumbled in response, not wanting to make him feel bad for having put her through the same thing as those boys on accident. She just hadn't expected him to hurt them so much so suddenly...it had hit her hard and fast, and her legs still felt like jelly.
"Huh? O-Oh, yes, thank you..."
She held her trembling hand out a bit, but she could not tell where Nika's hand was in order to grab his, and truthfully couldn't be sure he was even offering his hand in the first place.
"Adjust thirty degrees, move ahead four inches." Jaxx spoke up suddenly, and Ellie moved her hand as if she did not even have to think about those odd instructions. And just like that, her fingers brushed Nika's, and she quickly grabbed hold of his hand and began to pick herself up.
Though most people probably wouldn't be able to move so precisely when given such 'mechanical' directions, Ellie and Jaxx had practiced such things quite a bit ever since she was young, to further help her in her blindness.

[Anonymous]

"Oh." Ellie could relax if only she knew. Nika didn't feel bad at all that she had gotten hit by the pain. She had asked for his help and he had given it. Simple as that.

He pulled lightly on her arm, helping her up. He glanced at her, then at the bullies, then back to the girl, "I am glad I get to taste your blood now. You'll die here." His voice was flat, no real inflection. It wasn't a threat or a scare tactic, just a simple fact from his point of view.