03-25-2015, 04:33 PM
NPC: Azubuike Timbo
Azu was uncharacteristically silent. The bravado of acceptance shivered as fate finally faced him square, but it was not fear that held his tongue so much as the vain hope of making himself forgettable - a target not worth the kick. The legionnaire spat fire Azu could not afford from his own lips, much as the inference that he would harm a child stoked anger in his gut. The tension sparked as dangerous as the dull glint of machetes, and Azu was desperate to avoid the shed of blood.
He might have found comfort in Legionnaire Carpenter's protection if he were not so aware of its imminent expiration, and as such he remained suitably cowed, eyes focused on the dirt. Once Jacques Danjou and his men had departed, this lieutenant could string him up a rebel and none would so much as blink at his execution, except to turn their attention away and thank god it was not them. He refrained from looking properly up, in case the eye contact were taken as confrontation. Equally he would not risk a glance at the legionnaire, not even to express gratitude for the man's efforts.
Behind them, Ayo's sobs cleaved his heart in two, but he dare not touch her lest she flinch away and condemn him for a crime he had not committed. Neither could he leave her, though; he would not allow her to be claimed under the soldiers' protection, to extinguish what little light there was left of her innocence.
"Speak, child,"
he urged quietly, aware of the axeman's swing against the hairs on the back of his neck. His throat dried out waiting for her response, but she only sobbed, curled into the ground like she hoped it might swallow her whole. It was all too much, and she was too young for all this horror. Interrogation by the surrounding men with guns did not help. He turned to Folami, wary, but his voice came firm.
"I am a teacher at St. James' school in Masiaka, sir. We were attacked by rebels searching for Natalie Grey. Ayo saw her brother murdered by rebels."
It was a blend of truth and assumption - Kofi had been gravely injured hours before the rebels had hit, and he had not strictly been stabbed by one of them, but it was approximate enough; he hoped it would satiate the lieutenant's attention, that he would move on to other sport. Though if the soldiers tried to shove passed the legionnaire to take the girl into their protective custody, there would be trouble.
---
Her bicep clenched under Jacques' hold, but Natalie did not move any further forward. Neither did she relax enough to suggest the moment he released his grip she would not continue to charge down her apparently destructive path. When Jay hobbled into sight, her heart inexplicably bottomed out. Her initial fear for Azu heightened to something intolerable. Natalie wore the Red Cross emblem, but she was hardly a bastion of the cause. She did not care for the cost of one over many.
The world had sharpened in clarity; colours vivid, painful in their intensity. Scribbles of light illuminated her peripheral, writhing and power-soaked. She was dizzy with it, like her skin might burst from the building pressure. Unknown patterns undulated like shining ribbons, propelled by fiercely protective emotion, until she realised with alarm that she had no idea what would happen when the intention released.
Control slammed down abruptly. Threads severed inelegantly, and something snaked loose. But nothing happened. Exhaustion nipped her consciousness when the light winked out. The day was hot, and she was sticky with heat, but her skin suddenly felt sheened with cool. For a second her vision wavered, like she might black out. The moment passed.
Her pale stare did not break from the scene ahead. She still made no move to retreat of her own volition. "If they touch him after we've gone, I will blame you, Jacques."
Azu was uncharacteristically silent. The bravado of acceptance shivered as fate finally faced him square, but it was not fear that held his tongue so much as the vain hope of making himself forgettable - a target not worth the kick. The legionnaire spat fire Azu could not afford from his own lips, much as the inference that he would harm a child stoked anger in his gut. The tension sparked as dangerous as the dull glint of machetes, and Azu was desperate to avoid the shed of blood.
He might have found comfort in Legionnaire Carpenter's protection if he were not so aware of its imminent expiration, and as such he remained suitably cowed, eyes focused on the dirt. Once Jacques Danjou and his men had departed, this lieutenant could string him up a rebel and none would so much as blink at his execution, except to turn their attention away and thank god it was not them. He refrained from looking properly up, in case the eye contact were taken as confrontation. Equally he would not risk a glance at the legionnaire, not even to express gratitude for the man's efforts.
Behind them, Ayo's sobs cleaved his heart in two, but he dare not touch her lest she flinch away and condemn him for a crime he had not committed. Neither could he leave her, though; he would not allow her to be claimed under the soldiers' protection, to extinguish what little light there was left of her innocence.
"Speak, child,"
he urged quietly, aware of the axeman's swing against the hairs on the back of his neck. His throat dried out waiting for her response, but she only sobbed, curled into the ground like she hoped it might swallow her whole. It was all too much, and she was too young for all this horror. Interrogation by the surrounding men with guns did not help. He turned to Folami, wary, but his voice came firm.
"I am a teacher at St. James' school in Masiaka, sir. We were attacked by rebels searching for Natalie Grey. Ayo saw her brother murdered by rebels."
It was a blend of truth and assumption - Kofi had been gravely injured hours before the rebels had hit, and he had not strictly been stabbed by one of them, but it was approximate enough; he hoped it would satiate the lieutenant's attention, that he would move on to other sport. Though if the soldiers tried to shove passed the legionnaire to take the girl into their protective custody, there would be trouble.
---
Her bicep clenched under Jacques' hold, but Natalie did not move any further forward. Neither did she relax enough to suggest the moment he released his grip she would not continue to charge down her apparently destructive path. When Jay hobbled into sight, her heart inexplicably bottomed out. Her initial fear for Azu heightened to something intolerable. Natalie wore the Red Cross emblem, but she was hardly a bastion of the cause. She did not care for the cost of one over many.
The world had sharpened in clarity; colours vivid, painful in their intensity. Scribbles of light illuminated her peripheral, writhing and power-soaked. She was dizzy with it, like her skin might burst from the building pressure. Unknown patterns undulated like shining ribbons, propelled by fiercely protective emotion, until she realised with alarm that she had no idea what would happen when the intention released.
Control slammed down abruptly. Threads severed inelegantly, and something snaked loose. But nothing happened. Exhaustion nipped her consciousness when the light winked out. The day was hot, and she was sticky with heat, but her skin suddenly felt sheened with cool. For a second her vision wavered, like she might black out. The moment passed.
Her pale stare did not break from the scene ahead. She still made no move to retreat of her own volition. "If they touch him after we've gone, I will blame you, Jacques."