70th Ashan, 718
Silence.
It was what the man had grown used to hearing when he spent time in the warehouse he worked in. Today was no different. Everyone silently worked away, while Ryder stood on alert at all times. But no disruptions ever came, or at least none so far. So instead, the man stood in silence, listening for the faintest noise in the world around him. Footsteps outside, someone dropping something by mistake in the warehouse, anything to distract him from the silence. Because with the silence came memories. Ryder sighed in to the evening air as he stood outside.
"Ryder" the voice whispered in his head, as it had done more recently. Bella. It had been a long time since he'd heard that voice until recent, and now every day he sat in silence he heard her whispers. Felt her touch. Ryder wouldn't admit it, but being around good people was bringing it back to him. Nightshade, Yndira, Dru. Those three brought back a side of him that only one woman had shown the world before. A side of him that truly cared, that wanted good. Not a killer with no morals.
"You know" a voice started behind him, the receptionist of Diamond in the Rough Imports coming out of the warehouse and looking at him. She hadn't been around Ryder long, but they had spent near to every day this season together at work. While neither would count the other as a friend, they were acquaintances, kind to one another with some small level of care. Quietly, the woman moved to be beside the man, both leaning back on the cold warehouse walls.
"If you're having a bad day, the Don can do his best to fill your place. Just for a day or two. Nobodies going to know" she glanced to him. Ryder stayed silent as he leaned his head back and looked up to the sky, eyes watching as the stars began to form and appear in front of him, clouds parting to show the beauty above them. After a few trills of silence, Alice sighed in frustration.
Before the woman could open her mouth, a woman's scream was heard from in between a few warehouses down the edge of the docks. Ryder immediately stood up straight, hand going to his longsword. "Stay in the warehouse, have the Don ready" the man ordered with a sharp tone to his voice, before grabbing his longsword and running towards the sound. Alice shouted for the man to wait, but before she knew it the man was running at full speed towards the sound, the screams continuing.
As the man arrived at the edge of the alleyway, a woman was being held against the wall by her throat, a dagger deep in her stomach. In front of her, lying on the ground, was a mans body - in between the four thugs that had attacked her. It didn't take much to realize who the man was, as if the ring wasn't enough. But her face said it all. Her whimper ran through the alley as two of the man laughed, before another turned and saw Ryder.
"How does it feel?" the mercenary snarled, a bloodied letter opener in his hand as he held the mans wife in his arms. This was the woman that married a criminal, the same criminal that ordered the death of Bella. This man had his men slit Bella's throat while Ryder could do nothing but watch, then foolishly had him brought back for his own punishment. Well, who was being punished now?
"Ryder, please..." the man pleaded, looking him in the eyes. Before he could speak more Ryder pressed the letter opener closer to her neck, causing him to fall silent. Tears of rage and hatred ran down Ryder's eyes as he stared straight in to the mans face, a fire running through his veins. His face showed the raw hatred he felt, the fury surging through him, leaving him shaking as the tears kept running.
"Tell her it'll be alright. Lie to her. Tell her that nothing bad will happen" the mercenary ordered. Opposite him, the criminal started to cry, not of anger or sadness - but of fear. He begged, but Ryder didn't budge, didn't break. This man would lie to her before both of them died, no matter how long it took. He would kill them both, and their last moments on this earth would be the most painful of their entire life.
"I-it'll be alright, Alveria. It'll be ok" he spoke to the Biqaj woman. But he knew, they both knew. Ryder had no mercy left in him, no compassion for them. Nothing but a searing feeling in his stomach that wouldn't go away until blood was spilled. Nothing they said would stop that, and the woman knew it.
Without hesitation, the letter opener slit her throat, and the man in front could do nothing but watch. Just like Ryder had.
"There! Get him!" the leader of the four men shouted, two drawing weapons and running forward. Without realizing it, Ryder had drawn his longsword. His footing was ready for combat, his knees lowered for a pounce on the two before him. His eyes burned with ferocity, but this time his hand didn't shake. No tears were shed. Nothing but the same vicious feeling in his stomach that he felt when he would fight anyone. This wasn't personal, this was business.
As one of the men stepped forward, Ryder lunged with a simple sidestep, his sword going straight through the stomach of the man. Quickly pulling out the sword, Ryder made a quick sidestep again, this time spinning as he lowered his knees and arm. As his spin came to an end, his sword planted itself firmly in the back of the enemies thigh. As the scream filled the alley, Ryder made one swell movement, thrusting his blade forward and knocking the man off his feet. His head hit the cobblestone under them, knocking him out.
Pulling his sword out of the body underneath him, Ryder looked up to the men, standing back up straight. Both thugs looked back in fear, before turning to run. Before the mercenary could react, both men ran, leaving in to the darkness without hesitation. Ryder flicked the blood off his sword, before walking towards the woman in the alleyway, dagger still in her stomach as her body rested back against the cold stone wall behind her. Ryder gently knelt down in front of her, offering his hand comfortingly to her. With a trill of hesitation, the woman took his hand.
"I'll take you to a healer, alright? You're going to be fine" the man promised, holding her hand lightly. But the woman shook her head in front of him, before looking down at the body of her husband. Ryder already understood, though he didn't agree with it. Despite what had happened to Bella, the man had never once given up on his life. Nor should anyone else.
"Wherever he is, I want to be with him" she muttered, before sliding a ring off her finger. Her eyes then glanced up to Ryder as she put the ring in his hand, her eyes showing pain, fear and sadness. A look that he recognized. Yet one emotion was missing from hers that he had felt - the anger. There was no sign of it. She wasn't angry, if anything she was grateful to the man before her. Even when facing death herself.
"Take both the rings as thanks. But please, keep them together. No matter what they have to stay together" she begged, her tone showing Ryder what was wrong. She was so in love with the man that she was delusional, willing to die to 'stay with him'. As if that was how death worked. But Ryder wasn't about to argue with a bleeding woman. Truth be told, his promise of her being fine was a lie as it was. The wound was deep, the blade lodged near many of her vitals. She'd be lucky to live.
With a small sigh, Ryder nodded and wrapped his hand around the ring, holding it tight in his hand. His eyes met the woman with a small frown on his cheeks, her eyes starting to fade out of consciousness. Ryder knew it was over for her, and chances were that she knew it. He leaned forward and gently put a hand on either side of her cheeks, pulling her in for a hug, the woman barely conscious as she wrapped her arms around him and muttered words he couldn't make out. Then, with one swell movement, the man snapped her neck.
Carefully, the man lowered her body back, before taking the ring from her husbands hand. He lightly propped the two up together, almost resting on one another, before walking back to his work. As he left the alley, Alice and the Don were waiting for him with a concerned look, blood splattered on his face. Both looked genuinely worried, but Ryder showed no emotion to him as he walked towards them.
"The guards will find two attackers are dead, the others got away. We'll be in the clear. We should get back to work though." the man sighed, glancing back to the alley for a second, before turning back and walking past the two and in to the warehouse, clutching two bloodied gold rings in his hand.
Silence.
It was what the man had grown used to hearing when he spent time in the warehouse he worked in. Today was no different. Everyone silently worked away, while Ryder stood on alert at all times. But no disruptions ever came, or at least none so far. So instead, the man stood in silence, listening for the faintest noise in the world around him. Footsteps outside, someone dropping something by mistake in the warehouse, anything to distract him from the silence. Because with the silence came memories. Ryder sighed in to the evening air as he stood outside.
"Ryder" the voice whispered in his head, as it had done more recently. Bella. It had been a long time since he'd heard that voice until recent, and now every day he sat in silence he heard her whispers. Felt her touch. Ryder wouldn't admit it, but being around good people was bringing it back to him. Nightshade, Yndira, Dru. Those three brought back a side of him that only one woman had shown the world before. A side of him that truly cared, that wanted good. Not a killer with no morals.
"You know" a voice started behind him, the receptionist of Diamond in the Rough Imports coming out of the warehouse and looking at him. She hadn't been around Ryder long, but they had spent near to every day this season together at work. While neither would count the other as a friend, they were acquaintances, kind to one another with some small level of care. Quietly, the woman moved to be beside the man, both leaning back on the cold warehouse walls.
"If you're having a bad day, the Don can do his best to fill your place. Just for a day or two. Nobodies going to know" she glanced to him. Ryder stayed silent as he leaned his head back and looked up to the sky, eyes watching as the stars began to form and appear in front of him, clouds parting to show the beauty above them. After a few trills of silence, Alice sighed in frustration.
Before the woman could open her mouth, a woman's scream was heard from in between a few warehouses down the edge of the docks. Ryder immediately stood up straight, hand going to his longsword. "Stay in the warehouse, have the Don ready" the man ordered with a sharp tone to his voice, before grabbing his longsword and running towards the sound. Alice shouted for the man to wait, but before she knew it the man was running at full speed towards the sound, the screams continuing.
As the man arrived at the edge of the alleyway, a woman was being held against the wall by her throat, a dagger deep in her stomach. In front of her, lying on the ground, was a mans body - in between the four thugs that had attacked her. It didn't take much to realize who the man was, as if the ring wasn't enough. But her face said it all. Her whimper ran through the alley as two of the man laughed, before another turned and saw Ryder.
"How does it feel?" the mercenary snarled, a bloodied letter opener in his hand as he held the mans wife in his arms. This was the woman that married a criminal, the same criminal that ordered the death of Bella. This man had his men slit Bella's throat while Ryder could do nothing but watch, then foolishly had him brought back for his own punishment. Well, who was being punished now?
"Ryder, please..." the man pleaded, looking him in the eyes. Before he could speak more Ryder pressed the letter opener closer to her neck, causing him to fall silent. Tears of rage and hatred ran down Ryder's eyes as he stared straight in to the mans face, a fire running through his veins. His face showed the raw hatred he felt, the fury surging through him, leaving him shaking as the tears kept running.
"Tell her it'll be alright. Lie to her. Tell her that nothing bad will happen" the mercenary ordered. Opposite him, the criminal started to cry, not of anger or sadness - but of fear. He begged, but Ryder didn't budge, didn't break. This man would lie to her before both of them died, no matter how long it took. He would kill them both, and their last moments on this earth would be the most painful of their entire life.
"I-it'll be alright, Alveria. It'll be ok" he spoke to the Biqaj woman. But he knew, they both knew. Ryder had no mercy left in him, no compassion for them. Nothing but a searing feeling in his stomach that wouldn't go away until blood was spilled. Nothing they said would stop that, and the woman knew it.
Without hesitation, the letter opener slit her throat, and the man in front could do nothing but watch. Just like Ryder had.
"There! Get him!" the leader of the four men shouted, two drawing weapons and running forward. Without realizing it, Ryder had drawn his longsword. His footing was ready for combat, his knees lowered for a pounce on the two before him. His eyes burned with ferocity, but this time his hand didn't shake. No tears were shed. Nothing but the same vicious feeling in his stomach that he felt when he would fight anyone. This wasn't personal, this was business.
As one of the men stepped forward, Ryder lunged with a simple sidestep, his sword going straight through the stomach of the man. Quickly pulling out the sword, Ryder made a quick sidestep again, this time spinning as he lowered his knees and arm. As his spin came to an end, his sword planted itself firmly in the back of the enemies thigh. As the scream filled the alley, Ryder made one swell movement, thrusting his blade forward and knocking the man off his feet. His head hit the cobblestone under them, knocking him out.
Pulling his sword out of the body underneath him, Ryder looked up to the men, standing back up straight. Both thugs looked back in fear, before turning to run. Before the mercenary could react, both men ran, leaving in to the darkness without hesitation. Ryder flicked the blood off his sword, before walking towards the woman in the alleyway, dagger still in her stomach as her body rested back against the cold stone wall behind her. Ryder gently knelt down in front of her, offering his hand comfortingly to her. With a trill of hesitation, the woman took his hand.
"I'll take you to a healer, alright? You're going to be fine" the man promised, holding her hand lightly. But the woman shook her head in front of him, before looking down at the body of her husband. Ryder already understood, though he didn't agree with it. Despite what had happened to Bella, the man had never once given up on his life. Nor should anyone else.
"Wherever he is, I want to be with him" she muttered, before sliding a ring off her finger. Her eyes then glanced up to Ryder as she put the ring in his hand, her eyes showing pain, fear and sadness. A look that he recognized. Yet one emotion was missing from hers that he had felt - the anger. There was no sign of it. She wasn't angry, if anything she was grateful to the man before her. Even when facing death herself.
"Take both the rings as thanks. But please, keep them together. No matter what they have to stay together" she begged, her tone showing Ryder what was wrong. She was so in love with the man that she was delusional, willing to die to 'stay with him'. As if that was how death worked. But Ryder wasn't about to argue with a bleeding woman. Truth be told, his promise of her being fine was a lie as it was. The wound was deep, the blade lodged near many of her vitals. She'd be lucky to live.
With a small sigh, Ryder nodded and wrapped his hand around the ring, holding it tight in his hand. His eyes met the woman with a small frown on his cheeks, her eyes starting to fade out of consciousness. Ryder knew it was over for her, and chances were that she knew it. He leaned forward and gently put a hand on either side of her cheeks, pulling her in for a hug, the woman barely conscious as she wrapped her arms around him and muttered words he couldn't make out. Then, with one swell movement, the man snapped her neck.
Carefully, the man lowered her body back, before taking the ring from her husbands hand. He lightly propped the two up together, almost resting on one another, before walking back to his work. As he left the alley, Alice and the Don were waiting for him with a concerned look, blood splattered on his face. Both looked genuinely worried, but Ryder showed no emotion to him as he walked towards them.
"The guards will find two attackers are dead, the others got away. We'll be in the clear. We should get back to work though." the man sighed, glancing back to the alley for a second, before turning back and walking past the two and in to the warehouse, clutching two bloodied gold rings in his hand.
