[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

Inhale and exhale.

Inhale and exhale.

It's the same every night for her. It was the same, boring night, with her walking along the same, dim alley surrounded by the same, old silence around her. Her brows creased with irritation and she silently wished for something to bring some change to her routine run around the streets where she seemingly didn't belong.

"What a drag... Is there really nothing going on somewhere?"

Just as those words left her lips, her wish was answered when drunken mumbles came from the other side of the street. She noticed a group of men walking towards her direction and it didn't take long for their eyes to find a nice eye candy in her. Dressed in black sleeveless shirt, a sleeveless orange jacket, black sweat pants, matching orange and black sneakers and black cloth wrapped around her left hand and forearm, she wasn't exactly a model of modesty or conservatism. Despite knowing that she was now in a sticky situation, it was an amused grin instead of wide eyes of fear that adorned her face as the drunken men surrounded her, all looking eager to ravish her on the spot.

"I spoke too soon, didn't I?"

"What's that, girlie?"

"Eh, nevermind. Just talking to myself," she replied and turned to the men, a pair of steely blue eyes taking note of their numbers and position. "Can I help you lot?"

With a drunken chuckle, one of the men moved closer and tried to place his hand on her cheek, a hand that was promptly pushed aside. "What's a nice, yummy lass like you doin' here in our territory? We just wanna inform ya that walkin' here ain't free, so let's all be civil here and come with us." Once again, he tried to go for her face again, managing to place his hand on her chin. Instead of pushing him away like she did previously, she simply let the man took the view this time around, letting him moan as he looked at the cleavage partially visible from under her shirt. "You look like you could use a good time, if ya know what I mean... Those are some good legs and arms you've got there, lass, and that ass is just hard to ignore."

"Oh, I could use a good time, alright."

Inhale and exhale.

She heard the friction her skin made as her hands curled into a pair of fists. Her grin grew wider as she felt her muscles tense up in preparation. The pair of legs the men ogled in their drunken stupor parted slightly to form a solid stance. Finally noticing what she was doing, the man tried to pull away, only for her to hold onto his wrist in a vice-like grip. A gentle breeze ruffled her short, messy mop of blonde hair and her grin turned into a confident smirk as the men dropped their pretentious friendliness.

Inhale and exhale.

"I was getting a little bored anyway."

Inhale and exhale.

A loud battle cry and a martial symphony went underway.

[Daxam]

In a shadow-filled alley, a man sat atop a Dumpster, one leg curled up, arm resting on his knee, while the other hung from the edge. From underneath long, black bangs, a pair of strong, steel-grey eyes peer at the ground, not focusing on anything in particular. All was quiet, except for the incessant complaining going on within his head. However, instead of his voice, the voice that was speaking was harsh, the words seeming to drip with malice even as he says the words one would normally hear from a small child, with a whine appropriate to the phrase: I'm booored...

For the nth time that night, Isaac Ryder sighs. I'm sorry, Vincent, he tells his other self, [i]but I don't trust you enough to let you out.

But, Isaac, Vincent goes on, I promise, I won't kill everybody! Just a few people, that's all!

How many's a few?

Maybe one or two...hundred.

Even just one or two are too many!

Before Vincent can reply, the sound of shuffling, as well as several solid thuds drift through the night air. Dropping to the ground, his cloak ruffling as his boots hit the pavement almost silently, Isaac walks briskly to the opening of the alley before pressing himself against the wall. Peeking around the corner, he sees a woman surrounded by several, swaying men, the scent of alcohol wafting off of them so strongly, Isaac finds he can pick it up even from where he was, yards away. As he watches, the man behind her lunges forward and Isaac moves to stop him, only to find that he can't move. Slow your roll, dude, Vincent says. Something tells me she'll be fine. Just watch. Reluctantly, only because he can't move, thanks to Vincent mentally holding him back, Isaac settles down and watches the fight unfold.

[Vocalia]

The female blonde ducked as she heard a man behind her roar and lunge forward to grab her, only for her to kick his shin and topple him like a Jenga tower. He came crashing down to his comrade right in front of her, who had the bright idea of a pincer attack from her back and front side. A sharp noise alerted her to another attacker and she weaved to the side just as another man came at her with a brandished knife.

"Hooo... That's a nifty toy you got there," the blonde mused, her steely blue eyes glinting darkly. Grabbing the man's outstretched arm, she forced him against her back and gave him a side-dishing of elbow jab to the guts, then twisted his forearm in a direction one would normally not associate with a human elbow joint. The pain caused him to drop his shiny weapon which the blonde promptly picked up after letting go of him, then used to stab a nearby thigh of a man with a broken glass bottle in his hand. She barely had time to catch her breath when two men, having picked up some liquor bottles from a nearby trash can, went for her head with a loud battle cry.

"Boooring!"

Without warning, she suddenly dropped herself as her legs parted into a perfect split. She watched with glee as the men ended up hitting each other in the face, one managing to strike the other man's eyes and temple, and followed up with an upside-down, swift leg sweep, adding a dancing flair for a finishing touch. Realizing that they were being humiliated and outmatched, the men finally got her message, dragged themselves and ran, leaving the blonde standing victorious with a satisfied smirk on her face.

[Daxam]

Watching the blonde take on all three men by herself, eventually sending them running with their tails between their legs, Vincent lets out a low whistle. Impressive, he says. For a normal chick, anyway.

For once, Isaac says, stunned, I have to agree with you.

They stand there, in the darkness, for a few seconds more, before Vincent suddenly makes Isaac stumble out of the alleyway. The sudden movement makes Isaac lose his balance and tumble to the ground with a surprised yell, landing on his hands and knees. Jerk, Isaac says while Vincent holds back his laughter. Suddenly, he remembers that he wasn't totally alone. Looking up at the blonde, he jumps up to his feet and rubs the back of his head sheepishly, laughing nervously as he says, "Uh, sorry about that, miss. I just, uh, tripped over something."

[Vocalia]

With her mind still in a fight-or-flight mode, the blonde whipped towards her back and finally took notice of the raven-haired stranger. With the looted knife still in her grip, she immediately assumed a defensive stance. Not even his nervous laughter and on-the-spot excuse made her drop her guard, given what she had just gone through. She didn't know who he was and why he was there and she wasn't about to take his words on face value, especially with the possibility that he had seen what she had done.

"Right..." she murmured and glared at him as he stood up and corrected his posture. "And I assume you just tripped to this particular spot, at this particular moment?" Tightening her grip on the knife, the blonde cautiously moved closer to him, knife still within reach. "Did you see it?" she asked in a straightforward manner, having a sinking feeling the raven-haired stranger knew what she meant.

[Daxam]

Wow! Vincent exclaims in Isaac's head, loud enough to give him a slight headache, she's a babe! I sure as hell wouldn't mind taking her to a nice motel room!

Shut. Up, Isaac tells Vincent, feeling his body instinctively ready itself for a fight: His weight shifts ever so slightly to the balls of his feet as his stance widens, much like the blonde's did moments ago, while his muscles tense underneath his baggy clothing, maintaining a relaxed look, but still coiled like a cobra, ready to strike. Even as he readies for the possibility of a fight, Isaac keeps his tone light and nonthreatening, saying, "Uh, if you're talking about the way you made those guys run off like frightened mice, yeah, I did. If you don't want me to tell anyone, that's fine." Not that I have anyone to tell, he remarks inwardly.

[Vocalia]

Great. He's seen the whole fucking thing, the woman thought to herself, stopping herself just as the man went down to a stance of his own. The way he kept his eyes, still without any hint of threat or malice, on her and the swift state of alertness he put himself in screamed skill and experience and she wasn't about to start a fight lest she made the entire incident even worse. And then she heard him offering to keep what he had just seen a secret, just between her and him.

"What makes you think I would and could trust you? Why shouldn't I kill you right here and now before you sing like a canary?" she harshly barked, trying to see where he was leading her. She had a good deal of distrust towards other humans in general and, depending on his answers, that distrust would either remain strong or become subdued long enough for either of them to diffuse the situation. If push came to shove, the blonde was perfectly willing to try and take his life to silence him unless he gave her a solid reason not to do so.

[Daxam]

You know, I think I may be in love, Vincent says, which Isaac ignores. Looking into the blonde woman's eyes, he gets the feeling that, even if she isn't a killer, that wouldn't stop her from trying to do away with him if she felt the need to. Sighing, he spreads his hands and says, "What do you want me to say? I barely know who I am, let alone anyone else. If I can't remember what happened before a couple weeks ago, how could I tell anyone about what I saw?" Sighing, he holds his arms out to the sides and, despite Vincent's protesting, he holds the woman's steady gaze with one of his own, showing he wasn't afraid to die, and says, "If you feel like that isn't good enough, go ahead and kill me. I won't even try to stop you."

[Vocalia]

In a brief second, a sense of hesitation stopped her from proceeding with her planned course of action. She couldn't help but think that this raven-haired stranger had lost his mind, and his memories, if his words were true, somewhere on his way to her location, given what he was now doing. Her rooted instincts told her to ignore it and go for the kill while the chance was still there, but a nagging feeling inside her chest made her think twice before indulging in her instinctual habit.

His gaze, his words, his body language... They seem to match rather seamlessly.

Way too seamless for a bluff or a lie, for that matter.

After a good deal of deliberation, she slightly relaxed the grip on the knife and took a step back, giving both of them their personal space once again. "You don't know who you are?" she asked. With a skeptical frown, she cocked a brow and looked at him, sounding much calmer now once she had determined as a non-threat. She still didn't trust him, evident from her tense muscles and attentive gaze at him, but at least she was now willing to give his words more value and thoughts.

[Daxam]

Surprised, Isaac looks at the woman as she backs up, taking a more relaxed stance, although she still looked ready to strike at any time. Hearing her question, he shakes his head, saying, "No, I don't. Besides my name and a few other details, I don't know anything about who I am or where I come from. Every time I think back, I can't remember anything before waking up in an alley here in this city." He then gives a dry chuckle as he buries his hands in his pockets, adding, "I wouldn't blame you if you thought I was crazy, but it's the truth." Raising his eyes from the ground, he once again meets the woman's steely blue gaze and, before he can stop himself, he asks, "What's your name?"

[Vocalia]

Was this guy on drugs? People don't just turn up amnesiac for no reason... The blonde took a short moment to think about his answer. Given his expressed unwillingness to snitch on her and the fact that he was quite forthcoming about his lack of memories, she decided to give him a benefit of the doubt until she had other things that could prove his story wrong.

"My name?" she mused, somewhat surprised that he still expressed interest in her instead of trying to flee while he had the chance. She was clearly hesitating, but finally forced herself after minutes of silence. "Hayley. Hayley Summerland," the blonde replied, her gaze still fixed on him and his steel grey eyes that seemed to glimmer under what light existed around the alleyway. "You sound crazy, but it's not the worst story I've ever heard," Hayley stated, then asked in return. "What's your name? At least, the one you could remember."

[Daxam]

"Oh, uh...thanks?" Isaac says, unsure of how he should respond to being called crazy while Vincent laughs uproariously. Looking at the woman in front of him, Hayley, Isaac can't help but feel somewhat...drawn to her. Not because he saw her beat the senses out of three men, but because of something he sees in her eyes. What it is, he doesn't know, but it makes him feel as if he should get to know her more, regardless. Hearing her ask for his name, he says, "I'm Isaac Ryder. It's, uh...it's nice to meet you, Hayley." As he says that, he holds his hand out somewhat timidly, waiting for her to shake it.

[Vocalia]

Hayley looked at Isaac's hand, then his eyes and back at his outstretched hand. She wasn't a genius, but she knew what that gesture meant. Looking at his eyes one more time, she finally noticed something else in his gaze now that her mind was clearer after the adrenaline had been flushed from her system. She couldn't put her finger on it and no amount of her common sense could explain what she saw, but, in a fit of whimsical decision-making, she took his hand into a solid handshake.

"Nice knowing ya, Isaac," she replied and, at long last, finally mustered a calm, amicable smile. "I'd say we hightail it outta here. I've had enough shady dicks to deal with for today and I'm not stayin' around waiting for those fatass pigs to drag me downtown." Dumping the bloody knife into the sewers, she looked around and gestured to Isaac to follow her. While she could simply let him go on his own, she would rather not have him be involved with the law enforcement lest he found out about her unsavory record.

[Daxam]

Isaac follows Hayley, walking next to her as the sounds of sirens float through the air. Even if she hadn't gestured for him to follow, Isaac's pretty sure he would've done so, anyway. Just who is this woman? he wonders. She's got me following her like a puppy! Vincent lets out a bark of a laugh before saying, And you're not complaining. Always had you for the submissive type! Isaac sighs and looks at Hayley through the corner of his eye, noting the confident air around her, almost as if she knew that she really could do anything she wanted to. After a few minutes, he asks, "So, do you live nearby?"

[Vocalia]

"If, by nearby, you mean 'a few miles away from here in an area where sane people wouldn't step in while not high, not heavily armed and sober', then yeah, I do live nearby," Hayley replied with a bemused smile, but clearly sarcastic tone, then turned to look at him again as she instinctively navigated through the connecting alleyways, taking any convenient shortcuts that she had memorized over the years along the way. It was as if she knew the area very well. "Since you've lost your memories, I assume you don't remember where you live?" she asked, unsure what she had to do now that he was tagging along with her.

[Daxam]

"You assume correctly," Isaac says, following Hayley as she leads him through seemingly random alleys. They weren't there for five seconds when Isaac realized that if he weren't with her, he'd be completely lost. Following his new friend, he adds, "I don't even know if I have a home. I've just been looking for shelter wherever I can find it, whether it be out here or in one of those homeless shelters." Nine times outta ten, it's outside, Vincent says with a dry chuckle.

[Vocalia]

"That's rough," Hayley murmured with a hint of genuine sympathy and made her remember just how slightly better off she was compared to this raven-haired man. As they continued to weave through the streets and alleys, she began to feel more comfortable around his presence. A thought crossed her mind as they finally moved closer to her destination.

I might be kicking myself for this...

"Hey, since you have no idea where you live, instead of having to look for shelter," Hayley paused, trying to calm her own mind down, before continuing, "why don't you stay with me tonight? I have a place of my own. It ain't a five-star hotel, but it's liveable... most of the time."

[Daxam]

Isaac can't help but stop in his tracks, dumbfounded. Sure, there were people who gave him money on the rare occasions he panhandled, but no one was kind enough to offer him a place to sleep. In fact, he was so surprised, he stood there, silent, for several seconds before Vincent shook him out of his surprise, saying, Come on, dumbass! Take her offer! Who knows, if things go right, you might end up in the same bed, if you know what I mean. Shaking his head, Isaac smiles and, earning silent chastising from his counterpart, says, "It's very nice of you to offer that, but I don't wanna be a burden."

[Vocalia]

"To be honest, I don't mind," Hayley replied nonchalantly as she climbed up a netted barrier separating two alleyways and jumped down to make a safe landing. Stopping to let Isaac catch up, she looked back at him and added, "I live on my own most of the time, so it's not like I have to worry about pissing other people with how I live, but if you don't wanna, then it's okay. I don't like forcing hospitality on people. If you think you can make it on your own, more power to you." Once the raven-haired man caught up with her, she led him down one more street before stopping at a four-way intersection.

"Head down this way and you should be able to find a safe shelter for the night. There are lots of empty buildings along this road," she said to him, pointing downwards from where they were standing.

[Daxam]

While Hayley climbed over the fence, Isaac easily jumped up, grabbing the top of it, and vaulted over, using the agility he has no recollection of ever earning. Eventually, Hayley had lead him to an intersection, indicating safe haven in one direction. You sure you don't wanna go with her? Vincent asks him, making Isaac think. Looking at the blonde woman, he finds himself suddenly wondering if he'd ever see her again. She was the first person in a long while, even though their first meeting was rather odd, to have shown him such kindness. What's more, there was something in those steel-blue eyes of hers that made Isaac feel...drawn to her.

After a few quiet moments, he takes a deep breath and rubs the back of his head, sheepishly looking at the ground as he asks, "Well...now that I think about it...it feels like I've spent way too long on my own. It'd be a nice change of pace to have a friend around. If you don't mind, of course."