Kirien Melantha

[ĸara вelova★]

The MC's voice boomed throughout the theatre, "There are three guards. The competitor must disable them from attacking. They are not allowed to kill, or injure in a way that would kill, these men. Each guard that is rendered unable to fight, is worth one point."

A door opens, and light streams out. You can see the stage, and you are urged to go forward. When you enter the arena, the crowd errupts in loud applause and whistles. Some are chanting your name. But above this noise, the MC speaks to you, and you alone.

"Try to get as many points as you can, because the more you get in Stage I, the easier Stage II will be for you." The guards all turn in your direction.

"Let's see if Kirien has Stage Fright!"

[Kirien Melantha]

Kirien hated people. People were stupid. And boring. And un-fun. And mean. They were really only good for beating up, and sometimes they're not even good for that! And right now, they were everywhere. She was completely surrounded by people, lots of them, big, dumb, stupid people, jeering and yelling at her. Some were shouting her name. Some were waving signs in support of her. People she didn't even know!

She was horrified. Two days ago, no one really knew her. She was just another anti-social, axe-weilding, blood-thirsty young demoness. Slipped right under the radar, and that's just how she liked it! Now it was like she was famous! She knew there would be people watching Stage Fright, but she didn't think it was that much of a big deal! Now she had had reporters and stalkers to behead, and she couldn't even do that without The Stupid Academy tightening her shackles!

As she huffily entered the arena, blasting the audience with her best death glare, she berated herself for ever entering such a competition.

I hate this. It's so stupid. She thought to herself. But I'm gonna win! I have to!

The big house didn't interest her; despite being raised by dragons, she wasn't a very materialistic person. And she wasn't exactly the kind of girl you'd find sitting on the beach sipping a martini. But when she heard about the money - one million dollars - she had to have it.

Spying her competition - and wielding weapons, no less - boosted her spirits. She hadn't fought in so long, ever since The Stupid Academy took over her life, and she was just itching to spill some blood. And the best part was that she was allowed to!

She skipped closer to the guards, but stopped while she was still too far for any of them to land a hit, and gave them a cheery wave in greeting. "Hi! I'm Kirien." She announced brightly, as she cracked her knuckles.

"I'm an Agent for The Academy. They recruited me after I killed some stupid scientists kidnapper guys...teehee." She paused, grinning widely at the memory. "They were funny! They even had grenades and guns!"

She smoothed her red-and-white skirt, and frowned when she studied it's length. It was too long, it might get in the way when she was fighting. And she just made it, too! She shrugged her shoulders and carelessly tore the fabric so she was wearing a sort of mini-skirt, and wrapped the excess fabric around her wrists.

"Buuut, they took all my axes and told me not to fight people anymore, so I haven't fought anyone for three weeks!" Pout. "I miss fighting. And my axes. But I get to fight you! Hee hee!" Smile. "Aren't you excited? I get to make your body parts not be attached anymore, and as long as you don't die it's okay!"

Her introduction complete, she planted her feet firmly in the ground and bent her knees, in case they tried to rush her and knock her over.

"Ready when you are." She called, cheekily beckoning the poor guards forward.

[ĸara вelova★]

The guards stared. She was the biggest oxymoron they had ever encountered. When she first came out, Kirien was a smirking matter. Her cutesy wave and red bouncey curls put them all on the same wavelength. Cake.

Jared waved back, wiggling his wrapped fingers in a cutesy immitation. "Hi. I'm Jared," He replied, his voice obviously higher than it usually was. The other two guards chortled, deeply amused. However, as Kirien continued, talking like an angel using words from the devil, their smirks faded.

Jared looked a little pale, and he had to lick his lips to keep them hydrated. Rory, who was more pretty than strong, scratched his head. Apparently he was more brawn than brain, but he picked up on his comrades' uneasy expressions. Lastly there was Ivan, who was here for no other reason than he had nothing else to do. Now he was clearly wishing he had made other plans.

"Not ready!" Ivan said as Kirien's speech came to a close. He pulled Rory and Jared close to discuss something, and after a few more seconds they each nodded and looked to the girl.

Then they charged, hoping to push her out of the ring and knock her out, so they could get out of there with limbs attached.

[Kirien Melantha]

Kirien smiled sweetly as The Three Stooges formulated their battle plan, but when she was waiting, she came to a startling realization.

...this is no fun!

It wasn't easy for her, going three weeks without a single fight. Some days she felt like she was about to explode, and that was without any provocation! When she heard that the first stage was combat-based, she did a happy little pre-slaughter dance in celebration. And yet, here she was, waiting for her opponents to make a move, and she was bored.

I was just really excited, too! She thought to herself, confused. Maybe it's just cause they're so stupid, or cause they're just ordinary, or cause I don't have my axe, or cause they're taking too long!

The three of them charged, and she moved to the side and stuck out her foot, aiming to trip that jerk who was mocking her. She sighed.

Maybe it's cause there's no challenge.

Maybe it's cause they're innocent.

[ĸara вelova★]

Jared, the labelled 'jerk who was mocking her' tripped, however he noticed Kirien move to the side right before he went down. So... he started to turn in her direction just as her foot caught his ankle, and he fell right onto her. He wasn't huge, but he was a little burly what with the most of his weight situated in his bicepts and hair.

Jared clung on to whatever he could, and his one hand came in contact with... the crowd catcalled and whistled. Rory stopped charging and doubled over with laughter. Ivan stared. Jared lifted his head and saw the hand on Kirien's boob. His hand on Kirien's boob.

"That's further than I ever got on a first date," Ivan grumbled unhappily. Rory was still pissing himself laughing at his side. Jared scrambled to his feet and backed away very slowly, as though he'd just walked into a cave with a momma bear and her cubs.

"That's a little forward, don't you think?" The MC chuckled, producing another bout of laughter from the audience, "Kirien, are you going to stand for that sort of behaviour?"

[Kirien Melantha]

The hand on her chest sent a fire coursing through her veins. Pervert. She thought viciously, and her eyes grew wild as she became more and more enraged.

Selfish.

"Why are you going away?" She asked when she whipped herself to her feet, slowly advancing on her prey. Her voice was higher than usual; she tried to mock him sweetly, but her anger and her excitement made her voice waver.

Stupid.

"It was just an accident. Wasn't it?" All sweetness was gone from her words now. She was practically snarling.

Disrespectful.

No one touched Kirien without her permission. She was a girl who demanded respect, and if someone made a move she was not comfortable with, without considering her opinion...

It didn't matter that it was an accident; the action was still taken without her permission, and so there must be punishment.

"I like your neck! I wonder how it'll look when it's broken![/b]"

She launched herself at Jared, her hands going straight for his neck, aiming to drain him. She then rammed her knee upward, aiming between the legs.[/color]

[ĸara вelova★]

As the demon advanced, something about that angry glint in her eye had Jared desperately wishing she had tried to trip Rory or Ivan. When she acknowledged it was an accident, he nodded enthusiastically. Yes, of course it was an accident, but the acid dripping from her words suggested she didn't care overmuch.

Jared hollered something indiscernable when Kirien lunged for his throat. He tried protecting himself by clutching his own neck. Rory instantly recognized that Jared was in trouble, even if he still didn't think Kirien was the biggest threat he'd ever faced, and he leapt into the action, attempting to make his pectorals appear as useful as they were useless. He put one hand on Jared and the other on Kirien and shoved them both as hard as he could away from each other.

Ivan stood by and watched uneasily.

[Kirien Melantha]

It didn't really matter to Kirien whether she grabbed Jared's hands or his throat; as long as her skin was touching his, she would drain his life energy. And when he was too weak to stand and shield his neck, she'd break it.

She had one hand on his neck, and the other on top of his, and when Rory tried to shove her, she refused to budge. Quickly, she slid both her arms back behind his head and grasped them firmly together; if she clutched his neck any tighter, she surely would have killed Jared.

"Aww, don't be jealous!" She cooed at Rory, as if assuming he was trying to off Jared for stealing all the attention. "You'll have your turn, too!" She wrapped her arms tightly around Jared, to support herself, and aimed a kick to Rory's middle.

[ĸara вelova★]

Jared screamed dramatically when Kirien touched him. The life-sucking was a violent process, and he felt his energy draining. Soon that scream turned into something less impressive, until he stopped making any sound whatsoever. He went limp, exhausted and weak, and slumped down to the stage floor at Kirien's feet.

Rory was too close to Kirien to avoid her kick. Nor did he expect it. What he also hadn't expected was to be kicked across the room. Such a little package could sure unleash hell on someone she didn't like. Ivan held up his hands.

"H-how about instead of killing me..." He didn't really have a good proposition. He stared at the heap of Jared, and then looked over to where Rory was struggling to his feet, nursing a broken rib with a pout of pain. Ivan was no muscle-man, no boxer, no nothing. He threw his baton at Kirien's feet in surrender, but his plan back-fired. There was a reason he was a nobody. Nobodies didn't have very good aim. His metal stick hit her shins, and his already pale face paled to a nearly transparent colour.

Ivan fled, pushing past Rory where he could bang on the door to be let out of the arena.

Rory advanced, raging, although much more cautious than the first time. He attempted to ram his fist into Kirien's face.

[Kirien Melantha]

Kirien caught Rory's fist and quirked a brow. He was big, he was muscular, but he wasn't too bright, was he? After what she just did to Jared, you'd think he'd have some sense and run for it like the other guy.

She shrugged her shoulders and held tight to his fist, draining energy as she casually bent down to pick up Ivan's baton. She shouted a cheery "Thank you!" to the retreating guard, waving the baton merrily at him before using it to bash Rory's unbroken ribs.

(Can you tell I'm tired? Five lines...bleh...)

[ĸara вelova★]

Rory couldn't explain the feeling. He was suddenly tired, but not so much that he wanted to sleep. Like Jared, he crumbled, though not before Kirien delivered a swift blow to his other side. He winced, and yelled, but the sound was muted. It was almost as though the demon was turning the volume down, and he couldn't express his agony. Moments later he was huddled on the floor next to Jared, motionless.

Meanwhile, Ivan wasn't being allowed out of the ring, but the MC seemed to take pity on him.

"And Miss Kirien Melantha has taken down two guards, and frightened the other right off the stage! Congratulations! Three points; more than enough to advance to the next Stage!" The crowd clapped loudly in response to this. Kirien was going to be a clear favourite.

[Kirien Melantha]

That's it?

Kirien glanced down at Rory, one brow raised. While she certainly didn't expect much from him, she expected more than that.

It's so pointless fighting ordinaries! They can't even do anything! They should have given them a gun or a grenade or dug pits everywhere or something!

Two guards down so easily...she missed fighting with demons and faeries and gifted. Even dragons, which she hated fighting, at least kept her on her toes! And worst of all, she wasn't even allowed to do anything interesting with the stupid ordinaries! Stupid people not wanting their employees killed...

I wonder if one of the Agents will 'practice fight' with me later. She thought to herself as she made her way over to the terrified and desparate Ivan. She took her time, knowing her last opponent had no way to escape. The thought that she scared him so badly and he couldn't get away made her smile gleefully. Too bad he'd go down in a hit or two, just like the others!

But as she raised her baton, the announcer pronounced her round complete. She frowned, lowered the baton, and shouted to the crowd, "Is it gonna be this boring the whole time?!"