[ToxicShadow]

"You'd have a better chance of survival if you found cover."

The useless advice only succeeded in making Kryss laugh. He reminded her of an amateur what with her comments having gotten him to respond, despite her deciding that he was more skilled than many around these parts. Hey, she'd at least give him that. Speaking to one another proved to be an excellant distraction in many cases. This case, however, was different in that they were exchanging weak blows with words rather than with weapons. Words distracted neither of them.

What a peculiar man this was... If he hadn't claimed her as a mark, if they had met on differing terms, she may very well have questioned him. Could he have been a player whose coordinates were also scrambled? She'd never seen armor quite like what he was adorned with, but there were always new battle upgrades as well as differing species and armor that each wore. Perhaps he was a species that she had yet to face?

Gun on her own mark as Talyc leaned out from behind his cover, if either decided to shoot it was going to be a show down on which could pull the trigger a split second faster or whom was fast enough to dodge the bullet in the moment's delay. Clearly, it was the most risky stand-off any two could find themselves in. At least with blades and fists more time and more reactions made the situation more fair. This was not the case here.

Kyrss' muscles tensed in preparation to evade his bullet, only to find that he didn't shoot. He jumped out fully from his hiding place and she immidately took aim. Then came the words... She'd been paying him too much attention! She cursed as she felt a smaller figure jump and latch onto her back. The force had her leaning over the edge of the roof about to topple over and off. She planted her feet and regained her footing in the last instant, spinning away from the ledge.

Reflexes had her drawing the switch blade across the ankle of the child, not enough to do permantent damage, save for a scar, but enough to inflict pain and impede her ability to support herself upon it for the next few minutes or even hours. Kryss drew first blood in this act, but she wasn't of mind in this instant. The woman's body acted on it's own as she placed the handle of the blade in her mouth and she tore at the child in the moment of her pain- the best time to take someone was in that moment. Her eyes were narrowed into a glare as she thrust a hand around the small figure's throat. The child surely fought back, clawing away at the woman. But Kryss' mind registered it then. A child. Her current attacker was only a child. Her hardened expression faltered.

"You're disgusting!" she spat, her words loud and directed toward her primary attacker, Talyc. "Sending a child to do your job. I should kill her!" But even if she was considered a heartless player, taking out men and women as if it were nothing, a child was entirely different. Even if she was being attacked by one, she couldn't bring herself to really fight against a child. "But..." Crap. He'd found a flaw in her.

[I rather hate controling a character not my own. I hope what I did was fine? I wanted to get to a point where Kryss would falter having been faced by Cuyan. x3]

[Jessari]

The child struggled, her fingers scrabbling over the arm plates that protected the female's skin. It was a useless gesture, for the female proved to be stronger than she was, and although she twisted as much as possible with an injured ankle, her hold was unbreakable. Lucky for Cuyan, the female's hand around her neck simply restricted her movements instead of cutting off her air supply, although from the agility and strength of her movements, Cuyan knew she was more than able to do so.

"Cuyan, be still."

Her Alpha's command carried through the pain pulsing through her ankle, and although she continued to hiss through her bared teeth, Cuyan's struggles ceased. She clung to the female's arm, more for support now than anything else. Golden eyes glared at her captor, watching for any sign of weakness or inattention that she could take advantage of. Until then, she'd have to depend on her Alpha to get her out of this mess.

* * * * *

Talyc continued to glare at the mark, although she surely couldn't see in through the black visor of his helmet. She'd hurt Cuyan; the girl's sharp cry of pain had pierced him deeply. Now, with Cuyan restrained, the mark's attention was back on him. Her words cut nearly as deep as his daughter's cry had; it was due to his lack of instruction that Cuyan had ended up in this mess. If he had trained her better, or if he had turned down this job, none of this would have happened. He'd been too soft on her before, and perhaps that was why she felt she could disobey him in this manner. Talyc purposed in his heart that once they were finished here, he'd toughen up, make sure she was fully prepared to deal with trouble the next time it came around.

For now, though, he had to make sure she didn't wind up even more injured than she already was. Sighting down the length of his gun at the mark, he projected his voice, making sure each word was carefully and clearly enunciated. "If you harm her in any way, di'kut, you won't need to worry about being captured. I'll rip you apart and leave your carcass for the crows. Let. My. Daughter. Go."

[ToxicShadow]

She had him where she wanted; his words told her that. Within her hands was his daughter. It was even better than Kryss could imagine. Instinctively, a smirk slipped onto her lips. He could shoot her if she wanted but, in that split second, it could have also meant his daughter's life. She was precious to him, even if she'd been sent out like this [so she assumed], and that just so happened to offer her leverage. The very leverage that she could use to get herself out of this little mess she'd found herself in.

Still conciously aware of the child in her grasp, Kryss made it an unspoken point not to bring any more harm to the child than she already had. It wasn't in her to do it. However, she could easily act as if it was. For now, restraining the girl was enough. No more harm need be done.

"You're in no position to be making threats, unless you want your adorable child getting injured any more than she already is." She remarked, her voice projected well and serious enough. Her eyebrows rose in mild curiosity, even though he couldn't very well see her shadowed face. "Why don't you be a good Daddy and listen to what the nice lady has to say? I don't suppose you'd believe me if I told you that I don't want to hurt her, would you? But you're after me and I want to know why. You're not of this world, are you? Are you a player in The Game?" No, a player wouldn't have a child. Unless, perhaps he'd been here longer than she had... "Perhaps you and I can strike a deal."

[Jessari]

Talyc's lip curled at her mocking words, and a steady stream of curses poured quietly from his mouth. Now, more than ever, he wanted to find out exactly who this woman was and what made her so...cocky. She obviously knew as well as he did that he wouldn't shoot her until Cuyan was safely away, but despite her words he had no assurances that she wouldn't harm Cuyan if he lowered his blaster. No, this standoff was the safest option for both of them for now, he with his gun and she with his daughter. The question was, where to go from here?

He tilted his head, curious despite his anger. "What game would that be? Am I to assume you are from another world as well?" It all sounded a bit...crazy to him. He'd been to many other planets; in his line of work, that was pretty much a necessity. But the way she said it seemed to give it a different meaning, an alien one far different from the one he knew. He'd better tread carefully here. If she was psychotic, it would complicate matters a bit. "And what kind of deal were you looking for? At this point, I'd say your safety for my daughter's would be pretty fair."

It hurt his pride to even think of that possibility. It was a rare mark that escaped his grasp, but family came first. There was always the possibility of tracking her down later, for his own purposes, but with her skills, he wondered if he'd be able to find her trail now that she knew she was being hunted.

[ToxicShadow]

Kryss' secretive amusement in the man's bit of torture was growing. It was loud and clear that she had him in a corner now. He must have ached for his daughter, if she really meant anything to him. In a strange way, the woman could admire that. None of the male players had ever harbored such feeling. They were cold and ruthless... The had forced her to become what she was today by submitting her to torture in her first weeks adapting to the game. They made her. Perhaps he had her there too, in a corner, but she wasn't a woman to ever think that way. She wouldn't be boxed in.

A sigh escaped from the woman's mouth as she had come to the realization that he wasn't another player. It actually disappointed her. "If you need to ask about The Game, then you could not possibly comprehend it. My regarding question is no longer relevant. But 'as well,' I was correct. You're not of this world. Unusual. Amusing... No wonder that their is more depth to you than the creatures of this pathetic world," The latter portion of her words were more spoken as her speaking her thoughts to herself. He was more interesting than the men here, if only because he could combat her in any manner.

"Now, as for our deal... Would my life for hers really be fair? I'm not looking for pretty fair. I'm innocent in all this. I have no idea who you are, but you have threatened me so. Let me hear the reason, before anything else."

[Yay for unspoken multitasking~]

[Jessari]

As the two traded words, Cuyan tried to hold still. It was hard, though, remaining motionless in a predator's grasp. Her corded muscles were stretched tight, until her whole body quivered with the tension, and a low, inhuman growl curled out of her throat and between her teeth. She trusted her Alpha, she truly did, but she couldn't understand what was taking him so long.

* * * * *
"Innocent. Sure." They were all innocent, his marks were, not a trespasser among them. To listen to them, you'd think they helped little old ladies across the street for a living. Somehow, he'd expected more from her. Not truth, exactly, but not ridiculous claims of innocence either. "Maybe you're not familiar with this world. It's not the Game, whatever that is, but it's still got its own set of rules. Taking money off another's person without permission? Not exactly kosher."

Orange eyes flicked to his daughter, still clinging to the mark's arm. He sighed, the nose of his gun unwavering. Did she plan on chatting him to death?  He usually had Idris around to do all the talking for him. "As for who I am, I'm the one they call when a rule gets broken. If the pay's good, I'll track down anyone. Nothing personal. Now, since we're getting all comfy-cozy with each other," he said, his voice laden with sarcasm, "my name's Talyc. The girl you're holding is Cuyan, and you...were talking about a deal? Or would you like to know my favorite color first?"

[ToxicShadow]

Kryss' eyes narrowed when Talyc decided to shut her down at the mentioning of her innocence. It actually annoyed the woman, even if she was more than used to having blows thrown at her. He should have been a woman, then maybe he would have understood where she was coming from. "One must do what it takes to survive. If that means taking a little of something from those that have more than enough of it, than I shall do just that. You'd do the same if it meant your life or the life of this one, wouldn't you?" She glanced at the child she still had restrained in her hands. She was beginning to pity the girl. Being that the child was a female, especially, had her thinking twice as to rather or not the man below really cared about her or if she just chose to use her for some reason or another.

The glance was breif and, soon, the woman pulled Cuyan close to her form, crouched down and sprung off the roof. As crazy as it may have seemed to do, she landed easily on her feet, without it seeming to harm her in any way. Her boots took the blow, not her feet. Cuyan also had to be considered and, of course, she was still safe or, rather, not further harmed.

From her current position, his physical features became clear to her, as did hers to him. She remained some yards away from him, ready to defend herself or take action against her hostage if she absolutely needed to. She didn't exactly expect him to attack, for he seemed to hold some attatchment to the girl, but letting her guard down was not an option.

She smiled at the man even while he aimed his gun to her. "They call me Kryss. Where I come from, I'm the one the men all watch out for. I'll do anything to survive, and I'll watch the backs of other women and children if they happen across my path and are in need of it. Child, I am sorry it came to this. Talyc, is it? What I want from you is simple: if I release the girl, Cuyan, I don't want to see your face again. You won't attack me now, nor will you ever, nor will she. Stop her, if she tries. You can go ahead and tell whomever hired you that you oblitorated me, that nothing was left of my body, for all I care- if that's what it takes to care for the girl. I can't have you hindering my survival. Break our deal, and I may have to kill you both. Otherwise, we wont have a problem, will we?"

[Soooo not the best reply, but I wanted to get one to you.]

[Jessari]

"We both do what we have to, lady. There's no 'fair' in this life but what we take for ourselves." In his line of work, Talyc had learned to keep a lid on the sympathy reflex. If you started seeing things from the other person's point of view, soon enough you'd lost a grasp on your own and nothing in life made sense. No, it was better to be focused, stable. If this wasn't a business venture, he might allow himself to feel something. In that case, it'd be a toss-up as to which emotion would win: sympathy or anger at her utilizing his daughter as a hostage.

Talyc winced imperceptibly, taking a half-step forwards as the mark (Kryss, he corrected himself) deliberately stepped off the roof. Here, up close, his eyes first went to his daughter, scanning her for serious injury. A crimson thread trickled down her ankle to drip from her heel, but although it looked as if it'd leave a scar, it wasn't life-threatening. There appeared to be no other injuries, something the Mando was relieved to discover.

His eyes traveled next to Kryss. She was a reasonably attractive woman, but turning off the area of his brain that might have been distracted by that fact had been another hard-learned lesson. Although they hadn't traded blows, her reflexes and wit marked her as someone to be cautious around.

Talyc tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he listened to her proposal. It galled him to just give up, but really, what choice did he have? "I won't lie to my employer, but I won't give him any information on you either. If someone tracks you down, it won't be me, and it won't be because of me. I swear this on Mandalore, my home planet." It was one of the most solemn oaths any Mando could make, and Talyc would hold to it.

* * * * *

Cuyan tensed as they dropped, clutching at the woman's torso reflexively. A startled yelp tore from her lips, her eyes wide. Then they were on solid, steady ground again, so close to her Alpha. As soon as this realization entered her mind, the girl began to struggle, anxious to reach Talyc. In truth, she hadn't understood much of the adults' conversation, but she was tired of being complacent. All her instincts demanded that she pull away from this woman, and even though every motion sent sharp pains through her ankle and leg, Cuyan couldn't keep from trying to pull away.