'Tap'
'Tap'
'Tap'
The kugraw's fingers danced on the wooden table as he sat confidently with his feet up. His eyes were cold, but he knew why he was there. The sweet burning of liquor as it slid down his throat kept him as awake as he needed to be. If he was going to make this meeting work, he needed to be on full alert.
His posture was slouched and relaxed, a fitting stance for someone as unpredictable as himself. There was a soft hum as his robotic left eye scanned the crowd for any sign of his contact. She was supposed to be here by now.
He did however pick up something else of interest. A cheery laugh was quickly followed by an excited flurry of hands as a fellow kugraw over by the game machines had just hit the jackpot. Coins began pooling down on the floor and the man's face lit up like a christmas tree at the sight of all his new earnings.
The kugraw at the table smirked. Good for him.
His attention soon shifted to something else. A mowlin. She was rather small and pretty young looking. No older than twenty-five. She wore rather casual clothes, a black top that left a small portion of her midriff exposed, and long dark blue denim pants. A bright blue necklace hung from around her neck. A long wisp of fur hung down and covered her right eye. Hardly casino attire. And she had her eyes fixated on the lucky winner. The kugraw's own eyes narrowed, his robotic eye zooming in for a better look. She hadn't done anything yet. But she definitely didn't look like she was here to gamble.
It didn't matter all that much. The money wasn't his, there was no reason for him to care if some fellow got robbed.
Before he could check his gaunt again to see where the hell his contact was, a loud bang tore through the casino. It was unmistakably that of a gun. Immediately the kugraw tensed up, but he didn't shift himself. Sudden movements drew attention and after a gunshot that's the last thing he wanted to do. Instead, he calmly made sure the safety on his own weapon was off as he scanned the crowd. It wasn't long before he found the culprit.
Down the end of the casino near the entrance stood a nox. He was fairly average in size for a nox, standing at around 8 feet tall. The revolver in his hand made it clear that he wasn't in any mood to party. A tiny puff of smoke trickled from the barrel. Looking up, the kugraw saw a small hole in the ceiling. He was definitely the gunman.
The nox immediately screamed 'bounty hunter' to him. His long brown coat was worn over a grey buttoned-up shirt. He wore ripped dark brown long pants and atop his head was a custom ranger's hat with cutouts for his ears. Like most nox, his eyes were a deep black. Soulless and merciless.
On his hip was a sheathed rapier and slung across his back was a lever action rifle. Strangely, it was ballistic, not plasma. As was his revolver.
As soon as the shot rang out the casino erupted into chaos. Almost all the guests in the vicinity went running, looking for any exit they could find. In mere minutes the crowded casino floor was almost completely barren. A few guests cowered under tables or behind benches but the only ones left standing were the bounty hunter, the mowlin, and the two kugraws.
Almost immediately the kugraw at the game machine locked eyes with the nox. And while his eyes may have been black and soulless, the kugraw's most definitely were not. Almost instantly his pupils widened and his brow raised as he saw the nox begin walking towards him. Without hesitation he dropped his winnings on the ground like they were rubbish, bolting in the opposite direction.
The bounty hunter wasted no time raising his revolver and taking aim.
The kugraw on the table smirked as he watched the events unfold. It was none of his business who either of these people were, but he was going to enjoy the show. The mowlin on the other hand wasn't as stoic. Her eyes widened as she watched the nox take aim and she quickly backpedalled, putting a slot machine between her and the gunman.
'Bang!'
Another shot erupted from the gun. A small fireball shot from the barrel before a bullet tore through the air and lodged itself in the fleeing kugraw's leg. His sprint soon turned into a tumble as he felt the bones in his leg splinter. He slammed into the ground and rolled for a few metres before coming to a stop, his leg burning.
"Wait wait wait! W-We can figure something out! I know y-your boss!" He begged. But the nox was having none of it. He stomped over to the wounded kugraw and planted one foot on his chest. His eyes narrowed and he took aim. Just before he could pull the trigger however-
"Hey!" A feminine voice called out from behind one of the bars opposite the casino entrance.
Everyone in the room turned to see who had called out. To their surprise, it was a small vett'iri. She was dressed in a black jacket with slightly grey sleeves. She wore tan pants and had a purple scarf around her neck. Her eyes were surprisingly grey, almost unnaturally so, as was her skin. On her hip hung a small mace and a strange gaunt was attached to her left arm.
"Can I ask why exactly you decided to walk in here and gun down this man?" She asked rather confidently. Her lack of hesitation seemed to catch the nox off guard. He raised an eyebrow in her direction.
"Business meeting. Speaking of which, you should mind your own."
The nox's voice was low and gravely. He sounded like he wasn't from around there. His sunken eyes narrowed as he scanned the vett'iri.
"Sorry buddy, but I don't take too kindly to strangers shooting up buildings and killing innocents," the vett'iri exclaimed. Her voice almost seemed to carry an aura of excitement to it, like she was hoping this would end in a fight.
The nox sneered, his upper lip curling back to reveal a set of razor-sharp fangs.
"Listen here missy, I got no issue with dragging out two body bags instead of one. You only weigh half as much as your ego anyway. Now get lost before you join him." He motioned towards his prey.
The kugraw on the ground was looking back and forth rapidly. His saviour was rather small, which didn't fill him with a whole lot of confidence. His captor towered over her like Goliath against David, however she wasn't backing down. Instead, she was taking steps towards the bounty hunter.
The mowlin was frozen in place watching the scene before her. The prize she had initially come for was now strewn all over the ground right next to the nox. It wasn't worth a bullet in the teeth, so she began making her way back to the exit. As she moved however, the nox's ears twitched. He snapped his aim from the vett'iri to her in an instant.
"Hey!" he bellowed. Before he could fire however, the vett'iri lunged at him. Drawing her mace, she managed to catch him off guard and landed a solid blow on his leg. The nox stumbled back slightly from the blow, a wince of pain escaping him as the blunt mace crashed into his skin.
He was soon back to his senses however, and very pissed off.
He glared at the smiling vett'iri.
"Alright then. You want the devil's number? Come get it."
With lightning-fast reflexes he began unloading shots at the vett'iri. However, she was just as fast. As she raised her right arm, a blue circular shape emerged from the strange gaunt-like device. The shield halted the bullets in their tracks and they bounced off before falling harmlessly to the floor.
With no more rounds in his gun, the nox quickly holstered it and drew his rapier. If she wanted a melee, she was going to get one.
The mowlin scurried back from the fight, however by now she was intrigued. Who were these two? In what world would a vett'iri pick a fight with a nox, let alone one as seemingly ruthless as this one? And strangest of all, she was winning?
It wasn't long before the vett'iri managed to land a few more blows on the bounty hunter, most of them being on his legs and lower torso rather than the more critical areas; but a blow with a mace like that was bound to hurt, and judging by the pained winces on the nox's face, it was.
He soon realised how much he was underestimating the vett'iri. After only a few more blows he began to wisen up to her tactics. His towering height actually gave the girl an advantage seeing as how she didn't need to reach down to strike at him. However the nox quickly began counter-attacking. His lightning-fast rapier strikes were getting closer and closer to penetrating her defences. Eventually, one got through. A small yelp of pain from the vett'iri signalled a successful strike from the nox.
The mowlin peered around from her cover to see the rapier lodged in the vett'iri's shoulder. It didn't seem like that bad of a strike, but it was certainly enough to draw blood. Inky green blood began pooling from her wound however, she quickly regained her footing. She reared up for another attack when suddenly-
"Crash!"
"Thump!"
The sound of glass shattering filled the air. It was quickly followed by the crunch of what was almost certainly bones breaking.
Everyone in the room froze. It was like someone had hit the pause button on a movie. The air was suddenly silent.
They all slowly turned to see an irva lying upside down atop a row of now mangled slot machines. Glass flooded the floor and bright maroon blood was sprayed across the wall.
"Oh shit..."
The kugraw's eyes widened as he realised who it was that had just come crashing down.
The scene had caused an immediate pause in the fighting, no-one quite sure what to make of what just happened.
"Freeze!" A demanding voice called out. Before anyone could say otherwise, a row of security guards burst through the back doors as well as the front. They swarmed the area and cut off any exits to the premises.
Despite her hiding from the fight, the mowlin was quickly found and yanked up by her collar.
"Hey!" She hissed while struggling, but it was to no avail. The guard quickly subdued her, slapping a pair of handcuffs to her wrists.
The kugraw on the table froze, his hands rising straight into the air.
The nox and vett'iri were still facing off against one another, their weapons drawn.
"You two! On the ground now! Weapons down!" What looked to be the lead guard yelled. He was a slightly pudgy dahmak with dark orange skin tones across his body.
The guards were all dressed in the same deep black and blue uniforms. Some of them wore caps, some wore helmets, and some wore nothing. But they all were equipped with automatic plasma rifles.
The vett'iri didn't need to be told twice, dropping her mace to the ground.
The nox on the other hand was a little more resilient.
"Oi, Blondie! I said drop your weapons!" The guard yelled, aiming his handgun directly at the nox's head.
The bounty hunter looked around, assessing his options. However it seemed like he was all out of luck. There were at least two dozen guards all with their weapons trained on him. He snarled at the lead guard before slowly lowering his rapier.
"Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here?" He cursed.
"This guy attacked an innocent ma-" the vett'iri tried to speak up.
"Ah, hey! Not you! You lot have the right to remain bloody silent. All four of you!"
The kugraw and mowlin were rounded up next to them, all of them now placed in handcuffs.
"I am going to skin you alive," the nox hissed quietly to the vett'iri.
"Boss?" One of the guards yelled. The lead guard turned around to see one of his men crouched down next to the body of the irva that had fallen from above.
"Oh for the love of... somebody get the Angel!"