In Dark Corners

[Alice Kuykendall]

There was no feeling greater than one's fist connecting with the face of some asshole, who really deserved it. And wasn't Ace just the lucky one to indulge in such a pleasure over and over again. The big shot of a senior had shut up long ago and was simply taking his beating, once he realized no one was going to save him. Ace wasn't the type to talk big and not deliver. And, oh, how she delivered. Each punch was well placed and powerful, super keen eyes calculating their placement for optimal pain. At this point, she was straddling him, her free hand not quite free, for it was wrapped around his thick neck, preventing air from passing through his windpipe easily. "Don't ya whimper! At least keep yer dignity!" She hissed, hazel eyes molten.

The young man whimpered, turned his face, and allowed Ace to make what he assumed to be the final blow. He was soon reduced to a twitching mass of bloody flesh. He'd learn not to sneak up on "unsuspecting" females again.

Now, you may think that for exacting such a just punishment, Alice was the heroic type, fighting for woman kind. Not really. She just enjoyed a good fight and loved it all the more when her opponent was weaker. The redhead smirked, a deadly gleam streaking across her eyes. She stood, wiping her knuckles off on the brick wall, as if marking her territory. Fun night... She decided, a sinister chuckle escaping her curved lips. The boy she'd waylaid on groaned in response. Gaze sharp and unforgiving, she tilted her head in the senior's direction. So, he was still conscious? For good measure, the young woman pulled her Converse clad foot back to kick with bone-breaking force, toes slamming into his ribs. A sickening crack met her ears. Serves him right, added her inner commentary. Saliva pooled on her tongue. Could his mangled form really bring her such delight? Oh yes. It could and did.

Stepping out of the shadows, Ace looked up to the full moon, pulling her hoodie closer around her torso against the early spring breeze. There was still a hint of winter chill, just enough to get a shiver out of her, goose flesh rising on her skin beneath the thin cotton sleeves. Can't wait for Summer... She realized, having already forgotten the beating she'd dealt out. It was already old news, unappealing, boring. Thinking back, it hadn't been all that rewarding. Maybe fighting someone strong was where the true thrill lay. Wasting the small fry was getting old after two years at Oceanside. The strong, however, seemed to avoid her or were her "friends," if Ace could even have friends. There were a few here and there that she spent an ample amount of time with, but never one that she confided in or trusted. Never trust. Ever. She didn't even trust her family, especially not after...

A gasp. Fire danced behind her closed lids for just a brief second, mid-blink. Alice stumbled in her confident stride, a hand reaching out for anything solid and stable. A tree acted as her anchor to reality. She gripped the bark fiercely, taking deep breaths. Ever so slowly, her muscles began to relax, the wrinkles of her furrowed brow smoothing. "Stop it...righ' this instant, Ace Kuykendall...We won't be havin' none of that..." She schooled herself, standing her full height yet again, hand falling to her side. Oxygen intake leveling out, she glanced back over her shoulder, into the darkened corners of various school buildings. How catastrophic to her image would it be if someone saw her go all weak in the knees? If someone was around, just saw that, she needed to know...beat it out of their memory...

[Shasta Blake]

Shasta was absolutely bored. there was no one to talk to, and eating just didn't sound good at the moment. So she decided to go on a walk in the form of a small black house cat, though run would be a more appropriate verb. She was in the grounds, running from place to place and sniffing thing here and there. The scent of blood met her nose and she flicked her tail curiously, following it to a boy and girl. The girl was kicking the boy's rear to hell and back and Shasta settled down in a good hiding spot to watch. By the time it was finished, Shasta had decided to never piss off the chick unless she was suicidal. As the girl left, Shasta came out and sniffed at the boy a little before trotting to to keep an eye on the girl. She was interesting, and Shasta liked to watch interesting things. So the feline ended up being in the tree that Ace leaned against, talking to herself. She raised an eyebrow and shifted back. "You trip in the tree roots or something?" SHe asked as she jumped down on the other side of the tree. She turned and tilted her head to teh side, watching Ace with a vague smile.

[Alice Kuykendall]

Ace should've known. There was always someone being a no-good snoop nowadays, sticking their noses where it very well didn't belong, usually the little freshmen that didn't know any better. No respect for their elders, most likely. In all honesty, the kitty would've been far better off keeping to herself and walking away as if she hadn't seen a thing. But, no, she got brave, shifted to reveal her identity, and was instantly placed on Alice's list. Anyone that had the nerve to follow her was suspicious.

A chuckle eased through Ace's lips in immediate response to her fellow redhead's question. Thinks she's all clever, eh? "Yea. I tripped. It was just so damn obvious." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. That "trip" could be detrimental to her reputation if news got out that she'd been seen leaning on a tree, of all things, for support, talking to herself like some insanely disturbed teen. She wasn't one, but rumors would grow and circulate and, frankly, Ace didn't feel like beating in that many faces when she could keep the K.O. count at one, Miss Kitty. She took a step back and then around the tree, ducking under a limb, so that the trunk was no longer an obstacle.

"If I was you, I'd wipe that smile off yer face. You have no idea who yer taunting 'ere." Alice warned, cracking her rough, blood-stained knuckles. It was all bad timing on Kitty's part. If she'd run into Ace perhaps the next day, in broad daylight, things would've turned out differently. She wasn't all that bad a person. She'd simply been caught in a really, really bad mood.

[Shasta Blake]

Shasta was a little confused. She really had thought that the other girl had tripped. She shrugged it off and raised an eyebrow at the girls threatening words and demeanor. She sighed and shook her head, raising her hands to the side. "Honestly, you try to be friendly to someone and they get all pissed. If you'd explain clearly I'd understand what the problem is. Talk about the strong silent type." Finished with her rant, SHasta manifested her wings in case she had to make a quick getaway. "First of all, Ace, I was trying to be nice to you. Second, taunting you would involve personal risk to my own well being and I'd rather not do that. So tell me what it would take to get you to chilll out a bit?" She suggested, brushign her hair out of her face. This was thr second person she'd met since coming to thie school and she was a lot more interesting than the first one. Interesting and dangerous. Shasta beat her wings and jumped, getting airborne to land back up in the tree, around two stories up.

[Seongmin Jang]

It was a wonderful day. The sun was out, birds were chirping, students were smiling and laughing and enjoying it all the way. It seemed like every single student was taking joy in this day. All except for one. This one didn't seem to take enjoyment in such a thing. He let it pass with indifference. None of it mattered to him in the least. Why would it to someone with villainous tendencies? He actually much prefered storming weather. Pounding rain, blinding lightning, cracking thunder...yeah. This particular young man was not unknown among the student population, for he was 'The Dark Prince'; a young man with handsome, delicate features and a princely air about him, but as evil as they come. He was certain he was well hated and, he was perfectly fine with that. Though, he did have a small group of 'friends' that he found worthy of his company. But chances are, they probably felt sorry for him, or they were afraid of him. Not that he cared about either reason. This young man went by the name of Seongmin Jang, the only son of two political representatives in South Korea, and well versed in many talents. That was pretty natural for someone in his situation.
He ran fingers through his soft ebony hair as his dark eyes scanned around while he walked about, the breeze slightly ruffling the fabric of the shirt that clung to his form. He was searching for something. A victim. Whether that be a young man to fight, or a young woman to...bed. He'd skipped his classes this day to drive into town to cause trouble, racing then getting into a nice fight, but now that he was back at the school, he was bored again. He needed something to do. He needed to cause some trouble or break someone's heart. Perhaps he could take on the form of some girl's boyfriend and have his way with her then reveal himself after. That sounded tempting, but not enough to go through with at the moment.
He walked about on campus for quite some time, snearing at certain groups of people when he walked by, or winking at others knowing at some point, they'd end up as his victims in one way or another. Perhaps he could just go work out or go swimming, but both of those seemed dull at the moment. Though he actually did both quite a bit to keep his body in great shape. Perhaps his body was the reason why it was so easy for him to bed girls that said they hated him and wanted nothing to do with him. But then women were far too easy to hook, weren't they? You just had to know what you were doing. He continued on through the grounds when he came upon a sight in the distance. A young woman in the same house as he who...he loathed as much as she loathed him. She was fighting someone, and he watched for a moment until it was over. He blinked with a blank expression. Boring. However, when another, a new student in their house, jumped out of a tree and the two began to exchange words, he found the situation to be a little more appealing. With a slight grin he moved foward more to a bench to sit down and watch. Perhaps they intended to fight. They were both redheads. Perhaps they'd live up to the redhead stereotype. That would be amusing to watch.

[Alice Kuykendall]

A blatant sneer was Ace's first reaction to the girl's pitiful excuse for a rant. One, Ace could honestly care less about anyone trying to be friendly or rewarding someone for showing her kindness. Two, she didn't need it. And she certainly didn't need lip from some ignorant freshman that was too damn curious or nosy to keep her nose out of other people's business, be it as simple as a "trip." "Listen," the redhead began, running a hand back through her scarlet locks with a gruff sigh. "I honestly don't give a sh*t about what you were tryin' to do or whatever. I jus' know that ya were hangin' around when I didn't want ya to. That's enough of an excuse to beat yer face in. And, chill? Ha! Ain't nothin' you can do to get me to 'chill.' " Suprised she'd actually spoken more than sentence to the girl, she glanced skywards at the sound of wings flapping. A cat and a bird? What was she? A f*ckin' griffin? The idea of shifting into anything so grotesque and unnatural spoiled Ace's mood all the more. Lips forming a hard line, she shoved her hands down into the pockets of her jeans, oh so tempted to pull the "school-issued" (She'd taken it from Mrs. Riza's class.) gun tucked into her back waistline, scare the brat, maybe clip her wings just for the hell of it.

However, before she could continue with her diabolical plan and go on her merry way, the feeling of eyes on her back alerted her. The redhead stiffened, growling deep in her throat. This was familiar, this brand of disgust and unease. Someone she hated very deeply wasn't far off. She could smell him even from this distance. Slowly turning her head back, Ace's pupils dilated in a rush before shrinking while her inner lens zoomed in on the Korean boy's face. Seongmin. The bastard. What could he be lazing about so nearby for? She glared at him heavily before training her gaze on the girl up in the tree. Maybe Seongmin was after her, as a potential lay. A snicker emitted from the firey young woman. That would be far too hilarious. Just a mental image almost had her bursting into hearty laughter. She settled for chuckling, shoulders relaxing. She wasn't even all that mad anymore. If Seongmin was intending to bang Shasta, he could go right ahead. That was punishment enough.

[Seongmin Jang]

Well, this was interesting. Okay, perhaps not interesting, but it was something. The younger redhead has suddenly sprouted wings and placed herself back up in the tree. Seongmin found himself scoffing. For a number of reasons. "Tch...the lack of class in that one...so unappealing..." He found himself mumbling to space vacant of others around him. Wings? Really? So pathetically overrated and cheesy. Seongmin juggled the idea of getting a long bow and striking her out of the sky. That wouldn't be fighting, right? Seongmin didn't fight girls. No. It wouldn't be fighting, it would be hunting. And she ran away from a possible fight like a bloody coward. It didn't take long for Seongmin to decide that that girl wasn't even worth tormenting let alone keeping in his company. She was nothing. Not even a spec on his radar. His eyes now turned to the fiery redhead that always seemed to live up to her redheaded temperamental stereotype. Ace was always worth tormenting and torturing. Of course, it was never without revenge. She tormented him just as much as he did to her. It was like a never ending war between the two of them. He grinned a little her way before she turned her head to look up into the tree at the other girl, and Seongmin could keep himself silent no longer. "What's the matter? Your little bird fly out of your reach?" He called to Ace with a hand up near his mouth to help amplify his voice. "Come on! I was hoping for a show here! Get to it will ya!?" He called again as he got comfortable on the bench. "Coax that little cowarding brat pigeon girl out of the tree and have at it!" It wouldn't surprise him if the other up and flew off now. Since she seemed to be so gutless. "Or perhaps you're just starting to lose your touch, Alice." He smirked like the devil himself for using her full name like that. He knew how much she hated it when he did. Of course, chances are if he teased her as he was she'd turn her wrath on him, so as a precaution, he activated his prediction ability. If either of them move a move toward him, he'd see it before it happened.

[Alice Kuykendall]

There came the voice with the pompous tone. As smooth as it may be to the poor duckies he managed to woo, to Ace it was the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. Her shoulders tensed slightly, knowing he wouldn't have anything constructive to say. He'd push the buttons he knew so well after over a year on the same campus as the firey redhead. A tick formed in Ace's neck as a result of her clenching her teeth so tightly. Anyone with super senses could hear the sound of enamel grinding. At least his attention managed to linger on the bird brain in the tree for a moment or two. The silence amongst them gave her time to size up the other redhead above once more. A broken nose would do her good... She decided, eyes now measuring the distance of the limbs from one to another, steadily working up to her perch. She was up to dragging her back down to the ground if need be. That'd teach her to try and run.

Seongmin, of course, had to keep running his mouth, distracting Ace from her careful plan of beating the hell out of Shasta. "Would ya jus' shuddup-!" Oh, hold on, wait a minute. He didn't. He f***ing did. He called her by her first name. That bastard. She had a few acquaintances that had earned the right to use that name for the purpose of reprimanding her. However, Seongmin Jang was in no way worthy of addressing her so personally. Their relationship only went as far as blood on knuckles and harsh words. Without hesitation, Ace drew the gun from the back of her pants, not even turning to look at him, but extending her arm in his direction. "I'll kill ya if ya call me that again." Her head slowly lifted before turning and cocking to the side. A fearsome grimace contorted her features, reopening the cut in her busted upper lip. Her eyes resembled emeralds in firelight and they locked on Seongmin's. "Ya really that ready to die, asswipe?" She hissed, flipping off the safety on the firearm.

At some point, the redhead in the tree had gotten spooked and took off, beating those wings as fast as possible to flee the scene. Obviously, if someone got murdered, she didn't want to be a witness or disposed of by whoever was left standing.