Bus Stop (Lyeal't, Menalaus)

[Lovely]

Within the walls of the dark building, amber eyes opened with a soft glow in the dark room. She rested against the bars of her 'mystical' cage. Dark and cold.. harsh as this world had always been to her. Across the room on the wall, hung her prized sword, as it had for as long as she'd been here. It taunted and teased here, reminding her of what she had once been, of all she had lost.

Somewhere close by.. there were others of her.. kind. Her head lifted and the eyes cast to the sword and then to the barely visible walls beyond her cage. She could sense the others, only because they were close and together.. a strong pull on her senses.
Lyeal't sat in the darkness, wondering what would bring her kind so close and feeling worlds away from others locked in this prison.

Lyeal't shifted in her cage, her amber eyes peering through the darkness as if she might be able to see what was beyond the walls. All she could sence was the strong pressence of others of her kind, the force of a child being born made the sensations stronger, though there was no way she could clearly know what was happening outside. There was no means for her to let them know she was there, so she remained quietly in the darkness waiting.

Lyeal't lounged back against the bars of her cage, watching from the opposite side as the other woman picked the lock. "His fate will not be an easy burden for him to bear." She whispered, her glowing amber gaze focused intently on the sleeping babe, in the sling for a moment. As the second fallen walked in, another woman, Lyeal't looked away from the child, her expression changing as if she'd not been speaking a moment before. Her inquisitive gaze cast over the second, though she did not speak at first, a small smirking smile came to her lips. She heard the click of the lock and slid forward, dropping to the floor in a crouch. A slow chuckle rolled from her as she rose to her full height and stood before them, bare and marred. The red welts and split skin from the numerous whippings, she recieved daily, seemed to proudly catch the dim rays of light from the hall. Each mark seemed to be as perfectly carved as her form had been, curving and criss-crossing her skin in a wonderous map of the pain that was inflicted upon her. Her long dark hair fell in gentle waves , cascading over her shoulders, she movements were lithe and graceful as she went to retrieve her leathers and clothing from the shelf. Her deft and nimble fingers worked lacings and bindings in a blur, she was dressed and strapping her weapons into place within a few blinks of the eye. Her cool smirk was in place as she stepped towards the two. "But what is it.. you are saving?" She whispered, a soft melodic chuckle floating about the room. Lyeal't watched the walls as they began to warp, twist and writhe, contorting into a visage of tormented face and limbs. "Time we should be going." Her voice purred and she motioned the two to start moving as the arms reached from the walls to grab for the child sleeping in the sling.

[Lovely]

Lyeal't shivered as she felt the other pressence in the building, like tiny cool fingers crawling over her skin. The others forgotten for the moment as she spun, responding to the silent call that pulled her from the room. Her footfalls were nearly soundless as she hurried down the darkened halls, throwing open the door and stepping into the street. Her eyes cast to the other buildings and she hesitated, knowing it was probably ill advised to follow the 'chill', but the powerful pressence was one she knew well, she had felt it numerous times during her 'stay'. And like the screams of the tormented, which seemed to echo endlessly in her ears long after they faded, she could not ignore the pressence. Her strong legs carried her in a quick long strides, Lyeal't was not afraid, but remained wisely cautious of what she might find.. or what might find her.

Lyeal't stepped into the alley beside the building and paused, peering into the darkness. She was cautious of what might be lurking in the shadows. Her thoughts shifted back to the others, those that had helped release her and she looked back. Her eyes cast over the group assembled, Lyeal't sighed softly, turning her gaze to the women and children.. One had just given birth and another held an infant, who would quickly grow uncomfortable in the chill of the night. Though she did not know these creatures, they had freed her and were of her kind.. she felt wherever this group headed it would be a tedious journey with their added numbers and the children. They had their plans and she wished to just leave this place now.. Her mind was already whirling with ideas and plans of her own as she started down the alley between the two buildings again.

She moved from the alley into the street a block or so down, her dark waves brushing over her shoulders as her head turned from left to right. Curious.. not a soul in sight, where were the other beings? Did they somehow sense the evil from the buildings she'd left behind and not come near them naturally? Was there some other force at work that drove them to desert these now silent streets? These were questions that Lyeal't might never know the answer to as there was no one around to give it. She glanced back in the direction she'd come from, wondering for a moment how the other's faired and if they had remained, did they wait for her to return or abandon her to the darkness on her own? Lyeal't continued to walk, her garb would have made her stand out in the modern world, like a long lost warrior of times forgotton. The quiet gave way to sound and again she paused her motion, tilting her head now to listen as the soft humm, the hiss, and squeaks came closer...

[Lovely]

Squealing and screeching, the transport bumped and wound through alleys and by-ways, mostly empty, but pausing frequently just the same. The door hissed as it opened and closed at the intersections where what few passers-by there were opted to continue walking. He still stopped as the route demanded, one block at a time and coming closer to the older, run-down buildings.

Maybe he only imagined the passers-by. Maybe they were merely shadows of times-past, echoes of beings that he once transported from the Gates, mimicked and projected on the here-and-now by his tormentors. They jeered and cajoled, wafting about him like smokey pit-bulls weaving in the air and snapping at him as only he could see. This taint upon him was sentient and mournful, often wailing, but only his ears could hear the baleful sounds... at least as far as he'd been able to determine in his sentence on Earth thus far.

Menalaus wore headphones again today, a silent headset with the cord trailing into an empty pocket. They gave the impression that he listened to music as his head bobbled and dodged around the visions and sounds the mortals didn't seem fit to experience. The sole passenger he carted through the streets at the moment lofted his drunken head once in a while to emit beer- and bourbon-scented eruptions after so many lurching turns and stops. Menalaus paid little attention, looking for something else as he wove along the roads. He'd clean up the man and his mess later.

He nodded and slowed to a stop again, letting the bus rest a moment longer this time, feeling an odd but welcome chill from the outside air as the door pulled open. He turned as if smelling the air, the tormentors shrinking back and silencing for a moment as he cast his gaze about the empty street. Pale white-gold eyes narrowed to slits as he thought he saw movement in the shadows ahead...

The foriegn sounds had her stepping back into the shadows in caution to protect herself from whatever unseen beast made such noises. Her eyes widened as the strange metal chariot rolled rown the street, what was this thing? Had she been locked in the darkness so long.. how long she wondered now, had she been in the state of torment and isolation?

Lyeal't sighed softly, the chariot was certainly large enough to accomidate the small group that she'd left behind, but would they embark in such a vessel? Again these were questions she would not know the answers to, until she ventured a chance and took action.

With a swift movement she emerged from the shadows, a warrior, proud and though her place had been clear in times past, now everything was uncertain. Still she did what she knew, protected and defended those 'weaker' than herself.
She slowly approched the metal beast- chariot, her amber eyes casting over it's harsh industrial appearance. The door was pulled open and someone was seated behind the wheel, she stepped to the door, gazing at the driver with a curious and penetrating stare. "Are you friend or foe, dear one?" Her lips pulled into a slight soft smile as she took in the creature, her own appearance out of place yet perfect as it was.

[Lovely]

Perhaps the woman thought he was female. It seemed to happen often that his beauty confused the mortals here. She seemed unlike most and her gaze seemed to look deeper than most others cared as she stepped forward. The tormentors reached out to her like curious, sniffing dogs.. they recognized something in her as did he, though she'd not been clipped. Fearing it was another illusion, Menalaus said nothing about her stature or appearance. His hopes had been dashed before by costumes of harmless children wearing wings for their festivals here, though none appeared as fair and strong as this one, nor as armed. His golden eyes flared gently with hope and his breath gasped out with an admission of attraction he couldn't understand. The tormentors did it to him, their desire to touch her built desire in him that was unknown and unlearned, confusing him and making his thoughts muddle. "Dear one? Neither, nor am I dear to anyone. Have we met?" Physically he felt moved towards her, compelled by her appearance or scent or words, but drawn, pulled by the tormentors to confirm what she was... was she like him?... and could she see them... the ones who'd pulled him from his glory?

Her smile was slight and her eyes shining in depths and facets as if dark amber jewels that peered from the visage of beauty and strength. She rose up a step, bringing herself closer to creature her eyes glacing around him as if seeing something more. "You are dear.. very much so.. to me.." Her voice was soft, like a gently harmony of sound that waifted to his ears. "You have suffered torment.. as have I.. I can feel it." Her hand rose to her chest, as if to feel her heart, her eyes full of sadness and pain. "You suffer still.." She whispered and reached out a gentle hand towards him. "What are you called, my beautiful brethren?"

Suffered? He did suffer still, but he sensed that she knew and understood in the way she moved. She could see them, his tormentors, and how they crawled about his form, reaching for light and a glimpse of the glory that shed it. They in turn sensed it on her, one who had once stood beside the heavens where he once lived. He pulled the blank-sound speakers from his head, pulling a few loose, white hairs out of place in the process. They flowed like whisps of moonlit silver in the breeze from the door, enhanced by the actual moonlight that peeked out now and then as the orb shifted between rooftops. "I only have my... given... name. As a guardian and escort, I was not in need of one.. there. Here, I am Menalaus. People... seem fit to call me whatever they like, however." He shrugged again, but refrained from calling them 'mortals' or stating exactly what he meant by 'there' versus 'here'. It seemed to him a common fault of the mortal mind not to discern the details of facial features of those around them with anything more than the remotest interest for accuracy and he was often apparently mistaken for someone else, nearly every day. Each of His children, even those who tormented him now, was so entirely different from the next he couldn't fathom how the mortal mind failed so miserably in its comparisons and how it did so so often. This woman compared him to no other, however, but clearly felt she knew him, though her, he did not. Brethren? Such speech was also unusual, yet familiar to him. "Am I your brother? You... you see them, but I do not know you. Where have you come from?" It was a safe question. He so often heard "Miami" or "Chicago" or "London"... even a few colorful and unexpected locales meant more for amusement than true answer... but if she answered as he expected, then 'brother' was what he was and he was one step closer to home.