Imposter (Serpentino) @mattio

[troylus]

Rose stared at the front of the school building, her heart thumping in her chest.  She scowled, squinting with her single dark grey eye at the mass of people going about their business of learning and teaching.  It was too crowded by far, in her opinion.  It made it very difficult to assess every threat and position herself best for defence.  


She grumbled quietly about the idiocy of this test set for her by her guardian.  He made her and the other kids he trained do stupid stuff like this now and then.  This time he'd told them to go to the local high school and insinuate themselves among the other students, blend in and observe them for the whole day.  But how could Rose blend in here? These children mostly didn't even seem to be carrying weapons! The fools! Several people had commented on her eyepatch, calling her a pirate, but they'd scurried away when she hissed at them and lifted the patch of material, showing them the nasty messy healed skin with it's scar tissue underneath the eyepatch.


There was a loud drilling sound and Rose dropped to her heels, crouching ready for the threat to emerge, her hands pressed over her ears to defend against further auditory assaults.  The other teenagers seemed to act like very little was happening through, and just wondered inside the building.  Rose decided they were possibly just stupid, or the noise was some sort of signal that they were to attend class now.  


She followed her guardian's instructions and attempted to blend into the sea of people, heading inside.  She followed them into a room off a long corridor before she hesitated.  The room was full of chairs all facing a desk, chair and some sort of chalkboard, presumably for drawing battle plans and strategy on.  


She noticed that the other students seemed to avoid one chair in particular, almost as if they feared sitting there.  It was a good seat, with a good vantage point of the room and the window so she could best assess any threat coming her way.  She examined the seat, making sure the legs were all still attached and that there was no contact poison on any surface ready to seep into the clothing of an unsuspecting person sitting on it.  

She heard a few whisperings of the other students, and looked up from her careful checking to see people staring at her both out of curiosity as to what in the world she was doing, and in some sort of warning, as if she dare not sit there for some unfathomable reason.  Rose could see no threat though, so she sat down, poised, muscles tense and waited for the next test of her skill and cunning.  

[mat]

[presto] [/presto]

S E R P e n T I N O ♚ R E z n I K you stole something i'll never get back you left a hole in me your halo's gone and all I see is horns and a heart that's still intact A prince such as I deserves to rule over his peasants. At school, that is the best place. I'm an elder of the school, in my final year before I have to take on a job. Either that or I'll live the life of a king, a victor, in a mansion only for the true winners. I will win. I will. I live, I breathe to be a victor. I want to be the very best, like nobody ever was. I want a crown with jewels from District, true gold, pearls from the waters of District Four. Each piece of the crown made and placed with gentle care. I want people to practically bow down to me as a role model, an idol. And in a place full of juveniles, it seems like I practically fulfill that goal. People call me cocky, rude, even a bully. How dare they call me a bully when I am just as bloodthirsty as I. They practice murder just as I, so how am I the bully? I'm just better than the rest, richer, more powerful. I consider myself to be a manipulative person. After all, a leader needs to establish his leadership, and that is simply what I'm doing. Making sure everyone knows their place, but more importantly, I make sure everyone knows mine. I want authority, and in a place such as school, I'm in a position to receive it. People call me a dirty little snake, and I suppose that is true. That is why I was named Serpentino. I'm the most evil of all the snakes, the devil. I tell people what I want, and if they disagree, they're as good as dead to me, and they might just end up that way. I will bite them with the poison of pressure because they need to learn that I'm the leader, and they are the followers. Every time I come into school, it is as if I claim a chair as my throne. Nobody sits in my spot, and if they do, they have me to deal with. That is practically a punishment on it's own. I love watching people suffer like those of the Hunger Games. I enjoy making them feel regret, pain. I want people to know I intimidate others, and claiming possession of something as stupid as a seat will do that. There are more important things, and with intimidation, it keeps them away. It's like a bottle of poison that I give them. Either they keep it in their back pocket or I force it down their throats. Of course, that is a metaphor. I wouldn't kill my peasants. Then who would I have to reign over? I purposely am the last one to walk into the classroom. I heard whispers about a new girl, one with an eyepatch, and I couldn't help but smile. Someone new to establish my authority over. I walk in and smile. I look for an empty desk and chair, my throne and golden platter that four peasant legs hold. However, there's only one seat open, in the far back corner. A girl with shining-grey hair is in my seat. Eyepatch girl is stealing my rule. She cannot come here for one day and act like she owns this school. I'm the only one to call the school my own. I walk over, towering over the people sitting. Still, even if they were standing, they look up to me. I look down to them like the peasants they are. I stand in front of the girl who seems to only have one eye. I stare at her, my eyes like those of a serpent. Angered, evil. My poison is kicking in, and I know it's time to strike. Tyrant. I hear one boy, one of the smart-allecs, speak under his breath. I can only guess the tyrant is me. I look to my left, seeing the boy, a merchant in my royal ranking. My dark brown eyes are enough to shut him up. I don't hear a word from him anymore. "Good," I say, looking at the real problem at hand. "Move." I look at her with a common spark of confidence. I'm the prince, and I will be the king. Don't steal my throne. fire, fire rising inside me liar, liar, treat me so bad my, oh my, you hurt me so gladly why, oh why you do me like that

[troylus]

Rose sat tense and ready for just about anything physical.  Unfortunately for her, she had very poor social skills made worse by living her whole life very isolated with the only adult in her life for the last three years as Flynn; a man many described as a heartless monster.  He was a man she desperately wanted to impress and please though.  So she was observing and blending in as best she could.  She thought she was doing well, but a large boy, far taller than her and most of the other students approached her.  

He was well muscled and looked strong, and moved with the grace of one who knew how to handle himself.  Rose felt an ironic sense of relief, while he might be far more of a challenge than anyone else in the room, possibly the entire building, he at least made sense to her.  These weaklings who seemed to be chattering away about their love lives and what class work they had failed to complete were utterly alien to her.  

She heard a boy to the side of the room call this tall dark haired young man a Tyrant and she almost smiled.  Power, she thought to herself, this one is powerful.  She liked having power herself.  She disliked people trying to take it from her, but at least it was predicable.

"Move." His voice was no where near as deep as she had expected to come from his tall, broad frame.  She glanced at his brown eyes, noting the ring of black around each pupil, his attractive face with strong jaw, and dark hair.  Rose sometimes wished she had black hair.  Then people might take her more seriously.  Something about the pale silvery grey hair seemed to make people treat her like she was a delicate angel or something.  

She met his gaze with apparent confidence to match his own. This was a test of her resolve.  If she got up and moved for him that would be giving him the power.  It would be admitting that she was afraid of him and that she couldn't stand up for herself.  Rose WAS scared, but she was always scared, and no one who knew her, other than perhaps Flynn, would ever suspect that she was afraid.  To everyone she showed nothing but aggression, violence, disdain and power. She shifted in the seat, calculating the distance between herself and this boy, making sure she knew the best way to move to avoid his hitting her, and scanning him for any apparent weakness. None stood out to her so far, but she knew her options and best avenues to escape his capture.

Her voice was as deep as she could make it with her tiny frame. "Make me, pretty boy."

[mat]

[presto] [/presto]

S E R P e n T I N O ♚ R E z n I K you stole something i'll never get back you left a hole in me your halo's gone and all I see is horns and a heart that's still intact The girl had a confident smile, as if she was my elder. If anything, she's a year or two younger than me, but I'd doubt any older. Even after I said my infamous words, she sat, looking straight at me. She did not move, she did not look afraid. And that is something that agitates me the most. I can't strike fear into this girl's heart with my words, so I will probably have to resort with actions. Because believe me, I've done it before, and it sure ain't pretty. She only re-positioned herself. I heard the awkward murmurs of the other teenagers in the classroom. I enjoy making people afraid, making them nervous. If there's no order, then people assume they have the freedom to do whatever they please, but they don't. Life for those I do not like has to be miserable, or I'll never forgive myself. There are only a select few men who I am okay speaking with, but the rest are fair game to have my poison of fear shoved down their throats. People need to be tethered behind my like the cattle of District Ten so they know I'm superior. I ignore the whispers. I only find them a vote of confidence for me. Attention: something I love. A prince I am and a King I will be. I'll grab the attention and take it with me as my entourage. I don't need a gang of humans to back me up yet, they will be the knights that I will have in the future when I'm the king of Panem. I know for a fact that people aren't happy in our world, so I'll need people to help me keep the peace. Perhaps I'll befriend the decent people in my classes, and they'll actually be worthy to breathe in the same air as I. They will be my army, my knights in shining army like the color of Miss Eyepatch. The voice she speaks to me with can't possibly be her real voice. For her small build, her voice cannot be as low as some of the most disciplinary peacekeepers. "Make me, pretty boy," she says, and it almost makes me laugh. A prince like me doesn't deserve treatment like this. I don't deserve words that say, 'no.' It takes me a moment to stop and process what I just heard. I raise an eyebrow to it, and then continue with speech. "You better me joking," I say, rolling me eyes, "very funny, move." I speak firmly. It's hard for me to listen to people sass me. "Or you won't see another brisk day." And I mean it. fire, fire rising inside me liar, liar, treat me so bad my, oh my, you hurt me so gladly why, oh why you do me like that

[troylus]

The young man didn't seem to understand what she'd said for a moment, like it took some time to process her refusal to move instantly.  That would explain the hushed whispering all around them and the way the entire class seemed to be watching with baited breath to see what he'd do.  

"You'd better be joking," he had said.  Joking? Rose wasn't sure how to joke.  She was no good at making friends and chatting.  Some jokes she found funny like when someone was unprepared and got punched in the face because they didn't have their fist up high enough to cover themselves, or when someone actually put all their cash into the one easily removable money purse that she cut away and stole.  Those things were funny, but not really Rose making a 'joke'.  

Still, the man went on to say that she was very funny.  She missed the sarcasm and derision in his tone.  She was ever so perceptive about all sorts of things, priding herself on never missing a thing, like when someone tried to jump out at her from the shadows, or spotting when someone was carrying a blade hidden under their shirt, but she didn't understand people and the things they said at all.  Especially if it related to human emotions, a concept she found pointless and extravagant. Emotions were something you squashed down if you were unfortunate enough to experience them in the first place.

He rolled his eyes and Rose wondered if he was foolish enough to be taking his gaze away from her, underestimating her because of her small size, or if he was looking around the room for possible advantages, and just making it LOOK like he was rolling them.

"Or you won't see another brisk day." He sounded like he meant it, and that was a challenge.  Her heart raced, but she shoved aside the fear as she was trained to do, and psyched herself up for an altercation.  She readied her muscles, telling them that any moment they would have to snap to attention, springing her away.  For now she held completely still, searching for a weakness in this young man.  

She raised an eyebrow skeptically, just as he had in mockery of his own facial expression. "You're going to try and kill me? Over a chair?"

[mat]

[presto] [/presto]

S E R P e n T I N O ♚ R E z n I K you stole something i'll never get back you left a hole in me your halo's gone and all I see is horns and a heart that's still intact The girl still looked puzzled. Even though I want her to get out of my seat, I want to trap her, humiliate her. I, a natural-born leader, deserve to choose where I sit. After all, my family is wealthier than a lot of the ones in this school. District Two is a generally rich place, but that's what other people consider us as. We're poor compared to the Capitol and rich compared to most of the other Districts. But even then, we have people in the shadows of District Two who find it hard to earn money. This girl is probably one of those, trying to be the lion. But she won't phase me until she has me pinned to the ground, and I honestly doubt that will ever happen. "You're going to try and kill me? Over a chair?" She spoke as if I wasn't genuine, and in every way, I was very genuine. When I say things, I don't just do it to say something. I mean what I say. After all, a ruler has to reign with honesty, even if the honest truth is brutal. It almost makes me laugh. She is obviously new here because she doesn't realize that I don't have sarcasm. I tap my fingers on the desk she's sitting at. My desk. My seat. My spot. There's really no reason I love the spot, but I've claimed it as my own ever since I started being taught in this classroom. It's at the perfect point where the tall and lanky kid sits in front of me, blocking my teacher's sight of me. That way, I don't have to pay attention, I can just doze off and study whenever there's a test. It's obvious that I'm not a morning person when I speak, "Maybe not literally, but I'll kill you one way or another..." I'm glad that the teacher hasn't come in, yet I'm upset. He hasn't seen me at my finest. When I say I'll kill the girl, I definitely don't intend on murdering her with a knife. That isn't the most effective way to kill someone, anyways. Mental and verbal murder is the best type, especially if others are watching. And my crowd of students give me my favorite word when they do watch. Attention. I speak one more time before she does, "Now, move." fire, fire rising inside me liar, liar, treat me so bad my, oh my, you hurt me so gladly why, oh why you do me like that

[troylus]

(ooc - not meaning to imply Tino looks like this guy, it was just too fun a pic not to use in this case.)

His words spun around Rose's alert mind for serval moments as she tried to ascertain if was going to kill her or not.  He said said NOT literally, but then he would kill her in one way or another...she decided he was just trying to get plausible denial if her body was found so he wouldn't get sent to the Detention Centre.  Well, Rose wasn't going to just sit here and wait for him to kill her 'one way or another' or at all.  She completely missed the idea that this was just a mind game between them and escalated as she always did.  Tino was so much bigger than her that she felt she had to respond in kind; BIG.

All the bones in her body seemed to turn to jelly and she slithered down her chair, landing under the attached desk in a puddle.  This puddle was a trained weapon though, and when she landed she had already tucked herself into a defensive position, assessed the access to exits on all sides of the desk, and drawn a knife from somewhere secreted on her person. She brandished the knife, sliding it out with such speed it was a blur to anyone watching. It stopped inches from the young man's crotch, hovering there. 

"You have a choice to make now, pretty boy." She tapped the knife harmlessly against his thigh, "This is your femoral artery. I can cut it with a simple flick of my wrist and you bleed out in between thirty seconds and two minutes.  Death will most likely follow soon after unless you can get to a really good surgeon really fast." She shifted the knife slightly to tap against his groin, "Or I could cut you here and screw up the family bloodline. You pick." She paused for a moment before adding, "Or you can stand down, kneel on the floor with your hands on your head and admit I won." She readied herself for a fight despite her bold words.  She angled the desk so that if he tried to kick her the wood of the desk and the legs of it would at least protect her a little and reduce the ferocity he was able to use.  

[mat]

[presto] [/presto]

S E R P e n T I N O ♚ R E z n I K you stole something i'll never get back you left a hole in me your halo's gone and all I see is horns and a heart that's still intact After I had spoke, the girl began to trickle her body down the chair and beneath the desk. Finally, I had won. It was quite stupid for her not to move ahead of time, but I can give her credit for her courage. She's a semi-small person, and I'm much larger, and most people wouldn't do that. Or she wasn't courageous, and instead she had no clue what was going out. No matter what, however, I hate her. Making me have to act as if I'm begging her to get out of my seat. By no means was I trying to beg the pirate girl, I was just advising that she move from my throne before I get angry. Though, to be quite honest, the moment she said no was the moment I did get angry. It's too late to get on my good side, missy. For the moment, every sole breath I breathe will be one to break her, mentally or physically, and I could care less which. Breaking it breaking, whether it be a fragile neck or an unprotected soul, I will make it work. But when I look down to see where she's going, I see a sharp knife pointing directly where it would hurt. My eyes widen. Who let's a girl with a knife into school? Obviously idiots. "You have a choice to make now, pretty boy. This is your femoral artery. I can cut it with a simple flick of my wrist and you bleed out in between thirty seconds and two minutes. Death will most likely follow soon after unless you can get to a really good surgeon really fast." The girl acts as if she's speaking the truth, but she probably isn't. This is common District Two threats. People say you'll die if you're cut in a specific place, but how would they know? Most people don't pay attention in science classes. "Or you can stand down, kneel on the floor with your hands on your head and admit I won." Kneel with my hands on the floor? I've never been one to judge, but that's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time (and that's coming from a funny person.) I'm not afraid of a small little girl who has never been here before, and if I was, I still wouldn't humiliate myself in front of my classmates. "Look," I whisper in her ear, "I'm not one to lose." fire, fire rising inside me liar, liar, treat me so bad my, oh my, you hurt me so gladly why, oh why you do me like that

[troylus]

Rose kept her knife poised and ready, tensing as the boy leaned over to whisper close to her ear. "Look, I'm not one to lose." She lets the words spin around her head over and over.  They make absolutely no sense to her, at all.  Of course he doesn't want to lose, is that what he means? Or does he mean he isn't going to lose? How does he think he's going to get out of this? My knife is RIGHT there, ready to cut him! Why hasn't he stepped back or attempted any evasive action? Is it fear? Is he frozen and unable to do as instructed because he's so afraid that he can't move? 

She frowned, utterly perplexed, trying to understand what was happening.  The boy seemed to be capable, confident, and to be throwing around death threats about her sitting in his stupid chair. Maybe that's it?! Maybe because I slid under the desk and off the chair, which was of course an awesome evasive and offensive at the same time, kind of move, he THINKS I just gave up the seat...but then why would I have a knife on his femoral artery and precious family jewels? She bit her lower lip in concentration.

 He doesn't think I'll go through with it. She laughed, a shrill amused gasp of air that ended in a snort. He still thinks I'm a weak little girl and I won't stab him, like I don't have the guts to go through with my threats.  Well, I'll show him, that's for sure. She considered the two targets she had offered him.  Somehow it didn't seem right to just kill him outright straight away, and the likelihood of finding an expert surgeon in time was very slim.  She wasn't lying as he thought she was, not that she knew he was thinking that. She had been well trained to know all of the points of a human body for maximum effectiveness in combat to to the death.  She also knew points that were more likely to cause extreme pain rather than death, too, though.  Maybe this boy deserved to live, at least for a few more minutes.  A little pain might make him a touch more polite and respectful towards her.  And most men she knew, which really was hardly any, seemed to be more than a little precious about their groins; not wanting to be emasculated by the damage to them, almost more than they valued their lives in some cases.  Plus, groins bled heavily and he was fairly likely to die if she stabbed him there too.

She lifted the knife, shifting an inch to the side and down, avoiding the femoral artery, and his groin, and without any warning plunged it into his leg, straight into the large quadricep muscle, until the end of the blade touched bone.  Then she twisted it sharply. This muscle she knew caused extreme pain with minimal risk of bleeding to death and she smiled happily to herself for her choice of target. 

"Me neither," she said, in answer to him. "I don't like to lose, or like I never lose, or whatever you meant."  She kept a grip on the knife handle for now, but she was ready to let go if she had to, even though that would give him a weapon.  She knew from personal experience that having to drag the blade out of that muscle hurt A LOT and she could use the time to draw another, and perhaps even get in another shot while he tried to stop the bleeding in one of the biggest muscles in the human body. This girl didn't need science class to know how to cause hideous pain and death.

(ooc word count: 639)