Thread: Under The Flickering Lights (Hahvy and I)

Attia Sapphique was one of those types that was from Underhive. Underhive, the most hellish place in existence as some fondly called it. And it seemed mild in comparison to what it truly was- It was Hell. Hell like all the old books described. It might as well have been built around a post-apocalyptic idea and left to rot for a few more centuries - just to loosen it up. Some books described jungles as the type of place where survival was utterly important and that life or death was a daily occurrence. In Underhive, it was more of an hourly thing. There were regulations and whatnot against Culling - or killing- but it wasn't like it was up here in the Spire. The Spire- the most beloved and absolutely hated place in the Hive. While Underhive was full of criminal scum, the Spire was filled with noble scum. Only Middlehive was the place for people to actually live without so many chains. And even then, there were issues. No one lived in the Hive without paying some kind of price - even the fancy shmancy nobles. Now, Attia would never claim to be some special little snowflake in Underhive but she had something that most down there didn't- a way to escape. Attia wasn't normal, though most of Underhive went crazy after a time as well and some did whatever they could to keep their humanity. Some didn't even bother. However, her insanity stemmed from a culling gone wrong. Her mother had suffered and died and Attia would have been just another victim if her father and a member from an ally faction hadn't killed the Gutless. Gutless, a term used to describe those who simply wanted the free meal ticket and culled without mercy or discrimination- though women were usually a primary target. It's not that women were weak by any means compared to the men of Underhive- it was that they had plenty of holes to fill to slate the lust that built up in a bloody-thirsty world. Rape was like breathing. Death was like breathing. Everything supposedly wrong in the world was normal in Underhive. If you were born in Underhive, you died in Underhive. And no deity could save you if you were sent to Underhive. Because of the incident that occurred roughly six years ago, Attia had managed to gain a reputation. Attia was the name she used with friends as it was her actual name. But with others, she was Jack Houdini. Everyone still knew about the psychotic killer Jack the Ripper as well as the famous magician Houdini. She had argued with people she should be Jeffery, but he hadn't had as many knives as she carried. So the name stuck. Yet how had she gotten Houdini for a name? As she moved her feet slowly in the pond water, staring up at the beautiful sun, it wasn't hard to figure out why when someone spoke to her. She was in the Spire. Now, she didn't move as if startled or spooked, that would mean you were off-guard and Attia was never off-guard. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and looked at the person in question, eyes bright and wide with faked innocence. I don't? I wish someone had told me. My word, I would have stayed put if I had known that. She moved to a standing position with a fluidity even those in Underhive didn't possess. It was probably because some of her screws were loose and she liked to put on a show. Plus, it kept her from getting Culled and caught. Loose-limbed movements made it a lot harder for a knife to gut you or a bullet to hit you. Smiling at the man, she was much cleaner than most in Underhive as well, though the look on his face said she still stank. Sniffing her arm, she shrugged before settling down to pull on her knee-high boots. They had armor plating around them to protect her joints and soft flesh. Then again, she looked like she had walked out of one of those movies...what had they been called? Steampunk? She couldn't quite recall. She had read about them though. Adjusting the goggles on her head, she finished lacing up her boots before standing up again, blades catching the light as she did. I don't think you really belong up here either but we could argue semantics later.