Heba Srour

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> "I know I pretend to have all of the answers. It’s a coping mechanism, but I was taught it was the way everyone was supposed to act. And I hate it, sometimes, the person that I walk around as. The person that everyone knows me as. Because they don’t really know, you know? They see the necklace and the knives, and they think, 'There goes Talon. Wonder whose life she’s gonna ruin today.' And they think that I wanted this. That I was given the choice between a rattle and a switchblade as a toddler, and I picked the knife. And I’m so tired. I’m tired of it all, but it’s too late to take it all back. I’ve let too many roots set in here. I’m stuck."
> ― Talon to Dempsey
>
>

**Heba Srour**, better known by her mercenary name, **Talon**, is a trained assassin and the former host of the spirit of Pestilence, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. She is a former member of a criminal organization led by Raziel, who was the closest she ever got to a father figure. She is also the girlfriend of Dempsey Bane. As a character, she is owned and portrayed by Lark.

## Description

### Appearance

A lithely muscled girl with terracotta skin and black hair. Her eyes are unnaturally green and watchful, like those of a hawk. Despite her rather average height, she walks with the swagger of one much taller. She is never seen without a silver chain around her neck, from which is hung a green stone pendant that gives off a bizarre energy.

### Personality

Talon exudes confidence. She is nothing if not absolutely certain of her capabilities, and she does her best to ensure that she can also trust the abilities of those around her. She can come across as arrogant because of how self-assured she is, but she hardly considers it arrogance. She just knows very well where her strengths lie, and sees no reason to pretend as though they lie elsewhere.

In fact, Talon keeps little of her use secret. She is, after all, a famed assassin; she doesn't care to keep her abilities secret. Her personal life is another matter entirely. She has only ever spoken the truth of where she came from to two people, and intends to keep it that way. Her true name has been entirely erased, and that is how she prefers it. She will claim that she prefers Talon, anyway.

But that isn't true. Deep down, Talon hides a little girl hoping to be saved, to be cared for and protected. That little girl has been buried somewhere in Talon's spirit since the day she was taken by Raziel, and it is only as she began to slowly open her heart up to Dempsey, as she began to gradually see more and more of the person she knows deep down to be her true self in him, that she allowed her guard to crumble and for a glimpse of the real Talon, of little Heba, to see the light of day.

## Biography

### Pre-RP

Talon was born in Idku, Egypt to Ehab and Noor Srour. She was their oldest child, and they named her Heba. Talon doesn't remember very much from her early life. She only knows that when she was two, her parents had another child: another girl, Rasha. When she was three, her mother was pregnant again, but Talon didn't stay long enough to find out that third child's name.

In the night, Raziel came, promising to little Heba that she could have anything she desired, so long as she came with him. Being only three years old, Heba didn't know any better, having not yet learned that all power comes at a cost. Of course she agreed to go with him, believing the separation from her parents would be only temporary. Perhaps he was only to gift her with some boon, take her to some magical lake and have her drink of its water so that she might receive his gift.

But this was not the case. Heba never saw her family again. In fact, Heba died the moment she left her family behind. In her place, Talon was born.

The first thing Raziel taught her was to ignore pain. He would force her to walk over glass shards until she could do so without flinching. He told her he was proud of her when she accidentally tore a chunk of her own hair out while upset and didn't even notice the bleeding. The next step in his training program saw him erasing Heba not only from the outside world, but within the mind of Talon. He taught her that she was to be a shadow upon the world, never seen, never known, never remembered. He taught her that her family could never know her again, but also that nobody could ever know her.

From there, to further isolate her, Raziel told her to trust no one but him, and taught her as much by example. Talon was not, of course, the only child that Raziel had taken; there were dozens of others, many of whom would die before they could complete puberty. He taught Talon to hunt and kill, to sneak and hide. He groomed her into the perfect assassin, and when he saw she began making friends amongst her fellow captives, those friends would conveniently disappear, usually turning up dead days later. Sometimes, he made it look like suicide. Other times, it would look like an animal attack. He taught her that they only died because they were weak.

From there, to further isolate her, Raziel told her to trust no one but him, and taught her as much by example. Talon was not, of course, the only child that Raziel had taken; there were dozens of others, many of whom would die before they could complete puberty. He taught Talon to hunt and kill, to sneak and hide. He groomed her into the perfect assassin, and when he saw she began making friends amongst her fellow captives, those friends would conveniently disappear, usually turning up dead days later. Sometimes, he made it look like suicide. Other times, it would look like an animal attack. He taught her that they only died because they were weak.

When Talon was fourteen, her fellow trainees began dropping like flies. She never found out how or why. Their numbers were easily halved. It was enough to push her over the edge, fully forcing her into a profound numbness. She felt no pain, from that point forward, be it physical or emotional. She'd learned her lesson. There was no one trustworthy in this world, bar her and Raziel.

At seventeen, Talon and her colleagues were made to fight to the death. The four last ones remaining at the end, Raziel told them, would be gifted with this power he'd long ago promised them. And so, Talon fought. She assisted in the slaughtering of the people she'd spent years fighting alongside. And she was one of the four who stood triumphant, at the end, head held high, proud that they'd managed to impress their master.

Talon and her fellow three victors were each gifted an amulet, each with a different-coloured pendant, each with unique properties. From that point forward, Talon had three more people she could trust, who became almost like siblings to her. And all four of them were put to work, becoming the tools and weapons of their master, Raziel.

Talon's latest mission was to infiltrate the college that Raziel's rival and reluctant ally, Adriel, was last known to be attending, and to keep an eye on him and ensure he was fulfilling his end of their deal.

## Relationships

* Family
* Romance
* Friends

* Raziel
* Rasha Srour

Raziel was the only father figure that Talon ever had, and he was by no means a good father. He taught her that her emotions had no place in the world, that to trust was to fail, that to love was to be weak. And yet, she couldn't help but care for him, in some twisted way, for he was the one who had raised her.

This made it even more hurtful when she discovered that he was planning to have her killed, believing her too volatile to continue to serve under him. She hid this pain, and continues to hide it to this day, unwilling to acknowledge that she ever trusted such an awful man. But, more than that, she doesn't want to recognize that she loved him as one might love a father, for that would mean that she had something to mourn, and she could not bear that, right now.

Talon doesn't remember her sister at all. They were both too young, and she doubts that her sister even remembers Talon's existence. But that doesn't stop Talon from holding Rasha in her heart.

In a way, for Talon, the fact that she remembers Rasha's name is a small hope that perhaps one day, they will find each other again, and Rasha will remember her, and Talon will finally have a glimpse at happiness. She knows it to be a foolish hope, knows that nobody would be likely to remember their older sister who was taken from them when they were two, but she can't help it. She holds on to Rasha. She has nothing else.

* Dempsey Bane

X

* Fjord
* Jag
* Snow

X

X

X

## Trivia

### Fun Facts

* Due to a surgery that was performed on her upon Raziel's request once she completed puberty, Talon is infertile.
* There is inconsistency surrounding Talon's age. This is because Talon herself claims not to know how old she is, precisely.[*citation needed*]
	+ This fact is then contradicted in a later scene, where Talon explains that she was born exactly twenty-four years ago.

### Behind the Scenes

* Talon was originally meant to be only a villain in Adriel and Lexi's story. After she became involved with Dempsey, this intention shifted and evolved to give Talon room to grow as more than just a villain.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *The Language of Violence*. October 19th, 2019.
2. ↑ *Nightmare*. January 27th, 2020.
3. ↑ MC chatroom description.