The Dark Knight Rises[[Open]]

[Marcus Prasad]

“Are you kidding?! 'Fun' was about ten minutes ago! There isn't even a word for this!”

"Then make one up!"
Suggested the man, teasing her ear yet again. It was such a cute little earlobe too. Marcus immediatly had to resist the urge to nibble on it as he returned his attention to the task at hand.
"Because I don't think Exhilaration quite has enough punch!"

Marcus had to admit. This was NOWHERE near as easy as he was making it all look. The young woman wiggling in his lap coupled with the heady aroma of her scent coupled with her tight warm body pressed so irrisistfully close to him was providing one HELL of a distraction! He was glad she was enjoying herself so thoroughly though. The fact that she hadn't thrown up yet or asked to jump off was a grand testimate to her guts Or her insanity. Either or was fine by him, he liked the idea of a chick biker who could take just as much G force as he could.

In fact, Marcus was seriously considering letting her take the reigns for awhile. Which was a good sign that Marcus had taken quite a shining to the little Miss.

“Now what?”

"What now?"
Comming back to the here and now, Marcus looked dead ahead and let out a panicked scream at the sight of the rapidly approaching Wall of Warehouses before them. Senses sharpened by the impending DOOM, Marcus leaned hard and turned sharply. With inertia doing it's work, Marcus and Lilah were now shooting SIDEWAYS towards the dead end with Marcus throwing a string of curses in rapid fire succession. The power slide was supposed to cut thier momentum in half.

It was NOT doing it's job!

It was much like falling sideways, watching the Wall of DOOM rocket towards them. It would seem that Bailing out was thier only option by this point.

'Ha! FUCK THAT! Marcus Prasad will Live and DIE on this bike! Wait......since when did I Third Person?'

Taking a deep breath, Marcus readied himself. Just at the point where the couple would have ended up splattered against the wall, Marcus bunched a leg up and kicked outward, slamming his foot into the wall, the recoil kicking the bike a few feet into the air as a shockwave of force rippled outward from the point of impact on the wall, creating a rather impressive impact crater.

Unfortunatly Marcus wasen't patting himself on the back. Face screwed up in pain, the man pulled the keys out of the ignition the second the dust settled, got off the bike and began limping in a circle muttering "Walk it off, just walk it off." Under his breath over and over again. Nothing felt broken, but he was definatly sure he pulled something.

[Delilah A. Black]

“What now?”



It seemed to Delilah that The Gentleman only just noticed the GIGANTIC WALL they were speeding towards, as could be ascertained by the yell he let out in her ear. That he hadn't sent a wave of panic through her. Roughly ten thousand thoughts and scenarios ran through her head as she thought of possibilities to the end of their lives.

And it is in times like these, where your short, insignificant life flashes before your eyes, that your instinct takes control of your panicking body and reacts.

The Gentleman pulled them into a slide that had absolutely no effect on their speed thanks to the water on the asphalt. It only seemed to accelerate them. Around the same time that Gentleman threw his leg out to kick off of the wall, Delilah kicked her leg over his head and used the seat in front of her like a pommel horse. She planted her feet on the wall as they closed what little remained of the distance and launched herself off the wall, propelling her into the air several metres away from what should have been the crash site.

She landed hard on her forearms, jarring her recently relocated shoulder in it's socket as she pulled herself into a tight series of rolls to ebb off the momentum. Eventually, she wound up flat on her back, heaving some distance away in a large puddle of water on the freezing cement in the rain. Cuts and scrapes from her roll lined her arms, there were tears in her jeans, the wind was knocked out of her, and her shoulder was throbbing painfully. She would be covered in bruises within a couple of hours.

Still, being alive was good.

Delilah started to laugh again and tilted her head back to look at The Gentleman who was staggering around to help his injured leg, catching her breath. He saved the bike! That was impressive all on it's own. So was the crater in the wall, but that was another story.

“Fuck yeah,” she breathed, rolling onto her stomach and pushing herself onto her feet, starting towards him. “That was damn impressive. You okay?”

[Marcus Prasad]

{OOC} Gah! So Much Shortness {OOC}

'Oh GOD I think I pulled my groin'
One of THE WORST places to pull a muscle, nevermind the fact that he may have also grinded the cartilage in his knee down to dust. Not that there was much left to begin with. Marcus never was exactly careful with his own body. Rubber bands and duct tape was pretty much all that was holding him together these days.

The Pain didn't subside, but at least he was slowly able to push it in the back of his head. Waving off Lilah's concern for his well being, he began to limp as best he could over towards her.
"Nevermind me."
He spoke with a wince with each step.
"You got bucked off, you broke anything?"

[Delilah A. Black]

She watched with an amused expression as he hobbled over to her, brushing off his injury like it wasn't obviously bugging him. And asking about her in spite of it. How sweet.

Delilah shook her head at him, stepping closer. “I'm a little banged up, but I'm alright. It takes more than that to take me out. Same goes for you, apparently.” She rotated her shoulder as she said it and heard it pop in and out of place again, making her wince. Ah well. It wasn't the first time and she was sure it wouldn't be the last.

With a quick sidestep, she scooped his right arm out from his side and hauled it over her shoulder, bracing him against her to help him walk. “Let's get you inside somewhere, then I can take a look at that leg. I know a thing or two that might be able to help you.” She started walking him towards the warehouse they left a crater in. “I'm Delilah by the way. Delilah Black.”

[Marcus Prasad]

"Oh psshaw, I bet you say that to all the boys."
The man bantered back as he approached.
He had pulled his goggles up to his forehead by this point, revealing his mellow brown eyes for the first time. Hearing the sick pop of his new friends shoulder, Marcus winced in sympathy and was about to offer his help in taking care of it when suddenly the girl zipped to his side. Before he could react, she had his arm around her shoulder and was supporting his weight with surprising ease.

"Marcus Prasad at your service."
He responded amicably. Even managing a slight awkward bow as he tipped his goggles as one would a hat.
So how bout this Lilah. You can look at my leg, if I can look at your arm. Cause I know a thing or two that might be able to help you.”
He countered with a teasing smirk, echoing her words back to her.

Marcus' school of thought was, if he knew how to break, then he should learn how to mend as well. Though most of his expertise included only basic first aid and how to reset bones and dislocated joints.
"I got an old first aid box in my saddlebag that might have some tensure bandages still inside. That and a tarp if you wanna help me cover my Chopper from the rain. I don't like the idea of just leaving her out here if we are gonna go on an urban adventure."

[Delilah A. Black]

“Marcus Prasad, at your service”

Delilah nodded back to him in acknowledgement. So he did have a name after all.

“So how bout this Lilah. You can look at my leg, if I can look at your arm. Cause I know a thing or two that might be able to help you.”


She chuckled at that, low and throaty. “Fair enough.” she said with an exaggerated sigh. She led him to the door of the nearest warehouse and released him, taking care to be near a wall so he could brace himself. “Why don't you hobble inside while I put the Lady to sleep.” As an afterthought, she pulled her bowie knife from her belt and handed it to him, taking care to hold it by the blade to offer him the hilt. “Just in case someone is living nearby.” she said with a shrug and a smile, turning away from him to jog quickly back to the bike.

She went as directed, lifting the medical kit from his saddle bags after a little searching and covering the bike lovingly with the tarp. Afterwards, she made sure the kickstands were in place and that the bike would be in neutral for when it was next turned on, but Marcus had already taken care of that. Again, she found herself impressed by the man.

Ensuring the bike was properly secured, she went back into the warehouse with the kit hanging from her good arm. She would set the kit down beside Marcus and then reach behind her head to pull the clip from her hair, letting the soaked ebony locks cascade over her shoulder. She shook her hair out and flicked it over her shoulder and promptly began wringing it out as she sat down beside him, wincing slightly at the stings from her road rash.

Her light blue eyes flicked up to his and back down to the leg he had been favouring. She poked his knee.

“So, crazy man. Where does it hurt?”

[Marcus Prasad]

Marcus had to admit, as he held a hand out to prop himself against the warehouse wall, he found it a definate treat to watch Lilah walk away. For alittle while he just stood there, gazing appreciatively from the corner of his eye until she reached his bike. Normally he wouldn't dare let his bike out of his sight, let alone leave it in the care of another human being. Lilah though wasn't just another human being. Marcus had never met a woman like her before. She was beautiful aye, but Marcus had seen beautiful before. No, what really impressed him was what lied beneath. Brave, sassy, confident, knew her bikes well enough.
'Ah hell, who am I kidding, she probably knows them far more than I do.'
It wouldn't surprise him in the slightest. With every corner they took, she had shifted and moved along with him, anticipating each turn as nearly as fast as he did, not simply reacting to his movements.

Between her and Bobcat, the crazy eyed girl with the short white hair who could somehow climb walls, It was definatly looking like Long Beach had it's own breed of womenfolk to deal with. They certainly didn't make 'em like that back in New York City.
'Must be something in the water then.'
He thought with a smirk as he looked the Knife Lilah gave him over, passing it back and forth between his hands. His Brother Arjhun was the knife nut in the family, not Marcus. He knew the basics, pointy end goes inside chest cavity, but other than that he relied more on the few kill moves Leon had taught him over the years if he ever found himself in a life or death situation.

Hobbling over towards the naturaly locked door, Marcus found himself with a puzzle. Somehow he could use the knife to pick the lock, he had seen it on tv before. Standing there looking from the knife to the door, he eventualy grew impatient, braced himself with a hand on a railing and kicked the door open with his good leg, damn near almost buggering that one too.
Inside was the typical warehouse set up; Huge and dusty with tall shelves lined in rows full of some product or another. Even in the dark gloom Marcus could make out a forklift or two.

For one moment, he thought he saw a shadow move somewhere further inside and was going to investigate it, completely disregarding the fact that he could barely fight on that leg as it was. He was about to take a few steps down a dark aisle when he saw the light flooding in from the door opening again. Seems Lilah was done putting Lady to sleep (Looks like that Nickname became established) So while she began to dry her hair, Marcus hobbled over and sat himself atop of a waist high stack of Wooden pallets, resting the foot of his bad leg atop of a nearby bucket of some cleaning solution or another. Taking a cue from her, he reached back and undid his ponytail, shaking himself off like a wet dog before running his fingers through it, trying to weedle out the knots.

When she sat down beside him, thier eyes locked for a moment, sending a thrill straight down the mans spine. He had to admit she had the most piercing hypnotic gaze-
"GAH! There. Most definatly that right there." He said with a wince and a whimper. He kept his mouth shut about the pulled groin though. There was simply no way of bringing that up without it sounding like a sleazy come on.

[Delilah A. Black]

"GAH! There. Most definatly that right there."



She tsked at him a little and reached forward at the waist, rolling the leg of his pants back as gingerly as she could to the knee. “You hyper-extended it for sure,” she commented, mostly to herself. Carefully, she began pressing lightly on the tendon on his calf that led up to his knee, trying to find where the strain was. She would continue to mutter to herself, as well as move his leg into her lap for better access. Nodding to herself, she began rubbing the tendon just below the inside of the knee with her thumb in slow, circular motions.

Delilah's eyes darted back up to his as she continued to move her other hand slowly up his leg to his thigh, following the tightness of muscle with practiced ease.

“So tell me...Marcus. What brings you to California?” She let a mischevious smile alight her lips before she returned her focus to his leg, gently reducing the stress on his poor muscles with each rotation of her thumb on his vital point. “Your license plate says New York. That tends to stand out some these days.”

[Marcus Prasad]

"Oh you know. The sunny beaches, warm weather, friendly locals, Beautiful women."
He explained with a smirk.
"Now that I'm here well.....Glad to know at least that last parts still true."
His attempts at being suave were suddenly interupted with a yelp as Lilah ran her thumb over a sore spot on his knee. His entire body tensed up as she continued attacking it. He wanted to relax, but the hand slowly running up towards his thigh was making that quite difficult. Thoroughly enjoying himself, Marcus shifted in place to make himself more comfortable. As he did so, his hand fell upon Lilah's formidable knife.

"Oh! Before I forget."
with a flick of his wrist, the knife was in the air, only to be caught by Marcus's other hand in one fluid motion as he presented her the knife, handle facing her.
"Yeah, we New Yorkers can't help but draw attention to ourselves. I have to admit there are quite a few here in the city. Like we are drawn to trouble like flies to shit."

A Faraway haunted look passed over Marcus' face for awhile as he remembered the hardships he had to go through to get here in Long Beach.
"It wasnt a fun trip, lemme tell ya. America is in a bad way right now. It's not just Long Beach. I just wish......
Marcus paused dramaticaly for a moment.
".....I just wish you guys knew how to make a half decent deep dish New York Pizza! Been looking for months and I havent found a single pizza joint that could! It's a crime I tell ya."
He finished with a laugh. It was a weak attempt, but the last thing he wanted to do was get dragged down by depressing stories. Especialy while being massagued by a raven haired beauty.

"So what about you Lilah? Whats your story?"
He asked as he leaned back on his hands, trying hard not to yelp again as she ran her skilled fingers over another tender spot.

[Delilah A. Black]

“Oh, you know. The sunny beaches, warm weather, friendly locals, Beautiful women.”

She returned his smirk with a small smile and a faint blush. Was that a compliment?

“Now that I'm here well.....Glad to know that last parts still true.”

She pressed the tightening chord in his pressure point with her thumb and he let out a yelp that echoed through the warehouse. “Small sprain here, I'm afraid,” Delilah chuckled as she continued to apply pressure to the spot to promote blood flow. She refrained from commenting on the 'beautiful women' line for now. There was still a story he had to tell.

“Oh! Before I forget.”

She caught a flash of metal out of the corner of her eye and reflexively tensed. She looked down in surprise at the knife he presented to her. Yes,it was her knife and no, she was not surprised he had it, but what really, TRULY surprised her was that he was presenting it correctly: fingers lightly pinching the top half of the blade, the hilt laid out in his palm for her taking. Slowly, reverently, she removed her hands from his leg and gingerly lifted the Widow Maker out of Marcus' hands with a grateful smile, locking eyes with his again. Hazel. Interesting. Bewitching.

“Arigatou Gozaimasu <Thank you very much>.” she murmured softly before replacing her knife in its sheath at her hip, keeping her eyes on his as she did so. Then she was back to working on his leg as he continued to speak.

“Yeah, we New Yorkers can't help but draw attention to ourselves. I have to admit there are quite a few here in the city. Like we are drawn to trouble like flies to shit.”

Out of the periphery of her eye, Delilah caught the shadow that crossed his face. She opened her mouth to ask--

“It wasnt a fun trip, lemme tell ya. America is in a bad way right now. It's not just Long Beach. I just wish......”

She turned her head to look upon him and temporarily stopped working her way up his thigh to regard him silently. He crossed here after the devastation, then? That had to have been rough.

“.....I just wish you guys knew how to make a half decent deep dish New York Pizza! Been looking for months and I havent found a single pizza joint that could! It's a crime I tell ya.”

Delilah let out a clear laugh that rang bell-like through the echoey warehouse and cracked a wide grin that...somehow did not touch her eyes. He was deflecting with humour, something she appreciated, but the words he spoke rung hollow somehow. As though dark memories were still just under the surface of his mind. She could relate.

“So, what about you, Lilah? Whats your story?”

She gave him a crooked smile and turned her attention back to his leg, her left hand smoothing away at the thick, corded muscles leading up to his thigh on the inside while the right moved from the pressure point to his ankle, stretching the tendon this way and that by bending the foot forwards, backwards, side to side...

“My story, huh?” She shrugged, the heel of her left hand kneading at the insanely tight tendon on the inside of his thigh. “Well, that's a bit of a long one, so I'll give you the short version. I'm California born and raised, grew up in Beverly Hills. My dad was a marketing giant out here on the West Coast and my mother...well, I figure she was mostly just along for the ride. Started martial arts when I was eight, Dad died when I was twelve, got a new dad six months later and he got me into fixing up cars, bikes, boats, anything with an engine. Then he died when I was fourteen and Mom sent me off to boarding school. I got sick of that around the age of sixteen, so I dropped out and enrolled at 259 with my mother's forged signature.

“Made a name for myself under Militia – now a subsidiary of Crows headed by a man who is called 'Unfettered' and another called Kiyoshi which I am currently a part of – and that's more or less where I've been ever since. Unless you count the time I was spying for said group when the school was destroyed by an earthquake and we were all shipped off to San Francisco temporarily. And the time I was in jail after a botched mission. And the time I was in a mental institution. And after my son was born, I had to take a back seat for a lot of the missions, like the defense of the 259. That went down the day the bombs fell.”

Here, Delilah pursed her lips thoughtfully as her hands continued their work on his various vital points on his leg, re-engaging blood flow and unknotting muscle.

“Now, I guess I've just been doing what everyone is doing: surviving. It helps that I'm with the Crows...Oliver is safe, even when I'm not around all the time. That's really all that matters. That and getting rid of that prick, Barker. That bastard not only ruined the world, but the only place I really felt at home. He hurt my friends, the people I think of as my family. He killed some of them. His death will not be an easy one.”

A considerable edge had worked it's way into her voice during the last few sentences she uttered, turning her tone from one of neutral speculation to cold viciousness. A small snarl of her old anger curled her lips slightly downwards and her eyes flashed with all the dark thoughts she harbored for the man who had brought about the end of the world.

Quickly, she realized her expression and her tone and brushed it off with a light laugh and a sheepish smile, reverting back into her pleasant demeanor as easily as it she had slipped out of it. She tucked a dry strand of hair back behind her ear, full of holes that once held a plethora of piercings. “Sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to bring you down. Roll on your stomach now, I have to realign your knee with your hip. It shouldn't hurt...but it will feel really weird.” She offered him another smile, hoping it was reassuring enough for him to know she was still okay. “And where do you fit in this whole new world we've been thrust into by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?”

[Marcus Prasad]

By the time Lilah was finished, she would find Marcus staring dumbstruck at her as his brain ran frantic circles trying to process that bumpercrop of information like a hungry man tried to make up his mind on what to eat first, giving up and just cramming it all into his mouth at once before getting sick at the attempt.
If even half of what she said was true, then she would have lived a life that would put most greybeards to shame. To say Marcus was impressed was an understatement.

No. He was smitten!
And she was a Member of the Crows too? SCORE!

Unfortunatly Marcus' Warm fuzzy glow would be ruined faster than cold water to the face when she brought up her child.
He wasen't so much bothered by the fact she was a mother, in fact Marcus grew up in an inclusive enviroment back home where friends were welcomed as family with open arms. Many Indian families rarely made the distinction.
Mind still reeling, one thought would pop up in his head.
'Now, is that single mom?'
A VERY important distinction. He wanted to ask, but right now the topic was centered squarely on Barker. Not exactly the most cheerful topic and Marcus would have perfered to avoid.

Especialy since it turned the woman into a stormcloud full of knives and broken glass.

Oh he could understand of course! Marcus shared much of, if not all the pain she as feeling right now. His home nothing but dust and ash, his family on an exodus up north to Canada on the slim hope that his brother Arjhun was still alive.

"His death will not be an easy one.”

'Of that, we can agree.'

She gave him a sheepish smile which he found almost painfully endearing. It made him want to cup her cheek in his hand, pull her close and just hold her for awhile. He knew that was his 'Protector' Instincts being triggered and fought the urge down considering the Last thing he needed right now was a slap to the face. To be honest, he was surprised he was doing so well to begin with. Growing up in high school, girls like Lilah would be MILES out of his league, and now here he was getting his mack on without a hitch!

Made him wonder when the hammer was going to drop.
To be honest, it was one of the big reasons why he had such a bad feeling over the fact that she had a kid. He would bet dollars to dollars that there was a Mr. AwesomeMcNinjaChick already in her life. Though the fact she remained receptive to his advances so far just might put a lie to that.
'Just stay calm and loose Marcus my boy. Last thing you need is to get over eager and blow the whole thing! One step at a time now.'

Waving away her apology and complying with her order, Marcus now found himself in the awkward position of being face down in dust. Letting out a shotgun spread of sneezes, the man rubbed his nose vigorously before settling down. He was also quite pleasently surprised at how painless it was to move now, though there was a strange sensation in his hip that made him feel like he was out of wack.

"I have to realign your knee with your hip. It shouldn't hurt...but it will feel really weird.”

"You get fresh with me and I'll give you such a pinch!"
The man teased, his head resting atop of his arms crossed before him. He had a good feeling he knew what to expect. It would probably feel alot like all his trips to the chiropractor after a particularly nasty hospital stay back in New York.
When she asked him how he fit into the grand scheme of things, Marcus took a few minutes to think before he would answer.

"Still trying to figure that out actualy."
He would finaly reply.
"Alot of New York city is dust and ash because of that....that...."
The man suddenly let out a low hateful growl from deep inside his throat. The corner of his lip curling upwards. His back visibly bristled. Right now, no epithet was strong enough for what Barker was.
"My home is gone. My neighborhood is a smoking crater. I came here on the behest of a good friend of mine who told me I'd also find My....Well, ok this is going to sound corny as fuck, but I also came here to find my old master. The man who taught me not how to fight, but how to win."

Marcus paused. It hurt thinking about Leon. He didn't want to believe the stories, but it was getting hard when it had been months with no answer.

"Now everyones telling me Barker killed him in a raid. I dunno, seems hard to believe. If Leon could be killed that easily I wouldn't have had a teacher growing up."
Suddenly Marcus realized that he had a deathgrip on the pallet below him and was threatening to rip two good chunks out of it. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to relax.
"My Place is wherever Barkers end is closest. And If I can't find myself a place, then I damn well intend on Carving myself out one instead."

[Delilah A. Black]

"You get fresh with me and I'll give you such a pinch!"

“Don't tempt me,” she replied with a light laugh.

Delilah stopped her work on him for a brief moment as she considered the words that had come unbidden from her between her lips. Was she flirting? Was she flirting with a man[/u][/b]?

Interesting... she thought to herself as she hauled his leg up onto her shoulder and gently rotated his knee, alternating between clockwise and counter clockwise circles to catch the entire range of motion. It wasn't often she found herself in this position. In her entire life she had, what...two boyfriends and an “Unfettered” with no one in between or since? Granted, she had always gotten on with men far better than she ever had with women. They were just easier to befriend...likely because she was a woman and therefore 'nonthreatening' in the sense that she wouldn't be competition for their endeavours. On the rare occasion, they competed for her. Unfortunately for them, Delilah was either too dense to notice their desire for her or she was so disinterested in the poor lad that she pretended not to notice.

That said, the man with his leg in her lap had very much caught her eye, and she liked what she saw, but she felt...conflicted. There was a memory hanging over her shoulder that she couldn't quite place...

Nothing has happened yet, She said to herself. Just live a little for a change. You just vented about Barker and he listened. The least you could do is the same.

And so, she listened.[/size]

"Still trying to figure that out actualy. Alot of New York city is dust and ash because of that....that...."

He growled, low and threatening, and Delilah watched him bristle with a measured look. The hatred that poured off of him ended that sentence quite well and it echoed her own sentiments on the man. Her lips twitched upwards briefly.

"My home is gone. My neighborhood is a smoking crater. I came here on the behest of a good friend of mine who told me I'd also find My....Well, ok this is going to sound corny as fuck, but I also came here to find my old master. The man who taught me not how to fight, but how to win."

She didn't laugh or smirk or roll her eyes. She only nodded solemnly, understanding. The bond between teacher and student was an eternal one. It was sacred. Those lucky enough to have someone show them the Way knew this.

"Now everyones telling me Barker killed him in a raid. I dunno, seems hard to believe. If Leon could be killed that easily I wouldn't have had a teacher growing up."

Leon? she knew immediately who he spoke of, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. Of course, she had never met Leon in person, but the man's name was reknowned in 259. He was the man to beat. One of her old friends fought him once...Yahto Fang.

It surprised her again to learn that she missed that one too. She wanted to explore that thread some more, but she would save it for later. Regardless, Marcus had been his student. From what she knew of Leon, he didn't take people under his wing all that often.

Impression level: Through the roof.

But it disturbed her to hear the uncertainty in his voice for his master. She searched for words of comfort to give him, but found them wanting. This man didn't want empty platitudes of assurance: he wanted answers, and she had none that would help him.

"My Place is wherever Barkers end is closest. And If I can't find myself a place, then I damn well intend on Carving myself out one instead."

Delilah chuckled at this. “Cheers to that. I'm technically off duty right now, and recruiting ain't my thing, but if you're looking for an outlet, the Crows would be very interested in you. I wouldn't be surprised if someone already contacted you, actually: You're very skilled, and you make enough noise with Lady out there that I'm sure someone would have noticed you by now. That and, you know, the whole being Leon's protege thing. That alone tends to turn heads.

“Regardless...if I know anything at all about Leon, it's that he's a fighter. I never met him myself, but he is very well known out here. It would take a lot – a helluva lot – to take him out, and even then he'd still be kickin'. If he is gone, then he went out the way any warrior would want: fighting tooth and nail. The way he probably taught you to fight. My own sensei went out fighting twenty Barker soldiers at once and damned if it wasn't with a smile on his face. He died making sure my son and I could make it just a little farther up the road and he gave me his sword before he did. He knew he wouldn't make it out alive, but he went into the fight laughing in Death's face anyway.

“Whatever happened to Leon, good or bad, don't lose sight of what he taught you. Never forget why you fight.

“Now take a deep breath.”

As she spoke, Delilah had been turning the man's knee faster and faster, loosening the tendons while she distracted him with her voice. In truth, she had wanted to say more to him, offer some kind of comfort to the man who was grieving, even if he didn't quite know it yet.

Instead, she placed her left hand high up on the inside of his thigh and the other against his knee, and she threw the joint out to the side. There would be an audible click as his knee rolled over in it's socket and realigned with his hip, creating a massive pins-and-needles sensations all over his leg. She winced at him sympathetically.

Delilah would sit back with a sigh and let his leg down into her lap again, rolling his pant leg back down, pleased with her work. “That should take care of it. How do you feel?”

The question was definitely two fold there, and that had been the purpose of her asking. She had just spewed a whole bunch of gab at him that he might not even take to, never mind the discomfort she had caused his leg. All she could do was ask how he was and look at him earnestly, expectantly, with a small knowing smile.

[Marcus Prasad]

Well, she was definatly right about one thing. It did feel wierd. The second Marcus felt the shift in his knee, he immediatly kicked out his leg like a startled horse and let out a surpised yelp. It didn't hurt per say, but it was increadibly uncomfortable but not as uncomfortable as his pants felt at the moment.

Very........tight.
He had not expected her to reach up as high as she did. Not at all. It definatly put some red in his cheeks. He wanted to make a crack about how she pretty much spent the day feeling him up, but the full weight of her pep talk about Leon came flooding back. That was the thing about ADHD. It was easy to be distracted, but the distraction never lasted long.
Her words made Marcus fully face the idea that Leon might very well be dead. Something his mind just wasn't ready to deal with. He hadn't seen his master since he was back in high school almost a decade ago and what scared Marcus the most was how his memories of the man had been fading ever since.

She asked him a question then. For awhile Marcus would say nothing, only playing his memories in his mind like old home movies.
Leon had taught Marcus a great many things. the greatest thing though was how one learns nothing from fighting the weak, that the greatest lessons were taught challenging yourself against opponents stronger than you. Marcus had taken that one to heart since day one and that had put him head to head against some of the most terrifying students in 552 history. Every time he would be beaten down time and time again, and yet each time he would get back on his feet, he was always alittle stronger, alittle faster.

And always alot smarter.

After a few minutes of silence, Marcus would push himself up from the pallet and slowly get back to a sitting position, facing Delilah. The prickly feeling in his leg made it a pain, but at least it helped take his mind off the pulled groin he had.
"Better now, thanks to you."
He would finaly respond earnestly.
Just like her question, his answer would have a double meaning. The pep talk definatly left him feeling conflicted, but had the bonus effect of solidifying his resolve. He would honor his master.

He would remember what he was taught. What he was fighting for.

"To protect that which I love, and to give voice to those who have none."
Marcus sat there for a moment before he looked up with a start, only just realizing that he had said that out loud.
"Errrr, It's what I fight for. Pretty words, I know, I just......Growing up in high school I always hated bullies. For a long while I would go after them, target them. I hated how they thought they could just do whatever they wanted. Hated how they thought they were untouchable."
Suddenly a predatory smile spread across his face.
"God how I loved proving them wrong. Even ended up with the name 'Bully Killer' cause it didn't matter if I got beaten down, Others would jump right in after seeing me charge.
Leon........God he was such a goof too. He always seemed so relaxed, always joking around. Even when he was drilling me. But sometimes......sometimes I'd see it. A Moment where the weight of everything that was going on here would threaten to crush him. But I never understood back then."

Marcus paused and fell silent for awhile before finaly saying.
"Sometimes I wondered if New York city was a place he would go to just to escape from everything for awhile."

[Delilah A. Black]

“Better now, thanks to you.”

Delilah flipped a hand at him as if to say that it was nothing, but looked pleased nonetheless. She studied Marcus intently as he pulled himself away to sit across from her with her head tilted slightly to one side, just watching his thoughts play out across his features. It was quite a treat to watch to be sure: the responses of someone not in their element were usually a private thing hidden behind a set of masks they put in place to protect themselves. The fact that Marcus had no mask on – or maybe had no masks at all showed his honesty with himself.

Either that or he was very comfortable with the young female Crow he had known for only a few hours. Which was something Delilah refused to allow herself to believe. She wasn't attractive! Not...not really, anyway.

HIM, though. She wouldn't be surprised if there was a Little Red-Haired girl back in New York that caught his attention. Or maybe another one of them Californian girls that could still be seen roaming the streets on the odd occasion.

“To protect that which I love, and to give voice to those who have none.”

Eh?

She stared blankly at him, about to ask--

“Errrr, It's what I fight for. Pretty words, I know, I just......Growing up in high school I always hated bullies. For a long while I would go after them, target them. I hated how they thought they could just do whatever they wanted. Hated how they thought they were untouchable.”

Delilah quieted herself and sat back, drinking in his words and filing away the information for later. She smiled when he smiled, nodded along when he spoke about Leon being crazy and, as his words gathered weight, her face slowly fell as his spirits were dragged down by the memory of his mentor.

“Sometimes I wondered if New York city was a place he would go to just to escape from everything for a while.”

“Then you knew him when he was at his best,” she told him firmly, reaching across the small distance to place a callused, black-stained hand lightly over his, looking up into his mellow brown eyes. “He taught you in an environment that relaxed him, put him back in his element. The best place for a teacher to instruct his student is in that kind of setting: the kind where they control the urgency and tempo of the lessons and not circumstance. And you've obviously inherited that. It's as plain as day.” She offered him a small smile gave his hand a light pat. She winced suddenly at the pain in her shoulder as she did so. She withdrew her hand to rotate her shoulder with a grimace, her eyes still on his as she continued. “It's why you fight.”

[Marcus Prasad]

Marcus nodded his head, it defiantly was sagely words that Lilah spoke, with a passion belonging to those who believed totally and completely with that which they are speaking of. It made Marcus feel shame for allowing himself to be bogged down by his doubts and fears.
Besides, he had bigger things to worry about at the moment anyways.

"Ah shit, I was worried about that."
Marcus said of Lilah's shoulder, his attention immediately shifting the second he noticed her grimace in pain. Shifting closer to her, Marcus held out his hands.
"Here, lemme see."
If Lilah opted to place her arm in Marcus' hands, he would put one hand on her elbow and the other on her shoulder, straightening it as he began to massage her injured shoulder while slowly rotating the arm up and down.

"Well, I got good news and bad news."
He started, his face full of concern. Of course she popped the joint back in as she worked on his leg. He had after all felt both hands on it. He began to chew the inside of his lip, feeling guilty for not stopping her.
"Good news is you're shoulders back in place without any soft tissue tearing. The bad news however, is that the pain your feeling right now is caused by the same soft tissue, meaning the meat and the cartilage. Unfortunately ya 'rubbed it' and now it's all swollen and irritated."

Marcus took a deep breath. He didn't want to have to tell her what he was about to tell her. He didn't know how she was going to react.
"Now as it is, it's perfectly fine and should heal in a few days, a week at worse."

Now for the hammer drop.

"The thing is, I suggest you sling that arm until it heals or risk irritating the grit and gristle even worse and doing some damage that will put that shoulder out of action permanently."

Now Marcus wasn't a doctor, not by a long stretch. But his ex girlfriend defiantly wanted to be and had taught Marcus a thing or two during high school. He spoke with a confidence that hopefully convinced Lilah that he knew what he was talking about.

Now here's hoping she takes it well. It WAS sort of his fault that she hurt herself in the first place.