I don't believe in friends. [Khan]

Khan was late, which was nothing too unusual, but the circumstance in which the unfortunate series of events was occurring was complete and utter normality. Midday was slowly beginning to slide into a cool evening subjected to faint breezes as the sun began to slip in and out of a thinning mist constructed by pristine looking clouds. Usually Khan would have left by now, it was a prime time for fishing, the waters were just beginning to cool after the sun’s withdrawing figure retracted some of its heat and the scaled creatures would be flooding to the shallows, they would be easy targets and although Khan had no reason to participate in the sport, due to the fact if he really desired it he could buy them from a Fisherman, he enjoyed the hunt, it relaxed him and calmed the turmoil which seemed to feast upon his mind hour after hour, day after day. But when he’d arrived downstairs in their wealthy establishment he could neither find his double edged fishing spear nor his preferred self-made net. It wasn’t common for Khan to misplace things, he didn’t have many belongings in which to care-for so those he deemed important to him had their own spaces in which they were always placed after and before use. It took him a whole three seconds after searching the entire downstairs and over-throwing a chair in frustration to come to an obvious conclusion, Adrianna.

Without hesitation he’d marched upstairs, taking each step two by two while the tension continued to sore through the barging vessel which was his determined physique, the stiffening in his muscles obvious and the engorged agitation enflamed within his usually deceivingly placid eyes evident. ‘Adrianna where the hell are they?’ The words had slammed past his lips before he’d even thrown his foot against her door, the wooden obstacle whined in protest and flew open to give a noticeable tremble as it hit the wall which embraced the echoing collision with a supportive croak. Even as the sound continued to resonate through the walls, ricocheting into the foundations of their home, Adrianna didn’t flinch, her eyes remained devoted to the knives in which she was throwing hypnotically into the wooden wall. One. Two. Three. Each hitting the centre as the first bounced to freedom, the second clung for a moment before falling and the third lodged itself deep into the oak which wept as another chip from its damaged surface was flung into nothingness. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Khany.” Her voice was sickly sweet, the emphasis placed on the final word which slithered from her tongue’s venomous tip only caused him to become more enraged, the single dimple carving into her cheek as she smirked idly to herself caused every nerve to tremble and took every restraint he’d ever known not to charge for the knife, mainly because he was more than aware that, that was exactly what she’d want. He knew perfectly well if he moved towards it, it’d give her permission to pick one of the fallen blades from the floor and shoot it, more than happy to cause a flesh-wound.

He considered insulting her, after-all only he knew her accuracy was actually poor, she couldn’t hit anything on target if it wasn’t right in-front of her face, but at the moment he was right in-front of her face and that wouldn’t be the wisest of moves. Instead he simply climbed over her, ransacking her room as he began to raid the cupboards in which she kept her own favourites, that was until her hand was around his throat in objection and suddenly they were both struggling against each-other on the floor. It was a blur, the feeling of her nails scratching the skin of his neck, the automatic reaction which included his hand tying itself within her hair and shoving it with cautious force into the nearest solid surface while her fist pounded in the floor missing his face by a mere inch. It was within the struggle he caught the light reflecting from the expensive metal beneath the bed and the entangled outline of his net. After managing to squirm out of the chokehold she’d acquired around his throat and pinning her back against the floor by his forearm there was a moment of complete silence aside from the heavy breaths and intense glares. ‘You’re a damn attention-seeking liar Adrianna.’ Permitting her release he turned his attention to collecting his prized possessions from beneath the bed while she busied herself with wiping the single bead of blood from her lower-lip. “Mm, that’s what Anna said.” The single sentence was enough to send an ache howling through his chest, a pain in which he was now a master at disguising as instead of reacting he scoffed a stifled, dry laugh and turned absently to smile cruelly in his sister’s general direction. ‘Don’t you have a career to go whore yourself around with?’ He wouldn’t admit it bothered him, his sister’s promiscuous antics that is, he didn’t agree with her using her sexuality to seduce other’s into giving her information and tactics, but he wouldn’t waste his breath lecturing her, instead he began to head towards the door, now fully prepared and damn-well late, though her voice peaked back up to caress the blood on his throat bringing shivers to devour his spine. “I do, I’ll say hi to him for you Khany.”

It was a relief to finally get outside, to be engulfed by the cooling air and it’s comforting veil. The calming breeze provided a consoling escort as he tossed the net across his shoulder where it balanced perfectly while he clenched the chilled pole of his beloved spear within a white-knuckled fist. He hadn’t had time to cleanse himself of Adrianna’s feline fingers and had left the shallow cuts on his throat to become crusted with the dry blood which had leaked to wet the upturned collar of his shirt, he was already in a rush, ‘his’ beach was often empty when he went at his normal time but he now feared the delay would have drawn another to abuse the free space and bountiful resources. Finally after what felt like an hour but was perhaps nothing longer than ten minutes Khan strolled onto the beach, welcoming the sensation of sand beneath his feet and the essence of salted air which burned his tongue and serenaded the depths of his throat with a cold, calming breath.

Straight away he noticed her, he could see another in his usual position, it was almost humouring to see a girl who he was positive was not a career, for he saw them daily in the training grounds, wielding a trident. She seemed mesmerized by her current duty, her stance radiated concentration and the faint muscle tone in her arms expelled experience, it was safe to assume she’d been introduced to fishing a long, long time ago. Scoffing back his laughter in exchange for an irritable sneer he wasted no time in destroying the space between them, encouraging the proximity as he stabbed the tip of his spear into the sand and called vindictively towards the undeniably radiant girl. ‘It’s time for you to leave now, you’re on my beach and those, those are my fish.’ His head jerked pointedly towards the bucket she’d collected, he wasn’t usually so hostile but he wasn’t having a great day and thus like always it was the worlds fault.

Questionable tyrant took a moment to absorb the serenity of his surroundings, seizing each inch of outstretched sand, the grainy carpet of white and gold, into his mind and engraving it to memory. Each oversized rock, deserted tree and rugged stretches of scattered shrubbery drew a single gaze, fleeting perhaps but still a glance of appreciation, he envied this place, it would be far more satisfying to be a place rather than a person. It was completely calming, the sound of the sea as it stroked the shoreline, coming in to offer a passionate kiss before returning to its lover upon the horizon to hide such a scandalous affair. The echo from the distant cliffs as the sea rose from beneath its sedated masquerade to abuse the mountainous target was equally appealing, it was almost possible to feel the ocean’s spray as it shattered into ten thousand fragments upon impact and beneath the sun glistened like a diamond reflecting a million beams of concentrated light. It could consume any living being, the wonders of the ocean, the dangers it disguised and the pleasures it hoarded greedily for its own selfish gain, it could lure any into its vast expanse and sing them out beyond the safety of the shallows and take them within a current to the world of the deep, a peaceful, watery grave.

The attention he’d devoted to admiring his idolized surroundings was quickly banished, forced backwards into the labyrinth that was his mind where it would dwell for later satisfaction, for now his focus was demanded elsewhere. Peering patronizingly at the girl he took a split second to study her features, finding it undeniably amusing when Mt. Vesuvius appeared to erupt within her stomach and stain her expression with a look of sheer disbelief and annoyance, there was nothing he found more laughable than someone who was clearly annoyed but struggled to decide the winning route to avoid a brawl and he even had to make the effort to swallow his laughter, almost choking on it silently in the process. Khan was no crook, he had no need to rob the fish from the girl, he wasn’t some delinquent or convict, he was an athlete but he felt the need to certify himself as boss, this was his spot, his beach and every primal instinct which made up his rather primitive being demanded some form of dominance be shown. ‘I’d watch your tongue girl, or before you’ve got time to blink I’ll have it out.’ Threatening words from a threatening being, he didn’t blink as he spoke, his expression remained stiffened and completely sincere as he flexed absently, tightening his fingertips around the spear’s centre just incase the girl did decide to be brave an attempt anything fancy with her trident.

Another sentence was about to string from his confrontational mouth but vocals found themselves halted mid-flow, their exploitation retracted in confusion as he eyed the sudden movement springing into the girl’s limbs. Khan even found himself leaning onto his spear, allowing it to hold some of his weight in a relaxed position as he watched curiously, viewing her as entertainment as she fumbled to recollect her dropped belongings and then ventured closer to begin drawing borderlines, this wasn’t a damn democracy. While she drew the line he remained perfectly silent, his lips twitching every now and again as his brow arched and his features twisted in mock understanding, ‘Ohh, oh you want to share. Cute.’ The viciousness was back in his tone, that cruel vindictiveness which contradicted the evidently sweeter tone lost somewhere beneath the mass of aggression piled on top of it. Moving swiftly he side-stepped her, lifting his spear slightly from the shore so that the sharpened point grazed the sand with a phantom elegance, it appeared weightless, controlled, deadly. Within several steps he’d surrounded her completely, circling her figure like an animal, a creature of predatory instincts circling its prey, his eyes as wild as the beasts so often seen within the games, but it wasn’t a natural wildness, it had been forced there through subliminal abuse. ‘Now here is my deal. How about you take yourself all the way over there into that nice little corner before I take your fish, take your trident and consider taking your life.’ It was bitter, his proposal the words of a dictator and his mouth pronouncing each one with a patronizing slowness, when in reality he half admired the girl, it wasn’t often anyone would stand up to a career, especially not someone from the poorer side of the district, this girl had some courage and even he in his deranged state could appreciate a little bit of bravery.