New Teacher?

[Keith Richards]

Keith was in Paragon again and would continue to. There was information to be gathered, fun to be had, and he wouldn't let Tiao's presence in such a large school to hinder the places he could go. And their food wasn't bad.

But that didn't mean he'd walk around in his trademark look either. Determined, not stupid.

His hair was trimmed and dyed to a light brown temporarily, it would wash out the next time he stepped under a shower head. A dull green t shirt, a thin dark slate gray hoodie left open in the front, and a dark brown canvas duster over that. The duster's vest liner was removed to make it cooler, since he had the hoodie on underneath, and it ended bellow the knees of ratty jeans.

Keith figured if all that didn't make him hard to spot then he may as well wear a Richard Nixon mask on his next outing since it would be more effective.

If that wasn't enough he also had a different attitude about it all. He wasn't there to get a feel for the school, he knew exactly how it would react. While he didn't mind the school it wasn't ideal for him. Keith's preference was to have consequences to dodge or manipulate, heroes to cause him trouble. But mindlessly wandering around and inflict violence was just dull.

He hoped to find out why they stayed there and what their teachers would be like. What better way to find out then to check in on the rumors of a new teacher coming in the near future? Not to mention rumors spread without asking questions, meaning he was free to keep people from hearing his voice. Rumors weren't as fast in Paragon as they were in Hircine, because there was more people covering their asses, but if people breathed rumors would spread.

A new teacher would probably mean a hazing of some kind and Keith wanted to see it.

[Valencia Donahue]

Next week came too soon for Valencia. Getting started on another source of income provided her some comfort, but the very thought of starting over in a new and volatile setting made her nervous. And even if she does find some familiar faces belonging to Hircine transfers, like Vince and even Tiao, what will happen? Getting assistance from people like them may be temporarily beneficial to her survival, but not in the long run when the likes of Principal Davis is involved. Being read like an open book will spell bad news for her... And this is before taking into consideration the other less-welcome acquaintances she'll likely meet. Walking down the halls and trying to commit the school's layout to memory was Valencia in a more typical appearance consisting of a faded red baby t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. With her hair dyed and let down to cover portions of her face, she could've passed for another student due to her average height. Great for blending in. Bad for a first day faculty member.

...And if I'm correct, the so-called library should be right around this corner--

It was, but so was a group of five guys causing a ruckus in front of its doors. They too heard about the new faculty member and began tormenting everyone that so much as wandered within a few yards of the area in hopes of eventually beating the new librarian into submission. Valencia furrowed her brow at the sight of a wedgie being given in public and rolled her eyes before trying to walk around the gathering. One of them caught sight of the Asian and tried to grab at her shoulder to keep her from getting in, only to get a backhand in the face. It wasn't hard enough to break anything, but enough to keep hands off of her. Valencia kept walking.

[GUY 1]: “AGH!! What the--?!”

[GUY 2]: “What just happened?”

[GUY 1]: “She hit me!”

[GUY 3]: “Ooohhhh! You got hit by a GIRL!! What a loser!”

As Valencia turned the knob, she sensed someone behind her getting riled up. She can handle this. As long as they keep underestimating her, she's perfectly fine. She pulled the door open and let it swing into the thug's way before ducking into her new sanctuary. She didn't need to turn around to know that someone's fist hurts really badly at the moment and retribution of some kind will ensue. Hearing the obscenities and jeers near the entrance was enough to ensure some kind of hot-headedness.

Now... This library isn't as well stocked as Hircine's... Hell, it's barely the size of a middle-school's library... I wonder what I'm supposed to do in here...? Where should I even start...!? Hmm... Maybe check out some records and learn more about this place... Class lists and faculty members.

((OOC: Pardon the quality... There was only so much to go off of...))

[Keith Richards]

Keith wandered the halls, along with many others. He was ignored for the most part, he looked too ratty to be bothered with. Most students were predators and he looked an awful lot like prey, no mass could be discerned with the layers he wore, but there was two things keeping them away. One was caution, the feeling the nags at the back of your mind when you walk into a bar that is shadier than it looked on the outside.

The other was lack of supply. The ones who didn't back off because of the "aura" or "vibe" that Keith had around him had to compete with the others who wanted a piece. He just kept walking and let them argue amongst themselves and was gone before they could decide who was going to get the first shot.

But the group that had caught his interest was one that had no interest in him. Five stood around the door, growling and shoving at each other and throwing out insults and thoughts. From the distance he approached it all sounded pretty vague, only ever few words could be heard. And by "words" I mean "expletives".

[GUY#1]: "Okay, okay, we can all agree I got hit!" He mumbled his thoughts on those around him, including the new arrival that looked like he needed a change of clothes and a shower. "What're we gonna do about it?"

Keith got close enough to hear, and slid up behind one of the people who just couldn't stop laughing. He was initially ignored.

[GUY#3]: "Why should I help you? Just go an' show the bitch who's boss, dumb ass." A pair of shoves were exchanged, but only one disagreed. Keith stayed silent.

[GUY#1]: "Shut up you," He turned to the others and continued with a grin, "who else wants a piece of it?"

Keith glanced between the two that seemed like they were the most aggressive and breathed out a sigh. Mindless violence had its place, but weren't they bored? When the tally was taken Keith was counted with them.

[GUY#1]: "This is sparta, bitch!" Was shouted as a kick hit the door. He didn't put enough behind it and fell on his ass.

Everyone around him placed a kick in his ribs before entering the door, which was done by simply turning the handle, and the five stepped through the library door, Keith taking up the rear.

[Valencia Donahue]

Halfway en route to the main desk and records, Valencia heard a thump from the door and turned her attention towards the weak reenactment of a well-known film. She turned around and found no excuse to overlook the potential threat of mobbed. She bent her legs a smidge and lowered herself an inch or two as the doors opened and a group of six entered the library. In any other situation, she wouldn't think twice before laying the smack down on others. Nowadays, she's been tabulating left and right whether or not what she's been doing is out of self-defense or provoking attacks. If this was any other school that wasn't ruled by the System, both parties will be punished if they engaged in a fight. Thank gawd for the System (and its weirdo rules) in this case. Valencia is a faculty member and they wanted to hurt her. It's definitely her business.

[GUY 1]: “Oh you're goin' down now!”

Valencia just blinked at him. He took a few paces ahead of the group and made exaggerated gestures comparable to the “gangsters” you see on MTV.

[GUY 1]: “Wha? Nothing? Girl too scared?! HUH!?”

She lifted a brow at him and it was very clear that she didn't take him seriously. Annoyed by the comment, perhaps, but she's concentrating on more pressing matters. A couple of the guys made their way behind Valencia and judging by how loudly they walked, they were either, lazy, clumsy, or have plenty of weight to swing around. Her gaze flicked to her peripheral vision confirm at least a portion of her estimation.

[GUY 1]: “Heh. Y'know, I'm a nice guy! I don't hit girls 'til they did something to me first, y'know? But you did something and I'm not gonna to let you get away with it!”

Gawd... Just... Stop talking... You're embarrassing yourself...

[GUY 1]: “EAT KNUCKLES, BITCH!!”

The wannabe gangsta's monologue was all the time Valencia needed to react to the downward right hook. She brought her fists up, ducked toward the wannabe's right, and shot her right leg between his legs. By shifting her weight to ram into the guy and dig her elbow three inches shy of his ribs, the larger male fell over from the counter. Valencia's assumption was correct—His balance sucked. He threw his fist at the door, he threw his weight at a [PULL] door, and his miscalculated hook were all viable pieces of evidence. She pried her leg from the heap and shook it like a cat walking calmly away from its share of carnage, only to take note that she's still in bad company with unhappy gangsta wannabe on the floor.

[Keith Richards]

Keith had stepped into the room after the idiot who wound up on his ass outside the door and once inside the room he leaned back against the wall just to the right side of the door frame. The others walked off to the right somewhere, he wasn't interested yet. His eyes briefly glanced to the left and noticed the wall held no window, shifting his gaze forward he noticed that there was an odd precision to how the bookshelves were set up. The number of bookshelves surprised him as the intelligence displayed did not warrant so many books.

A speech started up and Keith thought of what kind of music or should accompany the posturing and decided that a laugh box from a halloween clown wouldn't hurt too much. It would at least make sure his attention wouldn't fall off the deep end. He got attentive when aggression replaced posturing, but with his head leaning forward and the hood partially in his way he couldn't see who he was attacking.

[GUY#1] "EAT KNUCKLES BITCH!" A wild swing with all his might, looking to crush facial bones and leave an unconscious body to kick or molest as they pleased, the most common punch in street fights was used. The haymaker packs enough power to break a man's jaw or a woman's face, but only if it hits and it usually doesn't. The girl "unexpectedly dodged", leaving him defenseless thanks to the wide swing. Pain stabbed into his side, his breath came out in something similar to a whine, body tensed and closing in on itself as he collapsed backwards, breath not returning quickly. He pushed himself back, clutching his new bruise, waving two closest to him forward as though he had their respect still.

Keith tensed as he turned his head just enough that the hood gave way to the sight of a very familiar looking girl. He swallowed down aggression and looked forward again. It probably wasn't her, he just wanted to see her and the similar features caught him off guard. A second glance and he noticed, as Valencia shook her leg free, the figure was more than similar. A sullen smile curled the corner of his lips.

GUY#1 was down, not permanently, and that left four more with one recovering, five more if you counted Keith.

[GUY#2]: "Oh just knock the bitch out already, this is just embarrassing."

The steps that sounded behind Valencia had been of two lazy looking figures, a bit on the overweight side, looking like they were going to press forward to push the girl toward the two in front of her. GUY#4 and GUY#5 did just that, coming from either side of her back and moving closer at opposing diagonal angles.

GUY#2 and GUY#3 were doing the same after stepping over GUY#1, although they left about an arms length of distance between the two of them and went forward, instead of planning to converge at a single point. It was basically trapping Valencia inside a violent box where instincts of fight or flight would flare.

Keith remained in place and masked his thoughts and feelings under the guise of the "door guard" who was meant to keep the blonde asian girl inside the library, and others out.

GUY#5 was the first to break out of the rough formation. He came charge out from behind, his steps thumping heavily against the ground, shoulders forward and low with obvious intent. He had lined up his shoulder to tackle her to the ground from the back of her right side.

GUY#3 glanced at the charging attack with a grin. It looked more like the guy was trying to prevent a touchdown than looking to beat up a girl a foot shorter and sixty pounds lighter than him. "Pathetic," was mumbled under his breath.

[Valencia Donahue]

Valencia was on her guard as 2 was to her front left, 3 was to her front right, 4 was behind her to the left, 5 was behind her to the right, and 1 was somewhere on the floor regaining whatever sense he has left. If she was less preoccupied, she probably would've perceived Keith's presence near the door. Luckily for him, she was busy. With her senses limited to her current state of consciousness, it'll take much more training and discipline until she can take in every stimuli within the vicinity simultaneously. The box made itself smaller with each moment and she concentrated on whatever hesitation that could be detected that may signify a sudden movement. It wasn't long until 5 made his move and she heard and felt his approach as clear as day. She turned to her right and hooked her right leg behind 5's left leg. It wasn't a firm hook, but enough for him to get caught off balance and for Valencia to shove him onto his right side.

She stomped on 5's midsection caused him to recoil before suddenly getting tackled by 4. With her foot already on 5 when it happened, he got some additional damage while the librarian and his buddy fell to the other side of him. 4's attack admittedly caught her off guard and the two slammed into the floor with Valencia's arms held tightly by the guy's tight hold from behind. 4 tried to roll on top of her while the Asian fought his weight by bringing her legs up to keep the both of them on their sides. 2 and 3 rushed in to try stomping on the fallen faculty member not too long after. 2 managed to land the first hit on Valencia's shoulder and with that, she gauged when the next kick was going to come in and whipped her legs to trip him.

This made the struggle with 4 tougher and 3 seized the opportunity to aim for her head. Valencia pushed against 4 using the friction of her sneakers against the floor to move away from 3's stomp... Only barely, evident by how some of her hair got caught beneath his foot. By this time, 1 came around and was ready to actually do something for once now that the librarian is seemingly defenseless. He (and his horrendous balance) too wanted to step Valencia to get back at her and was about two when she rolled and let 4 receive the brunt of the blow to the neck. This caused 1 to stumble back and 4 to let go to tend to his neck while hollering every profane word he knew (which there might as well been 6-9 in his vocabulary). She wrapped her arms around 3's ankle to the foot on her hair and stood up to push him onto his back.

As far as the fight or flight instinct goes, Valencia was fighting, but not for dear life like when Keith first met her in the library. If anything, it was how she typically fought whenever she got jumped—Do enough damage to discourage further attempts at violence. Of course, that was easier said than done. There'll always be persistent types who didn't get enough pummeling to get the message... Like the group of five thugs getting back on their feet, more pissed off than ever.

Damn... If this was Hircine, I swear they'd try to leave by now...

This... Is... PARAGOOOOOOOOONNN!!

[Keith Richards]

Keith was watching with much more interest after he knew who was being targeted, as could be expected. The fight wasn't going too badly either, he was a little impressed. She fought a lot better when she didn't have E in her system. But she was still outnumbered. And he was getting edgy.

The brawl went on and he eventually lost track of it when it became a mix of bodies on the floor. That was the trigger that had him thinking she was going to lose. Anyone who had ever been in a fight would know that the floor was the worst place to defend yourself from multiple assailants.

But he could still see bodies moving and he was impressed that Valencia managed to keep up the struggle, even getting back to her feet despite the mass of flailing limbs and and twisting bodies. But no one was out of the fight yet and Keith wasn't much of an optimist.

[GUY#1]: He stumbled back but it was all just making him angrier. Once he regained his balance he saw that the she was on her feet again, it made him angry. He charged forward again and swung his right fist at her left side, aiming at her ribs like he was swinging a club at her.

[GUY#2]: Regaining his feet he moved over to GUY#3 to his feet and then shoved him back into position, not willing to let their prey escape. He went and took up another position, seeing what GUY#4 was getting ready to do.

[GUY#4]: Never regaining his feet, the strike to the neck having him rubbing at his neck as he writhed on the floor. When heavy footsteps of GUY#1 approaching sounded he looked up, seeing the back of their prey. With a scowl on his face he jerked his foot upward and rolled toward her, jamming the back of his leg into her back hard.

Keith saw all this and was most interested in what would happen as the two basically were attacking her front and back simultaneously. He'd be amused if they somehow managed to crash into each other, but that would be a problem too. GUY#5 had managed to get on his feet again and looked like he was just waiting for her to commit to a movement.

[Valencia Donahue]

It's a given that Valencia will anticipate 1's attack the moment he got up again. He's right in front of her, was mad as hell, and was the first of the floored students to be on his feet. With everyone else (save for Keith) writhing around her, she concentrated her senses primarily on the opponent in front of her as he charged and took a wild low swing at the stunt woman librarian. She pivoted to her left and covered her body with her arms. She couldn't completely avoid the block or null it, but she minimized the damage the best she could with possibly one of the angriest people she ever fought. She meant for her right shoulder to serve as a shield as well, but she didn't realize that 4 attacked her at the same time 1 did. He landed his rolling kick into Valencia's left side and this double-whammy was enough to knock her back. It could've been worse, but things weren't looking better either.

She fell onto her right side and by this time, 2 and 3 were up while 5 took the liberty of getting back at the girl who planted her foot into him earlier. He gave Valencia a sharp kick into the back of her hips, his way of kicking a girl's butt, and kicked her again as she recoiled from the first blow. Valencia curled into a ball and rolled onto all fours, feeling everyone's moving vibrations through her fingers and the palms of her hands. She was going to get mobbed. She didn't know which one, but one of the guys jumped onto her back and grabbed her throat as though trying to strangle a small animal. She managed to sit up on her knees and fight his grip by struggling and trying to pry his hands from her neck. Paragon students were in a different league compared to Hircine students, but they were students all the same and she was going to fight until her dying breath. That may be taken literally soon, as she can't fight forever, even if does she somehow get out of this fight alive.

If only... I had the killer instinct...

[Keith Richards]

They are dumber than Hircine students, but stick around long enough to learn from their mistakes. She isn't doing enough damage, go for the throat damn it!

Keith tensed the muscles in his shoulders and nearly bounced off the wall when he saw Valencia curl up into a ball after being attacked from both sides. That was the moment he decided to act because it was obvious that not only was the fight difficult but she also had given up.

With his fists curled into iron balls he walked quickly from the door to the brawl.

GUY#1 never expected to feel the blinding pain of Keith's fist smashing into back of his neck, just bellow the base of the skull. He fell forward and landed on his face with the rabbit punch, Keith wasn't convinced that he was breathing any more. But that didn't stop Keith from stomping GUY#1's face into the floor. The satisfying crush was followed by blood sprayed as his nose was shattered.

GUY#3 turned around and in time to block a left jab with his face. With tears in his eyes he swung a wide haymaker, but Keith swayed back and avoided it. Swaying back in he dropped a left hook into GUY#3's temple, and would've done more if he didn't lack time. Someone was coming for him, but he was using a burst of speed to get closer to Valencia who was being strangled.

GUY#5 was up and aware of what was happening, he charged Keith and caught him in the side with his shoulder. Keith lost his balance, and his breath, and stumbled back while GUY#5 continued to dig his feet in and push Keith until his back thudded into the wall. I don't have time for this shit! Pain burned along his back and throbbed in the back of his skull as he hit the wall. That didn't stop Keith from crushing at least five knee strikes into GUY#5 ribs, two that had been slowed by GUY#5's arms.

After the sound of ribs cracking Keith grabbed his shoulders and pushed back, raising his knee a sixth time to break the guys face as well, then swung his body to the right in a 180 degree turn so he could throw GUY#5's face into the wall.

When he turned around he was immediately blind sided by GUY#2 with a loud metallic pang.

Keith stumbled to the right and slapped his hand onto the desk, eyes turning to the left. Blood dripped into his left eye, he had to close it and turn his head to see the second swing off the metal folding chair. He stepped to the left hard, ducking his shoulder down and forward, the metal chair banged against his strong back muscles. Better to be hit there than in the head again, he was already feeling dizzy and was bleeding, but his back was throbbing with pain instead of simply losing consciousness. Not a bad trade, all this considered.

But that only left an unhealthy grin to spread, knowing he would make sure to brutalize them all. Keith was elated, the pain heightened his senses and swirled lust through his mind. Inflicting pain and receiving it with the object of his affections fighting for her life a few feet away. When he looked up, through the arms of his attacker, the elation flooded into his eyes. If he was anywhere other than Paragon that would've sent shivers through the attackers body.

His shoulders twisted and an uppercut was thrown from the defensive position. Keith's right fist hooked up as he straightened his legs, the uppercut impacting with enough strength to make his fist ache. The body lifted and its head jerked back while it's eyes went white. Keith didn't wait to see how the body would awkwardly land, but did notice that more blood had hit his face, he knew without looking that the bastard bit his tongue off.

Keith glanced over his shoulder and saw GUY#3 edging cautiously forward, blindly grasped the metal folding chair, and swung around while shout in rage without words. The chair caught him GUY#3 in the throat, the shout had made him tense up just enough that his arms couldn't block the chair. He couldn't take the time to see if his larynx was crushed yet or not, and snapped his eyes back to Valencia and the last.

[GUY#4]: "Whoa, whoa, wait!" He tried to pull the bitch up to her feet by her neck, use her as a shield, but a combination of sweat and her hands prying at his had her slip out of his grasp when he reared up. It didn't take him long to decide sticking around wasn't worth it, he turned and ran for the window, throwing himself out it. He wasn't a coward but he also knew that there were people in Paragon that you just didn't stick around to fight, and figured he'd just found one.

Keith looked surprised. He had to admit there was a certain charm to having someone throw themselves out a first story window to escape, it kept the elation he felt in place as he looked down at Valencia with his right eye as he tossed the folding chair away. It fell loudly. The dark circles under his eyes could not hide his grin or the pleasure that shone in his deep set brown eye as he gazed downward, letting himself soak in her beauty before he rubbed at his closed left eye with the back of his wrist right wrist.

His hood had fallen back in the scuffle and it would be soon abundantly clear who had rescuer her when he offered his hand, despite the pain that he suspected was a broken bone since he could already see a dark bruise forming on his ring finger.

[Valencia Donahue]

Since Valencia was sitting up with 4's hands around her neck, she was able to see the carnage as Keith laid waste to the group of thugs. It wasn't just painful to watch, but also nauseatingly engrossing as blood and sweat filled the air with each anger-induced injury. Her willingness to fight until she dies diminished as it was nothing compared to Keith's willingness to fight until others die. Valencia was admittedly scared at the sight... Like her last encounter with a dead body, real life is much more terrifying than what you'd usually see in the movie or on the set. Then it dawned on her... That was what Valencia wanted. She wanted to do that ever since her ex nearly killed her that one rainy day in Hircine's parking lot. She wanted to learn how to kill in the event her own capabilities fail her, especially against those who'd wish the same upon her life. The only thing that perplexed her was how Keith may be her teacher. Not Zeniro. Not those other maniacs she met recently. Keith. How ironic.

When he turned on 4, he struggled to drag Valencia onto her feet before letting go altogether and jumping out the window. She heard the breaking of glass and looked after him, taking note that the library may need extra funding to ensure that their windows won't be broken that way again any time soon.

Throw a chair into glass and break it, I understand, but Paragon obviously needs more reinforced glass to prevent students from falling to their sharp and pointy doom.

She turned back towards Keith and looked up at him. Handsome hero in shining armor Keith was not. He was a complete mess and his last meeting with her did leave a bad impression on her. Her expression showed that shock and disgust... But she quietly held his hand and was helped onto her feet by her questionable rescuer. She dusted herself off and checked for injuries. Several large bruises were beginning to form and she got scrapes and cuts on her arms and knees beneath her jeans. The Asian looked around as though in search of water or ice to disinfect some of these wounds. In truth, however, she was trying to figure out what to do next.

What's Keith doing here!? Did he follow me? Was he watching me? Am I on camera? What am I supposed to say now? Do I just go back to work? Dammit... This just complicates things...

A cool breeze wafted in from the broken window. Valencia sighed and tried to relax before taking on the best professional image she could muster while in her current state. She weakly pointed towards the door as she caught her breath and made her way to the librarian's desk. Business, but not as usual.

“Please lock that door... Then we'll talk...”

She planned to tell him what was going on on her end. Surely once he knows, all this can work to her favor and Keith may be of assistance than a burden.

[Keith Richards]

Keith saw her reach for her hand and already found himself wishing he reached out with his other hand, even if it was bloody. Her thin fingers wrapped around his own and he helped her to her feet, but by the time her knees were half bent his strength faded from the crushing pain that came from his fractured finger sapped his strength.

His grip weakened and she would have fallen back toward the ground after being halfway up, but his reflexes kicked in and he hooked his other arm behind her and pulled her up against him. Their hands were pressed between them, a kind of modesty that kept it from being a hug. But the grip on his hand wouldn't be returned at that point and he would step back and went to close the door.

Keith pulled the door toward him and locked it. He wished it sung inward so he could jam the folding chair against the door handle. Looking down at himself he realized blood had sprayed on his jacket, his face felt wet and blood was in his eye again. Couple that with a sore spot on his side and a fractured finger, which upon examination looked to be turning into a dark bruise, Keith felt pretty beat up.

Placing his wounded hand on bruised side he walked back to the desk, the bruise on his finger between the hand and second knuckle likely visible. The folding chair was picked up with his other hand and was unfolded so he could sit down, slumping his shoulders forward after seating himself. He looked beat up, but happiness could still be seen through the vale of pain.

[Valencia Donahue]

Valencia winced once or twice as she sat down behind her newfound desk in a revolving chair. While her injuries weren't extremely painful compared to Keith's, the chair she was in wasn't the best one on campus either. She checked the drawers and nearby cabinets and it didn't surprise her when she found little to nothing in terms of needs. Writing utensils, papers, folders, and other things like that, yes, but most of the really important things were nowhere in sight as risk of being stolen. As Paragon's first (part-time) librarian, it's to be expected that she had to request what's needed on top of the usual amenities... Like extremely good locks along with better windows. The busy distraction of maintenance didn't last forever as she eventually got back to Keith, whom was watching her intently. It pained her to not know how to reciprocate the happiness radiating her way beneath the injuries.

Where do I begin... And I wonder where the first aid kit is, unless they want me to stock it myself too...

“I'm Paragon's new... Part-time librarian and occasional philosophy sub. Needless to say, I'm out of my element here once you consider my other job as Hircine's library assistant. I don't know which school you're 'supposed' to be a student of, but I know this isn't the best place to—Let's just go with the fact that I have bigger things to deal with at the moment. This school's 'learning' curve being one of them alongside finding out who's where in the grand scheme of things. In a way, meeting familiar faces here may cause more of a burden than help me.”

In a weird way, an edge of desperation could be heard from her voice no matter how professional she was trying to appear. Though she was saying a good deal, there was a lot more that could be conveyed through her uneasy presence. As promised, she didn't mention Seth's involvement with her. The window was wide open and she didn't check the place for bugging devices like cameras yet. She was treading on thin ice the last time she met Principal Davis, so she wasn't going to push her luck on his campus on the first day—Fear seemed to be a decent way of keeping her in line..

“Thank you for your intervention. I couldn't have thought of any other way for you to help me.”

Once you think about it though... Valencia was never one to give up whenever she got desperate. Yes, she was implying that all this can't be handled single-handedly, but... It was just that. If she was going to handle anything, it'll require some voluntary assistance and more strength on her own part. Providing that Keith caught on, he may be the first on this front who'll give her the support she needs. Paragon's values were clearly defined for her to ensure that she didn't slip in unchecked. Fortunately for her, everyone's mistake always was to underestimate her potential. She began to roll her chair towards the filing cabinets in the next room. She wasn't going to get the keys until the next day, but she will find that opening them will reveal copies of records and other important data, including a list of Hircine transfers.

Now how do I pick locks without my lock picking friends...

[Keith Richards]

Valencia took to sorting through her desk, he couldn't guess why that would be important enough to ignore his presence and the fight that had left it's toll on both of them. It gave him time to wipe away more blood from the gash above his brow, but it was growing tedious. The scent of blood was strong, not only from him but from the guy who bit his own tongue. Keith was mildly amused that Valencia didn't seem to care that he could be bleeding to death.

She looked up and explained herself, and he was surprised. He figured she had just done something to piss them off, they certainly seemed riled up, but she was actually a faculty member. It was also that moment he realized how much older than him she must be. At least three years, if not more, but she really didn't look it. But surprise didn't invade his happiness, it enhanced it. It amused him that he was consistently trying to charm a woman and not a girl.

"My face isn't familiar here. As far as anyone will know it was you did this." He said while glancing at the broken out window. He'd leave that way to make the illusion complete. Reputation wasn't going to keep her afloat completely, but it would be a good shove in the right direction. The problem was that she obviously wasn't capable as he was, that was all the more apparent when he could hear desperation in her voice. She was still shaken, that worried him. How was she going to protect herself if she acted like a victim?

Keith stood up, pushing himself up with his good hand while keeping the other against his side, and followed her to the other room. She was sitting in front of the file cabinets and he was standing behind her. The locks were simple pad locks, but he didn't know she wanted them open, he assumed she was itching for a distraction and an escape from the bloodied room.

Not really being one for beating-around-the-bush he leaned forward and dropped his unwounded hand on her shoulder, it was mostly clean of blood, squeezing her shoulder to make her aware of his strong presence just behind her. "I gave you too much credit, I thought you were stronger. Was I wrong, or has something weakened your resolve?"

[Valencia Donahue]

It calmed Valencia to learn that Keith didn't really build too much of a reputation for himself at Paragon. At the same time, it disturbed her that he probably isn't a student altogether and stalked her all the way to this school, but she didn't indulge her thoughts. The next matter was whether or not he caught her implied message. As a member of the Network, multifaceted messages were generally expected if anyone wanted anything done without letting the cat out of the bag... That is, if members ever came across this method of communication. Keith followed her into the next room and took the liberty of holding her shoulder when he got the chance. She shifted her body in response, a sign she was still uneasy about him touching her yet tolerant for the time being because of her aims.

“Strength is relative. When you first met me, I thought I was going to die. Today... You can say it was like a tough game to me. I didn't think I was going to lose. I realize this perspective will cost me my life one of these days, but my resolve persists.”

It was a hard question to answer. Valencia had enough pride to get by and she seldom felt shame when it came to doing what she want, whether it be double-triple-crossing, playing dead, or even running away from a fight. This was one of those days where she thought she could slink off with a draw if she managed to stay alive, but she miscalculated the persistence of ego-bruised, angry Paragon students. She took note of that for future reference. If anything, what scared her was the possibility of things not going according to plan. The Asian rolled off to the side some to find some duct tape. Being the resourceful individual she was, she saw the strong adhesive as a temporary bandage and placed it in front of Keith on the counter and she looked for something as remotely useful as scissors.

“If you have any gaping wounds, help yourself to some tape to keep your skin together until something better comes along.”

The more she kept exploring, the more Keith's words interrupted her thoughts. Was he disappointed in her? Will he leave her because she didn't meet his expectations? Agh, enough of that. Why was she supposed to care when what mattered was the important stuff? Since tricky wordplay wasn't Keith's thing, she tried another approach. It was awkward and she felt exposed by just speaking, but she might as well speak her mind while she can still breathe.

“My survival instincts aren't as consistent as I'd like them to be. In other words, I'd prefer it more if I could kill at will instead of waiting 'til I'm fearing for my life when the minimal possibility arises. It will help me in the long run, especially here where I may get sacked any minute for a variety of reasons—I may either leave Paragon with a box in my hands for speaking too much or in a body bag for stepping on the wrong toe.”

Her gaze traced the scratches on the floor as she thought more or less carefully about her words... She still wasn't big on eye contact. There was no real reason for her to be at the moment anyways. She then spotted something poking out from behind a cabinet and pulled it out. It was a broken wire coat hanger, a sign that the school didn't want to spend much on a hook to be installed if it's for a librarian who'll be indoors a lot and will be needing a jacket to counteract the freezing air conditioning. Valencia began bending it curiously as she continued. It appeared to be the right width to fit inside the cabinets' locks, so she rolled back to pick at it.

“That was off-topic... Anyways, I don't like to think myself as helpless... I'm not stupid to remain silent when I could use a helping hand though. Whatever you can offer, I'm willing to accept. It's hard to put into words, but I can't request anything from the students... However, I'm perfectly allowed to receive what's given. I'm sure this is more straightforward.”

((OOC: Bah... So late at night...))

[Keith Richards]

Under his hand her shoulder shifted, but didn't reject him. He stayed behind her as she talk and nodded with understanding, although she couldn't see it since she was facing away from him, it was just an natural response. "That's half your problem then, babe, you need to approach the fight like you'll die if you lose." He looked out the door as she shifted away with purpose, his hand retracted after giving another squeeze before she was out of range completely. "Because in this place dying is the least of your worries if you lose."

Keith had no such weakness and didn't need a way around the natural sense of reluctance that most had when it came to hurting people. He would kill and maim and destroy because they got in his way. Unless someone got on his bad side, which was surprisingly hard to do, he would just beat them until they gave up or couldn't fight any more with varying degrees of viciousness depending on who and why he was fighting. Valencia needed a way to do the same, and his first thought on the subject was stated.

When she went away he followed, as she likely expected he would, and sat himself down on the counter. He wanted to rest after that fight, it didn't take long but he did take a good bit of damage. When he sat down he realized that the corner of his pants got caught on a sharp corner on the desk, where the metal was bent outward. That and the duct tape had him thinking that he could make himself a temporary bandage.

When she spoke he stepped out of the room and came back a moment later. She was staring at the floor when he reentered, he was never out of sight since what he wanted was just in front of the door, and talked while he went to work near the desk. He had brought a sweatshirt from a body that was wheezing rapidly and tore it into a strip using the sharp edge. It was pressed to his wound and used the tape to keep it in place. He would remove it and clean the wound when he had the chance, for the moment he resigned himself to looking odd.

"Do you really want to kill to protect yourself, or is that a figure of speech?"

Wait, allowed to receive? Must be a facility thing...

Keith shoved that thought aside, it itched at his mind but it wasn't the thing that he needed to talk about. Pulling his legs up and swinging them across the desk he laid down on his side, blood seeping into the cloth instead of falling to the desk from its place above the desk while the other side of his head was supported by his unwounded hand.

"I like you, but I'm not going to be your guardian. I'll preserve your life and your modesty, but anything more than that would just cripple you."

Grinning he changed subject. "So if I asked you to be mine you would be in a position to accept without question?" Keith didn't care to stay on subject when that kind of opportunity was given.

[Valencia Donahue]

Valencia never did like it whenever she spoke her second-language-English in continuous stream; Things were bound to be misinterpreted one way or another. She frowned to herself when Keith responded to her, especially with another question, because miscommunication was the last thing she wanted right now. She kept picking at the lock silently and listened to Keith as he continued and moved about his surroundings. She eventually unlocked the padlock and removed it before opening one of the filing cabinet's drawers. As she thumbed through folders regarding circulation details, she pulled out a few misfiled folders regarding collection development to look over later when she feels like ordering materials and maintaining the library's budget in one sitting. She opened another drawer after closing the other by the time Keith began telling her what he will and will not do, and she began to assume that this entire cabinet was for the technical stuff she'll take care of later. She wasn't ignoring Keith and it showed when he changed the subject. The Asian looked away and sighed, clearly not in the mood to play around.

“I may not be saying this correctly, but knowing how to kill would rid me of the hesitation that will one day end me. I can handle everything else on my own—It's people I can't handle yet, especially people who want to kill me. I'm not exactly well-liked you know, and I'll be honest in saying that I can't accept without question if you asked because I will always question... No matter who it is.”

She paused, suddenly remembering the last meeting they had more clearly. Keith directed most of his hatred towards Tiao, sure, but Valencia since felt fear towards rejecting the needle-aura'd individual now. It was clear when she didn't know how to react when she learned who her rescuer was this day. Her senses told her to tolerate him while her guts told her to do what she always did whenever Keith was involved (like running, since he's a persistent sonnuva gun). She continued, hopefully using her senses properly.

“What I'm getting at is... You know that saying where you'll feed a man for a day if you catch him a fish but you'll feed him for a lifetime if you teach him how to fish? It's like that. I want to be as dependent as I can. I can't be until I figure out how to first. I can fight, but I can't finish them yet. If I can't kill, the least I want to be able to do is have people be knocked out for reals instead of dazed, confused, and retreating like where I'm at now.”

If I knew this then, we wouldn't be here right now...

Valencia sighed and locked up the cabinet before getting started on unlocking another one with her wire hanger.

“I don't need a guardian or whatever. They never did me good when I had 'em and I have every right to question them at this point. I'll take whatever's given at best. If there's nothing to give, I'll just make do with what I have.”

[Keith Richards]

Keith was feeling annoyed. The pain he experienced and the blood he was still seeping pushed him closer to anger. He wasn't much of a patient guy, and he had been trying to be very patient with Valencia since she was skittish, but when she danced around giving him an answer to the most important question that he asked of her, well, it irked him.

Valencia had said she would always question, but that was hardly a yes or no.

Not only that but she also went and ignored what he had said to her. He had specifically stated that he wasn't her guardian, he wasn't going to coddle her, and she went ahead and reworded that she wanted to be capable of killing so she could defend herself. But he had heard that worded three times, furthering his irritation. Either she wasn't really paying attention or she was trying to further herself from him asking her out. Both bugged him.

Keith had enough of the verbal dodging and focused in on the last thing she said, using it to make his point, and to make sure that she would get the impression that trying to slip by with a noncommittal wasn't going to work again.

Stepping forward, grabbing the back of her chair, and forcefully turning her while she was trying to pick another padlock. He didn't know why she was doing it but he didn't care. When the chair was facing him Keith leaned forward, his knees wedging themselves between hers, legs bent so he could keep his knees against the edge of the seat for balance, his arms against the metal cabinets on either side of her head.

Looking down at her, his head only a foot away, he began to speak in a heated and demanding voice. "I already told you, I'm not going to be your guardian. The entire concept is bullshit, I can't and won't be surgically connected to your hip. You have to defend yourself, but I'll help you find a way to do it, but," He lowered himself further, his presence likely forcing her deeper into the chair. "But I want an answer."

"You'll take what's given, you've said repeatedly, well I'm offering me."

[Valencia Donahue]

While at first Valencia thought she was being misunderstood, it turned out that she was the one misunderstanding Keith (to a partial degree). What better way to illustrate that actions speak louder than words than to spin the swivel chair around and pin her in a position where she'll get the point loud and clear. Being in a vulnerable spot tends to wake people up anyhow it certainly got her attention when Keith was frustrated instead of romantic this time around.

Oh. Oooooohhhh...

It didn't occur to Valencia that Keith was offering himself on a romantic level on top of occupationally, but we have to blame mental heuristics for that. Things just seem easier whenever they appear clearly defined. For someone paying more attention to the occupational end though, she still can't ignore the pressure Keith was exerting upon her and the awkward position they're in. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was just as frightened of the chair rolling out from under the both of them as Keith getting (more) mad at her. In this case, it wasn't just wonkily prioritized fear at work (which tends to happen from time to time), but reciprocity as well—Get mad at her and she'll get mad back. Maybe not as mad, but enough to show her annoyance.

“Alright... Geez... I'll take it.”

Gawd.

“Right now I'm looking up info on which Hircine students transferred over here. Sure, I should get the list guaranteed tomorrow, but the sooner the better and getting the facts from other people can tell a lot more than sheets of paper. What've you got to say if you're the sort to pay mind? 'Know anyone else here? I heard that Tiao's here and going off of what I've been hearing lately, he's... Different. You've ran into Tiao, probably even here, so you must've ran into others, right?”

Valencia began to fiddle with her wire to keep her thoughts going as she stared off over Keith's shoulder.

[Keith Richards]

Well, obviously he was to be annoyed it took her so long to get what he was saying. But when she reacted like he had went overboard to get it through her ears and into her brain Keith felt like he was playing tennis. Annoyance was the ball and they were batting it back and forth with greater strength. It was eventually going to catch one of them in the throat, with varying results depending on the strength of the blow and the person it hit.

Keith was having a hard time trying to dodge the ball or smack it back at her face. It was very difficult to not smack it back at her face, particularly. Couldn't look him in the eye when he was offering himself but she still wanted more out of him. What am I, a fucking blood downer? Irritation was in his eyes and in his rigid shoulders.

"Was accepting my offer really that hard?"

Keith wouldn't press the question, he just wanted her to know that he was getting grouchy about her attitude. But he would let it go and answer her questions, while keeping her very aware of his fairly intimate presence in front and above her.

"Yeah, Tiao sucker punched me in the cafeteria. No one else from Hircine has been making much of an impression." Not entirely true, Keith just didn't care about them so they were unimportant and unworthy of mentioning.

But he never was one to stay entirely on track, and thinking that Valencia had just accepted a romantic relationship he would obviously want to explore that. That is how he dodged the proverbial tennis ball, but he had no idea that he could just as easily be smashing it back in her face.

Keith leaned forward and kissing Valencia's lips warmly. It wouldn't last long, and he would lean back and repeat a question a little more calmly. "Was it really that hard?"

[Valencia Donahue]

Old news is no news to Valencia and that didn't improve her mood much. You can't blame her though, since she was hoping for something worthwhile to come from this first-day ordeal and information was the very least she expected. Too bad she instead got more than she bargained for. Keith's irritable response ensured her that the fluff of romance was out of his system and things were just going swell until he went back into his lover mode... Just like last time. He gave her a kiss and it was clear that the librarian misinterpreted him again. She sat there silently and didn't know how to respond to his question without causing another commotion. Another one was the last thing she needed. When the warmth rose to her cheeks after a minute or so, she shook her head as if to distract herself and gave her say.

“Words are easy. They always will be.”

The ambivalence returns... And Valencia didn't want it to sink in. Whenever people are too used to her, they tend to stop her in her tracks and she wanted to get out and about as soon as she could if things weren't going her way. With Keith, things rarely did go her way. She got up from the chair, dropped the wire, gathered up the folders necessary to her job, and nodded towards Keith to acknowledge his presence (since it was sore spot they often ran into and looking down was a perfect way to hide her facial features). She left the room to wait out the blush and once it was over, she continued talking.

“I must be going now. I have a job to do. I'm sure we'll meet again in the future.”

With another nod she made her exit through the library's main door. She looked around to make sure she wasn't watched and hurried away before anything else can go wrong.