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 Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 5:16 pm
"I...ah..." Lucretia's mouth went dry. Inhumans always made her nervous, exacerbated by the fact that she forever wore her contraband cross. Couple that with the fact that the werewolf was an Executioner, and Lucre was lucky that she didn't just flee back to the clinic. She didn't though, that would be humiliating. Instead, the doctor took a deep breath and tried again, this time with a firmer tone. "Yes. It's quiet at the clinic, and I though to treat myself to a lunch out."
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 5:29 pm
Nodding, Dee played with the chain holding her cape around her shoulders, and wondered if the dear Doctor Lucretia Marrick got enoug to eat, as thin as she was. It made Dee want to run out and kill something herself, though she didn't think that'd endear her to the older woman, and would do even less to get Dee where she wanted when it came to Lucretia.
"That's good. I've only been here two weeks, but you come out way too seldom from your clinic, Doc," Dee growled softly, not threatening, but she just couldn't purr. She was a wolf, not a cat. Brushing at one or two strands of her black hair that usually hung low enough to be such a bother, Dee smiled lopsidedly and stretched lazily, enjoying the feel of her sun-warmed stomach-muscles bunching and relaxing. While the good doctor was a mite too thin for Dee's liking, she had nice legs.
"And it's not good for you to not interact with other people than your patients."
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:25 pm
"I'm just busy..." Lucretia suddenly felt like a deer meeting a wolf in the woods. The wolf didn't seem hungry, so there was no clear threat. But neither could she really let down her guard. "People get sick, or are hurt nearly everyday."
((*feels compelled to hum "Hungry like the Wolf"*))
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 10:37 pm
Jackson's eyes narrowed minutely and his hand automatically drew back, his fingers curling in towards their palm. A vampire, was it? Wandering around in the middle of the day, too. And here he'd been naive enough to think that it was just some lost (and not very streetwise) girl. If this were a horror movie he'd be the guy lured down the empty hall by the sound of a lady crying, just to have some hideous half-dead woman leap out at him and rip open his throat.
Oh, wait. That sounded a little too realistic, given the current political situation.
"Blood?" He asked, not bothering to keep his voice low as she had, but forcing it into a clipped politeness. Given the place of power Vampires had in society, he couldn't afford to be blatently rude. "We don't have any of that for sale here, sorry. You might try the clinic, but I don't know if they would have enough. We go through the transfusions pretty quickly out here. Close to the city, you know." A soft sneer was playing about his mouth and he began to reach for this pocket before remembering that he had left his cigarettes on the counter behind him.
He turned back to the bar and Spooky. "We've got a stable about twenty feet outside the back door. We have a couple empty rooms upstairs. Heating and running water. You got a preference on what direction the window faces?"
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 6:54 am
The city was silent and dark, the clock closing in on midnight but still with some hour to go before it became a new day. A wind blew through the empty street, some leaves dancing along upon the packed earth. A ghost city? No, too well kept, too clean, even though it looked a bit desolate. The vampire walked down the, most probably, main street, after all, the gates in the old-fashioned wall surrounding the village didn’t have many openings to begin with so it came as a somewhat obvious conclusion that this was the main road. But the little town really did seem deserted.
They knew that this place did not have an Enforcer, that was why they had sent him to check on it, because if people lived here, he would have to take up residence. Not that it was something he looked forward too. Actually, if there were few enough around, and it really was a small town, he might just as well enjoy a large meal and then dispose of any… unfavorable eyes and report it to be deserted. This was not his ideal place to live at… the village was practically lying in the middle of nowhere! Nothing around for days of travel! Really, no wonder it had been over seen for so long. Russia was a big place, and even that was underestimating the size lightly, and this little speck of houses and filth in the middle of nowhere? It’s a wonder they even noticed it in the first place, he snorted.
Looking to one side, the male almost jumped in surprise when there suddenly stood a figure some dozen feet away from him down the street. It stood unmoving, still and silent like the rest of this forsaken town. Glaring at the figure he saw, in the almost nonexistent light of the cloud-covered moon, that it was a female, a young human woman. He gave a small sneer. So there were people here after all, eh? Bugger, just his luck. Hopefully they were few, actually, considering the empty look of the place he wouldn’t put it beyond impossible for this to be a dying settlement on about ten or so people. He could finish that, no problem. Kill half and eat half or something. Perhaps even get one for himself and have some fun before leaving? You never knew.
“Who are you!” he called out, his tone clear and demanding. It was not a question but a request, showing his authority.
The human finally moved, really, had she not done that he would have thought her a statue. She titled her head a bit to the side, a smile spreading over her calm lips. “Who’s asking?” she inquired in a soft, Russian drawl. The corner of the vampire’s mouth twitched. Cocky this one, eh?
“An Enforcer, possibly your within an hour or two,” he replied curtly, letting the unspoken ‘so you’d better speak up quickly’ hang for her to read or ignorantly miss. Really, some humans just ate on his nerves. There was a slight giggle that made him narrow his eyes and concentrate on her face. What was so funny anyway? But from the sound of her laugh, he’d guess these humans had gone without any “outside” contact, and proper order, for far too long.
Smiling the young woman lowered herself to the ground, sitting on her heels. “There is no need for that here,” she said simply.
“What?” If she was trying to fool him she would be the first meal of his stay here.
"There is none living here. 'Tis is a city of the dead," the young lady replied, tilting her head and looked as if, for all the world, she was stating an obvious fact that should be known worldwide.
"Then what about you?" the Enforcer crossed his arms in front of his chest, giving the irritating human the disbelieving gesture of a raised eyebrow and a pointed stare.
"What care do a hundred dead have for one living?" she said before straightening her head where she sat, squatting, still, looking very much like a bored cat. The vampire was about to give the rude human a retort and demand some real answers when something swished by with a snapping sound, catching the light and giving off a tiny flash for a millisecond.
"! Agk--!" The Enforcer's cry was cut short as his head was severed from the body, the corpse falling to the ground like a broken marionette a second later as the muscles gave out. The human sat immobile some feet away from him, simply staring. Then she slowly stood up, as if what had just happened didn't move her the least. Looking down upon the quickly cooling body, she didn't flinch a muscle.
"And what care do a hundred humans have for one vermin?" she slowly asked of the dark surroundings as a chilly wind blew through the dark town. The clouds were slowly being pushed across the sky but at last the moon broke through, shining in its full, glaring glory. And as the pale light fell upon the lines and curves of streets and rooftops, somber, callous statues were revealed. Standing in previously blackened corners, crouching upon roofs and hiding in other nooks and crannies were figures, all dressed in similar tight, dark outfits as the young female on the street.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 7:42 am
Dee nodded amiably, knowing that Lucretia was right; people did get hurt all the time. Especially normal, run-of-the-mill humans. It just couldn't be helped.
"Of course. Though it would probably be better for you if you had someone to help. Would give you more free time," Dee smiled easily, with a slight too many teeth showing, but friendly enough. She had seen Lucretia around Cascade a few times since she came here, but this was the first time she'd had a chance to talk to the pretty doctor - not even her rather severe hairstyle and boring, if practical for her work, clothes could conceal her looks - and Dee had noticed Lucretia was getting nervous; no need to scare her away so early. That would just make Dee's future attempts at talking to Lucretia harder.
"It's funny how much people in a relatively small town like this get hurt, really..." Dee mused, tilting her head to the side and letting the sun half blind her. She didn't mind, though, as it warmed up her face pleasantly and highlighted her cheekbone.
Spooky raised her glass, newly filled with more cider from her bottle, and nodded.
"Cheers. That's great, and I don't really. As long as there's some space outside the window, I don't care in which direction it's pointing," Spooky said with a shrug and drank from the glass as she studied the vampire again briefly. The way she was hunching like a wilting flower probably meant she was starving herself.
Though why? Spooky wasn't overly curious, though, and any way, she wasn't going to kill any vampires this soon. She'd just finish this bottle and then go and take care of Sunny. Her poor horse deserved it.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 8:05 am
"It's just a sign of the times, I suppose..." The doctor sighed. "We're not the most dominant lifeform on the planet anymore." Her tone spoke of a defeat that affected every human on the planet. There had been a time, so long ago, when life had been different. She could still remember it.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 8:20 am
Waking up from her light reverie, or rather contemplation, storm grey eyes turned to stare out the window at the landscape rushing by outside the train. She had left her home not too long ago, a week or so perhaps, and even though there finally, for the first time ever since the war, had come by an Enforcer, that wasn’t what had prompted her leave. The government had gotten lucky and finally noticed, for the third time in their known history!, that there existed a small village out in the middle of nowhere and that it should probably be checked upon… it was on the map after all. No, they had quickly, and easily enough, disposed of that annoyance. She had already been scheduled to leave for some time now, her time to leave for a destination outside the borders, or should we say old borders of Russia because, really, Russia as it were no longer existed in this new world. No land that once existed really was the same after that apocalyptical war ten years ago so it would be a true mockery of their beautiful world of the past to call any country by its former name.
Letting out a light sigh, the young woman lazily followed the blurred forms that floated by. In this day and age, train was, by far, the best and most efficient form of transportation. One, you didn’t have to rely on the inhuman controlled fuel depots, and two, you didn’t have to worry much about getting stuck somewhere along the way. However… there was the sliiight troublesome thing in knowing there were other vermin in the train too. Letting out yet another sigh, more irritated and snappy to the sound, the woman tried to smooth her face out and loose the grimace of contempt resting over her visage. It didn’t work so well…
Shaking her head, the woman stood up, pushing a lock of pale red hair out of her face and stretching lightly. Ok, something to eat might improve her mood, well, hopefully anyway. She was on a train, moving rapidly and with still a ways to go before her stop, there was no way she could afford doing her “duty”.
Exiting the compartment that was, thankfully, empty excluding herself, she began to move down the hallway. She considered herself lucky having it to herself, but then again, someone to talk to wouldn’t have been so bad. Moving from one carriage to another, she closed the door behind her on the howling wind and sunshine. Looking up, her eyes fell on the far end of the long, dark corridor. This hallway had no windows, only small, evenly spaced lamps on the walls, which gave the illusion that they were oil lamps with a small flame inside the decorative glass bowls protecting the light source. However, that was not the case and it was just for show and atmosphere, she knew that.
This carriage was for the more… light sensitive passengers, or as you more commonly said; vampires. She called them vermin, or abomination, along with everything else “inhuman”. Her people had fought their kind for ages, always trying to hold them at bay, if not exterminating them completely. Even before the rest of the world became aware of them, her ancestors had fought them, killed them and protected the world. She was just like them too, she was a protector of this world, one of the shadows that killed the darkness… a shining light, Jelena.
Walking down the aisle, her mouth tightened as a thought hit her. The humans’ way to reach the serving cart was through the vampires’ carriage… they had literary made it so that on the humans’ way to their food, they, themselves, made up a walking refreshment table for the more inhuman part of the train’s load. She wanted to hit someone. If a vermin came within her near vicinity now she would… she wasn’t sure if she would be able to hold it.
“Hey, baby.” Argh. Yes, no, yes, no. No. Yes? “How about stepping inside and have a little fun?” Yessss.
The muscles in her arms tightened and her fingers itched to reach for her thread as she forced herself not to kill him right then and there in the hallway. Forcing urges and instincts down, she flashed him a seductive smile. “As long as I get some before you do,” she replied as arms encircled her waist and pulled her along as he walked, backwards, into the compartment again.
A heated kiss. Don’t throw up. Don’t kill… not yet anyway. Stay your hand, let him close and secure the door. Get further away from the entrance and into the blackened coupe. Yes, soon, so soon. When? …Now. Shnnk! “Angk--!”
Holding onto the head and the body in her arms, Jelena made sure no noise was made as she quickly moved the dead vampire as far away from the door as possible. Getting away from the corpse, before her dress acquired a new color or pattern, she let her eyes rove over the compartment in swift but careful examination. Anything of importance to her here? No, it didn’t seem so. Alright, get out of here and over with this delaying business before anyone gets reason to blame you. Swift in, swift out, moving like a shadow in the corners, that was their art, their trademark. Style and cleanness in the job, no cards or blessings, no ridiculous fancy words or actions, just there and out again.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 8:20 am
Dee raised an eyebrow and stood up, stretching in the warm sunlight. Her sudden move has the horse, named Sunny, apparently, jerking her head up and snorting water everywhere in surprise and nervosity. Dee smirked and bowed her head to be able to look Lucretia in the eyes.
"Just because you thought you were the dominant race, doesn't mean we were..." Dee's voice dropped an octave and became something of a rumbling growl, her short, midday-shadow somehow managing to be deeper and darker than should be possible.
Flexing her hands, Dee sat down with a whump on the wood again, smiling more amiably.
"Not that it matters, any more. Things are as they are... right now, anyway." Dee's grin told of something else, for a bare moment, though what it was... then it slid into an open, bright smile that didn't say much of anything, except, possibly 'I'm liking this view'. Dee had to keep her urge to straighten up and show off in a firm hand. Lucretia would probably just feel threatened... of course, then Dee should really have kept on sitting down, instead of standing up right then. Oh well.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 8:36 am
Dee stared her down, and that image of a deer and a wolf came back to Lucretia's mind again. Her glasses formed a most ineffective shield as her eyes met the were's, when before, they had kept her from really seeing horrors of the war. They formed a barrier that kept her in control as the 'doctor'. Her labcoat had been her 'armor' before, but now it was again nothing more than white cloth, as fragile as her bare skin.
But then the moment passed. Dee smiled, and everything was 'alright' again. Lucre gave her own, very weak attempt, her lips pulling up slightly.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 8:44 am
Lucretia hadn't fled, at least, and that smile, however small and timid it was, made Dee smile that much brighter, feeling eagerness bubble up and she had to squash it before she did something stupid. Like pounce on the good doctor far, far before she was ready for a move like that.
At least she was completely sober now, though another beer wouldn't be wrong... she needed lunch, though. Wasn't good to drink on an empty stomach this early in the day...
"I'm sorry. I seem to have held you up, Doc." Dee shook her head and slid to the side of the opening in the rail that she was occupying. Not that she didn't want to keep Lucretia here talking, she had a really nice voice, and the rest of her... but that was rude, and Dee knew she had to take it slowly. Even though something inside was bouncing around in tail-wagging eagerness to just lay down a prey, place it at Lucretia's feet and then get her reward for that. Bad pet!
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 9:08 am
"Ah...right..." Slowly, Lucretia nodded, a touch dreamily, as she ascended the stairs, past Dee. She turned her head to look at the werewolf out of the corner of her eye. The were was out-of-focus in her side view. And then she was gone entirely as Lucretia entered the tavern.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 9:24 am
This was… nice. Absolutely, ******** perfect. Sighing, Jelena shook her head. It just wasn’t as easy anymore to kill vampires and other abominations in the open as it once was. They were privileged members of society now after all. Troublesome, real troublesome.
It hadn’t even gone half an hour before it had been discovered, but she was a bit surprised that they hadn’t noticed it earlier actually. She had have to be extremely careful when exiting the vampire’s compartment, knowing that if anyone saw her she would have to act sluggish and tired, as if she had just lost blood. She already smelled a bit of it due to having been in there with a bleeding corpse, she knew any vampire she met would be able to tell even that a faint perfume on her, it was their food after all. Though, she had expected to get a little more time before the smell of blood became so much that they would go and check on her victim.
With her hair up in a bun and only a few, thin, ringlets hanging down to frame her face for looks and this outfit she might not have been someone you put on your mind. She could bring on a much more stunning appearance but for this train trip she had chosen an as common and uninteresting look as possible. She wasn’t sure if it was that commonness or her face in itself, or eyes even, that had caught the vampire’s interest, or if he had simply just been hungry, but she had gotten stuck with him… and now he was dead. Whoops, to say the least.
In her compartment, which she had returned to after buying a sandwich and an apple, Jelena quickly changed out of the plain, black and rather, if you may say so, nun-looking dress to a dark marine one. Still long-sleeved, this one, however, ended at her knees, had a decorative cloth belt, white cuffs and a similarly colored v-shaped neck that ended just above her breasts. Undoing her hair, she quickly combed it through with her fingers and put it back just below the nape of her neck with a ribbon. No make-up and it was done. Now she looked some five years younger. Really, she felt it was too easy for her to manipulate her age, it was almost so that she felt sorry for herself at times. Changing into a pair of sandals with some two inch heels, compared to her previous completely flat, orthodox shoes, she stuffed the rest of her things into her bag.
Ok, was she finished here? It seemed so. Was the next station or town near? No idea—
Just as that thought passed through her head, the train’s speaker sparked alive and announced that they were nearing their next stop.
Oh well, good as any, Jelena thought with a slight shake of her head. Now, to wait for that stop… or jump train and get off in advance. They didn’t keep a record over the passengers on the train, when you went on and off and at some stations they did take longer stops… making it possible to miss your train if you got off to stretch your legs. Their last stop had been one of those kind of pauses, but did she have enough time to wait for the next station and would it be more preferable to sneak off now or later?
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 2:02 pm
Ruka recognized at once the edge in his voice when Jackson realized she wasn't a human. She sighed a little sadly, and stood enjoying the shade of the bar for just a few moments longer.
"...I'm sorry to have bothered you..."Ruka said quietly as she slipped outside the doors of the bar just as Lucretia entered. It was bad luck for her, certainly, that the clinic doctor had just passed her and she hadn't the slightest inkling.
As soon as she was outside, she was hit again with the wave of bright heat, which only made her feel even more drained. She swayed slightly where she stood as she reddied herself to walk again, when she spotted Dee. A werewolf, obviously, but why was she...Ruka spotted the tatoo.
An Executioner? Here? It didn't really seem like the place for one...This town seemed quiet...it wasn't her buisness to pry.
"Hello..."she just barely more than whispered as she passed by Dee. She didn't want to be rude, even if she was afraid of the woman standing so near by, especially since she was very likely to know why it was that Ruka wore her blackout cloak.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 2:28 pm
Raising an eyebrow, Dee gave a quick, lopsided grin, though she wasn't sure the vampire had noticed it really. It was just so hard to tell when she was bundled up like that.
"Hello. Having no luck, do you? You could just demand Feeding," Dee said with a shrug. She wasn't particularily impressed with how things were, but she had more important things going on for her Mistress... and with the good doctor, than to care much more than superficially about the current state of affairs. And then, with how timid the girl was, and how she was still staggering around, it was clear she hadn't, and probably wouldn't, demand Feeding.
Rather pathetic, really, in the way she let herself starve, but some people had rigid ethical and moral codes they wouldn't even bend for something as natural as their perfectly normal nature. A wolf hunted deer, killed it, and then ate it, and there was nothing wrong with that, now was it?
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