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 Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 12:32 pm
Clif was beginning to walk back out of the alley, when he heard a scream from above. At first it startled him: he thought the Burlap had come back to finish him off. When he realized it was a human scream, he looked up. A woman was falling from the top of the building, straight down.
"Ah, s**t." He said, pulling his gun from his shoulder holster. He trained his eye on the target, a long abandoned window washing platform. With a single shot, he severed one of the chords holding it up. He shot again, this time missing his target. It was a moment of desperation, where he wasn't sure if his efforts would be enough, whether he could save her or not. However, that moment didn't stop him from pulling the trigger.
The next chord on the platform snapped, and the entire thing swung 20 feet over, just in time to catch the falling lady.
"Just hang on to that! I'll be right up!" Clif said, holstering his weapon and running into the building.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:26 pm
When Jasper heard gunshots, she thought she had become target practice for someone. Then she felt herself fall and grap onto something. She realized it was a window washing platform, and that someone must have deliberately moved them. She then heard aman's voice tell her to stay where she was.
Jasper looked down slightly and saw who was speaking. It was Clif. She stayed where she was, the fear from her fall paralyzing her. Had she not been so spooked, she would be concerned about him seeing her in her bounty hunting garb.
'What if he figures out I was watching him?' Jasper thought, but stayed where she was anyway. She also knew she wouldn't really have been killed, but didn't want to risk unwanted injuries. They would simply slow her down when she really was hunting. So she waited for Clif to find her."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:52 pm
Clif reached the window a few seconds later, and he flung it open with all speed.
"Here, give me your hand." He said to the woman. He realized he had seen her before, in the bar he was in earlier. He hadn't caught her name, but it was strange all the same to see someone familiar this far away from the normal spots.
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:06 am
Jasper saw the window above her open, then saw Clif thrust his hand out to her, hearing him tell her to grab it. She nodded and took his hand, slowly pulling herself up. The platform groaned dangerously, but Jasper was able to pull herself to safety inside the building.
"Thank you for saving me sir," Jasper said gratefully to Clif. Now that they were face-to-face, Jasper could now study the man's features. He was definitely a hunter, the way his muscles were toned. Again, Jasper's brain noted his physical features without her mind really focusing.
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:19 pm
When he pulled the mystery lady up from the platform, he noticed her uniquely colored hair and eyes. The eyes especially stood out.
There's something strange about this girl, Clif thought to himself, but he said nothing. Besides, she was kinda pretty.
"It was no problem at all." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "I couldn't just let you fall, could I?" It was then that he noticed her clothes. Interesting for a helpless damsel in distress, unless.
"So, you're a hunter, too, huh? I guess there's plenty of us in this city. Looking for some prey? I just wounded a Burlap a couple of minutes back, and, if you hurry, you can probably catch him."
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:43 pm
Jasper watched Clif as he examined her appearance. Therefore, she wasn't surprised when he guessed that she was a hunter. It was plainly obvious anyway, a moron could've been able to tell. Inside, she couldn't help but be relieved that he hadn't inquired her about being... unhuman. Nonetheless, she responded to the man's comments.
"Yes, I'm a hunter," Jasper told him, "a bounty hunter to be specific. But I hunt around for Shadows occasionally. Tonight I was looking for Shadows on the rooftops where some like to hide, and one jumped me by surprise. I was able to shoot it dead, but I lost my balance and fell." She finished, now starting to feel slightly embarassed. She normally never made those kind of mistakes, but she must have been so focused on Clif that she managed to slip up.
"I might go looking around for that Burlap later tonight," She also said, and started to leave. But then she turned back around to face Clif. "I'm not just a bounty hunter. I own a bar as well, called Dusk. Swing by sometime if you want, I'll give you a free drink for saving my butt. The bar is a couple blocks from Golden Tavern." She turned around again to leave, then said, "By the way, my name is Jasper."
Then she left to go back to her apartment. She had had enough excitement for one night.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:30 am
Jasper, huh?, Clif thought as he made his way out of the building and back onto the street. He made a mental note to go to the bar sometime, maybe even tomarrow. But, still, he couldn't shake the feeling that that girl wasn't quite human, which made him wonder about who her patrons might be.
A little way down the street, Clif found a Hunter's Station. It was strangely devoid of people, but then again, he hadn't seen many hunters out and about lately. He traded in the rows of teeth for a wad of cash, and made took off down the street, looking for a suitable place to sleep.
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 11:00 am
Alexander was right.
Sleep hadn't come easily, and in an effort to combat it, after changing clothing and feeling mostly human again, he'd settled down in front of the large fireplace in his bedroom to read. The book couldn't grip him, though, and as hard as he tried, he kept staring out the wall-sized window that made up the back of the large hall of his bedroom. It was practically a ballroom, instead of having seperate private living areas, study, or sleeping place, it was all made into one. There was a fireplace, with a thick rug spread before it over the frozen marble tile, and several comfortable and elegant chairs and a large couch.
One corner held his large four-posted bed, covered in créme and burgundy sheets, and the other had his considerable collection of books, as well as a desk.
He just... couldn't focus. Despite the warmth and safety and comfort offered in his home, he couldn't keep his mind off the chilly air of the perpetually darkened city. He was restless.
As such, he went to his generously-sized walk-in closet and selected more clothing to change into, a basic hunting outfit of old pants, a black silk shirt, and his trusty, worn longcoat. His two blades, lovingly polished to gleaming perfection, revealing the veins of light and dark crystal material in the swords, were strapped across his back, and he was ready.
Blue eyes scanning the room for things he may have missed, the Lord exited swiftly and quitely. Verrick wouldn't be happy about him leaving again... But instead of waking him and telling him, or leaving without a word, the red-haired man slipped into the servants bedroom, more conservative than his own, and wrote a quick note explaining that he couldn't sleep and had gone out to find something to occupy him.
With that, the Lord, now looking considerably more like the noble he was, hit the streets in pursuit of something interesting.
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 12:10 pm
Clif rounded a corner, and he was suddenly out of the abandoned part of town. Strange, he thought, how areas in a city were just sort of thrust upon each other. Passing from one to another, there was no gradual transition. Just, BOOM, there you are.
Not far down the street, a shabby bridge of old wood arched across a small stream, a runoff branch of the main river that cut Twilight City in two. There was another thought that ran through Clif's mind. People had called it Twilight City, Twilight Town, the City of Twilight, for as long as he could remember. But, the city hadn't always been in twilight, so what had it been called then? Sunshine City?
He dismissed the thought as stupidity when he came across a motel. It wasn't the nicest place, and Clif was sure it didn't get much business. After all, not many people came passing through Twilight anymore. Never the less, it was dry, and definantly not a street corner, so he went inside to buy a room.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 5:34 am
By the time Jasper returned to her apartment and changed out of her bounty hunting garments, it was close to 6 in the morning, though it wasn't obvious because of Twilight City's everlasting darkness. She liked to open her bar at about 8 in the morning, in order to accomodate those who enjoyed a drink in the morning. Knowing that she wasn't going to get anymore sleep, she went into her library.
It wasn't a literal library in what was once a second bedroom, but it did contain a vast amount of literature. Jasper liked to call it her personal library for that reason. In the room were many shelves containing all kinds of books, as well as two armchairs in one corner with a small table in between them. Jasper had designed the room herself.
Now that she was dressed in her everyday apparel, she walked inside the library and picked out a random book from among the shelves. She smiled, seeing that she had picked out Inherit The Wind, and sat down in an armchair and read until it was time to go to work.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 5:55 am
By the time Clif was rested enough to get up for a reasonable period, his watch told him it was about nine.
Almost eight hours of sleep on the dot, Clif thought to himself. He got up from the old, creaky bed, and left the room, turning in his key at the clerks desk soon afterward. He walked out into the still dimly lit streets, and made his way across town to where he believed the Golden Tavern was. As he neared the building, he remembered the girl from last night. Deciding to take her up in her offer, he made his way past the Tavern, and toward Dusk.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 1:08 pm
Jasper stood quietly behind the bar of Dusk, doing unnatural things such as wiping off the already shining bartop, as well as pacing back and forth. The bar was currently void of any customers, two men having come in earlier for shots. Bored, she looked out into the dark street.
She loved her regular time job. When she was younger and still human, her dream was to be a fashion or home designer, so in an effort to raise money for proper schooling she wanted to own a bar. Jasper was able to buy an old abandoned bar for a cheap price, and fixed it up to her liking. However, after she was bitten, she could no longer chase her dream of being a designer. Soon enough, she fell in love with her bartending job, because she got to meet many interesting people.
Although the name for the bar sounds eery, it is actually a very classy looking place. The lights were slightly dim and could have a tint of any color Jasper chose. Today there was a slight lavender glow. The bar, stools and tables were a cherry oak color and polished. The bar served light meals, such as soups and salads, but it was more of a place to get a drink. There was an abundance of different drinks, including special drinks for supernatural beings such as herself.
Jasper walked over to where drinks were held, allowed herself a quick shot of blood, and laid across the bartop. This is what she usually did when no one was around. Still bored, she wondered if Clif was going to come by today.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 3:05 pm
Another day, another work shift. Andrew muttered and cursed at his alarm clock on principle. In truth, his job was not so bad. He got a quiet joy from working near so much green and growing life. But he had nonetheless picked up the habit of complaining any time he had to do work. It was a difficult habit to break, especially since he had never tried. Dragging himself out of bed and shuffling his feet in an exaggerated show of reluctance with no audience, Andrew showered and quickly dressed in his uniform. It was a plain gray coverall with matching cap and, of course, his name badge with the awful photo that made him look drunk and bloated. It was the only part of the job he truly did detest, but he put it on anyway and off to work he went.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 7:07 pm
Clif pushed open the door to Dusk and was surprized by a glow of soft purple light. He really got a classy, slightly jazzy mood from the place. Suddenly, he took a mental snapsot of himself, and realized he didn't own a single classy thing. Red-brown leather on black, his basic and only wardrobe. When you've got no home, you pack light.
Feeling he was massively underdressed, Clif contemplated on turning back, heading to the Golden Tavern instead. Then, he saw that he was the only person in the room.
Almost only, he corrected himself as he saw Jasper lying atop the bar. He leaned against the doorframe.
"Having fun?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 4:36 am
Jasper was in the middle of one of her usual daydreams when she suddenly heard a man's voice. She jolted up from her laying down position, unfortunately causing her to knock her head into one of the lights above the bar.
"Ow!" She cried. She looked over to the entrance of the bar, seeing none other than Clif. As she rubbed her forehead slightly, she jumped off the bar. She walked over to the cooler, put some ice in a bag, and held it to her forehead.
"Looks like you decided to take my offer on a free drink," Jasper said, smirking.
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