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 Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:38 pm
When Tenebrion had legs under him, he liked to go on walks. It didn't matter where, never did, so long as he got to stretch the limbs properly and feel the road beneath his feet. There was no scraping against his belly as he moved along and his form was protected by several layers of clothes to prevent the grit from caking on his skin. He did not have to think twice about how sharp a rock may be, just brazenly walked a path that crushed former obstacles beneath the sole of his boots.
For Mastipal, it was another story. Tonight, for whatever reason, she had deemed it worthy enough to join him on his short journey through the sleeping city. Tenebrion had learned not to question her as to her will, even if he knew her scales would provide her less protection to the winter chill that had settled over the city. After a few blocks of crawling, she would not protest her brother taking her up from the grime of the streets and slinging her about his shoulders. True, she did have her pride, but she also had her sensibility. Neither of those looked good when one was working their way through all matter of refuse brought across the sidewalks by the soles of human feet.
Tenebrion picked a place where it was quiet, for tonight he chose a contemplative demeanor. The line of little shops had turned off their lights at ten o' clock. There were no streetlamps to line the way until the road met the intersection far ahead, where the single traffic light became a great, red eye. There was a liquor store past that light, open all night but only from behind the bulletproof glass window. It wasn't the greatest neighborhood to be taking a walk in, but it was still a bit early for the deviants. Besides, what could a pair of demons have to fear from the toys the kids were brandishing these days?
Mastipal was graciously quiet until Tenebrion decided they had gone far enough to warrant a break. He moved to lean against the wall of a nearby laundromat, digging his hands deep into the pocket of his heavy coat until he fished out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.
"I see not why thou insists indulging in the vices of the condemned. Continue on so that this dalliance be done, I say." Said the pale serpent.
"I don't know why you made sure to come if all you were going to do was complain." Tenebrion murmured in turn, dipping his head to better light and inhale smoke when the end turned red. He leaned his head back against the brick wall, the uneven stone catching on the onyx tangle of his hair. Mastipal fell silent, though her indignance was practically tangible. She didn't take the bait, but her brother didn't really care one way or the other. She was here, he had agreed to let her come. It didn't seem important as to why.
A slow curl of smoke pooled from his lips, and for a moment it felt like home.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:59 pm
Sibyl had never been to this part of the city before. She might have never come here, feeling herself above it. Then her father had reminded her: When you sought society's refuse, you ought to look in the places where trash was likely to be found. For a week now she'd been lurking the more disgusting parts of town, fending off the assholes who thought her vulnerable with gun, knife, and once her fingernails. She was well-trained. Now, she thought she'd finally found something worth all the trouble.
Poor guy, thought Sibyl, he probably didn't even know what he was doing wrong. The safety came off her gun almost silently, and she was pointing it at his head almost before he'd noticed her.
"I don't know why that snake just talked," she said, her voice carrying down the alleyway, "but it sure looks bad for you, soul stealer." It didn't work out so well with her masculine appearance, the pure and childish soprano, but the facts were that she had a gun pointed directly at Tenebrion's head and didn't seem all that fussed about the giant ******** snake around his neck, either.
But then, he was a millenia-old demon, and she looked like she was barely out of her teens.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:40 pm
The voice that carried to his ears down the way was feminine, but certainly not Mastipal. Even in her snake form, her voice was husky and low with menace. This one was more a contralto, spoken from the throat instead of deep in the chest. Obligingly, Tenebrion turned his head and found himself staring down the barrel of a semi-automatic weapon. Most illegal, he could imagine, but one could garner quite a collection of such things from the trunks of cars parked on nameless back alleys.
He didn't flinch, just slowly raised both brows at the one who dared to point the weapon at him. No more than a child, from what he could see. She could have been another gangbanger had she not carried with her the putrified air of a summoner.
"Snake? What snake?" He inquired sincerely, but his eyes did not move from her form. Around his neck, Mastipal turned her great head to study the brat as well. Not even developed for a girl her age. What did she suppose she was doing pointing a gun at them? Humans were so foolish.
But a smile was curling at Tenebrion's lips beneath the scruff, as if sharing a secret just between the two of them. "Before you decide if you're going to shoot me, won't you humor me a little? You've clearly forfeited a night on the town to come wandering these streets looking for an innocent bystander to shoot. Now that you're here, don't you suppose you can relax a bit? Here I am, after all, not soon to be anywhere now. Do me in now and, well, what are you going to do with the rest of tonight?" He lifted his hand to take a slow drag from the tobacco stick, and the glint of his eyes were playful. It wasn't the first time his life had been threatened. "What's your name, soldier?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:57 pm
She narrowed her eyes behind her glasses, ears pricked for lies or any hint as to what the man wanted. He seemed to be a summoner--but then, he wasn't reacting like one. The insignia of the van Helsing clan of summoner hunters was visible on the light blazer she wore. Any summoner would be running, because it was sure that there were spells on her garments to ensure a demon couldn't use its powers on her.
"The bloody great one around your neck," she said, clearly adding epithets in her head, but she lowered the gun. Didn't holster it, didn't put the safety back on, but she lowered it. If she shot him now, it would hit him in the stomach--painful, she supposed, but not fatal. Sibyl had never been shot before.
On the subject of names, she stared at the snake for a few moments. She could shoot it before it hit her, maybe. Maybe. "Sibyl van Helsing, and if you're an innocent bystander then I'm a soul stealer." She might have summoned a demon to aid her here, but that didn't make her a soul stealer. Not at all.
After a moment of hesitation, she shoved the gun in the holster. Easy to reach, she supposed. "Who're you? And who's the snake?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:40 pm
"Van Hellsing. A name like that has quite the reputation to uphold," He mused, and there was a spark of light as he flicked ash onto the pavement. The armor she wore indeed felt like a decent ward to him, but any demon worth their salt knew even the most intricate of spells had loopholes. It might be a bit more difficult, but he could take her if he wanted, he thought. Use Mastipal for the distraction, take her weapon, then do her in with her own protection. However, he was curious, not to mention amused. The night was long and it'd been a while since he had seen a hunter. Truth be told, he had thought the van Hellsing line had died out within the last century. No one told him anything anymore.
"A name for a name is fair enough. So blessed be the day my Lord deemed me fit to bare the name Tenebrius. Oh. And this is my sister, Merrisal." The dark-haired man canted his head a little, pausing to allow her to digest the lie. He saw no reason to tell an enemy a name by which she might be able to bind them with, assuming she was a clever girl worthy of her surname. "I suppose I'm not really innocent after all, but I really did plan on minding my own business tonight. Just what are the van Hellsings up to these days that they send such young, nubile women out onto these dirty streets? I can't imagine such a profession brings your life any joy. Cigarette?" He reached into his pocket for the pack of them, flicking the top open with his thumb when they were procured. He held them out to her.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:55 pm
He might give it a good try, but Sibyl knew enough to at least ditch the weapon and run. She had more weapons, better weapons, back at the apartment where she was staying. But, if what she was sensing was correct, then she wouldn't have much luck staying away from this pair.
"Tenebrius?" Wasn't a name she'd learned in her lessons. She would remember it, and ask her father when they spoke in the morning. Then she would decide what to do with valuable information like the names of two unbound demons. There was a niggling feeling that something was off, and she listened to it, but no indication of the lie came through; so she let it be. Only outright lies would be punished, as she'd been taught. Well, with demons, anyway; only punish the outright lies. They can't help how they're born.
Just like she couldn't.
For someone who had been raised to be a killer, she could show quite a bit of her emotions on her face; the ripple of disgust was evident. "It's nice to meet you," said Sibyl, but that was a lie, an obvious lie. She was trained not to tell lies, because demons could sense them as well, and... Well. You didn't want a demon mad at you. "I guess you've been out of the loop, huh, Tenebrius? The van Hellsings, the Holmeses, all of us hunters are out looking for the last couple demon summoners."
The offer of a cigarette took her by surprise; her dark eyes (wasn't that an odd shade for a summoner. Black? Didn't most summoners have gray eyes?) were suspicious, but she took one anyway. She was protected against poisons, after all. "I suppose you have a light, too?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 11:19 pm
"Perhaps. And perhaps I don't really care to keep up with those sorts of things. It's no mark in my back if a summoner goes down, is it? There will always be another to rise up and replace him. You don't know a whole lot about demons if you think we care to be bossed around." His grin was sharp, a serpent's smile if there ever was such a thing. The lighter flashed between his fingers; she hadn't even seen him reach into his pocket again.
"As long as there is sin in the world, there will always be someone willing to make a deal with the devil. You can't really think you'll rid the world of summoners altogether..." A good joke, if he ever heard one. Except he knew she was serious. He had noted her eyes, but said nothing. He was sure Mastipal had seen them as well. "Just how many summoners have you killed, Sibyl?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 11:45 pm
Okay. Maybe she wouldn't try and kill this one or send him back to Hell where he belonged. (Some of them wanted to go back to hell; maybe she'd offer someday.) She brought the cigarette to her lips, inhaled, and looked up at what little of the sky she could see from the constricted alleyway. "I guess not," she said. Sibyl stared at the serpent's smile, then grinned her rather innocuous grin right back. That didn't scare her.
"Sure," said Sibyl, "of course there will be. Just like there will always be hunters. We've had some success, though--the Moriarty grimoire is in Father's hands, so they'll not be getting it back soon, and the pure Moriarty line is ended." It went without saying that she was--as far as anyone knew--the last member of that summoning family. When her job was done, she had sworn to put her own gun to her head: an honorable death, as required by her father.
Smoking was a habit her father didn't encourage; he lectured the hell out of anyone he caught at it. But sometimes, being a hunter was more stressful than relaxing. Cigarettes helped. "I've killed enough," she said sharply, and then fell contemplatively silent. Probably counting. "I wasn't alive during the purge of Europe. But it was I who killed Haneul-an and Huian Mhin... all together, more than ten. And enough of their handmaidens that I'd go away for many life sentences if I was ever caught."
She lifted both eyebrows as she looked to Tenebrion. "Going to turn me in, Tenebrius?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:16 am
His dark eyes may have narrowed a little as she spoke the names of some of the highest creed. Sometimes he forgot that humans could be quite impressive, given the means and the knowledge and the way. No doubt Sibyl's father would have loved to add the Tenebras to his illustrious collection. Too bad, though. He doubted any of the hunters could lay their hands upon that book. Or perhaps that was simply his pride talking; after all, they had not been successful in retrieving the tome. Not yet.
"I'll admit, that's quite the track record for a young one like you. You can't be a day over five and twenty." He worried his cigarette in the meantime, only attracted again by the question she posed him. An inky brow arched itself at her, and his response was coy, "Would you like me to?"
Ironic that, had he been in his full position now, she would have just finished reporting herself. But perhaps the girl had forgotten the ivory snake upon his shoulders. Mastipal was listening to the conversation and adopting the information she saw fit. Tenebrion threw the bait and she collected the spoils. She could not say that it was not working well so far.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:35 am
Sibyl knew that when she died, she'd go to Hell. Sure, she was killing animals, but they were human animals and that wasn't even her greatest sin. That sin would be the whole reason she was talking to Tenebrion so deadpan; she was prideful, prideful to a fault, and dedicated to her father's cause as if it were her own. "I'm twenty-two," she said. "If you do, I'll kill the policemen and then kill you."
Then she smiled, and this time it was of the variety that would send a normal person running for the hills.
"So," said Sibyl after a moment, "who summoned you? Are you even summoned?" Business was now the order of the day. "And does your contract permit me to kill them."
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 1:00 am
It was the destiny that all men be born into sin, destined for an eternity in Hell as soon as they reached the age of maturity. Unless they repented and followed the path of the righteous all their lives, they were condemned. An atheist who lived an honest life was just as ready to burn as a young girl who killed people for a living. It really was a losing game.
"You do tempt me," He purred sardonically, and it almost seemed like there was laughter in his voice. Her, kill him? Not likely. Perhaps she had luck with humans and lesser demons, but even banished from their realm, Tenebrion and Mastipal were a formidable pair.
"You need not worry your pretty little rifle over our sake, is all I'll say."
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:06 am
She smiled. Mockery was one of many things you learned how to deal with when you were a child as capable as she. With a sigh, she put out her cigarette against the wall she was leaning against. Then she looked back to the sky. "So you're not summoned," she said, and just like that the gun was out again. She fiddled with it, checking the sides, removing the cartridge and reloading. Just aimless play, right?
"How did you know about the sniper rifle," she asked; "all I've got on me is this gun and... an obscene number of knives." The rifle was in her car. (She wanted a motorcycle, but felt that would be too cliche. Her father also had said no.)
The cartridge was placed back in the gun one more time, and then she kicked off the wall and stepped away. "Yeah, so, I don't like killing demons all that much? So if you could tell the others you see to just get out of my way, that'd be cool. If they don't bother me, and their clients don't bother me, I won't kill them; I've got standards, and bigger fish."
After a moment, she said, "Do you two happen to know where I can find the shop 'Daemonolgie'?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:25 pm
His dark eyes remained on her face with a cool sort of resilience as she proceeded to play with her toy. She had guts for a kid; he had to give her that much. "You just look like that type of gal, I suppose." Was all he had to offer her, neither confirming or denying her earlier statement.
Mastipal flicked her split tongue with annoyance at her little speech. Just what did her brother think he was doing, associating with a whelp like her? If a snake could ruffle, she would have at the question. Ha! As if she would be getting anything out of them! Perhaps the shop was not a necessity for Hell's might to show through, but she still had no right to the souls they garnered from the place.
"You might want to try doing some wandering down in Durem," Tenebrion replied casually. This spurned a hiss of surprise and disgust from his reptilian sibling, which in turn made him grin wolfishly. Mastipal was straight-laced, but Tenebrion was a gambling demon, something that had always made him that much more interesting than she. He was willing to bet that Sibyl would find the shop eventually whether he chose to disclose its location or not; it was just a matter of time. He was also ready to place his money on the demons that congregated there when it came to the inevitable scuffle. It might not quite be the lamb to the slaughter, but it would be slaughter nonetheless. He plucked the remnants of the cigarette free of his lips, saluting the young woman lazily. "Happy hunting, sweetheart."
"You idiot." Hissed Mastipal, drawing her head around to better glare at her fool of a sibling. She was big enough that she probably could have bitten off his head. Tenebrion laughed silkily, stepping off the wall and letting the cigarette butt clatter against the pavement. As far as he knew, this meeting was finished.
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