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 Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 8:56 pm
The winter months had been rough for Katrina Halloran-- Too many things to run from and not enough ways to escape. The weather, cold and wet and icy had kept her off of her bike and out of immediate danger for far too long. The weather had finally broken and now that races were slowly starting to assemble again it was time to fly. Kat uncovered her bike, walking it out of the garage she'd been keeping it in before straddling it as she revved the engine. The sound of her bike revving to life was one of the most beautiful things, the rumble and roar reminding her that she was alive. It felt good to have the power harnessed between her thighs again and she was grinning as she pulled her helmet down over her head. For some time it had been hard to associate her bike with anything positive. Racing was what had gotten her into her alternate life. It had been how she'd met the man who had changed her, drawing her into a life of danger and darkness that she had come to love. It had been her way of scraping together enough to make ends meet. It had been her way of running. Now? Now... It was more than that. Now it was her way connecting. She had pulled enough of herself back together with the help of others that she could hop onto her bike and feel like her General, her mentor, was racing alongside her again-- And who knew, maybe he was. If he was a ghost maybe he'd just haunt all of them. Maybe. Maybe.... Maybe tonight she'd win. Maybe she'd use the winnings to treat her best friend to a girl's night. Maybe she'd get a room at a fancy hotel and bribe a cat to shield it while she invited someone over. Maybe. Maybe... "On your mark.... Get set... GO!" Maybe tonight would be the night that she'd chase all of the ghosts away and find the real thing. Nuxaz Sorry it took so long to get this up! Prepping to move is still my least favorite thing all over again. ;;
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 2:06 pm
In the days leading up to the street race, Chase had been making use of his time away from Priscilla, while she worked or was doing whatever she did when she wasn't at his side, tending to his vehicles. All in all, the Camaro was still in pristine condition and it looked like maintenance was being upheld on his bikes; Hermes and Achilles.
Despite himself, he was surprised that Regan - he assumed Regan because he didn't think anyone else would care enough - maintained work on them. The second bike, Achilles, was not yet in a condition to race with to his disappointment. Hermes, however, was ready.
Riding the sleek bike was freeing as it always had been as he tested it on long empty stretches of road he knew he wouldn't be bothered on. They were the same streets he used to take London riding on, before she'd left the city the first time after a fleeting summer of wandering hands and bruising kisses. Which meant it had been years since his tires had torn up those roads.
But, time was a funny thing and even though he was back and the passage of time was much more apparent than it had been in the Rift, it was still a bit of a foreign concept to him. He'd adjust, eventually.
Chase knew he was taking a risk, showing up for the race without warning or even tricking Prissy into finding out if Katrina would be present, but he figured he could keep showing up until he ran into her. He had arrived on time, but kept to the back, every inch of him covered in something dark. His helmet was flat black, as it always was and right before the GO was announced he could see the gasping surprise when people realized who he was.
The Midnight Rider, who hadn't shown his face in over six months.
Although no one would see it beneath his visor, Chase was smirking, Hermes' engine revving as the race began and he peeled out of place like it was instinctual.
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Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 8:00 am
Katrina Halloran had no patience for whispers, hushed or otherwise. Excitement was rippling through everyone and she'd made the mistake of chasing whispers before. Imitations paled in comparison to the real thing and following the rumors always lead to disappointment. She knew better than to think the sudden surprise and hesitation from other riders was anything but another cheap knockoff. If the real thing was back she would know. If the real thing was back someone would have told her. He would have told her-- Issued a personal challenge himself or something. She was important enough to warrant something like that... Wasn't she? Gloved fingers flexed around the grips on her bike as she pulled away from the 'start', peeling past the scantily clad woman who'd dropped the checkered flag. Kat knew the course well enough that on a dark night with empty streets she could make the run with her eyes closed. Tonight she was alert and determined, however, listening to the sound of bikes revving and speeding along after her.
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Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 3:00 pm
There was a thing to be said about grand reveals and Chase felt as though his return was best announced the same way his other side had been revealed to one Katrina Halloran. As with everything, there was a reason he wasn't ready to explain to her as to why he had chosen this course of action opposed to perhaps summoning her or calling for her as he had called for Dia.
Then again, it seemed like everyone had leveled up a bit in his absence. Methods such as that seemed...demeaning from his perspective.
It didn't matter, he would deal with the fallout or whatever else happened when the race was over. For now, he would focus his attention and energy to the way the bike moved beneath his body, each shift and turn carefully calculated as they ran the course he knew like the back of his hand. No matter how much time was spent away from Hermes, driving the motorcycle was second nature, easy and automatic like breathing.
Hermes always did wonders when it came to helping him unwind.
Kat's bike remained ahead of him until they grew closer and closer to the finish line and Chase did a tricky move that with anyone else, might have resulted in a crash and burn out, but he trusted the other rider and her instincts. Which was why he cut across her, purposely.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 7:28 am
Katrina was one more for thrills and risks than anything else, but when the other rider cut her off her heart stopped. In seconds the past few months flashed before her eyes-- her binge drinking bender after everything that had happened with Aluminite and his new alias, the time that she'd spent secluded and running herself ragged, pushing herself further and harder to make herself stronger so she could continue to stand on her own even as she yearned to be a part of something again. Her twenty first birthday; the party that Prissy had put together just for her. It had been perfect... Had she let the pinkette, her best friend know how grateful she'd been? How much she thought of her? If she didn't get her head out of her a** and think fast she'd never get the chance to. She was going to die right here in the streets, body mangled beneath the weight of her bike because some a*****e decided to make a risky play. Kat swerved at the last minute, cutting a sharp left that just barely managed to keep her from hitting the ground.She dipped low before shifting her weight to balance out again as her bike raged forward. The other riders were far enough behind that she might be able to get back on track and still pull off a win, but the son of a b***h shrouded in darkness and trying to claim a name that wasn't his seemed to be more interested in making things personal. She was going to enjoy devouring them.
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Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:43 pm
Riding was exhilarating-- freeing.
Being on the course right now with riders to the left, right, and just behind him reminded him of when he had first picked up racing. Hermes had been a gift to himself, a six letter word used to give him back a semblance of control when he'd lost it in his youth and now, it was something of second nature.
Riding and racing was as easy as breathing for the man.
While he felt contained -- caged -- in the human skin that made of Chase Black, with chaos crawling up and down his bones until they caused his skin to itch, the longer he was on his bike the more relaxed and loose he felt. It was strange, yet comforting in some twisted manner that reminded him of his inability to relate to humanity as time progressed.
Hermes dipped with Chase watching in his mirrors to see how Kat reacted. As expected, though there'd been a twinge of what if she doesn't-- that passed, she adapted and he found himself grinning beneath the dark mask of his helmet. Righting himself, his attention was back to the open road before him, the finish line creeping up on them. He could see it and all those that waited for them up ahead.
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:20 am
The slight detour had set her back, but her reaction times had been enough to avoid a crash and her bike was fast--- not fast enough to beat the other rider to the finish line, but fast enough to catch up and come in an angry sixth. Her bike clattered to the ground as she came to a stop and leapt off, only wincing slightly as she tugged off her helmet and stalked towards the son of a b***h that had cost her the race. Spring green eyes were gleaming with barely contained rage and more than a trace or two of madness that spoke of the power bubbling within her that she hadn't quite mastered control over yet. Fortunately for the rider, and everyone else present, Katrina Halloran knew just how stupid it would be to power up in front of everyone and expose herself for the monster she was; the beast she'd learned to be. She stopped just shy of the rider wrapped in midnight, clenching her fists in an attempt to keep herself from shoving him off of his bike. "You, me. Private race." If he was who all of the whispers were claiming he was he would know the significance of those words. If not, maybe whoever it was would just be arrogant enough to agree and she could take things from there.
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:39 pm
He hadn't bothered to dismount once he crossed the lines. Instead, he watched her beneath the darkness of his visor as she crossed and angrily approached him. Hermes shifted beneath him as he adjusted his weight, resting it all heavily on one foot as the dark helmet turned towards her.
Katrina had always been impulsive and rash but there was something else bubbling beneath his skin that would have had him narrowing his eyes if they'd been visible. As it were he smoothed the pads of his riding gloves over his jeans and he nodded. For a brief moment Chase debated not saying anything at all, knowing that it was possible his voice would give himself away if his actions hadn't already but while his voice still very arguably Chase there was a certain raspiness to it now that might have been different enough.
"Name the course," he stated, voice as clear as it could be despite the muffling of his helmet. He should have taken off the mask, but there was a certain appearance he sought to maintain as the mysterious Midnight Rider who had suddenly returned after endless months.
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 3:26 pm
"We'll head down around the industrial district and end at the start of Coffee Boulevard-- you know, where that shop 'Just Add Coffee' sits?" She took his words again, could remember them as though she'd only heard them yesterday. They'd stuck with her, as everything else about that night had.... Along with everything from the months to follow. Her stare remained intense as she locked her gaze on where his eyes would have been beneath the shield of her helmet, lips pressed together to hold back anything else she might say impulsively. Katrina took a deep breath and drew her helmet back on, muttering one last thing before turning back to retrieve her bike. "And if I win I want to see your face." Those who had gathered around to watch the 'confrontation' parted around her as she stalked back to retrieve Tulgey. She'd check the bike for nicks and scratches later, more focused currently on getting back on and starting it up. The engine roared to life beneath her and again bodies backed away as she brought her bike up alongside the 'Midnight Rider'. "Ready.... Set... GO."
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 9:29 am
Chase was impressed with Katrina's memory.
Their first meeting had been well over a year ago and yet, word for word, she threw his first challenge back at her. His response was to laugh, a low and throaty laugh. She was still the same werecat he'd taken under his cloak however long ago but surely there were changes he wasn't privy too.
And he wondered if she'd let him be privy to it, after everything.
Chase mused that he'd find out at the end of the race. Time often took a toll on relationships of any nature and surely his six month disappearance would have taken a toll. It did not matter that he had left because he'd been forced. Both Silk and Prissy had confirmed that things had fallen apart and Suri had admitted that she was too caught up in research to try and wrangle them all back together; not that would have mattered since from what he'd been told the rest outranked her.
He supposed that he should have felt pride that the people once in his 'team', his wolves, had crawled their way to the top but there was a lingering thrill of uncertainty that crawled along his sink mixed among the ever present itch of chaos in his veins.
In the end, Chase didn't bother to respond and revved Hermes' engine in response. When the GO was announced he peeled out of place, taking the first turn easily and he couldn't stop the deja vu that threatened to hit him too hard.
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 11:59 am
Only once they were away from the crowd of people, blocks between them and the jeers and cheers, did she really settle into the race. She could shed everything that had been holding her back and just ride, urging herself further forward at the sound of the other rider's bike roaring up alongside hers. The course was one that she had raced along whenever the weather permitted; one that she stalked and hunted in the hopes of finding the man who'd been missing for so long. She knew the ins and outs of the road now, ready for whatever trick or trap he might be willing to pull now that they were back on 'his' turf. It was probably a good thing that the majority of the construction that had been going on that first night had been finished... It was reassuring to know that if he disappeared to zip ahead this time that she could too. But--- but what if he disappeared this time and didn't come back. Katrina snarled inside of her helmet, gloved fingers gripping more firmly at the handles of her bike. It would be different this time. She'd--- she'd show him. She wasn't afraid now, wouldn't be afraid again. It wasn't fear that caused her pulse to quicken, her heart to thunder in her ears. It was-- it was excitement. It was determination. It was a desire to show him that she'd learned to stand... Tulgey roared on beneath her, the bike pushed to its limits and giving everything to the woman in control of it. She was going to have to break down and let someone take a look at it after this, provided she survived the end of this race for a second time.
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 2:46 pm
The course was different than he remembered it to be. This time there were no resting beams that he could pull fancy, dangerous tricks on. Instead, finished buildings rose up from the ground around them as he leaned into the turns and followed the course to the best of his memory.
Always Katrina was right beside him, each of their bikes struggling to outdo the other.
Hermes hadn't had a proper check up since he'd been back. It was hard to, when he had injured his mechanic and set her on edge. At one point she had pulled ahead of him and his competitive nature, the same one that said outdo them, be better snarled as strongly as the beast rattling the bars of it's cage within.
He shoved the instinct down and focused on the race.
Powering up and teleporting like that first time was tempting but unfeasible. There hadn't been one moment where he had been far enough ahead to even attempt the showy trick he knew she would see right through. So, instead, he played fair, despite pulling up dangerously close to her more than once until the too familiar building that he owned came into view.
Just a few more yards...
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 4:12 pm
Her heart surged as she pulled ahead of him, for a brief moment experiencing the thrill of victory just within her reach. It was only then that a second emotion edged into her thoughts. Sadness? Regret? She wasn't sure what it was precisely, but she knew that winning would do nothing to chase it, just as running away had done nothing to soothe any of her other aches. The finish was right ahead of them. It was a straight shot as they rounded the corner, each leaning into the curve so close that it would have been oh so easy for either ride to reach out and send the other sprawling. She would be lying to say she hadn't considered it, at least briefly. She didn't want to hurt him, though. She wanted... She wanted... Katrina slowed her ride, dropping back to leave him racing on ahead of her to the finish. She would achieve nothing in winning. Unlike the wolf, it had never been her desire to surpass the general that had awakened her to the part of her life that had come to have so much more meaning than she had thought it would. She had never set out to be better than him, or to take what was his.... All she had ever wanted was for him to be proud of her and everything that she achieved because of the path that he had put her on. She coasted the final block, gliding in to the finish where she let her bike idle for a moment before shutting it down and sliding off. Fingers brushed back through choppy locks of hair as she drew her helmet off, visor fogged from her breath inside and speckled with the salt from angry tears. "You could have told me you were back...."
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 7:30 pm
Katrina was going to win.
But she suddenly pulled back and he passed her, swinging Hermes around to a skidding stop and resting his weight and the bike onto his left leg. Beneath him the bike rumbled irritatedly and when she slowly crossed into the same space as him he killed the engine completely.
Leaning forward, with his elbows resting on the handlebars, he watched her approach. Quietly he took in her new haircut, choppy and short - bit wild and untamed like her.
Chase didn't miss the sheen of tears glistening in her eyes. Slowly he dismounted and his own helmet came off, set to rest on the seat before he faced her. His face was remarkably impassive as he observed her and noted the tone in which she spoke. "It's recent." That was a fact, it had been maybe a month at most since he had been back and most of the time had been spent in recovery.
Between his time in the rift and the malnourishment that was a result of so long without proper, real food or water had left him in a state that he had not wished to be seen in. Not to mention the injuries he had sustained during the fight that marked his returned. "I haven't been suitable for the public...or visitors until recently."
Even now it was debatable if he was in a well enough state. At least, like this, as civilians Chase was less of a threat and Kat was Tourmaline, she was safe, well safer.
Besides, she'd always had the right kind of claws to fight back.
"Missed me Kat?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:09 pm
"Miss you?" Katrina laughed, the sound frayed around the edges and tinged with bitterness and bile. It was one hell of a question to be asked and she wasn't sure how she could even begin to answer it. How could she even start to tell him about everything that had happened while he'd been gone? "No," her own voice was soft as she spoke, laced with emotion that she was just barely managing to keep reigned in. She didn't want to keep things under wraps, but she also didn't want to draw attention by yelling in the streets this late at night. Deep down she didn't want to start a fight, even with as much as a part of her wanted nothing more than to attack. "I was too busy hating you to miss you." It wasn't entirely the truth. There were times when she had missed him-- times when she had missed his guidance, or the firm grasp of his command drawing her back from an edge that she'd been forced to find and step away from on her own. She had missed the reassurance and safety that he had provided for her, as well as the rest of the pack, as scattered as they were now. "I was so angry that you trusted someone who betrayed us to hold back the information that was supposed to keep us safe while you were gone. No orders to fall back on. No one to pick up the pieces. You left us." The last two words cracked in her throat, eyes gleaming bright and angry in the street lights. Even through the gloves covering her hands she could feel her nails pressing against her palms, fortunate that the leather padding would keep her from doing any damage to herself. "James -- Aluminite -- took whatever information he had over to the other side with him... And you trusted him, and not me-- Not even ******** Prissy." Whatever information she had was obviously little, left to piece whatever she could together into mangled assumptions and emotions that had run high for far too long before she'd been able to pull herself back together and focus. That she wasn't screaming at him, that she hadn't done more than stand there glaring at him as she spoke in a low, stern tone spoke levels to the control she had learned, even if her grasp on it was tenuous at best currently.
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