Three's a Crowd [RAVEN]

[Jesse Fforde]

WEARING

Serpentine was a regular pub, in the grand scheme of things. A regular pub with a twist, given its parkour gym and a tattoo parlour. Whether it was well known amongst the hunters or some other clandestine group of fucktards that a vampire owned the bar, Jesse did not know. When he saw the group of soldiers gathered at a booth having a good time he made sure to stay out of sight; not because he was hiding, but because it’d be bad for business if he showed his face and waved his aura around willy-nilly, causing said soldiers to pull their weapons and … well, it’d be a blood bath. And Jesse didn’t want a blood bath in the middle of his pub.

So he hung back; he stayed in the tattoo parlour and pulled up the cameras on his laptop, watching from afar. He counted them; there were five or six and they were all drinking. They were laughing and joking and they weren’t even on guard. Their guard was down. Jesse snorted.

How dumb were they?

It was a clue, however; though they might shoot him on sight, they didn’t know him well enough to know where to find him. Which meant that whoever had found him, that one time, and dragged him away to that god forsaken laboratory – they were not connected. Either that, or these guys just didn’t read the reports. They stumbled into the nearest drinking hole. Or they just didn’t expect any trouble. They were clocked off, finished for the night. What did they care, now, what they were paid to do while working?

A couple broke away, waving goodnight. And then another, by himself. When outside, two went in one direction, one in the other. The three remaining left not long after, and they meandered in the same direction as the loner.

By this time, Jesse was no longer watching from a laptop in his office, but from the street outside. He clung to the shadows – or the shadows clung to him. He went unseen and undetected, and he was following the loner. What did he intend to do? Slaughter him, maybe. Later, when no one was looking. When he was far enough away from Serpentine to avoid suspicion. Yeah, no doubt it was the latter.

The vampire’s feet made no sound as he followed, the soldier keeping a straight line. He wasn’t drunk. None of them had really got fall-over drunk. Maybe they weren’t idiots. Maybe they were, in some capacity, professionals. Jesse’d have to wait and see how well this lone idiot could defend himself…

[Raven Talius]

[WEARING]

Raven’s heeled footsteps clicked as she walked through the dark night and she simply enjoyed the serene night that currently surrounded her. However, she simply couldn’t fully enjoy it, for Doc had left her with many unanswered questions. The interaction with Flynn and Azraeth, left her… Feeling even more alone. The two were… Adorable? Ugh, even thinking the word made her sick to her stomach. Which led her to believe that she was never meant to be in a relationship. Well, **** happens, there wasn’t much that she could do about it but focus on her new goal.

That was until some hooded figure decided to bump into her and hit the ground running. ”You little ****.” She cursed as she spun upon her heels to chase the little thief, that was until the thief bumped into a soldier and the woman cursed under her breath. Angered eyes landed upon her form just as the thief managed to duck down yet another alleyway. Well tonight just got interesting. A slow smirk slipped into place upon her lips as the man noticed the tips of her fangs poking out from underneath her top lip. ”Sorry buddy, but you got the wrong person. I only take from the dead, they don’t need it anymore.” She chuckled as the soldier used every curse word under the sun. ”You ******* leech! I’m going to kill you for what you just did.”

”Uh huh, I’ve heard it all before, next you’re going to pull out some little gun that you think that you can kill-” A loud bang! sounded off as the soldier had been quick to draw and fire a weapon. Although while she felt the sting of the bullet land squarely in her arm she realised just one thing. She was going to have to buy another ******* jacket. ”You’re a ******* idiot, you know that?” The vampire hissed as she began to advance upon the man who was quick to fire more bullets, although Raven was able to quickly avoid them by stepping from left to right until she was directly in front of the man.

Her right hand snapped up so then the palm of that hand knocked the man’s weapon right from his fingertips where he moved to grab a dagger. But she was quicker and her fingers moved to grasp at the man’s throat, crushing the windpipe as she hissed with displeasure. ”Now? Now I’m going to have to ******* kill you, because you pissed me off. I’m going to rip your goddamn head off and use you bleeding throat as a straw to suck out the blood that I have been dying to absolutely gorge myself on.” Raven snarled as she tossed the man to the ground. He scramble to back crawl away from her, but a booted foot was quick to slam into his chest. ”I have been itching to kill something since I returned, thank you for being a volunteer to help out the unfortunate and donate your blood to a good cause.”

She leaned over him and gripped the man’s hair within her fingers, making sure to lean her weight upon the man’s chest while she drew her katana from a sheath upon her back. ”I mean, this isn’t going to be swift, I’m going to be hacking until you’re head is literally separated from your body. Can’t be helped, too much muscle and sinew makes it hard to literally chop a head off without much effort. I don’t have that weapon, so we are just going to go with old faithful.” The vampire chuckled as she brought the blade to his neck and began to saw away through skin, muscle and sinew. The position on its own was awkward, but it wasn’t impossible.

As she cut, blood began to spurt from the wound and it bubbled from his mouth as the liquid intruded upon his airways and he began to choke upon his own blood. He struggled, oh he struggled, but finally death claimed him and she was able to hack away with some momentary peace. Finally, his head was free from the rest of his body and she couldn’t help but laugh. Oh god it felt so damn good to finally kill. The release was grand on such a scale that she couldn’t help but smile at her masterpiece, however the blood thirst rose to the surface once more and just before she could grab the body that was pooling blood at her feet, she heard voices. Voices that spelled trouble.

”I heard the shots coming from down here! Came a man’s voice as two and then three started in on the area. Oh! It’s a party! Raven exclaimed as a hushed wave overcame the men as they noticed the bloodied head that was held in her grasp. Guns were drawn and she smirked as she drew upon her power. Shadows flooded the area, covering it in complete darkness and wild bullets flew past her. There was far too many men and a few of them was likely to hit her even in the dark, but still. The blade was adjusted in her grip as she let the severed head fall from her grasp and she quickly advanced upon her prey. She sunk her blade within a target’s throat, but as she did so, a dagger was quick to sink into her own arm which forced another laugh from her. ”Is that all you’ve got?!”

”Blades men! Think of the other civilians!” Came a shout and Raven was quick to jump back from a sword that came slicing towards her amongst the shadows. However, that meant that she didn’t have one of her blades with her and another smirk descended upon her lips, just as she tore the dagger from her arm and adjusted her grip upon it. "Bring it," Raven taunted with a manic laugh.

[Jesse Fforde]

Jesse’s vague plans did not come to fruition.

The slaughter that he had wished upon the soldier had come to him, but not in the way Jesse had foreseen. Instead, the solider had confronted the wrong vampire. One that Jesse knew. A low growl rumbled in his chest, so low as to be heard by only himself. ******* Raven, thieving Jesse’s prey. Although the temptation was there, to turn and walk away, to find his kicks somewhere else, Jesse instead remained, hidden in the shadows, watching like a nightmarish voyeur. He was the shadow that people ran from; that inkling of fear they felt when they could see nothing to be afraid of. But they wanted to run anyway.

Raven was twisted, though Jesse wasn’t judging. The way she dealt with the soldier’s head reminded him of Clover, though Clover didn’t often go straight for the head. Clover liked to take the limbs first, slowly. She dismembered her prey, bit by bit, but Jesse was less patient than that. He was patient with mostly everything else, but when it came to blood he just could not help himself.

The three soldiers that had left separately to the loner now discovered the scene; as they passed by the shadow that was Jesse they might have felt the shiver run down their spines, but they were too focused on their friend’s grisly demise to pay it any mind. To see their friend’s familiar face held by the hair in the grip of a mad vampire could cause that kind of fear. It was reasonable!

Raven faced her attackers with no fear, and Jesse remained. At least, he thought he was just staying to watch. He didn’t think that Raven needed the help, necessarily. She was no damsel in distress, though she was outnumbered. One had already gone down, unable to continue to stand with copious blood pumping from a skewered neck. Though Raven might very well have been able to take on the others, it was the blood that changed Jesse’s mind. He’d wanted that blood. He’d wanted that meal. And now he felt he shouldn’t leave without taking something for himself.

The shadows dropped from his limbs like a cloak from the grim reaper himself; Jesse didn’t have his sword. He didn’t have any weapons at all, though he didn’t need them. They didn’t see him coming. The shadows coalesced into a sharp point and pierced through the shoulder of the nearest soldier, pinning him in place. The scream of agony that curled from his throat was cut short as Jesse’s canines ripped into flesh; blood gushed onto his tongue and he swallowed, grateful for the heat and life of it.

Not so fantastic after all, then—soldiers who didn’t watch their backs.

[Raven Talius]

No one truly understood why Raven did what she did and she knew why they didn’t, because they didn’t feel what she felt. Not only was it a release to kill but as blood splattered over her form and matted into her hair, she felt free. Free of the normal humdrum of the everyday life, free of expectations and the woman was actually able to feel something other than hostile, malicious or even vindictive. Things that she had been accused of more than once. However, they just never understood how it felt to consistently have to lock away basically everything that defined her and consistently be on edge. At times, it was tiring, but she kept that little nugget to herself.

Another figure joined the fray and she instantly recognised the scent and the figure of the man. Jesse. The way she figured, he probably would have been happier if Clover hadn’t turned her, but here she was and she shifted her weight to the left just in time to feel the shadows shift as a dagger came flying towards her. It sliced through the air and she heard it as it flew pass her head which was soon followed by another dagger held in the hand of a soldier. Her right hand snagged this wrist and with a quick movement, she shoved her shoulder into the man’s stomach and tossed him over her shoulder, all the while keeping her grip upon his hand.

A satisfying pop and thud resounded in her ear and a smirk crossed her lips as the soldier screamed because of his dislocated shoulder as he hit the pavement. Adjusting her grip, she turned and leaned down to grip his collar and she hauled him up, only for permanent fangs to sink into the man’s jugular. The crimson liquid coated her tongue and splashed to the back of her throat as the man’s blood spurted freely from the gash. After two greedy gulps, she ripped the man’s throat out, silencing the screams. ”Jesse. What are you doing here? Wouldn’t it be easier for you if I were to be gravely wounded so then I wouldn’t have the energy to harass your precious family?” Raven scoffed as she tossed the man aside only to hear the sound of a gun being fired and the whistle as its course headed straight towards her.

With an easy step, she was quickly out of the bullet’s line of fire and heeled boots hit the pavement, only for her left foot to land solid so then she could use an inside crescent kick to send the gun flying from the soldier’s hand. With no spare second as her right foot pressed to the ground, the shadow punched the soldier in the throat and watched him stumble back as he attempted to breath through a crushed windpipe. Brown eyes were angled towards Jesse then as they narrowed. Why was he even here? Normally, she didn’t run across the Fforde bunch. They kept to themselves and she? Well, did whatever she felt like doing. The woman had been feeling great ever since she had left Az and Flynn, those two were so in love, she could smell it.

Her nose crinkle up then as she watched Jesse for a second while she drew her tongue over a bloody fang and enjoyed the coppery taste paired with the smell of gun residue in the air. Raven's blood was so full of adrenaline, she could almost forget that Jesse was there, almost. A soldier headed right for him as she watched him sink his fangs into the throat of another one and she pulled the dagger that was embedded in her arm out with a quick yank. With a couple of more movements, she sent the dagger flying from her fingertips only for it to slice through the air and embed itself into the approaching soldier’s neck.

”You should be careful Jesse, you don’t want to be caught feeding, now would you? Me? I’m a pawn that the family can afford to lose, you? The head of the family? You oughta be more careful.” She snickered with sarcasm as the shadow lifted a bloodied hand to slowly begin licking the drying blood off her fingertips. The woman could still hear footsteps, but they were not too close… Yet.

[Jesse Fforde]

Classic Raven, spurting ******** even in the middle of chaos.

With thick blood coating his throat the thirst abated, somewhat. Not completely, but it was a reprieve. If he didn’t swallow it all, if he allowed the remnants to linger, he could stave off the irritation. At least with hunger abated he could give back as good as he got. Or maybe he wouldn’t even try. What was the point? The shadows receded and, depleted of blood, the body dropped to the ground. How useful would it be if the bodies of humans turned to ash the same way vampires did? Instead, they had to work to cover up their messes.

”Shut the **** up, Raven,” he said, though the words were breezy, easy, unweighted by anger or irritation. Now, the ******** that Raven spewed was just amusing more than anything else. Not that he’d tell her that. She might take offense.

His tongue tugged at his own lip, clearing it of blood. The back of his hand wiped at his chin to swipe away the stray drop that had got loose. A scrambling up his arm on this inside of his jacket told him his fae-ish friend had arrived, that slimy little Salamander he’d affectionately dubbed ‘Mandy’. The fae-ish friend who loved fire as much as Jesse did; the one who encouraged Jesse to set fire to the whole world. Mandy knew what came next. It was as if Jesse’s very thought of bodies and ash had summoned the creature from wherever it was it went whenever it wasn’t nestled against Jesse’s neck. Its beady little eyes poked out from beneath Jesse’s collar, its little claws digging into his flesh as it kept its balance, even as Jesse leaned down to drag the corpse at his feet over to one of the others, intent on creating a pile. A nice little bonfire.

”You were the one caught. If you’d like I could just disappear and leave you with the mess?” he asked with a lurid smirk. He didn’t particularly want to leave, now. He wanted to watch the bodies burn. It was always his favourite part.

”What am I doing here? I’m stalking you. Following you. I can’t live without you in my life, kid. I’m obsessed. I’ve got a wall at home covered in pictures of you. I’ve even got a lock of your hair…” he said, his eyes wide, now, that smile completely gone. Had he taken it too far? Yeah, he’d taken it too far. She wouldn’t believe that, even if he insisted. So he snorted, and laughed.

”It’s a free country, and all. What are you doing here?” he asked, as if to make a point. Whatever reason she had, he could have, too.

[Raven Talius]

Typical Jesse, Raven said to herself as she dragged her tongue up along her index finger upon her right hand. Mmm, while she didn’t feel the need to salvage every last drop of blood anymore, that didn’t mean that she didn’t like to savour the moment. Blood and death was what the shadow enjoyed the most and a lot of people did not appreciate it. Especially her dead human victims. Humans were just no fun to fight with, only to hunt and stalk as she could smell the stench of fear that poured from their pores drenching them in sweat. The salt was just so… Another lick and she was reminded that Jesse was still there being his usual assholish self. A roll of her eyes was given as the man overplayed his hand at his attempt to be pathetic and Raven simply yawned in response.

”You should really quit while you’re ahead… In your mind that is, because in this scenario, you’re severely failing at whatever it is that you’re attempting.” The vampire said as she leaned down to grab the arm of the soldier that had literally choked to death because of his caved in airways. ”I mean seriously, it was a valid question, because normally you’re at serpentine or preening in front of your little pets. Where I am, your usually not.” The vampire scoffed as Raven dragged the cargo over to the pile of dead bodies. Turning upon her heels she made her way over to the soldier without a head and hefted him up over her shoulder, only to lean down to briefly grasp the hair of the head that belonged to the man that was over her shoulder.

”As for me? I’m usually around here at this time of night, prowling the streets looking for my next target and running into people I care to run into. It’s not like I actually have a purpose that I feel whole heartedly about.” The woman said in a rather bored tone and walked over to the pile of dead bodies again. However, while that was true, she had left out the part that she was also scoping out buildings or areas where she could start her own illegal cage fighting ring. While on the surface a legal business would be in play. However, she had yet to get all of that sorted. Actually starting a business wasn’t going to be free and she had to steal or pawn a fair bit of money for it. Something which was more of a pet hobby more than anything; a hobby to keep her occupied with.

Tossing the man into the pile, followed by his head, her hands patted the man’s pockets only to end up pulling free the wallet. Opening it up she pulled out seventy-five dollars and pocketed it as she tossed the now empty wallet into the pile of the dead. Taking a few steps back, she pulled out a packet of cigarettes and tugged one free, offering one to Jesse before pocketing the packet and producing a lighter to light it. As the smoke was drawn into her dead lungs, a sigh parted her lips and she pulled the cigarette free from them. ”Honestly, you lot really don’t take hints very well. Nor do you take sarcastic information and use it properly. I was serious about that Ripper thing. If you guys start it, I’m so not helping out. Just because I didn’t disenthrall like Rhett did, doesn’t mean I’m going to stick my neck out when someone does something stupid. I don’t support emotionally fuelled decisions over a human.”

[Jesse Fforde]

Jesse arched a brow, eyes narrowed just a little. He was trying to understand what Raven was saying. No, it wasn’t that he didn’t understand. The words and the sentences and the way they fit together were perfectly understandable, but Jesse didn’t quite understand the context. Where had they come from? He searched his memory, the last five to ten minutes, and tried to figure out what he had done that could have prompted such a response from the woman. Eventually, he realised that she msut have believed him, in some way. The joke he’d made about stalking her -- she believed it. She thought that he’d come here to find her, specifically. That even if he hadn’t found her on purpose, that he’d stepped in to help her only so that she might change her mind.

Jesse laughed.

”Oh, Raven. You’re funny. I wasn’t attempting anything but to satisfy my thirst. Surely, by now, you’re aware of my relationship to blood?” he asked. Blood turned him into a cartoon version of hunger; that character with its mouth open and drool gushing from his chin like an overflowing sink. Blood turned him into the ravenous vampire so often depicted in b-grade films. Honestly, if left unchecked it would turn him into one of those rabid vampires that could be found in the sewers.

But years of suffering this affliction had gifted him some modicum of control. He’d learned that rather than leash the demons, he ought to let them free. If allowed a little satisfaction they could at least be tamed. Not completely, but mostly. Even now, his pupils were wide and dark. If he was still young, still within a year of his turning, he’d be like a pig in mud amidst that pile of corpses, sure to drain every single limb dry of its last ounce of blood.

”Don’t worry your little head about it. No one expects anything of or from you. You’ve well and truly made your point. Repeating it as often as you do really is starting to sound like a broken record. As always, you know where to find me if you want to have a civil conversation,” he said, saluting Raven with a smile and turning on his heel.

They’d had this conversation more often than he could count, and Jesse had zero interest in rehashing. Every conversation with Raven always came back to this -- and Jesse no longer cared.