Reckless Endangerment

[Seraphim Chernikova (DELETED 6878)]

The sky had darkened considerably since the girl had first entered the bar but now it was like a plumage of obsidian feathers obscuring her view. Wait, that was her hair in her face. The drunken female pulled the long tresses of her loosely curled hair from her view and indifferently tossed it towards the back of her as she took a wobbly step onto the pavement of the street. Seraphim had become quite well introduced to where every bar was located and took shelter most of the time in this one, where the music was nice and the people were lively. Even if she hated all the tedious screeching of drunken, sex-driven females, Sera often tolerated it. They mixed up some mean drinks that she couldn't pass up. Soft clicks of her heels followed after her as she made her way through the bustling crowd while they desperately trying to mill around her like a rock in a stream. With a snort of annoyance, the girl veered towards the brick walls of the buildings that lined the street, her spectral-white arm brushing against the rough, aged stones as she passed in attempts to keep well away from the crowds. It wasn't hard to tell that she immensely disliked people.

Seraphim fished in her jacket for a cigarette she hoped was still deep within the recesses of her pockets but came up empty handed and cursing in a thick Russian accent. The truth was that Sera wasn't actually addicted to the cancer-sticks... she just used them to calm her nerves and mind. A small habit she acquired when she drinks. A man bumped into her, snatching a few dollars from her pocket as he moved while mumbling a soft apology. She boldly spun around, her hair fanning around in her in a blanket of darkness before enveloping her slender frame and called out for him to stop. He did so, acting casual as to not give away the fact that he had just pit pocketed her of a couple bucks. She strode up to him and inclined her head, offering a sweet little smile. "You're lucky I don't snap every single finger on both of your hands. I'm in a good mood tonight and would rather not have to bring attention to the fact that I was harming you to all these lovely citizens who are also enjoying their evening. ow, I would suggest you give back the money you swiped from me and take off before I change my mind." She wore a deadpan expression with flaring eyes that forced the man to hastily reach for the change and stuff it back into her small hands before he turned and took off in a jog.

Scoffing, she continued on her way, only to take a sharp turn down a dark alleyway. This was a short cut to get back to her apartment on the other side of the city. It made things faster and easier. Also not to mention, less expensive. "V tihom omute cherti vodyatsa," she whispered softly to herself as the looming darkness consumed her, bring a shiver that spider-walked its way up her spine.

[Niklaus]

Niklaus had recently found a new headache of his own to deal with, the fiery redhead that was Eureka, childe of Chad who he somewhat took under his wing once her original sire went off the grid like he usually did. It was no surprise really to the Killer, and despite Reka’s provocative nature and her tendency to piss off people so easily, he really thought there was nothing else to it. Some girls just wanna have fun, right? And there was nothing wrong in picking fights every now and then, it tended to build one’s character. Then it happened, just a couple of weeks ago even, catching Eureka out on the streets, half naked and feeding on a human while another mortal witnessed the whole gruesome scene. Had Niklaus not happen to be at the right place in the right time, would she have been able to deal with the situation? What if that old sod had managed to call the cops like he was trying to, or managed to get away? Too many questions yielding too many unfavourable outcomes. Someone needed an intervention and that was exactly what he did.

Ditching the cool friend persona and roughing her up after the incident, letting her know that she was out of control and needed a good smack or two to bring her back to reality. She had childes of her own now and these very childes needed a role model, herself in particular. It was unacceptable to be teaching fledglings that it was okay to go nuts and get careless only because there seemed to be no immediate consequences. Niklaus might not have been as loyal to the Worthingtons anymore, save for a few very special individuals, in fact his loyalties now laid within Andras after realizing that all his dedication and hard work to better his original lineage were met with backlash because sometimes, hard choices had to be made, especially when someone screwed up and some people weren’t okay with that. The lies and deceit had him take a step back and re-evaluate his priorities. Even then, he had a master plan, to snatch the fledglings that had potential, those who weren’t already corrupted and brainwashed into jumping onto some particular bandwagon. He would mentor and teach them what it meant to be vampire, how to survive, how to kill and most important of all, how to always make the best out of a bad situation. There was absolutely nothing wrong in wanting to be a winner and to remain on top of the food chain.

That was one of the reasons he dragged the redhead out that particular night. She was out of control and he was going to keep pushing her until she either broke or adapted to the changes in her life, especially now that she had a more or less non-existent sire – a tale similar to his own. He was hoping to achieve the latter obviously, she was a Killer too, just like him and Killers were nothing if not adaptable. They thrived in shitty circumstances and distinguished themselves from others without the usual whining and complaining about how unfair (un)life could be, thanks to how little to none emotions they usually sported. He had no doubts that she was tough enough, she just needed a good push and he was there for that, to challenge her and make her up her game in every ways possible. What he wanted to teach her that particular night was self control. Could she feed without getting spotted? And most importantly, could she feed without killing her victim, especially when she knew she was being silently appraised. He was there to add that stress factor to help her up her game and all they needed now was a target, someone she normally wouldn’t go for. Not an easy prey. After all, how bad could it get if things went sideways, right?

[Eureka]

When Niklaus wrangled Eureka and forced her to go out into the city with him, she did so stubbornly. She did so only because he was stronger than she was, and she probably couldn’t have done anything about it anyway. She did so because even if she ran, he had the ability to yank her right back again. Or hunt her down. The last time that she ended up back at his apartment, he chose to rough her up as a way of trying to discipline her, which did not work for Eureka. She was as wild as an untamed animal, except that she had the reason and the logic that animals did not have. She had the voice and the words to form her complete abhorrence of the cage that Niklaus was trying to lock her into. Control. He wanted her to be able to control herself, and to feed without making a mess, without killing.

”Does a lion just ask a zebra for a leg and then let it go? No! We are the lions! They are the zebras! Why the **** do we have to be so ******* discrete?” she shouted at him. Obviously, she didn’t care who heard. Tonight, she was wearing a pair of grey jeans, holes in the knees and converses that had definitely seen better days. The cardigan that she wore had been stolen from one of her latest victims – a male. She likes men’s clothing better than women’s, a lot of the time. It was more comfortable and far more practical. Though sometimes she liked to wear boots or nice bras because they looked pretty. Ultimately, they were far too uncomfortable and were tossed in the trash. The cardigan was black, and had multiple ladders and holes. The bra she wore underneath was of a practical nature, too, and could be seen through the jumper’s decrepitude.

All of the things that Chad had taught Eureka in the beginning were forgotten. With her sire’s absence, his sage advice was absent, too. The longer she went without seeing him, the more she thought his advice was ****. Slowly she was beginning to join that camp of vampires who’d much prefer to take over the world. Or at least this city. Lions had their prides, right? Lions didn’t eat their home out of all its food. It’s not like she killed ten humans a night. It was just one. One measly human a night wouldn’t be missed, right?

She kicked at an empty coke can, sending it skittering into the gutter.

”What the **** are you going to do to me anyway, huh? If I don’t do what you tell me to?” she asked, turning her fiery eyes up to the taller, stronger male beside her. It probably was a wonder that Eureka hadn’t been killed yet.

[Seraphim Chernikova (DELETED 6878)]

Seraphim turned her icy-blue gaze towards the darkened sky. It was more of a pale grey, lit by only the moon, the street lamps and the shimmering lights from inside buildings and apartments. However, the sky was a source of interest for her whenever she was drunk. It provided some sort of amusement that only an intoxicated person would be able to comprehend. She found a nice little spot against a brick wall of the alley and begun to pull all of her hair into a messy bun as she observed the way that the power lines and clothing lines resembled spiderwebs against the sky. She honestly wasn't a sentimentalist by any means, but she found some sort of comfort observing things normal humans wouldn't. They simply rushed by, going on about their day with so much as a glance at those around them. Ignorance of the city people variety. Where Seraphim came from, her town was small and everyone knew everyone and gossip spread like wildfire. It was nice at times but often became suffocating. Russia was a thing of the past, something she would rather not return to anyway. Nevertheless, she often thought of her "friends" back home. The ones she left behind. She knew for a fact that these "friends" were simply other people of both sex that she would use like objects.

Seraphim didn't see people as what they should be. They were all just chess pieces in the game of life that she could bend and move at her will. They were puppets and she was the puppet master. She had an uncanny ability to make people do as she wanted without hesitation. People often didn't fight back or try to refrain from comply, which lead to a passive girl. Although, she had a few experiences with some unwilling candidates. Unfortunately, they ended up were all of the stupid people went. The hospital. Or the morgue. Often not as serious as death but quite common with broken limbs and noses. She was a feisty vixen that had a reputation back home. No one messed with her. They knew better.

But here... it was another page of her very own personal **** storm bible. No one knew her. No one knew of her reputation and hardly anyone cared. City life was growing more and more complicated to get used to. The people were often abominate. All her life she used to giving speeches in honeyed words with often profound reverence and the most polished, skillful courtesy. She often rose to the top of the food chain. Now that task was proving rather difficult.

Seraphim let a scowl contort her otherwise doll-like face and removed her feet from the heels to cool them on the pavement of the alley, grateful it was one of the cleanest ones she had ever been in. What time was it again? She supposed it didn't quite matter. As long as she made it home to bed eventually. Another thing Sera was that had to be the sh*ttest trait to adopt was that she was the worse case of a procrastinator and even though her eyelids were growing heavy with the deprivation of sleep, Sera stood by her choice and diligently stood there, continuing to gaze at the sky with what seemed like a passive expression.

[Niklaus]

Niklaus would never voice his current thoughts out loud, but it was really starting to feel like he was Reka’s Daddy, the latter being a rebellious teenager who would just choose to defy his authority at every possible occasion just to go against the grain and piss him off. Having to yank her back to his side every time she wandered off course, so easily distracted, like a cat chasing a laser pointer. He tried to sweet talk her into being a ‘good’ girl but that made him seem patronizing, according to her and physically disciplining her just made her want to run the hell away from him. So he came up with the field challenges, promising that he would leave her be and roll Reka-style provided that she showed him that she had it all figured out.

Eyes widening incredulously at her remark about lions. “…Lions have discipline and patience, Reka. They aren’t very fast animals so they stalk an isolated prey until they get close enough to pounce on them for the kill. Or, hide close to a source of water and wait till the freaking zebra come to them. You... You’re no lion, you’re a honey badger. You'll wrestle with just about anything just because you felt like it!” he snorted.

The Killer’s eyes scanned their surroundings as they moved away from the populated and lively part of the city. As the probability of getting caught feeding decreased, this automatically meant a much better chance at completing a clean feed and leaving one’s human blood-bag alive, which was pretty easy to understand, right? Besides, if every vampire in Harper Rock decided it was okay to kill a human daily, they would have most likely cleared the entire city in just a matter of a few weeks or so. But explaining all that to Eureka was tough, since the redhead would have probably gotten distracted by something shiny or more interesting before he could even get halfway through to her. This was beyond frustrating but Niklaus liked those kind of challenges, more than he would admit, to be honest. Grinning wickedly at her next question, what would he do? It was easy, and he came up with it on the spot. “Well. I’d probably get you mindblocked and teleport you right in the middle of the wilderness. Does this lioness enjoy hunting the fae creatures?” he taunted, nudging her side while subtly reminding her of the encounter she had with the fae-folks just a while back.

Abruptly stopping dead in his tracks and gripping at her shoulder to grab her full attention, “There. Look to your right. And… don’t point.” The alley was deserted, save for one single figure – a barefooted woman, seemingly carrying her shoes. Her mannerism suggested that she might have been intoxicated but more or less aware of it. “You see that chick over there? I don’t care how you do it but I want you to feed on her, right now. And no, you can’t kill or mutilate her, Reka” he added, quietly observing the woman in question. “Bear in mind that anyone could walk or drive by too, so you’ll need to be quick and efficient. You may lead her elsewhere if you choose to, or do it right here and wipe that smirk off my face. I’ll be watching” he informed her. Niklaus knew she might have had a slight preference for male victims; they always succumbed to her charms, didn’t they? The challenge was out there in the open now, and he knew she would probably take the bait, mainly to rub it in his face afterwards, should she be successful.

[Eureka]

Eureka snorted and laughed.

A honey badger. The imagery was amusing. It didn’t matter what she was in the end. It was just a story. Anything to try to convince Niklaus that he was going about this all the wrong way. That her way was the right way. But he was an immovable force. An immovable force that thought he could change Eureka. Teach her and mold her, as if his threats would do any good. Reka had been attacked by a Fae creature and she’d hidden out in the sewers, afterwards. Niklaus had been the one to heal her, night after night with that grim look on his face.

Underneath it all he believed he was a big softy. A marshmallow. She honestly did not believe that he would teleport her anywhere. Or, that if he did, and if she got hurt as a consequence, he’d play that marshmallow and help to fix her up again. The challenge was one that Eureka was not averse to trying, anyway. Her pride was a fickle creature. Did he really think that she would do as he said in order to make him happy, or proud?

Eureka lived for herself, the majority of the time. To do as she was told would be to sacrifice her own pride. So she nodded at Niklaus. She slunk down that alleyway, to the woman that Niklaus had indicated. No, she hadn’t pointed. She didn’t do anything to bring any kind of attention to herself until she reached that woman and tapped her on the shoulder, beaming a smile at her as soon as she turned around to look.

Now, so close to the human with its hot beating heart and the humming thrum of its blood through its body… it wasn’t a human, or a comrade. It might look like a healthy female, much the same as Eureka, but in Eureka’s mind, that wasn’t the case. She was an animal. An it. A thing to be eaten, consumed. Even if she had a mind to do as she was told, and to make Niklaus proud, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to. She listened to her instinct, and her instinct told her to pounce.

It didn’t matter if she didn’t have the grace of a lion. A lion still killed its prey, no matter how they went about it. That was the point.

So she pounced. She did as she was accustomed. She lunged for the neck; she attempted to wrap her legs around the woman, and her arms, too. Attempted to bring her down, to the ground. To tear out her neck. To get at the blood. The sweet, hot blood.

[Seraphim Chernikova (DELETED 6878)]

Seraphim clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and tried to ignore the approaching footsteps until they halted right before her, causing her to crane her neck to gaze at the freckled girl who stood before her, tapping tediously on her shoulder. Sera curled her lip in a defensive manner, wondering what the hell a girl would venture down an alleyway and tap another who was minding her own damn business on the shoulder. She wondered if freckles had an extra serving of chromosomes.

Then it hit her all at one. The launch, the tackle and the thrashing of teeth tearing flesh on her neck. For a few brief seconds, the girl lay there with her mouth gaped open in surprise before she felt her instincts and adrenaline kick in. With the snarl of a feral beast, the girl grappled along the dirty ground for anything to use against the wretched woman. She didn't have time to think about why the hell this person was going cannibal on her throat. She felt the blood spill down the side of neck, soaking her clothing in her life's essence.

A bottle. Score. Seraphim smashed the bottom off Eurka's skull, allowing the shards to spill down over the girl's head before she used the ragged ends to stab repeatedly into her back, aiming mostly for her spine. Her makeshift weapon was soon nothing but the lip and neck of the once intact bottle. Her hand was mauled with cuts from the glass. She reached for her pocket while wildly thrashing against her, letting out furious screams.

She clearly wasn't scared - just very pissed off. She threw all her weight in energy into forcing the girl off of her, only to straddle the squirming vampire beneath her. The sight of her own blood coating the girl's face was enough to make her want to vomit. With a switchblade she fished from her pocket in hand, the girl held it to the other's throat, pressing the blade hard enough against her flesh so that it made about a two inch gash. However, she felt her energy seeping quickly from her slender body. Her eyelids were becoming quite heavy.

"Govno," she panted softly and made one last attempt to harm the girl by suckering her right in the jaw. Right after that, she collapsed against her, unconscious from blood loss. For a weak human, the girl had put up one hell of a fight.

[Niklaus]

When it came to feeding, Niklaus had actually never been taught by anyone else. He had initially been snuck upon, fed on and turned by a woman going by the name of ‘Dark Star’ who then promptly disappeared, then he had to figure out on his own what he had become and how to feed, mostly by a trial and error until he stopped killing his victims. It had been a lengthy process, full of bumps along the way but then, hard work and perseverance paid off eventually and having accomplished it all on his own felt even more satisfying, overall. Everyone had their own unique style and methods, Niklaus knew that much. He wouldn’t force Eureka to replicate his own methods when it came to feeding, but rather guide her towards something close to it that bore her own signature.

There was a rational explanation as to why he wanted her to master the art of feeding properly and efficiently but now was not the time to tell her about it. Once a vampire got older and started widening their horizons, they would soon realize how important blood was. Whether the individual was a fighter who bled regularly and needed several intakes of blood daily or if they were a do-gooder who summoned spirits and opened shadow gates often for others, it all came down to one thing; blood, blood and more blood. Their life force, the one thing that kept their undead bodies still going. Sure, one could choose to rely on blood bags but were they cost effective? Absolutely not. It would have been a long, unnecessary rant to Eureka and it really was easier to just smack her around and make her master that one basic vampire skill that the male considered the most important one of them all, feeding.

Folding his arms across his chest and quietly leaning against the wall behind him as he watched Reka make her way towards her victim. The tap on the shoulder was fine too, it wasn’t unusual for some vampires to be curious about who they were about to eat, initiating conversation, or even seducing the human and taking them somewhere more secluded for the feed, see showing off. Then Reka literally pounced on the woman, the simple action causing the male to knit his brows and simply stare at the scene presented to him. His train of thought could be resumed in three simple words really – What. The. ****??! The redhead acted like some kind of werewolf, trying to maul the other female’s neck but surprisingly enough, the latter had some wicked fight in her. Managing to blindly feel around and wrap her fingers around a discarded glass bottle which soon ended up smashed against Reka’s skull. Women could be so ******* brutal… Don’t get turned on now, Niklaus.

Quickly but quietly making his way over towards the wrestling pair of bloodied women before anyone else ended up finding them. The switchblade wielding human had straddled Reka by then, profusely bleeding with every effort that she made, it was obvious that fighting back, while it might have stunned the redhead, had also sapped a lot of energy and blood from the mortal. But damn, that was quite the show, shame that she was mortally wounded. The Killer peeling the woman’s weapon from between her fingers and pocketed it quietly before heaving her off Eureka, “Did you -really- have to jump her like that? That was the craziest **** I’ve ever seen, Eureka” he added, staring incredulously at the redhead, one arm wrapped around the dying human’s middle to hold her in a vertical stance while using his free arm to tug Reka back to her feet, pieces of broken glass stuck in her flesh, especially her scalp. Niklaus could feel the human’s heartbeat slowly fading, finally getting a good look at her features when he spun her around and inspected her neck wound. Pretty dying girl. Cradling the back of her head in a palm as he glanced down to the human, then back to Eureka, “I don’t normally do this.. but I think you two might become great friends, someday.” His words might have made absolutely no sense whatsoever, until he brought his own wrist to his mouth. She always talked about how there were no repercussions to what she did, right? Well here was number one.

Eyes riveted on Reka as he opened his jaws wide apart and exposed his lion’s jaw, all of his teeth had turned into razor sharp fangs, giving off a rather monstrous look right before he sank them into his flesh, thick blood oozing from the deep lacerations. “I really don’t recommend doing this unless you -really- mean to turn someone” he murmured before pressing that gaping, bleeding wound to the human’s pale lips. She had lost a considerable amount of blood already, and honestly it might have been a little too late to save her, unless she still had some fight left in her. If she made it out of the grasp of death, she would have wholly deserved a second chance at something new, vampirism. If not.. Well, Reka could probably drain her of whatever blood she still had left, right?

[Eureka]

It was the bottle smashing against the back of Eureka’s head that had her seeing stars. Kind of. When she fed, she got lost in it. She became an animal, such as it was, and it was hard to tear her away or to make her see clearly. All she could taste was the blood, and given half the chance she’d try to eat the flesh, too. She liked to chew on the flesh, sometimes. The blood that that had soaked within was always sweet, like a finely aged wine. Not that Eureka had ever really appreciated finely aged wines. She’d never had the money for that ****.

Whatever the human might have imagined, Eureka did not squirm. She was not the squirming type, either. She was not the weak type. She was the fighting type. The proud type. And to have been caught off guard by this weak ******* human was not how Eureka wanted this feeding to go. She was a vampire. She was stronger than any measly human. To have been got the better of was not the kind of show she wanted Niklaus to witness. If it felt to the other like Eureka was squirming, it was only the vampire’s body coiling, like a spring. Readying herself to throw the human like a rag doll against the brick wall and break every bone in her body.

Eureka was not given the chance, however. Another blink and Niklaus was there, pulling the weight of the human up and away from her. Within half a second Eureka was on her feet, looking as if she wanted to claw that ‘pretty’ human’s eyeballs out. She scoffed and laughed at Niklaus’s suggestions. Friends? What she really wanted to do was rip the woman’s head off. But, like any cat who slipped and fell, she pretended as if she meant every single thing that happened. She just shrugged her shoulders and licked her lips, blood coating her cheeks and chin, dripping down her own neck; her own blood, as well as the blood of the human. There was blood coating her hand, too, from where she’d shoved at the woman when she was on top of her. This, she started to lick clean, circling away from the pair and heading back toward the street. Slowly. Feigning disinterest.

If Niklaus was going to force her into lessons that she didn’t want to learn, this was how they would end up. That was his fault. Not Eureka’s.

[Seraphim Chernikova (DELETED 6878)]

For a full five minutes, the girl lay lifeless in Niklaus' arms, without so much as a sound or twitch. Then, suddenly, a disgusting guttural sound echoed from her throat, as if she was choking on blood. Then silence once more. She lay still, her eyes wide opened and seemingly glazed over. They were a pretty hue of aquamarine. The blood coating her throat and the exposed tops of her bosom didn't exactly compliment the look she was trying to go for that night. Finally, a sign of movement. A slight twitch in her fingers and then she was suddenly grasping his shirt, fistfuls of the fabric balled into her tiny hands. She had pulled herself from the brink of death. Seraphim looked alarmed - unsure of how to react to his blood filling her mouth. She stared up at him with a certain fire in her eyes and attempting to prove a point that he should **** off, the girl begun hungrily gulping down his thickened blood. This was her last energy sapping movements.

It had a weird taste to it - not like regular blood she used to lick from small paper cuts. His was different. Almost... sweet? The girl now was engrossed in the taste of his blood, drinking it now not to prove a point, but as if she clung to it for strength. However, her consuming was not quick enough to fill her with life again. Now, she weakly reached up and grabbed his face, as if she was going to claw him or attempt to push him away. Instead, her finger nails slid slowly down his face in the most gentlest of manners. It could have been from lack of strength or the fading light in her eyes. She knew this time, she wouldn't jerk back into life. The girl finally fell limp in his arms, her head collapsing against his chest. The vampire blood had begun to pump actively into her system, changing things. Adjusting her body for what was to come. It had started the second her heart stopped.

It was only a matter of time for the girl to turn into what people would come to fear when the lights went out.