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Raven’s heeled steps echoed down the dark alley as the vampire exited The Handle Bar through the back exit. The woman used to be a frequent visitor and as it happened, it had been the first time that she had visited the place since she returned. She was the black sheep of the Fforde family. Jesse hated her guts because she did whatever she wanted and she in turn returned the favour. The word family always churned her stomach. She could never understand the appeal, probably because she never had a family that had accepted her for who she was.

Footsteps were startled as a yawn parted her lips then and the waxing light of the moon softly glinted off of her permanent fangs. One of the humans darted off, but not before brown eyes caught the sight of lips turning downwards and the scowl of the second human clearly put at unease by the clear fact that she was a vampire. ”Filth,” He muttered as a slow smirk curved her lips while she watched the human straighten his form for a moment and her hearing focused upon the beating heart that thumped hard within his chest.

A thirst to kill rose up suddenly and the urge to kill sunk its claws into her brain as it tried to drown out everything else except that burning urge. ”Stupid human. Get. Lost.” Raven hissed as she began to walk towards the human that had spoken, but as she approached he began to back off before he spun upon his heels and ran. A twitch of her lips caused a corner of her lips to turn downwards in displeasure. That was until a whine caught her attention and she glanced down to her right.

There stood a stray black dog and she sighed in frustration. ”You have the best timing. I might have tracked him otherwise. Humans. Are stupid.” The woman grumbled to herself as her right hand slipped into her jacket and produced a few off cuts of steak tucked away into a napkin. ”You’re lucky that I like you too much. Money doesn’t grow on trees you know.” Raven said as she placed the pieces upon the ground, gave the dog a pat on the top of his head and moved on.

The stray dog and the hawk that Clover gave her, were the company that she mostly kept ever since she had returned to Harper Rock. Of course, she had seen her sire, but her sire rather enjoyed the company of Jesse. So Raven shouldered her problems on her own. The main problem was the urge to feed and kill. It had been getting a lot worse with each night that passed, a problem that she was struggling with. Bagged blood only did so much and her nose screwed up at the memory of the taste of the blood.

Slowly, she strolled through the familiar darkness, feeling rather at home within the shadows that the night brought with it when the sun would set. However, her steps usually brought her back to the familiar bridge that brought two halves of Harper Rock together. Her favourite past time? Simply peering into the dark waters underneath helped to calm the dark urges, but it seemed that that calm would not come quietly.

Raven felt, rather than heard the gunshot as the bullet pierced through her left shoulder. The pain felt like it was searing hot, but the woman remained frozen for a moment as she felt the dark urges roar to life once more.

Kill.

It was the only word that stood out in her mind as she slowly turned around to face the familiar human from before. The human was scared, she could smell the sweat that rolled down his forehead and hear the heartbeat that threatened to beat right out of his chest. ”Vampires don’t bleed r-r-red?” He managed to stammer out just as the vampire suddenly appeared right in front of him. A hand shot out to shove the man back into the brick wall behind him and a resounding crack caught her attention, as it was accompanied by the sweet smell of blood.

Both of her hands shot out and slammed into the wall right beside his head and the gun slipped from his sweaty hands and clattered to the pavement under their feet. ”No. I don't. I bleed black shadows. Because I am evil. I was born through death and blood.”

Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump, th-thump.

The sound called to her like a lullaby that promised to fulfill the desire that burned within. One that promised that she would enjoy every drop of blood that would touch her tongue if she sank her fangs into the pulsing jugular. Her entire body tensed up as she struggled to fight with the urge to kill. "You're a ******* idiot." She hissed as the turmoil raged on.

Kill.

No. She couldn't. The vampire watched as the human's adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. She could almost smell the fear that radiated from him. What possessed him to try and attack her in such an open street?

Kill.

No. The street was open, she couldn't kill him. Not yet anyway. Maybe she could let him go, cloak herself and follow him from the shadows until he was in a secluded spot. One where she could kill him. Brilliant idea. This guy doesn't look like he would be missed, Raven told herself as she took in his disheveled appearance. She could even smell the chemicals that was attached to the pores of his skin. Chemicals that were maybe connected to drugs?

Slowly she leaned in to press her nose to the curve of his neck, drawing in his scent and she paused to lick her one of her fangs. The woman could easily do it. Kill him without a moment's hesitation and drain him dry, however there was that one little problem that she never knew when would arise. What if one of his memories carried through to her through his blood. Raven scrunched up her nose at the thought. No. She couldn't kill him. Raven was trying to be... Reformed.

Kill.

A groan parted her lips as she leaned back just enough to look into his green eyes and she wanted so badly to kill the man. He was right there in front of her and she had every right to defend herself. The human after all did shoot first. "****!" Raven cursed as the game of mental tug-of-war played on.

The doors to Veil Tower closed behind Flynn with a rush of warmth escaping to mingle with the cool night air. Ares, the massive caucasian shepherd, and Athena, the ginger husky trailed along at his side, alert and watchful of their surroundings. The streets were beginning to thin out as it grew later, with only the occasional groups of people passing by. That was the thing about Harper Rock these days; you rarely saw a human travel alone, anymore. Not with the threat of the vampires looming over them like a dark cloud ready to strike them down at any second. At least, that was their perception of the situation, even if it was wrong in 7 out of 10 cases. There were those vampire outliers, the ones that took pleasure in the chaos of bloodlust and hostility, but in Flynn's experience...most of them were content enough to mind their business and only take as they needed to. Some relied on blood packs, never to take fresh for the source, others fed on willing donors. Not that the majority of the citizens cared to learn those details.

In a way, that set Flynn apart, in more ways than one. Firstly, in the sense that he rarely traveled anywhere with anyone else, being more than content to keep to himself, save for the possible canine or two attached to his hip. And if he did have company, it came in the form of his vampire partner. That was strange enough with his being a human, but it got stranger when you added in the minute detail of being a Paladin, to boot. Polar opposite sides of the spectrum, but they managed to make it work. And work really well. And it had been while preparing to take Ares and Athena to Azraeth's that his phone lit up, the screen bright in the dimness of his apartment (which had become his norm, and he totally blamed Az for it). As he swiped to unlock, the vampire's face flashed on the screen, accompanied by the custom name he had given to himself. His reasoning being something like, 'to match' Flynn's name in his.


So, with a roll of his eyes and the tell tale smirk, he had set off for the store. The fact that Az wasn't home meant that Flynn could take his time, taking a few extra streets here and there to ensure that the dogs got a decent walk out of the trip before he piled them into the car to head out of the city for Tomkin. The more energy they got of their system now, the less likely they were to be riled up, later. While Athena enjoyed the relaxed pace, Ares never let his guard down. He had been trained to be ever vigilant, a hunter and a fighter at his master's command. Along with his own instinct reactions to the presence of vampires, Ares could sense them as well as Flynn could, making them a pretty decent duo for tracking those groups that ran rogue. Like the Disciples or the Lionellii, but hunting the sewers wasn't on the agenda for the night, and all it took was a gentle hand on the top of the dog's head to make those tensed muscles relax, "легко, Ares. Easy. We aren't working tonight."

While it wasn't the closest store to the apartment, there was one not too far from Veil Tower, just before the bridge that practically but the city in two equal halves. Ever since he could remember, Flynn had had a bit of enmity for bridges, and it was entirely irrational. In fact, he couldn't have provided a date for when it all started, just that...to this day, the knowledge that he would cross one brought on an unrestrained anger that he seemed capable of controlling. As soon as he reached the other side, it all seemed to fade and everything went back to normal. Regardless, he did his best to avoid them. In a city split by the river, that was easier said than done, but he managed thanks to the intricate transit system that navigated beneath the streets.

It was the moment that Flynn moved to enter the store that the shot ran out, coming from the direction of the bridge. His head whipped around as the area descended into momentary chaos, the few humans fleeing in every direction to duck indoors. Gunshots weren't uncommon in these streets, especially with the cops and soldiers roaming who were more than a little trigger happy. The Paladin glanced to his canines, each of them tense with eyes locked on the direction of the bridge. "Alright, guys...let's go see what's up, hmm?" he whispered to the canines, heading off in the direction of the shot to investigate, if only for his own peace of mind. And it turned out he didn't have to go very far.

He had only just turned the corner when he saw the man slammed against the wall, the crack being loud enough to hear from even this distance, the glint of light catching on the gun as it fell from the man's grasp. It was an educated guess, at best, but Flynn was fairly comfortable in saying that the human made the mistake of shooting, first, entirely ignorant to the fact that vampires didn't take very kindly to bullet wounds. As he made his approach, Ares grew more restless, teeth bared with a low rumbling growl emanating from deep within his chest. In those moments, he was watchful and ready, and he was a pretty observant guy. There was no missing the hesitation, or the fury. The woman seemed in conflict, debating her options as the man trembled before her.

"You seem a little unsure of yourself," he said as a warning to his approach, only to lean against the wall about an arm's reach away from the vampire and her potential prey. And while the man's head turned in his direction, Flynn's green eyes were locked on the woman, narrowed and hard. "The way I see it, you have three options. One, you can let the man go, and everyone leaves here in one piece," he continued, holding out a closed fist, so that he could raise a single finger. As soon as he offered that first option, the human looked back at the woman and nodded frantically, "Y-yeah! What he said! You could let me go!"

Flynn's gaze shot to the man, eyes cold as ice. "Don't help." The words were practically a growl, his lips curled in annoyance. "You got yourself into this mess." After a second of silent glaring, his attention once against shifted back to the female. A second finger come up as he spoke again, "Two, I can make you let him go, but that takes away your choice, and...who wants that? Or three...you can kill him, with the knowledge that a Paladin is standing right here, and would have no choice but to act accordingly, regardless of the possible danger you pose." As he finished, the third finger rose up, as did his eyebrows. As if to extend a challenge to her. "It's your call."

Leaning against the wall, he fell silent. Like a game of chess, it was her turn to make a move.

Raven had barely heard the approaching footsteps and the sound of growling dogs, as the killer within was focused on the man in front of her. The sound of his beating heart, that pumped blood throughout the man's body was just calling to her, drowning out the fight within. She could smell the blood that trickled from his head wound and the vampire could only imagine the sweet taste of blood from the vein once more. It made her salivate just thinking about it's delicious thick liquid that supplied the human with life. Life that she wanted to drain and take away from the man that had deliberately went out of his way to shoot her. Images ran wild within her imagination as she could see herself lean forward to sink her pearly white fangs into his neck breaking the fragile skin to sink into the vein which would pour free his life essence. Essence which she would make sure to steal all of it in a greedy fit of thirst. He deserved it, after all, a bullet wound didn't help his cause. It only made her even more thirsty, which made restraint almost impossible.

However, it was the stranger's voice that called to her in a calm manner that brought her out of her imagination and into reality. The man could see that she was hesitating, whereas in the past she wouldn't have. Raven would have already killed the man and be looting the body by now, if it wasn't for the fact that she was trying to be... Reformed for people that she hadn't even had contact with for so long. The woman savagely bit down upon her bottom lip, tasting the copper of the black blood upon her tongue in order to restrain herself from strangling the human in front of her for even agreeing with the other male. Slowly she brought her senses around to the paladin and the two dogs at his feet and listened to the resounding steady heartbeats instead of the one right in front of her, tempting her to kill. The steady beats, gave her the chance to think clearly about the presented options before her.

All three of the options were not favourable. She finally decided as she sucked at her bottom lip in to draw upon her own blood, however disgusting it was. Not to mention that she'd probably throw up if she didn't stop. So she did and slowly exhaled. Option one didn't give her the satisfaction of getting her revenge, especially considering that she had gotten shot and she didn't heal as fast as other vampires. The woman would also miss out on the opportunity of satisfying the need to kill which clawed at her skull. Option two and three were even less favourable as she was at a disadvantage of already being wounded, plus... As she lifted her brown eyes to peer over towards the paladin, the woman also realised that while she may be able to walk past feral animals without a scratch, these dogs looked like they may help their master. A master that she wasn't sure how trained he was.

Damn ******* paladins, Raven inwardly grumbled to herself as she stared at that silent face. Someone was always there to steal away the fun that she had grasped for herself. Or, tell her to do something that she really didn't want to do. It pissed her off. People were always trying to change her and she guessed that's why she never really fit anywhere, because she realised that she would never be enough. "I like option four. None of the above. I am, well and truly within my right to kill this ****** out of self defense. He ******* shot me. Or..." A slow smirk curved her lips as her gaze slid back over to the male that she had pinned right in front of her. "I could turn him. Let him become the thing that he very much despises." A soft chuckle parted her bloodied stained lips as she thought about it. Raven wouldn't have to kill him, he would kill himself only to be sent to the Shadow Realm where some vampires loose their minds in the darkness that the shadow vampire loved so much.

She didn't have to prove jack **** to anyone there.

Sweat beaded across the human's forehead and she wanted to focus upon the beating heartbeat that threatened to give him a heart attack. Fear was a killer on its own, although it was rare. Instead, she angled her head towards the paladin and returned her gaze to him, where she listened to the steady heart beat that quietly drove away the urge to kill. At least for now anyway. Paladins were a problem. Often the vampire would come across them and had killed a couple of young cocky ones, but this one seemed different somehow and she inhaled deeply even though her dead lungs didn't require her to.

"You paladins are always ruining my fun. I'm just surprised that you haven't attacked me on sight like most d-." The man in front of her shifted just a fraction to the right and she hissed, bringing her right hand back, fisted it and sent it crashing into the wall next to the man's face. This made him jump and return to cowering against the wall. "Move and I can't guarantee your safety." Raven warned him as brown eyes focused on the foolish human. Why did they always test her and do something stupid? It made no sense. Prey should just listen while the fangs are a fraction from their throat.

It was at this point that she realised that the paladin may not be attacking because her fangs were at her target's throat and a slow smile tugged at the corner of her lips once more. "Or maybe it's because you realise that even if you did attack me, I could kill this human and then focus on you. He would still be dead and even if I die, I'll return from the Shadow Realm against my will." Simply because if Clover ever found out that Raven had returned there, the vampire figured that her sire may do something silly. It wouldn't be the first time. She deduced as she shifted her gaze back to the paladin. No, death did not scare her one bit in fact she found it rather entertaining the relationship that she had with death. How many times had she cheated it? Often she wondered if death could be seen within her very own eyes. How hollow she felt.

It was only by killing, fighting and feeding that she felt anything. Pain was glorious, but killing brought a pleasure that was almost... Orgasmic on its own.

Finally, after what probably seemed like an eternity to the human, Raven dropped her right arm to allow the man to retreat to the paladin. "Run little human... I'll remember you, She finished off within her own thoughts. If she ever felt the need to kill overwhelm anything. She could probably track this man down and kill him. She did, after all remember every little detail. The vampire had been born a hunter and she had figured out that she had developed a couple of neat little traits. Besides. She decided that letting the human go was best for her in the long run. If she had to fight the paladin and his dogs, she would probably end up with extra wounds which wouldn't work out in her favour, in fact it would work against.

"I hope you're happy now." Raven grumbled as she lifted her right hand to pat down her pockets to chase down a cigarette case. The vampire would need to fish out the bullet later, which meant opening the wound up further. Her timeline had been put up a bit.

As Azraeth’s voice cut through, the woman was almost sure that she had been imagining this entire scenario, even though the bullet felt real enough. Azraeth had his arm around a paladin, a ******* paladin and she could only stand there dumbfounded as the other vampire stepped forwards to give her a heal. What had the bloody hell happened in her absence? Did the man lose his mind and decided that vampires and paladins made for very good partners in crime? In fact, she wondered just as to how the whole relationship thing worked and she had to work to remember just as to how to form words once more when Flynn seemed less than excited about the fact that Azraeth saw her as something akin to family.

”Eh… I’d more say that we are along the lines of very good friends. Az, you know how I feel about the word family. I have a sire, but that’s generally about it. The Ffordes hate my guts from what I can tell and my family has always wished that I was never born, so feel free to jump on that train if you want to Flynn. I’m used to being the hated one.” The vampire said as she rub her fingers over the tattoos upon her hands that said, ’Trust no one. However, Azraeth and a couple of others had snuck past that barrier and she had extended her trust to them. Something that was no small feat on for her and it had taken a great deal of time and energy on their part.

Brown eyes drifted between the two as her brain worked to figure out the logic behind their partnership. Had Az finally lost it? How did he manage to sleep knowing that the person that he slept with, could potentially kill him one day? The very thought sent shivers down her spine and it made her to want to protect the man from his very own stupidity. Raven had even become a little slack jawed at the mind boggling thought that had been presented before her.

Slowly, she regained her composure, closed her mouth and finally produced a cigarette case and a lighter. ”So, apart from losing a few common sense brain cells while I was gone, what else did I miss apart from humans trying to cure us and the rise of the sirens?” Oh yes, the vampire was clearly making a jab at the paladin, because why not? It appeared to her that Flynn didn’t exactly like Az calling her family, which was why she had given him an out to it and the option to start a fight. She could after all, be the poster vampire for the human’s campaign against vampires. Raven was violent and a serial killer. Even now as she lit a cigarette, all that she really wanted to do, was to hunt the human down and rip his head off of his shoulders. That human, had a target upon his back still, even if he didn’t realise it yet.

There was, something likeable about Flynn though, something that was kindred to her. He had this… Spark that made her think that she could probably get along with if… She could one day look past the fact that he was a paladin that could maybe one day stab her in the back or neck, just like what her twin had done. Like seriously? What was wrong with people trying to kill her from behind? It was a pattern that was quickly growing old.

However, as she eyed the two, she quickly began to realise something else. Everyone that she knew, had someone to return to. She? Was a simple drifter and she could drift out of their lives like the shadow that she could be sometimes and it wouldn’t really matter. Suddenly, she felt the urge to kill once more and she tossed the cigarette away. It wasn’t going to help and so, she pulled on a disguise. One that came in the form of a simple smirk. ”Well come on, you have to tell me all about it. I mean seriously, how did you two meet? When is the wedding?”

Raven’s brow perked as Azraeth asked her if she thought so little of his judgement and the answer popped up inside of her head without any thought, no. No she didn’t, in fact she held his judgement in high regard, but she didn’t want to admit that, not really for it meant that she maybe took into account someone else’s opinions. In fact, her reform was partly Azraeth's fault, along with Enzo, Mort and Doc. They had all played a part in her reform and the biggest one of all, was her sire. If it meant that Raven could stay under the radar to protect her sire, then she was more than willing to do it. ”No need to apologise Azraeth, I’ve always known that you and Nikolae considered me to be family. However, you have also known, that I was always the raven that flew on the edge of the dragons.”

Brown eyes slowly moved to Flynn and watched as the man seemed to watch her only for him to freeze, as if he had decided that becoming a stone was more healthy for him than actually speaking, once wedding was mentioned. Paladins, the woman never understood them. For the most part they seemed to hate vampires, but then a baffling one would land in her lap and she would find that they tended to… talk to vampires instead of instantly attacking. It was.... Unnerving to the vampire. No one ever really asked Raven about herself, for she had become rather adept at turning the conversation back upon the person that she happened to be talking to. So when Azraeth asked about her, she bit her bottom lip and became quiet for a moment.

So instead of answering straight away, she let silence fill the air as she took a drag from her cigarette and let the smoke simply drift from her partially parted red painted lips. ”Well, I killed my brother and took a trip around Canada.” She said all casual like, as if it didn’t matter and instantly brushed off the conversation in an instant. ”Apart from that, I wasn’t lucky to disappear into the dark. Clover might do something stupid if I did. Gotta protect my sire, even if I die half a million times in the process.” They were words that she meant. Raven would throw herself in front of danger just for Clover, a connection that she never fully understood, but knew was simply the truth. After all, Clover did save her from permanent death by turning her in that dark alley, but she had paid a price. Clover had seen a memory that Raven kept close to her heart, a memory of her own twin trying to to kill Raven while her back was turned. It was a memory that only she and Clover knew all of the details to, for the woman didn’t think that anyone else would truly understand.

Quietly, she listened to Azraeth as he talked about how he had met Flynn and she softly chuckled. ”What? Flynn’s danger radar was off? I met a soldier the other day, all he could do was sit there on his bar stool glaring at me.” She pursed her lips as Flynn suddenly chimed in, the hunter having been quiet for most of the time and her gaze slowly slid over his form taking note of his body posture. If anything screamed, especially in the way that his muscles moved, that he might attack, then she would be ready. Trust wasn’t her strong suit, it never had after the incident with her twin brother.

”You’re lucky that I like you Azraeth and I can’t really say that about a lot of people.” Raven finally said as she took the last drag from her cigarette and dropped the butt to the pavement beneath their feet. Her right foot lifted and she toed the gently burning stick into the ground to put it out. Fire, give it half a chance and one little spark could have a blaze burning brightly before anyone knew it. ”Get your *** over here,” The woman finally said as she held her arms open.