[◡ ❛ l, w, & l ❧ moved!

[ℛσуαℓ ♕]

𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐲​

╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾
(role ; olympic pack member) (tagged ; josie, flynn, silver) (mentions; none) (location ; harbor/docks) (w.c. ; 493 ) (form)
╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾

Despite the concern in his tone, Kellan wasn’t all too worried about this strange assembly at the docks. He wasn’t a particularly nosey person or a gossip so he was used to minding his own business. But even to his indifferent eye, the tension in the air was palpable.

If he had been a wolf, his hackles may have risen at the undercurrent of stress undulating like waves from the trio’s direction. Kellan continued at an unhurried pace but furrowed his brow, etching a deeper line between his eyes as he watched Josie stalk forward with some unknown purpose. Her intent wasn’t clear until the last second and Kellan was still too far away to intercede before she had grabbed the unidentified girl by the collar and pushed her up against the rail.

Kellan got a good whiff of things then, of Josie’s anxiety and Flynn’s wariness and the fact that this stranger was not human. The british man cried out to Josie at the same time Flynn did and he lunged forward, ready to break things up. Kellan didn’t have the same qualms Flynn did about possibly offending Josie in this situation.

Rather than lay hands on anyone, Kellan simply shoved his way in, brushing against Flynn’s back and maybe even the stranger as he wormed his way into Josie’s personal space. “Whoa whoa what’s gotten into you!” He said as he moved ever closer to her, forcing her back unless she cared to use his body as a springboard.

Kellan brought up his hands, palms out, in a peace-making gesture that served to block Josie from harming herself or others. She could’ve easily sucker punched him at this range but he was focused only on de-escalating things and not in the least concerned about himself.

In the back of his mind, Kellan was worried about his proximity to a werewolf. He’d never met a wolf that wasn’t a pack mate and hadn’t even been sure there were other bloodlines that couldn’t be traced back to DK. But he was more worried about what could happen to Josie if she didn’t release the woman who could quite literally rip off her arm. And he’d heard Flynn’s weak explanation that this stranger was his cousin.

Kellan shot Flynn a look from the corner of his eye and then looked directly at Josie with his arms out and a very serious expression. “C’mon let’s get out of here.” He nodded his head at a seldom-used walking trail that led into the woods and circled back around to main street.

Kellan tried to convey his will to help Josie who looked harried to say the least. He knew how private and even secretive Josie was and only wanted to help her feel safe. Her eyes were dilated, her nostrils flared and her teeth set in what could only be described as a look of animal survival. “I know a few places we could lay low.”

[slaughter beach, dog]

█│▒║ ── 𝑱 𝑶 𝑺 𝑰 𝑬 - 𝑩 𝑹 𝑶 𝑶 𝑲 ─ ⚜ ─────────────── ─ ─ ─ ─ ─╶╶╶

location; the pier ── tagging; Flynn, Silver, Kellan ── mentioned; Azrael, Adeline ── wc; 1,090


Josie's jaw clenched and she twisted her grip on the woman's collar, which sent the blood fleeing from her knuckles and turned them bone-white. She was close enough to smell the woman's perfume, which merely stoked the flames of anger burning her up from the inside out. It was the scent of the old summer home's library on a rainy day, after her mother had made the staff scrub every surface of the house with some cleaner that smelled like citrus in its most invasive form. The vivid, repetitive memory made Josie's skin crawl and her nose sting, and she might have outright snarled at the stranger beneath her fists if it weren't for the bile burning at the back of her throat.
indentindentAs the woman turned her eyes up to look at Josie, the unnaturally hued light from above must have hit them at an angle that resulted in a flash of golden. It wasn't the colour of them that mattered to Josie, but the utter indifference in her face even when threatened with force. This could not have been someone guiltless, because no one without a past or something up their sleeve reacted in such a way when accosted on a dark pier, whether they had initially been in the role of the pursuer or not. Even if she weren't in Devil's Kettle to chase Josie down, her reason for being there couldn't have been innocent. She was hiding something, and Josie would have dared to argue that this stranger's secrets must have rivaled her own.
indentindentThe tension in Josie's jaw turned more into a gritting of her teeth. She couldn't help feeling young again at the face of such detachment — in the worst possible way one could feel young. The woman was undermining her, putting her in the shoes of someone helpless. A target of sneer from someone who knew they held power over her and there was nothing she could do. Nothing but run and hope the reach of such power would prove finite — that it would end somewhere if she only managed to get far enough, fast enough. Josie wondered whether the woman's attitude would change half-way down from the pier to the bottomless water below.
indentindentIt sounds like you've been on the run from something or someone. Each of the words landed like a cheap punch in the gut, and Josie hissed in a sharp breath from between her clenched teeth. Her fists pushed against the woman's collarbones, uncaring of the burn against her knuckles, forcing her to bend further over the railing and above the undulating darkness. Maybe she wouldn't have to wonder for long — if anything, this stranger was playing a dangerous game. Josie was willing to go far when she had something to lose, but her pursuer had no idea what she would do when stripped of everything she cared to protect.
indentindentJosie's anger was flaring into a deafening fury, and once the searing grip fastened around her wrists, her vision was tunneling to see only the woman before her. She barely registered Flynn's voice, much less his words, but the feather-light touch of a hand atop her arm set something off in her head, like a rubber band pulled beyond the point it could stretch. She rotated her wrists in the woman's grip to loosen it, then abruptly tore downwards to free her hands. She never lost momentum when she sent her fist flying towards Flynn's face. It connected with a crunch, and briefly, she believed she may have shattered the man's nose, but then a searing pain erupted in her knuckles and shot up her arm. Punching Flynn was closer to punching a wall than a face.
indentindentKellan took the opportunity to maneuver himself between Josie and the other two on the ill-fated pier, but Josie had moved from caring about the stranger's intentions to being mostly concerned about the burning in her right hand. She staggered backwards, away from Kellan's reach despite the way he had lifted up his hands in surrender, all the while snarling a litany of curses so colourful they could have made a nun faint. Her left hand cradled the wrist of the other, because anything closer to her likely shattered knuckles felt more like a strike from a hammer.
indentindentShe must have bit into her lip at some point, because the metallic taste of blood bloomed against her tongue. With a few more curses, this time under her breath, she spat on the damp planks of the pier.
indent"Just keep your hands off me," she snarled at Kellan, teeth still clenched, albeit now more from pain. Maybe it was a hypocritical request to make, but she had already broken one hand — how much worse could the other be if her wishes weren't respected?
indentindentFrankly, Josie was no longer sure what she was angry about. The woman — apparently Flynn's cousin, she now realized the words he had shouted earlier — for saying all the wrong things? Flynn for stepping into the range of her fists? Herself for revealing her hand and then practically slapping everyone in the face with it? At least she wouldn't have to feel guilty for lashing out, because it seemed like Flynn's face was made out of concrete. Maybe the guilt would come once she had to figure out what to tell Azrael in order to get her hand checked out. 'Sorry to come over so late again, I punched your ex in the face for no reason I could articulate, but his face is harder than a wall so I broke my hand, please fix it?' If Adeline happened to be at the clinic, Josie would be guaranteed to feel about a hundred different shades of terrible. How did that woman have the capacity to fuss over everyone in her near vicinity, and why did it have to make Josie feel as if she was lower than low?
indentindentIt seemed Kellan was still willing to offer her mercy in spite of all she had done, and Josie may have felt thankful somewhere deep within, but she couldn't bring herself to grovel in front of anyone — especially not now.
indent"Great," she hissed instead, turning her back on the trio against her instinct, still clutching her mangled hand. "Just fantastic! Sure, let's go lay low," she spoke, the words sarcastic and her tone no less than scathing. Without another glance back, she began striding towards the trail with steps that were stiff and uncertain from the pain relentlessly scorching up her arm.

[rosevon]

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾
𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔡𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔢 𝔉𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔣𝔢𝔩𝔡
≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

|tagged: Ricardo | location: coven house | time: night | wc: 660

Magdelene groaned as she pulled herself up over a moss-covered boulder. The trek through the woods was draining, and by now it had definitely taken its toll on the little red. She was drained of blood, and now energy, and that made for a very cranky mix. Unfortunately, she could not voice those concerns.
Magdelene did not enjoy the awkward company of the brunette who had stumbled upon her. As much as she was thankful for his help, he had been leading her through the forest for ages now, and where to? Somewhere grand, the vampire could only hope.
The forests of the Americas were much different than expected. The mountains were beautiful, from what you could see when you were weaving at the base of them. And the moon, cradled in between them, had never been brighter. Perhaps that was why the light hint of wolf was in the air? You couldn’t be surprised, really. Though one could assume since there were vampires in the New World already, their blood enemies followed shortly after. She couldn't help but wonder if the moon still held her sway here? Were wolves still subjected to transforming on the night of a full moon? Was it a full moon?
Maggy wished she could be cradled with someone like the moon was now, but it only made her incredibly sad. She remembered well what happened the night she was tossed to the sea. Her thoughts drifted to her family occasionally, but when she felt that wallowing heat in her chest, she knew she had to shove it down. Risking such violent emotions being displayed in front of a foreign Lord could get Magdelene in a bad situation.
Whatever communication between this man and herself that seemed to be taken at came to nowhere. They figured out they just couldn’t understand each other. Mags had recognized some of the words, of course, but she was by far not fluent in English. It was an alien type of language coming from him, Magdelene only recognized bits and pieces, but it was difficult to set a meaning to them. Some of the things he said, she could assume did not even have a meaning. She could only pray someone knew Deutsche, and even if she must compromise, a bit of Slavic would do.
Silently, Maggy hoped he would take her to a knighted fortress, or a grand estate with a high blood stock. It was only in her nature. In a pinch, she even wanted to be welcomed at a peasant’s home, as long as there was a meal promised. Her thirst was growing with every step she took, and what she had down by the bay was nowhere near enough to quench her.
Magdelene’s expression dropped as she let her eyes drift down the valley to the house. Her brain actually short-circuited. Instead of the towers or forts she was expecting, she was met with designs so foreign and purely alien to her, she couldn’t make sense of it. There was glass nearly everywhere, sheets of it. And the colors… well, none of them made sense. But it was so large and towered, almost, that little Magdelene couldn’t help but feel that very important people lived here. She slid down the slope and next to Ricardo, her eyes bouncing nervously back and forth between him and the house.
From what she could tell, he was not going to invite her in. Instead, he led her to the porch, where she stood patiently. Should she go inside? From the windows, she could see such odd things, none of them made sense to her. They looked like trinkets, almost, but some of them were large. What could they be? With more than a drop of fear in her body, Magdelene didn’t even want to try and sort this out. Instead, she just… waited. She stood on the gravel driveway, looking down at her feet ashamedly. She was so dirty, her feet were bloody from the hike and from the mess earlier. If she were alive, she’d sigh.
Pray to God there was a solution to all of this, and soon.

[Crono]

ＦＬＹＮＮ ＲＥＹＮＯＬＤＳ
Male ~ Twenty-Nine ~ Werewolf ~ Beta ~ Rental Business Owner ~ Profile
Location: Pier ~ (Tags: Josie, Silver, Kellan) (Mentions: Azrael, Adeline)

When Silver spoke towards Josie the way she had Flynn was ready to break this up forcibly if need be, this unknown Werewolf was obviously perfectly happy with making his situation even worse through antagonizing. Though before he could say or do anything a sudden fist to his face caught the man off guard, Josie's to be exact. Punching a Werewolf never really ended well for anyone who wasn't immortal or was a Werewolf themselves. He'd tried to flinch and recoil slightly in reaction but the blow had caught him so off guard his own reaction couldn't be much or it would be obviously fake. Flynn had grown accustomed to recoiling from blows from time to time, more especially in his late teens and early twenties when he invited people to do so by insulting them with no shame involved. Incidents such as those had put a stain on his and Azrael's relationship, this much he knew. His delinquent days were in the past now though, he'd changed since then. Or at least he'd like to think so, though given the hook he'd just caught one might argue differently.

Immediately his thoughts went to concern for Josie and what damage she might have done to her hand, though based on her shoving both his and Kellan's hands away, she would have nothing to do with them. Luckily Kellan was suggesting they take a walk, clear whatever had come over the woman with some air. It was clear Kellan was the only company she was interested in handling at the moment so Flynn didn't move from his position or try to apologize for the time being with tension still ongoing. Instead he waited until the two were far enough away and turned his attention onto Silver, "You really had to go there with the psychoanalyzing?" His tone frustrated and clearly not interested in an actual answer as the Beta started to pace a few steps back and forth. Unable to sit still given what had just transpired, needing to work off the tension in someway that didn't involve phasing and running through the woods despite wanting to. Midway through the pacing he started paying attention to the stinging pain radiating from his nose and brought his hand up to touch it curiously before pulling back to see the blood on his fingers. In both surprise and amusement he scoffed, Josie'd managed to do what few humans who'd taken a swing at him had which was to actually make him bleed. Flynn nearly felt pride for her, given she wouldn't be aware of what she'd done.

Instinctively he attempt to wipe the blood away using the back of his shirt sleeve, likely leaving a smear on the shirt sleeve as well as his upper lip and nostril's, though luckily it wouldn't be too awkwardly visible on his brown shirt. The man glanced back at the nearby woman, "A lesson in socializing, don't ask for help then pull a first impression..." Flynn waved his hands in the air, unable to find the words he was searching for, "...like that." He hadn't forgot she'd essentially asked for help and wasn't about to turn her away despite what had transpired. "How long since you changed?" He asked simply, crossing his arms over his chest and favoring his left hip in a lean slightly. The fact was he still wasn't entirely sure what help she was asking for, and this was him giving her the opening to elaborate given that they were out of earshot of any humans for the moment. Flynn was however keeping an eye out towards the shallow end of the pier to make sure nobody was going to be passing them by. How fresh was this world for her? Was she a part of a pack? Was she even aware of Vampires? Was she simply passing through and in need of help from the local Werewolves? An unknown Werewolf could fall along so many categories of knowledge that he needed a baseline. The pack had taken in it's share of fresh Wolves in recent years, Adeline being the newest, and she was still green. "And did you know about me back when you contacted the company?" The question held a hint of accusation in it. It was a curious thought, wondering if she'd somehow targeted him prior somehow due to information.

[`silver]

SILVER BLACKWOOD | location: the pier | mentions: Josie, Kellan | tags: Flynn

One moment she was being furiously shackled by a human woman, the forward shifting of her body threatening to cast her into the ever-churning darkness lapping at the water-blighted pier with expectant hunger; the next moment included a forced tearing away of her own heated grip on the woman’s wrists, her attention having sprung from her to the person she probably considered more friend than foe in most occasions. Silver lowered her arms slowly in surprise as bone met bone, an explosive reaction reaching her ears with an audible crunching noise that nearly faltered her composure. She hadn’t meant for someone to get hurt in the process of all this, especially not Josie considering it was obvious that Flynn and her shared the same notable secret.

A throng of colorful dialogue spewed from the raven-haired woman as she created distance between them, favoring her injured hand as that familiar icy gaze still tore into them both now with a sort of cornered animal kind of savagery reflected within them. Silver couldn’t help but avert her eyes for once, a brooding expression momentarily crossing her once blank slate of a reaction. Perhaps she had spoken out of line after all. With the newest addition to their wayward group being here to keep the peace and flashing looks at Flynn, Silver could only surmise that he too was a werewolf. She didn’t move as Kellan whisked between them to greet Josie with concern, watching their interaction in silence as Josie instantly deflected his efforts as she was just a flurry of aggression and rebuke. It was almost familiar, watching how Josie snarled words and how tension racked her body since there had been no real time for her to recoil and acknowledge the pain riveting through her arm. An apology would fall on deaf ears for sure.

Flynn on the other hand was currently paying for what had been audibly spewed. He voiced his frustration which in turn had crimson leaking from his clocked nose as he paced around the pier in front of her. Shoving her hands into her coat pockets, Silver simply watched his vexation continue to control his movements, sparing a moments glance to the blurring figures exiting the pier. Josie never looked back after stalking off with the other werewolf trailing behind her wrought with concern. Nothing she could say in regards to the situation would’ve smothered Flynn’s aggravation and so settled on remaining silent until he allowed her an opportunity she could pick up on. Her words to Josie had come out easily due to her learned ability in analyzing people for so long. Her sharp-tongue had gotten her out of several situations that could’ve proven worse for someone of her stature and young appearance as most warranted her to be someone that wasn’t to be taken seriously. It was interesting to see how things changed as you grew older.

She nodded at his words in acknowledgement though the muscle in her jaw leapt in reaction. He wasn’t wrong and his words didn’t radiate with malice, she realized. Amber-gold flared up in her dark gaze once again when he questioned her, a brief silence following suit as she seemed to be pondering how much information to offer him. “A couple of years. Tried my best to think nothing of it at first considering it seemed too natural.” She answered slowly, drawing her right hand from her pocket as she gazed to it. A curved line of scars glinted lightly against the pier’s lamps, forming the shape of a bite mark that she now exposed to Flynn’s eyes. “Got bitten as a kid but I guess I controlled my emotions too well and didn’t know it hadn’t just been some big dog.” Until recently, it seemed. She didn’t know whether or not it was a common occurrence of people being bitten let alone not shifting soon after the initial bite happened. The fever that had wracked her body the days following after had been the worst sickness that’d ever come upon her and considering it hadn’t been often that she acquired an ailment, being bedridden for nearly a week was unheard of.

“I knew nothing of you when I contacted. Just another person looking for a place to move out to get away from their parents.” Silver exhaled softly as if she hadn’t spoken that much in a long time, breathing a quiet sigh after as she drew her attention towards the sea again, only flicking her darkened gaze back to Flynn when he reacted to her response. Hopefully the information she had would suffice enough to quell his pacing before he gouged permanent footfalls into the planks. Her submersion into this phase of her life had only begun recently and even after having successfully shifted into her wolf, she knew little to nothing in how these things worked other than what movies and shows offered.

[slaughter beach, dog]

█│▒║ ── 𝑮 𝑨 𝑩 𝑹 𝑰 𝑬 𝑳 - 𝑪 𝑳 𝑬 𝑴 𝑬 𝑵 𝑺 ─ ⚜ ─────────────── ─ ─ ─ ─ ─╶╶╶

location; the remote woods > near the coven house ── tagging; Chase ── mentioned; Kellan, Sonya, Alex, Magdelene, Ricardo ── wc; 1,345


Gabriel remained silent as Chase touched her fingers to Kellan's pelted shoulder. The gesture seemed to resolve something between the two, and the towering wolf began gliding through the trampled meadow for the evergreens at the edge of the glade. The moon hung, observant, in the midnight dark sky above, casting its pale light to coruscate on the wolf's smoky fur as it flowed with each silent step. Before he could vanish into the pool of shadow between the trees, he stopped to crane his neck back, and their gazes met somewhere above the stretch of no man's land. Supposed polar opposites, stony blue and weary copper, there was something heavy in those not-quite animal eyes that did not reveal itself to Gabriel. He nodded despite everything, deliberate and deferential, and then the wolf was gone.
indentindentHis eyes turned to Chase, moving unhurried yet purposeful as they retraced the path the wolf had taken and fixated on the unwavering hazel that regarded him. She no longer wasted time on idle words or platitudes, the weight of her words obvious as she spoke of sacrifice and protection. It was exactly what Gabriel had suggested, but seen through the lens of a devoted guardian, and the view those chosen words revealed was somehow naive in its idealism. Naive, only in the sense any mortal would be. Yet the difference between them seemed far more a question of what each considered life. To Gabriel, the path Chase would undoubtedly follow without a truce in her hands was exactly that: the sacrifice of vampires for the protection of the people in Devil's Kettle. Perhaps she had not caught the irony of her words, or simply would never see it in such a way. The rogue were not alive in her eyes.
indentindentThe words that followed were like the sounding of a dissonant cord in what had momentarily been a tolerable harmony. It was beginning to form a pattern in Gabriel's mind, the way Chase seemed to resort to threats about acts she was unquestionably capable of, ultimatums about her absolute influence over her subordinates, and a flaunting of the destructive and resolute power that the pack certainly possessed. Gabriel craved to voice his thoughts about how balancing their truce on the sharp edge of a knife served no one, but he held his tongue. Until she brought up Sonya. How was he to form an alliance with someone so willing to set their sights on the chinks in his armour and squeeze the trigger whilst he looked them in the eyes and gave them what they were owed, even if it meant carving holes in his own soul?
indentindentGabriel's jaw tensed and he pressed his lips together into a thin line to keep the byproducts of any brutish instincts to himself. He tore his gaze from Chase, choosing to turn his side to her lest the sight of her stoke something revolting inside of him. He knew he was a killer, a murderer, and he would loathe that stone hanging around his neck for the rest of his eternity, but he had been extended a mercy and he had chosen to fight for some semblance of humanity, because his kind was not beyond a recognition of right and wrong. The refusal to give the rogues such a chance would be an execution without a trial.
indent"And what is it that sets you apart from the ones you so willingly denominate cold-blooded killers?" he spat as if the words had been caustic inside of his mouth, something to rid himself of before they burn pits into his chest, but he was controlling his tone to such an extent that it was barely audible. "The justification? The intent? Sanctimony? How can you consider yourself as above them when I stand before you as testimony of redemption and you see no reason to offer these rogues a choice?" With each word, exasperation and anguish were leaking into his ordinarily solemn voice.
indentindentThe anger began to ebb and he lowered his gaze to the ground before closing his eyes to collect himself. The momentary silence was breached by footsteps, shoes shuffling against grass and pressing into the turf, crumpling fallen leaves and bending pine needles underfoot. Gabriel lifted his head to watch Chase moving across the glade, towards the edge to watch over the glow of the town below. She had turned her back to him. Was it trust, a test, or a taunt? The breeze toyed with the rich browns of her hair, scattering it across strong shoulders.
indentindentGabriel did not experience physical fatigue, but he suddenly found himself exhausted. Choosing to ward off any deliberation about the move, its purpose and consequence, he joined the wolf at the edge and rested his tired eyes on the distant festival lights. A sea of swaying green stood between them, and he was thankful for it, too weary to bother his mind with the repercussions of an unexpected meeting with a human on such a night. The wind tangled with the skirts of his long coat as he stood with the stillness of a marble statue forgotten by time.
indent"I am glad there are matters in which our agreement is immediate," he confessed to the valley before them as the alpha agreed to a meeting with Alex.
indentindentHe did not move as Chase turned to face him again, nor when she posed her layered question. Perhaps some other time, in the presence of someone else, he may have been more taken aback by such an inquiry, but if he were to speak to himself in pure truths, it had seemed the unspoken topic of their entire meeting. What would you do to keep those near you safe? For a moment, he allowed himself sadness and longing. He thought of Sonya's deep brown hair as she ran faster than the wind, her piquant words, and how the cold stone of his cheeks became alive again underneath her fingertips.
indent"I believe you already know," he finally answered, choosing to omit the infinite words and acts that rose to his mind in favor of the blatant truth which they both shared.
indentindentGabriel turned to meet Chase's hazel eyes for the first time since his outburst, the copper of his own now void of indignation and resentment. He briefly inclined his head towards the direction of the coven's house.
indent"If you are ready, I will lead you to Alex," he proposed. "It is not far for us, but should you prefer to turn for the journey, well, there will be spare clothing at the house." With that, he strolled to the other end of the glade before disappearing into the trees in a burst of speed.

indentindentGabriel was still a trek away from the coven's house when he first crossed the scent. It was a rogue, unlike any of the ones he had smelled before, mingling with the trail of one of their own. He did not wish to presume any harm had befallen his brother, nor that the rogue held any malicious intent towards his family, but the fragrance of human blood, burning even when the traces were drying and faded, told him something had gone wrong that night. The fresher the path, the deeper the cut of the blades sinking down his throat.
indentindentHe stopped at the first sight of the house peeking through the trees and waited for Chase to emerge. They were approaching from behind the building, and as spontaneous as their decision to meet Alex had been, he did not wish to have the wolf thinking she was being lead into a trap. Nor was he going to allow her to engage in bloodshed on the coven's front yard. Considering the likelihood of a fresh kill in town, the latter seemed more likely, and Gabriel could not keep himself from wondering whether this rogue could have chosen a worse time to appear, but he knew Chase must have smelled the visitor by now, and it would be far too late to turn back.

[8_Stars_8]

[◡ ❛ 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐨𝐬 ....─....𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝
| coven leader | original vampire | tags: gwen | mentions: ricardo, gabriel, magdalene, chase | wc: 576 |

Alex found it amusing how the young vampire tried to rein in her somewhat obnoxious personality as she spoke to Alex. She was well aware of the effect her last name had on other vampires. She usually let her actions do the intimidating, but in this case, her name did come in handy. Instead of answering Gwen's question right away, she left it to hang in the brisk autumn air. Alex knew she had to be methodical about this. She would use the silence to her advantage.

"You needn't be so uptight, child." This of course, wasn't true. Gwen had good reasoning to be very weary of the woman standing in front of her. Although Alex's voice dripped from her mouth like honey, she had a rather monotonous and uncaring tone. This way of speaking was rather agitating when dealing with diplomatic situations, but an eternity has sorely worn out her capacity for emotion. "I suppose this may be foreign to you, seeing how young you are-" She pauses for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Let me teach you something about this world, darling. Not all vampires drink human blood. Some get their sustenance from animals. This means instead of crimson eyes, they have golden eyes. What I want from you, is for you to stop drinking human blood and join my coven. Frankly, I don't want to have to let the wolves kill you."

As Alex waited for the blonde to process the information just given to her, she caught a very familiar scent in the lakeside breeze. It was faint, but her senses were also much more acute and trained than younger vampires such as Gwen. The scent she caught, of course, was blood - a lot of it given that she could smell it. Great. As if I didn't already have Chase hounding on me.

"Look, gorgeous, I would love to continue this conversation, but I have something to attend to. Just know that I will be watching you. Behave." Alex steps back and transmogrifies into hawk, flying towards the scent of the blood. Alex lands in a tree just above the body, transmogrifies back into her vampire form and drops down out of the tree. Another scent lingered here: Ricardo and an unfamiliar vampire. She sneers as she looks at the body. Seriously? They couldn't have just taken a little class? No. Of course not. Had to leave a mess for me to clean up. Thanks for the help Ricardo. Alex mumbles under her breath, clearly annoyed. She looks around for a place to stuff the body and then transfer it to stage an animal attack somewhere in the woods. She finds nothing that she could carry the body in. Guess we're going manual then. She sighs, picking up the man's body and runs to a remote place in the woods. She transmogrifies a stick into a hiking backpack and lays it next to the body after ripping it up some. There. A freak hiking accident.

Alex was going to rip the fangs out of the skull of whoever had done this. She runs back to the coven house, exhausted at this point. Transmogrification was very draining. She needed a shower and some alone time. People are frankly exhausting. At least that was her plan, but of course there just had to be a bloody vampire standing on her porch and Gabriel accompanying Chase in the near vicinity. Great. I've lost all control.

[ℛσуαℓ ♕]

𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐲​

╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾
(role ; olympic pack member) (tagged ; josie, flynn) (mentions; silver) (location ; pier, woods) (w.c. ; 579 ) (form)
╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾

Luckily for Kellan, he wasn’t the one to suffer Josie’s wrath on the pier. He still had his hands up, watching in disbelief as Josie manhandled the mystery woman and his jaw had nearly fallen to the floor when she had redirected her momentum to crack Flynn square in the nose.

Normally, Kellan wasn’t this slow to react. He’d been in plenty of scrapes during his pub days back in the UK and damaged a lot of relationships and opportunities by having a combative attitude and a rather nasty case of foot-in-mouth disease. It wasn’t until he came back to the States and DK that Kellan learned the importance of self-control when any little thing could trigger a shift with monstrous results. But Kellan wasn’t a monster. He worked very hard not to be.

But just as soon as Josie had lashed out, she staggered off and Kellan registered the grating click of small bones fracturing. Flynn looked just as bewildered as Kell for a second, and with much more reason, but shook it off. The beta was a master of self-control. He was Kellan’s mentor and closest pack mate for a reason.

And he obviously had his hands full here so Kellan blinked, closed his mouth and lowered his arms to shove his fists in the pockets of his jacket in an effort to appear self-contained. Wouldn’t want to give Josie a reason to break her other hand.

He followed Josie away from the lights of the pier to the trail that would curve around to main street but nodded his head in a direction off of the beaten path. “We better get you to Azrael’s.” He murmured.

Kellan side-eyed Josie now and his brows drew together again in a deep ‘v’ between his eyes. She reminded him of himself and the brief glimpses he’d had of other pack members out of control. Josie wasn’t a werewolf but she had some kind of inner demons she always seemed to be locked in a titanic struggle with.

Kell led the way into the stands of trees without a path, aiming to cut through some neighborhoods to reach the clinic without being seen. “I have to admit I’m a tad disappointed I won’t be declared DK’s lumberjack contest champion for the fourth year in a row but I’m also not so keen on seeing the kind of damage you could do with a saw.”

He looked at her fully now, his eyes still a bit dark with concern but his mouth quirked up in a lopsided grin. “I must also admit I’m impressed. Nice right hook.” He grinned fully, showing his teeth in the private joke manner he had.

Josie was still terribly cross to say the least of her mien so he figured he’d be his usual self in hopes that she would relax. Kellan had no wish to pry at the secrets she kept in a vice grip.

“Was that twiggish snap I heard your hand?” He wasn’t laughing at her but he also wasn’t a doctor of any kind and could only lend a hand if she needed it. Azrael would know what to do. Unfortunately for Josie though, she couldn’t blow this off as easily as a werewolf could. Depending on the state of her bones, so fragile compared to Kellan’s, she could be on the mend for a while. “A brace might up your street cred. No one will mess with you now.” Kellan joked.

[azhefa.]

xxx𝑉𝐼𝑉𝐼𝐴𝑁𝐴

》i. ana ii. 25 iii. female iv. vampire half-breed [vegetarian] v. heterosex/rom vi. love; single

x───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

it was quite the whiplash when the woman pipes up and is very concerned for her. ana sputters for a moment and tries to speak a few times, but is unable to actually voice anything. she was a bit confused by the woman's attention since the man exudes tension and suspicion as if knowing something wasn't quite right about her. as if he knew she wasn't human.

ana gives the woman a bit of a smile as she introduces herself as adeline and the man as azrael, but was still a bit off kilter with how expressive she was. "oh, um, i'm viviana, but everyone calls me ana," she stutters a little as she speaks and makes a bit of a hissing sound when addie grabs her hands to shake them and quickly pulls her hands away. ana holds them go her chest as if burned and was even more confused by these two strangers. "you're burning! i'm actually quite comfortable, even sweating almost in this sweater, but you must have a fever."

a passerby brushes past the hybrid and ana moves out of their way before looking back to addie and azrael, not really wanting to stick around anymore since they have made her very uncomfortable. if they weren't human and clearly aren't vampires, then they must be something and that something makes her rather fearful. the offer of a hot drink had escaped her for the moment but then pops back up in her mind and she politely shakes her head with a rather forced smile. "oh, no thank you, i've got these veggies and things to put into the fridge so i'm going to head home, have a nice night." ana gives them both a nod before stepping back and into the flow of foot traffic which she uses to quickly walk away from the pair. she doesn't go straight home though, not wanting them to follow her and know where she lives so she heads farther down the street and down around the block where she plops herself onto a bench and tries to calm her racing heart.

x───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
xxxxxlocation; main st/festival x mentions; none x tags; azrael, addie

[ℛσуαℓ ♕]

𝙜𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝 𝙟𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨

╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾
(role ; scarlet-eyed rogue) (mentions ; Alex) (location ; her lakehouse - Lake Jocassee) (w.c. 1054 )
╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾

The older vampire let Gwen stew for a second and she had to fight the strangest urge to fidget which was ridiculous because vampires don’t fidget. Boldly, Gwen looked directly at Alex and even into her eyes with their strange ochre irises.

With her coloring, Alex would have been radiant with a vampire’s normal scarlet eyes. They would have practically glowed from within her starkly white face, set off by her night colored hair. She would have been gorgeously terrifying, a sight to behold.

But instead of glowing rubies, Alex Drakos had golden-hued citrines that shone and made her gaze much more benevolent as if she was some sage goddess who was both mighty and beautiful. Of course, looks could be and often were deceiving. Gwen knew that better than most. She regarded the ancient coolly as she waited for Alex to get to the punch.

The younger vampire had not been expecting anything of note to happen when she stepped out of her home, not really. The fact that she was instantly greeted by another vampire, let alone this vampire, had floored her. She felt as if she’d made a huge oversight and suddenly under pressure. Exactly the opposite of how she was supposed to feel here in this dinky little place.

Alex’s words only began to ratchet up Gwen’s growing wariness. Her eyes narrowed imperceptibly as the figurative vampire royal gathered her thoughts, something their kind rarely expressed. Alex was both unnerving and compelling. So much so that Gwen hung onto every word of her short speech with a rollercoaster of emotions playing out in barely perceptible ways upon her face.

‘Not all vampires drink human blood.' Alex had stated and Gwen just barely arched a brow, suppressing the urge to sniff at the absurdity. That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard in her life and for a nanosecond Gwen wondered if this archaic one was simply yanking her chain.

Gwenyth Jones remembered the first time she felt her thirst with perfect clarity. It was the first thing and the only thing that really mattered in the new life she’d opened her eyes to over four decades ago.

She’d spent days on fire, being burned alive by the venom that seared every cell in her body and forged it anew. She hadn’t noticed when over time, the flames began to recede from her extremities. The absence of the fire wasn’t relief. What still burned had begun burning even hotter and this heat was all-consuming. The last moments were unbearable and Gwenyth had screamed out her agony as the fire left her chest and settled in her throat: a white-hot inferno that scorched away the human girl she used to be.

When she’d finally been able to open her eyes and actually see out of them, she’d leaped up from her prone position and clutched at her neck where the flames had receded to. She’d inhaled sharply at the ache and felt how desiccated her mouth and esophagus were. In the same second, Gwen caught the taste of the air entering her lungs. Oxygen itself gave her no relief but the chemical notes mixed in promised something wet and thick to saturate the baking desert that was her throat.

In a flash she had pounced from where she had lain onto the source of this scent: a young man who was stirring from unconsciousness with a thin trickle of blood running from the darkness of his hair and down the side of his face to his neck. Without a care or conscious thought, Gwen had followed the truest instinct she had and sunk her teeth into the man’s neck where the source of her relief smelled strongest.

The unidentified man’s lifeblood was exactly what she’d needed to finally dampen the flames within. She’d greedily swallowed as much of the deliciously sweet liquid as she could without stopping until no more flowed. She’d shoved the drained body away from herself in disgust and swallowed reflexively, realizing that her unbearable thirst had been slaked but only to a point that was manageable.

Other events had followed that first kill but Gwen let the flow of memories go. As expected, the thirst came back. It waxed with every moment she wasn’t hunting and only waned when she made a kill. After a while, this cycle became more and more manageable and thirst was an ever-present but overlookable fact of life.

Never in her half-century of immortality had Gwen heard of a vampire that didn’t drink human blood. She’d never even considered it was possible to feed on anything else. Human food and drink smelled and tasted revolting, satisfied nothing, and were rejected by vampire bodies in unpleasant ways. And the hunting instinct was absolutely impossible to ignore. Like an animal, Gwen knew exactly what to do in order to survive. From the very beginning, her only choice of prey was humans.

‘..Some get their sustenance from animals.’ Again, Gwenyth wondered what kind of prank Alex Drakos was pulling on her. Her brow arched higher and Gwen wondered if the countless moons had addled the ancient’s brain. The younger vampire had heard of those of her kind who grew disinterested in everything and simply sat for centuries or even millennia and began to petrify.

Gwen shuddered to imagine someone like Alex embracing a dirty, smelly animal and actually putting their mouth to fur.

Suddenly Gwenyth felt tricked and trapped. Alex had revealed her ‘favor’ to be impossible commands, however subtly delivered and underscored those with a threat, albeit a strange one. ‘Wolves?’ What the hell did that mean?

The situation had grown more and more surreal until it climaxed in Alex stepping back and literally morphing into a hawk to fly away into the night.

Gwen was completely scandalized at how this encounter had gone and that turned into ire at the fact that she may have made a huge oversight. Apparently this place wasn’t the unnoticeably tiny blip on a map that she thought it was. Gwen held her hands up in a ‘stop’ motion and actually shook her head while blinking in disbelief at what had transpired in the short hours she’d been in this remote area of the world. “You’ve got to be kidding me with this Bram Stoker crap.” She complained.