[center][h1][color=yellow]Vex[/color] & [color=D9A0B0]Elodie[/color][/h1][/center] [center][color=black][sup]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] [center][color=Yellow][b]Location:[/b][/color] Vex’s Apartment [color=d9a0b0][b]Time:[/b][/color] Night[/center] [center][color=yellow][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] [@FunnyGuy] Sean[/center] [center][color=black][sup]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] Vex lay on her back, her arm cradled awkwardly against her chest, fingers twitching now and then like they weren’t hers. The pain had dulled, replaced by something heavier, thicker, like her body was slowly sinking into warm water. She was cold, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t care. Somewhere in the haze, she heard laughter. His laughter. Her lips twitched. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know.Bear was nearby. She could feel the thud of his boots on the ground, the heat of his shoulder brushing hers. That familiar mix of sweat, leather, and blood that always clung to him like a second skin. [color=red]“V,”[/color] his voice echoed, deep and steady, full of that cocky calm he wore like armor.[color=red] “Stay close. I’ve got you.”[/color] And she believed him. In that moment, she felt no pain. No weight. Just him. Just the two of them back in that dark nest, blades drawn, breath held. It had been like this before, side by side, clearing out that hive of vampire spawn, adrenaline and banter sharp as their weapons. A shadow moved behind her. [color=red]“VEX!”[/color] Bear shouted. She turned. Too late. In real time, her eyelids fluttered. Her vision blurred. The face above her shifted, too close. Someone watching her. Hovering. Her heart kicked hard in her chest. Spawn. Her body moved before her mind caught up. With a strangled grunt, she rolled into the motion, fist flying upward. It collided hard with the soft center of a stomach,Elodie’s stomach,with a thud. Vex hit the floor, a sharp jolt rocketing up her side. Her breath caught. Her eyes blinked open, wild and unfocused, searching for Bear. Where was he? But all she found was the ceiling again. Still. Wrong. Too still. Her eyes glanced back at the Vampire she struck. Deep red circles hollowed them in as her golden amber eyes almost glowed in the moonlight. Her chest heaving up and down as her skin glittered in the moonlight from the sweat that continued to bead down her forehead. [color=red]“FINISH HER!”[/color] Bear shouted off to the side as Vex continued to stare Elodie down. The mind warped and twisted around the vampire spawn, the posion of the venom so deep in her system now she was no longer seeing reality. Elodie wheezed, doubling over with a choked sound that wasn’t quite a scream, but definitely wasn’t dignified. Pain bloomed across her abdomen like a firework, her hands instinctively wrapping around herself as she stumbled back a few steps. [color=D9A0B0]“Oh my god–okay–ow,”[/color] she gasped, eyes wide as she looked up. Involuntary tears blurred her vision as she looked at the woman in front of her. Vex. Sweating, trembling, eyes unfocused and glowing like dying embers in the dark. And that stare. Elodie had seen a lot in people’s eyes over the years. Grief. Rage. Desperation. But never something quite like this. It was like looking into a storm made of fever and ghosts. And she didn’t even know her. [color=D9A0B0]“Hey, hey, easy,”[/color] Elodie breathed, voice soft and shaky, as if talking down a frightened animal. Her heart was thudding against her ribs like it had somewhere better to be. [color=D9A0B0]“You don’t know me, I know that, but I'm not trying to hurt you. I swear.”[/color] Elodie’s gaze darted to the door Sean had vanished through and she quietly sent a prayer out to anyone who was listening that he'd be back soon. She forced herself to straighten, even as her stomach protested. [color=D9A0B0]“Okay. Okay. You just... need rest. And probably electrolytes. Or a sedative. Maybe both?”[/color] She thought she saw a flicker of movement from Vex and panic gripped her as she quickly threw up her hands, frozen bag of peas still in one. Why hadn't she dropped that? Elodie’s voice went up a full octave. [color=D9A0B0]“Let’s not do punching again, please!”[/color] She’d never been in a fight. And right now, she was pretty sure she was about to lose her very first one to a gorgeous half-delirious werewolf. That look. One she had seen for so many times before. They play the helpless deer, using peoples remorse to find a weakness. [i]Disgusting…[/i] Vex sneered lunging at the vampire. Her hand gripping around its neck as she slammed her body against the wall leaving an outline of the womens form. Her hand tightened around her neck restricting her airway. Her yellow eyes narrowed in on the women.[color=yellow] “You’re lucky your dealing with me and not bear”[/color] she smirked pulling the women by the neck back and slamming her back into the wall. Elodie choked as her back slammed into the wall, an explosion of agony radiating from her spine up into her skull. She heard something crack–maybe the wall, maybe something inside her–and her vision burst into blinding sparks. Her lungs seized, the air punched out of her chest in a ragged wheeze as her toes scraped uselessly against the floor. The bag of frozen peas tumbled from her numb fingers, but she managed to catch it again, clutching it like a lifeline even as her arms shook from the strain of trying to pry Vex’s fingers away from her throat. Her head throbbed in time with her pulse, each beat like a hammer against her skull. [color=D9A0B0][i]Move, Elodie… please, move…[/i][/color] Her mind screamed at her body to act, but her limbs felt heavy and wrong. Pain bloomed where Vex’s grip crushed her windpipe, raw and burning, every breath a pitiful rasp. Her stomach still throbbed from the punch, each breath sending a lance of pain through her core that nearly made her retch. [color=D9A0B0]“Wh-who the hell is Bear?”[/color] she croaked out, the words thin and strangled. Tears streaked down her cheeks as her vision swam, edges blurring and blackening like ink spilling across paper. Every nerve screamed. The sharp, crushing grip on her neck blurred into another set of hands–rough, unyielding–pinning her in that dark room where blood coated the walls and magic hummed like a broken wire. The smell of old iron. The cold tile against her cheek. Teeth sinking into her flesh. The fear so thick she couldn’t even scream. No. No. Not again. A strangled noise ripped from her throat, something between a whimper and a snarl. Her hand shot up, clutching the frozen bag of peas, and she smashed it against Vex’s head with a desperate crack. Her other hand grasped at Vex’s arm, nails biting into flesh. Then, fueled by panic and raw vampire strength she barely understood, Elodie twisted her hips and drove her knee up with all the force she could muster, aiming for the soft space between Vex’s ribs. The knee to her ribs followed fast and hard. Pain bloomed sharp beneath the surface, and her body folded instinctively, breath hissing out through clenched teeth. But she didn’t fall. Her arm snapped out, catching Elodie’s wrist with bruising force, her grip all knuckles and rage. Blood dripped from the scratches along her forearm, but she barely noticed. [color=yellow]“Spicy,”[/color] she purred, voice laced with both amusement and menace.[color=yellow] “You always this fun, or is this just for me?”[/color] With a fluid twist of her hips, she reversed their positions, pinning Elodie to the counter in one graceful motion, mouth near her ear, breath cool as night. “You don’t even know what you’re capable of yet, do you?” There was no rage in her. Only hunger. And the thrill of a challenge. [color=D9A0B0]“I’m not… dying… again!”[/color] she choked out, voice shredded by pain and desperation. [color=D9A0B0][i]Sean, please…[/i][/color] Her thoughts fractured around the pain, each beat of her heart sending panic and desperation spiraling through her veins. [color=D9A0B0][i]I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to hurt her. I don't want to die. Please…[/i][/color] Vex wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her hand, staring at the smear like it personally offended her. She looked up, eyes locked on Elodie, and let out a short, sharp breath, half a laugh, half a snarl. [color=yellow]"You're kidding me. [i]This[/i] is supposed to be a vampire?"[/color] She leaned in closer, her boots dragging slightly across the floor as she widened her stance. [color=yellow]"I’ve gutted spawn in back-alley dens with more fight than you. At least they had the decency to go down swinging."[/color] Her gaze raked over Elodie, eyes cold, mouth twisted in something between disgust and pity. Elodie’s back screamed from the impact, her ribs aching with every breath, but the blood–gods, the blood was worse. It was in the air. Slick and sharp and close. The scent coiled down her throat, warm and copper-sweet, clinging to her tongue like honey-drenched rot. Her stomach twisted with a hunger she didn’t want to name. [color=D9A0B0][i]No. No, not now—[/i][/color] Her gums ached, fangs pressing at the edge of her control. She squeezed her eyes shut, nails digging into her palm. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps, trying to drown the bloodlust in pain, in fear, in [I]anything[/I] else, but it only throbbed louder in her ears. [Color=tan][I]”If anyone’s found bleeding, leave or get yourself into another room.”[/I][/color] Sean's words echoed in her mind as she tried to hold her breath. [color=D9A0B0][i]Don’t lose it. Don’t become that. Don’t let her see it.[/i][/color] [color=D9A0B0]”Ever consider that I didn't choose this and want to live a normal life.”[/color] She gasped out, trying to distract herself, as she opened her eye. Crimson irises now began to scan her surroundings in search for anything to help her out of this. Then she saw it–Sean’s gun, glinting on the table. A wild, desperate idea sparked. If she could get to it. Hold it. Pretend she knew what she was doing… maybe Vex would pause. She moved before she could talk herself out of it. Elodie slammed her fist into Vex’s nose. The impact was jarring yet Vex didn’t even much as flinch. A sick smile spread on her face followed by a soft chuckle. She heard a crunch of her hand as it met her face. The crunch was sickening, but Elodie wasn't sure if it was from Vex's nose or her own hand. [color=D9A0B0]“Ow–oh my god, ow!”[/color] she gasped, recoiling as if she had been hit. [color=D9A0B0][i]Why does no one talk about how much that hurts?! Movies made this look way easier![/i][/color] She hoped the shock of it, and maybe the absurdity, would give her just enough of a window. She twisted her torso sharply, legs kicking at the floor to slip beneath Vex’s arm, her heart pounding wildly as she scrambled toward the table. [color=D9A0B0][i]Just a few more feet…don’t look back…don’t think…just move![/i][/color] The gun. The plan. Sean. Focus on that. She didn’t know if it would work, but if she was going down, she was going down swinging–with bruised knuckles, cracked ribs, bad ideas, and every last scrap of defiance she had left. Pulling back the wolf stood back, her eyes looming over the frantic vampire as she attempted to scurry away but instead with a swift hand and an abrupt tug, Vex pulled Elodie back dragging her across the floor. Elodie yelped, her nails clawing at the floor as she was pulled, panic clawing up her throat in tandem with the searing pain in her ribs. Her eyes locked on the gun–it was so close–and she twisted, arm outstretched, bloody fingers reaching for the metal like it might save her soul. Then came the thud.Vex’s heavy combat boot slammed down on her shoulder, pinning her like prey under a predator’s paw. The pressure was unforgiving, enough to crack bone if she pressed harder. Elodie let out a sharp, broken scream as pain exploded through her body, sharp and immediate. She thrashed beneath it, sobbing through clenched teeth as her free hand kept reaching–futile, desperate–for the gun. Still, she didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. Tears streamed from her eyes, hot and unrelenting as she choked on another cry. Her bloodlust screamed alongside the pain, fangs pressing against her lips, but she fought it back, locking it behind every ounce of will she had left. [color=D9A0B0]“Please–”[/color] she whispered, voice cracked, her breath hitching through agony. But Vex didn’t even glance down. Casually, she reached behind her, fingers brushing the torn edge of her jeans until they found the crumpled pack of cigarettes stuffed in her back pocket. She smacked it twice against her palm before drawing one out with the kind of leisure that mocked the chaos around her. Her hands moved with mechanical familiarity as she brought it to her lips and lit it, the flare of flame briefly illuminating her blood-spattered face. She took a long drag. And then, there he was. Leaning casually in the shadowed corner of the room, Bear. His grin was as lazy and smug as ever. Arms crossed over his chest, he watched her with a glint of amusement in those knowing eyes. [color=red]“How long are you gonna drag this one out for?”[/color] he drawled smoothly, his voice dripping like warm honey, unaffected by the brutal scene. Vex’s lip curled up, cigarette pinched between two fingers. She exhaled slowly, the smoke curling around her. Her eyes didn’t leave the apparition in the corner, even as she felt Elodie writhed under her boot. [color=yellow]“Don’t pout, Bear. I’ll be done soon. Then it’s just you and me again.”[/color] she seemed to speak to the empty corner of the room. But Bear wasn’t real. And Elodie was. And yet Vex just smiled, the smoke pouring from her lips. Kneeling down her boot now pressing deeper into Elodies arm the sound of her bone crunching under her foot echoed like sweet music. Her golden yellow eyes watched Elodie like prey, her beautiful smile contrasting against her primal gaze as Seans gun was just inches from Elodies reach. Elodie’s scream tore from her throat. It was raw, jagged, and filled with a pain so deep it didn’t sound human. It was the sound of something breaking–not just bone, but hope. [color=yellow]“Shhh… It will be over soon.”[/color] Vex grinned.