Mara heard Jin's voice and felt him next to her. She was having trouble opening her eyes; blood from her scalp was drying in them and she had suddenly become very tired, as if her exertions were catching up to her. She shivered and tried to wrap her arms around herself as if to hold her various cuts closed.
"Jin," Mara shook her head, afraid for him. "Stupid. Go." She tried to formulate the wish as best she could through lips that felt like ice.
She could feel him shift; at least, she could sense him standing over her. She worked her hand free and wrapped it around part of his massive paw. Mara hadn't really planned to die in an alley. She was seriously starting to wonder if she had any choice in the matter.
Older vampires, she knew, could sometimes redirect their blood supply to heal an injury. Mara didn't think she had any left for healing, but could she slow it down? Make it stop seeping out so quickly? Her fingernails dug weakly into Jin's thick fur as she focused on that and made an effort. At the very least it gave her something to think about.
She dimly recognized the fact that the remaining two vampires hadn't advanced. Or she was already dead. Or they were at Disney World. She wasn't sure, time was passing in uneven intervals that she couldn't track. There were noises filtering through as if from a great distance, and several of them sounded familiar. Amir? Was Amir there?
Mara let her head roll toward the street and saw a huge shape there. It advanced quickly, silhouetted against the dim light. A deep voice cut its way through the hazy fog.
"You were just leaving."
"Yes, sir."
"You set foot in this area anytime in the next millennium, it'll be too soon."
"Sir. We'll just get him and..."
"No. He stays in your place. And be thankful for it."
There was a silence, then a pair of footsteps that stopped a distance away. "For what it's worth, Ret, it went too far. She won't be, but I'm sorry."
Someone was kneeling beside her. "Easy, boy," the baritone said. Then, "It's going to be all right, kitten." The nickname, spoken in that voice, wasn't objectionable.
Mara looked up and saw shapes, faces, and couldn't put names to them. Someone reached out for her and she cringed away, shuddering. Finally a pair of arms scooped her gently up and she curled into them, recognizing the scent as comforting and familiar. She turned her face inward, one hand covering her mouth to hide the humiliation of her missing fangs, the other wrapped tightly around her torso, quickly soaking through with blood.
The thought crossed her mind that this was not the way a date was supposed to go.
Cooking Quest (Attn: Mara)
Jin had arranged to meet Mara at a Starbucks on the strip for their dinner date. They had planned to go on an exploration for good restaurants in town. Meeting here made it easy to find each other and it served as a good place to come back to afterward.
He had his iphone out and was working on adding some notes to his research into the attacks on the command vampires. The information was still disturbingly sparse. Another vampire was gone and all they knew was the killer had left through the sewer. So many came and went through that method that it hardly seemed useful. Still it was more than he had.
The two men in the cell provided some more information. He had them taken to an Anantya safe house. They were given food and medical attention and then questioned. It would seem Sofia had been occasionally torturing them. Others had been in the cell with them, Russians. They don't remember those leaving but people came and went all the time. The sick one had been there the longest and was near dead when they had been pulled out of the room. He remembered a man, a young blonde with a Russian accent. He said that the man was a vampire, like the woman. The blonde had fed from him; he had been more careful, taken less than the woman. The Russians then became the sole targets of her attention since he had seen the blonde the one time.
It was all very interesting. It reminded him of Sorcha's encounter during the Halloween party. Yvgeni, she said his name was. He had been controlled by a woman, a vampire. How many Russian vampires could there be that were being held by a woman that liked to torture people as a hobby. Jin would have to speak to Sorcha, soon!
Looking up, he saw Mara arrive. Jin sent Sorcha a text and then put away his phone and stood up.
"Good evening, Mara." Smiling, he greeted her with a quick hug and a kiss. Still holding on to her shoulders, he leaned back. "Would you like a cup of coffee before we go or are you hungry?"
Mara
13 years ago
Jin
13 years ago
There was the echoing of feet running down the street. The sound was coming from outside the immediate area and Jin wondered whether it was more harm or possible aid. He cracked his eyes open, blinking rapidly even with the dim streetlight.
A fuzzy golden brown shape bounded past. It moved with the familiar grace of a feline, a big one. Slowly, his watering eyes cleared and he watched the blurry lion become a very large man. Jin remembered him, a member of the Hunt. A friend of Mai's.
The man's voice was daunting and Jin was rather glad that it was not directed his way. He listened as the others argued briefly with the man and then left, leaving the fallen behind. The last words of the hawk man were puzzling but Jin was not inclined to sort them out at the moment.
He looked down at Mara, rubbing a furry cheek against her shoulder. Jin crouched low when the new comers approached the two of them. The Huntsman was familiar but he loathed the idea of letting Mara out of his reach.
The man's voice was friendly enough and Jin conceded that they were here to help. When another of the people reached for Mara and she cringed away from the touch he growled a warning. The stranger withdrew.
The others kept their distance and feeling the danger had truly past, Jin resumed his human form. Muttering quiet words of comfort and reassurance in Chinese, he reached down and gently took Mara into his arms. She was frighteningly cold and dreadfully pale. He nodded to the others and they led the way out of the alley. A part of him was glad that he was walking in the back where his silent tears would go unnoticed.
((OOC: Everybody out ))
A fuzzy golden brown shape bounded past. It moved with the familiar grace of a feline, a big one. Slowly, his watering eyes cleared and he watched the blurry lion become a very large man. Jin remembered him, a member of the Hunt. A friend of Mai's.
The man's voice was daunting and Jin was rather glad that it was not directed his way. He listened as the others argued briefly with the man and then left, leaving the fallen behind. The last words of the hawk man were puzzling but Jin was not inclined to sort them out at the moment.
He looked down at Mara, rubbing a furry cheek against her shoulder. Jin crouched low when the new comers approached the two of them. The Huntsman was familiar but he loathed the idea of letting Mara out of his reach.
The man's voice was friendly enough and Jin conceded that they were here to help. When another of the people reached for Mara and she cringed away from the touch he growled a warning. The stranger withdrew.
The others kept their distance and feeling the danger had truly past, Jin resumed his human form. Muttering quiet words of comfort and reassurance in Chinese, he reached down and gently took Mara into his arms. She was frighteningly cold and dreadfully pale. He nodded to the others and they led the way out of the alley. A part of him was glad that he was walking in the back where his silent tears would go unnoticed.
((OOC: Everybody out ))