Hunting Ground
Aug. 24th, 2013 01:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valerie_vause in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
birthright_rpgMost of the buildings that surrounded the outlying areas of the campus thrived. There were only a few apartment buildings and hotels that had problems with guests apparently clearing out their rooms in the middle of the night without paying. Never to surface again. The normal consensus of thought on the matter seemed to be that Vegas just drove people to strange things. Like people were prone to running off and going nuts in one specific state because of, what, bright lights? Valerie didn’t buy it. A handful of people might just decided to start fresh, the rest? She’d wager things in the night took them.
For that reason she had decided to check the areas out. The fact that the properties were all within walking distance of each other sent warning bells off. On the outside things looked alright, but as she detoured down the alley between two of hotels she felt the hairs at the back of neck rise. That tingle of unease as she sensed them. Behind the dumpsters a struggle broke out, the scuffle easy for her ears to pick up. Then from the shadows a figure appeared, bleeding and running towards her. Behind the girl two figures stepped into sight.
“Don’t just stand there, get her!”
The command had been barked from a tall, muscular vampire with short red hair to a shorter, leaner one with a mop of unruly dark curls. Valerie rushed towards the girl, grabbed her by the arm and all but pushed her sobbing onto the bright sidewalk with a shout of, “Run!” There was no time for anything else as the dark haired vampire tackled her like a linebacker. The girl let out a scream and took off as the air in Valerie’s lungs got forced from her body. She groaned with the impact and felt the skin of her palms scrape into shreds along the filthy ground as she landed. The blonde scrambled forward on hands and knees as the demon latched onto one of her boots. She let out a frustrated snarl and kicked out with her free leg to collide with his collar bone. It did the trick and dislodged him.
Valerie wasted no time in getting to her feet before he could grab her again, she turned only to come face to face with the taller one. “You’ll make a nice replacement.” The growl made her roll her eyes and she spat back, “You wouldn’t like me.” With lightning speed she dug her fingers into his shirt and pulled him closer just to headbutt him roughly. “I cause heartburn.”
She kept a hold of him as he staggered back to use as leverage as she kicked out at the shorter vampire who’d made it to his feet. When he stumbled backwards Valerie brought her knee up to hit the red head in his groin. When he doubled over the blonde used his back to aid her forward flip over him. She pivoted to deliver a vicious kick that landed at the base of his spine and sent him into his shorter friend. Instinct had her check her back and she almost sighed. Two more sauntered slowly up the alley behind her. Valerie turned to the two she currently fought with an exasperated, “Just how many of you are there?”
The tall one grinned, “Just us four, you’ll be enough to share.”
For that reason she had decided to check the areas out. The fact that the properties were all within walking distance of each other sent warning bells off. On the outside things looked alright, but as she detoured down the alley between two of hotels she felt the hairs at the back of neck rise. That tingle of unease as she sensed them. Behind the dumpsters a struggle broke out, the scuffle easy for her ears to pick up. Then from the shadows a figure appeared, bleeding and running towards her. Behind the girl two figures stepped into sight.
“Don’t just stand there, get her!”
The command had been barked from a tall, muscular vampire with short red hair to a shorter, leaner one with a mop of unruly dark curls. Valerie rushed towards the girl, grabbed her by the arm and all but pushed her sobbing onto the bright sidewalk with a shout of, “Run!” There was no time for anything else as the dark haired vampire tackled her like a linebacker. The girl let out a scream and took off as the air in Valerie’s lungs got forced from her body. She groaned with the impact and felt the skin of her palms scrape into shreds along the filthy ground as she landed. The blonde scrambled forward on hands and knees as the demon latched onto one of her boots. She let out a frustrated snarl and kicked out with her free leg to collide with his collar bone. It did the trick and dislodged him.
Valerie wasted no time in getting to her feet before he could grab her again, she turned only to come face to face with the taller one. “You’ll make a nice replacement.” The growl made her roll her eyes and she spat back, “You wouldn’t like me.” With lightning speed she dug her fingers into his shirt and pulled him closer just to headbutt him roughly. “I cause heartburn.”
She kept a hold of him as he staggered back to use as leverage as she kicked out at the shorter vampire who’d made it to his feet. When he stumbled backwards Valerie brought her knee up to hit the red head in his groin. When he doubled over the blonde used his back to aid her forward flip over him. She pivoted to deliver a vicious kick that landed at the base of his spine and sent him into his shorter friend. Instinct had her check her back and she almost sighed. Two more sauntered slowly up the alley behind her. Valerie turned to the two she currently fought with an exasperated, “Just how many of you are there?”
The tall one grinned, “Just us four, you’ll be enough to share.”
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on 2013-08-24 01:25 am (UTC)Except there was no back-and-forth. One ramming the other up against wall, unprepared for the show of strength. Not even a growl as the pair wrestled for-
No. Not wrestled. Even in the shadows, it was clear one was being pinned to the wall. Held there against the brickwork. Forced to yield. The pair of them being told to knock it off - and it making no difference. A would-be nocturnal killer seeming to... Spasm. Grunt. Flail.
A cracking twist of neck and the former walking corpse exploded into powder before it hit the ground. Victor turning in the small group's direction, walking forth. Self-assured. Complete. Forearm wiping lazily against mouth, but not enough to succeed in washing away the show of blood which smeared down from the corners of the same. The owner's face coming into view as she passed under artificial lighting from above.
"Hey... You're not Janine."
No vampire, either. Jaw unhinging, just as it had when dispatching the other two - one so fast, its partner hadn't even realised. Reconfiguring like some ghastly arachnid's fang-filled maw.
And threatening not Valarie, but her stalkers, with an unholy shriek.
What was worse than the undead? Perhaps whatever made its business to eat them.
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on 2013-08-24 03:18 am (UTC)Fear had been diluted over the years, but when the brunette’s face transformed Valerie felt the first real stab of it since her teenage years. Not from the actual woman so much as the horrifying realisation that she didn’t know what she was. Then that shriek…
It made her skin want to rip from her body and crawl off into the night. Morbid curiosity kept Valerie rooted to the spot. The red headed vampire clutched at his ears and dropped to his knees while the shorter one backed up into Valerie, wide eyed and terrified as he hissed, “What the fuck is that?”
“I have no idea what she is.” The blonde confessed, quite happy to pin his arms by his sides as she held him like a shield. “But I do want to find out…”
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” He spat incredulously as Valerie began to push him forward slowly, her knees pressed into the back of his to make sure there would be no retreat.
Honestly right at that moment Valerie had to wonder, so it was with a grimace that she whispered more to herself than the vampire, “I might be.”
She inched closer with him despite the way he squirmed in her grip. Her gaze never wavered from the brunette for a second. The blonde had no way to know if this was a friend or foe, and the only way she could determine that was to talk.
Although… The brunette might not even speak English.
Peace offerings though, they could be considered symbolic, that kind of thing transcended language.
Valerie at least really hoped so right then, as she pushed the struggling vampire another few inches closer to the brunette. “If you’re still hungry….” She said slowly, tentatively as if she were talking to a human formed mousetrap that might just snap at any given second, “You can have him and the other one.”
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on 2013-08-24 04:59 am (UTC)It had been a curious show to watch. One played out between puppets as the thing hosted by a woman named Sabra looked on, waited and learned. Words, numbers and key phrases being learned.
Enough for a rudimentary understanding. Enough for this.
With mantis-like reflex, the first was set upon like a rottweiler's chew-toy. A vampire, something which could crumple metal doors in pursuit of prey, being latched onto with those terrible jaws and made to understand how its own victims had felt. Mandibles holding fast, digging deep, while talons which wouldn't have looked out of place on a bird of prey, gripped with a merciless enough strength to cause the tell-tale snapping of undead bone. The process not too dissimilar to imagining how a chainsaw might react against flesh, as the once-woman proceeded to drain her third empowered meal into terror-filled, futile weakness.
There followed two shrieks. One from the would-be predator in Sabra's grasp, whose head was torn from body, initiating the molecular trigger which would turn corpse to dust. The next from Valerie's other assailant, thinking only now of self-preservation. The need to run. Escape.
Die.
For salvation was fleeting and an ancient thing slavered with renewed hunger. Long-haired brunette uncaring for mortal blonde's witnessing of her need to feed, to drain, to devour... To saw through gristle and bone and absorb fluids and empowered energy, alike, into herself. This one leapt upon back; weight and inertia pushing him down into the concrete.
Immortal, no more. That tell-tale scream erupting as the final killing blow was struck out of sheer vicious impulse.
Then, slowly, the she-beast arose back to standing pose. Something within her gaze echoing with a long, slow burn of loathing, of hatred. Jaws, though... Closing, again. Realigning to a look more in keeping with human guise.
Freshly-fed, at least, to no longer need to launch further attacks. Or perhaps just curious enough to hold off.
"Why?"
It wasn't telepathic. Wasn't booming in volume, either. But there was something in that voice. Something which projected a genuine force of presence. A spiritual volcano threatening to go off at any moment.
Something full of malice. Something full of hate.
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on 2013-08-24 06:40 am (UTC)Though as the creature stood up to face her again Valerie had to remind herself not to make any sudden movements. Lifted hands up by her sides slowly, open palms scraped and bloody, to convey she wasn’t trying to attack. That and the way its face shifted back to a more human visage kept her stuck in place.
Valerie tried to breathe slowly, calmly, even if her pulse raced due to the tone of that single word. Did curiosity really outweigh general safety?
She couldn’t just walk away without knowing one way or the other if the woman would be a threat to her, to other humans. It would be irresponsible to run off when she had a duty to find out, although admittedly, sane.
One simple, quiet, word escaped Valerie’s throat.
“Survival.”
Honest as she stood her ground. Valerie didn’t want to fight the woman but if the brunette lashed out she’d do everything she could to survive. Just as she’d done then by handing over the vampires. Better them than her.
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on 2013-08-26 04:05 am (UTC)With jaws having reconfigured, the elder-looking female turned head this way and that. Eyes never leaving Valerie as she did so. Neck muscles being tested. Or perhaps getting used to even having them.
Nothing further was spoken. Not yet. Instead, the brunette began to slowly walk around the girl; head kept a little lowered, gaze fixed. Making a loud sniff as she inhaled air through nose, tilting face up. A process not unlike the one exhibited with Echo, not too long ago. Then, ascertaining the hybrid's nature. Now, being used to inform the predator of Valerie's own.
"Different," she observed. Voice now a little more relaxed than before. Less strained. But the pacing wasn't. The brunette swiftly changing direction, trying to circle the other way and then reversing course, yet again. Speeding up. Then taking a small jump, landing on the metal lid of a dumpster. Crouching, using it to perch. Knees wide apart. Hands balancing weight by holding the edge.
Calming... For now.
Another sniff; this time twice.
"To the rest... Different. Not..." Lips closed, quivered and pursed. Thinking on how to pronounce a word. A name. "Not Maloker's. You'd taste... Not the same."
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on 2013-08-28 10:35 pm (UTC)Valerie felt the blood in her veins speed up as the woman stepped closer, chin tucked down towards her chest just enough to look predatory. Slow steps at first took the brunette around her as she stood perfectly still. Valerie tried to keep her breathing slow but steady, the last thing she wanted to do was give, whatever she was, the impression that she felt panicked. Though she did turn her face to the side to watch as the woman sniffed at the air surrounding her. Picking up scents that the blonde could only guess at, though she knew in her bones the brunette was trying to do exactly what she was. Figure out what the other is.
“Yes.” The word found form before Valerie could stop it but she didn’t regret saying it either. Curiosity she could work with, the odds were better than sudden death, even if the woman pivoted and began walking faster. Then again at a dizzying speed, frenzied almost before it leapt upon the lid of the dumpster with ease, knees near it’s face as it clutched the edge to watch Valerie. Who in turn let out a slow breath and wiped her bloodied palms against her jeans without thinking about stains.
Valerie listened carefully to what the woman had to say and found herself frowning slightly. It was one thing to know a vampire was a vampire but to know the being that created their very existence? The blonde would ponder the information more deeply when she wasn’t standing in the dark talking to a woman of undetermined species. Now was not the time to get lost in thought,
“Yes. I’m different.” Valerie nodded slowly, then blinked when the word taste got added to the mix.
Alright yes, technically she wouldn’t taste the same, but she didn’t want to be tasted at all because the woman didn’t have a normal mouth. A bite could potentially severe veins and arteries in a way that might drain her without intent, or rip her entire throat out, or face off…
The blonde shook herself mentally. Now that she knew the brunette could understand her enough she tried for something simple. “My name is Valerie.” She said, one hand lifted to touch across her collar bones, not to patronise but to assure the meaning got across as she stood there. “Do you have a name?”
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on 2013-08-28 11:46 pm (UTC)"Yes... But it's not... Rrrrrememberrred."
The word, she wasn't used to. Still needed to articulate the pronunciation of certain things. Had the girl realised just how recently it had been since learning such phrases, it might have been suitably more impressive than the impression being given now.
Then, slowly looking down at herself, it was as if the visitor had just remembered something. Hands beginning to search herself before - snap! Head looked up. Suddenly. Detecting shadows or motion in the air. Unsure as to whether Valerie had been the one to move or something else. A predator fully alert. Then looking back down, looking for the...
Ah, there it was. Retrieving something half-crumpled from a pocket. A form of ID slightly too damaged to make out the surname, gingerly handing it over. Allowing Valerie to see.
"The vessel... 'Sabra'?"
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on 2013-08-31 11:04 pm (UTC)Valerie could wonder about it later, because as she watched the brunette her head snapped up and for a moment even the blonde froze to listen. Then, threat undetected, the woman went about searching her pockets and Valerie let out a slow breath. The way she moved made the blonde think of a cat. Perched on the edge of a tv, spotting something nobody else could, then promptly going back to cleaning it’s fur. She shook her head and walked tentatively closer as the woman held her hand out.
The card was crumpled and worn and the blonde plucked it gently from the brunette. Smoothed it between her fingers to try and make out the words that were mostly gone. “I think this is a driving license.” She said, looking at the barely there markings as she read the only word she could properly make out. Sabra.
Vessel? The word sent a chill down the blonde’s spine because from experience a vessel was either a nutcase who chose to use themselves for something, a stranger picked by someone else or sacrificed willingly or not. Either way it didn’t end well for them.
Valerie’s mind churned as she handed the ID card back gently. The blonde felt the frown mar her features as she looked up at the brunette. Whoever Sabra had been, she might not even reside in that body anymore, and whatever species now took its form, had no way of knowing who it really was. That was just… Tragic.
“Sabra, do you know what happened to you?” Valerie’s tone was soft as another thought struck her. How long had Sabra been wandering the streets. Did she even have a place to go? “Do you have a home here?”
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on 2013-09-01 02:17 am (UTC)Head snapped up, suddenly more mentally focused. Looking straight at the girl. Dark tresses hanging down. Another sniff of air.
"There's something inside you..."
An ominous pause, Sabra's gaze trailing down the blonde, regarding her for a moment. Then, no longer caring, looked off to one side, down the alley. Unperching herself. Feet landing, cat-like, on the ground, without even having to watch her step. Attention transferring back, once again.
"This is not... Home." A slight look of... Distaste, maybe? Or was the being taking offence at the concept of no longer having access to a residing lair? "And your world is... Light. Like feathers... Not like it was. As things used to be."
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on 2013-09-04 02:37 am (UTC)When the brunette’s attention zeroed in on Valerie she held it’s gaze. There was no challenge in the act just curiosity that sputtered into worried suspicion when Sabra said something so clearly that it sent a chill through her body. Did she sense something the blonde couldn’t? Without consent her mind wandered to a movie she’d seen years ago. Alien it had been called. Valerie’s hand raised unconsciously to press against her chest as she asked tentatively,“What’s inside me?”
Valerie forced herself to forget the comment for the time being and listened instead as the woman dropped from the dumpster to her feet without so much as a blink. Light like feathers? The blonde chewed the inside of her lip before stating gently, “Our gravity isn’t as strong as your world.”
While the blonde paid complete attention to the brunette she couldn’t help but look down the alley when the woman did. Only to shake her head and frown slightly. The real Sabra would have a place to live if she had I.D. Though, did she have family? Did the thing inside her body have any? These were questions Valerie couldn’t stop from running through her mind. Though only one made it past her lips, “Do you have a place to stay in this world?”
Valerie might not know much, or anything, about Sabra, but what she did know was that everything sentient had it’s own form of shelter. It was a basic need they all shared.
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on 2013-09-04 03:29 am (UTC)There was a touch of a sneer as that last word was spoken. But whether out of genuine dislike or just because the articulation of mouth and tongue, to form words, was still foreign to Sabra, who could really say? Perhaps both. She didn't exactly seem to be much of a humanitarian, either way - literally or figuratively. And, as if to prove it, she echoed, "Gravity..." Neither confirming nor denying the theoretical interpretation given by this Slayer of the undead. A deep-throated, almost hungry purr reverberating in the brunette's throat.
"Place? No place... No world," the being formerly known as Sabra answered. That time, not disguising the edge of annoyance sharpening her reply. An expression of disdain showing as she looked around their surroundings, like an animal feeling somehow caged by virtue of physical freedom. But this was not her freedom, because it was somewhere else. Somewhere different. Alien.
Somewhere she had clearly no more planned on being than those who had summoned her here.
Then Sabra closed the distance with unexpected sudden reflex. Putting her face to face. Not touching, but with fingers restlessly flexing at each side.
"How do you... Exist? Here... You survive... How?"
In other words, tell me how you live. What will make things easier. Sabra's nutritional hunger might be abated, but she thirsted for knowledge.