Not This Time
Aug. 4th, 2013 07:05 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_rpgThere was an eerie feel to the small town of Searchlight. As if it were shrouded in mysteries all of its own. In passing she had noticed two diners, a bowling alley, various shops and a few motels. During the day it had been quite busy, everyone appeared friendly enough, though she hadn’t stopped to chat. Yet the feeling remained; something was a little off with the place. It begged to be explored, but for now Valerie seemed content to venture into the outskirts. Not far at night, but enough for her to be alone following a road through the dust and sand. It kicked up with each step she took, swirled around her sneakers and settled back to the earth. Even with the sun gone heat remained in the air, a warm blanket free of the breeze. Above her the sky danced with stars, thousands of little silver dots suspended in darkness like a canvas speckled with paint. The view was truly beautiful.
She paused to watch a lizard scurry behind a cluster of small rocks and imagined that’s where it lived. Of course it didn’t, but the notion made her smile as she shifted the strap of her shoulder bag and kept walking. It was amazing the things people just threw away. Discarded out of a moving car or left behind at the side of the road after a quick stop. Most of the time it was trash. Candy wrappers and gum papers but sometimes she found things that could be used in her art, in some way or another. That was the perk of sculpting, any materials could be used. Metal, wood, clay, fabric, plastic, plaster, sand, dirt, rope... And now that she was attending UNLV she’d get to learn all kinds of new things to try out.
Earlier she had stepped over a baseball cap, the material faded and the edges frayed. It had been worn a lot before it had been tossed aside, possibly even treasured. Now forgotten and left for the desert to claim. Not long after that she had stumbled upon a broken rubik’s cube. The edges stuck out awkwardly as if forced too hard, jammed, no doubt from frustration. Valerie had liked the look of it and the thing quickly found home in her bag to accompany her other stuff.
With her eyes cast down to the side of the road Valerie continued on. Kicking stones out of her path every now and then. Until one bounced and rolled to a stop next to a notepad no bigger than her hand. There was no sign of a pen as she neared it yet there was something scrawled across the top page. Without thinking she bent down to wipe off the layer of dust that had gathered and frowned at the two words crudely written.
She flipped a page, then another, just to flick through the rest quickly only to find them all blank. “Huh.” She muttered as she stood up. It could mean anything, yet the words echoed in her mind like a bad taste that lingered on the tongue. Maybe if she spat them out they’d leave her alone.
“I’m next.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when she heard it. A snarl. Faint even to her own ears yet unmistakable, like the gruff whisper that followed, “Yes, you are.”
Valerie turned instinctively, fully expecting to see a pair of bright yellow eyes gazing back at her, but what she saw made her blink instead. Confusion marred her features as she folded her arms and shook her head. “What are you doing?” She queried.
“Intimidating you to instil fear.” He replied with a toothy grin. Even in the darkness fangs glinted for her to see.
“Uh...” Valerie uncrossed her arms to gesture around them. “You’re in the desert at night wearing sunglasses.”
He puffed up and squared his shoulders with a derisive sniff. “They look good on me.”
“Maybe when you still had eyebrows but not with all the...” She motioned to her own forehead as if that would help. “Face lumps.”
He gave a snarl as he swiped the sunglasses off of his face to really look at her. Yellow eyes narrowing as he growled back through a smirk, “I’m going to enjoy ripping that pretty little throat out.”
Valerie returned the gesture by raising her eyebrows. “Did I strike a nerve?”
The vampire didn’t hesitate and lashed out with his right fist. She blocked with her left forearm and punched him square in the face with her right. The sound of it was satisfying but not as much as the way he staggered back. Valerie felt herself smile before she found herself following him. The asshole had grabbed the strap of her bag. They landed in a heap at the side of the road, legs tangled and aggravated. She used him as leverage to to find her feet but not before she punched him again for snapping at her.
“Guess I did.” She muttered under her breath, heart racing as adrenaline coursed through her veins. Fingers pulled open her bag and she rummaged for half a second before deciding to take it off and dump the contents out. Notes and pens went everywhere, a bruised apple made a dash for freedom but what she wanted rolled onto the road.
The vampire snatched it up before she had the chance, just to taunt her with it as he got to his feet. “Looking for this?” It dangled from his thumb and index finger, the point facing down. His arm stretched out towards her as if offering it back. The grin he wore said it wouldn’t happen.
Valerie picked up the rubik’s cube then turned to smile at him. “No, I just decided I didn’t want any of my things anymore.” As soon as she finished she flung the cube at him, it shot through the air and cracked against his knuckles. The vampire let out a hiss of pain, the stake dropped and Valerie lunged for it. As the wood clattered against the road, her palm scraped across the sand, until her fingers curled around it. Without hesitating she kicked his legs out from under him. She got to her knees as he landed on his back with a thump and all but pounced. The hands that reached for Valerie’s neck turned to dust before they had a chance to touch her.
One hand waved through the air as if to shoo the dust away while the other got used to push herself up. The last thing she wanted was a lungful of dead guy. Back on her feet, Valerie tried to wipe away as much dust as she could before gathering her belongings and stuffing them back in her bag. She adjusted the strap around her shoulder then paused with a grin. Should she? Oh what the hell. Valerie bent down to pick up the shades that had been tossed aside, cleaned them with the sleeve of her jacket, then slipped them on. She felt wide awake, energised, and starving. Time to head back and find one of those diners that stayed open all night.
With a deep breath Valerie began walking, a smile on her face as she stated to herself, “I like it here already.”
She paused to watch a lizard scurry behind a cluster of small rocks and imagined that’s where it lived. Of course it didn’t, but the notion made her smile as she shifted the strap of her shoulder bag and kept walking. It was amazing the things people just threw away. Discarded out of a moving car or left behind at the side of the road after a quick stop. Most of the time it was trash. Candy wrappers and gum papers but sometimes she found things that could be used in her art, in some way or another. That was the perk of sculpting, any materials could be used. Metal, wood, clay, fabric, plastic, plaster, sand, dirt, rope... And now that she was attending UNLV she’d get to learn all kinds of new things to try out.
Earlier she had stepped over a baseball cap, the material faded and the edges frayed. It had been worn a lot before it had been tossed aside, possibly even treasured. Now forgotten and left for the desert to claim. Not long after that she had stumbled upon a broken rubik’s cube. The edges stuck out awkwardly as if forced too hard, jammed, no doubt from frustration. Valerie had liked the look of it and the thing quickly found home in her bag to accompany her other stuff.
With her eyes cast down to the side of the road Valerie continued on. Kicking stones out of her path every now and then. Until one bounced and rolled to a stop next to a notepad no bigger than her hand. There was no sign of a pen as she neared it yet there was something scrawled across the top page. Without thinking she bent down to wipe off the layer of dust that had gathered and frowned at the two words crudely written.
She flipped a page, then another, just to flick through the rest quickly only to find them all blank. “Huh.” She muttered as she stood up. It could mean anything, yet the words echoed in her mind like a bad taste that lingered on the tongue. Maybe if she spat them out they’d leave her alone.
“I’m next.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when she heard it. A snarl. Faint even to her own ears yet unmistakable, like the gruff whisper that followed, “Yes, you are.”
Valerie turned instinctively, fully expecting to see a pair of bright yellow eyes gazing back at her, but what she saw made her blink instead. Confusion marred her features as she folded her arms and shook her head. “What are you doing?” She queried.
“Intimidating you to instil fear.” He replied with a toothy grin. Even in the darkness fangs glinted for her to see.
“Uh...” Valerie uncrossed her arms to gesture around them. “You’re in the desert at night wearing sunglasses.”
He puffed up and squared his shoulders with a derisive sniff. “They look good on me.”
“Maybe when you still had eyebrows but not with all the...” She motioned to her own forehead as if that would help. “Face lumps.”
He gave a snarl as he swiped the sunglasses off of his face to really look at her. Yellow eyes narrowing as he growled back through a smirk, “I’m going to enjoy ripping that pretty little throat out.”
Valerie returned the gesture by raising her eyebrows. “Did I strike a nerve?”
The vampire didn’t hesitate and lashed out with his right fist. She blocked with her left forearm and punched him square in the face with her right. The sound of it was satisfying but not as much as the way he staggered back. Valerie felt herself smile before she found herself following him. The asshole had grabbed the strap of her bag. They landed in a heap at the side of the road, legs tangled and aggravated. She used him as leverage to to find her feet but not before she punched him again for snapping at her.
“Guess I did.” She muttered under her breath, heart racing as adrenaline coursed through her veins. Fingers pulled open her bag and she rummaged for half a second before deciding to take it off and dump the contents out. Notes and pens went everywhere, a bruised apple made a dash for freedom but what she wanted rolled onto the road.
The vampire snatched it up before she had the chance, just to taunt her with it as he got to his feet. “Looking for this?” It dangled from his thumb and index finger, the point facing down. His arm stretched out towards her as if offering it back. The grin he wore said it wouldn’t happen.
Valerie picked up the rubik’s cube then turned to smile at him. “No, I just decided I didn’t want any of my things anymore.” As soon as she finished she flung the cube at him, it shot through the air and cracked against his knuckles. The vampire let out a hiss of pain, the stake dropped and Valerie lunged for it. As the wood clattered against the road, her palm scraped across the sand, until her fingers curled around it. Without hesitating she kicked his legs out from under him. She got to her knees as he landed on his back with a thump and all but pounced. The hands that reached for Valerie’s neck turned to dust before they had a chance to touch her.
One hand waved through the air as if to shoo the dust away while the other got used to push herself up. The last thing she wanted was a lungful of dead guy. Back on her feet, Valerie tried to wipe away as much dust as she could before gathering her belongings and stuffing them back in her bag. She adjusted the strap around her shoulder then paused with a grin. Should she? Oh what the hell. Valerie bent down to pick up the shades that had been tossed aside, cleaned them with the sleeve of her jacket, then slipped them on. She felt wide awake, energised, and starving. Time to head back and find one of those diners that stayed open all night.
With a deep breath Valerie began walking, a smile on her face as she stated to herself, “I like it here already.”