Cities By Shadow

[lady_elfleda]

There was a shadow flowing across glass... A dark, perfectly smooth surface, flush with trapped faces of agony pressed tightly against it. Whether sculpted that way or rendered so in paralytic contortion, was not for mortal mind to know. The presence willing its way across the room, from one end to the other; hunting, searching for something, as the floor beneath it darkened yet further. Glimpses from another realm filtering through the murk.

There... It wanted to go there...

A place of the living, no longer fully claimed by the dark. Merely looked back upon with envious desires. She understood that. Elfleda. Bride to that which laid... Beyond. And it was she whose emergence was made without fanfare, like a silky-smooth handkerchief falling in silence.

Nor, here, was her chosen attire that which others might be more accustomed to viewing of her depiction. No black dress here, nor pale complexion seen. Instead, there stood a teenage girl. Pretty, yes. Diabolical, likely not. Her choice of clothing something more conventional. The tone of her skin, relatively healthy. Eyes no longer inky pools of black, but perfectly normal.

White... That part was a deliberate mockery. A challenge, almost. A veiled insult to the forces she stood against.

But it was not geography which brought her here. It was the girl. Elfleda's usual unseen cloud of spiritual filth now held tightly against her for reasons of stealth. Reined in, so that erstwhile shivers up spines would not alert others to the arrival of one such as she.

"Hello," she said in greeting. Here, spoken like anyone else. Not the half-telepathic tease she gave to most others. Just a voice. Yet, one still spoken in that same clear-cut, educated English accent. "I'm sorry, have we... Met? You seem somewhat familiar..."

Comments

[valerie_vause]

Darkness brought out qualities in people that showed who they really were. Some feared what could be lurking within it, avoided it at all costs and remained cautious. Others cloaked themselves in it, wrapped around the shadows and concealed their actions. Most however weren’t bothered, it signaled winter was on it’s way, that time was ticking by, nothing more than a daily event. Valerie took to it like a warm blanket, though it was not.

Tonight she’d spent an hour wandering the streets aimlessly. No particular destination as feet carried her down one street then another. Mapping the area to mind more than actively hunting. Knowing your surroundings could mean life or death. It could equally be considered predatory behaviour. Learning where supernatural prey frequented to check out their territory.

So far no spooks or scares, the blonde was beginning to think that a break might be good, maybe even an early night. Sleep was good when it wasn’t filled with dreams. She sighed. Maybe a pick me up, there had to be a shop somewhere filled with sugary goodness that was still open. Perhaps even a diner if need be. With a plan in mind she decided to cut through a park rather than retracing her steps.

Valerie took in a deep breath and let her fingers touch the rough bark of a tree as she passed under it’s branches. Their shadows stretched before her and she glanced up at the sky. Did the universe have secrets? It seemed plausible, after all, she existed as did so many other things. The voice had startled her and the blonde’s attention snapped to the girl standing a few feet away. She must have came down from the path. Since Valerie felt no tingle or warning she validated that’s why she’d not realised the girl was walking there as she gazed at the stars.

Nor did it feel suspicious that anyone else would be walking around at night in such a city. Especially with such nightlife. “Hey there.” She offered in greeting, right hand raising as her lips quirked into a smile.

That quickly faltered. Did she know this girl? She didn’t look particularly familiar but her accent did.

Valerie took a step closer to get out from under the tree, maybe she thought she was someone else or… “Honestly I don’t know.” She shrugged lightly, the smile now bemused as she felt the slightest sense of familiarity. “I feel like I might, but I have no memory of from where.”

[lady_elfleda]

"Strange," replied the brunette. A friendly little wincing frown given with the fleeting smile. No ebony lips here. No sickliness in the air. Elfleda's slender hand rounding the small tree she passed by, stepping her way closer. Another tucking dark tresses away from face, in behind an ear.

But what she didn't hide, what she had no reason to, was the invisible thrum of connection shared with any Slayer's inner essence. That part of them which came from that same realm Elfleda, herself, represented and spoke for.

"You can call me Beth," the English brunette volunteered, closer still. A false name, some might say, but perhaps not. Valerie was not the first to have been given it. "Probably asking for trouble, out here at a time like this, I know... I was in a whole other world."

Eyes glistened as 'Beth' took a moment to look her up and down. Gauging her. Feeling for something.

"Do you come here often?"

[valerie_vause]

Valerie watched the brunette do something she did a hundreds times herself and smiled again. No threat was detected but the sensation that she did know the girl lingered. Perhaps even grew as she neared, maybe she’d seen her somewhere but simply couldn’t locate the memory. Beth didn’t ring any bells.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Valerie.” She said lightly, wondering if Beth was short for something, mostly because of the way the girl had said it. ‘You can call me’ not ‘I’m called’. The phrase made the blonde chuckle, little did she know that Beth meant quite literally. “I know what you mean.” She shrugged haphazardly and added, “I was in a world of my own, too busy looking up.”

It wouldn’t do well to state that being out alone was a bad idea, but so was being in a crowded bar or restaurant. Vampires and demons didn’t care where they got a meal, just that they did. Instinct caused the the blonde to look around just to make sure danger wasn’t about to spring on top of them and missed the look given, but she did hear the question.

“I’ve been here a few times.” Valerie nodded, the movement slight but intentional. It was the truth but she’d never really gone during the day. “Kind of in passing but it looked inviting in the moonlight so I figured I’d take a walk. What about you?” She asked with a smile.

[lady_elfleda]

Woods were not unfamiliar to Elfleda. There had been another place, another time... Another her.

Another creak amongst the bark...

Different, then. In so many ways.

"I lost myself," the brunette replied, smile casual as she slipped past a branch. Where she had touched the tree, unseen by Slayer, the wood had turned brittle, scorched and somehow... Older? Diseased? Or just transformed? Maybe all. Maybe none. "As if time no longer applied."

A pause and then laughter from the English girl, as if it had been waiting for the chance to well up, all this time. It seemed not to matter what she did - everything seemed somehow right. Natural. A whispered siren call, almost.

"But you seem like someone who makes friends easily, hmm?"

Because there it was. Elfleda's true motivation for being here. Not Slayerhood alone, but those she was coming to know.

"I'll bet you've made some rather interesting acquaintances, here in Nevada. Am I right?"

[valerie_vause]

“Ah, I know that feeling.” Time could stand still or slip away in what seemed like a blink of an eye. The expression didn’t seem weird to Valerie as the girl took her time making her way over. The fact that the blonde had stopped and was simply waiting didn’t even register. Like a curious animal watching a hunter creep closer unaware of the danger.

The laughter from the brunette had an infectious quality. Valerie found herself smiling again, at ease in a dark park talking to a girl she’d never met before. So why did it feel like she had?

“No not really, but I don’t mind.” The answer had been honest despite how out of the blue the question had been, and yet the blonde felt no urge to walk away.

Though the next question had Valerie pause. That one was kind of weird, or maybe Beth meant the wild behaviour of some of the tourists. One could be taken in jest the other borderline sinister. Valerie lifted one hand to scratch the side of her cheek as she shrugged. “Eh, I keep myself busy, kind of cuts in on the time to meet any people let alone the interesting ones.”

Valerie cleared her throat and opted for a change of topic. Perhaps the years of patrolling had began to make her suspicious of strangers in general. That seemed cynical and the blonde didn’t like it. “So where are you heading, if it’s in my direction we could walk together if you wanted.” Well, it was safer that way, wasn’t it?

[lady_elfleda]

The only response to Valerie's answer was a momentary smile. Something almost secondary to proceedings, for while they might no longer be black, Elfleda's gaze, once locked upon you, had a way of drawing unfortunate souls in if they allowed themselves to dwell in it for too long.

Oh, Valerie had met others... Some very interesting 'others', indeed. It was making her a nexus, almost. The very quality which had brought 'Beth' to her.

"Must we go?"

It was asked with as much innocence as expression Elfleda... Beth... Now wore. Eyes wide and mouth forming a half-pout. Then, head tilting, she smiled again and took a further step forward. Fingertips brushing together in consideration as she did so. The smile turning mischievous.

"If you could do anything in the world... Anywhere... What would it be?"

[valerie_vause]

Everyone had secrets. Some much deeper than others. Some relatively insignificant. Some inevitably consequential. Valerie contained a multitude of various within her small frame. In ways she considered herself a vault of sorts. What people told her in secret remained with her, the information locked away, never to be breathed of to anyone else. Quite often even when they had not specified to keep what was said between them, she did. Whether through loyalty or morales she stood by, was anyone’s guess.

Beth’s smile caused another to tug at the blonde’s lips as she gazed back at the girl. The question made her laugh, a combination of how it was asked and the expression that accompanied it. “I guess not, I can stay a little longer.” Why? There was no real reason other than general curiosity and… Valerie couldn’t place it as she looked into Beth’s eyes, at best she could describe it as a peculiar sense of affinity.

Valerie took a half step toward Beth as she drew closer, she couldn’t explain why even as she tried to rationalise it as normal if they were going to stand and talk. “Um…” The blonde laughed, sent her gaze upwards to the stars and actually considered it for a moment. The harsh truth was she’d never dared to dream beyond college because life expectancy didn’t exactly work in her favor.

“I… I don’t know.” She confessed quietly to the dark sparkling sky and took in a breath just to exhale. “Something freeing, something…” Wild. Valerie brought her gaze back to Beth as she pressed her lips together and shrugged. “What would you do? Where would you go, Beth?”

[lady_elfleda]

"Something...?"

Just on the edge of lilting into that half-in-your-mind way of speaking, but not quite, Elfleda was that much more intent on finding something within the blonde's consciousness to clutch at, like the talons of a vulture circling bones. What did Valerie want? What were her fears, her desires, her...

A sense of something. An emotion or... No. Different. Anticipation. Something at home in the murk of the primal.

The hunt.

"We could go there... Together."

The touch of fingertips to the back of hand could be sensed. A caressing motion. Up, down... Soothing. Somehow igniting, too. A melody of silence calling out, unheard by mortal ear, to the Slayer's inner essence.

"Where you need to be..."

FLASH.

From up above. A low rumble of thunder rolling out through the clouds. No rain, but instead, the warning of a gathering storm overhead.

And in that sudden whiteness could be glimpsed a different Beth. One of pale skin, ebony gaze and a regal dress to suit. Hair no longer kept in silky lengths, but swept tightly behind; a few token strands allowed to trickle down in a frame of those ghostly features. A creature of blacks and whites, looking for all the world like a bride of the damned.

Nature at play? Or perhaps something more? No sooner had it happened, did the stranger cast her gaze to the sky, giving a hiss of annoyance at the intervention.

[valerie_vause]

Beth’s question, while quiet, held power to it that Valerie couldn’t understand. It tickled the edges of her mind but right then she wasn’t thinking as she looked at the girl, entranced. Even though the blonde had watched the brunette walk closer, it seemed almost a surprise when she was right there in front of her.

The suggestion from Beth was ingratiatory, had Valerie not been so distracted by the feather light touch to the back of her hand she would have noticed. Was it shock that evoked the sudden intake of breath? The curious sensation of something inside her shifting. Like a hum caused by a high frequency only she could feel. It resonated within her.

“You would?”

Valerie dropped her gaze to look at their hands, Beth’s obsequious touch apparently working. The blonde made no move to touch the girl but she never pulled away either. Until the flash of lightning.

In truth she hadn’t really noticed the difference in skin tone because the angle they stood at meant their fingers were cast in shadows. She did, however, jump. The sky above had been so clear she never considered a storm could be on the way.

“I mean, I uh, I don’t need to be anywhere right now .” Valerie blinked a few times and offered a smile as she shrugged. “You don’t like storms huh? Guess we should probably get out of this park, weather can be weird and unpredictable.”

Rational as the advice was Valerie only took half a step backwards then faltered.

“Are you coming?”

[lady_elfleda]

Whether a natural event or, judging by Elfleda's reaction, a more deliberately protective intervention on Valerie's behalf, the red line had been crossed. If the Slayer was not taking heed now, her new associate was willing to take full advantage of the opportunity this represented.

Collecting herself, Beth forced a smile to the fore and played right along.

"Yes, let's..."

And like a knife cutting through air, the brunette seemed to swish into the other girl's side, turning in the same graceful movement. Bringing Valerie's hand into her own; intent on keeping some kind of physical contact, as if they were the oldest friends in the world, thriving on one another's company. Beth deliberately placing herself at ease with the Slayer's choice of direction.

"I think people place entirely too much faith in predictability," the English girl enthused, caressing blonde's hand like a new-born kitten. "It's much more fun to confound expectations, don't you find? Everyone thinking you should fill a role... It's almost as if they want to lose you in it."

[valerie_vause]

Reasons beyond Valerie’s comprehension had her smile when Beth stepped up to walk with her. Side by side, the confident way she took the blonde’s hand made the act seem natural. Regardless of the fact that Valerie could literally count on one, the amount of people she’d ever walked with like that, fingers entwined together.

“I think people put too much faith in faith.” The words were out before she could stop them and the girl chuckled, looked sideways at Beth, and let the rest of the brunette’s words sink in. Oh, they struck a chord within her, not emotional exactly. Something else, something more which twisted inside her veins that she tried to ignore as best she could.

There was a name for what she was, a word that had no life breathed into it, not once. Not ever.

Valerie couldn't bring herself to say it. The blonde could follow through on her calling, go out on duty each night, and accepted it as naturally as any girl could. Conflicted emotions restricted her ability to admit it verbally, as if in doing so was some kind of defeat. In Valerie's mind what she was and who she was were entirely separate things. She wasn't anything other than that, yet if she stated so, she feared who she was would disappear. Replaced instead by what she was. Individual identity gone. A shadow self that reflected nothing but death and darkness.

“It doesn’t matter what other people think, if you get lost in a certain role it’s because somewhere down the line you wanted too.”

Valerie brushed her free hand through her hair as they walked through the park, shadows stretching and twisting with the trees. The blonde turned to look at Beth for a second before she sighed thoughtfully.

“Nobody can take away who you are unless you let them. People tend to forget that.” She turned her gaze skyward and breathed. “Power comes from within.”

She didn’t just mean those of supernatural origins but all people in general. Willpower, inner strength, call it what you will, there were those who had it and those who lacked sufficient amounts.

[lady_elfleda]

"Not always... Sometimes, you have to find it."

But there was a curiously still form of smile from Beth's face as they walked. In fact, curiously still everything; her walking gait and pose seeming calculated for more of a silky-smooth glide than natural tremors or the up-and-down of an uneven surface should have allowed for. Feet touched the ground, walked along, yet, the girl's torso and curve of spine remained oddly constant.

"And, really, who's to stop you from simply taking what the world freely offers? It shouldn't be about where your power comes from... It's about what you do with it."

The world around Valerie, for just a split second, came to a sudden, almost complete halt. A moment where time was going so slow, it was as if she were walking through treacle. Nothing perceptible, save for a smooth pulsing wave of distortion. Like heat, yet... Not. No difference in temperature. Just a pulse.

And then, without ceremony, the world sped back up.

"Tell me, are we far from that awfully long road, the... 'Strip', yes, that's what they call it, isn't it?"

[valerie_vause]

“Found power can be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

Valerie spoke calmly as they walked together. The answer had been automatic, perhaps ingrained to memory from various experiences, but she didn’t elaborate further. Instead she listened, as if she’d done so before, every day as if they were old friends. Which they were not. The blonde felt comfortable with Beth, unnaturally so, but she couldn’t quite understand why or worry about it.

“No.” The word startled Valerie as it rolled off her tongue, sharp though thick as she moved as if in water, then the next second not, and she blinked a few times to break out of the haze. “It should depend on what those intentions were. Just because someone could build a nuke doesn’t mean they should set it off.”

Valerie chewed the inside of her lip, the conversation was cutting very close to things that were too coincidental. Suspicion began to thread through the comfort Beth created and the blonde turned to look at her distractedly.

“What?” She glanced around and tried to focus on the surroundings. “About twenty minutes away, sooner if we walk faster.”

[lady_elfleda]

Like sonar, a wave of energy had cascaded over the Slayer, searching, sensing... Feeling for strengths and weaknesses, alike, within the girl's aura. Such a thing was not only a shield, after all. It could be interfaced with, allowing for the detection of emotional states, physical health and more. Connections... Even a strong or growing bond with another living being, human or not, would leave its own imprint, as surely as footprints upon a sandy beach.

Fear, though, could be loud. A major reason for why the paranoid and sensitive often attracted haunting activities; disembodied entities being drawn to them, as surely as a lost ship to lighthouse. For an empathic being like Elfleda, auras were veritable goldmines of valuable information about a creature.

This one held concerns over... Yes.

"Sounds like something you've worries about," continued Beth. "Power is best held close... Lest it be taken from you, hmm? Or used against those who might think they've the right to do so."

A slight tingling was likely beginning to scratch at Valerie's mind now. Not of the same level the undead would signal, but Elfleda's limited use of inhuman abilities were were starting to trip natural alarm bells.

"Wouldn't that be something?" Smiled 'Beth'. "Never having to fear authority?"

[valerie_vause]

Green eyes slid towards Beth without Valerie moving her head when the topic of what she had worries over began. Happy haze gone. Reality began to filter back in along with those suspicions as the blonde offered a smile and casually slipped her hand free from the girl’s. Fingers wiggled before she brought both hands up to rub her face, partially smothering the breathy laughter as she gazed up at the cloudless dark sky above. Message received, even if it was belatedly.

Whoever Beth was she was incredibly clever. Valerie could respect that even if she wanted to kick herself for being quite so foolish. No, not foolish, there had been some sort of thrall at play during their interaction. It explained the twisting, slithering sensation inside, born from the stirrings of what made her one of the chosen nine. The demon essence responded to the brunette on some level, it pulled the blonde but she wouldn’t let it control her. She might not know exactly what was going on but she understood enough to keep herself in check.

“Is that why you’re here with me?” She said lightly, sidestepping the mindgame minefield. “To take power? No, you have that…” Valerie turned to glance at the woman, no fear or anger just curiosity as she connected dots out loud. “The tone of the questions suggest you want me to use mine, now why is that?”

Valerie arched her eyebrows as she regarded the girl, that might not actually be a girl, and shrugged lightly. If the brunette had wanted to attack her she would have done so by now, unless this was a cat and mouse situation where she enjoyed toying with prey first. Motives would be easier if she knew who she was dealing with. Definitely not a vampire, and not any kind of demon she’d come across yet, of which there had been many.

“Who, and what, are you really? You know what I am, I don’t know how, but I do know the why is intentional.” Feet crunched fallen leaves as Valerie paused to look at the girl, eyes narrowing as she tilted her head, lips pressed together a second before she stated slowly, “You sought me out specifically. That line about meeting interesting…”

Valerie straightened up, primal animal instinct, ready to protect those she knew.

“What exactly do you want from me?”

Whatever it was it was highly unlikely she’d get it.

[lady_elfleda]

"Questions, questions..."

Tutting at the encountered display of curiosity, Elfleda's admonishment had her smile subtly shift into something more conceited. Turning squarely to face her; body language echoing a much more in control personality. The accent hadn't changed, but the more she spoke, the more the voice of this 'Beth' was to start leaking, half-in, half-out of phase between the realms of the vocal and something more telepathic.

"And here she is... The protector, the warrior, the one who would stand against the dark... The blessed - the half-breed - who turns against her brethren because she was ordered, not because she was set free."

Part-condescending, part-stinging with an interpretation of facts, the stranger walked in a more deliberate path off to one side, passing the Slayer by. Gaze keeping trained upon Valerie as she passed. A sudden cracking sound announcing the growing formation of a blackened portal forming out of the bark; splitting the wood and fracturing directly into tree's trunk. The material, later, under full daylight, would be seen as scorched, twisted and gnarled, as if the victim of a somehow temporary chronic sickliness. Elfleda's form slipping into the acrid smoke, only to appear summoned from the other side. The pathway to somewhere with real presence, signalling powerfully into the nearby Slayer's mind, sealing up behind the figure now dressed in a far more wickedly regal fashion than before. Now longer the girl of before. Now a pale creature in ebony bridal dress. Everything, from the colour of eyes and nails, to the style of hair, radically altered.

And, while by no means any longer a picture of radiant health, without any further need to retain disguise, the unfurling of Elfleda's true presence made her feel that much more compelling.

"What do I want, Valerie? Why, I wish to help, you silly girl..."

[valerie_vause]

Questions were all Beth had to offer so far, much more than the few Valerie had asked herself, so she grinned slightly when the woman turned to properly face her. The blonde quirked an eyebrow at the taunting tone. Every word from the girl a little vocal mind bomb that could explode if she allowed them. Some echoed in her mind, invaded, and Valerie took a step back. Not from fear, but to lessen whatever influence the brunette tried to use to get into her head. It also gave the words time to repeat in her memory and she sniffed.

Protector. Warrior. Blessed. Half-breed. Brethren.

Beth could label her whatever way she liked, why get upset over an opinion from a stranger? Valerie didn’t hide the laughter as she opened her arms then bowed, playing the part as if an actor. She could be any of them, all of them, none of them, but it did give her insight into how the other saw her. Mind games seemed to be prefered either way. Valerie prepared herself for more all the while confident that she had a stronger mind than that. Whatever was to be said it would be shrugged off, the girl was fishing to get under her skin, the blonde wasn’t about to let that happen.

Granted when the tree fractured and that look was directed towards her all the small hairs at the base of her neck stood on end. For good reason, because the portal didn’t take Beth away, it revealed her completely. Valerie understood, with her disguise blown why hide behind it any longer. Deathly white skin adorned with inky black wardrobe that matched her oily eyes and nails. Beth was a picture of decay, elegantly posed, hauntingly statuesque. Whatever demon she was she held great power if she could open portals. Which meant... If she has an interest in me she has a reason. The thought filtered through her mind as she took in the transformation and let out a slow breath.

“You want to help with what?”

Chin lifted as Valerie eyed the girl. A silent statement that she wouldn’t be intimidated or fooled easily. Not now. Feet shifted to walk her back a few steps, distance became important now she could see what she was dealing with, even if she didn’t know who. The essence of her power snaked restlessly within the confines of her flesh and bones. Reacting, reaching out, to whatever she was standing in front of her. Dangerous. Said the voice in the back of her mind that seemed to belong to her instincts, and she agreed without any doubt.

“Oh don’t tell me…” Valerie raised a hand to place a single finger tip against her lips as if lost in thought, just to announce cheerfully, “You’re the designated Guidance Counselor of the doomed, the damned, the desperate and the despair. Wandering from dimensions to recruit the ones with potential.”

Valerie knew it was all speculation since the girl hadn’t given her a real identity to work with. Fabricating it in a way that amused her was the next best thing.

“Do us both a favour and get to the point or get out of the way.”

[lady_elfleda]

"You recruit yourself," came the cryptic reply. "My task is nothing so mundane..."

For all the Corruptress' seemingly frail figure, it was not she who Valerie felt grip her with vice-like strength. Thing invisible, acting on the pale brunette's behalf. Unseen, perhaps, but they could be felt. Icy-cold and skeletal. Or perhaps somehow armoured. No skin, just spiky hardness.

"Such disrespect... Admirable, if foolish," the one known as Beth observed, watching the blonde's reaction. Studying. Then, looking off to each side, signalled whatever had grasped Valerie with inhuman strength of its - or their - own, to release her. The message had been sent. That was what mattered. "But we need not be enemies. I represent interest far greater than those of your trainers... The root of the Slayer, my dear. You truly could be very much more. But not until you embrace it. Ignite the still-dormant furnace within yourself... Would that truly be so bad?"

[valerie_vause]

What exactly was Beth’s task? Valerie felt certain that she hadn’t signed any recruit papers stating she’d volunteered to be picked by demons that felt curiously generous in the help department. Did she give off some sort of vibe that she needed help? The blonde frowned, an internal battle of thoughts as she concluded that she handled things by herself just fine. According to her. Which, given she still stood breathing, was good enough in her opinion.

Then again the night had yet to end.

Arms were gripped simultaneously as legs, pulled until she stood starfish, in a grip that threatened to cut in places. Throat was next, so that she had no option but to face the girl, breathing restricted but not entirely by the invisible things that held her in place. Fear would have been natural, no doubt expected, though none flared up as Valerie took in a deep breath. Silently making her frame as big as she could to see if she could feel where they were. Perhaps the faintest twinge of annoyance like an animal caught in a trap, but intelligent enough to listen instead of struggle.

Perhaps the flippant way she’d tried to make the girl get to the point had been a tad misguided but it wasn’t terrible. Valerie didn’t say anything, didn’t attempt to break free, just blinked at the girl and felt whatever the invisible things were release their hold. The blonde straightened up but didn’t move closer, or away, from what might still lurk beside her. Alright, she’d bite, now that she felt intrigued. Nothing was ever given without some sort of price, strings of some sort, or a small print that had devastating consequences. Like so many people who wished for things, Valerie had been the kind who didn’t, understood even as a child how sinister they could become.

However the Council had never been entirely forthcoming about the essence that was as much a part of her as her skeletal structure. The fact that they could rip it from her like a surgeon could rip out a heart frightened Valerie. Deep down she believed in her core that power didn’t actually corrupt people, it revealed them for who they truly were.

“It could be if you’re talking about embracing the demon essence.”

Valerie’s voice was calm, collected as she watched Beth. The blonde suspected the help she offered was deceptive, but why? What motives did the girl have for finding her, really?

“My humanity could be washed away and I’d be nothing but a husk of myself. If that’s the case then I don’t want to ignite anything. I am my sense of self, if I lose that then I cease to be anyone. Access to more power isn’t worth losing myself. Nothing is.”

[lady_elfleda]

"Humanity..."

A derisory tone and intentionally so. Foul contempt conveyed by a narrowing of that blackened gaze, upon witnessing the Slayer's appeal to her perceived better half.

"You think it laid apart from the demonic throng in the age of the primordial? It is exists as a pretender to this world's throne... Crawling deficients, unworthy of what was bequeathed in their name. A species you no longer belong to... And which your calling will pull you from."

Having turned side-on was dismissive, Beth shifted pose, gliding step after step towards, then past her momentary prey of choice. Pausing in consideration, then halting to turn back to Valarie, again.

"You will turn from them, Miss Vause, as surely as they would turn from you. Your kind enact murder with ease of breathing... The hunt cannot be refused. Not by you... Yet, you insist on denying yourself the very empowerment with which could defend others - and consort with those who would not."

Chin raised and the infernal diplomat curved lips into a sickly, cold smile. Devoid of the earlier warmth or charisma. Now a mere statement of facial expression.

"I offer nothing which does not already reside within you. Only the means by which to use it best... For whichever purpose you see fit."

Lifting a pale hand before her, fingertip trailed down nothing but air, yet left a strange, tingling sensation echoing from Valarie's throat to sternum.

"You would truly sacrifice those closest for purity's sake?"

[valerie_vause]

It was rather haunting to listen to the girl speak, especially when words partially invaded her mind. What got to Valerie the most, what she tried to deny herself, was how eerily close she’d thought the same. Secretly suspected for quite a while now that she no longer truly belonged among her species. Beyond human. Lesser than demonic. Stuck in a species purgatory. Never truly belonging to either as she walked through both.

One thing was certain though, “You really don’t like humans as a species.”

Dismissed or not Valerie didn’t move yet, wasn’t foolish enough to imagine that their encounter was over with. The girl turned to face her again but it was the use of her last name that caused her green eyes to narrow in pale figures direction. She didn’t just know what she was, she knew who she was. The short hairs at the nape of her neck stood on end.

Wait, her kind? Humans? No, Beth had just made a point of separating her from that particular heard. Which meant she spoke of the other chosen ones. It was on the tip of Valerie’s tongue to state that her kind weren’t nearly as bad as what they killed. Balance had to be kept, nine girls against the forces of darkness in the entire world wasn’t exactly an advantage. Murder wasn’t how she’d word it.

Valerie raised her chin in kind, an equally cold smile was offered in return, which faltered and vanished seconds later with that caress through air. Only, Beth hadn’t just touched the air between them. The blonde’s chin dropped as shudder worked through her body, lips parted to take in a stuttered breath as a single trail of skin tingled from the ghostly caress.

“What...” Erotically sinister, the blonde felt disturbed by the contact, confused by her skins betrayal. “What was that?”

Instinctively her hand raised to splay against her chest, eyes wide as she faced Beth. Valerie was fully clothed but that touch had been against skin. She still felt it. What kind of thing could do that? More importantly, why? It could be anything from a show of power to a mindgame. More questions were raised by Beth than ever answered, the blonde was starting to feel a little frustrated. A little out of her depth, considering the things the pale girl could do.

What good was strength against someone like that? Who had invisible bodyguards, who could open portals and touch someone from a distance? There was no doubt in Valerie’s mind that Beth would be able to kill them the same way.

“Why me?”

Valerie straightened up, tried to compose herself, look less like a cornered animal. Kept her face as stoic as possible. On the outside she was calm. Behind that mask was another story. The blonde took a step closer to Beth, any kind of retreat would be seen as weakness, she couldn’t allow that.

“Why specifically offer me, out of everyone you could go too, the means to tap into that kind of potential? Because I don’t understand. You talk like human’s are a scourge on earth then in the next breath offer me a way to protect them better. Those two things don’t add up.”

[lady_elfleda]

"My preferences are not subject to debate," spoke the Corruptress with a half-sneering, half-playful expression. Not unlike the way her voice seemed to drift partially between the verbal and telepathic. "Your prospective destiny is."

A realm of shadows, indeed. Elfleda seemed often to mentally swim within a sea of them. Ambiguity her weapon of choice with a flavouring of subtle inversions.

"A taste of what you are," she supplied of her sensual technique. This time, more of a calculating implication behind it. "Of what it means to be... In touch with oneself."

A truthful eel... At once, seemingly honest and yet slippery. Perhaps treacherously so. Maybe the girl was right to wonder why she should have drawn the attentions of a creature who could command even physical contact from afar. One who claimed to speak on behalf of powers greater than she.

"I relish potential, Miss Vause... And a Slayer's is considerable. To wrong ourselves with the illusion of captivity - to deny ourselves the capacity of change, of alteration - is the gravest possible sin... One which pleases me to find so many willing to rise above."

Interesting to hear a being such as this speak of its philosophical definitions of sin, but there were hints, too, that she seemed not to view the entirety of humanity as a lost cause. Elfleda tilting head as she closed the distance a little more. Black orbs closing as she breathed in Valerie's scent with the look of viper savouring the body heat of paralysed rabbit, then re-opening tto glance back upon the girl with a somehow kindly expression.

"Who I visit... When... Where... How... Is not for you to know." No fingers weaved their way into the blonde's palm, but from brunette could be felt the spontaneously materialising gift of an impossibly jet black stone. One as smooth as glass to the touch and willingly given over. "But should you seek me, all I ask..." A smile. "Is that you pray."

From behind her, a world of infinite horrors opened up. Unseen, unheard, but veiled behind the darkness. One could simply feel its existened laying there. An odd concoction of temperatures, both extreme cold and heat, being sensed as the swirly, gaseous blackness stretched open like a newborn ready to engulf its Mistress of damnation upon her whim. 'Beth' beginning to slowly glide back into its maw.

[valerie_vause]

“What prospective destiny?”

Colour her confused but technically she already had a destiny. Currently one which she worked hard at maintaining. Valerie tried to remind herself that she didn’t even know who she was dealing with, the words from the girl’s lips were hearsay at best and outright lies at worst. Regardless they shouldn’t matter at all. So why hadn’t the blonde walked away? Why did she stand there and listen to words she knew were designed to keep her guessing? The dark essence within her had created an almost tangible sense of kinship with Beth, it called to her the way an infant would a relative.

“Are you saying I can do that too?”

A taste of what she was… Valerie’s thoughts instantly went to the cause behind her abilities, her calling. The very thing that responded to the girl in front of her. The demon playing word games. Honestly it was a lot to take in. Yes, she might have, at times, felt like she was in captivity, but that didn’t mean she wanted to rip out her tracker and make a break for it. That would be suicide.

The way Beth drew in her scent reminded Valerie of Sabra. What was with the flux of seriously powerful demons? What were the chances of someone actually meeting two in a year, let alone in a few months? Valerie felt the object in her palm, uncurled her fingers and gazed at the small impossibly dark stone. The kind of darkness that never ended, just absorbed light like it never existed. Valerie’s thumb smoothed across the surface as she contemplated Beth’s choice of words. Sin and Pray both held religious notes, which contrary to popular horror movies, wasn’t uncommon with certain kinds of demons. Religions it seemed knew no boundaries.

“Who do I pray too, you never gave me your real name.”

Valerie might not have had any desires to pray to anyone right then, but curiosity demanded she ask all the same.

[lady_elfleda]

"The one dictated or the one you choose... What you can do depends upon this."

Valerie's assumptions did not always lead to truth, however - and neither did the being before her elect to reveal she was no demoness. Was something different, altogether. Had always been something different. Something which had flowed to another's rhythm for a very long time.

"Names are not required, only my face... Only me."

Even as she revealed the secret of summoning, so did that walking contradiction of zebra-like monochromes steadily immerse herself in the blanketing swirl from behind, swallowing her in like a butter-soaked skeletal fish. One only had to think upon her essence and, using that imparted beacon of black stone, the Corruptress would come. That gateway between worlds now sealing shut with the distinct aroma of burning sulfur.

Compelling her to leave? Now, there would be a different matter...