Realistic or Modern 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 | 1𝙭1

[geminiy]

apolla

Spoiler: lucio vitale ▹ mobile friendly

BASICS
Full Name
Lucio Anthony Vitale

Nickname
Luca ▹ this is the name he uses all the time, including in introductions. He despises his full name

Real Age
25

Visible Age
160

Birthdate
August 9th, 1860

Zodiac
Leo

Gender
Cisgender Male

Sexuality
Bisexual

Species
Vampire

Nationality
Italian


APPEARANCE
Height
6’4”

Build
Ectomorph

Eye Colour
Green

Hair Colour
Black

Face Claim
Stephen James

Basic Description
Luca is a man that enjoys blending in yet staying unique. Sporting the Vitale pale skin and dark hair combination, the most unique natural feature Luca has are his piercing green-grey eyes that have paled considerably in his many years of life. He radiates elegance and grace through his flowing movements, long limbs, and typically formal attire though he is far from a truly graceful individual. He typically wears clothing in shades of grey or black with the occasional burgundy or deep royal blue mixed in, his closet mostly filled with silky dress shirts and suit jackets. Luca enjoys being dressed up and mostly semi-formal almost all the time, taking great pride in making sure he looks good.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of Luca (outside of the set of fangs on his upper canines) is his abundance of tattoos. His entire body is covered in them after he made the ritual of getting one every year since he was turned at 25. Some have meaning, like the small family crest on the inside of his wrist, while some are purely aesthetic. Most of his tattoos are covering up various scars and imperfections, mostly on his chest, abdomen, back, and neck. He adores being a sort of walking art-exhibit and, seeing as he lives in the forest, there are few people to judge him for it. His tattoos make him feel alive, make him feel human, and they are his favourite thing about himself.

PERSONALITY
To put it simply, Luca is a difficult person. A person’s upbringing truly does change one’s personality and this is no different for Luca. After decades upon decades of facades and acts, never truly being allowed to be himself, no one really knows who Luca truly is. Not even himself.

Luca is a cold man with a seemingly impenetrable wall surrounding him. Emotions are difficult and often painful so Luca often suppresses them to the best of his ability, making him seem hollow and empty. When he does express himself, it is often through a burning anger that he simply cannot control. His tongue is sharp, his mind even sharper. To those who are not familiar with Luca, he can seem to be a cruel and angry man. While he does hold many regrets and grudges, Luca isn’t all negative. He may not trust many people and he may see the bad side of every moment, Luca truly isn’t a bad person.

Underneath the anger and the resentfulness, Luca is a strong and intelligent man. He holds strong conversations once he opens up, speaking wisely and carefully to those he wishes to earn respect from. He has a way with his words that can make people feel whatever he desires, a skill he doesn’t often use. Instead, Luca remains mostly quiet and reserved, keeping to himself to stay out of trouble. For the few people that break through his barriers, Luca is a knowledgeable and protective man who will do anything for those he cares about. His trust is difficult to gain but having Luca’s affection is incredibly rewarding. He cares deeply and thoroughly, though he has a difficult time expressing his emotions, and is not nearly as scary or cold as he can come across as. At the end of the day, he has fears and desires, ambitions and regrets. At the end of the day, he is human.

Vices
▹ Confrontational
▹ Hot-headed
▹ Cold
▹ Resentful
▹ Cynical
▹ Quiet

Virtues
▹ Strong
▹ Intelligent
▹ Wise
▹ Respectful
▹ Eloquent
▹ Persuasive


LIFESTYLE
Likes
▹ Nighttime
▹ Frost
▹ Running
▹ Violin music
▹ The smell of leather
▹ Simplicity
▹ Moss

Dislikes
▹ Early mornings
▹ Complications
▹ Nosy people
▹ Dirty living spaces
▹ Silence
▹ Dark rooms
▹ Being restrained

Fears
▹ Being confined
▹ Flying in planes
▹ Never being free

Ambitions
▹ Truly be free
▹ Find peace
▹ Live in society without fear

Abilities/Skills
▹ Enhanced speed
▹ Enhanced strength
▹ Enhanced stamina
▹ Immortality
▹ Persuasion
▹ Polyglot (Italian, Greek, Latin, Russian, English)
▹ Tracking
▹ Extensive knowledge in various fields
▹ Pistol & rifle training
▹ Trapping

HISTORY
Not many people know Luca’s full story. In fact, Luca doesn’t even know his entire story. Being alive for 160 years can do a number on someone’s memory. Luca’s life began in a small town on the southern coast of Italy in 1860. He was the youngest of the six Vitale children and the only child of which was completely unplanned. His parents were part of the town’s council, his father being the main political figure of the town. The Vitale family was important and respected in the town and all around Italy.

His hometown was under siege during his first two years. There was a battle for superiority happening between his town and two neighbouring townships, a war that left many civilians dead. The azure waters that lapped at Italy’s shores were stained with blood, the prospects of all three towns looking grim. The Vitales were losing the fight and after Luca’s eldest brother was killed in the conflict, his mother turned to forces beyond human to assist in the fight. She turned to the supernatural, specifically to vampires.

It was no secret that there were vampires in Italy, creatures that silently had woven themselves into the governments and leading bodies of the country. They were powerful, nearly untouchable, and incredibly selfish. Everything they did was for personal gain. So, when Mrs Vitale begged the leader of the clan to bring back her eldest son and help their town win the battles that had ravaged the southern coast of Italy for going on two decades, they offered her a deal. They would assist her in bringing back her son and winning the conflict at the expense of her youngest son, Luca. Seeing as he had been entirely unplanned and, truthfully, unwanted, Luca’s parents agreed and handed their two year old son over to the clan.

Luca doesn’t remember his parents. He has nothing of theirs to remember them by and he honestly doesn’t care. They abandoned him, handing him over to the vampires in pursuit of victory and selfish desires. Luca was raised in the clan as a human, used purely for feeding. Throughout his childhood, he was given books and instruments to help him learn and develop but at the end of the day, he was no one’s child, no one’s pet: he was someone’s meal.

Luca spent his teen years in the clan’s mansion in Rome, keeping himself occupied with stories and music between feedings. He was miserable and as he aged, he became more and more angry. Why had his parents abandoned him? Why couldn’t they have just accepted defeat? Why was his life worth less than that of his elder brother? Luca became very aware that he was completely alone and quickly became resentful of everyone around him: the vampires, the humans, everyone.

A problem arose when Luca hit his twenties. He was gaining strength at an alarming rate, even despite being rather consistently drained of blood. After years of being fed upon, the vampire venom had begun to turn him. The clan leader was left with two choices: either let Luca die or turn him. Luca wanted to be let go, never wanting to be like those who had captured and tortured him for years. But his strength was incredible, his physical attributes incomparable to the other vampires who had years to hone their talents. Luca could be very powerful and he had far too much talent to go to waste. The clan leader turned him, Luca undergoing the painful transformation over three weeks. He wanted everything to be over, to finally have his pain and suffering end. But alas, Luca survived his turning and emerged a full vampire.

Even though he was turned, his servitude was not over. A deal was a deal: Luca was the clan’s forever, as was the deal made with his parents years ago. He became whatever the clan needed: a servant, a guard, a guide, a plaything. Luca wanted nothing more than to leave Italy, to escape the cruel grasp of the clan. Eventually, the clan leader was hunted down and killed by a human, forcing the rest of the clan to escape. Luca was offered to another clan as part of a deal for them to protect the remainder of the clan, leading to many more years of silent servitude. He continued to grow and hone his skills, eventually becoming a valued guard and protector of many clans. He became a form of currency, passed from clan to clan to protect them with his life. Luca wouldn’t see freedom for another 132 years.

Luca eventually snapped, tired of being used. While working for a rather small clan, Luca attempted a peaceful escape. When he was caught, he finally lost it and killed every last vampire in the clan. Luca was seriously injured and close to death but at least he was free, in a sense. He had to leave Europe, if possible. Luca was on the run for weeks while he healed, hunted by other vampires that had stumbled upon the dead clan. Eventually, Luca managed to get himself on a plane to the United States, leaving over a century of devastation, pain, and torture behind him.

He stumbled upon the supernatural creatures in the mining town a few months after he arrived in North America. They offered him protection and medicine for the wounds that never fully healed. Luca was weary of trusting them but eventually gave in. To repay them for their help, Luca has pledged himself to them as a guard and protector to keep them safe. Part of him feels like he is in servitude once again, though he knows that he is free to leave. But part of him also feels like he is finally at home. But how long can that last?

Spoiler: jenna beckett ▹ mobile friendly

BASICS
Full Name
Jenna Carmen Beckett

Nicknames
Jen ▹ although she prefers to use her full name, she will also respond to this nickname
Hemlock ▹ this her hunter name to keep her true name out of the business for safety

Age
Twenty three

Birthdate
March 30th, 1997

Zodiac
Aries

Gender
Cisgender Female

Sexuality
Heterosexual

Species
Human

Nationality
American


APPEARANCE
Height
5’4”

Build
Mesomorph

Eye Colour
Green

Hair Colour
Blonde

Face Claim
Florence Pugh

Basic Description
Everyone says that Jenna looks like a female version of her father with her thin blonde hair and cunning green eyes, though her nose is clearly from her mother. She isn’t an elegant type of woman, instead often being called brash or tough in her movements and expressions. Her pale skin tans quite easily, though she rarely gets extreme sun exposure, and she has a constellation of scars across her body, though none are of note.

Jenna is a simple woman, not caring much for vanity, opting for practicality over high-fashion looks. Though she doesn’t mind dressing up for certain occasions, Jenna is much more comfortable when her hair is thrown back and she’s got a tee shirt and jeans on. Signature looks and items aren’t Jenna’s thing, though she is identifiable by her piercings on each ear that she often adorns with golden jewelry and the leather jacket she often wears. Otherwise, Jenna likes to remain simple and anonymous as much as possible.


PERSONALITY
People go through changes in their lives, their personality shifting with the times. But there are few that have changed more than Jenna. The warm and loving girl with a soft heart and gentle soul is long gone, leaving behind a matured woman with a tough exterior and a ferocity that has led many people, including her own mother, to be somewhat intimidated by Jenna. Jenna is focused and dedicated, stopping at nothing to get what she needs. She seems fearless, her bravery and passion shining through her like a forest fire. Jenna is the kind of person that takes no shit from anyone and isn’t afraid to speak her mind, talking the talk and also walking the walk. She has little time for those who are overly cocky and self absorbed, always taking great joy from knocking them down a few pegs.

Jenna may have convinced many people that she is a fearsome machine that should not be messed with but past that facade, Jenna is just as human as anyone else. She has her fears and dislikes, skeletons in her closets and ghosts in her head that haunt her at night. Jenna is not bulletproof, even if she believes that she is. Past the anger and through the pain, Jenna is still empathetic and kind by nature. Years of scarring and danger has forced her to lock it away deep within her, the guilt of the creatures she has killed bubbling to the surface every now and again. She can attempt to repress it all she wants but sooner or later, Jenna has to crack.

Vices
▹ Reckless
▹ Unforgiving
▹ Judgemental
▹ Stubborn
▹ Closed-off
▹ Fierce

Virtues
▹ Tough
▹ Resourceful
▹ Outspoken
▹ Loyal
▹ Cunning
▹ Passionate


LIFESTYLE
Likes
▹ The wilderness
▹ Organized chaos
▹ Photography
▹ Hiking
▹ Rum
▹ Fog
▹ Bars

Dislikes
▹ Sleeping outdoors
▹ The supernatural
▹ Hot days
▹ Wastefulness
▹Cleaning/household chores
▹ ‘Dad’ jokes
▹ Visual art

Fears
▹ Heights
▹ Enclosed spaces with no windows
▹ Crowds

Ambitions
▹ Live peacefully
▹ Protect her family
▹ Find her father’s killer

Abilities/Skills
▹ Athletics (ie. hiking, climbing, running, swimming)
▹ Wilderness survival skills
▹ Tracking
▹ Fluent in Latin
▹ Knowledgeable of the supernatural
▹ Basic hand-to-hand combat skills
▹ Basic first aid training
▹ Persuasion
▹ Pistol & rifle training
▹ Trapping


HISTORY
The Beckett family is well known for producing generations of skilled hunters and young Jenna was no exception.

Jenna was born to her hunter father, Joel Beckett, and her mother Cassidy Fletcher in the early spring of 1997, seven years before her younger sister, Chloe. Jenna was raised on the Beckett homestead just outside of town, a sleepy little ranch that had been passed down from generation to generation.

From the outside, the Becketts seemed completely normal. Jenna went to school, played in the fields and forests around the ranch, made floats for the Main St Autumn Parade. She was a caring big sister, loving towards little Chloe and helpful with the housework after her mother’s complicated childbirth. Jenna was a bright ray of sunshine to everyone that knew her, a gentle and loving soul playing behind soft blue eyes and glistening blonde hair.

Behind closed doors, Jenna’s upbringing was far different than anyone could have imagined. Some children joked at the cautionary tales their parents would spin about the wolf-people in the forests or the blood-drinkers that lurked in the night. But Jenna knew the truth, how real those stories were. Although the supernatural had long since been pushed from the town, Joel’s hunter background never left him and, much to his wife’s protesting, trained Jenna in supernatural hunting. While the neighbourhood kids would sleep with their lights on or their heads tucked under the blankets, Jenna checked her salt circles and kept her bedside knife polished and sharp. Jenna was a natural, much in thanks to her Beckett bloodline, but rarely got the chance to use her skills

The day came when her skills would go to use. In the dark of night in the summer of 2013, a knock came to the door. There had been an attack in town and Joel was needed to hunt down what had attacked. Joel demanded that Jenna remain home and safe as he gathered his things and made his way into town. Jenna simply couldn’t stay put and followed just minutes later on her bike. She wasn’t about to stay out of all the fun. Looking back on the events of that night, Jenna wishes that she simply had stay put like her father had asked.

Jenna arrived at the scene of the attack to a fight between a few local hunters, her father, and some mysterious creatures that seemed to leap in and out of the shadows. She didn’t know what they were or how to kill them and soon enough, the severity of the situation sunk in. The scene played out in front of her eyes: blood, claws, snarling fangs. Then, her father’s body was flung through the air in an arc of flesh and blood before crashing lifelessly against the pavement. The image burned into Jenna’s mind, leaving her completely stunned. He was dead.J

Jenna hid until the fight was over and the creatures driven away into the night before running to her father’s side, though he was already gone. Jenna hasn’t been the same since that day. The cheerful spark she was known for had been snuffed out in an instant, leaving behind a cold and angry shell of a girl in its warpath. She dropped out of high school in her senior year to pursue hunting full time, taking on some of the most dangerous cases across the Americas. If she was going to die, at least she would die with honour in the midst of a battle like her father. Now 23, Jenna has continued hunting for her father’s killer with no success. She will never give up until she finds who, or what, killed him.

 

[apolla]

Mercedes Zabielski

Mercedes Zabielski “I know you don’t, but if I ask you if you love me, I hope you lie to me.” ❝BASICS❞ ||Full Name|| Mercedes Lane Zabielski ||Nicknames|| Sadie ||Age|| 21 ||Birthday|| August 27 ||Zodiac|| VIrgo ||Gender|| Female ❝ON THE OUTSIDE❞ ||Sexuality|| Bisexual ||S...

docs.google.com

Benjamin Evans

Benjamin Evans “If I want it, it’s mine.” ❝BASICS❞ ||Full Name|| Benjamin Ronald Evans ||Nicknames|| Ben, Benji ||Age|| Appears 24 [is actually 142] ||Birthday|| October 30 ||Zodiac|| Scorpio ||Gender|| Male ❝ON THE OUTSIDE❞ ||Sexuality|| Heterosexual ||Species|| Vampire ...

docs.google.com

 

[geminiy]

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

There was a different energy hanging over New Acanthite, Jenna could feel it flood through her entire body the second she stepped off of the homestead’s creaky wooden porch. The air was dampening with the disappearance of the sun, small droplets of moisture clinging to her wind-whipped cheeks. A haunting silence had crept over the town, only a gentle chorus of crickets and the rustling of dry autumn leaves to fill the midnight air. Her stomach twisted with dread while her heart thumped with excitement, her entire body in conflict with itself.

A cold shiver danced down Jenna’s spine. She simply pulled her jacket tightly closed across her chest.

The roads were, unsurprisingly, empty. Who else would be driving down a barren country road at five past midnight? Anyone with any sense of self preservation and a healthy interest in a normal sleep schedule was at home, either tucked in their beds or enjoying the comfort of their warm homes behind the comfort of locked doors and shuttered windows. New Acanthite wasn’t known for its raging nightlife, unless the Friday night 10pm movie special at the drive-in counted as a nightlife hotspot. Luckily, Jenna wasn’t heading out for a wild night on the town.

The route Jenna took was the same as it had been for the past seven years: down the gravel driveway of the homestead, turn left onto Highway 8, and follow straight on through the forest-lined road until she hits town. Once in town, two rights and then a left onto Main St and then park in front of the pharmacy; there’s no parking lot at the Lodge. Down the alleyway between the pharmacy and New Acanthite’s only clothing store, paying no mind to the grouchy orange tom cat having a chew on someone’s food scraps, and out onto the path that led into the dark of the forest.

In a clearing of pine trees, around a ten minute walk from the outskirts of town, sat Jenna’s objective. A small, unassuming building that seemed to have fallen victim to the cruel grasp of time. It had previously been a log cabin, speculated to have been owned by a crazed miner that used to work up in the since-abandoned mining town in the mountains that overlook New Acanthite. Some of the windows were boarded up, the others laced with cobwebs and dirt. During the day, the place sat completely empty. Local teenagers would dare each other to run up to the door and see if anyone was home, of course with no luck. The Hunter’s Lodge doesn’t open until dusk.

Jenna pushed her way through the heavy front door and a warm wave of home flowed over her. The smell of whiskey and cigars flooded her nose, the sound of laughter and clanking metal and rock music filling the walls. No one would ever assume that a building so dead on the outside would be so alive on the inside. A few faces looked in Jenna’s direction, lifting beer bottles and shot glasses in her direction with a holler of welcome.

The Hunter’s Lodge was nearly as old as New Acanthite itself. After the mining town was abandoned and New Acanthite was developed as a simple town and trading route, the Hunter’s Lodge was established to provide food, beds, and (most importantly) drink to the hunters that were drawn to the area. With the town surrounded by so much forest and mountain, it was no wonder that the town was a supernatural hotspot. Old hunters liked to come and hunt some easy prey for a change while newer hunters came to get their feet wet in the world of hunting. Even after the supernatural was officially pushed from the town and surrounding areas, the Lodge remained a favourite for hunters new and old, local and for those who were just passing through.

Jenna made her way across the main room to the long bar that sat against the back wall, grinning when she spotted that familiar head of fiery red hair working behind the counter. Hopping up on a stool, Jenna leaned forward onto the surface and clapped her hands down on the bartop.

“Well well, if it isn’t everyone’s favourite firecracker!” Jenna teased as she reached over the bar and grabbed a glass from just below on the other side. “How’s it going, Sadie? I don’t think I’ve seen you since last week before I left for that werewolf hunt just outside Port Masson.”

Not wanting to bother Sadie, Jenna lurched forward across the counter again to grab a mostly empty bottle of whiskey. She poured the bottle empty into the crystal glass and took a swig, the friendly burn sliding down her throat and into her stomach. Turning her head, Jenna squinted as she looked at the large black cork board on the wall. Listings for different jobs were pinned haphazardly to the board with multicoloured thumbtacks and pins: missing persons posters, newspaper clippings of mysterious ‘animal attacks’, small post-it notes with names and phone numbers for those with job offers. Jenna’s eyebrows knit together as she sunk back down onto her chair.

“No new jobs.” She mumbled to herself, swirling the amber liquid around in its glass. “Local work better pick up soon. I really don’t want to have to go traipsing through the forests again looking for trouble. I got eaten alive by mosquitoes last time.”

Jenna took another swig of her drink, her eyes fluttering closed as she drank.

“Oh! That reminds me,” Jenna exclaimed, placing the glass down as she began to rifle through the dirty cargo backpack she always had with her. “The woman who hired me for the werewolf gig gave me this with the payment for a job well done.” Jenna said, pulling out a long box.

Flipping the top open, Jenna slid the open box across the counter to Sadie. Inside, nestled on a cushion covered in green crushed velvet, sat a knife. Medium in length, the handle was a deep mahogany, the blade glistening silver. Etched deep into the side of the blade were the phases of the moon, the crevices painted black.

“Pretty cool, huh? Real silver too, I checked. The knife was a family heirloom that she got fixed up, apparently she came from a long line of hunters! But since she doesn’t hunt, she figured that I could use it.” Jenna explained, sitting back down onto the bar stool. “But I have a tonne of knives already. I figured that maybe you’d like it. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a good knife around here and this one is great quality.”

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

Her smell was sickening, like a rusty penny mixed with the stench of alcohol and the dainty scent of fresh laundry and lavender. Yet there was something enticing about it all. The way the rich and savoury smell of blood cut through the stench like a light at the end of the tunnel. The way her torn flesh reflected the gentle glow of the moon, the way her brown hair spilled onto the asphalt, the way her chapped lips were gently parted in a plea. It called to Luca, made his mouth water and his jaw clench.

Luca closed his eyes and held his breath, gathering himself. He was starving. How many weeks had it been since he had fed? Five? Six? Animal blood could only hold him for so long until something within him snapped, until the only thing that would do was blood straight from a human.

The desperate starvation came from decades of regular and open feeding on humans. Blood was always scarce, and Luca was never full, but it was always there. The clans he was passed between had no shortage of people, be they willing or stolen for the purpose of feeding. Of course, Luca was always amongst the last to feed, but there was always just enough left. It kept him strong, kept him in shape for his job. A hungry beast will always betray its master.

A dire mistake had been made. Luca wasn’t certain who had been so foolish as to kill a human so close to town, but he was certain that something had killed that woman laying in the middle of the road. She was torn apart, her skin pallor and void of any colour. She had no shoes so the soles of her feet were ripped from the run through the forest. She had been attacked, there was absolutely no doubt about that. Whoever had killed her was careless, almost senseless. They made no attempt to take only what they needed, instead indulging in selfish gluttony. The woman had been dead for at least two hours, laying lonely in the middle of the road.

Her body needed to be moved before someone saw, there would be time to find out who killed her so ruthlessly later. Luca had simply stumbled upon her while on a regular patrol through the forests outside of town. How long before someone else stumbled upon her as he had? Luca emerged from the treeline to deal with the body, his teeth grinding against themselves. He wasn’t entirely certain what he was going to do with said body once he got to her, but he knew she had to be moved.

The closer he stepped, the more intoxicating her smell. There was enough of her left. He could feed. Instinct battled against will as Luca approached, crouching down beside the body. Carefully, he pushed a piece of her dark hair away from her face. There was something beautiful about her, something so enticing. He felt drunk off of the smell. Luca looked down to his hand that had moved her hair, noticing the deep red that blotted his fingertips.

A bright light pierced Luca’s vision, his gaze shooting up from his blood covered fingers. Diesel and rust. Luca froze as the car screeched to a halt in front of him, capturing the body and him in the harsh glow of the headlights. Time seemed to slow as two men got out of the truck. Luca was no fool, he knew what the scene looked like. He was crouched over a bloody body, his fangs triggered by the scent of the blood visible through his parted lips. What were two men doing out on some empty road at five past midnight? Gunpowder, silver, burned wood. Luca’s gaze hardened. They were hunters.

Luca’s eyes settled on the bullet barrelling towards him. He should have dodged it, he could have dodged it. Instead, he remained frozen as the bullet lodged itself deep into his left shoulder. He looked down at the wound and then back up to the men before instinct kicked in. He had to get out of there.

The forest passed by in a blur of evergreen, moss, and a few stray bullets that were still being fired his way. Luca didn’t think as he bolted through the trees, his right hand coming up to meet the bullet wound in his shoulder, two nimble fingers plucking the casing out of his flesh and flinging it to the ground with a hiss of pain. The wound would heal soon enough with the bullet removed. His legs worked as if they had their own mind, carrying Luca up the familiar path to the mountains.

His mind didn’t kick back into action until he was bursting through the door of the old general store that had been renovated into a sort of common space for the few creatures that remained. Luca’s knees buckled with fatigue as he stumbled forward to lean against a chair just inside.

“Woman.” Luca panted, his thoughts racing around inside his skull. With his breath calming down, Luca looked up to the small group that had gathered around him with a ferocity. “They know we’re here.”

Lorena, an old werewolf that had unofficially been in charge of the tiny group, parted the group, her movements elegant and careful even with her age.

“Calm down, Lucio. What happened?” She inquired, keeping her distance from Luca who, by all accounts, looked nearly wild.

“Someone killed a woman and left her in the middle of the damn road!” Luca growled, scanning the group in accusation. “I was attempting to move her body when two men, hunters, pulled up in a truck. They shot at me, I had to run.”

Luca pulled the collar of his shirt down to reveal the bullet wound that had already begun to shrink and close. “Thanks to someone’s carelessness and general ignorance, they know that we are here. Perhaps not exactly where, but they are aware of our presence.” Luca growled, finally having enough strength to stand up straight.

Lorena’s face dropped slightly but her overall composure never wavered. Without an ounce of panic, she spoke once again. “How far away were they?”
“Ten minutes outside of town to the south, if they were even that far. I think they were headed to the Lounge.” Luca explained. “We need to prepare for an attack. They will not sit by while they know we are out here.”

“Calm yourself, Lucio.” Lorena warned. “We have hidden well enough these many years because we have kept a level head. I am certain everything will be okay. If you are well enough to venture back out, I would like to have you and Benjamin go ahead and scout out the area while we get ourselves a place to hide if needed. You know these men’s faces, it would be best if you went out after them.”

Luca’s face hardened once again as he looked around for Benjamin, his gaze remaining cold as he finally landed on Benjamin. “Very well. We should head out as soon as possible.”

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

Another day, another shitty tip. That's how the saying went, right? Oh, no, wait. It's 'another day, another dollar'. Sadie waved the one dollar bill that had been tucked under an empty glass towards the retreating customer, a sarcastic smile on her face even though he wasn't looking her way. As soon as the door shut her hand holding the dollar dropped, her ruby red lips heaving an annoyed sigh as she straightened. "Guess it's just you and me, George." Staring at the dead man's face, she huffed again and shoved the dollar into the pocket of her tight jeans, grabbing the glass and half empty plate.

Dumping the remnants of the abandoned food into the trash and dumping the watered down drink into the sink, she set the now empty dishes in the window for the kitchen. Truthfully, the Hunter's Lodge wasn't a bad place to work. The hunters that frequented these parts kept the decently sized building and its surrounding area safe from the supernatural who would do the lodge and its inhabitants harm. There were even a few supernatural themselves who would come in, for lodging here or a drink there. The Lodge's owner himself was a hunter-- or, used to be. He's since retired, but he loves to tell stories around a drink or five.

The man was like a father to Sadie, who'd been working at the Lodge for a couple years now. He was the closest thing Sadie would consider family, since her own was long gone. Sadie had no powers herself, despite coming from a long line of witches. She'd never quite grown used to the idea that she would spend her days as a powerless witch, but working here, that didn't matter much. Most people didn't look at Sadie differently, though to be fair, most of them didn't know about her one fatal flaw. Truthfully, Sadie was her own worst enemy. The words of her grandmother still echoed in her mind almost daily.

Look at you. A witch with no powers. What kind of legacy can you even begin to carry on? What a disappointment you are, Mercedes.

Shrugging off the ghostly memory, Sadie grabbed her rag from the bucket of water and wiped the counter down, just as someone plopped into a seat a few barstools down. Lifting her gaze, Sadie smiled as she recognized the blonde hunter that had become something of a friend over the last year or two. One of the few who knew Sadie was a witch-- well, barely. The redhead had never so much as lit a candle with her mind, much less done anything more powerful. Dropping the rag back into the bucket, Sadie leaned against the counter. "Well hey, stranger. Help yourself."

It had been about a week since Sadie had last seen Jenna, but Sadie wasn't worried about her. She was a strong hunter, and Sadie knew that the werewolves she was going after hadn't stood a chance. "I don't see any fresh wounds. I take it the hunt went well?" Jenna's eyes lingered on the board behind the bar, where jobs were frequently posted for other hunters to take on. Sadie followed her gaze, though she knew pretty much every advertisement up there by heart since she studied them daily. "Better mosquitos than a vampire, am I right?" Pushing herself off the bar, Sadie grabbed a shot glass and the bottle of whiskey, pouring a shot for herself.

Sadie took the shot while Jenna dug around in her bag for something, but she already had Sadie's attention. Setting the now empty shot glass down, Sadie leaned her elbows on the bar and waited until Jenna set the long, narrow box down in front of her. It was already open, and Sadie couldn't help but stare as Jenna slid the box in her direction, her eyes wide. "It's lovely." She murmured, reaching to touch the mahogany handle with the tip of her finger.

The crescent moons on the handle sang out to Sadie, and as Jenna explained where she'd procured the knife some, the redhead reached out to pull the blade from the box. Turning it this way and that, she studied it, even sliding her finger along the edge of the blade. "Very sharp. And very beautiful." Sadie paused in her examination when she heard Jenna say she'd thought Sadie would like it. "I do." Flicking her gaze back to the blade, she smiled and nodded. "In fact, I love it."

Setting the knife back in the box, she stared at it for another minute. Though Sadie wasn't an expert marksman, she did practice with knives and wasn't bad with them. "Thank you, Jenna." Sadie looked over at her friend, then reached for the whiskey bottle. Pouring herself another shot and using the rest to fill Jenna's glass, Sadie set the empty whiskey bottle on the back counter. "To your next hunt." Sadie lifted her glass, clinking her smaller one against Jenna's larger one. The whiskey burned going down her throat, in the best way possible. "Speaking of, what is it?" Gesturing to the board behind her, Sadie didn't even look at it as she spoke. "I heard Johnson's looking for someone to help him out on the old farm, though we all know he's a little..." She trailed off, a slight smile on her face as she twirled her finger by her ear, the clear sign for crazy. "Who knows what he thinks he's fighting."

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

The night was silent as Benjamin crept through the trees, his ears alert for any sign of a hunter. Even though he'd been in the states for a few years now, he knew that his face was a famous one in the supernatural world and you never knew who would turn you in for money, or even just because they didn't like you and wanted to see you dead. He'd experienced both before, among countless other reasons. Ben had gotten very good at picking up on who was lying to him, and he usually fled (or killed) before they could alert the proper people where he was. After all, he'd come to like his undead life, and he'd be damned if someone was going to end it before he was ready.

Finally, though, it seemed he'd found a place where the other supernatural didn't mind who or what he was. They had their own skeletons in their closets, and Ben wasn't above using them to get what he wanted or needed out of a situation. For the most part, he left well enough alone. A firm believer in karma, he figured that if he left their secrets alone, he would leave theirs alone as well. No one seemed to know him in the places he frequented now, or if they did, they didn't let it show. Still, he rarely let his guard completely down. As far as he knew, those looking for him hadn't gotten wind that he was in the states yet, and he wanted to keep it that way.

The old general store came into view and Benjamin sighed, letting some of the tension release from his shoulders. Pushing open the door as he approached it, he nodded to the familiar faces and immediately made his way to the back to grab a drink. He liked this place; it was quiet, usually, and people minded their own business. Usually he could relax in here, and not have to worry about hunters or anyone finding him here. Here the supernatural's seemed to take care of their own, and it was obvious that Ben was no human. He'd proven that point on more than one occasion.

But this time, he wasn't there ten minutes before the door slammed open again, revealing the closest thing he had to a friend. Slamming back the drink he'd ordered, he pushed his way through the crowd, spotting the heavily tattooed male quite easily. He looked flustered, which was rare for him. "Sit, sit, Luca." Ben moved the chair so that Luca could sit if he wanted, though he seemed too worked up to do even that.

Lorena had pushed her own way through the crowd by now, wanting to find out what had happened. No sooner had Luca dropped the word hunters, Ben noticed the blood on Luca's hands. Dried by now, but semi fresh still. Luca pulled the collar of his shirt down to reveal the wound he'd sustained from the hunters, and Ben couldn't help but smirk. Well, if it was a hunt they wanted, it was a hunt they'd get. Pushing himself off the pillar he'd leaned against, he moved to clasp Luca on the shoulder. "My good brother, they won't make it another mile towards this place."

Benjamin wasn't naive enough to think that it was impossible for the hunters to get here, but with both him and Luca on their trail? They could easily run them off, or kill should they have to. Benjamin wasn't opposed to a good fight, either, honestly. It'd been a while since he'd gotten his fists dirty. All of this, however, begged the question of who killed the girl and left her on the side of the road. The thought of that wasted human blood irritated Benjamin beyond belief, but he kept his facial expression from showing it, releasing Luca's shoulder as Lorena got more information from him.

“Very well. We should head out as soon as possible.”

Ben grinned down at Luca, his fangs showing. "You don't have to ask me twice." Flicking his gaze towards Lorena, Ben sent a quick wink in her direction, ignoring the flat look she fixed on him. He'd learned long ago how far he could push the woman's buttons. She may be a female but she was fierce beyond belief, and had given Ben a run for his money when he'd first arrived, broken and on edge from fleeing from England. She was the first to get through to him when he nearly killed someone in her very space, the safe space for other supernatural creatures. And then he'd met Luca, and the two had been friends ever since.

Turning to grab his coat, Ben headed for the door, nodding for Luca to follow. The group that had gathered around Luca started to disperse, some going back to what they were doing but yet still some wanting to prepare for an attack. "Do you think they followed you?" Ben breathed once they were outside, looking in Luca's direction. "Or do you think they doubled back and tried to save the girl?" Letting his gaze fall back to Luca's hand, he sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose at the scent. "How far gone was she?"

code by valen t.

 

[geminiy]

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

Jenna kept glancing between Sadie and the knife in an attempt to get a read on what the girl thought of it. The weapon was well-built and balanced, the blade sharpened to a fine point: perfect for a beginner. Jenna had no doubt that the younger girl could hold her own without a weapon if push came to shove but there was something so reassuring from having a trusted tool at her side that she wanted to share the sentiment with Sadie.

As soon as Sadie announced that she liked the gift, Jenna’s face broke out into a brilliant grin. Perhaps a knife wasn’t the most conventional of gifts to give someone you’d consider a friend. Yet again, when was Jenna ever ‘conventional’?

“I’m so glad you like it.” Jenna chirped as her nimble fingers pulled the zipper on her bag shut. “You should keep it behind the bar, give a good poke to the next creepy jerk that flirts with you.”

Sadie turned to pour another round of shots, Jenna’s mind wandered back to the night that she had gotten her first knife. It had been a gift from her father on her eighth birthday. She could practically hear her mother yelling at him in the next room, arguing that a weapon was no birthday gift for a little girl. Jenna loved that knife with all of her heart, constantly bothering her father in every spare moment of time to teach her how to properly use it. So many evenings were spent slashing at old wood and hay bales under her father’s guidance. Those nights, no matter how difficult and sometimes painful the training was, sit at the top of some of Jenna’s favourite memories.

She knew very well that Sadie didn’t have a good relationship with her family, with her parents passing so young and the difficult relationship with her grandmother. It broke Jenna’s heart to think that such a wonderful person came from such a horrible past. Jenna was able to follow the Beckett family legacy of being a hunter but that had been a choice. Sadie had no say in the fact that her magic never manifested, leaving her the black sheep. Jenna found herself trying to protect her, though she knew very well that Sadie didn’t need anyone to baby her or watch over her, and to bring a sense of family and companionship to an otherwise lonely existence.

“To not getting mauled by werewolves!” Jenna giggled as she took the shot, the alcohol burning a path down her throat.

At the mention of her next job, Jenna stiffened. Work had been scarce the past year. Perhaps slow work was a good thing; slow work meant fewer supernatural creatures and less threat to the people. But to Jenna, who had been doing nothing but hunt since she was seventeen years old, the idea was intimidating. Jenna loved her job, no matter how gritty and dangerous it got. There was something so thrilling about working alone, the prey becoming a predator. She’d been seriously hurt more times than she had fingers and toes combined but that never deterred her. Her passion was hunting and Jenna was certain it always would be.

“Old man Johnson is a fool. He called my dad out one day saying that he saw someone in his back hay field. It was his wife that was out there.” Jenna groaned with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll probably head back out west, see what I can find out there. I’ve heard a few rumours about a possible djin out on the coast that I might go investigate. Things are sort of-”

Before Jenna could finish her sentence, the front door to the Lodge burst open. At first, the girl paid no mind to it. Fools rushed in the place all the time, what are two more idiots looking to get a drink after a long day of work? But the yells that followed sent a chill down Jenna’s back.

“There’s been an attack on the highway! Vampires!”

Jenna swivelled around in her seat, looking at who had just entered. One of the faces, an older man with gentle crow’s feet around his eyes and a thick salt-and-pepper beard, was a friendly and familiar one. The younger boy beside him was unrecognizable to Jenna, his face pale and his eyes wide.

“Arthur? What do you mean there was an attack?” Jenna questioned, hopping off her stool and offering the seat to the younger boy that looked as if he were to pass out any moment.

“There’s been nothing around here for years. What’re you on about, Arthur?” Another patron asked, rising from his seat as well. Arthur, the older man that Jenna had recognized as one of her father’s old colleagues, took a few deep breaths to recollect himself.

“We were driving down Highway 8 from the north when we came upon this figure in the road, all hunched over.” Arthur began to explain as he pulled his damp jacket off of his shoulders and flinging it onto the back of a nearby chair. “She was ripped to pieces, it was awful. But then this man looked up from her body. His hands were covered in blood and he had fangs, those were unmistakable. I got a few shots off but the thing fled into the woods before I could get anything else. I’ve seen enough vampires in my time to know what they look like and this beast was one of them.”

Jenna’s stomach sunk slightly. There hadn’t been sightings of anything in years, not since her father passed all those years ago. If it had been anyone else that had burst through those doors and not a trusted and good friend of her father, Jenna wouldn’t have believed them. But it was Arthur, a man that had saved her father more than once in their many years of working together. The other hunters in the bar seemed to have written Arthur off as a fool, turning back to their conversations and glasses.

“Take me to where you saw the body.” Jenna said, grabbing her bag from the ground and slinging it onto her shoulder. A few heads turned in her direction as she spoke.

“Come on, Jen. You know there hasn’t been anything in this part of the world for a long time. She probably just got hit by a car or something.” Another woman spoke, her face staring in judgement to the younger girl. Jenna glared right back, instinctively checking her hip for her own knife that she kept strapped there.

“If it's nothing, I’ll be back soon. But if it's something, I’m not about to let it live through the night.” Jenna replied sharply. Reaching into her pocket, she slid a few bank notes across the bar to Sadie, adding an additional five dollars for a tip. “You be careful getting home tonight. You can take my motorcycle to get home if you want, I’ll get Arthur to drive me home.” She offered, tossing the keys gently to Sadie. Turning heel, Jenna walked to Arthur and nodded to the door. Without a word, the two disappeared behind the closed door and into the night.

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

Luca followed Ben out of the store and into the night, breathing in the cool of the autumn air. It had begun to drizzle, the various scents of the forest grasping onto the moisture. There was something almost calming about the rain dampening his clothes and cooling his skin, relieving some of the fear that had been racing through him.

He would never admit it to anyone but the group was as close to family as he had ever gotten in his entire 160 years of existence and it disturbed him to think that those two men on the road could have followed him and hurt them. Perhaps he wasn’t the friendliest or most sociable of the bunch but that didn’t change the fact that he cared about them all very deeply. After so many years of protecting people that he despised and against his will, it felt good for Luca to finally protect people that he truly wanted to keep safe.

“Perhaps, though I do not see how they would have been able to keep up if they had followed. I believe they may have headed into town.” Luca answered Ben’s question, his voice once again level and almost relaxed. The rain began to flow down his fingers, the blood loosening from his tattooed skin and dripping to the ground. He looked at them for a moment, watching a droplet of blood and water fall from the tip of his finger. At the mention of the woman on the road, Luca’s posture instantly straightened. “Humans will try to save their own kind if they can, even if the act seems pointless. But in this circumstance, I doubt that a simple instinct overtook their logic. There is no bringing that woman back from death.”

Without another word, Luca nodded to Ben and began heading off in the direction he came, moving slower than usual to keep the noise down. His eyes scanned the darkness for any sign of the hunters as his feet navigated the ground with expertise and grace. Although he knew with almost certainty that the two were alone amongst the trees, Luca couldn’t shake the feeling that sets of eyes were watching his every move.

The two moved silently through the forest, Luca’s movements only slowing temporarily to regain his bearings. The man was never much of a chatterbox, taking the preference of a gentle quiet over the constant noise of talking. There was something comforting in the silence, especially when there could be someone trying to kill them around every corner. Anger flooded his being as they drew closer and closer to the road. If they were going to attack without thought at the first sight, Luca was definitely going to reciprocate the offer.

Luca halted suddenly, his upright stance dropping slightly. The moist night air still smelled of gunpowder and, somewhere in the distance, the intoxicating scent of blood. Looking to his left, Luca raised his hand to trace a few holes punched deep into the bark of a tall oak tree.

“We are getting close now.” Luca whispered, tapping the holes in the tree with his knuckles. “I found the woman just on the other side of those trees. I can still smell her.”

Pausing for a moment, Luca contemplated the possibilities. The hunters would likely return, armed and dangerous, and would likely not be alone. The blood would have already stained the pavement which, in turn, made moving the body a useless choice. They had to confront them or they would get hurt; the hunters made it clear that they were looking for a fight.

“What do you think we should do?” Luca asked quietly, looking to Ben with furrowed eyebrows. “Lorena would wish for us to remain civil and undetected in times like these but, if I’m being honest, I would much prefer to get rid of them for good. Let us just hope that they do not show up with more people. We do not need full scale conflict this night.”

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

If Sadie had to pick one person who she thought would have her back no matter what, it was Jenna. Not only because the girl was a hunter and protective by nature, but because she was a friend. The word almost sounded foreign, even in Sadie's mind, because when had she ever really had a friend? Blacklisted by nature screwing her over, Sadie had lived her entire life on the outside looking in. But Jenna didn't judge Sadie for being without powers, nor did she judge her for where she came from.

That wasn't to say that everyone here felt the same way, however. Sadie had gotten all sorts of reactions from people when they found out she was a powerless witch. While Sadie usually didn't go into the details of her upbringing, word was bound to get around even after just a few people found out what she was. Some people were interested, some were judgy. She didn't miss the raised eyebrows or even the flat out looks of disgust.

But with the way the Hunter's Lodge was ran, usually those who had something nasty to say weren't tolerated. And Sadie herself always had something to say if they wanted to get smart with her. Avery welcomed her backtalk-- he said it kept the assholes away. But even with those types of people came the good ones-- like Jenna. She was a welcome sight here.

Snagging her empty shot glass off the counter, she rinsed it in the sink below the bar and set it in the kitchen window with the other glasses that the kitchen hadn't grabbed yet. Usually, they were staffed enough that Sadie didn't have to do the dishes. The little dishboy Avery had hired was a young hunter, still in his prime. He was the cousin of one of the cooks, also a hunter. They had quite the little hodgepodge of supernatural hunters here.

And then there was Sadie.

With a soft sigh, the redhead turned away from the window, back to Jenna who was answering Sadie's question about her next job. “Old man Johnson is a fool. He called my dad out one day saying that he saw someone in his back hay field. It was his wife that was out there."

Sadie snickered, closing her eyes as she pictured Old Man Johnson, calling in hunters on his wife. "Sad thing is, I can see that perfectly." She leaned on the bar again, her eyes scanning the clients sitting around, drinking, having a good time. She'd just looked back at Jenna when the door burst open. Straightening automatically, a chill ran down Sadie's spine when she heard the words being yelled by the newcomer.

“There’s been an attack on the highway! Vampires!”

Vampires? But this was a safe area. Immediately grateful for the knife her friend had given her, she pulled it closer and just listened as Jenna and a few others spoke with Arthur, who was adamant about what he saw. Jenna, after gathering all the information she needed, grabbed her backpack. Another woman shot her a judgmental look and comment, to which Sadie narrowed her eyes. "Never hurts to check, Bea."

Sadie looked back at Jenna as she slid the money over the counter, and then tossed her keys. Sadie grabbed for them, catching them relatively easily. "Be safe out there." She hated that she couldn't do a thing... but maybe she could. Glancing down at the knife, an idea blossomed in her mind. It was a risky one, but she hated the idea of just sitting by and waiting for Jenna to return.

She set the box behind the bar, taking the knife out of it and making sure no one saw. She turned to the kitchen window, calling for Bruce, who appeared a moment later. "I'll be back, okay? Make sure no one goes crazy over the liquor. What? Don't look at me like that. It's not like anyone's ordering food right now anyway." Bruce rolled his eyes and nodded, and Sadie was gone, slipping out of the back door after grabbing and donning her black cloak.

She knew she had Jenna's keys, but the bike would attract too much attention. So she ran towards the woods, determined to find this beast. A powerless witch with a blade-- it was quite a sight to see. But she'd been trained with knives, and trusted that she could slit a vampire's throat if need be. Which it sounded like it needed to happen, especially if they were attacking humans on the road.

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

Benjamin wouldn't say that he was completely unafraid. He'd be stupid to run into a situation completely fearless. Being a vampire didn't make him invincible, though it did give him the upper hand in more than one fight in his past. Of course, all supernatural creatures had their strengths. But they had their weaknesses, too. Someone throwing garlic at him was more likely to make him laugh than hurt him, but silver? Sunlight? Stakes through the heart? All things he was weary of, things that could bother him or even kill him.

The light drizzle calmed some of the steam that was radiating off of him. He was angry, angry that someone would try and take this safe space from him. And the others, of course, but mostly himself. After spending so long on the run, ducking around corners and looking over his shoulder, he didn't want to have to start that up again. He'd found a home here, and a friend in Luca, and he didn't want to lose any of that.

Glancing up at the dark sky, he felt a few fat raindrops hit him square in the face. It was only going to get worse from here, and the rain could make it harder for him and Luca to find the scents they needed. But they were determined, and they weren't going to let a little rain stop them. Ben didn't doubt Luca's sense of direction any less than his sense of smell. And his question about the hunters possibly following Luca? Just precaution. He doubted Luca would have given them something to follow.

Still, he nodded at Luca's answer. "Makes sense. They could have been heading to the Lodge." The Hunter's Lodge was no secret to this community of supernaturals, though everyone pretty much avoided it. Why would a bunch of supernatural creatures go into a place full of hunters? It didn't make sense, but the hunters that Luca had seen heading in that direction? Well, of course. And now they'd go to the Lodge, spill their guts, and before they knew it they'd have a whole team against them.

Fuck.

Hearing Luca say that the woman was beyond saving made Ben's anger prickle again. Who would have the audacity to kill someone right there where hunters drove through? He glanced over at Luca, though he already knew it wasn't him. He would have fled, not waited for some hunter to shoot him. But truthfully, he wouldn't have been that stupid in the first place. "When I find whoever killed her, I am going to kill them myself."

Benjamin followed Luca through the trees, moving slowly and quietly. And sure enough, Luca found the spot where the woman lay through the trees, on the road. Benjamin crept closer, muttering a string of curses as he spotted her. He could smell her blood, and as intoxicating as the scent was, the scent was marred with alcohol and gunpowder in the air as well. Yeah, she was long gone, alright. And so were the hunters.

Turning back to Luca, he started to speak, but Luca beat him to it. "What should we do?" Benjamin echoed the question, a slight tone of disbelief evident in his voice. He too knew that Lorena wanted them to remain civil, but if they were bringing an army, Ben wasn't going to just drop dead without a fight. Slowly, a grin spread on his features. "We fight, brother."

Before he could say more, another scent hit his nose, even through the rain. Blood, and it was fresh. It didn't smell like someone else dead on the road, but it was just enough of an amount that the scent wafted through the air towards Ben, and probably Luca, as well. "Do you smell that, brother?" With a sly grin, he turned his head back to the road, though his focus was on the trees beyond it. In the direction of the Lodge, though they were still a good distance away.

"I think we have a visitor, brother. Singular." Without a sound, Benjamin disappeared, using his speed to get him across the road and into the trees. And sure enough, he crept through them, spotting a cloaked figure not far from him. He tilted his head as he moved a thin branch aside to look at them-- they were small in stature, most likely a woman. The glint of a blade caught his attention. A hunter? By herself? "Well, I'll be damned." He whispered, his smirk returning.

code by valen t.

 

[geminiy]

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

Jenna and Arthur made a mad dash for Arthur’s truck. Weaving between buildings and down alleyways, the two eventually stumbled upon the rusted pickup truck that Arthur had left idling in the middle of Main St. The two hopped in the cab and took off down the road to the sound of rubber squealing against the damp pavement.

While the truck sped down the streets of New Acanthite, Jenna sorted through the items in her bag. Her pistol sat on the dashboard loaded with a magazine of silver bullets, her knife moved from her hip to a holster on her left thigh. Zipping her bag back up, Jenna pulled on her bike gloves made of thick, black leather with protective straps around the wrists and slight padding on the knuckles.

“The body is just up here,” Arthur said as he began to slow down the truck.

“Stop here, then.” Jenna replied, undoing her seatbelt as the truck pulled to a stop. “You should go back to the Lodge and make sure your son is okay. I can handle this alone.”

“Are you sure? I can stay.” Arthur offered, his face contorted in worry. Jenna smiled warmly at the man and clapped him gently on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this. You go make sure Henry is okay. I’ll call you if I get into trouble.”

Jenna hopped out of the truck and, with one final nod to Arthur, started down the deserted highway alone. Instinctively, she pulled her hair
down from the ponytail it had been in to mask the scent that flowed from her neck, the rain plastering a few blonde hairs to her skin. Every step she took was calculated, her body weight shifted to quiet her steps. Keen eyes scanned the trees for any sign of someone, or something, watching her as she crept quietly down the road.

She could smell the body before she saw it, the pungent odor of flesh and blood infiltrating her nose which wrinkled in disgust in response. Jenna’s breath hitched in her chest as the body came into view.

“Oh shit.” Jenna muttered quietly, edging closer to the body. Finding the coast clear, Jenna finally approached the body and crouched down beside it. Part of being a hunter was dealing with the dead. The easiest way to figure out what creature was on the prowl was to examine the victim, no matter how brutal and vicious the murder or attack had been. But in Jenna’s years of experience, she had hardly seen a person in worse condition.

The woman had been there for a while, the blood that had poured from her gashes having congealed on the pavement. Her eyes were open and bloodshot, her blue lips parted in a silent plea for help. Her shirt had been ripped to reveal four long gashes that marred her abdomen and chest, strings of flesh hanging by threads to her corpse. Blood and dirt caked underneath her manicured nails, a tuft of dark hair or fur in her left hand. Jenna pulled open the pockets in her jacket and pants, looking for any identification. Her wallet proved useful, identifying the victim as one Hanna Goebel from out of town. By the protective clothing she was wearing, she had likely been hiking or camping in the area at the time of the attack. The most confusing part of it all was the lack of bite marks, missing body parts, or stolen items. The attack had not been an attack of hunger, it had been an attack of pure hatred. Jenna reached over the woman and gently closed her eyelids.

A rustle in the forest to her right caused Jenna to jump to her feet, pistol raised in defense. The sound was faint and soft as a deer or rabbit, though far too fast to be either. There was no prey in the area besides Jenna herself. There was a trail, fresh and far apart. They were supernatural, no doubt. They were not the steps of the attacker though, they were far too fresh and there was no sign of struggle.

Jenna picked up her pace to a run as she followed the trail. Noise was of no concern to Jenna as she moved; if there was something out there, which she did not doubt there was, they were already well aware that she was there. As a human, there was nearly no way to have the upper hand on the supernatural. Jenna could only hope that she had enough time to react when she stumbled upon them.

The closer she got, the fresher the footsteps were until the trail ran cold abruptly. There was someone out there with a knife, likely a woman from her small stature. Whoever it was seemed blissfully unaware that they were being hunted by at least two creatures who were lurking somewhere nearby. 3 Jenna’s stomach suddenly sunk as a strand of red hair fell from within the hood of her cloak.

It was Sadie, it just had to be.

Before she had a chance to react, two figures appeared to her right. Through the darkness, fangs gleamed in the moonlight as snarls greeted her. They were far too close to shoot, moving far too fast to hit. Jenna reached for her own knife knowing that her best chance at deterring the vampires was to fight them hands on. She began to sprint towards the two vampires, leaping from the shadow to place herself between them and Sadie.

“Get the hell out of here, now!” Jenna yelled through the night, breaking the eerie silence as she twirled the blade in her hand in preparation to attack. What the hell was Sadie of all people doing in the forest after she knew damn well there had been an attack?

One of the two vampires had left, bolting past her towards Sadie. There was no time to catch up to him. Instead, she was faced with the smaller of the two. She could only hope that Sadie was strong enough, or fast enough, to deter the other vampire long enough for Jenna to get to her. But in order to get to Sadie, she had to get through the other vampire.

Without much thought, Jenna ran at the man with her knife flipped in a fighting position. She wasn’t trying to kill him, simply knock him away long enough to get to Sadie. It wasn’t the first time Jenna had been faced with two vampires but it was most certainly the first time she was facing two vampires and attempting to protect someone who, in Jenna’s opinion, had zero hunting experience or skill outside of simple knife training.

Jenna threw her weight shoulder first into the shorter vampire’s abdomen, knocking them both to the forest floor. The momentum flung Jenna further than she had expected, flying right over the vampire’s head and onto the ground behind him and one step closer to Sadie. Hoping the other vampire would not be quick to get up, she made a dash for the taller, tattooed vampire who was about to lunge for Sadie. She jumped and grabbed onto the significantly taller vampire’s shoulders, her blade digging deeply into the back of his shoulder.

“Go! Go!” Jenna yelled to Sadie as her grasp tightened around the vampire who was trying to shake her off. The moment she felt his hand grip onto her jacket, she knew that she was done.

In one swift movement, the man flung her around and threw her into a nearby tree. Pain shot through Jenna’s ribs and back before her head smashed against the bark.

Jenna yelped in pain as she attempted to struggle to her feet. Her lungs refused to cooperate as she gasped for breath, clutching at the collar of her shirt in a useless attempt to help herself breathe. Tears brimmed her eyes as she stood, her chest screaming in pain. She could feel her side becoming wet with blood as her fingers reached for a stick that had dug deep into the flesh of her side, pulling the wood free from her skin and immediately slapping her hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. The taller vampire was drawing nearer to Sadie every moment.

"If you want a damn fight, you've got one!" Jenna growled, grabbing her knife from the ground and moving to a fighting stance. "But if you're going to fight someone, why don't you pick on someone your own size? Where's the fun in killing someone who is completely defensive? Your problem is with me, not Sadie." Jenna attempted to barter, though she was uncertain if the attempt was going to work at all.

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

Benjamin’s clear anger brought some comfort to Luca. They were both strong and talented individuals on their own but together, Luca felt much more confident in their chances of making it out of a possible attack alive. He shared in Ben’s fury. Whoever had attacked was careless to attack so close to the hideout and cruel as to attack for seemingly no reason. Luca had killed for food or protection but just for fun and without reason? Even Luca thought that was taking it too far.

“They most certainly would go to the Lodge which, no doubt, means that they are returning with the cavalry.” Luca agreed. His confidence wavered at the thought. Luca had taken on large groups before but he always had the drop on them. He and Ben had lost the upper hand the second that hunter had seen Luca on the road. For all they knew, there were hundreds of hunters crawling around the forest just waiting to drive a stake right through their hearts.

It was then that Luca made a decision. He had spent years on the run, years fighting for causes he had no belief in, years fighting for people who would never fight for him. If those hunters were coming with the intent to hurt or kill anyone that he had grown to care for, Luca would not hesitate to end their lives. But there was also the very possible reality that there could be more hunters than the two of them could handle. Luca decided that if push came to shove, he would make sure Ben got out alive even if it meant that Luca himself did not.

“I would not stop you.” Luca chuckled softly, stopping to breathe for a moment in the trees by the body. “Though I would like to assist you. Whoever was so senseless deserves to pay for what has transpired here this evening.”

The rain had picked up, dulling his senses. Scent was lost to the rain and the wind, the only smell being that of the rotting body in the street. But, just as Ben mentioned it, a new smell wafted on the breeze. It was sweet, fresh, and alive, the kind of scent that could almost be bottled as a perfume. The kind of scent that sparked the hunger that Luca had been repressing. Ben took off into the woods across the road, leaving Luca behind for a moment. There was one person out there but he could also clearly smell something else, gasoline in the distance. They were coming.

Luca followed Ben into the trees, weaving through them as the scent drew closer and closer. He eventually caught up to Ben who was watching someone from the treeline. The figure was cloaked, frame small with a knife clutched in a small hand. A woman and most certainly the owner of the smell. Luca watched carefully as the woman continued on through the woods.

“She is certainly looking for us,” Luca spoke barely above a whisper, “though she is no hunter. No hunter would show up to an attack with nothing but a knife. And her smell, she’s far too fresh to be one of them.”

Luca swallowed as the scent continued to torment him. He could only imagine the taste was as sweet as she smelled. And there she was, completely alone and unaware.

“Be on guard,” Luca whispered as he stood to exit the trees. “I doubt she is truly alone.”

Luca exited from his cover, making his way towards the girl. Every strand of hair that danced on the wind, every movement of her delicate body, every flow of her cloak; it all seemed to be inviting him in, begging for him to draw closer. Everything about her was intoxicating.

A sound behind him caused Luca to spin around. Someone had jumped from the trees and tackled Ben in a blur of leather and blonde hair. She could have shot at them but instead took the riskier and more direct approach of getting into a physical fight with them. And, from the looks of it, she was completely alone. Her motives were clearly personal. She was trying to protect the woman in the cloak.

Luca turned back to the woman who had been alerted by the other girl and started towards her, his eyes dashing between her knife and her face which remained barely visible underneath the hood of the cloak. His hand reached to grab her when a searing pain rang through his shoulder, burning through the muscle and causing his arm to drop to his side. The woman who had tackled Ben had dug her knife into his back, the silver burning a warpath through his flesh.

The two struggled for a moment, Luca eventually grabbing the woman by her jacket and throwing her away from him into a tree. His face contorted with pain as he turned his attention back to the redhead, running towards her. Ben would be able to deal with the blonde but the cloaked woman was his problem to deal with.

Luca managed to grab hold of the woman in the cloak, skillfully dodging her blade that was desperately searching for his skin. Though his right arm was practically useless, his left arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulders and pulled her tight against him, his other hand pushing the knife away before pulling the hood down from her head.

Without the cloth to mask her scent, Luca was faced with an assault of the smell. The traces of humanity were slipping, replaced with an animalistic starvation. Their objective hadn’t been to feed but to deter the hunters but what harm would come from a simple bite? Luca lowered his gaze to the soft spot of flesh between the woman’s neck and shoulder, his tongue running over his fangs.

“Your problem is with me, not Sadie."

Luca’s head shot up to face the blonde who had managed back to her feet. The woman’s name rang through his mind, his thoughts drawn from the animalistic instinct telling him to feed. The blonde now smelled of blood as well, though Luca’s focus remained on the woman trapped in his grasp.

“My problem lies with anyone who is bold enough to enter these forests with the belief that they can kill or hurt myself or anyone else amongst our ranks.” Luca growled, his gaze dropping back to the redhead’s neck. “Your friend here came here with a blade made of silver. Clearly she had the intention to hurt us, as did you.”

Luca’s voice was growing fainter by the moment, any power behind his sounds growing duller as the woman’s scent captivated him once again. He was struggling to maintain composure, it was obvious. His tongue ran along his fangs once again, his lower lip catching between his teeth as his gaze remained unwavering on the woman’s neck.

“I know why you are here. We did not kill that woman on the road.” Luca added quietly, leaning closer to the woman’s neck and breathing in her scent subconsciously. Every ounce of him fought the urge to bite that surged through him. “Who else is coming?” He asked harshly.

“Who knows. Maybe one, maybe twenty. The more the merrier I say.” The blonde woman answered in a snarl, struggling to get closer to him and the other woman.

As the blonde got closer, the moonlight hit her face and within an instant, Luca looked up and noticed who she was.

“Jenna Beckett.” Luca recalled, his grip tightening on Sadie’s shoulder once again. “Your father tried to kill me once. Clearly you followed in his failed footsteps.”

An idea struck Luca. Jenna was known in town, she had lived there her entire life according to what he had overheard from her father. His encounter with Joel Beckett had been years ago just after he had arrived in the United States. Joel would have succeeded in killing Luca if it hadn’t been for Lorena who had rescued him. He had been following Joel for days, spying on him and waiting for the right moment to attack. Joel had the pictures of his two daughters on the inside of his truck. Jenna had been younger then, maybe thirteen or fourteen, but Luca remembered her face. She looked just like her father.

“We should take them back to the hideout.” Luca said to Ben, looking over to his friend. “If she is here, there are more coming, and if we kill her, they won’t stop until we’re dead.”

Luca looked down to the redhead and took a deep breath.

“We should bring this one too. Lorena will know what to do from here.” Luca continued, looking back up to Ben. “What do you think? We cannot just leave them here, nor can we kill them. This is our best chance.”

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

Being a witch without any powers, Sadie wasn't foolish enough to think she could go in, guns (or in this case knife) ablaze and think she could take control of the situation. But she wasn't entirely untrained, and if she could get a jump on whoever attacked that poor girl, she could easily shove the silver blade into the beasts heart. Or where their heart should be, anyway. Anger flooded Sadie's entire being as she crept from the Lodge and made a run for the trees, her cloak wrapped tightly around her slender body, hood pulled over her head. She couldn't take the risk of someone seeing her and trying to stop her.

This was a safe place, goddamnit! And Sadie would be damned if some stupid creature took that away from her and everyone else. Maybe it was the anger blinding her, or the gift of the knife that Jenna had given her making her brave. Either way, she wanted to help, and she didn't slow down until she reached the treeline and had disappeared from sight. Knowing better than to run blindly through the trees, she crept forward, knife out and hilt gripped tightly in her perfectly manicured fingernails.

It was some distance to where she needed to go, and she'd already heard the sound of Arthur's truck as it squealed tires to get going. But just because they were headed to the body didn't mean they were headed to where the creature was that attacked her-- he (or she, to be fair) could be anywhere in these damn trees. Sadie forced herself to calm her breathing as she listened out for any sound that didn't belong.

The temperature had dropped from when Sadie had gone into work earlier, and she could feel the air pressure changing as well. Holding out her free hand, she paused in her trek, glancing up at the sky. She could see very little of it through the dense shrubbery, but a few raindrops did fall on her face. Breathing in deeply, she let the rain continue to hit her for a few seconds before lowering her head. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

The longer she journeyed through the trees, the more her own determination grew. The rain was falling harder now; Sadie could hear it even though the thick hood of her cloak. The forest floor was littered with twigs and branches, and at some point, she was certain she felt something crawling on her. Still, she was quite proud of herself for not shrieking-- instead, she just brushed it off, dropping the knife in the process. Hurrying to pick her only weapon back up, she'd quickly moved on. Where was Jenna? Why hadn't Sadie heard anything yet?

She had little time to dwell on these thoughts before shit went down. She didn't see Luca and Benjamin watching her, though the hairs on the back of her neck and on her arm did suddenly stand at attention. She paused, her eyes scanning the area. But just as she turned, Jenna darted out of the trees as well, and Sadie's eyes fell on everything at once. Luca with his eyes on her, Benjamin being knocked to the ground by Jenna, who propelled herself forward just in time to sink her blade into Luca's back.

"Go, go!" Jenna's frantic gaze met with Sadie's, but the redhead couldn't move. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. One minute Jenna had the upper hand, and the next, the male had grabbed her jacket and flung the hunter into a nearby tree. "Jenna!" Sadie took a step towards her collapsed friend but movement from the same male drew her attention back to him. He stood between her and Jenna; she'd never make it.

He closed the distance between them quicker than her brain could process, wrapping one strong arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him, shoving the knife out of her hands with one swift movement. It fell to the forest floor, but she couldn't look at it. Holding her close to his strong body, he reached up to push her hood back, revealing her face to him. There was terror in her gaze, but something else: anger.

This close to him, Sadie could see him clearly. He was extremely nice to look at, tattoos covering his neck, dipping down into his clothing. His eyes were staring right into her own, his fangs sharp and glinting in what little light there was. His eyes dropped suddenly to her neck, and immediately Sadie's hands moved to his chest in a feeble attempt to push him off of her. She knew exactly what he was thinking, and for the first time, a trickle of regret filled her.

Jenna's voice filled Sadie's ears, but still, Sadie couldn't look away from Luca. His gaze flicked to Jenna though it wasn't long before they were back on Sadie and her neck. The redheads eyes narrowed as she struggled to control her breathing. “I know why you are here. We did not kill that woman on the road. Who else is coming?”

"Isn't that exactly what the killer would say?" Sadie snapped, though her words ended with a soft gasp as he dipped his head closer to her neck. But then something stopped him-- Jenna. He knew her. Sadie pushed against his hard chest again, though there was no budging him. She struggled in his grip, wriggling any way she could think of to try and get him to just loosen his grip just a little but nothing was working. Turning her head, Sadie spotted the other male vampire creeping up behind Jenna.

Before she could say a word, he pounced, lifting Jenna off the ground and clasping a hand over her mouth. The males conversation-- as though the girls weren't there at all-- sent another chill down Sadie's spine, and she looked back up at the vampire she was crushed against. "I am not going anywhere with you." And without warning, she did the only thing she could think of: she kicked him.

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

The rain was making it hard for Ben to distinguish scents, though with them being so close to the cloaked figure, Ben could definitely tell she was just that: a she. He could also see just a touch of red hair peeking out from underneath the hood of her cloak, and the glinting silver on her blade. It was that silver blade that made him believe she was a hunter. No human would just have a knife like that, and be out in the woods after an attack like that. She was walking slowly, paying attention to her surroundings (or trying to), trying to fly under the radar. Tsking his tongue, he shook his head. "Such a shame, little birdie."

His anger had given way to a sudden playfulness that wasn't unlike him. He and Luca were hunters by nature, after all, and Ben much preferred it when he had the upper hand like this. He wasn't exactly sure what he would do with this little huntress once she was caught, though usually, he wasn't just a killer just to be a killer. And besides, there was also Luca to think about. They could share her, then compel her to forget everything and send her on her way. Especially if she was the only one. So much for the cavalry.

Hearing Luca's words that told Ben he had his back only added fuel to the fire. What were they thinking, sending only one hunter out into the woods? Lifting his head some, Ben inhaled deeply, closing his eyes for a moment. “She is certainly looking for us, though she is no hunter. No hunter would show up to an attack with nothing but a knife. And her smell, she’s far too fresh to be one of them.” Ben reopened his eyes at Luca's words, another scent having hit him at the same time Luca spoke.

But it was too late. Luca was walking out of the cover of the trees, and before Ben could even turn around to try and locate where the other scent was coming from, a blur of blonde and leather barreled right into him. She'd gotten him; she had the upper hand this time, and her attack sent Ben spiraling into the ground. He tasted blood in his mouth as he went down, smacking his head on a tree trunk as well. She wasn't holding back; this was the hunter.

"Little bitch..." Benjamin lifted his head, hating how she'd been able to get the jump on them. Pushing himself to his feet, he watched the scene in front of him unfold before his very eyes. The hunter jumped on Luca, driving her knife into his shoulder blade. Luca threw her into a tree before grabbing the cloaked girl, pushing back the hood to reveal a beautiful redhead. Ben could smell her from here now-- but there was something else. Blood. The scent hit his nostrils like a freight train, and he remembered the huntress.

Sliding his gaze over to her, he was surprised to see that she was already pushing herself up. Slinking back into the trees, he allowed her to focus on Luca and her friend as he crept closer to her from behind, remaining hidden in the treeline. It was obvious that she knew the redhead and cared for her, and Ben couldn't help the grin that appeared on his lips. Everyone had a weakness, even hunters. It was just rare that vampires got to use those weaknesses like this. What had made the redhead want to venture into the trees? From what Ben could tell, she was nothing more than human.

Jenna. Repeating her name in his mind over and over, Benjamin paused as Jenna started to creep closer to the other two again. She seemed to have forgotten all about him, which suited Ben just fine. He stepped out of the treeline, silent as a shadow, just as the redhead turned her head in Luca's grip. Knowing she was about to warn her friend, Ben pounced. He slid an arm around Jenna's waist, pinning her arms to her side. His other hand clapped over her mouth as he lifted her off the ground, spinning her around to disorient her before stopping.

“We should take them back to the hideout. If she is here, there are more coming, and if we kill her, they won’t stop until we’re dead.”

Ben released Jenna's mouth to move his hand down to her wrist, leaning forward to whisper harshly into her ear. "If you don't cooperate, darling, I'll break every body in your body, one at a time. And I'll make sure my friend here-" He nodded to Luca, "Does a matching job on your friend." His threat was clear, his eyes moving from Jenna over to Luca again. "I think that's the only choice we have, brother." Lorena would definitely know what to do. Luca was right; they couldn't be released now, not to go get the cavalry that they'd originally thought was coming.

Ben returned his attention to the bleeding huntress in his arms, inhaling her scent deeply as he continued to hold her close to him. "Are you going to walk, or shall I carry you, love?" He turned her in his arms to face him, his smirk evident on his face as they came face to face. She was a beautiful one, too, striking and just as intoxicating as Sadie was to Luca, especially with the scent of her blood filling his nose. His fangs were out and he kept imagining biting her, but for now, he just wanted to know if she'd cooperate. "Well? What do you say, sweetheart?"

code by valen t.

 

[geminiy]

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

The anger flowing through Jenna’s veins burned hot as she helplessly watched Sadie squirm in Luca’s arms. There was nothing she could do to help. Luca had flung her knife somewhere into the woods, far beyond her reach, and the blood that was draining from her side was beginning to make her vision swim. There were only two choices: attempt to sacrifice herself to get Sadie to safety or to lay down and let the two vampires take them.

Jenna went to move, her legs wobbling with the pain. She managed a few steps before she was lifted clean off the ground. The forest around her spun, or perhaps she was the one spinning, Jenna’s head pounding with the sudden rush of blood. Black spots clouded her vision as she felt a hand clasp over her mouth and an arm secure her arms firmly to her side. Although her body had stopped moving, her mind still reeled, her head still pounded, her eyes still clouded. There was no strength left in her to fight but that certainly wasn’t going to stop her from trying.

The hand moved from her mouth just as she was parting her lips to bite it, remaining otherwise still to conserve her energy. The other vampire leaned down to whisper in her ear, his breath warming her paling skin. Jenna found herself weakly smirking at his threats of injury.

“You would just adore that, now wouldn’t you?” Jenna scoffed, spitting blood from her lips onto the forest floor. Somewhere in the spin, she had managed to bite clean through a chunk of her inner cheek. “Watching us squirm, maybe even letting us get away, before you get your sweet revenge and take your sweet time with ending our lives. You must love the chase, you sick fuck.”

Jenna’s face hardened as a spike of pain shot through her side, her knees nearly buckling with the sudden jolt of pain. Ben’s words rang hollow in her buzzing ears, her eyelids drooping slightly. Jenna felt as if she was floating, watching the scene from above. Every breath caused pain to shoot through her abdomen; she could only hope that the stupid branch hadn’t hit anything important.

The two men had hit a nerve. First with Luca having the audacity to mention her father then with Ben with those damn pet names. A mistake on their part, trying to get under Jenna’s skin. Out of the corner of her eye, Jenna watched as Sadie’s squirming continued and Luca’s face hardened in annoyance. A flicker of hope surged through Jenna as her gaze fell to the ground where, covered by a few leaves, sat Sadie’s blade.

Jenna was struck with an idea, a really risky idea. The longer they stood in the forest, struggling against their captors, the more dizzy and faint Jenna was getting. If the blood loss didn’t knock her out, or even kill her eventually, she knew the vampires would. Fate had reared its ugly head and Jenna knew that she was not escaping from the vampires alive. All Jenna cared about was making sure Sadie got out safe.

Raising her head to look at the taller man, Jenna’s eyes glinted with rage as the smile returned to her lips.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?” Jenna growled through her grin as she mustered up enough blood from inside of her mouth, spitting it directly in Benjamin’s face. A disgusting approach to the conflict but Jenna wasn’t going to win from strength alone. She had to attempt to get under their skin for a change, turn the tables on them, drive them crazy. And if Jenna knew one thing that drove vampires crazy, it was blood.

With a final burst of energy, Jenna wiggled loose in Ben’s grasp just enough to reach her foot out and kick the blade across the forest floor to Sadie.

“The knife, Sadie!” Jenna warned, struggling against Ben’s grip. The edges of Jenna’s vision darkened, her mind going blank. With every last ounce of strength she had, Jenna attempted a few hits on Ben, the ringing in her ears grew louder. She managed to struggle free enough to run straight towards Luca.

Jenna’s breath was hitching in her chest as she fought for consciousness, her arms wrapping around Luca’s throat and her legs gripping his waist, constricting tightly. Every muscle in her body begged her to stop, the blood continuing to freely drip from her side and dampen her shirt and jacket, tears brimming her eyes through the pain. Sadie needed as much time as possible to get away.

Within moments, Jenna was shaken to the ground and she watched as Luca made off after Sadie. Jenna squirmed on the ground in an attempt to get up but was unable to move, her body weakened to the point of pure exhaustion. Ending up on her back, Jenna looked up through the canopy of trees overhead, her hand putting pressure on the wound on her side. The rain dampened her hair and clothes, cooling her burning skin.

Jenna finally succumbed to the pain, consciousness slipping away. She could only hope that Sadie was going to get away. Sadie had to get away.

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

Perhaps Luca had underestimated Sadie. She was no hunter, that much he had been right about, and she was definitely foolish for venturing unprepared and untrained into the woods alone after an attack. But there was fire behind those eyes, a certain rage that made Luca reevaluate the situation. There was absolutely no way that Sadie would come out on the other side of the conflict with an upper hand but clearly, she was willing to try.

Sadie may not have skill but Luca simply couldn’t deny that she had guts.

“Clearly you have not yet seen the body, Sadie.” Luca said, purring out her name. “If we had, in fact, been the ones to end her life, you and your friend here would already be ripped apart limb from limb, not standing here conversing.”

Luca found himself attempting to justify their actions as if it made any difference. Luca was telling the truth, he had absolutely nothing to do with that woman’s death, but that fact simply wouldn’t matter to hunters. To them, he and Benjamin were just as guilty as the real attacker; empathy was never a hunter’s strong suit.

Ben slinked away into the shadows before darting forward and grabbing Jenna before anyone had a chance to say anything. Luca remained silent, his face stoic and emotionless as Jenna struggled against Ben’s grasp. Pleas fell from her lips, practically begging that they release Sadie and simply deal with her. Self-sacrifice was a noble trait, one that Luca possessed himself, but also a trait that weakened her otherwise tough demeanour.

“If you are anything like your father, Jenna, you are no fool. You know as well as we do that letting Sadie go is not in the equation.” Luca spoke bluntly, tightening his grip on Sadie. Her incessant squirming was beginning to annoy the taller man, though he was pleasantly surprised by her strength. Humans were typically such frail creatures, it was interesting to stumble upon two humans that possessed strength of body and soul.

Over the years, Luca had grown accustomed to reading the field. After spending over a century in the ring, constantly in physical and mental combat, Luca had become somewhat of a tactician. People, especially humans, are predictable, always relying on the same moves and strategies. Their simplicity and predictability always confused Luca. They were trying to outsmart creatures who had decades, if not centuries, of fighting and studying under their belts, creatures that were designed for the hunt. When strategies fail, the humans simply try again as the predictable creatures they are.

But Luca never would have guessed that Sadie, one of those exact predictable humans who had done nothing to fight back except her useless squirming, would be able to catch him off guard by nailing him right in the side of the knee.

The kick was a lucky hit, or at least Luca thought it to be such, her foot finding the soft spot on the inside of his right knee. He faltered as the pain shot down his leg. For a moment, just a singular moment, his grip loosened. Sadie fell from his grasp as Luca stumbled to the side with the shock of the impact.

The glint of the silver blade caught Luca’s attention, though he had little time to act before Jenna was gripping onto his back again. He had wanted to deal with the situation somewhat peacefully but clearly the blonde had other ideas. The forest smelled of blood, filling Luca with a sort of hunger for conflict. His focus was on Sadie as Jenna’s arms wrapped around his throat, constricting his breath. Luca pushed her off rather easily with her body weakened from exhaustion and blood loss. Once on the ground, Jenna struggled to rise but failed as she began to pass out.

“Take her back to Lorena. I shall meet you there.” Luca rushed, turning his body back towards the direction that Sadie was in. “Be careful, Ben. There may be more hunters in these woods yet.”

Luca took off at a run to block Sadie’s path, glaring down at the smaller girl. He was incredibly aware of the knife’s position as he really did not cherish being stabbed a second time for the evening. Brute strength flexed through his body as he blocked Sadie’s path back to town.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Luca snarled, his jaw tightening. “But either way, you will be coming with me.”

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

From the limited amount of vision she had of Jenna, Sadie saw the other vampire moving in to attack her. With no time to warn her, Sadie saw him grab Jenna and spin her around as though she were as light as a feather. A cry of frustration had left Sadie's lips before she got the idea to kick him. And even as she lifted her leg to do so, she couldn't help but wonder why the two vampires were in fact standing here conversing with her and Jenna instead of just killing them. Was this their way of toying with them? Playing with Jenna and Sadie before snapping their necks, or worse, just draining them of all their blood? Either way, death was in the equation, and Sadie wasn't going out without a fight.

She felt her foot connect with the side of Luca's knee, though she had no time to jump for victory. His grip loosened enough to let her go, and she immediately knelt to grab the abandoned knife that Jenna had kicked in her direction. With the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she'd misjudged her distance and instead of wrapping her fingers around the hilt, she'd grabbed the blade instead. Crying out in pain, she immediately released the sharp edge, looking at the cut on her palm in horror.

The blood started to pool immediately, but with the sounds of a fight going on behind her she didn't have time to look back. Instead, she just grabbed the hilt with her left hand, pushed off from the ground and started to run. She didn't want to leave Jenna behind, but maybe if she could get the one vampire alone, she could drive the silver blade through his heart then find a way to rescue Jenna. I promise I won't leave you. She silently promised her friend, darting this way and that, trying to ignore the stinging cut on her hand.

If her goal had been to outrun Luca, that would have been foolish indeed. Unluckily for her, that cut on her right hand was deep, and blood was dripping onto the forest floor. Bracing herself on a tree as she rounded it, she left behind a bloody handprint. Biting down on her lip, she finally darted to the left, further away from the Lodge. No way was she leading him back there, back to where the other hunters were.

Still, when he suddenly appeared in front of her, she gasped as she stumbled to a stop, her ruby red lips parted in shock and her eyes wide. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. But either way, you will be coming with me.” His snarled words were enough to send a shiver down her spine, but still, she stood tall. "Not in this lifetime or the next." She glared at him. Switching the knife back to her wounded hand, hoping he hadn't noticed, she braced herself.

And then she ran at him. Taking a note from Jenna's book, she lunged at him, but it was as she was running that something odd happened. The blood had soaked to the hilt and dripped down on the blade, which in itself, wasn't abnormal. What was abnormal was how the blade began to shimmer, just for a second or two, before it exploded with light as she brought it down. She could feel the heat of the entire weapon in her hand as it sliced into him.

Surprised herself, she released the hilt of the weapon and staggered backwards, her arm thrown up to hide her eyes from the still brightly shining knife. She was absolutely positive that it wouldn't stay there long, but... she knew for a fact that she'd just done magic. She could feel it coursing through her veins, originating from her very core, a feeling that she'd never felt before. She looked down at her hands and then back up at Luca.

And then she took off back in the direction they'd come, knowing she had to save Jenna.

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

Benjamin smirked as he whispered into Jenna's ear. Pet names and sweet words were his way of getting under her skin, and he could tell that he was doing just that. Call it a signature move, whatever you want, but he liked pushing peoples buttons just to see how far they'd go before they snapped. He could still smell her blood, filling his senses and making it hard to concentrate. All he really wanted to do was taste her. A hunters blood was supposed to be like no other, though he'd never had the opportunity to taste it. Was tonight the night? Had the hunter finally become the hunted?

"I do love the chase, actually." He agreed with her words, though he feigned hurt at her other comment. "However, I don't plan on killing you unless you make this extremely hard, which you are on your way to doing." He wasn't confused on how she was still going with the amount of blood she'd lost. Ben could tell she was no virgin hunter, and she'd been training and hunting for a long time. But he'd taken down bigger and better.

With his gaze on the other two across the little clearing, he missed her spotting the blade near her feet and formulating a plan. When he spun her around to face him, he opened his mouth to say something else in response to her saying that they loved to play with their food only to be met with her saliva mixed with blood. He immediately released her, and the taste of her blood dripping into his mouth made his eyes flash a dangerous shade of red.

Jenna kicked the blade in Sadie's direction, and for some fucking reason, Luca had released the redhead. His vision blurry from the blood and spit mixture, he reached up to wipe his face, angry that he'd been bested by something so minuscule. The redhead shot off into the trees and Jenna ran straight for Luca, but Ben looked back up from his hand just as Luca knocked her to the ground.

“Take her back to Lorena. I shall meet you there. Be careful, Ben. There may be more hunters in these woods yet.”

Ben didn't smell anyone else, but with the rain falling heavier and heavier he knew Luca was right. They could be surrounded now, and not even know it. The blonde huntress had collapsed to the ground completely now, and even from here, Ben could tell that her fight for consciousness was coming to an end. Slowly, not even bothering to hide his approach, he moved to the blonde and knelt beside her.

"I hope you think your little stunt was worth it." He told her in a low, dangerous voice. "All you did, lovely, was give me a taste of you. And that just makes me want more." He grinned, not even sure if she understood what he was saying. With little effort, he scooped her up into his arms, carrying her like she was nothing back in the direction of the hideout that was higher up in the mountains. Her hunter friends wouldn't find her or her friend there, and if he knew Luca, he wouldn't have a problem with the redheaded hunter wannabe.

code by valen t.

 

[geminiy]

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

“Take her into the basement. We cannot risk her escape. We will deal with her once she awakens.”​

Jenna awoke in a room that she had never been in before. The air was chilling her to the bone, her blonde hair still plastered to her neck and her clothes drenched by the downpour of rain. The room was panelled in wood, the floor a cold, grey concrete. The only light source was an old oil lamp sitting on a side table in the corner and a small, barred window that sat at the top of the back wall.

Slowly, Jenna began to sit up despite the burning protest in her side. Her entire body screamed with aches and pains, a constant drumming inside of her skull disorienting her. Finally managing to sit up, Jenna took a better look around the room. She was alone in what looked like an old cellar, her wrists loosely bound in front of her with a thick piece of rope. Her jacket and boots had been pulled from her and tossed on a dusty armchair opposite of the lamp leaving her in her jeans and teeshirt, both thoroughly soaked from the rain.

“I did not believe it when I was told the daughter of Joel Adams was brought in to me.” Jenna jolted, looking to her left to where the voice had originated from. A figure stood in the doorway, backlit by a yellow lighting that made her features difficult, if not impossible, to discern. “But then I saw your face. You look much like your father, he would be proud of the woman you have become.”

The heavy oak door slammed shut behind the woman who had entered the room. Now in the dull light of the lamp, her features were easier to see. She was an older woman, dark skin wrinkled with the passing of time and eyes that spoke with insight. She carried with her a feeling of uneasy familiarity, like Jenna knew her but simply could not place from where.

“Where the hell am I?” Jenna growled, attempting to struggle to her feet. The woman, moving with precision and grace, made her way over to Jenna and gently pushed her back down to the ground.

“You are safe from the others, Jenna.”

Realization struck her entire being as her voice rang through the empty cellar. She did know this woman from many years ago.

“I didn’t realize you were still alive, Lorena. I thought you were killed years ago along with the others.” Jenna spat, anger burning through her eyes. “Though I suppose any last ounce of humanity that you had died when you betrayed my father to join the pack.”

Lorena’s warm laughter filled the room as she brought herself to the ground to sit in front of Jenna. Her face had certainly aged over the years, though it had been going on sixteen years since they had last seen one another. Her smile was still the same, comforting and welcoming behind plush lips and dimpled cheeks. Perhaps, if they had met anywhere else besides a damp cellar, Jenna would have felt the comfort she was attempting to portray. Instead, she felt hatred.

“Do you really still believe those lies from all those years ago? You are a smart girl, I would have assumed you figured out the truth by now.” Lorena spoke calmly, crossing her legs underneath her body.

The last time the two of them sat on the floor as they were in that moment was one of the last times Jenna had seen her. She had been a few weeks shy of seven and with her father out on a hunt and her mother sick in the hospital, Lorena had come to watch Jenna and her youngest sister Chloe. The three of them sat for hours in front of the fireplace building palaces out of Lego bricks, whisking the girls away into a world of fantasy to distract them from the harsh reality that had enveloped their life. Lorena had been somewhat of a mentor for Joel, going on to become partners in the hunting business after Joel had children. Jenna’s own biological grandmothers had passed when Jenna was very young: Lorena was the closest person she had ever had to a real grandmother in her youth.

“What else is there to know?” Jenna growled, her face reddening with anger. “You disappeared one day and made Dad believe that you were dead only for him to find you months later as a new member of the pack! You became the very thing you hated, you wanted our family to come with you! What about that isn’t betrayal?”

“You follow your father’s hatred for the supernatural blindly, Jenna. Have you ever really given thought to your hatred of my people?”

“Well, your ‘people’ killed my father. Let’s start there.” Jenna snarled, though her sentence was almost comical. Lorena rose from her seated position, hugging her jacket closed around her chest. Jenna could see the disappointment written on her face as her lips pressed together into a thin line and her eyes drifted shut.

“We are far and few between here. Joel had taken out bigger groups than ours before his death, even when gravely injured. How, do you reckon, would we have been able to kill him? Joel was a talented man, even our strongest hunters would not have been a match for him.” Lorena explained, her fingers playing with a crudely sewn on button hanging off of the front of her coat. She turned to Jenna, looking her square in the eyes. “I never would have killed your father, Jenna. I cannot say the same for the others out there but I know that my people had nothing to do with his killing, I can promise you that.”

Jenna finally managed to stand, her legs wobbling from the muscle fatigue that seared through her body, and walked over to Lorena.

“Your promises clearly mean nothing. You promised my father you’d be there for him many times, promised to help him and keep himself. Then you went and got yourself turned into a mutt and my father ended up dead!” Jenna yelled, her voice carrying clear through the cellar and up to the store above. “If anyone should have lost their life, it should have been you and not him!”

Silence struck through the air as Jenna turned away from Lorena, hands grasped tightly into fists in front of her. Guilt. Jenna hadn’t expected to feel guilty about saying such a thing to a woman who had caused her family nothing but trouble, but some part of her deep down felt bad.

“Look, if you’re going to kill me, just do it. You should have had your little pet do it in the forest, it would have been much easier for you.”

Jenna expected an answer of some sort but was met with complete silence followed by the closing of a door. She stood for a moment, waiting for a finishing blow to hit her. It never did.

Turning around, Lorena was gone from the room. Jenna cried out in frustration, moving to the door and attempting to pull it open. No amount of yanking or pushing or hitting the door would make it budge. She was alone, trapped without an escape.

Jenna felt hopeless. She sunk back down to the floor, onto the blanket, and dropped her head to her hands. There was no way out, she was entirely trapped by the very creatures she had been attempting to kill. How long would it be before they finished the job? And what of Sadie? Did she manage to get back to town? Was she killed in the woods, torn to shreds like the woman on the road?

For the first time since her father died, a single, frustrated tear fell down her cheek.

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

Luca simply couldn’t tell if the feeling that flooded through him was shock or fear as the blade, which was now glowing, was brought down into his flesh. Silver had a way of burning like a cocktail of fire and pure electricity through his skin but this time, the cut hit differently. For a moment, he stood completely paralyzed. There was no burning, no pain, simply a feeling that froze him to the core and rendered him unable to move. Next came a fire that he had never felt before, originating from the wound and crawling through his entire body. It felt like venom, tensing his muscles and burning a warpath as it coursed through his body.

A harsh light filled the forest, blinding Luca as he stumbled backward with his hand raised to block the rays that burned through his vision. The burning sensation through his body only increased with the vibrance of the blade, Luca falling weakly to the ground with a loud yelp of pain.

As the light began to fade, Luca struggled to his feet using a tree to his left for support. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, he peered around the forest to find Sadie gone, leaving Luca and the blade alone among the trees. Slowly, Luca approached the blade, kneeling down to examine it. Reaching a strong hand out, Luca made an attempt to touch the blade. Within an instant, the blade turned red hot. Luca jumped back at the heat searing through his fingertips, the blade falling to the ground once more. The runes carved into the blade glowed with a warm light, glimmering like the stars overhead before dying out.

“She’s a witch.” Luca spoke to himself, looking around once again. He had no concern with Sadie getting away from him, he could track her from miles away by the sweet scent of her blood alone. Standing up, Luca pulled the jacket off of his shoulders and made another attempt to pick up the blade, smiling softly to himself when the blade remained completely normal.

Holding the wrapped blade in his hand, Luca made his way over to the tree that held Sadie’s bloody handprint. Inhaling the scent deeply, Luca locked onto her trail and began to take off after her. She was headed back to where Jenna had previously been and where Ben would have taken her and been long gone.
Back at the clearing, Luca spotted Sadie alone once again. He approached slowly, staying quiet as to not startle her off. Clearing his throat, Luca tapped Sadie on the shoulder and flipped open his jacket to reveal the knife in his hand.

“I believe you forgot this after you so politely stabbed me.” Luca said quietly, looking down at the redhead. “You have magic in your blood. I must say, I am truly surprised that you are one of us. I was under the belief that you were with that hunter.”

Handing the knife back to Sadie, Luca took a step back to put some distance between himself and the girl. It was a bold move, returning a dangerous weapon to a person who wished nothing more than to kill him, but he needed her trust. He needed her to cooperate.

“I meant what I said before, Sadie.” Luca continued, his voice growing deeper. “There is no choice in this matter: you are not escaping here with your freedom. I can chase you through these woods all night but the situation will only end with you back at our hideout. It is your choice whether you come willingly or not.”
Reaching a hand up to the spot in the front of his shoulder where the blade had dug into his flesh. Carefully, he pulled away the collar of his shirt to reveal the wound. While the middle of the wound remained fresh, the edges were darker almost as if they had been burned.

“You are a witch, are you not? This is clearly a wound caused by magic. Why did you not use magic before? That would have been much more effective than kicking me in the leg or knifing me, you know.” Luca questioned, releasing his collar as he took a step closer to Sadie. “Let us make a deal, shall we, tesoro? Come with me peacefully, do not cause yourself any more harm. Jenna, your friend, she is already gone with Benji, you won't find her here. Come with me and I will help you train those untapped powers you possess. You are one of us, after all. Supernatural.”

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

Sadie didn't care about not making noise anymore as she ran through the trees, her agility surprising even her. The stinging in her hand wasn't subsiding at all, but she'd take that over a broken ankle or something even worse. The vampires already knew she was here; there wasn't any hiding from them anymore. And Sadie wanted the other vampire to know that she was coming, that he wasn't taking Jenna. Please, Jenna, just hang on! She silently pleaded with her friend as she ran, praying that she was still there.

She didn't hear anything coming from behind her. Had she killed or even seriously maimed the other vampire? That light... it had been so blinding. And the heat coming off of that knife was definitely not natural. The thought that the knife itself was spelled or cursed crossed her mind. That could explain the power that she'd felt coursing through her. Just about anyone could use an enchanted object.

But as she ran, somehow she just knew that wasn't it. She'd released the knife upon leaving it in the vampire, and the power hadn't disappeared. It crackled through her, from her very core out to her fingertips. She glanced down at them long enough to see that they appeared normal, but she couldn't study them for long, not if she wanted to get to Jenna. "Jenna!" She screamed her friends name through the trees, pausing long enough to dart to the left.

When she burst out into the tiny clearing they'd been in, a sob escaped Sadie as she realized it was empty. Her eyes filled with hot tears-- she'd failed. Clasping her hand over her mouth to hide the sound of her sobs as they wracked her body. Though she was no expert in the woods, she knew it was the right clearing because she could see blood on the ground from where Jenna had landed. Bleeding and kidnapped by a vampire-- was she already dead?

Sadie hadn't heard Luca approach, so she jumped when he tapped her on the shoulder. Whirling around, she revealed her tear and mascara soaked face to him, looking up with a look of pure anguish on her face. When he opened his jacket and she spotted the knife, she glanced back up at his face before reaching out and snatching it back, as though it was her child he'd stolen from her. She didn't feel as though he would give it back if he didn't feel as though he still had the upper hand, but it made her feel safer to have it.

A harsh laugh escaped her at the words "politely" and "stabbed". "I don't. Have magic, I mean." She looked away from him, shaking her head. "Trust me, if anyone knows that, I do." He stepped back, surprising her. Her head swiveled back in his direction, her eyes distrusting. His little speech made her heart rate pick up again, and she took another couple of steps away from him. She knew he was right, but pride was a stubborn bitch, and she didn't want to admit that she'd lost.

When he moved, her hand tightened on the hilt of the blade but he just moved his collar aside to reveal the stab wound. It looked nasty at first glance, but when Sadie looked deeper, she realized it wasn't a normal wound at all. Though the inside appeared as any stab wound would, the outside took on a darker color. Almost like a burn. His next words drew her eyes back up to his, and she shook her head. "I'm not a witch. I never..." Pursing her lips, she shut herself up, not wanting to reveal anything to him that he could use against her.

At the mention of Jenna, Sadie's lower lip quivered again. She knew she could run, or try to use the electricity she felt inside of her against him. But unless she managed to decapitate him, she would lose everytime. And Jenna... if she were still alive, as he hinted, then the only way to save her was to go with him. "I'll go." Sadie finally whispered. "But not for you, milaya. For Jenna."

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

To Benjamin, Jenna was as light as a feather as he carried her through the woods, taking extra care not to hit her head on any trees. Not that she didn't deserve it, for spitting in his face, but Ben was surprised to find that he didn't want to hurt her. Though he could still taste her blood in his mouth from where she'd spit at him, he wasn't angry with her for it. Instead, he looked down at the huntress in his arms, thinking of her like a cat. Content to live her life on her own, but the claws come out when backed into a corner.

Would things have been different if her redheaded friend wasn't there? Would she have fought differently? He sincerely doubted that she would have gotten the jump on them, even with the rain. Though... anything was possible. And the fact that Luca knew her... or her father, at least. He definitely wanted to know more about that story, though now wasn't the time to go find Luca and ask. Briefly, Ben wondered if he'd captured the redhead yet, though his thoughts didn't linger on them for long.

He used his vampiric speed to reach the general store that hid their hideout as the rain started to fall even harder. Shifting Jenna's weight to one arm, Benji reached for the door and pushed it open, quickly recapturing her in both of his arms as he stepped inside. He was soaked to the bone, and so was Jenna, not to mention the wound on her side. "Lorena!" Ben called for the woman, though he really didn't have to, as she appeared at his side right away.

"I could smell her scent approaching, though her speed was quicker than any hunter I've ever encountered." Lorena spoke with a ghost of a smile present on her features, though she quickly smoothed out her expression. There was something there, Ben realized. A sadness in her eyes, along with a flicker of something else. Glancing down at the passed out hunter in his arms, he wondered just what her story was around here. "Come, come. She needs to get out of that jacket, at least."

Benji followed Lorena to a room down below, where she instructed him to remove her jacket and her boots. He did so with careful movements, not wanting her to wake and pound him on the head. There was no telling what type of reflexes this kitten had, even if she was hurt fairly badly. Setting her boots and jacket aside, Ben disappeared from the room only to reappear a moment later, rope in his hands. Though Lorena frowned, she said nothing as he knelt before Jenna to tie her wrists together.

"Leave us." Lorena spoke softly, but her words were a command all the same.

"Lorena, I-"

"I said leave." She looked at him then, and in that moment, he saw all the strength in her gaze that she hid under that soft, old woman exterior. With an angry huff, Ben slipped out of the room, though he didn't venture far. Lorena left a short time later, pulling the door shut behind her and locking it. Gesturing for Ben to follow her, he hesitated but finally gave in, following her back upstairs.

"Who is she, Lorena?" Ben asked the woman once he'd caught up to her, back upstairs. Others were curious, too, and Lorena heaved a small sigh.

"She's the daughter of a dear friend, long since passed." Lorena sank into a seat, reaching up to rub her temples. "I did not think I would see her again... not under circumstances like these." She looked at Ben, and he crossed his arms.

"Well, excuse me for saving our asses from a hunter."

"I did not mean it like that." She looked as though she wanted to say more, but their supernatural hearing told them that their visitor was waking. Lorena stood and headed back downstairs, holding up a single hand to stop Ben as he made to follow her. Crossing his arms, Ben waited at the top of the stairs while she ventured down alone, though it was obvious he was not pleased by the fact she made him stay back. He could hear muffled voices coming from the other side of the door, though he couldn't make out specific words, not until Jenna raised her voice.

He straightened, though didn't move from the stairs until Lorena made her way back up them. "Here." She moved to grab something off one of the shelves, placing it in Ben's hands. "Give this to her. She might take it better from someone else. It will help her wounds."

Ben glanced down at the clear liquid drink in his hands, then back at Lorena. She simply nodded and Ben started down the stairs, using the key to unlock and open the door, stepping into the dark room. He shut the door behind him, knowing he could catch her easily if she tried to run. But he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her, on the blanket on the floor, head in her hands. "Please tell me you're not crying."

code by valen t.

 

[geminiy]

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

Jenna squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the door open once again. She wondered if this is how she was going to die: alone in a cold, damp cellar at the hands of a woman she once considered family. Maybe Lorena would have someone else end her life, their previous relationship putting too much emotional strain on the older woman to do it herself.

But no final blow ever came. No white light, no life flashing before her eyes.There was nothing. Just a voice, asking her if she was crying.

Her head snapped up to see the vampire that had captured her, Ben, standing inside the door. Her jaw snapped shut, teeth grinding against one another as she forced any more tears from flowing. Jenna made no move to wipe the few tears on her cheeks away and instead got to her feet, marching over to Ben. As well as she could with her bound hands, Jenna reached out and grabbed the front of Ben’s shirt, yanking him forwards in a harsh motion.

“If one hair on Sadie’s head is so much as out of place, I will kill you and everyone you hold dear. That’s a promise.” Jenna snapped, releasing Ben’s shirt with a shove towards him. Jenna turned around and made her way to the armchair in the corner of the room and carefully lowered her body down into the plush, wincing at the pain in her abdomen.

Jenna looked back up to Ben, her face stoic and unwavering as she stared him down. He was easier to see in the dim lamp light than in the soft glow of the moon. Vampires always seemed to have a certain air about them that made them seem more elegant and poised than other creatures, almost royal. Ben was no different with his dark hair and eyes set against tanned skin. It was almost difficult to remember that he was a predator designed by nature to hunt people-- people like Jenna.

“Look, if you’re going to kill me, just get it over with. Wouldn’t want to keep the Grim Reaper waiting, now would we?” Jenna said, her tone almost a laugh. History had a funny way of repeating itself. Like father like daughter: both hunters talented beyond their years, both killed by the things they vowed to eradicate.

Jenna’s hand moved to her side as another sharp pang of pain rushed through her. Her shirt was still stained with blood, though it had begun to dry in the shelter of the cellar, but what surprised her was the thick bandage that was taped to her skin. Raising her fingers from the wound, she found no blood on her skin. Someone had bandaged her up.

Looking back to Ben, her brow furrowed as she noticed the bottle in his hand. If they were going to kill her, why bandage her up first? Maybe Lorena was biding her time, keeping Jenna alive until the time came to end her life.

Standing once again, Jenna walked over to Ben and carefully took the bottle from his hand. Twisting the top off, Jenna took the liquid down in a few hearty gulps. The liquid burned slightly, the taste bitter on the back of her tongue as it danced down her throat. Her nose scrunched up in distaste as she swallowed, twisting the cap back onto the bottle.

“That stuff tastes like shit.” Jenna observed bluntly as she placed the half-empty bottle back into Ben’s hands. Jenna wasted no time asking her next question, feeling somewhat bold. If they planned to kill her, they were going to do so regardless if she asked bold questions or made snarky remarks. “I’m surprised you’re able to be in the same room as someone who’s blood you’ve tasted. Most of you would have bitten me by now. Honestly, it was a surprise that I woke up at all. I saw those red eyes, Ben, you certainly weren’t happy with my actions. Lorena must really trust you.”

Even for a hunter, her button-pressing was dangerous. Sometimes her sharp tongue ran rampant and unchecked, as it was in that moment. Though Jenna always made an attempt to filter herself, she really didn’t have the energy or desire to do so. In her mind, she already lost the battle. Why not have fun with the time she had left?

“I heard what you said before I passed out, you know.” Jenna continued carefully, a weak smirk returning to her lips. “Of course my ‘little stunt’ was worth it. Sadie had time to get away and I pissed you off. A win-win situation, if you ask me. You really should have killed me in the woods because I may be your captor but I will sure as fuck make your life a living hell.”

The door swung open behind Ben and in walked Luca who had Sadie held tightly in his arms. A flood of relief surged through Jenna as she pushed her way past Ben and straight to Sadie. She attempted to give the redhead a hug, though she struggled as her hands were still bound, before stepping back.

“Thank goodness you’re still alive.” Jenna breathed, her soft features suddenly hardening. “You could have died out there tonight, what the fuck were you thinking?”

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

Luca’s face contorted in confusion as he listened to her whimper. No magic? She must be lying, Luca was certain of it. He had spent a stint of almost three years under contract with a coven of witches in the north of Germany decades ago, Luca knew magic when he saw it. He had also dealt with his fair number of hunters and never, not once, had he ever seen a glowing blade. Surely Sadie must have been trying to confuse him. Either that or she truly believed that she had no magic abilities.

“Witch or not, you most certainly have the gift. That much is indisputable, even if you make the decision not to believe it.” Luca spoke calmly, watching as Sadie examined the stab wound on his shoulder. The wound still burned like flickering flames inside the muscles of his chest, though the pain worsened the closer Sadie got to the spot. A telltale sign of a magic wound.

He felt almost bad for bringing Jenna up, his eyes watching as Sadie’s face softened once again in sadness. Luca braced himself for another burst of anger or another slash with the knife but instead, Sadie simply agreed to go with him. Luca’s face perked up slightly in surprise at her cooperation, though he didn’t speak on his disbelief. Instead, he reached a hand forward and gently grasped her shoulder in a comforting squeeze.

“I thank you for your cooperation. One life has already been taken this night, I do not wish for any more blood to be spilled.” Luca admitted, slivers of humanity poking through the facade of a monster.

Being turned against his will only to be used as a tool by the very people who turned him made Luca almost resentful of other vampires, including himself. Others joked about Luca being weak for not constantly wanting conflict. Sometimes, he most certainly did want a good, bloody fight. But in situations like those before him, Luca understood that diplomacy and peace were the best ways to go.

“You should probably put that on, it’s going to get cold.” Luca suggested, nodding to his jacket that had previously been wrapped around Sadie’s knife. With the jacket pulled over her shoulders, Luca scooped her up into his arms and took off at full speed towards the hideout.

They had strayed a fair distance away from the old mining town that the creatures called home, though not far enough that Luca considered slowing down to conserve his stamina. Instead, Luca pushed forward as he secured Sadie tightly in his arms, careful to take safest routes back home. Into the mountain they climbed, the forest blurring into the rock and grass of the hideout. As they drew closer, Luca reached a hand up to cover Sadie’s eyes. They had been moving fast enough that Luca wasn’t concerned with her being able to track them to the hideout but as their movements began to slow, Luca didn’t want to risk her recognizing the hideout and being able to report back to the people in town.

Luca slowed to a walk as he approached the old general store where Lorena was sitting on a bench outside. He walked closer, still keeping Sadie securely in his arms, until Lorena looked up. For the first time since he had joined the group, Lorena looked out of control. Sadness riddled her face, the light that often danced behind her eyes snuffed out. It was almost startling to Luca to see a woman who always seemed to have herself and others put together to display such raw emotion.
“Lorena,” Luca greeted, bowing his head. “This is the other woman that we saw in the forest. I must point out that she came with me willingly.”

Lorena’s eyes looked to the spot on his chest where he had been stabbed, the wound leaking out onto his shirt. She stepped closer, pulling the fabric away to inspect the affected area. Looking to Sadie in surprise, Lorena sat back down.

“A witch? Very well. Take her to the cellar, I assume she’d like to see her friend.” Lorena advised, crossing her arms over her coat. “And get her some first aid for that wound. Between her and that huntress, they’ve managed to set off every vampire in this camp.”

Luca nodded and made his way inside, carefully making his way down the stairs to the large cellar door. On the other side, he could hear Jenna’s voice echoing through the room. He was surprised she was up already, or up at all as she had lost a lot of blood back in that forest. Not bothering to listen in, Luca unlocked the door and stepped inside.

“I’m glad to see you made it back safely, Ben.” Luca greeted as he shut the door behind him with his hip.

Carefully placing Sadie down, Luca took a step back as the blonde huntress immediately snapped out of her angry rant and made her way straight for Sadie. Luca quickly exited the wound and made his way back upstairs, grabbing a small box of first aid supplies from under the old till and returned back to the cellar within a moment.

“May I take a look at your hand?” Luca asked, looking down to Sadie’s bloodstained palm. “I wouldn’t want that wound to become infected.”

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

“Witch or not, you most certainly have the gift. That much is indisputable, even if you make the decision not to believe it.”

His words gave Sadie pause because of the simple truth behind them. It was alot to deal with, actually. She'd spent so many years on this planet thinking she was useless, worthless even, because she had no magic. Her grandmother had berated her countless times for that and for less, and eventually, Sadie had started to believe her words. Although when she'd first gone to live with the elderly woman, they'd tried many different things to make her magic manifest, but eventually they'd given up. Never being able to use magic of any kind had made her believe the woman.

But now... she'd used magic. Or had it used her? She wasn't sure, as the electric feeling throughout her body was fading some. She almost wanted it to come back, but at the same time, she was afraid. Most witches her age had years of practice on her, and could do things that Sadie had only ever been able to dream of. With time and effort, could she achieve the same things? Or was this a one time thing, a fluke, something she'd never be able to do again?

Looking at the wound she'd caused, she had to admit that she wasn't sure. Her gaze had flicked back up to Luca then, and she'd agreed to go with him. She saw the surprise on his features, and her own expression changed to match his. He was quite elegant for a creature of the night, she'd noticed, well spoken and grateful even for her agreeing to come. He reached out to grasp her shoulder in thanks. Her own surprise deepened at his words. Was this the face of a monster?

They stood there in silence for a moment before he nodded to the jacket, telling her she should put it on. She felt the smooth material under her fingertips, and with another curious glance his way, she pulled it on over her cloak. Before she could even ask which way they were going to go, he scooped her up into his arms and took off, causing a high pitched shriek to escape her. She automatically curled into him, still holding the knife tightly in her hand.

Although she wanted to try and see the direction they went, the thought came too late and he'd already covered too much ground. Not only that, but the speed at which he ran brought a sharp wind to Sadie's face, and to avoid getting windburn she had to turn her face into his chest. At first, she'd squeezed her eyes shut, but after a while she opened one and then the other. Inhaling his scent, her eyes were drawn to the area where she'd stabbed him.

Though she didn't know how long he ran, eventually he started to slow and she turned her head back around in curiosity. She barely got a chance to look around before his hand suddenly covered her eyes. She gasped and stiffened in his arms, but made no move to turn her head or try to look around his fingers. She tried to listen, but there were no telltale signs around her that would give away any sort of location. Everything was dark.

And then he spoke. She turned her head towards the sound of his voice, though she could not see the woman he spoke to. Sadie heard footsteps, light ones, and felt a presence in front of her. Then she uttered the word that had haunted Sadie for all of her days. Witch. Luca started moving again, though Lorena's parting words sent a chill down Sadie's spine. A camp full of vampires-- lovely. Drawing her bloodied hand closer, she remained still until they were inside and she heard Jenna's voice.

Sadie started to squirm in his arms, though he didn't set her down until they were in the cellar. Sadie spotted Jenna and the pair immediately ran to each other, Sadie throwing her arms around Jenna as it seemed her friend could not do the same. After the friendly exchange, Jenna's gaze hardened. "I didn't want you to die." Sadie admitted, stepping back from her. "I wanted to help." She felt terrible; it was her fault they were here.

Luca reentered the room, and Sadie realized he'd slipped out without her even knowing. When he asked to look at her hand, she turned her head to look at him, then dropped her gaze to her hand. After a moment of consideration, she looked back at Jenna, and the vampire beyond her. "Only if he unties my friend."

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

Ben had seen alot of things in his day. Slavery, death, starvation, and countless other terrible things. But in all the time he'd been alive-- including the time he'd been a stupid human-- he'd never seen a hunter cry. Completely forgetting that he was supposed to be giving her the herb concoction that Lorena had given him, he dropped his hands to his sides upon seeing her sitting on the blanket in the middle of the room, head hung low.

When he spoke, his voice had been full of disbelief and even a touch of awe. To see such raw human emotion was rare unless they were on the verge of death, in which case there were usually alot of tears. Pleading, begging, crying... but she wasn't on the verge of death at all. In fact, Lorena had tended to her wounds while she was down here alone with her; Benji could smell the antiseptic she'd used to clean the wound.

His shock and awe quickly disappeared as her head snapped up, nothing but anger and hatred in her gaze. She pushed herself up, still quite agile for a wounded hunter, and barreled towards him. He didn't move, even though he could have avoided her quite easily. Grabbing his shirt, she yanked him forward, and his grip tightened around the bottle in his hands as his eyes narrowed. She released him with a shove that did actually move him back a few feet, moving to sit in the armchair on the other side of the room.

"I haven't touched your friend." He sneered, crossing his arms. "I can't say the same for Luca. He's not always a gentle giant. It just depends on what kind of trouble she gave him after you passed out and I brought you here." Truthfully though, Ben understood that if Luca hadn't wanted to kill the hunter, he wouldn't kill her friend, either. But Jenna didn't know that, and Ben was determined to use that to his advantage.

"I came here to bring you this." He held up the bottle, swishing around the liquid contents within. "Lorena said it will help you heal." He didn't move towards her; he wanted her to come get it herself. Hurt or not, he wasn't here to babysit; plus, she'd irked him with her comments about hurting Sadie. Though when she went on to tell him to just kill her, he laughed. A sudden, barking laughter that made him uncross his arms.

"Jenna, is it?" Ben took a few steps in her direction, his gaze unwavering as he returned her stare. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead. And if I wanted to feed from you, you'd have twin wounds on your neck right now." She moved, wincing as pain struck her yet again. It was then she noticed the bandage, and Benjamin cast a glance upwards. "That would be Lorena's doing. She seems to care a great deal about you, huntress."

Benjamin held the bottle out to her so she'd see it when she looked back up. He expected her to throw a fit about it, or even question what it was or the motives behind it. But to his surprise, she did neither, instead just pushing herself to her feet and walking across the room to him. Taking the bottle, she twisted the cap and downed half of it, making a face as she did so. "Oh, does it?" He crooned, looking at the bottle. "I thought I picked up the cherry flavored. Next time, for sure."

Turning away, he moved to slam the bottle down on a nearby table. He paused at her next words, and when he turned around, his smirk was back. "I've thought about it, especially considering how mouthy you are. If I thought for a second that I could compel you into being an obedient little hunter, I would." He turned to face her fully, taking a few steps in her direction. Lifting a finger, he pointed it towards the door, having heard the sounds of Luca coming down the stairs.

"So much for Sadie getting away." He looked pointedly at Jenna as Luca finally entered the room, setting the redhead down. He noted that she was wearing Luca's jacket, and Ben's eyes flicked towards his friend, his gaze questioning. It was then he noticed the wound, and he straightened, suddenly on edge as he put 2 and 2 together. "She's a witch?" He asked, looking between Luca and Sadie, bewildered. "I didn't get that from her."

His gaze slid back to the two girls as Luca slipped out of the room, returning a few seconds later with a first aid kit. There were so many scents in the room, but he could definitely smell Sadie's blood, along with Jenna's. Luca's, too, though he had seen Jenna stab him. Apparently the feisty redhead had done so, as well. Yet she was here? Not kicking and screaming or trying to leave?

"What?" Realizing he'd been lost in his thoughts, he looked up as he realized Sadie's eyes were on him. Her words clicked in his head and he snapped his fingers at her. "No."

Sadie's eyes narrowed. "Then I'll do it myself." And sure enough, she turned her head to look at the rope binding Jenna's wrists, and even with a wounded hand he watched her attempt to undo his knot. After a few seconds he sighed, and moved closer to them. "I got it, I got it." He waved Sadie off, undoing the knot with a simple pull. "There. Better now?"

code by valen t.

 

[geminiy]

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

Ben’s laughter filled the room, though it was far from a laugh that would compel Jenna to do the same. She knew he was being honest about his intentions, that he most definitely could do whatever he wanted and Jenna would be completely helpless. With no weapons, no strategy, and a weakened body, it would be foolish of even a talented hunter such as Jenna to believe they could take on a vampire alone.

The mention of Lorena’s name caused another burst of anger to roll through her core, sending heat up to her face. She could feel her fists clench shut and her knuckles turn white from the pressure. Jenna still couldn’t understand Lorena at all and any answers she had gotten during their brief conversation were met with more questions. Everyone assumed that Lorena had died after going to the pack, or at the very least made a lower and undesirable member. Jenna could practically feel the pain that she felt on the day that her father told her Lorena was gone. She had never lost anyone before that day, it truly changed her. So seeing her all these years later made Jenna’s head spin. Part of her wanted to run up to Lorena and give her a hug, to tell her how much she missed her, but part of Jenna also wanted to sink her blade into her heart.

“She cares so much that she betrayed my dad and got him killed.” Jenna said matter-of-factly with a shrug of her shoulders. “Such a wonderful lady. Let me just bow to her and kiss her feet.”

Jenna almost laughed at Ben’s joke about the flavour of the remedy, though she caught herself before she even so much as grinned. Vampires were always some of Jenna’s least favourite creatures to deal with on the account that they are simply so close to being human. Some moments, it's easy to tell that they are nothing but vicious beasts with fangs bared and eyes reddened with hunger. But in other moments, such as Ben’s joke, it became difficult to remember their true beings. Jenna had gotten good at masking the confusion but every now and again, she could feel herself slip up and let her guard down. She knew that letting her guard down around those creatures would be a fatal mistake. Jenna did, however, respond to Ben’s next words. His words sounded like intimidation, perhaps a display of the power he possessed, and most people would have responded with fear. Instead, Jenna just smirked.

“Me? Mouthy? I’ve never heard that one before.” Jenna feigned surprise at his words, placing her hand dramatically to her chest. “If you’re going to hurt my feelings, Ben, you’re going to have to try harder than that.”

After Sadie and Luca entered the room, Jenna was too preoccupied with the flood of relief that rushed through her body to realize that they had mentioned Sadie’s magic. But as soon as the words clicked in her mind, Jenna’s eyes widened.

“A witch?” Jenna asked, though she already knew her answer. “Sadie, did you do magic?”

Before an answer could be given, Luca had reappeared in the room with a rather shabby looking first aid kit in his hands. Jenna hadn’t even noticed he had left having previously been too concerned with Sadie to really notice anything at all. It was then that Jenna noticed the deep wound on Sadie’s palm. Although deep into the flesh, Jenna had no doubt that she would recover well with nothing but a scar. If the girls ever got out of their possession, they would both bear scars from the ordeal.

Sadie’s compromise brought a soft smile to Jenna’s lips, the first genuinely happy smile of the evening. Jenna certainly wasn’t going to say no to getting the bounds removed, especially if it was at the discomfort of Ben. His protest caused Jenna to laugh slightly, shaking her head.

“Aw, come on, Benjamin. We both know there’s no reason for these ropes. I’ve been nothing but a peach all night.” Jenna said sarcastically, moving her wrists towards Sadie to allow her access to the ropes. After a few moments of fumbling, Ben finally stepped in. Jenna flinched slightly as his hands worked apart the knot binding her wrists together, letting out a heavy sigh as the rope abandoned her body. Her thumbs rubbed gentle circles on the red skin of her wrists that had been rubbed raw by the friction of the rope.

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Jenna asked Ben, a loud crack coming from her left wrist as she rotated them back to life. She then turned to Sadie, taking Sadie’s hand in hers as she examined the cut. Looking up from Sadie’s palm, Jenna met Luca’s eyes. If she wasn’t mistaken, though she was entirely sure that she was, he almost looked concerned.

“May I?” He asked as Jenna dropped Sadie’s hand to her side. Jenna nodded and stepped away to give the larger man some room.

“By all means.” Jenna confirmed. Luca genuinely looked as if he was going to help but that sure as hell didn’t mean that Jenna felt comfortable with him treating Sadie. She kept a close eye as Luca guided Sadie to the armchair in the corner and knelt down to get a closer look at the cut.

Jenna grabbed her jacket and boots from beside the armchair to combat the feeling of exposure and coldness that plagued her skin. Her shirt was soaked and ripped to bits on the side that she had injured, overall a completely useless piece of fabric. Slinging her jacket over her shoulders, Jenna worked her way out of the tank top she had been wearing and pulled the jacket on, zipping it up to the nape of her neck. The immediate warmth was comforting and a soft smile came to her lips.

“Much better.” She hummed to herself, holding up the ripped shirt to herself. She then looked to Ben, slinging her destroyed shirt over her shoulder. "So, what is your plan now? Keep us locked up here until we stop being useful? Or are you going to try to use those little coercion powers some of you have to make us into little pets? I know we're cute and all but I promise, we both bite."

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

Sadie was turning out to be full of surprises. Her bravery was admirable in itself but making such a bold request to the people that had been holding both herself and a close friend hostage caught Luca off guard. Luca raised an eyebrow to her request and, when Ben refused to untie Jenna, let out a small chuckle when Sadie went to do it herself. She was still cooperating which also came as a surprise. Luca had bet that the two would have immediately fought back the second they were reunited. Instead, both Sadie and Jenna seemed to be keeping level heads, Sadie far more than Jenna who seemed to have a bark as bad as her bite.

After Jenna was untied, she immediately moved to inspect the gash in Sadie’s wound. The sudden movement of her hand sent the smell of blood wafting across his nose, the hunger once again returning. He needed to get himself under control. Lorena certainly wouldn’t be in the slightest bit pleased if he decided to feed on Sadie and, although the thought scared him, Luca was positive that if he got a taste, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from completely killing her.

“May I?” Luca asked, shifting the small box of first aid supplies in his hand. With Jenna’s permission, Luca took Sadie’s elbow and guided her to the armchair, kneeling to the floor to get a better look.

The cut was deep and an angry shade of red, the pale skin of her palm inflamed and enraged with the injury. Readjusting his kneeled position to rest the back of Sadie’s hand on his knee, Luca flipped open the first aid kit and got to work. Supplies were running dangerously low, far too low for his liking. There was always the possibility of a fight with hunters but with two girls captured and one dead all in one eventful evening, the risk was tenfold. If anyone else got injured, they likely wouldn’t have enough supplies to properly help. As it was, there was barely enough to help Sadie, much less his own stab wounds that still burned on the surface of his back and chest. Lorena had made her request for Sadie to be helped and Luca certainly was not going to say no.

Cleaning the dried blood away with a clean rag and flushing the wound, Luca placed a thin layer of herbal ointment and a thick bandage over the wound, taping it closed to her palm.

“You will have a decent scar there once that wound is healed up.” Luca pointed out as he picked up the dirtied rag from the concrete floor underfoot. “You will be okay, the cut was deep but it will heal. Try your best to not use that hand for the next few days and it will heal much better.”

Luca pushed himself off the floor and gathered up the medical kit and dirtied equipment. Grabbing the half-empty bottle of the tonic off the table, Luca twisted the cap off and handed it to Sadie.

“Drink this. It will help to alleviate some of the pain.” Luca advised, making his way over to the door.

“Heads up, it tastes like absolute shit.” Jenna pointed out as she zipped up her jacket. Luca looked to the ripped and blooded shirt slung across Jenna’s shoulder and held a hand out.

“Allow me to dispose of that for you. I doubt it will be of much use to you now.”

Taking the shirt from Jenna, Luca offered Ben a nod before heading out of the room and making his way up the stairs. A fire was crackling away in a crude firepit in the middle of the room and Luca tossed the blooded fabrics into the flames, not wanting to risk someone finding it and setting them off. Putting the first aid box away, Lorena stepped in from outside with an armful of blankets, a change of clothes for Sadie and Jenna, two small canteens of water, and a bag with two sandwiches inside.

“Take these down to the cellar and make sure they are comfortable for the evening.” Lorena requested, carefully handing the pile of items to Luca. Luca looked down at the pile and back up to Lorena, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

“I do not understand,” he admitted with a frown. “Why make them comfortable? Are we not going to dispose of them in some way?"

Lorena tensed at his question, turning her face from him. Once again, her lips were pressed together into a thin line, her fingers returned to playing with the loose button on her coat.

“You are right in that we cannot let them go, and killing them was the original plan. But I cannot…” Lorena paused, cutting herself off mid sentence with an abrupt breath. Closing her eyes, she reevaluated her words before speaking again. “Sadie could be an asset to our team if we can train her and her magic.”

“And what of Jenna? She’s a hunter, Lorena. Why show her hospitality when she would just as soon kill us?” Luca continued to interrogate, stepping toward Lorena to add pressure. Lorena’s eyes snapped up, hurt and sadness masking her entire face. The look she gave him was a look Luca had never seen before, a look telling him to stop asking questions.

“I do not know. But she will be given a chance as I once was years ago.” Lorena said firmly, her steely gaze remaining unwavering on Luca. “She may warm up to us in time. If she does not… Well, we will cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, make sure they are comfortable. You and Benjamin should stay the evening, make sure they don’t decide to go on a late night stroll.”

Without another word, Lorena turned around and exited the store with the slam of the front door behind her. Within moments, she disappeared into the night leaving a rather confused Luca standing alone with an armful of goods and a thousand questions, though he knew better than to ask them. Instead, he simply complied and made his way back down the stairs, muscling the door open with his elbow before pulling it firmly shut behind him.

“You will be spending the evening down here. Lorena has asked that we stay as well, Ben.” Luca said sternly, placing the pile of items onto the floor.
Separating a few items into piles, Luca handed a sandwich and canteen to Jenna and Sadie before getting to work spreading out the blankets on the floor. As he shook out one of the blankets, a small leather-bound journal tumbled from the heap and onto the ground. Picking up the journal, Luca flipped it open to find a few words in a language he did not understand and some runes scribbled onto old, yellow pages.

“I assume she meant this to go to you, Sadie.” Luca shrugged, handing the book to the redhead before turning back to what he had been doing. “There is also a change of clothes for each of you, should you wish to change.”

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

Jenna's question should have been an easy one, but when Sadie's lips parted to answer her, nothing came out. The question had been burning in her own mind, and though she wanted to say yes, she also didn't want to get herself hyped up for something if it had been a fluke. Thankfully, that was when Luca reappeared with the meager first aid kit, wanting to work on Sadie's palm. The fact that he asked her rather than just grabbing at her hand surprised her, and actually touched her, too.

But if they thought Sadie was going to make things easy for them, they were wrong. She didn't like the rope tied around Jenna's wrists, and when Benjamin refused to remove them, well, she was just going to do it herself. But not only did the knot prove difficult, the wound on her palm started to hurt even worse with the movement. Closing her hand proved almost impossible with her gritting her teeth in pain. But Ben noticed that she was having trouble, and moved in to do it on his own.

Sadie stepped aside to let him remove the rope, hating how easy he made it look. She narrowed her eyes at him, placing her unharmed hand on her hip. "And they'd better stay off." She warned, just as Jenna stepped closer to inspect the wound on Sadie's palm. "It's just a scratch." Sadie tried to reassure her, though looking at the angry slit in her skin, she knew it was more than that. Nothing fatal, but there would definitely be a scar. Lovely.

"May I?" Luca's voice came again from Sadie's side, and the redhead turned her head to look at him, giving him a soft nod just as Jenna told him to go ahead. Taking her by the elbow, Luca led Sadie to the armchair in the corner of the room. Sadie perched on the edge of it, her heart rate picking up yet again. Not from his proximity, she told herself, but because she knew whatever he was about to do was probably not going to feel good.

With a touch far gentler than she anticipated, he placed her hand on his knee, turning it face up so that he could inspect and clean the wound. As he cleaned the dried blood away, she looked up from the wound to his face. Sharp jawline, tattoos as far as the eye could see, eyes that looked as though they could see into your soul. It was unnerving, really, being this close to him. Because he's a vampire, Sadie told herself, as her eyes dropped to the area where she'd stabbed him.

“You will have a decent scar there once that wound is healed up.” He told her, and she glanced down at her palm, noticing that it was already wrapped up and everything. Where the hell had she been? When she looked up again, he was offering her a jar of... something. Something that Jenna said tasted like shit, even though when Sadie brought the container to her nose she noticed there wasn't really any bad smell. No smell at all, actually.

Wrinkling her nose, she brought it to her lips and tilted it and her head back. Sure enough, the taste that met her taste buds was among the worst she'd ever tasted, and she nearly threw the stuff right back up. "That is awful." She quickly set the container on the table beside the chair, and she was still sporting a sour look when Luca reentered the room a few minutes later. His words made her forget the drink altogether, and she quickly rose from the chair, shaking her head.

"Nu-uh." Sadie looked at the three before her eyes landed back on Luca. "You can't keep us here. I mean, I appreciate the hospitality and all, but this isn't our home." He handed her a book that Sadie looked at for about two seconds before turning to set it on the table, too. "I can't even read that. This is called kidnapping, and if you haven't heard of it, it's a crime." She looked at Jenna, her eyes pleading for the girl to help her out. "What's the plan, then? Keep us down here forever?"

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

Ben really wasn't planning on untying the hunter's ropes, at least not this soon. After all, she was a fucking hunter and could turn on them at any moment. She'd been compliant-- and that was stretching it-- up until this point, but you could never tell when she would snap. She'd been training probably her entire life to kill creatures just like them, yet here she was, in the cellar of their hiding spot. Ben had enough trust issues, but this was not helping matters.

So when Sadie tried to compromise, it was relatively easy for Ben to decline. He didn't move closer to help until she started to do it herself, and was obviously struggling thanks to that slash mark on her palm. With a slight scoff and a roll of his eyes, though, he stepped forward to undo the knot with one easy pull, his eyes never leaving Jenna's face. At her comment, he rolled his eyes again. "A peach my ass, love." He told her as the rope fell to the floor and he stepped back.

Thinking on what she'd said about Lorena, Ben moved to lean against the wall again, his eyes trained on Jenna as she started moving her wrists to crack them. Benjamin owed the woman alot, as did Luca, and most (if not all) of the supernatural creatures here to begin with. He didn't care for the way that Jenna just wrote her off, as though she'd committed the worst atrocity in the world. Just what was their history?

He wanted to know, but at the same time, he understood that it wasn't his business. It also wasn't likely that Jenna would tell him, anyway, which just meant he'd have to find out from Lorena herself why they were keeping a hunter and a witch alive down here. For a few minutes, Ben became a silent observer, watching as Luca led Sadie to the chair in the corner to start working on her wound.

His gaze slid over to Jenna, who was standing with her back to them, jacket draped over her shoulders. He quirked a brow in her direction but said nothing, watching as she managed to get out of her shirt and then zip the jacket up to her neck. She turned back with the ripped shirt in her hands, and Ben couldn't help but smirk when she asked what the plan was. Luca seemed to have finished up Sadie's hand, and was leaving the room again, but Ben was more interested in sticking around.

"Trust me, love," Ben started, pushing himself off the wall to move closer to her. "I'm not worried about your bite, or hers." His eyes darted over to Sadie, still sitting in the chair Luca had led her to. "After all, I bite, too." He grinned, showing off his razor sharp fangs. While he was making not attacking her look pretty easy, it was taking everything in him to not drag her to the floor and sink those fangs into her pretty hunters neck.

Luca reentered the room again, this time carrying supplies, effectively dragging Ben's attention to him. "What, we're running a hotel now?" He asked, turning to face Luca fully as he watched the other vampire start to unpack the piles of stuff he'd brought in. He heard Sadie stand from the chair and sure enough, she soon stood in his line of vision, giving her little speech like it actually mattered.

Luca handed Sadie a book that she obviously didn't even care enough to look at. "You never know. Maybe the secret to life is in that thing." Ben nodded towards the book, turning again so that both girls were in front of him. "Well, well, well. Looks like we're going to be bed buddies tonight." His eyes were on Jenna, and then they dropped to the rope on the floor again. "Think we might need that after all?" Looking back up, he smirked, the double meaning behind his words obvious.

"I'm sure tomorrow we'll decide what we're doing with you." Ben glanced back at the supplies on the ground. Blankets, two changes of clothes, food, water. Lorena really was going all out, which again, brought his attention back to Jenna. And because he simply couldn't stop himself, he walked closer to her. "Just who are you to Lorena, huntress?"

code by valen t.

 

[geminiy]

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

Jenna watched as Ben approached her, her arms instinctively crossing across her chest. Her face screwed up as he closed the space between them, her eyes tracing his body from head to toe and back up again. Her expression finally fell to a look of pure boredom.

“Wow, the vampire bites. Who could have guessed that one?” Jenna retorted. Shaking her hands dramatically, Jenna stepped past him and took a few steps backwards. “I’m so terrified that I’m shaking in my damn boots.”

Turning around, she saw Luca had reentered the room after stealthily leaving once again. The anger that had slowly been subsiding in Jenna bubbled back to the surface as she noticed the pile of supplies in his tattooed arms. Her cheeks reddened with the emotion as her hands balled up into fists, her eyes staring daggers deep into Luca.

Her lips parted to speak but it quickly shut as her mind caught up with her mouth. Jenna could kick and scream and yell as much as she wanted but somehow she knew that her attempts would fail. She was injured, as was Sadie, and certainly not in fighting condition. Even if she managed to get the jump on one of the two men, she doubted that she would have the time to save herself from the other. The thought scared her, but Jenna also had the sinking suspicion that they would not be as forgiving if another fight were to break out. And then there was Sadie to think about. Jenna may have risked it if she had been on her own but she simply couldn’t risk any more dangerous maneuvers with her injured and unprepared.

Jenna felt a pang of sadness in her stomach at Sadie’s pleas. She was being tough, or at least trying to be tough, but she was scared. Jenna was too, her ‘no shit’ attitude was running low only to be replaced with a feeling of dread. She tried not to pay any mind to the thoughts that raced rampant through her head or the feeling that, if they managed to survive, their lives would never be the same.

She made her way across the room, completely ignoring Luca and Ben as she placed her body between Sadie and the rest of the room. Grabbing her by her upper arms, Jenna gave a reassuring squeeze as she looked Sadie in the eyes. For a moment, she allowed her walls to drop. For just a moment, she let Sadie see that she was just as afraid as she was, that she wasn’t alone.

“They won’t keep us down here forever. They can’t.” Jenna said, her hands never leaving their firm grim on Sadie’s upper arms. “I won’t lie and say that everything is going to turn out totally okay because I don’t know that. I have no clue where we are or if anyone will be able to find us, but Lorena…”

Jenna’s voice dropped as her words caught in her throat, her breath hitching in her chest. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and Jenna scrambled to blink them away, squeezing her eyelids shut. It was no time to cry, no time to fall victim to her emotions. It was also no time to explain the complex relationship between herself and Lorena, especially not with two of her lackeys in the room. Jenna vowed that she would tell Sadie everything later, even if it meant peeling the bandage off the emotional wounds that refused to heal after all that time.

“They’re not going to hurt you. I won’t let them. That’s a promise.” Jenna continued, her voice surging with confidence. She spoke as if she was certain that everything was going to be okay, as if there weren't two other people in the room.“But there’s nothing we can do right now. We can’t fight them, we’ll lose. We can’t run, they’ll catch us. The best thing for us to do right now is to eat, rest, maybe get some shuteye. We’ll deal with tomorrow when tomorrow comes. For now, you need to rest, or at least try to rest. I promise, nothing is going to happen to you tonight. You have my word on that.”

Jenna released her grip on Sadie’s arms and pulled her into a reassuring hug. After a few seconds, Jenna released her and offered her a soft smile. She hated that Sadie was mixed up in the situation and Jenna would be lying if she said she didn’t feel guilty about it, like she was somehow responsible for the events that had transpired that evening. If she could do anything to keep her safe, to get her home, she’d do it. But there was nothing they could do.

Stepping away from Sadie, Jenna turned around to face the two vampires, a completely different look on her face. Her eyes glinted with the ferocity that burned in her core, her jaw flexing with the clench of her teeth.

“If either one of you so much as thinks about touching her, I’ll kill you where you stand.”

Jenna made her way to the back wall, leaning against the cool panelling as she brushed her blonde hair away from her face. Her side still ached persistently, a dull throb returning every time the injury escaped her thoughts. More than once, Jenna found herself reaching to apply soft pressure to her side, her face wincing each time her fingers grazed the spot that the stick had punctured her skin.

When Ben spoke again, Jenna’s eyes flicked up from the floor in a split second. His comment about being ‘bed buddies’ pissed her off but as his eyes dropped to the floor, realization hit. Following his gaze, Jenna’s eyebrow raised as she realized he was looking at the rope. Instead of going with her knee jerk reaction of chewing him out, Jenna decided that she was going to play along. Standing back up, her right hand moved to play with the zipper on her jacket as she pulled it down slightly. Looking over to Sadie, she threw a sly wink her way as she walked over to Ben.

“Why let perfectly good rope go to waste, Ben?.” Jenna purred, dampening her lower lip with her tongue. She closed in on him, the space narrowing until she was a mere few inches away from him. Jenna lifted a hand to his chest, pressing her palm flat to the muscle. “With that rope and those teeth you keep raving about and all that muscle...”

Jenna traced his biceps with her other hand and rocked up onto the tips of her toes to close the gap between their faces, looking up at the taller man through her eyelashes.

“You’ve got enough to go fuck yourself with, now don’t you?”

Dropping back down onto her feet, Jenna pushed past Ben and grabbed a canteen of water from the floor and took a few large gulps. She paid no mind to Ben as she walked past him again and returned to her spot seated against the back wall.

Ben’s next question was left unanswered as Jenna simply shook her head. She was not about to tell him their long history, he had no right to know.

“Honestly, nothing. Whoever she thinks I am is not who I am. She’s gone senile in her old age.” Jenna replied, pulling her knees up towards her chest to rest her arms on. “Maybe you should ask her yourself.”

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

There was the blow up Luca had been expecting all night. Sadie jumped up from her chair as a soft sigh escaped Luca’s lips. He was not in the mood for another fight, especially not after he used the last of the good supplies on fixing up her hand. Luca remained silent as Sadie hissed, his hands casually tucked in his back pocket.

“If we are going on legalities alone, you may want to rethink your accusations. Assault with a weapon and attempted murder really does a number on one’s criminal record.” Luca spoke plainly, looking down at Sadie. “Your fate is not up to me, nor is it up to Benjamin. Lorena has made the request that you both remain alive and unharmed and I am more than happy to oblige her.”

Luca returned to spreading out the blankets and sorting through the supplies while Jenna moved to comfort Sadie. The babysitting gig was turning out to be a complete disaster. Why Lorena had put him and Ben in charge of the situation in the first place baffled him, yet Luca didn’t have the guts to say no. He looked back to Sadie and Jenna as they parted from their hug, his eyes catching Sadie’s.

“If I could let you go, I would.” Luca said suddenly, his voice much colder and far more brash than before, standing up fully from the blankets. “But we all know what would happen if we did, in fact, let you go. You would find your way home and send hunters directly our way. You may be surprised to know that I really do not wish to see the people I consider family butchered in the streets. There are many here that would love nothing more than to rip you both to a bloody pulp so be thankful that you get to spend the night in a cellar than in a grave.”

Luca’s words were sharp and were out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about what he was saying. He could feel the frustration and anger building up inside of him, the last thing he needed to do was to lose control. Sadie’s blood was still fresh in his mind, all it would take was a momentary lapse in control for him to attack.

He found himself a seated spot in front of the door, his strong back leaning against the oak as he sat silently. While Ben and Jenna conversed (if you could even call it such a thing), Luca found himself looking up at Sadie quite frequently. Whether or not she knew it, Sadie had a grip on his thoughts. He had a myriad of questions in his mind to ask her, though he doubted that she’d answer them. Sadie had seemed as surprised as he was when the magic was channelled through her knife. Luca wasn’t certain how someone didn’t know they had magic, it really isn’t something that just pops up out of nowhere. He knew there was more to that story, a story he definitely wanted to know but knew better than to look into.

Sitting quietly was driving Luca crazy. The hunters could be on their way to kill them as they sat twiddling their thumbs in the cellar. Luca was a man of action, preferring to do something about his problems than to wait for them to come to him. Lorena, however, was quite the opposite. Although he didn’t always agree with her ways, Lorena had kept them alive and safe for a long while; Luca trusted her instinct enough not to question her.

Standing up, Luca did everything to stop himself from pacing. Instead, he grabbed a blanket, the water canteen, and the sandwich and made his way over to Sadie. Placing the food and water on the side table beside Sadie, Luca shook out the blanket and offered it to Sadie.

“The temperature drops in here at night.” Luca offered, though he seemed rather awkward about it. Playing housewife wasn’t his strong suit, that much was clear as day. A sigh heaved from his chest as Luca raised a hand to rub a few smooth circles on his temples. “Look, we’re all stuck here. You shouldn’t have to be entirely miserable.”

Luca didn’t want to overstep his boundaries, leaving Sadie to return to his spot at the door. He propped his arms up on his knees, his fingers tapping a soft rhythm on his palm. He found himself humming softly, barely loud enough to hear. The wounds on his chest and back were beginning to bother him, specifically the wound from Sadie’s knife. It continued to burn, the electricity giving up for just a moment before returning in waves like clockwork.

“How did you not know you had magic?” Luca asked bluntly as he looked up to Sadie. He found no pleasure in beating around the bush, much preferring to speak his mind clearly. “In the woods, there was magic in that knife. Yet you seemed surprised at its presence. Magic does not simply appear from nowhere, it requires the gift. So how come the presence of clear-as-day magic shocked you? That would be like Ben or I waking up and being surprised that we have fangs.”

Luca continued to look at Sadie as his question hung in the air. He really wanted, almost needed, to know the answer. Lorena seemed interested in Sadie even though they had not formally met and Lorena’s instincts were scarcely wrong. If Sadie really was a witch, if she could really do magic, the group would most certainly benefit from keeping her around. The situation was comparable to walking on eggshells. If they did decide to keep her around in the long run, half the group would want to feed on her while the other half would want to befriend her. Luca wasn’t sure which side of that argument he was on but he knew that whatever the result of capturing the women would be would be difficult.

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

Sadie needed for them to see reason, to understand that they couldn't keep herself and Jenna down here. Was there any reasoning with vampires, though? Somewhere in her mind, a loud 'no' sounded, but she had to try. After all, it was her fault they'd gotten captured anyway. Jenna was a hunter-- she was meant for stuff like this. Sadie was a nothing. A bartender, for gods sake, who'd been gifted a knife and thought that made her able to hunt vampires. She still didn't completely understand what had possessed her to leave the Lodge, but now, here she was. Here they were, rather, trapped in a cellar with two creatures of the night.

The entire time Luca was gone the second time, Sadie had spent in that chair, arms crossed and her mind racing. She hadn't expected him to return with blankets and stuff to prepare them for the night, though to be fair, she wasn't sure what to expect at all. But as soon as the plan became clear, she was out of that chair and crossing the room. They couldn't stay. Silently, her gaze pleaded with Jenna to help her, and though she saw the sadness in her friends eyes, she also saw a finality that terrified Sadie.

Looking back to Luca as he spoke, Sadie felt tears welling up in her eyes again. Her lips pressed into a thin line, she refused to acknowledge that he was right. She'd stabbed him, that much was true. Had her intent been to kill him? No, not really, though it hadn't not been to kill him, either. She'd just wanted to get away, to get to Jenna. And speaking of Jenna-- her intent had been to kill them, yes. That was her calling. But hearing that someone else wanted them both alive, even after all of that? Sadie didn't understand.

Jenna moved to stand in front of the redhead, who simply stared back at the blonde, her mascara stained face on full display. "Jenna..." The look in her friends eyes broke Sadie's heart. Jenna was just as afraid as she was, even if she didn't want the vampires to know it. Gripping Sadie's upper arms and giving them a gentle squeeze, she tried to comfort Sadie. Sadie appreciated the effort, but it didn't help her long term thoughts. If they didn't want to keep them down here forever, and they didn't want to kill them, then what was the plan?

Assuming that this Lorena person they kept mentioning was the woman from upstairs, Sadie huffed in annoyance, feeling like she was the only one left in the dark. She hated that, and she hated feeling like Jenna couldn't tell her something when it was obviously something that affected her so much. Maybe she just didn't want to talk in front of them. That was a safe bet. Returning Jenna's hug, Sadie squeezed her eyes shut and drew in a shaky breath, withdrawing when Jenna did. "They won't hurt you, either. That's a promise." Sniffling, Sadie glanced over at the other two before looking back at Jenna, giving her a nod.

“If I could let you go, I would.” Luca's words drew Sadie's attention back to him, his tone colder than before. Reaching up to wipe angrily at her eyes, opening her mouth to retort, but he pressed on. His last sentence made her snap her mouth shut, paling slightly. She could hear Jenna saying something to Ben in the background, though her mind couldn't focus on the words. She crossed her arms, becoming lost in her own thoughts as Luca took a seat in front of the door, effectively blocking any exit.

Sadie considered trying to use her powers to make a hole in the wall, but if they were really underground in a cellar (which she didn't doubt), then she'd probably only succeed in causing a cave in, and that was if she could manage to do anything at all. Frustrated, she found a spot in front of the wall and sank to the ground, reaching for her hair and trailing her fingers through it. It was a self soothing thing, something she did when she was stressed. Now definitely counted.

Luca stood, and as he made his way over to her with a sandwich, blanket, and some water, Sadie felt like he was as uncomfortable as she was. But that didn't mean she forgave him for this. He offered her the blanket and for a moment she just stared at him, but then she slowly reached for it. She still had her cloak and his jacket on, which she hadn't even thought about until now. Setting the blanket to the side, Sadie watched as he made his way back to the door.

Shrugging out of his jacket and her cloak, she'd just been about to stand up when he asked his question. Frowning, she glanced sideways at Jenna before pushing herself to her feet, clutching his jacket in her hands. Trying to ignore the tension in the air, Sadie crossed the room to him this time, offering his jacket. "I was told my whole life I didn't have magic. We tried, but it never... it just never happened." She finally answered, carefully avoiding any mention of her grandmother and the abuse she went through. "So I don't really know what happened in the woods."

She started to turn away from him, when a thought occurred to her. Turning back, she stared down at him, debating on if she should even say anything at all. Eventually, her own curiosity won out. "What about you?" She ventured, her hand reaching up to touch the spot on her where she'd stabbed him. "Don't you have super healing or something? Along with all of the other... abilities?" She waved her hand, not wanting to go into them all, considering she probably didn't even know the half of it. But she hadn't missed the fact that he'd only used the first aid kit on her, and that the wound was obviously still hurting him to a degree.

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

She had quite the mouth on her, this hunter. Ben was simultaneously amused and annoyed. Part of him wanted to keep pushing her buttons and see how far he could go, how angry he would make her, but the other part of him just wanted to grab her, sink his fangs into her neck, and drain her. After all, while it was in her nature to kill creatures like him, it was in his to do the same. She wasn't the first hunter he'd come across, but she was the first that he'd left alive. But since it was Lorena's order that was keeping her alive, he was stuck with option a: annoy.

But while he was trying to get under her skin, she seemed to be getting under his at the same time. Since Luca's announcement that he and Ben were to stay down here tonight as well, Ben knew somewhere in his mind that he should let it go, and park his ass somewhere and just shut up for the rest of the night. But she was making that awfully hard, especially with that look of pure boredom on her face. "You should be shaking." He muttered, mentally slapping himself afterwards for the petty reply. What was he, twelve?

Closing his eyes for a moment to regain his composure, he opened them to find that she'd dropped the bored look. The look had been replaced by one of sadness as she listened to Sadie plead with Luca, telling him that the vampires couldn't keep them here. Luca's response to her statement was perfect, and when Jenna moved closer to her friend, Ben watched the display of affection with interested eyes.

Ben considered Luca the closest thing to a friend that he had, but still, they weren't like that. Hugging and the physical act of touch was such a human thing to do, even if neither girl before him was human. Maybe it was better to say that once you were turned into a vampire, you just didn't need touch anymore. Though the more Benji thought about it, the more that didn't seem right, either. Sure, he and Luca didn't go around hugging each other, but they were still like brothers, and there were reassurances exchanged between the two as well.

It didn't escape his notice how emotional the huntress got when she mentioned Lorena's name, and this intrigued Ben. Just how did they know each other? His eyes darted to Luca, wondering if the other vampire had noticed the same, but his eyes were on the redhead. It seemed there were alot of unspoken questions going around, and the not knowing was really getting to Ben. Hearing Jenna's threat, Ben rolled his eyes yet again.

Hold up two fingers in a mock salute, he fixed the blonde with a flat look. "You have my word that I won't touch her." His words were dry and sarcastic, but he meant them. If he hadn't attacked them thus far, he wouldn't. Not unless he was really pushed to the point of losing control, though since the scent of their blood was mostly replaced by medicine and ointment now, his bloodlust had diminished. Not completely, but some.

His comment about the rope apparently got to the hunter, and Ben's interest was piqued yet again when she started towards him, unzipping her jacket some. Knowing that her shirt was now disposed of, Ben's eyebrows rose, a coy smirk tugging at the corner of his own lips as she approached. Now this was interesting, and quite the change of events. Standing straighter, he licked his own lips in response to her sultry words. She closed the distance between them almost all the way, placing her hand flat against his chest. Somewhere in there, the heart he wasn't supposed to have skipped a beat.

He felt her other hand on his bicep and automatically flexed it, and had just been about to reach up to grab a part of her-- he hadn't decided which one yet-- when she spoke again. “You’ve got enough to go fuck yourself with, now don’t you?” Narrowing his eyes, he dropped his hand back to his side. "Ha, ha, you're so funny." He snapped as she moved past him, taking a few sips from one of the canteens before returning to her spot against the wall. "Had anyone ever told you you're quite unpleasant?"

Finding his own spot against the wall again, he looked between Luca and Sadie. The witch had shrugged out of Luca's jacket and her own cloak, revealing the black lacy shirt underneath and her tight jeans. Ben said nothing, just watched as she stood up to return Luca's jacket, asking about his wounds. Ben smirked at her question, not moving from his spot as he pitched his own answer. "They'll heal. In time. At least, normal wounds will. That one that you gave him?" He shrugged, letting his eyes drift back towards Jenna.

"That one's a bit more tricky. It could heal. Or it could be poisoning him now, even as we speak." Though Ben doubted that Luca would die from the wound, he didn't think Sadie would know that. Quite possibly, not even Jenna, though her knowledge about witches was still unknown. Jenna didn't seem interested in answering his question about Lorena, though, so he doubted she would answer that one, either. "Who knows? You might wake up a killer, witch."

code by valen t.

 

[geminiy]

lucio vitale

❝Am I the villain in your story?❞

Luca reached his hand out to take his coat, nodding a thank you as he folded it and placed it onto the ground to his left. He listened silently as Sadie explained her situation, his arms still propped up on his knees.

“We?” Luca inquired, raising an eyebrow. “I was correct in assuming magic runs in your bloodline then. It is strange, though, that your magic did not manifest before now. I suppose that late is better than never.”

Deciding not to push more on the subject, Luca tilted his head back and closed his eyes for a few moments. He was physically exhausted and the high he had been experiencing from the adrenaline was simmering down, the pain hissing from the stab wound of Sadie’s knife slowly draining the few ounces of energy he had left.

Luca had been close to dozing off when Sadie asked him about healing powers. Slowly, his eyes reopened just as Ben was answering for him. He couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh at the idea of the magic killing him overnight. Luca’s body was littered with the scars of decades of failed assassinations and attacks, many by trained hunters but most by other vampires.

“If a simple stab wound inflicted with magic is what is going to take me out of this earth then perhaps you should simply kill me now.” Luca joked as the slightest hints of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Turning to Sadie, Luca’s face relaxed once more. “Ben is right, to an extent at least. I would hesitate to elaborate further but seeing as you are friends with a hunter, I suppose you will find out eventually. Vampires do have an advanced healing ability, though the effectiveness of said ability changes from person to person. The time that it takes a wound to heal depends on the location of the wound and how we were inflicted with said wound.”

Straightening up his torso, Luca’s fingers released the top few buttons of his dress shirt to better reveal his chest and front of his shoulders.

“For example,” Luca began, moving the fabric to reveal the spot where he had been shot earlier. “The hunters who happened upon me earlier this evening shot me with a silver bullet. The bullet was what was causing the damage so, upon removing it, the wound healed very quickly and has since closed. Here is where Jenna got me earlier,” he continued, leaning forward to show the gash on his shoulder. The skin was already beginning to close and heal. He then pulled the shirt away to reveal Sadie’s stab wound that still looked completely fresh, the flesh underneath looking severely agitated. “And here is where you got me. When you stabbed me, whatever magic you released into the knife stayed within me. Hence why the wound has not yet begun to close but the other has.” Luca pulled his shirt back up to the top of his shoulders and buttoned it up once again, looking back to Sadie once he was done. “I have been attacked by magic users before. This wound may take a great deal of time to fully heal but it will eventually recover.”
“That was clever of you, Luca.” Jenna spoke from the back of the room, looking up to maintain eye contact with him.

“I beg your pardon?” Luca questioned, his eyebrows knitting together. His bluff had been called. Luca had left out a single piece of critical information that, although important, he believed to be more trouble than it was worth to disclose it. But Jenna had nothing at risk and a clear understanding of their physiology.

“Don’t play dumb.” Jenna snapped, lacing her fingers together. “You conveniently left out the part that vampires heal significantly better when they have steady access to blood. Human blood. Severely injured vampires often capture a human and drain them slowly over the course of a few days, or even weeks, until they are fully healed. That’s when they finalize the kill, if their victim isn’t already dead, of course.”

Luca’s body tensed. Jenna was accurate in her knowledge, though the ritual she was describing was old and considered outdated by more modern vampires. However outdated they believed it to be, however cruel the practice was, it was still used regularly.

He had seen both sides of the ritual in his time alive, first as the prey and then as the predator. His childhood was spent in a dark room, alone for days on end without contact. The vampires kept him well hydrated and fed to keep his blood in top form. They would bring in injured and weakened vampires in to drink from him, often draining him to nearly critical levels. After he awoke from the unconsciousness caused by the blood loss, the process would repeat again. Every day that passed was surprising to the young boy as Death had a firm grasp on him. Eventually, Luca wished for it to all be over. The pain was unbearable, the exhaustion was debilitating. But the day never came, he would never be free from the torment. The roles would only change. Luca was turned after years of accidentally being inflicted with the venom from the vampires, turned into the very thing he hated.

Luca felt his eyes beginning to change, the edges of his vision burning red. Although that part of his life was far behind him, part of Luca would always be the scared little boy at the vicious hands of cruel captors. Anger pulsed through him and he felt the need to attack, to make her pay for what she had said. But Luca’s eyes flickered over to Ben and he forced himself to calm down. He didn’t want to put his friend in danger. His eyes changed once again, returning to their normal pale green, and he leaned further against the door behind him.

“Get some sleep.” Luca growled, attempting to maintain composure. He needed the silence of the room and he needed the rest. “You will both be dealt with in the morning.”

jenna beckett

❝I'll be okay, I always am.❞

Jenna couldn’t help herself from chuckling at Ben’s comment about her being ‘unpleasant’. She couldn’t quite tell if it was an insult or a compliment, though it really didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she had been successful in getting under Ben’s skin.

“Unpleasant?” Jenna echoed with a grin. “That’s the sweetest thing that’s come out of your mouth all night! Hell, that might have been the best compliment I’ve ever received. Truly, I am flattered.”

Sitting against the back wall, Jenna remained silent as Sadie and Luca conversed. She listened carefully as the two spoke. Sadie managed to explain her history without mentioning her family, an impressive feat considering how important they were to her story and one smart move. Mentioning personal ties can soften an antagonizer, making them seem more human. But since when did vampires ever care about their victim’s family? Letting them know who they are related to would simply give the vampire a longer list of victims. Jenna was impressed once again as she questioned Luca right back about his healing abilities.

From beside Jenna, Ben answered before the fatigued looking Luca could. Jenna looked over to him, rolling her eyes at his vague explanation.

“How is it that everything that you say comes out like some sort of dramatic monologue?” Jenna questioned. “You should quit your day job and become an actor on one of those shitty soap operas, you totally fit the mould.”

To her surprise, Luca answered Sadie’s question almost in full. Neither Sadie nor Jenna could do much with the knowledge, though Jenna already knew everything he had said. It was basic vampire physiology, stuff she knew before she even got to middle school. Her father used to drill her on his teachings, making sure everything he told her stuck deep in her brain. Jenna had been a sponge for everything Joel had told her making the tests all the more easy. But something caught her attention, or lack thereof.

“That was clever of you, Luca.” Jenna said sharply, looking up to meet Luca’s gaze.

“I beg your pardon?” Luca retorted.

“Don’t play dumb.” Jenna snapped, lacing her fingers together. “You conveniently left out the part that vampires heal significantly better when they have steady access to blood. Human blood. Severely injured vampires often capture a human and drain them slowly over the course of a few days, or even weeks, until they are fully healed. That’s when they finalize the kill, if their victim isn’t already dead, of course.”

Jenna instantly recognized her mistake as Luca’s eyes flashed red. Within seconds, Jenna was ready for a fight, ready to protect Sadie with her life. Her mind was calculating, her body preparing for the hammer to drop. But the anger fizzled out, control coming over him as his eyes faded back to their normal colour. The next thing she knew, he was barking at them to sleep making it clear that he was done with the conversation.

Sighing deeply, Jenna looked to Sadie and offered her a gentle smile.

“Try to get some shuteye, okay? I’ll stay up and keep an eye on these two, you need your rest.” She said softly, taking another sip from the canteen by her side.
The cellar grew quiet at that point. Across the way, Luca had somewhat fallen asleep, stirring every few minutes with his eyes shooting open and glancing around the room as if he was paranoid or scared. The idea of sleep was enticing and while Jenna’s body was screaming to be allowed to do so, Jenna refused to sleep. The night dragged on painfully slow, no words being exchanged between anyone in the room.

Jenna realized that she must have given into temptation and fallen asleep when she opened her eyes from what she thought was a blink to soft morning sunlight dripping into the room through the window at the top of the wall. Her back ached from sitting against the wall all night and the headache that had persisted in her skull was still refusing to let up. Jenna slowly got to her feet, stretching as she did so.

The door that Luca had been against before Jenna had fallen asleep opened with a hefty creak. Her mind struggled to process anything that was happening through the delectable haze of slumber, though her senses snapped to when Lorena’s face appeared in the room.

“Good morning,” Lorena greeted, still wrapped in her coat. “I think I have come to a decision on what we are going to do with you both.”

Jenna moved to Sadie’s side, glaring daggers into Lorena. Part of her feared that Lorena would get between the two, separate them from one another. If Jenna wasn’t there, how was she going to be able to protect her?

“Spit it out then.” Jenna snarled. “Is the execution going to be before or after the dinner? Probably before, it would make sense to kill the meal before you eat it.”
Lorena’s face fell and where Jenna would expect frustration or rage, she only saw sadness. Jenna couldn’t understand why Lorena was pretending as if everything was okay, carrying on her business as if they hadn’t been held hostage in a basement all night.

“Jenna, please. I am trying to make the best of a poor situation. You know I would never hurt you or your friend here.” Lorena retaliated calmly, her eyes never once leaving Jenna’s.

“Don’t pretend that I know you. Whoever I thought you were died the day you sold your fucking soul to those mutts. You hurt me once, you’ll do it again.” Jenna argued back, her voice laced with pain. The tension between the elder woman and the younger huntress was thick enough to slice, the heat from the anger almost tangible. Jenna expected an argument back but Lorena did not comply. Instead, she continued to speak.

“You will stay with us.” She said firmly. “I have had the others clean out one of the houses in the middle of the settlement. You both will stay there.” Lorena then turned to Sadie, holding out a hand in greeting. “We did not meet formally last night. My name is Lorena, I am the leader of the group here. I heard that you have some magical gifts. I hope you got a chance to look at the journal I sent down with Lucio, it's an old grimoire I found many moons ago. I’m afraid the words are beyond me as they were inscribed to only be read by those with the gift.”

“We’re not staying here. Not a chance.” Jenna snapped back, taking a few steps closer to Lorena.

“You are more than welcome to leave, dear. But I am afraid that the patrols have been given permission to neutralize you both if they find you anywhere outside of the settlement. They are hungry, Jenna, I would not tempt them.” Lorena continued, her voice growing in power and control the more she spoke. “We could use your help here. Sadie, we can help you hone your gifts. And Jenna…” Lorena turned to face the fuming huntress, her face softening to an expression that seemed almost motherly. “I am personally asking you to consider staying peacefully. There is much that you do not yet know that I promise I will teach you. I will even disclose to you everything I know about your father’. Every ounce of the truth I know will be yours to know. After all, you deserve to know who killed him.”

The anger in Jenna was replaced with disbelief. Joel’s murderer was never discovered and never caught, even after Jenna had spent every day since his death searching for who had taken him from her with no success.

“You know?” Jenna asked, any trace of toughness and rage gone from her voice. She sounded like a child with all of her defenses falling at the promise of information. Lorena simply nodded, reaching out to clasp Jenna’s hand in hers.

“There are lots of things that you do not yet know, Jenna. I promise, I will tell you everything I know. All I ask for is your cooperation and your friend’s cooperation. This scenario is not ideal but this is the best that I can do.”

Jenna looked over her shoulder to Sadie, her hand still held in Lorena’s. She had told Sadie what she knew about her father’s death. In fact, she was one of the few people outside of Jenna’s family that even knew he had died in any way other than naturally. But they never figured out who killed him. Was Lorena being truthful?

“What do you say?” Jenna asked Sadie, her expressions still numbed. “Sadie, what if she’s being honest? What if she knows? I have to know.”

 

[apolla]

MOOD: in awe

mood

LOCATION: The Hunter's Lodge

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

sadie

when things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty

"They'll heal. In time. At least, normal wounds will. That one that you gave him? That one's a bit more tricky. It could heal. Or it could be poisoning him now, even as we speak. Who knows? You might wake up a killer, witch."

Ben's words caused Sadie's head to jerk in his direction, her eyes narrowing at him. She couldn't tell if he was serious or not, and how was she to know? She knew very little about vampires and their abilities, beyond the fact that they needed blood to survive. What other things she'd learned here and there had mostly been from listening in on conversations at the Lodge, or from Jenna. Truthfully, Sadie never would have thought that she would be in a position where she'd need to know.

Hearing Luca's breathy laugh drew Sadie's attention back to him, though her eyes remained narrow. If there was one thing she hated-- two, actually-- it was not knowing something and being laughed at. She'd sensed some sarcasm in Ben's answer, and though she couldn't be sure, she thought Luca was trying to make a joke. Crossing her arms, she was just about to storm back over to the other side of the room when he continued.

She sensed there was more to what he was saying, but she could appreciate the basic answer for now. Her face softened as he spoke; he wasn't patronizing her, he was answering her. Then he started unbuttoning his shirt, and she was too interested in what he was saying and doing to stop him. Not to mention by doing so, he revealed more of the ink on his chest, which also intrigued her. How far did it go?

Shaking herself, she forced herself to refocus on his show and tell. She couldn't hide her interest, especially when he revealed the wound where she'd stabbed him, still extremely red and angry looking. She wasn't sure what to say, but Jenna spoke up from the back of the room, saving Sadie from having to say anything. Looking at the girl over her shoulder, Sadie's expression had changed to one of confusion.

Jenna's explanation cleared things up for Sadie even more, and the redhead again looked back at Luca. She didn't have to ask if it was true; the look on his face was answer enough. Fear crept down her spine again, though she didn't step away from him until his eyes changed. The step back was automatic, though when she felt something solid behind her she jumped and spun around, coming face to face with Ben.

"Don't worry, love. I'm sure that's not what they want to do with you."

Sadie's hands balled into fists by her side, but instead of slapping him like she really wanted to, she just walked around him. She found one of the pile of blankets and sat, irritated again both at Ben and the "being dealt with in the morning" comment. At some point, she must have laid down because the next thing she knew, the door creaked open and there was a woman there. Sadie blinked herself awake, looking over at Jenna when the blonde moved to her side.

The night prior came back to Sadie and she straightened, looking back and forth between the woman and Jenna, realizing too late that this was the Lorena women they'd been speaking of last night. Pulling herself to her feet, Sadie gingerly took the older woman's hand when it was outstretched in greeting, remembering the book she'd glanced at when Luca handed it to her. "I, uh-- couldn't read it." She admitted, dropping her hand back to her side.

Lorena dropped a bombshell on them both, but then another one on Jenna when she mentioned knowing who murdered her father. When Jenna turned to Sadie, the redhead already knew what she was going to say. "I mean... how can I say no?" Sadie squeezed Jenna's hand, unwilling to admit that the prospect of learning magic was exciting to her, too. "You deserve to know who killed your father, Jenna."

Spoiler: current outfit

code by valen t.

MOOD: intrigued, ready for a fight

mood

LOCATION: the old general store ---> outside

location

TAGS geminiy

tags

benjamin

say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight

Benjamin had realized that it was easier to get under the redheads skin than the blondes, but that didn't mean that he would stop trying. After calling Jenna unpleasant and seeing her reaction, he'd moved on to picking at the witch, seeing how quickly she turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him. He simply shrugged from his position against the wall, though a smirk tugged at his lips as he turned his attention back to Jenna.

His gaze didn't remain on the huntress for long as Luca started showing off his wounds. Benji himself was interested in the wound that the redhead had inflicted, and he could see the angry would perfectly well from halfway across the room. It didn't look good-- not fatal, for sure, but nothing like the other two wounds that had already pretty much healed. Ben thought that was the end of it, until Jenna called Luca clever.

Both vampires attention turned back to Jenna as she explained what she meant, her words causing a grin to break out on Ben's face. "I would have thought the blood part was a given." Ben shrugged, paying close attention to how the girls reacted. To be honest, neither girl reacted in a way he hadn't expected, especially Jenna, considering she obviously knew what she was talking about. She'd been trained well.

But Luca's reaction, the changing of his eyes and the obvious anger there, caused Ben to push himself off the wall. He moved to stand behind Sadie, his sudden presence a surprise as she took a step back and into him. "Don't worry, love. I'm sure that's not what they want to do with you." He made no move to catch her as she stalked around him, back to the pile of blankets she'd been near before. Seeing now that the danger had passed, that Luca's eyes were back to normal, Ben moved back to the wall and leaned on it before sliding down to a sitting position.

The night dragged, and though he dozed, he didn't for very long periods of time. He kept having nightmares of Jenna slitting his throat, or finding some way to use Sadie's magic to set him on fire. But the next morning, he awoke a final time, alive and well. Or at least, in one piece. He doubled checked himself just to make sure, but footsteps drawing near the door distracted him. Luca moved out of the way, and Lorena entered.

"You should be grateful, huntress." Ben spoke as he lifted himself to his feet, brushing his hands off on his jeans. Lorena shot him a look and he shut his mouth, just listening with his hands tucked into his pockets as she went back and forth with the blonde hunter. She was being kept alive, and she should be grateful. Lorena obviously had a soft spot for her for whatever reason, and Ben was determined to find out what it was.

Some of the story was given away when Lorena mentioned her father's murderer. His interest piqued over again, Ben looked at the pair as Jenna turned to Sadie, asking the redhead what she thought about staying. He could see that the witch was apprehensive, though ultimately, she agreed to stay. "Does that mean we can leave the cellar now?" Ben stretched his arms above his head, looking back at Lorena. "Because even for a vampire, I find this place cramped and uncomfortable."

Without waiting for a real answer, Ben turned for the door and disappeared through it, heading up the stairs and back out into the general store. He was starving, especially after last night, and the longer he stayed down there the more both girls were at risk. He wasn't going to go on a rampage and murder the town, but he was simultaneously hungry, irritated, and exhausted. Not a good combination for any vampire. But he would wait, see if Lorena needed him to escort the girls to the house, and then he would eat.

code by valen t.