Post by Invictus Janus on Nov 7, 2007 9:22:00 GMT -5
"Not that it matters, Tif. But why do you do that to yourself?" His eyes flashed for a moment, looking disdainfully at her cigarette.
"Focus, Janus. Nevermind me. Concentrate on the hunt."
He turned his head back and faced down another gust of wind. Tifereth had lit her cigarette in a brief lull, and she smoked it in relative silence her hand cupped protectively around the ember. She stood behind him, observing his crouched form and breathing in the acrid air through the tobacco. Inwardly, her thoughts turned to earlier in the night. She had come across him in a dingy park in the budding evening and already he had caught a youngling vampire and exsanguinated it.
It was sheer luck, he had explained to her as they made their way to this particular vantage point above the streetlights. The moon was down and they bathed in near blackness, and that suited her just fine. Her vampire eyes had no trouble seeing in the dark, those unforgiving crimson orbs harshly judging him. In the back of her mind she wondered if he also saw as well in the dark, or perhaps better. She guessed the latter as Janus didn't naturally have eyes. Those beautiful, dimly glowing mismatched orbs of his may have been the most real part of him, but he was an outsider. He always would be.
You can tell by the way he moves. He isn't of this place, this realm, this what the fuck ever. She frowned and drew on her cigarette again, dismissing her thoughts. Despite her strange beginnings and her experiences, almost in spite of them, she had no taste for thinking on existentialism.
He had a target and her attention followed his stare over his shoulder. The wind blew again and her oversized white dress shirt puffed for a few moments. Janus had picked out a rather bulky looking fellow standing guard outside the door of the latest hotspot in the city. It took Tifereth all of three seconds to identify him. She had a knack for remembering faces and she identified him as a low-born. His sire probably made him and told him the world was in his hands. Then he put him in front of the club as an enforcer. Some world.
His fingers clenched at the crumbled masonry of the rooftop and his body stiffened at the touch of her hand on his back. As she leaned over him, her lips near to his ear, she whispered quietly.
"Him, Janus? You want that one?"
"Aye. That is a creature who makes and breaks dreams of the moment. Are you worthy to enter, are you worthy in the eyes of all, yet worthy not in the eyes of mine?" He made a fist of his left hand, a dark growl rising in his throat.
She wasn't sure what he meant and yet some deep part of her understood exactly what he was saying. It didn't frighten her. Of all the strange and terrifying and wonderful things that she had seen in all of her years, she had never been scared of anything and yet, Janus had come the closest. And he never once ever gave her alarm or a reason to believe he would harm her. He fed as a vampire, on vampires. That was an activity looked upon with great scrutiny in the city, especially when it meant the vessel's demise. She never once thought he would do anything to intentionally hurt her. He had the chance to kill her many times, years ago when they were lovers-
She had drawn her hand back and crushed out the cigarette in her palm, quashing her thoughts. He had turned back to her and was gazing calmly into her eyes with his own and her dead breath caught in her throat. His left eye glowed that strange, dull and leathery green. The right mirrored in bright electric blue, and through them she could feel his mind desiring to reach into hers. He was perceptive and had inadvertently gone into her thoughts before. Mildly, she was pleased that he had kept his promise to stay out of her consciousness ever since.
"Are you alright, Tifereth?" he asked, his voice low, conspiratorial. His hand reached out to steady her by the arm.
"Fine. Are you ready to hunt?" she replied, changing the subject. Her face was calm. Her mind was livid at herself. How long had he been looking at her? He must have seen the cigarette sizzling her palm. If he did, he said nothing. He probably knew.
Letting out a deep sigh, he rested his forearms on his knees as he perched. "I don't know about this. It seems weird to, well...hunt like this. I don't generally play with my food."
"You want to understand vampires, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then you have to blend in, to mingle. You have to feed like vampires do and take your prey with subtlety, not strength. It's the hunt that matters."
He looked at her in silence for a long moment, the wind calming for a second. She brushed back the dark, rich brown hair from her face, tucking it back behind her ear. She almost spoke again right when he opened his mouth with a smile.
"We're going clubbing then. Be my date?" he asked, chuckling darkly.
-D
Original Posting
"Focus, Janus. Nevermind me. Concentrate on the hunt."
He turned his head back and faced down another gust of wind. Tifereth had lit her cigarette in a brief lull, and she smoked it in relative silence her hand cupped protectively around the ember. She stood behind him, observing his crouched form and breathing in the acrid air through the tobacco. Inwardly, her thoughts turned to earlier in the night. She had come across him in a dingy park in the budding evening and already he had caught a youngling vampire and exsanguinated it.
It was sheer luck, he had explained to her as they made their way to this particular vantage point above the streetlights. The moon was down and they bathed in near blackness, and that suited her just fine. Her vampire eyes had no trouble seeing in the dark, those unforgiving crimson orbs harshly judging him. In the back of her mind she wondered if he also saw as well in the dark, or perhaps better. She guessed the latter as Janus didn't naturally have eyes. Those beautiful, dimly glowing mismatched orbs of his may have been the most real part of him, but he was an outsider. He always would be.
You can tell by the way he moves. He isn't of this place, this realm, this what the fuck ever. She frowned and drew on her cigarette again, dismissing her thoughts. Despite her strange beginnings and her experiences, almost in spite of them, she had no taste for thinking on existentialism.
He had a target and her attention followed his stare over his shoulder. The wind blew again and her oversized white dress shirt puffed for a few moments. Janus had picked out a rather bulky looking fellow standing guard outside the door of the latest hotspot in the city. It took Tifereth all of three seconds to identify him. She had a knack for remembering faces and she identified him as a low-born. His sire probably made him and told him the world was in his hands. Then he put him in front of the club as an enforcer. Some world.
His fingers clenched at the crumbled masonry of the rooftop and his body stiffened at the touch of her hand on his back. As she leaned over him, her lips near to his ear, she whispered quietly.
"Him, Janus? You want that one?"
"Aye. That is a creature who makes and breaks dreams of the moment. Are you worthy to enter, are you worthy in the eyes of all, yet worthy not in the eyes of mine?" He made a fist of his left hand, a dark growl rising in his throat.
She wasn't sure what he meant and yet some deep part of her understood exactly what he was saying. It didn't frighten her. Of all the strange and terrifying and wonderful things that she had seen in all of her years, she had never been scared of anything and yet, Janus had come the closest. And he never once ever gave her alarm or a reason to believe he would harm her. He fed as a vampire, on vampires. That was an activity looked upon with great scrutiny in the city, especially when it meant the vessel's demise. She never once thought he would do anything to intentionally hurt her. He had the chance to kill her many times, years ago when they were lovers-
She had drawn her hand back and crushed out the cigarette in her palm, quashing her thoughts. He had turned back to her and was gazing calmly into her eyes with his own and her dead breath caught in her throat. His left eye glowed that strange, dull and leathery green. The right mirrored in bright electric blue, and through them she could feel his mind desiring to reach into hers. He was perceptive and had inadvertently gone into her thoughts before. Mildly, she was pleased that he had kept his promise to stay out of her consciousness ever since.
"Are you alright, Tifereth?" he asked, his voice low, conspiratorial. His hand reached out to steady her by the arm.
"Fine. Are you ready to hunt?" she replied, changing the subject. Her face was calm. Her mind was livid at herself. How long had he been looking at her? He must have seen the cigarette sizzling her palm. If he did, he said nothing. He probably knew.
Letting out a deep sigh, he rested his forearms on his knees as he perched. "I don't know about this. It seems weird to, well...hunt like this. I don't generally play with my food."
"You want to understand vampires, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then you have to blend in, to mingle. You have to feed like vampires do and take your prey with subtlety, not strength. It's the hunt that matters."
He looked at her in silence for a long moment, the wind calming for a second. She brushed back the dark, rich brown hair from her face, tucking it back behind her ear. She almost spoke again right when he opened his mouth with a smile.
"We're going clubbing then. Be my date?" he asked, chuckling darkly.
-D
Original Posting
