Gaslight|Open

[Karis Lynette Harman]

and in the gaslight which brings both life and death,
IF IT'S LIKE LAST NIGHT

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this could be my last breath so i hold tight to any hands i see[/color][/font]
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Tucked in a little cacoon of blankets, the young woman was still fast asleep as the sun sank slowly beneath the horizon. Not five minutes after the last ray vanished, the slumbering man beside her stirred. Karis didn't respond as he moved about the bed, and then the room, until a hand reached out for her, shaking her shoulder slightly. Opening her eyes at the subtle contact, her gaze immediately flicked towards him, though currently he was little more than a fuzzy little blob as sleep still clouded her gaze.

"Get up. We're going to the city. Dress warmly." The hand withdrew from her, Karis sitting up and wiping at her eyes until the sleep was gone and her vision clear. Blinking, she lifted the blankets off her body, legs sliding over the side of the bed. Cold bit at her skin, urging her to quicken her steps as she hurried to the dresser. Judging by the sounds of the pipes, Trenton was in the shower. Knowing he would only be a few minutes, she picked out the clothing and sat it on the bed before exiting the room. Feet softly thudding against the hard wood floors as she walked down the hallway, Karis' sensitive ears picked up the sounds of her birds fluttering, chirping, and chattering at each other inside the cage. Emerging into the living room, their home was a rather spacious cage, the red, green, yellow and blue fluff balls having plenty of room to move around, set in front of a window. Yawning softly, the action only seemed to irritate the back of her throat; the need to feed was faint but ever present. Approaching her birds, she pulled the trays out, dumped the old seed and water before replenishing them. The tiny blue bird chirped softly at her, rocking back and forth on the little swing.

Smiling at the colorful quartet, she glanced away from them and back down the hallway, towards the master bathroom as the water shut off. Sliding the trays back into place, the young woman hurried back towards the bedroom. Upon her arrival, he'd already donned underwear and was in the middle of pulling up his pants. Any other woman would have either flushed and looked away, or out and out stared at him. Yet Karis' expression was decidedly neutral, giving away nothing. Anything that went on in her head stayed there. "Go on- go shower. Don't take forever."It wasn't a request. Nodding compliantly, she gathered her clothes before heading to the bathroom. Deciding to pass on washing her hair, since it would survive the skip this once. Ten minutes later she was out and drying off, slipping into her clothes. Brushing out her hair, Karis placed a thin hairband on her head to keep her bangs out of the way, but otherwise kept her hair down- Trenton hated it tied up. Her make up took a bit longer to do, even though she stuck with just eyeliner, mascara, and a sheer lip gloss. Taking one last look in the mirror, she adjusted the purple scarf, ruffled her hair a little before immediately smoothing it out again. Opening the door to the bathroom, she saw her sire sitting in a chair -the only 'useless' item in the simply furnished bedroom. He stood without acknowledging her, stepping with strong, assured strides out the door and down the hallway.

It wasn't too long before the rolling country side was exchanged for the sharp outlines of cityscape. She'd yet to adjust to the dazzling lights of the city. The first time Trenton had brought her back since her transformation, it'd been rather difficult to keep her attention focused on him, which was where he liked it to be. Even has a human, the first view of the city had been miraculous. Now that she was a vampire? The sights and smells and sounds were still something she getting desensitized to. A hand on the small of her back kept her guided, from wandering off too far and getting lost. Each second that tic tic tic'd, that itch in the back of her throat got worse and worse. Turning her head to Trenton, or rather, craning it up towards him (his 6'3 frame completely dwarfed her), she silently wondered what it was he had to do, and how long it would take. Karis was aware that breakfast would have to wait until after he'd finished. The smells were almost getting too good to resist. One particularly lovely aroma completely entrapped the young vampress, causing her to stop in her tracks, head following it as her eyes zoned out. "Karis!" Her sire barked at her, in a fashion similar to a master calling his dog, his voice cutting through the haze her mind had been in. Shaking her head, she looked forward to see that he was a good distance ahead, paling at the sea of people between them. Skittering to his side, she kept her eyes downcast, not wanting to know how upset he was with her, even if it was only mild annoyance. They walked a few steps in silence before he grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. Expression far softer than she'd been expecting, the young vampire was thrown off by this; judging by how tightly he'd grabbed a hold of her, his face should be contorted in rage.

Still though, her expression was passive and neutral, waiting for him. "You can't run off like that, Sweetheart. You'll get lost. A little girl like you wouldn't last ten minutes alone." He was probably right. Even if she was a.... vampire now, she had no idea how to use those abilities. Even a human could take her on, no problem. Casting her a sympathetic glance, he honed onto the issue at hand in an instant, just by looking at her. "Oh... You're thirsty, are you?" She nodded. He seemed to debate with himself for a moment, and that raw scratching became a blaze in the back of her throat. Then he sighed, and hoped swelled up inside of her. "Come on then, let's get you a meal."

Herding the young woman away, they headed into the back alleys; Karis stayed pressed against Trenton's side like a foal to its dam, the old habit of 'stay away from the scary places' dying a harsh death. He tolerated her skittish behavior, more focused on getting his precious pet sated before she ran off. Before too long some poor sap was sedated, Karis latching onto his neck.

"Talking"
"Other character"

1094 |WORDS
Hell if I know |TAGGED
template by LISA@GBBS, lyrics by emilie autumn CREDIT
I hope you're happy! NOTES

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[David Cortes]

It was a damn cold night, and David was by no means happy to be out. The sun had just set, and already it felt at least ten degrees colder than it had been a mere hour or so before. Being cuban, and from a rather sunny and tropical climate, he absolutely despised the cold which for him was anything below 60 degrees. Needless to say, he got cold a lot.

Traveling alone, it was really just a routine patrol night. They hadn't planned any raids, but they were always armed, David with his colt .45 tucked into the back of his jeans and his knife in his boot. As they walked, David couldn't help but mumble "I swear, this is why I'm not supposed to live where palm trees don't grow. How the hell did you live with this kind of cold regularly? It's beyond me..."

Suddenly, he heard a shout, and stopped in his tracks, certain that Hobbs probably heard the same thing. They were in the alleyways, far away from the crowds, and rarely was a shout like that anything good. Putting his back against the wall, he peaked around the corner and saw a male vamp ordering his much younger companion to eat. David sighed. He hated kills like this, where it was clear she was new and had no choice. But he could not dwell on that. He looked at hobbs and mouthed the words "Vamps, two of them" while lifting two fingers. He carefully drew out his pistol, which was already loaded with UV rounds, and popped out of the corner and pointing it square at the male vampire's back.

"You done fucked up now! Drop the human!"

[Karis Lynette Harman]

and in the gaslight which brings both life and death,
IF IT'S LIKE LAST NIGHT

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this could be my last breath so i hold tight to any hands i see[/color][/font]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/color][/center][/color][/font]

Completely entrapped in her own world, Karis's universe narrowed down solely to the warm body her teeth sank into. Practically purring as her incisors slid home, Karis was oblivious to the hunters creeping up on them, or anything beyond the warmth sinking into her. Shivering, she was vaguely aware of Trenton behind her, watching as the fledgling fed.

At the gun being drawn, and the hunter's words the elder vampire snarled, turning towards him, placing himself between the hunter and his precious pet. Karis heard words, assumed Trenton was speaking to her, but ignored him. Until, however, she felt hands grasping her jaw, ripping her away from her food. With a pathetic wail, she cast her gaze towards Trenton impassively, with oy a hint of accusation- she didn't see the man behind him yet, doesn't see how the hunter reacted to Trenton's assault.

In reality, all of about three seconds has passed between Trenton's ripping Karis away from the human, throwing her up against the brick wall and away from the hunter before turning back towards the human, lunging for him.

As her head connected with the brick, Karis saw stars, utterly confused. As for the human? Well, as Trenton hadn't been kind in his forceful remove of Karis's teeth, the nameless man slumped to his feet, throat half ripped out as his quick death befell him.

It took Karis a moment to realize that Trenton had spoke. It'd been his tone- he was scared. Trenton was never scared. That horrified Karis. He'd never told her about hunters. With stunning clarity, the situation slammed into her in an instant."Karis, run, God damn it!"

Jolting, Karis bolted past the pair- Trenton was still trying fight hand to hand, she had no idea if he was winning. She simply ran. Karis didn't see the hunter, if there was one; blindly fleeing, much like a spooked horse, she took off further into the alley ways.

"Talking"
"Other character"

### |WORDS
That Mikey kid|TAGGED
template by LISA@GBBS, lyrics by emilie autumn CREDIT
Fwee NOTES

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[David Cortes]

Immediately, the male vampire, whom David assumed was the sire, turned and snarled at the hunter, his eyes glowing red and angry, his teeth barred. David stood undeterred, he had seen this kind of power play before. A senior vampire trying to show how tough he was to his mate... Or pet... Or whatever their relation was. Didn't matter to David. He didn't give a damn whether she was a new vampire or not, or whatever the circumstances. They were feeding on a human. That was grounds enough to kill them both.

The man shouted for his partner to run, but it appeared she was still in a blood frenzy. She didn't hear him, and continued to drain the poor bastard they had managed to catch. Enraged, the elder vampire seperated the young woman from her meal, causing the throat to be ripped out of the man. David winced, but recovered quickly and fired a UV round into the elder's leg. The round was deadly efficient, immediately causing the skin around the wound to burn. Growing desperate, he charged, moving quickly. David fired two more rounds, one missing, one hitting square in the chest causing the vampire to collapse. The momentum caused him however to hurtle onto David, his jaws still snapping for his neck. Placing his arm on his neck, keeping the sharpened teeth a safe distance as they fell onto the ground, David fired one more shot into the heart as they fell to the ground. Rolling onto the ground, David grunted as he nearly hit his head, while the vampire convulsed and slowly turned to dust as the UV rounds took full effect. Looking over his chest, he saw the woman running into the alleys, and quickly snapped out of the shock of the elder's tackle and rolled back onto his feet, chasing after her. Through twists and turns he ran, though she was much faster. After three turns, she was gone, and he had no lead on where she went. Reloading his pistol, he walked through the alleyways, eyes on every shadow, every nook and cranny, with his pistol pointed where his eyes were scanning. He drew his knife to carry in his other hand, and called out.

"Come out and die puta. I know you're still around here. You should have known better than to hunt humans, and now we've gotta put you down."

[Karis Lynette Harman]

and in the gaslight which brings both life and death,
IF IT'S LIKE LAST NIGHT

[/color][/font]
this could be my last breath so i hold tight to any hands i see[/color][/font]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/color][/center][/color][/font]

She was covered in blood. Her blood? No. Her mind was in a haze, unable to process everything yet seeing it all in a crystal light as the adrenaline pumped through her system. Her body felt slow and heavy, though she was covering ground quickly enough- she felt.. disoriented, unattached. Like she was observing herself through someone else's eyes. There was no rhyme or reason to her running- just kept going, Trenton's words Trenton's tone ringing in her ears. There'd been flashes. Those couldn't be good- they'd hurt her eyes and it stung to keep them open but she didn't want to run into a corner. Her head hurt too- Right. He'd slung her up against the wall, pulling her away from the human so that the guy -hunter?- couldn't shoot her. Something was sticky in her hair, pulling, creating tension each time she turned to look behind her and she was vaguely aware that it was blood- her blood. Right, the brick wall. That had hurt.

Not paying attention to where she was going (aside from ensuring she didn't smack into a wall or trip over something), Karis just tried to avoid making three consecutive turns in any given direction. hide. The thought ran like a mantra through her head. She had no idea what to do- get away, obviously, but there was no plan aside from that. She should go out into the public... but the only way out of this maze that she knew for sure was back the way she had come, and there was no way that was happening. Tears blurred her vision as desperation set in, and for the first time, Karis truly feared for her life.

Making another turn, Karis panicked at the sight of a dead end- but there were footsteps behind her. Having no choice, and not wanting to risk crossing the hunter, she ran, cornering herself, hiding behind a dumpster. The stench was unbearable, but she was too horrified to move. The young woman had never really bitten into the whole religion thing- while her mother had been devout, Karis hadn't ever found any sort of solice. But, huddled behind the dumpster, praying that nothing found her, on a whim, a chilling realization settled over her. This was it. Her life hung on the very balance of if the owner of those footsteps came to check out the dead end. She couldn't fight back, and Trenton wasn't here to defend her from him. Tears welled up again, Karis struggling to keep quiet, barely even breathing. If he was dead- Karis was done. And even if her mother was right, and there was a god, there was no salvation for her. The footsteps grew closer (or maybe they were different ones, she didn't know, nor care), the young woman squeezing her eyes shut. Prayer wouldn't save her now.

Nothing but luck.


And Karis wasn't lucky.

Karis wasn't even aware of when she was approached, staring at the ground. At the sudden sensation of being knocked unconcious, she was convinced that it was the end for her. This is it. I am going to die.

"Talking"
"Other character"

524 |WORDS
Hell if I know |TAGGED
template by LISA@GBBS, lyrics by emilie autumn CREDIT
I hope you're happy! NOTES

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[Alejandro Cepero]

(OOC: sorry this took so long!)

That was a close one....

As the hunter called out for the vampiress to come out and face justice, Alejandro had already honed in on her position. He had smelled the blood from earlier and heard the gunshots, Alejandro immediately sprang into action. Not to stop the hunter, but to see if he could gauge the situation. What he saw surprised him. It wasn't the hunter hunting a vampire who was exactly experienced. I she was, she wouldn't be cowering behind the dumpster as the hunter passed through the alleyway. She was so young... Clearly very new. Probably just lost her sire or something... At least that's what the scene earlier had shown. Either way, Alejandro was moved by something he hadn't felt for one of his own kind in a while....

Pity.

But first he had to make sure the hunter was away. Watching, he sighed a light sigh of relief as the hunter thought he heard something in another alleyway and went down it instead. Typical human. Moving quickly, he leapt onto the ground and walked towards the dumpster. The young woman had her eyes shut, she was clearly trying to maker her peace with God....

Ale smiled lightly at that. A vampire who still seemed to believe in God... She must be new.

Grabbing his pistol, he quickly swooped down behind her and pistol whipped her in the back of the head. It was rough, but necessary. He needed to knock the woman out to get her somewhere safe, somewhere where he could talk to her one on one, see if she was a potential candidate... Someone to teach the way vampires should be. So many of his kind didn't listen... Perhaps this one would...

Alejandro moved quickly, sticking to the rooftops, but within ten minutes or so they had arrived to one of his hideouts. Entering through a side entrance (as in, a manhole cover), and entered it with her still slung on his back. Underneath the street, however, was not a sewage pipe but a small room, with a bed, a refrigerator, some books, a couch, and a telephone. Setting her down on the bed, he closed the hatch and then turned on the light, taking a seat on the couch. Grabbing a book, he began to read as he waited for the woman to regain conciousness.