@Darren
Darren was anything but ok as of late. He was doing his best to pretend that he was handling this well, but Darren knew nothing else besides being a demon. This whole human punishment was driving him mad. He didn’t know how to function with feeling all he was as a human. It was an overpowering feeling. He felt emotions and illness that he never once did in his many years of life. Besides feeling all that he was he had to deal with the betrayal he felt and his lack of trust of anyone in his life. He always had problems trusting people, but now? That problem was ready to merge with his personality. He hadn’t found his notch in the world he now knew as a human. He couldn’t find a pace or even a sliver of sanity. He hadn’t slept in days and he ached for that familiarity of slumber that would embrace him nightly. He would sit up with wide eyes in a constant thought of when and if he would ever be the demon he was before. He longed for it like a long lost friend, but he had accepted his punishment and would go on about his life doing what he could to prove himself until he hoped one day he would be granted back the life he was comfortable with. For him and for him only.
He had been spending a lot of his nights in bars. His only joy of this life? He got wasted much faster and it lasted longer than what it did when he was a demon. He found himself again sitting on a bar stool raising his hand for his next beer. He studied everyone in the bar. He had picked up names and would hear petty gossip from regulars about others who would regular the bar as well. He had felt that hunger in the pit of his stomach to kill several times a night, but nothing had driven him to acting on it yet. He was hesitant to do anything without his powers. He didn’t always use them before, but he always thought they were a great back up to achieve what he needed to get done. He would spend hours at the bar talking to the bartenders, even finding friends in them. He could shoot the shit about any and everything and in that fraction of time forget about how much his life was royally fucked at the present moment. He was freed of his frustrations by distracting himself with other people’s bullshit.
But still there was that itch of him wanting to find parts deep within himself that could still be linked to his demon self. He had fabricated a lie in his mind that it wasn’t all gone. That his demon self was just suppressed and locked away until Byron would pull away the chains from the gates of hell that he missed succumbing him. If he had love for anything? Anything at all? It was what he was. He had a lapse in judgement and conscious decisions that he never would have before the other demon. For now? Darren brought his fresh cold beer up to his lips and let the alcohol smooth it’s way down his throat. It was the only present comfort that he knew until something or someone came around and understood his pain, but really was that even possible? Darren was a new believer of the impossible, because he was newly walking example of it.
In recent months, Kenneth had become a mere wanderer. A shadow of his former self. It pained him every night as he couldn’t stop thinking of what he used to be. Not so long ago, Kenneth slayed vampires left and right, pleased the higher-ups in the coven, wrote great music and had a wonderful fiance and an amazing best friend.
But the past year or so, Kenneth found himself increasingly confused. His performance as a slayer slipped greatly. His mortality dawned on him, and Kenneth found himself anything but rational. Because no matter how hard he tried, Kenneth could never escape or forget his past. He’d temporarily distract himself around Cyn or Sophie, or on the hunt, but he’d never forget completely.
Not but roughly five years ago Kenny found himself in a similar position. The hardships of watching his parents die at the hands of vampires, going through the fostercare system with no one believing his plight, suffering through unneeded “therapy” for his “hallucinations” about vampires, werewolves, and faeries, and suffering all manor of emotional and physical abuse from a wide array of foster parents had finally taken a tole on the young slayer. He began abusing drugs and alcohol, causing him to eventually have a breakdown of horrid proportions. Kenneth nearly tore himself apart. Nearly took his own life. It wasn’t until he found Sophia that he turned things around, and for a while, they went pretty well.
Until Kenneth screwed everything up again. He felt himself beginning to break and urged Sophia to run as far as she could and when she refused, he chased her away. Once she left, Kenneth searched for any trouble he could find, whether it be a pissed off elder vampire, or his own addictions. His best friend Cynthia tried to keep him on the right track, but she confused Kenneth’s body and mind so much that he wasn’t sure how to show his gratitude. On top of everything else, his coven began turning against him again. No one needs a drunk, high, fucked up slayer, afterall.
But that’s just what Kenneth aspired to be. Everything weighed so much on him, the substances were Kenneth’s only escape from the delusions of his mind. That’s why he sat at the bar tonight, sipping his rum and cola. The slayer didn’t have much to say to anyone, until an interesting and familiar figure entered the bar, sitting himself beside Kenneth.
It was Darren, a demon who Kenneth had briefly met before. Kenny didn’t normally pay much mind to demons. A lot of slayers hated them, but Kenneth viewed them as necessarily. After all, who was he to get in the middle of the Devil and God’s affairs? Some people went to heaven, others to hell and as long as it wasn’t anyone he cared about, Kenneth didn’t mind. But something seemed off about the demon. He appeared tired, and worn. His eyes had lost their intensity, his sly smile had left his face. More than a little curious, and far more tipsy, Kenneth dared to ask. “Devil boy. What brings you here?”
@Sophie, Zero, Ali
Sophie arrived at the old building that her and Kenny used to call home, box of cupcakes in hand. The fae had decided to walk over, taking in the last few breezes of L.A. before it became the dry air of summer. Kenny’s house wasn’t too far away from her apartment, only a few streets, taking away the need to drive her car and waste the gas when she had two working feet. She missed the openness that the surrounding nature in Texas held, but in no way did she miss the heat. By the point in April, the temperature would be scorching; too hot to move but not hot enough to stay inside until someone got heat stroke.
Sophia smiled at the thought of all the times either her or her siblings had passed out from being in the sun too long, getting lectured by an elder as aloe was rubbed into their burning skin. She missed being a little kid and not having a care in the world. As all these thoughts danced through her mind, she pushed the key into the lock, balancing the box on her knee as the chambers moved into place. As soon as Sophie pressed the door open, she was greeted by two dogs, jumping up and licking her face. A huge smile automatically crossed over her features.
“Ah! Give me a sec.” she smirked as she almost dropped the box for what must have been the 3rd time in a row. Sophie placed it down on the counter before bending down to greet them.
“I missed you guys.”
She ruffled their fur one last time before walking towards the kitchen, grabbing her phone to text Ken: ‘I’m here. Got attacked by 2 giant monsters I assume used to be adorable puppies, but I survived and won.’ Closing her phone, Sophie looked around the house. It was a lot cleaner than she was expecting; but then again, Kenny did promise to clean all his crap up. And no pot, or the smell of any, insight. Wow, Ken had done a pretty bang up job. Except…..
Sophia noticed something off. The back door was slightly ajar. She knew for a fact that the dogs couldn’t do that, at least last time she had checked, and that Kenny would never just leave it open. He was a slayer, people were always after him, he wouldn’t make it as simple as pushing open a door to get in to his house. Sophie pulled the heavy door back into place, pulling the nob to lock it from the inside. Just as the fae was about to turn around, a hand finds itself placed snuggly around her mouth.
Before Sophia could process the situation, the mouth connected to the hand started talking: “Don’t you dare say a word or I will slit your skin so quick, slayer boy will be having to pick the newbies off.” the thick voice slipped into her ear.
Vampire.
Sophie could tell automatically, like it was etched into her blood. In a way, she guessed it was.
She also knew that she had very limited options. She was a 28 year old faerie with a minimum ability of any type of magik, he was a god knows how old vampire. Old enough for Kenny to piss off. The one thing she did have on her side was the fact that she was currently stuck in a Slayer’s house; One that she knew very well.
If she could just get to silver…. Sophie knew it couldn’t kill a vampire, and she knew she had no where near the strength to get a stake through one’s heart, nor the energy with her lack of sleep lately to use any of her magik. Silver seemed like the only logical thing. Throw it quick, get the hell out of the house.
The vampire backed her up slowly towards the kitchen.
“Real shame you have to be the victim here, you sure are a pretty one.” The man picked up a piece of Sophie’s hair and ran it through his fingers.
“Like cotton candy. I might have to eat you up all by myself.”
Oh, Sophie wished she could knock him the fuck out.
She looked around the kitchen, knowing Kenneth was just as paranoid, if not more, than the average slayer. Where would he have kept the knif-
“Looking for this?” The vampire held up a thin blade in his gloved hand. Sophie could hear the smirk in his voice.
“Smart little thing, aren’t you?” He placed the blade against her neck.
“I’d cut you with this just to show you to stop with your petty ideas, but that might taint your blood a bit, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
The man dropped the knife until the titled floor, the clatter reaching Sophie’s ear almost like the last echo of hope she had.
“Instead….” The vampire lowered his fangs down to her pale wrist, ripping instantly into her skin. That sound had always reminded Sophie of someone biting into an apple; the idea making her cringe.
“Let’s leave your boyfriend a little present to remember you by.” The man licked at her skin, Sophie’s blood staining his teeth as he squeezed her wrist, blood trickling down onto the window frame.
She closed her eyes, feeling the light headedness come on strong.
Sophie was out of options.
Before she could process what else was happening, the creature’s head snapped to look at the door, a small curse filed under his breath as he tugged Sophie close to him, breaking the window with his fist. Something had set him off; someone was coming.
“KEN-” Sophie attempted to scream on the top of her lungs, hoping that his smell was what caused the vampire so much shift in mood. But before she could even mutter the end of her syllable, she was slammed into something hard.
Everything faded to black.
@Kris
Kristyn looked over at the boy with a bit of anger in her expression. She didn’t really know if it was how she was acting, or if this boy was plain crazy. “I’m not lying.. Give me a test or something. I’m being honest. I’m really here because I’m lonely. I don’t really have that many people to talk to a lot of the time.. Yeah, I have some, but it still gets lonely sometimes. I’m not lying, though. I don’t care who you slay, or whatever the fuck you do. I just wanted some company. I can go if you don’t belive me, because I’m not going to sit here and pointlessly defend myself for something that is completely untrue. I couldn’t really care less.”
Her eyes were wide as she spoke and she didn’t cower, nor look away. She was completely and utterly serious, and she wouldn’t be able to speak so surely if she was telling a lie. She couldn’t lie to anyone to save her life, that she and anyone else knew. This boy was now starting to get on her nerves. Now, it was bugging her about Isaiah, or even Zero. If he ever ‘slayed’ any of them she would be devistated. Maybe he was the monster, she thought. “What even..” She mumbled, shaking her head and pulling her sunglasses on. In all honesty, she would leave if he made her that angry.
“Fine. Let’s assume you aren’t lying,” Kenneth stood up from the bench, “You did come here because you were lonely and I was somewhat familiar to you. Assuming that much, how did you know I was a slayer? Who told you?” Kenneth walked a few feet and leaned against a nearby oak tree.
The slayer grinned. He had stumped her. From the expression on her face, she obviously had someone on her mind. Kenny could only assume it was a creature, one he would kill and one whom she held close to her heart. “You may as well tell me, because if you don’t, I’ll find out on my own,” Kenny laughed lightly under his breath- he found toying with Kris quite easy and fun. “You’re clearly human. What are you really though? A servant? A sex-slave? A blooddoll?” The girl quivered, it was clear she was quite angry with the boy, but Kenneth liked it that way. “I know the names and backgrounds of every vampire who has lived in this city over a year. If you think you can fool me, you’re mistaken.”
@Sophie, Zero, Ali
Kenneth smiled brightly as he made his way back to his home. He carried two plastic bags filled with Chinese food and other goodies. Tonight was a special night, after much convincing, he finally got Sophie to come over to the house the couple once shared. She had just called him moments ago, informing him that she was on the way. Kenneth rushed to the Chinese place and picked up their order, excited to be with her again. Things had been rough between the two of them, but little by little, they were making progress and Ken’s heart began to heal.
Approaching his doorstep, the man pulled the silver keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. As he entered the house, he checked his surroundings carefully. Something felt… off. Firstly, Sophia was nowhere to be found. She had a key to the house, she could have gotten in if she wanted to. Trying not to let his mind slip into paranoia, Kenneth assumed she just hadn’t gotten there yet. He tried calling her phone. Hearing a suspicious ring, Kenneth bolted to the kitchen. On the counter lay Sophia’s phone beside a spilled can of cream soda. Kenneth’s heart dropped. Sophia had been here.
“SOPHIE?” Kenneth called, dropping the bags of Chinese food to the floor, “SOPH? SOPHIA? ARE YOU HOME?” Running for the house in a panic, the bearded man desperately searched for the fae, only to find a broken window and a small puddle of blood. “S-so…” Kenneth couldn’t even say it, his fears had been confirmed. The blood smelled sweet and had the consistency of faerie blood. To the untrained eye, faerie’s blood looked just like human blood. But slayers, who were encouraged and trained to bait faeries, had a keen enough eye to know the difference. Kenneth felt the sticky, red substance against his fingers and shivered. When it dawned on him that it was Sophia’s blood; he knew exactly what had happened.
Running around the house in a panic, Kenneth grabbed as many items from his slayer’s arsenal as he could fit on him and dashed out into the streets in search of his love. He pulled out his cellphone and punched in a number, “Hello, can I speak to Caiden? What do you mean Caiden isn’t fucking there?… No. You listen, jackass! Sophia has been kidnapped. If one of you jackasses baited her, I will fucking have Riley turn me and fucking kill you all. He’d do it… he’s hungry enough as much as you bastards starve him… Shit. Okay… Yeah if it’s not that new faerie slayer bitch, it’s probably a vampire. Tell Caiden I’m looking for her, and I will not go on any hunts tonight. Send anyone else you have too. You don’t have anyone else available? FUCK YOU! Fine. I don’t give a shit. I need to find Sophie and rip the bloodsucker who took her apart before it’s too late… if it’s not too late already.”
Kenneth hung up on the receptionist and searched every dark ally on every street corner. Vampires ran fast, but he was carrying Sophie’s weight. Kenneth had hoped maybe she weakened the bloodsucker with her light magic. Maybe even killed him. He wanted nothing more to see her just fine, smiling brightly and standing triumphantly above a vampire’s corpse. Somehow, he knew that wouldn’t happen. He could feel it in his gut… she’d be hurt, or worse. Kenneth didn’t want to think about it.
Down one of the alleyways outside the old church stood a tall, blonde, tattooed figure. It took Ken a moment to realize who he was, but he knew he’d seen him before. As the man turned around, Kenneth remembered his name - Zero -a vampire whom Kenneth had a run-in with the other night. Without giving it much thought Kenneth charged the vampire, punching him square in the face. Kenneth screamed at the top of his lungs, “YOU BASTARD. TELL ME WHAT YOU DID WITH SOPHIE! IF THIS IS YOUR IDEA OF A JOKE THEN YOU MAY AS WELL CONSIDER YOURSELF DEAD!”
@Kris
Kristyn watched him closely, her cheek leaned against her hand and her eyes wide open. The boy sounded a bit crazy as for anyone who wasn’t listening to their conversation, but his words were true. “Well.. I’m not afraid for myself either. We all fight monsters that lie within our minds, so it’s nothing new. I never thought of it that way though…” The girl sat there, thinking for a moment, her lips pursed in thought. She glanced over at him and watched the human lean closer, her eyes squinting as he did so. “What? Why are you looking at me like I have ten snakes popping out of my head? Is it my hair? My outfit?” She blinked a few times and silenced herself, not wanting to scare him away.
“Why are you a monster? You fight them? I presume you’re a slayer then? Of what exactly, may I ask? I know you’re probably wondering why I even decided to talk to you in the first place… Probably because I really don’t care.” She shrugged her shoulders innocently, nodding her head. That was the truth. She had no motives, all she wanted was someone to talk to. Nothing to the extent of something bad, that was not like her at all. “Don’t think I’m stupid for talking to strangers either. I’m not a little girl, I can take care of myself thank you very much. I’m sick of people saying that.” Almost rolling her eyes, she moved her hand from her cheek and crossed her arms, tapping her hand against one of them restlessly.
“You do. Twenty snakes, actually…” Joked Kenneth as he watched the girl squirm. She had a wild personality, but nothing scared him these days.
Kenneth grinned. He knew it. She did know who he was, and did have a motive. Now, he just had to discover that motive. “Yes, I am a slayer. A pretty good one,” Kenneth folded his arms and examined the girl, “Vampires, mostly. A few lycan here and there, but only the ones who make trouble.” The girl seemed so flustered. She tried to play innocent, but Kenneth could see through her ruse.
“Oh, I know you aren’t stupid. Quite the contrary actually,” Kenneth huffed, “You’ve been spying on me, haven’t you little birdie? You must know a few vampires too. You know who we slayers are and what we do, after all…” Ken watched Kris pout in her seat. She took him for a fool and expected him to believe her act. “You know, I’m not stupid either. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be alive in this occupation. Now tell me, why are you really here?”
@Kris
“Ah, I see. I didn’t mean to disturb you I was just.. Being a pest like I always am.” The girl laughed a bit to herself, running a hand through her hair. She could tell she was bugging him, but she wasn’t really afraid of the supernatural, nor worried. She figured he probably was some kind of creature now that he mentioned it, why else would that have been brought up in the first place? She watched his face with concern, trying to feel what he was. Anyone could tell he was angry, that was a fact. But why? She knew he wouldn’t just open up to some random girl, but she was going to continue to talk to him anyways. “I was very bored, that’s right. So I walked over to you and began to talk. “Monsters? Ha, I’m not afraid. I already have all the protection I need anyways. I’m fearless.” She teased back, laughing at herself before pushing her sunglasses through her hair and behind her ears. “Aren’t you afraid? Like you said, there are big bad monsters out there.”
Kenneth smirked, “No. I’m not afraid. At least not for myself.” He leaned back on the bench and turned looking the girl straight in the eye. “I fight enough monsters every day. Real and imaginary. They’re everywhere, you know.” His voice crackled a bit as he leaned toward the small model. Something was up. Or maybe Kenneth wanted to believe something was up, and not a random crazy girl currently bothered him. Perhaps Kenneth himself lost it, and she was just a hallucination. With all the pills Kenneth forced down his throat every day, that was a very realistic possibility.
Making his fingers into the shape of a gun, Kenneth pointed to his head, “Most of them are up here, you see.” Stuttering a bit, Kenneth continued, “You kill enough monsters, you become one. Pow.” He fired his imaginary finger gun and laughed at himself, to himself. Maybe the young girl would take him seriously. Maybe not. He almost didn’t want her to leave. He wanted to find out what she was and what her real motives were. Most pretty young girls would have taken the sloppy bearded man for an ax murderer, potential rapist, or both by now. Somehow, the petite blonde sat there unfazed. If anything, she amused Kenneth. He’d never hurt an innocent, human girl, but how naive could she possibly be? She had to be either naive, stupid, or needing something. Kenneth’s gut bet on the final option.
@Kris
“Woah.. Someone fell out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.. Or whatever you call it.” Kris shook her head as the paper was ripped out of her hand, looking taken back as she rested a hand on her chest. After a minute of her unnoticed facial expression she grinned over at the boy, laughing a bit to herself. It seemed that Kris was one of those people who made jokes and no one laughed but her. Mostly because she liked to push people’s buttons when they weren’t in the mood, maybe. she didn’t really care in the first place, making her friends wasn’t her forte anyways. She was basically straightforward with people - one of those people that didn’t keep their true colors a secret. For some reason Kris planned on leaving this place with this man her friend or at least a little curious about her. She needed some new friends anyways, and that’s just what she’d have to do.
“Well this place is nice and soothing.. At least I think.” The girl smiled a bit, slowly dropping her hand back into her lap. “I’ve just heard of you before, I don’t know where. You look pretty familiar anyways. Now don’t go calling me creeper, either. I’ve just heard of your band around, maybe. I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders, her small frame lifting slowly before her whole body shifted, her glance now up at the tree above them. She probably looked like a loon but to be honest she was just kind of out of it. “Don’t be mad at me, I was just being friendly. Even if it was a weird situation. I can sense your.. angst. Anger at me? But anyways.. this girl just happens to be bored. No singing or shoots today. Just relaxing. It’s not boring I guess, it’s kind of nice.” To Kris, the fast life was good, but sometimes it got too hectic. For any celebrity it was always nice to take a break - well at least that’s how Kris felt.
There was something very suspicious about this whole situation. Why would a pretty young model just approach him like that? Hollywood and the fashion industry were run by the supernatural, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she were one of them. But Kenneth didn’t have anything better to do, so he’d humor the girl for now. “I guess it is pretty soothing,” Kenneth replied, “I’m not mad at you. I’m just mad. Angry. Furious. That’s why I came here.”
Kenneth grit his teeth and crossed his arms. Life often left Kenneth furious. It had become his musical trademark, the kids listened to him for his anger, it helped take out theirs. Of course, he had many complex reasons for why he always brimmed with pent-up rage that he didn’t feel like explaining, especially not to this girl. “So you approached a random man because you’re bored, eh?” Kenneth teased. “You know that’s pretty dangerous. You don’t know what monsters lurk in this big city, little girl. For all you know, I could be one.”
