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Post by Xaviul Zasolavish on Sept 4, 2011 21:03:40 GMT -5
He had been in Corpus Christi for a few days now, but most of his time had been spent in his apartment, resting and healing from all the damage that had been inflicted on him on his last hunt. The vampire hadn't gone down easily, and when she finally expired she had left the Zavyl with plenty of wounds to remember her by. A sprained wrist, a clawed up throat and two fractured ribs wasn't the worst he'd ever received in a fight but it was enough to keep him out of action. A smart hunter never went for a kill unless they were at full health after all.
Still, after sleeping the day away Xaviul had woken up hungry. His travel rations had run out the previous night but he felt he was healed enough that a trip to get groceries was in order. Rolling out of his futon he padded over to the suitcase that still held all his clothes, absently rubbing at his bruised side. His ribs were mostly healed, the bruise faded from the angry purple it had been days before. Still, another day or two of taking it easy wouldn't hurt...
He shrugged on a simple white tanktop and black slacks, grabbing a black leather jacket on his way out of the bedroom. A quick stop to brush out his hair and he was on his way, slipping out on to the street. A glance at the sky and he was able to judge that the sun had been down for at least an hour, but he wasn't horribly concerned about it as he traveled. He hadn't done anything in the city since he arrived, and as wrong as he continued to keep from rubbing anyone the wrong way, he was sure he'd be fine.
His first stop was a small organic market, where he stocked up on the necessities- plenty of vegetables and fruits, along with bread. He snagged a cucumber sandwich to curb his hunger and ate it as he continued to walk, hoping to get an idea about the city he was in. He probably would have made quite a bit of process if a sweets shop hadn't been on his route, and the smell of sugar and chocolate made him stop dead in his tracks before drifting towards the source.
He probably looked like a child as he pressed his face against the glass, peering in to the shop. All that chocolate... He could feel his body quiver with desire as his eyes trailed over some delicious looking truffles. So many delicious looking treats, how would he ever decide?
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Post by The Panther on Sept 5, 2011 13:25:57 GMT -5
If there was one good thing in living in this little hell-hole of a town, it was that most of the stores were open twenty-four hours to accommodate all of their clientele. It meant that Panther didn't have to go hunting through the city's streetlights for anything more than Vampires. The shopping districts were always bright and welcoming and--and what was that smell?
Panther was a block and a half away from the sweets shop when he caught wind of it. His breed of Vampire was well-known for their heightened senses, but he never paid much attention to scents beyond the obvious freshly spilled blood. This one was different, though. Really different. He'd never smelled it before. Maybe it was another one of those homunculi things, like the one he'd met on the beach with the kitten a few nights ago.
It was in the direction he'd been meaning to go anyway, so he headed out to investigate. It was still early night, a lot of Vampires weren't out and about yet and actually there were still a fair amount of other species out, the weaker ones hurrying to get home just after the last dying rays of celestial protection, and the stronger completely careless of the shifting atmosphere.
It didn't take him very long to get to the right block, and he could see the source of the smell from the other end of the block a few hundred feet away. It was a girl, her face pressed to the window of a sweets shop. He couldn't see much of her, just the long black hair and black outfit. Gothic, maybe. What was she, though? Anyone, especially a lone woman, dressed like that in this sort of town at this time of night was practically asking for a challenge from a Vampire. It was dangerous.
But she wasn't human, he didn't think. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his beat-up old tweed jacket and started down the block, on the opposite side of the street. He was just going to do a once-by, to see if he could figure anything else out about her. He didn't want to approach just yet. A lone old black man wearing an old jacket, dark jeans, and sneakers tended to give off the wrong impression when meeting anyone along a market street like this.
He kept his distance on his side of the street, casting his glance down both sides of the woman's sidewalk ever now and then as he approached, one-third curious, one-third cautious, one-third concerned for her safety.
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Post by Xaviul Zasolavish on Sept 5, 2011 13:45:11 GMT -5
Xaviul was about to pry himself away from the window when he felt eyes on him. He froze for a second before he forced himself to relax, staying in his position for a moment more before he turned away. Someone was watching him, but who? He wasn't exactly alone on the sidewalk after all, there were plenty of people who could have taken notice of him. The question was why he was being watched, and if he had to worry about an attack. While his species was far from known these days, there were still some who could recognize him for what he was. A confrontation now was not what he needed...
He ducked his head, letting his hair fall around him as he dug out his wallet, making it seem like he was checking what he had on him while he peered out from behind his hair, trying to pinpoint who exactly was watching him. The idea of a fight had his eyes flare gold for a moment before he forced the emotions down, remaining calm to any observers. His sense of smell was not on his side, as the majority of people who walked by were your standard city-dwellers. Nothing out of the ordinary that he could tell, but his instincts were still nagging at him.
It took a moment for him to notice Panther walking on the other side of the street, but the moment he did he was sure he had found the source of his discomfort. He almost snarled at the man, feeling rather unbalanced after being singled out of the crowd for reasons he wasn't sure of, but forced himself to stop. There were other people around him after all, and there was no need for any of them to think he was picking a fight.
He considered his options before deciding that there was no need to act like he didn't notice the other man's attention, lifting his head to stare directly at the vampire. He couldn't tell what he was from the distance, and his appearance didn't really give much away either. He just looked like an ordinary man, but that just made him more unnerving. The worst monsters had the tendency to hide behind a human face in his opinion, and he was not appreciating the attention he was being given. His irritation probably shone through his eyes, which had settled in to a slight glare at they continued to watch Panther, trying to figure out what he was up to.
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Post by The Panther on Sept 5, 2011 18:15:31 GMT -5
Can she tell I'm watching? Panther wondered as the woman looked up. He narroweyes when she spotted him, but greeted her glare with a more curious than hostile expression. Was she a woman? What are you? The hair looked female, but the face...He couldn't tell from thsi distance. And that was saying a lot, considering his eyesight was among the best of the Vampires'.
The direct and somewhat confrontational stare of the thing raised a red flag in the back of Panther's head, though. What sort of person--creature--stared directly into a candy store window, then met a stranger's gaze so boldly? Maybe it wasn't the sweets it was looking at.
He shifted his own gaze to the store window, searching for something that would have caught its interest. Regular people, the store owner...Nothing special. Not different from what surrounded the creature. A horrible feeling came over him as he hoped to God it wasn't the kids inside the thing preyed on. There were a small few in there with parents despite the time of night.
He slowed to a stop a few buildings down from the shop that faced the candy store, and sat down on the bench there. It was the closest he would casually get to the thing. he had to watch it. He couldn't shake the idea that it preyed on children. Why else would a fully grown adult be staring in a candy store window. The ruse of checking its wallet hadn't even been taken into account, although something had glittered on the tips of its fingers. Some kind of nail polish, probably. He would watch this new scent carefully, and he would watch it blatantly if it played its games that way.
He only wished he had his machete. He carried on him just a knife up his sleeve. Not even a gun. He didn't bring it out in heavy traffic like this, and he hadn't intended to hunt tonight. This was just supposed to be a shopping trip for some new clothes, dammit. Why did this town have to be so damned unpredictable?
He leaned out over his knees and narrowed his eyes. People cast him odd or nervous glances every now and then, but he ignored them. Let them think what they wanted.
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Post by Xaviul Zasolavish on Sept 5, 2011 18:54:38 GMT -5
The man wasn't even trying to act like he wasn't caught staring. Xaviul bristled somewhat at that; whatever species this person was obviously didn't respect basic manners. Still, the other had been caught and so far hadn't done anything but stare. The idea that he had just caught a strange smell and was investigating occured to the Zavyl, but was quickly dismissed. If he was just curious, why would he stick around for so long?
He stood his ground as the other started moving, watching every move the man made until he sat on a bench. That puzzled him for a long moment but he quickly shrugged it off, getting more and more agitated as he searched for a reason for the other's behavior. He wasn't attacking so what did he want!? Just to watch? Well if that was the case, let him. Xaviul wasn't about to let some stalker get in the way of him and his chocolate.
He sent one last glare before he turned and pushed the door open, hearing the tinkle of the bell above him call out his entrance. The smell of all those sweets almost made his knees weak, but he forced himself forward, looking over the goods and keeping an eye on his stalker from the window as he browsed. Keeping his attention between the two was rather hard, the chocolate so much more alluring than the threat outside.
He grabbed a box of truffles and made his way to the counter, his frustration making him order a bit more than he had planned to go along with the truffles. A half pound of chocolate fudge followed, as well as some chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered cherries. He paid for his treats and left the store, shifting his bags to one hand to leave the other free. One of his guns was at the small of his back under his jacket, and he wanted to be able to grab it if his new plan went wrong...
He took a quick glance along the street before he crossed it, eyes flaring gold again as he stared at the shortened distance between him and his stalker. Either the guy would attack him or he'd leave, either way left him stalker-free.
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Post by The Panther on Sept 5, 2011 19:32:28 GMT -5
As the creature entered the candy shop, Panther rose on high alert from his bench. He wanted to be as ready as possible in case this thing started a sweets store slaughter or something. He watched it as carefully as it watched him, but he stayed on his side of the street. He wouldn't be so obvious or creepy as to stand directly across the street from the shop window.
What are you doing. You're...buying...chocolate. Oh God, does she lure kids with it? He seemed fixated on this idea of a boogeyman that tricked kids into leaving their parents or something, and anything the creature did just seemed to affirm this fact. It really chilled him, and he rotated his left wrist on his knee, feeling the straps of the hidden knife hilt press against the flexing muscles of his forearm. Jesus, it was buying a lot...
It came out of the store, and he stood his ground, watching it. He was going to follow it, he'd already decided. Where was it going to go.
He narrowed his eyes. It was crossing the street. With chocolates. Whoa, what happened to its eyes. Eyes, eyes, gold eyes...What things had gold eyes? Old Vampires? He didn't know much about them. Werewolves? He actually had no idea. Probably some kind of demon. Great.
He sat down again. Hostile as it was, it would be the one to make the first move. He wasn't going to approach it, but he'd hold his ground if it came closer. He was staring straight at it right now. What are you. Where are you from. What are you doing here. get over here, let's hash this out right here, right now.
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Post by Xaviul Zasolavish on Sept 5, 2011 19:42:51 GMT -5
The man wasn't attacking, or running away. He was just sitting there again, staring. For some reason this was more aggravating than an attack, and Xaviul couldn't help a slight growl, especially when he caught a good whiff of the other. Vampire, he should have figured... But what did it want already!?
"Look leech, I'm getting sick of the old man stalker routine. You want something from me, just come out with it so I can say no and maybe grind your face in to pulp in the street. What did I do to get your attention, you got a thing against someone with a sweet tooth?" By now he was snarling, flashing more fang than was necessary. Oh well, it was helping him calm down a bit, or maybe that was just because he was actually confronting his unwelcome admirer.
He took a few steps closer, then decided to throw caution to the wind and continued moving until he was about ten feet away from the other. People were probably starting to stare, but that wasn't his concern right now. "Well, fang-face? You here to try and abduct me or kill me or something? Going to have quite the scene if you try it now. So how about you skulk back in to what ever hole you crawled out of and let me enjoy my night, hmn?"
Ah, he was feeling much calmer now. The gold dimmed from his eyes but he kept them focused on Panther, unsure if his words might provoke an attack. If so, well... The whole grnding his face in to the street wasn't an idle threat.
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Post by The Panther on Sept 5, 2011 20:40:38 GMT -5
Wow, what an asshole. Panther had heard both parts of the conversation. At least he knew now from the man's voice what his sexx was. That cleared up an awkward question. He hauled himself to his feet again as he spoke.
"Jesus, got a problem with people lookin' at you?" he asked. "Just wanted to let you know that I don't know what the f*ck you are and I don't like it. This is my part of town, and I don't like strange things skulkin' about with their faces plastered to glass. So if you don't mind, I ain't gonna touch you, so you can back the f*ck off on that front, but I'mma follow you for a while. Make sure I don't have to deal with you. I run these streets, I protect these people. This town may have a rep for letting non-humans do whatever the f*ck they want, but you try anything, you better watch your neck because if you even touch any of the humans around here, me and my fang-face are gonna drag you right back into the hole we crawled out of, f*cking chocolates and all, and make you sorry you ever came around here. You got that?"
He wasn't afraid of some pansy little weird-smelling chocolate-lover that looked like a girl, and he wasn't going to even bother with its bullshit. He kind of wished it hadn't taken such an immediate disliking to him because he actually did want to know what it was and what was going on with its teeth--which had flashed more than just ivory at him from down the block--but he had to deal with what he was given.
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Post by Xaviul Zasolavish on Sept 5, 2011 20:54:14 GMT -5
Panther's verbal attack made Xaviul pause, but not because of the threat towards himself- but rather, what the threat was about. A vampire protecting humans was rather strange, and though he was instantly intrigued, he kept himself cautious. He didn't know why the other was protecting humans after all... Could just be that he didn't want anyone else touching his meals. A rather unsavory idea really.
Still, he settled down at the idea that the other could be helping somewhat. One vampire hunting this section of town was better than twenty after all, as cruel as that sounded. He eyed the other, trying to determine the other's age but failing. He didn't seem ancient though, especially with his rather colorful language- it might have been a bit of a stereotype but Xaviul had never heard an older vampire using modern curses.
"You insult me by even thinking that I would harm a human." It was quite the slight against his species really. He had been raised knowing he would one day die trying to protect humankind, the idea of instead turning on them was nauseating. "But you obviously have no idea what I am, so I will ignore it." Still, the idea of the other following him around was not a pleasant one. He glanced around but decided against high-tailing it quickly- he didn't know this city, while the vampire probably did. But being followed around wasn't something he was about to agree to, he had no where to go but his apartment. No way was he leading the leech there!
He took a slow step forward and kept walking, skirting around Panther just out of easy grabbing range before he settled down on the furthest edge of the bench. "But if you want to follow me, fine. Just don't expect me to be going anywhere." He put his bags down on the bench beside him, keeping his eyes on Panther as he reached in to grab a carrot out of the bag and taking a hearty bite. The earlier sandwich hadn't filled him up, and if he was stuck here he was going to grab a bite to eat.
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Post by The Panther on Sept 5, 2011 21:05:36 GMT -5
The thing's fully disarmed response was entirely unexpected. Panther had been bristling for a fight, ready to spring at a moment's notice...and instead had received a simple rebuff of his assumption. Well that was interesting. He remained tense as the creature began to move, still ready to follow or defend himself or whatever else the situation called for, but...it sat down? He really should start thinking of it as a he. Now that it had a defined gender, at least.
And...he was eating. Okay. Harmless.
"...Y'can't stay here all night," he said, knowing as soon as the words were out of his mouth that they formed a blatant lie. If this thing wasn't a Vampire, it very well could stay out here until sunrise forced him to flee. Fantastic. "You gonna bite my face off if I sit on this side and wait?" He gestured at the far side of the bench. it was wide enough that it might accommodate two people between them. He didn't have a problem with it, but flashy-tooth might.
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Post by Xaviul Zasolavish on Sept 6, 2011 11:19:14 GMT -5
Xaviul gave a snort at Panther's words, glancing up at him as he swallowed his mouthful. "I can stay here as long as I want. Of course, you can't say the same now can you?" Smug with his plan to keep the other from prying in to his life he continued eating his carrot, watching the other. He still had no idea why the other was so damned interested in him, but it was starting to annoy him.
"Are you really going to sit here all night if I don't move?" He scowled at the vampire, taking a finishing bite of his carrot as he leaned back against the bench. "Why are you even following me? If it's simple curiosity you really need to get your priorities right." He drummed his claws against the armrest, starting to get a bit impatient. He wasn't used to sitting next to a vampire after all, and the thought of having to do it for the rest of the night? Maybe he should just offer the vampire a bite off his arm, get him intoxicated and ditch him then.
"If you really are going to stay with me, you might as well sit down." He grumbled something under his breath before he sighed, watching the street. "You have a name, or should I just keep calling you Stalker?"
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Post by The Panther on Sept 6, 2011 11:50:00 GMT -5
Panther wasn't too pleased that the thing called him out on his lie immediately. He'd kind of hoped it would slide. He sat down on his own end of the bench. He didn't care about their distance, but he understood from tone and body language that it didn't care much for him, so he kept as much distance as he comfortably could.
"Thanks," he said. He would have sat down regardless of permission, but he at least had some decent courtesy to ask for and appreciate it. "The name's Panther. And yeah, I do plan on sittin' here with you, I don't got anything else to do tonight. A new jacket can wait if it means this place is safe from new...things. And I told you, I don't know what you are, and that's more than just curiosity. There's some sick things in this town, and I wanna be the first to know if there's a new one I need to kick out or kill. So if you want to make this easier, I'd appreciate it if you told me what the hell you are."
Hopefully he wouldn't be difficult. Maybe he was a little hotheaded, but Panther couldn't blame him for that, and at least he was reasonable. He didn't seem like a bad...thing. But demons were annoyingly clever, and with the age gap between Panther and most of them, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
"And I told you my name, you wanna do me the same courtesy? I mean, I don't mind callin' you 'thing' in my head, but it's kinda disrespectful..."
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Post by Xaviul Zasolavish on Sept 6, 2011 12:22:12 GMT -5
This vampire... Wanted to help keep the city safe. Xaviul's first thoughts on that was that it was ridiculous, that monsters couldn't protect against other monsters. But then a little voice in his head piped up that it was sort of... Adorable for the vampire to think he could be anything other than he was. How could you judge and condemn other bloodsucker when you had the same diet as them? Quite hypocritical of him.
Still, the revelation had put Xaviul in a bit of a better mood, though the grin that found it's way to his lips was a bit mocking. "I'll tell you, though I don't know how much good it'll do you. I'm a Zavyl." He turned his attention to his bags again, pulling out the box of fudge- if he had to deal with a clearly insane vampire, he wanted to enjoy some chocolate while he was doing it. "And my name is Xaviul. Xaviul De'Felashardae Zasolavish." He felt comfortable enough telling his full name, since it would be pretty hard to track him down with- the vampire probably wouldn't be able to pronounce it right, let alone spell it.
"You're a rather young vampire, aren't you? You really think you have what it takes to go around protecting your city? The moment you go head to head with a vampire in the hundreds, they'll chew you up and spit you back out." He still didn't have an approximate guess of Panther's age, but his attitude made him immediately assume he wasn't past a hundred. "Honestly, you can't even go and kill them in the daytime. And since you've settled in to this one city, the moment you get a reputation one of the older vampires is going to crush you. Bet they hate one of their own killing them than another species." He popped a piece of fudge in to his mouth, savoring the flavor as he glanced at the other.
"And to be honest, what makes you better than them? If you're killing because of their diet, well... You've got a problem. I've never heard of a vampire that goes around killing other vampires before." Probably because any youngster who got that idea in their head got picked off pretty quickly. So how did Panther survive?
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Post by The Panther on Sept 6, 2011 12:52:51 GMT -5
The more this thing--"Xaviul," as it called itself--talked, the angrier Panther got. Who the f*ck did it think it was, breezing about with it's kid candy, calling what he did essentially useless.
"Y'know what, how about you just shut up? I like you better with your face in that candy store's window. 'The hell do all you assholes thing you can just talk down to me." He pushed himself off the bench angrily. He didn't need to deal with this arrogant little girl telling him what he already knew. He turned and glared at Xaviul. "I don't kill 'em because they drink blood, so stop thinking you know everything about me," he said darkly. "I kill 'em because they terrorize people. They take normal people and make more of themselves. They make more monsters. And they trade, buy, and feed on slaves. I kill 'em because they're...I don't know, evil, or something. They like hurting people, and killing people they feed on, and it's not just Vampires!" He faced the creature fully. "I go after demons that are stupid enough to try shit around me, too. Now I don't need to sit here and listen to you lording your superiority over me. I'll bet you're one of 'em. I'll bet you just walk around here all high and mighty with even a f*cking second glance at the people around you. They're not just...cows."
He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he turned and started to walk away. He needed to punch something badly. He wasn't going to go far, just to some rooftop somewhere and maybe take out someone's chimney. It was better than taking out someone's face. And he would watch the Zavil...thing...from up there.
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Post by Xaviul Zasolavish on Sept 6, 2011 13:08:45 GMT -5
Wow. Xaviul wasn't really expecting an outburst like that. If anything he was expecting a physical attack, but apparently he had hit a nerve with the vampire. He watched the other through his rant and when he was done and stalking away Xaviul stood, following him. "Sorry to tell you, but you've got me pegged all wrong. I'm nothing like them, and really I'm a bit insulted that you would even dare to think that, let alone say it to my face. My race has been protecting humanity since before your ancestors had any idea they needed protecting."
He scowled a bit, stopping. "And we've been nearly wiped out because of it. So don't go looking down on me and thinking that you're above me. My whole race has sacrificed itself in the name of protecting the weak, so excuse me when I hear some young little vampire go spouting off to me about how evil vampires and demons are because you obviously don't even know half of their cruelty."
He watched the other's back, keeping one hand ready at his side to pull his gun if needed. "And they aren't the only species dealing with humans like cattle. Hell, some of them are slaves too. Almost all species are guilty of selling their weak on the market and purchasing their own slaves. So you obviously have something a bit more personal against your own kind don't you?"
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