--

Wide eyes examine the minute cracks of a well worn glass. Amber tinted liquid swirling at the command of her jeweled fingers. As usual, Lilit was alone to her thoughts that swirled and crested as the waves of a vast ocean. The bar, a nondescript establishment with irritating service, was  as less than half capacity. It was private and it was quiet. She could sense danger if it happened too close while still exercising an independence she felt so lost without.

It was a lot to process, a fleeting moment where death was closing in, Lilit hadn’t  fully come to terms with what that end might have looked like. It terrified her. Sinclair’s words, ink on the pages of her mind now, ingrained on the backs of her eyelids. Do not hesitate, and yet she showed mercy again. This time the results had left her wanting and confused. 

Her eyes glazed with deep thought and contemplation, teeth chewing at her lip while the glass slipped from her hand to the stool, peppering a passerby with the potent stench of alcohol. “Oops.” Lilit waved it off, snapping her fingers for another drink. “Do you need a napkin?”

..

                    It was a rare night that Austin found himself with a large stretch of free time. He was sure that since arriving in New York he had been doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and training, he wasn’t even sure what he should do with a night to himself. Tonight both Zaiden and Sinclair were busy with their own things, or each other he wasn’t entirely sure, and that left the young vampire to his own devices for the night.

                    The bar he had found seemed to be quiet, not super crowded like some of the other places he had passed in his walk. Perhaps just a few drinks would be a good way to begin, and somewhere quiet meant there was less of a chance he would come across any sort of trouble. His shoulders were still aching from his last training session. After ordering his drink he spied an open seat and as he moved to take it he felt the tell tale sign of someone’s drink splashing him.

                    Bagged blood just didn’t have the same taste as fresh blood. It was a fact that every vampire knew but no one really talked about. After all there wasn’t really anything that could be done, all things considered. It wasn’t like you could go out and just drink from whoever you’d like, there seemed to be more rules about that here in New York than he remembered there being back home. Austin didn’t really mind though, he was here because he wanted to be. He wasn’t going to start complaining about some small like that. Austin had come to New York because he wanted to train with the best of the best. Which was exactly what he had found when his training was assigned to Zaiden Hendricks and Sinclair Portier.

THINLY-VEILED ANNOYANCE ETCHES itself into every sharp angle & high plane of his chiseled features , blue hues narrowing into chips of pure ice as they sweep over the trainee with disdain. the hours had been gruelling , but zaiden had yet to break so much of a sweat in the midst of the training that had commenced before twilight had even shed its violet hues over the city. the dark-haired death dealer had always believed in starting before darkness settled over the glittering skyline – for no good session would come to fruition with only a few meager minutes spent in the sprawling training room. though zaiden had been known for being particularly brutal with his habits , that did little to stop him from recognizing a young vampire who had become far too beaten down by exhaustion. pathetic. 

head cants to the side as cold eyes appraise austin critically , fangs clicking together with mocking amusement as he notes the way each breath austin exhales is labored at best. ❝ lesson number two , ❞ the elder vampire begins , voice little more than a low , bored drawl as he circles around the other , ❝ is to know your limits. ❞ the words barely leave his lips before zaiden lunges forward with breakneck speed. austin is hardly afforded the opportunity to places his legs defensively before zaiden’s tall , agile figure barrels into him with enough force to barrel the other into the cement once more. 

a harsh , resounding crack echoes through the empty room as austin’s head snaps back onto the floor – and though the scent of fresh blood soon follows , zaiden doesn’t even flare his nostrils. a hand is placed upon austin’s chest , inked digits spreading out to keep him flat down beneath him as long legs holster on either side of him , keeping the younger effectively caged down on the ground , though he bears no weight on him. ❝ see what i mean ? ❞ he sounds far from enthused , even sparing a dramatic eye-roll & scoff before swinging himself off. he lifts himself up into a standing position , one hand brushing whatever imaginary first may be gathered upon his sweat-drenched shirt – and though his knuckles are bruised & bloody form the hours he had spent beating what little sense he could manage into the recruit , he looks far more elegant than austin. a brow quirks as he casts austin a neutral look. ❝ when i say break , we break. so don’t argue with me. we’ll get ourselves some blood and take thirty to catch our breaths. understood ? ❞

                    Stars erupted in his vision, blacking out for a second before Austin found himself looking up at the ceiling of the training room again. Moments later Zaiden’s face was in front of his and he could feel the other’s hand on his chest effectively keeping him down. “Fuck” He groaned as he let his head roll back against the concrete. He could feel the blood at the back of his head, and he felt the last of the strength that he’d been holding onto leave him.

                    As much as he wanted to keep going, to push through, he knew that Zaiden was right. He was far past his need for a break. Austin wasn’t prepared for the look on his trainer’s face as he finally pulled himself up into a sitting position on the concrete floor. There was a note of finality in Zaiden’s words and Austin knew any kind of argument wasn’t going to get him anywhere, he’d brought this upon himself--plus he could really use a rest. “Alright, break.” He agreed, his voice betraying just how exhausted he felt and Austin didn’t know if thirty minutes was going to be enough time for him to pull himself together.

                    “I want to be the best I can be.” He turned as he stretched up, his arms rising above his head. “I know you’ve been at this far longer than I’ve even been alive...but I won’t get better unless I train more right?” The last thing he was trying to do was question Zaiden’s methods. Clearly he could trust the other vampire to train him, but Austin also knew he was still holding onto some of the things he’d been taught before coming to New York. The same ideals that had left him defeated at the hand of a pack of rogue lycans, but it was harder to unlearn than he originally thought. 

                    A grunt of pain escaped him as once again Austin found himself lying on his back on the floor of the mansion’s training room. Over the last few hours he had become very well acquainted with the cold cement that stretched from wall to wall. He didn’t mind, each and every bruise that he collected during these sessions brought him closer to his goal of being the best fighter that he could be. There was a scoff from the other side of the room and Austin pulled himself up to his feet with the softest of groans.

                   “I’m fine,” he grunts quietly, his chest still heaving as he straightens up. He could feel each and every one of his muscles screaming at the effort. Every nerve was still on fire as he sank back into a defensive stance. It was clear that he needed a break but the young vampire wasn’t about to give in to his aching limbs. Instead he was completely focused on Zaiden’s stern gaze.

                   Austin hadn’t figured out just what made Zaiden Hendricks so serious, but the death dealer never failed to level a room with a single gaze. It was only one of the things that Austin had grown to really admire about the older vampire. He knew that Zaiden was the best of the best and he was lucky that he’d even consented to teach him in the first place.

                    The decision to move to New York wasn’t something that Austin had decided on lightly. He knew that he was lucky the lycan attack that had claimed three of his friends hadn’t taken his life as well. And that was why he was here getting his ass kicked on a near daily basis. He needed to learn how to better protect himself so he would never be caught in such a situation again. He knew that he had a lot to learn, which was why he never minded when his training sessions left him exhausted and beaten. He needed to build up the stamina that the other death dealers had if he was ever going to be a part of their ranks. And that was the ultimate goal really. He wanted to be one of the death dealers. Someone who was tasked with taking care of the coven. Protecting them from outside threats.

                   Tonight though he was exhausted and all he wanted to do was make it back to his bedroom and hibernate for a season or two. The problem was that he was sure just how to get back to his bedroom, he was too tired to just start wandering around and the couches here in the living area looked far too comfortable to pass up.

                   “I just need a few minutes,” he mumbled to himself as he sank into the plush cushions. It didn’t take him too long to get comfortable, all but melting into the couch as he let out a loud sigh. It was only after a few moments he realized that he wasn’t alone.

character. none.

occupation. mid-level coven member, death dealer in training

faction. bloodsworn

name. Austin Valdez

age. 100 | physically 26

gender & pronouns. cis man, he/him

faceclaim. rome flynn

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