;; the trickster

Only a few things made Ana angry. Being hungry was definitely one of those things. Being hungry and being annnoyed by the never ending feeling that something was wrong somewhere in the world made her angrier. Which is why she found herself complaining to a vending machine. “Estúpida máquina de mierda!” She cursed, kicking the machine. Could she use her magic to get the food? Definitely. But what better way to let her frustration out than to kick something.

“Patearlo probablemente no ayudará, mami. “ Her brow raised and amusement washed over her features as she walked closer. “Besides, you don’t want to damage those heels.” Naturally, she noticed them, the womans attire was very up her street. “Designer?” Nodding towards them before she turned her head towards the machine. With a small tip of her head, everything on the shelves came crashing down to the bottom. “Well, would you look at that, maybe the kick did work.” She played it off, though the smirk was evident as she leaned down and grabbed herself a packet of candy. 

“healed from much worse, so..” he’d leave that to her imagination, boy he knew she had one. he couldn’t technically say yes, but he could regenerate for numerous amount of injuries, what was a couple of poked eyes? he soon scoffed, clearly calling bullshit, “sure.” he even nods, “gotta be disappointing somehow, huh.” he was teasing, joking, apparently caring not for the expected act of pretence shock. “not well, in the end.” he chuckled, he wasn’t saying it wasn’t good to begin with. maybe things would have been different for him if they hadn’t been hunted? maybe was a strange concept for him. “it is.” he steps forward, opening the door for her,  “finest desserts for a mile.” he meant literally at that. 

there was a moment where she thought was she being stupid for even considering lowering her weapon, she was conflicted but relented in the end. what was she going to do? remain stood with her weapon aimed and not fire, because she knew she wasn’t going to. there was apart of her that was believing the stranger— even despite what she knew she could do and right now? it was sixty forty, hence the reason why she had put the safety cap on, quietly sliding the gun back into the holster it was previously tucked into as another figure appeared. she didn’t say anything, she even stopped moving at the exchange between the pair. it was curious but she stilled her features, keeping them straight as she controlled her breathing. the only thing giving her away was the beat of her heart as her adrenaline suddenly rushing through her body. she could see how calm they both were and she felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb, they both were not human and if she was reading this situation correctly, they both were ancient. which, annoyingly, the woman was right, her gun was useless. the huntress wanted to say she was leaving when the directed question met her, but her delay in response? perhaps a godsend as she watched the other.. what? shield her? her brows furrowed in confusion, the giveaway on her features lasted seconds but it was enough to be noticed. “the human is your new pet?” she could see the hint of amusement behind the male’s eyes, even despite the blank expressions he sported. he even took a step around to see more of her, his hands now behind his back. there’s an arch to his brow as he studies what he could see, his vision not being able to miss the firearm. rhiannon suddenly found herself practically jumping in shock as she felt something warm and getting increasingly hotter against her leg, looking down she can see the metal of her gun melting against her, “what the—–” she gasped, instantly releasing the clip of her holster, making it drop to the ground. “shit.” she pulled the arm of her sleeve over her hand and started to rub her thigh, trying to get the remains off of her body. she could see the fabric to her jeans having torn away. she could feel the burn, it was throbbing. she takes a step away. “what the hell was that?!” she figured it was the man— whatever he was, he did it without even touching her. the angel soon brings one hand from behind his back and with a small motion she finds herself being forced to walk closer, like an invisible force was dragging her forward and once she was more exposed and not behind carmen, she stops. rhiannon tries to lift her feet to move away, but she can’t. it’s almost like she’s stuck. “and the human serves a purpose?” he’s asking the trickster now, and the huntress turns her head to face her, she doesn’t say anything, she sees herself remaining alive that little bit longer if she stayed silent.

“what can i say? i get lonely on my own.” she resisted an eye roll. as powerful as she was? she knew the angel had her beat, annoyingly. given the look in his eyes she figured it was safe to say he wasn’t one of the good ones. honestly, gabriel was right, even just from witnessing this she quickly decided she didn’t blame him for pretending to be a trickster and hide from his brethren. her head twisted around to see what the girl was yelling about, small frown and a pair of increasingly irritated eyes. “do you mind?” she snipped, looking back at him. sure she didn’t much care for what he did to this girl, she was more annoyed that she pretended to be here with her just for him to, what? not give a shit? “not very kind of you.” she added, never one to hold her tongue though in this case she was actively trying. “you wouldn’t do anything to upset your daddy now, would you?” she was implying that if he killed the girl, God wouldn’t be pleased. “she does. so if you could take your pet and flutter away, we can forget this ever happened.” tight-lipped, she looked towards rhiannon. “won’t we?” she looked back at the angel, standing tall and smug. “are you giving me an order, lady mischief?” his head tilted, he was not impressed, but neither was she. “oh i’m sorry, do you want to stay here? i’m flattered. we can have a good ol’ chat whilst your demon festers on the ground.” nodding towards the half-collapsed heap, she did wonder what he was doing with her, but didn’t care enough to ask. judging by the state of her body there wouldn’t be any soul left to save even if she wanted to try. 

the more she concentrated on rustling in front of her, the more she was starting to realise it wasn’t just there she could hear something. this was typically accurate, walk alone in a quieter part and get ambushed. fantastic. the huntress decided to pull her gun from her holster, aiming it for the trees, index now resting on the trigger. seeing the woman? brought a surprise on her features, it wasn’t good, it even simmered to a bubbling feeling of annoyance. so this was her? that’s all she could think and who could blame her? whatever she was she had made her see a number of things that wasn’t possible— she could create a whole new reality within a blink of an eye and she was now telling her to be quiet? acting as if something else was going on? rhiannon didn’t know what to believe, more so because of the experience she had in the past. “you’re doing this, stop it.” she was quick to blame her, even as the noise around grew louder. she takes a step away, still directing her gun at the woman, sure, she knew it wouldn’t work. she was powerful, what would her gun do against someone that could do what she could? her head soon whips into the direction of the whistling, it sounded so real. hearing the other whisper, warning her to move out of harms way, was confusing. “you want me to believe you?” she takes a few more steps away, now seeing the woman as the enemy. “how do i know this isn’t another trick.” her own voice is hushed, trying to keep herself quiet even despite questioning the one she thought was doing this.

there was a low scoff, a look that silently said ‘seriously?’ when the gun was pointed and aimed her way. it would hurt her, sure, but it wouldn’t do any fatal damage if she was lucky enough to hit her. carmen however, was not keen on the idea that her gorgeously expensive ( not that she paid for them ) clothes would be ruined by a bullet hole. “no, i’m not.” a simple answer, a truthful one, no, she wasn’t doing this, but she was old enough to know exactly what did. “i want you to stop talking.” she gave her a tight-lipped expression before her body twisted more towards the noise, brown eyes cast outward, awaiting the being to turn the corner. “you don’t. but if you’re willing to risk getting your eyes burned out too, by all means, shoot.” somehow she felt like she knew the girl wouldn’t ( and if she did, well shit ) so her eyes didn’t even glance back, they glued instantly to the tall, slim man who cocked his head and stared right back at them. this man? he was an angel, one who had a vice-like grip on the arm of a black-eyed demon who was only upright because of it. “what a rare sight.” he mused, curved of his lips that looked so wicked the average person would never believe an angel could ever sport it. “i haven’t encountered one of your kind in a very long time.” he added, making carmens red lips smile ( only because she didn’t care what he was, what he was doing or even what he could do now. ) “right back at you. you’re making quite the mess.” she tweaked a brow, noticing how his attention had diverted onto the human. “no more than needed. rest assured the humans inside are now at peace.” in heaven. but the thought didn’t offer any sort of comfort. “you. what is your purpose out here?” he asked rhiannon with a neutral face. her answer? probably depended on whether she lived past the next ten seconds. then again, it didn’t seem like he actually cared at all, which prompted an inward eye-roll from the trickster. “she’s with me.” ugh, even the words left a bitter taste in her mouth. stepping around, she was strategically putting herself in the middle of them, of course, if he wanted to zap to the girl he could, it was more a show of possession than anything else. “and i’ll get awfully pouty if you steal her away.” the pout she displayed was a cute, amused one that surprisingly brought a light twinkle to the angels eyes, though whether that was a good thing? she had no idea.

exploring the quieter parts of the city had been something currently she was enjoying doing alone, she had even been venturing away from where she was staying, wanting to see if she would find anything out of the ordinary. more so because slotting into that sitting duck category made her itch. she wanted to do something. so this time? she was following a lead. she had several weapons on her person as she continued on her path. what caught her eye were sigils  (  one she was sure had been drawn with blood  )  that she didn’t recognise— ones she had taken pictures of to show her brothers. the deeper she got she suddenly came to a halt, what she saw? two dead bodies. those with their eyes burnt out— or that’s how it looked from where she was standing. she can hear a movement close by, one that tells her she’s not alone. “i’m not playing hide and seek, show yourself.” her favoured hand moves to the handle of her gun, getting ready to pull it out of her holster. @armhqstarter​

a town as small as this wasn’t big enough to hold her creativity or cure her boredom, in most cases. so as she sensed something dark happening near where she had been walking? of course, she had to venture over to see what it was. there was very little that surprised her, if anything at all. the bodies? burnt-out eyes? yawn. that was, until she picked up on the fact not one, but two people were still around. rather than moving towards the powerful one, she moved towards the other, finding none other than the woman she met in the bar the other day. as she spoke and that feeling of a powerful being close by, she stepped out from behind the tree and made a criss-cross with her hands, as if to say, cut it out. “quiet.” she whispered, it was a warning and it was a genuine one, whether or not she would believe her was still a question to be answered. yet, after she said it, there was a whistling tune that sounded in the air, turning her head in the direction of whoever killed the people on the ground. she supposed they could sense both her and the girl, the whistle was a mere mocking sound. “well aware you don’t trust me, but you can trust me when i say you don’t want to be here when whoever that is, reaches us. your weapons won’t help you.” a fair warning, she thought. though perhaps her calm demeanour would only make the girl feel more sceptical of her. either way, if she stayed? at least carmen could say i told you so over her dead body. 

he shakes his head, thinking that was a hard pass. “i’d rather stick pins in my eyes.” sure he looked good in a suit, but everything else? no. he wouldn’t be able to control himself. “they haven’t got a reason to hide.” he thought, anyway. it wasn’t like they were hunted for being a cancer to their creator. “you wanna see one just offer pretty virgins.” it sounded like he was joking, but he wasn’t and even then, it was highly unlikely she’d draw one out. “i’ve seen more of them than my own kind.” there was only one and even then, we’re talking thousands of years ago. “scare me? “ he deliberately thought about it, more for her benefit. “sure. anyone who can corrupt a mind is worthy.” she didn’t scare him as such, he just knew his sanity was better by being on her good side.

That pop had him jolt back in his place, it felt as if he had woken up from a nightmare, although he was pretty sure he had been awake this entire time. He was questioning himself, and he knew that was never good. What the hell just happened?! ‘’Are you serious?” He now turned the questioning onto the bartender, directing a hint of anger at them. “Fuck you man.” For sure he was never trusting that bartender again, convinced the bartender just spiked his drink. He took a deep breath, turning his head as he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry.” He apologised to her for his words although they were only aimed at the bartender, but not his attention was hers. “Are you okay?” He certainly was not okay with whatever the hell just happened. “Do you feel light headed?” He asked with general concern, and would rather focus on her well being rather than his great need to punch the bartender right now. 

“What?” The barman was naturally confused but he knew better than to engage with abusive customers, all he got was a scoff, a fuck you back and he left to go clean the tables. “Am I okay?” Aw, bless him. Keeping up with appearances, she shook her head, saying no, she wasn’t okay. “Little bit.” Carmen pouted a little, turning her eyes behind him, they grew wide and she stepped back, jumping as the sound of doors slamming shut and disappearing echoed through the bar ( not really ) “I don’t mean to alarm you, but you should probably turn around.” Another step back, she grabbed his arm to pull him with her. “Is that--” 

he doesn’t know what the the ritz is, but that was obvious. “that someplace fancy?” he figured it was by the way in which she spoke, no he wasn’t offended, he didn’t care. perhaps if things were different with the path he was on, maybe he could have appreciated a lot more than he did. “curious i haven’t seen one? yeah.” of course he was, he wasn’t going to lie just because he was relieved he hadn’t. it was odd. but after centuries of not seeing one? the thought of where are they didn’t cross his mind. to him, he had just got better at hiding. “alright alright, no ego.”

Man had he seen some things, and he was doubting himself until it was apparent that he was not the only one. If he didn’t see blood on a daily basis, his reaction might be different than it was now, least he thought it couldn’t get any worse from here on, but he was wrong about that. This was far beyond that, it was deranged. When the guy started chewing on his own skin, Nate had to look away, feeling sick to his stomach, and he could handle gruesome situations but this, this was too much. “Yeah, I do.” He said with a nod to the woman beside him. Nate took a deep breath. “Look, I’m a doctor, I can help you.” He was speaking to the bartender…or was he? Either way, Nate thought the guy was having a psychotic break, nobody in their right mind would be doing this. Now if only he could get the guy to stop, although then Nate would have to find away to get behind the bar and restrain the guy. If his career had taught him anything, it was how to handle a situation like this. The priory was to get this guy some help, and ensure no further damage would be done to the guy himself or anyone else.

“Okay. Good. Well, not good but-- no, I meant good, at least I haven’t lost my mind.” Remaining as still as a statue and holding the frightened but too shocked to move vibe, she had to resist an open laugh. Look, I’m a doctor, I can help you. Oh god bless him, what? “Help him?” Natalia raised a brow and stepped back. “Little beyond help, Doctor.” As if that wasn’t obvious. To give it a sort of supernatural flare, the bartender spat out his skin, right onto the bar top where he lay his palms, leaning into the guy with his bloody face. The smile? It twisted, it grew, sides of his lips splitting open much like the joker, all across his face in an inhumane manner, before... *pop*. Bang went the bartender ( who was only a vision, the real one was still somewhere in the bar ), the blood splattered everywhere. A frantic scream for dramatic effect, the swarm of blood was gone as quick as it came. Everything returned to normal and as though it was planned, out walked the real bartender, looking overly confused. “You two good?” He asked, having no idea what just happened. Natalia placed her hand on the guys shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re a Doctor because I’m about four seconds from a heart attack.” 

Nate didn’t scare easily, it was built into him to keep his head together when disaster struck, and currently this didn’t check those boxes. Clearly it had to be exhaustion, it was the logical explanation he was sticking to, and he hoped that a drink would subside the ‘symptoms.’ Yet, when he took a sip of the bourbon  he could taste something metallic on the tip of his tongue, to which he spat out, and as he placed the glass on the table he noticed the dark red liquid. He glanced to the guy besides him, noticing the other’s drink was the same. “Jesus..” What was happening? Was he hallucinating? From what?

That reaction was much better. She didn’t care much for the guy next to him who quite literally got up and stormed out muttering something about the world being weird. No, she was focused on her original target, still sat on his seat. Was he questioning himself? Oh, bless his heart. Natalia slid out her seat, gearing up to get into character. The bartender left which was perfect, she used her ability to make it look like he returned. “Hey, man.” A vision of stompy feet and anger as she stormed over to the bar. “I know I asked for a bloody mary but this? Is actual blood. What kind of freak are you?” Shoving the glass down, the (fake) bartender began to cackle. His wrist lifted up, showing blood dripping down them as he grabbed a hold of his face, dragging his nails down his skin and tearing it off. All whilst still laughing, just to make it really gross, he bit into the skin and started chewing. “... Please tell me you see this.” A whisper towards the guy, widened eyes and seemingly frozen on her spot in fear.

“yes. better than the last place i was in, anyway.” it was was where he was taking her, the only food-type place he tended to go to in this town. or perhaps, the only place someone could find him. otherwise? he was more or less hidden to all. sure, he was playing the attempt of blending in, but that didn’t mean he had to be a permanent background fixture. “no, actually. not since i saw you last.” which had been centuries ago and no, that didn’t mean he hadn’t encountered others, he just hadn’t a dragon. which, was a relief. he could kill many others that were weaker than him but a dragon? just as difficult to kill as he was. “what’d i tell you? one of a kind.” he playfully winks.

Nate had only just sat down when the bartender came over, and things already begun to get weird. He was staring at was not eyes, but skin, he might be spooked if he didn’t know otherwise, but he was logical with himself. He hadn’t drunk anything yet, but he had just finished his shift, and it had been a busy one. Maybe his exhaustion was messing with his head, that was the explanation he would give to this. “Get me something extra strong.” He sure needed it right now.

A smile spread across her features. Barely even a flinch? Interesting. It seemed self-explanatory to her, that he was one of two things: Crazy, or used to the strange and unexplainable. Admittedly, she enjoyed people like him more than the instant screamers. Natalia waited, the bartender returned with a neat bourbon, eyes in tact, nothing at all out the ordinary. That was, until he’d taken a sip and placed his drink back down. Rather than the amber liquid, he’d see blood, taste it on his tongue like it was real. For dramatic effect, she made the guy sitting next to him see the same thing, like he wasn’t alone in his blood binge. 

there’s   liberation    found under the heavy glow of neon lights ,   a sense of anonymity ,    stripping the barriers of right and wrong .      the loud music that deafens any screams ,   words or thoughts of rationality    —  clubs ,   she’s come to see ,     are nearly a place of worship ,     culminating with despair  &  lust   &  hunger ,    blurring the lines of consciousness ,   turning men into savages ,   slaves of their own primal desires .

the whole world could be on fire  &  they’d still be here ,    trapped in this frenzied ritual of their own volition .   willfully blind to anything but their own desires .  they haven’t fallen on their knees and chanted her name .     they haven’t tossed their children in a pit while praying .    but they might as well have .

she   —   beautiful naamah ,    cursed with awareness notices a lucid pair of eyes following her just as the jagged ends of her fingers drill holes into someone’s neck .   & she looks back ,      red - eyed   &   gleeful ,    like a child or an animal ,    devoid of guilt and shame .

this was more like it. how had she only just discovered this hidden gem? the music vibrated the floor, bodies everywhere losing themselves to the beat. this was more like it -- what fun she could have here if she decided to crack up the heat with a little trickster magic. 

first things first, a strawberry daiquiri and a prime seat at the bar. apparently, she wasn’t the only one here looking for a little mischief, she could sense the dark power emitting from across the room and of course, who other than naamah herself in the thick of it.