كيف انساك

i think i just saw a vampire!  yeah, i did - that’s ALMA AZAHARA (she/her, cisfemale). they’re unknown/appears 27 years old and are aggressive towards humans.  they do work in town (as a HITMAN).  apparently, they’ve been around since JANUARY 1990 and have a dark academia, silent melodramatic executions, and rose with thorns vibe about them. 

╷╷╷╷╷ merlin && isabelle lightwood

― ･❪ ❁ ❫･ ―

╔════════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════════════╗

M E R L I N    had  discovered  pretty  early  on  that  the  magick  here  could  be  different.    it  was  odd,  completely  off  the  wall  in  some  cases.    his  magick  had  always  been  a  bit  different  than  anyone  else’s.    the  way  that  he  was  magick,  that  he  didn’t  have  to  practice  to  be  able  to  use  magick.    but  the  magick  in  town  was  still  unlike  anything  he’d  seen.  there  were  people  who  used  wands,  and  there  were  people  like  izzy  who  had  magick  runes  over  their  body.    it  was  fascinating.    and  hat  she  was  saying  could  work.    combining  different  kinds  of  magick  …  it  could  be  really  good  or  really  bad.

╷╷╷    ❝transferring  memories,  of  course!❞    merlin  said.    he  hadn’t  thought  of  that  angle.    then  again,  there  were  things  he  wouldn’t  have  wanted  arthur  to  see.    poisoning  morgana,  freeing  kilgarrah,    killing  …  being  the  great  dragoon.    ❝i  can  start  researching  memory  transfers.    or  even  ways  that  one  can  share  memories  with  someone  else.    of  course,  memories  can  be  faked  but  it  could  help  jog  the  other  person  if  they  are  seeing  what  happened.❞

╷╷╷    alec.    merlin  had  put  the  pieces  together  fair  quickly.    it  wasn’t  like  lightwood  was  a  common  name.    but  how  would  izzy  feel  that  someone  she  was  clearly  related  to  was  seeing  someone  else  for  help?    and  patient  confidentiality  was  a  thing  but  …  if  someone  had  been  helping  arthur,  merlin  would’ve  wanted  to  know.    ❝he  came  to  me  a  while  ago.    he  knew  he  was  missing  things,  but  wasn’t  sure  what.    i  -    i  think  the  wedding  ring  was  enough  to  tip  him  off  that  he  was  missing  something.    he  wants  to  remember.    you’re  related  to  him  right?    a  sister?    cousin?❞

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   she sighed in relief when he was open minded to carrying things forward with her suggestion. this would definitely start the beginning of a long, strenuous journey. a dive straight into the unknown. albeit this wasn’t particularly a foreign concept to the shadowhunter. “i think i might be able to point you in a few directions. since it’s a thing back in my realm, others who are from there, with their memories intact, can help you.” she suggested. a couple of faces already came to mind. 

   “but i do think that’s a great start! hopefully we can get somewhere with this.” she exclaimed with a nod of her head. when it came to the conjuring of spells, that’s where she would be quite limited. perhaps she’d end up asking clary or the others to help her remember how to make the runes work like before. 

   she leaned in to listen to him attentively explain his relationship with alec. her shoulders sort of slumped at his query. “yeah, i’m his sister.” she confirmed, rather dryly. “if i had a wedding ring and didn’t remember i was even married, i’d definitely think i’d be missing some things.” she empathized with her sibling, goosebumps running down her spine at the mere thought. but he was missing a lot of things. everything really. “i’m glad he was able to get help from you though.” she mentioned, reassurance laced within her intonation. 

         “did you manage to get anywhere with him?”

╷╷╷╷╷ finn && alma azahara

― ･❪ ❁ ❫･ ―

╔════════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════════════╗

H I T M A N  -  that’s  what  she  said  she  was.    should  be  be  worried?    that  was  a  bad  thing  usually.    people  who  killed  for  money.    it  made  his  skin  crawl  just  a  little.    he’d  been  in  a  war,  he’d  had  to  kill  people.    but  it  was  him  or  them,  and  the  thought  of  being  paid  to  go  out    …    well  finn  knew  he  wouldn’t  ever  be  able  to  do  that  job.    were  they  normal  jobs  here?    he  wasn’t  sure  if  he  should  ask.    he  wasn’t  sure  if  he  wanted  to  know  the  answer  to  it,  honestly.

╷╷╷    he  watched  as  she  dug  into  the  coffee  cake,  his  mouth  spreading  out  into  a  smile  when  she  liked  it.    he  knew  it  was  good.    if  he  and  rey  liked  it,  then  surely  other  did  too!    of  course,  they  both  had  sweet  tooths  so  maybe  not.    but  here  was  another  person  who  liked  it.        ❝i  told  you!    it’s  one  of  my  favorite  things  to  get  here.    it’s  best  in  the  morning,  when  they’ve  just  taken  it  out  of  the  oven  and  it’s  super  super  fresh.❞

╷╷╷    he  shifted  a  bit,  debating  his  words  for  a  half  second.    ❝so  does  that  mean  i  get  a  safety  net  if  someone  tries  to  put  a  hit  on  me?❞  he  asked,  a  bit  of  a  teasing  lit  to  his  voice.    not  that  he  thought  anyone  would  put  a  hit  on  him.    if  ben  had  his  memories,  or  if  someone  from  the  first  order  was  here  -  maybe.

╚════════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════════════╝

   if anyone had been listening in to their conversation, they must have thought of how nerdy the other sounded. which came off as rather admirable to the vampire. to be so elated by a mere dessert in a local shop. it really is the small things that matter after all. 

    she placed the fork down on the plate, a small clank sound arose. she did not want to seem so greedy after a mere coffee cake. but it really managed to reel her in. she tilted her head sideways looking at finn. one edge of her mouth curved upwards into a smirk as she shrugged her shoulders. “i may be able to provide you such reassurance.” she acknowledged. it was impressionable that he maintained his composure despite the mention of her eccentric occupation. “but where’s the fun in that.” she added. 

   “not sure if this’ll make thee feel better or anythin’    but i’m probably as moral as they come when it comes to...this sort of business.”

   an eyebrow arched out of curiosity. “you just basically fangirled over some cake. who would want to put a hit on you?” a small chuckle left her lips as she looked at him in disbelief. then again, she didn’t really know just who she was talking to. not to mention he did say something about having a history. “unless you stole someone’s else’s cake? which i wouldn’t blame you for, by the way.” 

Clary looked over at Izzy and nodded slightly. “I know you do. I always have yours as well. It’s one reason why I asked you to become my parabatai but obviously things happened that never happened. But the thought is all the same, and I would do anything for you and everybody else I care about” she said softly.

When she mentioned Johnathan she gave a small nod, she understood that her brother had played them all a lot and she honestly had not wanted any part of all his chaotic actions, not even her fathers actions. She was more like her mother more then anything and she wouldn’t change it for sure.

“I try and think of it that way at least. That sounds perfect to me very much” she said with an added smile. 

      listening to clary, she slowly nodded her head. yet again she pressed her lips into a thin line. just one more thing to add to the mental list of things she wasn’t able to recall. it gave isabelle the urge to bang her head against the wall. but she knew that probably wouldn’t jog any of her memories. she’d deal with those feelings later then. what grabbed her attention was the sincerity of the ginger’s words. come to think of it, they’ve really faced a lot of obstacles together. though not blood, she considered them family.

  “look girl, parabatai or not, i got your back.” she reassured with a small smile. “we’re that close. jace and alec? nothing on us.” even though the two she mentioned were literally bonded by a rune. but you get the point. isabelle was determined to express their bond the best she could.

   “so, what should we do on this new chapter of our lives? got any bright ideas? if not, i can take care of us when i get off work.” 

.

Her answer was somewhat less than convincing, but he didn’t press the issue, instead waiting for her to fill in the blanks on her own. Most people who needed someone to talk to would do that without further prompting. He nodded in understanding when the truth came out. It wasn’t so unlike his own situation, and his empathy flared. “I’m sorry. I know how difficult that is. I haven’t seen Jack, my son for all intents and purposes, since I arrived here.”

Once he would have been able to solve that problem for both of them easily, but not being able to appear where he wanted had long predated Sallow Hills. “You didn’t. I asked,” he assured her. He found it easier to hear other people’s problems than to talk about his own, also likely a side effect of hanging out with Winchesters. Communication wasn’t exactly a strength for any of them. “Is there something special about today?” Some days, the grief came out of nowhere, but there were others when he knew exactly what had set him off.

   the dull ache tugged at her heart when he mentioned his son. so he gets it. that was all he had to say. without explaining anything else, she could empathize with the other. for she could understand him in their silence   the unspoken. today, the silence was a little too loud for chloe to deal with. “thank you for the reassurance. i’m sorry to hear that. i’m sure he misses you too.” she consoled, giving a small smile. although she wasn’t sure just how much that’d alleviate any ache, if any at all. just how similar were their situations?

   “today’s her birthday. i usually get together with her father to come up with a good plan to celebrate.” she explained, turning her head to look at the other’s frontage, loose blonde strands framing her face ever so gently. hopefully a sudden gush of wind wouldn’t mess it up. “not this time. it just feels so empty.” she sighed. it almost felt like she was stuck in limbo. every day, waking up in disappointment with the constant reminder that she was without her daughter. one would hope this tragic predicament would soon come to an end. “kids    they take up so much of your life that it’s like when they’re not around, you don’t really know what to do with yourself. how have you been dealing with it? through the praying you did earlier?” 

      Alec feels like he shouldn’t have to warn people about the devil. He figures it’s something people just know as common sense. The devil means something evil, and therefore anyone with any sense should stay away. He wants believe that if Chloe has enough sense to be a private investigator, then she should also have enough sense to be wary of the man claiming to be Lucifer the fallen angel. But  he hasn’t know her too long so really what does he know. 

      He takes a glance at the sheet of paper she holds up and somewhere in his head it registers that it’s a duck. An inflatable duck, but her next words momentarily distract him from her plight. She’s known him for years. Alright, so maybe he shouldn’t get himself too involved there. A warning can’t do any harm though, right? Alec shrugs and begins walking, motioning for her to follow his lead. 

      He doesn’t wan to overstep too much but if he had to guess, Chloe must be somewhat enamored by the man, based on the way she spoke of him the other night. He sighs and says, 

      ❝ I’m not in any position to give relationship advice, but just be careful. He followed me for about a week, very badly hiding himself as he did so. I confronted him about it and he tried to flirt his way out of it. ❞

      He winces of the memory of Lucifer referring to him as darling. He shakes his head at the memory and turns back to look at her.  ❝ Anyway, you lost a duck? Is it for a child? Maybe we can find another one at a store. ❞

   the blonde proceeded to follow the other. the first thing she noticed was the recognizable height difference between the two. much like her and the others back at the precinct, particularly with her partner. her thoughts were racing between lucifer and the duck’s whereabouts. at the same time she was trying to pay attention to what alec decided to share with her. 

   she nodded her head a couple of times. a scoff left her lips before she chuckled to him mentioning lucifer flirting with him. she crossed her arms over her chest to recompose herself. “i’m laughing because that sounds like him, not because it bothered you. h-he what? why was he following you?” she asked. he should’ve at least been more discreet about that. you’d think working with law enforcement for a couple of years that he would pick up a thing or two. especially since being secretive and going undercover were literally a major part of their assignments together. 

   and then flirting out of it? oh he was going to hear from her when this was over. 

  lucifer? child? almost the same but not quite. he was just able to do adult activities. and he was very enthusiastic about that aspect of his life. anyone that knew lucifer, knew about his hobbies one way or another. she hummed for a couple of moments to ponder on a proper response. “yeeeah....” she trailed off. “a very big child. i’m not sure if any stores here will have that duck. it’s not just a rubber duck you bathe with, ya’ know?” 

/

alma still left nana a little speechless who tried her best not to babble out something stupid, internally begging herself not to blush because that would be - could it be more embarrassing? so, she said nothing instead.

 “no. i mean - i don’t think so?” the details were blurry to her ; there had been little sound, and not even zakuro had reacted to anything malicious being in the air. that’s why nana had previously worried about being dead. not so much anymore. “i didn’t hear them, didn’t see anything. just woke up at the b&b with a lump on my head. i don’t even know who saved me,”

she’d quizzed her snake who was as clueless as her. that was scary, to. “alma, are you settling for the quiet life, finally?” nana enquired, though her smile betrayed any notion that it was a serious suggestion. 

  she couldn’t blame her for not being able to recall much. an unfortunate victim    something that she knew better than anything else. a sigh left the vampire’s lips. guess she owed whoever saved nana a proper thanks. “since you’re here now with me, you won’t have to worry about that happening again.”

  albeit it left her perplexed that they left her in a b&b of all places. not the most dangerous place but that was for the best. “what’s a quiet life to you, nana?” she inquired out of mere curiosity. since perspective was everything when it came to how one carried out their life. 

   the vampire was not hesitant to lash out at the slightest threat towards those she favored. anything but humans really. she hummed in response to the other’s query and pursed her lips to the side. “i wouldn’t say quiet.” she emphasized at the end. “this place is anything but tranquil. but a peaceful life doesn’t sound bad. but we can wreak havoc every once in a while though if you’re up for that. add a little spice to the monotony of it all.” 

Hearing her words, it baffled him. He didn’t want to put Alec through anything traumatic so that would not happen, it was scratched from the list he made in his head. Another idea he had was that he could locate all the warlocks and witches in town, try and combine all their magic together to find a solution. Magnus knew he should share this idea but he didn’t want to give her false hope. Not when he was unsure if it would actually work. He cared deeply for Isabelle, she was his sister in law after all. And he would never do anything that could hurt her. Not like he had in the past. Magnus always put others and their needs above himself and his own, sometimes to a degree that was a little too extreme. 

“There must be a way out of this mess. I can’t for the life of me believe that Alec has to go through something traumatic to get his memories back. And I will not let it come to that point. What kind of a husband would I be if I did such a thing?” Magnus asked, tilting his head to the side. “There must be another way. And I will make damn sure to find it” he flashed her a smile.

    well, she certainly wouldn’t argue with that. the safer the others were, the better. unfortunately there was only so much isabelle could do on her own. “magnus,” she began, “do you remember back home that memories would be able to be transferred to others?” there was no telling how well this would work, if it’d even work at all. but to her it was worth taking all the shots. she wasn’t the only one desperately clinging onto that sliver of hope. it was going to take more than this ridiculous magical force to stop them. whoever is behind this do not know exactly who they’re up against. 

    “do you think you’d be able to do something with that?” she definitely didn’t want to get her hopes up or his. anyone for that matter. 

.

“It’s kind of you to ask.” A small, reflexive smile touched his lips, both at the question and at the fact that she’d obviously stopped and waited for him to finish rather than interrupt. If Sallow Hills was nothing else, it was a reminder that people were more good than bad. He saw a lot of them here who were just trying to help, even some that would have been considered monsters back home. It was a constant lesson in compassion and humility– not that pretty much all life on earth wasn’t that.

“I think it is,” he decided, a little surprised himself by the answer. Despite being trapped here and far from his friends, he was more okay than he’d been for a long time before that. He made a small gesture to the empty side of the bench he was sitting on if she wanted to join him. “Ah. Well. I miss my family. I’m sure that’s true for many here. But I have to believe they’re okay.” He’d lose his mind if he didn’t, and historically that didn’t go well for the people around him. “Are you alright?” People didn’t always go wandering around by themselves outside of town if things were fine, but what did he really know about what people did or didn’t do? All this time among humans, and they were still a constant surprise to him.

   chloe slowly made her way over to the empty spot and took a seat next to him. she turned her head over to keep her gaze on his frontage. she took in a deep breath. oh how strongly she could relate to his words right now. what she would give just to spend even five minutes with her daughter, trixie. she had to believe that she was being taken care of by the others back home. or else it’d easily drive her into insanity. it was like a minuscule sense of impending doom that always resided within her. 

  his query made her freeze momentarily. the blonde really pondered on that question. she pursed her lips into a thin line. “y-yeah, i think i’m good.” she replied. how convincing. “i get what you mean. i miss my family too.” she added with a sigh. “i actually really miss my daughter. i haven’t seen her in what seems like forever. with no means of communicating with her. and today    well, it’s just a little bit harder dealing with that...” she trailed off. 

 “sorry, i don’t mean to intrude with my personal issues. i’m sure you have enough going on too.” 

/

they felt it when she’d gone, the cold settling back onto ambroise’s skin so quickly and they watched her go before heading towards the front of the store. flicking the sign to closed, locking the door, then bolting it shut just to make sure. ambroise didn’t need anybody they knew barging in, and they knew that isabelle didn’t either. the blinds were pulled, the lights turned off - only the lamps for sale lighting up the dark in their hazy glow.

“i’d love to paint you like this,” the vampire commented from the doorway, seeing her placed artfully along the plush velvet sofa, as if they weren’t about to engage in feeding. “one day, when i’m not sucking blood out of your neck like a french leech,”

why were they trying to be funny? not nerves but, something to lessen the heavy atmosphere that had been brewing earlier. ambroise got closer, leaning over isabelle with their mouth just at her neck. 

“i know when to stop, i’ve been doing this far too long to not have self control but, you need to tell me if it’s too much,” though for some reason, ambroise had a hunch this wasn’t her first time at the rodeo.

   a small giggle left her lips at their commentary. it actually warmed her heart to think that someone would come up with such a gesture. “you didn’t tell me you were an artist. i’ll hold you to that. just let me know when.” she insisted in an attempt to signal that she was totally down for the idea.

   next, the shadowhunter looked over at them. it was eccentric    but in a good way. that even though they were about to commit a not-so-gentle act, there they were, being just that. although at the same time she did willingly accept to be dinner for the evening.

   one wrong move however, and it wouldn’t be just her blood being shed. yet she felt like she didn’t exactly have to be on guard around them. though they only knew each other for not even a day. 

   she nodded her head a couple of times. “it’s okay. i’ll let you know when it’s too much. i promise. don’t worry.” she reassured, tilting her head off to the side to expose more of her neck. 

☞

This was clearly not the kind of person that would appreciate Tim’s particular brand of sleep-deprived sass, and so he did his best to hide the grin that appeared on his face in his mug of coffee. The success of this maneuver was debatable. Maybe he would have thought about it better if he had been well-rested, but Tim regularly argued and antagonized a trained assassin, has fought and betrayed that kid’s grandfather, and still managed to survive long enough to end up here. “Frankly,” Tim said aloud, still hiding his face in his coffee, “I don’t think I would have. The words come out whether I want them to or not. What’s up, I’m Tim, I’m 23, and I never learned to shut up.” He flashed Alma an exhausted peace sign, no longer trying to hide the grin in his cup.

“And when it comes to plans and ideas, I’m pretty well-versed in them,” Tim admitted, “not as good as B, of course, but still pretty good. You know when you reach that level of exhaustion that any idea that makes your head hurt even more becomes a bad one? Yeah, that’s where I’m at with yours right now.”

    his introduction emitted a small chuckle from her lips. well, she definitely wasn’t expecting that one. maybe she’d let him slide this time. her expression softened as she continued to listen to his explanation. “at least you’re honest about it, tim.” she commented. his confidence in that radiated throughout the room. no point in hiding who you really are. 

  “then maybe you should get some sleep. just a thought    no, a good plan.” she pointed a finger at him on the last part of her sentence. then she proceeded to shrug her shoulders. “you look more dead than i do.” and she was a vampire so that said something. can’t get more dead than that, she thought. “besides, why are you here if you’re so tired? this isn’t the best place in town so i know that’s definitely not it.” 

╷╷╷╷╷ finn && alma azahara

― ･❪ ❁ ❫･ ―

╔════════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════════════╗

GREAT  story  felt  like  both  an  under  and  over  statement.    the  story  was  massive,  he  truly  wasn’t  even  sure  where  one  was  supposed  to  start  in  telling  it.    and  apparently  some  people  knew  it  as  a  story.    like  penny.    but    …    it  was  a  war,  a  lack  of  childhood.    what  was  great  about  those  things?    nothing.    nothing  was  great.    not  to  mention  to  many  it  would  sound  like  he  was  crazy.    a  war  out  in  stars  that  no  one  knew  about.

╷╷╷    he  smiled  though,  accepting  her  offer  to  sit  and  talk.    sit  and  talk  was  something  finn  could  do  all  day  long.    which  was  weird  given  where  he  was  raised.    but  talking,  he  could  talk.    and  talk.    and  talk.    ❝i  stop  by  pretty  often  to  pick  up  food,  but  i’m  usually  in  and  out.    my  best  friend  works  at  the  mechanics,  so  i  usually  pick  us  both  up  lunch  and  take  it  to  her,❞  he  said.    ❝what  about  you?    you  come  here  often.    you  work  here?    or  nearby?❞

╷╷╷    he  pushed  the  coffee  cake  over  to  her,  encouraging  her  to  try  it.    ❝trust  me,  it’s  amazing.    you’ll  never  want  anything  else.    at  least  for  a  while.❞

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   alma would give a nod here in there as an indicator that he had her undivided attention. “how kind of you.” she acknowledged his gestures. when he shifted the conversation with his queries, she looked off to the side. the corners of her lips curving upwards into a grin. she tapped her finger on the table for a few moments. 

  “yes, i do work. thy friendly neighborhood hitman.” she placed a hand on her chest and bowed her head. she wasn’t sure if people looked at her and imaged her as such. not that it mattered. the façade made it easier to deceive her targets after all. 

   “the coffee here is delicious, i never get tired of it.” she added before pulling the plate closer to her. she somewhat had faith in the dessert. then she reached for the fork lying on top of the napkin that was already set before they sat down. she stuck it forcefully in the cake and scooped up a rather large piece    stuffing it in her mouth.

  the mixture of coffee and cinnamon with the softness of the cake pleased her taste buds. how come she’s never thought to try this befoe? “seems like you were right, finn. i’m probably gonna take another one to go to be honest. gracias. now you’ve gotten thy friendly neighborhood assassin addicted to coffee cake.”

/

the smile on her face never faltered as alma came over to greet her properly, eyes never once leaving the vampire. it was so strange here, sometimes it felt as if time wasn’t really passing as the mundane routine of a normal life set in. sometimes it felt like one extended dream that she could never really wake up from - 

seeing someone from outside reminded nana that the world still turned around her. that getting out could happen, that the trap they all found themselves in. the compliment made her laugh, the faintest hints of an embarrassed flush creeping on her cheeks. “now you’re just teasing me,” nana replied, not-so-quietly surprised alma remembered her. the vampire must be - how old? how many people had she met and yet nana had made the impression.

“ah, well, i was coming to clear out something in the woods - the details were sketchy,” the pint-sized witch recalled. “someone - there was a lake. i was knocked out and woke up at the b&b. so no idea, really. the same with you, or did you willingly come to sallow hills?”

  she chuckled softly at her teasing comment. “still get flustered as ever, huh? i’m just bein’ honest here.” she admitted with a playful shrug of her shoulders. no sense in lying here. the vampire was always able to recall people and moments that gave her excitement. that made her feel alive. those things came by less and less as time went on.

  “i’m surprised someone even managed to knock you out.” she added, blinking a few times. at least nana was here and that she seemed safe for the most part. which definitely reassured the vampire. hopefully she wouldn’t cross paths with whoever decided to target the witch. “they didn’t do anything bad to you did they?” she inquired.

  “i heard about this place right when it was established. i figured it was time for a change. i’ve been through quite a few lifetimes it feels like. i’m still the same old me though, in case you were worried about that.”