𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞

for as well as valentine knows him, he can’t always guess exactly what suwon’s thinking. a lot of that is probably what’s kept him so interested over the past century; predictability is boring. presently, he finds himself vaguely curious as to the lascivious things his companion’s been suggested. not that any of them are going to happen but it’s a healthy wondering nonetheless. suwon’s expression gives nothing away save for his barely contained delight. he likes a game and this brutish stranger is evidently down to play. valentine’s entirely sure of who the winner will be from the outset – vampire versus human wasn’t a hard wager to make – but he’s not actually convinced he’s included in the victor’s circle. after all, is it still winning if he’s left in want? not of blood, but of something else.

the ring suwon hands him presents a great deal of trust. to feed without biting is tricky, demonstrating extreme restraint and, usually, only lasts so long. just until the lust and hunger get too overwhelming. suwon’s putting him in charge of drawing first blood and, by doing so, believes that valentine’s thirst won’t outweigh his patience. he’s looking not at their meal but at suwon as he nods, leans, presses a hand down onto the man’s shoulder to keep him from squirming. it’s dizzying, being this close to suwon; valentine feels the overwhelming urge to turn his attention from the column of the human’s neck to the vampire’s instead. he does not. a deft maneuver of his free hand bearing the ring draws a fine cut to the column of the man’s throat. nowhere vital and only small droplets of blood pearl along its length. if he even feels pain it’s not registering on his face as valentine’s lips fasten to the spot, tongue coaxing across the skin in a way that would be sensual in other circumstances. 

his responding hum is low, swallowed somewhere in his throat along with the appetizer. it’s only a sampling, really, whetting the vampire’s appetite. carefully, slowly, he starts to suck at the spot, teasing more blood to the surface as one might leave a hickey (not that val’s all too experienced in the action). he can feel his canines aching to elongate, to sink into the flesh at his mouth. he shifts closer, even just the tease of a taste both quenching and creating his thirst. years of restraint draw him back, though. with suwon there especially, it’s easy to tamp down his instincts. they’re going to share; plus the delayed gratification is it’s own kind of pleasure. valentine is well practiced in waiting for what he wants most.

        valentine’s thirst has always been a tricky situation.  suwon knows this,  valentine knows this.  but he’s been on his own for decades.  on his own, without a single word of a rampage reaching suwon’s ear like before.  so, suwon watches carefully as valentine accepts the ring.  makes the incision.  the man beneath him jumps, and suwon’s immediately on them, “you’re fine”  he says, so soothing and lovely.  feels how he melts beneath him.  “valentine’s lips are heaven, aren’t they?  so soft, small.”  memories  ------  hands fitting a delicate waist, suwon’s full lips catching valentine’s plush little bite.  a wet, sloppy kiss too long coming.  eyes sliding over to where valentine’s latched, drinking,  suwon just------

        combs his fingers through valentine’s hair.  so gentle, so soft.  “feels good, doesn’t it?”  valentine’s holding himself back.  suwon can feel it when his hand cups the back of valentine’s neck, feels how tense his muscles are, how he’s fighting against the urge to give in and it just------ 

Russo is about to offer some more help, feels pretty optimistic after she’s watched Suwon and observed him. There are a few things he could improve his technique on and she wants to test it out. However, he throws all those plans to the moon when he just… punches it. While first she’s shocked, only seconds later she can’t help but laugh.

“Why didn’t you do that in the first place?” She wonders out loud, still grinning. As the cashier makes their way over to them, she leaps forward and on top of all the plushies. Plastic and sharp edges dig into her stomach, but once her fingers close around the Dracula plushie, she’s back on her feet. The coin with string is still attached to her hand and it flies around as she spins on her feet. “Let’s go!” She doesn’t wait for a response and sprints out of the store, holding the plushie close to her chest.

      suwon sputters “it wasn’t on purpose------”  but then russo’s darting away and suwon sprints, hot on her heels as they fly down the aisle.  his boots squeak against the waxed tiles.  the cashier’s staring at the broken vending machine looking confused and pained, and suwon’s grinning as he rips past the door, bell chiming.  

      the street’s full.  little corner stop, cars blaring at the green light.  traffic at a standstill and people scurrying to all the places they got to be on a wednesday night.  suwon reaches to latch onto russo’s arm.  “i liked that place!  now i can’t show my face there again.  fuck.”  the bell rings again and suwon glances over his shoulder to see---  

                              “yo, get back here!  what the fuck, you gotta pay for that---”

suwon never looked like that much of an intimidating man, if she saw him on the streets she would easily pass by without having a second thought as to wtheer he would mug her or not. but because of word of the mouth, she feels that his name outshone him. nevertheless, it wasn’t like she wanted to go fight him head-on, she knew she couldn’t win at combat, she wouldn’t win anyone at that. but she needed to just inch close to him in an innocent enough way, she hoped she really did look as angelic as her mother had said, that she looekd like she could be trusted easily. so she jsut follows behind him awkwardly, getting on the bike. chuckling for a bit, she grins and looks back at him, “well see, i never got my driver’s licence because my mother felt that was too dangerous, so i got a motorcycle licence instead. but i don’t trust your word as much as i’d like to,” she says, and gestures for him to start the game, “if i win, give me one of your prizes will you? you probably have so much already, i would actually be doing you a favour by lifting it off your  shoulders,” she smiles.anyway, she wasn’t sure her chances of winning were that high, it was an arcade game after all, and suwon looked like he played here every day, it was his court but she just listens, because that was her best shot at getting his bit of attention isn’t it? raena felt sad that they had to be at opposite sides of a battle, she felt like he really was a good friend, but just not hers. 

          “fair enough,” he quips.  pops the sucker back between his teeth, cheek bulging.  lights start flashing and the music gears up.  as he flips through the bike selection, suwon snorts, “hardly.  don’t keep them all to myself, pup, but sure.  you beat me, i’ll give you a prize.”  then he glances at her, smirk bright like a stoplight, “but you’ll have to beat me first.  i’m sure you won’t have a problem.  you’re licensed.”  once he’s made his choice, suwon sits back in the seat and leans over to grip the handlebars.  stretches out, back lithe.  hips flexing to get a feel for how the bike moves and shifts with his weight.  

elio’s not usually so irritable but his gnawing hunger (and drawing attention to it) has him feeling defensive, called out, and sensitive. he doesn’t want to fight suwon on this but he will – anything to keep from breaking his moral guidelines and feeding before he’s absolutely desperate. thankfully, suwon’s tone lightens first so the tension that had sprung up between elio’s shoulders loosens. his posture, which had gone rigid after he retracted his hand, slackened slightly but he still shakes his head adamantly a few times for good measure. blood bags, syringes, spiking human consumables with blood. all of it still had a human in pain at its source – elio thinks he can taste the way they flinched as the blood was taken from them. but then… suwon’s offering himself and elio blinks. all evidence of upset wipe clean of his features, replaced by utter confusion. “bite you?” he repeats, dumbfounded. “but – the virus?” he tries at first, but, of course, suwon’s already got it. “i – won’t it hurt you?” does it actually help he wants to ask too but he’s afraid his voice will sound too hopeful. maybe he is a little too far gone this time.

it’s shocking, to elias at least, that suwon seems to find him wherever he may be and just at the right time. but, like every time, elias feels embarrassment above all else. he’s a child in many ways, if not traditionally in age. having suwon stare him down, speaking with authority whether he means to or not, plagues him with an anxiety he has never felt before. maybe that’s a good thing. maybe what elias needs is the realisation that there is somebody above him after all, especially with his immediate dismissal of aleksander and his former death dealers (although he has his own theories about that). sure. elias resides in the manor amongst them all, but he likes to live life individually. by his own rules, stomping over all others.           not like suwon. no; even literally, the other vampire moves with grace between the bodies elias has left to fend for themselves. it’s yet unknown which he’s sired and which will die at his hands, and he has a feeling that suwon may be the one deciding all that. elias has done both of those things plenty of times in the past, never keeping track of his fledglings and not much caring for the dead. he’s had centuries to get used to the idea that life just isn’t fair. for other people.           “suwon, i’m…” he starts to apologise. starts. elias can’t quite go through with it. it sits on the tip of his tongue until he grows tired of considering it, and swallows dryly, the words slipping from him. “i…uh, let me help you. let me help you this time.” he’ll be helping himself if anything, but both of them know that elias is incapable of doing this all on his own.

      “you’re-----what?”  sorry?  scared?  sick?  suwon doesn’t know what to expect from elias’s lips, what excuse to hear next.  suwon isn’t mad --- he really isn’t, can’t bother to be more than annoyed as he walks over to the closest body.  rolls them onto their back, inspects the fact.  pale and sweating.  half-living.  throat gouged.  they look at him with wide, panicked eyes, and suwon doesn’t look away as he wraps his hands around their neck and twists.  snap.  spine severed.  he knows enough by now to tell if the look of a person’ll say if they’d make it or not.  done this enough for elias to know------ 

      lips pressing tight, he looks at elias over his shoulder.  moves on to the next.  “i have this.”  you don’t have to help me.  which is bullshit.  all this mess in the parking lot, that’s elias’s.  it hasn’t always been, but tonight it is.  death dealers have more to deal with than chasing pups, but elias’s always been a special case.  

      suwon wonders how much longer he will be.  shit like this?  can’t last long unnoticed.  

      “you want to help?  think of some places we can dump the ones we don’t keep,” he decides after a moment.  rolls up his sleeves before he drops to sit back on his heels, turning over another onto their back.  “and get your fill now, if that’s what this about.  we’ll keep two to see if they last the night.”  after taking one look at the face staring up at the stars, he stands and inspects the next few.  “i can keep a tab on two.  unless you were wanting to take one in------ ”  a glance elias’s way  “we’ll get rid of the rest.”  a high count.  dangerous.  he doesn’t say what’s unsaid;  aleksander can’t know.   

          ( CANDICE PATTON. CIS FEMALE. )  Rumor has it that PORTIA THOMPSON has been spotted skulking around  New York City streets recently.  SHE is a 40 year old LYCAN.  They have a good reputation for being METICULOUS & PRAGMATIC, but have also been known to be rather ARROGANT & SECRETIVE.  They’re known for being the BLUE BLOOD. 

The only reason Russo is out here is because Suwon promised her a six-pack of beer in exchange for a small favour. However, the moment she spots the big machine, she knows it won’t be a small favour. Still– She’s happy to help her fellow Death Dealer and she looks at him with a grin while he stares at the plushie. “It’s not digital, Suwon,” she tells him as she inspects the little pad where you have to throw money into. “I can’t hack it.” She continues to explain while she walks around it, inspecting it from all sides.

Then, she gets an idea. “But,” a smirk starts to creep onto her face and she takes her backpack off to rummage through it. “I have something else that might help.” Once she finds it, she puts her bag back on and walks past him to the front. “I do have this,” and out of her hand drops a little rope, with at the end of it: a golden coin. Still grinning, she drops it into the machine and it starts up, while the end of coin’s rope stays neatly knotted around her finger. “Go on. You have unlimited tries this time.”

elio has the decency to look sheepish about his diet being scrutinized and his appearance picked apart under a disapproving eye. he lets suwon turn him this way and that, giving no resistance to the light touching. it’s not like he wouldn’t expect such a reaction from any other vampire – especially one who feed so freely as elio knows suwon does. “i’m not trying to kill myself,” he does protest on a whiny lilt, lower lip jutting out with insistence. “i just… restrict a bit, that’s all. i know how long i can last and i’ve still got at least week before i need a refresher. i swear, i have it under control.” elio’s aware he sounds like a madman. not even his hunny completely understands his rigid morals and the impact they have on his feeding habits. he hangs his head and sighs deeply, shaking his head a few more times for good measure. “no– it isn’t right, suwon.” in an atypical showing of strength, elio yanks his hand free of the other’s and cradles it to his chest. he remains on his feet but his gaze is pleading. “i can’t – i can’t do it. i can’t bite a human knowing it’s going to kill them. i can’t even drink from those infernal bags knowing that someone had that drawn from their veins to provide me with food. animals, too. they need their blood more than i do – i can’t do it.” he’s trying his hardest not to let his voice waver. it’s something he feels passionate about and despite the dizziness dotting the edge of his vision, he stands his ground firmly. “i’ll have a half a bag – next week.”

suwon’s ordered them an entire rainbow of intoxicants, seemingly in the spirit of their establishment of choice. nothing is quite to the darkened taste of the vampire but, then again, he’s thirsty tonight for blood over wine. another lingering glance over at suwon has valentine wondering if even that much is true. despite the peckish ache at the base of his throat, he thinks he’d willingly sacrifice their dinner tonight and send the man home unharmed if it meant making more out of the lidded gaze suwon’s fixing his way. he wants it to be real, intentional, so badly he can almost taste it. instead, he has himself convinced that it’s all for the show of their snack. him and suwon were more desirable as a duo and suwon sold the act with an effortlessness val’s stumbling heart could never manage. 

valentine ducks his head at the praise, able to handle the stranger’s attentions but not suwon’s. perhaps it’s his desperation for the flirtation to be real that has him reacting so shyly; maybe it’s because he knows that suwon will likely interpret it as impeccable acting. either way, their third party eats it up hungrily, gaze flashing between the pair like opposing sides of a tennis match. the man seems to have plenty of creative ideas as to how they can thank valentine or, at least, that’s what val presumes they’re whispering about as the man’s head bows to whisper filthily in suwon’s ear. valentine takes the respite to down one shot, two shots, and nearly a third of those brought to them. though they’re not likely to get as far as their companion is describing before taking a bite, it still makes him squirm to be pinned so thoroughly under suwon’s relentless gaze. he may as well have the other vampire in his lap.

“and what’s the verdict?” valentine’s purr is as cool as ever, level despite the way his cheeks flush. grabbing a particularly pretty colored drink, he holds it out to suwon, only letting his eyes trail to their friend at the flash of a white toothed grin. “thirsty?” the question is addressed to them both.

        suwon’s hand draws lazy circles across the back of the man’s neck, over to the broad stretch of his shoulder.  the man’s firm, hardy, and he’s watching val and su like he wants to devour them both.  at valentine’s suggestion, he puts his lips to suwon’s ear.  slides a broad palm over one of suwon’s thighs possessively.  suwon lets it stay.  eyes on valentine, head tilted to listen carefully.  it’s a chaotic mix of fantasies ------ fingers and more in mouths, one bent over the other, ripped buttons and mouth-shaped bruises over collarbones.  suwon on valentine, this man at his back.  suwon watching from a corner while val’s pinned across a bedspread.  suwon up against a wall.  both of them taking it like good boys and suwon can’t help but smile.  with each whisper, that hand slides higher and higher and his breath grows hotter against suwon’s neck, lips wet and sloppy and he smells like beer, like tequila, like desperation.  

        suwon rests a hand over their’s and the voice stops.  “i think,” he begins, “our friend has quite an imagination.”  and then he laughs because it’s adorable, how he wants them so badly.  arm still thrown over their shoulder, suwon takes the shot and tosses the empty glass over his shoulder.  it breaks against the floor.  no one’s listening.  “but, i have something in mind first.”  turns to the man, “you don’t mind, do you?”  of course he doesn’t.  he nods, clumsily taking a shot and looking at them both with fat pupils and eager eyes.  suwon thumbs one of the rings off of his fingers and passes it to valentine.  it’s a special feeding ring to keep the fun stretched out longer ------ with a sharp, slender blade to puncture the skin, it save the bites for later.  “and you don’t mind either, do you, val?” 

“Don’t talk about my mother,” she hissed, unable to help but be protective of her, despite everything that happened. “I don’t want a fight, Suwon, I just don’t…” she sighed as she looked forward, running a hand through her hair. “I just don’t know where I stand. I don’t know if my loyalties lie with vampires or lycans and I just…” she stopped, “I mean I have a feeling you probably don’t care about my problems but I just… I don’t know where I fit in anymore”

Réjean takes the open invitation to snatch a handful of candy from the bag without shame. He loves candy. And it’s been a while since he’s had any. Yet he wouldn’t have taken Suwon for someone who does. Or someone that keeps an entire sack of it in his room. It makes him wonder where the hell he got it from. And the idea of scaring kids on halloween and taking their candy makes a funny picture in his head. Réjean pops a bright red lollipop between his lips and nods understandingly. He can relate. Less to the age thing but changing names and using a handful of aliases. “Réjean,” he answers, somewhat muffled by the candy in his mouth. “Growing up without smartphones must have been so boring.” He doesn’t know Suwon’s exact age but he knows enough to have gathered that smartphones weren’t around whenever he grew up. “Do you even use it except to play? Like, you know, text people?”

elio’s expression is appropriately solemn as he’s scolded, dropping his gaze to his lap. he hadn’t meant to completely ruin suwon’s day (night), dragging him out to babysit a somber, dieting vampire while his sire was away. his shoulders come up shyly, as though he could use the physicality of his own body to hide away. “i don’t think damien or valentine like me all that much.” in fact he knows valentine doesn’t, at least. the ornately dressed vampire tends to turn up his nose when elio enters the same room as him at the manor. he may not make direct eye contact but he can see the disdain splashed across delicate features, particularly when elio’s bringing his ‘human food’ snacks into the observatory and near val’s beloved instruments. head still tucked downward, he sees suwon’s hand snake into his view, patting his thigh consolingly. the guilt worsens and, he’ll blame increasing waves of weakness for it but, his eyes start to prick with moisture. “i’m sorry,” he urges, blinking away any sign of his embarrassed tears before lifting his face. he waits until he can speak without his voice wavering to continue. “it’s only been a few weeks –” more like a month, maybe more; he’s so tired, “– i don’t want to feed. i’m, uh, a vegetarian.” it’s not quite the right word for his moral fasting but it gets the point across. “we could go get a milkshake?” it won’t help with the hollow feeling weighing him down, not at this point – he’ll have to feed sooner rather than later. he aches with it.

open | vampires only.

since the confirmation of the hybrid’s involvement in the murder, elio’s felt on edge. he’s a sensitive soul even when there isn’t a potential war-starter skulking the streets of his home, his new york, so to expect him to deal with this news well was inconceivable. the upcoming meeting has him wary as well. whatever decisions are going to be made there must be serious if a ‘skip day’ is punishable by death (thus dashing his plans to play hooky with hunny). all-in-all, he hates it. he hates the politics, the tension, the threat. he hates that he feels guilty for seeing friends who are lycans and that he feels weak for abiding by the buddy system so stringently. he raises his gaze over at the vampire who is currently acting as his partner and offers a sympathetic frown and a shrug. somewhere in the back of his throat, there’s a nagging reminder of his constant thirst. it only makes him feel worse, self-imposed blood cleanse leaving him rather hollow and moody. “sorry i’m not the best company right now,” he hums lowly with headphones waiting around his neck in case they didn’t want to talk to him at all. “a lot to think about, i guess.”

closed starter || @scraemes.

he’s spiralling. that’s the thing about elias. every emotion is stacked up inside of him, waiting to be felt but struggling to get past the next. he won’t allow them to, but it doesn’t mean they don’t try. they do, and they fight, and when they inevitably win, he feels and feels and feels. feeling. it’s so inconvenient. he wishes he were in a place where he could turn everything off and not worry about what’ll happen if he lets things get out of hand. the whole point of elias being as old as he is, and travelling so much, is that he shouldn’t care an ounce about anything. the trouble is that this is the way he’s always felt, and at the beginning, it was easy enough to manage.           not anymore. no, no. now, he’s spiralling. and there is one person and one person only whose help he can ask for – except he doesn’t want to. he never wants to. suwon has been cleaning up after him for decades (centuries? he doesn’t remember) and never asks for anything in return. not directly.           each talk they have goes in one ear and out the other. elias consistently finds himself struggling to crawl out of the emotional hole he’s learned to dig for himself. he tries. he does try with everything he has. but the weight of himself is too strong for recovery. maybe he deserves these breakdowns, these killing sprees, these bouts of betrayal that keep landing him in hot water.           he won’t ask for suwon’s help this time. it’s a promise he has to break. it’s not the other vampire’s responsibility to pull him out of this state. so when the thought crosses his mind for the briefest of moments, elias fishes his phone from his pocket and lands a heavy kick to the screen, sending it flying across the (mostly) empty lot. he doesn’t count the half a dozen bodies. not dead. unconscious.

        flat, black plastic slaps against the asphalt and skids to the toes of his boots.  suwon looks at it there, standing at the edge of the lot with a clenched jaw and crossed arms.  annoyance tempering in his veins, muscles tight and furious.  elias.  suwon doesn’t know why he started playing cleaner for the strung-out vampire, and he doesn’t know why he’s continuing to entertain this shit when aleksander certainly isn’t caring.  maybe it’s loyalty, maybe it’s faith.  maybe it the same hair-brained shit that’s holding onto a hope suwon can pull elias out of his just like he did valentine all those years ago. 

        suwon doesn’t know why.  doesn’t like to think about it.  he just bends down, picks up the phone and carries it across the lot.  passes half-alive bodies like it’s nothing.  steps through black, shimmering puddles.  dull lights rim the perimeter and the air’s quiet.  elias’s chosen a solemn place for his chaos.  suwon’s grateful for that. 

        “you cracked the screen.”  the first thing he says, white stick of a lollipop between his teeth.  he holds the phone in his hands, shattered and mangled now.  clicking his tongue, his cheek bulges at the side as he glances at elias, casual as if they’re not standing with half-choked lives hanging in the air, “should be more careful.  you know how long it took me to memorize this number?”  he doesn’t remark on the bodies.  doesn’t remark on the gasps at his back.  not yet.  tucks the phone in his back pocket and keeps looking at elias------ silver hair gleaming against the tungsten parking lot lights.  flies are starting to buzz.  this place smells like death.  

He can feel the vampire watching him and he feels caught in a moment of uncomfortable vulnerability, sitting here on a stranger’s bed, thinking about his childhood - or lack there of. “Nothing,” he scrambles and swipes the pictures away to focus on the task at hand. With a flick of his wrists he tosses the phone back to the vampire. “It was just an alarm.” Probably the person’s time to go up for work. “I don’t. It’s fun to look through other’s phones. Could have been something interesting but it’s just boring family pictures.” Réjean recuperates from his sudden trip down memory lane and the sting it leaves in his chest. “What’s your name?”