man made monster ;;

Eyes narrowed at the girl, Sloan was many things but he never expected clueless and delusional to be among them. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I already have.” He said gruffly, her growing concern quickly turned into overstepping when she began implying he wasn’t already dealing with the issue. “Anything you’ve seen, I’ve seen first, and more of. Don’t think for a second you know the dangers of this world more than I do. I started fighting the monsters in this city before you even got your hands on your first weapon.”

"No one here is doubting your ability to parent, Harvey. Quite the opposite. We’re both looking for the same thing: June’s safety. That’s all.” For once, Sloan hadn’t come here in search of a fight or to draw out ire from the man in front of her. Some flaw in her code created this unfathomable desire to ensure the well being of a younger huntress. “You asked where my concern was stemming from and I told you. But if you want to continue baiting me with your eons of knowledge, by all means... I’ll just remind you how irresistible I find a man with experience under his belt.”

“Really? How?” It didn’t occur to Elise that she might be prying into the other woman’s life. The questions were asked with a friendly, interested manner. “Yeah, but you gave me the advice which is basically the same as changing my life.” 

“And you got these from where?” CJ asked, trace amounts of amusement in her tone as she picked up one of the weapons on the rack between her and Sloan, observant eyes inspecting every last detail of the blade in her head. @sloanrivera

“I have a feeling that giving you too much leeway is dangerous.” He liked a little danger, and he doubted she’d ever pose a threat to him, unless if that one day he’d unknowingly trust her too much only for her to stab him in the back. But unless she got possession over what killed Noah, his life wasn’t in too much danger. So that thought barely worried him at that point. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t died before. “Careful what you wish for.” It was all he said and for her to interpret, he faced the bottom of his empty glass, tapping the crystal with his fingertip. “Good old whiskey.” He answered before releasing it from his hand, turning his full attention to the woman. “What would you like?” 

“Exactly.” The resonance of the single word emanating every ounce of anger he had left in him as if the reasons he’d done what he had, hadn’t become entirely obvious the longer this went on. Unable to see beyond her own pain, granted – he’d never expected her to. The heartbreak of a woman who’d never learnt it as a child, never known it until he’d walked out was something that he’d put his money on to keep her away from him. To hold the distance he’d hammered into the ground beneath their feet as if in some hope she’d let it fester into an abhorrent inability to even look at him. “Are you so fucking..—-” He groaned in frustration, finally tearing darkened hues from hers to trace the cracks in the road beneath them as if it somehow filled him with a reminder for why he’d done what he had. “Because losing you like this sounded a hell of a lot better than losing you in any other capacity if we’d gone through with it!” Tethering himself to Sloan in any other way than the concave gesture of simply loving her was a hellish notion that he’d only realized they’d been headed towards all too late to stop it in any other way. “Tell me you would have rather that? Tell me you would have rather feel all of this and everything that comes with losing me if I’d died. We’re not..— you’ve seen it. We’ve both seen it. People who lose their pairs are never the same and if losing you was already going to destroy me then..– why the fuck would we so willingly walk into that? — at least I can breathe this way,” Surely, a notion much easier with her not standing inches from him, but on a good day — on a good day, he could at least pretend he hadn’t so willingly crushed the organ in his chest with the palm of his own hand. It swelled in his throat, the feeling almost too sharp for him to simply ignore this time around. Walking out had felt silken with ease in comparison to having her tell him she never wanted to see him again..– but it’d been what he’d wanted, how he might have preferred this to end the first go around. How much easier he could have made this had he just outright pushed her that night instead of leaving in the dead of night. “— If this is all it took, clearly I should have done this a long time ago.” He muttered beneath his breath, soon digging into his back pocket to fish his keys from the depths.

        “I’ll accept that as your answer.” She pointed while simultaneously gathering the rest of her things and making sure everything was in order before she could step forward to meet the door. “And I’ll believe that when I see it.” First aid as a hunter was a no brainer, although most anything past that could be a mystery. “Good. So, you don’t share much about your life. Not lately, anyway. Come on, get it rolling. I’ll jump in when I have a point to make.” She nodded playfully at the older woman.

“So you’re saying you were complacent once too?” Elise couldn’t imagine the woman standing in front of her as being anything than who she was now. “Thank you so much. You might have just changed my life.” 

The very foundation of his being was built on secrets and lies, carefully created so that his presence in the city seemed nothing more than a tourist enjoying the splendors that America had to offer. So when delicate fingers caught hold of his shirt, Ares hardly resisted as he was brought forward until soft lips pressed against his own. Eager for more, his hands fell to her hips, drawing her ever closer to him as he tasted the secret on her tongue.

Experience informed Sloan that he was something, the species hardly mattered, but people only held their cards close when they possessed knowledge worth hiding. In Ares’ case, his ability to counter every wicked tongue lashing with one of his own, all whilst dancing the huntress’s carefully structured game, meant he was protecting his own motives and secrets... And she could relate. “Outside.” Parting them just long enough to slip her fingers between his own, she escorted their little tryst out the back door of the bar only to press him against the expansive brick side of the building mere seconds later.

“That’s great. I’ll be the best damn looking vampire for the next century or so. Or whenever I get killed. Can’t be picky now and days.” Nixon gave Sloan an amused look, shaking his head, “I’ll drink anything, honestly. Nothing really has a kick anymore unless I’m downing fireball. Talk about a bad idea. I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth for days. Everyone’s blood tasted like cinnamon.”

“Again, do you honestly think I don’t know that? Her and I have discussed her leaving. I appreciate your concern, if it is indeed genuine, but I can handle this.” Harvey still didn’t completely believe Sloan was worried about June’s well being, though she appeared to be speaking from a place of care. “Where is this coming from?”

"Then handle it,” she retorted firmly. At the inquiry as to where he concern stemmed from, the brunette finally sighed and offered him an ounce of honesty. “I’ve lived in New York a long, long time. I’ve seen how this city can swallow up a person and spit them back out just as quickly. Some people deserve it in the end, but others... They’re just unfortunate casualties.” Then, a little softer, “Don’t let June be one.”

Like the brightest burning fire had scored his flesh, Hendrix’s hands snapped back in the hushed venomous taunt that lingered in why he’d grabbed her in the first place. A rough sigh filled his lungs in frustration for the woman not an inch from him; because he’d certainly not made much of an attempt to move from her war path. “Do you feel better now?” The slight crick of his jaw forced him to roll it a little, grinding his teeth as hues bore down into hers with a relentless anger that he was almost sure was projected solely off of the fiery gaze she already held. “Or was that not fucking satisfying enough for you since I’m not six feet fucking under?”

“I’m one hundred and twenty six. Soon to be twenty seven. Forever stuck at twenty five.” He managed a smile, raising an eyebrow at Sloan as she mentioned the alcohol. He almost wished he could feel the burn for her sake, “Like your blood? Or something else, doll?”