#huntrcss

@huntrcsss - starter call

"Look at th’ fuckin’ drivel they’re writing these days.” 

He held a book up, one that admittedly looked like it should be sold out of a Halloween bargain bin if anything. All the colors, all the admittedly offensive imagery, and that wasn’t even counting for the admittedly hilarious caricature of sasquatch on the cover. 

“Alex Martin’s fucking Creature Feature Guide... y’ got any idea how much trouble this shit’s caused? Was bad enough with that other trash heap, now it’s gone full hunter inspiration.” He slumped into the couch with a tired groan, throwing the book onto the table. “Fuckin’ blues already arrested 4 today. 2 for stalking, 1 on attempted murder, and the last on possession charges. The fucking balls on ‘em all claimed they could totally tell ‘cause of that book.” 

"Here. This should help."

Deft fingers pressed a damp, warm cloth to the laceration along Theo's palm. It's a cut that is entirely Vlad's fault--at least in his eyes. She was caught in the crossfire of a fight that she should have never been witness to despite what her profession entailed. The young woman would have every right to annihilate him like her very lineage had done for decades upon decades to creatures such as he.

Perhaps he could consider himself lucky for being in her good graces for as long as he had.

Perhaps that little flutter of warmth that bloomed in Vlad's chest might keep from Theo's angered gaze.

"I apologize, Theo." Softly uttered words as ambered hues stayed their gaze upon her smaller hand. The damp cloth brushed delicately along her skin before Vlad could gather the strength to look to her.

She hadn’t killed anyone. They had dubbed her The Bloofer Lady as the children she had taken for the night only to release in the morning had called her such when asked who the culprit had been. She took what she needed to remain alive -- each child taken came with a learning curve as the Count had left her to learn her new world on her own. Be it by his own intention or at someone else’s intention.

Regardless, she had been captured and placed inside the strange little cell. Waiting to be fed like some lap dog. While a part of her wanted to remain herself, to remain the sweet Lucy Westenra that she had always been, the vampiric nature that had corrupted her tugged at her to be something darker, to be something seductive. 

“You want him, don’t you?”

She doesn’t make an attempt to clarify who, though there’s little need. Everyone wanted him. Everyone wanted to know what it felt like to feel his chilled embrace, to have his lips pressed against their throat. 

25. for a protective starter . || @huntrcsss

In hindsight? He probably should’ve discussed further just how far he was willing to go to keep the denizens of this town safe. Like now, it was supposed to just be a routine checkup since no one had seen Rodney in some time. 

Nothing routine about finding the guy half-starved and feral, that was for sure. 

Hardly a hesitation to grab her by the shoulder and pull her back, even less when it came to blasting the struggling beast square through the head with the pistol he had on hand. Species specifics? Manny wasn’t sure, but he did know nothing in town tended to come back from having a 9mm pound through their skull. 

He had been holding the chain with the wedding rings in the air for the last twenty minutes.

Spread on the couch, staring blankly, idly Manny wondered if the mood was because that day was near… it had to be, right? It’d explain the places his brain seemed to be going. Another life, another time…

“The kids love you, Manuel. They just think you need a break is all.” Slender hands wrapped around his arm and a bright smile lead him to the center of their camp. Camilla was ever the bright light in his life, and he knew she could be trusted to point out when he needed help. “Come on, they’re really proud of this so at least pretend to like it.”

“Or I could pretend I didn’t notice them suddenly running around with bakery boxes and deli meats?”

“Oh please, from what you’ve told me you did much worse when you were their age.” The laughter was merry, it made him smile and even let her drag him along. “Be thankful I didn’t do this on your birthday tom—”

“Y’know, chica, you seem to do an awful lot of minding your own business in weird places.” As if he was any better: breathless, haggard, and looking like death itself. Maybe a bit annoyed as well, eying the backpack that Manny had thought he put back in the hollow of the tree after getting a change of clothes…