#placeabo

Everything felt...weird. Different. Wrong.

Eventually the Scooby Gang had found her ( or rather found her... again. This time alive and in one piece compared to the last time according to- Stiles was it? ) . She'd been reunited with Derek which had been a very emotional moment. But now she was dressed in whatever the kids had managed to scrounge up and restless. Who needed sleep when you'd just come back from the dead.

She could smell him before she saw him. It was hard not to flinch.

Turning her attention to the door she watched as it opened and the one person she had been dreading appeared.

Another day, another Garfield comic graffitied on by a bored necromancer.   Ya think our wayward witch would have something better to do than doodling on America’s favorite lasagna-loving cat, but today was fucking slow.  It was just another way for Jack to fill her time as she sat behind the counter of ‘Scry Me A River’, fulfilling all of your metaphysical, spiritual and cursed object needs!  Patents pending and pun intended.

As much as anyone she wished she could make a living off of just skulking around in the shadows raising the dead, but living in the big apple ain’t cheap.  So, between the hours of twelve to five p.m. her ass was planted firmly behind the counter. Not everyone could find it, and those who could generally had more than the need and a pretty penny to part with.              

Her brows furrowed together in concentration, pen cap poised at the side of her mouth.  Inked fingers worked to smudge the red ink, stopping only when satisfied.  With a quick pop, the pen was recapped, an amber gaze studying her new ‘masterpiece.’  The abomination that she had created out of the orange tabby will not be described here.  Nothing should have that many fucking tongues. 

Well, that was a waste of time.  The comic was crumbled and flicked into a nearby garbage can.  It missed. Fuck  The willowy woman stood, and stooped to grab the refuse, giving pause at the jingle jingle of the bells on the front door tinkling as it opened.   Eyes narrow, the taste of something old flooded the shop. Well, she no longer wanted the grilled cheese sandwich she brought for lunch. She straightened, smirk gracing her lips, “Well, you aren’t my normal sort are ya?”, she tossed the piece of trash in with its friends, “What can I do for ya sweetie?" Service with a fucking smile.

Those bred for wicked purposes had the choice to change.  Perhaps that is what such a thing would search for, to let the violence sit in the past, and to live a human existence.  But, it seemed that the same mundane complacency would lead to its capture.  Years of peace were broken by the will of a greed-filled wretch looking to save himself from age and illness.  Such tenacity could only come from one chased down by fate, and enforced by the men in his hire.

They came in the night, brandishing weapons of capture, three dozen marched upon the beast, and all fell to fang and claw.  Their attempts to surprise it were thwarted by the cunning of decades.  It was a stroke of luck that one of the tranquilizing shots hit true, fired by a young, brazen officer who soon found metal canines wrapped around the mass of his skull.  It was the young man’s foolish sacrifice that allowed reinforcements to collect their quarry.       

So now it slept, feminine form floated languildly in glacial fluids, hooked from every limb with chain and tube.  A mask sat affixed to the face, obscuring a wanting maw.  The predator found itself in and out of consciousness, but still sat readily coiled, listening and waiting, collecting what information it could.  Numerous days were spent this way, until there was a break in the monotony.

It was the blaring of an alarm and a harsh jostle to the building that brought voids open.  The workers had scattered and the distant sound of volleyed gunfire roused dulled senses.  The drugs were cut off, back up generator failing to restart the cocktail that kept the beast at bay. How lucky.

Instinct spurred the beast to act.  Dark talons splay, body bunching as it begins to tear at the cell walls, glass shattering on the force of impact, water emptying to the lab floor. Needles were torn from veins, tubing shredded and only heavy metal chains remained to keep the androgen in place. The pale form halted here, dark eyes lolling in their sockets, steaming form twitching and twisting to stare into the doorway. The dark head gave a slow tilt, staring at the other. Nostrils flared behind the muzzle, a deep grumble and snort as predator stared down predator.

Face screwed up comically with mixed disdain and empty headed amusement. Fingers idly splayed across the lingering moisture of the recently cleaned table surface before digits of the right wrapped around the plastic cup leaking moisture in the intense heat. Lips pursed and head ducked to suck the sweet tea from the erect straw, muttering a low, ❝  I don’t wear panties.  ❞   before sucking up a drink that was more sugar than actual black tea. Moment of pause and hydration didn’t last long however; head quickly jerked back and lips pressed tight to prevent the sweet tea from being spat out.

❝  A demon ? Aw, hell, next yer gonna tell me Satan is real an’ walkin’ about, ain’t yuh ? ❞   Jason leaned backwards against the seat, shut eyes, and released a low groan bubbling from deep within chest. A world with vampires, shifters, and weres was enough, too much really. Why did the image of Bigfoot have to be sullied by all things evil and simply fucked up ? Lids peeled open and gaze dropped to the sweltering glass of tea.

❝  I’m gonna need somethin’ stronger. How in the hell do yuh even kill a got-dang demon ? ❞   Left hand slapped the table top with determination as if slapping the ill feelings and thoughts away from his own mind.

❝  Screw it. Bigfoot will always be a badass legend in my book, but. . what about that lizard. . dragon thing in that lake ? The lockless, cockless monster. Think that is real, too ? ❞    

            That quiet comment didn’t go unheard. It pulled a grin onto her lightly painted lips as she leaned back into the booth a bit more. “Nah, I always pegged you as a tighty whitey guy,” she teased, her own fingers moving to take hold of the former ice cold mug. The heat today was testing all sorts of her patience, but at least the beer itself was still cool, she noted as she took a small drink before she wiped the suds from her lips. And it took everything in her to keep from spitting when Jason’s head snapped up.

Sometimes she forgot that not every supernatural being was out in the open like the vampires were. “Yup. Loads of demons, all types of species,” Faith chuckled as she sat the mug back on the table before she was wiping the moisture on her jean clad thigh. She shrugs, though, at the Satan comment, “Don’t know. There’s all sorts of hell dimensions so I suppose there’s different devils too.” The slayer could see the gears turning and smoking in Jason’s head as she watched him, an amused smile resting on her face.

Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs, Lil' Red Riding Hood

Christina Rossetti, Goblin Market

Gustave Doré, Bluebeard

Bram Stoker, Dracula

Obert Skye, Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo

Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes

Their reunion had been a little rocky to say the least, but she couldn't blame him. If the roles had been reversed, she would have been beyond livid. Honestly, if he had left her, would she have even stopped to catch up? Probably not. But she wasn't surprised. Ellis was a better person than she was, always eager to help a fellow survivor make it through this hell that had become daily life.

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt when she felt his hands on her shoulders, but before she could say anything he shoved her roughly, causing her to take a few quick steps back in an attempt to regain balance but to no avail. She gasped as her feet slipped out from under her, causing her ass to hit the ground hard. "Ellis! What the FUCK?!" Quickly, a rush of air passed between the two only to hear a loud crash in the distance causing her to go silent. Before she could react, he already had the Charger in his sights and with a few shots, the fucker let out one last roar before hitting the ground. She looked back to Ellis as she propped herself up on her elbows. "That's the second time now that you've saved my ass when I didn't deserve it..."