#sevatarion

Your breath ripped from you in ragged gasps as you sprinted through the alley, clawing at crumbing walls as you staggered along. Cold night air filtered through your hair and the acrid scent of burning chemicals burned your lungs with each haggard gulp of oxygen. Stopping, you cast your gaze around you as you took a moment to breathe. Walls climbed high around you, ruined and crumbling as they reached for the black sky. Your fingers twiched towards the flashlight hanging from your trousers, aching to cast a light, before you tucked it back under your shirt. Not yet.

The floor beneath you was slick, with water, blood you weren't sure, but it seeped through your thin boots and soaked your feet in viscous liquid. You shuddered when your shoes squelched as you turned to get your bearings. Every single alley in Nostramo looked the same. Each winding, dark, reeking of despair and the iron tang of blood and bile.

You took a tentative step forward and cocked your head as you looked down one of your possible routes. The darkness was endless, engulfing everything that dared to enter. A huddled shape in the floor squirmed and sobbed as you stepped closer, throwing a frail hand in the air as they shied away from your soft steps, crying unknown curses and prayers at you as they clutched the decayed fabric to them.

A creak

At the sound of snapping wood, your heart beat into overdrive. You hurtled forward, scrabbling for purchase as you weaved through the streets, head low and feet pounding as you drive forward. you barely glanced up as you dodged and weaved, jumping shattered building debris and hopping bodies strewn in the gutter. Every sense was on fire, adrenaline pounding through your veins.

Run. Run. run.

Skidding round a bend, eyes flicking from corner to corner, you came to a stop again. You stood in an open area, possibly some aristocrat's courtyard before they fell to ruin alongside their home. Your pupils dilated rapidly, trying to make sense of the jumbled debris in the pitch black. Nostramo was the land of perpetual darkness and you had learned to navigate it by instinct. Survival depending on who was the strongest, the smartest and the fastest. Years of navigating the labyrinth of the moonless city has made you light on your feet, but a bit of extra help never went amiss. You patted the weight of your torch, reassured by its presence but still refrained from clicking its warm light on. Another noise, soft, almost imperceivable caused you to twist and throw your back against a cobbled wall, crouching into the spooling shadows. You'd been savvy so far, using the darkness to your advantage to ghost the intricate pathway. But tonight, you'd caught something's attention.

You fluttered through your options as you craned to hear any movement. Behind you, the crumbling ruins of a brick house sheltered you in its shadow, and could be a means of escape, but the creaking lumber prevented any maneuvers. In front of you, just past the open yard lay a wall, littered timbers and ivy providing handholds that you could use to scale the 6 foot barrier. Finally an arch, the gate splintered and cracked still sat in its hinges, maybe there was enough give to squeeze through. Each option left a sour taste in your mouth as you debated, each exit leaving too much of your body exposed to the beast that trailed you.

"shit" you muttered, clenching your fists into your hair. "Not good not good not good"

The house behind you groaned, crying under the weight of its own rot as you bounced in the balls of your feet. Peering round the corners, you traced the boundary of the courtyard, hard glare tracking any and all movement as you tensed, preparing to bolt for the wall.

"such a spry little thing"

You recoiled at the voice, deep and drawling, whispered right into your ear as a large hand trailed through your hair.

"So quick little mouse, but not quick enough"

You spring forward, huffing as you hit the muddied floor before rolling to your feet. You sprinted towards the wall and beneath the blood pounding into your ears, you heard a deep laugh, followed by the heavy stomp of footsteps. Whoever this was, they were done hiding. Panic rose in your throat as you approached the wall, it was too high, the timber too rotted, it wouldn't hold. Another laugh behind you, closer this time, toying with you, a whisper of air as a hand reached out to grasp you.

A grin snuck into your lips as you dropped and turned, hearing the frustrated growl of your hunter as his fingers swept over you. You angled towards the gate arch and threw yourself at the twisted wood, screaming as the wood slowly slid apart from its concrete borders under your weight. It was too slow, there was enough time, hot breath was on your neck.

"fucking moooovve!!!!!"

You scrambled through the small crack, squeezing your body through desperately as you clawed for purchase before tumbling backwards as you fell, landing on your rear with a hard thump. You clutched your chest, lungs screaming for air as you stared at the small gap. "Holy shit, I'm alive, I'm alive"

A hand shot from the darkness through the gap, splintering the wood like glass, grasping your ankle and dragging you back towards the yard, nails cutting into your skin, tempting blood to seep down your bared flesh. You kicked, slamming your feet into the digits engulfing your leg, as you wriggled and dragged at the soil with little effect as you were raked across the floor like a doll. The pressure was released suddenly and you froze, feeling warm air tousling your skin. Rolling onto your back, you scowled. Better to die with dignity than clawing at the dirt like a coward.

Or so you thought

Above you, shrouded in rolling fog and endless night, was a man. or, at least, you think it is. His features were hidden from you as you struggled beneath him l. Massive shoulders rippled with muscles beneath a cloak black as the sky as he hovered over you, huge palms placed either side of your head. He laughed again, the sounds vibrating through your body.

"what a chase! But all good things come to an end, mouse"

"oh don't they just"

Your arms shot upwards as you flicked the torch on, filling the darkness with a flash of brilliant light. The man shot backwards, hissing as he recoiled from the sudden brightness and you clambered to your feet, FINALLY getting a look at your persuer.

An astartes, clad in dark, blood splattered top and trousers. His eyes, silver and reflective in the light, were almost fully engulfed by blown pupils as he shook his head and hissed, pawing at his face like a startled animal. His features were framed by dark hair and handsome, though marred by a hard scar, pulling his lip into a cold sneer.

You took your chance and bolted, kicking up moats of dust and pebbles as you raced back into the confines of the cities winding roads.

Sevatarion watched as you disappeared into the dark again, hearing your desperate breaths and soft footsteps as you edged further away. A grin spread across his face as he raised his figure to his tongue, lapping the small fleck of blood he had drawn. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as your scent filled his nose, sweet and thick with fear, it was intoxicating, but the way you looked at him. Oh the way you stared up at him with those big eyes, full of rage and so slightly cocky, so soft beneath his touch, so easy to break. His stomach lurched at the thought of dragging you back under him again, feeling your breath on his skin feeling you writhe beneath him as he enjoyed you.