#tea-morrigan

Motherfucker. It had been as humane as he could make it -- what more did they want. ‘I imagine their dead wolf friend back...’ Well it was too late now to fix that; he was just going to have to run. The only thing that fucking sucked was that they were very obviously wolves. Much faster than him for sure but he wasn’t stupid. He’d waited until after the rain stopped to make the kill, just in case this kind of thing went down. They might be able to catch him, but they sure as hell wouldn’t be able to track him. Sprinting through the nearest doorway, Trace raced through the abandoned warehouse, turning as many corners and barreling over as many obstacles as he could to impede the three wolves’ paths. Before he knew he was back on the streets, holding his crossbow against his shoulder as much as possible to keep it from getting in his way as he raced through the next alleyway, this time being sure not to leave as much of a trail. As often as he could the man moved through streets that would branch off at a four-way intersection. If he was lucky he’d lose them at one of these turns. The only thing was his lungs were already on fire and his old wounds were already throbbing as if they were brand new. Once again, he founded himself stranded in the middle of town, blocks away from his bike, and miles away from his camp.

Quickly assessing his surroundings, the hit man realized he knew exactly where he was.  ‘You’re really going to bring her into this? Really?!....Does it look like I have much of a choice though?’ He gritted his teeth as he debated in his mind over the better choice of action, his eyes darting every which way to make sure his pursuers were still hunting for him. Trace couldn’t stay here though -- he was running out of time and the rain only gave him so much time. Worst came to worst they found him with the girl; at least then he would have a true incentive to kill them all if they hurt her with a clear conscience. A moment later and he was at the door, buzzing her room number until she finally answered, quickly telling her it was him. With the door unlocked, he jerked it open before stepping inside, making sure it shut behind him before he moved to her apartment door, sliding in when opened it for him. Soaking wet, he paced about, checking that the backdoor was locked and the curtains were drawn before he moved back to her, “Hi.” he muttered, pecking her cheek before he immediately went back to the front door, double checking that it was now locked before doing the same with the ones he had just checked. One could never be too careful...

                                             Teagan & Trace

The fact he was spending so much time in his car’s side mirror was ridiculous. Clothes had never meant anything to him before but today?...well it was hard to decide. Part of him was sure that he should dress the same way he had the night they had met. Not for some profound reason of making sure she knew it was him, but for the stupidest reason of he had nothing better. But there was another side to the coin too. Trace didn’t want to disappoint her if later she realized he wasn’t anything better than a man who slept in his car in the woods. If he didn’t want to play games -- he was going to have to show her the real him. Well...a part of the real Trace anyways. There was one other factor to consider too, and that was comfort. Honestly -- he shouldn’t have even been out and about. Being impaled and stitching yourself up was not a comfortable situation, and he was definitely still sore every time he moved. He hadn’t exactly thought that part out when he had decided to meet with her. Too late now; he’d have to grin and bear it. Smoothing out the bandages under his shirt made him wince, but he dropped his wrinkled and baggy plain black t-shirt anyways over it, checking his blue jean pockets for his keys. Just to be safe, he didn’t unfasten his knife from the belt around his waist. Leaving without a weapon at all only made him feel naked. He was almost a full hour early, but Trace didn’t want to run the risk of being even a second late. He was already more than sure she would have second thoughts when she realized how he really dressed, surely being late would have sealed the deal on a “Nope”. Sitting against the side of the building, he took a drag of a cigarette to keep himself calm, trying to remind himself constantly that he was still early and that she hadn’t ditched him. He would be lying if he also hadn’t thought about forgetting the whole thing altogether. He should have just been satisfied with the one good night they did have, not still stubbornly trying to make something out of it... The hunter couldn’t think this way now. It was too late. It was 9:47am now and she’d be here any minute.

With Trace assured that Alek was no longer in the room, Trace looked back to his phone, squinting at the bright screen in the dark room as he scrolled through to find her number. He took a deep breath before he finally typed in his simple text -- though even that took him a minute.

Sometimes Joel wished he could skip a few months. Go into some hibernated state and not wake up until it was all over. That or just blow up the moon. Fuck tidal waves. Walking through the woods at sunset, Joel tried to keep his mind calm, but it could already feel the buzz that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. Anyone trying to follow him would have been able to do it by just the sheer amount of cigarette butts that littered the forest floor. He was down to his last one, but he was saving that one until the last second he could. He was going to need it. On this mission Joel carried nothing on him, not even his trusty six-shooter. Only the clothes on his back -- hand me downs that hardly even fit -- accompanied him. Truthfully, he didn’t quite understand why he bothered using this same spot every time. It never worked. No matter how much any man tried -- it would never be able to cage the wild animal. Still, they would always try. With a sigh, Joel paced around the two giant oak trees, running his hands along the bark and the giant chain that wrapped around them both. It was the strongest stuff he could find -- chains for tying up small yachts. Believe him when he said getting those massive things up here had been a bitch. He was miles from town now in the middle of some dense brush. It was definitely a place very few people frequented.  Walking to in between the trees, Joel picked up the two side of the chain where clasps awaited to grip themselves around his wrists. They were definitely not small enough to truly fit his wrists. Oh no -- the only way these were tight at all were to sit on his biceps.  Placing them on him and making sure they would stay, Joel let out another sigh, taking another look around the forest to make sure there was no one there before he moved to sit in the brush. It wouldn’t be long now. The woods were already dark, and the moon would be making its way through the canopy any minute. Just enough time for that last smoke. Taking back out the carton, Joel pulled out the last smoke, placing it between his teeth before lighting it, throwing both it and the box away. Even with the smoke invading his lungs, he was anything but calm. But it didn’t matter what he felt -- no matter what it would happen. And he would just have to deal with the after math in the morning.

*       *       *        *         *

The beast never left anything left of his prey -- emotionally and physically.

Laying low was not his strong suit. After last time’s debacle, he figured it would be best to make stay in doors for a few days and heal up. But now the man was restless. He checked each chamber of his six-shooter again, just to be safe, but just like the last time he checked five minutes ago, all six silver bullets were locked and loaded. Placing the gun into the back of his pants, he pulled on his jacket before heading outside. Almost immediately his senses flared with the new smells, causing him to already pull a cigarette free from its back. He let it before moving forward again, keeping his eyes peeled for the first sign of trouble. Finally making it down to town from his cabin in the woods (Now going through his third cigarette), Joel could see his work would be cut out for him. Time at his cabin seemed to flow differently up there. It didn’t help that he didn’t have a watch or a clock, or even a calendar in the damn thing. He didn’t realize it was Friday, and that every day citizen of this damned town was out and about.