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Post by Vespyr on Feb 18, 2013 21:02:39 GMT -8
Scene of the crime
Weeks later
Cigarette smoke.
Cain leaned against the corner of a familiar alleyway, staring at the ground. Darkened smears of old blood stained the ground by his feet, leading out of the alleyway into the street…
Not too far from where he stood, where his red eyes were fixed beneath his stern brow, a particular patch of dried bloodstain had his attention in a bad way. It was blackish rather than rusty brown. Still had a little bit of a foul scent to it, too. He could almost taste it dribbling down his throat again…
A quiet growl rumbled in the man's chest, a sigh of frustration.
There was blood everywhere. Bloody footprints everywhere. Couldn't tell which were whose or where they went. No trail.
No sign of that man.
Cain breathed out another pensive sigh, smoke curling languidly from his nostrils.
The sun was beginning to set, dreary.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Feb 18, 2013 21:29:54 GMT -8
On the roof, perched, like a gargoyle, should Cain be so inclined to look up would be the potentially familiar silhouette of Delilah Black, looming over him, unhappy.
Barker Territory was something of a sport for her now. After the fight for their lives, after what happened to "Unfettered" and the death of Kiyoshi, she had become significantly more...angry. and in increasing need to let off steam, violently. Her recurring failures as a Crow and a friend were weighing on her heavily. If she didn't release her aggression wisely, she knew she might explode.
The Barker soldier's provided no challenge for her, and, when they brought out an Experiment, it was easy for the First Crow to disappear down an alley. But it was something. She couldn't keep risking an accidental death as she beat her team into shape, not with how hard she was going now.
She had seen the familiar shape of the lanky, eternally smiling man as she rounded a corner and had been following him closely, taking to the roof tops to walk alongside him. Curious. Debating whether or not to ambush him.
Delilah remembered all to well that the white haired woman had told her about him. It was happenstance that they should meet again. But she was still...conflicted in her feelings towards him. She should kill him. But she had seen the dull side of his knife, too. She couldn't dismiss that, no matter how hard she tried.
And so, she crouched above him. Watching with a grimace.
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Post by Vespyr on Feb 18, 2013 21:45:43 GMT -8
As the sun set in a cascade of red, the shadow of the car Cain and Delilah had taken shelter behind crawled across the pavement. As the shadow peeled away from a particular spot on the asphalt just behind one of the tired, a glint of metal caught Cain's attention. He casually pushed away from the wall and crouched at the curb to pick up his switchblade… the one he'd dropped when the Experiment grabbed him.
A half-smile twitched at the corner of his lips for a moment as he ran the bloodstained thing across his fingers, almost seductively. He sighed. Rising to his feet, he turned to begin walking back the way he'd come… but paused, his curious gaze falling upon the irregular shadow of the rooftop, the straight plane broken by a slender silhouette.
Cain lowered his face for just a moment, a smile tugging at his lips… a smile that knew better. When he turned his gaze up to greet Delilah, she wouldn't see him smiling. He just raised his brow at her. The look wasn't apologetic, but… he wouldn't pretend he wasn't aware that she was clearly very unhappy with him.
"Hey, lady."
...Perhaps a hint of nostalgia in those two brief words.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Feb 18, 2013 22:04:16 GMT -8
She met his eyes unfalteringly as he glanced up at her. It was strange; she both hoped he would and that he wouldn't see her, that she could just be content to stew in what she might do as she observed. The line of her mouth thinned further. Without saying anything, Delilah pushed off the roof with a quick flex of the soles of her feet, bringing her airborne and over the edge of the roof.
She landed without a sound on the balls of her feet, bouncing to her feet as she was suddenly upright. Delilah cocked her head to the side, striding towards him slowly. Unsure of what to say to this man. Stopping a few feet away, she looked at him in silence, her face a mask while her eyes boiled.
"I should kill you, you know." she said with soft casualness.
A damn conversational wizard, this one.
She was aware that not all the bad feelings were for him. Most of them weren't. But seeing him reminded her that she did have less than noble intentions, which was her whole purpose of being in this territory. She fingered the hilt of her tanto thoughtfully.
"You've healed well."
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Post by Vespyr on Feb 18, 2013 22:17:04 GMT -8
He didn't quite know how to feel about her saying that; annoyance and amusement were possibilities, but the sobering look in his eyes suggested something else. Cain sighed and tilted his head as well, his visage becoming a little more serious… but far from hostile, even as she approached with her hand stroking the hilt of her blade.
"Did I do anything to you?" he plainly asked. The switchblade in his hand was calmly closed and returned to his jacket pocket where it belonged, his hands now empty, hanging at his sides.
The man had healed quite well, in fact, he seemed to exude a stronger vitality than the first time she'd met him. Something in his red eyes glowed warm and lively like molten lava, dangerous and yet contained, if only for the moment. |
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Feb 18, 2013 22:35:30 GMT -8
Her brow lifted aloofly at this and a wry, mirthless smirk twisted her lips. He knew the answer to that as well as she. Another step closer, hands moving from her hips and to her sides.
"Why do you think I haven't done anything?"
If he had so much as made a move against her then, or any indication that she was undoubtedly in danger of that, he would not be standing here. End of discussion. Because he hadn't, or hurt anyone that she knew (as far as she was aware), she was not vengeful or seeking his death.
But...she did know what it felt like to be the victim. Which was stupid, because she tried very hard not to play the victim-hero-villain game people surrounded themselves with. They tended to stick to people, and she wasn't exactly one that fit a set mold. She was all three and none of them. That was what prompted her words. For the nameless victims of his sociopathic tendencies...for what else could a man be called if he felt as little remorse as he showed?
Yet, privately...she admired this. He wasn't hiding it, not really. He wasn't ashamed of his actions. He was standing by his horrible, terrible flaw. As much as she hated that flaw in humanity as a whole, she could almost appreciate, on some level that she refused to acknowledge, how he handled it; like a man.
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Post by Vespyr on Feb 18, 2013 22:46:52 GMT -8
"'Cause you're not irrational," Cain answered, giving her just a subtle twist of a smile.
The man took a casual step back, resting his hips against the side of the vehicle they'd crouched behind, weeks ago. He crossed his arms and let the cigarette hang from his lips as he tilted his head the other way, a little more curious.
"But y'are mad. So why're ya here?" he grinned, raising his brow in an almost playful, challenging manner. Testing her. He was genuinely curious... would she demand an explanation? Would she just tell him he was disgusting and leave? Would she forgive him for being a terrible person? D) None of the above? |
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Feb 18, 2013 23:03:28 GMT -8
No, she wasn't irrational. but she wasn't exactly the most rational thinker, either. She fed off her emotions and combined them with logic. Standing here, talking to a known rapist was not rational. Being here, when her gang was in crisis mode, wasn't rational.
And yet, it made perfect sense.
"I have no freakin' idea," she replied with a tired sigh, lifting her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. Exasperated. Annoyed. Conflicted. "Looking for a fight, mostly. Barker's not much sport, but I take what I can get. Then I noticed you and I followed."
She shrugged...and slid her left foot forward slightly, testing.
"What about you?"
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Post by Vespyr on Feb 18, 2013 23:17:01 GMT -8
As Cain watched the girl's emotions battling each other across her smooth face, his brow furrowed with a lift bit more… personal curiosity. What did she have to be conflicted about, hmm? The issue at hand seemed pretty black and white to him, with she being the silken white… and he, tainted black. At least as far as he could tell, she seemed to have pretty strong opinions about the wrong kind of people like him.
...But that exasperated sigh she sighed suggested otherwise. The corner of Cain's mouth crinkled in an almost amused smile, but he kept it to himself as she seemed inclined to move closer.
"Why d'you think I'm here, hon?" he replied, the smile fading into seriousness for a moment. His red stare moved its confidence elsewhere, roaming the stained sidewalk with slight vehemence.
"…Lookin' for a fight." he muttered. His hand drifted up to pluck the cigarette from his gritted teeth, tapping ash down onto the black stain.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Feb 18, 2013 23:32:48 GMT -8
She raised an eyebrow as her hand dropped back down to her side, watching him flick away the ash from his cigarette. The stains were why he was here. But why he stayed was for a fight mm? Was that because that was what she was looking for, or was he still sore about what had happened all those weeks ago, here in this very spot. "S'that right?"
Tempting. Very tempting. Her hands were itching to get dirty and her body was practically jumping with stress adrenaline. She hadn't slept in two days. Inactivity tore at her mind like a feral beast, demanding that she use her killer's form in order to keep herself in check.
Oh, but if she weren't careful, she might do something she would regret. Playing with fire, as usual.
Speaking of, were his eyes brighter?
The sun was setting overhead, casting red light on both of them, so, she thought maybe not. Trick of the light, most likely. Then she remembered how warm he had been that day she brought him back to his 'cousin'.
"Well. We have two options, then." Another half-step forward, gaze and smile steady on her face. "We go looking for one...or we stay and have one ourselves.'
She spread her arms away from her sides a little, beckoning. Either was fine with her. One might be a little more satisfying than the other, but both gave them what they wanted.
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Post by Vespyr on Feb 18, 2013 23:37:48 GMT -8
The man turned his head back to Delilah with a little disbelieving look, seemingly amused by her… proposition. He tilted his head back a little, regarding her with a calm curious look.
"I wouldn't hit a girl," he chuckled, wondering if she'd take another step toward him… gauging whether or not she was being facetious. |
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Feb 18, 2013 23:46:35 GMT -8
A slow, eyebrow raise greeted this, amused by the irony. He would rape a boy a man, but he wouldn't hit a girl? She let out a bark of laughter, disbelieving.
Another step forward. Less than a foot away from him now. Smiling.
"'Don't let your halo choke you to death when it's hanging there around your neck, sunshine'," she looked up at him daringly, the farce of a smile looking more and more like she was baring her teeth at him.
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Post by Vespyr on Feb 18, 2013 23:52:09 GMT -8
"Still that mad, huh?" Cain mumbled as the girl drew nearer, so close that when he breathed the scent of her was all up in his head like nicotine. He flicked his cigarette onto the sidewalk and leaned his elbows back onto the car, reclining… forcing her to get closer if she insisted upon getting all up in his face with that delightful grin of hers.
"If you wanna hit me that's your beef, but I got no reason to hit back, sweetheart.~" |
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Feb 19, 2013 0:14:05 GMT -8
"Not mad. I just find the hypocrisy amusing," she returned...and lied. She was mad, but it was for a lot of reasons. Her head was chaotic with anger and other, more confusing emotions. She took another half step closer, upper body leaned forward slightly into his. Inches apart. The grin still set onto her face.
"No? Not even for a 'friendly spar'?" her head cocked a little further to the side, trying to keep his gaze attached to hers, studying him. "I wonder if you feel the same about your 'cousin'. Or any other women in your family."
A memory caught in her mental filter and her eyes crinkled at the corners, slightly.
"...Or is that something your mother taught you?"
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Post by Vespyr on Feb 19, 2013 0:26:22 GMT -8
…He narrowed his eyes at her, a little intrigued at the seemingly pointed question she directed at him. It didn't bother him, though... and perhaps that would bother her.
"The only thing my mom taught me about hittin' was to hit the other guy harder." Cain murmured, leaning forward with his arms crossed, until he was almost pressing his forehead against hers… looming over this little ray of fuckin' sunshine.
"I'm actually willin' to play nice, sweetheart. But if that ain't what you want, then go ahead. Try me." he challenged. His eyes smoldered down into hers as he brought his face unabashedly close to her glaring eyes and her bared teeth. |
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