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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 2, 2010 8:58:17 GMT -5
"Nothing we do will be garunteed, at least this will be a little safer than going in together." She shrugged, leaning back against the horse's shoulder a little as they waited. Gyspy clothes weren't much use for warding off the cold, and the horse offered at least a little warmth. "I can look after myself, I don't care what Kassara said." Her voice was sharp then, and it looked as though she may have said more, but Jagger turned up.
She scowled as he said that they had been spotted, sighing heavily. Why was nothing ever straight forward? Why, just for once, could one thing not go their way?
Kassara. She was fed up of hearing that name. Wasn't having to trust one vampire enough? Now she was faced with having to accept the help of another? She didn't like this, not one bit.
"Why would she agree to help us? I haven't asked for her help, nor do I need it." She snapped, standing up properly now, letting her hand sit on her hips. "Ex-slayer or not, why should I trust her? Why should I accept her help?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes at Jagger, looking at him properly for the first time since what had happened. "What does she propose?"
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 2, 2010 17:18:27 GMT -5
Kevin heaved an audible sigh when Amaya spoke up, but still would not look at her, even as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"If I had time to tell you don't you think I would have?" he responded acidly, but he turned his back on them, giving him an excuse not to look at Amaya. "She's trustworthy, at least for this. I don't expect you to trust me, I'm just another bloodsucker to kill once this is all over." He glared at a tree. "I don't like it, either, but it's the best shot we've got." He pushed his hair out of his face and wheeled around. "You two can sit here and discuss your trust issues all you want." He crossed his arms over his chest, thinking of what he'd said to Amaya that night.
I will follow.
"She's going to toss us down a rope and haul us up and over the wall," he said. "She'll be there any minute, but we have to move."
Yasakazu thought it sounded alright, better than their shot at getting through the gates, which would surely be swamped with vampire guards. But he dared not give his opinion. He waited for Amaya's instead.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 2, 2010 17:29:40 GMT -5
Amaya had never realised before just how much self control she had. Somehow she managed not to chop him up into little pieces for talking to her like that, that was quite an achievement. Her hand had, however, moved to linger near the dagger attached to her thigh, and she was dying to hurt him, just a little bit at least, and teach him that no-one spoke to her like that. Did he not remember who she was? She was the last of the Ashikawas, it was only natural that she was suspicious of trusting the enemy.
"Forgive me, having my family mutilated and having various attempts on my own life may just have left me a little suspicious." She snapped, turning away from Jagger to start walking towards the city. "If you are lucky, I will stake you out in the sun before all of this is over, I wouldn't want to keep you waiting." The sarcasm was heavy in her voice as she spoke. Ugh, how had she ever put up with him? Him and his beloved Kassara, she should tie them out in the sun together and let them burn.
"A rope? Wonderful idea, I can't wait to see how she proposes to pull the horses over the wall with a rope." She grumbled, shaking her head. "Whatever, it's worth a try, I suppose."
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 2, 2010 18:03:10 GMT -5
Kevin caught the movement of Amaya's hand in his peripheral vision, but did not move. If she wanted to kill him, he would let her. It sounded pathetic to the old Kevin, but the new Kevin knew nothing else. What had he but this mission? He had no smithy to return to and no one left to mourn his second death. His only remaining family was his sister, who thought he was dead and probably wouldn't want to talk to him if she knew he was alive.
"If you are lucky, I will stake you out in the sun before all this is over. Wouldn't want to keep you waiting." Amaya's words twisted his face into something between bewilderment and hurt; an expression his countenance had not donned in a long time. He had known she was mad and heard the sarcasm, but he had never expected her to say something that low. Or perhaps, he decided, it wasn't low, it was the truth. If the way she had looked at him the other morning hadn't proved that the night they'd shared was a joke, those words certainly did. They reminded him of what he was. It didn't matter who he was, what he was would always be more important to her and Yasakazu. He wanted very badly to leave right then, but his promise held him fast. Despite being a blood-sucking leech, he was determined to keep his promises, no matter how difficult they seemed. His promise to Amaya was still a promise, even if he could hardly stand to be around her right now, and his promise to Daisuke would hold no matter the squalls he faced.
It only took him half a second to regain his composure. His face had straightened out almost before Yasakazu, who had stayed behind to curse Kevin with a sympathetic stare, caught a glimpse of it. Almost. He relaxed his jaw, which had tightened instinctively, and strode forward, trying to act like he hadn't noticed the way the slayer-mage looked at him.
"Jagger," Yasakazu said. Kevin stopped and sighed, preparing himself, but did not turn around to face the other man. "I'm sorry." Kevin cocked an eyebrow, baffled.
"For what?" he snapped, considering plugging his ears and singing loudly to block out Yasakazu's response.
"A lot of things," was the simple, cryptic reply. With that, Yasakazu jogged to catch up with Amaya. Kevin rubbed his temples for a second before doing the same, walking just behind the other two.
"North side of the wall," he announced to no one in particular. Amaya had made him rather angry and Yasakazu had frightened him with his odd apology, so he didn't really care to talk to either of them at the moment. "And we're not keeping the horses. We'll lift the supplies. The horses would just be a pain in the city, anyway. They wouldn't allow us any stealth."
"Also, we need horses better suited for the sort of traveling we're doing," Yasakazu said optimistically. "Good thinking, Jagger."
"Wasn't my idea," he muttered, resting one hand on his katana and keeping his eyes on the trees around them. They were glowing golden.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 2, 2010 19:27:48 GMT -5
Amaya would have been rather pleased with herself if she had caught Jagger's expression. It was petty and low, but she wanted to hurt him, wanted to put him away and to rebuild the wall around herself that she had buldozed the night before. She wanted him gone, but, for some reason, she couldn't face telling him to leave, nor could she face killing him. Driving him away seemed like the best, and easiest, option. If he just slipped away in the night then she had an excuse not to kill him, she could use his disappearance to cover up her own weakness. Bah, she hated him being around, he blurred all the lines in her head.
"We need money to buy new horses, we could have at least traded these." She pointed out, her tone still sharp, the slayer chosing to pretend that she hadn't heard Yasakazu's unexplained apology. "Leaving them to just run off will let the vampires know we are in the city and that we didn't change our minds and turn back." She added, altering her direction a little to head towards the main wall, her movements effortlessly shifting, her footsteps becoming lighter and faster, gaze dancing around to make sure that she wasn't seen.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 2, 2010 19:39:00 GMT -5
Kevin couldn't help it, he laughed openly, giving up not talking to Amaya. "Haha! You, give up? They know you by now, Ashikawa," he said. In Hagakarin, using someone's last name was a formal thing, reserved for people who didn't know each other very well. It was why Kevin had been calling Yasakazu "Sasaki" all this time, because he was determined to remain on a professional level with him. "It's likely they already think we're in the city, we were spotted. They aren't going to just assume we ran off. And they can track our footprints, one way or another." He cleared his throat. "Another thing, we couldn't have traded in the horses, because we wouldn't have made it through the gates. This side, at the very least, is covered by vampire surveillance. I caught a glimpse of them when I went to meet Kassara, just so I'd know she wasn't toying with us."
"Now who has the trust issues," muttered Yasakazu.
"You really expect me to put your lives on the line without doing a little research?" Kevin demanded incredulously.
"Well...," Yasakazu said, though it was obvious he was kidding.
"Maybe yours," Kevin responded with a fanged grin. [/size]
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 2, 2010 19:53:51 GMT -5
"I don't need a lecture on how to avoid vampires from you." She had noted the use of her surname, and her tone had shifted to suit this new level of formality. The sarcasm and anger was half hidden, voice level. She could do professional, if that was what he wanted. "Or are you not aware of who I am? I'm not some mere novice." Ha, he thought that he could tell her a thing or two about avoiding vampire? She had been doing it since she was a child. She new how to obscure her footprints, how to mask her scent, how to double back on herself and never to take a direct route to anywhere. He thought that she had survivied this long on pure luck?
"Will you two stop bickering and tell me where the Hell I am heading." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Stealth was impossible with those two in tow. The sooner they were in the city the better, they could lose themselves amongst the thousands of people that came and went everyday.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 15, 2010 19:26:48 GMT -5
Kevin had to bite his lip to keep from screaming. Blood trickled slowly down his chin as he marched ahead of her, wordlessly, so that he could lead them. From his perspective, he had given everything to her. He had omitted the only life he'd known for decades to join an endless quest. His smithy, his acquaintances, his home... And now he was putting his life on the line on a regular basis, enduring her constant array of insults and even revealing his meaningless feelings to her. All that meant nothing. He was reminded of the first night they'd spent together and how he'd almost left and regretted returning for his swords almost instantly. He felt guilty for his regret, but he just couldn't help it in his rage. If only he could say all the things he wanted to right now instead of pretending to tolerate her presence. He cursed Daisuke in his mind over and over again as they neared the north wall.
Yasakazu remained doggedly silent. Unlike Kevin, the insults didn't really affect him anymore. He had learned to tune her out when she got snappy. It was really the only way he knew how to handle her when she was frustrated like this. He simply brought up the rear, keeping an eye on the shadows while Kevin marched ahead of them.
Finally, they were at the north wall. Kevin stopped and whistled a brief piece of an old nursery tune. A second later, he was answered with the end of it from somewhere overhead.
"Kassara?" Kevin called.
"Yes, Jagger," a woman's voice purred. "The password, friend?"
"Silver," he responded, frowning a bit as she called him her friend.
"Supplies first then," she responded, throwing down three long ropes. Kevin threw a glance at Yasakazu and he dismounted immediately, prepared to help tie up the supplies.
"Just what he need," he said in a lowered voice to Yasakazu. "Food, our canteens, blankets..."
"I know, I know," the slayer-mage said, unstrapping a leather satchel from the third horse.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 15, 2010 19:52:57 GMT -5
Jagger may have given her everything, but the simple fact of the matter was that she had never asked him to. She had never asked him to save her, she had never asked him to betray his race, she hadn't asked him to give up everything for her. That didn't mean that she wasn't grateful for it, but she wasn't going to to carry the blame for his choices. If he fet that way then she could quite easily slip off into the night and he would never see her again. It may help traveling in a group, but it would be easier for her to disappear if she were alone. Not that she really wanted to be alone, but she would go whatever it took. Amaya had come this far, she wasn't going to die now, not until this whole mess had been resolved.
She raise her gaze to the wall, narrowing her eyes as the woman replied. Oh, even the sound of her voice was grating. She had no idea how she was even going to act civilised towards her when she was in this mood. Acting civilised towards anyone was difficult when she was in this kind of a mood. Fucking Jagger.
She dismounted as Yasakazu did, taking a moment to remove the head strap from the horse so that it's legs didn't become tangled in the reigns once they left them. It was going to take all of her self control not to kill this woman, she could see it now. She didn't even have any idea why she grated on her nerves so much, other, of course, than she was a vampire.
"Can we please hurry this up?"
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 29, 2010 17:21:51 GMT -5
Oh, look, she says please, Kevin thought to himself. Even if it is in an entirely sarcastic tone. How intriguing. His bitter comments in his head were the only thing keeping him sane at the moment, so long as he could guard them. He knotted the rope around the better half of the supplies and Kassara lifted them with ease, despite their obvious weight. She was a vampire, a much older one than Kevin, for that matter. She was faster, stronger, and required to feed less than him. Most vampires envied her. Kevin only felt sorry for her. He had hardly endured this life for this long, he just didn't understand how she could do it.
After the supplies were lifted, the rope was dropped down again.
"I'll go first," Kevin volunteered, grabbing the rope and climbing as Kassara pulled him upward. When he reached the top, they dropped it again and Yasakazu was lifted. Once more they dropped it for Amaya.
"Where do you want me to take the supplies?" Kassara asked. Kevin shrugged.
"Not my decision," he muttered.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 29, 2010 18:33:14 GMT -5
Amaya was impatient and she wouldn't even deny it. She felt too exposed here, lingering by the wall, dependant on the help of some vampire. Ugh, what had she sunk to? Lowered herself to depending on vampires, was she really that desperate? She needed to get a grip on this situation, needed to work out some sort of a real plan, needed to work out where she was going to go from here and how she was going to do it. She was an Ashikawa, the last of the Ashikawa's, she was not going to spend the rest of her life on the run from a subspecies. No, she needed to stand back and look at this situation and work out her next step.
She shook these thoughts out of her head as she took hold of the rope and let Kassara pull her up onto the city wall, glancing around to make sure that they hadn't been seen. Well, they were in the city now, at least that was a step forward. At least she felt like they were getting somewhere, at last.
She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes as she glanced over at Jagger. Not his decision? So this wasn't the city that he lived in, and they hadn't been planning on going to his workshop? He was so childish sometimes. "Well, I was assuming that we were going to your workshop, Jagger, but if you would like for me to make new plans then all you had to do was ask." She snapped, moving a few steps away from the wall to look down at the city, not even glancing in Kassara's direction.
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Post by Chani {♥} on May 11, 2010 3:52:54 GMT -5
Kevin spun on Amaya, dumbfounded for a small instant at her utter snappiness. He finally turned his back on her coldly and shouldered some of the supplies in an angry rush, determined not to speak. If he did, it would come to blows, he was sure of it. He bit his lip so hard it bled.
Yasakazu, feeling awkward, reached to help carry some of the supplies, but Kevin stopped him. He was slow enough without their things weighing him down. He motioned to Kassara to grab the other things, still not trusting himself to speak.
The female vampire's eyebrows were raised in total surprise. The Jagger she knew simply didn't allow people to speak to him that way. She could recall several occasions he had proven this, not against mortals, but vampires, some older and stronger than him. She moved forward and grabbed the rest of the things when he motioned to her, then came to stand quite close to them as he strode off in the direction of his smithy.
"Mm, it's been a while since I've been there," she commented quietly so that only Kevin could have understood, but he did not seem to hear her. His eyes, golden now with his infrared vision, stared forward. She pouted silently when he didn't respond, but he didn't seem to notice this, either. She adjusted the weight of the things and fell silent, but she still kept close to him, as if afraid he might run off. Indeed, if he had noticed her closeness, he might have considered it. Yasakazu fell in stride just behind Kevin, keeping an eye on their backs. His fingers twitched at his sides, ready to set aflame anything that moved too suddenly.
They were about halfway there when Kassara spoke again. "I've missed you, Jagger," she said, smiling at him. "When do you plan on coming back to Idaitokai again? You know, to stay." He scowled at her, still irritable from Amaya's attitude.
"Keep quiet," he said shortly, quietly, though the words were clear as a bell, for he meant them. She pouted again, this time looking a little angry. Her eyes were icy, cold, terrible, but only for a second. The look was gone as quick as it had come and Kevin did not notice it.
Kevin sighed with relief when his eyes fell on the doors of his smithy. He mentally thanked the gods for their fortune in not seeing a single vampire this entire trip. But he wasn't letting his guard down, not now, not ever. A light breeze swept his straight hair from his glowing eyes, eyes that had now sheltered his anger from view. This anger was replaced with determination and caution. His gait spoke the same of him; confident, wary, prepared. Without warning, he set his supplies down and sprung forward like a cat, moving like a vampire for the first time since they'd come to Idaitokai. He rushed around the smithy, peering around it and stopping outside the doors to listen briefly. Once he had deemed it safe, he came back, still glancing over his shoulder. Kassara was flashing him a fanged grin.
"Satisfied?" she whispered in her soft, almost musical voice. She reached forward and touched his chest before he could respond. He turned away from her, brushing her hand away gently with his arm and looking at Yasakazu. He was still too frustrated with Amaya to acknowledge her presence.
"Can you keep watch while we take the supplies in?" he asked.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 12, 2010 10:54:40 GMT -5
Amaya was rather surprised by how quickly her annoyance could transfer from one person to the next. The slow bubbling anger in her mind had been aimed at Jagger, it had been aimed at him ever since waking up this morning, and yet, right now she found that it was now pointing squarely at Kassara. Everything about the vampire annoyed her, and she had a creeping feeling in the back of her mind that it wasn't her race which was the route of this. What the Hell was she even doing there? Amaya certainly didn't remember inviting her, or asking for her help. Clearly she couldn't trust Jagger, otherwise he wouldn't have brought anyone else into this without her consent. Did he not understand how dangerous this was? No, obviously not. The massacre of her family obviously meant nothing to him.
Her gaze sharpened as she watched the female vampire move closer to Jagger, and suddenly that anger was almost impossible to keep under control. It was threatening to bubble over and, well, that wouldn't be pretty. She almost wished that Jagger had started a fight, at least she would be back on familiar ground then. Right now she was in an unfamiliar city, with an unfamiliar woman and in an unfamiliar situation, and Amaya was not adapting well. Surviving was one thing, accepting your situation is another.
Her hands curled into fists as Kassara spoke to Jagger; she may no be able to hear her, but she could lip read her meaning well enough. She had missed him? I only added to her fury. Just what kind of a relationship did they have? What had happened between them in the past? Well, whatever it was, Amaya found herself pleased to see that it seemed to be one sided. Jagger was ignoring her as coldly and effortlessly as the slayer was learning that he could. She was getting the cold shoulder from him, it was satisfying to see him do it to someone else.
It annoyed her even more as she touched his shoulder, the slayer tensing and turning away, amber eyes burning in the darkness. "I am more than capable of keeping watch." Her voice was tense and icy, Amaya turning away to scan the darkness that surrounded them to distract herself. "Feel free to have your little reunion. I am sure that Yasakazu and I can look after ourselves enough to cover you. Trust me, fighting a hoard of vampires would be preferable to watching you two."
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Post by Chani {♥} on May 12, 2010 11:26:45 GMT -5
Kassara smiled haughtily at Amaya's annoyance. Decades upon decades of experience told her the source of the slayer's irritation. She wondered how Kevin didn't see it. Men could be so blind to matters of the heart... She spun on heel and walked past the other vampire to the doors of his smithy, as if it were her place and not his.
Kevin followed with his share of the supplies. They went in. It was incredibly dark, but that was hardly a problem for him. Even if he hadn't vision of the night, he would remember where everything was at easily enough. It seemed only yesterday he'd been in here last, working the metal, smelling the ash, feeling the intense heat of the flames. He glanced around and found that the place had been turned inside out; tables were turned over, his tools were scattered, and most of his wares were missing. He supposed he should have expected this.
"This way," he whispered, leading her back into his office and dropping his supplies. She followed him and sat her things next to him, her body still very close to his. She never left his shadow. After he had removed his burden, he went to leave, but Kassara blocked the doorway.
She was leaned against the frame, looking at him under heavy eyelashes in a way he remembered all too well. His response was to glower at her.
"Move," he commanded shortly. And when she didn't budge, "Kassara, we haven't time for your trifles tonight." She smirked seductively and snaked her body against his, curving against him. Her hands were on his hips.
"Always business with you, Jagger," she whispered, brushing her lips against his neck. He swayed his head to push her away. "Is that slayer girl so damned precious?" she hissed angrily, but she did not step back. Her grip tightened on his waist and he knew struggling against her would be pointless, so he did not.
"What do you mean?" he snapped, looking dangerous at the mention of Amaya. Kassara laughed in her sultry way.
"I knew it was her," she said, slipping her hand under his shirt and dragging her nails lightly up his back. "How cute." She licked her lips. "But I can give you what that girl is far too proud to give. When was the last time you were with a woman, Jagger? Have you ever been, or am I the only victim of your indifference?" She blinked up at him with an expression of feigned innocence. He was silent. "So like a rock, you are. So stubborn, so naive, Jagger." She frowned. "What must I do or say? You can leave her now and come back here. I can sort things out with the others..."
"No," he said it firmly. "Release me." He reached for her wrists, but she only shook him back, then pulled him tighter against her.
"She's a slayer, Jagger," she growled, not bothering to keep her voice low anymore. "She hates you. She hates you, Jagger!" Her voice had risen to a scream now and her eyes sparked with anger. "I would love you. Is it that you cannot accept she's a slayer, or that you think you're a human? Either way, you had best learn to pick your battles." She smiled then. "I'm sorry, I lost my temper... Now here, I'll show you just how much better I am than that wretched wench." She leaned in to kiss him, but Jagger's temper flared. Anyone who knew him better would have seen the anger rise in his eyes like the flames of his furnace, but Kassara's eyes were closed as she leaned in to press her lips on his.
A second later, he had thrown her with twice the strength he'd believed he possessed. She flew out the doorway of his office and through the wall not too far beyond. The loud shattering of wood and scream Kassara let out broke the near-silence of their whispers before.
Kevin stood with his eyes wide, staring after her, entirely amazed by what he had done. Then he seemed to recover and smiled triumphantly at what he had done. Then, again realization dawned. That sound would attract company, he was sure of it.
"Damn my temper!" he snarled at himself and rushed out of the office, drawing his katana. He cursed himself mentally, but skidded to a halt just outside the door. "Amaya?" He looked at the slayer. She was rather good at hiding in the shadows, even for a slayer. In his anger, he hadn't even smelled her. "How long have you been there?"
"VAMPIRES!" Yasakazu screamed, then there was a flash of light outside the doors as the mage used his magic, followed closely by a few angry hisses.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 12, 2010 12:57:30 GMT -5
Taking the supplies inside was taking far too long, how long did it take to put everything down and check all the rooms. Not this long, she knew that much. It didn‘t take long for suspicion to build up inside her, the slayer eventually sighing and looking around to scan their surroundings. Everything was quiet, there was nothing moving in the shadows, things looked safe enough, for the moment. “Keep guard, Zu, I‘ll go see what‘s taking our hosts so long.” She mumbled, sounding as irritable as ever as she turned to head towards the blacksmiths and slip into the darkness.
Initially, her intention was to storm in there and demand to know just what was taking them so long, but all that changed when she heard voices. Curiosity took over and before she knew it she was lingering by the door to the room they were in, slayer instincts having kicked in, Amaya having slipped through the room without a sound. Vampires weren‘t the only ones that could creep around in the dark, sometimes to hunt something you had to be able to move like it.
The slayer wasn‘t even sure that she was breathing as she lingered by the doorway, fists clenched so tightly that she was shaking as she watched. That Kassara, that whore, she had known that she couldn‘t trust that serpent. Oh, she was going to run stakes through her hands, keep her outside and wait for the sun to come up. A million bloody thoughts flashed through her mind, but she was frozen to the spot, still not quite able to believe what she was seeing. She wasn‘t just throwing herself at him, she was practically forcing herself on him.
Then she caught the mention to herself and she felt something snap, a red mist falling over her mind. Who was she to talk about her? This Kassara? Who was she to assume that she was with holding something from Jagger, never mind that she could do better. That she could give him something that she couldn‘t. Did this vampire, this ruined slayer, not know who she was? She was Amaya Ashikawa, and if she thought that she was going to lose anything to her then she was going to get a nasty shock.
There was a satisfied look in her eyes as Jagger refused her, as he threw her through the wall. Any regular girl would have been shocked by such violence, would have been terrified by it, but Amaya could just smirk. In her mind, Jagger had just saved the other vampire a world of hate. Well, had postponed a world of hurt, Amaya wasn‘t the type to let something like that slide.
As Jagger appeared in the doorway and noticed her something unspoken passed between them as she smiled to him, something that Amaya would never admit to. “Long enough to know that she will be lucky to get out of this city alive.” She responded to him, the coldness that had stood between them seeming to have disappeared for a moment, the slayer stepping out of the shadows and into the light.
The moment was broken, however, at Yasakazu‘s yell, her hair fanning out around her as her head snapped around. Whatever had been about to happen would have to wait, Amaya was being given the chance to put all that anger she had been storing up to good use. She glanced around at Jagger for a moment, almost as though to tell him that they would finish this later, before turning to run back out into the night, swords drawn.
Vampires? Psht, vampires were simple compared to what had just happened.
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