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Post by Silas Rosier on Apr 28, 2009 15:38:20 GMT 1
The gunshot rang out once more. Great, what the hell had he done to deserve this one? Silas expected to feel the burn of another round of rock salt cut into him, but instead Dacian was suddenly blasted off. Better not question it. He scrambled to his feet, the pain in his right shoulder made it unusually difficult and he almost fell over again. Someone was going to fucking die for this. Screw the chance of getting shot again, Silas was too furious to care.
Luckily for Ed, it was Dacian that he spotted first. Expression livid, Silas levelled his wand at the vampires form as he struggled with the last of the ropes. With a deafening blast the cobblestone, dirt and snow exploded upwards into the air similar to the effect of a small mortar. Rubble littered the ground around what was now a decent sized crater where Dacian had just been sitting. Goddamnit, where the hell did he go?
Amidst the flying debris Silas momentarily lost sight of his quarry, but the vampire wasted no time in coming back. The creature lunged, and in the split second he had to react Silas did a good impression of Edwards’s shotgun as he Apparated out of the alleyway. This time the cracking sound was unintentional; he was just too injured to Apparate smoothly.
He landed awkwardly, but in one piece. By the looks of it Silas had ended up next to a small abandoned building near Scores. What the? What made him think of there? Nevermind. The sensation of Aparatition coupled with the blow to the skull was making his head swim and Silas threw out a hand to lean against the wall. It was fucking freezing under his fingers, and the cold air was causing his lungs to burn.
His original plan had been to Apparate again right behind Dacian for a second assault, but he now realised it wasn’t going to be possible. There was no way he was teleporting again for at least a few minutes. The adrenaline rush had started fading the second he was out of danger and now he was copping the full force of the combined pain from his shoulder, arms and head. Fuck. He was anxious to get into the fight again but he was trapped by his own goddamn physical limitations.
Defeated, Silas slumped against the wall to inspect the damage. Sliced up forearms, an eye that was rapidly swelling and was difficult to see out of, and of course, the shotgun blast to the shoulder. His knowledge of healing spells was poor at best, but he knew enough to stop the bleeding and prevent the swelling from getting any worse.
Once that was dealt with, Silas experimentally slipped a hand under his clothing to feel gently around his shoulder. Fuck. The coat had blocked most of it, but two large chunks of salt had forced their way through and embedded themselves. That explained where the burning was coming from, but not the stabbing pain. Must fallen on it badly as well. Just his luck. Silas gritted his teeth and sucked in a hissing breath of pain as he stuck in a finger to fish the chunks out. Fucking HELL. Someone. Was going. To DIE.
There was nothing more he could hope to do in this state tonight. It all rested on the plot now in motion. Dacian would fall for the bait. That he was certain of. All he could do was go somewhere to recover then pick the battle up tomorrow when the odds were skewed in his favour. Home or Scores? No, he was out of liquor at home. He waited long enough until he felt fit enough to travel again, then removed the anti-Apparation charms around Scores and disappeared with a faint pop.
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Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on Apr 28, 2009 16:15:55 GMT 1
Dacian should have foreseen a spell. He should have been keeping hold of both Silas’ arms but in the bloodlust and fury, he’d only concentrated on getting his teeth into his enemy’s neck. If Silas had chosen Lumos solem, he would have had more success. As it was, the stunner was enough to make Dacian flinch away, and had enough of an effect to push the vampire back a foot but that was the extent of it.
Dacian was counting his blessings and about to lunge again when Edward kicked him in the side. The force of it was immense, and he rolled off of Silas and sprawled in his congealing blood-puddle from earlier. What the hell? Then his senses told him the kick had been accompanied by a gunshot. Edward had shot him? With levels of disbelief similar to Silas’ at the same treatment, Dacian was stunned for a moment. Then the situation caught up with him and he struggled to free himself of the ropes.
He looked up in time to see Silas levelling his wand in his direction again and he dodged to the side. Splintering cobbles shattered in every direction, and the spell left a small crater where Dacian had been. Wasting no time, the enraged vampire ignored Edward’s warning completely (except for the invitation, he paid attention to that) and lunged at Silas.
As another deafening crack ricocheted around the alley, Dacian though Edward had fired another shot but it was just Silas apparating out of existence. His lunge took him into the wall instead. His left shoulder hit the stone wall and he fell onto the ground with a wet-sounding groan. The effort of attacking Silas caught up with him, and after a quick glance around to make sure Silas was actually gone, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and slumped against the wall behind him.
As the wave of pain dulled, he opened his eyes and glared at Edward. The vampire did not look in good shape. From what light illuminated the alley, his torso was slick with dark liquid, and trickles of blood were still leaking from his mouth. He could taste blood that wasn’t his own, and despite the bitter taste, his lips curled in a cruel smile. At least he’d drawn some blood from Silas, and the wizard wouldn’t heal as fast as he.
Eyes fixated on Edward and his gun, Dacian got laboriously to his feet, hunching with the strain it put on his ribs. He bared his bloodied teeth. Edward had shot him after all, and he wasn’t very pleased about that. Shooting Silas had earned him something akin to grudging respect, but he ruined all of that by shooting Dacian.
He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground and caused himself some pain to speak. “Should—” He had to stop and swallow blood before continuing in the wet, wheezing, laboured way that seemed impossible with a hole through one lung. “Have… Let… Me…” He coughed and something thicker than blood hit the cobbles with a sickening splat, “Kill… Him.” He tugged his shirt open, letting the buttons pop so he could press a hand to the wound in his side. His face contorted a little in pain before the glare returned.
Moving slowly now, the anger fuelling him before was dissipating now Silas was gone, Dacian circled round Edward in a zombie-like shuffle and went to the pump room door. “Viv?” His voice was barely audible, but Vivian would be able to hear it. The use of her nickname was mostly due do his inability to say more than one syllable at a time. “It’s… safe.” He shot Edward another glare and gestured with a nod of his head to put the gun down. The wizard wouldn’t need it. Attacking Edward in front of Vivian was not on the list of things that might endear him to her – he’d figured that out all on his own.
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Post by Vivian Nazarova on Apr 29, 2009 10:31:19 GMT 1
Oh, the noises were horrible. It was the screams. Particularly the screams. Vivian knew who was screaming, but she didn’t know why. Her imagination was left wild, free to fill in all the horrifying blanks as to what was going on outside as she sat huddled in the corner of the pump room. It sounded like someone was being killed out there. Vivian’s stomach sank. She had no way of knowing that that wasn’t the case.
She’d attempted at one stage to get out and see what she could do. She wasn’t completely useless, just... wait, no. Yeah, she was useless. After what felt like 40 minutes of slowing creeping to the door, psyching herself up, a shotgun blast had sent her scurrying like a cockroach when the lights turned on. If she didn’t already know the shotgun was Ed’s and it was always loaded with rock salt as opposed to buckshot, she would have had a heart attack that someone had been killed.
Time seemed to drag on, and on. She could hear everything but was no closer to learning the truth of anything. Every time the gun fired she flinched and squeaked. Then, finally, after an age, Dacian’s voice finally called out. Softly. Laboured. In pain. Oh God. What had happened? Vivian approached the door with such hesitation you’d be forgiven for thinking it had been blessed by a priest.
The sight outside was less than heartening. The first thing she saw was Ed with his shotgun, then the snow stained with blood, a hole in the ground from God-knew-what, then Dacian. Oh Jesus, Dacian. Whatever fight she’d been having with him was forgotten at the sight of the state he was in. She gasped audibly in shock and rushed down the stairs to his side. “Oh my God! Vot happened?” she shrieked, directing the question at Ed whilst clutching at Dacian’s shoulder, her face – if possible – even paler than before.
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Edward Johns
Adult (A)
The Hog's Head Barkeep
Totally screwed.
Posts: 118
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Post by Edward Johns on Apr 29, 2009 13:49:24 GMT 1
Edward ducked as Silas raised his wand again, his eyes watered at the effort of closing them. When nothing happened he risked a look and saw the newly formed crater in the ground. To say he was glad that hadn’t been him was an understatement. The loud crack of Silas apparating made Ed flinch again but as soon as he saw the older man had gone he finally breathed a sigh of relief. The situation was now mildly diffused, but now there was one angry and injured Dacian to deal with and Ed was not in the best shape as of the moment.
Dacian’s words made Ed glare fiercely, or feebly rather, at him. “If you had killed him you would have been hunded down and killed yourself. Den where would Viv be? Where would Cassie be?” he said the bit about Cassie quieter than the rest, turning away as he did so. “I saved you do save dem,” he spat, glaring again.
Edward’s expression softened as soon as Vivian surfaced. That was when he lowered the gun right down and relaxed. If Dacian was going to kill him he wasn’t going to do it in front of Viv. “Once Dacian here is healed up you can ask him because I came in jusd when id was gedding inderesding. I sdopped him and Silas killing each other,” Ed answered her question offhandedly, scuffing at the little crater with the toe of his shoe. He was beginning to get cold and his face was still throbbing. He turned back to Dacian before going back inside.
“You can come in if you wand undil you are well enough do go bud sday oud of my way,” he nodded at the vampire then tried to usher Vivian inside.
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Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on Apr 30, 2009 0:49:30 GMT 1
Annoyingly, Edward was right. If there was ever an official investigation against him, Vivian and Cassie would be first under the spying glass. He doubted his death would affect them for long, but the likelihood that one or both of them would be hunted down by something pleased to ruin every last bit of his life even after his death was too high a percentage to risk.
He shepherded Vivian out of the door, grimacing only a little as she clutched his shoulder. Until he was healed, he couldn’t explain much. He rested a hand on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. He would be fine, just as soon as the hole through his chest healed up. “S’just… a… flesh… wound.” A ghost of a smile curled the corner of his mouth, appreciating her concern. At least she cared that he wasn’t dead – that was a start.
The vampire graced Edward with another glare. Subtle. He made it sound like killing Silas was unjust. He would have to explain to Vivian later. Now, however, he needed to get cleaned up and give Vivian some first-hand experience in vampire first aid. It was about time she saw the extent to which vampires could take and heal damage. Perhaps then she wouldn’t be so nervous. She was a killing machine, not a teenager.
Dacian dismissed Edward with a wave of his hand, steering Vivian toward the door leading back into the main pub. “Basement.” He wheezed, feeling smug as he crossed the threshold without resistance. He better take advantage of this while he could. As he got to the basement door, he released his hold on Vivian’s shoulder. It was as much to keep him upright as it was to control her. He held onto the handle of the door for support, and waved Vivian away with brief instructions. “Water. Cloth.”
While she was busy finding those things, he could half-fall down the stairs to the blissfully dark basement. He grabbed a lit lantern on the way, unfortunately needing the light for a little bit longer. He could collapse on the basement floor after putting the lantern somewhere safe and after gritting his teeth against his body’s protests, he wriggled out of his ruined coat and shirt to survey the damage. Gruesome, yes, but salvageable. He did not want to think too hard about how close to his heart the stab was, making a mental note to kill Silas more subtly and painfully than he had originally planned.
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Post by Vivian Nazarova on Apr 30, 2009 11:07:35 GMT 1
Vivian was just was quiet as the other two when they all headed forwards into the pub. Two major fights in one day right after the other. Could her luck get any worse? At least this time she wasn’t being completely useless away in the corner, even if all she was doing was helping Dacian get down into the basement. It wasn’t much as far as senses of purposefulness went, but it was better than powerlessness, which she’d become all too used to feeling lately.
When Dacian instructed her to get water and a cloth she didn’t argue. It was possibly one of the only commands he’d ever given that she hadn’t objected too in one way or another. She merely bit her lip, wondering he should be left on his own to face the stairs, but she eventually nodded solemnly and left him there. He’d be fine, surely. A fall down the stairs wouldn’t kill him if worse came to worse.
“Ed, vhere’re ze-” but the barkeeper was already nodding in the correct direction. “I’ll be up to see you next,” Vivian told him firmly, and Edward shrugged before trudging slowly up the stairs. Not exactly heartening, and Vivian felt a stab of guilt that she was tending to Dacian first, even though the other vampire was clearly the worst injured of the two. She’d just have to make it up to Edward later by apologising then working extra hard at the pub for the next few days. Actions spoke louder than words.
There was nothing to use except a pitcher of beer for the water and small face towels and a box of tissues, but it would do. After collecting it all Vivian tried to rush down the stairs as fast as she could without spilling the water. She was still as tense as anything and there was so much to ask, but that might have to wait until Dacian was in one piece. “Got it!” she called as she barely reached the bottom of the stairs without dropping something.
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Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on Apr 30, 2009 11:49:49 GMT 1
Dacian had propped himself up against the wall so he could peer down at the wound. He waved Vivian over on her return and tapped the floor next to him to indicate where he needed the materials set down. Talking would have been nice, but until this had healed up, he would be fairly mute but for the occasional word. He picked up one of the face towels and dipped it in the water. Sterility wasn’t a concern for him as he could hardly catch anything and his body would automatically reject most foreign matter as it closed up. He could just leave the wound to heal as it was, but a few preparations would make it easier in the long run.
With a tilt of his head, he indicated for Vivian to sit. “Watch.” He told her, his stern glare suggesting she should whether she wanted to or not. He gritted his teeth then, and set to work. First he cleaned off most of the drying blood from around the wound, making the torn edges of it more visible. He handed the damp cloth for Vivian to hold and with grim determination, poked his fingers between his ribs.
The twisting sword had prized the bones apart, breaking and fracturing them in places. It would be the same on the back, but with more grime from the mud on the blade. He remembered the sword was lying forgotten in the alley. He made a mental note to retrieve it before dawn. A few guttural noises of pain later, Dacian had carefully pushed the broken pieces of bone back where they should be. The healing as already starting, and the bone was tacky enough to stay where he put them.
He poked about a little bit more, morbidly fascinated that he could feel the spongy lung through the hole where muscle and skin should be. Eventually satisfied with the wound, he took the flannel back and wiped his hands. “Your… turn.” He wheezed, handing her the cloth. His smile was somewhat vindictive as he eased away from the wall and turned his back on her. The ribs were in better shape on the exit wound – the blade had not been able to twist too much with the resistance of the cobbles until the point of the blade had passed the posterior ribs – but there were still a few larger splintered-off pieces that needed setting before the skin and muscle healed over. He shifted his left arm, keeping the shoulder blade out of the way.
Getting Vivian to patch him up was perhaps a little cruel, but she would have to get over her mortal vices soon enough. He might regret letting her use him as a test dummy for novice first-aid, but hopefully she’d learn something.
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Post by Vivian Nazarova on May 5, 2009 12:14:30 GMT 1
Vivian put the stuff down where Dacian indicated, trying to ignore the sense of apprehension that was starting to flood trough her worse than before. Moments with Dacian alone tended to be difficult just by themselves, much less when he had just been attacked so viciously and seriously injured. Maybe he’d actually be nicer now in his current state, like a self-preservation instinct not to piss people off while he was weakened, but she doubted it. Dacian was never that simple.
Vivian didn’t know how right she was.
It was like watching a car crash. No, a trainweck. Or a passenger plane explosion. Horrifying, but her eyes refused to tear themselves away. It was a morbid, almost scientific fascination. Vivian had never been scared of blood but she had never seen anyone with those kinds of injuries in front of her eyes before. She was cringing more at the thought of how much pain he’d be feeling every time he jammed his fingers into the wound rather than the blood or the gore.
Wait, he wanted her to...?
He had got to be joking.
Oh God. He wasn’t.
Vivian went around to Dacian’s back with an expression like she had just swallowed something sour. “I’m not sure... I...” How did he actually expect that she was going to help instead of just make it all worse? ‘How to fix ribs’ was not exactly part of basic first-aid training. Her own chest was tight as she grabbed the pitcher of water and poured a little bit over the fingers on each hand to try and clean them a little. Oh for the love of... WHY was she agreeing to this?
Gingerly, expression cringing, she poured some of the water over the exit wound of the sword. There was a bit of alarm because aside from exposed muscle she could see anything that looked like a rib. That and the muscles were plum coloured. It took her a second to realise that as he lacked circulation that made sense, but it was still odd to see.
While she tried to prise the wound open a little more so she could see and push the rib shards back into place, she searched around in her head for a question to get him talking so he didn’t have to concentrate as hard on what she was doing and how much pain it was probably about to cause. “Zhat man, out zhere; who vos he and why does he vant you dead?”
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Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on May 5, 2009 16:53:56 GMT 1
The older vampire gave a strangled growl through gritted teeth as Vivian tried to realign the bone. He’d felt worse pain, but he was a little sensitive after the beating he’d just taken. Oh there were so many wondrously spectacular ways Dacian could do similar damage to Silas without killing him, and they were displaying in his mind like gory B-grade movies.
He and Silas had started off on the entirely wrong foot. Silas had started it – naturally – by surprising him when he was already in a foul mood. Then he’d proceeded to cast nauseating spells on him and insult his masculinity. It was a wonder he had lived, really. That was Connery and his friend Grey’s fault. Why did they have to be so moral? He might have expected some sympathy from Edward this evening. With Silas dead, they would have both been free of a bane, but no, Edward insisted on the moral high ground.
Vivian made an attempt to distract him, but he was not exactly in the mood or condition to answer. He supposed he owed her something, though, if just to warn her away from the dark wizard. “Silas.” He murmured, careful when breathing in not to destroy Vivian’s work. “He… and I… don’t… get… along.” He fairly chuckled at the understatement, hissing in pain as his damaged rib muscles protested. “Keep… away from… him.” Talking was frustrating. He had a lot of reasoning this time for her to do what he asked, but he hadn’t the breath or energy to make it.
When it felt as if she was done, he moved and turned back toward her. He fixed her with a sincere stare. “Trust me… For once… Please?” He gestured at his chest with one hand. “He’s dang—… dangerous.” There was no doubt in Dacian’s mind that Silas would use Vivian as readily as Cassie to manipulate him and the safer she was the better he’d feel. His attention wandered to Cassie, and he realised exactly where she was. He needed to get back to the Three Broomsticks and tie her up. If a gaping hole in the chest wasn’t enough to deter her from working for Silas, he wasn't sure what would.
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Post by Vivian Nazarova on May 7, 2009 5:41:13 GMT 1
After Vivian pushed the last shard of rib rather ineptly into place, Dacian moved off. The job hadn’t been done with any amount of skill, or neatness for that matter, but it was marginally better than its pervious state. She grabbed the pitcher of water again and started washing the blood off her hands with it. Her brain felt kind of detached somewhat. Like tonight hadn’t really happened.
His last plea was rather unnecessary, or so she thought. Vivian wasn’t exactly stupid enough to go seeking out someone who had just tried to kill her sire. Dacian was a scary bastard just on his own, who seemed the type to have pissed off a lot of people in his long and undoubtedly colourful life. Loitering around some of those folks when they were capable of such excessive violence was logically going to be bad for her health. No, Vivian wasn’t Cassie. She didn’t even need telling. “Of course, I’m not an idiot.”
As her gaze wandered back to the injury in his chest, Vivian spotted some holes in the side of his clothing revealing what looked like numerous little puncture wounds surrounding a larger one. She recalled the sounds of two gunshots in the alley and Vivian easily put two and two together. “Vait...” She quickly pulled herself off the ground, expression concerned. “Ed shot you?” What did he shoot Dacian for when Dacian was clearly the attack-ee, not the attack-er?
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