Throwing Down the Gauntlet [Connery]

[Dacian]

The resulting effect wasn't exactly what Dacian had in mind, but it made the wizard forget his wand for a moment. The mortal punched at his face with his wand hand, and the blow took Dacian by mild surprise. The attack hit squarely on his jaw and in retaliation, the vampire slashed a defensive slice at the wizard's wand hand.

His other hand was now braced on Connery's shoulder, pinning him down while his right hand was free to grapple for the wand or alternatively decorate the wizards hands and lower arms with thin scars. The punch to his face had split his lower lip on one fang, and dark viscous blood trickled lazily down his chin as if it wasn't in a rush to get anywhere. It was mildly irritating that his first attack hadn't gone so smoothly, though it was to be expected with wizards. They were tricky creatures. One had to be wary.

[Adrian Connery]

“Ahhh!” the repeated slashing of his arms was beginning to take its toll on Adrain. Thin slivers of blood trickled down his arms and hands. Still he struggled against the vampire’s grip, bringing his knee up as leverage between them. He kicked out hard and felt the creature’s grip loosen slightly. The man took his chance and rolled out from under Dacian, quickly pushing himself back to his feet. He groaned as he realised he’d left his wand behind. He scanned the clearing for a potential weapon and found one in a large stick. He scooped it up and held it as threatening as possible. Compared to the vampire’s knives it was pretty pathetic.

Adrian circled Dacian breathing hard. He needed rest and the small cuts were really starting to bother him. The blood on his hands, arms and face began to grow uncomfortably sticky as it mixed with his sweat. Finally working up the courage he lunged at the creature, faking a blow low before going at the thing’s head.

[Dacian]

Supernatural strength was redundant when holding someone down when the other had the strength to simply lift your weight from them. Adrian's knee shunted him in the abdomen and he was forced to move white the professor got to his feet. Dacian followed suit, spotting the man's wand on the ground. With a sadistic twist of his lips, he met the spell-caster's eyes and brought his foot down on the instrument with the satisfying crush of dry hollow wood. Dacian was aware the man could still draw magic without the wand, but he'd heard it was hard to control.

The small of the man's blood was making his stomach impatient, despite the obvious taint of testosterone in the air. Blood was blood to his stomach, but he was a creature of habit and his taste buds rebelled at the idea of a quick snack. His already dilated pupils widened a little more, focusing on the makeshift weapon his opponent had picked up. The vampire smirked, followed the swing of the branch and caught it effortlessly with one hand.

Yanking on the wood before the wizard could release it, he toppled the man toward him and grabbed him by the neck, digging his long fingers into the muscles on either side. The professor's skin was slick with sweat mixed with a little blood, and Dacian wasted no time forcing him backward until he had a tree to brace him against. Pushing not-too-kindly on the mans windpipe, Dacian raised a brow. "Concede defeat?" He asked in a low voice, typically not out of breath at all - primarily because he didn't need it. He twitched his thumb against the warmth of the mans jugular, a reminder to what he could do so easily should the wizard refuse.

[Adrian Connery]

Why did he have to be the hero? For once, why couldn’t someone come and save him? Those thoughts, along with a few others, whirled around Adrian’s head as the sickening crunch of his wand finally registered in his brain. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, the wand, then the stick and finally being pinned to the tree. Out of instinct, the man threw a hand back to cushion the impact but judging by the loud crack, his arm didn’t fair too well. The man opened his mouth to cry out but the vampire’s hand on his windpipe prevented any sound from escaping. It also prevented any air from getting to his lungs.

Frantically Adrian’s eyes searched for a way to fight back. This whole situation was going south fast. The pain from his broken arm pulsed through his entire body but it dulled from lack of oxygen. The creature spoke, telling him to concede defeat and as much as Adrian wanted to talk back, he couldn’t. Instead he opened and closed his mouth making small strangled noises. He’d lose consciousness if he didn’t get air soon and sure enough the man’s vision began to blur and his head swim.

‘All this to impress a girl,’ Adrian thought before he passed out from lack of air and shock.

[Dacian]

Connery gasped something that was probably intended to be words, but Dacian doubted it was a surrender. "No? Your funeral." He gave a smile, fangs glinting in the gloom and held the pressure on the mans neck until he slumped. He held on a few seconds longer to make sure he wasn't faking and let him go. Unconscious, but probably not brain-damaged.

The vampire huffed, smirking at the mortal. He wondered what made the fragile creatures insist they could take on a far greater opponent. Foolish race. He sighed, shaking his head as he let the body slump non-too-gently onto the ground. He'd only suffered some shallow cuts and a broken arm perhaps, he got off fairly lightly. The bruises that would form around his neck would be ugly for a while, but he deserved it. Dacian himself was untouched. A little soreness was fading in his stomach, jaw and back where the wizard had gotten some lucky strikes, but he was otherwise on top form.

Turning, he picked up the broken wand, picking at the core with his bloodied dagger. Some sort of brightly coloured feather. He tucked the pieces into his belt with the other wand and walked to his coat. He cleaned the blood from his dagger with a rag and sheathed it back on his belt. He donned the coat, slipping the rag into a pocket and settling his hat on his head.

He looked over his shoulder at the unconscious wizard. By rights, he should leave him for the scavengers to find. He'd be obvious enough with so many slices on his arms. But he had another point to make. He was not having a flock of wizards descend on him in retaliation. It never ended well. So the vampire hefted the mortal into a fireman's carry across his shoulder and carried him all the way to the forests edge.

At the fringes of the woods, he sat the wizard down, propped him against a tree and put his broken wand in his lap along with the pristine pale wand of the other teacher. It was an obvious statement. The man began to stir and Dacian crouched beside him. "You know what I could have done, wizard. Take note: I am not a killer." At least not today, he mused to himself as he stood and melted back into the forest.

[Adrian Connery]

Through the darkness there was a voice drawing Adrian back to consciousness. As he began to come around, gasping for breath, he realised it was the vampire who was talking. The creature’s face was blurry along with the rest of the world but he could tell he wasn’t in the forest anymore. Instantly the man moved to check his neck with his right hand but stopped. God his arm hurt, along with his head and neck. His chest felt like he’d been held underwater beyond his threshold, it felt heavy and his throat hurt.

“Go to Hogsmeade then,” Adrian croaked, “hunt there.” It was more a plea than anything else. All Adrian wanted was for students to no longer be in danger, for the people he loved -or potentially love- to be safe from having their blood drained.
“Look for two men there, Edward Johns and Silas Rosier. Women hang around them, plenty of blood for you and what you do there is not my business,” he wheezed. Maybe the vampire would take his hints and leave, if not he had no idea what else he could do. If he had to call higher authorities there was a chance the creature could get dangerous.

By chance Adrian looked down at his lap. What? The man frowned and looked up confused. Why had the vampire just beaten the crap out of him just to give him back the wands, even of his was in pieces. He guessed the thing was just trying to make a point, that it wasn’t a killer, yet.

[Dacian]

Over his shoulder, Dacian replied. "And miss out on your sporadic company? Unlikely. I'm doing your students a favour. Think of me as a lesson in life; a lesson you don't want to fail. Keep out of my way, Connery, and I'll keep out of yours." He warned. The vampire left then, always the one to get the last word in.

Truth be told, Hogsmeade had seemed at first glance to have a population well over his age bracket, but Connery had directed him toward a fresh source, one he would investigate. At least the bravado-laded professor was good for something.