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Post by Doctor on Jul 26, 2010 0:39:09 GMT -8
Yes.
Azura had uttered it as if all the secrets of the world were held in that one syllable. Anshel tried very hard to form the correct interpretation, because it could have literally meant anything... but no, it really couldn't, could it? Because eventually he got there and his time-tested intuition told him there was right where he was supposed to be. This thing, this moment between them, it was something frighteningly intimate, fragile, delicate, but fuck, circumstances denied him the ability to approach it that way. Spontaneous, naked reaction is all Azura would find.
"You mean... that was... hm... with the...." and his stumbling ended with a generous, "Oh."
Anshel's face contemplated the revelation for a few seconds before remembering the wistfulness that accompanied every mention of the elder Gallu. That apparently wasn't the case anymore. He surveyed Azura, trying to gauge his reaction to his reaction. The confession while indirect had been offered. Cautious but decided. His inquiry might be shot down with anger or offense, but he had a feeling this was possibly one of those moments he was actually being dared or begged to ask the question.
"So... how did that work out for you two?" Anshel was curious and concerned and sounded a bit of both, but he put much effort into seeming nonchalant about the business, because he assumed that, if he got an honest account, it would be one of epic tragedy and he didn't want to sound pitying.
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Post by AzuraGallu on Jul 26, 2010 0:54:39 GMT -8
Azura gave the Judge a sad smile before starting the engine. Doing something manual would help him gather his thoughts.
This was good. There was no shunning or rage; no outright distaste or loathing. He could work with this.
"It didn't," he replied, reserved, as if he'd had this conversation in his head a thousand times and was only now able to say it aloud; to make it real. "There's more of a reason to why I hate werewolves other than the basics and that they killed my mother, also of my complete dislike for anything having to do with love."
He turned the aged leather wheel between his palms, edging out of the dirt lot and onto a road sporting the same finish, bumps a little more pronounced with so much height between they and the ground.
"You see, before he left we were found out, and pretty much everyone knew what we had done--were doing. Raj blamed me, said a hundred different things about how I'd been the one to ruin his position as King, and he'd found the best way to hurt me, though I'd only done what I thought I was supposed to. I loved him for God's sake."
He grew quiet then, feeling like he'd rambled and said too much.
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Post by Doctor on Jul 26, 2010 1:17:35 GMT -8
Anshel believed him. He could tell. Say what you would about the circumstances or the possible implications, but his love was there and very real. Yes, Anshel did still find the idea a bit odd, but he was in the unique position to understand more than maybe anyone else. Anshel had lived long enough to uncover some of the secrets of life, and one of them was that love was fluid and enigmatic, perhaps more than anything in existence. And when people attempted to define it, or categorize it, or label it and cage it with fabricated boundaries, well, that led to a suffering so vast and poignant that one would end up with... the world today. Emotional love, physical love, they were things you felt and practiced, that you allowed to feed each other in whatever way felt natural.
There was concern on Anshel's end. Of course there was. He hated the thought of his friend being taken advantage of, but he wasn't a person to judge so outright, despite his job description. And doing so wouldn't help either of them in any case.
"If you don't want to talk about it anymore, you don't have to," he offered. This wasn't something you pushed. It hurt him to imagine the loneliness of Azura's life and he promised himself to make his support perfectly clear. Anshel reached past the gear-shift and placed a warm hand on the vampire's knee. "I'm sorry he hurt you." He hoped that didn't come out wrong, so he followed it with, "And I'm sorry they didn't understand."
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Post by AzuraGallu on Jul 26, 2010 1:31:51 GMT -8
Azura sighed, visibly relieved. Anshel was one of the most kind-hearted people he'd ever known. Which of course begged the question as to why he was a demon in the first place...but perhaps those questions were better reserved for later. Right now, he was gripping the cracked leather of the wheel so hard his knuckles were turning white.
"Thanks," he managed, trying to fight the urge to kill them both and fling his arms around the Hunter to cuddle him oxygen-less. "It's something I've learned to get over with time. And now that I have friends, it's a lot easier to forget. So thank you, for being there. And I should probably thank Mel before I strangle her. You get first dibs, though," he said, turning his head momentarily to flash his fanged smile. "Now, we should probably go this waaayyyy...." he said, trying to remember the directions he was given in Portuguese. Damn it if he'd forgotten them already. He stopped the car, resting both elbows on the steering wheel, butting his head against the middle section where the horn should be, and wasn't."We're LOST!"
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Post by Christopher Saunders on Jul 26, 2010 1:42:37 GMT -8
Chris let out a breath into the night air. He wasn’t cold by any means, but the anxiety that wracked his body was making him break out in shivers and a cold sweat. How had he been followed? Did Tullio’s hired accomplice have a network? Or were they psychic?
Another car was approaching. Dropping to his knees, his eyes turned emerald as he spotted the car… but upon further inspection, pulling out the scents with wind, his chest pounded with relief. Azura and Anshel. Finally here.
Deftly, Christopher swung his back over a shoulder, and the growth which surrounded him disappeared, retracting back into the earth in the forms of tiny seed particles just as the headlights shined on him. A bright smile lit his stubble-laden face.
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Post by Doctor on Jul 26, 2010 20:22:59 GMT -8
"Hey, now, chill out. We'll just ask for directions agai- AH!" Anshel threw himself flat against the passenger's seat, startled by having spied out of the corner of his eye a pale as death, fang-baring figure. His jaw dropped of its own accord as it became clear that he knew this roughened, homeless looking character.
He leaned forward and squinted just to be sure. "Christopher! What in Lucifer's namer are you...?"
Anshel adopted a look of distress and twisted around to unlock the door to the backseat, all the while mumbling his frustrations.
Get in. He turned back to mouth at the boy.
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Post by MeloraBelikov on Jul 26, 2010 21:16:43 GMT -8
"You chose the wrong cave," Melora scoffed, feeling the sickening presence of a blackraven in the cave. It was much further into the stone halls, deep within the cave. She suddenly tensed, feeling as if the echo of her boots might be heard throughout the entire underground. "We should stay here. Going any further might disrupt who ever's here, and I'm really not interested in that right now."
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Post by Christopher Saunders on Jul 26, 2010 21:36:51 GMT -8
"Gentlemen." He was at the unlocked car door before either of them had time to bat another eyelash. Chris slid in, depositing his back in the floor board at his feet. He managed a smile at Anshel, vampire hearing being for superior to human's, so he'd heard the comment. "Sorry for the rough look, the area I went to in Wales didn't exactly carry razors in a convenience store, and it slipped my mine to bring some." He looked sheepish, but his mouth flattened into a line as a pair of head lights flicked on in the distance. The parked car. "Can we get out of here now?" His mouth sounded dry, eyes stretching wide in the faintest glimmer of panic.
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Post by AzuraGallu on Jul 26, 2010 23:49:38 GMT -8
"Shit," Azura snapped as he threw the car into gear and back up slowly, as to not cause a rise in suspicion. "You're being directly followed. That's just what we need. We're trying to save a demon possessed crazy-ass from committing suicide and you bring me more problems. Problems who probably want us BOTH dead. Great, fucking great," he muttered the entire drive out to the limits of the town, grumbling and shooting dirty accusing looks at Anshel. 'I fucking blame you for all of this,' it said, but at the same time, he couldn't keep a glare going at the Hunter for long. One, because he was trying to drive on the pothole riddled road ahead of them. Two, because he was far too fond of him to stay mad for any indefinite amount of time.
He glanced over at Anshel once the headlights of the other car had backed off somewhat. "Do you have service? You should try and contact Mel again."
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Post by Doctor on Jul 27, 2010 0:19:13 GMT -8
With Azura firmly usurping his position as lecturer and passive-aggressive grumbler, Anshel decided to stay quiet the rest of the ride out, refusing to gang up on the boy. Christopher was a liability. They were a big enough target before. In fact, though it would put him in direly sour sorts, Anshel would have insisted he and Azura keep a distance from each other. However, the judge wasn't delusional enough to think Azura would not berate him, maybe beat him, tie him down and carry his hogtied body along beside him throughout all the rest of his excursions like some favorite toy or Anshel-shaped safety blanket at the mere suggestion. The hunter snorted at the visual and smiled warmly at the sentiment.
He slipped the cellphone from his linen trousers with ease, for once not having to fish it out of vice-like pants. His reception was fine, having just messaged back-up to tail them and keep an eye out for suspicious figures shadowing his high-profile entourage.
"A hundred bucks says she doesn't answer," he said grudgingly, flipping through his contacts and calling the bane of his existence.
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Post by MeloraBelikov on Jul 27, 2010 11:15:20 GMT -8
Melora's phone went off and she nearly jumped out of her skin. The peppy little tune was distorted in her phone's broken speaker, sounding creepy like the sound track to a horror movie. Melora couldn't answer the phone fast enough upon hearing that. Holding the phone together with her hand in an awkward position, she answered, not in her traditional Russian, but instead in heavily accented English. She had trouble covering it up when she was stressed out. "Hello?" She turned the side she had her phone on away from Naoto, she wasn't about to give him the chance to break the damn thing completely.
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Post by Doctor on Jul 27, 2010 21:14:55 GMT -8
Anshel was surprised to actually hear ringing on the other end of the line instead of the dull tone of failed connection.
Please be alive, he thought. Please be alive and pick up, so I can verbally bitch slap you into the next century. The judge ground his teeth and took a few calming breaths in waiting.
Melora's voice greeted him on the other end.
"Melora!" His voice had become deceptively pleasant and light. "So, I was just heading back to the Court and thought to myself, 'You know what, Anshel? Melora's really shown maturity and good sense these last few weeks. Maybe you've been wrong about her. Maybe she actually is a trustworthy adult that deserves the benefit of the doubt.' And so, I think it's time for you and I to sit down and discuss the end of your probation. Yes, I know I've been riding you pretty hard to rest and take precautions, so why don't I take you out on the town, team mate? Whaddaya say?"
Anshel's finger tapped across the side-buttons of his cell, putting the call on speaker, and with an elegant wrist he held the mic of it four inches from his lips. With that same affable tone, he began again without waiting for a reply.
"Oh, wait. Silly of me, I completely forgot. We won't be able to do that." He brought the phone closer, almost kissing the buttons as he bellowed with sarcastic laughter, "BECAUSE YOU'RE IN THE FUCKING ATACAMA DESERT!" Who would've thought? said his expression. He really hoped he'd deafened her somewhat, because then she'd have an excuse for only ever hearing half the things he said. "Now," he slipped into a whisper, the irritation dripping from every note, "I'm just going to assume your safety is in a precarious spot, so tell us where you are, or I am going to kick your skinny ass out of this clan faster than you can say, 'Помогите мне раздеть, Azura.'"*
*'Help me undress, Azura.'
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Post by Christopher Saunders on Jul 27, 2010 21:27:09 GMT -8
Christopher ignored Azura’s grumbling, eyes becoming reflective like a cat’s in low light from the back seat as he only partially listened to the conversation. It was a focused look which adorned his features. ‘Don’t you dare.’ His thoughts ran.
The expression changed, not quite the dangerous power that threatened to break through before, wild and untamed. No, this was more controlled. The car following seemed to speed up in a final attempt to catch them, and that was when the road behind their car ripped open in a large fissure, sending small tremors through the rest of the nearby earth. With the sickening shrieks of crushing and bending steel, it shut, leaving little more then a large gash to mar the surface.
His voice came out as an eerie whisper. “Not trailing us anymore, Azura Gallu.” He rubbed his eyes, seeming tired by the act, but they quickly widened upon a... unique, for lack of better word, conversation. "Melora?" He asked, aiming it at Azura.
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Post by AzuraGallu on Jul 27, 2010 21:53:06 GMT -8
Azura was at first surprised from the initial fatherly attitude from Anshel, despite his grumbling and cursing at her the entire way here and his general dislike for the girl's lack of listening skills all together. To be honest, he was a bit surprised, thinking he'd pegged the judge differently right when his lazy-toned voice became enraged, vehement shuddering of words shooting out all of the stress the Hunter had been under lately.
Then it came, that unique, ego-inflating remark that Anshel had made, and it was all over. First it began with the vampire's face cracking into a huge grin, morphing into a small shaking of his shoulder with silenced laughter, then a full out 'HA!'. He couldn't stop himself as the belly laugh over took him, his sides beginning to ache. He couldn't get enough air into his lungs with how hard he was laughing, and he sure hoped Melora was blushing up a storm.
It was the headlight behind him, that sobered him up, just a little. But just as he was about to accelerate, he noticed the ground in the side mirrors buck and shudder under an invisible force, and then he realized it was Christopher's doing.
"You alright, kid?"
He sped up regardless, rushing to wherever it was they were going. Nowhere right now, but he hoped they were getting at least a little closer to where she was. She'd mentioned an Akoto...and he believed he knew which one and didn't like one bit that they happened to be traveling together. It was a dangerous game she was playing, alone, because the Akoto would sooner save himself than get tangled up in a family feud, especially where a human Hunter was concerned.
A few minutes more and they were at the end of the dirt road, venturing out into the desert itself with no signs to guide them. A few tire impression ran along the same route, but he bet they wouldn't take them to where they needed to go. Who knew? Maybe Anshel's demonic rage would lead them right to the damn woman by some happenstance miracle, but as the visual came to mind, he began to giggle again.
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Post by MeloraBelikov on Jul 27, 2010 22:34:30 GMT -8
Melora blushed at Anshel's comment, but was more indignant at the fact that he was pissed off. She had gone through all the necessary procedures to leave as far as the council was concerned, and she was quick to remind him. "The council allowed me this one, судья. I was granted permission. Right now I am...." She paused, thinking about it. How could she tell him where she was? She reached into her bag and pulled out a map, unfolding it and straining her eyes to look it over in the dark. "Okay, okay, I have it." Melora mumbled some coordinates before folding the map up and placing it into her bag. Then, she took a leap of faith, hoping Anshel had learned at least a little Russian from her. She didn't want her traveling silent freak show and his parrot companion to know what she was saying. "Быстро, пожалуйста. Кто-то здесь. Blackraven. И другие. Спросите Azura."
(Translation: Hurry please. Someone is here. Blackraven. And another. Ask Azura.)
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