Thread: Love Is War { Kveria | EverUndine }

l o v e . i s . w a r Kveria EverUndine It was past noon before Alistair could drag himself out of the double bed in the corner of the room, not bothering to stifle a yawn as his bare feet scraped across the floor with little enthusiasm for the night ahead of him, ineffectively trying to avoid a newspaper that hed left on the floor a few days ago and never bothered to pick up. Generally he was more orderly than this, but times had been tough and things were being neglected as a result of this new development. Much to his chagrin, of course, because now he was paying for it having to shake the reluctant newsprint from the pad of his foot where it clung desperately for dear life. He loved his job, no doubt about that, and maybe he even loved it a little too much but as a mere mortal, Alistair wasnt meant to be active at night while sleeping during daylight hours. He had never even been much of a night owl at all until hed taken up a career in Vampire Hunting and deregulated his circadian rhythm. Hed had problems keeping employment in the past, and so it seemed that something with less yappy manager and more flexibility and freedom was right up his alley. Try hunting, someone had told him. The hours suck and the pray sucks even more, if they get a hold of you that is. But you should be fine as long as they dont get a hold of you. He was skeptical at first, but he found that it was very simple and straightforward. Pick up the warrants, remove the head, return for a hefty sum. He could work as much or as little as he wanted, chose his own hours, and didnt have someone breathing down his neck about receipt withholding or improper packaging, not making deliveries on time, et cetera. His favourite was the lecture about not saying, Up yours. to customers because they tended to not appreciate it. Well, maybe he was in the wrong that time, but those were just minor details. Once hed bathed, scrubbing all the dried blood, sweat, and dirt from his skin and hair, he had to pull the sheets from his bed and throw them in the wash basinhed get to them later on before heading out on another hunt. The night before had been long and hard hed only destroyed one target whod proved insanely difficult, and as if that werent enough, his poor revolver had been decimated in the struggle. Still, that morning hed dropped the head off, received his payment, then grabbed a stack of new faces and headed home. When hed collapsed in bed, hed just barely made it to getting his socks and shoes off, though the outfit hed been wearing stayed put. When he finally awoke and shed out of them, they went into the cast iron wood stove that heated his small studio apartment there were so many rips and tears that he didnt feel confident patching them himself, and even if he did, the stench of Vampire blood was thick enough to choke him. They were a lost cause. The jacket had been his favourite, too. Of course, he mused this as he pulled on a seldom worn jacket from his closet, buttoning his riding boots up his legs, none of that would have happened if the tracker hed been issued hadnt malfunctioned at the most inopportune moment. That really burned him up now he had to take it back to its inventor to have it fixed becausehe wouldnt admit it without internally grumbling and beating his pride into submissionhed actually become more adept with the aid of these inventions. He needed this device more than any of the others, and that meant visiting the Vampire who had crafted it. Not the number one thing on his bucket list, however Alistair could go a hundred lifetimes and be satisfied never seeing Jolyon at all. The silver-tongued way in which he had coerced the abrasive and ruthless Hunter into a deal was a little more than sickening he couldnt stand that lowly maggot, had promised him on a number of occasions that it would be him to end the Vampires life once he proved useless like all his blood-sucking brethren. Then again, in Alistairs mind, words were words and actions were a whole other story. He expected Jolyon knew in some form or another that he was kind of maybe just a tad bit appreciated. Alistair left the apartment with a canvas bag containing his precious revolver and the fragments he was able to salvage which were wrapped in a cotton handkerchief, and the tracking device which hed placed inside without wrapping it to make it look like he couldnt possibly have cared less about it. With that, he began his excursion by making his way down the rusted iron staircase at the back of the red brick building. There was hardly anyone on the streets as the suns aggressively bright corona slipped past the edge of the horizon, giving way to a brilliant explosion of reds, oranges and pinks, which was swallowed from above by night which settled in over the city with a great inky blackness. As he walked with purpose and drive, yet with nary a sound as his boots hit the cobblestone streetswanting to get this visit over and done with as soon as possibleAlistair couldnt help tilting his chin just slightly to scan the tops of the buildings. From his apartment windows, he could usually see the stars, but from all the way down there he saw nothing but still indigo which covered everything in eerie silence. There was motion just then, though, in the not too far off shadow of a small bakery, about three levels up. His eyes caught it, his left hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his elaborately crafted hunting knife, giving whatever it was the benefit of the doubt. There had been way too many instances of a bloodthirsty hunter taking out his desire on one of their own simply because theyd become so invested in their work that anything that could possibly move at night was probably a Vampire. This one appeared to move silently and gracefully, stalked him down the street as he walked. He understood that the thing probably just wanted a meal like any other living creature, but this one had chosen the wrong side dish that night. When he pounded a fist on the door to Jolyons workspace and barged in like he normally did, he dropped the head down on the floor with a sigh, happy to be somewhat relieved of the already developing stench of blood. Goddamned thing thought itd make a meal out of me. Theyre getting damned desperate if theyre attacking hunters now youd think they knew better. With that, he tossed the canvas bag across to the inventor, leaning up against a wall with his arms crossed coolly over his chest. That circular scanning thing you gave me was a bust. It only lasted the week cant you do any better?