paris ♔ tried to save myself but myself keeps slipping away

[necessaryevil]

♬ Facade (reprise) - Jekyll & Hyde

WHO || Faith Lehane, Max Rast, Lissa Dragomir, Helen Magnus
WHAT || The Knights investigate a string of vampire attacks in France
WHERE ||Paris, France
WHEN || April 11th, 2015 [backdated].
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

One vampire attack is cause for worry enough, but when bodies are found with telltale puncture wounds and heavy loss of blood become a recurring nightmare across any city, alarm bells are raised.  Such is the case recently in Paris, where Wynn suspects that either a careless clan has moved in, or some lone vamps are stirring up trouble.  With the locations of the bodies marked out in the eight block radius where the deaths have been occurring, the team arrives in the late evening, staring at the rows of apartment blocks, small businesses, and pubs that comprise this section of town.

Comments

[daredtobelieve]

[Trying to reach any of her loved ones proves futile, each one of them out of her grasp the moment she reaches for them. And when she finally feels the touch of a hand, it's a heavy weight that puts a chill down her spine. She turns and feels her heart stop for a moment.]

No... [She whispers, glancing away from him, only to find a primitive gun in her hand, a familiar dress adorning her frame. John stands there, still in his long leather coat, the scene a blur of their nearly two centuries of history.]

Don't do this, John. [She had fired the weapon at him once before. It had left him scarred, but she had intended then to kill him, to put him down to save the lives of innocent women.]

I finally found her again. Don't...

[behindcloseddoors]

[ he steps in closer, and his hand raises to the wrist where she's clutching the gun. he raises it, settling the barrel against his chest, drawing close to her so that the gun is the only thing between them, leaning in as his eyes trace her face, those eyes that hold so much knowledge of her. ] What is it they say? Better the devil you know?

[ his other hand moves to tilt her jaw up gently, much as dashiell did not long before. his lips crane towards hers, curved up at the edge in a dry semblance of a smile, a slight chastisement in his tone. ] You've seen this all play out before. You're playing with fire, Helen.

[ the hand clutching her wrist grips tighter, pulling the barrel even tighter against his chest as he continues to hover inches from her mouth. ] So. Which is it going to be?

[daredtobelieve]

[No one has ever made Helen feel small or weak like John Druitt. She had loved him once, but the twisted man he became had left her fearful for her life and the life of her daughter on more than one occasion. Part of her would always love him, but not this man. She would love the man he was when they were young and foolish. With her finger on the trigger, she feels somehow helpless under his taunts and leering looks. Her eyes shut briefly, trying to turn her head away from his mouth but finding she can't manage to look away.]

John, please... [She pleads quietly.] Please, just promise me one thing.

[Her expression shifts, hardens with resolve.]

When you meet the devil, tell him I said hello.

[Her finger curls, pulling the trigger back. Fear rattles in her chest, but she's made her choice and would make it a thousand times over.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ there's a bone rattling noise as the shot fires, he recoils backwards, expression riddled with betrayal, but it shifts as he falls backwards, into a knowing, mocking grin, and his fall slows, until he is just vanishing back into nothingness, void. leaving helen standing, gun in hand, alone.

completely alone. all sound vanishes, all phantoms gone.

all that is left is helen, and the trigger she has pulled. ]

[daredtobelieve]

[Her eyes close and she lets out a slow breath, her hand opening and dropping the pistol into the darkness. She doesn't dare to think that he's truly gone.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the pistol makes a clattering noise that echoes around her, and then even that sound is gone, and the light vanishes, leaving her swimming in darkness, silent, and oppressively lonely. she's left aching for a connection to something, someone, anything to ground her back into some sort of reality, but for what feels like an infinity, nothing comes.

finally, she feels a hand brushing at her temple, and it's this that brings her back awake, to where she lies, feeling bone tired, in a bed somewhere, only the slightest sliver of moonlight piercing through the dusty window of the bedroom. a figure sits beside her, withdrawing his hand as she wakes. ] Are you alright?

[daredtobelieve]

[She stirs at the touch of the hand, face turning towards the sound of a voice. Slowly, her eyes open, blinking to try to focus on just who it is that's there.]

I... [She's not sure how to answer that just yet, too many conflicting emotions and too much confusion.]

[roux]

[ she finds dashiell staring down at her, studying her face intently as she wakes. ] ... You called out in your sleep. Names.

[daredtobelieve]

[As he comes into focus, she shifts in the bed, sitting up a bit more, and drawing in a deep breath.]

I was...dreaming. Or hallucinating. I'm not sure which, honestly. [He hand lifts to touch her neck, where the wound was when she was last conscious. Presumably she would find bandages there now.]

Thank you- again. I owe you my life.

[roux]

[ yep. many bandages. her hit points are up to half, but she is fatigued. ] That is a rather large debt to afford to someone you have only just met. [ his lip curves up with dry humor, amusement in his eyes. ]

[daredtobelieve]

[Her mouth lifts in a smile to mirror his, gaze ducking briefly.]

It is. And not one I offer lightly. You could have left me there in the alley, but you didn't.

[roux]

I like to think that basic decency hasn't been entirely eradicated from society in this day and age.

[ there's a beat for a moment, before he tilts his head, still studying her ] Who is Ashley, if I may ask?

[daredtobelieve]

[The question seems to throw her for a moment. She glances down before forcing herself to meet his gaze and give him a simple, honest answer. He deserves that much after saving her life.]

My daughter.

[roux]

[ rather than ask her to elaborate on that, he seems to consider a moment before nodding, and adding: ] And John?

[daredtobelieve]

[Super complicated questions for 800, Alex! She doesn't want to lie. It isn't as if he purposefully meant to pull her haunted past out in the open.]

Her father. [Not anything to her. She won't refer to him as such, even with past tense.]

Someone I haven't seen in a very long time.

[roux]

Certainly his loss. [ this johnny depp motherfucker smooth as fk tho. with his 40 charm check. i feel like any sexy descriptors i could write just pale next to the fact that he's johnny depp and it's all like self-explanatory. ] How are you feeling?

[daredtobelieve]

[You would think that after hanging out with Des and his hubby for as much as she has recently that Helen would have built up some sort of charm immunity.

You would be so wrong.

She rolled a 2 which gives her a whole 9 for a will save. She's not even trying, but who would if they were in her shoes, right? Her face flushes, which just sounds dangerous, considering the massive blood loss she had recently. She needs that blood elsewhere Dashiell.]

Better. The room has stopped spinning at least. That's a start.

[roux]

A promising one. [ he gets to his feet, moving to look out the narrow window, pushing aside the curtain slightly. ] Tell me, Helen. What brought you to Paris?

[daredtobelieve]

[The fact that she has to think about how to reply likely says something. She's not exactly on her best game here.]

Business. [Secret organization business... But for the lie of omission she rolled a whole 10.]

Seems I got a fair bit more than I bargained for.

[roux]

You didn't strike me as the sort of woman who conducts her business in dangerous back alleys. [ he drops the curtain, turning back to her with a teasing glint in his eye that makes it clear he recognizes she's leaving something out. ]

[daredtobelieve]

Perhaps you're a poor judge of character. [She counters, her lips curving into a smile. Still, she knows she owes him some amount of an explanation.]

My colleagues and I were investigating the murders in the city, hoping to find the cause and put an end to it.

[roux]

Were you aware that they were vampires, before your arrival?

[daredtobelieve]

Yes, we had our suspicions- which were quickly confirmed upon our arrival.

[roux]

Then you are hunters as well. [ his eyebrow arches, a question ]

[daredtobelieve]

Not exactly. But we are of the mind of protecting innocent lives. [She just can't bring herself to call herself a hunter.]

Despite what my poor showing earlier might have lead you to believe, I'm quite capable of handling myself.

[It's not said with any sort of defensive edge, not acting as if he had said anything to the contrary. Honestly, she's a bit embarrassed that she needed rescuing in the first place, but she's making a joke of it to try to mask that.]