Skulk

[ashcrdvnprt]

jvnex‌:

        Her eyes snapped up to meet the werewolf’s both briefly and unceremoniously. It was hard to process his words as the truth. A year seemed both entirely too short and too long of a time span to describe his absence. All tragedies associated with the city had malformed into an ugly mass of grief in her mind, yet if she thought too deeply about it she could conjure up the most obscure memories from specific events. So, in reality, she felt as though she was stuck in a warped timezone. When the threat had first moved into New York; when they had first struck — it could have been five years or two weeks ago. “Welcome back, Mr. Woods,” she offhandedly threw the nickname his way. “I hope I’m not your first stop. What’s that thing you’re eternally bound to? Family?” She could ignore his flippant comments about her typical routine. School was important; she took it seriously. And when she was so close to being done for good, she needn’t take a break now.

With a lowly huff, he fell into the chair opposite her, leaning back in a way that might have hinted some common ground with the growing number of lazy college students still lingering in the city so surely trying to kill them. The prop of his elbow hooked the corner of his back rest as he did, the red strip of candy fiddled almost meticulously between his fingers, looking her over as she spoke. The smile that grew was slow, everything with Asher was always slow, the ancient wolf snapping off another piece between his teeth, “So what if you were.” She hadn’t been, but he was entirely willing to allow her to think otherwise. “Being eternally bound kind of loses it’s charm after the first few hundred years and you..----” He sat forward, “Are so much more interesting than they are.”

[ashcrdvnprt]

@jvnex

If there was one thing he was entirely certain about when it came to the huntress, it was that him evading her personal space would without doubt get him the disgruntled welcome back to the city from a single one broody new yorker that he’d surely appreciate above a multitude of others. “I leave you on your own for a whole year,” he stopped just shy of the table she occupied, the bright red Twizzler caught between his teeth as he snapped a piece off.  Asher having shamelessly wandered past the campus and beyond the handful of cafe’s just beyond when he’d seen her. “And you’ve barely moved.” How he could have so easily sat by as any given time they’d ever spent together had included her with her head in a textbook or her laptop was beyond him, though he supposed centuries of built and honed patience made it a little more bearable. “I wish I could say I’m surprised.”

[ashcrdvnprt]

the-darling-miss-davenport:

“You can’t just pull food off of my plate” Delphine replied looking at her company in the restaurant. She would never openly say she was okay with sharing but there was a certain etiquette she liked to keep up. “We can split something, but I’m not overly fond of the reaching across the table”

“Since when?” Though he kept his distance from most others, willingly, always skirting around the edge in the shadows, that was never the case with Delphine. Instead, Asher did whatever he could, whenever he could to bother her. “Sucks for you, I’m perfectly happy reaching over the table.”

[ashcrdvnprt]

jonahrhodes:

Jonah didn’t know Asher that well and he didn’t care to get to know him. Jonah tolerated Aher’s family and he did so more because he had to rather than because he wanted to. He wasn’t going to treat Asher any different than he treated anyone else just because of his last name. “Right,” he said skeptically. Jonah narrowed his eyes. “Guess I’m not a good samaritan like you are. Maybe I’ll need you to teach me your generous ways.” Unsurprisingly, Jonah was being sarcastic. 

They were all too serious, all of them, the Rhodes family never changed. Stiff and unappealing in even conversation, but really it only served as another outlet for Asher to remain at his most smug. “Makes you wonder which of us is really monster aesthetic.” He noted with an air of humor to his voice. In his own mind, he was generous, he didn’t do certain things for the benefit of the people around him, a stark contrast to a hunter with attitude. “That’s a whole different ball park for you, Rhodes.” 

[ashcrdvnprt]

jvnex:

“Okay, I know, don’t worry.” She blew out a breath, turning her sight away from him in the meanwhile. Asher Davenport’s very presence was something she fought to not let bother her, every annoyed phrase she let out seemed to only amuse him. It wasn’t like her to completely dislike someone just because of their family name, and that wasn’t what she was trying to convey. It was more or less just him, how he acted and spoke. “That’s not really my method, you don’t know how hunters work.” She shook her head quickly in response. “And you knew I’d be here, or is this just convenient for you?” A brow raised as she crossed her arms over her chest, an action she did too often when she felt like being defensive.

“I don’t know how hunters work.” Whether it was a laugh, a scoff or a snort that filled his throat, he had no idea, she could take her pick. Arguing the point wouldn’t make a difference, she was stubborn, and wrong, two things he knew she’d likely hate him even more for pointing out. “I’m following you, you caught me.” Smoke slipped through parted lips all too easily as he watched her, crossed arms, and the ever present scowl that seemed to form whenever he was around. He’d accept it, it wasn’t a terrible thing to know that he bothered her enough to elicit any kind of reaction out of her. “Looks like you’re stuck here with me.”

[ashcrdvnprt]

jack--davenport:

“Delighted to see I’m already living up to your dreadfully low expectations,” Jack smirked. Asher spoke the truth - as it was, Jack had to use the contents of a stolen wallet to pay for his coffee. “Did I invite you to join me?” he questioned, though he really didn’t mind. It had been an age since he’d last seen his younger brother, and he relished the opportunity to catch up with the sibling who’d always understood his ethos best. “Ahh,” he began, rolling his eyes at the boy’s laundry list of faux-complaints. “But I’m all about that Insta life, so what’s your new excuse?” Jack wagged his phone in front of Ash, only half-joking. He took in the young man between drags of his cigarette. “Looks like life’s been treating you well in my absence.”

“If they stay low, you’re always gonna exceed them. It’s for your benefit. You know, all that feel good shit or whatever.” Though truthfully, much like his brother, Asher had never cared much for expectations, or either him or their last name -- his choices made that perfectly clear. He snorted quietly, casting his brother a half bored half challenging glance, “Do I look like someone who cares for an invite?” The entire premise that Asher lived by was being in places he wasn’t welcome at the most inopportune time. “You never followed me back,” the whine of his voice wasn’t unlike moments before hand, and likely even less serious than he’d been before. He’d never much minded distance between he and his siblings, aside from Abigail. Every few hundred years they’d all end up in the same place anyway. “Life treats me better in your absence, but clearly it doesn’t do a single good thing for you. They give you your own cardboard box to live in yet?”

[dailyaustinbutler]

[ashcrdvnprt]

acebordeaux:

“You’re just as bad as I remembered.” The Bordeaux hated having to remember the situation they were both in. Ace quickly grabbed a cigarette out herself and lit it, hand shaking with anger. She could never force him to do anything, though. She was quickly forced to regain composure. Shaking her head, she took a lengthy drag and leaned against a wall. “I’m seeing Jack.” There was no telling whether or not she had intended to piss him off by mentioning her new relationship or she simply wanted to tell him the truth. Brag, perhaps. To show that she didn’t need him. That she never did. It was unlikely that it would ever serve the purpose of simply informing him that she was seeing his brother. The brunette silenced herself by inhaling, not even looking him in the eyes until she realised she didn’t owe him anything. Ace wasn’t sure whether or not he’d even care. It was worth a try, though. Get something out of him. “At least one of you isn’t completely emotionally void. Maybe you should learn from him.”

He’d long since grown used to sharp edged comment that fell from lips he knew all too well, and he’d never blamed her for her anger. Asher had made the call that had complicated everything, thrown them into something that he never should have dragged her into and inevitably he was the reason there were any unnecessary fatalities at all. It had never really bothered him, he knew that in his line of work, if anyone could ever call it that, death was an inevitable end for some, never him -- but some. That had never softened the blow of how she’d looked at him, and out of pure instinct, he’d shrugged it off knowing that there was more to worry about than the untimely, violent passing of someone she’d cared about. Asher had accepted the consequences that came with their immortality, and he’d barely flinched in knowing he’d al but sentenced another to death all those years ago despite knowing what she’d do, he’d had a choice, and he’d done it anyway. “Actually, I’m worse.” He noted, and though he wasn’t exactly being serious, agreeing with her in some capacity was better than arguing. Perhaps she only remembered what she wanted to remember.   It wasn’t what he’d ever expected to hear, but he neither bristeled or shifted from where he sat,  blocking the way to the building just behind him. “You’re seeing Jack.” He drew it out with another long, near never ending drag of his cigarette. Asher had damn near perfected the art of seeming as unphased as he possibly could have in any given circumstance; nothing seemed to bother him, but he was no different to any other, not really. Long years had only magnified his patience, and even despite how much the idea of Ace with his own brother bothered him, it didn’t show. “Is this the right time for a keeping it in the family joke?” Smoke spilled over his lesser lip for a passing moment before he exhaled, “Hard pass.”

[ashcrdvnprt]

dinah-davenport:

“Asher my darling, if I hear or see something I haven’t heard or seen before, I’ll dollar at it. Nothing surprises me now,” she chuckled, obviously teasing him. Whether or not he was actually part of what was going on, she knew that he would deal with it in such a way that their name wouldn’t be drawn into it. Dinah caught the lighter and lit up her own cigarette before placing the lighter back into her pocket. “Many things kill and yet here we stand,” she chuckled as she walked over to stand next to him.

With brick digging into his back, he shifted slightly, giving more of his usually unattainable attention to Dinah, “And therein lies the secret to our wealth.” Of course it wasn’t, they’d built their family up in a myriad of ways, each as different as the last -- his own built on the discrepancies of humanity that littered the city and lived within each morally skewed frame of mind he came across, none of which he’d ever really let spill over into family affairs. “Don’t jinx us.” He noted with an air of passable humor. 

[ashcrdvnprt]

calliobcrdx:

There was a time, when Callio would have spat on the ground that Asher walked. A life altered because of the very family he was born into. But she had given up on petty grudges long ago, aimed to have an eternal life of meaning. And now she simply teased him for the fun of it. “Apple peels? What’d you do, choke on one? Ash, don’t you know you’re supposed to chew your food before you swallow?” She raised both brows, lips curving expectantly into a grin. “Only because you refuse to admit it.” She cooed before lowering her hand, twisting it until her palm faced skyward, lighter offered upon it.

Asher had never minded, he’d never paid mind to the bullshit that came with rivalries, not now and sure as hell not hundreds of years ago. Unfortunately for the rest of them, both his family and hers, he’d already fallen to the graces of such an uncaring attitude that he’d never truly given rise to anything they’d thrown at each other --- everything was amusement and nothing more. “It’s a dog thing, Cal. Who the fuck chews anymore?” He played perfectly into her taunt without hesitation, much like he always did. Despite his history with Ace, he wasn’t sure he’d ever really meshed with any of the vampire family more than he had the scrawny family member beside him. “And I’ll continue to until the end of our days.” Snatching the lighter easily, one swift motion brought flame to the end of his cigarette before he snapped it off, tossing it back to her. “You gonna’ spent the day loitering with me again?”

[dailyaustinbutler]

[ashcrdvnprt]

acebordeaux:

There were few places Ace had felt comfort in the world, and as a result of an unfortunate set of events, Asher was not a part of any of those places. Bad blood, of course. Nonetheless, she had a burning temper and seeing him simply spoiled her day. However, it wasn’t as though Ace could have avoided him for eternity, even if she desperately tried. “What the fuck do you think? You’re careless, and apathetic. And sure, fuck, maybe I am too. But you — you are in a league of your own, Asher.” While she snapped at him, the Bordeaux’s mind flickered to Jack. Asher’s presence suddenly made Ace feel a lot more complicated before, unsure about whether or not he knew.

Things happened --- not entirely out of his own control, but neither had they been important enough for Asher to stop them and that alone painted a guilty target on his back and an ache in his chest that didn’t quite fit into the place Ace still held despite every foul comment tossed his way in all the years. “Well it’s about time I was given my own league.” It was easier this way -- to push her until she was deeply reminded of how he made her feel at this point in time -- easier than dealing with his own regret. Her pain was easier to witness than his own. Cigarette tucked between his teeth, he pulled his own lighter out, his previous refusal to in asking someone else only proof of his lazy attitude, the soon lit end burning bright red as he inhaled. “Your best bet is doubling back, unless you’re okay with a little b&e.”

[ashcrdvnprt]

galexdavenport:

“All right, so what did I miss?” Gale asked, clearly happy to see his sibling but knew that after an extensive hello he’d have to get to business. He’d been away for a few months and surely with whatever was going on when he left it undoubtedly meant he’d missed a couple things. There was time to be the overprotective and overbearing brother later. “Anything happened while I was gone? Anything important I need to know?” @dinah-davenport @davenportabigail @ashcrdvnprt @judedavenport @the-darling-miss-davenport @jack–davenport

Asher never really had anything to say to Gale, or most of his siblings really. He simply hung in the background, listening and keeping track of whatever he might have needed to. Nothing more, nothing less, it worked for him. Where the majority of the Davenport family were loud, obscene and almost incapable of commanding a room whenever they walked in, most people didn’t notice Asher until he wanted to be noticed. “Dinah cured cancer, Delphine figured out a new way to apply eyeliner without taking her fucking eye out and Jack, Jude and Abigail decided they’re born again Christians and they’re joining a covent.” Of course, none of it was true, but he was nothing if not the furthest thing from serious all the damn time.

[ashcrdvnprt]

jvnex:

JJ’s eyebrows furrowed as she turned to meet the male’s gaze, “A robbery,” she paused, taking a moment to think to herself. It was hard to remember normal, mundane things were taking place when so much else was going on — not even behind the scenes any longer. A robbery could be constituted as normal, especially given that it was New York of all places. “— right. I have no reason to carry a lighter around. Why don’t you ever have one?”

He watched carefully as confusion and comprehension blossomed on her features, an amusing sight if anything, as much obvious by the slight twitch at the corner of his lip. “Robbery.” He said slowly, sounding it out for her in much an attempt to mock her. “They’re still a thing you know.” It wasn’t all that often anyone in their world paid much mind to something so menial, but Asher lived in the dark refines of everything mundane. “Thought you might have had something, you know..-- torchin’ vamps and shit.” Even still, he carried his own all the time, Asher only then snagging it from his pocket lazily. “I’ve always got one, just figured it was high time I bothered your skinny ass.”

[dailyaustinbutler]

[ashcrdvnprt]

dinah-davenport:

Dinah raised an eyebrow at Asher’s comment as she came up behind him, “You know, I’ve never been a fan of you knowing things like this, it normally suggests some form of involvement”. To many, it might have sounded like she was accusing him but her tone was lighter than it would have have been if she was. A type of banter that was saved for her younger brother. The one who was always up to mischief but was smart about it. “Of course,” she responded as she threw him her own lighter. 

Asher remained as quiet as he always was despite his sisters presence prickling at the back of his neck, he’d never really kept anything from Dinah --- though he’d never really told her everything so openly either. She made her assumptions, and he let her. “I can’t believe you’d for one second think I’d be capable of being part of something like this.” Two minutes had passed since the phone in his pocket had last vibrated, all he needed was one more message to know he was free to slip back into the shadows. Snatching the lighter from the air without paying much attention, he flicked his thumb quickly enough to spark a light and turn the cherry of the cigarette red with flame before throwing it back. “Smoking kills you know, I might hold onto this lighter for you.”

[ashcrdvnprt]

acebordeaux:

“Don’t talk to me like we’re—” The Bordeaux gritted her teeth, clenching her fists. Anger boiled within Ace, knowing she couldn’t publicly make a scene, even if her anger issues were beyond her control. “What fucking way do I go, then?”

Not ideal. He knew that much, even before he heard the sound of her teeth grinding together, or the clench of her knuckles turning white. Ace forced everything he felt to conflict -- his amusement boiled down to a discomfort that he’d never share. “Like we’re what? -----”