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@brandondimir-blog
Hey guys, many of you I've grown fond of and I wouldn't want to lose contact with you just because I'm leaving this rp. If you want, add me on skype, so we can talk there - it's: devilsx.bride
Also, if you're a part of any other RP's, do let me know to take them into consideration, I'd like to join a group with people I've already fallen in love withÂ
It was a beautiful ride, thank you for all the development you've made possible for both me and my chars. Love ya!
Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1)
Rhine couldnât focus on his words. She couldnât focus on the criticism or the fact that he was slowly starting to freak out. Rhine had done what she had believed was right. If there was a vampire in her midst that was out there hurting people, then she would make sure he never hurt anyone ever again. Anger was pulsing through her as she kept her eyes trained on the North Star above her head, the sirens growing louder the longer that she laid there. But she couldnât be caught by them⌠She couldnât. Brandon lay not even a foot away from her, freaking out because she could hear it in his voice. She could understand. The first time Rhine had ever taken someoneâs life⌠She had been a wreck. She had hyperventilated and hadnât been able to live with herself. The first time she had taken someoneâs life had changed her far too much that she wasnât sure who she was all those years ago. So, she kept telling herself that she had done it and she had protected those around her. Brandon didnât have to start the fire. Brandon didnât have to follow her. That was his own doing and if he couldnât live with the repercussions, then that was his own damn fault. Rhine wasnât in the business of becoming a scapegoat for others. She took responsibility for what she did and what she caused. But she wasnât about to take responsibility for others. If Brandon didnât want to accept what he had done, fine. But she refused to be the person that he blamed. Tears continued to blur her vision, something that happened each time she ended up killing someone who didnât deserve to be killed. It had been her fault, the fire. But innocent lives had still been lost. And here she was, lying beside a crying, sobbing witch who could not stop freaking out. The sirens would so loud and clear by this point. She couldnât be there any longerâshe had to move. She had to survive. Pushing through the searing pain in her body, Rhine scrambled to her feet, eyes nearly being blinded with the swirling red and blue lights in the distance. The police were close. The fire department was close. She had to get going lest she be caught. Brandon should have left her for dead. She knew that. But somehow, him saying it hurt in a way that Rhine wasnât familiar with. In a way that she didnât know how to handle. So, as always, Rhine focused on the external, rather than the internal war in her head. âNo. But protecting those who are in danger and unable to protect themselves  i s  my concern,â she choked out, words covered in sobs and disgust. Looking down at himâall she wanted to do was throw up. Kill him. K i l l  h i m . Those were the words in her head. And it would be so easyâso damn easyâbut instead, she turned around and shot off into the darkness, heading straight for the woods that would protect her from what she left behind in her wake.
Protecting those who are unable to protect themselves; it sounded like a code and Brandon knew right there with whom he was dealing. A hunter. Nothing about the code entailed the information on who could find themselves a prey to her murderous ways and perhaps that was the answer to the 'why' of why didn't she kill him before she departed. The only part of the motto concerning him was the fact that he was able to protect himself and not in danger, which meant she wasn't concerned with him at all. He was nothing and like nothing he felt while laying there, waiting for the ambulance and police vehicles to come and find him. Whether he'd end up behind the bars or on the white sheets of a hospital that would forever become his place of burden from this moment, he was uninterested for the fate which would follow. He'd killed an innocent. If he wanted, he could shield himself from whomever's hands were picking up his seemingly unconscious features, could've escaped the danger of being taken into the institution of his future nightmares but he didn't. He deserved anything one could throw at his path, because he'd killed an innocent. There it was, his neutral ground, neither deserving of Rhine's sentence nor aid in salvation. Undeserving of any human's attention. A protector of humans ending the lives of many of the same specie. How could he ever look his frat brothers in the eyes, call himself a leader, how could he even continue on living? He needed to get away the moment his body allowed it without any mental strain on his part, needed to leave the town. Run away. Â
A small grunt fell from her lips as she felt Brandon latch onto her. Was he stupid? There wasnât much time to think for Brandon was falling with her, the ground rushing toward them faster than she could have ever thought. They tumbled through the air, but something felt different. Something felt off. As if there was magic crackling in the air because with the way they had fallenâwith the way Brandon had ruined her formâthere was no way they could have survived that fall without breaking something or even possibly dying. But they did and despite the surges of pain that were rushing through her body, Rhine hadnât felt much of a shock. The only thing that was there to prove that the fall had actually happened was the fact that she couldnât breathe. Connecting with the ground and managed to knock all the air out of her body, causing her to wheeze and croak for air. Brandon had landed on top of her before he had fallen off her body, barely any room between the two, but she couldnât get up. There was too much pain in her body and all she could do was dig her nails into the earth as he began to talk. It was too obvious. Too goddamn obvious. The shard of glass that seemed to electrocute the vampire. The fire that had magically appeared because Brandon hadâwhatâtouched the chandelier? And this fall. This goddamn fall which was supposed to hurt them far more than it hadâhe had controlled it. The fall, the air, the glass, the fireâeverything. Brandon was a witch. It was clear to her now and if she wasnât paralyzed to the ground in pain, she would have leapt up and throttled his throat right then and there. âWho am I?â she repeated, finding it ironic. She didnât know. If she didnât know, how could she tell Brandon? There was just way too much about her to fully define her. She was a roaring river, turbulent and rapid. She was Rhine. âI didnât make you do a single goddamn thing,â she hissed, turning her head to look at him as well. âI told you to stay put and if you hadnât possessed the need to be some sort of fucking martyr and drag me away from the vampire, I could have stayed there and made sure he was dead with that stake. But no. You came and got meâso fuck you for that. And the whole cause an explosion thing? As I recall, that was your doing, witch.â The last word dropped to the ground, burning a hole right through the soil all the way down to the Earthâs core. Hot tears of anger burned in her irises and she turned her face back to the sky. âIf I couldâIf I could I would kill you right here and right now and rid the world of your filth. Besides, it wasnât one innocent. We donât know that. It could have been one, it could have been fiveâtenâtwenty. Thereâs also no such thing as one vampire. Thereâs always a clan of them, lurking, somewhere. So excuse me for wanting to get rid of a killerâyou have a problem with it, move to Disney World. Find life in the Magical Kingdom and spend the rest of your life having tea and crumpets with Minnie Mouse.â Slowly, Rhine was beginning to regain control. But not enough and not quickly enough. She could only move her fingers now. And that was it. That. Was. It. âFuck!â she screamed, the adrenaline dying down and the reality hitting her. Her arm was bent a wrong way, the sling gone and her shoulder having far worse damage than it had before. All she had wanted was to get her shoulder wrapped up. Go to the hospital and insteadâinstead she got this. Even Rhine deserved one day of normalcy. Just one fucking day. Tears spilled from her eyes and rolled down the sides of her face as sirens filled the air.
Didnât make him do a single did? But she did, oh she did. If she hadnât deemed him a worthy, morally righteous person, she wouldnât have risked her life for his, wouldnât have protected him, shielded him with her body in that confined room and if he truly was who she believed him to be, heâd never leave someone in danger behind. It was matter of logistics and he deemed her bright enough to understand that; apparently, he was wrong. âI shouldâve left you for dead, youâre fucking right!â he spat back, ignoring the martyr remark for heâd heard it countless times, be the narrator of it himself or someone else. It was the truth he taught himself to miss, just like all other words he thought of as spare. And Rhine had many. âI wouldâve done none of it if your life wasnât at risk!â No, he wouldâve, perhaps, attacked the vampire himself and burned him with a single touch rather than burn the space around him â but she had to run in front of him, to put herself in a position that would have any normal human being following helpless, desperate to do better. Sheâd set a standard too high and he had to live up to it. Then again, the most likely solution he wouldâve gone for was probably letting the vampire go. Who again was the more moral of two of them? âThis frigginâ city has a council which handles vampires. Itâs not our business to meddle with! You shouldnât have even gotten involved, it doesnât even matter who and how many he killed â maintaining the balance isnât your concern!â And did that really slip past his lips? Heâd expect to feel repulsed with himself, but it was clear by now, how destined he was for the middle ground, a neutral witchâs duties. Humans handled balance with vengeance but he wouldâve done it strategically, without having any blood on his hands. Pure ones werenât meant to corrupt themselves for the sake of anything but the already corrupted could, without any consequences â and though Brandon was no pure, he wasnât corrupted either and from a standing point of someone in between, he could make a rational decision that wouldâve been realistically most fitting for the situation. Unlike this one. Those lives couldnât be saved, the ones vampire took, because they werenât there to stop it, but they couldâve stopped the deaths they caused here â but instead they were the reasons of it and that ate at Brandonâs numb insides which would certainly suffer once he comes to his senses. Perhaps he should, let her kill him, after all heâd deserved it. âStop crying.â He breathed out, eyes closing in futile attempts to fight the tears of his own because he wouldn't have regretted having blood on his hands if they were shed for the sake of Marcus's survival, for instance, but this- this had him choking on the continuation of âWe just killed someone innocent.â Â
Brandon Dimir. Though the name was a little bit familiar to her, she still regarded him with a little bit of suspicion until he put the bat down. Cocking her head to the side, she took him in, still regarding him with that fathomless stare. She was nothing if not an alpha wolf on her one, one who needed nothing in the realm of leadership, one who could take care of herself and everyone else in the world. She refrained from snarling, from allowing the animal to take over her, because that would give way to a mound of questions she wouldnât be able to answer. If only she could shift. If only she could do it on command and shed this disgusting skin - but what were these thoughts? She didnât want to be animalistic. She didnât want to be a werewolf. She hadnât asked for it. Yet here she was, seemingly wanting to embrace it. No, she wouldnât. She wouldnât. It hurt. âWell, ah, nice to meet you, despite these filthy circumstances. I like guys that get dirty, though. So kudos points to you.â
That was how she retracted in defence. She spewed out flirtations. And then, she listened intently to him describe the case. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Her mother had pored over the contents and torn at her hair as she thought about what could be going on. Sheâd been four-years-old then. Sheâd listened to the terms used and not understood a single word of them. She narrowed her eyes at his explanation and took a couple of steps towards him, though her gaze flickered down towards that bat. She wasnât a threat to him - though she liked to think she was a sexual threat to everyone, or no, she knew she was - but she probably appeared to be one. She wouldnât apologise for it. Heâd been the one swinging that thing around like an extra appendage. âPatternâs repeating,â she said, wrapping her head around it. âSo, what, like all these suicides and such are thinking to be starting up again? Nothingâs been in the papers. Then again, who fucking trusts that, you know? Not like weâre told everything.â
A guy who gets dirty; what an appropriate descriptions of his past self, back in the days when the godforsaken slums of druglords were his safe harbors and the opiates mixed with strong alcoholic beverages were his favorite weapons for the game of Russian roulette. If one was to take a glimpse of him now, they'd never be able to guess that he'd spent good few years living a rock&roll styled life and it was a real miracle he hadn't picked up syphilis along the way. Those days seemed so far away though and the comment that would have him urged to prove just how dirty he could get back then had him only blushing now. Rather loudly, the witch cleared his throat, averting his gaze from the piercing one of Elena's so he could unlock the vault and reach for the cases among which rested the one of his - or rather Elena's mother's desire.Â
The brunet nodded, agreeing with Elena's guess (or was it just a repetition of his words?) of the pattern being repeated. Focusing on the given task helped him ignore the radiating presence of other's, intense in all its lurking presence. She seemed to possess a very narrow comprehension of "personal space" definition because he could smell the perfume coating her pulse points from this proximity, like pheromones going off in waves and it was rather distracting with another distraction keeping him occupied. He was but a being of flesh and blood and one that hadn't gotten laid in a while, regardless of his relationship status. "Nothing can be hidden forever, but with the history of this town, it's gonna be hidden until it's too late. I'm sort of glad she sent me because I get to take a peak at the case and meddle a little. A concerned citizen." he added humorously as a deflection, so she wouldn't start questioning how and why someone as insignificant as him could do anything about mass murders. Finally, he'd located the name Ms. Sinclair had given him when sending him here; the jewel was in his hands. "Want to help?" Fuck it, he thought, you look like your mother lets you in on nothing because she thinks you're fragile, or she's simply fond of neglect and you deserve to do something, not to feel helpless. After all, he'd never put her at risk and wouldn't mind giving her the credit if he solved something on his own. After all, he had no one to prove himself to anymore, but she did.
âAs long as we donât die, this is gonna be one hell of a story.â
John Green, Paper Towns (via fictionallypavan)
It was as if Rhine could feel the heat seeping through the walls. They had escaped the fire so far, but it wasnât going to be long until it reached them yet again. But still, Rhine had to regain her breath and she had to focus on the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She lifted her head slightly, looking down at Brandon who was so close to her now and for a moment she forgot how she had gotten into that position. He had started laughing, just ever so lightly, and he was speaking of meteor showers and alien invasionâs and Rhine was at a loss. What on Earth was he talking about? His whiskey colored eyes were so piercing, so beautiful, that Rhine couldnât look away. She swallowed the lump that was building in her throat, a fear that maybe she was caring about this guy way too much, and she needed to focus on the task at hand. She couldnât have left him for dead. He was a human. How could she have lived with herself if an innocent had died? Quickly, Rhine rolled off of Brandon and popped her shoulder back into place yet again, pulling in struggling breaths. âGet up,â she said, wrapping her hand around his bicep and hauling him to his feet. Once he was standing, she walked over to where the window in the room was and quickly kicked out the screen that was keeping them from freedom. Smoke was slowly starting to fill the room and if they stayed in here any longer, they would suffocate to death. âWe have to jump,â she choked out, her words mumbled for she had lifted her shirt to cover her mouth. âWeâre on the second floor. Iâll go first and you just follow me, okay?â
"Get up" he repeated, as if he didn't quite understand the guideline and he didn't until he was hauled up on his feet yet again, still under the influence of his inside joke, and brought to a window upon which's removal he felt a cold slap against his face, much like the one Rhine delivered when they met in the hospital. Rhine, in the hospital. It slowly all started coming back to him, brain catching up with the body, finally alerting him of all the dangers; did she see him use his powers, was the vampire dead, was she dangerous, what was she, and dozens of other question busying his mind to the point where fear had no space to fit in as he stared at the ground he was about to collide with. The jump was mechanic and rushed for he had no time to think it over, because he could smell the gas leak that was about to total the hospital's whole level and holy shit, they just totaled a hospital. People were in the hospital. "A woman, 66 years old critically injured after jumping from second floor window onto duvet to escape fire." he remembered the news reporter delivering only days ago and didn't Rhine just say second floor? With no intentions to die or to risk another innocent life, this time around Brandon purposely rather than instinctively took control over his powers and wait not for Rhine to jump so he could follow. Instead, he grabbed her arm just the second she made the leap and went down with her, allowing his powers to adjust around the other's being, to soak into her skin and shift her molecules like they did with his own various times. The healing process was triggered before the injury was even made, shielding the both from the fatal blow but certainly not from all the pain for he could only influence the body but not the center nervous system receptors as well. Life was a cycle and theirs was coming to its closure when their bodies connected with the soil; somewhere in between, Brandon's neurons managed to latch onto the fact that he'd just gotten a glimpse of someone's boobs, but by the end, the repetition of the beginning was the only thing he could utter. They were lying on the ground, paralyzed, and would certainly remain that way for a while until the magic coursing through their beings deemed the situation safe to stop working so neither of them would remain paralyzed for the rest of their lives - or even worse, dead. There wasn't a single muscle he could move, but the fate was cruel enough to leave him with a neck craned to face the woman who might've turned him into a murderer for the sake of a single vampire. The words were out before he could keep them at the bay, because what harm could they make anyway, at least to him, when regardless of their bodies practically glued to one another, neither could make a move. "You fucking - who the fuck are you!? YOU made us wreck an entire level of hospital and God knows how many lives to stake one vampire who fed on one person!" And here they go again.
His weight was heavy on her back and it felt as if something sharp and hot was tearing into her shoulder. She was going to be out of commission far longer than a few days after this happening and Rhine couldnât keep herself from collapsing when Brandon leapt. She had used all her leftover energy into that one boostâthat one thrustâthat Rhine hadnât even gathered the energy to blink when she felt two strong hands wrap around her ankles. Her eyes widened in fear and in shock, first gaze on Brandonâs hanging body and then on the vampire that had captured her. Rhine kicked out immediately, forcing her muscles to move and to work, focusing on the adrenaline as she tried to crawl away. But the vampire was stronger and before she knew it, he was dragging her down the hallway. An anguished cry left her throat, panicked but filled with the determination to come out on top. The vampire had all her attentionâthe vampire had all her attention and Rhine had managed to miss the glimmering display Brandon put on with his magic. As he dragged her, Rhine managed to see the other half of the baseball bat lying on the ground, the one she hadnât picked up, and as her body moved fast down the hall, the vampire no doubt wishing to drag her to a secluded corner before he feasted on her, Rhine reached out and grabbed hold of the bat, holding it underneath her body, against her chest, until the right moment.
"Brandon!" she shouted, more of an urge for him to hurry up rather than to help her. If the human got out alive, then it didnât matter if Rhine died. If Rhine died protecting a human, then she would be okay. Sheâd have protected an innocent. Her parents would be proud. Then Rhine twisted in the vampireâs grasp, twisting her ankles in a way she hadnât been twisted before, and she pushed off the ground with all her strength, swinging the baseball bat as she did soâright into the vampire head. And thatâs when the flames fell. Scrambling to her feet, Rhine rushed forward, an explosion happening above her head, somewhere behind her, and she knelt to the ground and scooped Brandon up, hauling him to his feet. Pushing him forward, Rhine shoved him into an open room and closed the door behind her, just as another explosion hit. Instinctively, Rhine threw her body forward, landing right on top of Brandon to protect him from any debris that may come their way, pressing herself tightly against him and holding his head between her shoulder and neck.Â
When someone asks him in the future what happened in the hospital on this very day, Brandon won't remember to tell them the exact unfold of events because the next few moments came out as quite fogged to the witch. He distinctively remembered the momentary pang of collision and the mental one of abandonment before someone scooped him up from the ground just seconds before the skies started falling down. With the corner of his eyes, he could catch a glimpse of a scenery that reminded him of those fourth of july apocalyptic movies in which there was a meteor shower ascending upon the Earth, because there were balls of red raining upon them and there were so many of them that he couldn't quite comprehend how they could even dodge them. The adrenaline crash had happened earlier than he thought and he'd made another miscalculation with how many time he could buy them by burning the vampire at stake, so really, if they died here, it'd all be his fault. How funny, he thought at what seemed back then like his last moments, I'll die like a real Salem witch. All these years he'd spent fearing the waters and now he was gonna go out because of the opposed fires. The ground beneath him seemed to have shook, but he couldn't really tell with the explosion induced ringing in his ears and still tightly shut eyes. The only working sense seemed to have been the one of touch because he could feel a pillow soft matter supporting him, pushing him against the more solid one behind his back and he couldn't do anything but lean into it, temptation of slumber all too sweet not to give into it. He was but a child, a bird cocooned in the mother's nest, finally safe, finally at home and though his weary head was a heavy weight to support, he managed to lift it after what seemed to be lengthy moments of being drifted away - until his lips were barely an inch away from the pair of another, and the air he breathed burned like carbon dioxide against his intestines. The gaze which he met wasn't Grim Reapers nor his mother's though, but the proximity of it almost had him laughing out of hysteria if it weren't for the smoke induced rippling cough tearing at his larynx first "Can't believe I thought of meteors." he croaked out, still entertained with the way woman's eyes formed one Cyclops-alike eye right at the bridge of her nose. A mind's trick caused by the lack of distance between the two. "Should've gone for alien invasion." the man added, abdomen bouncing as the silent chuckle shook his body underneath another.Â
Despite her initial stubbornness, Rhine knew that she was in no position to argue or fight against what Brandon wanted to do. With her knee digging into the vampireâs gut and the stake being held firmly in place, she was too focused on killing the brute than anything else. Maybe she had a death wish. In fact, maybe there would always be some sort of suicidal tendency underlying all of her actions. Because, if she finally died, she would see her parents again. But her parents would never forgive her if she took her own life. Rhine was pretty sure she wouldnât forgive herself either. So, Rhine allowed Brandon to pull her to her feet and down the hall. âBrandon, someone has to stay behind and make sure that stake stays in its heart!â she exclaimed, fighting against his hold though she continued to follow him down the hallway. And then they stopped, Rhine nearly running into Brandonâs back, until she finally followed his gaze all the way up to the chandelier that was above their heads. What would Brandon need with a chandelier? The question burned in Rhineâs mind, but she knew that she couldnât protest. âTrust youââ the words spluttered out, Rhine shaking her head. Rhine didnât trust anybody. But her limbs moved on their own accord and she fell to the ground, molding her body into a table as she rested on her knees and flat against her forearms. White hot pain surged through her shoulder and she bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying out at the pain. âClimb on top of me,â she said, looking up at Brandon through a string of dark curls. âAnd when I count to three, Iâm going to push off and youâre going to have enough leverage to jump. But I can only do it once.â My shoulder, she wanted to say, but figured he knew that well enough. âOneâŚ.twoââthree!â
The witch's mind had two separate frequencies to work one, one when he was in the zone and the other when under stress and under the latter he functioned detached. There was a task, an end to achieve and means which he was to use for the desired results; all other components were invisible and Rhine was one. It mattered not whether she was Rhine or Gwen or if she was dangerous, pretty, or any other label whatsoever - for all he knew, she was a table now when all fours and one he had to climb for survival. The way it worked ever amused Brandon, because for quite a while he'd been convinced of having a death wish but had never really even given a thought to giving in to it when in situation to fulfill it. Always keep going, he could hear his mother's voice and it helped him ignore the nagging piece of information that he was hurting another person for the sake of their survival in the back of his mind. Brunet's chest heaved in violent uprises and falls, heart thundering against his sternum so rapidly that if he was only a decade older and less fit, he would've most likely had a cardiac arrest right there and then. He could hear the counting but could barely see the light above his head from the way his body acted against him. Like a man blinded by the all too near sun, he had to make a leap of luck and hope for the success because the vampire was back on his feet and ready to strike and he had no other ideas. So when the countdown reached its end, he made a jump, hands connecting with the chandelier's hot searing limbs, and he could feel the metal burning against his skin, branding him like an animal. It was a sensory overload, the burning flesh, flickering lights inches away from his dilating pupils, and it triggered his powers on such a short notice that Brandon had felt as if drained of all energy within moments. But the result was instantaneous and the branches of electricity starting blossoming all over the ceiling's expanse like a spider's web, jumpstarting all the wires until the smell of fire could've been scented before the flickering flames could be even noticed. The witch could feel the very same pattern carving itself into the canvas of his back, a Lichtenberg figure, but no snake could be taken out by their own poison and the show was more visually disturbing than harmful to his being. It was like an adrenaline surge, but of shorter notice and faster threat of having it's target crash from it so Brandon unclasped his grip and let himself fall down back on his feet. It wasn't a height that should've made it impossible to stand, but his knees slackened against the ghost like connection with the ground and suddenly all he could see while lying there were the flames spreading around their figures. "RUN!"
It was an innate instinct and there was no stopping it. The moment that she saw the baseball bat, she had gone into a mode to render her predator weaponless. The moment she saw the vampire at the end of the hall, an innocentâs blood around his mouth, Rhine knew that she had to stop him. Not trained like many hunters since childhood, Rhine had many things she still had to learn. She was as mechanical, she wasnât as fast and she wasnât as skilled in some areas as they were. But given her history with the foster care system and living on her own after her parentsâ death, Rhine knew how to be one thing. And that was resourceful. With a hurt shoulder and weaponless for a vampireâher daggers not really going to help in this situationâshe grabbed the bat and fashioned her own stake. It wasnât white birch bark, the best wood to take down a vampire, but it would have to do for now. Multiple stabbings should take him right out. And Brandon, a human, couldnât be involved so she fled. Rhine should have expected him to follow, for she could hear his footsteps right behind her, his voice calling out to her to slow down and stop. But that was the thing. Rhine never slowed down and stopped. If she did, if she paused and relaxed just for a moment, the memories would return. She would succumb to the swirling darkness in her brain and in that moment, she could be attacked and she could die. As she reached the end of the hall, about to turn the corner, Rhine heard Brandonâs voice clear and sharp. Behind you. It was reflexive. The brunette spun around, her leg lifting into the air, and a satisfying grin decorated her features as she felt her foot connect with the vampireâs jaw, a bone cracking. The vampire howled and in the next second, a piece of glass embedded itself into his shoulder causing him to seize, almost as if he had been electrocuted. But the vampire was strong and before Rhine could blink, his supernatural speed had allowed him to knock the bat out of Rhineâs had and grab hold of her throat, shoving her against the wall. "Pretty, pretty girl," the vampire said, tightening his grip and causing Rhine to gasp. "I bet youâll taste just as good as you look, my sweet." Her eyes narrowed into a glare, her mouth open and sucking in as much as air as she could. âChoke me once, shame on me,â she croaked out, her voice hardened. âChoke me twice, shame on you.â Her forehead connected with his, pain crackling throughout her skull, and though he didnât drop her, his grip loosened. So, Rhine did it again. Forehead on forehead. Rhine fell to the ground. Her arm shot out, grabbing hold of the bat, and as she did so, she swung her leg around, knocking the vampire down. The huntress didnât waste a moment before driving the splintered bat straight through the vampireâs heart. âBrandon, leave!â she cried out, pushing down on the weapon hard. âThis isnât going to hold him and you need to get out of here!â The adrenaline managed to mask the pain because, though Rhine didnât realize it, her shoulder had come out once more.Â
A good leader listens to its followers but doesn't obey their orders, which was exactly what Brandon did when urged to leave; a good leader doesn't leave his injured ones. Regardless of how capable Rhine seemed to be, if he cowardly ran and she did not follow, if the next time he'd settle his gaze upon her features would be in the morgue to identify her body, he'd never forgive himself and conscience was something he could never learn to live with. So he ran - he ran towards the warrior woman "Are you insane, I'm not leaving you behind!" he shouted out breathlessly, hand slipping beneath her armpit, wasting no time on pleasantries when roughly pulling her back on her feet. The injury which previously rested there was still and would for a while be a sensitive one, but perhaps he'd grown insensitive to the pain - of others and his own - when lives were threatened. One could live with the pain, he'd known, but not dead - unless they were this monster. The Undead himself. And quite frankly, Brandon couldn't think of a worse fate than a life without warm blood streaming through one's veins but rather with an unquenchable thirst for once life source. A murderer, that's what they were, without a single exception - each and every has killed once and this one won't kill another soul of he could do anything about it. On every meter dangled low a chandelier from the ceiling, the only object but the walls and marble stones beneath their feet at their disposal as he pulled the resistant brunette away from the recovering corpse. If he could just - just a bit further - God, his feet were killing him as he stretched upwards to reach one of the lamps with the very tip of his finger and not even his height helped. He could feel it, the electricity running behind the white veneer of the ceiling, numerous wires connecting the many illuminators lined up to the electricity distributor and if he could just reach one, overcharge it, he could send the surge through the rest and have them crashing down, one by one, setting the place on fire and giving them just about few seconds to leave the hallway and have the vampire trapped. Fire he could deal with, but for vampires he had no proper weapons to take them out - well, except for the fire. The undead was now pulling the stake out of his chest, their time running out and the desperation kicked in "I have no idea how, but I need you to get me high enough to reach those lamps. Just trust me, trust me this once!"Â
Her eyes widened, though Rhine wasnât sure if it was anger, surprise or disbelief. Bitch? Did he really just call her bitch? It wasnât the first time she had been called something so foulâin fact she had been called worseâbut it was completely unnecessary in her point of view. âI wasnât sneaking up on you, I was just trying to find my way out of this hospital. You swung at me.â There was no venom in her words. In fact, her words were soft as they fell into the air, a gentle truth in them. But Rhine scrambled to her feet, hissing as she did so because guess whatâher shoulder had popped out of its socket again. With a groan, Rhine reached over, took in a breath and cracked it back into place. âFuck," she breathed, pausing for a moment as the quick surge of pain erupted throughout her shoulder. "Tools? Where exactly are thesâ" But Rhine was cut off by something she saw behind Brandon. A man, standing there. And even with the flickering lights, she could see the blood around his mouth; his reddened eyes and cruel grin. Then he was gone, no doubt to murder yet another innocent. A vampire. Without a word, Rhine knelt to the ground and picked up the baseball bat. As she straightened, she spun around and hit the hospital wall as hard as she could, watching as the bat splintered into two. A perfect stake. "Brandon, stay here. Iâll be right back," she told him, stake in hand, before sprinting off down the hall, right on the vampireâs trail.
A shudder stole itself from Brandon's features at Rhine's attempts on fixing her (dislocated?) shoulder, expression on his face bestowed with disgust and surprise because who the hell did that thing on their own and great, there were traitorous goosebumps appearing on his bare forearms outing him as a weakling, taking his temperature few degrees downwards. His mind took a trip down the short memory lane of their meetings, connecting the dots between this knowledge and her almost inhumane (at least for a woman of her features) physical readiness and not to forget lying, sustaining information, mental endure - shit, there were quite many signs labeling her as dangerous, but before he could process the information, something that have stolen Rhine's attention provoked his own as well and there he was - bloodied and feline in all its predator glory. He was ready to push Rhine aside, to protect her, even though only seconds ago he'd deemed her as someone trying to kill him, an enemy but this was an instinct and a blocked one, because this woman was simply more efficient then himself. Faster, stronger, of quicker reflexes. "No!" he shouted out after the brunette, aware of her disadvantage and strained his all too exhausted muscles (he hadn't even gotten a proper rest after his morning training) in the fastest sprint he could pull off to catch up with her. "Are you fucking kidding me" he muttered breathlessly to himself because he'd finally gotten a drama-free life and this girl comes to the town, bearing trouble. (but why did the opportunity to prove himself and use his powers of any sort feel so good then, if he hadn't missed the crazy). He'd barely reached the beginning of the lengthy hall when he noticed Rhine on the end of it - and while she still wasn't making her turn between the crossroads, he could notice a shadow falling from the right side. The vampire had an advantage over him, and over her, for he was only steps away "RHINE, BEHIND YOU!" he shouted out, frantic gaze falling upon the glass box framing one of the hospital's achievement diplomas and finding the usage of it as he slammed his bare fist for the shards to spill all over the floor. Though crimsons stained his fist, and the pain was all too intense not to have ended up with something stuck in his skin, he focused only on charging the glass with electricity before throwing the piece all the way across the room at the vampire, with an aim at his head (or at least his shoulder. yeah, shoulder would work. or anything for that matter. hitting the target was the goal)
The huntress choked. As much as she hated to admit it, without the use of both her arms, Brandon was stronger than her. And almost instinctively, he had reacted as well. She couldnât blame him. Not really. She would have done much worse had she had both arms to use. The breath was knocked out of her the moment her back hit the tiled floor, Brandonâs body falling on top of her in an instinct, and then her airwaves slowly began to close off. âBrandon,â she choked out, her good hand clawing at his hands. âBrandonâI need youâyouâto let go of my throat right now.â Otherwise she would literally kill him. But how could she hurt a human? When he finally did release her, Rhine gasped, sucking in air as much as she could, groaning as she glared up at Brandon who was still lying on top of her. His breath mingled with hers, their noses so close to touch, and Rhine couldnât remember the last time she had ever been this close to someone. Normally, she wouldnât let that happen. But BIndlebrim seemed to be screwing everything up. âJesus Christ, stop apologizing!â she exclaimed, heavily annoyed, knowing sheâd have done the same thing. âAnd who the fuck goes to fix electricity with a baseball bat?â she asked, her eyebrows raising in question. And then, before he could blink, Rhine brought up her hand and smacked him clean and hard across the face. âThatâs for choking me, you bastard!â
Though it was his hand that rested upon another's throat, the lack of oxygen reaching his lungs had him feeling as if he was being throttled as the panic flooded his system because this was the first time he used his newly found physical strength on a living being and he almost had them strangled. If it weren't for the delivered slap which resonated against the bone of his cheek, he would've went full on hysterical in attempts to keep himself and his powers at bay, but the pain tethered him to the ground, awakening something more vibrant within him. Anger. Months ago it would've been regret, guilt even but he was a slave to his physique now. "The baseball bat was for you sneaking up on me, bitch." he spat out, rolling himself aside off of the female and quickly stumbling backwards on his feet while regaining the straightened, grounded posture. Fingers of his right hand rubbed against the pulsing wrist surface of his left one, shoulder blades protruding against the expanse of his back as he still remained offensively postured steps away before the brunette. "I use tools to fix electricity." he added matter-of-factly, as if she was the dim one, regardless of the fact that he hadn't brought any tools with and had planned to simply use his powers.Â
"Old fucking town with its old fucking hospital," Rhine mumbled under her breath, glaring down at her arm and the sling that it was in. She knew going up against a beta werewolf on her own hadnât been smart, she had gotten her right shoulder re-sprained in the process, but at least she managed to get the information that she wanted and she didnât have to kill the wolf in the end. She should have had, but instead she just stabbed him many times over. It was painful, excruciatingly so, but the wolf would heal. The damn thing had come out of its socket when she first fought Ethan and the wolf had tore it out againâit was throbbing and painful and would put her out of commission for a few days. And now, as she was waling through the labyrinth called a hospital, Rhine couldnât find her way out. As the young huntress turned the corner, eyes clouded for a moment in darkness, then light, then darkness and light again because helloâit was an old fucking hospitalâshe nearly got smacked in the face with a baseball bat. Her instincts reacted immediately, her good hand shooting out, grabbing hold of the base of the baseball bat and the assailantâs hands, then Rhine twisted the wrist as hard as she could until the bat clattered to the floor. âBrandon?â she asked, her eyes widened with surprise. âWhat the fuck are youâYou donât swing a baseball bat at someone!" Rhine exclaimed, letting out a deep breath. "Itâs a hospital," she said, staring at him. "Where doctors are to help patients. Iâm a patient who needed a doctor.  The question is why are you here and why do you have a baseball bat?â
Jolt of pain surged along the whole length of Brandon's arm, electric currents of his magick lighting up with the speed of light throughout his entire being until they were threatening to burst out right at the pit of his throat, beneath his jugular. It was an overwhelming rush that had him paralyzed in his body, able to focus only on the signals his brain was receiving, which ultimately resulted with an echoing shout. The very second his mind caught up with the fact that he was dealing with a human and the only weapon of his defense was out of his hands, he reacted within the awakening seconds by underlying his feet under the threat's and having the slope of his body follow the fall of another to the very ground. The melody which carried the words had a face pinpointed to it only when he was sprawled atop the woman, lights conveniently illuminating the room for him to realize that - "Rhine!" the witch exclaimed, eyes two whiskey colored widened orbs more shocked by the harbor his hands have found on their own, instinctive, reflexive accord around the brunette's throat. "Shit. Shit!" he repeated, the pain still coursing through his hand as if doubled while resting at the sling Rhine wore to keep her pinned down. Embarrassment hit him in waves, first tinging his cheeks red and then splotching down his neck to his exposed collarbone once he caught up with the moment and realized that the warmth overheating his body wasn't because he peed himself out of fear but because there was a feverish body kissed against his own. "I'm so, so sorry! The hospital called me to fix the electricity, shit!" And yet again, he made no move to remove himself.
 âJust me.â She announced recognizing his voice from countless family occasions, but not dropping her guard completely as she revealed herself. Heâs family, heâs safe. Though her mind told her that, Taliaâs shoulders remained tense, drawn back and ready to fire a punch that could (and had) sent men twice her size onto their backs. Easing out of the zone she got into while patrolling, the one that made her seem like such a prodigy, wasnât easy. But after all this time she had her ways of dealing with it.Â
Despite that though, with each step she took her features grew softer and her smile became more inviting. Until she opened her mouth. âWhat are doing out here? Alone especially.â Taliaâs hands found their way to her hips, the irony not dawning on her as she scolded Brandon.Â
"Talia!" the man exclaimed, ecstatic to have laid eyes upon a member of flesh and blood. He hadn't seen Lydia in months despite her sorority being all too close to his opposing fraternity, and the rest of his living lineage was out of the country so Talia's features came like a sun to a newborn's eyes, seeking for time to adjust but full of joy for the light ahead of him. The witch hopped off of the rock he was standing on, steps towards his cousin faster for the downfall of the pushed his body forward faster than he could control. Ever the affectionate, Brandon pulled the brunette into the wet embrace of his, purposely rubbing his face into the crook of her neck like a dog trying to drench its owner with slobber.Â
"God, I haven't seen you in forever! It's like we live on different continents. What have you been doing?" he showered with questions, tone of his voice a berg of emotions as he pulled backwards to take in the other's features. "Hey, hey, I can take care of myself. Been working out - was actually on one of my daily sessions right now. Jogging before martial arts and meditating."
And he left. I watched him walk out â he didnât say good-bye, he didnât even look back. It scared me, how easy it was for him to do that
Sara Zarr, Sweethearts (via quoted-books)
Kiera Cass, The Selection (The Selection #1)
