divided;

[thedividedserpent-blog]

sabiines

    She’s got her earphones in, carrying a hot americano in a white wax-paper cup and typing away on the screen, shaking her head. It’s not exactly cold out, but it’s overcast and there’s a breeze, enough of one that it’s COMFORTING to sip on the coffee & let the cup warm her fingers.    It doesn’t last long, because within seconds of returning her phone to her pocket, she’s colliding into a tall man and the cup opens all over her chest and splattering a passerby.

     “——the fuck, dude?”   She shouts after the man as he hurries away, and paying little mind to the passerby, although she knew she should be apologizing,  “Really?  Shit was like FIVE BUCKS. Barely drank any, now I’m burnt all to hell. Fuck me.”  She’s picking up the cup when she realizes someone else was hit with the splatter and she frowns, her pretty face twisted with annoyance & some anger,  tossing her ponytail over her shoulder and crossing her arms, grudgingly offering acknowledgement.  “You okay?”

      His hands were concealed away, following her lightly as not to disturb her from her centered world but gradually catching up to gain her attention. Surely it appeared a little strange, a little suspicious the way he trailed after her but to Silas he was being polite and attempting to gradually pull her from the electronic wonderment before her eyes. The oncoming collision, however, and the subsequent splash over the two of them wasn’t anticipated. “I’m fine, thank you. I barely felt it though I suppose the both of us will be in need of laundering. Are you all right? You said you were burnt. Perhaps, I could get you that refill of that drink?”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

ft. Claws by Son Lux

Silas, since the idea of his creation, was meant to be a distorted and disoriented figure: capable of the kindest and cruelest acts with little control. Cruel and innocent, collected and detached, his unstable mind can’t assure him a single day of consistency. Although Claws has few words to its lyrics, the repetition and fluctuation of the voice instills different emotions into each line-- fear, dark humor, anger, regret-- all of which Silas encounters when facing the mess he is without knowing who has control next: a memory of the past, his own corrupted nature, or the being that made him this way. To add the music exemplifies Silas’ distorted and tampered mind with the sing-song innocence of a child-like taunt, and a haunting beat interrupted by blares and chimes making the whole feeling of it nervous, bittersweet. The claws are buried deep into Silas’ mind. What chance is there getting them out now?

[thedividedserpent-blog]

      The familiar warmth of a cigarette between his fingers was the only thing linking his memory to this reality. He could feel the pull of his mind’s confusion, luring him into a safe, albeit regressed living where the clarity he experienced now, wrapped up in cinders and smoke would be as certain as knowing if he ate for the day, if he knew which food to eat. The last flicks brought a sardonic smile, glancing to his acquaintance with a thoughtful laugh, see you some other time, but the pull wasn’t that quick to make him disappear into the mess he usually was. Instead, he greeted Imogen with the same assured curl to his lips and raised head.

“Are you off to copy the world onto paper, again? I’m interested to know what about mimicking life appeals to you. I’ve never understood it. Art always seemed a fleeting admiration,” he spoke, tossing the remnants of his light to the ground before the burn reached his fingers, the filter being discarded sometime before, and hands lazily assumed their position in his pockets.

@im-og-en

[thedividedserpent-blog]

vanessaxxhenski

“Oh, we have advanced in technology, it was a slow process for the pack, and we don’t have a lot of computers or cars.” She said, “We grow and raise our own food, so going to a grocery store is not necessary.”

      “And I assume you hunt your own meat as well. Very secluded. I understand wanting to help them, but I’m also curious as to why you would want to go back. All this freedom of choice is so vastly different from seclusion, and changing a system that’s been in place for a century is a difficult uprising in itself.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

catalinadesilva

“Blanca!” Catalina called out, her small, fluffy white dog having tugged a little too hard on it’s leash and managing to break away from it’s owner. Usually, her baby was well behaved and came when she was called- but she was also a glutton for attention, and, seeing another round the corner of the street, had chosen to lie at their feet and present her stomach for a belly rub. Catching up, Catalina bent down and scooped up her pet. “Sorry about this one. She’s a bit of an attention seeker,” she said, apologetically. 

      “And you think this is acceptable behaviour?” The moment the canine had rolled onto its back and demanded attention from him, Silas stiffened and straightened his posture. He folded his hands behind his back to show both human and mutt he wouldn’t cater to the display. “Forgive me,” he spoke sternly, “I understand it your prerogative to spoil her, as you please, but where I’m from dogs are taught to listen and be mannered, especially since their purpose meant retrieving amidst gun fire.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

vanessaxxhenski

“I will have to return to my pack eventually, I’m not saying it’s anytime soon,” she said, “my pack is old fashioned, they haven’t interacted with humans in a long time, more than a hundred years have passed since anyone has spoken to a human. It is time they start accepting them just as it is time for humans to accept supernaturals.” Finishing off her drink, she raised her hand to receive another one, “I will stay here and help my kind, and after this experiment is complete and my pair has vouched for me, I will return to my pack and fight to become alpha.”

      “I find that very difficult to believe. Over the past one hundred years there have been wars, bouts of famine brought by them, inventions of transportation and communication... to be disconnected from all of it and graze by, that sounds akin to an occult more than a functional group,” he huffed, downing his whole drink in one gulp and placing it away from him to be taken. “I doubt it’s going to be that simple, but then most things rarely are. One can’t erase our crimes in the past and some don’t wish to. Best to expect the worst so we are prepared and calm for when it comes or delighted when we’re proven wrong.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

icarianism

     She wondered if there was the intention to snap at her when she said his name. He had certainly answered her in such a fashion that it could have been construed as trying to get her to shut up. Shut up. Stop saying his name. Stop being so calm and blunt at the same time. Stop reaching out without lifting a hand from her thigh. Either way, she remained unmoved and watched the man as his abandonment ceased where his feet were planted. She waited, patiently, as he warred with himself on if he would remain in the room with her or not. The woman watched him teeter back and forth before he started hurling questions directly at her. It was a barrage of things that he wanted to know, and she would give yield to each and every one of them. As she slowly drew in a breath, she answered him in a calm, confident, tone.  "Yes, I am human. After being here for so many years, I’ve grown accustomed to vampires, though I am still learning. I will always be learning, I’m afraid. When it comes to this place.. I have complete and utter faith that there are good intentions, though it’s up to each person if they can prove the weight of their intentions, or if they let them crumble and fade away. Is that what you needed to know?“

      His scoff and shaking head were probably of no comfort to how convincing she was attempting to be, and his tone became harsher with annoyance. “No, it sounds like rehearsed lines meant to convince me without the full truth of mistrust and misgivings. Common to every doctor I’ve been to that try to calm me when I become frustrated realizing they cannot help, or aren’t capable of it.” But what use was there to walk in and do nothing about it? He had been rejected and dismissed as mad before, spoken down to like a child so that his damaged mind would understand. What could this doctor possibly say or do that wasn’t something he already experienced? “I’m not always here. Sometimes, I’m not always me, and I wouldn’t know the answers to either of those phrases if they were posed as questions. I forget who am, I forget where I am. I’m having difficulty now remembering how I became what I am because what I remember to be my past doesn’t include it despite being fully aware I haven’t been human for a century, perhaps longer.” His eyes drifted to an object on the wall, softened their former accusing gaze until all of his features lessened as if he forgot his rant, readjusted to a poise as if he was someone else entirely. “I don’t remember how I lost myself,” he spoke softly, and fingers returned to ring on his finger, slowly turning it with purposeful long twists.

[thedividedserpent-blog]

vanessaxxhenski

Vanessa sipped her drink, “I say inherit because that’s how it feels. I have worked hard to become Alpha. I will become Alpha, and I will beat everyone who challenges me.” She said, “and on the note of my pair and them not being able to come back, I haven’t actually thought about it… I mean, if my pair and I brand, and become close enough, I’ll be able to talk my pack into accepting them. They need to learn to accept humans, it’s the only way we will advance.”

       “That defeats the purpose of program, doesn’t it? Leaving? How else will the human be able to vouch for you here if neither of you are? Frankly, I’m more concerned with humans accepting us more than the reverse.” A half lie, but a lie nonetheless that his intentions always began with himself, as it seemed with her but made less obvious. “No matter the being, we’ve coexisted in anonymity for millennia, adapted with the changing times and now that we’re known, we’re hunted more so than before. It would beg the question are you ready to decide your purpose here: will you stay and help your own kind, or will you leave for this supposedly assured Alpha position?”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

emotionaltatianna

Quirking a brow, she smirked up at him. “Okay, Fancy Pants, what exactly are examples of quality cinema in your eyes?” She had to admit, she had found her ‘intended’ to be a rather enigmatic character, but one who was endlessly fascinating. She hoped that he wouldn’t find her too bothersome, despite his feelings being less than stellar at the moment.

      “I wouldn’t know,” he admitted, shaking his head and offering an apologetic look. “I rarely watch films so I wouldn’t know what is decent quality. I was merely remarking on what these all sound like.” Though he was sure he’d seen something of value at some point in his time, just nothing he could recall now or offer as quality-- “Arsenic and Old Lace. That was a good film. Otherwise, I read my stories.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

thenecrcmancer

         “I’m not eager to kill anyone.” And he really wasn’t. As involved with death as he was, he was not a dealer of it. “But I’m also not too keen on dying.” Teeth pried at the skin of his lower lip — a nervous habit, and now was as good a time as any to be nervous. Briefly Rider considered the ramifications of this whole ordeal on the town, but chiefly his mind was worried for the real Tori, as opposed to the false face he had dispatched of moments before. “Why aren’t you healing?”

      “Neither am I.” Despite being a wandering mess most of the time, there was always a keen sense to remain alive, even if he wasn’t aware of-- why would he heal? It seemed like a strange question to ask someone, as it was a casual expectancy that he could miraculously repair-- The thoughts raced in his features, confusion to understanding back to lost, looking down at his bleeding arm as if it was some mystery. “I don’t know. I only know I was the fool for believing I was her protector and now I’m bleeding by her hands for it.” Bleeding and weak. “Poisoned,” he mumbled out, the only explanation. “And you,” he asked, smelling the drip from the hand at the witch’s side. “It doesn’t seem I was the only one fooled.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

im-og-en

Imogen had been wandering around the unfamiliar town, trying to gain some sense of direction as she ambled aimlessly along streets and pathways. She had only moved here a few weeks ago and had barely left her small apartment while she got herself sorted out with work, bills etc. She was trying to find a good place to sit and sketch, she hadn’t had time to so much as touch a pencil for months and she was itching to let her creativity loose.  She had stopped to gaze at a beautiful building, deciding that the stone gargoyle looming over from it’s wall would be the perfect object for her to study, as she moved to find a good sitting position she heard a voice speaking to her. Turning and looking at the man with dark eyes that seemed almost too big for her face, she took a neat step backwards, feeling the warmth of the light caressing her back as she stood and waited for him to be satisfied.

      There was something about the return of shade that set him at ease but didn’t stop the working of the metal against his skin. With the imagined fire gone his focus was only to how uncomfortable and restraining the ring was, but then it was an inherited trait to play with it, wasn’t it? He remembered sitting beside his nanny, watching his mother from across the room toy with the jewelry that declared her wealth and her marriage, frowning as if they upset her despite their sparkle in the sunlight. Sunlight. His eyes focused to the here and now, to the woman who merely stared back. “Thank you,” he replied, softly, shuffling on his feet to recede and retreat so she wasn’t the fix alone. “I apologise. I’m not used to-- Despite being aware of this thing at all times, I forget its purpose and... thank you. I hope I’m not impeding.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

jullianathewise

“No no no, I’m just…exploring…which sounds lame…I mean, I’m doing nothing important.” she said with a shrug before biting her lip.  “So…that’s a fanciful ring there…Sun or moon?”

      He lifted his hand to look down at the ring when she gestured towards it, the thing seemingly less cumbersome than it had been moments before. “Doing nothing important. Seems an awful waste of time. But it’s a sun ring. Sometimes I’m convinced it doesn’t work, but I’m always proved a liar. Why do you ask?”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

morethanasword-liam

“I’m supposed to be getting one soon. They didn’t have one on hand when I got to town however,” he added, not sure that the ring would make much difference. Yes, part of him was excited to see the sun, to get eyes on it once again after centuries in the dark, but…then again, the dark was familiar now. “I’m not sure how I will feel about it myself, honestly. After all, it’s been centuries. I’m accustomed to the dark now, familiar with it. The change seems to be jolting to say the least.”

      “It is,” he confirmed, nodding towards the open window. “Every time I pass through it, it’s like I’ll forget halfway through I’m protected and imagine the searing pain, flinch and shield my face from it. I probably make myself a spectacle, each time.” Even with company to distract him, it was as if Silas couldn’t stay still for long for the hands at his side folded behind his back. Once more he played with the thing, evident in the way his arms lightly moved with the fidgeting. “I’ve always been at the sun’s edges. I suppose I just expect its ire now.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

emotionaltatianna

Tatianna sighed as she stared at her phone. She was standing outside of the box office at the local cinema, trying to decide which movie she wanted to see. She was only partially done with unpacking, but she was itching to get out of the house and do something. Biting her lip, she glanced over to the person who was standing next to her and she asked, “So…What’re you thinking about seeing?”

       The confusion across his face couldn’t be clearer. The names of the films sounded like fanciful book titles, or some fruity drink found at a bar save for the one he knew from history. “None of these sound appealing,” he replied, tone more worried than disgusted and speaking while he shook his head. “Majority of them sound like a Brontë novel with poor naming. Dark Tower sounds like a western film, and please, tell me they did not produce a film based on mobiles.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

vanessaxxhenski

“I’m not following my alphas lead, I was trying to become alpha. My father is the alpha of my pack, and I will inherit the place soon.” Vanessa said, her crown and coke in her hands. She drank from it when she turned to the man beside her, “I’m Vanessa. And yourself?”

       “Silas,” he greeted shortly, with a nod to his head. “But you’re here. Wouldn’t you have to abandon the program to do that? It’s doubtful you’d you be able to take a bond partner with you, if you have one, that is. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s a title that can be inherited in the first place. I’d imagine the strongest and most dominant would be announced alpha, inherited or not. Not that I doubt you, but more question the pride in your voice as if the position is assured.”

[thedividedserpent-blog]

opaquepathos

Thirty minutes. That’s all she had, and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Heading out the back door, she let out a deep sigh and headed across the street. Lighting the cigarette she tucked away into her pocket, Winnie took a long drag, sitting on the corner. She let her let her legs stretch out in front of her. It seemed that everyone and their sister was coming in for something or other that happened to them during the explosion. They were continuously busy and she really wasn’t in the mood for much of anything. Including the person who was staring at her. Standing and straightening her scrubs, Winnie raised a brow. “What is it, then?” she asked finally. “Cause you’re really putting a damper on my break.”

        And he remained staring, merely lifting his head to her words and deeply inhaling-- he heard, but her childish quip failed to receive acknowledgement or conscious response. One could mistake him for a statue with the way he stood in place, a dark-eyed demon whose only indication of life was the occasional languid blink. Frozen still, until his neck rolled with a loud crack and finally he breathed out and looked away. Reaching into his own pocket he retrieved his own box of smokes, gently tapping the butt of it on the box before placing it in his mouth. “I can’t imagine how busy you are. Do you think it will pass soon,” he asked, speaking around the cylinder before lighting it. He knew the answer, a silly question to ask given the remaining chaos, but even a small confirmation was all he needed.

[thedividedserpent-blog]

undxrwood

“Hey, uhh— do you know where I’d be able to get a decent meal around here? I’ve been living off nothing but airport food for the last twenty four hours and it’s starting to get real old” Stella asked, although it didn’t immediately occur to her that the stranger standing in front of her may or may not even eat the same kind of food she does. That was going to take a little getting used to.

“I suppose it would depend on a ‘decent meal’. I wouldn’t know. It’s not my particular taste,” he explained, folding his hands behind his back. He offered a polite smile, as he stepped closer, nodding towards the buildings where he at least knew their locations, if only because he rarely needed to be around them. “I’m not around the establishments enough to hear if they’re worthwhile, not quite sure of their names, either.”