pokebox | LOCKED TO viliorate

LOCKED TO viliorate

[It's been a little over ten years since the two of them arrived here. Ten years is an awfully long time to be stuck here, but returning home isn't an option anymore. It hasn't been an option since they first started changing, and that wasn't all that long after they arrived. Kimbley had grown a tail and ears and Archer's eyes had turned red. It's amazing to think they had been so scared by those changes back then.

Things are different now. They aren't human, but there's no reason for that to bother them. Archer is a vampire (something that he found painfully ironic in the beginning, but he's adapted quite well to it, if he does say so himself). Not much has changed about him, appearance-wise. His nails are much longer and sharper, his eyes are red, and he has the stereotypical vampire fangs, but aside from that the only difference is the slight point to his ears. It's not like he could get any paler anyway.

Archer enters their shared apartment after work, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up before proceeding into the living room.]

Kimbley, are you home yet?

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I thought we were the only ones who came out here. Is someone moving in on our turf?

[He stops dead very suddenly, ears swiveling around.]

We're being followed.

[It's said in a low voice, so only Archer can hear him.]

[Archer doesn't turn, but he listens. Unfortunately he's not hungry enough to be able to sense the heartbeats of anyone nearby, but if it's someone like them that wouldn't help them anyway.]

How long do you think they've been following us?

[He's quiet as well, carefully examining their surroundings in the hopes of finding a way to escape.]

I don't know.

[That worries him. How had he been so distracted he hadn't noticed? Whoever it is only moves when they move, which means they must be good, whoever they are.

If the person is a human they shouldn't have a problem, but Kimbley can't pinpoint where exactly they are right now.]

I don't like this. I don't like this at all.

[They're not supposed to be the ones being hunted.]

We can either try to take them or we can run. I believe we can get back to the bar that way. Do you think we should try to fight?

[He'd rather fight, but that's because he never flees.]

I'm not running away.

[He'll fight. He might not be a soldier anymore, but he'll never turn down the opportunity to get involved in a fight. This is what he does best, after all.]

They'll regret stalking us.

[The only thing they need to think about is how to lure this person out of hiding.]

Of course they will.

[Hmm, that's a good question. How are they going to lure this person out?]

We want to make sure that we have plenty of room to fight, so we shouldn't go anywhere that could give us a disadvantage. Perhaps we should lead them away from here. People might hear us if we fight out here.

Let's get out of the neighborhood.

[Kimbley moves like he's on the hunt again. He's not that great of an actor, but he has a rather predatory way of moving now anyway, so hopefully it works.

He's careful not to look behind him, trying to keep track of where this person is, but he's having trouble. They must be wearing some sort of equipment that's muffling the sounds of their footsteps.

To say that Kimbley looks nervous would be an understatement.]

[Archer's senses are better than they were as a human, but that's not saying much. In comparison to Kimbley, he doesn't stand a chance of finding the person following them. He does make a show of leading Kimbley back toward the bar, talking loud enough about how disappointed he is that they didn't find anyone else in the area. Kimbley might look nervous, but Archer is doing all he can to sell this.]

[How had they been this careless?

Kimbley's ears are still trying to find the source of the noise. The person is behind them somewhere, and if they're this good at keeping out of sight, they're either someone like them, or...]

Show yourself.

[They're close enough to the bar that if things go south, they can flee. Hopefully. But Kimbley doesn't like backing down from a fight. His shoulders are hunched and his hands flexing, ready to strike the moment their stalker steps out of hiding.]

[Archer turns to look for the person following them, red eyes narrowed.]

You're not very good at this. There's no point in hiding.

[He doesn't know where this person is and antagonizing them is probably the last thing he should be doing, but he's nervous and this is how he gets when he actually gets apprehensive about things.]

[A man appears from the shadows, gun out and pointed at Kimbley's chest. Kimbley tenses, but doesn't move to attack. If it's a normal gun, he wouldn't be worried. But there's always the chance that it's something more deadly.]

I saw what you did to that kid. You freaks need to be exterminated.

[For his part, Kimbley doesn't immediately attack the man, watching the gun warily.]

[Archer isn't bothered by being called a freak. He hears it enough as it is, it's become something he doesn't pay any attention to anymore. The question is whether or not this man is human. If he's obviously not human, Archer will have to resort to violence, but if he is human... well, that's where the whole "controlling humans with his gaze" thing comes in handy. He'll try that if the guy looks to be a normal human, not saying anything and focusing intently on getting the man to drop the gun.]

[Unfortunately, the man doesn't immediately drop his gun.

He's struggling, and it's obvious it's partially working, which means that he's more human than not, but the gun remains aimed at Kimbley's chest.

The insult doesn't bother Kimbley at all for the same reason it doesn't bother Archer, but he's also not exactly willing to attack the guy. Having a gun pointed at his chest makes things a little complicated.]

[Well that is annoying. Archer focuses harder and once he's sure the man is distracted, he begins to move forward slowly. Time to see if he can get close enough to grab the gun.]

Stay back! If you come any closer, I'll shoot him!

[Looks like he's not going to be making this easy for you, Archer. What are you going to do?]

[You know it would be really nice if he had a gun, but no, he never bothered to get one because he didn't think he'd need it here. Great.]

What do you want from us?

[He's not letting up on that attempt to get the guy to drop the gun, but he stops moving.]

[Unfortunately, if the guy has anything in particular he wants, he's not going to say what it is that easily. He keeps the gun pointed at Kimbley, but Archer's gaze is working.]

Isn't it obvious?

[The longer this goes on, the more agitated Kimbley gets.]

[It's a shame he can't communicate with Kimbley without this guy overhearing, so he's just going to hope that Kimbley trusts him enough to stay still for now. Archer still doesn't break his hold on the guy.]

I'm afraid not. Perhaps we can discuss this...?

[He tosses the knife in front of him so it's far enough away that he can't get to it easily and holds up his hands to show he's otherwise unarmed. Of course he doesn't need to be armed, but that isn't the point.]

I'm going to kill every last one of you.

[But Archer tossing the knife makes him pause. He's too new here to know that Archer has the potential to be dangerous without any visible weapon.

Kimbley, for his part, is staying as still as he can, but the man is starting to look like he'd rather stop talking and just shoot.]

Allow me a few minutes to speak. Please.

[Archer hates saying please but it's the only thing he can think of to buy him a few minutes. He's probably not going to be able to get complete control of this guy, but if he can get him distracted enough, maybe Kimbley can act. Of course if the guy doesn't agree, well, things will definitely get messy.]

Okay.

[Well, the man is willing to listen.

...he's definitely a novice to not have tried shooting them both by now.]

[Archer can certainly see that. This is good for him, however! Time to see if he can be as persuasive as he needs to be in politics.]

I understand that most humans are concerned about our kind. I used to be human and I was disgusted to learn that I had become this. It wasn't my choice and unfortunately, this is the only way we can survive. What would you do, were you in our position? Would you give up your life simply because what you're doing isn't "right"?

There isn't any way for us to exist on anything other than humans. It's unfortunate and were there some way for us to consume anything else, we would never touch humans.

If you kill us, you'll take out two of the "monsters" in the city. There are a lot more to go and should we die, others will avenge us. Do you want to be responsible for that? Do you think you can cleanse the city of all of us?

[That finally gets the man to lower his gun. He's still watching Kimbley like he's expecting him to attack, because he probably will as soon as the man turns his back, but he doesn't raise his weapon again.]

Right.

[He looks like he's changed his mind about shooting the two of them and turns to leave.

....why is why Kimbley is now looking at Archer for permission to rip the man in half.]

[Well if you think Archer has changed at all in the past ten years you'd be dead wrong. Archer nods, giving Kimbley his signal to go ahead and tear that guy to shreds.]

[This is very fortunate indeed.

Kimbley moves fast, faster than he should be able to, and he's behind the man. But the man isn't as stupid as he first seemed, spitting around and raising the gun again.

The sound of a gunshot cracks through the silence and Kimbley staggers back as the man takes the opportunity to run the hell away.]

Shit.

LOCKED TO viliorate

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