No Damsel in Distress {Open}

[Piper Hendrix]

“HOLY HELL!” Piper cursed to herself as she turned away from the body that had just hit the ground and heard the sound of running footsteps behind her. As the head of the vampire rolled underneath a trash dumpster, the young woman was faced with some of his very angry friends. The look in their eyes was not promising for her future health.

“Why does this ALWAYS happen to me!”she thought with an inward groan. Thank God she'd cloaked her true nature and these idiots thought she was just another female.

Honestly, she should have known that the creature had comrades hiding among the party goers in the club. Her information had lead her to believe that a rogue coven had settled in the area and was preying on young women foolish enough to step out with them for a quick kiss. Deciding to play an unsuspecting bimbo, she had gone to the club with the express purpose of luring one into a deadly trap.

Now, however, it looked as she might be the one trapped. There were 4 husky framed vampires glaring at her with various degrees of menace and hunger. Nope, definitely not one of her finer moments!

“Hey guys! Come to join the party?” she said with a sarcastic edge to her voice. “Sorry, but I am all finished here!”


Growling low in their throats, they began to circle her. The dark haired one in front arched a brow as he meet her gaze.

“Oh…. I don’t think you are! This party is just getting started. You don’t know how appreciative we are that you brought the snack.”


Rolling her eyes at his over done drama, the young woman flipped her knife and bared her own teeth in a sassy smirk. The dead mans blood in her pocket wasn’t going to do her any good on these four but her knife would at least hurt when it hit. It still had a bit of the poison on it. Probably not enough to do her any good but she would at least get a lick in.

“Come on now… That line reminds me of a bad melodrama. Surely you got a better pickup line than that!” she scoffed.

Smiling evilly at her, the leader tilted his head to her.

“Ah…. A sassy wench she be. To bad we don’t have time to play. I’m sure you would be amusing.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw one of the guys launch himself at her and she spun and kicked out to meet his stomach with her booted foot. As he went down, the others moved in closer and she lashed out with the blade. Unfortunately, there was to many of them and she felt hands fist in her hair.

Screaming like a banshee, the young warrior tried to jerk away but it was too late. With an inward resignation, she felt the knife leave her grasp and the hot breath upon her neck.

"Geez, don't you guys ever brush your teeth?" she snarled out as she drove a knee into the nearest groin. "Didn't your mother ever teach you its not nice to bite?"


As the hands holding her tightened painfully enough that she knew they would have left a bruise had she been mortal, Piper prepared herself for the real battle.


"WHAT THE HELL!" exclaimed her captor. "YOU AREN"T A FUCKING HUMAN!"


Smiling evilly, Piper slammed her elbow back with all her vampire strength and spun around to kick him hard in the sternum.

"NO SHIT, SHERLOCK?? Guess you aren't quiet as dumb as I thought."

[chris]

The night was the only time Christof Connor Hale really felt alive.
It was no big surprise being that he was a vampire.

But many things had changed since his time as a young boy in the Scottish highlands of his beloved homeland. He could still remember the smell of his mother haggis on the stove, Elias playing with the dog and Jayden and little Juliet running around like ‘little devils’ – his father used to say. Those were simpler times, happier times.

Before the crusades, before the betrayal and his turning.

There he was, a man still pressing forward far beyond all he had to known in his mortal life had crumbled to dust. It was easy to feel lost and out of place in this situation. Human lives were so damned short and yet he still lived for almost millennia now.

And this was the reason he took times like this each one or two centuries. A time of peregrination around the world to get in touch with those modern times. To wander amongst the mortals and learn from them. Ah, if the world was a stage like some liked to say, he was the perfect actor, passing for a mortal arts dealer. Pretending to die at a certain number of years at a time and resurfacing with a new identity. Those days, he had been feeling somewhat nostalgic and decided to readopt his real name.

A descendant of the Scottish Hale, but born in the New World. Scotland definitively would be his next step in his world tour, he was eager to revisit his father’s castle. Long ago it lay in ruins, but he used his fortune to legally acquire the land if it was already his by right and restore it to its former glory. Over the centuries the vampire had amassed an almost unending wealth, and riches meant little to nothing for him at his time even if he enjoyed the luxury and comfort it allowed him.

His elegant tailored black suit, silk tie and shirt and Italian leather shoes hinted at his expensive taste. His long dark hair was neatly tied back and the leather gloves in his hands protected them from the cold, even if that didn’t bother him much.

As the sound of a nearby fight and freshly spilled blood reached him, the immortal moved with unnatural speed towards the source of it as his hands went towards the handle of his sword tucked under his overcoat. As his muscles solid as marble, honed by years of wars tensed in anticipation.

When he reached the location, his eyes widened slightly when they fell upon the back of not a screaming damsel in distress but a female warrior that looked very competent at dispatching her opponents.

When yet another one of the attackers emerged from the darkness, his hand moved with lethal accuracy, drawing his sword and raising at the attacking vampire’s throat holding him in place.
“You be quiet, I’m entertained by her skills and don’t want you hindering my sight.”

[Piper Hendrix]

Blinking at the sudden sound of a new voice, Piper frowned and wondered when the hell this little escapade had gotten so out of hand. What had started out as merely one little beheading had turned into a three ring circus.

Yeah, if it wasn't for bad luck.. she wouldn't have any freaking luck at all!

Just as she thought that, she felt the man behind her snap his jaws and she twisted to get away from the wicked teeth. Briefly, she caught site of a handsome, dignified persona before two of the other vampires launched themselves at the newcomer. They were so fierce in their attack that the young female didn't at first see the sword he welded. He held one by the tip of the blade and seemed to be confident in his own skill but then he became the focus of the other rogues attention.

In the dimly lit alley he seemed to moved with innate grace and deadly intent. For a moment she was mesmerized by the sight but only for as long as it took the creature holding her to start hauling her backwards. The evil hisses and grunts behind her told her the vampire was to far gone in his lust for blood to give the swordsman any heed.

Growling low in her own throat, Piper suddenly became dead weight in his arms and allowed herself to become a limp burden. When the vampire's hold loosened in order to find a better handle, she immediately took the advantage to elbow him hard in the stomach. In the split second that he scrambled to get a firmer hold, she twisted savagely away and dove towards the knife laying a few feet away.

Feeling it in her grasp, the young woman felt him at her back and kicked out in reaction. The vampire recoiled a bit but managed to sink his teeth into her shoulder. As pain lanced through her shoulder, she sank the knife deep into his throat and felt the satisfying jerk that went with dead weight tumbling off a severed spinal cord.

"Take that you sadistic son of a bitch!" she snarled as the head hit the ground and rolled. "When you dance with the devil's daughter you better be damned well prepared to pay the price!"

Then, vaulting to her feet, she flicked her hair out of her face and eyed the scene before her. Dude, that was a big sword! Where the hell had he come from and should she be worried?

[chris]

This was certainly a rare sight, she was a warrior of fierce ability and graceful moves and had a boisterous and arrogant nature, such fire that emanated from her! Christof was half-tempted to make a move at her just to see how she would fare against him.

It wasn’t hard to see that even under her arrogance, she held her self control, contrarily to the growls of the one that was kept in place by the sharp edge of his sword. He had seem this happen too many times already, those who were far too deep into the blood lust, that had let go of what still kept them human. It was beyond any semblance of help.

Lowering his blade he watched as the vampire seemed uncertain of who to attack, if the woman or the one that had held the blade at him.

“You have one chance,” Christof spoke, “to turn around and hang on to what’s left of humanity within you, or end this right now.

When the vampire made his choice, the unwise one, Christof easily and gracefully sidestepped the attack and swung his blade backwards swiftly. He didn’t have to look back to know it had taken its target and the severed head of the vampire fell to the ground just a second before his body went limp and followed suit.

His eyes once more searched for the female warrior and just as he suspected she had everything under control and was just dispatching her foe.

Curiosity filled the crusader’s mind, but he watched her warily. The woman was certainly a superior adversary than her opponents were. If she was evil, he would regretfully feel forced to end her existence.

Even there in the darkness however, his eyes were able to take in the exquisite curves of her form as the wind carried her scent to him and caused him to revel in it. Holding down his sword, Christof gave her a quick bow of his head.

“Not a bad set of skills, lacks a certain finesse and patience…but that is to be expected in someone young. Which brings me to the question at hand, who exactly are you?”

[Piper Hendrix]

I'm Mrs. You Wanna Piece Of Me?
Tryin' and pissin' me off
Well get in line with the paparazzi
Who's flippin' me off?
Hoping I'll resort to some havoc
End up settlin' in court
Now are you sure you want a piece of me?

Seriously? He was asking HER who SHE was?

Piper could only stand there and stare at him for a long moment before a slender brow arched. Her expression was wary as she slid the fighting dagger back in its sheath. When she finally spoke, it was with a note of impish mockery.

"Seems to me... I'm the one who should be asking that question.... Since this was my little party that you stumbled upon and all.... Call me crazy but I'm not really the type that kiss and tell all on the first date. You never know when it could come back and bit you in the ass." she drawled. "and as far as lacking finesse and patience? I find that they are over rated when your battling for you life and a bit short on time."

Giving him a grin that was both challenging and a bit mischievous, the slender young female eyed his sword and then continued.

"And seeing how you walk around carrying a big honking sword under your coat... well, that doesn't exactly inspire my confidence.. If you know what I mean? You could be some serial killer who's MO is rescuing the damsel in distress and then dragging her back to your lair to have your wicked way with her. Not exactly the way I wanna end my evening and so.. Maybe you show me yours and I'll show you mine... If your someone I've heard of or something.. I'd feel a might safer about telling you about myself."

Ok, so maybe she didn't believe him to be any of the things she'd just spouted off but a girl could never be to safe, right? Her vampire senses told her that the dude was vampire by nature but also that there was no threat rolling off him. He was just as he presented himself to be and had merely stepping into the fight in order to help even the odds.

A gentleman. How.... Quaint. She'd heard they once existed but she'd thought they went out of style when women had the temerity to insist on the right to vote! Most men these days insisted a woman pay half the bill on a date and thought chivalry was some sort of garden tool.

[chris]

If you can depend
On certainty
Count it out and weigh it up again
You can be sure
You've reached the end
And still you don't feel
Do you know you're beautiful


The corners of his lips curved into a smile. The female vampire certainly had quite an attitude on her, a fire that he found to be charming. Combined with that slender arched brow that made her exquisite beauty seem even more obvious and that grin that could certainly wreak havoc to a male’s heart, even the carnage of her attackers seemed to fade in the background.

Considering that he should make it clear that he meant no harm if only to amuse her, the crusader pulled his sword back and it disappeared inside his coat swiftly before he gave her a chivalrous bow.

“Forgive my lack of manners for intruding them,” he started with an amused smile, “I’m Christof Connor Hale, a wanderer from the highlands of Scotland. I merely sought out to even the odds a little on your behalf, besides I must admit your skills are impressive.”

His eyes wandered at her for a minute. She carried herself like a warrior, seemed strong and capable even if he didn’t happen to catch that spectacle she had just given. It wasn’t many who could withstand a group attack of blood crazed vampires and less who would care to stop them from attacking unknowing humans. The crusader held great respect for those whose life’s blood sustained him and to force them into feeding was an inexcusable aggression in his eyes.

“I would advise we depart from this place. The commotion might attract others and I’m in no mood to explain our…nature to mortal authorities.”

Tilting his head, he smiled once again and offered a hand to her.
“Would I interest you in a drink and you would grace me with the knowledge of your name in return? This dark alley hardly seems like a proper place for a conversation. Not to mention my eyes would welcome the chance to gaze upon you on a proper light.”

His eyes bore into hers for a moment, she was young and had some of that recklessness in her eyes that young vampires had. He saw an iron will and a sharp mind behind those eyes, and it was undeniable that he was charmed by both her beauty and her attitude.