† Apollo † Oddball † Q-Tip †
† Male † Pure-blood Vampire & Day-walker † Elder †
Age : Unknown
Appears: mid to late-20s
Birthday: August 18th
Zodiac: Leo
Birthplace: Scandinavia Region
Occupation: Business Owner, Kingpin
EVERY STORY HAS A BEGINNING...
We all have our beginnings. His happens to start in a home located in the middle of nowhere. That's the way he has always thought of it. Somewhere in the mountains, beneath the dark and looming cliffs, and subject to the forever howling winds. A place where there is little sun and even the wildlife doesn't choose to stray towards. His beginning started there with a complicated family. It wasn't until he left home that he felt like the true beginning of his life was upon him.
As an Elder his history is too long to recount for every living soul. He's made too many enemies, human and supernatural alike, along the way. But there are a few things he can confirm. He wasn't there for every big historical event. For those that he was apart of, he found a way to know some of the key players. He took a fasination with almost every war. When he didn't dabble in warfare and grew bored of humanities repetitive need for it, Apollonius chose to follow his pursuits in business...or partying....whichever he felt like doing even though they tended to go hand-in-hand.
Don't mistake him. A vampire's memory, while good, isn't perfect. No one can expect that he'll remember every little thing. Some of the history books have it wrong anyways. History is always told from the perspective of the Victor so it doesn't surprise him. Always remaining hush hush on the matters, and to not embarass himself on what he doesn't remember, Apollo keeps his lips sealed about anything related to the past. Though when inquired about, he'll gladly share what he does remember.
EVERY STORY HAS A MIDDLE...
A little over two decades ago, Apollonius decided it was time to wage his own war. The war to end all wars. Or so he believes. Tired of watching fueds between species that no longer hold the ground they used to, Apollonius seeks to bring harmony among the supernatural world. There are whispers that he is leading a rebellion and the only reason he is able to get as far as he has is because he's an Elder. Sometimes, it's an advantage to be old.
Recuirting efforts began with his motley crew but have since expanded to included supernaturals in every city. There is no limit to what they can achieve when brought together. While it is a little contradictory in nature, warriors in his band of misfits are taken on a volunteer basis. No one is forced to wage the war with him. Some only seek refuge, neutral grounds where they can come together to get along. Others want to fight to end the bloodshed and centuries worth of deceit and misguided values. Everyone has their own reasons for joining. Those that do are protected by everyone. They rally to protect their own. While they are on their way to creating the peace he seeks, everyone knows that Monsters are still monsters and their leader doesn't stray from using a heavy hand or the darkness he was given.
He's no fortune teller. Can't see the future or predict what is going to happen next. All he knows is that he dreams of a day when the conflict is over. When supernaturals come together and live in a strange sense of harmony. A time where useless bloodfueds are resolved and children aren't expected to hold the grudges their parents instilled in them. As far as he can see, the end is nowhere near. The middle of his story is still being written. Hell, he would argue he is still tangled in the beginning of something new. Only time will tell. He just hopes he finds the Kingpin on the otherside of the war before it's too late...
MODEL LOOKS: IF YOU'RE SEXY AND YOU KNOW IT CLAP YOUR HANDS
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 188lbs
Build: tall and lean
Tatttoos: None. Maybe he'll consider one.
Scars: Plenty. Not all vampires heal the way you think.
An anomonly from his siblings in everyway, Apollonius's appearance is as stark of a difference. Glacier blue eyes peer through long lashes most women are jealous of. Longer platinum blonde hair is almost always combed into place, but still allows for a few runaway strands. Skin slightly kissed by the sun but still on the paler side. What can a vampire do? Always clean shaven. Clothes undeniably pristine and pressed. Common outfits include dark jeans and a dress shirt of some kind. He doesn't mind t-shirts, but when running a business he always needs to look the part. Casual for him still looks put together and he takes pride in his appearance. Bussiness man or Fraternity boy? He's been described as both.
SHINNING PERSONALITY: LAWFUL NEUTRAL/CHAOTIC TENDENACIES
Lawful Neutral: At first glance he comes off as the silent brooding type. He watches and waits, seeing everyone and everything around him. When he is done being the observer, however, Apollo transforms into a social butterfly: undoubtedly dramatic, self-confident, and playful. He gladly engages in conversations, preferring ones that are centered on deeper topics compared to trivial matters. There is a nautral prowling elegance to his movements, a confidence **coughcough* and flamboyancy *coughcough* that demands attention, and a silent dominance in his curiosity. He's brave, hard to challenge, and damn near impossible to hurt or kill. Arrogance is often mistaken for his confidence, but everything about him is genuine, including that bourbon soaked charm. With a burning determination buried down into the bone he carries his head high with his shoulders back and a consistent cheshire smirk on his lips.
Chaotic Neutral: Having lived a long life, it's no surprise to Apollo that he's gone from one end of the spectrum to the other. Survival makes everyone do things they'd rather not. Only in the last decade or two has he transitioned to a more welcoming sort of character. His fued with his eldest brother drives him to do things he'd rather not speak of. The traits however are there. Obsessions can get out of hand. Being heavy handed has it's perks. Selfish gains are driven by selfish motives and fulfilled by selfish actions. Deceit can be second nature. Different times call for different measures and he isn't afraid to go there if he has to.
"Careful where you step, Sweetheart. Not all that lurks in the night hides in shadows. Some Monsters are made of Sunshine & Gold, smiling at you from across the street in broad Daylight."
Blood relatives
Family is a forgein concept to him. The word is thrown around enough times that he understands that 'family' is supposed to the people you are directly related to. Nature predetermines that the womb you came from and the seed that bore you are your parents. Any other poor soul lucky enough to share the same womb is a sibling. By maternal and paternal instincts as well as nature's defined laws, this family is "supposed" to care about you.
It's all a crock of shit.
Maybe in some families this is true. He witnesses it often enough among humans that he hopes, for their sake, it is. Yet there's always a dark twist and only time is willing to share what it is. In Apollo's case, he's one of three children. The middle child of a broken family and he's long since been estranged. Viewed once as the Golden Boy, no pun intended, he was on the receving end of an abusive relationship with his older brother, worshipped by his mother, and showered with 'tough love' and strange dissecting behavior by his father. He wasn't able to make sense of the dynamics until he was in the first century of young, twisted life. Quickly Apollonius silqouied himself, learning when to walk on egg shells and when to go bat shit crazy. It wasn't until she came along that his perception changed.
After her soundless birth and the three day ritual that took place, Apollonius snuck into her room in the middle of the day. The slumbering house didn't know any better. He propped himself up on the bed beside her, those wide doe eyes looking at him and her little hands reaching out to his face. She cooed at him and that's when he forever became wrapped around her little finger.
Sianoa Grimm (Mother) and Ragnvald Grimm (Father) unknown status (NPC)
Apollonius, while in the beginning was on good terms with his parents, now harbors a deep sedated hatred for his father. Somewhere in his heart, he's been able to grant his mother forgiveness. They used, abused, and took advantage of him for his talents.The hatred stems from turning the siblings against each other.
Demitrius "Demitri" Grimm (Older Brother) - unknown status (NPC)
Convinced by his parents that his brother attacked him out of an innate hatred and disgust for what/who Apollo was; Apollo has spent his entire life in retaliation for it. Apollonius swore he would be faster, stronger, and better than Demitri so that one day he would finally be the monster Grimm wanted him to be. Unbeknownst to anyone, his relationship with his eldest brother shaped the values he lives by now.
Freya Grimm (Younger Sister) - Handling Seattle Headquaters (NPC)
This little hellion is a storm of chaos at the heels of their enemies. As frigid as her powers are and she attempts to be, Apollo is one of the few who sees her 'soft' side. She is someone he always wishes to protect. This is the only one who he never felt abandoned him in his family. They are a strange pair. Best friends. Wing-man/Wing-woman and all. Onlookers may mistake them for lovers, especially with how much they tease each other, but their opinions are far from the truth.
Shameless Flirt
Interests (x1) Past or Present?
Non-committal but not impossible for more.
TEN YEARS AGO...
A long hallway painted in black stretched on for what felt like miles. You've already crossed through that rackety door from the alleyway. A strange place for the entrance to any place of business. The hallway smelt of fresh paint and primer. Makes sense since the walls caught the light as you walk by. The paint was still drying. The nearer you came to the room at the end the better you heard them: Young monsters talking of things that should never be.
"Have ya ever been in love, Apollonius?" A female's southern accent filled the air. Quieter than it normally did but that's due to the expansiveness of the room they were in. Massive and more like a warehouse main floor than the back-end of a building's first floor.
"Love?" A confused but pleased voice responded. For a moment, silence settled between them. Why ask a question like that?
"Yes, love. Idiot. You know when-"
"I know what love is , Rosewillow."A breathless sigh slipped past his lips. "No, I've never been in love. "
"Have you ever wanted to be in love?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because love gets in the way."
"In the way of?" A playful growl rumbled in his chest. Apollonius rolled from his back onto his side. One arm propped up his head while the other reached out to touch her cotton candy colored hair. That crazy long mane of hers laid sprawled out beneath her head. Stark contrast to the grey floors and her fair flesh. It's a rare moment for these two. They are the only ones to see this side of each other. Carefree, innocent, and blissful. The time when hopes and dreams have yet to be retaliated by reality.
"Of doing what's necessary."
"Necessary is a blurred line, Apollonius. You know that."
"I do and my resolve remains the same."
"Will you ever fall in love?"
"God, I hope not." A fond smile pulled at his lips and softened those glacial eyes. There was a romantic hidden behind his layers.
"Why?" Rosewillow turned her head to meet his. Faces mere inches away. Green eyes, the kind cut from emeralds in a swirling green jungle, peered up at him.
"Because it means I would be a sap. And what good would I be then?"
1980s in a Witty Dublin: The City of Words...
Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Somewhere in the middle of his, Apollo met her.
It's their beginning.
He's an elder. If you were to ask him to remember every detail in history he'd fail to and even more so fail to put a year to it. But her, he will always remember her. Long before he met Rosewillow and began his new war Apollonius stumbled across his Little Red. In a world of monotonous daily grind, grading papers, TAing at University, this nose in a book, shy creature captured his attention. The elsuive, deer in the headlights look that overcame her anytime he came near made him wonder: what lurks behind those distant eyes and sad smile? Who made her that way? What would happen if she smiled? Determined to find out (and reluctant to believe this shy fox wouldn't give him the time of day when every other woman would), Apollonuis made it his mission to become her friend starting with her attending the study group he leads on English Literature and Magic.
{RP in Progress. Stay tuned for more}
Few people enter into Apollo's life that he is willing to trust or hold dear. Beyond his sister and those loyal to him that make up his crew, there are only a select few he would even consider friends. There are even fewer that he would admit were or are lovers. A deep rooted fear keeps Apollonius from admitting to anyone that he cares for them. The only ones who will know are the ones on the receiving end of it. He puts on a good face for his enemies that he keeps everyone at arms length. But in all reality everyone, including those he recruits for his cause he cares for deeply. Like any battle though, there are casulties in war. Beneath that movie star appearance or attitude, is a loyal, protective, and honorable friend/lover.
TWINKLE TOES † FUN SIZE † SMURF
PESKY HUNTER † OBSESSION
After they interfered with each other's hunt, Apollo invited the Hunter along for an adventure. He has Rogues to kill and she is a Hunter. Their relationship is mutually beneficial. At first, he did it out of curiosity: he wanted to know more about how the Fun Sized Smurf ticked. They bantered in a way he didn't with others and it was bound to become an obsession. She keeps him on his toes and he knows he does the same for her. He invited her into a world she knows nothing about: His world. Will she come to regret it or love it?
Part 1
Q-tip: "What do you know, the Smurf has a sense of humor..."
Twinkle Toes: "Am no' a fuckin' Smurf, ya bollix dit."
Q-tip: "Fine. No Smurf. You don't seem as mischievous as them anyways and that wouldn't be any fun. Twinkle work better?"
Twinkle Toes: "Am warse than a Smurf could ever be."
Part 2
Q-Tip: “Sure you aren’t a Smurf? You sure are playful enough to be one. Fun sized, too.”
Twinkle Toes: "Ya want yer dick 'fun sized' too? Am sure I could take off a few inches perfectly fine."
LITTLE CRIMINAL † MINI ME † SMARTASS
CINNABUN † PRECIOUS HUMAN
This precious little vessel first crossed Apollo's path in a bar. With a sweet promise and cheers to the next "bite" Apollo promised to cross Omega's path again. Omega doubted the toast would ever come true. Never doubt the Elder. For in his promise, Nikolas walked straight into trouble. Dabbling in his own curiosity he neared death three times in one night. First at the hand of Ricky, and twice by the equally as sarcastic Helena. Hence Nikki boy's nickname, Smartass. In his own mischief, Apollonius rescued the mortal from his companions and whisked him away for a healing drink. Apart they are completely different. Together they are smooth little criminals. Breaking and Entering may just become a habit...
Part 1
Apollo: "Come on, we'll go around back."
Nik: "Serious, are you really...?"
Apollo: **pulls hard on the door handle of a bar to snap the lock after hours**
Nik: ...
Apollo: "Oops. I'll send them a check for it later."
Nik: "You've gotta be kidding me."
***silence as the two of them become criminals***
Every leader has his followers. The best teams can sometimes be the ones unintentionally formed. Surprise! Through the years, Apollo collected his fair share of enemies. Apparently, he collected his fair share of allies as well. The motley crew he has surrounded himself with are the ones he calls family. More than his own flesh and blood. While his recruits are critical to The Cause none of them share the same place on the chess board.
Each with their own selfish motivations, his band of misfits chose to follow him into uncharted territories. One of them called him a "mad man" for thinking he could change the order of things. Yet, here they all are. Apollo entrusts his life to each of them. They've shared bloodshed, tears, lows and highs, and celebrations together. They serve a unique purpose on the team. Each run a special aspect of the daily operations while simulataneously plotting the end of the on-going war. Blood makes you related. But Loyalty, makes you family. This is his true family.
Characters listed below are NPCs. They often show up in the story with an active role to play and help move things along. If Apollo isn't your cup of tea, these characters may also be played separately. Choose your adventure.
"Rip" "The Spy/Ghost" - Unknown
Not much is known about their resident spy aka Ghost. Apollo has known him for as long as he can remember and he still doesn't know the man's abilities, species, or even his real name. Ripley is loyal and acts without hesitation. Often a step ahead of the Elder. Apollo owes Ripley for saving his life. Multiple times. In the centuries that Ripley has come in and out of Apollo's life, he's said few word (most assume he's mute), changed appearances often, and altered his personalitiy more. Believed alignment is true neutral. True alignment, unknown.
"Rose" "The Informant/Voodoo Princess" - Voodoo Priestess
They met in New Orleans. She was your resident voodoo witch and running a shop known as The Black Cat. He stumbled across her path and because of his past dealings with witches decided that she was the one he wanted to befriend. Rose is his business partner. Provocative, expressive, and quick-witted. Her alignment is Chaotic Neutral with Chaotic Evil tendenancies. It's hard to turn a woman of her caliber from her wicked ways. She may be on the 'side' of good, but the lines are always blurred. Don't be confused, she's always out to get her way.
"Hel" "The Cleaner" - Wendigo
Their story and how they crossed paths isn't a story often whispered. All anyone knows is that somewhere along the way, Apollo did something for Helena. Ever since, she has been in his debt. While their story began centuries before Apollo ever met Rosewillow, Helena didn't join the motley crew until a few years after everything began. He summoned her and she came. Alignment is chaotic good. She's brash, easily tempered with Ricky, enjoys taunting others, and sarcastic. But she always acts within her limits. "Take a walk on the wild side, kid" is her motto.
"Ricky" "The Tracker/Enforcer"- Turned Vampire
Country boy turned into a military grunt. Cedric would never say this was the best time of his life. While deployed he attempted suicide. In the midst of a war torn land and on the brink of death that his sire came along. She likes to believe she "saved him." In truth, she only brought him from one hell to another. Newly turned and not at all in his right mind for how he could control himself, Apollo gave him a way. He doesn't believe in the cause but he's more loyal to Apollo. He's lawfully good, cocky firecracker, and always wearing his heart on his sleeve.
Codes from: Coders Unite
FC for Rosewillow: Kelly Eden
FC for Ricky: Benjamin Eidem
FC for Helena: Fishball Suicide
FC for Apollo: Lucky Blue Smith
Anything Swan related is part of an on-going joke.
Feel free to ask if you want to start being a part of it.
Picture credit goes to their respected artists/model(s).
Comments
*
*
*
A stranger. A pressure on her arm as she was being shook. "Holly! Holly! Dammit, lass, wake up!" Another shake.
"Get off of me!" That same voice cried, she snapped up her head and slapped the hand off her shoulder, it was her classmate next to her. A girl who turned to her friend and giggled.
Holly's drowsy sparkling eyes opened and looked up to the face of an angry, narky bearded teacher who stood at the board. "Ore' ye wit us, McLunny?"
"I'm--" Holly shuddered out, rubbing her head that throbbed with a pain, she could feel feel he slam of the all her father had thrown her on when she was taught her lesson form the night before. "I'm sorry. I'm awake now, Mr. Slome. Me jist.. I 'ad a brutal dream."
The teacher gruffed a laugh and nudged the dreamy eyed student-teacher next to him whom most of the girls, and even a few boys in class had been oogling since he first stepped foot in. "'Mph, Oi damn believe it. Dis is de thurd time dis week ye've passed oyt in class. Dis iin't grade school, lass."
"I-I-I know. Am sorry. Won' do it again."
"Better. Git notes from Grimm after class. "Oi don't want yer failin' from studyin' too bloody 'ard."
Hazel eyes shot to the male at his small desk next to the dark teacher, that pale man that made her fingertips tingly and the air stand up on the back of her neck. Holly nodded slowly, her arms folding in close to herself, this would also be the third time this week that she had to do this witht he pretty man. "Got it."
"Aye." Slome grumbled then sat down, gesturing to the board showed different connecting conjunctions in English that he was teaching the class. "Quiz next week. Yer all dismissed."
The class began to round up their things naturally. Some girls faster than the others, they soon crowded the infamous student teacher who occasionally taught the beginning of class while Slome graded papers. A giggling mess of them as three stood by him. "See you next time. Maybe.. tonight?" One bravely asked and held put a paper with pretty pink nail, and hot pink lips to add. A sun freckled blonde girl with a baby blue stare. It was a natural thing, the man should be use to it by now. Slome snickered as he wished the boy luck and left out the class. Leaving the three giggling girls and Holly who waited at her seat for them to leave.
Holly sighed, indeed, this wasn't grade school, but it sure seemed like it sometimes.
The girls stood, waiting for those blue pools of his to give them the time of day.
If it wasn't for the damn stink in the air making everyone curve away like it were the damn plague Alice would have sworn that everyone was holding their breath at this very moment. Maybe even herself with tense feeling in the air that was trickling in her bones. Apollo was having his moment, but in the same time she was having her own. It shrunk up her consciousness and added a few more bricks to that wall in her head that told her that she couldn't trust anyone. Why were they on this wall and what the hell did this vampire have to do with it in the first place?
Alice swept her chocolate eyes over as to guess his thoughts on this, but he looked like he might have lost a shade or two of color on his face. Did his hair possibly get whiter as well? Her eyes settled back to the redhead that was her mother,then to her father. They looked happy, as though this was when they had first gotten together, or when she had graduated college. Where the hell did these pictures even come from? The huntress could hardly pinpoint a single thought as to what why and how this happened, she could only come down to the fact that this was happening, and Apollo had something to do with it. Sadly if she asked anything from him right now she was sure that he wouldn't give it to her, he was going through his own shit.
She as well did not feel the vampire's eyes on her back the entire time while, that would have been unneeded impediment for everyone.
Her anger boiled to a higher level when he refused to answer her question. Either he did not know or he was just flat out ignoring her now. Why call her into here to see this with him if he wasn't going to bloody commit to her curiosity towards it. Her lips twitched for a snap but he spoke to his comrade instead. Telling what her what he wanted her to do. Alice looked back to the picture momentarily as though they would have disappeared in that very moment. Still there. Her mothers smooth curves, her father's jaw line, those hazel eyes of her mothers that captured light in the most beautiful of ways. The ones her sister got but did not deserve. Alice's memory did not serve them justice, they were beautiful being that she missed greatly and her heart ached in a place for them. But they're dead. Dead is gone. Her head turned back, looking at Apollo with a painless expression that defied what she really felt. But her interpersonal drama was not any of these monsters to worry about.
Her eyes narrowed as though he had just directed those words just to be nocent to her, as well as the trickling power that he was now pluming into the air as he let go of that humanity that separated him from calm to beast. His esprit de corps with his mates here seemed like it were rehearsed with how they fanned into the room a his slicing words cut the air. Alice wanted to look back and snatch the photo off the all as though her parents did not need to be colleague into the darkness by these people, but she resisted ever word and did as she was told for once, and she was leaving. He fuse was already as short as it possibly could be without her snapping. She said no goodbyes or good nights, nobody in this room deserved it. Not even Apollo. His secrets were her turmoil, and if he did not want to tell her who did this, or if he did not know, she would find out herself.
*****
Agnes rolled her eyes when he teased. Unlike her parents whom had a history of lovers, Agnes was the fiercely loyal type, her interest in the one she was with never faltered and the two were approaching two years.
"His name is Theodore, he goes by Ted or Teddy, he's a mutanic demon that was brought up from a laboratory that he ended up destroying after he devoured a lady he was obsessed with. Found him on the street, he ate me, I liked him, you know how difficult crushes can be." Talking about him had already caused a change in body language, her shoulders drooped slightly as that tough exterior melted into calmness. " We talked about how much of a hot mess we both were, our differences, and we hit it off." There was an underlying tone of sadness in her words, Agnes sighed gently. "We were madly in love with each other, but then he wanted to be immortal like me. There were multiple facilities of the same laboratory, so he went to another one and...they snipped his memory of me. Ted still found his way back to me, but...he wasn't really the same, I still love him though." Agnes muttered, her gaze resting on the glass of whiskey. Did she talk too much? Would he listen? Who knew.
"Did you...love my mom? Or was she a one night stand?" That question was was curiously buzzing around in her mind. Whatever his answer was probably wouldn't change her opinion about him.
The Elder's words hit him suddenly, cold as ice as it snapped him out of the slump he'd fallen into, the aid of liquor and reminiscence of the event. It started like a chill at his spine, not reaching his head until he'd had a second to fully take in those two words, and what they were. His posture stood at attention little by little to the sharp edged tone. By all means, the voice he heard was not one he expected to leave the other's mouth. At first, he wasn't even sure why. It reflected all the same in light blue hues which were now widened. Nikolas' lips parted. They came together again when he realized he didn't have any words to come out.
It seemed, he didn’t have to speak. All he had to do was listen. His stare didn't waver any despite their nagging 'want' to study the table a little further. And so, Nik held a surprisingly neutral face as the sharpness of those words hit him head on. A semi-wounded look in those eyes might gave hint that he was working to keep it there.
Maybe it wasn't a matter of having to speak, or not. He was at the point where the words being spoken were worth more than interjecting and leaving himself with a cliffhanger. Was his heart still beating? Probably. It didn't quite feel like it at the given moment. When he felt a pause, Nik pried his attention away briefly. An exhale came from deep within his chest. "I'm sorry. I wasn't meaning to put words in your mouth, I just..." Just... what did he mean, then? His voice tapered off to silence when he lost where he was going with it, glancing back again.
Make no further promises, it seemed, Apollo had already figured him out until thus far. With extra effort to hide the half-smile he had the notion to give, he stared at the bar counter and nodded his head. The vampire's tone of voice had seemingly cooled off, but he wasn't in the clear quite yet. Until the chuckle was heard anyways. Nikolas let that smile pass this time around and moved a hand up to sweep through his hair once. "Again. I'm sorry, and... thank you. For everything, really. I'll... be more careful next time."
Next time? Odds were, there most certainly was. When Apollo's gaze shifted to the window his followed some time after, and as he did. the room itself seemed less dark than it had the moment before. With an audible exhale Nik slid off his bar stool. An immediate soreness in his chest was telling him that he'd regret what he'd done for a week or so to come, if he was lucky anyways. "I should head back anyways... get some sleep now that I probably can."
[*Scurries to the chat*]
Agnes' brow furrowed, whatever he was going on about may have vexed her, watching as he stared at the glass between them longingly. Fortunately, he cut right to the chase, which made Agnes cringe in the slightest. "Ugh..." She muttered in utter disgust. "Well you'll never fucking know." She spoke more clearly, keeping that tough exterior, that she labels as composure, stable. She's heard her dad call her mother a whore, he was one to talk, but hearing her love life coming from other partners was something else. Unnecessary, a little too irrelevant almost, however naturally, in the back of her mind, she was slightly curious if they were still seeing each other.
"Besides." Agnes began, her posture was more relaxed as she stretched her arms. "I'm committed to someone already, and if I wasn't, you wouldn't be my type. You're too....classy." Disgusting, she thought.
Alice's exterior hardened just as much as her interior did. Those stone eyes, often glazed over with a spark of fire shadowed into that of a bloodthirsty stare of him, to him, that small glimpse of his might have amounted more that he attuned for. Should he have looked harder he might have went past the wall. But a hunter with her skill level had a basic knowledge of defending her mind against attacks. Sure, such as Neseva, a colleague of hers, who could read minds on a dim, he might find it a bit more difficult to. Her heart however? It was just as clouded and lost as her mind.
But the matter lay now that she was looking at him as though she were about to combust him into a million little slivers. "Stop talking to me like ya know me, Apollonius." She hisses. "We are not friend, we are not buddies." She spoke in a strong tone. "I don't care. I care aboot me parents, that's as far as care as I go. They are dead, the things that die? Dead. Me one day? Dead. Gone, lost ferever. Why grieve and whine aboot somethin' that's already gone." The venom in her voice was tangible compared to the catastrophe that was going on currently in her mind, the true contradiction that perhaps was right in a way. "Am fightin' to kill me sister. To prove a point of who I am an' what will happen to those that cross me. Think about it an' stop tryin' to understand me fer it. Again, they were killed, I was little. No need to cry about it anymore.
Lacking the social ability to continue on with the conversation the huntress dropped it and hopefully he did too, now tuning him out as a iguana did to outside noises. Instead of closing her eyes, however, she turned her head away to leave him alone with it. " She did her crying, far too much of it to be in fact. But as she often told herself it was done and over with.
Finally, he left it alone. Or so she hoped that he did. Instead what was a dead heart became a dead smell in the air that had festered and rotted for who knows how long. Alice recoiled at the smell but it wasn't the worst that she had ever smelt in her life. It would just take a moment for her to get over the smell itself. Her face scrunched, regardless. Putting lines near her nose while she followed him into this shack. There was blood and now the accompanied smell of burnt flesh to follow it. Brilliant.
Alice followed him through the building as he remarked about the blood. They came across one of his goonies that Alice only bared a glance to. Motioning them inside for some unheard of reason. There must be the reason in there for what was happening on around here. Good thing they shifted their gaze too, don't need everyone always staring at her. She didn't mind gruesome scenes, they plagued her most of her life, so when the warning was given Alice only looked at Apollo when he looked back but said nothing more about it, her eyes read, 'go' though.
Thus she followed him in, not caring for the state of which this place might appear to be. The blood looked fresh, or recently in death considering it was not yet brown to the walls that were stained by it. But the pools showed that there had been a mass killing here and it left a mark. Not like the heat of the air was helping it at all. It left the warming stench to fill the air and only added to the disgusting helping of it in the air. The scrunch never left her nose. Alice turned up her head, trying her best to ignore it, but she could already see that the smell itself would haunt her for some time. But the point to make here was that there were several wrenching smells, but no bodies.
Alice had seen a lot in her time, but this was close to taking the cake with that. She looked around then to the mural of pictures, but they did not look as though it was to pay respects for the dead, but furthermore to show the bodies that once were, but as well as Apollo himself. This looked like some deep shit that he had gotten himself into here. He was older, that meant lots of enemies, but this one must top the cake of them all, if Apollo even knew. Point was, he was always being watched. By who or what was unknown. The photos. Alice took mental notes of the pictures, gliding her stoned eyes over them, walking ever the more closer to them. It was one set thought that caught here eyes. Caught the full attention of her. Apollo disappeared, the smell disappeared. Her face turned to stone, her body became stiff with fright and anger. Her eyes shadowed but sparked with hate, love, and most of all confusion. A weak spot that he might have actually been able to penetrate and see in if he so pleased in those moments, but now she did her best to mold them back together.
Why the fuck were her parents photos there?
She stared at them with her eyebrows going up higher on her head but wrinkling with astonishment. Alice didn't hear him, not yet. She tried to see why her parents were on this list. What could he ever have possibly been to them? When were these taken. Why were they here? Her plush lips parted with a silent gasp as she gaped at the photo but quickly she curved her eyes away ans snapped her mouth shut, turning on her heel sharply. She wanted to scream at him and demand answers, but it looked like this was just as confusing to him. She could still ask how though. How and why were her parents here. He was in shock too it looked though. She would not get the answers that she wanted, but there was a new found hate there for him, as though he were the cause of her parents deaths. Did Sam know? Fucking Sam. It meant she needed to kill her more now.
"I do as I damn well please." She gritted out, hoping that he did not catch on to where she was staring and that her mind shattered upon seeing that. She would not be laying low, no, it meant her killing would increase. Hunt after hunt, until the anger was channeled and she became stone again to get this out of her mind, and to fill in any cracks. "Who is watching you?" Maybe she could get answers herself, if he could give them.
Agnes didn't like that smug, devious grin of his, narrowing her eyes and leaning more onto the bar with her arms crossed, wearing her father's scowl. He didn't know her, she wasn't Naomi, she was more rugged than her. Hell, when it came to violence, there was nothing subtle about her. Murderous outings happened almost every night, until she had put a dent in the city's population. She had done terrible, terrible things to her own father, from having his fingers collected in a jar to serving him, Alice, Nikki, Sly, and her own beloved a cake with Jason's heart as the main ingredient. The best part, he didn't know when she managed to kill him and remove his heart. So yes, Agnes had a bad rep and whatever Apollo was about to tell her may or may not move her in the slightest.
With an icy stare, two words escaped her lips. "Try me."
--- But to whom is a monster truly a monster?
Words unbidden, falling into silence as if but a fleeting thought. Not spoken out loud, yet reminiscing in the abysmal black that surrounded them.
How many tongues does one need to s i l e n c e ~?
His expectations were met; the knife did not meet flesh, yet the other’s hand grasped his wrist and pulled the shell forward. As a grunt of pain was forcefully exhumed as the knee met his abdomen, a sense of maniacal exhilaration swelled.
He found exactly what he had been looking for. Yet… one more thing remained uncertain. He perused-
Provoking the potentially lethal was the most satisfying pastime indeed.
Motions were swift, nearly mirroring the vampire’s in force and accuracy. The ginger’s free hand clapped firmly onto the man’s leg a few inches beneath the kneecap, keeping it arched up while his anatomy shifted. Teeth bit down into Apollo’s leg, right above the knee that had just collided with his abdomen. Jaw popped, back teeth cracked with the sheet force of the bite as the mortal shell abided by the parasite’s motions. There were no ground rules against fighting dirty.
The bite was quickly released, yet the man’s grip on Apollo’s leg held resolute while his momentum swiftly pivoted. His entire weight backed the shoulder closest to Apollo, which slammed directly into his chest with the intent of knocking him off balance.
“It must be so difficult for you to take a life- ;;” Somewhere amidst the chaos, his voice pooled into the abyss. No elaboration granted, yet the statement seemed oddly unfinished -- threading off with an air of expectancy.
"But don'ya'knoo? The Hatter be the big bad wolf in the story. That tea be makin' ya crazy. Keeps ya locked down, no escape. It's like drugs." It wouldn't be a surprise if she often put wonderland and the God ol' Holy place that was the Asylum that she lived at as a child to Wonderland. It had the evil queen, the good queen. The Tweedles, the townsfolk. Everything was just as it would be in the story itself. Then you have Alice who was just trying to figure it all out, would she ever get out of the fucking tunnel? That was a question one may never get an answer to, not in her lifetime.
Alice found it selfishly hard to believe that he would care for he dead to a high extent. She went her whole career to do one thing which was to kill. Kill or be killed, it was something she learned to go by her entire life. It's something Jorgan put into her head, her late mentor that a wolf-skulled demon killed. Until then death was just a property of decay. The dead belonged to the earth, which was one place that she was not ready to be, so why cry about it? Her lip turned up at the truth in his words. Was this his Elder side talking? Attempting to match some stride of pride that Elders were supposed to have? Like they were supposed to come off as some godly being to the others below them? How would that play out when he was up against his match?
Alice sneered to herself now, the corner of her mouth pulling up as the curl of her lip sowed the thoughts that were playing out in her head. "Speak fer yerself. Death is death. Me first kill was a vampire, I was fourteen. I jammed a leg of a chair through his chest. Killed him. I never felt remarse fer it, I never envisioned his blood on me hands; an' me sure as hell wasn't shook by it." She went on, brutally honest. Every note that left her voice was like cold blocks of ice personally chipped off her heart. "The only death that mattered was me parents. It was the only thing that haunted me an' ever will."
Her tone dropped even further, daring him to think of her differently. Perhaps stop thinking about her like some bomb to defuse but understand that she was a loss cause in care. It was gone long ago. "I don' remember them. I remember me parents shredded on the floor an' I remember the monsters that did it. I remember why I do this; why I kill. That's all I need to remember. Anythin' else can rot fer all I care. The dead are dead, an' the livin' are no different." She spat those words out like venom, budding spit on her lip. "We all be here like it will change anythin', it won't. The world is still dyin'. Death still looms. Death don' remember er care, so why should I? Why should I stick me neck out to remember the dead when they are fallen. Done. I won't waste one mare blink on em." Alice ground out, call if schizoid if it helped. "I only make his work a little mare easier. Bloody simple." She could be called an enemy, a monster, she didn't care. As long as she got her fix in it all.
He should have been able to see it by now, how withdrawn she was of her own humanity. Was it always that way or was it simply stripped away? Wonderland could do that to you.
Did Alice catch that? It was hard to tell. Her eyes had been fixed on him the moment her feet crunched against the cold ground under her. Waiting for his next move; what he wanted to shower her so bad in this rickety shack of his.
A lofty gaze went from the glass, to Apollo, then back unto the glass again. Permission granted, curiosity killed the cat. The glass was picked up, shifted closer and left to linger above the counter surface in his hand. Nikolas had paused to listen- who knew he did that from time to time? Well, he was, curiosity settled on his expression. He'd never tried it. Coffee, sweetness? The general drink of choice at Sanctum being one part coffee and one part pure sugar, he had a good feeling about it. A sip was taken when he felt like he'd stared at it long enough. There was a pause. The glass was sat back down and Nikolas gave a nod of approval before sliding it back.
One question after another was rattled off as they came to him. Whether it was the newness that said information held or a little alcohol to loosen his lips, there was no shame to it. He had to be better off in asking up front this time around rather than his stunt within the alley. When he ran out of immediate questions, Nikolas came to lean against the bar counter with one elbow propped upon it. fist against his temple he would lean on it ever so slightly.
Nikolas' eyes fell onto the counter just briefly at the mentioning of his upbringing. His expression wouldn't change too drastically, yet he could dwell to the fact all the same. Even as he was, he hadn't come to know it for long, but he understood what thinking towards the past could do to someone. A half smile was flashed and he looked upward across the bar. "Yeah... didn't think of it that way. I guess I could understand it." The chuckle was shared in response to the last question and he ran a hand through his hair absently. "Good... good. Let me know, I'll try not to forget mailing a card."
A wayward stare went to the window Apollo housed his attention upon. When it offered Nik nothing, he let his eyes settle back on the Elder himself. Once more, he did his best to 'get it'. He had his own memories he'd forgotten, most of them claimed to the time spent in highschool where not a word of Shakespeare made it through once he was finished with it. Nor calculus, nor... well, and so on. And then, memories burned in his head. Mostly good, some bad. As long as he kept the good head of the bad. Before he could think to do otherwise, his gaze caught Apollo's knowing look almost begrudgingly. There was something about the sentiment over the demon that put a pit in his chest. Subtly chastising, causing his mouth to be drawn to a thin line. For lack of a better plan nor any valid statement, Nikolas said not a word.
"An errand..." A light poke to the subject was given. In no place to demand any information further, he took it as it was. His glance went to the bottles behind Apollo thoughtfully. "Yeah... they'd just gotten started when I came by." A ghost of a smirk was visible, surviving for the moment before it was wiped off. "Even if I was successful... that was it. That's all I was gonna do and I would've kept going. You might've not even wasted your time here, y'know?" Nikolas shrugged his shoulders, inspecting the wood grain on the bar yet again. "I should've stayed home, tried to sleep."
-
8
-
9
-
10
-
11
-
12
of 18 Next