Silence is golden (Open)

[kira]

Sighing angrily, Meadhbh moved her hand to around the girl's next so she wouldn't cut her skin anymore and make it more difficult for her to restrain herself from taking a bite and tasting that sweet smelling blood. All she had to do was hold the human there while Morrison handled the vampire, but that became very difficult when the girl planted a solid punch to the side of her face.

The wolf was so surprised by the retaliation that she didn't even growl at her. She stepped back, massaging her jaw softly. It hadn't really hurt her, just startled her and it gave the human a chance to get away. Meadhbh looked around at the girl, a soft snarl rumbling in her throat.

This girl was lucky that the wolf had eaten recently, or she would have gone after her. Right now, though she was more concerned in the vampire now. He had ruined her meal and she wanted to get him back for that. Morrison took a few more steps toward the other man, putting his hands in his pockets, sighing softly.

"Do we really have to do this?" he shook his head, smiling slightly, "I don't understand why you care so much to protect these humans all the time. We both need them for food, and is too much to ask for a little fresh meat every once and a while?" Morrison stopped and stared at the vampire, smile widening a little.

"I've never stopped one of your race from taking down a healthy human. I know you can't live off of vagrants and druggies your whole life." The were started to grin, showing his sharp teeth, and lifted an eyebrow. "So, could you be so kind as to just, scoot on out?"

[Angel Malcon]

That was when the little girl punched the female wolf in the face.

It was all Angel could do to keep from laughing. The girl showed a strong heart, with no fear whatsoever of the two (three, technically, as he was sure that she thought he was going to kill her as well) beings bent on killing her. She was very brave, yes...but also obviously very stupid. Still. She was worth saving, if it only took a trick of his sharp tongue.

The female looked incensed at such an abrupt attack. But the male sort of smiled.

"Do we really have to do this? I don't understand why you care so much to protect these humans all the time. We both need them for food, and is too much to ask for a little fresh meat every once and a while?

"I've never stopped one of your race from taking down a healthy human. I know you can't live off of vagrants and druggies your whole life.

"So, could you be so kind as to just, scoot on out?"

Angel had heard wolves bargain like this before. But, being a loyal member of Izan, he didn't make any kinds of deals with werewolves -- even over something as petty as the life of a human girl. A very brave human girl, but still nothing more than ordinary.

"It's none of your business how, when, or for what reason I protect humans," he said. He'd only just realized that was what he was doing. It was an odd thing for him to do; Angel had his own code, but it mostly involved being smart, not noble. "And I'm sure you can find a decent meal elsewhere. But not here. Not tonight."

He glanced over at the female, who still looked angry, but wouldn't attack until the male gave the go-ahead. He smirked evilly. "Now, if I were to let you go...how can you be sure that something won't happen to your little pet here? You can't be with her all the time. I'd hate to see such a pretty little mutt put down."

The malicious glimmer in his eye shone full force, and he knew that the male took his full meaning. He had a feeling that in the song-and-dance he was doing to save the little girl's life, he'd struck a right chord.

[myramichel]

WHACK.

Myra’s fist made contact with Meadhbh’s face precisely as planned. What she hadn’t planned for, however, was the unexpected reel of her body as she stumbled to the side. She felt her legs give way beneath her, as if her scant body weight had suddenly grown ten times heavier. Gravity doubled over; pulling her down towards the ground by some unseen force. This must be her true end; and a terribly ironic one given the circumstances. Instead of dying by the hands of supernaturals, she was probably going to die from blood-loss, or maybe even the cold. What a hero she was indeed.

As she fell onto her knees, her chest tightened. Myra was normally an Asthmatic; which meant that she needed an inhaler to aid her breathing when certain things gave her attacks. These could be panic attacks, anxiety attacks, or perhaps even allergy attacks – but whatever they were they could be detrimental if she didn’t have her medicine. Such was the case right now. Myra was bleeding and bruised; nearly close to escape, but paralyzed by the cold and her tightening chest. She couldn’t remember if she had her inhaler with her or if she had left it at home. It would be in her bag, but for some reason she couldn’t remember what happened to her purse before Meadhbh pinned her to that tree… Her journal, apparently, was completely forgotten. Breathing was far more important to think about. She focused on taking deep breaths; one, two, three… in deeply from the nose and exhaled through her mouth, fighting to stay conscious. Myra didn’t want to know what would happen if she let the exhaustion win.

In the midst of pacing herself and trying not to look at the blood that was still streaming from her face, Myra missed most of the words Angel had said. She assumed he was reasoning with the werewolves; or perhaps bargaining about who got to take the first bite. Surely her innocent life and healthy blood would be appealing to them; it was succulent and pure, undiluted by any foreign pollutants. She was practically a vampire’s dream.

Would Angel kill her? Would the werewolves? Or would she stay here in the cold and freeze to death as her wounds were numbed by the wind? Myra couldn’t tell at this point how anything would turn out. She was falling back, off her knees, to land against the ground as the tightening in her chest emanated throughout her body.

[Morrison Whelan]

The vampire's words were falling upon deaf ears. Morrison had heard this all before and nothing yet had ever phased him, not until, "Now, if I were to let you go...how can you be sure that something won't happen to your little pet here? You can't be with her all the time. I'd hate to see such a pretty little mutt put down." In the blood sucker's cold, sharp voice, it sounded like a very plausible threat, it sent the slightest shiver down the wolf's spine. Morrison had people talk about going after his life, after his families (which was actually very silly), and his reputation, but never had anyone cared about Meadhbh. She was quiet and usually seemed pathetic in the face of danger. He knew that she wasn't at all pathetic, but no one else saw her power.

He tried his hardest to keep the slight fear out of his eyes as he continued to stare at the vamp, and he didn't let his eyes drift at all toward Meadhbh, this would betray his need to protect her. "You think she's so helpless that she can't help herself?" he asked with a cocky smile. He wanted to say more, to threaten this man, but something he remembered stopped him, for this seemed like it would be foolish.

This leech had connections with some pretty high up people, he wasn't exactly sure who, though he guessed it was possibly people in Izan. But now, he started to doubt the sincerity of his threat against Meadhbh. If the vamp was indeed connected with Izan, he wouldn't want to go after a wolf just because they were trying to get a meal. This made that smile on his lips grow a bit wider and he was able to stop hiding his fear, as is was already starting to dissipate.

[kira]

Meadhbh was sure Morrison would be able to handle this. He was good with words and it was incredibly difficult to get under his thick defenses. He'd heard it all before.

"It's none of your business how, when, or for what reason I protect humans,"

Of course it knew why, it was just to aggravate a wolf. Certainly this vampire drank from enough healthy humans to keep himself looking so good (even though he was keeping her from a meal, she couldn't help but notice that he was, in fact, a little handsome).

"And I'm sure you can find a decent meal elsewhere. But not here. Not tonight." That was easy of course, but how many times after this would they also face the task of defending the right to their prey, it was just too much work when they already had the meat in front of them.

"Now, if I were to let you go...how can you be sure that something won't happen to your little pet here? You can't be with her all the time. I'd hate to see such a pretty little mutt put down." Meadhbh tensed up and her eyes flew to Morrison. He showed no sign that this had even registered with him. His body stayed in the same, relaxed position, his eyes didn't even turn to look at him, and while his smile was just a little shallower than before, it stayed firmly on his lips.

"You think she's so helpless that she can't help herself?" Meadhbh surely didn't think so, but she hadn't fought many vampires either. If this one showed up on her doorstep one evening, unannounced, or broke into her home, she had very little confidence in herself that she would be able to fight him off. He could even kill her in her sleep if he were quiet enough, and on his approach, she thought he could be silent on his feet.

She glanced at the vampire, back at Morrison, then back to the leech once again. Her friend showed no sign that he at all took this man's threat seriously, so she now tried to do the same. The vamp would see her previous fear, but now she put on a brave face, hoping to look as though she had decided to not be intimidated by this charade.

The human's existence had almost left her mind until she heard the girl's rasping breath. Meadhbh looked down at her, wondering if she had accidentally punctured her throat, and dropped down into a crouch. She wouldn't have done this, but she needed an excuse to look away from that vampire, his gaze unnerved her. The wolf touched the girl's neck softly with her fingers, smearing the bit of blood on it. Her throat felt tight, and she seemed to have trouble breathing but it wasn't from anything Meadhbh had done. Whatever was harming her reminded the wolf of her seizure attacks, but she wasn't going to anything to help the human, hoping that she might die from lack of oxygen and then the blood sucker would have no reason to hang around.

[Angel Malcon]

He heard her scratchy breath as though it were pounding in his head, and recognized the rasping from a friend he'd known at Cambridge University who'd suffered from the same affliction. Asthmatic? Really? This girl needed protecting more than this crazy-eyed male wolf needed serious psychiatric therapy. It was such a shame that she couldn't see it herself; it would've saved Angel a lot of grief already.

But it also meant that he was running out of time. If she died before he could get these two creeps away, his efforts would be for naught. And if all the effort he was putting into this was wasted, then you'd be hardpressed to find him trying to rescue another human again. Ever.

"You think she's so helpless that she can't help herself?"

Angel's smirk turned into a malicious and deadly sneer. "Well, she's not exactly the picture of independence, is she? She won't even move until you say 'go.'" He gave something like a chuckle, but with no humor in it. "But who knows what sorts of things could creep up on her? I have certain...talents, you know. And she doesn't seem so strong as you say -- she can barely take a punch from a little human girl...with asthma."



[[OOC: Okay, guys, we're moving in circles now, and Myra is about to suffocate to death...I was brought in so that Angel and Myra could have an interesting way of meeting, but they can't do that until she's safe (i.e., when Meadhbh isn't trying to rip her throat out) :P Also, sorry for the general suckiness of this post. Angel can only think and say so many clever things. lol]]

[myramichel]

When Meadbh moved closer to Myra, the human saw this as her chance. Morrison was too busy talking to Angel to pay attention to what was going on with his companion. She felt Meadhbh’s fingers move against her neck, checking to see the reason behind Myra’s raspy breathing. Whenever Meadhbh touched her, Myra smiled softly and curled her cold fingers around the woman’s forearm. “You’re better than this,” she whispered, beyond earshot of the other two. If she could get through to Meadhbh without Morrison’s fickle guidance, then perhaps she could save her own life. She didn’t need to sit around suffocating anymore or waiting for these supernaturals to divvy up her body parts. She’d handle this the only way she knew how; with her beautiful light from within.

“You are,” she repeated as Meadhbh most likely gave her an incredulous expression. “You probably,” she paused to inhale deeply, shakily, “You probably wonder why I didn’t fight back or run away. You probably think I’m stupid… perhaps even pathetic, should you wish to use my own words, but don’t you see the truth?” Myra’s face contorted in pain as she felt her chest clench tighter. She couldn’t calm herself down. “I’m not fast enough… I’m not strong enough,” she said with a slight shrug. “You would have caught me and I would have wasted precious time trying to escape the inescapable. I would have wasted energy, and I would have wasted hope…”

Myra’s fingers began to slip down Meadhbh’s arm, her grip weakening as the fire in her chest flared further. “You’re not a monster; it’s merely life that’s made you this way. But I see the good in you… even if no one else does. You could have easily killed me, right? But you didn’t... at least not yet. Why?” Myra’s whispers broke into another ragged breath and she shook her head once back and forth. “I don’t need an answer. I just know it’s in there. Isn’t it? The good in you? When you were once like me. He doesn’t control that part of you.” Smiling suddenly, Myra released a frail, quiet laugh. “I suppose this is me pleading for my life, isn’t it? Will you trust me? Our paths don’t have to be so violent. Everyone deserves forgiveness at one point or another… It doesn’t have to be like this.” Myra’s fingers fell to Meadhbh’s hand and she slipped trying to grip at the woman’s fingers, managing only to squeeze a few. She was buying time; for herself, for Angel, and even for the werewolves. Myra didn’t want anyone to die, not even her assailants. Hopefully Meadhbh would know what to do.

((OOC: Maybe this will work? Trying to talk sense to the werewolf that has it! Morrison undoubtedly won’t be reasoned with… but I’m sure Meadhbh and Myra are rather similar beyond the thirst one of them has to rip people apart XD))

[kira]

The touch of the woman's hand on her arm startled Meadhbh so that she fell back a little, almost toppling off of her feet, but she put a hand on the ground behind her to steady herself. “You’re better than this,” The were glanced up at the girl's face. She wasn't surprised by her words, but more by her bravery and her strength. There weren't many humans this confident to reason and stand up to the 'monsters' of the world, but Meadhbh had to respect the ones that did, even if it annoyed her to the point of ripping out her hair.

She continued to listen to the human's words silently, staring at the rough, dead earth between her feet. Very few of the things the girl said really touched the were, it was the way her hand moved that did. Her grip was weak, very weak, but it was defiant, and as her fingers slipped down around Meadhbh's, the were curled her own hand around them, without much noticing what she was doing.

Face slightly contorted with a look of pity, Meadhbh looked up at her former prey, now almost unable to breath. Compassion pulled at her heart, seeing this poor girl and noticing how alike she and the wolf were. Both plagued by disease that was onset by extreme stress and handicapped them so badly, and both so sick of being afraid that it was just easier to put on a brave face and confront the world.

Glancing now at the vampire would still stood a ways away, the wolf slowly stood, letting the human's hand drop from her own. She moved over to Morrison, now staring fixedly at a point beyond the vamp, his smile almost looking pained. She nudged his arm softly, making him look at her and gestured toward the girl, speaking in a very low whisper.

"We need to let her go, it's not worth it. You know we don't need the food and it's pointless to kill her and fight this leech," she half-nodded at the vampire, "And she's sick, it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of her like this."

The male were's smile faded from his lips and his expression grew stony. He glanced over at the vamp, at Meadhbh again, frowning, for what seemed like the first time since she had met him, then he turned on his heel to leave. Meadhbh could have thrown her hands in the air with exasperation, but she just felt defeated. He would probably find someone else to maim that night, to release his frustration, and she wouldn't want to be around him anymore.

She watched him until the night had nearly swallowed him then looked up at the vampire, shoulders slumping at the realization that she as now alone with him. She guessed that he would not pay her any attention to her if she stayed out of the way, wanting to tend the girl more urgently, but the slight, perpetual fear of being around strangers, especially those who had threatened her, still lingered.

Yet, she stayed and dropped down next to the human, rummaging around in her pockets for anything that might help her, but all she had was a knife and a few pills for her epilepsy. Her eyes drifted up at to the girl's face again and she was tempted to assure her that she was going to be fine, but she couldn't find her voice and all she could manage was a short lived smile.

((Poor Morry, but he needed to leave, he's too much of a hot head. ^_^))

[Angel Malcon]

It was obvious that this girl had been in a pinch or two before; she talked the female wolf into calming down and backing off her. She was so brave -- so stupid and brave and stupid again. She was being a hero by not running or leaving when the wolves gave her a chance. Angel wondered vaguely if she knew the real definition of "hero."

Because a hero is someone who gets themselves and other people killed.

The female looked to the male and told him it wasn't worth it. Odd, their relationship; she wouldn't kill without his go-ahead, but when she said no, it wasn't going to happen, he only pouted and stalked off. Their relationship reminded him of his own with his younger sister. Lily -- he hadn't seen her in a few years now. He shook her from his head and concentrated on what really mattered: the male was out of the picture.

He stepped forward and knelt beside the little human girl. He wasn't worried about the wolf; the male he'd been skeptical of, but he could fight and kill the female with little difficulty. The worst was over. He looked at the wolf as she rummaged in her pockets, and the look on her face told him she had nothing of any use.

What was it he had read, after his Cambridge friend had his asthma attack during a football game, and didn't have his inhaler? Angel had been so scared by the experience that he'd gone online and looked up emergency asthma treatments that very night. That was long before he'd been Changed into a vampire -- even Angel's memory wasn't perfect. But he did remember three of the slew: steam. Caffeine. Allergy medication.

He could get her all of those if he could get her back to his apartment. So he made an executive decision.

"Listen to me," he said to her. His own voice sounded quiet next to her wheezing breath, but he knew she could hear him just fine. "My apartment building is only a few blocks from here. I can help you there. I'm not going to hurt you."

He had a feeling she didn't care whether he did or not. She wasn't showing fear even in the face of her affliction.

Without waiting for her consent (he didn't really care to wait for it, either; he'd be damned if he'd just had a standoff with a couple of wolves just to watch her die), he slipped his left arm around her waist and his right under her knee, and picked her up. She was just a wisp of a thing, lighter than she actually was because of his strength. He looked at the female wolf.

"I don't need you wolves knowing where I live," he said. "I appreciate you doing what you did...but if you follow me, I'll kill you."

He made sure she knew he wasn't kidding, but he didn't wait around for her response before he was off. He couldn't run -- that would jostle the girl way too much -- but he could move at a sort of half-jog that was better than walking. They rounded the corner to his building and he got them inside, taking the stairs up three flights and finally getting to his apartment. It wasn't much, a one-bedroom bachelor pad, but he tried to keep it well-maintained.

The bathroom was right next to the door to his bedroom, and he went right into it and sat the girl down on the toilet (covered, of course, with its lid) which was right next to the bathtub. He reached over to the tap and turned up the hot water all the way. Steam.

"Stay here," he said nonchalantly, and walked into the small kitchen. In the refridgerator, sitting between a few packets of blood, were two Red Bulls his friends had brought over and left. He grabbed them and started to look through the cabinet where he held miscelaneous things they also needed sometimes when they were over -- didn't he have some Benadryl in here? No -- he thought he did, but he didn't. These would have to do.

He went back into the bathroom, where some steam had already accumulated, and handed the girl the Red Bulls. "Drink these," he said. "They'll help."

Absently, he looked to the medicine cabinet. He knew he had some bandages in there, gauz -- he'd been hurt on the job before and had to make do to avoid being seen at hospitals. He could patch her up, but the asthma was the first priority. It had to be.



[OOC: Eugh, sorry about the rather godmoddy nature of this post...but one thing didn't make sense without the other, and bam...I'm a bad person. I'll change it if you want me to.]

[myramichel]

Myra stared ahead of herself, studying the sky above as she tried to control her breathing. Each breath felt like a hot ember burning in the back of her throat; flaring so strong that her lips were forced to part in desperation for air. She sucked in the oxygen greedily, panting for more, and as soon as the ember cooled there was another flame - stronger than before - that immediately sprang into being. Myra dug her fingertips into the ground as she wrestled with the pain. The ember had flared from her throat to her chest, increasing the sting that was already claimed by her lungs. She squeezed her eyes shut, cutting the moonlight and stars from her vision, and hoping beyond all hope that her merit in Meadhbh’s sensibility had not been misplaced.

When the were-woman fumbled backwards in surprise to Myra’s touch, the girl could only smile. Words were superfluous at this point. She had said all she needed to say, and did all she could possibly do, which meant that Time was the true master of her fate now. Meadhbh had been defeated by the compassion that Myra was banking on; compassion that created a gamble with Myra’s life at the stakes. She was risking everything on the belief that some part of Meadhbh - perhaps deep down and inherent - was still a functioning human being. When the were-woman finally gave Myra’s hand a small squeeze, the girl realized that she’d been right. Meadhbh was submitting to Myra’s pathetic display, she was empathizing with her situation; and most importantly, she was being humane. The were-woman dropped the girl’s hand and walked over to her companion, whispering something to him that Myra couldn’t focus on. Within moments the man left with an expression that was incredibly sour. Meadhbh returned to Myra’s side and tried to think of ways to help the girl, she even checked her pockets for something useful to use, but her actions were in vain. There was nothing she could do.

The vampire had been so menacing, so silent and deliberate, that Myra had nearly forgotten he was there. She no longer believed he meant to make a meal out of her, since upon getting the were-woman’s companion out of the way it would have been so easy. Instead, she thought he might actually be trying to help her. The idea seemed preposterous, of course, but each minute that passed and she remained alive proved its validity. He came over to her now - evenly-matched and determinable - with such prowess that it captivated her attention in a heartbeat. "Listen to me,” he said in a voice so quiet it reminded her of a lullaby. "My apartment building is only a few blocks from here. I can help you there. I'm not going to hurt you.” She half-nodded to him, half-lolled her head, and heaved a deep breath in response. After expending so much energy on the control of her breathing she barely had enough vigor left for speech. Despite the breathlessness, however, she suspected that Angel’s hearing was exceptional and that he would sense her complete lack of apprehension towards him.

When he picked up her body she immediately sank into his arms, granting him access to carry her. She was simply too tired to fight. Her limbs went limp, dangling like the flimsy appendages of a marionette, and knocking lifelessly against his body. She couldn’t hear him when he looked up and spoke to the were-woman one last time, her mind was already wandering; she was floating away, joining the recesses of thought that focused solely on the comfort of Angel’s embrace. She was safe there. He would help her. She’d wake up in the morning and tally off yet another day that Death had been defeated.

Angel moved quickly as he carried Myra from Hyde Park and brought her to his living quarters. She closed her eyes and pretended she was soaring, swirling through the abyss of space that man could never fathom. Since her body was secure in Angel’s grip she didn’t feel too jostled, but his speed coupled with her wounds and ragged breathing was beginning to give her a pounding headache. She squeezed her eyes shut in opposition to the pain, trying not to think about it, and willing her blood to stop for fear of enticing Angel’s lesser good. He was a vampire after all. No matter how many human qualities he may seem to posses he would still need to feed off human blood to survive. She shivered at the thought, then from the cold, and looked up just in time to see the entrance to Angel’s apartment building. Her vision became disoriented as they blurred up the stairs, and only balanced once Angel had carried her into the bathroom and sat her down on the toilet. Before she had a chance to speak he told her “Stay here” and fiddled with the bathtub’s faucet until hot water was pouring from the tap. She bit her lip, unable to argue, and curiously watched as he swept from the room.

When Angel returned he would find her in almost the same exact position as he had left her in: back leaning against the top of the toilet, eyes now closed, mouth partially agape, and arms dangling loosely by her sides. The steam had intensified her exhaustion, so she had no choice but give into it. For some reason, despite being in the presence of a vampire, she felt completely relaxed.

His words woke her before his quiet presence did and she blinked at him sleepily while holding her hand out. “Energy drinks?” she mumbled, unable to comprehend why a vampire would need such a thing. She looked at him curiously, momentarily forgetting about the burning in her chest and wondering about him instead. “But don’t you…?” She began to say, pausing when she didn’t know how to phrase it. Drink blood? Sustain off human life? Kill humans for food? “Don’t you need these?” She knew it was a stupid question; a terribly quaint way of getting him to admit what he truly was: a murderer. But for some unimaginable reason, whether he admitted to it or not, she felt like she could trust him. The steam was making her breathe easier and the change of atmosphere had all but relieved her stress. She shifted awkwardly, wondering if she was becoming a burden. “I feel better. I should go.”

(( OOC: Yay! You're alive!!! ))