fenriksblade

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik looked at her, as if examining her. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her, though it was hard to consolidate what he knew to be true, with what she was experiencing. He also wasn’t trying to be dismissive, and more trying to figure out what he could do. Fenrik’s manner of resolving most things was simply to get rid of the problem. Supernatural and ghosts, though, were a little bit different. 

“That’s okay,” he said. His voice was lower, not quite as harsh as he normally was. “I’m just trying to figure out what to do here. I’m not exactly knowledgeable about ghosts or that kind of magic.” He paused. “How often? Is it all the time or is it just when you’re out and about? When you’re alone? With people?”

"I don't know." It had been an instinct. When she couldn't ignore the man anymore, when she couldn't pretend seeing him was just a coincidence. The only solution she could think of was going to the compound and finding Fenrik.

She didn't know what she wanted. Taking care of the problem -- that wasn't her. But he'd been there that day. Taken care of it then. "I'm just --" her voice cracked. Things became more real when you voiced them. "I'm scared."

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik gave her a look. “I don't fucking know. Do I look like a fucking ghostbuster to you?" He ran a hand over his face. "Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do?” he said, able to hear the exasperation in her voice. “I mean, you’re telling me for a reason, I assume. Are you asking for my help? For me to see if I can take care of the problem?”

Dawn felt frustrated, obvious in the exasperated way she answer, "I don't know Fenrik. If he's dead then how is he following me." She was scared. Of course she was. She felt like she always looking over her shoulder.

[fenriksblade]

“Pretty fucking sure,” said Fenrik with a nod. “Suppose if we were dealing with vampires, then might’ve been a different story, but I’m also pretty fucking positive they weren’t vampires.” He tilted his head. “You said someone bumped into him? So, we’re not talking about an actual ghost?”

"No. He's not -- it's not like some boogie man at the end of my bed. It's like -- I'll be out, and I see him. And then when I look again he's still there. I even saw someone bump into him once. I don't --" Dawn let out a frustrated sigh. She had to ask the question she really didn't want to, feeling sick just thinking of the words. "Are you sure he's dead?"

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik would have to take her word for it, because he obviously wouldn’t know about the experience. He knew the culture existed, but he couldn’t say more than that. He didn’t say anything more about that. Instead, he observed her, as if trying to see what she saw through her description. 

He picked up his own mug. “When does it happen?” he asked. “I mean, do you see this man now?” He looked around as if he might suddenly be able to see the man, too. “Or is it only sometimes? Right before bed? When it’s dark out? When you’re stressed?” 

"I don't know," she curled her hands around the mug and drew it towards her, more for comfort than anything. She wouldn't be drinking it. "Fans are different. Even the -- more eager ones. You can see the excitement. Or they're like, nervous." She'd been famous long enough that could speak so matter of factly about it.

"This guy he -- I don't know. Had none of that. And he looked exactly the same." There was no need to say that the dead mans face would be etched into her memory forever.

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik listened. Sure, there was magic on the island, but even magic had its rules that it followed. There were definitely rules and logical explanations for just about everything, and it was those rules and logic he firmly believed in. 

“So, you think you’re seeing a ghost?” asked Fenrik, just to confirm he was understanding what she was saying. “You sure it’s not some sort of stalker? Crazy fan?” He brought over two mugs of coffee and sat down, placing one in front of Dawn. She could choose to drink it or not, didn't matter to him.

"Great. That's -- great." It wasn't unsurprising, despite the fact they lived somewhere with werewolves and mermaids and vampires, but it sure made it harder to get Fenrik on board with the fact that she thought she was being haunted by the man he killed in front of her. But how else could she put it? "I don't know. I -- I keep getting this feeling I'm being watched. And I keep seeing this one man. Like I'm being followed or something. But he -- well, he looks exactly like that one -- the one who attacked me here. Kind of feel like I'm going a bit crazy." She couldn't bring herself to mention the mans death. She was sure Fenrik knew who she was talking about.

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik looked at her, and snorted slightly. “Do I look like I believe in spirits that linger on earth for no reason as if this fucking cesspool of a shit place gave people a reason to hang around? No,” he said. “I don’t. If you believe in ghosts, you should probably keep that to myself,” he told her. “Why do you ask?” He put on a pot of coffee now, the smell of coffee brewing suddenly permeating the space, taking over the linger smell of oil.

Dawn didn't bother to hide the roll of her eyes at Fenrik's response, long having learned exactly what the man was like. Which is why the blunt response that may have once upset her rolled off her back. She knew it wasn't her at all - it was just Fenrik. Which was also why she didn't beat around the bush when she asked, "Do you believe in ghosts?"

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik had mostly kept busy over the summer months by working on the cars that came through his garage. It had been an uneventful few months. Besides, before he could do anything with his ultimate goal when it came to avenging his family, he thought it might not be a bad idea to lie low until he could come up with a plan of action and for now, that meant just doing his work. 

“Of course I’m here,” said Fenrik, standing at the sink in the kitchenette area of the Compound and rinsing his hands of some grime and oil. “Where else would I be?” After all, Fenrik didn’t exactly have an electric social life. 

When: 30th October Where: The Compound Who: @fenriksblade

It had started early in the summer, when Dawn was throwing herself into her training as a distraction from what had happened with the men at the compound - from those dead eyes that had stared into her. Of course, work was never an appropriate distraction, she knew that more than most. But it was when she started to see those very familiar eyes, the dead ones that had since been haunting her, she felt like she was going crazy. She ignored it, she had to. But as the warm months went on and she tried to live out her life she couldn't help the unnerving feeling she was being watched. And that man --

As she entered the kitchen of The Compound, she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good. You're here."

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik lifted an eyebrow at her mention of having a camera for a dog. He didn’t say anything, choosing to simply move back into the area of the compound that constituted his workshop. It was here he turned on the forge where he shaped steel into blades. Taking off his shirt, he picked up a piece of metal, and put it into the forge before he pulled out the white hot metal and used it to cauterize the stab wound. It’d be fine by tomorrow. 

“Let’s hope they’re small enough to back off,” he said. With that, he moved to the door that was inconspicuous that led to the apartment he lived out of. For now, he would worry about what to do about this later and for now, he would focus on cleaning not just himself up, but the bodies that lay just outside as well.

the end.

Whilst there was security sometimes, at games, at appearances, she didn't have private security. She wasn't Taylor Swift, after all. She could go a lot of places and mind her own business. Or if she was somewhere where she'd attract more attention, often those places had a guard of their own. Besides, she loved meeting fans. Most of the time, anyway. There'd been some creeps. She'd finished caring to Fenrik's wound the best she could, placing everything down and moving over to the sink to wash the blood off her hands. His, the dead mans outside. Was any of her own in the mix? She didn't think so. "I don't. I've got some cameras, but that's more for -- well, for the dog than anything." She'd never, not once, felt unsafe in her home. "This is ust -- great."

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik shrugged. ”They might think you’re involved in the gang. They might think you’re someone I care about. Who the fuck knows,” he said. “However, you’re a high profile personality,” he reminded her, “and you do come in and out of here. A lot. More than any customer I would have. Anyone who might be trying to keep tabs on me has probably seen you coming and going and I’m sure connections have already been made as far as who you are,” he pointed out. 

“I mean, do you have security? Just have them be more vigilant. And if you don’t, well, I’ll try to figure what the fuck is happening. Fuck,” he muttered as he ran a hand over his face. Fenrik could only hope that she didn’t need to actually be careful and that whoever these guys were had done their homework well enough to know that Dawn was not involved. However, at the same time they might also use her for leverage if they were smart. It wasn’t as if Fenrik would allow them to hurt her if they tried the tactic of threatening her. Just because they weren’t best friends, didn’t mean he’d simply let that happen. Even when he’d used Nehir, as dirty of a trick as that may have been, he had done all he could to try and make sure they didn’t hurt her.

She simply nodded, doing just that. Maybe she would have made a good nurse after all. Dawn tried to remain focused on the task at hand, in and out with the thread, already it was healing in that almost magical way a redcap could. She looked up, only momentarily. “They might think I’m involved?” It felt absurd. The closest thing Dawn had ever done to a crime was, well, she supposed breaking that dead man’s ribs. She’d never even had a parking ticket before.

[fenriksblade]

“Yeah,” grunted Fenrik. “Just sew it up, make sure it closes up.” He nodded. “Sure, but for something I didn’t do. And they might not be as big as the people who actually have beef with me,” he said. “Someone else has to have pointed them in my direction. Hopefully losing four, five people is a big enough hit to not try it again,” he sighed. He didn’t feel like having to contend with this new problem all of a sudden. He supposed that was a hazard of what he did.

He also realized Dawn may have accidentally been dragged into this. “I’d be careful if I were you,” he added as he glanced back at her.

Dawn knew how to sew, but she’d, obviously, never done stitches into someone’s skin before. But now was not the time to waver. As she removed the bullet, she took a few steadying breaths before grabbing the needle, making sure she sanitised the wound first. “Is that okay?” She asked, wincing as she started. She was glad she had a task to focus on though, as Fenrik talked. She didn’t know much about the business of the compound, and she was more than happy to remain ignorant about the finer details. But she was standing here, cleaning Fenrik’s wounds, covered in the blood of a dead man. “Well, it seemed worth it if they came here to try and hurt you.”

[fenriksblade]

“You think you can sew it up once you get the bullet out?” Fenrik asked as he picked up some thread and a needle so that she could sew him up and make sure he didn’t bleed out once she did remove it. 

“Not necessarily,” said Fenrik. “We don’t deal with big mob bosses or mafias.” At least Fenrik tried not to. The fact that he had recently gotten mixed up in a rather large gang of werewolf hunters who had murdered his family as well as Nehir and the mob boss she was schmoozing were unusual. “Recently, though, I may have ruffled a few feathers of a few people. We’re too small time for most of them to deal with, though. It’s not worth it for them.”

Dawn knew a bit about Redcap's pain tolerance. It was one of the main things she'd taken on from her dad. That, and her strength. So thats why she was, perhaps, less gentle than she should have been removing the bullet. But also, she reasoned, the more she poked the higher the change she messed it all up. No, she had to get in and out quickly.

"That's -- do this sort of thing happen to you a lot?" She had to worry. She knew Fenrik could handle himself, but Yseult was the most important person to her. If something happened --

[fenriksblade]

“Alright, then,” he said at her reassurance. He leaned forward so that she might be able to better see the wonder on his back. He was looking down at his arms to see if maybe he had other injuries he hadn’t noticed just yet. His incredible tolerance for it, meant that sometimes he might be hurt and not realize it. 

“Nope,” he said. “I have my guesses, but they weren’t familiar to me.” His jaw clenched. “I’ve pissed off powerful people. If I had to guess, someone is framing me, though. Someone who either doesn’t want to risk their own people going after me– or us– or someone who considers themselves too powerful and important to bother using their resources.”

Ironically, Dawn wasn't really squeamish when it came to blood. After all, she'd had multiple surgeries, and then there was the whole vampire attack. "I'll be okay." If she hadn't followed her dreams to a career of professional spot, Dawn was sure that she would have fallen into one that involved helping people. She loved the bakery, she loved the idea of what her brother did too. She helped people with her current job, in its own special way. But it was always her helping patch up scraped knees when there was no parents around.

Still, once she washed her hands and returned, she winced at the wound on Fenrik's back, because a gun was a lot different to her cousins scraped knee. She looked down at the first aid kit, finding the tweezers and getting to work.

"You really don't know who those men were?"

[fenriksblade]

“I’ll take care of them later,” grunted Fenrik at her concerns. “Not gonna do me any good to try and drag the bodies to get rid of them and bleed out in the middle of it.” Besides, he wasn’t sure if Dawn wanted to actually know how he intended to take care of it. The nice thing about dabbling in the art of blade smithing was that he had a forge that would easily incinerate a human body. The bad thing, though, was it wasn’t large enough for an entire body and would have to be done in pieces. 

Fenrik glanced back at her offer. “You gonna be able to handle it without getting sick or freaking out?” he asked her. More than that, though, he didn’t want to add to everything she had already seen. 

“Come over here,” he said to her. “Did I get shot in the back?” he asked her. “You can start there and try to pull the bullet out. I think I feel something here,” he said as he pulled his shirt up slightly. “Clean your hands and if you’re gonna get sick, don’t even try. I don’t need to get an infection because you couldn’t fucking hold it together.” 

Dawn followed, looking around wildly. Maybe there would be more. Or worse. Maybe some poor old lady would be walking her dog and turn the corner, just to find all the bodies. She hurried to catch up with him, hissing, "What about them? We can't just leave them out there." Or maybe they could? She wasn't the expert. She was running on adrenaline now, and her body hadn't caught up to the fact the danger was gone. It felt similarly to how she felt before a big game.

Once inside she hovered, perhaps awkwardly, by the kitchen bench, right next to her half unpacked bag. The food was still warm. For the sake o something to do, she began to pack it all away, glancing up at Fenrik where he was cleaning himself up. The wound on his shoulder didn't look any better cleaned, in fact it looked worse.

"Can I -- do you need some help?"

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik was still panting. “I’ll be fine,” he said as he shook his head. “We’re two feet away from the compound and I’ve got plenty of first aid supplies.” Of course, that was assuming Dawn was willing to come back. He wouldn’t blame her if she simply decided to leave and never come back. He could tell that she was shaken and this would likely be a dark mark on her psyche for possibly years to come, a different sort of trauma to losing her husband. He also wouldn’t blame her if she changed her mind about him. 

“I’m gonna head back,” he amended, “before I bleed out.” Just because redcaps were good with pain and injury, didn’t mean they still weren’t privy to the usual risks of the injury themselves. He started to walk back to the compound looking far worse than he felt as he left behind bloody footprints in the gravel. He also thought he could use a drink while he was at it.

He went the same way they had come, through the door that led into the garage, still leaving behind a trail as he did so. Once he got into the kitchen he began to dig through the various medical supplies that were kept on hand. He found solutions to clean the wounds out, tweezers, thread, gauze and more. Once he found the supplies, he turned on the sink and started to rinse the blood off.

Dawn braced herself for the impact. The broken bone, the gun shot, worse? She wasn't sure what was about to come for her, as the man loomed over. But nothing came.

The silence that followed that final gun shot sounded louder than the fighting. Maybe it was the ringing in her ears, or the beating of her heart. Maybe it was the thud as the man who had hit her slumped to the ground and began to bleed out, only inches away from her. She was frozen though, and knew the blood had already stained her dress. And now she was staring up at Fenrik.

Was it over already? Less than ten minutes ago, it felt, she'd been parking her car. And now multiple men were on the floor around her, dead. And yet she still found she trusted him. "I --" of course she wasn't, but she was barely injured. Bruised, at the worst. She nodded, taking in Fenrik's injuries as she finally shook herself out of it and stood, putting distance between herself and the body.

"You're not."

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik had managed to disarm the man he tackled, the gun having fallen from his grip. They were simply wrestling with each other, hand to hand combat. Despite Fenrik’s years spent at the fight club, it was still an evenly matched battle. The redcap stumbled back as he was headbutted which allowed the man enough time to pull the knife he had and lunged at Fenrik. The knife was lodged just below his clavicle. He looked down at it, before he pulled it out and then used the weapon to slit his attacker’s throat, the man collapsing where he’d been stopped. 

Fenrik was quick to pick up the gun that had fallen and shoot the other two he had disarmed just before all hell had broken loose. Two point blank headshots right in their foreheads. It also allowed him the opportunity to retrieve the ax that had lodged itself in the thigh of one man and the dagger that had found its way into the stomach of the other. 

Thankfully that meant there was only one attacker left. Fenrik walked over to where the last man had thrown Dawn to the ground. “Big mistake,” he said, deciding to put him out of his misery with a gunshot to the head.

As soon as he was down, Fenrik unloaded the gun and dropped it to the ground. The only good thing he could say was that at least they were nearby the compound still. “You alright?” he asked between deep breaths and pants, spitting some blood from his mouth. He had a hand pressed over the stab wound on his chest to stem the flow of blood. He also was pretty sure he’d been shot at some point too.

But of course, what was staying down going to do when it was four versus one? Dawn had no doubt that Fenrik could handle them, if they were all going for him, but before she knew it, she felt someone grab her by the hair, pulling her backwards. The words they'd exchanged had been a blur, drugs, theft, Dawn had no idea and she didn't care to know. She loved to live in blissful ignorance, even though the horrors of the island she called home seemed desperate to get her attention.

But the man who had grabbed her had a gun, and Fenrik was already fighting off the others. It was without much thought that she brought the wrench up and with all her strength slammed it backwards. She spun around as the man let her go, and she could see the surprise on his face morphed with pain, and the strength behind her hit. "Leave, me, alone," she gasped, whacking him again.

She heard a sickening crunch, but she hadn't aimed to kill, she hadn't aimed for much, other than to get him away. That would be a blessing in the future. As evil as someone may be, Dawn was already a broken being. A death on her hands would perhaps break her beyond repair.

The man clutched his side as he stumbled, she'd obviously broken a rib or two, but it hadn't been enough to knock him down completely, his look of surprise shifted completely to anger. "You fucking bitch," he grabbed her, throwing her to the ground.

[fenriksblade]

“Got it,” grunted Fenrik. He could tell that it was far beyond the scope of what she was equipped to deal with. However, given that he could already hear footsteps heading their way, he didn’t have time to try and calm her down and keep her from panicking or spiraling or whatever she might have been going through. That would have to be an issue for later once they were out of harm’s way. When it came down to it, it was kill or be killed and Fenrik was only doing the former to prevent the latter. 

Wiping the blade of the ax on his jeans of blood, they were already surrounded by four more men. “Hey, you know, I’d really appreciate it if you could just let us go on our way,” he said. “Or tell me why you’re here.” 

Once again, they had guns pointed at them. Fenrik also spotted knives on their person. “Playing dumb won’t get you out of this, you know,” said one of them. 

“Well, what will get me out of this?” asked Fenrik. “Or you could just shoot us and get it over with.” 

All the men looked at each other, almost as if asking if that’s what they ought to do, but then they focused back on their targets. “You can just tell us where the drugs you stole are. And then we might decide to forgive you. Or just shoot you and not her.” 

Fenrik looked genuinely confused. It wasn’t that he hadn’t stolen drugs before. He certainly had, but the gang he’d done that to, knew he’d blown up their supply. This had also been months ago and it seemed a bit late to be retaliating. “Remind me again, when exactly did I do this?” 

“Couple weeks ago.” 

“I think you’ve got the wrong guy,” Fenrik went on. The conversation only grew more baffling as it went on. “And I do mean you’ve got the wrong guy because I’m not even in the drug business. Nor do I know who you fucks are, so why the fuck would I steal drugs?” 

“You tell us. You either give us the drugs back or take a bullet through the brain. I suggest the next words you tell us are a location, because if not…” Fenrik could see the way his finger put pressure on the trigger to make his point. 

Fenrik nodded. He took hold of Dawn’s wrist. “Guess we’ll take the bullet.” And as he said the words, he was already diving to the ground and pulling Dawn down with him. He heard their guns firing and only hoped they hadn't been hit. Well, more her than him. He'd be alright. He also made sure to throw his ax just before he hit the ground, already pulling the knife out of his pocket and taking him at one of the other men. “Stay down unless you decide to make yourself useful,” he grunted at Dawn before he was back on his feet running at one of the men he hadn't already taken down and tackling him.

Dawn followed, mind racing a million a minute as they made their way through the back of the garage. She'd just come over for dinner - she was having such a good day. What was going on?

She was so trapped in her own thoughts that she barely noticed Fenrik stop, stumbling backwards as she registered the man with the gun pointed at them. The wrench that had felt so comforting before now felt ridiculous, like she was a child with a water gun. The words that were exchanged between the two never registered over the roaring in her ears, everything felt blurry until the glint of the axe swinging through the air.

Thankfully, the scream caught in her throat. She was unable to look away from the man in front of them, not as the gun went off, not when he fell to the floor, guts spilling out onto the ground. She thought she might be sick. She was definitely going to be sick. Her hand came up to cover her mouth, but miraculously she held it together. If she spoke, she wasn't sure what would come out, but at Fenrik's question, she was finally able to rip wide eyes away from the body and meet his. She wasn't good, not in the slightest, but she nodded anyway.

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik nodded at her answer. “Good. Stick close by. Stay behind me. Stay alert.” Fenrik turned his back to her as he moved deeper into the garage to exit out a back door. He’d left the music on so the sounds of Muse still drifted throughout the compound, though there was still something quiet that hung in the air. He reached back to grab the ax he had and gripped it as he pushed against the door.

Outside, Fenrik wasn’t surprised to find that there was already someone there, a gun pointed at them. Despite the fact that he had an ax and knife and Dawn a wrench, Fenrik didn’t look particularly rattled. “Hey, if you could just move, we’ll be on our way,” he said. 

The other man sneered. “Haven’t you ever heard you shouldn’t bring a knife to a gunfight?” he said as he jerked his head to indicate the ax that Fenrik held out his side. 

Fenrik looked down at the ax in his hand. “Personally, I’d rather be me than you. Shooting a gun, your heart racing, your adrenaline pumping, even just a slight jerk of your hand and you’ll be off target. Most people don’t even die from the initial gun shot but from bleeding out. This ax though.” He held it up, a finger moving over the curve of the blade. “It’s precise. If you know exactly where to put it, you’ll always hit your mark. More personal, too. I like to see the light leave my victim’s eyes.” 

“Yeah? Let’s go. See how close you get before I blow your head off.” 

Fenrik had already lunged forward before the man had finished talking. There was a shot as the gun went off, but Fenrik had already closed the gap, catching the man’s hand so that the gun was pointed skyward and in nearly the same instant he had plunged the ax into his abdomen, blood spilling. He was able to take the gun from the man’s hands as a result, and dug his ax deeper into him, before pulling it upward, his insides falling out before Fenrik stepped back so that he fell forward.

He looked back at Dawn. "You good?" Not that they'd have too much time to talk. The man had friends.

The wrench was actually comforting in her hand. Solid and heavy, the weight of it gave her something to focus on. She blinked up at Fenrik. Maybe they knew different sides to her cousin, but the side Dawn knew? Her first instinct would never be to cause violence. Redcap or not. She was even less against it than Dawn was (after all, Dawn wasn't against a fight if it was warranted). But as she looked at the man in front of her, who she had known many years, who's puzzle pieces were slowly slotting together yet who still remained such a mystery to her, she found there was only one answer. "Yes."