kellybites

[kellybites]

( @nolanxthatcher -- Kelly's apartment in the middle of the night )

When the doorbell finally rings, Kelly jumps to her feet, nervous like always. Rushing over the door, the redhead attempts to fix her freshly curled hair, running her fingers through the strands. She wants to make a good first impression -- not that it really matters, but maybe it will, someday.

"Hi!", Kelly beams when she rips the door open, still not quite used to the newfound strength, "I'm so glad you showed up! Come in, come in!", she ushers, "I was told you could like, supply me with blood. I don't really like drinking human blood when it comes from torture, when people get hurt and animals shouldn't get hurt either, and someone told me that you were the right guy, then!" Smiling big time, Kelly fixes her shirt, "I recently got hurt and haven't really healed due to me not drinking like, anything. So I was kind of... told to call you."

[kellybites]

"...Maybe?", Kelly answers, smile forced, because obviously -- she hasn't. She lives on as little blood as possible, anyways -- the reason it takes her so long to heal, the reason she's always a little more weak, a little more fragile. There's no good options, to her, only animals that get killed forcefully, and humans that are mostly forced, too. "I don't want anyone to get hurt.", she points out, "I'm fine like this."

Kelly takes out a box of small phials, all perched up in cardboard, and holds it in his direction. "I carry it around for kids, when I'm working and they need something to be grounded. You could always ask a witch to get an enchanted necklace or something. One that opens when your heartbeat picks up, or something." The redhead closes the cupboard, turns back to face him and sighs.

"Malcolm, what you did to her was terrible, there's no denying. You should apologize. You definitely should. Maybe shoot her with a text, and ask her if she's feeling ready to see you, or if she'd prefer a call, or if she'd prefer me to stick around, too." One hand finds his upper arm, "I'm sure she'll understand. She seemed lovely. I made sure she gets back home safe."

Wolves are friends made his eyes roll, but he would take her answer at what it was for now. "Have you at least drank human blood since you were injured?" Malcolm asked, looking at her pointedly as they both knew it would help heal her faster but she didn't like to do it.

He listens to her words, each and every one of them, and he has a hard time believing them. Malcolm was sure that she would hate him forever, regret ever meeting him. Despite everything, it still surprised him that she was saying it and seemingly meaning it. "I hate that I did this to you, but I don't hate getting you by my side for eternity." Mal sighed, "I hate arguing with you too, Kel. I'm sorry." He apologised softly.

"Ammonia?" The male asked, brows furrowed as he watched her searching through the cupboard and the left over vials. "I guess that it could work, should work, even. I suppose it just depends if I'm too far gone to have the foresight to take it out and use it." As she mentions Freyja, he freezes, chewing on his lower lip. "I—... No, no I haven't. I didn't think it was a good idea to. You think it's a good idea to? She most likely never wants to see me again."

[kellybites]

( @nsilocastillon -- Anemonia Gaming and Teahouse late, at night )

With accomplices and wrangling schedules, Kelly is proud to be back at working as a detective assistant -- even if only at night. She's made up some weird lies, about studying at Uni to broaden her field of knowledge, giving classes to children that are deaf or hard of hearing, and some mumbled things about wanting to spend some more time with her boyfriend, too. Her boyfriend, who isn't really her boyfriend. Or maybe he is?

Whatever, Kelly thinks, simply because his scent still sticks to his shirt, which she's wearing. "Port Leiry Police, I'm Kelly Kane, Detective assistant.", Kelly introduces herself to the bouncer with a quick badge flash, "Is there someone in charge around I could ask a few questions to? We're currently working on a cold case, and a few connections lead to your place. Nothing you should worry about, though." She gives her most, reassuring smile, "That possible?"

[kellybites]

"I could see it in his eyes. He was scared, he wasn't himself. So unless you wanna go back and try to sniff the ground off to find my scent mixed with his, then no, no hints for you. Sorry." The last word comes off rather snippy than anything else, and Kelly wrinkles her nose. "Wolves are friends."

A beat passes, in which Kelly sorts her words out, "I don't regret dating you, or letting you in my life, or letting you drink my blood. I don't hate the way my life is now, except for maybe the lack of sunbathing, but I bought this stupid lamp for that, that simulates it." Her laugh is weak, but soft, "I don't hate being a vampire. It means I get to piss you off for quite literally eternity, and don't have to leave you behind when I'm fifty and wrinkly and whatever." Beat, "I hate arguing with you. I don't want to fight."

She takes both of his hands and looks him in the eye, "What about carrying Ammonia around? You can smell it, and it covers every other smell. At least to humans. I used to carry it around, for my flashbacks, when I got them after my accident. I think I still have some around. Come on, lets try." The redhead drags him by the hand, opens a cupboard and starts searching for leftover phials, "Did you talk to Freyja yet?"

Her words felt like a slap in the face, but he knew it was a very much deserved one. "So, no one uh, no one came looking for you? No run ins with any other vampires or anything in that time?" Malcolm had wondered often if anyone from his vampire family had sought Kelly out, but he assumed that she would have mentioned it by now if it was the case. He didn't know whether to be thankful or not that they hadn't. "The wolf that helped you was friendly, the one that attacked you clearly isn't, Kel. You're not going to give me a description, or a name? Nothing?" He hated not knowing who had hurt her, not knowing who he needed to target and ensure they knew not to touch what was his again. He supposed she knew that.

"You think if I had known it had worked you'd have been on your own? I didn't leave you on your own on purpose, Kelly, you know that." He snapped back, trying his best to keep the anger out of his voice because in reality, it was himself that he was angry at. He stepped away and she stepped with him, causing him to sigh deeply. He hated this, hated fighting with her, hated what he'd done to her. Then she's against him, and arms unfold without a fight as he looks to their hands. I love you, too he signs back, chewing on his lower lip.

"I've been this way for a long time, a vampire, nothing has helped, Kel. I stay off the vein as long as I can and I manage to control it, but something happens and I snap." Malcolm sighed, eyes meeting hers. "And if I can smell blood, I just... I snap." It wasn't fair that she was dealing with this on top of her newfound species change, but it wasn't something that he'd ever been able to help, and he didn't know how to manage it.

[kellybites]

"It's what?" Kelly's eyes soften into a more anxious expression, at the mention of a wolf's bite being deadly. "No, I did not know. How would I know, with my sire leaving me behind in a forest to fend for my own." The redhead had an intention -- hot make-up sex, but with what he's saying, the only thing he's making her, is upset. "Not all wolves are animals. Wolves are friendly. When I was sobbing over dead animals in a forest, it was a wolf that helped me get over my fears, it was a wolf that helped me bury it, and it was a wolf that killed for me, so I could eat. Don't generalize."

Angry, Kelly's cheeks match the color of her hair, though much paler than they used to be. "You know what? No, you're right, I'm actually not okay. Not okay at all." The memory of teeth snapping right next to her head sends shivers down her spine, "But I fought my way out, because that's what I had to do the last six months, I had to fight for myself."

When Mal steps away, the woman is close to letting a sob echo through her body, but she's over the game of pulling away and then back in, and just takes a step with him, to lean her forehead against his chest, and take a few deep breaths. "I just need you.", Kelly whispers, carefully prying his hands out of their crossed position so she can take his, and twist her hand in his into the sign for I love you. "And you need help. You need to work on your bloodlust, more than you already do."

The hurt on his features is apparent when she asks why he'd care, because of course no matter what happened, Malcolm would always care about Kelly. She steps aside, and he steps over the threshold. It takes less than thirty seconds for his hands to be on her shoulders, looking over her as if checking for more non-obvious injuries.

"Of course he wasn't in control of himself, he's a fucking wolf, they're animalistic by nature. It doesn't excuse it. You're not okay, you're hurt, Kel!" He exclaimed, trying to keep his anger in check— it's not like it was her he was mad at, it was whoever had hurt her like this. Hands were on his shoulder, and the words from her mouth had him sighing, Mal would even roll his eyes if he dared to. "You can't expect me to let this go. He could have killed you, you know that right? A wolfs bite is almost always fatal to us." It crossed his mind that maybe she didn't know that. He had no idea who or if anyone had helped her before they saw each other again.

"My control can't be helped, Kelly. I've tried everything. Only thing that keeps me on the straight and narrow is drinking from blood bags, instead of the vein. The ball was just a one off, I was already in deep on your blood and then I could smell the blood from the main room." His jaw steeled closed, arms dropping from her and crossing over his chest as he took a step away. She deserved better than him... She always had done.

It wasn't a one off though, was it? She was proof of that. Freyja was proof of that, the body he'd left behind at the ball was proof of that and all of those bodies he'd left behind in his wake with his sires family back home were proof of that. He was a ripper in the making— getting more out of control as time went on.

[kellybites]

The light moan that escapes Kellys lips the second his teeth into her skin is supported by her body curling up against his. Her fingers find his hair, gripping tightly, and god, the redhead realizes how much she's missed this. How much she missed him, this close, all over her. It's different, now, though, now that she's also a vampire. Exciting, in a different way than it used to be. Now it's not about the power he radiates -- now it's about matching it. Letting him let loose. The pain, the idea of that, goes straight to her head and her core, and Kelly moans again when he withdraws his teeth and licks up her blood.

"You don't really have to control yourself now, you know.", she whispers against his lips between kisses before carefully wrapping one leg around his hip, "I'm all yours. I've always been. But drinking my blood, touching me, won't be as dangerous as it once used to be, Mal." Her fingers trail down the line of his shirt, touch his bare skin as she licks her lips, fangs exposed, "You created me."

He didn't have to be told twice, the first please from her was enough to have him lowering his mouth down to her neck. Malcolm kissed along her skin, fangs scraping softly until he found the vein and sank his teeth into her. The second he tastes her, it's like it went straight to his groin, feeling his pants become tighter and tighter.

The blood only fuels the heat he feels, but he doesn't allow himself to drink too deeply. After a gulp or two he pulls away, kissing over her neck again and lapping up the droplets before the two small wounds in her neck heal. He wanted more, Malcolm always wanted more but he couldn't allow himself to get carried away in her blood, not again. Not her, anyway.

The vampire pushes those thoughts away, not wanting to kill his own buzz, and pulls Kelly closer again, crashing their lips together as fingertips smooth over her curves in the beautiful dress she was wearing. He knew it was just for him, or rather hoped it was - she always did whatever it took to get Malcolm's attention. Maybe that's why he could never let her go.

[kellybites]

"Why would you care?", Kelly bites back, and the moment she says the words, she feels bad for even thinking them. "I'm-- I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." A few beats pass, before the redhead steps to the side, lips pressed together in a straight line, allowing him to come in. She doesn't want to fight -- not really, all she wants is to pull him down by the collar of his shirt and to kiss every last piece of life out of him the whole night.

"It was some wolf gone crazy. It wasn't too bad. He got me, yes, but I'm alive and... well, not breathing. But well.", she signs, to confirm, 'I'm okay, Mal. I'm okay.' "I could tell he wasn't in control of himself. He was... there was a hint of fear in his eyes, when he towered over me, when he ran after me. I spared him." She puts her hands on his shoulders, pale fingers gently caressing the side of his neck, "And I don't want you to get mad at him. Don't be angry." Kelly whispers the last words, right into his face, "And I won't be mad at you. Kay?"

She uses her foot to close the door, then locks it, just in case, "We need to talk about us.", she then adds, "And about your lack of control. You need to work on that, Mal. I'm not always there to rip you off of your best friend."

He really didn't remember much about that night after he started drinking Kelly's blood. He remembers someone in his arms, limp; they dropped to the floor when he stood up. He remembers, because he keeps hearing the thud as they hit the floor in his nightmares. And then... God, he felt so bad. Freyja was his friend and he hadn't even recognised her. He just smelt blood, witch blood, and jumped fangs first. Malcolm would check in on Freyja, he would, but whilst she suffered the most physical damage, he knew that Kelly was the one he'd have to grovel to.

The vampire smells her the moment he walks into the apartment block; sure, she is mixed with various other scents but to him, Kelly's is the one that he can distinguish the most. It always had been. He expects it, expects the door to open and to see anger on her expression. Even expects the outfit but what he doesn't expect is what he sees as he looks her up and down. Wounds and scars adorn her, and red hot anger flashes through him. "What happened?" Malcolm asked, trying his best to keep his tone under control because of course, he wasn't angry at her, he was angry at whoever had done this to Kelly. His eyes betrayed his tone; the anger could be seen in them, anger that anyone would touch the woman he loves much less hurt her. "Who did this?"

[kellybites]

The flashback hits Kelly the moment her back hits the ground. Malcolm, towering over her, teeth sunken deep into her neck, drawing out every single last drop of her blood until she's lifeless, breathless, never moving again. Her soul ascends and gets ripped right back down -- or what's left, or whatever else the undead are left and supposed to be happy with, as his poison takes her over and shakes her away. Prettier, now -- in a way that only vampires could be, but still covered in dirt, and blood, and her own shame.

What's left of her soul for sure, is the ability to see a human beneath the beast, and when her shaking fingers find a rock in the muddy ground, she can only hit his nose with it. It's not hard enough to kill, maybe hard enough to gently injure, break a human's nose, if it were one.

Kelly's knee hits his stomach, the fur so soft beneath her fingers when she pushes him off at the same time. Her strength helps her lift herself up onto her feet once again, and she stands, like a bunny in a trap, glaring at him. "Go. I don't want to kill you. Search someone else.", she almost begs, but when mud crumbles beneath her, Kelly finds herself on her back once again.

His head was swimming with the ferocity, the animal taking over his mind and body. Paws had gripped him on all fours. Thick onyx fur covered him whole. The yellow of his eyes followed the woman desperately trying to get away from him — stumbling and falling to what would be her death. Like a mouse stuck in a trap. She wasn't even running away from him, she wasn't making this one bit difficult for him and Matteo deep down inside only wished she would fight him like hell. Fight me.

And when she did finally manage to get back to her feet, found the strenght to keep going, the wolf charged after her with strenght that he lacked control over.

His bones ached, as he struggled for control. Heartbeat — loud, thundering, deafening. What would become of the woman coming in and out of the shadows before him? Just another victim to his curse. Another dead body he'd hate himself for.

He couldn't lose his humanity. No.

It was when he caught up with her, that with a beasty growl, Matteo leaped over and knocked her down, towering over her small frame. Paws on each side of her frame. His maw alone the size of her head. Teeth sharp, large and beared ready to tear into her — to rip her to shreads.

No, no, no.

[kellybites]

( @lstbcys -- Kelly's apartment late, in the middle of the night )

She smells him before he can even knock on the door, and Kelly hates it, so desperately hates the way they're bound together. The main reason is the lack of hate in her heart -- she's told him that before. I hate you. Words spit out so angrily, so sharp they could have torn right through thousands of pieces of paper. The truth is, she doesn't. The redhead finds comfort in his presence, in his smell around.

Kelly's fingers linger over the doorknob when she hears him come closer. The last few days have been full of reassuring herself, that everything is okay, that everything will be okay. Then early in the morning, when she snuck back into her sunlight lacking house (Kelly despises him most for this: the lack of sun in her life. The lack of laying out in the garden, watching the flowers in the mind.) and laid in her bed, all those torturing memories came back. Memories of the balcony, where she was dressed in all, bloody red -- enjoying something wild, something she had never done before. Something she had never been able to give. And that, at last, was full control over herself, her body -- because Malcolm, as it once used to be, was way too strong. With that now changed, Kelly felt a fire she wanted to be stilled. To be suffocated. Or maybe, something way worse -- truly ignited, and not ignored.

When she rips the door open, the angry expression on her face doesn't fit her posture. Doesn't fit the outfit. Maybe it's what she put on because she sensed him coming. Maybe Kelly just loves being a bitch.

Dressed in nothing but underwear and one of Mal's old shirts, Kelly stands there with her arms crossed, curls freshly styled, falling onto her shoulders. "What the fuck do you want, Malcolm?", she asks out loud, and then stills. What he doesn't know yet -- what he couldn't know, busy with himself as he was, is what happened with Matteo, only minutes after she made sure Freyja and him were tucked away safely, Freyja on her way home and Mal secured.

There's claw marks on her left leg, deep in her flesh, still red and healing, and some on her collarbone, already scarred.

[kellybites]

"Malcolm Deveraux. I'm going to tear you into pieces if you don't let her go right fucking now." Kelly doesn't even allow herself to take in a deep breath, like she's still used to doing, no -- she puts her hands on Mal's shoulders and tries to rip him off of Freyja. She's not quite as strong, and the inner bond they share is yelling at her to not hurt him, to not hurt her sire. The redhead pushes all those thoughts, all those restraints aside and pulls on his arm, strongly.

"If you don't let go of her right now, you're never going to see me ever again, Mal.", Kelly yells into the chaos unfolding right in front of her, and she's trying to get to him through the faked jealousy -- "If you don't get your hand off of her waist in a second, I'm ripping your head off."

Freyja had never seen Malcolm quite like this before. The way his eyes seemed so focused and yet so far away. The way he moved, quick and purposeful. The roughness of his touch as he grabbed her wrist. The way he spoke to her. He'd never spoken to her in such a way.

"Malcolm what are you--" Her mind was so confused by the interaction that she hadn't realized what was happening until it was too late. She sucked in a sharp breath as his teeth dug into the vein on her wrist. Her magic clawed at her, the ground underneath them shaking as she tried to figure out what to do. Never had he bitten her before. In fact, Freyja had never been bitten by anyone in the past. She always worried about hunters coming after her, not vampires or werewolves. This meant she hadn't protected herself in any way against them.

In a panic, she tried to pull her wrist from his grasp. "Wait-- Malcolm this isn't you." But it was, in fact, him. As much as Freyja liked to not think he'd harm her, he was a vampire. And she was a witch. A human. Someone he could feed from.

Her panic, and the vibrations she was causing, soon turned to fogginess; her magic ceasing as she began to feel something else entirely. "Malcolm..." She reached out to him, her hand pressing against his chest. Her strength was no match for his, though. Maybe he needs this? But Freyja could have sworn that she'd seen him drinking from someone else before seeing her.

Then, she heard someone else's voice call to her friend. A voice Freyja hadn't heard before. She opened her mouth to say shout something -- anything -- but her voice wasn't working.

He's here. He's right here.

@lstbcys

[kellybites]

No matter how strong Kelly pretends to be, Malcolm has her wrapped around his finger always, and forever. Every single cell of her body screams for him, for his everything, more even now that he's her sire. He says all the right words, makes all the right moves, and Kelly finds herself keening in his touch, pushing her body into his.

When he asks, the redhead tips her head to the side, curls falling over her shoulders smoothly and out of the way. Her skin burns there where he touches her, every move going straight down to her core, lower stomach burning with heat. "Please.", Kelly returns the word, pulling on his hair to bring him closer, baring her throat even more. It's an ecstatic feeling nothing in this world could have prepared her for. Wanting him before he turned her was crazy, and this, this is insane.

The woman senses her legs becoming weak, her ankles slowly failing in the heels she's so carefully picked out just to catch his attention. The taste of his blood is still so present on her tongue, pooling around her teeth, and she wants more, more of him, his blood, his-- "Please, Mal, god, I want you."

Her being so close to him made the breath hitch in his throat, swallowing thickly at the hot breath against his skin. Then her fangs sunk in, and Malcolm couldn't hold back the moan that left his lips. It was so intimate, so fucking hot to have her drink from him, and he could already feel his brain going into overdrive. He wanted her, more than anything he wanted to have her then and there. Her hands exploring his body only spurred him on even more.

Lips were on his and he wasn't going to complain. He kissed back deeply, matching the hunger in her kiss as he tasted his blood on her lips. He has so much he wants to say, to tell her how much he's missed her and missed this, but he doesn't dare to allow himself speak in case it snaps her back to reality and she pulls away. Mal needs this, more than he thought he did, he fucking needs this.

"Please," he murmurs against her lips, pulling away softly, "I need you." It was such a strong need, he could feel his fangs aching to pierce her skin, to drink from her and feel what she was feeling. He already felt ecstatic from her feeding from him, he wanted her to feel the same and find out what she tasted like. "You're so fucking beautiful, Kel. Can I?"

[kellybites]

Once we leave. So there's a we now. Not that he's in the position to decide -- but Kelly made her decision the moment she ran into him at the café. The way her body felt drawn to him the moment he stepped on scene, treacherous and strong. The feeling was still present now as she leaned forward, nose grazing the skin of his throat as she let her instincts take over.

The intimacy of the moment drowned out every single second thought, and when Kelly let her fangs graze across his skin, the burning hunger in her stomach grew stronger. With her teeth piercing his skin, her nails started digging into the fabric of his shirt, hand slowly sliding down his chest, over his stomach, and down to his belt.

The first thing she's mastered is her control -- and even though it burns low in her stomach and she gasps softly against his skin, Kelly manages to pull away after a while, lipstick smeared across his throat, mixed with traces of blood. Kelly swallows once, twice, counts down from ten, and when the urge doesn't subside, she grabs the collar of his shirt, pulls him down and kisses him.

It's desperate, hungry -- she's missed him more than she'd like to admit. Kelly's fingers tangle with his hair, trace the lines of his muscles, especially of the broad arms she loves so much, and now, she can't quite find herself letting go.

'I should have cut it off, when my own sire told me to. Looking at it now, I know she was saying it for your benefit. Probably knew that this would happen, or that you would have ended up dead.' Mal admitted, chewing on his lower lip. He had been entirely selfish, he knew that. He should have broke it off with Kelly, let her get on with her life, find someone that she could grow old with and have a fully and happy human life with. Instead he had made her into something he knew she would never have wanted.

"It's okay, I can show you." He murmured softly, eyes fluttering closed just at the touch to his shoulder. He had only felt her touch again when she slapped him - which was well deserved - but it felt good to feel the softness again. "Your instincts will kick in. Even with a vampire, you should still be able to see the vein. Just aim for that, and your fangs will do the rest." Malcolm instructed softly, his own hand coming up to rest gently on her arm, pulling her closer as if to encourage her. "And maybe later, once we leave, I can convince you to at least drink the stuff from the bag. To heal you properly."

[kellybites]

'I would have needed to let you go.', Kelly signs the bitter truth. 'I would have grown old, and you wouldn't have. At some point you would have had to leave me behind.' It's something she thought about often after finding out about Mal's species, and the one worry that cleared from her mind after the accident, as she likes to call it.

Hesitant, Kelly fidgets with her clutch, before carefully placing it on the balcony's railing. "I've never done this with a human before.", she admits softly, "Neither with a vampire." Kelly swallows, places her hand on his shoulder. It feels nice to touch him again -- too nice, and she finds her fingers gently caressing the side of his neck, her soft eyes analyzing his features.

"Where do I...", she starts asking, entirely distracted by the smell of his blood, so captivating, so much like home. She wants to kiss him. No, she wants more than that -- and Kelly wonders if this is what true hunger feels like. The urge to have more. At the end of the day, it's Malcolm. Her Mal. She's seen all the classic vampire movies, has lived the live for over six months now. And still -- she's new to this.

The young vampire didn't know why he was going to this thing. Perhaps he thought that the mask truly hid him, he could pretend to be someone else for the night, someone who hadn't fucked up quite as much as he had in his life recently. Port Leiry had been good for him so far, even if he still didn't have a good handle on his control, and Kelly appearing was never a bad thing but it sent him into somewhat of a spiral, all the guilt coming back to him. Not that much guilt had left him, but it was fresh yet again.

Malcolm noticed her scent before he felt her, and didn't fight the hand around his wrist dragging him away onto a balcony in the fresh night air. He saw her fangs, saw her hesitation and loss for words and then she started signing. Mal knew what she needed, but that was a step that he also knew Kelly wasn't willing to take yet. He wondered if she'd ever tried human blood, even from a blood bag, or if she had just stuck to animals.

'I hate that you can understand too, because I don't deserve your understanding. What I did was unforgivable, all of it. Dragging you into this world in the first place instead of doing what was right and letting you be safe in the human world away from me.' He would never regret the relationship with Kelly, but he did regret hauling her into this world without a choice. 'I need you to be honest with me. You need to drink? It won't sustain you, Kelly, but it'll take the edge off if you drink from me. And you need to start on the blood bags. You can't live in this world like this, Kel, you won't survive. I'm sorry that I did that, forced that on you, but it's the truth.'

[kellybites]

Kelly, on a good day, would label herself graceful and altruistic. Today in particular, the redhead rather finds herself comparing her behavior to one of the vampires portrayed in trashy media -- desperate, helpless, angry. Frantic.

The woman has long discovered the presence of monsters in this world -- there's many kinds, in all forms and visualizations. The stranger looming closer and closer is a whole new form, and Kelly doesn't like it. Not at all.

The sound of his voice echoes back in her hearing aids, and fear strikes her body immediately. Malcolm is not anywhere near, and not in the position to help her, after what he has just done. She's all alone, and the familiarity of the moment makes her body freeze right where she is. Words get stuck in her throat, equally familiar -- It's not you. You don't have to do this. We can find someone else. But this is not Malcolm. This is a stranger. And any word of consolation feels like a badly aimed shot at a constantly moving aim.

Her heels sound back like bullets when they hit the floor as she does finally run. While the chaos has subsided, there is still more vampires, more fights than she'd like there to be. Kelly finds herself alone with him, then, outside, and her heels get stuck in the muddy ground. She falls, head first, fingers hitting the freezing ground, and immediately scrambles back to her feet, now barfooted, searching for him. For Mal. For anyone with sympathy.

where,  — masquerade ball / part II closed  — @kellybites

Matteo was disorientated; almost delirious from the amount of pain he was in. Whenever he urged the ones in his path to run, he couldn't even recognise his voice. It didn't sound like his own, but a broken, disrupted version of it, like coming out of a beaten down radio. Red eyes roamed the corridors for something, anything he could focus on enough to try and clear his vision. Where the hell are you, Marcia? Fingers, tipped with claws leaned against the walls, supporting his already heavy and tired body, tearing through the marble leaving rubble behind. He was barely able to escape Liam, without tearing him apart — his voice, his face already distant enough for him to recognise, even if met with him again. The cursed wolf that was crushing his mortal soul had no family, no friends — nothing he held dear. All he saw was red, all he felt was never ending, infuriating pain. In his last moments of lucidity, he struggled to find his alpha. She was his only chance — the only one who's managed to bring him back, before.

Instead, a woman stumbling too close to him. Unfamiliar face, eyes big and staring into the burning yellow of his own. Claws reached for her, teeth bigger than his mouth could contain — "Run — " a beasty sound, erupting from the back of his throat, a warning that barely managed to make it past his sharp teeth — the last of his sanity slipping with the words.

[kellybites]

Ready to apologize, Kelly was suddenly left alone on the balcony, Mal nowhere to be seen within seconds. "Malcolm, what the fuck?" The redhead found herself hurrying back into the main room, where all hell had broke loose, her mask lost somewhere on the ground, blood still stuck to her lips, but opposite to Mal, it was vampire blood.

Her hands found the dropped body first, but with the uprising chaos, Kelly barely had a chance to help. She could smell him on him, but nowhere near, not sure where to find him. The smell of human blood started to fill her nose, and with her mouth watering and fangs digging into her tongue, Kelly pushed herself back onto her feet cursing.

"It's never enough for these stupid men.", Kelly cursed as she pushed her way through the crowd, dodging fights left and right, "Malcolm!"

@freyjaxcarter

closed starter for @lstbcys & @kellybites

Calm. Stay calm. Freyja told herself, over and over again as she tried to move on the outskirts of the room. She wanted to find a friend. Anyone, really, that would help her stay calm amongst the chaos.

Taking several deep breaths, Freyja moved around a couple of people fighting, her eyes finally falling to someone she recognized from across the room. She knew that dark hair anywhere. "Malcolm." She breathed, pushing forward and picking up her pace.

Once she was close enough, she reached out to grab his hand, only to realize that he had them filled with something. Not something, someone. "Malcolm?" Freyja asked as she craned her neck until she saw what he was actually doing.

He was covered in blood. And it was clear that it wasn't his blood, but the person's that he held in his hands. "Oh, Mal..." Her voice cracked, trying to maintain her resolve. Trying not to allow her emotions to break through the wall she had built. "It's okay. There's... there's a lot of blood, I know. But we can leave and everything will be better." Although, Freyja wasn't sure if she was saying that to reassure herself, or him.

[kellybites]

( @sunshincwitch -- the masquerade late, after sundown )

One skill she's managed to keep, even after her life has run down the drain and turned into a disaster, is the urge to be friendly to everyone and everything. Just with a little additional thought -- no matter how nice or bad they smell. Cham, though, smells particularly nice -- Kelly has her filed away in the flower department in her head, somewhere between sunflowers and well -- chamomile.

That's how she recognizes her, and she flaunts over, blood-red dress flowing around her legs as she does so. She looks extra -- with a motive (a motive she can't smell around yet, because he hasn't arrived. But he will, Kelly's sure, and if he doesn't, she also tells herself that will be okay. Another skill she's managed to keep: She's bad at lying, even to herself.)

Red satin heels click the floor as she leans against the wall right next to the witch, an attempt to take some pressure off her hurting feet. "There's my favorite plant.", Kelly greets, all smiley, "Didn't expect to see you here. What's up?"

[kellybites]

Kelly, as much as she hated high-pitched noises, screeched. "What the fuck are you doing?", the woman yelled, pushing Arther away with violence -- strength she seemingly wasn't used to yet. "I asked for help! And all that you did was kill her..!" If she could, she'd cry. She'd sob ugly tears, desperate for release, desperate for a cure for the curse she was laid under.

There's blood all over her, and she hates the feeling of it. Her breaths are panicked, like that of a human -- she still seems so human, even though she's not. There's that alluring thing about her, that's almost deadly, and then she's all messy and.. feels regret. It takes her a moment to figure where the smell of dog comes from, and she looks up, now slightly terrified. "I don't want trouble. I just was.. I was so hungry. How could you just.." Her hands dig into the doe's fur, and Kelly takes one last panicked breath before she gets back up onto her feet.

"I didn't choose this.", she clarifies as quickly as she can, "I never would have chosen this."

Another late night walk for the wolf, another sleepless night. This time he was moving through the woods, smoking some weed as he lazily checked territory boundries. He didnt know how Ashwin slept so good at night, especially with the recent hunter activity...but he as thankful at least their leader was getting a good nights rest. Arther heard the struggle and the gargling bleat of a deer before he scented anything. That cold scent of flesh, hot blood....fear. Arther moved towards the sound of someone pleading with something. When he got closer, he saw a...confusing sight. A vampire trying to put pressure on a deadly would of the young doe. Arther stared at the sight, his one eye catching the light as he looked at the woman. Blood on her face, eyes wide with concern...vampire. The wolf glanced around as if to make sure this wasnt some kind of trick before putting the joint in his mouth, moving closer to the woman. He brushed past her, a calloused hand pressing on the wound of the deer's throat. It gave another weak bleat, wet and garggled. Blood and film from its mouth as it panted, eyes wide, legs twitching to try to run.....Arther shushed it softly, his other hand stroking down its neck- and in a quick movement with a wet snap, Arther jerked its head to the right at an unnatural angle to break its neck. Quick, painless, and giving the beast a dignified end.