#ꜰᴛ. ɪᴛᴍᴇᴀɴꜱᴘᴇᴀᴄᴇ

[godricofgaul]

one muse brushes their fingers through the other’s hair

( ᴡᴀʀᴍ ʟɪᴋᴇ ꜰɪʀᴇ ) It was the only source of heat that the vampire had felt since his human death. No, this was warmth like the sun but the color of a fire. If he even recalled what the warmth of the sun felt like. The temperature radiating from Shiloh was exponentially warmer than from human skin---- even warmer than the Supes like Weres and shifters, and Godric never strayed too close to them of his own will.

Without consciousness---- like moving through a dream---- he felt his own hand rise to graze the red strands near her shoulder.

[godricofgaul]

@itmeanspeace​ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ

War’s head gave the slightest of tilts as she kept forget-me-not eyes locked with the vampire’s own cornflower gaze. She’d suspected by his name that he was old, now she was sure of it. His eyes gave away so little. Only time and experience, a lot of it, perfected such a skill. Most would have probably found that unreadable gaze intimidating. But she was War. She could hold her ground.

Or at least she held her ground until the bartender came over with her newly filled drink. War looked away then so she could smirk at the service worker. Finding himself in the middle of an intense stare down would definitely draw unwanted attention from him. She even winked as he took her empty glass away, making the bartender blush.

When the bartender was gone, War sighed. “Best case scenario for me,” She paused to sip her whiskey. “I walk out of this bar alone and you pretend this whole interaction never happened.” Another smirk, half hidden by the whiskey glass, was now shot in Godric’s direction. “Best case scenario for you? Maybe we can find some middle ground.”

The quick yet overt interaction with the bartender did not go unnoticed by Godric----- a creature with ages of experience in observation. By his account, this woman sitting across from him had her own experience with manipulation or persuasion or whatever one would prefer to call it that would rival his.

The vampire ignored the bartender---- not even so much as glancing in his direction, instead keeping his eyes locked on his drinking companion. Her offer at least managed to get a chuckle from him, although it was not completely good-natured. 

“ It may not seem like it because we do not know each other yet, but I am unused to not getting my way. ” Which was to say that the vampire had no intention of letting this go. He laid pale hands on the dirty table between them. “ Middle ground... Perhaps, ” he mused, almost turning the possibilities over in his head.

“ Why do I have the impression that this middle ground will still lean closer in your direction? ”

[godricofgaul]

@itmeanspeace​ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ

"Well it is imperfections that make the world interesting." War shrugged and her cool demeanor never faltered. In reality her toes were all but curling in her shiny red heels. There was no doubting that she'd won. Not all battles were fought with weapons but victory of any kind always tasted sweet. There was also something especially satisfying about coming out on top against one as ancient as Godric likely was. And War wasn't even done.

Ever casual, heart rate staying steady and not a drop of nervous sweat, War placed her whiskey glass on the table. "Fine. I'm willing to hear some of your suggestions on how we make this work." She stood and pulled something out of her bra. "After I use the restroom."

The object she had removed from her cleavage turned out to be a cute, pink flip phone. An accessory that played well with will the character she'd used to lure her targets into the alley. War placed it in the middle of the table. "Good faith." Was her final comment before she turned and headed towards the bathrooms.

She gave herself five minutes, maybe eight if she wanted to risk stretching it, before Godric grew suspicious. Thankfully War had scoped out every bar on the block block in preparation for her job. She knew in the bathroom of this particular bar had a window in it. An almost too small window. Almost.

Any cuts or bruises or scrapes from the window frame didn't slow War in the slightest. Her blonde wig was dropped just outside the window as a final teasing goodbye for Godric. The motorbike she'd stashed at the end of block whisked her away. It took War a little under four minutes to disappear.

A snaking tendril of doubt uncoiled in his stomach, warning him that his target was not truly invested in his offer. He would not waste his words on these suggestions, and he would not have the time to. Before Godric could so much as consider the options, the woman opposite him set a slim device down on the table and left him behind to stare at it.

Heightned hearing allowed him to listen to her heels retreat to a far corner of the bar before disappearing behind a door. That same snake of doubt told him to not wait for her return------- this was a planned escape. 

Pale fingers reached for the phone and flipped the screen open. It was wiped save for a single contact. The vampire scanned the room quickly before tucking the phone into his jacket pocket, standing and moving towards the exit in one fluid motion. Outside, he slipped the phone out again and hovered his thumb over the CALL button, the unknown number lit boldly on the screen. 

Lifting the device to his ear, Godric set his gaze on the dark horizon where the night sky met the damp pavement as the line rang ominously... 

[godricofgaul]

@itmeanspeace​ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ

Years of brutal conditioning combined with supernaturally enhanced instincts made War very good at sensing when eyes were on her. Unfortunately, Dante's choices in her twisted creation meant that War's looks often drew attention. It had taken years of practical experience be able to gage if someone was just checking her out or if she should be on guard. The guy in the corner had been looking at her far too intently for far too long. War had to be fine keeping him in the corner of her eye, not entirely able to make out his face, while she finished up her grift.

After the dejected frat guys finished counting out her winnings and a final fake giggle, War finally turned her full attention on her watcher. Her face gave away nothing, but for all of five beats, War's heart picked up it's pace. Godric.

Members of the vampiric council, especially Godric, shouldn't be seeking her so soon. The way she'd planned, she should have at least heard from an informant that vampires were asking about her. And those whispers weren't expected for another few weeks. Godric had subverted all her carefully covered tracks and scared her. If he could do it, who was to say Dante couldn't do it too? A scared War was a dangerous War.

There was predatory energy in the way she moved closer him. She picked up her glass of whiskey and practically prowled her way over. It might have looked flirty to the other bar patrons. War didn't doubt that Godric knew better. Eyes cold enough to leave frostbite peered over the rim of the glass as she downed the last of her liquor.

War set the empty glass on the bar while sliding into the seat next to him. "You realize everything in me is screaming to kill you, right?"

ʜᴇ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ɴᴏ ʟᴇꜱꜱ from the entity as she stalked toward him. Perhaps a less stubborn creature would find the capacity to shrink and disappear into its own skin-------- this vampire unfortunately fell prey to a similar indestructive attitude that plagued the rest of his kind.

Surprisingly not another pair of curious eyes or ears sought attention from their tense corner of the bar. Which was why Godric felt comfortable proceeding. Leaning forward on arms folded atop the shiny table, the vampire raised a brow while quipping, “ It’s been a long time since I have had the pleasure of dying. ” Because he was not confident that she would cave----- and because of that stubborness. 

“ You and I have a bit in common, I think. ” He absentmindedly scratched at the surface beneath his finger. “ ...Beyond the murdering of vampires, even. I think our commonalities are quite foundational. ” Truthfully he was stranded, left to his last resort in attempting to reason with her. Godric knew that she was not pleased by him or his interference------ he likely would feel the same if they occupied opposite positions. If there was any hope of keeping the dredge of momentum he managed to claw at, he surely would claw. Stubborn vampire.

[godricofgaul]

@itmeanspeace​ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ

The wink to the bartender did more than just distract him from Godric’s staring. The young man was likely to remember it. The pretty blonde who winked at him. Then the wig would come off the as soon as War down the block. She’d be a redhead once more. A dead end on the extraordinary chance someone, other than Godric, could link her from the dead vampires in the alley to the bar. Perhaps she was being overly cautious, but their interaction was way out of the ordinary for one of War’s jobs. Paranoia exacerbated a concern over contingencies. She already had so little control over the whispers of her that got back to the Inferno. Godric was stealing most of that control away without even realizing it. And that terrified War.

Burying the fear was almost as easy as breathing for her though. Not even a twitch of the small muscles in her face or a glint in her eyes. Fear had been the first emotion she’d been conditioned to suppress after all.

No, War remained collected. She just casually twirled a lock of her currently blonde hair and shrugged at the vampire. “Making deals is about trying to get it to fall in someone’s favor. There’s no real thing as an even divide. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either adorably naive or purposely ignorant. "You never told me what your ideal resolution to this would be. What’s the perfect end for you here?” She turned the attention back on him while bringing the whiskey glass to her lips once more.

The ancient silently weighed the probability of manipulating the scenario in his favor-------- he determined it was unlikely. This was a powerful entity, one he had limited experience with for all his collective years of exposure. This was perhaps one of the few instances in which his new companion was inherently more influential than he. It would be in his best interest to not disturb her.

At the start of this strange, unpredictable interaction Godric would have expressed a much different ‘ ideal resolution ’. His eyes met hers as the vampire decided to test a new strategy. “ Perfection... I’ve abandoned the concept. ” 

With softened eyes----- perhaps even a bit pleading---- the vampire made a decision----- perhaps a fatal one: “ I hope we can set aside our differences and work together on this one. ” Truly not a strategy an ancient vampire sheriff would have chosen under perfect circumstances.