#v: Supernatural Sunsets | TBD
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Secrets and Spirits
Closed thread with @nytehavyn-circle. Continued from This.
~~*~~
“Bold of you to assume that it worked in the first place. But I will give you a bonus point for creativity.” She leaned back in her seat, putting her back to the wall as was her forcefully trained habit. It didn’t matter what kind of bar one went to, old habits die hard when it was less known but more common for the creatures and monsters to be lurking in human skin.
She kept the tension rising in her from her shoulders, but unspoken wards started going up as she traced sigils on the glass with her nail. Someone only studied a person that hard for a very short list of reasons. She didn’t know him from the next Tom, Dick, or Harold that was bound to start strolling in off the street. She was going to be on her guard until she reached her home.
She studied his words. Picked them apart down to the individual meaning of each. They were odd, but considering this establishment also catered to the supernatural, it was understandable. But it did narrow down how many options she had to guess from. There was still a variety that could fill in for unspoken blatant truths. The only real question was, what he was after.
“Do you always ask something so intimate with someone you have never met or are you just trying to get a reaction?” Her hand settled over the top of her glass as she gave him her full attention. It was only polite after all.
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
“Yeah, we’ll go with that.” She had debated telling him that It was Italian, but she didn’t think that would go over very well. Taking her phone from her pocket, she found the waiting number in question. The name was surrounded by a set of emojis that made little sense to anyone who could have peered over her shoulder. The one name that usually meant comfort, safety, and no judgement, now filled her with nerves.
Setting the phone down she focused on getting the coffee going. She added a dash of cardamom to the coffee grounds in the basket, letting the water fill up the glass pot in the meantime. She could still feel him in the room. Not used to a stranger in her home had her senses more attuned to her surroundings than she normally would have been.
“There is a little pimento cheese, and the cubes are Tillamook sharp cheddar.” It was a delayed answer and she knew that. But her mind was working on several things at once. Each echo of her own inner thoughts louder than the next and close to downing out the ambient sounds. “I used a bread knife. It’s serrated for just that reason.”
Setting the coffee to brew after putting all the components together, he focused back on her phone. Shoulders came up to her ears as her hands wrapped around the edges of the blanket. A sudden and unspoken thankfulness that he insisted she cover herself with something. Cashmere like yarn soft and welcoming her in a protective embrace a stark contrast to the whirlwind she was in.
“No, she lives in her own home.” Jay hit the dial button and brought the phone up to her ear, covered by the blanket so she didn’t have to deal with the immediate shock of magic and witchery afoot. She swayed a little in time with the ringing. Trying to distract herself as she now plotted on what she was going to say. “I do. It fills the time in spring and winter. It also saves me the money I would spend otherwise.There is apricot, peach, and raspberry to choose from.”
A few more rings and the connection was made.
“Howzit Sistah!” Came the soothing voice of her cabal mate, best friend, and last hope for sanity.
“Hi. I love you.” Jayden spoke, holding a hand up as if asking for a moment of silence. “Can-Can-Can I ask you something?”
“K-den.”
“Come on a journey with me and pretend for a minute.” Jayden spoke leaning against the counter with the phone facing away from Ben, but keeping him in her line of sight. She scratched the side of her neck in embarrassment.“If, IF, I were to say… Been working on something for someone and that caused a… rift in time if you will. And I ended up with… Well, um, a very prominent member of the Revolutionary Army standing in my apartment looking like he just fell off his horse mid battle…. What would I do? Hypothetically speaking.”
There is a span of time where nothing is said. No hint of breathing, no sounds of movement. Not even a hum of background noise. It was too quiet to the point Jay almost pulled the phone away to see if it was still an ongoing call. She should have cast a rote to make this a bit easier. But then again, she already had one mishap, and she was not keen on tempting fate any further than she already had. Then the silence was shattered.
It was the same wind chime like, delicate and full of life, giggle that Jay was used to. Only this sounded a bit unhinged, a dash breathy. Not enough oxygen getting despite the knowledge that Beth would almost prefer to get air through a process similar to photosynthesis.
"Oooh, Mastah of Time! Infallible all seein' eye an' always double check contracts….No mistake evah!"There was more giggling. Something that both made Jay smile and cringe at the mental image she could see. Of Beth standing there. Arms swaying above her head and wiggling in place. Then doubling over and holding her sides in thin wispy fingers. Eventually Beth Calmed down, a chuckle breaking in every few breaths before she was collected once again. "No, for reals, wha' happen?"
“Truth? Okay. I was working on something for the House. And I’m now looking at General Washington’s Spymaster appraising the bread and jam I just served him.” Jayden scanned over Ben trying to see if he was eating or still twisting the bread in his hands. “To be honest, this was not on my bingo card, but it’s my problem now. What should I do?”
"I mean, I could always use a small kine more fertilizer for my Tree? No for real. Wow. Uhm. Give him cocoa an' some place to sleep. Nevah let him leave ya sight, an' mebbe call…someone who got mo' beddah spheres from me? No kine of mine really can help an' currently I'm a sorta not in New York."
“Oh. Well, of course that is… Perfect timing.” Jayden muttered under her breath as she reached up to pull the hair stick out that were keeping her hair from her face. She could feel the start of a headache forming. “I can’t just let him wander around. You know?”
“Oh! Oh! How 'bout…read ritual backwards? Mebbe dat send him back? But firs' wipe his memory.”
“I mean it is worth a shot. He panicked over Jenna, so I can at least get the scroll from my office.” Jayden pinched her thumbnail between her teeth in thought, not chewing just holding it there. Mulling it over she felt a prickle of dread drip down her spine. Keeping her voice low she did her best not to have a minor meltdown. “Wait.. am I supposed to vaccinate him? What if he gets a cold and dies on my couch overnight?! Do you know what that would do?!”
"Make it easier t' feed my tree," Came the rare deadpan snark from her sister, too tickled by the idea to keep it to herself. "K. So ya wanna go down t' my clinic, mebbe take him wi' you. Code for locks an' alarms is my SAT score. Go to da vaccine fridge, swab him down an' you're gonna wanna…" What followed after was a list of vaccines and dosages. Where they needed to be administered {mostly the arm though she does say that his backside is also good for it. "Dat's da best I can do for now, should be home in a couple weeks for a check up an' boosters."
Or, in this situation, a little life magick woven into the man's pattern but that didn't need to be spoken over the phone.
Her tone softens. "Don' panic, we'll figure dis out, I promise."
“Yeah, this is.. Fine? No, it is. Everything is fine. Clinic, shower, clothes.” Jayden said, nodding to herself and letting her shoulders go slack once more. The plan proposed making her racing inner monologue pause. She could do this. “If I can keep your plants alive, I can do the same with a person. He’s just a person. Right, okay. Uh, I’ll let you go and keep you updated as much as I can.”
"See, not so bad?” She heard Beth said and a sigh left Jayden. “Oh, also… Pics…or it nevah happen!”
The line went dead before Jayden could snark back. As subtle as she could she did take a picture of Ben, weapons, uniform and all. SHe didn’t text it to Beth just out of caution. From there she turned and started getting ready to make a cup for herself. The caffeine would help with the headache.
“Hey Major? Do you drink coffee?”
((Honorable Mention: @brooklynislandgirl))
Although Benjamin assumed Jayden was trying to explain herself, each word that tumbled from her lips was more befuddling than the last. Once her back was turned, he finally felt safe enough to openly appraise her -- or at least, without such blatant embarrassment -- and cocking a brow, he watched her pad off into what appeared to be...well, he didn't know what in God's name that room was, but it seemed just as spacious as the rest of the house.
"What do you mean 'now'?" Benjamin asked. Craning his head to try and get a better look, his puzzlement grew while Jayden shifted about in the strange room. "With all due respect, madam, you're the very first woman I've ever seen wear breeches -- no...you said they're called pants? -- and I have certainly never heard your curious vernacular. Is the style French, perhaps?"
The French were always the most innovative (and wildly outlandish) with their fashion choices.
He also didn't know what she meant by "comfy," but he already felt quite dim-witted and decided to hold his tongue. A Yale scholar should know more than he was presently alluding.
When Jayden returned, she looked ridiculous shuffling along, much like an over-sized cocoon. For the first time during their encounter, Benjamin bit back a smile. Or at least, he had until she set down the peculiar-looking meal.
Intrigued, he shuffled forward in his seat, lifting the bread in amazement. "How did you get your slice so straight?" he asked, impressed. "There are no signs of any knife-work..." Lowering his head toward the plate, he sniffed the jam and cheese experimentally. It smelled like jam, but the cheese was...well, he couldn't say he'd seen anything like it.
"What is this orange stuff?" Benjamin asked, lifting one of the cubes and appraising it between his fingers. Despite his distrust, his stomach gave a healthy little rumble in response, causing a faint pink to dust his cheeks. It was far from gentlemanly to be a glutton.
Before he could think to apologize, however, Jayden spoke of "bullshit," and his jaw dropped, stunned from hearing profanity from such a pretty mouth.
"Er...what does your sister have to do with this?" Benjamin asked, growing all the more perplexed. "Did she inherit this estate, as well?"
It was clear by Jayden's posture that she was growing agitated -- as if her foul mouth wasn't proof enough -- and embarrassed on her behalf, he carefully popped one of the strange-looking cubes into his mouth to appease her.
All at once, the sharp taste exploded across his tongue, making Benjamin cringe in surprise. It wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't exactly good either, and yet his manners dictated that he at least pretend to enjoy it. "Ah..." Swallowing around the perplexing flavor, he quickly reached for a piece of bread -- something he actually recognized -- that might staunch the peculiar assault on his taste buds. "Thank you," he concluded, though it was clear by the twist of his mouth that he was unconvinced. "Do you harvest and can all your jams yourself?"
#v: Supernatural Sunsets | TBD#honorhearted#You'll Fire Your Musket but I'll Run You Through | Major Tallmadge#TBD | Ben x Jay#I want you to know I am so invested and laughing so hard at all of this.#Long Post | TW#Stupidly Long Post | TW#This is so long. I'm sorry#Honorable Mention:#brooklynislandgirl
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
Taking a deep breath, she thought over what he said.
Ghouls. Great. That was the last thing she wanted to think of. She was not a walking lunch box thank you very much. She didn’t fancy thinking of herself as a living take-out.
“Well, Mr. Dresden, do you know any good swordsmiths?” Though it sounded insane now. Then again he did just save her from being a chew toy so, there were crazier things she supposed. “I don’t like guns.”
For one they were too loud. One round and the general public lost the collective cool. THe screaming and panicking were a bit much on the dramatic scale even if she understood the reason behind it. The recoil was a pain literally to her arms. Despite having know a variety of trigger happy lunatics that she called friends, she was never quite comfortable with the idea of firearms. Not for a lack of knowledge or fear of them. She just didn’t like the added weight and the side eyes some of her know allies would get out in public.
So that was a no go.
Not like a sword would have been much better. Though there were ways one could get away with it. However, explaining it to the police was not something she wanted to think about too hard. Again going back to the screaming bit.
“Jayden Specter.” She offered her hand out for him to shake. She owed him at least that much.
@morgansmornings cont. from here
Clueing the people that lived their lives blissfully unaware of the supernatural just wasn’t his favorite thing to do. It didn’t matter he literally advertised himself as a wizard in the yellow pages. It didn’t matter that he’d done tv appearances (and fried the tv studio equipment) explaining what he did. None of that mattered because people did not like to be enlightened, they liked remaining unaware to it. So when it rudely showed up out of the blue instead of just easing them into the know, they tended to get a little…well, that.
So Harry did what he always tried to do if it wasn’t so bad of a reaction, and just kind of shrugged it off. She hadn’t continued coming after him after all.
“Well, that was a ghoul. Usually they’re not that brazen but I guess that one was extra hungry or something.” Unless there had been a reason to go after the woman he was yet unaware of.
“As for protecting yourself…a concealed permit? Or a sword. But I think you would have better luck with the former. And my name is Harry Dresden.”
1 note
·
View note
Text
“No, I feel like I am wearing a blanket like a cape when I was five.” Though in the moment she almost wished he was an imaginary friend come to keep her entertained while her mother was at work. Sadly that was not the case. For now she did what came naturally to her. Spinning on her heel she headed for the kitchen to get food for him to eat. Putting space between them so she wasn’t reminded that there was a trickling hourglass waiting for her next mistake. Nibbling on her lip as she had seen him reach for his head. Maybe he was hurt before he literally fell through time to land in her apartment? “It’s a place for people, you know what... nevermind.”
‘No, no. One thing. Worry about one thing at a time.’ She thought to herself.
She listened to him as she took a glass from the cabinet, a plate following after a second of hesitation. Water into the glass from the Brita pitcher in the fridge. When that was done she went to the tiered bread box to pluck the loaf she’d baked that afternoon for her personal use. Taking the breadknife and carving off a couple of healthy slices to put on the plate. Next, she went to get an assortment of cheeses and jams to add little decorative piles on the plate for him to choose from.
She looked over to where he sat with a raised brow at how flustered he sounded. Confirming the embarrassment when he still refused to look her in the eyes. She had to bite down on her tongue to keep from laughing at the ridiculous fact. But that wouldn’t have been right as he really was from a very different time.
“They are called pants, now. And they are really comfy. We mostly wear them because we can and a lot of us wear them to go about our day.” With some finesse she managed to balance the glass on the centre of the plate, as she waddled and shuffled her way back to him. A glancing look sent to her familiar, who was laying sprawled out on the floor and blocking the doorway entirely.
He brought up a fantastic point. Why had she brought him to her time? The scroll was left forgotten in her office, charmed to look like the rest of her standard work to keep from prying eyes. If she had known that this would happen, despite the fact that there had been a sliver of a possibility when she started, she wouldn’t have done it in the first place. One, the result was vulgar in a way she couldn’t explain. Though she could try and lie through her teeth if asked. Two, this could get her into so much trouble when the Inevitable found out. Punishment was a sure thing.
“Funny that you should say that I am in trouble.” The list of possibilities threaded their way into her nerves. Adding a spike of anxiety to the bewildered mix of emotions she was concealing. Setting the plate down on the end table, to keep from breaching his personal space too much she fled back towards the kitchen to start making coffee. “Look, I’ll be less than enthused, but honest when I figure out this bullshit and am able to tell you the truth. First I need to get a hold of my sister.”
“So, go ahead and eat. I promise on my loyalty to this country, it’s not poisoned.” She would say just about anything to get him to stop asking her questions for ten minutes. She was not looking forward to explaining the situation.
Not married; this was her home... And that thing was a dog.
Yes. Benjamin was one-hundred percent, certifiably injured, as far as he was concerned, and alarmed, he lifted a hand and felt along the tender spot on his scalp, fearing the worst. Just how hard had he hit his head?
Granted, it was possible that Jayden inherited this property from her father -- that was quite common, if there wasn't a male heir -- but it was also incredibly large. Even the wealthiest entrepreneurs he'd encountered didn't seem to have quite this amount of space, and the wealth this woman's father must've owned baffled him.
"Halfway...house?" Benjamin echoed, lowering his hand. "What's that? Halfway between what?" God, even her vernacular was strange...and her overall demeanor, as well. He didn't think he'd ever met a woman so open and oddly confident in the way she held herself.
Mouth opening and closing, he watched Jayden stalk over to some peculiar-looking stairs, then wrap herself up in a large, crocheted blanket. She asked if he was appeased, and Benjamin nodded slowly, a crease forming between his brows.
"Do you not feel better now?" he challenged. "At last, you are sufficiently covered. I have never seen such undergarments that...w-well, I have never seen a woman's undergarments, given how I am unmarried." Flushing, he was quick to look away. "Besides, I thought only men wore breeches. What is the purpose of those on a grown woman?"
Anxious, he pressed his thumbs together and rolled them around, darting his eyes in between Jayden and the adjacent wall. "If I may be so bold," he treaded, "just why have you taken me here, if not for a ransom? If you are in some type of distress, I feel certain I can assist, and without the need for imprisonment."
#v: Supernatural Sunsets | TBD#honorhearted#You'll Fire Your Musket but I'll Run You Through | Major Tallmadge#TBD | Ben x Jay
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
She hated when that happened. But she could understand that he had pulled his conclusions from her reactions. She asked for coffee, trading out the glass she had been drinking. This was standard for her. A couple of drinks, then coffee until she was legally sober enough to leave and go about her business. She did return his salute though. It was the polite thing to do.
Vampires, the few she had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with, were often far more egotistical and slimy in personality. Or lost in a frenzy by the time she had to deal with them. This one seemed different on the outside though. But that left other questions brewing in her mind that she worked over. And each one was another pulse of annoyance.
What was it that caught his attention? Why would he be confident enough to think that it would be that easy for him to pry into her personal life? The very one she kept far more guarded and hidden than she kept herself. Was he looking for a doner? Was he looking for a stable source? Both options on those questions would end poorly for him. What was it that he wanted from her? If it was something simple, she could understand. If not, then how did he think their interaction was supposed to go if she did yield to his game.
Yet someone as old as he was should have known better than approaching a witch that was still alive with over 20 years of experience herself. While not a feat that was so impressive on its own, her being on her own made it a valued achievement. She didn’t have a cabal to fall back on with how often she had to move. Given the specific tasks that she took on, that meant she earned every day that she survived to crawl into bed and wake to see the next morning.
She knew she was going to come off hostile and tried her best to keep her temper down. The second round of coffee came with her as she stood and encroached on his table. She lingered with the crowd for a few minutes to make sure that he hadn’t moved on to another weaker willed target. When she determined that he had not, she moved in and invited herself into the open seat.
“Alright. Here is what I am going to propose.” She started, setting the cup down, though still keeping her palm over the opening. She knew the pattern of how thralls and the likes were made. She wasn’t going to fall for it. “We play civil. You keep the incredibly intimate questions to yourself. I will be nice until you give me a reason not to be. And don’t lie to me. I will know and I have won many arguments with Divine and Hellish entities alike. If what you said is true you know how they can be over contracts.”
She waited for that to sink in before she cocked her head to the side.
“Do we have a deal?”
"That's fair," he said when she talked about not opening up. "An' I can't fault ya fer it, neither." He shook his head. He took a drink of the Jack in his glass and made careful note that she'd stopped drinking from her glass.
His eyes flicked up to a small point just above her head. He was just confirming what he already felt coming from her. He had made her even more wary than she was before with his openness and honesty about what he was.
At her question, he gave a shrug. "'Cause I'm over nine hundred years old an' I wouldn't'a survived fer so long if'n I didn't know what I was doin'," he answered.
His eyes met hers and he gave her a small, soft, understanding smile. "However, I can see that my presence is... not necessarily unwelcome, but not greatly accepted at the moment. An' the last thing I wanna do is make someone uncomfortable." He stood, and touched the brim of his Stetson. "It was a pleasure ta meet ya. An' fer what it's worth, I did look forward ta gettin' ta know ya. I hope we can cross paths 'gain someday."
Tolaas took his drink and bottle with him as he moved to an empty table. He refilled his glass with the Jack from the bottle, looked back over to her, raised his glass, and took a drink. Then he started to scan about the room once more, however he did shoot a glance back to her every so often, wondering if she was going to hang around or take off.
@morgansmornings
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
“Well that isn’t happening so.” She couldn’t help but retort the half demand of being let go again. She was pretty sure that he didn’t carry any form of I.D. and that would be an issue when, not if, he got himself hit by a car. His sense of self preservation could only end up with him finding his way into the hospital or the morgue. Neither option seemed like a good one. More so if he was who he said he was and he died here? There was no telling what damage could happen to Time and Reality themselves.
She would have laughed at his panic over Jenna had she had a clearer head. As it stood the familiar looked from him back to her, with an unamused air around her. If she had a human face, Jayden could only imagine the glare, raised brow, pursed lips, and a hand on a hip.
-I am not helping you with that. There is a lot I can do, but this is not one of them.-
-Yeah, I know. Just… stay by the door for now. Please? He seems scared enough of you to not to attempt running away so we can use that to our advantage.- Jayden’s mental conversation was broken when he started talking again.
“First, I’m not married. And second, this is my home, where I live, with my…” Magickal Spirit that just so happens to be possessing the body of a dog because it can. Nope not telling him that one. “Dog? It was just the two of us until the last ten minutes.”
She gave him such a look for that. One that she didn’t even fight to keep off her face. It was somewhere between offended and disbelief over how he could even think that she was wanting to hold him for ransom. Had she been 13 she would have been bombarding him with questions. As an adult with a far wider grasp of life and magic, she knew better than to even try and reason with him about making him call her by her own name.
“I’m not holding anyone else here. I am not a halfway house for displaced soldiers from-” She couldn’t say the past. She couldn’t tell him about the fact that it was a few hundred years into the future and that he was supposed to be dead right now in some grave. Morbid yes, but not untrue and she would argue that with Beth.
“Oh no… Okay, it's fine. One thing at a time.” She said to herself, as she started putting together a plan of action. First was to call her sister, and clue the only other person she could trust at the moment. Though there were risks with that, she didn’t want to even bother anyone else. She was already starting to tread on thin ice, no need to make it worse. Only to be thrown off by his offer.
“Huh? ” It took a full few seconds for her to understand what he was getting at as she looked down at herself. She took stock of her sock covered feet, dark jeans, and the pale blouse she chose for the day. “Okay what exactly is your problem with what I am wearing? Oh, right.”
She moved to the shallow stairs that took her to the back of her couch, giving him plenty of space as she went under the staircase leading up to her bedroom. From the couch she pulled the oversized crocheted blanket and wrapped it around herself so she looked more like a walking burrito.
“There, is this better?”
Believing he understood her befuddlement, Benjamin was quick to reassure, "It doesn't have to come to treason, madam. It's as I said: General Washington is a firm, but fair man, so I'm certain I can convince him to disregard your mistake. If..." Here, his brows narrowed. "If you release me."
A strange-looking dog -- no, a wolf! -- appeared at the woman's side, and Benjamin flinched, instinctively throwing himself against the nearest wall. It wasn't his most reputable moment, given how he never, ever fled in battle, and yet he was painfully aware of the fact his firelock was no longer loaded. It had discharged sometime in between falling off his horse and landing...well...here.
Once the dog-wolf-beast proved it wasn't of harm, however, Benjamin slowly relaxed and returned his firelock to its holster, his limbs still quivering from adrenaline. He heard the woman introduce herself as Jayden -- Jay? -- and horrified, he looked up at her again in visible bafflement.
"You wish to speak as familiars?" he demanded, horrified. "With all due respect, madam, I am flattered by the gesture, but I couldn't possibly bring myself to call you...t-to call you anything but Miss Specter. Or Mrs., perhaps?" She seemed to be of a marrying age, and despite the flagrant display of her body (which he still refused to properly gaze upon), he imagined it wouldn't be inconceivable for her to have a family.
Jayden retreated a few steps, giving him the proper space, yet Benjamin still felt wholly, unfathomably suffocated as he struggled to return breath to his lungs.
"What is there to gather?" he bitterly asked. "I awoke here, and now you are making demands...do you require a ransom?" Suddenly, his eyes flickered with hope. "Are there other soldiers in your possession? If you let me speak with them, perhaps I can facilitate a trade."
The idea of a woman leading such a prison was absurd -- surely, she had a male partner somewhere -- so he made a note to check his surroundings for any clues as to his profession or whereabouts, and most importantly, any potential weaknesses.
Hesitant, he sank upon a bizarre type of settee, as Jayden requested, only to yelp once it kept sinking. Unlike the stiff wingback chairs he was accustomed to, the strange furniture was soft and plush, and had quite a bit of give. Unsettled, he poked at the arm of the settee, unsure of why she enjoyed something that very nearly swallowed him whole.
"You may have my coat, if...if you require it," Benjamin said after a moment. "I am afraid it won't cover your..." Here, he gestured with a grimace toward her legs. "But it might at the very least conceal some of the other indecencies."
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
“My what?” What was he on about? Petticoats hadn’t been a thing since... It then dawned on her that he was startled by her choice of outfit for the day. It would have been funny if the next thing out of his mouth wasn’t so weighted. That was a specific choice of word. One that continued to solidify that, yes this was actually happening and no she could not ignore it as if it was just a dream. “Treason?”
With a deep and slow breath she kept her hands where he could see them. He’d already drawn his gun on her once, and that brought very vivid and highly unwanted images to the forefront. Yet, she had to push past the instinctive fight or flight response away. Even if she couldn’t have helped the initial finch at the reminder. Though a shred of comfort was brought to her by her familiar Belgian Tervuren backing up to stand next to her.
‘Yeah, I had that one coming.’ The thought manifested at his temper lashing back from her question. But she wasn’t even a little upset by it. As the more she thought about the situation, the more she felt for him as this was in all truth, her fault.
She was a bit tickled at the awkward tension that filled his bow, some manners long forgotten holding a charming appeal in any other setting or situation. Though upon hearing his name, the tingle of history classes she hadn’t thought of in years came flooding back. Tallmadge, Continental Army, and more importantly the Culper Spy Ring. Portraits in text books did a horrid job of capturing the subject that was quite literally standing in front of her in all his dazed and clearly disoriented glory.
First thing first though, she had to get him to at least sit down so she could call her sister. Beth would have a list of priorities she herself couldn’t think about at the moment.
“A truth for a truth, Major.” She forced her shoulders to relax, trying to coax him to do the same by giving him visual proof that she wasn’t about to attack him. “I’m Jayden Specter, though you can just call me Jay. There is no need to be so formal here.”
Stepping back, she put herself against the door that would lead back to the shop. If he got out there was no telling what would happen.
“We can talk about you imprisonment after you sit down and take a moment to gather yourself, alright?”
@morgansmornings cont. from (x)
The smell of blood and smoke laid heavily in the air, burning through Benjamin’s lungs as he narrowly avoided a volley of artillery fire. His horse nickered with displeasure, but otherwise kept galloping through the fray, leading him to safety while all around him, men clashed with sabers and musket-shot. Gritting his teeth, he encouraged his mount to ride faster.
No longer just a reverend’s son, Benjamin was continuously forced to drop his Bible in favor of a sword – to protect, to serve, to fight for the very friends and family he one day hoped to be reunited. Holding his saber aloft, he moved to charge toward an officer when he felt a strange rippling sensation.
Perplexed, he turned his head, but received a shock once the force of something – a fist? An improvised weapon? – smashed into his ribs and sent him hurtling from his saddle and onto the ground. Benjamin rolled and rolled, dizzy and discombobulated, before the force from striking his head against earth painted him out in a sea of black.
–
When he awoke again, the trees overhead were gone, and in their place were... Blinking rapidly, Benjamin opened and closed his eyes, attempting to make clear just what he was gazing upon. He was no longer outside -- had someone taken him indoors for m.edical treatment? Had they won? -- and feeling nauseous, he rolled over onto his knees, dizzy and swaying as he attempted to rise.
Toppling into the door on his left, he quickly tried jerking it open -- why wouldn't it budge? -- before someone spoke behind him. Crying out, Benjamin fumbled for his firelock, only to quickly stand down once he realized it was a woman. A very odd, very inappropriately dressed woman.
"Your petticoats," he choked, still feeling a touch ill. "I can see your...I-I see..." your figure.
The dizziness increased tenfold, and then the woman was muttering a bunch of nonsense. Tongue dry and sticking to the roof of his mouth, he accused, "Madam, by keeping me here, you are enacting a form of treason. If you release me now, I'm certain His Excellency will be willing to disregard your oversight."
Surely, she would be spared due to female ignorance?
Unfortunately, the woman seemed in no hurry to cooperate. “Now I have to ask," she treaded, "who are you?”
Benjamin bristled. "You i.mprison me in your strange home against my will, and yet you have the gall to demand answers?" Straightening, he reminded her, "I could very much ask you the same question, madam."
Patience, he tried to calm himself. No enemies were ever won over by bitterness and vitriol.
With this reminder as his primary incentive, he exhaled through his nose, then offered a stilted bow. "Major B.enjamin T.allmadge of the Second C.ontinental Light D.ragoons. At your service." Whether he wished it or not.
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
“You’ll understand then when I say this, but I don’t open up to someone I don’t know. And if I do that is extremely rare.” She kept her options of escape open, not wanting to get cornered. She liked this bar, she wasn’t ready to establish a new routine just yet. She was going to keep a pause on her drinking for now. Wanting a clear level head for the course of this interaction.
Cocking her head to the side, she listened. Careful to keep her facial expression relaxed and just this side of neutral. There was no reason to be rude just yet. Though she was surprised by how open he was about things. If what he said was true, which she detected no lie from him yet, then that would explain the ease he felt in his abilities. However it did raise the bar of her nerves just that much higher.
“Alright, I’ll play along.” She adjusted in her seat so that she had one leg braced flat on the floor in case she needed to cut and run. She knew she could lose him in a crowd or on the streets. She hadn’t made it this far in life, being what she was, without learning a variety of tricks to survive. The realm of the supernatural was one more grimdark,violent, and bloody than most fantasy writers could even pretend to imagine. “Say that I believe you. That is very ambitious of you to leave on a table with someone that you’ve never met before.”
“What makes you think you can trust me with that kind of knowledge?”
Tolaas felt the magic going up all around, and it made him shiver. He was no stranger to it - neither using it nor being around it. NyteHavyn was full of witches, wizards, warlocks, and every type of magic-user in between. He felt the protection spells being put into place.
It caused him to grin at her, but nod in understanding. "I get it," he said. "But I ain't gonna hurt ya. Got no reason ta. I ain't the type ta hurt people, 'less'n I gotta. The reason I came over here was 'cause I thought ya were beautiful, an' I wanted ta get ta know ya."
He took a drink of his Jack. "Yeah, it was a intimate question... but I get tired 'a the whole 'how er ya doin'?' an' 'how 'bout that weather, huh??'," he said in a slightly mocking tone. "When I wanna get ta know someone, when someone catches my 'ttention... I actually wanna get ta know the person. Not just how they are on the surface er the face they show people."
He leaned back. "My name is Tolaas Bluue," he said, touching the brim of his hat in greeting. "An' I don't hide what I am. Most people don't believe it anyway. I'm what's known as a Livin' Vampire," he said. "I'm a ShadowHunter, part-time bounty hunter, sometimes merc. I'm polyamorous, an' I'm over nine hundred years old." He gave a shrug. "Now ya know a bit more 'bout me."
He took another drink from the clear brown liquid in his glass, the whiskey hitting his throat with a soft burn that traveled down and settled in his stomach. He let his deep brown eyes travel over her visage once more, settling upon her lips again. He closed his eyes to shake away the thoughts, and then met her eyes when he opened his own.
"Anythin' ya ask me, I'll answer as honestly as I can, if'n I can," he said.
@morgansmornings
5 notes
·
View notes