Chasing Shadows[M]{Damonique&EerieWillows}

[Damonique]

As Kasimir sat there, sipping coffee with the devil, he wondered how his life had ended up here. A week ago, he had been staring at the walls of a jail cell, with no plans of seeing anything else for the rest of his life. A year ago, he would have expected to get his ticket punched in the line of duty any day now. And ten years ago he would have been beating a man he didn't know within an inch of his life over unpaid debts, or getting some 'alternative' payment from some desperate working girl.

Lives changed, as did people, as did expectations. So here he found himself, at a strange place, in even stranger company...having been offered his last, best chance at redemption. The opportunity to finally balance the books, life-for-life. One down, sixteen to go. And while he doubted Eerie kept score, perhaps make some progress on washing away at least some of her own sins.

That thought brought his attention back to the creature sitting beside him, presently engaged with tossing back the last dregs of from her cup and releasing a contented sigh. It was jarring, seeing such a normal, human gesture come from what he had become convinced was no less than a literal demon. It made him think as to her true nature. Did she even still have a soul, after having shed her mortal coil? Was paradise even achievable for such a creature? And without the offer of reward or threat of punishment, what cause would she have to fear the divine? They weren't questions Kasimir was qualified to answer, he was no guru, but it did nag at him.

He was jarred from this musing when she explained why the security was out of her control, and that he'd have to follow her lead, and trust her. Kasimir almost laughed at that, but manages too keep it down to a single 'ha'. There was no way he'd be relying on the witch to do any more or less
than she already had. That was good enough, it meant she wouldn't intentionally kill him yet...but for her own selfish reasons. She was having far too much fun toying with her new ball of yarn to toss it aside quite yet.

The Marine snorted on his way out, when she told him to keep up. Eerie was 5' nothing and, while hot as hell, had nothing near what one would call a 'sprinter's physique'. Outpacing her would be easy, he thought. And then she did her...thing.

Kasimir didn't know what to call it. Magic seemed too fantastical a term, a word for something beautiful, like a miracle. This...wasn't that. It was a demonstration of something that simply felt.... unnatural, a change the witch forced upon an unwilling reality without the slightest regard for it. Kasimir couldn't help but turn his Kara and utter a prayer under his breath before stepping out onto the shadow-stuff.

It was solid, bearing his weight easily, but also...not, giving the impression of the textured ground beneath without him actually standing on it. It was slick, somewhere between glass an oil. And then it was gone, fading with distance from the witch, who's almost gliding steps propelled her ever forward, faster than should have been possible.

Knowing this was his idea, the Khalsa had little choice but to start running, keeping his eyes on the path left behind the witch but far enough back to not have to walk on it. And, well, if it provided him an ideal view of the oh-so-perfect perfect sway of her hips, well, that was on Eerie for showing off.

They began a long, roundabout circuit around the property. Kasimir found the pastoral landscape...oddly serene, if unfamiliar. He's spent his whole life between big cities and warzones, the kinds of places that just screamed for one to keep their guard up. Here, there was nothing, so far as the eye could see. What Brooklyn saw as boring, Kasimir saw as beautiful.

While he'd kept up well enough at first, Kasimir began to lag behind. Despite a longer stride and being in peak human condition, Eerie was inhumanly fast an inexhaustible. The property was also far larger than he'd anticipated. There was no way for the soldier to keep up, but that didn't stop him from trying out of sheer masculine pride...until he couldn't.

Next he knew, Kasimir was leaning against a tree, puking his guts out like a fresh recruit straight off the bus at Parris Island...a familar experience. But Coffee and Creole? Not the best taste.

He was afraid the witch might just leave him there, surrounded by landmines and god-knew-what else, but a glance to the side showed her slowing and turning back for him. He would have thought it touching, that concern, if he wasn't absolutely sure she just wanted to laugh at him.

"Point made...you're fast. You cheat, but you're fast. " The man stated with only a hint if bitterness as he forced himself to cough up the last of the bile in his throat.

[EerieWillows]

Her feet didn’t seem to need to move, instead, the woman surfed upon the shadows.Her gleeful smile was almost as radiant as the dawn itself as it peered out from behind the nearby mountains and over the fields. She hadn’t been out on a morning run in years. She’d usually done it with red to get him pumped before a hunt, let him chase her all over. While he didn’t have the long strides the lanky mess of a man had, he did have far, far better endurance. Oh, as if he couldn’t be any more enjoyable.

Watching him try to keep up was damn near the best fun she’d had in a while. Every zig zag, every sharp turn or sudden stop and start. He handled them well. She always kept just ahead, only gaining ground as he started to tire. Good, there was a bit of time before they’d have to head back. Perhaps they’d manage a full loop. Goodness, that’d be impressive!

It was not to be however, her hollering and chuckling only stopped when she became suddenly aware of the lack of a man on her tail. He was near, but yet, not on the path. Leaning hard and getting low, she doubled back and rushed back. There he was, making himself sick nearly from trying to keep up. All he’d had to do was tell her to cool her jets and she would have slowed down, but no. Men. He was glad he didn’t set off the whole system. Sighing heavily, the girl released her hold on the shadows, walking along the grass towards her companion and lean against a nearby tree.

Eerie could only laugh as he accused her of cheating, of trying to make a point. really, she was just having some fun, seeing how long he could last. Soft, supple hands braced the figure against the tree as she gave him that slick, wolfish grin of hers.

“No such thing as cheating, just winning and losing. You do with what you have. But you already knew that.” Teased the girl, moving to offer him a hand as she gathered her shadows again. This was his only free ride. After all, there was no sense in running him any harder before the day started.

“C'mon, Soldier boy. there’s no sense in running you into the ground before the hard work starts.” Mused the witch, instead of skating away, she seemed to walk, her shadow a thin film over the surrounding area. It’d give her room if he randomly passed out. “Unless you’d rather I carry you. That could be arranged. “

She was being surprisingly patient with the man. Letting him walk at his own pace and waiting when she was needed. Even without skating about on the surface of her shadows, she easily kept pace with him. She was quiet, her hands in her pockets as she relaxed a tinge. Even as they made their way back into the kitchen from the back porch, she kept her thoughts to herself. It seemed her redhead was not up and waiting to scold her for not getting him up, so that was promising.

[Damonique]

As Eerie drew closer, the soldier collected himself, fighting the cramps in his stomach with only the slightest grimace and letting her trilling laughter wash over him, dripping with mocking amusement. Years ago, as another man, he would have slapped the evil bitch hard enough to shut her up, purely on reflex. He had no idea if that violent first impulse had made it through to his eyes. He buried it, just like he'd buried what he used to be, and thought on what she had said instead.

Wounded pride or not, the witch had him dead-to-rights, there had never been any rules to begin with, and he'd been born knowing that while everyone around him carried on in a sort of blissful ignorance.. There was just no little voice in his head telling him there was anything that he couldn't or shouldn't do. Which meant he didn't hesitate when it came to doing what needed to be done...his problem had always been knowing what that was. While it had taken him a long time to admit it, Kas had never been all that smart, in fact, he was dead simple. Simple, violent, and eager to please. It made him easy to manipulate, for anyone who knew the right buttons to press. But it also made him a good enforcer, a good soldier, and now, hopefully a good hunter.

"Pushed too hard, too fast. Been discharged too long, haven't kept up my PT. Next time I'll make it further, pace myself better." He stated with a conviction that said there would be a next time, and another after that, and then another. For once, Kasimir wasn't the scariest wolf the woods...he'd have to get stronger, faster, better than he already was. Eerie was one of them, his only live example, and if he couldn't keep up with her, what good would he be against the ones out there? And getting to a point where he thought for a second he could take her down would go a long way towards easing his concerns.

With a dismissive shrug, the witch once again called up her shadows, and the two set off back towards the farmhouse, walking side by side in a not-unpleasant silence. No more teasing from her, no more excuses from him. They reached the front steps of the porch and those shadows receded from whence they came, leaving the odd pair standing in the crisp morning sunlight, facing the future. Rather than say anything to confirm the sort of uneasy truce they had formed, he just gave the witch a look that said everything and nothing at once.

It was odd, that of all the people in this house, the only one Kasimir felt truly understood him was hardly a person at all. That was telling. They walked inside together, parting with an exchange of nods. Same time tomorrow. These early-morning hours they seemed to share could be put to good use.

--------------------------------------------------

Carrow awoke to a pounding headache...he'd drank too much the night before, and after so long on the road, seemed to have forgotten how to handle his liquor. Still, the chance to relax, even just a bit, had been something he'd badly needed, something he'd have to thank Benoit for whenever the ginger woke up.

The process of preparing for the day seemed to get harder every day....the Agent was beginning to feel his age as he went through his usual routines, working the cracks out of his back and rubbing a soothing cream into his aching joints. He checked his sidearm sitting on the nightstand, out of habit...the single/double action P226 was always locked and cocked with one in the pipe and fifteen in the magazine, and today was no different.

Out of habit, he picked one of his several tailored suits to wear. When you've been a man-in-black for long enough, anything else just feels wrong unless it's an intentional disguise, and made his way downstairs. The farmhouse was silent, but from the two coffee cups sitting empty on the kitchen counter, he wasn't the first up. Kasimir must be off on his run, and one of their hosts must have gone with him. If it was the Witch, the agent couldn't be sure they'd both come back...but that wasn't something he could do anything about.

He took a quick shower and dressed for the day, forgoing the jacket, leaving his shoulder holster visible over the vest, figuring he should get everyone used to that early. He wasn't giving up what little protection he had for anyone's comfort. Landry would understand, that one seemed like he had more neurotic paranoia than Carrow himself....as for the Witch, well, the piece would make him feel safer if he thought it would do anything besides piss the immortal off, but it was better than nothing.

He sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and thick sheaf of Landry's files to look through while he waited for the rest of them to either get back or wake up...it was going to be a busy day.

[EerieWillows]

The back door swung open rather violently, the girl had simply used her foot to open it. Eerie was smirking as she usually was, especially as she let the tall dark and handsome stranger into the warm home. It was toasty and pleasant compared to the crisp morning air from outside. Comfortable, as always. For her at least. With the Soldier moving past, Eerie took one final chance to look him over. While he’d just gotten himself sick, he’d shown he had the endurance she was hoping for. Her eyes left her running partner, and moved to the old man sitting at the table.

To see him up so early; he must be a creature of habit then, like the younger man she'd just returned with. Her amusement with these new recruits was never ending. How would this change of scenery change them? She could tell the Sikh was one bad day away from completely coming undone. A sight she might one day like to see, but not yet. The old man was one bad day away from death. Could he keep up? Leddy had said something about reviewing his hunts briefly, perhaps she might even want to learn about them. How did he do things? Would he accept he wasn’t top dog here? Most old men had troubles with that. Hmm, only time would tell.

“Well well, Seems you’re not the only one up, Solider boy.” Teased the witch, smirking at Kas before moving to start a new pot of coffee, her original brew nearly done. Only when it was starting to percolate did she turned and nod towards Carrow. “ Good morning, Old man. Hope you managed to get comfortable. You were well and resting by the time I did my rounds at least.”

Eerie only took her place sitting between the two men once she had a new cup and the next pot prepped. With this many people, she’d have to break out the big machine. They usually went through nearly a dozen pots between her and Leddy a day, now there were more mouths to feed that needed to be fixed. She had no intention of being coffee bitch. Once that tight leather jacket was shrugged off, The woman allowed herself to slump back in the chair. Carrow was still deep in Leddy’s files. While they were… somewhat useful for learning what they were dealing with or with repeat problems. But other than that.

“You know, Its better to see it for yourself than to relentlessly pour over files, old man. Or to use the library in the living room and the living one of the weird and occult that is sleeping upstairs.” Mused the witch, moving to peer over his shoulder at him, curious as to what Leddy even left for them to look over. They certainly weren’t files from the basement. So they were likely print offs. “ Files like these aren’t much good for this sort of work, unlike your previous employm-.”

A slight creak in the wood above them had her freezing, eyes narrowed as she stared up as if she could see through the wood itself. Really, she was simply focusing. Just what was going on? He usually slept at least a day. Dumb brat was going to run himself into the ground. Again. Letting out a heavy sigh, the witch moved to take a sip of joe. It wouldn’t be long now. Today would prove to be worth the loss of sleep. Perhaps Leddy and Soldier boy could do a sweep instead of her. They were young enough and tough enough. She didn’t feel like missing out on this.

~

Searing white light was all that he could see, all he could feel at first. Then came the screams. The burning, the aching and tearing of god knew what in his core. In his head. The worst was saved for last. A strange metal on metal scream, then the humming. Oh fuck. It reverberated in his skull, in his chest. Constricting him and keeping him from getting a full breath. The building pain in his core was enough to bring the taste of bile to the back of his throat. So much, always so much. And then, the faces. Their faces. His muscles tenses and nearly tore as he gripped at whatever he could, the terror filled him before everything came to a sudden stop.

Shooting up with a hard gasp, Leddy finally flung himself from the awful night terror and into reality. It was only after orientating himself to the familiar surroundings that he was able to really breathe again. Fuck. Not again. This was the third time this month. He needed a god damn normal night of black out sleep. Not this shit. What was keeping it coming? Once a month he could handle, but this was ridiculous.

Thin, shaking fingers combed back through his tangled ginger curls, his teeth still clenched hard enough that his jaw would be out all day. The cold sweat upon his skin needed to be broken. Just breathe. He knew where he was, he knew what was around. His pistol was still on the nightstand, there was no pesky witch in his room, trying to cuddle up to get something out of him or to harass him. The sun was out, there were birds chirping normally. He wasn’t there, he was home, where he belonged.

Going through a few deep breathing exercises, Leddy finally managed to get ahold of himself. He was still shaking, despite how hard he was scowling at his hands. Since when had he been such a fucking whisp. Heaving a heavy sigh, his sore body sank back into the bed. Collecting himself was first and foremost. He didn’t need the witch’s sass about sleeping better when she was around. So what if he was bitter. Boundaries had to be set with that little beast, and he’d enforce them. With being so tired, he couldn’t have slept long. Curiosity finally won and he reached over to the nightstand, no phone. Then came searching himself. A full pat down later, and it was found halfway across the king bed under a heavy duvet. Fuckin. He’d really been tossing and turning.

A quick peek at the screen earned another heavy sigh from the man. Yep. Not long at all. Oh well. There was too much to get done that day. He’d try again when things calmed down. Massaging the bridge of his nose for a few more moments, he fought the urge to let himself pass back out. The sound of his spine correcting itself filled the room as he sat up, the low groan in his throat barely held back as he stretched and popped things into place. Yep. Time to get moving.

Scratching under his chin as he threw off the covers, the ginger began his usual routine of getting ready. Fresh skinny straight cut jeans and a heavy belt were usually all he needed, but there were others in his house now. A little digging around and he found what he was looking for. The loose, dark and warm flannel he’d worn to near death. Meticulously buttoning all but the last three, he slipped his holster over his shoulders and pinched the bridge of his nose to try and soothe the pressure behind his eyes. Coffee. Asap.

~

A quick stop in the washroom to wash his face and fix his mess of hair was all that he needed to be ready. Slippers kept him from getting cold on the hardwood as he quietly made his way downstairs. He half expected to be the only one awake, maybe Carrow, maybe the other young man. But to see the witch with the two of them, that had him questioning things. It must have been obvious upon his bleary face, as the witch barely wasted a moment to speak up.

“Mornin’. Little Leddy.” Teased Eerie from the corner, smirking against her cup as she listened to his footsteps. Yet another creature of habit in this home.

“Mmmn. You’re still awake? Haven’t crawled into your coffin yet?” He replied, pouring himself a cup. Clearly, he wasn’t in the mood for her shit. Not that his little protests meant anything to the witch. Never had.

“A coffin eh? Least it’s not a rock this time. So no, Not yet. Took Kas out for a run.” Mused the girl, taking her time till she heard the all too familiar sip. Gotta say, He got the same endurance you do.”

The sound of the poor boy nearly choking on his coffee seemed to just broaden that terribly twisted smile of hers. Oh, that was just the best sound. He’d be awake now. She could feel the fiery glare the man sent her way, practically stabbing her through with it’s intensity.

He didn’t bother to reply, muttering under his breath and topping up his cup before returning to his spot at the head of the table. How were the dark circles under his eyes more intense than they had been? Leaning on his arms, he nodded to the other two men, keeping his greeting quiet as he tried to take in just what was going on at the table. Kas seemed to be focused on doing the same as what he was. Looking about. Or perhaps he was off in his own little world. At least Carrow was doing something useful in going over things.

“If you have any questions, Feel free. I’ll answer what I can off the top of my head, and if not I’ll point you at least to a better resource.” Mused Benoit as he looked at the older man, the hostility of the day before lessened. Far more formal and with less of a droll. A few moments later, the quiet settled back over them. Hm, seemed like they were ready for the day. Just one last member of this little group to wait for. Pulling out a rather sleek laptop, The man got down to work on his own tasks. His inbox was full of requests and little things to do. God damn. Never a moment of peace, was there. Massaging one of his temples, the man went at the first few emails, It’d be a fairly peaceful morning at least.

[Damonique]

Carrow looked up from the field report he was studying at the sound of the door opening....Eerie and Kasimir, that was a treat. Half a day in and no murder, be it attempted or accomplished. The Witch was, of course, no worse for wear, while Kasimir was practically dripping sweat though his tight tank-top, his braids a wild black mess. He at least thought he knew those two well enough to know there was nothing to read into that besides the golden-boy getting a lil' bruise to ego. Definitely something that one needed. Eerie seemed to be in a good mood about, prepping another pot of coffee before settling herself in the next seat down.

The second she was done with the sink, Kasimir drank and spit up half a cup of water, and then poured another. No coffee for that one, and it seemed he mighta' gotten himself sick...shame Carrow hadn't been there to see it. Brooklyn, too...maybe the realization that he retched like anyone else would put a damper on her little crush. Once everyone was settled, the witch wasted no time getting on with the trademark barbs....Carrow was immune, for the most part, keeping up his reading in feigned indifference until the third time she called him old, which finally elicited a gravelly chuckle from the, at least visibly, older man.

"That's rich, you calling me old. You were playing little house on the prairie a century before I came along, Witchy." The Agent snapped back with a hint of genuine amusement. The time-frame had just been a guess, but the look on the woman's face confirmed it. Carrow had no real idea just how long Eerie had been around. If anyone did, it was Benoit, and that one had neglected to put it on record anywhere. It felt good to scoff back, though, made her just the slightest bit less intimidating. Coming by his death-wish honestly, the Agent went on against all better judgement, this time looking right past Eerie to address Kasimir, sitting as silent as solemn as always.

"Watch out with this one, kid. Easy on the eyes, sure, but there's the mother of all cougars behind that dazzle. Who knows what sorta 'passengers' she's picked up over the years, if you catch my drift." He added with a smirk towards the witch that was meant to make it very, very clear he was kidding. The way the Agent saw it, she'd either laugh herself or just kill him outright. More likely the former than the latter, knowing her sense of humour, but just how much of that was feigned, some trick she'd picked up to set the prey at ease?

Honestly though, Carrow doubted he had much to fear from her, or Singh...despite the minefield of red flags, the two seemed very challenge driven, and some old man with a gun didn't really register on either of their radars. It was a grave underestimation, one that might come in handy if the Agent lived long enough to figure out whatever it was the was really going on in this organization. For now, he'd just do his job, keep one eye on the newbies and the other on their hosts. The first step in any successful operation was covert surveillance.

---------------

Brooke groaned, tossing and turning as the inevitable rays of sunlight from the single window went through her bed-curtains and sent a rainbow to wash before her eyes, courtesy of their technicolor design. Usually, the girl enjoyed that, waking up to something spectacular, but today, she just buried her head in the covers and tried to fight off the waking world as hard as she could. It was no use, thought, as gears started spinning and connections were made, starting the deluge of thought and memory that would follow her through the day.

There were pills in her bags that, taken together, would at least manage that, slow the torrent to a trickle, but she'd resolved not to touch them unless things truly got too hard to bear. Without her supposedly 'brilliant' mind, who even was Brooklyn? Nobody special, and of no use to anyone, that was for sure. So she 'bravely' dug herself out of the comforting shield of blankies, pillows, and stuffed friends she'd built around herself to deal with the...everything...that she'd seen the night before, set her glasses on her face, and threw back the curtains to meet the new day, entirely on her own initiative, no coaxing, prodding, or yelling necessary. Like an adult, not a kid. A woman, not a girl. Yeah, that was it. Hello world, Brooklyn Cassidy Paige here, ready to rock you...

...just as soon as she decided what to wear, that was. Bags were rummaged through, tops and bottoms, belts and accessories laid out until it looked like a Rue21 met a Hot Topic, and they'd had a baby that then exploded all over her room. This had often been one of the hardest parts of Brooke's day...for someone with thought patterns as scattered as hers, it was usually easier to show people what she was feeling instead of try to explain it. This morning was being...difficult, though.

Nothing cutesy, that was for sure,which ruled out about a third of her wardrobe straightaway. Her new...friends...co-workers...house-mates, whatever it was they were to her, hardly respected her as it was. No reason to give them any more reason to doubt her...and she just couldn't shake what Kasimir had called her the previous night, when she'd flown too close to his sun after the 'briefing', and gotten herself burned as per usual. A sweet girl, like some delicate little flower to be protected from everything, untouched and unspoiled. And worse was the conviction he said it with, as if he was doing them both a favor in that rejection, unable to imagine that what she really wanted right now was some touching and spoiling. Just thinking that made her blush...and for the first time, she was thinking about a flesh-and-blood person instead of some character.

And she couldn't even try to go for the intense, rebellious look of black-and-silver. Eerie already had that spot taken, and standing next to her perfect, full-bodied, all-woman self, Brooklyn would just look like some poser who'd never really get it. She didn't need a mirror to know that her skinny, no-waisted, knees-and-elbows self just didn't measure up to the witch. If she had anything going for her, it was all in her literal head, and why would that matter to a man who's greatest domestic products seemed to be testosterone and holy water in equal parts?

Brooke was going in circles, and she knew it. If she was ever going to leave this room, she'd have to forget about who expected what and focus on what they would actually be doing. Leddy had said he'd show them around the place, so best dress outdoorsy. There, it was a starting point. Underwear...none of the fancy things she bought at Vicky's Secret but never got the opportunity to show off. Except late at night, on webcam, from the neck down, under an alias, behind firewalls, on the sorts of sites you'd never find in her browser history. She shook that out of her head and settled on boyshorts and a sports bra, both in a light-blue, comfortable and unassuming. Pants, skirt, or shorts? Shorts, definitely. Pockets for her phone, not as girly as a skirt, the last thing she wanted going for her was a 'schoolgirl' look, and less likely than pants to get ruined running around an...ugh, farm.

For a top, she decided on a ratty green T-shirt with faded lettering across the front, no longer legible it had been washed so many times. It had once named a band that had long since broken up without ever mattering, bought for ten bucks in basement full of smoke and people and a sound Brooklyn had found particularly entrancing. Amateurs, playing beat-up, hand-me-down instruments..completely unpredictable. Her problem with music was that she could usually math it out in her head by the second chorus...there were only so many possible combinations of tuning and timing, and if lyrics were meant to rhyme, word choice was just as predictable. But this...she couldn't account for broken strings, amps cutting out, and pure, human mistakes. It was an good memory, and the shirt had become her most common everyday-wear in the years since.

That twenty-minute ordeal over with, she collected her toiletry bag and the the articles of clothing that made the cut, leaving the rest piled every-which-where, and took her still-Pokemon-pajama wearing ass out the door, hoping to make a quick dash for the shower before anyone was the wiser, prepare her day in peace. Ah, if only...

[EerieWillows]

That, was a good one. He wasn’t wrong, she was very much older than him. Maybe not as old as he thought, but very much old enough to be picking on him a bit more. If he could dish it, he could take it. Perhaps there was more to the old man than a bad attitude and ‘aged’ wisdom. Useless things she’d learned long ago. With his second comment, the woman couldn’t hold back, sputtering before laughing at his rather terrible jab. Oh, the balls on this old man. They would get along just fine.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, little boy” She teased back, practically hearing the eye roll from the redhead at the end of the table. “ Or is that your way of asking for a show? Rather shy if you ask me.”

Great. Just what he needed to picture, the plush little witch seducing the old man into god knew what sort of crazy fucking situation. Breakfast spoiled. Drowning the thought out with work, He turned to the old man and sighed, his brow raised as if asking why the hell he started things with the woman at his side before finally speaking.

“There’s some larger ones there from old cases, I’m just filtering through to see if anything has come up. Have you have a chance to look over much?” Questioned Red once again, bringing the coffee to his lips as he continued to search through his emails and messages. If there was a promising new job, perhaps he’d ship the three stooges out and deal with babysitting as best he could. It couldn’t be that much different than what he dealt with now.

“Leddy, they’re be just fine. No better way to train someone than on the road.” The exasperation with his business-like organization clear in her voice. “Besides, they’ll have me as a teacher. It’ll be perfectly safe.” No one was buying a word of her sass, not a one.

Landry calmly sipped at his coffee, pulling up one email and scrolling through before he dignified the impatient wench with an answer. “Just fine? You sure about that? Or has the infection from your last disaster finally spread to through that thick skull of yours?... Speaking of, how ARE you healing up. You’ve been keeping it clean and wrapped...right?”

Icy eyes flicked up after what he deemed to be too long of a break between words, his brow raised as he eyed her down. In contrast, she was focused on her coffee, properly ignoring the man as he glared her down. She really was fucking with him. She had to be. After all that hard work she was ignoring his advice? Bratty witch was more of a child than he cared for. He was glaring he down by the time she looked up. The air grew thick with tension as they stared each other down, glaring and seeming to speak with their eyes rather than words.

“Oi.” Nothing else needed to pass his lips. She knew what was up.

Silence.

“Oi!” Snapped the redhead, not taking any more shenanigans that morning. “You know the drill. Up and off, I need to make sure you’re not rotting from the inside. Again.”

“Brute! You’re just wanting a show for you and the boys first thing in the morning. Making me reveal my supple, perky bosom before I’ve even finished my coffee… Rude.” Feigning innocence and offence were not her strong suits. Even she could tell the delivery was weak.

“Considering how often you’re eager to spill them out of your tops, I’m not too concerned. Give it a night and i’m sure they’ll have more than enough to last a lifetime.” Huffed the man, clearly frustrated with the difficulty the woman was causing. Dramatic brat. Some days it was hard to handle her. Today was already proving to be one of those days. “Now shut your shit and let me see how you’re healing up. Especially if you want me to let you out of the house. Keep fighting and I’m keeping your cut of the last hunt in lieu of the absolute gong show you started when you got here. Plus the cost of all the wasted medical supplies.”

“Bratty boy, since when were you made boss.” The woman stuck her tongue out at him before laughing once again. She knew he meant well, and wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to tease the soldier even more. The witch kicked back her chair and fussed with her belt for a moment. loosening it just enough to let her shirt free. Pulling it up slowly and stopping just before it became something they’d have to pay for, Eerie watched the others. Pale skin was practically scar-less, pristine and perfect, till she hit just above her belly button. Then came the rather disgusting, twisting mess of red and black. Bruised from side to side and sliced rather messily down the middle. The matching gash on her back showed whatever had done this had a pretty difficult trajectory. going through spine was never pleasant. She’d tried keeping it as best she could, but the medical had always been Red’s forte, not hers. one of the reasons for them staying around each other like they did. She could rely on him to fix her up.

“... Least its better than last time you got into a nest like you did.” Mused the man, seeming fairly unphased by both her little display and the wound. “Would you please put a fucking wrap on it at least? You don’t wear things that absorb sweat, nor breathe. Lord forbid what sort of messes and filth you get into. Last time you pulled this your infection was so bad I was sure you were gonna loose your damned mind and eat me or some shit.”

“You would have enjoyed the attention, you little suck.”

“God dammit woman.” The man managed to restrain himself from saying a word further, pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering to himself. “ you can put your sh-” Freezing in place, he finally looked from the woman to see the young lady coming down the stairs. Oh god. This was a great start to the day. Why did he always end up looking like the pervy creep in these situations. she could have easily just pulled up her shirt and kept herself covered, but no. Had to make a show of it. His face flushed with frustration, perhaps a bit of something else, but mostly frustration.

Eerie hadn’t noticed the girl’s presence at all, until the boy turned as red as his hair. Looking back over her shoulder as she kept her shirt in place, she gave the girl a rather playful grin. Oh, This was just perfect. A good way to wrap up her morning before she headed off. Oh she loved this. More than aware of the girl’s eyes on her back, Eerie couldn’t help but wonder. Was she staring at the wound? Or the fact that she was nearly top naked before the men in the house, her womanly curves nearly on display.


“Well, Good mornin’ there, sugar bee.” Mused the witch, sounding as saccharine as she had the night before as she turned to reveal the matching wound.” Nice of you to join us so early, with how late you were to drift off, I was sure it’d be at least noon before you were up. Coffee is fresh, made sure myself. It’ll perk you right up.” She gave the girl a few more moments to process the scene in front of her before continuing. It was just too delightful to watch the gears in that cute little head of hers jam up and then whirl out of control.

“You caught me in the middle of showing off my latest battle wound. I’ll spare you the details.” Hands smoothed down her shirt as she finished, her eyes flashing towards the soldier for a moment before looking at the group as a whole. “And now that you’re all quite aware and awake. I’m heading up for the day. See ya’ll around mid day. Keeping up with soldier boy this morning’s tuckered me out and I’m more than in need of some beauty rest. Ta~”

As quickly as she’d stirred the pot, the witch disappeared back up the stairs, leaving the group in Leddy’s hands, much to his horror and irritation. She just had to make this that much more difficult. didn’t she? God dammit all. His heavy sigh was the only thing he said, still beyond frustrated as he motioned for the girl to get her coffee and get her ass to the table. He was sure they’d have questions. Especially now.

[Damonique]

"Sorry beaut, I'm sure it would be a good way to go, but I'm trying to hold that first heart attack at bay for just a bit longer, if you don't mind." Sniped back Carrow after Eerie went with what was surely her go-to backup plan, shameless sexuality. The Agent couldn't blame the witch for that, it would surely work, more often than not. After all, men tended to get dumb quick for a sweet pair of tits. Not Carrow, though...he'd already married the love of his life, and while he may have lost the right to wear the ring, he wasn't about to give up the vow.

He had a greater concern for the Sikh, sitting on the sidelines of this little sparring match, sipping his water and twisting his bracelet about his wrist. No doubt the witch had made a pass...or three...at him already. Getting rebuffed couldn't have felt good for her...more likely than not, this little song-and-dance was little more than payback. Carrow was determined to make it clear the psychotic bitch could go screw, that he was still firmly on Kasimir's side, and he didn't have to use any words to do it, just and a hand gesture that involved pointing at the madwoman, spinning it in three circles beside his ear, and slamming his fist into his palm three times for emphasis before crossing himself and offering the younger man a stern look. The meaning was simple, universal, actually. Don't mess with crazy.

Benoit interrupted all the fun, though, stalking into the dining room like a man on a mission. Admittedly, a still very sleep-deprived man stumbling for a cup of Joe like a junkie trying to make a midnight score, but on a mission, surely. All business, all that time, this one.......was what the Agent was about to think, before the conversation passed him by and became an argument, then a fight between the little demon and her keeper, once again airing their business up front with little regard for those that had to cringe through it. Carrow wasn't sure weather to find it reassuring, not being told an idyllic lie about the household, or concerning because these two still clearly had a list of issues a mile-long that should have been cleared up and set straight long before now.

The little peep-show they were treated to at the end of this awkward exchange wasn't enough to get the Agent hot under the collar...but the wound it revealed was enough to send a bit of a shiver down his spine. There had been no exaggerations, then. While the redheads words suggested that there were...unpleasant...side effects, the fact that 'woman' was still breathing right now meant she was practically unkillable. Goddamn, this had happened recently and she was up walking, running, even flirting as if it were just another day.

That fact gave the Agent more than enough to chew on to keep his mouth shut throughout the rest of the exchange, even after Brooklyn walked right into the lion's den without a clue in the world as to what this was even about. Eerie, to her credit, did show a bit of grace in bothering to explain at all, but couldn't seem to resist giving the blonde a parting gift sure to make her uncomfortable before fucking right off to sow chaos somewhere else for a change.

---------------------------------------------------------

Brooklyn had just wanted to hop in the shower...was that too much to ask. Sure, she was up later than everyone else, but they could have just as easily been sitting at the table sharing coffee and idle chatter...but no, Eerie lived here. A straight-up goddamn succubus lived here, and so nothing could ever be so very simple. Shy nerd she was, the girl knew an 'Alpha Bitch' when she saw one, having lived in terror of them for the majority of what she, at least, considered to be her adult life. And this one was marking her territory, clear as day. Three men in the room, so all eyes had to be on her.

"G'morningMs.Eeriecoffeesmellswonderfulthankyouver ynicescarhopeyouhadfunhaveagoodsleepnow" Was what came out of the unprepared blondes mouth, all in one inflection-less stream of the safest responses she could give for the stream of information being shoved into her unprepared mind, now solely focused on seeing her not-even-rival off on her merry way as quickly as possible. Honestly, it was quite a good performance, presuming anyone had been able to pick up more than one word in three.

And after than, she was left alone before the eyes of those same three men, hair a mess, clothes tucked to her chest, wearing nothing but sleep-pants and an oversized t-shirt. She looked from Kasimir, who's eyes seemed to be deliberately avoiding her just when she needed to get lost in them most, the Agent...stern, unreadable, and lost in thought, and then Leddy...who just looked burnt out and pissed off. What she had to say next was just sure to piss him off even more, but it was the only possible option if she didn't want to suffer their withering attention any longer than she had to.

"Sorry to hold everyone up, Mr. Benoit, but I've gotta shower and change before I'm ready for another day of this. Hope you all saved me some hot water, I'll make sure to wake up earlier from now on..." She answered, demurring from the obvious command. Whatever pride she had left was bruised and battered enough...if she wanted to salvage whatever was left of it, she needed the solitude and silence. Before anyone could object, Brooklyn was locked in the downstairs bathroom, humming the notes of some familiar theme-song under her breath in an attempt to cling to even a bit of her short supply of sanity remaining.

---------------------------------------------

"So, Benny..what's the rush for, we got something to take care of already? I was hoping for a few more days of...whatever it is you guys call basic, but if trial-by-fire is on the menu, just tell us what that's going to look like." Asked Kasimir, once both Brooklyn and the Witch were both out of sight and at least mostly out of mind, which did wonders for his attention. He couldn't resist the nickname...Benoit was just too goddamn difficult to take seriously, and 'Leddy' felt like something more personal that he hadn't earned the right to use.

All the while, this eyes kept a steady lock the pupils of Benoit's icy blues, trying to get a feel for the other man who, ostensibly, would be taking charge of things. That in and of itself didn't bother him too much...orders had to come down the chain to someone, and it looked like his boy red here had the most pull upstairs, so that meant he got the job. Carrow might resent that a little, but no matter what the spook had gotten up to earlier in life, they were still a decade or so of service behind the scrawny bastard.

"Oh, and I swear on my honor that nothing happened with your.." He added out of the blue, pausing to search for a word to use that wouldn't offend the ragged ginger. Monster? Creature? Demon? Or just Ex? He settled for just leaving the blank to be filled in by the listener, and continued. "...she ambushed me in the shower, we talked, she stared for bit, and then we went for a race. I lost. Bad. That's all there is to that story." He finished, figuring that might clear the air for long enough for his question to get answered, while Brooklyn, who didn't have much to do with this at all, was still occupied, and Eerie was out of the room. Perhaps not out of earshot, but it was the principle of the thing.

[EerieWillows]

Well, it wasn’t as if he wanted a normal god damn start to his day. It simply couldn’t get any worse. Benoit prayed it would just get easier than this. Between the woman’s nonsense display and being stuck alone with three people he didn’t trust enough to not shoot point blank, This was not his ideal start to the day. Well.. perhaps. At least the witch had managed to make coffee before fucking off to do god knew what. The man rubbed his temples as the girl apologized for holding them up any further, assuring him of an earlier rise in the future.

“Yep, Head in. ‘s fine. No rush. We’ll still be here.” He stated rather calmly. Despite the furrowed brows and clear stress, he didn’t much want to take it out on some poor kid. Especially since he knew he’d have to train her with a weapon later. Besides, She’d shown him a bit of respect with the ‘Mr’ bit. So he was quite fine having a few more moments to nurse his coffee.

It was as if the bastard had heard his mental complaints earlier, the Sikh opening his mouth to question things. To be fair, it was rather unoriginal in terms of a nickname, and he’d heard it many times before. That didn’t lessen his irritation. Coldly staring down the other man, he let him finish instead of jumping down his throat. The frustration and irritation practically radiated off the man as he cracked his shoulders back. Loosening them just a bit and leaning back, He’d cleared his head in time for the best part. To watch the man rattle off that he hadn’t gotten physical to the witch damn near made up for the terrible nickname. Nearly

He couldn’t hold back, setting his coffee down as his scowl slowly turned from a smile. A low chuckle started in his throat before finally escaping those thin lips. He sighed and reclined further, fetching a smoke from his pocket and lighting it. Did this asshole really think it’d do more than irritate him? That he’d loose his temper? The witch wasn’t his to control, nor had she really ever been. At least he could set that strait. Take away an opportunity for more of her taunting later.

“I’m well aware fuck all happened. You wouldn’t be walking if something had, nor would she have left like that. Trust me on that one.” A tinge of mockery to his tone. “Also, Fucking seems to be a sin to most pious sorts, if I’m not mistaken. Fucking the undead seems a step above that. Not that she is undead... we’re still not sure what she is. Weird shit either way.” He took a few moments to puff on his cig, the nicotine and caffeine finally taking effect. Thin digits massaged the bridge of his nose as he reclined and looked towards his screen. Oh, great. Five more needing urgent responses. They could wait.

“Unfortunately, Trial by fire is the only way this business works. As much as I’d love to give you three a week or so of in depth information session and training, You’re needed elsewhere. Carrow has worked enough cases that I’m sure he and the witch have things handled. As for you, your previous career with the military means you can follow orders, and I’m just a click away. Even in a pinch. “ He released his hold on the bridge of his nose to bring his cup to him, taking a swig of the sweet brew within and swirling it about. “I’m hoping to give you at least today to go through things. Assure me that I’m not sending two incompetents out into the field with our little agent of chaos. Get you the equipment you need. I will, however, be keeping the kid here. She’s in no way field ready. I’ll hopefully have that remedied toot suite. As much as many cooks spoil the meal, we need all the hands we can get.”

“Oh, Before I forget. It’s Benoit. I believe I made that more than clear last night.” There was no wiggle room. If he were smart and wanted adequate pay, Singh would get that through his head. Right quick.

[Damonique]

Kasimir was finally beginning to understand why Eerie still kept the ginger around. She clearly all but got off on saying just the wrong thing, playing on other's insecurities to provoke a reaction, and Benoit must be like the gift that just kept on giving in that respect, bristling and mouthing off at even the slightest provocation, too weak to actually do anything and too invested to walk away from the abuse. Kas was more than passing familiar with that sad dance. What he didn't understand was how that pulsing vein on Leddy's forehead hadn't just burst already and put the poor guy out of his misery, considering the way he was treating his body.

But the hard living hadn't done the redhead in yet, and Kasimir was still a guest in this man's home, so the Khalsa in him had little right choice but to sit back and hear out whatever points the other man felt he needed to make before they could get down to business. At first, it was just the usual, predictable barking and snapping of any territorial male when he catches a possible rival sniffing around whatever he's gotten used to calling 'his'. Of course he just couldn't help himself from making it very clear that yes, he had, indeed, 'hit that'. The Sikh found it an odd boast to make, considering he'd just watched the witch spend the better part of twenty minutes trying to rile up a pensioner, but hey, love was blind.

And then came what he had been expecting from the second he'd arrived, surprised it had taken this long, really. The first in a sure to be long line of subtle jabs at his religion. It was just the lowest-hanging fruit...Kasimir showed his faith openly, looking, dressing, and living too far from most people's 'normal', and that drew notice. As far as jabs went, it was fairly tame, and anything less than a deluge if racial slurs and inaccurate stereotypes was just noise to him, now, so he decided to let it slide, at least this time. After all, it was a good question. Just how many different sins did the core of that forbidden fruit contain? Too many, surely.

And then, blessedly, finally, the subject of conversation turned to the business at hand, the real reason Kas was sitting here instead of a five-by-eight concrete apartment. The marching orders, who was going where, and what needed to die when they got there. Even Benoit, who seemed to find fault in everything, couldn't deny that Kasimir had the sort of history that seemed ideal for this sort of work. A wild rottweiler from the mean streets of Chicago, gotten used to the taste of blood on his teeth as a pup, and the Marines had already done the hard part of breaking to a leash that the Watchers were willing to make a murder case go away to get their hands on.

And now, it seemed, they were handing the leash off to Landry. Kasimir didn't mind, he'd been following the orders of assholes he didn't particularly like long enough to know the drill. Keep your mouth shut, ears open, eyes ahead, and nod at the right times until they said something actually important. It was so easy that he could do it in his sleep, and honestly, he was close to giving it a try as the red-head went on and on with the impertinent and the obvious.


Of course they wouldn't be dragging Brooklyn out into the field, because she'd get everyone killed, and of course Benoit wouldn't be joining them either. Probably for the same reason, come to think of it. The Marine didn't need to do any reading to know that the redhead had gone through some shit, it was all in those cold blue eyes. But he also knew the look of a man who'd seen too much and decided to be a cripple to spare his pride, rather than just admit that he didn't want to see it any more. That was in the pained walk, the endless distractions, and the slow suicide taking place for all to see. Kasimir felt just a twinge of pity, and perhaps something else, so he finally decided to say something.

"Semper Fi, Benoit. Let's get to work."

------------

Brooklyn had woken up with confidence, damn it! For perhaps the first time in her life, she had felt ready for anything, and had it all planned out. She was going to prove to Carrow that she wasn't worthless, to Kasimir that she wasn't helpless, and to Leddy. Mr. Benoit, really? The fuck was that? She'd never even called her teachers 'mister'! that she wasn't useless. And yet she somehow hadn't factored Eerie into things at all.

The witch had been so nice to her last night, and she'd had been so, so careful around her. So the girl had made a miscalculation, thinking that maybe they were starting to become friends, that maybe, just maybe, the scarier, stronger, more experienced, and just plain better woman would take pity on her ditzy blonde self, take her under her wing, teach her the secret to being so self-assured, so independent. Not to mention a few pointers on how to make men beg and grovel at her feet couldn't have hurt.

But all that was out the window now...the saccharine sweetness had blinded Brooke to fact that the Witch was probably more of a Vampire...maybe not the kind that sucked the blood from your veins...not that she doubted the little succubitch spent plenty of her time sucking.. Biology wasn't random, and magic didn't exist, so there had to be some hard-wired reason Eerie was...like that.

Hell, maybe she'd been right the first time...Succubi popped up in folklore all the time, and the science checked out, at least in theory. Human ejaculate had an extraordinarily high protein density...if none of the..er, material, was wasted, then factor in the variable of refractory periods, multiple partners, and the biodiversity value of a wide sampling of haplotypes and beneficial mutations, and sexual parasitism looked like a viable evolutionary path, at least on paper.

And so Brooklyn stepped into the steaming shower with her head spinning with theories-turned-fantasies that mostly involved Eerie, multiple men, and more than a little material. About ten minutes into that, she'd suddenly decided that this needed to be a very cold shower instead, and was out in a few minutes later, shivering. Or was that shuddering? Either way, she was happy she wouldn't be seeing Eerie again for most of the day.

Looking herself over in the mirror, the blonde decided to try something just a bit new, tying her hair back into a loose ponytail with her least-colorful wristband, and shrugging the neck of her loose band tee over enough to show a bit of shoulder and a lot of clavicle. It wasn't like any of the guys were likely to notice, not after the show they'd just gotten, but at least trying to make a splash was enough to put her on-task. Somewhere, she'd somehow lost track of the fact that fact her task was supposed to be tech-support for real-life goddamn monster-hunters.

The girl walked out the door and into the dining room wearing the fakest of smiles, doing her best to saunter into the room. None of the men waiting seemed to notice or care....Kasimir and Landry were stuck in what looked like a game of gay chicken, eyes firmly locked, and Carrow was holding the same pose she'd seen him in since they got here....with his face buried in yet another numbered manila folder.

"So, um, business before breakfast, or after?" The blonde inquired, suddenly back to being meek, confidence fleeing her like a coward, and finally getting everyone's attention. It was a valid question, Brooklyn was starving.

[EerieWillows]

His point seemed to finally be made, the man across from him finally seeming to stop with the pointless stare down. God, he hated cocky bastards like him. Hypocritical, of course, given who he was. But, none the less their presence tended to piss him off. Reminded of teammates and other shit he’d dealt with in the past. Always the lanky, weak looking mess, he’d always quickly had to establish he was not a frail little bitch. Nor was he to be disrespected. As their ‘game’ came to an end, he heard the door click open. Cocking his head to the side, he couldn’t help but raise his brow a bit. Well.. least she was ready for the day. They all were. Or so he thought.

His groan of frustration was damn near audible as he rested his head in his palm. God dammit all. While he knew certain people had their routines. He was not one for breakfast. Waste of time. One solid meal a day with enough coffee kill the average Joe and an equal volume of tobacco was his average day. As if that wasn’t obvious. Breakfast was a once in a while treat as far as he was concerned. Special occasions or bad days. He shook his head and motioned towards the fridge. Better get this done and over with. There was too damn much to do.

“Just... Don’t make it too heavy. Fridge is fair game, but it’s gonna be a long, long day.” The exhaustion in his voice was palpable. With a simple flick of his wrist, he motioned for the others to do the same if they wanted, returning his attention elsewhere while they got themselves settled.