[M] Stone and Steel [IC - kittydivine & cwlee]

[kittydivine]

As rain scattered across the city, Charlotte sat on the edge of an alley. The streets were filled with people rushing by, trying their best not to get soaked. She waited, hoping to see her prey. Two days ago she received an envelope with a letter mentioning a rash of murders and a blurry photo of a large... lumpy thing. Wasn't the greatest picture, but she'd seen worse.

The real question was: what was killing people? She knew it wasn't a 'who' as the letter mentioned the body were clawed and bitten. Of course, she'd have to find the answer herself. Her handler, if she could call them that, only gave her a starting point.

Movement on the edge of roof across the street caught her eye. She focused on it. "I've got you now," she muttered under her breath.

[cwlee]

Sirens blared through the streets as emergency responders raced to yet another murder scene. It marked the fourteenth life claimed in this week alone. Fear had become the norm amongst the citizens, casting a daunting shadow over the once vibrant streets.

No one could say when these violent sprees had begun, but they had cast a shroud of despair over the community, particularly after sunset. The ancient cathedral was where most unanimously agreed to avoid, its darkened alcoves and looming medieval architecture adding to the whispers of dangers.

Dante was compelled to take yet another life, something inside him pushing him beyond his own usual moral boundaries. In recent weeks, an insatiable thirst for blood had consumed him, transforming him into something darker, something he scarcely recognize as himself. He was always who he was, but not like this.

As rain pattered against the stone, it masked the sinister figure standing before him, resembling nothing more than an ordinary statue in the darkness. But when lightning split the sky, those fortunate--or unfortunate--enough to witness it saw not a mere statue, but a creature of night mares...a demon, a fiend, a gargoyle.

One death wasn't enough for Dante, however. He hungered for more. With a deafening screech as loud as the thunder above, the monstrous being unfurled its immense wings, their span reaching heights that seemed to defy normal reason. With powerful strokes, it propelled itself into the stormy sky, a dark silhouette weaving effortlessly between the towering buildings below, confident in his assumption that nobody would see him.

[kittydivine]

Charlotte kept her deep blue eyes trained on the figure on the rooftop. Her senses had been honed to be aware of everything around her. The screech made her instinctively embrace the shadows. It was the cry of a killer; a predator trained like herself.

She stepped lightly, making her way towards whatever was beginning its nightly hunt. Her hood covered her close cropped brown hair. She paid no attention to the storm. Using the dark to her advantage, she followed the sound of wings. Each hit of lightning allowing her to glimpse the figure, yet the night mottled the shape.

Charlotte searched her mind for what it could be. She waited to be a little closer for more glimpses. It was big, that was for sure.

[cwlee]

The creature effortlessly navigated between the structures, his wings propelling him with astonishing agility. For a creature of such immense size, twice maybe thrice that of an average human male, and stony composition, gravity appeared to be a mere suggestion as he effortlessly defied its pull. As lightning flashed and the thunder clapped once more, the gargoyle, a creature of scientific horror, screeched, its cries drowned by the storm that only seemed to worsen as the night went on.

Amidst the rain, there was one unlucky soul whom had missed his train home and had to catch the next one that had been delayed by over thirty minutes. He knew his way home as he had gone home this way many times; it was only tonight of all nights he had to stay five minutes behind to help out a random hooded stranger. The man cursed to himself as he trotted home, his head down, unaware of the giant gargoyle that had perched itself atop the second floor to his apartment complex. The gargoyle that was once fluid and agile while soaring through the skies now remained as motionless as stone, but its orange, daunting eyes, almost lizard-like followed the unlucky soul that neared his home.

The man jingled and fumbled for the keys. “Fuck, fuck!” the man cursed in panic, dropping the keys altogether on the ground. As when the man bent down to pick up his keys and got back up, a creature of nightmares greeted him, the creature’s face having become contorted in an attempt to terrify and petrify his prey. In the rain, no one heard the man scream, or supposedly.

[kittydivine]

Charlotte watched as the creature landed on the building. She had to wait until the door to the apartments was unlocked by the next person leaving or entering. Sliding in silently, she bounded up the stairs. When she rounded the corner, she saw the back of a large, stony thing.

She would try and save the man, but he was definitely dead at that point. Unsheathing her blade, she lunged at the creature. Her steel knife sliced off its exterior. There wasn't a mark on it. "Shit." Steel was out. She threw a small dagger at the main light in the hallway, dousing everything in darkness.

Did it have dark vision? She'd have to find out. Squeezing herself against the wall, she waited for its next move.

[cwlee]

The petrified man met his gruesome end as the creature consumed him, the man's final expression being the horror that he faced before his untimely demise. Before the creature could devour the man in bite-sized pieces, something tapped on his back, interrupting his mealtime plans. Having caught by surprise, Dante screeched as he flailed towards safety.

The mysterious assailant extinguished the lights, but the gargoyle was accustomed to prowling in the shadows. The darkness posed no hindrance. However, in panic, Dante was lost as he crashed into multiple dead-ends in an attempt to flee from the aggressor. Ultimately, he settled for a window as he screeched as loudly as he could in hopes to stall the assailant before breaking through the window in the attempt to fly away.

[kittydivine]

The sound of the creature crashing through the hall kept Charlotte on its trail. She stuck to the edges as she moved. It didn't expect her attack, interesting. When it leapt for the window, she quickly grabbed for it. With another small dagger she tried to stab into its stony body. One of her arms hooked around its thick neck.

Now what? she thought as it unfurled its wings into the stormy night. A flash of lightning illuminated its orange eyes, it reminded her of heated iron. Charlotte did her best to hang on, her dagger making little purchase on the creature's skin. She was not going to fall to her death.

"Will you fucking stop?" she hissed into its ear. Though, she wasn't sure if it understood her. The rain hit against her face as the two of them glided through the air.

[cwlee]

Dante let out a cry as an unwelcomed burden descended onto his back, disrupting his flight. Summoning every ounce of his strength, the gargoyle attempted to dislodge the assailant. Yet, despite his best efforts, the individual clung tenaciously and stubbornly, tightening their grip around his stone-like neck, refusing to relent.

With another desperate screech, the gargoyle seemed to implore his assailant for release. When all efforts proved futile, the creature made a bold decision. Tucking his wings tightly, he initiated a spiraling descent, hurtling towards a nearby brick building. While the stone creature could likely withstand the impact, the question lingered: could the assailant survive such a collision with a brick wall?

Amidst the dread of the night, the storm raged on, driving everyone indoors long before their usual hour. Only a handful of emergency responders lingered at the scenes of the crime. Yet, beyond their vigilant watch, the rest of the neighborhood lay deserted and oblivious to the mythical chaos unfolding high above their supposed safe residencies.

[kittydivine]

The stinging rain blurred Charlotte's vision. It didn't, however, cause her to not notice the sudden decline of the creature's flight. Her mind raced as she saw its intended target: the wall. It was going to try and smash her against it. Fuck!

Quickly she scanned the area for anything she could hop onto. The creature was descending fast. She spotted a fire escape, old but hanging on to a building. It was the best she could find in the little time she had. Bracing herself, Charlotte launched herself to the metal staircase. With a clang, the railing hit her in the ribs knocking the breath from her lungs.

Looking back, she quickly flipped off the creature before climbing onto the staircase itself. She rushed down the stairs, keeping an eye on the creature. She doubted she could keep up with it all the way but she sure as hell was going to try.

[cwlee]

With the unnecessary weight on him, he had miscalculated the trajectory. Dante was spinning out of control. Only when the aggressor had leaped off of him was he able to regain control over his flight. However, her actions proved to be too late as even the swift and agile gargoyle could not pull up in the time to dodge the incoming wall.

With not enough time to react, Dante crashed into the brick wall, but with not enough force to punch through it, he merely cracked the bricks before tumbling down onto ground. For a split second as the lightning flashed once more, the creature appeared... almost human, well, rather, a fully clothed man! However, as the darkness quickly enveloped the stormy night once more, the creature reappeared. He shook his head from the daze, spitting out some chunky blood. Upon closer look, they weren't his blood but of the preys he had recently consumed.

Not once had Dante seen the mysterious attacker, her elusiveness seemingly even more elusive than the gargoyle himself who had avoided detection for countless years. He screeched as loud as he could before he camouflaged himself with his surroundings and vanished. The gargoyle will return the next night, but not without precaution of the slayer. Tomorrow, he will be more prepared.

By morning, Dante was human. He appeared much smaller than the gargoyle he truly was, but nobody knew that. A brown haired muscular man walked, or rather limped, himself into a coffee shop wearing nothing but a tanktop, revealing his sleeves of tattoo of all sorts of random art, and a pair of blue jeans. Underneath the tattoo was also a bunch of black and blue bruises as if the man himself had fallen, or had gotten into a fight. He appeared out of place amongst better dressed folks around him sipping away on their coffee.