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Post by viviana on Oct 18, 2011 11:06:56 GMT 2
Wow, a nice, kind tone? This new side of him was a very much welcomed breath of fresh air. What was the catch?
"That's a pretty hefty offer, since I've been trying for the last 32 years. Never the less, I'll gladly take it."
She was hinting at something with that statement, and she knew he was smart enough to catch it. Salem looked to be in her early twenties, yet she was much older than that. Like himself, aging had been a slow process. What she did not know, was that as of tonight, she would never age another day. Had she known the extent of the abilities he had accidentally given her, she would have gone insane looking for a way to thank him.
Salem was vain, though she rarely ever vocally expressed it. Her looks and the way people viewed her mattered far more than she was willing to admit.
"So what is it you have in mind, oh great and powerful Coat Hanger of Death?"
She followed along side him, pulling his coat from around her and holding it out to him. The mass behind her followed along soundlessly.
"Here, I don't think it suits me as well as it does you anyway."
She stated in a mildly flirtatious tone.
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Post by roflcopterpaul on Oct 18, 2011 11:17:42 GMT 2
"32...?"
Daken questioned as he continued walking forward at a steady, but relaxed pace, looking over at her with an arched brow. He would look her up and down a few times as he questioned the reality that this might be true. Granted, his ears let him know that she was telling the truth, but he still shook his head with refusal and looked forward again.
"Nope. You are in your twenties. As am I. You are only as old as you look."
Daken said with a smirk, taking the normally jolly and optimistic phrase and turning it to fit the vain and beautiful people that they were, knowing that they would never age and would always remain as could looking as they were right now. When she questioned what to do before she flirtatiously offered him his coat, he laughed at the use of his joking name that he had come up with earlier. Reaching a hand out to take the coat, swinging it up onto his shoulder, holding it there with two fingers resting on his collar, he glanced over at her from the corner of his eyes, slightly tilting his head as he asked.
"Feel strong enough to test out your powers on some of your own kind in a few hours?"
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Post by viviana on Oct 18, 2011 11:29:00 GMT 2
And there it was, the catch. She shrugged her shoulders and tossed him a look for a moment. Then, she stared ahead of them, willing the mass to cover her own jacket, and extend down to her ankles like a trench coat. Red looked fantastic on her, and really made her odd orbs stand out.
"Possibly. Though, the idea makes me a little nervous."
She stated obviously. Being that she was so new to her abilities, and so used to stealthing about, it was no wonder she would feel that way.
However, it was worth a shot, wasn't it? It was possible that it could even be fun. Of course, it was also possible that he was setting her up for something.
The promise of getting her work noticed would normally have been worth it alone for some artists. However, Salem had heard that line countless times, and none had gone through.
"Care to explain?"
She asked, her tone dipping from the playful, flirty sound it had once carried, to a serious one.
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Post by roflcopterpaul on Oct 18, 2011 11:47:53 GMT 2
Daken nodded as she mentioned that the idea made her nervous, hearing the blood move around on her, but he payed no attention to it. He turned to cross the street, his left hand brushing out beside him to gently nudge her in his direction as he kept walking. He then looked around in all directions before frantically sniffing the air, making sure nobody was near before he spoke softly.
"The Xavier Institute. There is something I need that is inside, so I am going to take it. I am pulling some favors to soak up the attention because I do not want to ruin my pedicure. But it is going down with or without you, so I was merely inviting you if you were interested."
Daken said with the wave of a hand to let her know that he was not making her or bringing her in any way. He still planned to do what he had said about making her famous, if this plan went off without a hitch. Though, there was still a lot he had to do, and not very much time to do it.
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Post by viviana on Oct 18, 2011 12:05:32 GMT 2
She kept up with him without any effort, and stopped as he had. Curiously, she watched him inspect the area with his heightened senses.
"I'll gladly do whatever I can for you, I owe you that much."
She said, an honest smile tracing her puffed petals. He seemed to be extremely careful in explaining this to her. Clearly, this was important to him. She would do whatever he needed her to do to help him, though she was not necessarily going to jump right in front of a bus and royally screw herself over to do so.
Yes, she enjoyed this relationship they shared, whatever the hell it was classified as, she really did not care to think about. However, her life was, and always would be, far above it.
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Post by roflcopterpaul on Oct 18, 2011 12:21:30 GMT 2
"That is a mighty bold statement."
Daken said with a smirk as she admitted that she would do anything for him. He pondered numerous scenarios that such a helpful assistant would come in handy for, just as she had done already. He was also trying to mentally figure out where the line was that she would decide she did not owe him enough to do. Taking a quiet breath after several seconds, he spoke once more.
"I still have to work out the last bit of details, but I will let you know. For now, I think it best that you try to figure out use of your powers in some more dangerous situations."
Daken said as he looked around, wishing that something more handy to show up in the middle of the night that would allow her to get some training in on. Unfortunately, such a request was doubtful to happen, so it was unlikely that she would get any real challenge in any time tonight.
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Post by viviana on Oct 18, 2011 12:37:56 GMT 2
"It is.. But I wouldn't have said it if I did not mean it."
She admitted softly. It was a bold statement, especially for her, but she was being completely honest.
She leaned back against the building corner they stood beside, watching him with the same interest she would always have when he spoke. She listened carefully to his words, because it was not often that he spoke.
"I agree. However, you can not possibly be expecting complete and total mastery in one night."
she offered calmly. She was not suggesting he was pushing her too far, though some may have taken what she said that way. She simply meant it as an obvious statement.
"I want to study my new abilities. The science behind it, I mean. I never really got much of a chance with the venom..."
She paused, realizing something. She had never tested to see if she still possessed it. Was her blood still toxic, did her spikes still work?
She held her left hand out in front of her and attempted to push the spikes out...Nothing happened.
"They don't come out anymore?"
She whispered, staring at her arm as if it were alien to her. She was silent for a moment, thinking. Then, she let her hand drop to her side and looked up at him
"I wonder... You wouldn't happen to smell any animals around, would you?"
She asked, getting an idea.
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Post by roflcopterpaul on Oct 18, 2011 12:48:27 GMT 2
Daken stayed silent as she spoke about her power and the fact that she would need longer to learn everything behind it. He knew that this was the truth, but he was a firm believer in gaining as much power as quickly as possible when the opportunity presented itself. He would just nod solemnly until she inspected her arm, stopping for a moment as he turned to watch her, trying to empathize with how she must have felt at the moment. He had never lost a power or gained a new one, so he did not know what it was like, but he thought about how he would have felt should it ever happened, so he assumed she was probably quite confused at the moment. As soon as she asked if he smelt any animals around, his nostrils flared and he just laughed, stretching his arms out far to each side of himself.
"Of course I do, they are all around us. They are just curled up in their dens right now. Silly diurnal creatures."
Daken said as he tilted his head back and sniffed the air some more, taking in all of the scents that filled the many buildings around them. They were helpless, powerless and unsuspecting, which made them ripe and prime for picking. Of course, he knew she meant actual animals, but humans were so much easier to get a hold of while in this area.
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Post by viviana on Oct 18, 2011 12:56:06 GMT 2
Humans would have worked too, she was not picky at all when it came to that. She pushed off of the building with her foot and walked up to stand in front of him, since he had stopped for her.
"I want to test my own blood, if you don't mind. I need a test subject. I wish I had thought about it with Blondie back there, but I did not."
She said, laughing softly at herself because it had slipped her mind.
"Right now, you're the only animal I see."
She said playfully, tossing him a wink to emphasize what she had meant.
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Post by roflcopterpaul on Oct 18, 2011 13:09:47 GMT 2
Daken chuckled softly as she mentioned that she should have used the man for something useful that she had sadistically tortured for twenty minutes straight without even learning something very simple. He raised his left arm beside him with his forearm facing up, his lips parting as he was about to speak, likely planning to advise that she could test on him. However, that plan of a humorous moment was quickly shot to hell. In the blink of an eye, without any sort of verbal or physical warning, other than his fist clenching, he turned around and clenched her throat tightly, the metal claw from within his wrist prodding into her neck so much so that it threatened to impale her. As his fingers tightened even more, his hand shaking with rage, he glared at her and spoke in a soft tone that was filled with a grudge tainted malevolence.
"I am not an animal."
He said, breaking his grip of her only a second after he finished speaking, the claw having retracted back into his arm at the same time so that she probably never even saw it. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves before heading toward the nearest large, double-door entrance of the building beside them, planning to find some humans to use as test subjects for her.
It was clear that something about being called an animal set him off like nothing had before. It was true, and it was the one word that hit him low every time he heard it directed at him. His family, his peers, those who trained him, those who fought him... All of them referred to them as an animal, and it was something he had heart his father been called numerous time before as well. He could not stand being called an animal, as if he was some low life creature, especially when he was planning to take over and conquer this world. No, he was most certainly not an animal.
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Post by viviana on Oct 18, 2011 18:26:20 GMT 2
Just like that, his humor was gone and he had returned to the cold creature she had, thus far, come to know. Though she would silently mourn the loss of it, she felt it would return eventually. For now, the familiarity was oddly nice.
She hit the wall behind her with a loud 'thud.' As soon as she felt his fingers tighten around her throat, she held her breath so as not to give him the satisfaction of her gasping for air. Instead of gasping, or begging to be released, she met his blue hues and held the stare coldly until she was let go. His third claw pressed on her throat, waiting to impale her, but he did not do so.
This was a threat, a clear warning. And though it could have came in a much nicer fashion from anyone else, she understood this to be a warning of the kinder variety than most she could have gotten from him.
It was funny to her. He was such an emotion man, very much driven by his feelings. Yet, he rarely allowed himself to outwardly display them. He wore a mask in public and hid those feelings behind it. His painted face, a disguise and nothing more.
He seemed afraid of being fragile, afraid to show who he really was to the world. She did not believe this cold show he put on for a second, there was more to him than that. He hid because being fragile, even for a second, meant he lost control. With him, it was all about power. All those around him were simply stepping stones up to his rightful throne.
When she was allowed down, she softly sighed in slight annoyance and followed along. She allowed a few seconds to pass before she addressed what had just taken place.
"Though I meant that purely as a compliment and nothing more, it seems to be a trigger word for you. I refuse to walk on egg shells around you. So, are there any other words I should avoid?"
She said this in a toneless, bored manner, as if it were simply another thing to check off of a list. She enjoyed his company, though volatile it could be at times. So it was worth taking note of.
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Post by roflcopterpaul on Oct 18, 2011 21:19:21 GMT 2
Daken held the door of the apartment tower open for her, waiting for her to enter. She was clearly upset and annoyed about what had just happened, but Daken was doing his best to pretend like nothing had occurred, refusing to admit that certain things still did make him snap from time to time. Questioning what else made him snap, he glared slightly at her, but tossed it aside as he took a deep breath and relaxed himself.
"None that I know of."
He replied with a simple, blunt statement. Either he could not think of anything else that had that reaction for him, or he refused to admit his weaknesses to her. Of course, it was actually both. He would wait until she entered the building before she released the door and walked in after her, heading up toward the end of the hallway to the staircase, again holding the door open for her. Walking right in to find someone sleeping to use as a test subject was not frowned upon, right?
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Post by viviana on Oct 18, 2011 21:43:08 GMT 2
More than anything, she was annoyed with him for that little incident. The glare he had given her told her something about her analysis of him was spot on. It was, a gut feeling. He was the alpha man and he needed control, and she was more than happy to submit and give it to him for now.
She nodded in response to his blunt answer and silently walked through the doorways he held for her. He seemed to have calmed down, but outward emotions with him were not to be trusted, she knew that well enough. When he did let them slip, it was fairly easy to catch.
As for right now, he had returned to being a gentlemen enough to hold the doors for her. Being that she would not develop bruises, though he had held her tight enough to cause them, she decided to let it go.
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Post by roflcopterpaul on Oct 18, 2011 22:06:15 GMT 2
After Salem also followed through the second door to enter the stairwell, Daken went in behind her and let the door shut. He would walk up the stairs behind her, his eyes admiring her backside, but he said nothing for right now. Once they went up the first flight of stairs and turned in the opposite direction to go up the second set, he spoke.
"Right here."
He said to let her know to stop. Daken then opened the door that led into the hallway of the second story, which was the first floor that people actually lived on. He would hold the door open until she entered the hall, his nose twitching rapidly as he took in as much scent as he could.
"Have any preferences for a test subject?"
He asked, wondering if she cared about age, sex, how many bean and cheese burritos someone had had before they went to sleep, or any other important factors for her test.
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Post by viviana on Oct 18, 2011 22:18:38 GMT 2
She seemed to know just what he was doing behind her, and gave a flirty sway to her wide hips for him to enjoy. She was so shameless, wasn't she? She was having fun, so why did it matter?
She kept going until he told her to stop, which she obediently did right on the spot. He pulled another door open and she entered without a word.
When he questioned if she had a preference of victim, she smirked.
"Yes, I'd like the one armed orphan from Albany who never knew how to love."
She was being a smart ass, but it was clear she was joking with him, as hinted by her playful tone.
"No, I really don't."
She said a second later, giving an honest answer so as not to annoy him anymore than he likely was.
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