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Post by Raziel on Mar 17, 2011 1:03:46 GMT -5
"I didn't mean to just drop in..."
Damn, this wasn't going to be easy or simple, was it? But then things hadn't been almost since he'd arrived--and when he thought about it, he really wouldn't want to change any of this for anything. Still, that didn't make it the sudden awkwardness go away. Like Brandi, his mind was going back over recent memories...of things laid bare.
He coughed.
"It's all right, I always just drop in." He sighed.
"Wanted to see how things were around here."
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Post by Brandi on Mar 17, 2011 1:16:29 GMT -5
"Uh..." *Brandi focused on the inquiry, hoping for distraction. She glanced around, as clues were just littered about.*
"Fine." *She answered hurriedly. Blinking, her brow furrowed slightly.*
"I...I don't know." *Brandi confessed, lifting her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. Things seemed disjointed somehow and she wasn't sure what to make of it. And worse than that, she could feel some part of her drawn to him, even as her stomach tightened. She tried to focus on Cry-Baby, that night with him and the innocence of it. But alas, he wasn't here. And Raziel in all his hotness was. She swallowed nervously.*
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Post by Raziel on Mar 17, 2011 1:59:25 GMT -5
"I got worried, but wanted to give you space..."
He flinched inwardly. This wasn't going well at all, was it?
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Post by Brandi on Mar 17, 2011 2:06:23 GMT -5
"Um..." *Brandi's hand shifted up to rub over her head in contemplation.* "Right. Space. Cause...the awkward." *She shut her eyes for a moment, shaking her head, as if to chide herself.*
"Didn't mean to. Make you worry or anything."
Fuck it.
*She sighed and finished descending the stairs. At least she was out of one limbo. She bit her lip as her eyes lifted to his face. It was as if she was studying him for a few breaths, as if she was looking for something.*
"Thank you for checking in." *Her eyes rolled, perplexed at the awkwardness of the whole thing.* "Especially after...you know, everything."
*She couldn't decide if it was better or worse being so much closer to him.*
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Post by Raziel on Mar 17, 2011 2:43:42 GMT -5
"Yes...the awkward." He shifted a bit in place, resisting the urge to cross his arms defensively. This was Brandi, after all, not some monumental foe.
"Don't worry about that. I think it's in my nature to worry."
He held is breath when she came closer, not even realizing he was doing so until their eyes met.
"I couldn't just leave it all hanging. I had to make sure."
Everything he remembered, including memories from another lifetime, were all fighting with one another for his attention. No matter what flashed past him, it was always Brandi, Brandi in different hairstyles and manners of dress and time and space. And looming over it all, Dracula's shadow.
"Especially since I didn't know where...he went. The last thing you need is him coming back here."
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Post by Brandi on Mar 17, 2011 2:55:26 GMT -5
"Oh..." Right.
*Brandi's lips tightened and her fingers interlaced, one thumb rubbing at the palm of the other hand. Dracula (well, any of them) could be dangerous if not kept in check. Or at least having tabs on. Her body already bore too many scars to not think things through rationally before approaching a situation.
She turned away from him to pace. It helped her think. She might be able to use the angel to channel again; try to get a fix on Dracula and some hint to his grand plan, but... It could also open some very naked doors. She flushed as images came flooding, unbidden. Muscle writhing just beneath soft skin; warm, strong hands caressing her tenderly. Primal instinct tickled low in her belly.
Exhaling sharply as she tried to more past it to reason and logic and all that could actually be helpful for a change, she turned back to face him.*
"In all honesty, it's likely he'll return for sake of plot. It just depends on if we want to prepare our defenses or launch our own offense."
*One of those came with a much more pronounced risk, but also a better chance to catch Dracula off guard.*
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Post by Raziel on Mar 17, 2011 3:05:00 GMT -5
Ah, planning. It was something he was much better at than waiting--he always got rather impatient and had at a few times in the past jumped the gun. Pushing aside the awkward as much as possible, he concentrated on the points she laid out.
"Either way is a good one...and while my first reaction is to attack him first, I have to remember the last time I tried that didn't go so well. No matter what, we need to prepare. What do you think?"
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Post by Brandi on Mar 17, 2011 3:13:15 GMT -5
*Brandi sucked her lip hard between her teeth in thought.*
"Well...defense is always good. But Dracula...he's a tricky bird." *She frowned, as if hesitant to continue the thought. But she managed anyways.*
"I...I could try to find him. To get the jump on him, but..." *Her words trailed off for a moment.*
"I'd need your help." *Her expression made it perfectly obvious that she didn't mean the moral support kind. There would be no reward without risk. And already her body stirred, close enough to smell him. To want to.*
No. Stop it. It's not real. Well, anymore. *She reminded herself.*
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Post by Raziel on Mar 17, 2011 17:41:38 GMT -5
"Could always prepare for both--defense and offense. I have a feeling too much wouldn't be enough with him."
Planning on how to deal with Dracula was helping distract him from his rather intrusive memories, though it still wasn't entirely enough to keep his mind on the business at hand. Was it always going to be like this?
"I'd be willing to...though...if there's some way to ward you from danger..."
Or possession.
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Post by Brandi on Mar 17, 2011 18:20:20 GMT -5
"Of course it'll always be this way." *serves up a heaping slice of sexual tension*
*Brandi chuckled hollowly.*
"As if there was such a thing in this place." *Her hand lifted slightly to gesture at the room around them. It was true, wasn't it? This place, it thrived on...well, angst. And danger was really good at making that. She frowned inwardly, wondering for a moment what had compelled her to come here in the first place. But then she remembered the first time she saw Cry-Baby, how surprising it was that after meeting at a strip club, they'd end up necking out back. The memory brought crimson to her ears and her cheeks flushed. She forced it back, returning to the task at hand.*
"Don't think there's a way to manage it without some risk. *She continued with cooler efficiency. Maybe that was it, plain and simple. Risk and reward. It shouldn't be too hard to find him, right? They should have a blatant connection that would be easy enough to follow. But then again, if she had poofed Drac the last time, he might be getting suspicious and trying to obfuscate himself.*
"Which first then?" *She asked, shifting the topic with a sense of decision.* "Maybe best to handle defenses. I'm guessing going on the offensive is gonna raise a few red flags on his end."
But it should be worth it. I hope.
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Post by Raziel on Mar 17, 2011 19:22:30 GMT -5
((LOL))
"I'm not afraid of a bit of risk," he said, his chuckle echoing hers.
"I'd say defense first, as I'm pretty sure that he won't hesitate to fire back at us once he attack. Sometimes I think he lives for battle."
He blinked. Although the last phrase was innocuous enough, he had the strangest feeling that he'd said that about Drac before, in another context.
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Post by Brandi on Mar 17, 2011 20:00:27 GMT -5
Liar.
*Well, maybe. At least Brandi knew she feared the risk. There were a lot of unknown variables and they were stumbling in blindly. She started to pace again, fighting to remember his canon. She frowned, unable to draw up all that many. Glancing back to him, her nose scrunched.*
"I suppose fire's never bad to have on hand, but...he doesn't have a lot of weaknesses, does he?" *Brandi frowned, mentally going through the classic list. Stakes, holy water, crosses, garlic...was he susceptible to any of those? Not that she could remember, but it had been a while. Maybe her sueauthor should watch it again. He probably wasn't keen on fire or daylight, but even cloud cover seemed enough for him to be comfortable. And she didn't really want either of them to have to risk becoming his werewolf thrall for a one-in-a-million shot at him.*
"Any ideas?"
Please say you've got something I'm totally missing.
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Post by Raziel on Mar 17, 2011 22:34:09 GMT -5
"I looked up the weaknesses, once, but...some of those memories from the past contradict it."
He sighed. It was mostly the Van Helsing memories that said the regular weaknesses didn't work.
"I think fire will do, and direct sunlight, but aside from that I believe he's hard to kill."
The curse is at fault.
Wait, what? What did that mean? He shook his head to clear out the cobwebs.
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Post by Brandi on Mar 17, 2011 22:37:28 GMT -5
*Brandi's brow was set low as she listened to what she already knew to be true. That was perplexing. He shook his head and she nodded in what she thought was agreement.*
"Don't I know it." *She sighed.* "Ok, so we should both have some quick fire methods ready. And we should hit him early in the day, no?"
*It sounded like a plan. And a kinda sound one.*
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Post by Raziel on Mar 17, 2011 23:30:10 GMT -5
"Yes...that's what...ah, I would do." He'd almost said Van Helsing, but had stopped himself in time. He was Raziel, dammit.
"The sooner the better. We don't want him to have time to come up with anything of his own."
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