middaeg | [ Closed ]

The masquerade was fun and certainly was a good distraction from recent grim events, and he was all set to sleep the alcohol he consumed (under Saori's watchful eye) until he got something back. Something he thought he'd never ever get to see.

It was a hard leather briefcase, signs of age is clear from looking at the case and the sweet musty scent it gives off when opened, but all this added to its charm and elevated its overall look from 'simple' to 'elegant'. But as nice as the case is it Bishop didn't care for it, all he cared for were its contents.

Days passed as the case sat quietly hidden in his apartment, fretting and mulling over what to do while his restlessness grew with each passing moment. One quiet morning before he left for work, one wrong move knocked over the case and opened it, it's contents spilling out and the flood gates of his curiosity opening in turn.

And so he read....and read...and read until the sun had set.

He left his apartment, the slow tap of his steps on the cobblestone drive echoing along the street. He stopped and watched through the window of restaurants he passed, witches and monsters, friends and families, dine on food and drinks with smiles on their faces. He watched couples smile and kiss, exchange sweet words and promises, and children who chattered or pouted at greens on their plate. Their faces, expressions flickered and his heart raced. Blood surged like a violent river.

He looked again, passersby on the street, greeting him a 'good evening'. The flicker happened again, and again, and then something....shattered. A shot rang out into the night, people gasped, children cried. Another went off. And then another.

Bishop ran raced down the street, smoking gun in hand.

Edited 2020-11-17 17:36 (UTC)

She'd just been out on a casual errand when the shots shatter the relative silence, someone's scream making her jump to action and pursue the source of the gunshots. Irhya scans each street as she runs, having to do a double take as she finally comes upon fleeing people and a familiar back of the head.

"Bloody hells-- Hey, Bishop, what the hell crawled up your arse and died all of a sudden?" Morally grey, sure, but she's never known him to just... go off the handle like that. Or perhaps he is the type after all, just a walking time bomb she hadn't suspected until now? It's hard to say. "You wanna explain rather than just popping off?"

Even if he turns and trains the gun on her, even without her weapon in hand, she doesn't seem intimidated, staring him down from several yalms away. If nothing else, it directs his attention to her and her alone -- she'd much rather she, as a vampire, get shot than anyone else who might not be able to withstand it.

The familiarity of Iryha's voice is lost on him as he turns and raises his gun. He gripped it with both hands as he pointed the armament towards her, years of training and experience to ensure that the shot finds it mark.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!"

He sees her through the iron sights, finger on the trigger as he pulled the hammer back. Left leg, then the right for good measure, can't be too safe when it comes to monsters. The flicker happened again and a bit more intense as his eyes go wide, stumbling back as the shot goes off and harmlessly into a nearby wall.

He tries to speak but the words won't come out, only the regret and fear on his face speaks about his emotions as his eyes dart from her to the hole in the wall. He backs away slowly, gripping his head before turning and running further into the dark.

Her eyes follow the shot to its final destination lodged in the wall, but she doesn't attempt to move out of the way, staying firmly put as the situation starts to sink in. Something's got him so worked up that he feels like taking it out on others -- no, more likely, he can't even follow his own thought processes at the moment, for it doesn't seem to be an act of malice. Not when he looks at her like that.

But if that's the case, she has no choice but to pursue him. Irhya shouts, "Wait!" before taking off after him, trying to keep him within her sights without getting too close.

What could've gotten him so upset, though? What kinds of things drive someone to act with such recklessness? Despair, certainly; despair at having their world upended somehow. She's seen it many times, people lashing out helplessly because their life as they know it is forfeit.

She's seemingly tireless on the chase. Eventually, she thinks, he'll run into a corner or exhaust his adrenaline, as trapped animals do. And it pains her to think like Zenos in that regard, but maybe he just needs to be talked down. Hopefully she won't have to resort to knocking him out, especially when gunshot wounds are the last things she needs to deal with right now, but if it'll save his sanity, then she'll do what she has to.

"Stop running and talk to me!" she yells after him in a low growl.

Escape is simple in this situation. He's done it hundreds of times before. Leverage the advantage he posses, flight and use the environment and her urgency to catch him to his advantage. Even with her vampiric abilities, he's confident he can lose her.

Or, he would be.

He thought only of escape. To be as far away from her - from anyone - that is what he wanted. The streets, the lights, windows from the houses, darkness from the alley, they all blended into one featureless tunnel of horrors. Eyes that watched every move, waiting for a moment of weakness from him, a moment where he falls.

"Get away from me!"

His heart raced as shadows appeared before the lights reaching out to grab him, rattling him enough to collide and topple a garbage can as he ducked into an alley and crashed to the ground. A terrible pop heard as he tried to catch himself before scrambling to get up and run around the next corner. To bad he doesn't realize that it's a dead end there.

The inevitable mistake... and now comes the hard part. She stands at the mouth of the alley, staring him down and silently thanking her lack of need to breathe.

"Bishop," she pronounces his name with warning, taking several steps forward. "Do you need a smack in the face?"

It's not a facetious joke; she sounds completely serious. If gentle words do nothing, perhaps firmer ones will snap him back to reality and make him stop acting like a frightened feral animal. It's not even like he's a monster that has that excuse, for godssakes.

His heart rate increased in at the sight of the wall which seemed to reach towards the sky. He couldn't fly over it. He couldn't feel the wind. He was trapped.

The mention of his name caused him to jolt and turn, gun raised but shaky as he points it her. "Back off! I'm serious!"

He looked at her but the flickering vision makes it difficult. He can't, didn't want to look, but every inch of this realty started to melt away. Sound was dulled over the sound of his heart and thoughts. Escape. Escape. Escape. It pulsed over and over like a broken record.

"Please...Please just leave." His aim wavered, fingers tight over the trigger but he couldn't find the strength to squeeze it.

Slowly, slowly, she moves forward, one foot at a time.

"You really think I'm gonna leave you alone while you're having a deranged episode? Weapon in hand?" Raising her hands, she continues, "You'll notice I don't have my blade. I'm not here to fight you."

Another step. Then another.

"Will you not just drop the damn gun and talk to me?"

"I have mine, so leave!"

Each step sounded heavy and frightening. Why won't she leave? He's dangerous, too dangerous.

"S-Stay back! This is your last warning!"

He could hear his heart beating loudly in his ears drowning everything out while his vision started to blur and his chest sting.

"Please...Please just leave...."

He trembled more the closer she got with his heart jumping to his throat when his back touched the cold unfeeling wall, distraction and fear clear as he looked away momentarily.

[ Closed ]

For Iryha - After masquerade Noveur 11

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