Thatcher
Rogue Werewolf
Vampire Hunter
Whatever pain may come, today this ends.
Posts: 90
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Post by Thatcher on Oct 18, 2011 22:27:06 GMT
The only reason the pack was even on his radar -- other than the fact that he liked to know everything, or at least as much as possible -- was that they might be a threat. If they weren't brought to heel and kept quiet then they might expose the wolves in the city, and that was more trouble than any of them needed. If they didn't tear themselves apart, then they would need to be dealt with sooner or later, that much was certain. There was no way the larger, stronger packs in the city could allow one so volatile and reckless to continue living so close to them. They would be chased out or destroyed. Thatcher didn't particularly care which one it was.
"Not yet, as far as I know," he said with a shake of his head. "They haven't done anything too drastic yet, and if any humans saw them as wolves then they've written it off as one too many drinks or too little sleep. It hasn't been in any of the papers and it certainly hasn't made the news." That meant there was no proof, which was a relief. Thatcher wasn't about to condemn the use of one's wolf form, not when he did that himself on a regular basis, but he fought in the dark backstreets and alleys where few humans dared to roam.
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Amirah
Rogue Werewolf
Bounty Hunter
Sure fatal doses, malcontent through osmosis.
Posts: 53
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Post by Amirah on Oct 18, 2011 22:45:14 GMT
Amirah nodded. "I see," she said plainly.
In her opinion that was exactly the best time to rid oneself of a potential problem, but this pack was not her problem and so, like so many things, she found that she didn't care what happened to them ultimately. They were not the sort of wolves Marek would be involved with and she knew that he would not have let his prized wolves be bought by anyone who was in contact with such wild, thoughtless creatures. It was too dangerous, too unpredictable. What if one of his wolves was hurt or killed? It had happened in the past and Amirah had seen him fly into truly terrifying rages when things did not go his way, when someone broke his rules. Those wolves he sold were still dear to him in his own sick and twisted way, he did not sell them because he no longer wanted them, rather because they were so perfect, so finely tuned and conditioned that he trusted them to be out here in the world and to not have it taint them.
Sitting in Thatcher's car Amirah found her mind wondering back to Marek over and over again. It did often, of course, he was in her thoughts regularly but it was boiling her blood tonight; she was tired and with that came irritability, more than usual if such a thing could be believed. She clenched her fingers into fists and looked sideways through the passenger window.
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Thatcher
Rogue Werewolf
Vampire Hunter
Whatever pain may come, today this ends.
Posts: 90
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Post by Thatcher on Oct 18, 2011 23:07:42 GMT
Thatcher would keep his eye on the pack but he wouldn't go chasing after them like some kind of vigilante. He had his own mission, one that he had committed his life to in every single way, and as self-destructive as it was, as dangerous and never-ending as it was, it was not one he cared to waver from. Not now. Not after more than four hundred years. It had been his sole purpose for so long that Thatcher knew he could never change it, even if he wanted to. It was a moot point, though; there was nothing else he wanted than to hunt and destroy vampires. Those young and rebellious wolves could tear themselves apart for all he cared, so long as he could go on hunting. So long as he could go on killing.
"They should stay out of your way," Thatcher said after a while, the only sound the rumble of the car's engine as they drove through the city. "And like I said, so long as you keep your head down, so to speak" he went on, one corner of his mouth quirking up just a fraction, "the bigger packs will let you go about your business." He had already said as much back at his apartment, but it was worth repeating. "I haven't had any trouble in the time I've been here." Considering all the fights he had gotten into over the years he had been in the city, that was saying something.
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Amirah
Rogue Werewolf
Bounty Hunter
Sure fatal doses, malcontent through osmosis.
Posts: 53
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Post by Amirah on Oct 18, 2011 23:25:39 GMT
In her experience cities each had their own balance to maintain; packs, vampires, criminals, whoever was in charge behind the scenes or otherwise it was always someone's responsibility to clean up messes of one kind or another. This pack that Thatcher spoke of would no doubt be rubbed out or dealt with in some other way by one of the larger, more stable packs, with older wolves and a better grip on the city as a whole. Amirah had no intention of getting involved with any of the packs quite frankly; she did not like being told what to do by anyone, Alpha or otherwise and would not take kindly to one of them giving her instructions. Amirah was her own Alpha now, she did as she pleased, within reason, and saw no reason to change that. It had kept her out of captivity thus far after all.
"Keep my head down?" Amirah turned her face to look at him again, her expression the usual mix of slight annoyance and blank disconnection. "I do not understand the meaning of the phrase." That might very well have been a joke.
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Thatcher
Rogue Werewolf
Vampire Hunter
Whatever pain may come, today this ends.
Posts: 90
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Post by Thatcher on Oct 18, 2011 23:41:55 GMT
For his own part, Thatcher was much the same way. He was a leader, not a follower, and that had been the way of things for so long that there was no changing it now. Much like his life's mission, his independence and his dominance over his own choices and actions were never going to be any different. It was better that way, on top of everything else. No pack in its right mind would take someone as violent and obsessive -- such as he was -- into their midst; he was more of a liability than an asset, and he was smart enough to know that. He wasn't so far gone that he couldn't see his own instability. Thatcher knew very well that he was a danger, if only to himself a great deal of the time, but that was how things would stay. If it ended up claiming his life, then so be it.
One brow lifted, just for a moment, and his eyes left the road briefly. "Don't make too much noise," he said to her. "Or too much of a mess. They don't take too kindly to that sort of thing." He knew very well that Amirah might not care, particularly, but it would just be easier for her in the long run if she didn't draw too much attention to herself. She wasn't here to make a spectacle, he knew that, she was a smart and tactical woman, but a warning couldn't hurt all the same.
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Amirah
Rogue Werewolf
Bounty Hunter
Sure fatal doses, malcontent through osmosis.
Posts: 53
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Post by Amirah on Oct 19, 2011 23:50:38 GMT
"I am not intending to massacre anyone," Amirah said, tilting her head as she watched the road. "This time."
There had been times in the past where she had made quite a mess in one city or another and word of that sort of thing tended to circulate in the supernatural underground. There were people who knew her name and knew well enough to stay the hell out of her way, just as there were those who had no idea who she was; that was part of being a bounty hunter, the were plenty of guts but often little glory, only stories passed around in the backs of bars that purported her to be some kind of monster, a woman who tortured and killed people for money and kept a pouch of teeth on her person. That part was actually true: the more outlandish stories were hit and miss; yes, she'd gouged out a man's eyes and boiled them once, no she hadn't beaten a man to death with his own ribcage. Bodies tended to pile up around Amirah and she was aware of that fact in a disconnected sort of way because she saw each life she took, human, wolf or vampire, as justified to her cause. Killing innocents wasn't in her nature but she didn't move in circles where they were in generous supply. In any case she was not interested in a killing spree in Los Angeles.
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Thatcher
Rogue Werewolf
Vampire Hunter
Whatever pain may come, today this ends.
Posts: 90
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Post by Thatcher on Oct 20, 2011 0:04:55 GMT
Thatcher actually laughed at that, a low throaty chuckle that sounded genuinely amused. He wouldn't put it past Amirah to do that sort of thing, not at all, and if he actually took a moment, he could even picture it. All that blood, all those dead bodies, and she wouldn't even bat an eye. They were alike in that way, he supposed; death, if it supported their missions, didn't faze either of them. If someone needed to die, whether it because they had earned it somehow or simply because they were in the way, then they got put down. It was as simple as that. Thatcher liked that simplicity. In some ways it really was black and white for him, especially when it came to vampires, not surprisingly. When it came to other wolves and humans, though, it became more of a grey area. Could the same be said of Amirah? Thatcher didn't know. He might have been an acquaintance of hers for some years now, but she was as much a mystery now as she had been the last time their paths crossed.
"And the masses breathe a collective sigh of relief," he said, taking one hand from the wheel, appearing a little more relaxed then. "We're not far off the start of the border now," he went on, easily switching back to the subject of territories. Thinking about it now, if he acquainted Amirah with the beginning of the border, she could begin to build an idea of how these larger packs operated. It was easy enough to figure out the length of the border, and Thatcher had come to think there were distinct scents -- and feels -- on either side that the female sitting to his side would most likely pick up on for herself. Ultimately the borders and the territories might not mean anything to Amirah and what she planned to do here in Los Angeles. It wouldn't hurt her to have the information though.
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Amirah
Rogue Werewolf
Bounty Hunter
Sure fatal doses, malcontent through osmosis.
Posts: 53
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Post by Amirah on Oct 20, 2011 0:39:05 GMT
Amirah's idea of black and white was absolute. People got in her way and they died. People came after her and they died. People held onto information she needed and she beat it out of them or tortured them until they buckled. No one was safe if they crossed her path. Morals and ethics didn't come into it. When she was finished she wouldn't care what she had done to achieve her goals but perhaps her siblings and her children would, perhaps they would look upon her as the monster that snitches in the underworld feared, Amirah would hardly understand their reactions if that became the case. Everything was a means to an end. It was the only way she now knew to survive.
"Which territory are we in currently?" Amirah asked, looking out of her window again, taking in the blur of lights beyond it, burning industrially in the darkness.
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Thatcher
Rogue Werewolf
Vampire Hunter
Whatever pain may come, today this ends.
Posts: 90
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Post by Thatcher on Oct 20, 2011 0:47:55 GMT
Thatcher had only himself, and perhaps it was better that way. Everyone who had ever relied on him in any way had ended up dead and now that he was alone there was no one to suffer for his mistakes. There was no one to judge or criticise his decisions, reckless and ruthless as they might ultimately be, and he liked it that way. He could do as he pleased and go home at the end of the night sore, spattered with blood and God only knew what else, and leave it behind him when he closed the door to his apartment. He was very much a wolf in that way, living in the moment, going from one action to the next, but it was the human side that kept looking back, all the way back to those times when he had lain in bed with his wife, when he had first held his daughter after her birth, when he had joked and laughed and shared stories with his friends. It felt like another lifetime, not his own, and the more he clung to those memories, the worse the pain seemed to get, and in turn, the more violent he became. A vicious cycle. But as there was no one to hold his actions against him, there was also no one to rein him in and warn him to stop before he got himself killed.
"The one belonging to the female known as Rayne. If she has a last name, no one knows it." He glanced her way briefly. "The city is more or less divided right down the middle. Whether or not that was the plan, I have no idea, but it certainly makes it easier to figure out where you stand at any given time." Especially if you took a look at any map of Los Angeles. Thatcher had actually drawn a line down one such map not long after moving into the city. It had amused him for all of five seconds, the neatness of it, before he had folded the map away into one drawer or another. It was still there, likely stuffed to the back by now, gathering dust.
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Amirah
Rogue Werewolf
Bounty Hunter
Sure fatal doses, malcontent through osmosis.
Posts: 53
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Post by Amirah on Nov 4, 2011 21:33:59 GMT
Amirah only nodded, gazing out of the window, her analytical brain taking the information presented to her and making sure she took the details from it that she might need in the future.
They were fundamentally different in that way: Thatcher looked back and the memories caused him pain and Amirah looked forwards into an uncertain future and tortured herself with the what ifs and the maybes that presented to her. In so many ways she was only an animal, her lupine instincts were so close to the surface, she relied on them day in and day out to guide her through the world, they alerted her to threats and let her read situation ins the most base of fashions but for a wolf she had a dizzying ability to get caught up in the future, in things that had not happened yet and therefore she had no immediate power over. Wolves were meant to live in the present, to exist in the only tangible time they had but her mind wandered often to her children and her siblings and she had to rein it in, lock it down. Amirah forced herself to focus on one thing at a time because the big picture that loomed so dark ahead of her would crush her if she gave it that chance.
Sitting in the car she turned her face again, alternating between the windshield and the window at her shoulder. It was through the latter she saw something that she was not expecting at all and she went rigid, straightening in her seat. "Stop the car," she said, already turning in her seat and reaching for the door handle. "Thatcher, stop."
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Thatcher
Rogue Werewolf
Vampire Hunter
Whatever pain may come, today this ends.
Posts: 90
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Post by Thatcher on Nov 30, 2011 20:25:19 GMT
Thatcher's mind had once again been wandering of its own accord when Amirah told him to stop the car. Amirah did not ask, she told, and he was used to that by now, but he still paused, a flicker of annoyance in his mind before he noticed she was already reaching to open the door. With a grumbled curse, he turned the wheel and cut across one lane of traffic to the side of the road. Behind him a car braked hard and the driver hit the horn, letting it blare long and loud, but he ignored it. Even a werewolf could be killed in being struck by a vehicle, especially on the streets of Los Angeles where people spent too much time talking on their cell phones rather than watching the road, and he was in no rush to let Amirah get herself taken out by a car of all things.
"What?" he snapped at her as he watched her open the door. With a growl, he made sure the tail end of the Mustang was all the way out of the road before he yanked the keys from the ignition and stepped out as well. As he moved he was careful to keep his weapons concealed by the cut of his jacket, just as he took the time to lock the car when they were clear of the doors. God knew what Amirah had seen, or where it would lead, and the last thing he wanted -- or needed -- was to have his car stolen while they were gone.
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Amirah
Rogue Werewolf
Bounty Hunter
Sure fatal doses, malcontent through osmosis.
Posts: 53
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Post by Amirah on Jan 18, 2012 17:46:28 GMT
Amirah most certainly did not ask. She also rarely answered and Thatcher's thoroughly justified query went ignored. Amirah opened the door before the car had stopped moving and was out of it in the blink of an eye, racing back up the street and turning right into an alleyway where a man with black hair streaked blue had just disappeared moments before apparently having seen the strikingly blonde woman coming for him.
Jimmy. James. A snitch and all around little piece of shit.
Someone how had been avoiding Amirah for quite a while now and someone whom she was very keen to talk to. Annoying as he might be she had to admit he had done a stellar job of dropping off the radar, for a moron that was. He had to know she was going to catch him. He had to know he couldn't out run her. Amirah could see him ahead of her and the temptation to toss a knife into his Achilles tendon was nearly overpowering for a brief moment. Instead she put on a burst of speed and grabbed the back of his jacket, hurtling him and all his momentum into the wall to the left. He crunched against it mournfully and crumpled into a pathetic little heap. Amirah stood over him with her hands on the ample curve of her hips.
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Thatcher
Rogue Werewolf
Vampire Hunter
Whatever pain may come, today this ends.
Posts: 90
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Post by Thatcher on Jan 28, 2012 16:43:07 GMT
"Godammit." Grumbled under his breath, the complaint went unheard by everyone in the area, and he ignored the eyes of those who had turned their heads to watch the peculiar behaviour of the pair swiftly scrambling out of the pricey muscle car. They weren't important, at least not in that moment, and Thatcher was much more concerned with keeping up with his wayward companion. She hadn't been in Los Angeles long, and while she could take care of herself, she was one of the few people Thatcher felt concerned with looking out for in some capacity.
When he rounded the corner into the mouth of the alleyway, he easily caught sight of Amirah and her quarry, now crumpled pitifully against the wall, practically whimpering as they looked up at the blonde female. There was tension across the back of Amirah's shoulders, and Thatcher felt a mirror form through his own muscles. Stifling a sigh of irritation, he cast one last glance over his shoulder, back towards the car, and then strode down the alley and towards his fellow wolf. "You want to fill me in here?" he said. He wasn't really asking, but when it came to Amirah Novak, sometimes it was easier to get your way if you concealed commands as questions. Sometimes.
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Amirah
Rogue Werewolf
Bounty Hunter
Sure fatal doses, malcontent through osmosis.
Posts: 53
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Post by Amirah on Aug 27, 2012 21:08:33 GMT
"This is James," Amirah answered plainly.
"Jimmy," he spat back at her, correcting her what sounded like the millionth time. "It's Jimmy."
"James," she repeated, unphased. "Someone who has been trying very hard to avoid me for the last few months and someone that possesses information he knows I want." He was squirming a little now, looking between the two wolves. Amirah turn her cold gaze back on him, dead tired eyes staring down at him as he recoiled hard against the brick of the wall at his back. "How many teeth did I have to take last time, James?"
She waited. It was not a rhetorical question.
"Three. Fuck."
"Yes. Three. You have a low tolerance for pain, so how many appendages am I going to have to cut off before you squeal this time?"
James swallowed. "Look. I know stuff, yeah. But not what you want this time, Novak. C'mon. You-- you know they'll do way worse to me." Amirah had a knife out. She crouched down with it, tipping her head to the side and staring at with with a wide and unblinking gaze. Apparently she was completely indifferent to Thatcher's presence but that was the way the female wold acted, she had her blinkers on, the world outside of her objectives might as well have not existed at all. "I know you're gunning for Oshiro, okay?" James went on, "I know but look that's it that's all I got."
"You did not answer my question. I am very tired, James. I might get sloppy here. Choose your next words carefully." The tip of the knife was resting against the inside of his knee in a way that sugested where she was intending to start.
James looked pleadingly up at Thatcher, his eyes frightened and watery. Amirah's clothign creaked as she leaned closer.
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Thatcher
Rogue Werewolf
Vampire Hunter
Whatever pain may come, today this ends.
Posts: 90
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Post by Thatcher on Sept 30, 2012 17:38:12 GMT
That was all the information Thatcher really needed. Not all he wanted but he rarely got what he wanted out of Amirah and that was just the way of things, that was how it had been for years now and he was more than used to it. So he pulled in a breath that might have been a sigh before he got himself back under control and perfectly composed once again, or at least as composed as he was likely to get. With a hard kind of expression on his face, his jaw set and his eyes steady and focused, he watched the exchange between the two, carefully listened to the words being said even if no one was directly addressing him.
It was only when James -- he didn't look like a Jimmy, he looked like a James -- looked up at him like that that he moved at all, reaching under his jacket for the gun at the side of his belt. Smoothly he drew it from its holster and into view. There was no round chambered and that gave him the opportunity to make a show of it, pulling the slide back to do so. The noise it made in the alley was crisp and clear, the clean sound of metal on metal as the first bullet loaded. But he didn't aim the weapon down at James, just held it in front of him, his empty hand loosely clasping the wrist of the one holding the gun. Calm. Ready.
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