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Post by Alexis London on Jan 25, 2009 20:34:22 GMT -4
Alexis had succesfully made her way back to the store and apartment. She knew enough back routes home and ways to avoid people that it hadn't been hard. The only difference in this plan was that she was carrying an unconcious Jon Brunner.
It was almost dawn when she laid Jon down on the floor of her bedroom. She removed his sewage soaked clothing and used warm water to clean him up as best she could. Fortunately, the sewage smell was overwhelming enough that if he had any open cuts, she couldn't smell the blood. Later, after he was clean, she might have a problem. After he was reasonably cleaned up, Alexis moved him to the bed and pulled the blankets over him.
Alexis figured now she was safe enough to see to herself for a minute. She pulled off a pair of once reasonably acceptable combat boots and tossed them into a pile with Jon's. In the kitchen, she filled a plastic bag with ice, wrapped it in a towel and returned to the bedroom to put it on his head. There wasn't much else she could do other than hope he eventually came to.
Alexis peeled off her soaked clothing. Her hair was stiff with dried blood. She took a hot shower and dressed in a fresh white tank top and a pair of black yoga pants. She tossed Jon's clothes and hers into the fireplace and lit them. Checking on Jon one last time, Alexis returned to the bathroom to attempt to comb the knots out of her hair.
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Post by Jon Brunner on Jan 26, 2009 1:20:37 GMT -4
Warm, someone touching me. Now I feel cold, what's going on?
Jon sat up and was hit by several key realizations, he wasn't in the sewer, he was in a familiar room and he was naked. The familiar combination of perfume and incense told him he was in Alexis's room. Only she was nowhere to be found. He smelled smoke and realized something was burning, he didn't want to do it but he couldn't go around bare as the day he was born. He opened Alexis's closet and found a towel as quickly as he could. He didn't know if she would like the intrusion of privacy but it was a necessity. He wrapped it around his waist and began to head for the door when the room began to spin.
He put his hand against the wall and steadied himself. He managed to make his way into the hall.
"Anybody home?"
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Post by Alexis London on Jan 26, 2009 7:22:27 GMT -4
"Oh, son of a-." Alexis heard the end of her hair snap as the comb finally pulled through it. "Hell." She tossed out her hair which was still wet from the shower. A small portion of the knots were out, but this was going to take awhile.
Alexis heard movement. She dropped the comb back onto the sink and turned, listening to the movement coming from the bedroom.
"What are you doing?" She responded to Jon's question as she walked back into the hallway. "You shouldn't be out of bed. Come on."
She took his arm and led him back to the bedroom. Forcing him to sit down on the bed, she decided it was probably time to get him some clothes.
"Stay put." Alexis went into her closet and retrieved a blue Yankees t shirt. Tossing it onto the bed beside him, she made a quick trip downstairs for some pajama pants she'd got a good deal on, but never sold.
"You were knocked unconcious in the sewers. You shouldn't be up."
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Post by Jon Brunner on Jan 26, 2009 10:08:57 GMT -4
Jon wasn't in muc position to fight her and even if he was it probably would've been fruitless. He gave her a minute as she brought back some pants for him. He stood up and dropped the towel to get dressed, it was nothing she hadn't seen anyway.
"What happened and why am I once more waking up in your bed with almost no idea why I was in it?"
He felt the room spinning again and laid back on the bed. It felt like he'd been run over by an entire fleet of trucks. He lifted the shirt up to see bruises covering his chest and knew the rest of him probably matched. One thing he noticed was that he'd been cleaned up at some time, something else he probably owed her. He did remember that at one point she'd been coated from head to foot in blood. He could wait to ask about that later because either way if she had wanted to kill him she could've done it down in the sewers.
"Who or should I say what was that guy? I'm going to find him and shove every known weapon out there down his throat."
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Post by Alexis London on Jan 26, 2009 10:49:33 GMT -4
Alexis rolled her eyes and dropped down to the foot of the bed as Jon dressed.
"Well, this time it wasn't my fault. And for that matter, you're welcome. I killed the gator that was after you and carried you out of the sewers because leaving you there wasn't an option, and neither was taking you for medical treatment."
She fought back any desire to move closer to him, since that was probably a bad idea as she had no clue of how he'd react. The last time she'd gotten close to him, he thought she was human. Now he'd probably try to kill her.
"That was a Trickster. And you're not doing anything like that in the near future since you're not at your peak right now. Do you want some tea? Water?"
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Post by Jon Brunner on Jan 26, 2009 15:01:53 GMT -4
"I guess that's two times I owe you for giving me my life. I may have to get an accountant to keep track if this keeps up."
He got up and sat down on the edge of the bed by Alexis, it felt like he had broken glass inside of him when he moved but it was bound to happen. He gingerly touched his ribs to see what the damage was. Nothing was broken so it couldn't be to bad, he just needed a few days rest. There was a pretty good gash on the inside of his bicep. He looked at it closer and realised the gator had gotten a tooth in him and had taken out a small chunk.
"So how did you manage to kill the gator? I guess I didn't do a very good job of leading it away from you."
He hated putting her up like this since he owed her everything. He grabbed her hand tenderly in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I think for now I'd like to relax, I feel like I have fire inside me. My back feels like, well it feels like I was thrown into a wall."
He leaned over and gave her a small kiss on her cheek before laying down again.
"Thank you Alexis, I don't think I can say that enough to you. I owe you so much and I hate feeling the way I do. As a hunter we shouldn't be having this conversation but deeper down I... I don't know what I feel but I don't hate you."
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Post by Alexis London on Jan 26, 2009 15:43:51 GMT -4
Alexis watched Jon move. He'd taken a good hit. She was hoping he didn't have more intentions right now of coming close to getting himself killed.
"I cut it's throat. And to lead something away from someone, it helps if the other party doesn't follow." Alexis gave him a faint smile, but the smell of blood caught her attention. Looking down, she saw that he did in fact have an open cut on his arm. As his lips brushed against her cheek, the scent seemed to get stronger.
"We'll talk later." She murmured, moving his hand from hers. "You need to get some rest. And, you need to clean that up."
Alexis got up from the bed and went into the bathroom. She pulled out a small tube of medical cream, some rubbing alcohol and a roll of gauze bandages. She didn't use them, but you never knew when a business venture might need them. Making a quick stop in the kitchen, she grabbed a container of garlic powder.
"Here." She put the medical items on the nightstand next to the bed. "Clean it up, and cover it, because if it starts bleeding again....I haven't been off of human blood long enough and I don't know what will happen. And for good measure, put this on too." Alexis held up the container of powder. "I don't know if all vampires hate the smell of garlic, but I certainly do. Try and get some sleep. I'm going to do the same."
Alexis picked up a fuzzy brown blanket and grabbed one of the extra pillows. Heading for the living room, she shut the bedroom door behind her.
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Post by Jon Brunner on Jan 26, 2009 16:30:55 GMT -4
"No problem, I'll get some rest and see you in the morning."
Jon made sure to keep his face straight even though he felt somewhat crestfallen. It was to be expected but it didn't comfort the blow.
After she had closed the door Jon relaxed his shoulders as his whole body began to ache. He went into the bathroom and dressed the cut on his arm. He had thrown in a tiny pinch of garlic like Alexis asked but not to much that it would overwhelm her senses.
"I can't blame her, she probably wants to rip my head off right now."
He pulled back the blanket on the bed and slowly made his way in. His entire body aching with every joint that was being used. He laid his head down on the pillow and rolled on to his less tender side. The first thing he grasped was that everything in the room reminded him of the first night he'd spent with Alexis and how great it had been and the second was how lonely he felt. He couldn't sleep at all, a few hours later he got out of the bed and made his way into the living room. He gently brushed a strand of hair from her face and made his way to the window. He had always felt it calming to look over the city at night.
I really should get some sleep.
He went back to Alexis's bed and laid in the dark till he was asleep.
Maybe things would be brighter in the morning.
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Post by Alexis London on Jan 26, 2009 17:08:38 GMT -4
Alexis shook herself awake. It had probably only been 15 minutes or so since she'd dozed off. She'd been exhausted as soon as she laid down. Part of her wished she'd stayed in bed, but the other part knew it wasn't safe-not with a living human with a potentially bleeding cut.
Looking at the clock over the fireplace, Alexis was surprised to see it was nearly 6AM. She'd been sleeping for several hours. She got off of the sofa and checked her cell phone. There were no new messages, but she figured that would last until her collegues had time to shake their hangovers.
Her feet seemed to move themselves into the bedroom. Her mind told her she had work that needed done, anything else that needed done, but instead she pushed the door open and slipped inside.
Jon was sleeping. She could hear that from the sound of his breathing. Alexis walked closer to the bed. Looking down at him, she let herself fall gently onto the bed beside him. Stretching out on her side, she let her hand rest on his side. She could smell garlic, but it wasn't bad enough to repluse her.
Why are you doing this?
She had no explanation for her actions, but she didn't move away either. For the moment, she was fairly content watching him sleep.
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Post by Jon Brunner on Jan 26, 2009 18:34:10 GMT -4
Jon had a rough time sleeping, dreams were going through his head like hundreds of movies had overlapped and were playing at once. There was probably deep meaning behind them but Jon woke barely remembering any of it. The reason he'd woke was because something was moving the bed. His first guess was that it was Alexis coming to finish him off. He was half right, he opened his eyes to see her lying next to him. He stared into her eyes to see what she was thinking.
"Careful Ms. London, a guy could get used to waking up like this."
He laid his own hand on her cheek and gently stroked it with his thumb.
Stop now Jon before you both end up regretting this.
"I'm sorry for what happened between us, I never meant to take it that far. I never want to see you hurt, I... I... care about you."
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Post by Alexis London on Jan 26, 2009 23:29:28 GMT -4
Alexis heard Jon's breathing change. She watched his eyes open and meet hers. Smiling, she let her hand raise to cover his gently.
So could I. She ran her fingers lightly over his. Alexis had never actually cared for someone before. And for that matter, she wasn't exactly sure someone had ever cared for her.
"I'm sorry too. I couldn't hide what I was from you. I've become very successful at lying through my teeth over the past hundred years. I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want to see anyone else hurt you."
Alexis brought his hand to her chest, holding it against her. She knew he was still afraid of her. He was probably waiting for her to kill him.
"I could have killed you a dozen times now, but I haven't. And I won't. I'm trying. I know I can't change what I am, but I can try to change who I am."
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Post by Jon Brunner on Jan 27, 2009 1:28:07 GMT -4
"It was pretty obvious that you weren't... weren't like me, when I saw my truck had been broken into."
He could feel his emotions breaking against each other like the ocean on rocks. He could almost imagine what the two halves were saying.
Jon? What are you doing? You're a hunter and she's a monster, you know what you have to do.
I can't do it to her, she means to much.
Are you getting soft? Do you remember what happened to your family? It's because of monsters like her that you have to live your life like this.
NO! It wasn't her, she didn't choose this but she has to live with it. She wants to change who she is, isn't that enough?
You know that doesn't matter, she is what she is and you are what you are. You have to do this.
He knew what he should have done but the side that cared for her won out no matter how long he thought about it. He couldn't harm a single hair on her head if she decided to feed on him at that very second. He could feel the warmth coming from Alexis, he felt his pulse quicken at her touch and knew that she could probably sense the quickened heart beat as well. He was terrified of her but he wanted nothing more than to be close to her.
"Alexis... I don't know how you came to be what you are and I know there's probably nothing I can do to change that. I don't want to be what I am because that would mean I have an obligation to do my job but just like you it's to late for me. I can never stop hunting, how can I settle down knowing what's out there? There's always going to be innocent people that are hunted by the things that go bump in the night and it's up to people like me to protect them. I've told you once before that one day another hunter may come along and you may slip and that's it but that hunter will never be me. If it means that you have to live by taking my life, than so be it. I am making you a solemn vow, no matter what the circumstances, no matter who, what, where, when or why, I will never bring harm upon you."
He knew that it was a big risk to do that but it was completely true and he would never break that vow for as long as he lived.
"I want to help you do whatever it is you want to do to change your way of life until you're satisfied. I won't stop you from feeding on those that have committed travesties against the innocent but I will do whatever is within my power short of harming you to protect those who can't protect themselves. I want you to promise me though, if there is ever mortal danger like the gator, don't come after me, you mean more to me than anyone has in a long time and I couldn't live if something happened to you because of me."
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Post by Alexis London on Jan 27, 2009 7:24:33 GMT -4
Alexis closed her eyes. She wished this entire situation didn't have to be so difficult. Moving forward, she closed the distance between them so that she was resting against his chest. She laid one hand on his cheek and kept his hand with the other.
"You know more about my history than you probably realize." She told him gently. "I'm sure you do. You're a hunter. You've done your research. I can't promise that I'm never going to make a mistake, that something won't go wrong with this plan, but I'm trying-hard."
Her eyes closed at his words. She was going to have to try harder. Not that she hadn't been successful so far, but it wasn't going to be easy.
"Look," she opened her eyes and met his, "I appriciate that more than you know. But I don't want you putting your own life at risk over mine. If you have to save yourself, I want you to do whatever you have to in order to get away from me. And I can't promise to leave you. Like I said, I won't let anything else hurt you either. And if I have to kill to save you, I'll do it."
Alexis leaned forward and brushed her lips lightly over his pulse point. She knew it would probably terrify him more. She could feel the blood moving underneath. She kissed it gently again before closing her eyes and letting her forehead come to rest against his throat.
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Post by Jon Brunner on Jan 27, 2009 10:27:12 GMT -4
"Don't worry, I'll be here to help you when I can. I know that doesn't mean much right now but when I get better I'll try and do what I can."
He let his hand rest on her side as she moved in closer to him. He lighlty rubbed her toned stomach.
Not bad for a several hundred year old woman.
"Alexis, I doubt that a time would ever come that I'd throw you to the wolves to save myself. If I was facing the devil himself I wouldn't run if you had to stay. I'd take down whatever is out there that would try and hurt you."
If he thought his pulse was racing before then it had gone into overdrive when she kissed his neck. He could imagine her fangs extending out to break the flesh on his neck and probably watch her as she fed on him. The combination of fear, excitement and her being so close to him was almost more than he could handle.
"Alexis...", when his mind couldn't find the right words he let his lips answer for him. He leaned in and kissed her passionately on the lips. The hand that was rubbing her cheek now found it's way into her hair and his other hand exposed her stomach as his hand pulled her in closer by the small of her back.
"I can understand if this is to much but I can't help how I feel for you."
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Post by Alexis London on Jan 27, 2009 19:56:54 GMT -4
Alexis wasn't pleased with his answer. He was alive, she was dead. He needed to worry about him, not her. His life was obviously more valuable than hers.
As Jon's hand brushed her side, Alexis decided not to argue. She'd make her point later on. She was pleased he didn't pull away when her mouth touched his throat. But she'd already known he was brave. The blood in his veins felt as though it sped up. And when his lips fell on hers, Alexis forgot any arguements she might have had.
"It's not too much." She whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm where I want to be."
Her lips moved back to his as she kissed him deeply. Alexis let her hands slid along his sides. Gently, she eased his shirt up so she could stroke the skin of his back and sides. It was then that she remembered his bruises and other injuries from the sewer.
"We have to stop. You're still hurt. I don't want to make it worse. And I need to get dressed. I have work to do."
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