"Disgusting." This word muttered with spite, was the only one that came to mind as a girl stood alone. Through the window of a dimly lit pub mottled by the cascade of what seemed to be never-ending raindrops, she stared on in apathy as the patrons within raved, laughing to the point of tears, drinking until they were sick, talking endlessly, smiles plastered all around. She far removed from this world for so long that it seemed like a distant and unreachable dream.
As she watched, her reflection became more distinct in the glass, the glistening raindrops crossing through and distorting the image of her tired and rain-soaked face. As she prepared to walk into the night, she heaved one final sigh and grumbled a sentiment so repressed that she was not even aware of how close it had grown to boiling over: "It's not them."
She wiped her dark burgundy hair out of the way of her vacant blue eyes and started to make her way down the cobblestone street, splashing her way through the puddles scattered about with her black combat boots. From her ears dangled two slightly flashy silver crosses. She wore a long-sleeved blood-red shirt. On top of that, she sported a fitted black button-down corset with two useless pockets, with a pair of black combat pants. Around her waist, fastened by a belt, flowed a cut, half skirt that barely reached her ankles. Bundled near her hip, secured with a holster, was what looked like a wooden stake with an aperture at the top, an interesting yet elegant design was plastered on the grip, and etchings down the shaft. The look was topped off with a long hoodless trench coat.
"Should've worn a coat with a hood," she murmured as the cold rain-soaked fabric of her half-skirt stuck to the back of her legs, sending chills down her spine.
She turned her brain off. Time to complete her assignments with as little thinking and emotion as possible.
Her current assignment was to stake out and hunt down a gang of vampires that had taken up residence in the city. Nothing unusualâsomething she had done many times before. Usually, she hunted down individuals, which meant that due to her skill, she flew solo. However, for larger groups like this, the policy was to work with a partner, something she had never been too fond of.
Before she could lose herself too deep in a large spiral of thought, a voice broke through the sound of the rain, pulling her attention to the present once more. "Ruth! HEY Ruth!" The voice screaming her name was accompanied by a myriad of splashing footsteps as a figure grew closer. Tensing herself up, ready to strike at whatever approached, Ruth shifted herself into a combat stance.
As the figure finally became clear, she allowed herself to ease up and return to a more relaxed posture. I guess I couldn't get away with doing this one myself after all. The ever-approaching annoyance closed the rest of the distance with a large jump and landed in front of Ruth in a big puddle, splashing water all over her.
"Damn, that's cold," Ruth grumbled as the girl in front of herâLenoraâlit up with a big smile and wrapped her arms around Ruth. "Ruuuuuthhh, Ruth, Ruth. It's been forever. How have you been?"
Lenora sported a dark blue double-breasted tailcoat with pants to match. Underneath the coat was a light-colored shirt only half tucked in. Whether it was supposed to be a fashion statement or she was just sloppily dressed couldn't be determined. She jumped up and down, causing her soaked light brown side bob to smack her in the face repeatedly as she awaited an answer.
She was pretty much the only person Ruth could somewhat call an acquaintance. Maybe even a close acquaintance; it depended on her mood. Ruth looked up from her freshly drenched feet to greet her. "Hey Lenora, it's been a little while," Ruth said.
Putting her hand on her chest, Lenora gasped in offense. "A little while?! We haven't seen each other in a year! You can't mean to tell me you didn't miss me?"
Ruth brushed Lenora's hands aside and continued to walk toward their target. "Hm, a year⊠the days just blend. I didn't really notice."
Lenora caught up to Ruth, matching her pace, "So cold. Don't tell me you're even more gloomy and brooding than before? Did my presence really lighten your spirit that much?"
"If that's what it looks like, then sure."
"Oh, come on, Ruth, don't be like that! Where's the sarcasm, the dry humor? The girl from when we were kids? Lighten up a bit."
Ruth stared down at her hands as she briefly pondered Lenora's words. âŠwhere? I don't know.
Before critical thinking could occur, Lenora snapped her out of her trance with a quick jab to the arm, "Hey, don't ignore me! And what's the deal with you heading out on your own? We were supposed to meet up at the compound and go together!"
"Yeah, sorry, I wasn't thinking about it."
Lenora clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Well, whatever, we're finally together again. What do you wanna do?"
Ruth raised an eyebrow at the seemingly pointless question, "Our mission?"
Lenora rolled her eyes in response. "No, I mean after we are done. Should we go somewhere?"
"What about to sleep?"
Lenora wrapped her arm around Ruth. "Was that a quip I just heard?"
Ruth looked off to the side with a frown. "No⊠it wasn't."
Lenora narrowed her eyes. "Hmmm. Okay. Have it your way. But I'm coming over to your room later, and you can't say no."
Ruth grimaced.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that. I'll bring pomegranates. I bought some delicious ones on the way backâyour favorite."
For a brief moment, Ruth's face lightened up in consideration of the idea.
On the one hand, she will drain whatever energy I have left, but on the other, it's been awhile since someone has gotten me one⊠Releasing a heavy sigh, Ruth said, "Fine."
A small corner of Ruth's mouth twitched in what could be interpreted as the very beginning of a faint smile. But she didn't deserve to smile. The thoughts began to pull her down once more. As she started down the rabbit hole, a question she had been wondering bubbled to the surface. "Lenora⊠do you think it's possible for me to stâ"
With lightning-fast reflexes, Ruth's contemplative demeanor shifted as she covered Lenoras' mouth with her hand, preventing her from talking, and pulled her off to the side behind a building. She held up a single finger, signaling the presence of one enemy, and gestured for Lenora to look around the corner.
That was fast, Ruth thought as she surveyed the area. Ruth quickly moved her hands to sign while mouthing the words to Lenora, "There's one. We are after four. Let's follow and see if the others show up."
Lenora nodded in agreement.
After waiting a few moments to leave the range of the vampire's enhanced senses, Ruth and Lenora followed him as quietly as they could down the vacant streets. After a few moments, they arrived at a rather imposing, single-story building. The combination of weathered stone and wood soaked by the rain gave the structure an ominous vibe.
Ruth continued to stay focused on tracking the target down a small side street nearby, until Lenora caught up to her and signed, "Hey Ruth, I think this is the place."
Ruth held her hand up for a moment, gestured for Lenora to stay put, and pressed her ear against the cold, wet street. Straining as much as she could to hear above the noise of the rain, she could hear the faint sounds of conversation echoing down the street. "He's talking to someone. There's at least one other person down here."
Lenora snuck over to Ruth and pulled her aside. "Okay, what do you wanna do?"
Ruth focused back on Lenora. "So, you're fine with me being in charge?"
Lenora very quietly slapped Ruth's leg, her face plastered with an expression that screamed, 'Well duh,' "Don't be stupid, Ms. Doom and Gloom," she quipped, "of course, you are. Experience and skill triumph over anything."
With a light exhale, Ruth agreed. "Fine, does the building look suspicious to you?"
Lenora nodded and held up a wooden stake very similar to Ruth's, the aperture at the top, spike jutting out from the center of it, and etchings running down the shaft reflected traces of wet crimson red in the moonlight. "Yeah. I can see some markings insideâlike an upside-down pentagram in a circle with the bottom point broken off⊠"
Ruth's muscles tensed, her teeth clenched, and her bones shuddered. "The Unseen? Why are they here in Manchester? They don't usually leave America."
Lenora nodded. "When I was in America, I ended up running into some followersânot the boss and the main group, but they were talking about coming here for some special mission. I already reported this to Mrs. MĂłlafrey. It's okay, though. I highly doubt we are in much danger."
Ruth rubbed her neck underneath her turtleneck shirt. Her hand passed over scars left from days long past. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Ruth looked up at Lenora and nodded to signal she was fine. "Just be careful about through your blood too quickly. Remember what happened during the MU game last year?"
Lenora raised a finger. "Hey, It takes a lot less out of me than it used to; thank you very much. Besides, this place is way too creepy not to use some magic to check it out."
Ruth softly huffed at Lenora's unwarranted, carefree attitude; that was the kind of thing that could come back to bite you with blood magic. Use too much of your blood too fast, and you'll be left with nothing more to use when you need it. It takes time for human bodies to create more blood, and you can only lose a certain amount before it gets dangerous. Using it carelessly, especially at the start of a fight, wasn't a good spot to be in.
It was apparent to Ruth that something big was going on; if the Unseen were back here, they needed to be careful. What could they possibly want here? Ruth moved to position herself near the entrance of the alley. "Okay, Lenora. Can I leave the building to you? If our intel is correct, at most two people should be in there. I'll head down here and get these two."
Lenora nodded in agreement, not challenging Ruth's order even though the building creeped her out. "Okay, come meet up with me after you're done. Let's hunt ourselves some monsters."
Lenora began to sneak off toward the front door of the building. Now left alone, Ruth took one more look at herself in the reflection of a puddle that had formed in a divot next to her. Monsters, huh⊠With that final thought, Ruth stepped out into the street and began her hunt.