“Damn it, Dominic.. just go with it!” Clarice muttered, slamming him in the chest with a leather jacket, complete with what he considered to be way too many zippers. No fringe though, thankfully. Clarice’s taste in leather ran in the fringeless categories thank Terra.

Brendan’s however… Faal eyed the brunette half demon as he lounged casually against the counter. He looked like he’d lept straight out of one of those music videos that were always playing…  Long hair, teased and streaked, faded jeans that he must have had help getting into and looked like they could burst at the seams at any moment. A faded and slightly ripped band t-shirt covered by the highly fringed leather jacket that also sported, in addition to the excessive amount of fringe, an emblem of some sort on the back.. he stil hadn’t figured out what it was supposed to be of. The buckled and be zippered ‘combat’ boots that reached half way to his knees somehow made the whole ensemble come together… even though Faal thought they were just as ludicris as the rest of the outfit.

Faal turned and looked at his reflection in the mirror again. His hair had been cut and hung around his face, but still came to just below his shoulders. His t-shirt was in considerably better condition then Brendan’s, although still of some band he’d never heard of.. and probably didn’t want to. The jeans were thankfully much looser fitting then his friends, and despite the heavy material, were actually not too bad.He might even be able to consider them comfortable… eventually. The sneakers, although hideously ugly, were comfortable, and he might actually consider buying another pair… if he could find them in a more eye friendly colour scheme… blue and orange were not what he would’ve chosen. Unfortunately.. he hadn’t chosen any of it.

He fingered the white mesh shirt he wore over the tee and sighed again. “It could be worse…” he muttered softly, tucking his hair behind his ear to see the earring he’d had newly punched through his earlobe. “I could look like Brendan.”  He dodged to the side to avoid the punch that had been aimed at his shoulder. “At least you didn’t insist on the makeup…” he added, trying not to look at the black that encircled Brendan’s eyes.

Brendan snorted, grinning. “Ye couldn’t pull it off. Yer too much of a pretty boy t’ do rock successfully.. th’ best you can hope for is …this.”

“Boys boys boys…“ Clarice sighed softly, coming up between them and hooking an arm through each of theirs as Faal finished tugging on the jacket. “No need to get all testosterone.. you both look fabulous. Now . can we get going? The first concert starts in a few hours and we haven’t even gone over the grounds since everything’s been set up. “

Brendan sighed heavily. “But mo – om! He started it!” he whined and received an elbow to the gut from Clarice in reply.

She slipped her arm free of Brendans and cast him a look over her shoulder as she left the store on Faal’s arm. “Fine.. be jeuvenile… Faal and I will have more fun without you anyhow..” she said and gave her head a flip, as if expecting her  no longer existent pony tail to swing out behind her.

Faal turned and looked back over his shoulder at Brendan as they slipped through the door , and in a fit of jeuvenile behavior himself, stuck his tongue out at him.

“I miss my hair..” he sulked softly as they walked, waiting for Brendan to catch up. “I miss your hair.” He added glancing at the short slightly messy white shag that was all that was left of Clarice’s hair. The two blue streaks at the front were an interesting touch, but still…

She sighed and rolled her eyes at him. “It’s HAIR, Faal… it’ll grow back. And besides.. I like your hair like that. And you have to admit, if feels loads lighter, doesn’t it? You never realize how much hair weighs until you cut it off…”

He heard Brendan coming up behind them and pulled his arm free of hers, slipping it around her waist instead, simply to irritate Brendan a bit more. He heard her give a soft snort and knew she was aware of the why behind the waist holding. “You two are impossible…” she muttered softly, a smirk on her face.

Brendan chuckled from her far side, having heard, and smacked Faals hand. When he still refused to move it, he shrugged and slid his own through Faal’s arm to the other side of her, his hand giving her hip a pat. “Ah.. but ye’ love us, anyhow… how could ye not? We’re adorable..”

**

Clarice walked slowly along the lines of vendors hocking tshirts and other articles, weaving in and out of the steadily growing crown. If this kept up, another half hour and it would be impossible to move at all. She caught the glance of a couple guys trying to look cool by a hotdog vendor and smiled coyly as she pretended a sudden interest in a selection of hats. A black cowboy hat with a large celtic emblem on the front caught her eye and she plucked it off the stand. The emblem was on a badge stitched in sliver and highlighted in light blue. Some one had decided a peacock feather would be the perfect compliment to it and stuck the plume behind the badge… it was the oddest combination she’d seen.. a celtic cowboy hat with a peacock feather.. but she had the sudden urge to slap it on Faal’s head. He’d never forgive her. She handed the vendor some money and plopped the hat on her own head for the time being, not bothering with a bag.

As she left the stand she noticed  one of the guys was missing from his post and saw him slip out of the crowd to follow her. With a smirk she pretended not to notice as she continued along the lane. She caught sight of guy number two leaving his place as well as she was checking out her reflection in a mirror while trying on a pair of sunglasses.  With a snort, she returned the glasses to their place and moved on. *these guys are horrible at this..* she thought, having no trouble at keeping track of her pursuers.

She found herself wishing they’d make their move.. she felt this ‘need’ to fight.. to hit and kick and smash… she shook her head slightly, frowning at this new desire for violence that had taken hold of her. She’d been working with Brendan, through training and now hunting for about ten years now, and although she was good at the fighting and didn’t hold back, she’d never felt this… lust.. for it that she did now. Ever since Callum…. She stopped dead in her tracks, causing someone to bump into her  from behind. She ignored the mumbled curses as they detoured around her and she looked for a place to get out of the way. She’d thought she was okay with this…  but even thinking about him…

She glanced around, guiltily looking for Brendan or Faal, as if expecting them to have read her mind.  She hadn’t told either of them what had really happened. Callum had phoned and asked her to come see him.  That’s all they knew… and that was after she got back. For three days they hadn’t known where she was beyond a quick note saying she had to go out of town and she’d be back as soon as she could. How could she tell them she’d killed their best friend? And that since doing so, she’d been over come by this ‘need’ for violence…

She was brought back to the present by one of the two guys coming up beside her. She smiled slightly as he flirted with her, trying to non-chalantly herd her towards a path between two vendors that was relatively out of the way. Part of her was amazed that he was actually hitting on her… he couldn’t have been more then seventeen, if that. But she had to keep reminding herself that she probably didn’t look much older herself at the moment. The new hair do, the makeup, the clothes…  Faal had almost choked when she’d come out in the black  mini skirt and knee high boots. The red and black tank top and the black leather jacket just added to it. She rather liked way the sexy clothes made her feel. Especailly the boots. The way the leather felt tight against her skin .. it just felt right…

She laughed softly at something the kid had said and let him maneuver her where he wanted, aware of his buddy following them.  Where kids really this stupid? Did this crap really work? How many kids had these guys actually managed to snag with this routine? The kid, who she had begin think of as Snake due to the obviously fake tattoo curling up his arm, slipped his arm around her waist and pushed her back against the side of a booth, which thankfully, was one of the more study ones. She smiled encouragingly up at him as his other slid over her hip and he moved in for a kiss. For a kid, he wasn’t that bad a kisser, she decided. Few more years worth of practice and he’d be damned good.

Shame he wasn’t going to get them.

She saw the buddy turn his back to them to stand guard at the entrance to their little hide away at the same time as Snake moved his kisses down to her neck. She dropped her hand to her side and gave her wrist a flick, releasing the slim stake from its sheath under her jacket. She felt his body tense as his mouth suddenly opened, and the second she felt the prick of teeth hit her  throat she slammed the stake upwards into his chest.

Buddy spun, fangs flashing as he heard Snake’s sudden screech of pain as the boy fell away from her. She gave the stake another pound with her foot and flicked the other wrist, sending a second stake sliding into her hand. She gave a slow slightly sinister smile to Buddy and wiggled the fingers of her other hand in a ‘come and get me’ motion. Buddy  hissed and did the unexpected.

He ran away.

“Damn it!” Clarice cursed , glancing down at Snake. She looked towards where Buddy had run to. “Damn it… hurry up and fall to pieces! I can’t leave you here like this..” she muttered and yanked the stake out, whipping it on his shirt before sliding it home to its sheath. The body was slowly deteriorating and she groaned bouncing on her heels as she kept looking towards the entrance. “Oh.. screw it.. your dead.. melt on your own time.” She muttered and took off after Buddy, trying to keep the stake she still held in her hand out of sight.

The crowd had swelled even further while she’d been preoccupied with Snake and Buddy and she growled in dismay to realize there was no way she was going to find him. She hoped Faal and Brendan were having better luck.

**

Faal had wandered aimlessly through the pre concert crowds, wondering just HOW he’d managed to let Clarice talk him into this. This sort of thing was Brendan’s area.. not his. Oh sure, he did work along similar lines at times, tracking down individuals for whatever reason. Occasionaly the reason required some drastic steps be taken, and more often then not the individual wound up dead. But he did not do undercover sneaking around to hunt monsters for money.

And he certainly did not make himself bait for said monsters.

He sighed as he was bumped aside  yet again. And yet here he was doing just that. Playing at being a nice appetizer for a group of vampires… how did that woman talk him into these things?

“Brendan can’t do it… he can’t pass for the right age… and he doesn’t look tempting enough.. Ppffft.” He sneered, “Faal.. you are still a sucker for a pretty lady..” he muttered to himself and dodged out of the way, aiming for the edge of the crowd.

He felt her presence before he saw her. Long black hair done up in hundreds of tiny braids, a few decorated with little golden beads. Heavy dark makeup around her eyes made them seem startling in such a pale face. Severely tattered jeans, high heeled sandals, a tshirt that was obviously meant for someone much smaller… or at least he assumed so considering how much of her was uncovered…

His gaze was drawn to her throat where she wore a simple, unadorned black ribbon.

He looked up and saw her looking straight at him, smiling. He felt his face grow hot and wondered if she thought he’d been staring at her chest instead of her throat. He kept walking, then remembered he was supposed to be a perspective lunch for the young lady, and let himself glance back at her.

Apparently she wasn’t one for the chase. She crooked her finger at him, calling him back. He stopped and looked around, then looked back at her. She motioned again so he headed back for her, trying to look casual.. as if he served himself up as an appetizer everyday…

He really hoped Brendan was enjoying this.. because he was going to have a lot of fun coming up with  a suitable payback

**

tbc....

 

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