InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "shibby"

Jade Armstrong (jadedheart) wrote in haunted_roads,
@ 2008-07-07 23:56:00

Current mood:	surprised
Entry tags:	jade, tavin

Week Eleven: Tuesday
Who: Jade and Tavin
Where: The Towers, 13th floor - Pool Area
When: Evening
What: Imagine meeting you here...

Jade had a night off from work, and after she'd been awake for a while, she'd decided to try out the indoor pool that she'd seen before but never swam in. She was sure that other tenants must use the pool, but there was nobody else up here, same as the day she'd toured the building. She didn't mind that. At her job, she spent so much time dealing with people that it was nice to have some downtime. Hotel management was definitely not a job for the meek.

Once arriving at the pool, which was dimly lit and surrounded by deck chairs and foliage, she put her towel and robe down on one of the chaises and strolled to the deep end. Pausing briefly, she seemed to be waiting for a signal, or possibly just orienting herself to the humidity in here. Once she was ready, she dove into the water, propelling herself through the light and shadow cast by the lights beneath the surface. It was soothing, and she turned to float on her back after she'd swam for a few minutes.

Life had been busy lately, and when it hadn't, she'd made it so. She needed distraction from her Sire and his machinations and manipulations and from the knowledge that Tavin and Jerzy lived right here, in the same building. She'd made it her business to find out which apartment they occupied, though she'd done nothing with the knowledge. It had upset Jerzy terribly to see her as she was now, and she could only imagine what he'd told Tavin. She was probably lucky that Tav hadn't come to hunt her down with a stake and holy water, she thought wryly.

She'd love to see Tavin again, which was an excellent reason for her to stay away. One, he didn't want her, and she couldn't imagine that her being a vampire would change that, and two, she could be dangerous to him. Well, him and Jerzy. She hadn't given in to Tony's... unique information gathering methods at the Theatre du Macabre that night, and she didn't plan to. She supposed he could try to torture the information out of her, but he hadn't taken that tactic yet. She'd be rather surprised if he did. It wasn't that she didn't think him capable of it, but it hadn't been a tactic he'd seemed to have any interest in using on her thus far.

Ah, well. Right now was for forgetting problems, not trying to create more. Jade floated, occasionally trailing her hands through the water to achieve a small amount of movement.

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liar_for_hire
2008-07-08 12:35 am UTC (link)

Tavin hadn’t had any intentions of going to find Jade after Jerzy told him that she was at the Towers. He had no need to, no care to. His brothers concerns about her didn’t follow through to Tavin. So she was turned, got in with the wrong dick and got bitten, quiet literally, for it. He couldn’t say he was all together surprised; she seemed to have that love of danger even if she didn’t always admit it to herself. Jerzy hadn’t seemed all that happy with Tavin’s lack of response to the news but what did he really expect from Tavin? That he’d go rushing off to save her? There was no saving a person from that. Just like there wasn’t shit anyone could do for what he was.

He knew Jerzy didn’t like it. The monsters all around him. All Tavin could do was try to make sure that he was less of a monster in his brothers eyes.

Tavin’s plan tonight was to go out and work till dawn, just like so many nights before this one. He’d come back to the towers just to have dinner with the kid and then would be right back out. Working. Hitting up the bars, clubs, and other social scenes to get goods sold and out of his hands. It was an easy job for him, sometimes too easy even. Sometimes it was the damned opposite.

The plan didn’t change until he got the elevator. There was a familiar scent to the air, so faint that he barely even caught it. He was into that small confined space with the door shut before it even registered. Jade… It was her perfume to the air, a scent that not that long ago he could pick out of any crowded room. Now it made his lips pull back into a hint of a sneer.

Of all places she had to come fucking here.

He should have left well enough alone. Dismiss that scent and go on with his night as planned. But that nearing full moon swayed him more then he liked to admit still. It pushed him, that primal part of him that wanted to see her. To face her. Just to see what she was like now. To get that scent of the others blood in her veins. To know who it was. What did it matter? It didn’t. And yet tonight it did. It gnawed at him until his path had changed directions and it was up floors of the towers he was going instead of down.

Maybe he just wanted to see her face when she realized what he was.

It didn’t take much for him to find her. Once he had that scent he could follow it. He was no dog but his senses were heightened all the same. It was as though he had a bright red trail to follow directly to her. Straight to the pool where the scent was lost among the chemicals in the water. But he knew she was there, he could hear the subtle sound of her form moving through the pool.

After a moment he knew it was just her. Was it better that she was alone? Maybe. Tavin pushed open the doors of the pool, not even seeking to keep the sound silent. He knew she’d hear it. Her senses were heightened similar to his. She’d know someone was there.

And all too quickly she’d know just who that someone was.

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jadedheart
2008-07-08 08:08 pm UTC (link)

What Jerzy had not understood had been that Jade didn't want to be saved. There was no good way to explain it to him, she didn't think. He was so sweet, strangely innocent despite the worst life could do. Apparently he could sense things that were out of the ordinary, something she hadn't known about him before... because he'd known what she was, and he shouldn't have. He needed to stay unspoiled with his games and his inordinate love of certain snack foods. And even if she had wanted salvation of some sort, Tavin would have been the last person who would have run to her rescue.

She'd done a lot of thinking about Tavin, too, since that day. She'd reached a point in her life where she didn't think of him as often, but knowing that he was in the same building, going about his day-to-day activities, and also knowing that it was highly likely he was something besides simply human... Yeah. He'd occupied more of her brainspace than he had since the previous year when she'd randomly run into him again. There was the usual self-hate for wanting him still, when he didn't care about her and possibly never had. There was doubt in herself that he could let her go so easily, a lack of confidence that she never showed to anyone. There was obsession, buried within her like an underground river, an emotion that had never entirely gone away. And there was something else now that haunted her occasional sleepless day, something dark and not entirely comfortable. Intrigue.

What would he think of her now? She'd be stronger than he was if she was wrong and he was only human, probably as strong if he was something other, as she thought he was. She'd always been secretly thrilled when he'd been rough with her, and now she could take just about anything he dished out, unless it involved holy water or a beheading. She could take it... and she could give it back. Jade had never really been afraid of him, as a lot of women would have been, and she was less so now.

Somehow, those insights pleased her, even if she didn't see him for a while, or ever. Just to know.

When the door to the pool area opened, she was still floating on her back, gazing tranquilly at the ceiling, watching the ripples of water and the lights in the pool combine to form patterns. So soothing. Relaxing to be here instead of at her desk at the Grand, making sure the night shift ran smoothly. Immediately, her body tensed ever so slightly as she smelled him. Him. He was here, approaching the pool where she floated, and she could hear the blood rushing through his veins, hear his heart beating, hear him breathing. Were. She wasn't sure what specific kind he was, but she was able to pick up that much from his scent. He smelled delicious in more than one sense.

Lazily, Jade submerged herself beneath the water, taking that few seconds to calm herself, to prepare herself to lay eyes on him again. Down she sank, nearly to the cool tile bottom, then bobbed to the surface, her blonde hair slicked to her head as she swam languidly to the edge of the pool. There she crossed her arms and propped them on the edge, resting her chin on them, nothing of her strapless bikini visible above the surface of the water. She watched him approach, emerging from the faint pools of ambient light, as darkly beautiful as he'd ever been. Her green eyes glittered in the dimness, and a soft smile edged her lips.

"Tavin," she murmured, her tone as casual as if she'd just seen him the day before.

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liar_for_hire
2008-07-08 10:08 pm UTC (link)

Jerzy was innocent in a way but rarely as naive as everyone first thought him to be. Tavin remembered a time when he was, he remembered when this fucking world was just a damned mystery to them. But times had changed, the kid had grown up even if most would still just look at him and think some innocent little boy. Tavin knew better. That kid saw shit no one should. He dealt with crap that most others never would have been able to. Tavin didn't like to think about it, most of the time neither talked about it. But it was known. All that crap that both wanted to leave as the past...too bad it never worked that way.

The only reason Tavin thought about her was because Jerzy brought it up. Once was enough for him to know to leave that damned conversation be though. Tavin wasn't interested in going out to find her to make sure she was alright. If she got into some fucking mess that was her own problem to deal with. He had enough to keep track of with just Jerzy and him. Saved, not saved, Jerzy was worried. He'd keep being so too...shit he still was about Tavin and it had been years.

Was he supposed to care she was turned? Be all excited she'd now understand this world or some shit? No, he felt indifferent if anything. Strength, abilities, wasn't even a thought that crossed his mind because he didn't plan to cross her path. Even if he knew Jerzy wanted him to. That kid was hoping for something that wasn't ever going to happen. Jerzy was better with hope then Tavin ever would be.

Plans changed though. Instead of fucking walking on by he found himself. In the muggy air of the pool room with his skin crawling as that heat washed over him. This week was a bad week to try to keep himself indoors for long. But he always managed when it came to work, this wasn't work. This was something else entirely. It was harder to deny that writhing beneath the flesh. But it had always been a struggle when she was around wasn't it? Tavin wouldn't admit to that fact. Never had.

He watched her lithe form tense. The way her entire body reacted to the sudden realization that he was there. It nearly made him smirk, the way her dead heart quickened even now. Her scent was changed, altered now. Her flesh wouldn't hold that warmth now. Her blood would taste of someone else. It was less...pleasing then it had once been. He approached slowly, but every movement was graceful in a way that a humans never could be. He knew she'd know now. Know with just a moment that he wasn't human at all. Everyone was full of surprises.

Some more then others.

Under the water she hid herself and as she did Tavin knelt down, bringing himself closer to the water so that when she came to the surface she’d be all too near to him. She could swim elsewhere, keep that space. But he knew her. He knew she wouldn’t be able to deny that temptation to be close. Near but his eyes she wouldn’t see, hidden as they now were behind glasses. A common trait but one far more needed now, near the moon, then any other time.
A sly smirk crossed his features briefly, like a ghost there and gone in an instant. She amused him. “Such false calm….the more you try to hide the more obvious you become you know.” He mused, lips bearing back just slightly with each word.

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jadedheart
2008-07-09 11:55 am UTC (link)

Jerzy had always been the eternal optimist when it had come to her relationship with Tavin. For a while, Jade had been right there with him. Tavin would someday realize he needed her, that he cared for her, that the fire that burned between them couldn't be denied. Right. She'd been a lot happier once she got through her head that Tavin wasn't capable of that sort of thing. And wasn't it that untameable side of him that had always made her want him all the more? Of course, she supposed that even optimistic Jerzy wouldn't want her with his brother any longer. She was a vampire, something that apparently horrified him.

She thought she understood Tavin better than she ever had. His priorities were his brother, then his work, then himself. It had always been that way, probably always would. At least she wasn't a weak, clingy human anymore, crying in her Cabernet Sauvignon over him. In all the essential ways, she was still Jade Armstrong, not some feral monster crazy for blood as the old vampire movies would have had her believe. But she was stronger. Better. More practical, less emotional... though she would have been lying had she tried to say that Tavin no longer had the power to affect her.

No, that wasn't true at all.

There he was, all predator as he strode over to the edge of the pool, as he knelt down to be right there when she broke the surface of the water. He was big and well-muscled, and she knew what those hard-packed abs and biceps felt like up close and personal, didn't she? Though they were hidden beneath his clothes now. He was even wearing shades in here where it was dark, as if he were conducting a drug deal or something. Hiding those electric blue eyes that were as clear and yet deep as the ocean.

It occurred to Jade then as he gazed down at her that Tavin wasn't dressed for a swim. He was dressed as if he were on his way out... which meant that he'd come up here because he'd realized she was here. He'd smelled her from wherever he'd been in the building. His choice. She hadn't been stalking him or trying to chase him down, or whatever behavior he'd likely expect from her. She'd been fully prepared to leave him be, and Jerzy too, as much as she would have liked to spend time with him. Jerzy was scared of her now, unfortunately.

Jade's smile widened, showing the tips of her fangs, and she lifted her head from her crossed arms and lifted one pale hand to brush over his cheek. So tempting to do something like snatch off the shades and swim away with them. She wondered what he'd do, and the thought made her chuckle slightly. Probably catch her and slam her against the side of the pool until she was dizzy and thoroughly stirred up, and wouldn't that be nice? For now she contented herself with a touch.

"I'm not hiding anything, Tavin," she drawled. "I'm right here, and so are you." He had to try to one-up her at every turn, didn't he? It was possible that she felt a little bit smug that he'd sought her out. The reason didn't matter; the emotion was the same.

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liar_for_hire
2008-07-09 12:22 pm UTC (link)

Jerzy had reason to be horrified in what she was. While her arrogance made her believe she was something better now, she was dead. No matter how you sought to cut it or sugar coat it, that was what she truly was. Deep down at the core without blood of others she’d be nothing but a rotting thing left to fade away. Jerzy had seen what a vampire looked like then. He’d seen bloodlust in their eyes. Arrogance wouldn’t keep her controlled. She was too young to realize the depth of what turning meant. Too blinded by all those nifty new tricks she had. Tavin knew it would be that way if he crossed paths with her. That she’d think herself better able to handle him now. But it wasn’t the race that made a person able to handle Tavin. It never had been.

A person was clingy if they were clingy. They cried if they were the sort to cry. A change of race didn’t change the personality that had always held them. Jade was still Jade, Tavin wouldn’t deny that any. And Jade was always a person that would never work in his world. She wanted too much. No one stayed around the pair for long. There were too many risks and she was right…she’d never be top priority. The only person that came first was Jerzy and even Tavin’s own life meant shit compared to his brothers.

Right now jade was just a threat to that. By race. By turning. If the bitch didn’t get that someone else could control her now, then she was delusional. Sires had more sway then any newly turned ever wanted to realize and that sway wasn’t something Tavin trusted. Never would. A further gap between them that could not, and would not, be bridged. He barely trusted her as a human. He trusted her even less now that she had some vamp likely swimming in her head.

Jerzy didn’t trust her. Tavin didn’t trust her. But he was here. Here to see her and confirm all the shit that Jerzy had said. Here to get that last good look. Here to make certain that she knew to keep the hell away. With all the shit come to light lately Tavin was starting to think it was time the brothers made a move. The towers weren’t ever safe but now there were even more reasons to avoid it.

Lightning quick a hand snatched out, grabbing up that wrist too near to him. “Watch that smile, never know whose looking…wouldn’t want you to end up staked now would we?” an arch of the brow just slightly seen over the rim of dark lenses. Some humans here were quiet jumpy…eager to be ride of those boogieman. It was surprising she managed to get away from even Jerzy without a mark to show for it. That kid had more crosses and holy water then anyone else Tavin knew.

His free hand moved, raising those glasses so they sat atop his head. Showing all too clearly blue green cat like eyes that he’d never allowed to be so much so in her presence before. Always unique, always…noticeable. But tonight it was obvious that the cat beneath had far more sway. “No? You’ve always tried to act braver then you really are. Calm and cool no matter how your heart thuds in your chest…” he looked her up and down, features near feral as he did “Some things never change.”

Roughly he released her hand, pushing himself up to his feet as he did. “Here…” the word was elongated, a subtle hiss nearly at the reality of it. Yes she was here. Here where she shouldn’t have been. “If here is where you’re remaining…” he continued, calmer now, that primal side subdued just slightly “…then ensure that here is far away from Jerzy.”

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jadedheart
2008-07-11 03:10 pm UTC (link)

Jade was fine with what she was. Why not be? What would be the point of crying and flailing around about it? It wouldn't change anything. Tony had tricked her that night, and then the choice was left to her how she was going to handle it. She'd chosen to make lemonade out of those blood-covered lemons she'd been handed, and if Tavin would judge her for that, well... she couldn't say she gave a shit. Tavin had always thought he knew best about everything, and she couldn't imagine that would ever change. Yeah, she was dead, but she was a pretty damned functional dead girl, in her opinion. Every blow life handed her, she kept right on going. If that made her arrogant, she'd cop to it. There was still no way she could possibly be as arrogant as the man who was currently looming over her.

She regretted that Jerzy would likely never give her the time of day again, but that was yet another thing on the list of situations she was helpless to change. Maybe she was a monster, rotting inside, craven, cursed... but still she hadn't liked seeing Jerzy frightened. Of her. She'd cared for him while she'd lived, and she cared for him still. If staying away from him was what she had to do to help him feel safer, then she could do that. It didn't matter what she might have preferred. When it came to Tavin and Jerzy both, it never really had.

Jade laughed when he grabbed her wrist, the clasp of his fingers hard. Painfully so, but she didn't let that bother her. "I know that'd just break your heart, Tav," she said, impish green eyes scrutinizing his face. She might have enhanced vision now, but that still didn't allow her to see through those dark glasses. She spent her evenings on the job hiding what she was, always careful not to smile too brightly, the internal light that had always beamed out through her smile dimmed. Embers instead of flames, but it was a necessary trade. She could never know when she might run into someone who knew that yes, vampires really did exist. The wrong someone.

She was rendered temporarily speechless when he pushed up his glasses to reveal those incredible eyes that burned with feral heat. She'd always thought him unjustly beautiful, as foolish as it might seem to call a man beautiful, and the slight shift in his features due to the nearness of the full moon made him even more so. Always dangerous and changeable, but now she could see his full deadly potential deep in those eyes and in his whole demeanor. It was thrilling to her. He was, but then that had been so from the first time she'd seen him.

Finding her voice finally, Jade murmured, "What's wrong with being brave? Would it make you feel better if I fell apart?" Were, vampire, human, men shared many of the same traits. They claimed to dislike a whiny, clingy woman who begged for attention and affirmation, but still they were not satisfied with calm, cool and independent, either. Not that Tavin had ever been the sedate type who'd been easy to please. With him it had been mostly fire, heat and anger with the very rare calm moment.

Some things never changed. Yeah, he was entirely correct in that theory, and the main thing that never would change was him. If that attitude of his ever got burdensome to carry, he'd never admit it.

Tavin let go of her, leaving red finger marks on the porcelain skin of her wrist, and stood up. When he did, Jade swam to the nearby metal ladder nearby and pulled herself up it, climbing out of the pool, water running down her body in rivulets. She wore a strapless bikini in a deep shade of rose that didn't conceal much of anything as she padded over to him, stopping just short of pressing her body to his. Her head tipped back, her eyes meeting his, a faint smirk on her lips. "Here is where I live now," she pointed out. One shoulder lifted in a lazy shrug. "You can keep your threats. Have I showed up at your door, or tried to talk to Jerzy again? Ask him, if you don't believe me."

He probably wouldn't believe her if she said the sky was blue, she thought wryly.

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liar_for_hire
2008-07-11 06:37 pm UTC (link)

Judgment…So many were quick to assume that Tavin judged all. Jade fell into that heavy numbered mix. But the truth was that he so rarely did. If she chose life then she did. But don’t pretend that you were some living true thing when your heart would stop if you didn’t steal life from another. Really accept the fate, the false bravado, the over the top fuck the world I am who I am mentality…it got old. Tavin didn’t throw it in peoples faces. How could he when he simply avoided contact all together? The attitude as she so called it, wasn’t much of that. Just that near cold calm that he’d held for years. That he had to. If he hadn’t he’d be dead by now. And with him too would be Jerzy. There were reasons behind every action Tavin made. An explanation for every short word or sneered look. The trick was that no one but Jerzy really knew those whys. No one else was allowed to.

Jade nearly had. Nearly. But Tavin managed to push her away before that became a problem.

Likely that was what upset Jerzy more then anything. It wasn’t that he believed Tavin needed some girl to make his life better. But more he thought Tavin needed someone more to open up to. Not that the kid really had much room to talk, he kept to himself just as damn much. Course Tavin wished his kid brother had more people in his life too. But he didn’t trust anyone around him. Too many were willing to fuck others over in a heartbeat and Jerzy had already been dicked around too much in his life.

“According to you, I don’t have one.” Tavin smoothly returned, eyeing her with just the hint of a smirk to his lips. Heartless. Cold. Bastard. He’d been called it all and never once had it ever stung him. He was what he was. Hate it. Love it. Loath it. Whatever the case, the only one Tavin had ever changed for, the only one that saw that other side of him, was Jerzy. Had Jade once? Maybe, rare moments where the walls slipped. But in the long term those slips meant nothing to Tavin. What she was now and how easily she took to it was just confirmation that Tavin made the right choice in sending her the fuck packing.

Sob stories and tears? No. They wouldn’t do shit. But Tavin felt there should be some respect towards death. Towards the loss of that life. He’d mourned his. In his own way. And he sure as fuck wasn’t happy that what he was, scared the living shit out of Jerzy. If he had choice would he change it? He knew he would. Regardless of all the strengths and all that it gave him. But that wasn’t an option, so they dealt. Moved forward. And Tavin made sure he was the fuck away from Jerzy when he was going to change.

There was a difference between a whiny bitch and an overly cocky woman. She stood up to him like her strength meant he could do no harm anymore. But Tavin knew better. In terms of what she was, she was a fucking baby. He could take her down. And her sire could make her a damned puppet if he pushed hard enough. It made Tavin sick to think about. To live with that fucking control looming over you. Reminded him of the cage. Reminded him of the tests. He couldn’t look at her and not want to sneer. But so happy she tried to look. So content. If she was then she was, but Tavin couldn’t ever live that way. Never. Fucking. Again.

“Be brave little Jade. Be oh so brave then.” He mocked as he released her. He did not turn to look back at her but instead turned, done with it all now that his warning was spoken. But she could never leave anything be. She always had to push. To test those limits, put her hand nearer and nearer to the fire yet still seemed surprised when she got burned. He paused just as she put herself between him and the door where he was headed. He could see every bead of water to her skin. Every slight shift of the muscles beneath as she moved. Did she realize there was a part of him that wanted to rip into that flesh to see them more clearly…

“You will know when he’s near, he won’t. So ensure he doesn’t cross paths with you again.” It was a threat, a warning. She wasn’t going to go be buddy buddy with his kid brother anymore. He’d see to that. Painfully if he had to. One thing you did not fuck with when it came to Tavin was his family.

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jadedheart
2008-07-16 05:45 pm UTC (link)

"I think you did once," Jade said, sounding almost thoughtful as she looked up at him. Once, a long time ago. Didn't matter. She'd learned well that there was no point in waxing sentimental with Tavin, because he didn't care. At off moments, she'd found herself wondering if he ever had, even a little. He liked being inscrutable, and she knew that, but at the same time, she couldn't help but find it irritating. That didn't matter either. As he'd reiterated time and time agan, he was what he was.

So was she. She'd let that wild side of her take control, and she'd been burned in a permanent way. She'd never be quite the same as that cute, perky jewelry-making girl who'd grown up in the bright Sedona sun ever again... yet she was still Jade Armstrong. Still determined, still hard-working and still with that same thirst for bad boys and danger that she'd always had. Life was strange, and so was death, she'd found.

Always the mocking, always the scorn. She didn't think he knew quite how condescending he came across at these moments, and she rolled her eyes, wishing she had pulled him into the pool with her. Even a physical fight would have been more enjoyable than his lofty snideness.

As always with him, the unspoken love and a weary, reluctant hate warred in her as she stared up at him. Still, like a painting of a girl made of shadows, colorless except for her vivid bikini and her green eyes in which so many emotions swirled. Just as he might want to rip her open to see what was inside, she longed to taste his blood, to tear into his neck with her fangs and make him regret mocking her, regret being his cold, arrogant bastard self. He was ice and she was fire, and in that instant she desperately wanted to burn him down.

Could she take him? She had no idea. She was supernaturally strong, but so was he, and she imagined he'd been what he was for years. Much longer than she had, at any rate. Jade reined herself in, though she didn't want to. She didn't move, didn't bare her fangs. She wallowed in the brief flash of rage for less than a minute, all told, and then let it go.

She shrugged one shoulder again, a brittle lassitude in the slight movement. "I'll stay away from him," she said, her voice barely audible above the lapping of the water, "but not because you told me to." He wouldn't give a shit, but it was important to her that he know where she was coming from. "I'll stay away because he doesn't want to see me."

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liar_for_hire
2008-07-16 06:37 pm UTC (link)

Tavin could only smirk at her attempt at a thoughtful remark. It only proved how little se knew about him, but that had always been the case hadn’t it? Likely she learned more about him from Jerzy then she ever had from Tavin. He didn’t let people in and he didn’t go into his past. But heartless and cold was something he had to be since he was a child. If he cared he would have been crushed and his brother and sister would likely be dead. They were the few that knew he had a heart somewhere in there but it had limited love. Jade had managed to get all too close. Too close for Tavin to ever be comfortable with. It was better she think him cold. Better she think him a heartless dick. Better to not care, as then he didn’t have to be faced with her.

Then it was easier for him to not give a shit.

For Tavin those biting remarks and scorn always came easily. Especially to those he felt deserving of it, or maybe it was more those he felt the need to shove away. With her they were always sharp, meant to cut and strike against every nerve. He knew how condescending it was, that was the point. By the sounds of her remarks it was needed. Girl needed to open her eyes. But it wasn’t going to be Tavin to help her with that. Let her act brave and tough in this new world. Let her think she had it figured out.

He’d enjoy it if she tried testing him. If she for a minute thought that she’d really be able to take him on. She was stronger, faster, but that didn’t make her better. Not with the years Tavin had as what he was. Right now he was itching for that fight, to smell blood in the air and feel sharpened nails tear through flesh. The predator…even with the moon days away that urge to hunt tugged at him. Making his eyes glow brighter then they should. Eyes hidden away, but she’d feel it. The way the heart sped up with that urge to strike. He didn’t try to hide it or sway it.

Let her know just how appealing it was for him…and watch her back down.

“No…of course not.” Tavin mused, words indifferent as he watched her. He didn’t care whatever spin she tried to put on why she’d stay away, so long as she did. The last thing Jerzy needed was a vampire with a shit sire getting too close. Plus he knew his brothers bleeding heart, he’d start to want to think like it was before.

It wasn’t. Not even close. It hadn’t even been what Jerzy wanted it to be last time.

He shifted forward, pressing his form against her own just as she had wanted to do, not caring at the dampness of her skin. A subtle shift of his head down and he was able to breathe in her scent all too deeply. Familiar. Tempting. He was close enough now that he could tear into her throat before she had chance to fully react. A light growl vibrated at the back of his throat before he spoke “That is all.” The words held a tone of amusement as he took that step forward to push past her form and continue on that path towards the door.

What needed to be said was said.

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jadedheart
2008-07-18 03:22 pm UTC (link)

One could not know much about a person who wouldn't let them close, and it had always been so with Tavin. Hell, she'd had no idea he was a were the entire on and off time she'd dated him... if dating was what it would've been called. Jade wasn't so sure anymore. Even at the rare moments when she'd been allowed to be close to him, there'd been a barrier there. It had hurt her back when she'd been tender and idealistic, thinking that surely her care would eventually yield results. Not so, and whatever his reasons might've been, she'd never been privy to them. Even the few confidences Jerzy had shared with her had never given her any real insight into the puzzle that was Tavin Luvic.

She hadn't been raised to understand the possibility that a person might need those defenses, that pushing away from another. Mostly, people needed connection, craved it. Tavin had never seemed to, except with Jerzy. Even during the days when their passion for one another had run as hot as molten lava, that had never extended to him being willing to let her in. Always holding back, blocking off.

Perhaps she understood that much better than she used to now as she applied it to herself and her tricky relations with her Sire.

She had to keep Tony away from Jerzy. Tavin could take care of himself. Of that she had no doubt, and now that she knew what he was, she wouldn't waste a second worrying about him. Jerzy was something else, and she knew that Tavin would scoff at her protectiveness of him, or tell her she had no right to it because she was nothing to him. She didn't care what Tavin thought about it, but she knew what she had to do.

Even before Tavin pressed himself close to her, she could feel his intensity, hear his heartbeat increasing to a rapid staccato of need and hunger. Then the heat of his massive body enveloped her as he leaned into her, breathing her in. She trembled, biting her lip so no sound would escape her, and instantly her fang pierced it, releasing a bead of blood. The soft growl he let loose set her on fire with need which would remain unassuaged; before she could even lift a hand to wrap slim fingers in his shirt, he'd moved away.

All? The words caused a small, bitter smile to quirk the corners of her mouth upward even as she licked at the cut she'd made on her lip. With Tavin and her, she could never count on anything, much less whether each unsettling encounter with him would be all.

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