Forums » General Roleplay » Hide and Seek (1x1)

Sterling stood and stretched a bit, shuffling a bit closer to the pay phone to overhear the conversation.

So far so good; at least he was talking to someone. He just hoped it was the brother that Jonah was talking to and not his father.

Jonah waited for an answer, his tail swishing nervously.

"Alright, lets hear it. Make it quick though, dad will be back from hunting soon. And if he finds out I spoke to you, I'm gonna be in for it." Graham sighed.

Jonah smiled a bit. "Well, lately I've been blacking out a bit during some rather bad moments and when I come to I'm really tired. And I'm not really feeling like myself, and I'm starting to worry I'm going insane or something." He laughed a bit.

"Not feeling like yourself? I'm not sure, but it could be some sort of power. And from the sound of it not a very good one. Sadly I'm not an expert on these things, but I could ask dad if he knows anything, of course without mentioning you. I'll just say I'm curious about it and see if I can get some info for you. Call me back in about an hour, I'll hopefully be able to help more then. And Jonah?" Graham paused.

Jonah blinked. "Alright and what?" He asked simply.

"Take care of yourself, and try to stay low. Dad's not gonna give up on finding you, he might even send one of us to get you. And you know we can't disobey. I gotta go, he's back." Graham said and hung up.

Jonah put the receiver back and sighed. "Well that was pretty useless.. But at least he still cares." He grinned, wagging his tail.

A brief smile flickered across Sterling's face. He relaxed a little to see that Jonah's tail wagged, although the movement made him start briefly. "Well? Any news?" he asked.

Jonah jumped a bit, he didn't realize Sterling was there. "Eavesdropping much?" He mumbled and composed himself. "He said it might be a power, but he didn't know for sure. So hes gonna gather some info about it and I have to call him in a hour." He sat down, his tail still wagging a bit. It was obvious talking to his brother made him a little happy.

"Ah, sorry about that." Sterling at least had the resolve to look somewhat abashed. "That's great news, though. You want to wait here for an hour, or walk around some?"

He was content either way, glad they hadn't been set upon by vampires after their earlier, near fiasco. "You miss talking to your brothers?" he asked after a small pause.

Jonah turned away, embarrassed a bit. "Just with Graham, the others are jerks. Graham was the only one that ever spent time with me, and he even stopped me from killing myself once." He flicked a pebble across the ground. "And he often defended me when our father was in one of his bad moods.." He stared at the ground, smiling sadly.

"He sounds like a good..." there was a pause as Sterling considered his words, "...brother." The word demon, he felt, didn't exactly apply. And he was slightly miffed and surprised at himself for having hesitated in the first place.

"I'm sure Graham cares for you as well, to protect you like he has."

Jonah grinned and wagged his tail. "He's great, and I know he cares." He hopped to his feet, feeling pretty happy. "Though his care wasn't always enough to save me, and I have many burns and claw scars to prove it. Though father would punish him as well, but not as severely as me." He kicked a rock and watched it bounce away.

Sterling grimaced. "You know, not all scars are bad. They might signify darker times, but they also mean you survived and have overcome those difficulties." Maybe he needed to work on his pep talks.

Jonah laughed and grinned. "I suppose thats true." He looked at the phone for a moment, anxious to call his brother again. "Might as well do something to kill time, any suggestions?" He smirked, already having an idea of what they might do.

He never trusted a smile on a face like that, especially a smirk. And so Sterling warily arched his brow. "What do you have in mind? And don't say vampire hunting unless you're sure you won't pass out on me again."

Jonah stuck out his tongue. "I'm not gonna pass out again, I'm fine. I just need something to do or I'll start getting fidgety." He hopped on one foot. "Plus I kinda want to see if I can figure some of this out on my own.." He admitted after a moment of thought.

Sterling didn't like this option but he didn't have much choice in the matter unless he wanted to tie the kid up and keep watch over him.

"Very well, but don't stray too far from me. I've got 300 feet of range on this thing and I don't want you to be turned vampire. Got that?"

Jonah grinned. "Got it." He turned and listened closely to the sounds bouncing around the town, his ears twitching. "Hm.." He tried to focus in on unusual sounds, attempting to locate any nearby vampires.

Sterling watched him and waited, crossbow ready. He didn't know what to expect, but when sight failed, hearing often made up for what couldn't be detected otherwise.

Across the street the slightest sound of boots on gravel can be heard. To the right, a rock bounces along the street as though kicked. Then to the left, the soft rustling of fabric can be heard in the night breeze.

And then coming from nowhere, a hiss can be heard, carried by the breeze: someone had just found a meal.

Jonah's ears perked up and he darted off in the direction of the hiss. "This way!" He glanced at Sterling and then looked back in the direction he was running. He hoped they would get there in time to save whoever was being attacked, but if it was too late they would just have to deal with it.

Sterling was running after Jonah, despite not knowing what was ahead. "Be careful!" he grumbled after the kid, following as quickly as he could.

Not far, in the same trajectory they were following, the vampire had found its victim, and pinned it up against the wall. It hissed again as the woman whimpered--too terrified to scream. And then it paused. It could sense movement; someone was coming.

Jonah kept running till he was about twenty feet away from the vampire and the woman. "Doesn't look like its bit her yet." He said calmly as he could, relieved that there was a good chance to save her.

Sterling cursed and then shouted at Jonah. "Duck!" He raised his crossbow up, but he wouldn't shoot until Jonah was clear.

Unfortunately the vampire saw the opportunity all too easily. It backhanded the woman, knocking her out, as it turned its predatory gaze onto Jonah. It hissed again and then lunged forward, fangs bared.

Jonah jumped to the side, barely avoiding the vampire. "Shoot it! I'll get the lady!" He rushed to the unconscious woman's side, checking her pulse and hefting her up onto his back.