The Dark (open)

[Perplexia]

Raven skirted around him as Marcus continued to attempt to demean her. He use to be able to intimidate her, but not today. The more he talked, the more angry she found herself growing. She made it to the door and locked it, managing to stay just out of arms reach from him.
"oh getting eager are you?" he questioned with renewed hope that she'd give in and not put up to much of a struggle.
"not at all" she said with a smile. Her nostrils flared lightly as she made it to the window and opened it enough to send her sent floating. With a little concentration she managed to release a nice sum of pheromones. Unfortunately Marcus responded his mouth drooling as he started to make his way near her. "Not yet" she said. He didn't stop though with a devourers grin upon his face.

Pulling back her arm she balled up her fist and punched him with a rage that stirred in her core. She heard the crunch and the smell of blood filling her senses as he went back crashing against the wall and slid down it to the floor. He was out cold.
She looked at her hand and looked at him. Opening the window she looked out for the fire escape. It was broken, rotted and pieces missing. Could she jump two stories down and survive she wondered.

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier continued to move. He continued to assure himself that it wouldn't be long before he had arrived at wherever Raven was. He couldn't take too long, he knew that. He had to find her quickly, because she still didn't know what she was capable of, or even how to do the things that she was capable of. He closed his eyes and took a long breath. There was a very real possibility that she would get raped and broken by all of those men, and that was not the kind of possibility that he really wanted to entertain. She would probably not be the same after that. Would she blame him for not finding her quickly enough? Would she make a discovery about how he wasn't the most amazing lay in the world? He sighed softly and picked up his pace a little bit. He wasn't even sure that he was going in the right direction anymore, and he considered turning around and going back to where he had picked up her scent briefly. That was probably the best idea at this point. Tracking had never really been his skill, and then any knowledge that he had on it, had become dull since he had started spending time at the club, where he didn't need to hunt down his food.

((I'm still assuming that it is a reasonable distance away because they took a taxi from the taxi switch point rather than walking.))

 

[Perplexia]

Raven grabbed the bed sheet and pulled the bed toward the window. Wrapping the sheet around the leg and tyeing it off she put the end of it out the window. Slowly climbing out onto the rusty platform of the broken fire scape she began to try and climb down the pieces. Anytime she began to fall she used the sheet to hang onto. She'd seen laura croft tomb raider and tried to mimic the scaling of the wall down.
She could hear beating on the door above and mumbling. As she hit the ground she heard the door being kicked open. Raven took off on foot back the direction she'd came running as fast as she could. It wouldn't take them long to make their way after her.
Luckily she didn't need to breath.

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier continued to walk. He had come to a spot where he thought he might have picked up her scent again, but he wasn't entirely sure. It was getting difficult to tell. He sighed and stopped for a moment. What was he doing? He probably wasn't going to be able to find her very quickly, even if he did do everything that was in his power. It would probably take him at least a week before he even had a clear idea of where she might be, and by then, it would probably be too late for her. By then she might have even found someone who she liked better than him. By then...

He hadn't realized that he had taken the action but he had brought his fist up and smashed it against the wall beside him. It was probably because he hadn't realized that he had done it that he had felt his skin give way against the rough surface of the brick and the side of his hand opened up in a few sections causing him to bleed a bit. At this point he had become numb to the pain though. It really didn't amount to much in comparison to the fact that he now knew how useless he was and was being faced with the fact that he probably wasn't going to be able to save the girl in the end. He narrowed his eyes dangerously and stared at the ground before him, his hand still resting against the brick wall that he was standing against. All of this had been for nothing. He had given up his heart, only to have it taken away, and this time it wasn't even by the girl that he had left it open for. His hand made an eerie and unhealthy noise as he tightened the fist that he made even more, causing his fingernails to leave bloody crescents in the palm of the hand that he had already caused so much damage to.

It seemed that everyone that he had ever cared for left his world, whether it be choice or not. He was beginning to question if it was worth it to open his heart again. He had failed so many people, and been failed by so many people. It was hard to keep faith in anything that even resembled humanity. And in that moment, for the first time since he and his first love had parted ways, he stopped believing that he was the one who was cursed, and instead came to the realization that it was instead, the rest of humanity that had been cursed.

 

[Perplexia]

Raven continued to run as fast as she could in the direction in which she'd came her nose picked up something it smelled like blood, but a familiar blood. Xavier..it had to be him. She continued to run in the direction of him until she could finally make an outline of the man. The scent of his blood so familiar. She heard a car coming from the other way. "Xavier" she screamed at the top of her lungs releasing a good amount of pheromone that would surely catch his attention. The car seemed to come to a stop an she could hear the doors being opened. Yelling and screaming at her as she forced herself to run faster in the direction of the man that she loved.

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier had heard Raven's cry and had immediately began to run towards where he had heard the voice come from. There would be no escape for those punks this time. All he needed to do was arrive there before they had a chance to leave with her again. He wasn't even sure what was going on, but he could definitely smell her pheromones. He heard the sound of a car. He looked to where she was and moved quickly. Even with his hand messed up, he would still have enough power to deal with a thug or two, and that was usually all it took to scare them off when they traveled in packs. He could see the outline of the girl and the headlights of the vehicle. It wouldn't be long before he was there now, and then he would be reunited with Raven.

 

[Perplexia]

Seeing him head her direction caused her to keep running toward him. She could hear the feet behind her as she ran. She had one purpose, and that was to make it back to Xavier. The mere moments seemed like hours getting back to his arms. She ran to them gripping him tightly his hug firm and tight, then releasing her pushing her behind him as the one flat nosed Marcus and thug accomplish caught up with them.
(sorry so short)

 

[Bluemage]

((Did she make it to him before they caught up to her?))

 

[Perplexia]

(yes he got in a tight hug an moved her behind him)

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier looked at them for a moment, and then closed his eyes only to open them a moment later to reveal that his usually normal and cool eyes had turned to a bright crimson. He watched them carefully and then spoke, "Turn around and go home. Forget that you ever heard Raven's name even." He watched the two men carefully, "You can't have her. She is mine." Even with his right hand as messed up as it was, he had no doubt that he had more than enough strength to deal with two thugs several times over, "You have ruined my evening, but if you leave now, I won't be forced to ruin the two of you."

 

[Perplexia]

Unfortunately the pheromones had them focused on getting her and not to much what Xavier was saying. She hadn't meant for that effect to happen, she needed to get Xavier's attention.
She stepped back a little sensing a bit of darkness Xavier hadn't displayed before. She wasn't afraid, she was almost intrigued.
"That bitch broke my nose and now she'll pay" Marcus declared all nasally like. The other thug declared foolishly "An we aint got a chance to fuck her yet either".
Marcus glared at him an then back at Xavier. "she is mine thats all there is to it"

Raven Screamed "I was never yours, I belong to him, he's the one that owns my body, not you, he's the one that has say over me, not you, never you"

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier looked at the men for another moment and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "This is the last time that I am going to ask the two of you to turn around and leave the girl where she belongs, with me." He slowly opened his eyes, and had taken a much more calm position than he had a moment previous. His eyes had returned to their original color, "I do appreciate the compliment on my taste in women, boys, but I'm afraid that if you continue on this path, I am going to have to hurt you. Now that I have explained the consequences of your actions, I am not likely to hold back in teaching you a lesson about how when the lady says no, it means no..." He watched them carefully for a few more moments, still keeping himself between the two of them and Raven.

 

[Perplexia]

"theres two of us, an you.. an well her too.. " Marcus said as he thought about it for a moment, the girl had knocked him clear into the wall out cold as a light. "Come on man, let us have the girl so you don't get hurt. Bad enough she bloodied Cletus nose, imagine how she'll feel when we take you permanently off the face of the earth." his friend chimed in trying to save Cletus some face.

Raven stood back behind Xavier. He wasn't going to give her to them, of that she was sure.

"Come on Raven, don't make this harder then it has to be sweetheart, i forgive you for the hit, i had it coming. But you don't wanna see your scrawny lover boy get hurt do ya? Save his life an come back, promise will be real gentle with you" Marcus declared trying to plead to her protective side.

"If somehow, and i manage you will, kill him, then you will have to know i will kill you. You see Marcus, thanks to him i learned how to defend myself. I'm sure that broken nose and the bump on the back of your head is proof enough. If lil ole me can do that, imagine what he will do to you. I belong to him, its that simple."

"Fine you lil tramp have it your way" Marcus declared stepping toward Xavier to get at her.

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier sighed softly as Marcus moved forward. He rolled his eyes, "Seriously? Do I really look that scrawny?" He sighed softly again, "Obviously neither of you have seen a kung fu movie." He brought his foot forward and then used it to kick out Marcus's one leg before completing the motion by bringing his foot up and placing a firm kick squarely into Marcus's chest, causing him to tumble backwards onto his ass. Xavier sighed again and looked down at the man, "I'm thinking that you should give up before you find that something beyond your nose is broken." He looked over to the other man for a moment and smiled softly, "Have you seen any kung fu movies?"

((I am sorry that it is so painfully short))

 

[Perplexia]

The friend of Marcus backed up a little. "look man we got a lot of money riding on gettin' this girl, we don't want to fight, how much for the used up girl? We'll cut you in on the profits, make you rich beyond your wild dreams."
Marcus hustled to his feet simply nodding at his friends idea.

"Are you seriously trying to bargain with him? You are stupider then i thought. Get the fuck out of here before he changes his mind. Then you better leave town because i will have the entire police force after you for the premeditated abduction with intent to do bodily harm. I will personally see that you an your little friend go to prison and I'll find a way to be sure you get put in a cell with a guy who will make you his bitch and sell you out to everyone of his friends."

Marcus at her and backed up a little "you" he pointed to Xavier "you're dead meat, and your little pop tart too" Him and his friend backed up a little realizing that they couldn't take Xavier down and got back into the car. "you'll pay for ruining my life again whore" he cried out as the slammed the doors of the car shut.

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier sighed softly when they attempted to bargain with him for the girl. Really? They were going to try to make him rich beyond his wildest dreams? He really doubted it. Pouring a glass of water into the ocean didn't raise the level of the sea all that much. He then listened to what Raven said, making her threats and demands. She really was much better at this than he was, but then again, he supposed she was the one who had been kidnapped, and not him. He watched as the two men scurried into their vehicle, pointing at him and telling him that he was dead meat. He sighed again and whispered softly, "Yes...I suppose I am..." He slowly turned, watching their vehicle drive away and then turned to face Raven.

He sighed as he looked at her for a moment and then forced a smile, like the whole adventure hadn't been incredibly trying for him, "Well...that was an adventure." He smiled softly and then stepped forward to hug her close, letting his chin rest on her shoulder. He stared off into the darkness of the street for a few more moments, keeping her held close against him, his chin resting on her shoulder. It was then that he decided to see if he could make the situation lighter with humor, "Ah...this is bad..." He took a long breath, "I think I broke my hand, and you definitely overdid it with the pheromones..." He let out a soft laugh, "Now how am I going to be able to take care of myself." He chuckled softly, "I guess I'll have to use my other hand." He knew that this might not have been the best topic for humor at this point in time, especially considering why they had kidnapped her, but he also knew that if he wasn't at least trying to laugh, he would probably be crying.

He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed again, "You need to watch more kung fu movies...but then again, punching in that guy's nose...I like that move." He smiled softly, "Especially the part where he talked like he was a character of sesame street afterwards." He chuckled again, hoping that some of this might be able to cheer up the girl who had just been through a rather traumatic experience because he hadn't been close enough to her. A slight frown slipped across his face, "Maybe next time we go out we should handcuff ourselves together to make sure we don't get separated." He decided to skip the part where he told her that he also thought it would be incredibly hot.

 

[Perplexia]

As he stepped forward she clung to him tightly. Her body trembling lightly from the ordeal. She tried to laugh lightly at his attempt for humor. "how did you break your hand?" she questioned suddenly more concerned about her well being then his own.

"i need you to teach me about my abilities, i need to be able to defend myself in the event anything like that happens again. I also think we should invest in some kind of tracking system. There has to be something so that you can find me. I don't know how i accessed the power to punch him so hard. He went straight into the wall an passed out. I was trying to figure out how to get you to find me, i know that i sent out way to many pheromones but i didn't know what else to do."

She hugged him tightly again "I love you Xavier, i am going to rip someone head off when i find out who from the paper told him where to find me. Thats the only way he could of known, they knew i was going to finish that article. Lets go home, i need to reset your hand, an probably my own too. I think instead of hunting us, we need to hunt them. Its the only way this will stop."

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier looked at her for a moment as she fussed over his hand a bit and then continued to talk and worry and plan. It was obvious that she had just been through a rather traumatic ordeal and this was probably her trying to deal with it by thinking about other things. He sighed softly and then let his head rest on her shoulder, "If you think my hand is messed up you should see that wall I punched. It's got blood all over it now...though I suppose that's actually mine." He smiled softly, trying to continued to lighten the mood with humor. He sighed softly and patted her on the back a bit. He sighed softly when she continued to chatter and whispered into her ear softly, "Calm down." He smiled softly, still holding her close and then gently placed his lips against her ear in a small kiss, "Calm down. You're safe now. You need to relax and cool down. When we get home we can talk about all of this slowly, and in a civilized way. There isn't anything we can do about it before we get home anyway, so talking about it now is pretty pointless." He smiled softly, his hand still running up and down her back, "I've watched a few soap operas. This is the point in the story where you are supposed to cry and tell me how much you missed me I think." He had underexagerated. He sometimes followed soap operas very closely, but did it in off and on spurts. So he knew how most any scene would related to a soap opera, but really didn't know what was happening in any soap opera because he didn't watch enough to be able to piece it all together.

He let out a long sigh, "We just need to get home first." He smiled softly, "Are you calm enough to do that, or do I need to give you a whiff of my pheromones and tell you to take me home?"

 

[Perplexia]

She wrapped her arms around him again taking a deep breath. It was enough for the tears to fall drenching his shirt with them as she went limp in his embrace. His arms seemed to sweep her up an made the walk till a cab was seen to be hailed. Eventually they made it home. Being in his arms was the safest she'd felt all night. She'd been living in fear for years now. Xavier had given her a sense of home, the ability to be loved, and the monster Marcus threated to take it all away. She was angry, and scared.
Xavier seemed to coo her the best he could. His gentle loving nature calming her trembles and negating her tears.
"i'm sorry that i had to put you through that" she finally said as she lay curled in his arms.

 

[Bluemage]

Xavier sighed softly. The rest of the trip home had been in silence. It wasn't until they had made it back home and she was cradled in his arms that the silence had been broken by her apology. He closed his eyes and whispered out in a loving tone, "Quiet." He ran the fingers of his good hand through her hair slowly, "You got kidnapped because I didn't stay close to you. The whole situation was created because I wasn't taking care of you. This is my fault. I failed you." He put her down on the couch and then slowly walked to the bathroom, "I'm not a very good...whatever it is I am." He reached over and slowly pulled the claddagh ring off of his finger. He blinked for a moment and then let out a weak laugh tears forming in his eyes, "I can't even put my ring back on...punching the wall was a really stupid thing to do." He stood there, completely helpless to do much of anything since he had decided that he wasn't going to be putting the ring down since there were just too many places that he could lose it, and he wasn't going to head back out, or ask for help, because as far as he was concerned at the moment, he really didn't deserve her.

He closed his eyes and then slipped his ring into his pocket. He'd get her to help him put it back on later. He then turned on the tap and placed his right hand under the running water, wincing slightly at the feel of the water over his wound. The next step would be to put some gauze over the open areas and wrap it up with bandages. He could probably do that. His body was feeling weak though, and it had nothing to do with the fight, the wound, his diet, or his sleep patterns. He was simply emotionally drained, and his body was taking the tole.

 

[Perplexia]

She got up from the couch hearing the distress in his voice from the bathroom. Walking behind him she wrapped her arms around him laying her head on his back. "don't blame yourself Xav" she said softly "i love you, an you came for me. If you hadn't they would have caught up to me. I want you to understand that i will never leave you, i belong to you, an you belong to me. Its your blood that runs through my veins. You woke me up from a life of fear and gave me you. You've given me love, and my first home. I want to spend eternity with you, but you can't blame yourself when things don't fit into our plans."

She sighed softly kissing his shoulder blades. "tell me you love me" she whispered "tell me that i'm yours an you'll never let me go" she added in a need to hear it voice.

 

[Bluemage]

He closed his eyes when she wrapped her arms around him. Why was she still there? Didn't she accept that he had failed her? He left his hand in the sink, letting the water run over it. He then slowly opened his eyes when she asked him to speak. He looked down at the hand for a moment and then spoke softly, "I love you Raven." He stared down at the water that was running over his hand, feeling teardrops running down his cheeks, "But I almost lost you. I'm not good enough to be able to protect you from the evils of this world. What if I don't get lucky next time and you don't run back into my arms escaping the people who decided to chase you?" He continued to watch the water for a moment, not letting himself look back at her, afraid that if he did he might find that she had disappeared or never have been there, or something. He took a long breath, trying to clear his thoughts. He took a long breath before speaking again, "I need help with this ring. My hand is messed up or I'd do it myself." He slipped his hand into his pocket, drawing the ring out between his fingers. He then turned slowly to face her, holding out his open hand, the ring in his palm, "Please...I'd do it myself..." He looked at her for a moment and then looked down at his open palm. This was once again another thing that it seemed he was unable to do tonight.

 

[Perplexia]

She closed her hand over his and looked up at him with pain in her eyes. "we'll figure out a way to be able to find each other. I'll never leave you willingly, we'll put a tracking chip in my tooth or something. I don't care whatever it takes Xavier. Look at me" she demanded. "You are the man i love, and you have given me so much, you will teach me how to protect myself, you will find a way to keep us together for eternity. If you love me Xav, you will stop with your self pity and realize that i'm standing here with you. I choose you forever. Your hand it too swollen for the ring, when it goes down you'll put it on yourself. In no way does it mean that you love me less. In no way does it mean that my heart isn't yours an yours isn't mine." She ran her hand over his face before bringing her lips to his. Her mouth forcing his to kiss her as their tongues started the familiar dance.
"now tell me what i need to hear or i'll start crying again" she said putting on her puppy dog eyes and frown.

 

[Bluemage]

He looked at her for a moment and then spoke softly, "I love you. You are mine. I will never let you go." He stared at her for a few more moments and then brought his hand up to her again, "Now I know this won't fit on my right finger, but it will fit on my left." He watched her for a moment, "But I'm not sure that I can do it myself, so please, if you would help me so that we can finish in the bathroom and I can help you a bit with your training, or whatever it is you wanted to do for the rest of the evening." He looked at her for a few more moments, "Please. I don't want to leave it in my pocket, and it is hard to hold you while I am holding it instead of wearing it." He looked at her for a few more moments, and then smiled weakly before deciding to let out another joke, "Looks like you'll finally have the advantage over me in bed too." He smiled softly about that, watching her closely.

 

[Perplexia]

She smiled as he spoke of her having the advantage in bed. She knew that if he allowed it an only then would that happen.

She took the ring from his palm and brought it to her lips kissing it sensually. Taking his left hand she got down on one knee. "Xavier" she said softly looking up into his eyes. "In my entire life I've alway been chasing the past, or being chased by it. Until i met you i didn't believe that i would ever be able to feel safe, or loved, or wanted. I never knew the passions that existed, the way that waking up next to someone could make the day so much brighter. I have been waiting for you my entire life, now that i have you i don't want to be anywhere else. Will you marry me? will you be my husband, my lover, my best friend, my conscious, my joy?"