The Vault, Somewhere, Sunday Morning

[not_a_whiner]

The vault door stood large and broad in the hallway - so large and broad that it was as if the corridor itself had had to grow several sizes to accommodate it. It was a dark red, and its surface was almost completely smooth but for the slots where three keys would fit.

It exuded quiet menace.

[ hold on for the ocd up! ]

Comments

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

Yeah, every instinct on Peter's part was saying NOT GOOD in big screaming neon letters. He backed away, holding the stick in front of him. It made for a terrible barrier, sure, but it was something.

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

It wasn't great. Kate just stalked forward, perfectly willing to follow him if he was going to back away from her. The only reason she hadn't just pounced on him yet was that she was awfully inclined to play with her food.

But give her a few seconds to get bored.

"Aww, pretty breather," she cooed, mocking. "You think that stick will do more than annoy me?"

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"I think I'd be willing to give it a try if you don't back up," Peter said evenly. He was terrified and unsure of what she was - he needed her to talk more if he was going to get into her head.

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

oh, there was plenty in her head for someone like him to grasp a hold of if he could just get to it. This Kate had died broken and alone, and wasn't even half the self-assured person he'd met before.

But she tsked and shook her head. "I'm not going to back up. Your little twig will just delay the inevitable." Pause for effect. "Which is your painful death."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"So by the looks of it, you're not a zombie," Peter said. "An evil twin, maybe? How gauche."

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

Kate rolled her eyes (which looked remarkably same on all versions of this face) and let her face morph with a hiss.

"Wrong."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

Crap.

"So you're a... demon? Vampire," Peter said, forcing his body not to tremble. "You died and you came back."

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

Did it make her any less terrifying if she gave him a thumbs up for that while her face smoothed out again?

"Bingo!"

Probably not because she also took an idly menacing step forward. "Are you scared? You should be."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"Were you?" Peter wondered, taking a step back... very slowly.

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

"Probably," she said, waving a hand idly. Gaze on his neck as she advanced. "But breathers are weak and easily scared. Terrified, even."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"You feel better now?" Peter asked, taking another step back. "I'll bet that face still doesn't protect you from everything."

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

"Everything it needs to protect me from." By the way, she was going to make him walk back until he hit a wall. "What would you know, anyway?"

That was a little defensive. Idly.

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"I'm not trying to disparage your ability to defend yourself," Peter said, holding up his hands. "But you're not the first vampire I've seen this week. They said some were... fragile. Easy prey if they got bored."

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

"Well, I'm not." Although she was scowling at him. "I'm the predator, not the prey."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"You're picking off the weakest of the herd," Peter pointed out. "You must be worried."

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

"No, I'm getting an easy snack," Kate retorted. Moving another step closer – no, two steps. "You're easy because you're all words. Blah, blah, blah, and I'm starting to get bored of it."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"Someone used to cover your ass," Peter said. Damn it, that wall was coming up behind him. "Now they're gone, and you don't trust yourself to do anything besides scavenging."

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

Kate had stopped smiling. "And no one's covering yours," she said. And yes, that wall starting to get mighty close, wasn't it? "Pity. It seemed like a nice one."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"I do, actually," Peter said. "I've been talking for a while to get you away from the group. Thanks for not noticing."

He had no idea where Natalie was. He just needed to distract this one for a few seconds.

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

Kate shook her head. "There's no one coming to save you." This time, she actually tried reaching out one hand to shove him back towards the wall. "No one's noticed, and no one cares."

She may have been wrong about that. She may also have been projecting a bit.

"That's how this works."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

"You poor girl," Peter said - after a few seconds, as her shove had just knocked the wind out of him. "Who are you waiting for?"

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

Leto, her parents, any number of people who should've taken care of her but hadn't.

Of course he'd only managed to make her annoyed about that. "Shut up." Her face shifted again, and this time she surged towards him with every intention of tearing his throat out.

Time to duck or hit back or pray or something, Peter.

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

So much for the reasoning option.

Peter shoved his stick forward into the general area of her...

...yeah, okay. He tried to hit her in the chest with his stick.

Re: A Change of Weather

[bloodyjello.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that stick was getting snatched away from him and snapped in half.

"The next one will be your neck."

Re: A Change of Weather

[lockestheway]

Peter held up his hands. "You know all of my friends in there are going to kick your friends' asses," he said. "So let's negotiate. Neither of us wants to die."