Setting
Nevertheless, the state of the living conditions of those who were unfortunate or stupid enough to live in such a dated complex were of no concern to her. All that mattered was her mother's momento. When her parents had been killed, the valuables they had were stripped from them, and she had finally found the only other heirloom worth anything to her. And so, despite how impatient and uncomfortable she was, the halfling waited.
After the last light had finally gone out, Xylia waited yet another half hour to ensure all the residents were asleep. Unable to wait any longer, she crept carefully from her branch to the edge of the roof, glad this lone piece of vegitation was so conveniently placed on the property. It probably explained how rats and other critters would come to live in the attic so easily.
Managing to stretch, crawl, and lower herself to the roof, Xylia lowered herself onto the building's stairwell. Sure, she could've just taken the stairs originally, but she didn't want to chance anyone seeing her walking up to the place. No, better to sneak in a way no one would be looking for.
Sneaking along the 'hallway', Xylia finally stopped in front of one of the doors, the number 207 tacked on. Now to get in. Checking to make sure no one was around, the half-demon held her hand out and took her own shadow, concentrating to make it fit into the lock perfectly untl it unlocked the door. She slipped inside, letting her shadow go once getting the door open.
Letting her eyes adjust to the lack of the faint glow of the moon, the young woman carefully closed the door behind her, beginning to search any cabinet and drawer she found. Where would they put a necklace with a unusually luxurious lapis luzuli pendant? It was a decent sized stone, about the size and shape of a quail egg if it were sliced in half. Not exactly tiny.
As he made his way onto the second floor he stopped and eyed his surroundings, his one good eye taking in every minute detail of the empty streets below. Somewhere in the distance sirens rang out, the distant whale all too familiar.
Standing there for a moment longer his right hand found its way into the vest coat he seemingly always wore, his gloved hand returning with a thick long brown cigar that he quickly popped into his mouth and lit with the flick of a match.
Every successful hunt he awarded himself with a fine, far to expensive, cigar. And at this point in his career he was smoking two to three cigars a week. For years now Blake had been a hunter, a member of an underground organization committed to fighting more tangible forms of evil. And he was honestly damn good at it.
Letting a large plum of gray smoke spill from his lips he turned back to the task at hand, his feet quickly carrying him to the third floor. Upon reaching a ratty looking faded yellow door that bore the number '207' he pulled his keys out, quickly inserting them into the lock he turned only to quickly realize someone had already unlocked his door. โSonuvabitch...โ He spat quietly to himself, his stone face turning into a scowl.
His mind raced as he turned the nob-maybe it was a simple burglar after his valuables, or maybe it was his landlord, but his mind always returned to what he was sure was really behind the door. A demon. As one hand opened the door the other had found its way into yet another one of his pockets, his fist now encased with a large silver pair of brass knuckles that contained a small cross above each knuckle. It was one of his preferred weapons.
Quickly snatching up the precious piece of jewelry, she put it around her neck, letting out a sigh of relief. Her victory was short lived, the sound of a male voice reaching her ears. Standing up, the half demon mentally cursed her luck. She had to be extra careful, this was a hunter.
Hiding herself behind the door to the bedroom, Xylia went still, watching and waiting for the male to make his way over. She didn't care for being pinned between the door and the wall, but she would have to manage for now. She waited for him to creep carefully into the apartment, careful and ready as expected.
Finally, the male approached the bedroom, Xylia shoving the door out and slamming it into his face as fast and hard as she could. He would only be dazed for a second or two for sure, and she would have to move fast to slip around him into the main part of his apartment.
The bare bones attire of his apartment made it especially easy for him to quickly realize that there was no one in sight, which meant the only place someone could infact be hiding was his bedroom. Making his way down the small hallway that lead to his room he finally reached the thick wooden door that lead to his room. His free hand had literally been reaching for the brass doorknob when the door exploded open, colliding with Blakes face causing a sickeningly loud 'crack' to sound out.
Searing white hot pain shot through his face as Blake stumbled backwards and land on the floor, he could immediately feel the warm hot blood flowing from his freshly broken nose. At the same time he realized his nose had been broken for what seemed like the eighth time in his career he also noticed the red headed figure in black darting over his sprawled out body.
Quickly regaining his thoughts Blake sprang to his feet like some character from a ninja movie, ignoring the throbbing pain pulsing from his nose he took off after his assailant an angry scowl covering his face the whole way. Whoever had attacked him was fast, that Blake knew for sure, but lucky for him he was about as fit as any man could be. Having only mere seconds of a head start on him Blake quickly gained on the possible demon, only he quickly realized as they made their way out the door that they were far to fast to catch on foot-that's when he decided to literally throw his body at the figure. He had a brief feeling of triumph as he collided with the thief, that was until his outlandish attack sent both of them tumbling over the cheap looking metal railing for a three story fall.
Ignoring the smell of blood and the sound of footsteps, Xylia managed to leave the apartment, though not as gracefully and inconspicuously as she'd like. Thinking she had gotten far enough away, she didn't realize how fast or experienced the human was until he tackled her. A yelp met his assault, bracing herself as they fell onto the crabgrass below. Ouch! Feeling dazed, the young woman tried to ignore her now aching back and wounded pride as she scrambled to get up before the hunter did.
Nearly cursing out loud, the thief glared at the human before running, looking for a suitable sized shadow. A shadow..not just darkness, but a shadow..there! Thanking the powers that be for the streetlight several yards away, she made a mad dash towards the shadow cast by a tree in the yard next to the run down complex. Focusing her mind, she dove at the ground, then melted into the shadow.
With a racing heart, Xylia tumbled out in her own modest apartment, relieved she hadn't lost focus and gotten stuck..or worse. She didn't usually phase through a shadow, it was hard, and it took a lot of energy. Damn hunter!
Again he immediately gave chase, his broken nose making a strange, almost comical, 'wheezing' sound each time he attempted to breathe through it. The thumb of his right hand that clutched the silver brass knuckles pressed a small round button on the side of the deadly device, a razor sharp blade about six inches long springing to life from his metal encased hand. Simple thief or demon Blake had decided he was done messing around.
Giving chase yet again there was a brief moment where the thief turned her head and looked back, her eyes and Blakes locking for mere seconds. That's when Blake realized she honestly didn't look half bad. It was a shame he was fairly certain he was going to have to kill her.
As they both ran across the parking lot Blake assumed she was making a bee line for a getaway car or simply just trying to run away, but his good eye quickly realized they were both headed towards the most prominent stretch of shadow near the two. Alarm bells rang in his head as she neared the shadow, the realization of what was going on having dawned on him moments to late. With one last desperate attempt Blake threw himself (yet again) at what he was now sure was a demon, his bladed hand swinging in a deadly arch as he neared his target. To his dismay however he was met only with air, the women once there having literally dissolved before his eye as his blade stabbed nothing but grass.
"Sonuvabitch!" Blake roared as he stabbed the grass twice more in anger before rolling onto his side, his free hand pulling a cell phone out from his front vest pocket. His fingers darted around on the keypad of the phone which he then put up to his left ear, a lit cigar quickly appearing in his other hand-true he hadn't earned the cigar by killing a demon but damn did he need a smoke.
"Danny?" He asked into the phone "Of course its fuckin Blake, who the fuck else would be callin you at this hour?" He practicly shouted into the phone quickly followed by a long drag off his cigar. "Yeah yeah yeah, just get your ass over to my place. Fuckin had a horn head in my apartment tonight." He paused for a moment, obviousley listening to his partner on the other line. "Hardy fuckin har Danny, your a regular comedian. Just get your ass over here, ok?" And with that Blake slammed his phone shut.
Finally, Xylia decided to get up off her floor and take a much-needed shower. Removing her shoes first, she made her way to the bathroom with thoughts of a warm soup and sleep. Removing her clothing piece by piece, she suddenly froze less than halfway through the process. Shirt and pants still in place, she had her hand frozen in the pocket of her jacket, the space feeling far too empty. Turning out the pockets of every article of clothing and examining her belts, Xylia searched with growing unease for what she knew she wouldn't find.
She had her pendant back, and her father's wood carving knife was still among her possesions. She wasn't going to kill anyone then. Looking helplessly at her belongings spread out along her bathroom floor, the half demon cursed. Of all the other things to lose, why did it have to be her pocketbook? It had all her notes on places she'd fount to be hunter-dense. It had all the clues leading to her finding her mother's pendant. And it held all her maps. She was terrible at directions, so she mapped out things and made notes as she went. Where was safe for sure to go. Where hunters were based. Ideal hiding places in a pinch. Places she could work and not get easily noticed. And then just her own observations and musings. Her to do lists, her shopping lists. Dammit all!
Xylia felt the blood drain from her face, only to shoot back up as she flushed in anger at herself and frustration. How did she not notice she lost it?! Now she'd have to walk all the way back! And worse, run the risk of being intercepted by the hunter. Tugging her jacket back on with a bit more force than necessary, Xylia prepared to go back out, mentally kicking herself for having such a thing happen.
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