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Post by Ray on Dec 5, 2017 17:53:53 GMT -7
Drake smiles, pleased, as she agrees, lingering close for one more moment until finally pulling away. "I look forward to seeing you again."
"Katherine," Edric calls, pausing to look back at her with a hard eye. When she begins to follow, they start walking once more, crossing the length of the underground pub. He slaps down some money onto the counter for the bartender, the man giving him an appreciative grin, before they climb the stairs once more and leave out into the cold, dreary night. It's only then that Edric huffs out a breath, swearing in a mutter under his breath as he keeps walking, releasing Jon.
Jon rolls his shoulder, knowing a bruise is liking to form by morning, and fixes the lapels of his black coat. With brows furrowed and mouth pressed tightly shut, he moves to follow, but at a distance. He glances back to make sure Katherine is with still them.
"Next time," Edric calls back, his words laced with thinly veiled irritation. "Don't bring up fucking murders as casual conversation." He says, throwing a look back.
"You expect me not to?" Jon throws back, unafraid of Edric's temper. The wolf halts, mouth screwing tightly shut, shoulders tensing as he turns to look back. "You bring me to a bar filled with monsters, all drinking blood as if they were Sunday cocktails, and expect me to sit there quietly. Any one of them could be the man murdering girls in Whitechapel."
"I expect you to understand the delicacy to keeping peace." Edric hisses back through his teeth, taking a challenging step towards Jon, forcing him to stop as well. "Abraham is a powerful man in this city. You insult him, you sign a death sentence."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Dec 5, 2017 18:09:55 GMT -7
Katherine looks at him for a moment longer but then Edric calls her name and she sighs softly before giving Drake one more smile and then moving to follow after. She kept the card in her hand as she grabbed her skirts to walk up the stairs. She actually liked this place and would come back again if she was allowed well even if she wasn't allowed she still would be coming back.
She watches as Edric lets go of Jon and wonders what sort of argument this was going to cause. The last thing she wanted was these two at each other's throats. She catches sight of Jon glancing back at her to make sure that she's still with them and she gives him a slight nod as if to say that she was still there. Her eyes dropped to the card once more and the name on there. Drake had asked her to his for a get together but not to bring Jon. It was only out of the pub that she felt like a wave had washed over her and she didn't feel so drunk anymore.
It was rather strange but Katherine wasn't sure how else to actually explain how she was feeling right now. She slipped the card into her bodice and followed after the other two and then right there and then they started up the arguing. This was going to be a long night. Katherine pinched the bridge of her nose and then slowly dropped her hand before looking at the two of them, watching as Edric took a step towards Jon. She knew that Jon could probably handle himself but maybe Adrian had been right, six years had been a long time and things had changed a hell of a lot since the last time Jon and Edric were in the same room together.
"Enough" she said and walked up to them, her eyes moving between them.
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Post by Ray on Dec 5, 2017 18:27:05 GMT -7
"Why are you defending him?" Jon asks, shaking his head a little but holding his ground, not scared of Edric in the slightest despite his height and strength. Jon knows him better than that. Knows that they may yell and spit fire, but Edric would never hurt him, "What are you embroiled in for you to act this way?"
But Edric just huffs out a mirthless laugh, his upper lip curling in a snarl, "When are you going to finally stop seeing the world in black and white?"
Any words that Jon might have are swallowed by Katherine's interruption. She moves between them, acting as a barrier for any blows that would never have come, making Edric take a slow, short step back away. Jon lets his mouth fall closed, trying to regulate his breathing to a normal rhythm, trying to see passed the anger turning his vision red. "What are you doing for him, Edric?" He says after a long moment, keeping his eyes locked on the wolf and trying to keep his words even. "Are you getting them their blood?"
Edric scoffs quietly, "They don't need me for that."
"Then what."
"Not a fucking thing," Edric replies, with one curt shake of his head. "No man owns me, Snow. Not even you." And then he turns his back on them, continuing his walk down the lengthy road, disappearing into the murky black haze of the city. As Jon watches him leave, his shoulders slowly drop, and the fire in his chest begins to lessen.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Dec 5, 2017 18:42:16 GMT -7
Katherine might not like Edric but she knew that he and Jon were friends long before she even came to Castle Black. No doubt he was the friend that Jon would go to if things were bad for him and he needed someone who was't Katherine to talk too. But at the moment their words actually made her feel a little bit sad. Then finally it came to an end and they watched as Edric walked further and further away from them but they were still standing there. She frowned for Jon, even if the man could frown a lot better than her. She might've said that too if it wasn't for the fact that she didn't want to ruin his mood anymore than it probably already was.
After a moment Katherine put her hand on his arm and softly said "Come on Jon, lets go home" she nodded and then gently turned him in the direction of the brothel. It probably didn't seem like much of a home to him especially when it did double as the brothel but at the moment it was the only place they really had. She was sure that she could've used compulsion to get herself a new home to go along with the brothel but in the end she just would end up staying there anyway, mostly to keep an eye on Adrian.
They walked most of the way in silence and if she was honest she didn't feel as much drunk as she had been in the pub, she wasn't sure what it was about that place but the feeling that she was having was both good and bad. The more further she got away from the place the more she realised that while the feeling was still there it wasn't as bad as it had been in the pub. Drake's voice in her head asking him not to bring Jon with her to their get together.
Katherine worried about Jon if she was honest, worried that he would continue looking for the murderer of the women and would get himself into trouble, that was the last thing she wanted for him. They got back to the brothel and she was thankful to see that it was pretty quiet so they must be late back, she took him straight up to her room so that he could fume up there if needed be.
"You alright?" she asked after shutting the door.
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Post by Ray on Dec 5, 2017 18:51:15 GMT -7
They walk back to the brothel in relative silence, Jon letting Edric's words as well the events in the pub play over and over in his mind. Katherine leads him right up to her room, his thoughts so clouded that he does not even take a moment to pause and notice the quiet. The door closes. Jon shrugs out of his jacket. And Katherine's voice filters in through the the waves beating against his skull. He glances towards her, lifting a hand to momentarily scratch at his cheek. His lips twitch in a small smile before he turns to take a seat upon the edge of the bed.
He runs both palms over his face and then back up, shoving his fingers through his black hair. "I should not have said those things to Edric," he finally replies, sighing out a heavy breath as his hands drop back down. He rests his elbows upon his knees and shakes his head. "I know him better than that to accuse him of..." Jon can't even bring himself to say it again, his teeth clicking quietly together and his eyes settling somewhere on the floor. "That place just...I don't know. Got under my skin." He admits.
He finally lifts his gaze back to her after a long moment. "Are you all right?" He asks, wondering if he was not the only one. Katherine had been acting strange herself. More open. More relaxed, even.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Dec 5, 2017 19:02:32 GMT -7
Katherine watches him for a moment when he speaks and she moves over to where he is on the bed and gets down on her knees in front of him, her dress billowing out around her and making it look like her dress was part of the floor and not letting her move from it. "Edric is your friend and in the heat of the moment friends say things they don't mean and it's probably best for both of you to calm down" she said with a nod.
She might not like Edric but Jon did, he was his friend and had been for a very long time so to see them both angry at one another hadn't actually filled her with joy, it filled her with a sadness that she wasn't sure if she could express. Katherine wasn't stupid to think that when Jon left for six years that Edric would pop in and see her especially when he never really cared about her anyway and wouldn't go out of his way to check in with her and Adrian so she too kept her distance from him. To her it didn't matter whether they saw each other again, it only mattered if she saw Jon again or even Adrian. Those two were important to her.. sadly to say Edric definitely wasn't that important.
Jon asked if she was alright and for a moment she bit on her lip, how could she tell him about the feeling that she had had when she was at the place? He would probably tell her not to go back there and the thought of that made her feel sad. The thought of not seeing Drake again filled her with dread, it was as if she had been waiting for him for the last few years of her life but never really knew it. Yet she couldn't exactly explain why she felt like that or the feeling she got from the Parlour. So instead Katherine smiled softly, put her hand to his cheek and said "I'm just worried about you, is all" she nodded and kissed his other cheek softly.
For some reason the card in her bodice felt really heavy against her chest right now, as if she was hiding a secret from Jon.
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Post by Ray on Dec 5, 2017 19:16:01 GMT -7
Her hand settles upon his cheek, and he presses his face into the touch, taking comfort in this at least. He can make amends with Edric later. Apologize and try again. But for now she's right. He just needs to calm himself. Let the bar and the conversation and strangeness of it all fade to the back of his mind. Otherwise he is bound to drive Edric away forever, and let himself go mad.
She kisses his cheek softly and Jon smiles faintly. "It's been a long day. Perhaps I should get some sleep." He admits, looking over her face. "Are you sure you're all right? The blood..." He mentions, his brows knitting close as he remembers the slight tremor in her hands as she had lifted that second glass. At the time he had been so overwhelmed by everything to say anything about it, Edric seemingly putting an end to it himself by taking the drink away from her. But he knows how hard Katherine works to keep herself clean and in control.
And tonight they had paraded fresh blood in front of her like a party favor.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Dec 5, 2017 19:26:59 GMT -7
"You should get some sleep, everything will look better in the morning" she said softly with a smile just as soft. Jon mentions the blood at the bar and she feels the tighten of her throat. It had been a long time since she had drank fresh human blood. It had felt good drinking it again even if she knew how hard she had worked to make sure she didn't touch any for a very long time.
The last thing she wanted was for Jon to worry about her, it would put too much strain into everything and she would always see him looking at her with a worried tint to his eyes. It was better to just lie because at the moment it was so much easier.
Katherine helped her free hand up and let him see "No shakes, I'm going to be okay I promise" she whispered at him and kissed his cheek once more "Get some sleep" she said and smiled before moving her hand from his cheek and slowly standing up. He wouldn't have to know just how much she wasn't okay. That blood would probably be the beginning of what potentially could be Katherine's downfall.
It might have only been a bit but that is all it took for a vampire to go off the wagon. It was all it took for Katherine to fall from grace and land on the ground covered in blood. But she would deal with it when it happened, for now there was no need to worry Jon until something happened. He was too wired over Edric and the pub to hear anything from her right now.
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Post by Ray on Dec 5, 2017 20:15:34 GMT -7
Katherine tries to reassure him by showing her steady hand, kissing his cheek again with the same familiar sweetness he's always known. It does soothe his mind a little, even if a part of him does still want to worry. Worry about her, worry about Edric, worry about all of it. In only a single day, London has become just as much a whirlwind as the years he spent fighting for Winterfell, one conflict after another falling at his feet like dominos. But it's late, and he needs to rest if he's going to be thinking clearly about any of it. He nods a little, exhaling a slow breath though his nostrils.
"I love you," he tells her, eyes searching her face once more. He lifts a hand to stroke gently at her cheek with his knuckles, feeling the softness of her skin against the roughness of his own. And then he readies for bed.
Black wings beat against a grey sky, massive, rising into the air like a pillar of smoke. The great gusts of wind blow raven's feathers from his hair, from his clothes, from his skin as if they are his own. The monster opens its mouth, exposing its sharp, white teeth, and a great river of blood pours forth.
He wakes with a start, sucking in a sharp breath and lifting himself from the pillows. Faint wisps of sunlight stream in through the windows, casting light over the foot of the bed where he lies. He winces at the pain in his chest as he sits upwards fully, kneading his fist against the scars still marking him, feeling the heat burning through his rib-cage. He mouth feels dry, his head pounding from the whiskey and absinthe trying to work its way out of his system, leaving him feeling worse than usual. He pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to work away the ache, but it only continues to pound.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Dec 5, 2017 20:31:48 GMT -7
Kat felt his hand against her cheek as he said that he loved her, she loved him too with everything she had in her. "I love you" she had said back to him but when she looked up at him it wasn't Jon that she was looking at but Drake. The man watching her with lustful eyes, a smile on his lips and his pointed teeth peeking out from underneath his top lip.
"Bite her" the voice had said. There was a woman with them that looked like Camilla but she was so sure it wasn't her. The look on her face was fright and yet Katherine liked the look on her face. Her fangs slipped from their hiding place and she sank her teeth into the neck of the woman, feeling hot blood spill into her mouth. He stroked her hair as he whispered to her, telling her to drink up because there was plenty more for her.
When she was finished she put her lips to his so that he could taste the blood on them. "No.." she said after pulling back. "This isn't what I want" the voice then replied "isn't it?"
Katherine's eyes opened and she was looking at the ceiling of her room. It was then that she realised that Jon was awake and she gently rolled over onto her side and put her lips to his, letting him feel her kiss. She slowly pulled back from him and smiled because it was in fact Jon. "Good morning" she said in a soft voice "how you feeling now?" She moved a strand of his dark hair from his face and bit on her lip.
She didn't remember getting into bed let alone going to sleep so to find herself in bed now had been a bit disorienting but she woke up next to Jon and she was happy with that but by the looks of Jon he was definitely suffering a bit.
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Post by Ray on Dec 5, 2017 20:51:47 GMT -7
The bed shifts a little at his side, and Jon drops his hand from his nose just in time for Katherine to lean upwards towards him and kiss him gently. The surprise of it, the softness, has Jon sinking into the kiss for just that brief moment, the ache in his skull lessening by her touch alone. When she pulls away, a small smile fills his mouth. It's been a long time since he's woken up like this. With her at his side, her lips at his, no snoring sailors or rocking ship or permanent wet of the sea soaked in his bones.
Here, it is warm, and soft, and quiet, with her just a breath away.
"Better," he says, but the sound of his own voice makes him wince a little, "Suffering though the absinthe but...better." He repeats, huffing out half a laugh.
He looks towards the window for a moment, surprised to see the sunlight, even if it is dim. The curtains are spread open, the window propped up just a crack, letting a trace of the cold morning air swirl into the room.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Dec 5, 2017 21:03:14 GMT -7
"Ooh" she said softly before letting the laugh come out even softer. "You really are suffering today, you know we could just lay in bed for a while and pretend that the world isn't out there" she said as a suggestion before letting a smile pull at her lips.
Katherine laid back down on her pillow, her curls spread out across her pillow and the cover over her. She might not feel the cold anymore but even she liked to get under the covers and pull them up so that they covered her up. She licked her dry lips before looking to the window. Did she leave the window open? Or did Maria come in like she usually did to borrow something and leave it open? Katherine didn't remember seeing it like that the night before but that might be because she was still in the human blood haze.
She didn't let it worry her as she looked back towards Jon. "I mean it has been a while since we have just led in bed and cuddled" she had to admit that she had missed this, with Adrian there hadn't been a this. It had been sex and then back to their own rooms. Katherine had missed laying next to Jon and waking up with him next to her. She had missed cuddling up to him and his fingers running through her dark curls. She had missed him saying that he loved her like he has done the previous night.
All in all Katherine missed Jon... there had been tough times without him but she knew that he had to go for himself and she had respected that but it didn't mean she didn't miss him like mad.
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Post by Ray on Dec 5, 2017 21:21:01 GMT -7
Jon smiles at her suggestion, the idea of letting the day pass on its own while he did nothing but lay here with her one he could hardly deny. How many times had he dreamt of doing the same while he was miles and miles away, how many times had it been the only thought that kept him moving to get back here. He sinks back down into the blankets, shifting closer to her. "I like the sound of that," he murmurs with a soft smile, catching her mouth with his in a kiss as he pulls the duvet around them and lets his hand find her waist, pulling her closer.
They lay like that for a long time, dozing in and out of sleep, letting the day tick on. But after a while, hunger got the better of him, a very human thing that affects him more than the others. He finally pulls himself out of bed when it becomes unbearable, tugging on a shirt to hide the scars. He looks back towards Katherine still lying there, "I'll be back in a moment after I raid the kitchen." He says in a half tease, pulling on his shoes as well. As he stands straight, he pushes his hair out of his face and makes for the door. "You do have a kitchen, I hope," he says around an amused smile, tugging open the door and giving her one last look.
His feet carry him down the stairs in search of something to eat, feeling better than he had when he'd first woken, though the ache still resides deep in his skull. He finds the kitchen after a minute of searching, and luckily finds that the girls themselves seem to eat since there is plenty to choose from.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Dec 5, 2017 21:34:43 GMT -7
Kat missed laying with him, his hands on her waist as he kissed her. His lips against hers as her hand laid against his cheek and the other at his chest. This had been what she had tried to have at Winterfell and sometimes they got it and other times duties had kept them from sleeping at all. Mostly Katherine had been the one to not sleep
They dozed in and out of sleep and Katherine would look over at Jon to make sure that he was still there when she woke up but when they finally were awake he said about getting some food. She pouted at him when he slipped out of bed and couldn't help but chuckle when she heard his stomach growl. "Get some food you tiger" she laughed softly and then nodded when he asked if she had a kitchen.
She bit on her lip when he looked back at her to make sure that he did actually come back to her. "Hurry up, im going to get naked" she called to him before he shut the door. Katherine huffed a laugh out before running her hands over her face. She was a right tease when Jon was around.
She looked at the door before liking her lip and getting out of the bed and moved over for the window to look out. Katherine had been sure that the window had been closed before she got into bed and would've heard if anyone came into her room to open it. She pushed the thought away as she shut the window up, shutting out the noises and voices out there and was about to turn to get back into the bed when she saw something.
Katherine reached down and grabbed it and found it was her dress and it was covered in blood.
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Post by Ray on Dec 5, 2017 21:54:44 GMT -7
He makes himself a quick meal with the things he finds in the kitchen, slicing bread and apple and cheese. His stomach rumbles, upset by the liquor still swirling though his system and starving for something of real substance. He never truly ate the day before, despite having gone out specifically for lunch. Between discovering the murders and meeting Edric and finding the courage to venture to Hellsing's Parlour, eating had slipped from his mind. But now he bites into his haphazard meal eagerly.
A knock sounds at the door, loud and purposeful, and Jon pauses to glance up, one brow lifting. He glances around, looking for one of the girls usually lingering around the foyer or the lounge, but it's empty save for him. Sighing out a breath, he drops the slice of bread back to the plate and dusts the crumbs off his palms.
He opens the door wide, not knowing what kind of visitor to expect at a brothel, but the man standing on the other side is all too familiar.
Edric glances over him, his fist falling back to his side. He snorts a little under his breath. "You look...domestic."
"What are you doing here?" Jon asks, swallowing down his last bite. He had not expected to see Edric for some time, not after last night, but here he is as if nothing had happened at all.
Edric steps forward a little, unfolding a newspaper he holds in his hands, and pushes it against Jon's chest as he steps in passed him. "You were worried about the murders." Is all the explanation he gives. Jon looks after him for a second, hand coming to rest over the paper to hold it there, before he lowers it to look at the front page.
"JACK the RIPPER" MURDERS AGAIN: DOUBLE EVENT IN LONDON'S EAST END
Jon stares down at it, the food settling in his stomach now like a rock. He looks up, eyes finding Edric as the wolf glances around the entry hall, a slightly puzzled expression arching his brow. "Jack the Ripper?" He repeats, his good mood gone.
"That's what they're calling him now." Edric sighs, dropping his grey eyes to meet Jon's. "Apparently they received a letter a day or two ago from someone claiming to be the murderer but...who knows."
"Why did you bring me this?"
"Because I know you. Even if I tell you to leave well enough alone, you won't. So might as well make sure you don't get yourself killed in the process."
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