Every 30 years...(OPEN)

[youronlylaw]

A) So they dug your grave


1:30

Every phone number he had was called, every email he could send was written. Every door he could knock on was hammered on so hard his knuckles and wrist ached with the pain of it. He had gone to see Skip at midnight and it was a short conversation with a gun between them both that led him away empty handed. She was adamant about staying put with her family.

While he could respect that, James didn't think he'd have a fiance by the morning.

He did manage to think of one useful thing to do before the eclipse sapped him of all his strength. And headed to the one place he knew would sell him a handgun of his own with no questions. It wasn't legal in the slightest, but if criminals could do it - why shouldn't he tonight?

James tried to appear subtle as he knocked on the metal cover to the shop. It wasn't technically open, but from what he knew of it - there would be someone inside.

[Feel free to be the owner or someone walking past!]

B) And the masquerade


2:53

The actual eclipse was approaching fast and James was headed back to the warehouse he had determined would be their hold up. It was nothing like the Abbot Mill, but James was working on collecting that piece of property as well.

None of that was on his mind however, and instead he paid heavy attention to the darker corners of the streets and allies in fear of a vampire emerging from them to kill him and effectively ruin all his chances at advancement.

...It was a bit sad that he wasn't as concerned about his life ending.

Such was the price of ambition, he thought wryly to himself when suddenly he thought he heard something from behind him. Too paranoid to take any chances, James pulled a handgun from inside his jacket. It wasn't a registered weapon, but he didn't need to worry about that. If he actually used it, he would pull strings to get it swept under the rug long enough to make it disappear. It was better to think of the legalities instead of the last time he had held a gun.

His whole life had shifted then....hopefully this time wouldn't be as extreme.

"Back off."

His snarl was almost as impressive as it would have been with fangs and claws. Almost.

C) Will come calling out


James hadn't expected this to be quite so dramatic. Yes, he expected vampires to take advantage of their weakness to cull their numbers - but in force like this? It was something like a movie. They did, thankfully, have the aid of the Fae and some witches were protecting other groups that didn't want to band together into an easier target. But James believed that there was strength in numbers.

He hadn't expected for it to involve so much waiting though. It was his first eclipse, but he had heard stories about it being a train-wreck before from older pack members. They didn't tell him about the waiting, which was almost as deadly as the eclipse itself!

He looked down at his watch, anxious for the minute to pass. It felt like it would go on forever! He wondered if the vampires had managed to coerce a witch into slowing time...Was that even possible?

5:27

James felt his normal strength - for a werewolf - start to seep back into him. Like a dam with cracks in it; it was slow but it was steady. And showing no signs of fading.

"Finally," he sighed. A concerned and almost terrified frown began to morph into a toothy grin. The worst was over. Now they just had to drive the vampires back into their hole. With daylight coming in about an hour or so, it should be easy to survive the night even if their enemies were wearing Daylight Jewelry.

Their allies did their jobs, and loss of life wasn't great enough to feel. There were a few unavoidable deaths he knew he'd have to deal with in the morning. But for now? It was time to fight back.

D) At the mess you made


10:00

Coffee and breakfast were the only things he could think about after a night like that. He'd been offered a meal at other pack members homes and a place to wash up, but right now James wanted to be alone. There were some phone calls he had to make that he would prefer no one that knew him hear.

"Yes. If you could get back to me with the cost today I'd appreciate it. -- Yes. -- I want to pay for everything."

He said a short goodbye and turned his phone onto silent before burying his face in his hands. He looked a mess and felt worse. Did he honestly just agree to pay for not one, not two, but four funerals and wakes?

Yes. Yes he did.

He was going to be very broke for a while now. Might as well enjoy this breakfast.

E) is for Extra!

Open prompt!

Comments

D -- let me know if this is alright/needs changing at all! :'D

[knowstheworld]

Childermass sits a few tables over, nursing his own coffee as he takes in the cafe around him. He has always been an observer, a people-watcher, and here it is no different. He cannot help himself. Especially when the other man is being so obvious in his distress. Sitting in a place like this, on a phone call like that? It is hard not to be suspicious. Rather, it is hard for Childermass not to be suspicious. Or perhaps intrigued would be the better way of phrasing it.

Whatever it is that he was discussing, it is obvious that it was not a pleasant topic of conversation. Childermass does not know what might have happened, he does not know the topic itself, but he recognizes that expression on the other man's face, as he hangs up. He recognizes the weariness, of someone who has been up all night. He is not a fool -- he has not survived in this world as long as he has, as an assistant of the great magician, Gilbert Norrell, without being able to follow the tables of the moon either. Either this man has been on a rather impressive bender, he's had a rather rough night, or, well. Childermass knows. And Childermass is rarely wrong, with such things.

"Rough night?" he asks, regarding the other man over the rim of his coffee mug, as he raises it and takes a deliberately casual sip. He has ever been a man to grab the tiger by the tail, as it were.

It's perfect~ sorry it took me a few days!

[youronlylaw]

James doesn't even lift his head from his hands as Childermass speaks to him; he can recognize from the point of origin of the sound and question that he is - in fact - speaking to him, but James only turns his head out of his hands and rests the side of his face on an open palm as he regards the man with a rough arch of his brow.

"Something like that, yes."

He tries to casually smell for what Childermass could be - he didn't want to oust himself to a human.

that's perfectly fine! :')

[knowstheworld]

Not being a werewolf himself, Childermass wouldn't know whether he smelled any different to the other man or not. But if he can tell a human from a witch, then Childermass is bound to smell like magic. He may only be Norrell's man, and not a coven leader himself, but the magic within him is anything but weak.

Childermass leans forward, putting his chin on his hand, in something of a mirror of the other man's regarding him. "Only something?" he asks, with a wry smile that says he could mean anything by the question. He could be honestly interested in the answer. He could be concerned about the other man. He could have no opinion in the matter at all. It's rather hard to tell, at face value at least.

[youronlylaw]

"Yes?"

He couldn't help the bemused smile or the tired laugh that formed at Childermass' question. The magic from the man mixes neatly with the coffee and other scents a diner could easily be surmised from.

James could only read the traces of a man who liked to tease

[knowstheworld]

Oh, Childermass certainly likes to tease indeed. And to be difficult and stubborn as well, when the mood strikes him.

"I hope that you do not mind sir," he says, as casually as you please, as he reaches to pick up his spoon and stir his coffee with it slightly, before putting it back on the table neatly. "I could not help but overhear something of your telephone call just then, though." He raises his eyes back to the other man as he raises the cup to his lips, to take a careful sip.

"It sounded a lot more than something like that," he hazards, over the rim of his mug.

[youronlylaw]

"Ah."

If Childermass didn't seem so set on following this line of conversation to it's conclusion, he would leave it at that. However, that wasn't the case, and James sighed shortly before gesturing to the phone.

"Preparations for a funeral I'm afraid. Several."

Not as many as there could have been, which was his only solace.

[knowstheworld]

Childermass nods slightly. He had assumed as much, judging from the snippets he had caught here and there, being only a table over. He inclines his head further.

"I am sorry for your loss," he says, because that is what one is supposed to in these sorts of situations. Though why he is making such preparations in a coffee shop such as this interests him, he must say. If it were personal, would he not be private? A bit more upset? With family?

[youronlylaw]

"Don't worry about it."

James nods slightly in polite gratitude. He knows it's not kosher to say something so plainly but, damnit, he's tired and while he's paying for the services for these werewolves - he barely knew any of them.

This was mostly a ploy to seem more gracious and like a provider - like an Alpha - than he really was.

But. Childermass didn't need to know that.

[knowstheworld]

Childermass doesn't need to know it, but he's gotten some sense of it nonetheless. Nothing about the wolves or the provider part, of course -- a witch cannot exactly sniff out another's otherworld aura in the same way a werewolf might. But he's getting the sense that this man is not particularly torn up about the loss, save for perhaps the loss in funds.

He raises his coffee mug at the other man in something of a mock toast. "Here's to life above ground," he says, equally as blunt and perhaps not very respectful of the dead that the man's dealing with at all, but then again, being respectful is not exactly in Childermass' nature.

[youronlylaw]

"Long may it be preserved."

It appears James isn't offended by the cavalier toast but then again - he is a defense attorney, usually he's the one doing the offending in the first place. Childermass would be absolutely right about James lamenting the loss of his financial freedoms more than anything else. Funerals - proper funerals - were damned expensive and they were a good way to gain favor with grieving families to have that burden lifted from their own shoulders.

B

[constantprisoner]

Sirius had heard about Blood Moons, but never actually seen one. He knew about their effects of course. It was hard not to be friends with a werewolf and not hear of them. But even then, they sounded terrifying. If he were being honest, Sirius couldn't imagine losing his powers for a night, being vulnerable like that.

It's probably not the smartest move he could ever make, but he knows he's got to act. The werewolves might be weak, but he's not, at least, not as a dog. So he'll keep an eye out for any werewolves, and if anything happens, he'll be there.

However, he's going to need nourishment if he's going to do this, so that means another meal scrounged from garbage cans. Which means knocking one over in an effort to seeing if there's anything good inside. And then finding himself, once again, on the wrong end of a gun.

[youronlylaw]

James wishes he could see in the dark right now, and bemoans this damn eclipse because it's taking everything from him. When he hears the sound of garbage cans scraping against pavement and brick, he startles quickly and goes for the gun - sick as it makes him feel with the weight of the cold metal in his hand...he'd rather favor his life than that of a stranger.

When he sees what he assumes is a dog, James breaths a hefty sigh of relief. He can't place Sirius as a shifter - not without the powers he's dearly missing.

"Oh, thank fuck."

[constantprisoner]

Sirius relaxes at James's relief as well. He can still smell the fear in the air but the fact that there's some relief helps. He starts to pant, trying to look like he's smiling and friendly.

He wanders up to James and gives him a nudge with his nose.

[youronlylaw]

Mutual trust isn't something he's accustomed to, and it's even stranger to find it in a what appears to be nothing more than a stray.

James smiles shakily at Sirius nudging his side and puts the gun back into the back of his jeans before holding his hand out for the dog to sniff at before petting his dirty looking fur.

"Hey, boy."

[constantprisoner]

Getting the scent helps Sirius to confirm that James is a werewolf at least. It's faint, but still there, so he resolves to stick with him. At least until he's somewhere safe.

His eyes close slightly at being petted, although he's doing his best to stay alert.

[youronlylaw]

James doesn't linger very long. He only scratches at Sirius' ear long enough to make the dog happy before coming back to the night and what it was going to bring.

He heaves a reluctant sigh that he would never actually have let out had he known this dog was in fact a shapeshifter and smiles reluctantly down at the dog.

"Bye, doggie."

...If he knew this was a person, he would never.

[constantprisoner]

Well, doggie was probably an improvement over Snuffles, Sirius reflected. He makes himself look at little disappointed that the man is leaving and isn't going to pet him anymore.

But that doesn't stop him from following James shortly after the other has left. He seemed like a good guy after all, and keeping people safe was Sirius's self-appointed task for the night.