The Fool On The Hill

[emotioneater]

A. Cooper needed to get out more. This was quite apparent to him as word reached him of Millicent’s latest plans. Letting her vamps run wild seemed like a bad, bad idea to him. He knew a thing or two about losing control and knew none of it ever came to any good. There was no fool like an old fool. Not that Cooper would ever say such words aloud where they could get back to Miss High ‘n Mighty. He liked living, thank you very much. There was nothing to do but go for a ride. He dusted off one of his motorcycles and took off into the night.

After a few blocks, any worries he had seemed to be far away. The only one he currently had was avoiding the suicidal public, who seemed determined to walk in the middle of the road. He yelled out in annoyance at the latest person to get in his way. “Hey! Get your head outta your arse and move it!” When would he learn to keep his mouth shut? Probably never.

B. Leaving the bike behind, he hit the local pubs. It occurred to Cooper that he was a bit peckish. Seeing as how he was out of contact with his usual blood donor, he was going to need someone else to bite into. It didn’t take long for his eyes to land on someone who looked like they might be up for being used as a blood bag. He sidled on up to them and crossed his fingers there were no overzealous hunters working in this part of town.

C. Wildcard! Have an idea? Let me know here or at light_shade

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Alone on a hill; For Nancy

[emotioneater]

When he went by Nancy’s place, he was surprised to discover that she’d moved. Well, he supposed this is what he deserved for not staying in touch. The landlord had always been a shifty character and a little bit of money slipped into his palm helped him to give up her forwarding address. Cooper went there posthaste, but as he got to the door, his nerve failed him. He wasn’t sure of what kind of reception he was bound to receive. Well, he had two options: knock and brace him for impact, or stand here on the doorstep like an idiot all night. Finally, he straightened his spine and rapped two sharp knocks on the door.

When she answered, there was a soft, somewhat apologetic smile on his face. “Hey, sweet-pea.”

[stauncherhearted]

To be fair, Nancy wasn't sure what to do either, when she spied Cooper standing in her hallway after what had to have been, oh, six months now? She wanted to open the door, wrap her arms around him and kiss him, because god damn it, she'd missed him! She'd worried about him something awful, and now, he was here like nothing had ever happened! Every bone in her body told her not to hug him, and her brain screamed it as loud as it could, somehow managing to outweigh her heart. So what Nancy did was completely the opposite of what she wanted to do.

She opened the door.

She looked at him almost as if she wasn't sure he was even there or not.

And then, raising a pale hand, slapped him as hard as she could. "Jesus Christ, Cooper!"

[emotioneater]

Cooper reached his right hand up and slowly rubbed the spot Nancy had slapped on his his cheek. It had left a pink mark. Truth be told, he'd been expecting her to do something like that. "Alright. That, I will admit I deserved." He'd let her get one free shot in. As long as she didn't try to hex him into next week, he figured they were about even.

"Can I come in or are you gonna make me haunt your doorstep?" He can stand there and look pathetic all night long if he has to.

[stauncherhearted]

She could have hexed him, sure, but it was so much more satisfying to slap him. Even if her hand was hurting something awful from it. It was definatly satisfying.

What isn't satisfying is having to let him in.

"Don't tempt me," she tells him, before gesturing for him to step in. "Come in."

And once he is inside, she gestures for him to sit. "Where the hell have you been?"

[emotioneater]

He meekly goes inside and sits where she told him to. He looks around and spots Juliet. The cat gives him a withering stare before heading into the other room. "I've been dead." Get it? Because he's undead. Ha ha. He's not funny.

"I just sorta...withdrew into meself." It's not much of an excuse and Cooper knows it, but it's all he has. At least this time he hadn't run away to the other side of the globe. He'd told Nancy a bit about how he tended to do that when he felt he'd screwed things up.

B

[outstandingbalance]

No hunters, luckily. That doesn't mean he doesn't attract some attention. Natasha is seated in a booth, looking for privacy and anonymity in the dim buzz of the pub. She notices when another vampire walks in, older than her and hunting.

Not her business, she tells herself. Not here and not tonight.

She watches out of the corner of her eye as she nurses a whiskey, her interest half concern and half frustration that alcohol doesn't do much more than give her something to do with her hands and her mouth.

[emotioneater]

The short vampire takes a seat at the bar, his feet not even reaching the floor. He's nursing a beer as he looks over the crowd. To an outsider's perspective, he looks relaxed and casual, just a young Irish lad soaking in the atmosphere after a long week. But Cooper has a hunter's mind and he's looking over the crowd the way a lion looks at gazelles. The weak, the injured, the sick. Isolate one and he's got a meal.

He sets his sights on a businessman also seated at the bar, rumpled suit, American accent, and the weary air of someone who's been traveling too much. Cooper slides himself down until he's practically brushing shoulders with the man. From there, it's easy to turn on the charm. He's soon got the man cracking a smile. This is too easy. He just needs to get him outside and the job will be done.

[outstandingbalance]

The way the older vampire acts puts up the hairs on the back of Natasha's neck. The humans don't see it—why would they? He looks like one of them, and not particularly threatening. Except that he's picking just who he wants to cut off from the rest of the evening crowd.

Still not her problem, she reminds herself, taking too big a drink of her whiskey and forcing it down. But she's scooting closer to keep a better eye on things. Seeing if the other vampire is successful.

[emotioneater]

The spidey sense makes Cooper look up. He's got an inkling that there's a pair of eyes on him somewhere, but he doesn't see anything out of place. Well, he can only focus on one task at a time, and his primary goal here is to get himself and his meal alone. The hunger comes before anything else. He's patient with the tourist, buying him three more drinks before he judges the man compliant enough to work with.

Tapping him on the shoulder, Cooper suggests they head elsewhere for the night. The pair make their way for the door and the vampire looks around one last time. Looks like he's bagged his gazelle.

[outstandingbalance]

It looks like he has.

Natasha throws a few bills on her table and stands herself. She tells herself that it's a coincidence—that she just happens to be done with the noise and the effort that goes into ignoring her hunger at the same time the other vampire is leaving.

But while she might be a good liar, she's never liked lying to herself.

She gives them a head start, but she's following.

A

[acrookedchild]

"What the fuck?!"

It isn't usual for Abigail to swear like that, but sometimes it comes. Especially when it's late, she's trying to get home, and she was sure that, two seconds ago, the signal changed to give her the right of way. But now, looking at it, it's... not. Which means she saw it wrong (wholly possible) or the light messed up... which is equally possible with her luck.

At first, she doesn't recognise the man on the motorcycle, and, well, she's stressed enough that--

"Maybe you should pay attention!"

[emotioneater]

When someone yells back at him, that gets Cooper's dander up. He's got to learn to rein in his road rage someday. Today, however, is not that day. "Oh ho. Don't think that I won't run you over. I can 'n I will!" Funny. This girl sounds familiar.

Then he moves the motorcycle closer to the curb, peering at the blonde girl there on the sidewalk. At the sudden flood of recognition when he sees Abigail's face, Cooper feels like an ass. "Oh. Uh, sorry 'bout that, girlie."

B

[falsify]

No hunters, but there is a fae who's in a shitty mood and wouldn't mind ruining the evening of a vampire. Or at least delaying their mealtime a little. So that might be why Eames slips into the seat between this vampire and his latest target before he can get there, looking up at him with a smirk.

"Nice night, isn't it?"

[emotioneater]

Cooper's mouth goes into a thin line. It would be just his luck that somebody decides to interrupt him when he's hungry. He peers over Eames' shoulder at the woman sitting at a table by herself. Well, there goes a potential meal. Maybe she'll still be there once he gets rid of this well-dressed nuisance. "Thrilling," he replies in a flat tone.

[falsify]

Eames' smile doesn't go anywhere at that flat tone, positively entertained by the reaction. He briefly creases his brow, expression faking concern. But not at all believably.

"You look upset," he says, tilting his head like he has no idea what's put a bee in his bonnet.

[emotioneater]

Eames has to know what he's doing. There's no way anyone is this thick...are they? Cooper has his doubts about the local populace sometimes. "I'll be fine after I get another drink." Perhaps he can drag the man out back for a quick bite and turn this lemon of a situation into lemonade.

[falsify]

Eames might know what he's doing, but it doesn't show on his face. He gives Cooper a concerned tilt of his head instead and gestures to the seat next to him in a silent invitation for Cooper to join him.

"Rough day?" He asks, a little surprised that this guy doesn't seem to have cottoned on that he's not speaking to a human yet, usually vampires can smell him a mile off. It'll be entertaining for a little while, at least.

A

[baisant]

Jean-Claude turns at the sound of the shouting, raising an eyebrow at the other as he recognizes him for who he is. He may have been temporarily demoted, thanks to his latest stunt, and therefore on a lower rung of the ladder than Cooper himself. But he does not feel that way, nor would he appreciate being treated as such. If he was certain the other vampire were doing so on purpose. Luckily for the both of them, he's pretty sure that Cooper hadn't actually been yelling at him.

"Have you no respect for your elders, mon ami?" he replies, in his usual drawling, French way.

[emotioneater]

Cooper straddles the bike, one foot touching the road to keep his balance. He's got to learn to control his road rage one of these days. Truth be told, he hadn't been yelling at Jean-Claude, but rather one of the many idiotic people that didn't seem to know the road from the sidewalk.

He grins in an impudent sort of way when the older vampire chastises him. "None whatsoever. Mainly because they have no respect for me."

[baisant]

Jean-Claude offers him something of a shrug in return, which could mean anything -- such is the way of him, of course. It is a very 'Jean-Claude' sort of response to pull.

"And thus the vicious cycle continues," he says. He shakes his head, offering the other vampire something of a smile as he cocks his head slightly to the side. "Where are you off to that you're in such a hurry to be?"

[emotioneater]

"Just gettin' out of my apartment for the first time in what feels like forever. You ever just feel like going as fast as you can until everything else in your head gets left behind?" Maybe that was just Cooper. He's always been fascinated by motorcycles ever since they were first around. He practically helped to invent the rebel without a cause cliche.

B

[whatmatters]

Ringer didn't drink, but she still enjoyed pub food and occasionally the noise of a loud, crowded place when she could remain in her own little world. Tonight was one such night, tucked against the end of the bar with a basket of fries and a juice that looked ambiguous as to whether or not it might contain alcohol.

When a guy took up the seat beside her, she barely noticed, keeping her hair over her face and dressed in simple jeans and a gray tee. It wasn't until he seemed to turn toward her that she finally glanced up at him, preparing herself to turn him away and insist on her solo company.

Instead she found herself face-to-face with an old.. well, whatever he was. Ringer hadn't seen Cooper in months and the sight of him made her freeze like a deer in headlights, wondering what he was doing there and if he was still as generally amicable as he'd seemed before his absence.

[emotioneater]

Cooper had noticed Ringer from the moment he walked into the pub, her face unmistakable to the old vampire. Normally, he had nothing but disdain for hunters, but Ringer was one of the good ones. She had enough respect not to simply shoot first and ask questions later. He weaved his way through the crowd, taking a seat and waiting for her to notice him.

"Well, if it isn't Annie Oakley," Cooper said, looking quite pleased. He signaled the bartender and had two shots of whiskey brought over to the table. Pushing one over to Ringer without even asking if she wanted it, he asked, "How have you been keepin' yourself?"

[whatmatters]

Ringer's dazed expression slowly shifted to pensive instead. She had a lot of questions for him and no right to ask most of them beyond sheer curiosity. Instead, she focused on his own, shaking her head to lightly disapprove of his nickname for her.

"The Night Council owns Hillingdon's leader, I have super powers, and the vampires are out of control," she replied dryly, turning her attention back to her food, eating another chip and ignoring the whiskey he offered. "Why find me now?"

[emotioneater]

"Don't flatter yourself, darling. I wasn't lookin' specifically for you. Just blowin' the dust off myself after being too secluded." He listened to the latest news, tutting with disappointment at the final point. "Already knew about that last one. And I must say, I disapprove of the whole affair." Being out of control was something Cooper had ample amounts of experience with. He hadn't spent years at a time to get himself under control only to see a bunch of vampires run rampant through the streets. Still, there wasn't much he could do besides make it known that he didn't approve of the current vampire affairs at all.

He paused and downed his shot of whiskey in one gulp. "But do elaborate on those first two points. I must have missed the part where you gained powers."