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Thomas stepped outside, relieved to be leaving the party. Sure, he liked some of the people there, but by and large, it really wasn't his sort of thing. He'd have far preferred to be wearing...well, something a little more casual. Sure, he looked great in his stark white suit, but Thomas's typical style typically ranged from the casual, like t-shirts and jeans, to the ridiculous, outfits that heavily flaunted his well muscled form. He didn't typically wear formal wear, and certainly didn't consider vampires losing their protection to be a thing to celebrate. He didn't want war with all the other factions, or violence in the streets.

Still, at least he was out of the party, so he didn't have to hide his disapproval any more. He could just go home, kick off his shoes and relax. Or so he thought.

Casually strolling home, Thomas was completely oblivious to the fact that the challenges of the night had only just begun, or that the fallout from Raymond's policies would so quickly come back on him.

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At 2AM Daryl had started watching the doors of the party for anyone leaving. Vampires in particular. He'd ignored the Fae and witches that left - identified more by their lack of fangs as they laughed than nay real ability to tell the difference at his distance, through a scope or not.

But as soon as he saw the pointed teeth of a laughing vampire hanging off one of his friends, Daryl let his first bolt loose. A second one was loaded and fired within three seconds and the friend who had just watched the first die found their unnatural life ended. He tried for a third and managed to get one, but there were more coming out than he could fire on and at that point he loaded his crossbow up and headed for the proverbial hills to wait it out a bit more.

Daryl moved in closer to the party and gave some time for the worry to die down and more vampires to come walking out like they were safe to roam the streets. Then he picked one and started following him. Just another late-night wanderer walking the street in the same direction. Further back, but still taking his time.

For now.

Thomas heard the scuff of feet against the sidewalk, and he turned his head a bit, catching a glimpse of a figure following behind him. Probably nothing, he thought. He looked forward again, dismissing it as someone else going home late in the night, but still listening to the movements of the man behind him as he went, just in case.

Daryl kept his pace casual and not too long after his target took a glance over his shoulder, Daryl took an opportunity to cut diagonally across the street. It let him get parallel to the man, then duck into an alley next to a closed store like he was taking a shortcut.

Once out of sight, Daryl scaled the fire escape and got himself up on the roof. Continued his shadowing from there for another couple blocks.

With that, Thomas was satisfied that the other man had gone on his own way and was no longer a concern, so he kept going.

The best part about being in this part of London they were in was how close to each other the buildings were. The jump wasn't always an easy one for normal humans to make, but for Daryl it was like hopping rocks to cross a lazy stream. As he went he called out the cats prowling the night. Soft mews and growls. Gathered their attention. Got them to follow him. And then to follow his target.

Down below, the man he'd chosen to hunt would find his path start to fill. One or two at first, but then more and more cats would begin to show up at the edges of alleyways. Not doing anything to him, not moving toward him, just sitting there. Watching. Their eyes glowing in the half-light of the city.

Until finally Thomas would reach a corner lit by only one lamp and as he stood under it, it cracked and popped and suddenly went out. The eyes of a hundred cats now on him as they gathered in a circle to stare.

Nothing about the rock Daryl had thrown to break the lamp would give it away that it wasn't just coincidence. Since there'd been no real sound. But the cats acting the way they were, doing him a favor, that would probably raise the hairs on his neck. Get him feeling edgy and unsafe.

Edited 2016-08-15 23:44 (UTC)

Oh, look. Cats. At first he just figured some nice old lady in the area was feeding them, so they were hanging around. Not that he minded, Thomas generally liked animals, and so he reached down to pet one...then froze. This wasn't just a nice old lady number of cats. This was a swarm.

Standing back up, he began to look around at the cats warily, wondering what the hell was going on.

Then the light went out.

Not that his eyes weren't able to quickly adjust, being a vampire and naturally attuned to living in the dark, but it was still unnerving. All of this was unnerving.

"O...kaay," he said, before deciding to walk through the cats.

Slowly, carefully, and almost scooting his feet to avoid stepping on any of them, Thomas tried to make his way through the feline crowd.

The cats moved with him. When he stepped forward to try and step through them, the circle split a little before reforming as all of them stood up and moved around so they'd keep him inside their make-shift barrier. They weren't preventing or hindering his attempt to go. Yet. Daryl hadn't asked them to do more than surround the guy and keep him in the middle of a stalking circle. They did it because it was amusing, interesting, different not because Daryl commanded them to.

And hell, he wasn't going to ask any of them to fight for him when it could easily result in their death. But creeping the bloodsucker out, keeping him on edge? Yeah, that he could live with as far as favors from the felines went.

Since they weren't blocking him, Thomas decided to keep going. This was definitely creeping him out, but he figured the sooner he got home, the sooner he could get inside and away from...whatever was going on. As he went, he tried to think if he'd annoyed any fae or witches at the party, because this was definitely looking to him like some sort of bizarre curse. At least he didn't live too far from the hotel, though his progress had slowed some as he focused on his surroundings, in case something more insidious than a swarm of cats was brewing.

Daryl didn't know where the guy was staying, but he figured if he was heading 'home' so to speak, he was probably trying to go that way now. Daryl growled out a couple more requests as he moved over the roofs and the tangle of cats shifted again, yowling and meowing loudly at Thomas as they stopped allowing him free movement in the direction he wanted to go. Instead, they piled up, a moving mass that just didn't want to let him pass. But as they blocked that direction, the opposite side opened up. They didn't seem to be interested in swarming there.

Thomas froze. He knew which way the cats were trying to lead him, the question was, did he want to go that way. And the answer was no. Not about to be led around by a swarm of cats, Thomas took a few steps back, before launching himself forward, attempting to leap over the swarming pile of cats.

Daryl's crossbow was up and a bolt fired in a split second. He aimed for where Thomas was going and managed to get him nicely in the thick part of his thigh. Wouldn't do a lot of damage, but it'd slow him down and hopefully make him think twice about jumping the cats again.

He moved as soon as the bolt was off, making sure to get his own ass gone to another roof and hidden while he called down some requests to the cats nearby who relayed them to the rest of the herd. A few had freaked out by the jumping man and broken away to return to their normal haunts, but most had stayed and they continued to hamper Thomas' way, converging and reforming the barrier in front of where he'd landed. The other side of the group nice and open if he'd like an unobstructed way to leave their presence. And one that wouldn't get wooden arrows shot through him.

Thomas cried out in pain as red stained his white slacks, and he desperately looked around in shock, trying to spot who had fired the bolt, but he didn't manage to spot the perpetrator. Thomas snarled, and if the light hadn't been taken out, his fangs, now fully extended, could have been clearly visible in the night. He pulled out the arrow, tossing it to the ground and deciding to not take the risk that the next one would be aiming for his heart.

He went the way the cats seemed to be leading him, limping as quickly as he could, looking for somewhere he could duck into to hide from his attacker. If he didn't find somewhere he could hide, he thought, maybe he could make his way back to the hotel. Let Cesare know there was a hunter in Islington, because the arrow told Thomas that's what it had to be, and get a room for the night.

Edited 2016-08-26 01:59 (UTC)

The cat swarm was kind enough to lead him back down the street and even allow him to turn a corner, but they were clearly keeping a nice distance between Thomas and any doors. This broke only when a car needed to pass down the street. The cats parted like the Red Sea for those, none of them risking life and limb just for a game.

Daryl had to duck down to street level briefly to retrieve his bolt, but only after Thomas was out of view of the spot. He'd have to catch up, but he didn't want that just laying around where anyone - particularly the non-supernatural crowds - could grab it.

Thomas began to get more frantic. He knew this was serious now, which meant he had to get out of the open, so if whoever it was decided to pick him off they'd have come close enough for him to spot them to do so. Seeing the cats part when a car came by gave him an idea.

The second he saw another car approaching, he began waving his hands and calling to them, trying to get their attention and desperately hoping that having normal human bystanders meant the hunter wasn't going to take a shot.

The car slowed down and it swiftly became apparent it was a cab. The cats did maintain their distance, but there was some definite agitation among their numbers.

The cab came to a stop, the driver leaning out the window, clearly weirded out by all the cats and the fact that Thomas was obviously injured. He cautiously called out, "Cash only and the moggies stay here."

"I can do both."

Thomas hurried into the back of the cab, slamming the door behind them, glad to have some separation between him and all the cats. He had plenty of cash in his pocket, and since it was a cab, he didn't even have to bother with a pretense of going to the hospital. What he could do, though, is act like he was just as confused by what was going on as this man was, and give him the impression that they were both in the same boat of being seriously freaked out. If that didn't work, Thomas would just make it very clear that he had plenty of cash to give the man.

"Mind driving around aimlessly with the meter running for a bit? Something weird is going on tonight, man, and I want to lose whatever's out here. And those cats."

The cab driver took Thomas up on the offer. Cash was cash and an easy fare was an easy fare. Even with the spooky shit going on.

Daryl watched his prey get to the safety of the cab and didn't attempt to pursue from there. He was fast enough to follow, but only as a bobcat. Which would mean putting his bow away and stashing it somewhere with his clothes. Not exactly what he wanted to do while hunting.

His quarry for the evening was gone and he'd have to be satisfied he'd scared the crap outta the man. The way he dived for that cab said loads. Instead of all the extra effort that could have come from the pursuit, Daryl let the energy drain out of him slowly as he made his way to street level and into an alley. Called out to his friends and had them come near so he could thank them properly. A few with affectionate scratches. More with head rubs and purring.

All Thomas would see if he turned back to look was the group of cats moving en masse into one of the dark alleyways made all the darker by the limited brightenss of the street lamps. He could worry they were attempting to follow him to where ever the cab was dropping him off. They weren't, but he could worry about that for a while.

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