undergrounds | The blood runs slow and thick, and slumber is heavy

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The blood runs slow and thick, and slumber is heavy

Abandoned or not, it seemed that someone had negotiated to get the lights and elevators running again in the old Kitterick hotel. Of course, most of the windows were draped over, particularly those of the penthouse thirteenth floor. Still, bars of light could be seen poking out here and there on the lower levels.

If the residents of the neighborhood were curious about this new development, however, they were certainly not saying so. In fact, there seemed to be an unofficial chill in effect in the surrounding area. Those few souls who were out on the streets scurried along quickly and fearfully on their business, restricting their activity to the daytime as if by some unspoken consensus.

Point was, the streets were clear of activity by nightfall. Whether the night would remain peaceful was anyone's guess.

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Heart still pounding, Eren nods and smiles in lieu of a proper response. The nicks and bruises he's sustained are mostly his own fault for being dramatic, but even those are already starting to heal up. All things considered, they'd gotten pretty lucky.

After taking a moment to settle himself, he carefully sets Magra down. "No problem. And anyway, most of the thanks should go to..."

He cuts himself off when he realizes that he's not entirely sure if Magra knows that her Grandma is here with them or not. Subject change. "We're still not out of the woods yet. We've still got to get you home."

"Don't worry about it," agreed Heiji. "But we should get a little ways away from here." One thing they had in their favor, of course, was that the vampires would have no real idea where they'd gone with Magra. He glanced briefly at Clara, to see if she had any instructions forthcoming.

"Can you walk maybe a block or two?"

"What? Huh. Hang on a sec." Magra looks down tests her legs as she supports herself by leaning against Eren, seeing if she could use them or not for a bit. Over-all she looked like she had been roughed up a bit since being captured. Rope burns around her ankles and wrists. Dark bruises on her legs and arms. She also seems to be favouring resting her weight on her left leg over her right. "My ankle is killing me here but long as there's no running involved, I'm good."

Meanwhile. Clara looks panicked for a second, worried that Eren would mention her and shakes her head to stop any attempts. "Ohhh! She doesn't know. Don't let her know. Ever!"

Once they're all out of danger, she'll explain why is that and why she seems so reluctant to let her now. For now she just says, "We should leave and get back to the school. At the very least in one of the Redbright territories. That way we're all safe for now."

Ever? Eren casts a quick glance Clara's way, silently acknowledging her words with a raised eyebrow as he continues to offer Magra support. He'll definitely want to know the reasoning behind the choice later, both for his own curiosity and for Magra's sake.

"So how are we doing this?" he asks as they begin to head out. "We walk a few blocks on this side of the tracks, then pop back out again when we're a safe distance away? If you guys want to take the bike back, I can find my way home on my own."

Heiji nodded. "I asked Apollo if he could come by with his car. He should know the way back to Redbright, if that's where you wanna go." He looked at Magra for this last, but the implied question was also directed at Clara.

Of course, they'd need to make sure that this didn't happen again. And there was only one way to do that...

"That's the best course of action, I believe." Clara is just glad that, for now, it's over. They leave here, get in Apollo's car, and drive out back to Redbright to get Magra looked at. Not a lot of closure for the day but it'll have to do and it will do.

Magra seems open enough to the idea, probably knowing she hasn't much right to complain towards the two guys who saved her skin. Quite literally. "I'm okay with that! I'll remember to put in a good word for you guys when I get back to Redbright. If you hadn't come by, I'm pretty sure I would be a corpse in a dumpster or something or worse."

Unseen except to the two, Clara's grimace at the description is visible and expressive as the words Magra used for her possible demise. "I hope," she mutters in fear mostly to herself but loud enough for Eren and Heiji to catch, "someone does something about that countess soon."

Eren frowns, his thoughts turning in a similar direction as Heiji and Clara's. “This isn’t the end of this,” he says.

Once they're outside, he drapes his hoodie over Magra’s shoulders to protect from the chill summer night breeze. How many others have ended up in similar situations as Magra because of this nest? How many really had been sent off in a dumpster?

They’ll need greater numbers and some time to prepare, but... "We'll stop them. Somehow.”

What other choice do they have?

"O-oh, thanks," Heiji said to Magra's offer. What a vivid turn of phrase. "But yeah, we can't just have someone like that settin' up shop in the city." A block or two more, and he opened a wrought-iron gate in an alleyway out onto London. It wasn't a particularly busy street, but they could now hear traffic noise, slightly distant.

He took out his phone to text some quick directions to Apollo. "You're one of Apollo's students, right? He seemed pretty worried about you when he heard."

Despite visual similarities, the differences between the Sevilles were evident as night and day with their personalities with how blunt the student is. Must have taken after someone else.

"He is. Oh man, I can't believe you texted him about this!" If it was possible, the colour on Magra's face drained even more than the possibility of her having been killed or drained of her blood. That was in the past for her. Facing one of her teachers out of school? Unfortunately a likely future if he was messaged. "I'm going to be in so much trouble with the teachers later."

Clara gives her granddaughter a despairing look and huffs out an affectionate if bemused sigh. "Magra! Priorities. Oh, I think it's best we get back sooner rather than later. I don't feel comfortable being out-out at the matter. No matter how impossible it is for, ah, them to get us."

Apollo, notified by text, stops the car a couple of blocks away from the shady building as told. He can't see anything, it's dark, but he sends a text to Heiji that he's arrived and also ready to leave any freaking second.

He has a ton of questions, of course, but only ones that can be answered once they actually show up.

If he doesn't get paid in food for this, he swears to god.

"Apollo!" Heiji waved as he spotted the rental car, hi friend. "We're over here!" They emerged from an alleyway not too much worse for the wear, at least.

He looked over his shoulder back at Magra. "Aww, I'll bet he'll fuss for a bit, but I'm sure he'll be happy to see you're okay."

"Thanks." Magra gives a brief and relieved smile as she makes her way towards the car without another word, no doubt wanting to get back to a semblance of safety and shelter back at the school.

Clara almost follows ahead but stops herself, looking a bit stricken for a second as she wrestles with something in her mind. "I should... Probably give her some space. It was a wild day today for all of us and you all need a bit of a breather."

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The blood runs slow and thick, and slumber is heavy

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lawyer cameo

since eren left town

pretend i saw this a long time ago oh my god ; ;