The blood runs slow and thick, and slumber is heavy

[detectiveofthewest]

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.

Comments

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji took the bottle, gave it an experimental sniff, made a brief face, then took a gulp himself before handing the bottle back to Eren.

"Don't worry; we're not gonna let anyone hurt her if we can help it. Just follow along with us, okay?" His motorcycle was already parked out front, so it was a quick matter to toss Eren the spare helmet and swing his leg over the side.

"Alright, let's get going!"

[warmheartedly]

Clara has little to no problem keeping sight of them as they soon tear their ways through streets and shortcuts and 'shortcuts' of dubious legality. This is an emergency and it meant all bets are off.

They had to get there soon before anything else could happen to the poor girl and anyone else who could also be trapped there. So she's quite willing to phase through cars and homes and even people now, not bothering to apologise when lights break and technology goes on the fritz. People are left in darker places with shivers running down their spines as they wonder what on earth that strange and unnerving chill was after that bike speed by them.

That? That was a makeshift rescue team going in to save a hapless Redbright student from dangerous vampires.

[titanocidal]

And all in all, they do make it there in record time. As the bike comes to a stop, they find themselves the only ones on the streets - an unnerving sight for Greenwich, whose nightlife should just be starting to pick up around now. It's far from the first time Eren has been to this part of town after dusk, but it feels a great deal more intimidating than last he remembers it. Bigger, too.

"So how does this work?" He takes off his helmet and looks up at the Kitterick. "From here, what's the plan?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Well, we definitely don't wanna bring the whole nest down on us," said Heiji, slipping his own helmet off. The hotel looked mostly deserted from the outside, but appearances could be deceiving. As they watched, a door at the back of the hotel opened, admitting a pale, whip-thin man who quickly scurried down the street.

He turned to Clara. "Can you sense if Magra's around? Or do you think ya could sneak in and see?"

[warmheartedly]

Closer to Magra now, she begins to calm down and it's apparent with how her eyes are less distant and how she begins to speak like a normal person again. "--I can sense her, in a way. Yes. I can feel her. Almost."

From whether it was her connection to her as an anchor or because of a grandmother's instincts doesn't matter. What matters is that she can pick up Magra's presence now and she knows, deep in her bones, her poor granddaughter is terrified. Helpless. She looks at the two, her lips pursed in concentration and fear. "She's scared but she's so close right now. She has to be around here. I can go ahead of you two and look around if you think that's a good idea."

[titanocidal]

Scared, but alive. Eren sighs in relief at that. "That could work. If you can figure out what floor she's on, we'll be able to get out of there faster."

He eyes the retreating (obviously vampire) figure that had just set off down the street. It takes a lot of willpower not to follow after it and rip the bloody thing's throat out, but he manages somehow. At least now they know were the back entrance is. That's a step in the right direction, right?

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji nodded. So they were in the right place, then, and ironically Clara's very state of being meant that she was the best suited for figuring how they could best rescue her granddaughter.

"Okay. Be careful, Miss Clara. All we need to know is where she is; we can figure out a plan from there. Best case scenario, we'll get her out without too much fuss." As much as it might be satisfying to bite some vampires, their first priority was Magra's safety, after all...

[warmheartedly]

"I'll give you two a signal when I can!" She didn't hesitate. The moment she gets approval from both of them, she immediately vanishes from their sight and she makes her way towards the hotel. Unless she wants to be seen, she'll be invisible as air while entering through the first floor of the hotel. Might as well start at the first floor and make her way through carefully.

Minutes pass and there's still no sign of Clara yet but at least there no alarms being rung out for an intruder inside. Whatever she's doing she's being very thorough at it.

Just before the two could begin to wonder what on earth is going on in there -- Something happens. There! At the far parts of the third floor, at the very end of it, a room flickers ominously to life in a way it should catch their attention. The lights shudder to life before plunging back into darkness and the eerie cycle repeats itself: On and off, on and off. Light and darkness, colours, and shadows.

Shadows are the reason why Clara is doing this strange little thing of hers. Every time the light comes back in a burst, shadows appear stretching across the walls and ceiling. There's one she wants them to notice in particular: A shadow at the corner of the room. Its small and slumped over, still and motionless. That has to be her.

[titanocidal]

Eren counts the shadows, four... five... six..... Not including the one that must belong to Magra, they're still outnumbered, but Clara’s trick gives them the far more important advantage of intel.

"We'll need some kind of distraction to get them out of the room," he says, approaching the back door. "If you have some cool magic powers that would make any of this easier, now's the time to bring them out."

[detectiveofthewest]

W-well... it was all for a good cause, right? Heiji rubbed briefly at the back of his neck, then reached for the doorknob. The door opened... sort of. When the vampire had come through the door earlier, the light from inside had been stark fluorescent lighting. Modern, harsh.

Now the light had a hint of a greenish cast to it. Inside was a kitchen, with old, polished tools that looked as though they were from some bygone age. An old corn husk broom stood in one corner as the room's lone occupant. There were no vampires inside.

Welcome to the Other Realm...?

"We can go through here and reenter on the third floor. Since we know which room it is, we can get the drop on 'em..."

[warmheartedly]

While Heiji and Eren deal with the Other Realm, Clara does her best to, well, put it blankly:

Resist the urges to murder everyone in the room who harmed a hair on her granddaughter.

Which is difficult to do. There are so many things she could use to get rid of them but she restrains herself, knowing that it could possibly blow the other's cover as they (hopefully) make their way to her. The most Clara can do is menace the vampires with lowering the temperatures to an intolerable degree and making it impossible for anyone to use technology now that she's here.

That's what they get when messing with a Seville's loved one and this is considered something light in her opinion.

[titanocidal]

Eren stares blankly for a moment, mouth falling open dumbly at the sight before him. He tries to stammer out some words, but they don't turn out right, so instead he just pushes his way past Heiji for a better look through the doorway. "Wha-? What?" His eyes rake over every inch of the room, glaring at the homey teapots, old-timey atmosphere and even the adorable handmade broom resting in the corner like it had all somehow offended him.

"I was thinking you'd be a meta or a shifter or something," he hisses, finally starting to form real sentences again. "What the hell is a fae doing working at a cafe?"

You know what? No. This is too much. He throws up his hands, shakes his head and marches down the nearest hallway where they find a stairway. They can't get to those vampires fast enough. He really needs to punch something.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Wha -- I can work where I want!" said Heiji, closing the door after them because he wasn't raised in a barn. Den. Whenever smelly werewolves came from.

"And anyway, you don't have to worry about it, 'cause I was thinkin' of quitting!" Luckily, the door to the stairwell wasn't locked, so it was a quick jaunt to the third-floor room where Magra was being kept. He grabbed the doorknob, annoyed, then shoved it open and bulled his way through. A vampire turned around just as he entered the room, but Heiji quickly punched him in the face.

[warmheartedly]

As she terrorises the vampires inside the room, this time pushing them around when they least expect it, she hears a noise behind her. She turns around just in time to see Heiji come pushing himself inside the room to a group of baffled minions.

Another vampire does the same thing. The difference between their actions is that she doesn't get a punch in the face for it.

"Uh oh."

She looks up to check the lights and she takes a deep breath. Lightbulbs break overhead and she draws the curtains back as sparks fly down, the only signs of life. The room plunges into darkness as the vampires try to scramble and get back the advantage thanks to the number.

"W-What?" That panicked-sounding voice stood out from the older, rougher ones shouting. It was a young girl speaking, distress clear in her voice as sounds of her straining against the ropes become more distinct. "What's going on? Where am I?!"

Naturally Magra would decide to regain her consciousness as a fight was beginning to occur. Of course.

[titanocidal]

Eren's sight needs no time to readjust, going straight for the one nearest Magra and charging it with enough force to slam the sorry creature out the window with a gratifyingly loud crash of broken glass. He feels better afterwards. Better enough not to say something bratty back at Heiji like 'Fine! See if I care!' or 'Oh? Thinking of retiring? You're probably like 2000 years old, right?' They can talk about this later... or not.

Because right now, there's Magra to deal with. They have to get her out of here before more vamps show up or the ones that are already here wisen up enough to think of using her as a shield. He kneels down next to her to start undoing her bindings. "We're going to get you out of here, alright? Just stay behind me." he says, not wanting her to panic.

[detectiveofthewest]

Uh oh, indeed. Magra's consciousness complicated things in the 'preferably not turning the lights back on and scaring the wits out of Clara's granddaughter' department.

"Carry her if you need to, but get her back through that door! Magra, stay with Eren, okay? Everything's gonna be fine." A vampire lunged at him, but he sidestepped his attacker and struck him hard in the base of the skull. Not that that would really stop a vampire for too long, but all they really needed to do was get away...

[warmheartedly]

Magra wants to ask a million questions but you know what? She's not going to complain. Not when they freed her from the ropes that were keeping her as a snack for the nest here.

As she hears an almost unholy screech from someone nearby as they dive at the person who spoke to her, she opts to listen to her rescuers and clings to the person she presumes is Eren in the darkness. The name rang a distant bell in her head. Someone from school? Someone from the outreach program?

All she cares for at the moment is that they're someone she can trust right now. Her eyes flash dark gold in the darkness of the room as she uses her powers, seeing into the future for a brief window of time. "Hurry! Another group is going to come in thirty seconds!"

Just as she says it, she feels a chill brush pass by her and Eren. The door slams open despite a vampire trying to keep guard and the vampire in question is pushed by some unknown entity. At least they had a clear exit now.

[titanocidal]

He hadn't known Magra could do that, but the head's up is greatly appreciated. There's no time to waste with asking if Magra can stand, so Eren just follows Heiji's suggestion, lifing her up to carry bridal style. "Sorry about this!" he says only afterwards.

With the path now cleared, he heads for the door. They're so close! In a last ditch effort to stop them, another vampire lashes out from the side, but by now it's too late. The two of them make it through the doorway in a manner much akin to sliding to home-base.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji followed after Eren, urging Clara along as well, then shut the door hard just as the first of the vampires recovered enough to try and grab at it. Once the door shut, all was quiet again, though there was the sound of wind and crickets outside. No vampires, of course; they couldn't pass through the door.

Up on the third floor, there were old candelabras lit with lazy, small flames. Who tended them was anyone's guess. "Everyone okay?"

[warmheartedly]

Clara follows suit and the moment she hears the slam of the door behind them all she finally relaxes. They're safe for the time being. That's what matters the most.

She floats over to where they are, looking at them all anxiously but she's back to normal. "Is she hurt? Are you two okay?"

So far, so good for everyone. Magra is doing her best to not freak out as she pulls herself together from the sudden rush of events that came and went. One minute she was in pitch black, the vampires screaming and shouting about intruders, and now she finds herself somewhere out of a period piece movie. Whoa. "--Um! I'm fine. Kinda. My neck hurts."

"T-Thanks by the way. I don't know how you guys found out about me being here but thanks."

[titanocidal]

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."

[detectiveofthewest]

"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?"

[warmheartedly]

"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."

[titanocidal]

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."

[detectiveofthewest]

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...