[The End 3/13] Exertions Pt. 1
Blake sighed softly, her heels clicking softly across the ground being the only noise to reach her ears in this alleyway near the residential area. She seemed distracted with her own thoughts, animalistic slitted eyes peering around with a small curiosity seated deep inside of them. "It's been a while." Her voice could be heard softly reverberating across the alleyway. Her hat covered a lot of her features in darkness, not that being in an alleyway helped that venture at all. A gentle smirk played across her features. She ran her fingers across a fence, before bringing them up and inspecting them for dust. "It's been too long, more than just a while." She corrects herself. Her hands reaching for her pocket, bringing out a pack of cigarettes. She slowly brings one to her mouth. She brought up one finger in a 'Shh'-esque gesture, a flame growing at the tip. She took a drag from the cigarette before letting the smoke through her nostrils. "I wonder how things have changed around here.." She murmured, having been indisposed of due to some... abnormal circumstances.
|| She was already unstable enough, and that was too kind a word itself. Chava Thorne was really more of a disaster, a bomb waiting to blow up and kill whoever was in the vicinity. That day she needed a break more than anything else, fresh air, and perhaps that's what brought about her need to leave the Dagger Manor. Damien wasn't even home, rather at the Ministry, so leaving the house without him getting worried for her was too easy. Granted, she stayed nearby, in case their favorite unwanted visitor came by to try to kill the unprotected twin girls inside. She didn't even care for a polyjuice potion or a spell to morph her face. If she was caught, home was only steps away. And yet, she only sat there breathing for mere minutes before the voice of a woman caught her attention, and Chava immediately presumed she was in a dream again. No... it couldn't be. It really truly couldn't be her, yet she was sure that was her voice down the alleyway. But how? Chava's heart was pounding, already feeling on the verge of a panic attack, when she stands and runs until she almost runs right into her. Yes, no, this was her. "Blake?" Chava chokes, almost at a complete loss for words. And oh, what a sight Chava was, dagger at her hip and right arm completely missing, wedding ring on her left.
Blake hummed a song, and if one were to pay attention, they'd note it was 'House of the Rising Sun.' By The Animals. A soft, sharp-toothed smile played across her delicate features, her ears hearing a tone she had not heard in God knows how long. "Oh look. A little bird." She comments, a soft chuckle rolling out of her mouth with an almost heavenly chime to it. "Time has not been too fair to you, as it has been to me." She teases. "Someone clipped one of your wings. I guess that means little birdie can't fly like she used to." She knew she was being rude, but her eyes had spotted the glint of the ring in the dark alley. Blake was almost mistakable for another person. All traces of her scars gone, aside from the one that glinted on her collarbone. It was clear that was rather new, though. Her hair color had changed again, from a deep purple to this cotton-candy-colored pink. Snakebite piercings tipped with pink sapphires. A septum piercing of a dark metal that seemed to change shades in waves of smoke, despite there being no movement. Her t-shirt reading 'I'm a witch, bitch.' Some runes carved into the flesh of her forearms, a deep green coloring on them. She seemed to lose a bit of her sanity for a second, the chuckle turning into giggling, and then full-on laughter. "Come, dear. I thought you were stronger than this pathetic appearance lets on."
|| The attitude and the laughter really said it all. Chava was not dreaming, this was most certainly Blake. And Blake... was dangerous, this she knew. This she had always known. And once upon a time, Chava didn't have to worry all that much about Blake being dangerous to her. But now? Not so much. She was sure Blake could give even Lucedio a run for his money. She didn't respond to her teasing, simply backing herself back against a wall. Blake wasn't wrong. She couldn't do what she could before. Just as she had started to block Blake from her memory... She looked good. She did. Life must have been treating her well. While Chava was playing with death every day of her life while trying to remain happy. Blake's last remark was biting, and Chava backed herself closer against the wall, wanting to dig herself into a ditch and never come out. And she thought life couldn't throw anything else out at her. She lifts a finger, pointing it at Blake in an almost accusatory manner. "You... You disappeared. You left me. No explanation, I didn't know... I had nowhere to go..." And it was true. Blake had been her saving grace, the only thing keeping her sane. She went right back to complete insanity when she left... Until she met Damien.
Blake giggled quietly. "Of course I left you. You had no more usefulness for me. You became useless and a useless tool is discarded. But, I guess this one decided to survive after being cast aside instead of accepting it and disappearing like she should've, or waiting for the user to come back." She ran a hand through her hair. She approached the backed up woman a quick, sharp jerk of her wrist later, and a knife was in her hand. A wicked little thing, serrated from tip to hilt. Each serrated point downward. It was clear what this was used for, of course, the initial stab wasn't supposed to hurt. It was the removal and downward momentum that was supposed to. It was made for slashing or sawing. Not light jabs. The blade was only eight or so inches long, though. The hilt being four or five, and curved with grooves for her fingers, a ringed hilt. "I have no plans on killing you, though." She says, though her actions said quite the opposite. Spinning the knife on her forefinger. Her orange eyes searing through her aviators, burning into Chava's own with immeasurable emotions. "Though I should give you a reminder of who's the stronger one, here, and let you go scampering back to whoever the hell has use for you." Another jerk of her arm and the knife was gone. "I won't. Yet. I'm sure you're full of questions, so go ahead. You get four questions, any kind of questions, and you'll get nothing but an honest response." One hand placed it'self beside Chava's head, fingers digging into the concrete wall and leaving crumbled stone to fall. A handprint evident in the stone.
Chava visibly winced, but it wasn't because of the knife. Her words were perhaps far more painful than any threat from the knife in her hand. So she was useless. Chava supposed she had always known this about herself. But for the past few years Damien, she supposed, had made her feel... needed. Important to him. Maybe she had almost started to believe she was needed and was useful. But why would Blake lie to her? She had no reason to, so that part had to be true. In her eyes at least. She practically ignored the knife. Would Blake hurt her? There was a strong possibility. But for some reason, Chava didn't believe she would. Chava could get through many things, so this was nothing to her, right? It was more the presence of Blake that threw her for a loop. She winced again as the woman came closer, eyeing her hand next to her head. So she had questions. But what could she possibly ask? She had already told her she left because she had no more usefulness to her. Chava tries to push further back against the wall, face burning red. "You... you said you cared... Did you lie?" There was question one. She didn't stop there. "You could have done anything you wanted, how was I useless?" Chava had loved her and she left as if she was dirt under her feet. Chava was perhaps a fool to think Blake ever thought of her as anything more than a literal pet for her to shove all over. And that thought immediately sparked a bout of anger in Chava- which normally meant stupid choices on her part. A growl escapes her lips from a choked, hidden sob of anguish, and Chava's fist moves to collide with Blake's gut, before moving to shove under her arm and run.
Blake saw the wince and didn't take it to mine. She felt the tension in the air, and a small growl escaped her throat. When she asked her first question, it sent her through a loop. The answer she wanted to say was 'Yes,' Because that would make all of this so much easier on her. The girl was happy where she was. Blake didn't need to worsen that. Blake let out a soft snarl and bit out a quiet "No." Before she let out a quiet sigh. She felt the punch before she really took note. The fist hurt a bit, true, but she'd been stabbed, punted across alleyways into walls. She'd even been to hell! That punch felt more like a wasp sting at best. Her hand dipped down and grabbed at the girl's throat, making a move to slam the girl into the wall to halt her movement. Shadows danced off of her skin. It seeped from the corners of her mouth, and her eyes. This girl had done nothing but make her angry. "You didn't make yourself you. You acted as if a mindless drone was what I wanted. You had no opinion of your own. No actions of your own that weren't birdbrained and half-assed. And here you punch the woman you KNOW isn't normal. A woman you just saw break stone with her bare fucking hands." The shadows were cold to the touch if they came in contact with the woman. Just like fog from liquid nitrogen, though undamaging to the flesh. "But instead of taking the courtesy I gave you of giving you four questions to ask, no kind of repercussions, you hit me. You stupid, stupid bird-brained brat." She was ranting now, and the air around them had lost the tension, it quickly replaced with magic that was rolling off of her. The shadows rolling off of her were causing the area to seem foggy. The shadows themselves whipped around, almost angrily.
|| The day had started out simple enough. Wake up, check on the twins, say goodbye to Chava, and head to the ministry. If everything had gone to plan, he would have come home to relieve stress by torturing one of the victims in his basement. The problem there was the fact that very few things went according to plan. Upon arriving at the Manor, he hadn't seen Chava anywhere, so he could only figure she was out getting herself into trouble again. It didn't take him long to find her, but when he did, what he saw angered him. There were very few things that could anger him. He could portray anger in his bouts of sadistic tenancies, but that was only an act to instill as much fear as he could. Lucedio and Aeron could count themselves among his list though nothing angered him quite as much as someone touching what was his. So seeing what he saw before him, Chava being slammed into a wall by some woman, anger was the only thing he could feel. Without even waiting to see if the situation resolved itself, his hand snapped into his sleeve prying three small knives from within. It was a little difficult to manage without his right eye, but he twisted the blades, before throwing them in the woman's direction. None of them had been intended to hit, but with the woman's focus on Chava, he was banking on it being unexpected nonetheless. He chuckles darkly, though his expression remains in a stern glare. "My recommendation: Release her."
|| Chava didn't even have time to run before Blake wrapped her fingers around her throat and slammed her back against the wall, a whimper escaping her lips. So, perhaps hitting Blake wasn't her greatest idea. But Chava was known for her bad ideas leading to terrible consequences, so this was nothing new. The only difference was, this was Blake, a woman Chava had once loved. Now, she was nothing but violent, insulting, and downright scary. Where once the attitude was amusing, now it caused Chava to fear for her life. She was scary, her words bit at her, and there was even a strange aura of magic surrounding her that even Chava could never match in her prime. Chava raised her hand to try and pry Blake's fingers from her throat, needing her breath, not wanting to choke. She was about to start pleading and apologizing when something or someone interrupted, and Chava wasn't even surprised. Perhaps Blake might be, but Chava was used to Damien popping up when she was in trouble or causing trouble, without having told him anything. She snuck out of the Manor far too often for him not to. She kicks out at Blake with both feet as Damien throws the knives, and she pulls her hand away from Blake's at her throat to reach out towards her husband. "Dami," she gasps, kicking harder.
Blake felt the kicks a bit, sighing softly. This girl just didn't have the leverage or the strength to really do anything to her. The wispy shadows behind Damien seemed to solidify, sharp, barbed spikes coming up out of it at the base of his spine. Her arm whipping the woman around. into the line of fire of the knives. A small smirk across her face. "My recommendation: You run before you die, boy." She cackles softly. "Little birdie here brought this on herself. I gave her an opportunity to ask me why I disappeared, or any other questions of her choice and this stupid bitch hit me. She hits me! Someone she knows could throw her around like a Russian bodybuilder could throw around a sack of potatoes!" She locked eyes with Damien around the light girl in her hand. "You know, I could snap her neck like a twig, right? Those knives might hurt, and they might hit nonvital or vital areas, but snapping someone's neck probably isn't something that she could live through." Her tone sounds amused, and her eyes hold a dangerous glint.
|| This was a scenario where being angry wasn't going to help. She had the advantage at this point, and there was very little Damien could do, regarding the situation with Chava. It was one of those scenarios where he wished he had Lucedio's ability rather than his own, given how useless his own was if his opponent was even decent at occlumency. Though he did make sure to stay away from the shadows behind him. He hadn't noticed them at first, though that quickly changed as he became more aware of the scenario before him. "I've been fighting all my life. I'm not afraid to face you, nor am I afraid to die." He smirks lightly, twirling another blade between his fingers. It wouldn't have been too hard to angle a knife so it avoided Chava and hit the woman, but given how quickly she had reacted to his earlier knives, it was a risk he wouldn't take. Perhaps years ago, he wouldn't have cared about such risks, but now that he was sane...er, there were several things screaming in his mind to not even try. He walked towards the left circling the woman somewhat, carefully looking for any weaknesses, anything he could use to his advantage. "You could," He spoke, tilting his head, as if he were thinking his words over, despite actually being several steps ahead, "However, then you'd have me to deal with as well, and I promise you, I won't be taken down easily, or quickly." He knew given enough time, he would lose. He wasn't skilled magically, and even casting magic drew on his energy, and made him weaker. The only thing he would be able to rely on were his daggers, agility, and speed. And facing someone like this woman was turning out to be, he would lose eventually. But that was the main thing. Eventually. He knew these streets, he had nearly twenty years of experience with his daggers and knives, and most importantly he was intelligent enough to think several steps ahead even while fighting. He would fail and most likely die, but he certainly wasn't someone who could be taken down easily.
|| Blake's shadows were plenty confusing and intimidating enough, and it seemed to make Damien's sneak attack plan even harder to get away with. Before Chava even knew what was happening, Blake definitely did and swung her in the direction of Damien's flying blades. Luckily for her, Damien had been angry enough in that moment than his aim was off, and the blades merely nicked at her skin, only cause perhaps a few drops of blood, before it was over and Chava's brain processed all that was happening. And Blake... She wasn't even the slightest bit scared of Damien, so this was a new sight for her. Chava was used to people, save Lucedio and /maybe/ Aeron, cowering at the sight of Damien, running and trembling at his threats. But Blake? It was like she was laughing at the whole thing. And that in itself was terrifying. Chava whimpers and continues to fight against Blake's grasp, especially now that Damien had made himself a possible target. She'd rather keep the suffering on her own side. "Don't hurt him," Chava pleads with Blake, not even for her own life. Though that worried her too. Blake had every possible means to kill her right now, and she wouldn't even had to try. Then when Chava was dead, Damien would fight, and how much of a chance would he stand? Chava liked to think he had a fighting chance, but he would definitely get hurt. Possibly badly. She didn't like the sound of that at all. "I do whatever you want, just let me go and don't touch him," Chava pleads once more, running off at the mouth. Blake was scary, but she could perhaps be reasoned with, right? If Chava could keep her own temper under control.
Blake cackled softly, though upon hearing his words. "You don't deny the fact that you'd die. You just deny the fact I'd have to work for it." She says softly. She looked down at the girl, raising a single brow. "Silence, you. I'll hurt whoever the fuck I want, whenever the fuck I want." She growls out, grabbing one of the knives from the wall and jamming it toward's the girl's shoulder. Right towards the collarbone. Aiming to break said bone, and cause a lot more... fun, to spur from this fight, for lack of better term. To add a time limit to how long Damien would have to get Chava back. "Now, give me one good reason why I should give this tool to you?" She asks with her eyes glinting menacingly, a much more powerful undertone to her voice. The shadows expanding across the ground, enveloping the area for hundreds of feet. A toothy grin spread across her face as she moved to drag the knife downward, from shoulder to opposing hip. All the while not breaking eye contact with Damien. "Tick tock, boy." She says with manic laughter escaping her throat. One of the shadows behind Damien lobbing out what appeared to be black flames, with a tinge of icy blue to it. "I don't think she'll live through the night if you decide that you can take your time." She made a glance to Chava, before basically punt-kicking her at Damien, her boot letting off a quiet jingle as the metal claps and clips rattle from the impact.
|| He could thoroughly say he'd been surprised. He hadn't expected himself or Chava to walk out unharmed, but for his own blade to be used on Chava... I only served to prove he needed to be better prepared going forward. As far as he was concerned, he was failing in abiding by his motto. If he was surprised at something that should have been obvious, he certainly wasn't expecting the unexpected. He charged forward quickly, his hand already grasping the potion in his pocket. It wasn't long before he had pried the stopper from the bottle, and had begun pouring the contents into her mouth, keeping one eye on the women just in case. This certainly wasn't ideal. He scooped Chava up, before backing away slightly to move her out of the way. "I'm not going to bother listing reasons or anything like that. I'm not going to ask questions because I really don't care. I already know how this plays out." He would have taken Chava home before coming back, but that would have drawn on his energy if he apparated, and walking painted a target on his back. "Of course you could surprise me, but I really don't think that will happen." he takes a few steps closer towards the woman, yet still remaining a good ways back. "Here's what will happen, though. I will do whatever it takes to keep Chava alive. If that means dying so she lives, so be it. But I won't go down without a fight." He flicked his dagger between his fingers, as he watched and waited for the woman to make her move.
Chava only had time to open her mouth and protest against Blake when she was suddenly stopped, and there was pain. At first, it was bearable pain. Blake had taken one of Damien's blades and she felt the pain in her collarbone, and she knew moving her arms to fight her next move would be too hard. Which was unfortunate for her, as Blake's next move was so, so much worse. The blade jammed into her body to the hilt and dragged downwards until the blade was at her hip. Chava didn't hold back, but screamed loudly, ear piercingly, at the pain that suddenly utterly consumed her. The next thing she knew she was being kicked, and she was losing blood fast, and she was in so much pain it was all she could think about, gasping to get a breath. The blood would splatter as she was kicked, but thankfully for her, Damien was quick on his feet, and he was never seen without a healing potion on hand. Was it enough to perfectly heal her? Of course not, not even close. It was just enough to keep her alive, to seal the wound up so the bleeding out would stop, and she could start to breathe a little better. But she still felt the pain of the blade, the dizziness in her eyes, still felt weak and bruised from the kick. So she lay there and let Damien take her wherever, and had almost expected him to take them home. But his words said enough on that matter. "NO!" she screams, when she had the breath to, coughing. "No, you won't kill Damien, you won't."
Blake sighed softly. "Just leave. Walk away. Go. Else I'll kill you both with a smile on my face." She says simply. Her fingers twitch up to her hair, running through it, despite the blood soaking them. "I told you, I didn't want violence. It came to violence due to her stupid choices. She was mine once, too. I just had to leave for things I couldn't control, and she moved on. I can't change that, but honestly, keep her on a tighter leash or you both die next time." She let out a soft groan as she looked down at her shirt, now splattered with blood before looking down at the girl. "Remember my mercy. Next time your throat will be torn out and you will be thrown to the wolves, and then," Her eyes shoot to Damien. "You'll follow in kind, after watching this happen." Her shadows slowly started receding into her body. "You have to the count of 30 to be out of my sight, or I'll have a new pair of trophies to decorate my lounge." She dipped her hand into her pocket, grabbing her pack of smokes, the previous one having dropped from her lips at the beginning of the interactions with Chava. Blake's dainty yet deadly fingers quickly pulled one of her cigarettes out of the pack, putting it between her lips, putting the pack back into her pocket before putting her finger up to the tip of the cigarette, a small flame produced as she took a long drag from it. "Troublesome people."
|| There was no doubt in his mind that the woman would be able to carry that threat, and while one side of him didn't want to back down, another wanted to keep Chava alive, and that was the side that won. "Fine. But if you harm her again, I will fight even if it means my death." With that he walked over towards Chava, quickly looking over her condition, before lifting her up. Since he wasn't going to be fighting, Damien had no qualms about apparating this time. He wouldn't exactly need that energy for anything now. He turned on his heel disappearing from the alley and reappearing inside the manor. He brought her up towards the bedroom, laying her on the bed before disappearing to head to the potions room. Healing Chava was his primary focus even with the lack of energy that had taken hold. For the second time in their relationship, he brought an armful of potions up towards the bedroom, placing them down on the table "You'll be alright. I promise." It was stupid, he knew. To make promises left and right, but he was utterly serious. He would do everything in his power to make sure she lived. Even if he died doing it, it was worth it in his eyes. He poured one of the potions into her mouth, before sitting down. "How do you feel?"
|| The healing potion Damien gave her was keeping her alive, but didn't quite make her any better in terms of the after pain. She heard what Blake said, and she prayed Damien would listen to her so Chava could get home and Damien would be safe as well. No harm no foul, and Chava would be careful not to run into Blake again- or at least not make any stupid decisions regarding her. Thankfully, Damien listened, pulling her up into his arms and heading home in a hurry. Even more potions did, even more, wonders for her, groaning slightly. "I'm fine, I'm alive, at least." She sits up, wincing and rubbing at her abdomen. "Just hurts a little." Chava takes a breath. She hadn't expected hers and Blake's meeting to go like that. Hell, she didn't think she ever would see Blake again, let alone Damien and Blake would meet. "What a way for you to meet my ex," she groans, rubbing her temple. "Probably not what you expected, huh?" she muses dryly.
|| Things were better than they were earlier. Granted Chava was probably going to have a nasty scar for a while, but she was still alive and could he healed. That was the most important thing. It was certainly better than wondering if they were going to live to see another day. He reached out, grabbing one of the potions, before holding it between his hands just in case she needed another one. It was the only thing he could really do. He was good with a cauldron, but he didn't know any healing spells or anything like that. So besides potions, she was going to have to heal the muggle way... again. This seemed far too common for them. " That's good." At her comment on the woman, he nodded as if she had confirmed something for him. "I sort of expected your exes to be as violent as violent as I am, if not more so." He leans back in his seat, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. Relief at Chava being fine. Relief at no longer being in that situation. Just relief. "Though it wouldn't rate high on ways you could meet an ex. Let's just hope my ex doesn't show up." He jokes lightly, chuckling. He didn't expect any of them to show up again. Both were long gone, at least last he checked. Though it had been a long time since he last checked.
|| Chava reaches her hand out to Damien's as if trying to latch onto him and pull him closer. She was tired... But still unsure if she could sleep feeling safe. It was difficult for either of them to feel safe at all anymore with Lucedio prowling about. How could they ever both sleep at the same time? "I... I didn't expect Blake to be so violent... Or to hurt me." Chava swallows hard, thinking back to when exactly Damien had entered, and she bites down on her bottom lip. "It was my fault. I started it," she insists, and she really had. "She wasn't going to hurt me most likely, just talk and I just... I hit her. I dunno. I was angry she had left without a word..." She sighs deeply, lying back again and closing her eyes. She hoped as well Damien's ex wouldn't show up, if only because Chava didn't want to face anyone else that had been married to him. It was best if she didn't think about it. It was best then to simply breathe, close her eyes, hold Damien close to her, and try to relax.
|| Despite being pulled towards Chava, he managed to switch the potion in his hands for one other. He wanted Chava to sleep tonight, and he knew that she wouldn't want to. After what happened with Lucedio she had been on edge and afraid that Lucedio would return. "Honestly it really doesn't matter to me if you started it or not." He chuckled lightly, thinking of all the fights he'd probably started, not counting his tortures. "I saw someone harming you and I acted. Whether you harmed them first or not, I won't stand for someone harming you." He knew he wouldn't have stood a chance, but he would have stood his ground regardless. "Let's just hope we don't run into her again." With one hand he moved the potion into her lap. "Here take this. It'll help." He smiles lightly before saying "I need to make more potions if we're going to keep getting in situations like this."
|| Chava sighs, curling into the blankets. If she could just lay here with Damien... She tugs at his hand again, her lower lip dipping into a pout. "Sleep, love. I'll watch over you." She glances at the potion he gave her and grimaced slightly. Hadn't she taken enough by now? Maybe she had to take even more in order to protect the baby too. A deep cut from shoulder to opposing hip should have been fatal for both her and the kid, but thanks to Damien's quick thinking, she believed them both fine. If anything, the kid was in better condition than Chava was, soaking up all the healing potions. So yes, perhaps Chava did need this. "I'll drink this last potion tonight if you sleep," she compromises, tugging him into bed next to her before she brings the potion to her lips and drinks most of it up. Instantaneously, she began to feel the effects. But not quite the chipper, healthier effects she was expecting. She was getting drowsy with every swallow of it. At first, she thought it nothing more than a side effect, until she dropped the potion in its entirety as her body began to give out, slumping back, eyes fighting not to close. And that's when she realized what Damien had given her, and began to panic. Not a healing potion, but rather a sleeping one. He knew she couldn't sleep after Lucedio broke in. Somehow as her body was falling to sleep she managed an entire panic attack, nails gripping tight to Damien, heavy breaths jagged as they wanted to even out. She was too tired to move, her hand making a fist and simply swinging around before it gave up too. "No, no, you asshole," she cries, getting dizzy in her stupor. "I'm going to..." Her eyes roll back, falling unconscious. "...die..." She finishes her sentence, before winking out into sleep entirely.
|| She was already unstable enough, and that was too kind a word itself. Chava Thorne was really more of a disaster, a bomb waiting to blow up and kill whoever was in the vicinity. That day she needed a break more than anything else, fresh air, and perhaps that's what brought about her need to leave the Dagger Manor. Damien wasn't even home, rather at the Ministry, so leaving the house without him getting worried for her was too easy. Granted, she stayed nearby, in case their favorite unwanted visitor came by to try to kill the unprotected twin girls inside. She didn't even care for a polyjuice potion or a spell to morph her face. If she was caught, home was only steps away. And yet, she only sat there breathing for mere minutes before the voice of a woman caught her attention, and Chava immediately presumed she was in a dream again. No... it couldn't be. It really truly couldn't be her, yet she was sure that was her voice down the alleyway. But how? Chava's heart was pounding, already feeling on the verge of a panic attack, when she stands and runs until she almost runs right into her. Yes, no, this was her. "Blake?" Chava chokes, almost at a complete loss for words. And oh, what a sight Chava was, dagger at her hip and right arm completely missing, wedding ring on her left.
Blake hummed a song, and if one were to pay attention, they'd note it was 'House of the Rising Sun.' By The Animals. A soft, sharp-toothed smile played across her delicate features, her ears hearing a tone she had not heard in God knows how long. "Oh look. A little bird." She comments, a soft chuckle rolling out of her mouth with an almost heavenly chime to it. "Time has not been too fair to you, as it has been to me." She teases. "Someone clipped one of your wings. I guess that means little birdie can't fly like she used to." She knew she was being rude, but her eyes had spotted the glint of the ring in the dark alley. Blake was almost mistakable for another person. All traces of her scars gone, aside from the one that glinted on her collarbone. It was clear that was rather new, though. Her hair color had changed again, from a deep purple to this cotton-candy-colored pink. Snakebite piercings tipped with pink sapphires. A septum piercing of a dark metal that seemed to change shades in waves of smoke, despite there being no movement. Her t-shirt reading 'I'm a witch, bitch.' Some runes carved into the flesh of her forearms, a deep green coloring on them. She seemed to lose a bit of her sanity for a second, the chuckle turning into giggling, and then full-on laughter. "Come, dear. I thought you were stronger than this pathetic appearance lets on."
|| The attitude and the laughter really said it all. Chava was not dreaming, this was most certainly Blake. And Blake... was dangerous, this she knew. This she had always known. And once upon a time, Chava didn't have to worry all that much about Blake being dangerous to her. But now? Not so much. She was sure Blake could give even Lucedio a run for his money. She didn't respond to her teasing, simply backing herself back against a wall. Blake wasn't wrong. She couldn't do what she could before. Just as she had started to block Blake from her memory... She looked good. She did. Life must have been treating her well. While Chava was playing with death every day of her life while trying to remain happy. Blake's last remark was biting, and Chava backed herself closer against the wall, wanting to dig herself into a ditch and never come out. And she thought life couldn't throw anything else out at her. She lifts a finger, pointing it at Blake in an almost accusatory manner. "You... You disappeared. You left me. No explanation, I didn't know... I had nowhere to go..." And it was true. Blake had been her saving grace, the only thing keeping her sane. She went right back to complete insanity when she left... Until she met Damien.
Blake giggled quietly. "Of course I left you. You had no more usefulness for me. You became useless and a useless tool is discarded. But, I guess this one decided to survive after being cast aside instead of accepting it and disappearing like she should've, or waiting for the user to come back." She ran a hand through her hair. She approached the backed up woman a quick, sharp jerk of her wrist later, and a knife was in her hand. A wicked little thing, serrated from tip to hilt. Each serrated point downward. It was clear what this was used for, of course, the initial stab wasn't supposed to hurt. It was the removal and downward momentum that was supposed to. It was made for slashing or sawing. Not light jabs. The blade was only eight or so inches long, though. The hilt being four or five, and curved with grooves for her fingers, a ringed hilt. "I have no plans on killing you, though." She says, though her actions said quite the opposite. Spinning the knife on her forefinger. Her orange eyes searing through her aviators, burning into Chava's own with immeasurable emotions. "Though I should give you a reminder of who's the stronger one, here, and let you go scampering back to whoever the hell has use for you." Another jerk of her arm and the knife was gone. "I won't. Yet. I'm sure you're full of questions, so go ahead. You get four questions, any kind of questions, and you'll get nothing but an honest response." One hand placed it'self beside Chava's head, fingers digging into the concrete wall and leaving crumbled stone to fall. A handprint evident in the stone.
Chava visibly winced, but it wasn't because of the knife. Her words were perhaps far more painful than any threat from the knife in her hand. So she was useless. Chava supposed she had always known this about herself. But for the past few years Damien, she supposed, had made her feel... needed. Important to him. Maybe she had almost started to believe she was needed and was useful. But why would Blake lie to her? She had no reason to, so that part had to be true. In her eyes at least. She practically ignored the knife. Would Blake hurt her? There was a strong possibility. But for some reason, Chava didn't believe she would. Chava could get through many things, so this was nothing to her, right? It was more the presence of Blake that threw her for a loop. She winced again as the woman came closer, eyeing her hand next to her head. So she had questions. But what could she possibly ask? She had already told her she left because she had no more usefulness to her. Chava tries to push further back against the wall, face burning red. "You... you said you cared... Did you lie?" There was question one. She didn't stop there. "You could have done anything you wanted, how was I useless?" Chava had loved her and she left as if she was dirt under her feet. Chava was perhaps a fool to think Blake ever thought of her as anything more than a literal pet for her to shove all over. And that thought immediately sparked a bout of anger in Chava- which normally meant stupid choices on her part. A growl escapes her lips from a choked, hidden sob of anguish, and Chava's fist moves to collide with Blake's gut, before moving to shove under her arm and run.
Blake saw the wince and didn't take it to mine. She felt the tension in the air, and a small growl escaped her throat. When she asked her first question, it sent her through a loop. The answer she wanted to say was 'Yes,' Because that would make all of this so much easier on her. The girl was happy where she was. Blake didn't need to worsen that. Blake let out a soft snarl and bit out a quiet "No." Before she let out a quiet sigh. She felt the punch before she really took note. The fist hurt a bit, true, but she'd been stabbed, punted across alleyways into walls. She'd even been to hell! That punch felt more like a wasp sting at best. Her hand dipped down and grabbed at the girl's throat, making a move to slam the girl into the wall to halt her movement. Shadows danced off of her skin. It seeped from the corners of her mouth, and her eyes. This girl had done nothing but make her angry. "You didn't make yourself you. You acted as if a mindless drone was what I wanted. You had no opinion of your own. No actions of your own that weren't birdbrained and half-assed. And here you punch the woman you KNOW isn't normal. A woman you just saw break stone with her bare fucking hands." The shadows were cold to the touch if they came in contact with the woman. Just like fog from liquid nitrogen, though undamaging to the flesh. "But instead of taking the courtesy I gave you of giving you four questions to ask, no kind of repercussions, you hit me. You stupid, stupid bird-brained brat." She was ranting now, and the air around them had lost the tension, it quickly replaced with magic that was rolling off of her. The shadows rolling off of her were causing the area to seem foggy. The shadows themselves whipped around, almost angrily.
|| The day had started out simple enough. Wake up, check on the twins, say goodbye to Chava, and head to the ministry. If everything had gone to plan, he would have come home to relieve stress by torturing one of the victims in his basement. The problem there was the fact that very few things went according to plan. Upon arriving at the Manor, he hadn't seen Chava anywhere, so he could only figure she was out getting herself into trouble again. It didn't take him long to find her, but when he did, what he saw angered him. There were very few things that could anger him. He could portray anger in his bouts of sadistic tenancies, but that was only an act to instill as much fear as he could. Lucedio and Aeron could count themselves among his list though nothing angered him quite as much as someone touching what was his. So seeing what he saw before him, Chava being slammed into a wall by some woman, anger was the only thing he could feel. Without even waiting to see if the situation resolved itself, his hand snapped into his sleeve prying three small knives from within. It was a little difficult to manage without his right eye, but he twisted the blades, before throwing them in the woman's direction. None of them had been intended to hit, but with the woman's focus on Chava, he was banking on it being unexpected nonetheless. He chuckles darkly, though his expression remains in a stern glare. "My recommendation: Release her."
|| Chava didn't even have time to run before Blake wrapped her fingers around her throat and slammed her back against the wall, a whimper escaping her lips. So, perhaps hitting Blake wasn't her greatest idea. But Chava was known for her bad ideas leading to terrible consequences, so this was nothing new. The only difference was, this was Blake, a woman Chava had once loved. Now, she was nothing but violent, insulting, and downright scary. Where once the attitude was amusing, now it caused Chava to fear for her life. She was scary, her words bit at her, and there was even a strange aura of magic surrounding her that even Chava could never match in her prime. Chava raised her hand to try and pry Blake's fingers from her throat, needing her breath, not wanting to choke. She was about to start pleading and apologizing when something or someone interrupted, and Chava wasn't even surprised. Perhaps Blake might be, but Chava was used to Damien popping up when she was in trouble or causing trouble, without having told him anything. She snuck out of the Manor far too often for him not to. She kicks out at Blake with both feet as Damien throws the knives, and she pulls her hand away from Blake's at her throat to reach out towards her husband. "Dami," she gasps, kicking harder.
Blake felt the kicks a bit, sighing softly. This girl just didn't have the leverage or the strength to really do anything to her. The wispy shadows behind Damien seemed to solidify, sharp, barbed spikes coming up out of it at the base of his spine. Her arm whipping the woman around. into the line of fire of the knives. A small smirk across her face. "My recommendation: You run before you die, boy." She cackles softly. "Little birdie here brought this on herself. I gave her an opportunity to ask me why I disappeared, or any other questions of her choice and this stupid bitch hit me. She hits me! Someone she knows could throw her around like a Russian bodybuilder could throw around a sack of potatoes!" She locked eyes with Damien around the light girl in her hand. "You know, I could snap her neck like a twig, right? Those knives might hurt, and they might hit nonvital or vital areas, but snapping someone's neck probably isn't something that she could live through." Her tone sounds amused, and her eyes hold a dangerous glint.
|| This was a scenario where being angry wasn't going to help. She had the advantage at this point, and there was very little Damien could do, regarding the situation with Chava. It was one of those scenarios where he wished he had Lucedio's ability rather than his own, given how useless his own was if his opponent was even decent at occlumency. Though he did make sure to stay away from the shadows behind him. He hadn't noticed them at first, though that quickly changed as he became more aware of the scenario before him. "I've been fighting all my life. I'm not afraid to face you, nor am I afraid to die." He smirks lightly, twirling another blade between his fingers. It wouldn't have been too hard to angle a knife so it avoided Chava and hit the woman, but given how quickly she had reacted to his earlier knives, it was a risk he wouldn't take. Perhaps years ago, he wouldn't have cared about such risks, but now that he was sane...er, there were several things screaming in his mind to not even try. He walked towards the left circling the woman somewhat, carefully looking for any weaknesses, anything he could use to his advantage. "You could," He spoke, tilting his head, as if he were thinking his words over, despite actually being several steps ahead, "However, then you'd have me to deal with as well, and I promise you, I won't be taken down easily, or quickly." He knew given enough time, he would lose. He wasn't skilled magically, and even casting magic drew on his energy, and made him weaker. The only thing he would be able to rely on were his daggers, agility, and speed. And facing someone like this woman was turning out to be, he would lose eventually. But that was the main thing. Eventually. He knew these streets, he had nearly twenty years of experience with his daggers and knives, and most importantly he was intelligent enough to think several steps ahead even while fighting. He would fail and most likely die, but he certainly wasn't someone who could be taken down easily.
|| Blake's shadows were plenty confusing and intimidating enough, and it seemed to make Damien's sneak attack plan even harder to get away with. Before Chava even knew what was happening, Blake definitely did and swung her in the direction of Damien's flying blades. Luckily for her, Damien had been angry enough in that moment than his aim was off, and the blades merely nicked at her skin, only cause perhaps a few drops of blood, before it was over and Chava's brain processed all that was happening. And Blake... She wasn't even the slightest bit scared of Damien, so this was a new sight for her. Chava was used to people, save Lucedio and /maybe/ Aeron, cowering at the sight of Damien, running and trembling at his threats. But Blake? It was like she was laughing at the whole thing. And that in itself was terrifying. Chava whimpers and continues to fight against Blake's grasp, especially now that Damien had made himself a possible target. She'd rather keep the suffering on her own side. "Don't hurt him," Chava pleads with Blake, not even for her own life. Though that worried her too. Blake had every possible means to kill her right now, and she wouldn't even had to try. Then when Chava was dead, Damien would fight, and how much of a chance would he stand? Chava liked to think he had a fighting chance, but he would definitely get hurt. Possibly badly. She didn't like the sound of that at all. "I do whatever you want, just let me go and don't touch him," Chava pleads once more, running off at the mouth. Blake was scary, but she could perhaps be reasoned with, right? If Chava could keep her own temper under control.
Blake cackled softly, though upon hearing his words. "You don't deny the fact that you'd die. You just deny the fact I'd have to work for it." She says softly. She looked down at the girl, raising a single brow. "Silence, you. I'll hurt whoever the fuck I want, whenever the fuck I want." She growls out, grabbing one of the knives from the wall and jamming it toward's the girl's shoulder. Right towards the collarbone. Aiming to break said bone, and cause a lot more... fun, to spur from this fight, for lack of better term. To add a time limit to how long Damien would have to get Chava back. "Now, give me one good reason why I should give this tool to you?" She asks with her eyes glinting menacingly, a much more powerful undertone to her voice. The shadows expanding across the ground, enveloping the area for hundreds of feet. A toothy grin spread across her face as she moved to drag the knife downward, from shoulder to opposing hip. All the while not breaking eye contact with Damien. "Tick tock, boy." She says with manic laughter escaping her throat. One of the shadows behind Damien lobbing out what appeared to be black flames, with a tinge of icy blue to it. "I don't think she'll live through the night if you decide that you can take your time." She made a glance to Chava, before basically punt-kicking her at Damien, her boot letting off a quiet jingle as the metal claps and clips rattle from the impact.
|| He could thoroughly say he'd been surprised. He hadn't expected himself or Chava to walk out unharmed, but for his own blade to be used on Chava... I only served to prove he needed to be better prepared going forward. As far as he was concerned, he was failing in abiding by his motto. If he was surprised at something that should have been obvious, he certainly wasn't expecting the unexpected. He charged forward quickly, his hand already grasping the potion in his pocket. It wasn't long before he had pried the stopper from the bottle, and had begun pouring the contents into her mouth, keeping one eye on the women just in case. This certainly wasn't ideal. He scooped Chava up, before backing away slightly to move her out of the way. "I'm not going to bother listing reasons or anything like that. I'm not going to ask questions because I really don't care. I already know how this plays out." He would have taken Chava home before coming back, but that would have drawn on his energy if he apparated, and walking painted a target on his back. "Of course you could surprise me, but I really don't think that will happen." he takes a few steps closer towards the woman, yet still remaining a good ways back. "Here's what will happen, though. I will do whatever it takes to keep Chava alive. If that means dying so she lives, so be it. But I won't go down without a fight." He flicked his dagger between his fingers, as he watched and waited for the woman to make her move.
Chava only had time to open her mouth and protest against Blake when she was suddenly stopped, and there was pain. At first, it was bearable pain. Blake had taken one of Damien's blades and she felt the pain in her collarbone, and she knew moving her arms to fight her next move would be too hard. Which was unfortunate for her, as Blake's next move was so, so much worse. The blade jammed into her body to the hilt and dragged downwards until the blade was at her hip. Chava didn't hold back, but screamed loudly, ear piercingly, at the pain that suddenly utterly consumed her. The next thing she knew she was being kicked, and she was losing blood fast, and she was in so much pain it was all she could think about, gasping to get a breath. The blood would splatter as she was kicked, but thankfully for her, Damien was quick on his feet, and he was never seen without a healing potion on hand. Was it enough to perfectly heal her? Of course not, not even close. It was just enough to keep her alive, to seal the wound up so the bleeding out would stop, and she could start to breathe a little better. But she still felt the pain of the blade, the dizziness in her eyes, still felt weak and bruised from the kick. So she lay there and let Damien take her wherever, and had almost expected him to take them home. But his words said enough on that matter. "NO!" she screams, when she had the breath to, coughing. "No, you won't kill Damien, you won't."
Blake sighed softly. "Just leave. Walk away. Go. Else I'll kill you both with a smile on my face." She says simply. Her fingers twitch up to her hair, running through it, despite the blood soaking them. "I told you, I didn't want violence. It came to violence due to her stupid choices. She was mine once, too. I just had to leave for things I couldn't control, and she moved on. I can't change that, but honestly, keep her on a tighter leash or you both die next time." She let out a soft groan as she looked down at her shirt, now splattered with blood before looking down at the girl. "Remember my mercy. Next time your throat will be torn out and you will be thrown to the wolves, and then," Her eyes shoot to Damien. "You'll follow in kind, after watching this happen." Her shadows slowly started receding into her body. "You have to the count of 30 to be out of my sight, or I'll have a new pair of trophies to decorate my lounge." She dipped her hand into her pocket, grabbing her pack of smokes, the previous one having dropped from her lips at the beginning of the interactions with Chava. Blake's dainty yet deadly fingers quickly pulled one of her cigarettes out of the pack, putting it between her lips, putting the pack back into her pocket before putting her finger up to the tip of the cigarette, a small flame produced as she took a long drag from it. "Troublesome people."
|| There was no doubt in his mind that the woman would be able to carry that threat, and while one side of him didn't want to back down, another wanted to keep Chava alive, and that was the side that won. "Fine. But if you harm her again, I will fight even if it means my death." With that he walked over towards Chava, quickly looking over her condition, before lifting her up. Since he wasn't going to be fighting, Damien had no qualms about apparating this time. He wouldn't exactly need that energy for anything now. He turned on his heel disappearing from the alley and reappearing inside the manor. He brought her up towards the bedroom, laying her on the bed before disappearing to head to the potions room. Healing Chava was his primary focus even with the lack of energy that had taken hold. For the second time in their relationship, he brought an armful of potions up towards the bedroom, placing them down on the table "You'll be alright. I promise." It was stupid, he knew. To make promises left and right, but he was utterly serious. He would do everything in his power to make sure she lived. Even if he died doing it, it was worth it in his eyes. He poured one of the potions into her mouth, before sitting down. "How do you feel?"
|| The healing potion Damien gave her was keeping her alive, but didn't quite make her any better in terms of the after pain. She heard what Blake said, and she prayed Damien would listen to her so Chava could get home and Damien would be safe as well. No harm no foul, and Chava would be careful not to run into Blake again- or at least not make any stupid decisions regarding her. Thankfully, Damien listened, pulling her up into his arms and heading home in a hurry. Even more potions did, even more, wonders for her, groaning slightly. "I'm fine, I'm alive, at least." She sits up, wincing and rubbing at her abdomen. "Just hurts a little." Chava takes a breath. She hadn't expected hers and Blake's meeting to go like that. Hell, she didn't think she ever would see Blake again, let alone Damien and Blake would meet. "What a way for you to meet my ex," she groans, rubbing her temple. "Probably not what you expected, huh?" she muses dryly.
|| Things were better than they were earlier. Granted Chava was probably going to have a nasty scar for a while, but she was still alive and could he healed. That was the most important thing. It was certainly better than wondering if they were going to live to see another day. He reached out, grabbing one of the potions, before holding it between his hands just in case she needed another one. It was the only thing he could really do. He was good with a cauldron, but he didn't know any healing spells or anything like that. So besides potions, she was going to have to heal the muggle way... again. This seemed far too common for them. " That's good." At her comment on the woman, he nodded as if she had confirmed something for him. "I sort of expected your exes to be as violent as violent as I am, if not more so." He leans back in his seat, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. Relief at Chava being fine. Relief at no longer being in that situation. Just relief. "Though it wouldn't rate high on ways you could meet an ex. Let's just hope my ex doesn't show up." He jokes lightly, chuckling. He didn't expect any of them to show up again. Both were long gone, at least last he checked. Though it had been a long time since he last checked.
|| Chava reaches her hand out to Damien's as if trying to latch onto him and pull him closer. She was tired... But still unsure if she could sleep feeling safe. It was difficult for either of them to feel safe at all anymore with Lucedio prowling about. How could they ever both sleep at the same time? "I... I didn't expect Blake to be so violent... Or to hurt me." Chava swallows hard, thinking back to when exactly Damien had entered, and she bites down on her bottom lip. "It was my fault. I started it," she insists, and she really had. "She wasn't going to hurt me most likely, just talk and I just... I hit her. I dunno. I was angry she had left without a word..." She sighs deeply, lying back again and closing her eyes. She hoped as well Damien's ex wouldn't show up, if only because Chava didn't want to face anyone else that had been married to him. It was best if she didn't think about it. It was best then to simply breathe, close her eyes, hold Damien close to her, and try to relax.
|| Despite being pulled towards Chava, he managed to switch the potion in his hands for one other. He wanted Chava to sleep tonight, and he knew that she wouldn't want to. After what happened with Lucedio she had been on edge and afraid that Lucedio would return. "Honestly it really doesn't matter to me if you started it or not." He chuckled lightly, thinking of all the fights he'd probably started, not counting his tortures. "I saw someone harming you and I acted. Whether you harmed them first or not, I won't stand for someone harming you." He knew he wouldn't have stood a chance, but he would have stood his ground regardless. "Let's just hope we don't run into her again." With one hand he moved the potion into her lap. "Here take this. It'll help." He smiles lightly before saying "I need to make more potions if we're going to keep getting in situations like this."
|| Chava sighs, curling into the blankets. If she could just lay here with Damien... She tugs at his hand again, her lower lip dipping into a pout. "Sleep, love. I'll watch over you." She glances at the potion he gave her and grimaced slightly. Hadn't she taken enough by now? Maybe she had to take even more in order to protect the baby too. A deep cut from shoulder to opposing hip should have been fatal for both her and the kid, but thanks to Damien's quick thinking, she believed them both fine. If anything, the kid was in better condition than Chava was, soaking up all the healing potions. So yes, perhaps Chava did need this. "I'll drink this last potion tonight if you sleep," she compromises, tugging him into bed next to her before she brings the potion to her lips and drinks most of it up. Instantaneously, she began to feel the effects. But not quite the chipper, healthier effects she was expecting. She was getting drowsy with every swallow of it. At first, she thought it nothing more than a side effect, until she dropped the potion in its entirety as her body began to give out, slumping back, eyes fighting not to close. And that's when she realized what Damien had given her, and began to panic. Not a healing potion, but rather a sleeping one. He knew she couldn't sleep after Lucedio broke in. Somehow as her body was falling to sleep she managed an entire panic attack, nails gripping tight to Damien, heavy breaths jagged as they wanted to even out. She was too tired to move, her hand making a fist and simply swinging around before it gave up too. "No, no, you asshole," she cries, getting dizzy in her stupor. "I'm going to..." Her eyes roll back, falling unconscious. "...die..." She finishes her sentence, before winking out into sleep entirely.
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