2747/Hunters

Hunters
Date of Scene:	07 October 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Mina Harker, Vampirella

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Mina Harker has posed:
It's a rumor, really, that led Mina to THIS side of town. At night, no less. Lingering in the shadows as the evening fog settled in over one of New York's smaller harbors, she watches and waits. Not for the first time does she wonder about these modern vampires. At least Dracula lived in a nice estate.

She's been chasing rumors to get her to this point, and she's not about to let the trail go cold. To be fair, she's been mentally preparing for at least a week now. Even for one with Her skills, she doesn't take vampires lightly.

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella prefers to hunt vampires in daylight hours, but it's autumn in New England. Sometimes the daylight hours outrun you. This one's presence near the ocean implies a bit about what kind of vampire it is--presumably, not one who can't cross running water unless ferried by the living--but it unfortunately doesn't narrow things down much. Is it one killed by a wooden stake? Silver? Decapitation? Who knows? She doesn't worry about it overmuch. There will be time to experiment after beating him immobile.
    Vampirella touches down on the roof of one of the first warehouses and sniffs the air carefully. A warehouse seems like the likeliest place to find a hiding vampire; workers come in and out, vagrants might try to find a place to sleep, criminals appear after hours, and the building itself will have at least a rudimentary security system (a concept Vampirella only faintly understands as an invisible warding glyph); but the scent of blood will be the true tell of where he hides. Now, if she can just find it through the smell of rotten fish and the damnable stink of this toilet-city...

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina is about to move when she -hears- something. She goes tense, just in time for the scraping of booted feet upon the roof. She's on the ground level, herself, but looks up towards the sound. And that's when she spots the scantily-clad, pale-skinned woman. Oh, now THAT takes her back...
    Just then the warehouse main door opens and workers begin to file out. Apparently the shift is over. Back to work. Squinting, Mina tries to spot the possible vampire by the tell-tale signs.

Vampirella has posed:
    From two storeys up, Vampirella just can't tell. There's a smell of sweaty men down there (the testosterone in their blood gives them an aroma there's no word in English for; the closest Vampirella can say is that their scent is male), but no sign that would make her think any of the masses are vampires. None of them are particularly pale, and each one is visibly breathing... neither of which is conclusive, but between those three observations and the multitudinous reasons she has not to get spotted by a crowd, she can't conjure a reason to go down and inspect the humans closer.
    More likely the undead is still in a warehouse, perhaps asleep in its coffin, if it's that kind of vampire. Hm. But if this is a vampire's headquarters, then he will surely have a familiar or two, some modern-day Renfields, prowling around. Look for the guards o' watch, then, and see which buildings they favor.

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina is like-minded, and just bides her time as the day-shift shuffles their way out of the warehouse. From inside the door is closed, the interior lights switching off one by one. Exterior lights are left on, of course, for security. When the workers are gone and the building is quiet again, the woman moves closer.
    Mina is wearing a black leather jacket over a turtleneck, dark jeans and black boots. Only the red scarf about her throat adds color. She moves swiftly to an outside wall, finding a gap between the light circles. And when she moved, it was both faster and smoother than mortals should be capable of...

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella frowns down at that sight. Another human with powers, or perhaps the vampire's familiar, flush with power from her master's blood? It doesn't matter. If friend, then fine. If foe, then food. After all, what can a mortal human do to threaten such as Vampirella?
    Vampirella hasn't learned about explosives yet.
    Her way to strike is silent and pitiless; she is a serpent. Her wings will be of no tactical use indoors, and will only make a wider target of her, so they have to retract. She growls for a moment as her wings tuck and fold and burrow back into the flesh of her shoulders, the scars of their passage smoothing out while she waits, and then she vaults lightly off the edge of the warehouse, fingers dragging against the wall to slow her descent not against the damager of impact but to make her landing a little more silent before she follows the mortal (or likely mortal) woman into the warehouse. Its darkness doesn't bother her, but the towers of wooden crates do. They restrict visibility and absorb the echoes approaching footsteps would throw. She proceeds slowly and carefully into the darkness, scanning not just left and right but up and down with every step, to be sure no one is perched above her, waiting.
    Could a clever vampire be hiding in one of these crates, using it to disguise his coffin? Oh yes, that seems wickedly plausible.

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina knows a bit more about security systems than Vampirella, so as she approaches the door entirely she has a combat knife out (British Commando issue). Jamming the point into the keyhole, she twists the whole mechanism and forces the door.
    She is only a few steps ahead when Vampirella enters behind. But THIS hunter isn't so fortunate as to have preternatural senses, so she pads carefully around in the darkness. And as the other huntress comes into sight, she turns and offers in a soft, accented voice. "I say, when are you going to stop following me?" The knife is waved about as she speaks, more to gesture with than to threaten. Probably.

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella spreads her hands in a gesture that's mostly a showing of peace but is also, by the cock of her hips, a shrug. "Peace, little sister," Vampirella whispers so faintly her lips barely even move. "Now: silence. The walls hear." The knife doesn't bother her. After all, it's not as if Vampirella herself isn't armed with deadly weapons; hers just aren't as visible.

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina purses her lips at that, frowning. She even leans in a bit to sniff. "Bollocks." she mutters, but the knife is slid into the sheath at the small of her back as she nods. The 'little sister' remark will be addressed later. All in good time. Right now they're on to business.
    And that's when Vampirella would pick up the scent. Faint and fresh, the tang of blood is unmistakeable. Mina doesn't smell anything, and gives her new 'sister' a curious look. Towards the back, close to the shipping docks, a faint light flickers in the only office that's lit.

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella walks silently in her boots. The trick is a combination of ankles and hips, a rolling walk. That's impressive, but would probably be more impressive if Mina could see the boots to be impressed by. Instead, a hand falls on Mina's shoulder, and Vampirella's lips graze the curve of Mina's ear as she whispers, "Never be less than three steps behind me." With that cryptic warning given (and no explanation as to why, but Vampirella has already spoken as much as she means to), Vampirella drifts into the night like a shadow. She doesn't fear the light from the office window: with no light behind her, it will only serve to blind the inhabitants to who is outside, not to illuminate her. In the darkness, her green eyes have shifted to red and her teeth have extended, but her claws are held in check for now: she won't risk alerting her prey with the subtle popping noises of her bones extending.

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina opens her mouth to reply, but then the dark-haired hooker (what else, right?) turns and slips into the darkness. Mina follows, moving with the practice of her own skills as well as decades of experience. The knife is drawn once more. As Vampirella approaches the office she hears the <click> <click> <click> sounds of slow typing. And that's when the smell of blood becomes sharper. Closer. It's just on the other side of the office. There isn't a lot, but it's definitely fresh.
    *meeew*
    Soft crunching sounds follow, inaudible to Mina but so very apparent to Vampirella. A cat has caught a rat and is eating it.

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella nods once, to herself. Nothing here, then, but she'd begun to suspect as much; just a good kitty, doing what good kitties do. She turns back to Mina and whispers, more loudly than her previous whispers but still very quietly, "What you seek is not here, little sister. I will now leave these people in peace, and escape ahead of capture. You may join me, if you wish." And with that, she's already making her way back to the window she entered through, still walking silently as best anyone can tell.

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina may not be moving as quietly, but she certainly keeps up with the other hunter. "The police have no..." she begins, and then Mina has to move more quickly. To the window this time, leaving the ruined door lock alone. For her part Mina is good at moving quietly, but she's not THIS good. And now she's suspicious, just in case the outlandish costume isn't a giveaway. "Let's talk outside." she whispers, climbing out the window to follow the leader.

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella is waiting outside the window, with her fingers laced in front of her as a stirrup to catch Mina's foot on the way down. Whether Mina accepts it or not, once outside she closes the window again and nods amiably at Mina. "Very well, little sister," she observes aloud, her voice now loud enough to pick up her strange, precise accent. It's not eastern European or western Asian, but it's at least conceivably a muddling of both. "You wish to speak? Then I invite it."

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina accepts the offered stirrup, although she certainly doesn't need it. But a lady accepts such things as her due, right? Turning towards the unusual woman, the accent causes Mina's brows to knit, her head tilting a bit. "First of all, who the blazes are you? Or -what- are you? Hungarian? Romanian? You certainly are -not- my sister."

Vampirella has posed:
    In the light, Vampirella's foreignness is obvious. She doesn't look of any particular ethnicity, but a mix of many; a person could come to any conclusion she wants to from the blackness of her hair, the shape of her eyes, the set of her cheekbones, and the color of her skin. Her eyebrows lift in mild surprise and mild amusement at Mina's fierce language, asking, "'Blazes?' Why do you demand my name in such terms without giving me yours? Did you mean that we are to talk, or that I am to be interrogated?"

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina's eyes flicker and for a moment she doesn't know how to reply. She finds a smile, then, and even chuckles softly. "Of course, how rude of me. Mina Murray, if you please." Her own accent is still crisp and British, dispite years of trying to lose it. "I was waiting for... someone. But apparently my information was faulty."

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella nods, smiling. "I take no offense, Mina Murray, whose name I am well pleased by indeed. It is a circumstance of great tension, after all, and I am relieved you will not find the individual you were looking for tonight. And I am named Vampirella, Mina, whether it pleases you or not, though I hope it does," she concludes impishly.

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina's expression remains curious, still trying to place this peculiar woman's accent. Or her nationality. Then her eyes widen. "Vam-... oh, I see." Her gaze wanders downward, lingering there for a while before returning with darkened cheeks. That old Victorian morality resurfaces, if only for a moment. "But you are NOT one of them. At least no moreso than I am."

Vampirella has posed:
    "One of... vampires?" Vampirella asks, the ellipsis pregnant and the final word upturned in a polite question. "It is a suggestion I have heard many times, but the answer is always no. My name is a coincidence; what one of my new friends calls..." Vampirella frowns with concentration. "...a false cognate." Her brow clears, and she smiles pleasantly. "At times, I wonder if I should adopt a new name just to avoid the accusations, but Vampirella is the only name that has ever been mine, and it would pain me to give it away. It has been kind to me." She glances about. "We have much time before the next circuit of constables completes, but if this discussion is not satisfied, then ought we to have it elsewhere?"
    If Vampirella notices the blush in Mina's cheeks, she says nothing about it. Privately, she's not concerned.

Mina Harker has posed:
    False cognate? Well Mina certainly knows what THAT means. And it also means that her new acquaintance is definitely more refined than her attire would otherwise suggest. She smiles and gives a curt nod. "It has been my experience that less... provocative... attire might also be less likely to incite accusations. After all, vampires -do- have sordid reputations to those who don't know any better."

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella spreads her hands in a shrug. "I will not be asked to accept responsibility for the feelings anyone chooses to permit himself--or herself--at the sight of me. Perhaps it is a contrary position to take, but your people make too many expectations of women, and I will be no part of it." With no answer given to the suggestion of moving on, Vampirella stands still and at ease, making herself comfortable.

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina chuckles softly and she shakes her head. "You don't need to tell -me- about judgemental societies and expectations of women. I've been repressed for quite long enough already." Her expression softens, then, and she nods. "I will not judge you, Vampirella. But I do wish I had -half- your confidence to wear an outfit like that." As for the 'constables', Mina doesn't seem especially concerned about their return. "Do you have a phone or some other way to contact you?"

Vampirella has posed:
    Vampirella's eyebrows raise in an unasked question at the word 'confidence,' but she lets the question pass. "I do not, but I am aware of their function. Do you wish to be able to contact me for some purpose, Mina?" she asks.

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina notices the change in expression, the raised brow. The open curiosity. "It would appear that I may have been premature in dismissing your earlier address of 'little sister', Vampirella. And I believe that we may have more in common after all. You are a hunter and I am a hunter. It could be to our mutual benefit to hunt together, on some other occasion."

Vampirella has posed:
    "Ah, that," Vampirella agrees. "I call everyone I bear no ill will toward 'little sister' or 'little brother.' But yes, you could say I hunt. Is that your goal, Mina? Shall we retire somewhere to discuss the next hunt?"

Mina Harker has posed:
    Mina looks quite amused at that, her blush beginning to fade at last. "Oh, I see." she replies. "And yes, I hunt as well. There are supernatural forces at work in this world, and I have been dealing with them for quite some time. I had other associates on several occasions, but I currently hunt alone. I would like to change that." She pauses, then asks. "Would you like to stop by my apartment?"

Vampirella has posed:
    "As you wish. Thank you for inviting me to your home, Mina," Vampirella accepts with a gracious smile. "It is good of you."