RP:Midnight Snack

Summary: Meri stumbles upon one very hungry Clement and decides to follow….

Northern Vista

Clement runs the tip of his tongue over his canines. What was he doing here, at this hour? Everyone knows the cliff is a favorite spot for young, carefree lovers to meet, especially on balmy spring nights like this. The clear, moonless night sky is a river of warm starlight reflected in the still sea far below. Clement fidgets, packs his pipe with tobacco, then hesitates to light it. He swallows. He's dying for a smoke. "What am I doing here," the words run through his mind again and again, "what am I doing here?" With gritty resolve, he forces himself to wedge the pipestem between his clenched teeth. Now light it. "But they'll see me," the thought comes unbidden. Clement's ears burn and strain. He is perfectly still. The tittering laugh of a young woman breaks the silence, followed by a rustle of grass. A deeper voice, a young man, murmurs something in answer. They weren't far off, just in a patch of scrub, claiming some meager privacy amid the bare stalks of grass. Clement knows the young lovers haven't seen him. The pipe stem cracks between his teeth, a clear sharp sound that rends the midnight air. The girl gasps. Why was he stalking closer? Why was he so silent? "Gods now, when did I last feed?" The question bubbles up, but some part of him crushes it back down before he can dwell on it any further, before he can second guess himself properly.

Meri shared the same sentiments that Clement did. What exactly was she doing here tonight? Of all places to go, her feet pulled her in this direction. In the end, the rogue woman decides that it would not hurt to travel this direction. Maybe she’d find a clue or two to a bit of a missing persons problem that she was currently experiencing. Maybe not. What she is not expecting to find a certain vampire that she is prone to annoying. Wouldn’t this be great timing for her to chime in with something obnoxious? She doesn’t. She’s silent, decidedly so. She can see what is transpiring before her. The vampire is not the only one with heightened senses. Unlike Clement, Meri already has a lit cigarette dangling between her red lips and flask of whiskey clutched within her grasp. The scent of her cigarette smoke lingering in the air would be the only hint that Clement might have unexpected company tonight, for Meri is quick to flick it to the earth as she steps back into the shadows. Or, more accurately, is just about consumed by them. Clement would have a very challenging time pinpointing exactly where the rogue lycan is, while Meri would have a clear view of his antics, or at least that was her goal.

Clement slides closer and closer, gliding with deadly silence. Could this really be the same honest dockworker? He looks more like a viper now, a creature more monster than man. "There's something there," the girl whispers. "Don't be so nervous," the boy reassures her, or tries to anyway. Clement can feel their heartbeats drumming in his ears, can smell their bodies, and his mind utterly fixates the blood rushing through their veins. Either he doesn't know Meri is there, or he doesn't care, because what happens next is quick and horrible. There is a whoosh, a cracking, a cry of alarm suddenly choked short, and a fierce rustling of grass, sand and gravel. His hands and teeth were quick. A cracked skull. A torn throat. All that's left for Meri to ponder are the disquieting crunches and slurps coming from Clement's stooped form, that and the overwhelming reek of fresh death and blood.

Meri :: An honest artist might have balked at the scene that she just witnessed or maybe thrown up the remains of her dinner. Most people aren’t keen on witnessing a murder and it does not take long for the scent of blood to reach the werewolf woman’s nose. This is not Meri’s reaction, not that she can be seen. The blonde does not move from her position, opting to keep herself shrouded in shadows for the time being. Being concealed was a slight advantage, most don’t really take kindly to knowing that someone just witnessed them commit a crime. And yet, she speaks. “Ah, it’s a shame he didn’t listen. Not that it would have made a difference. Just further proof that women are always right in these matters, he should have trusted her instinct.” They’ve spoken before, of course, at length enough to discuss the matter of work. Meri didn’t really care if the vampire was able to identify the sound of her voice. “Quite the mess you’ve made though. You’ve got a long night ahead of you, it seems. Try not to have too much fun.” Was that a goodbye? A hint that just because Meri might have seen a thing or two tonight, doesn’t mean that this rogue was going to help the vampire hide the bodies?

Clement glances up at the sound of Meri's voice to glare daggers at her as he eats, the red gleam of his eyes seeming to match the bright crimson stains on his chin, his neck, his hands. Does he even care what she says? If she can gauge the look Clement's given her, Meri's own animal instincts will know that his business with her tonight concerns precisely one matter: whether or not she decides to interrupt his feeding. Though the shadows conceal her, it's uncanny how the vampire's cautionary stare seems to pierce straight into her. "Stay away," it says in a language plainer (and far more compelling) than speech, "come no closer." Beneath this gaze, all the while, the gruesome feast continues as though she hasn't addressed him.

Meri and Clement were for a change on the same page, no compelling was needed. Meri is not unsettled with the fact that Clement seemed to be looking almost straight at her. She was sure vampires had their ways, they were predators. Just like wolves. The blonde was not going to stay and debate the semantics over dinner. She was gone, though her exit would not be an obvious one. She’d not step out of the shadows during her departure. Yet if Clement actually had mind to consider if Meri was still creeping, he’d be hearing one less heartbeat in the area. Luckily for Clement, Meri was not the snitching sort and he won’t be dealing with any form of Cenril law tonight. At least, not through any fault of Meri’s.

Clement will, of course, have plenty of mess to clean up later. He can take care of that easily enough when he's come back to his senses. What's a little more tricky will be taking care of Meri. Whether he likes it or not, this unlucky encounter leaves a loose end dangling between them, and a very inconvenient one at that. Add it to the list of "things that will bother Clement very much in the morning".