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Post by rubyboobie on Nov 30, 2021 18:14:47 GMT -5
It had been three nights now. Standing there, a quarter past 1am, across the street from a modest home, a figure stood under the shadow of a streetlamp with a pile of wasted cigarettes at his feet.
He had one in his mouth now. 5'11, medium and athletic build, wearing street clothes of no distinctive nature....just staring at the house across the street.
Sure- neighborhood watch wouldn't like it. Maybe had somebody noticed, they would have called the police to report suspicious activity. Was he casing the house? Was he a danger? Oh, these days there were laws like disturbing the peace, or Louis' favorite, anti-stalking laws. Back in his day, there had been no such thing as stalking. That guy who followed you home from the bar was only being friendly. The ex-coworker who called you at all hours of the day and night, he was just a bit thick headed about being turned down. How could you blame a fella for being persistent?
Times had changed, but there was still gray area. In truth, police officers relied on the fear of citizens to patrol in situations like these. You couldn't charge somebody for being outside on public property, smoking. The city didn't have a curfew, and he was a free man.
He ashed his cigarette pensively, eyes on the upper window of the home. It had two stories, and a basement. The car wasn't in the driveway, it was parked in the garage. Quiet neighborhood, nothing much happening. He'd seen a stray cat walk past the previous night. It was a bit anti-climatic of an activity for somebody like Louis, but he had his motivations. In this case, they weren't screaming out in the open. But that was Louis- he enjoyed his privacy- and invading the privacy of others.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Dec 22, 2021 22:37:09 GMT -5
Laurent hadn't been in the East District long enough to have known how long the man at the street lamp had been stalking the area but that didn't matter. He nearly bypassed the area altogether, finding nothing of particular interest save the copious cigarette butts at the other man's feet. The demon came to a pause hidden in the shadows of a shrub just up the street a little ways, watching as cigarette after cigarette smoldered. What was up with that, huh? Was he waiting for something? He followed the other's gaze to the window, expecting to find something interesting or at least out of place. Nothing that he could see.
Maybe this man waiting to make a Deal? That was, after all, the reason for Laurent's expedition to this part of town to begin with. He would need the extra bit of energy for the days to come and this would be Most Convenient.
The demon waited until the man's attention was on the window again before emerging from the shadows. It wasn't until he was a few paces away that he noticed something strange about the other man. Laurent squinted suspiciously -- no, this guy wasn't here to make a Deal. Fascinating.
"Gotta light?" He asked, balancing a cigarette between his lips in a charming smile.
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Post by rubyboobie on Dec 22, 2021 23:18:34 GMT -5
When he saw him, he saw him suddenly. Hyper-vigilance and heightened senses had completely missed this stranger's onset. Louis didn't look directly to the man as he heard the approach, and this behavior of non-acknowledgment continued even when Laurent spoke.
The werewolf was good and fixated on the window, and didn't seem keen on letting his attention deter.
After a drag, just to punctuate his disinterest in responding, Louis glanced at the stranger. His facial expression bore no signs of emotion, positive nor neutral. It was akin to the type of glance you would give to an uneventful landscape, an observant, but non-responsive affect.
"I reckon that sounds like a personal problem." His tone couldn't have been more condescending.
And with that, he returned his gaze to the house, as if speaking a single sentence to the man was all he could spare of his time. Apparently, window-watching was a job that required serious concentration.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Dec 23, 2021 15:08:03 GMT -5
"Huh." Laurent's grin widened, perched cigarette tumbling gently from his lips into his awaiting hand below. He hadn't expected such abrasive refusal of his Innocuous Request. While a brief flare of anger sprung to his awareness, he was in an Agreeable Mood to begin with and the night was still young. For now, Laurent kept his position about a pace or so away and crossed his arms over his chest. From this proximity one thing became obvious - there was a void where the soul ought to have been.
What was this guy up to, anyway?
His eyes returned to the window, as if the two of them were casing the house together.
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Post by rubyboobie on Dec 23, 2021 15:44:05 GMT -5
When two male mountain lions encounter each other in the wild, a ritual unfolds. Being solitary predators, neither are pleased with the sight of one another. Each feels the territory beneath their feet is theirs, and each has a mission to dominate the other.
The first step is to size each other up. A juvenile male, lacking the full weight of an adult, might realize their mistake and back down. A mountain lion can accept retreat, so long as it is done promptly.
It is only when both animals remain, unwilling to surrender what they believe is rightfully theirs, that is when the real trouble begins.
There was no change in the window or house, but Louis continued to stare, dropping his half smoked cigarette, only to retrieve a new one and a lighter- sparking up.
A clear taunt.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Dec 26, 2021 13:46:09 GMT -5
Laurent showed no reaction to the appearance of the lighter, in fact he hadn't bothered to give the other man even so much as a glance. Instead, the demon remained focused with as much attention on the window as the stranger had been -- perhaps even a bit more. He squinted, as if trying to make something out in the dark. After a moment of intense focus, there was a bit of movement in the shadows of the house. Spindly alien-like shadow fingers peeked out from the side of the window frame. Laurent smirked, glancing at the other man to observe his reaction.
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Post by rubyboobie on Dec 26, 2021 22:15:33 GMT -5
This stranger wasn't biting, and the werewolf was growing tired of the game. Ignoring him seemed the best course of action at the time being.
It was all the same- these hallucinations. Louis' mind was out to get him. PTSD. He did not associate the apparition in the window to have anything to do with the stranger, and consequentially, any reaction he would have had, he suppressed. It was all in his head.
The silence drew for a long while as he finished another cigarette, smashing it under boot before pulling a flask from his jacket and taking a sip. He had decided that it was worth being somewhat inebriated to calm his imagination. Only this time, when he took a drink, it had no impact on what he was seeing. Which was odd. And in that moment, the scent of the stranger pulled together, and he figured he had a good idea of what was happening.
Louis turned his body toward the stranger and gave him a nice, long, lookover.
"Well ya ain't gotta be all day 'bout it," He lulled accusingly, "Ya gonna ask me out or what?" He sounded amused.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Dec 27, 2021 22:26:57 GMT -5
Laurent squinted at the other man, training his senses to detect those bits his kind fed from. There was truly nothing. And while that itself wasn't anything spectacularly out of the ordinary for this city, the suspicious behavior of this husk of a man was Interesting Enough. He took a few sudden strides forward, squaring up as close as the other man would allow. The demon's face spread into a wide smile.
"Tell me, wolfie, where the hell's that soul of yours?"
Meanwhile the shadow at the window evacuated, scuttling down the siding of the house and directly toward the pair.
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Post by rubyboobie on Dec 27, 2021 22:45:08 GMT -5
Laurent's limitations to proximity were all his own; as the demon approached, Louis did nothing, said nothing. He demeanor remained calm, and would have even if their noses had touched.
He noticed from his peripheral vision the shadow was moving in their direction, confirming his theory that the stranger was responsible for it. Standing beside Laurent was the dimmed image of Robert, Louis' dead son, standing with his throat slit and blood dripping down. He was talking, but the Dragon's breath had muted him. At this point his image was as if he needed a pair of glasses to correct the blurriness. The shadow figure, on the other hand, remained perfectly crisp.
Not this again- the soul thing. Louis had heard the soul thing, quite a few times over the years. The last prominent time had been prior to his turning a decade or so ago when he had attempted to summon a demon and the creature had flat out refused to work with him, echoing the same sentiments:
You have nothing of value to give. No soul.
"This pretty little thing you?" Louis asked, gesturing to the shadow creature that had approached. "Tryin' impress me are ya? Mmm."
He tsked his tongue at the stranger.
Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
"Tell you what," He whispered, drawing closer to the demon, stopping only when his breath could be felt on the nape of the stranger's neck as he spoke directly into the ear, "How 'bout the two's of us play a game, mm? All ya gotta do is promise ya ain't gonna fuck up my fun. I'll even let ya in on why I'm peepin' this here window."
The cogs in his brain had been whirring- and he was a bit intoxicated, increasing his desire for impulsivity and risk. He pulled back from the stranger's ear, to stare square in the creature's eyes impishly.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Dec 28, 2021 11:11:41 GMT -5
Dodging the soul question. Noted.
With good humor he interjected "Just testing your focus, is all." He nodded toward the shadow, which hurried to melt into his own before the distance between the two men closed. Hot, wet, and alcoholic breath caressed his senses and Laurent's eyes lit up.
"I'm listening." Oh how he loved a Good Game. And to be so willingly let in on the other man's intentions after all was certainly a Bonus. The demon had become so dreadfully curious.
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Post by rubyboobie on Dec 28, 2021 12:31:25 GMT -5
With the stranger's response, Louis was brought back to his teenage years in Chicago. Joe. He hadn't thought of Joe for decades, but something about this fellow in front of his had brought those thoughts back. The two of them had been glued together, and if Louis' was capable of the human emotion of love, it would have been for Joe. Both of them had no regard for anyone, and knew it. When he had looked into Joe's eyes, he had seen himself, and felt a certain respect for the man. They had an unspoken understanding with each other, and though they eventually drifted apart, the fun they had together still stuck in Louis' memories. It was not rare that Louis pulled others into his schemes- but it was rare that the others were willing participants to his deviancy. He nodded to the demon, pulling out his cellphone and sending a text message while peering up at the window. A blonde haired woman peeked behind the curtains. She looked more upset than she did afraid. And that was his cue. "We're goin' in." Louis announced as he walked towards the house. They got to the porch and rang the doorbell, in the middle of the night. An older man in his 50's, wearing a robe and looking dazed, opened the door. Behind him was Charlotte Little, doing her best to act normally. "What's going on?" The man asked. "Mr. Little, good evening. I'm Father Castillo, this is my curate, Joe." He nodded his head toward Laurent. "May we come in?" His accent was completely neutralized, all hints of southern accent gone. Mr. Little looked baffled. Charlotte, standing behind him, was giving Louis dagger eyes. "It's the middle of the night, I don't understand-" Louis cut him off, holding his hand up. "Your wife, Mrs. Little, contacted the church. She explained to us the suspicious activity. Things being out of place in the house, your clothing going missing. We believe you may have a poltergeist." Mr. Little looked to his wife, who, though wide eyed, was eager to explain. "Oh, honey, I forgot all about this. Yes- come in Father, Joe." She invited the two in as Mr. Little stepped back looking baffled. She closed the door behind the two men.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Dec 28, 2021 19:13:46 GMT -5
The appearance of the woman at the window made him grin - of course it would be about a woman. Going inside? Thrilling! Would they be sharing her? He snickered quietly before the other set off to move. Automatically Laurent moved with him, following closely step for step.
When the door was answered by a rather unattractive man, his expression was visibly displeased. But this smoothed over as soon as the wolf began to speak. Oh now this, this was a Lovely Game.
It took all of Laurent's composure to not break into a laughing fit at the sight of Mrs. Little expression. The demon, being a gentleman, dipped his head respectfully at the head of house when he crossed the threshold. Hands clasped behind his back, he deferred his attention to "Father Castillo".
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Post by rubyboobie on Dec 28, 2021 20:23:46 GMT -5
Charlotte pulled her pink, silk robe closed tighter to her body. She was dreadfully exposed like this. And it made her very, very, angry.
"Shouldn't you be wearing...you know, the cloak or, whatever." Mr. Little muttered lowly. He didn't sound like the sort of man that was particularly self-sure, but still he voiced his concerns.
The corner of Louis' lip lifted slightly, fighting his grin. Charlotte noticed the micoexpression, and ushered them all into the kitchen, flicking the light on.
"Tyler, I asked them not to dress like that. You know with Grayson and all the dreams he's been having about men in cloaks. He's frightened outside his wits! If he woke up and saw them..." Charlotte was clutching her chest, shaking her head, as if speaking of the death of a loved one. She was quite the ham.
Mr. Little nodded his head.
"Right, dear." He agreed, though truth be told- Charlotte had never mentioned any dreams Grayson had to him before. He knew better than to ask more questions in this state.
"We should get started immediately." Louis interjected calmly.
"Tyler, show them the living room. I need to get changed."
Mr. Little glanced between his wife and the two men, hesitating, but as Charlotte left the room, he had little choice. Louis looked at him expectantly, and the older gentleman led the way into the living room.
"Mr. Little, can you show Joe the hot spots of the room? I need to examine the kitchen."
Mr. Little didn't seem to approve of this plan, but Louis had departed the room before he could say much of anything.
Then it was just Tyler and Laurent standing in the room together. The demon would hear the sound of footsteps going up the stairs. "I don't know anything about this, my wife, Charlotte, she knows more she..." He trailed, rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm sure you know more than I do about it. I didn't even know this was happening....is that, is this, typical? The middle of the night? I don't understand."
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Dec 29, 2021 13:55:08 GMT -5
"Of course, Father." Laurent watched the wolf leave, masking his titillation behind a somber expression. He clasped his hands behind his back, nodding sympathetically as Mr. Little admitted his ignorance. The demon patiently stoked his mustache while the little man expressed his concerns with the time.
He cleared his throat and straightened. "I assure you, sir, that this is quite typical in cases like this." His warm smile desperately wanted to become a wicked grin. "Poltergeists are most active at the unholy hours." Laurent watched as the man paled. "Demons, in fact, are entirely hidden during the day." Mr. Little made a noise of surprise - and it took everything for Laurent to maintain an even composure.
"And we need to discover what we are truly dealing with here."
Turning on his heal, the demon made a show of looking around the living room. "Tell me, sir," This was Too Fun. "Have you noticed anything out of place lately?" He peered at Mr. Little, watching for any reaction. "Shadows in your peripheral vision?" He waited for a beat before continuing. "Have you felt watched - as though someone was right behind you - while you were home alone?"
Eagerly, the demon's shadows waited for their turn.
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Post by rubyboobie on Dec 30, 2021 13:06:04 GMT -5
Laurent was captivating enough that he alleviated some of Mr. Little's creeping suspicion. The older man was not a Believer, but his wife apparently was. He was doing his best to be in neutral spirits about it all and not to upset the apple cart....but he swore there were apple seeds littered across the house. Deep down, Mr. Little knew something. He just didn't want to know it.
"Right." He acknowledged as the holy man driveled on about what amounted to nonsense. He found himself yawning.
Tyler had not thought there was anything supernatural taking place, but he did know exactly what Laurent was talking about. Lately he had been missing ties, and he would come home to find items in the kitchen and bathroom moved. Charlotte claimed to not know anything about it. Grayson was always playing his video games, so there was never any conversation from him, and he didn't much leave his room to begin with.
"I don't know- this is really more of Charlotte's expertise. I don't know anything about this. I'm barely home as it is." He insisted. Work had him traveling, away from the home for extended stretches of time. Whatever his wife said he went with it.
More thumps throughout the house, inaudible to Mr. Little.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Dec 30, 2021 13:52:15 GMT -5
"Of course," The demon frowned. While he happened to catch a bit of thumping from upstairs, Laurent made no outward showing of it. His imagination ran wild with fantasy, making for a barely-perceptible wicked glint in his eyes. "Often these entities have favorite individuals that they torment," he explained patiently while Mr. Little yawned again. While the man had his eyes closed, Laurent's shadow shifted and morphed, extending tall and menacing behind him.
"Perhaps they take advantage of your absence?" Laurent offered, putting on the guise of a gentleman lost in thought. By the time Tyler caught a glimpse of the shadow, it flew to the opposite end of the room where it melted into a dark corner. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the distraction, another snake-like extension raced upstairs in the opposite direction. The demon was ever so Eager to know what the wolf was getting up to.
"There!" He exclaimed, pointing to where part of his shadow had vanished. Laurent, making the sign of the cross, began muttering some ridiculous phrase in Latin.
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Post by rubyboobie on Dec 30, 2021 14:26:37 GMT -5
The religious clergy's words had held truth to Tyler. A truth that he buried and refused to acknowledge- words that hit deep. And, because of it, Mr. Little was becoming more and more receptive to this idea of a poltergeist. He knew it was implausible, impossible. But wouldn't it be convenient?
Though, when he thought he saw something, Mr. Little jumped where he was standing in the living room, nearly tripping over the coffee table.
"Did you--" He began to ask, and then feeling foolish, stopping himself before going to sit on his recliner chair. He was beginning to wonder where Charlotte was and what was taking her so long.
Meanwhile, Laurent's shadow friend roamed the house. It would pass the kitchen, where Charlotte, re-dressed in pajamas, appeared to be grinding a pill under a knife next to a glass of orange juice.
The real action, though, was upstairs, and the shadow would eventually find its way from the ripped apart master bedroom, the undisturbed guest bedroom and bathroom, all the way to Grayson Little's bedroom, where Louis was hunched next to his bed, shaking the boy.
"Kid, wake up."
Grayson stirred, but refused to look in Louis' direction. The werewolf didn't seem to care.
"The bitch took somethin' from me, n' if you ain't help me find it, I'm gonna hurt yer pappa real bad, ya understand? Then it'll just be you'n the bitch."
At the mention of his father being hurt, Grayson looked over.
'That's righ'..." Louis lulled.
---- Meanwhile, Charlotte entered the living room with a glass of orange juice, offering it to the seated Mr. Little.
"Darling, you should drink this. I'm worried about your blood sugar, you were shaking." Mr Little took the drink in hand, taking a sip, and giving a face.
"It's off, Charlotte." He said, attempting to hand the drink back, and Charlotte pursed her lips in anger.
"You always do this. I checked the expiration date, it's fine. It's from your toothpaste." Mr. Little grumbled under his breath but reluctantly drank the orange juice. ---- Louis pulled his phone out and showed a picture to the boy.
"I ain't leavin' without it tonight. Ya better start lookin', and don't get yerself caught now either. I ain't kiddin' about yer papa."
He then stood, turning to leave the room. ---
Charlotte's eyes fell on Laurent, and she looked around the room, hiding her confusion. Louis was gone, which meant he was wandering unsupervised in the house. Mr. Little was blinking heavily, dazed.
Charlotte grasped the glass of orange juice from his hands, just as Mr. Little's head slumped over and he was knocked out cold. The woman's expression changed, a sharp gaze landed right on Laurent, and she smiled.
"I just want you to know, I'm not upset with you at all that you showed up in the middle of the night, disturbing my family. I know it wasn't your idea." She fluttered her eyelashes, placing the orange juice on the coffee table and approaching Laurent. She reached to stroke the side of his face, the seductress coming out.
"I'm disturbed he's put you in this position, and I don't blame you at all."
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Jan 1, 2022 12:21:34 GMT -5
The little shadow absorbed everything it could perceive, clinging to dark corners, sending impulses and snippets back to its anchor downstairs. With each bit of information relayed back about the happenings upstairs, the demon's fascination grew. How unexpected! He'd assumed that the wolf's main goal and intent would have been to bed this fox.
Speaking of--
The demon watched as the Little man slumped over - the inevitable conclusion to the woman's bit of mixing back in the kitchen. She moved with a sort of Certainty that perhaps indicated that this hadn't been the first time she drugged her husband. While it had been Great Fun, he was glad to drop the holy man act and he met her sharp trained gaze with a grin of his own. Fox indeed.
Oh, he didn't give a shit about whether or not she was upset with the late-night company. Funny of her to try to reassure him. He stayed still while she approached, watching intently.
At her touch, Laurent's eyebrows arched, his lip curling with further amusement.
"Disturbed?" He crooned, playing along with the seduction and leaning closer. Despite this, his muscles were tense as if ready to pounce.
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Post by rubyboobie on Jan 1, 2022 22:52:35 GMT -5
Louis proceeded down the stairs, entering the room shortly after Charlotte began to explain-
"We both know-"
By that point, she had heard the footsteps and slowly stepped away from Laurent. She wasn't hiding her behavior- only retreating. The woman turned her body toward Louis, beating him down with a glare of intensity.
"Help me get him upstairs." She ordered, gesturing to Mr. Little.
Louis smiled, glancing at the slumbering body, before picking the glass of orange juice off the table and finishing the rest of it. Charlotte stared in horror, while the wolf blinked, immediately feeling the impact of the heavy sedatives.
"Ambien?" He asked as he had his eyes closed, humming lowly. No hallucinations. Happy thoughts. God, he loved hypnotics.
Charlotte looked to Laurent, supervising in her panic as Louis stumbled from side to side,
"You're going to have to catch him!" She interjected urgently, but Louis' wobbling did not turn into a fall. He wandered around the room, eyes closed, somehow navigating until he was right in front of her, opening his eyes right at that moment.
"Ya want me to carry yer drugged husband upstairs, Char?" He groaned, currently in a dream-like state.
Charlotte's eyes were wild, nostrils flaring---and then, she did it. The woman's arm swung from behind her, delivering a powerful bitch slap directly to Louis face, leaving an audible CLACK in the room.
Louis' head flipped with the slap, a red mark on his cheek, but he maintained his standing position in spite of the large amount of drugs cycling through his system. He chuckled and grinned, turning his head back to her, leaning in, close, intimate, as if he were going to kiss her.
"Oh I think ya can hit me harder than that, woman," He hissed, and were one to look, they would notice Louis was sporting a nice tent in his pants.
Charlotte pushed him backwards hard, twice, of which he stumbled backwards.
She looked toward Laurent, gesturing to Louis.
"This is what I'm talking about. He's absolutely pathetic, worthless, scum. I'm sure he made up all sorts of stories before he brought you here, didn't he?" She sighed heavily, giving a disgusted look towards Louis before approaching Laurent again. This time she left a good amount of space between them. Her expression was soft.
"Joe, I believe in forgiveness. We can make things right together. Just look at him." She gestured to Louis and shook her head. "That is not you. We could even the score. Him, misleading you by bringing you here. His very existence is like...dirt on my shoes. You understand what I'm saying?"
Louis, meanwhile stood, glancing between the demon and the bitch, perhaps in his own world- or perhaps listening intently.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Jan 6, 2022 14:32:34 GMT -5
The demon could no longer hold back, between the wolf on ambien and this woman's strange behavior. At the crack of Mrs. Little's slap he boomed with laughter. Laurent, of course, noticed the resulting erection and his laughter nearly brought him to tears.
What a wild ride!
"Ma'am," he began quietly before closing distance between them with a couple long strides. "Are you asking me to get rid of him?" He nodded toward the wolf, expression still fixed firmly in a grin.
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Post by rubyboobie on Jan 11, 2022 23:25:06 GMT -5
Charlotte kept a stern face as Joe laughed- it was trained squarely on Louis. The newcomer seemed a bit slow, but she could work with that.
Louis ears caught the pitter patter of feet, and he turned his body oh-so-subtly to see the boyish figure hug the shadows of the hallway off from the living room they were in.
Good boy.
Smart, too, that one was. He sure loved his papa. Whether that love would be enough, however, depended on if he completed the task he'd been assigned.
"Get rid of him? No," She corrected Joe, "He deserves to be punished for misbehaving so badly. You'll help me with that. First, though, we need to get Mr. Little to bed, mm?'" She said, gesturing to the limp body on the couch.
Louis was watching, pretending to mope. But as soon as he caught Laurent's gaze, he lowly added, inaudible to Mrs. Little,
"Help her."
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Jan 14, 2022 15:47:22 GMT -5
At the mention of punishment, Laurent quirked an eyebrow. He was about to say something clever until he caught the wolf's eye - and request. The grin faltered as he narrowed his eyes, discontent with continuing to play this subservient role. But the demon was oh-so-curious about this punishment - not to mention whatever the little brat was supposed to retrieve.
"Alright."
With a few strides he arrived by the comatose Mr. Little. For now, he would continue to play along with this little game. Effortlessly he heaved the man from the couch and tossed him carelessly over his shoulder like a sack of flour, disregarding any need to keep supernatural strength a secret. He gave Mrs. Little a smirk before passing by her to the stairs. He ascended as though unburdened, and set off to figure out which door led to the master bedroom.
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Post by rubyboobie on Jan 16, 2022 18:00:18 GMT -5
The woman and demon headed up the stairs together. What had begun as a man standing outside a house smoking a cigarette, had unfolded layer by layer, leading where? Why was Louis here tonight? What was he looking for?
Joe began to enter the wrong bedroom, and was heftily scolded for it,
"Other door!"
Charlotte didn't want to wake her dear boy.
When the older man was tossed about the bed, the middle aged woman grasped Joe by the wrist to keep him from walking out. They needed to talk.
"Thank you." They were hollow words that lacked any real genuineness about it- but that was Mrs. Little to a T. Her outward appearance seemed to feign any authenticity she needed when dealing with men. As a result she had never cultivated a real personality beyond her sexual charms. Her sultry eye contact and fluttering eyelids was supposed to be enough to compensate.
And the kiss, that she delivered innocently enough on Joe's cheek. Holding out on him, it seemed. Perhaps honoring the presence of her unconscious husband.
Still tugging on his hand, she led Joe outside of the bedroom door, closing it, but preventing them from going back downstairs. She had let go of his wrist after gesturing for him to stay put.
" I don't know how well acquainted you are with Louis- but I know him well, and I know what's best for him. His behavior tonight is absolutely unacceptable. I can't let it stand. Some men are like children, and they have to be treated that way. If you want to leave, I can handle it myself, but you're going to stay, then I'll be counting on you to help me do what's best for Louis." She stared at him keenly, as if she was expecting him to make his mind up then and there, without any context on whatever it was she meant by 'what's best for Louis'.
-- Meanwhile, downstairs, Louis had wandered, all the way to the guest bathroom downstairs where he had found the little boy frantically running through cupboards. He wasn't finding what he was meant to be finding. Louis clucked his tongue.
"Not good news for yer pappa, is it?" Louis asked as he propped himself up against the wall. He was struggling to stay standing. Even with his heightened metabolism that had been quite the dose of hypnotics he had just wolfed down. He was having difficulty maneuvering as suave as he normally would have, but Louis dealt with the problem.
By the time he returned to the living room, he was with one less shoelace and no kid to be seen or heard.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Jan 20, 2022 15:08:05 GMT -5
The demon crossed his arms over his chest, watching the woman's face intently. "What sorta punishment are we talking about, here?" There was a spark of something dangerous behind his otherwise unreadable expression.
Downstairs, a little worm of a shadow watched the child's failed search before wriggling itself into a dark, damp corner.
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Post by rubyboobie on Mar 4, 2022 15:27:44 GMT -5
Quite suddenly, a chill ran down Charlotte's spine. It was something about this man. It wasn't a good sensation, but things had progressed too far. It was too late to back out or change direction. It occurred to her only then that she had two potentially threatening men in her house with a sleeping child and knocked out husband. Perhaps she wasn't the cunning woman she thunk herself to be. Oddly, she still wasn't frightened by the situation-- only enraged.
"He needs a deliverance." She thought the reference was evident in itself, though perhaps this man wasn't old enough to get it. After all, any man who had been alive and watching cinema in the 1970's would remember the film of a group of city folk mercilessly terrorized by old fashioned country men. It had left a stark burn on the collective psyche of masculinity; men, too, could be debased, and made to squeal like a piggie.
She looked away, with a baiting tone, "But maybe you aren't man enough."
The woman's eyes returned with an accusatory stare.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Mar 22, 2022 11:01:43 GMT -5
When the accusation passed Charlotte's lips, something seemed to snap behind the demon's expression. His mouth split into a much-too-wide, humorless grin while the room began to steadily darken.
Laurent had little interest in punishing the wolf, and little patience for insults. This human woman seemed to think of herself too highly. Untouchable. The gile. With a strange man in her home in the middle of the night and her husband out cold. Whether or not this was a part of the wolf's plan did not enter his mind - as far as Laurent was concerned, with the child failing, this game was over.
"No," he replied darkly with a veneer of patience. The demon began to blur at the edges, his human form melting into shadow. His shadowy mass moved to block the way downstairs while his tar-black skeletal form materialized -- hunched forward to accommodate his height, wings folded and pressed tightly to his back. He herded her against the bedroom door, taking steady steps forward on cloven foot.
His mouth parted to reveal a double row of jagged teeth. "Not a man at all."
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Post by rubyboobie on Mar 22, 2022 13:35:02 GMT -5
Charlotte stood, strong and straight-spined, even as Joe's face melted into an inappropriate grin. Certainly she was infuriated by it, but some men didn't understand who she was. Some men had to be taught, they had to learn what was expected of them. Clearly Joe was not as well-trained as she had anticipated, but like any other block of clay, she was confident he could be molded with the right hit of a hammer.
No was not a word that was spoken to her. The blonde woman felt a seething rage rising beneath her, boiling, building and building...
She could hide it for now. Her lips didn't even twitch.
That control over expression completely flipped as did Joe's appearance, her eyebrows shot upwards, jaw opening and dropping. If Joe's disobedience had been a surprise to her, this absolutely sideswept her.
To watch somebody grow from six to ten feet, from flesh to bone, from concrete to semi-solid- it was quite an overwhelming experience. To such a degree that for once, Mrs. Little was left speechless.
"My God," She hissed under her breath reflexively, eyes the size of the moon. The rage had seemed to leave her features, and was replaced with primal fear.
Charlotte's knees were buckling, and finally failed her as she dropped to the ground. Her eyes were watering, labored breathing. She was sniveling, not foregone completely to hysterical crying, as the woman was doing her best to hold back.
" The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou is with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
The prayer was barely audible beneath the weeping.
Downstairs--
Louis heard the sounds.
He moved through the house and up the stairs, encumbered by his drug-induced state, and he soon arrived in the doorway to peer at the spectacle of what was happening.
"Cut it out." His voice had a drugged lilt to it but was firm and authoritarian. It was not clear exactly who he was speaking to, either.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Mar 29, 2022 9:30:40 GMT -5
Laurent, delighted and nourished by that look of fear, watched with fascination as her composure crumpled. The demon barked a laugh as she dissolved into a weeping, praying puddle - typical woman. Instead of being put off by the words, Laurent added his voice to hers in mocking prayer. Quivering wings stretched as much as the containing hallway permitted as he stooped down toward her -- his horned head moving as close to her face as he could manage. His mouth opened to sneer -- but the wolf's entrance stopped it. Laurent assumed he was addressing the pathetic woman's whimpering, and did not move from his spot. "Are you here for your punishment, wolf?" He grinned widely, watching the woman's face to see if she liked his joke. The demon did not wait long for a response - this time he had an Idea. One of his spindly hands shot forward, long fingers grasping and tangling into Charlotte's blonde hair in order to drag the woman to her feet. This one he would take to the Mines.
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Post by rubyboobie on Mar 30, 2022 10:40:45 GMT -5
Charlotte's hysteria continued- she was unable to calculate the next move out of this scenario. Her house of cards had folded, at least, they had until Louis walked in the room. Her tear dimmed eyes looked to him, hopeful that he had been here to save her.
"Louis, please," She begged- that air of dominance had slipped from her, until-- "HELP me, damnit!"
There was the attitude.
That sweet, sweet, sass that normally Louis would have been all over. Mixed beneath the tears in her expression was a woman's fury. Any other time she would have bent him with that. But he was here with a purpose. Charlotte had crossed one of his few lines, and she would learn that when Louis was crossed- he did not give in to manipulations.
He only watched Joe pull her up by the hair. Didn't stop it. Didn't look amused by it, either.
The werewolf approached the woman with a blank face, and she kept withering on,
"What are you doing! GET OFF OF ME!" She struggled against the grip of the demon but couldn't seem to free herself, and realized the more she struggled the more her pretty curls got pinched and pain rippled down her skull. Eventually she stood there, but was clearly not pleased.
It seemed she was no longer concerned about waking her son, or her husband. So far the man continued to be limp in the bed.
Louis cupped her chin in his hand and looked at her real close up. It could have been the beginning of a tender moment.
"You took somethin' from me, Char, and I want it back." He whispered in a gravely tone.
"What? I TOOK something? I didn't take ANYTHING!" She screamed back. Louis dropped her chin and closed his eyes, moving away, grasping at his head. Boy did her shrilly voice have a way of giving him a fucking headache.
He moved around the room until he found a vanity, going through the dresser drawer, finding a pen and an envelope with an electric bill on it. The back was blank, so he flipped it to that side.
Louis curled his index finger in a coaxing manner- not toward Charlotte- but at Laurent, indicating for him to bring her over.
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Post by The Cedar Witch on Apr 3, 2022 10:24:01 GMT -5
The demon did not hesitate in dragging the woman over to the vanity with a few rough tugs. Curiosity curled in his mind -- what did Charlotte take? -- as he peered over at the piece of paper the wolf had fished from the drawer. Laurent maintained a steady grip on the back of Charlotte's hair, enjoying the way it impeded her movements.
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