Mines

[shiratorijun]

Jun leaned against the bar and watched the terrain go by. The jeep's passage kicked up dust. Every once in a while, Jun would take a sip of water from her thermos and wet her tongue. She saw scrub, cacti, and various rocks that she idly catalogued. Almost, she asked Derek to stop so she could take something interesting home with her. In the

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[derek_bliss]

The only problem with being alive and human is that I need air... Derek thought. Black spots--blacker than the darkness engulfing the area, danced at the edges of his sight. The vampire's breath was slightly warm and wholly fetid, and Derek's first instinct was to gag on what little air he was getting

[shiratorijun]

Jun's bolt punched partway between two of the goon's ribs. She hit the bolt hard, sending it in deeper. Then, wrapping her hand around her silver yo-yo, she crashed it into the goon's neck while tripping it over her thigh. As it fell, she drew the silver wire and fae hair wound string of the yo-yo against the neck, clumsily garotting the vampire from the wrong direction.

Once the head was severed, she reached into her pouch and slammed another silver bolt into the vampire's heart. She looked up in time to see Derek aiming gun and drawing his sword at darkness.

The vampire she'd de-faced was nowhere in sight too.

[derek_bliss]

Derek held the sword point-and-blade down and out to the side--a position that made the one-handed grasp heavy, but gave Derek the option of swinging the sword in any direction he needed...or even flattening it against himself if need be

[shiratorijun]

Still balanced, but moving a bit too fast to see what she was looking at -- which was nothing -- Jun pivoted and covered the cave. She held the crossbow steady.

Memory played tricks on her -- reminding her of redder moments when she was sweating despiite wading knee deep in blood -- blowing apart men and women for the purpose of saving the world. She shook her head, hard struck by the an audible trace of someone's wet entrails uncoiling from their stomach...of the give of human bone when hit by her yo-yo bearing hand.

Being strong willed was no match for the mystical influence of a vampire. At Derek's cry, Jun brought up the crossbow and fired wild.

[derek_bliss]

The bolt careened off into darkness, passing inches from Derek's head and skimming across the master's supporting arm. The creature screeched again, leaping out of range and fully into shadow.

The visions stopped abruptly, returning sense and what little vision the hunters possessed.

Derek re-drew his gun immediately, firing into the spot where the vampire had last been seen. The sound of two more bullets hitting dead flesh reached their ears, a howl that reverbarated through bone and bowel, a skitter of limbs fading fast away.

And then silence once more.

"Jun. Daijobu desu ka?" Derek's voice was harsh even as he kept it to a low volumn. The sound of his sword being resheathed over his back was easily heard in the sudden quiet.

[shiratorijun]

Jun truned a confused expression on him. Like she'd eaten something familiar that had gone rotten on her tongue. "What-What?!"

She blinked, trying to clear her vision. "So much blood. And--What was that?"

[derek_bliss]

Derek reached out, carefully but firmly taking Jun's shoulders into his hands.

He held onto her that way, watching what he could of her face in the shadows. Lending balance by his presence, or at least trying to, despite the vague headache he himself still possessed.

"The master," he said quietly, "Mental projection...dragging up old memories from our minds and twisting and blinding us with them. One of the reasons you have to be careful...why you don't hunt masters at night. This one must be one of the older ones, more powerful."

He glanced around at the darkness, but there was nothing now to trip any of his senses.

"Your bolt knocked him off his concentration. Hopefully he's too wounded now to try that again."

[shiratorijun]

"How do I fight that thing?" Jun wondered aloud. "It...It..." she shook her head. Not shaking off the unease but getting comfortable with the filth. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling or sensation for her. "Lead the way," Jun murmurred steadily. "Aim me and I'll fly."

[derek_bliss]

Derek nodded, giving Jun's shoulders a gentle squeeze before letting her go.

"All right..."

He kneeled to the ground, his fingers touching the scrapes and furrows the vampires had left in the hard packed ground. As before, he closed his eyes, concentrating.

There wasn't much this time...only hints. But the draw seemed to be to the left tunnel.

"That way..." he said quietly, standing, "To the left..."

[shiratorijun]

"Of course," Jun said thoughtfully. She swung her yo-yo hard, slinging it from the side to side and braking it on her finger. "Of course. I get to lead?" she asked.

[derek_bliss]

Derek hesitated in his answer. Knee jerk reaction? Was to say 'no'. It wasn't completely because Jun was his wife, either. Derek had always been used to taking point in the past if he happened to be sharing a hunt with someone.

Better him to get jumped, with his reaction to vampiric presence, then the people he was responsible for.

But Jun was a professional...that thought was on the heels of the first reaction. She knew what she was doing, and at least she was fast enough to keep up with the vampires.

For a moment, the urge to protect fought with the understanding that Jun was perfectly capable in her own right.

"...if you want," he finally answered.

[shiratorijun]

"...Yes..." IwantyesIwantIwantyesIwant Jun smiled subtly. Her expression soft, her eyes kind. "If that's alright with you." Inside, she was hissing, a swan rampant.

[derek_bliss]

Derek nodded quietly, "Yeah. But stay close. They could be anywhere, and I'm not exactly accurate with the tingly-spine feelings..."

He readjusted his scabbard, making sure the sword was easy to grab and unsheath. The 9mm come out once again in his left hand, carefully cradled and ready for use. He nodded to Jun when he was ready, and braced himself. As they started to move, he did his best to extend his awareness out, 'listening' for the master and his remaining brood.

[shiratorijun]

She'd been on less than five hunts but the certainty that something unclean had reached inside of her and tapped her own...compromise made her reckless. She gambled that the master had no idea that she could move nearly as quickly as it could.

The tagged her visor, triggering the infrared lens, and before Derek said another word, hurtled into the tell-tale dark.