Descent

[Existentially Odd]

They\'d picked the highest point in the cliffs set within the woods - a place Indie had been numerous times in his time in the city - and set up two sets of rope upon which to abseil down them.  One thing Indie didn\'t ever half-ass was the safety aspects of his fun; sure, there was the thrill arising from the risk of death, but he wasn\'t about to help that along in any way.  He and Will had been at their current spot almost half an hour, just applying anchors, checking descenders and creating safety backups.

Thankfully, the night had begun fairly well, all things considered.  Indie kept smiling at Will - he could feel it on his foolish face and wanted to wipe it off, he really did, but every time he tried, he\'d think of Will promising he wouldn\'t leave him without warning and it came back again - and was being a bit nicer to him than usual, but that was it.  He barely recalled the awkwardness and anger after the sex the night before and only good feelings remained.

"Wanna\' race down?" he grinned at Will, doing a final check on his Prusik knots before he straightened up and tugged playfully at Will\'s locked carabiner.  It was near his crotch... but that was the playful part, right?  The blonde was seeming a little distracted now - though he\'d had it pretty together after he\'d come back with some blood in him at the start of the night - and Indie wasn\'t sure why.  He doubted his friend was nervous, they\'d done this before, but there seemed something a little... off, suddenly, and a joke seemed to be required.

[pinkroses]

Will had been up and showered before the sun was fully set - although it had been mighty tempting to just stay curled up with Indie for the whole day. He knew Indie wanted to go out to the cliffs, and Will needed to feed so there was no point making Indie wait around for him to feed when they could be getting moving. As soon as it was safe to go outside Will had gently woken Indie to let him know he was going to feed and had been back before long. He’d managed to find someone out on an evening jog to pull into a dark alleyway and drink from easily enough and he’d drunk deeply - if Indie did want a repeat Will didn’t want to have to tell him no.

It wasn’t until they were almost at the spot Indie had picked out for them that Will  began to feel slightly edgy. This was closer to where his fledgling had taken up residence than he’d realised but now he could feel the tug in her direction. No doubt she would feel him nearby too. He’d told her he would give her some space - hanging around on the edge of her consciousness might not be going about that the right way.

Anna getting pissed and storming in would definitely not be a good way for her and Indie to meet and Will didn’t want them meeting at all just yet. Not until he got it straight in his own head what he was feeling towards her. Having Indie’s opinion to influence his own would not be helpful.

“Hmm?” he murmured in response to Indie’s question, barely realising he’d been gazing off into the woods in Anna’s direction until the intimate tug at his harness came. His focus flickered back towards the redhead and he couldn’t help but smile at the giddy grin Indie had been wearing all evening. He loved seeing him so happy and it helped centre him a little better.

“Sorry kid, I was miles away. Did you say race? Sure,” he said with a smile which was possibly a little too bright. He didn’t wanted to explain why he was distracted - if Indie knew how close they were to Anna he might get it into his head that they should go visit her.

[Existentially Odd]

The forgetful vampire\'s grin skewed to something a little less genuine and a little more concerned but he didn\'t say anything as they moved to their positions at the top of the fifty metre cliff.  Will was suddenly not quite alright but he didn\'t think it was anything he\'d done, not tonight anyway.  It seemed unlikely that it was even anything to do with last night, in fact, otherwise wouldn\'t it have surfaced before now?  Either way, the blonde wasn\'t focussed and Indie was beginning to really want to know why.
 
"To make it fair, you count us in," he told his companion, yanking at the harness fitted around his own jeans before he pulled his gloves on just a little tighter (a useless gesture since they were highly specialised and sleekly fitted) and shoved the sleeves of his lightweight, teal coloured jumper up to his elbows.  "I\'ll kick your ass either way, but at least you can\'t claim any advantage if you do the counting," he smirked, dropping Will a teasing wink.  Indie gathered his guide rope and walked backwards to the edge of the cliff, ready to fling himself back over it as soon as Will stopped counting. He had no idea what - or who - awaited them at the bottom.

[pinkroses]

Will saw the change in Indie’s face and knew it was because he was acting weird. He told himself to snap out of it and followed the redhead to the edge of the cliff. Maybe he was being stupid, but it still felt like there was something wrong, or could go wrong quickly.

He would usually have been giving back banter, giving a playful shove near the edge which the safety conscious redhead probably wouldn’t have liked - although at least if something happened to one of them there was the other to take care of things and make sure they were safe before daylight.

“Whatever. You just want an excuse for when you lose,” Will said, although there wasn’t the usually spark behind it. He glanced down at the ropes, running them through his own gloved fingers. All his equipment had been bought on Indie’s advice - since borrowing each others things usually ended up with someone missing out on something important. And really it was fun having someone help him spend his money, especially when it made it easier for them to spend time hanging out.

“Ready? Three… two… one!” Wlliam shouted, jumping backwards on one and for a second forgetting the niggle as Indie followed him and he gave a laugh as they began their speedy descent.

It wasn’t until about half way down that it suddenly returned and Will realised Anna was a lot closer than he’d realised. Had he just been distracted by Indie and not noticed her getting closer? Or had she suddenly sped up coming in their direction? The two vampires had been head and head on the decent, but Will missed his footing as he instinctively turned to try to look around, trying to spot her.

The blonde swore as he crashed into the cliff, scraping off a good layer of skin from his bare arm since he’d gone with just a white t-shirt tonight and Will let himself just hang for a few seconds. He wasn’t scared of Anna, but this was his time with Indie and she wasn’t supposed to be here. More slowly this time, Will continued downwards, half wanting to get there quickly to stop any chance of Anna and Indie talking, but trying to delay the moment he had to watch the two of them together. Maybe she couldn’t even come out - maybe she’d just skulk in the trees and then disappear again without talking. Maybe Indie didn’t even need to know.

[Saccharin]

If Anna had been able to access her sire\'s thoughts, she might\'ve been accused of coming out of hiding just to spite him, but it was annoyance that drove her from behind the tree she\'d peeked around as the two men began rappelling down the cliff\'s face. Why was William there, and not even alone, but with another vampire? He\'d promised her time - respite from his presence - but here he was, dressed and equipped ridiculously, throwing himself off cliffs. And not just any cliff, but a cliff within minute\'s running time from her home.

Barefoot because she\'d left her hiking boots behind in her hurry to reach William and the other she sensed before they moved on, she walked toward them carefully, not making many sounds for even even vampire ears to pick out. She was wearing the same thing she\'d been since she\'d come to the city (black tank-top with jeans), and one would be able to see that easily enough. With how likely she was to climb trees and wrestle with bears, her clothing was frayed, faded and in desperate need of replacement.

She didn\'t seem aware of it, however, with how regally she held herself once she came to a stop several feet behind the russet-haired vampire and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. She had her long, graceful neck tilted back so she could watch William dangling above her, but was very aware of the other vampire to her right and every muscle was coiled in case she needed to dart away from him.

"You couldn\'t find another cliff in this entire forest?" she questioned, her dark eyes narrowed and flitting from her sire to the younger (though not younger than her, she sensed) vampire, then back again.

[Existentially Odd]

It was the redhead\'s turn to be thrown off his game as a voice came out of nowhere... somewhere behind and to his left.  He\'d been intently watching Will, worried that something had happened to snag him around halfway down - especially when his friend\'s descent had slowed thereafter.  He hadn\'t heard the preternaturally soft footsteps of the female and her words caused him to spin rapidly to face her, an expression of shock on his face.  His nostrils flared when he spied her, unable to smell her due to the lack of wind but trusting what his eyes saw; she was a vampire.

Needing a moment to gather his tongue enough to respond, he looked her over and got a feeling about her.  The way she was looking from him to Will and back... they\'d invaded her territory, it seemed, but there was more to it, he felt.  There weren\'t that many female vampires around his age in the city and if he\'d ever seen this stunning creature, he would\'ve remembered.  He\'d been in these woods, at these cliffs, numerous times, too, and she\'d never come out to bang her ownership drum before tonight.  That meant she was new to the city.  Like Will\'s fledge was.  The thought had his expression darkening into a scowl, though he made no other moves towards her.

"This is the highest cliff in the forest," he told her slowly, his mind working fast enough that it slowed his speech into something deliberate and contemplative while he eyed her off.  "The best one to abseil down," he clarified, in case she couldn\'t see what they were doing and understand the clear advantage of coming to this particular bit of rock.  "What\'s it to you?" he challenged, his russet eyes flaring bluer as he narrowed them at her.

[pinkroses]

Will landed on his feet as Indie spoke to Anna and he took a second to unhook himself, finding it took him longer than usual in his hurry. He could already feel his arm healing as he turned to step up beside his friend, facing his fledgling.

“Anna, I didn’t realise how close this place is to your home until we got here. It was not my intention to disturb you tonight. I apologise,” he said, lightly touching Indie’s shoulder as he spoke, hoping to calm the redhead.  He didn’t want the two to get off on a bad footing and knew how much Anna may overreact to all of this. Normally he wouldn’t be so apologetic if he was with either of them alone, but this was already looking bad.

[Saccharin]

The only response Indie got from her was a very unladylike snort of disbelief. Did he really think she was the one that needed to explain herself? From the creek that ran alongside the cabin she slept in to the very cliff they\'d abseiled down, she\'d laid claim to the part of the forest they stood in. They were trespassing on her land, not the other way around.

William seemed aware of that, though, with how immediately he\'d sought to appease her with an apology instead of antagonizing her further (the same certainly couldn\'t be said for his companion). She worked it over in her mind, her lips pursed and her eyebrows knitted until she finally decided she could forgive him for his intrusion.

"I wasn\'t expecting you," she said, offering it up as an apology of her own. The actual words, \'I\'m sorry,\' rarely parted her lips, largely because she felt saying it needlessly made it so one made it a habit to apologize for things they weren\'t even really sorry for. "Or you. Who are you?" Her gaze swung to the other man. She hadn\'t missed the familiar way William had touched him and was curious what he meant to her sire.

[Existentially Odd]

Her tone irked him and so the redhead bristled, his shoulders straightening back, his casual stance coming together as he pulled himself up to his full height and his gloved hands clasping the harness at his waist (just above his groin, naturally).  The smile that drew up one corner of his mouth and made his eyes glint was evidence of the fifty sarcastic and provocative comments that flew through his mind the moment she demanded so unceremoniously to know who he was, and he opened his mouth to answer her as quickly as he could.

Will\'s hand on his shoulder, though... that stopped any of it coming out of him, especially when he felt the grip tighten in warning.  Well.  Fuck her.  Though he had promised Will he\'d be nice to her.  Momentarily, his smirk dropped and he scowled as his mouth closed again and he tried desperately to think of something to say that would show he was his own man and Will didn\'t have his balls in a vice.  In any way.  Shit.

"He calls me Indie," he settled on, jerking his head towards Will, as if she couldn\'t figure out who \'he\' was.  Peeling his right glove off with his left hand, he took a step towards her and held it out for her to shake (though those arms folded mutinously beneath her breasts didn\'t hint that she\'d oblige him).  "Anna," he said her name, giving her a nod and suddenly the smirk was back, as he put together what he\'d just said.  Indie.  Anna.  His head tilted as he looked into her dark eyes, quite naturally finding his own lewd personality even when he was behaving.  "I guess you and I were destined to come together, huh?"

[Saccharin]

Anna looked down at his outstretched hand, considering what to do with it. She wasn\'t unaware of the custom, but she didn\'t know whether or not she wanted to oblige him. Even the thought of his hand grasping hers made her upper lip snarl up unconsciously. He was practically leering at her, and she did not appreciate being made to feel like a package of raw hamburger meat in a fluorescent lit display. Not at all.

She took a step back, her nostrils flaring and her jaw sawing side to side before it settled again. Her arms remained crossed. "William calls you Indie? What does everyone else call you?"

She had a few guesses... none were flattering.

[Existentially Odd]

Indie\'s hand lowered slowly back towards his harness again, his lips pressing together in a disapproving line and his eyes glittering angrily as he watched her take a step back from him.  Like there was something wrong with him, all because of a little joke.  And she\'d left him hanging, like he was some asshole beneath her filthy bare feet.  Fuck that.

"Oh, anything they like, as long as it\'s not late for dinner, right?" he told her lightly, the words an old joke that he couldn\'t have placed if someone had asked him where he\'d heard them; it was just something to throw at her that wasn\'t abuse, and gave him an excuse to turn his back on her and stalk away.

As he passed Will, he threw a glare at him that was meant to say, \'This bitch?  I fucking tried, man,\' but was more a seething expression of hurt and indignation that she\'d flat out rejected his civil gesture.  He\'d done his part, though, and all he was interested in was watching Will interact with her anyway, not do it himself, so fuck it.

He could do that well enough from where their equipment was sitting on the ground.  He strode over to it, going around the far side and hunkering down over it, pretending he was intently interested in something within one of the bags.  His and Will\'s motorbikes were at his back and he was facing his friend and the fledgling bitch from where he squatted, pulling on his glove and fussing with unused ropes and other equipment thereafter.  His gaze flickered incessantly from what he was pretending an interest in to the two of them though, watching and learning everything he could.

[pinkroses]

Will had let his hand drop away from Indie’s shoulder as the redhead had stepped forwards to offer Anna, a smile drifting across his lips at the word play, although he knew Anna wouldn’t get it. And apparently she had no intention of trying to be civil with his friend. He glanced over his shoulder to where Indie had busied himself messing about with their stuff, before stepping a little closer to Anna, glancing down at his arm with a frown and picking out a jagged bit of rock which had managed to become imbedded before watching it heal.

“So tonight you’re going to be a bitch? I thought we had made a little progress last night,” he said, lifting his grey eyes to meet hers after wiping away a stray drop of blood. If he had to choose who to side with out of Indie and Anna, he was most definitely going to go with the former. “Did something about my friend offend you so horrendously?” he added in a casual tone.

[Saccharin]

Finally, her arms fell to the side, but only because she\'d made fists of her hands. It took every ounce of her willpower to keep from introducing William\'s face to one of them. This wasn\'t the first time he\'d called her a bitch (nor would it be the last, she figured), but it wasn\'t something that would ever make her stop behaving less bitchily. In fact, it was one of the few guaranteed ways to set her anger from simmering to boiling.

"We made progress," she snapped. "Your friend did not make progress with me." She sniffed disdainfully and turned her head to look at Indie, their gaze meeting briefly before her eyes darted away again. He was watching them, witnessing her sire take his side over hers. Her sire. Not his. Whoever had said blood ran thicker than water was full of shit.

"He is an ass," she said, for Indie\'s benefit as much as William\'s. "Is that why you like him? Because you have so much in common?"

Stupidly, she was baiting William, but she was too angry to care.

[pinkroses]

Will couldn‘t help but laugh at Anna‘s insults, she sounded so petty - he wondered if she realised. He glanced over his shoulder at Indie again, giving him a smile, but at the same time trying to judge how close the redhead was to snapping and joining in again with an angry tirade.

“He can be an ass. And so can I. But we’ve been here countless times before and he had no idea where you lived so was obviously surprised at your anger at us being here,” Indie said, before his voice took on a slightly more biting tone and his cold eyes focused solely on his fledgling.

“Anna, you hold no claim over this land, like they held none over yours when they forced you out. Other than his initial annoyance at being snapped at for his choice of where to spend time, what did he do wrong? Why does he deserve your anger and scorn? After all, he’s not quite as fucked up as I am yet.”

[Saccharin]

When William laughed at her, she quickly discovered she had the ability to be even more furious. To add salt to the wound, he\'d included Indie, looking back at him and making sure he brought attention to her humiliation. Like she\'d taken a bite from a sour green apple, her lips twisted and her eyes narrowed.

Through the red haze that\'d formed in her mind, she caught only snippets of William\'s words, and the few she picked out were the ones about how she didn\'t have any right to the land they stood on. True, she couldn\'t own it - no one could - but she protected and guarded those that lived there (few that they were) within the area she claimed as her territory.

What finally doused her anger was the realization that she was behaving the same way she had when she\'d lived on the outskirts of the reservation. Every vampire that\'d ventured near her people had been disposed of, and on an instinctual level she was trying to do the same to Indie. Her hands relaxed and she blinked before looking down at the ground, her eyes fixating on her toes.

"I\'m not used to this," she said quietly. Not anymore. Once, long ago, she\'d been at home with the hundreds of people that made up her clan, but she\'d become a different creature after having spent nearly two centuries in seclusion.

She looked up at William, the angular contours of her face reflecting the defeat she felt. "Maybe we could start over?" she offered tentatively. The words had tasted foul in her mouth before she said them, but they\'d needed to be said.