Is that you, old friend? PV Kaegen Deathmote Finished

He was on his way to get food, on his way to find some way to satisfy the pain, the hunger. Recently, he had begun to notice that the natural, human hunger could be just as strong as the vampiric hunger. But he was used to suppressing that hunger, used to waiting for danger to pass. And it didn't take long for him to notice that danger, this time in the form of a black haired girl that smelled almost familiar, but not quite.

He reacted as he usually did, in those times. He froze like a deer in the headlights, and waited for them to pass. They always walked right by, as though he was invisible. He was, in a way, invisible, because he wasn't relevant to them. He didn't fit in to their realities, their perceptions of everything, and therefore he simply wasn't real to them. But this time, it didn't work. He wished himself smaller, wished himself out of existence, wished away his presence so hard it hurt as the footsteps kept getting closer, as the smell kept getting stronger.

He knew all was lost when he heard his name. If she knew his name, then she knew who he was, what he was. It was hard not to know, hard to not be painfully aware of the monster of hogwarts' halls. Sure, some may not have known his real name, but the fact that there was a monster was common knowledge. And usually, those that knew his name also knew the other stories. The far bloodier stories, the stories that still stain the grout of the abandoned bathrooms.

But she was smiling, for some reason. Bloodlust, rage, uncontrollable glee at finally getting the chance at revenge? His suspicions were confirmed when the girl moved towards him quickly, arms outstretched. Kaegen would duck down, and leap back with a sharp, audible hiss escaping his lips. The sound didn't even really make sense, coming from a boy. It should have come from a spooked snake, from some kind of creature.

His left foot slid back for support, as his hair almost visibly blasted away from his eyes. Their usual stormy blue-grey evaporated, shining red circles around his pupils giving off the appearance of twin eclipses. The temperature and light in the courtyard dropped almost as one, as the little boy, this wilting child's shadow began to thrash around as though possessed. An almost tangible wall of hatred would slam against the girl in front of him like a truck full of bricks, his first line of defense, his castle of avarice.

This was not the sweet little boy from so long ago, this was a husk, it was a husk full of bile, loneliness, bitter hatred and hunger. It had been stripped of humanity time and time again, it had been fought, forced to play along with mind games until it could take no more and then forgotten. Kaegen's pain had become a weapon that he was able to wield like a mace. And wield it he did, using it to push people as far away as he possibly could.

But those glowing eyes weren't blind, and they could absolutely see the obvious. And the obvious, in this case, was the girl's complete lack of fear. No goosebumps, no sweat, no quickened heart rate. It seemed as though she genuinely wasn't phased. And so, just as quickly as it had appeared, his walls retreated. The light returned, the shadows calmed, his eyes dimmed, the red vanishing behind blue-grey clouds. The pulsating wave returned to it's shell, and the boy took another step back. Did he remember her? What?

"N- You."

A spidery arm vanished into his robe, obviously to retrieve something as he tried to collect his thoughts. It had been so long, was he even ready to fight? Could he win? No, he should probably run, should probably escape to the darkness, escape to his home.

"Take a step closer and- who- why did you choose to see me."

His glazed eyes were sharpened with a wild fear. His questions boiling in his skull, ready to explode. But her smell wasn't a bad one. There was a neutral memory associated with it. Maybe a good one, even? No, that was pushing it. But it wasn't negative. He would react to her next move, and follow through from there.

@Kaegen Deathmote

A sudden hiss from the other brought Falentra to a halt. With raised brows, she looked him up and down once before scrunching up her brows to a questioning look. ''Uh. Kae? It's me, Falentra. You o-..'' She stopped herself from asking if he was okay. Of course he wasn't. All she had to do was look at him, let alone the actions he was giving her. With the hiss he gave her, and that dodge... he mustn't of remembered. A faint sigh left her parted lips before she raised her hands up in defeat. He was reaching within his cloak after all. If it was for that damn slingshot she had heard about him using in the past, things were to get out of hand- at least she would try her best not to let that happen. They ended on good terms, despite him not remembering that, she wanted to make sure it stayed that way. ''Ey, I ain't gonna do nothin', ya 'narna.'' She joked with him though quickly gave her hands a wave in a joking manner, seeming as he still had his guard up with her she best to keep her choice of words short and sweet.

Rather than moving any closer to the boy, she instead leant back against a nearby slab of stone. She was still facing him but decided to respect his personal space seeing how she had now become a stranger to him. ''Ahh. As if you don't remember us. It's been awhile I suppose. Just thought.'' She paused for a moment and sat herself back onto the stone, her eyes still fixated on him. He really had changed a lot. Something other than his appearance seemed...different. ''I dunno. Just thought you'd have remembered, I guess.' Her fingers would tap along the stone edges as she thought of a way to jog his memory. '' Oh. 'member that time when we met on the outskirts of The Forbidden Forest? And you built me that sign?'' A smile crept its way onto her lips as she thought back to the memory. Her dark brown hues would wander behind for a split second in the direction of where the forbidden forest would be. Though they soon focused themselves back on him to see if anything was coming back yet. Whether it did or not would not stop her from continuing to ramble. ''This place claimed by Fallen Tree, is what you craved into it with those nails of yours. Was kinda sweet I guess.'' It was all she had, but it was one of the few happy memories she had from back then. So she could only hope it brought something of her back to him.

Abilities: Fearless

An introduction, and a name. Falentra meant nothing to him, empty sounds to rattle around in a can when he got bored. He might not have recognized her, but she knew of him, a situation he was all too familiar with. That one-way knowing, the one sided remembrance. It didn't bother him like it used to, it was just the state of things. The little people knew the monster, but the monster had no need or desire to remember the people. He watched enough to know how often his name was tossed around, fear or anger coloring the tones of the flitting gossip.

He could hear the are you okay coming, but it stopped short. Pity, then, curbed by common sense. Why would you need to ask a monster if it was okay, would you check in on the prey that you've cornered before ending it? No, you wouldn't, and Kaegen was very much the prey here. He had been approached, pinned down, discovered. He was being pulled into a reality that he wanted no part in, he had left it, escaped to the space inbetween, and now he was nearly back. Infuriating and terrifying in equal measure.

Statements and declarations were unwritten pacts. It was obvious what was meant, it was obvious that the promise came along with the statement. A promise binding the very integrity of a soul to their choice of words. To say that you weren't going to do anything 'you narna' was a statement beyond the bold. It spoke volumes to the little ravenclaw, in a cacophony of voices, the loudest of which was actively crying out in protest. A lie, a falsehood, a trick and a snare.

"..."

His mouth opened, but nothing came out. He would not snarl like the frightened dog, it wasn't part of who he was. The perfect predator simply struck. The perfect prey simply ran. words were for something inbetween, conversations designed for those on equal footing. He was in no position to threaten, he had to look for a way out. She was still calm, nonchalant, unphased. That a reaction that brought forth nothing but dread in his frozen little heart. She hadn't noticed, reacted, felt his hatred. She acted as though they had met before, but it had been so long since he had spoken with anyone. And he knew the safe eyes, he knew the eyes that made him more confident, made him feel like he was going to pull through.

The eyes of fear, of revolt, disgust and repulsion. A gaze that spelled out clearly what words could only hope to convey. He knew how humans reacted to his presence, and used that knowledge to his advantage. Right now, he could tell that this girl could probably take him. He could tell that this girl was dangerous, he could tell that she was much more than she seemed. He had lived in fear so long it had become his tool. The garden of thorns that had been his home for so long lending him some of its thorns. But on her, his thorns wilted. And nothing was worse than not being able to touch back, not being able to fight, not being able to win.

Thoughts of flight, however, were momentarily halted by the girl's body language. She leaned back, and then sat down. He could escape, if she tried to bold upright. She had given him the advantage voluntarily, very clearly stating that she was confident in her ability to kill him even so. Or that she is telling the truth.

But what she was saying sounded so much like a lie. Build a sign? Why? Him? No. She had been rooted out, discovered, exposed for the fake she was. Why would he do something for someone else in the first place, that was silly, a fabrication so lazy you would think that she came up with it on the spot. Or crazy enough to be true.

A memory began to flicker. A page in his book, maybe? A name, a sketch, a fallen tree? That sounded familiar, it sounded like a paper-memory, something he could look and find. But he couldn't not now, not with her watching him. It wasn't worth it, he would run and escape, go back to hiding and hang his hunger. He would leave. Now. ...unless.

@Kaegen Deathmote

The Slytherin was sat here, watching him from afar with what would seem to be judging eyes. They weren't. She was still trying to read him. The only thing she got was that his mind was overworking, but what about? Her eyes squinted slightly as he opened his mouth, though no words followed. A bit strange, but, Falentra could relate to that. Having nothing to say yet inside your mind is overthinking every single thing it could. So, rather than throwing a question his way, she simply remained silent and decided to shift her gaze over to the apple she dropped earlier. Hmm, she wished she had it now. Would have gave her something to munch on whilst she waited through the awkward silence.

While she wasn't paying attention to him, she'd have missed out the further emotions he was showing. Maybe they would have been a signal for her to just leave. Her words were obviously not getting through to him, or were they? Was he just fighting the truth? Again, she could relate to that if he was to have opened up a bit more but that was a lot easier said than done which was exactly why she gave him the space and hadn't given up just yet.

A single word had left his mouth which caused her head to shoot up. What did he say? She hadn't been paying attention like she should have. ''What was that?'' She asked again. She was sure he said blood...maybe? Or was it bleed? ''You say, 'bleed'?'' She questioned before he could have repeated himself. She hoped not. What did he mean by that? That he wanted to fight her, or to taste her? Because if he wanted a bite, she would have stood her ground and fought back without a doubt. Friend or not.

She didn't want it to come to this. She may of been fearless, but she wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to try and come across confident and attempt to show off, but rather try again with words. Falentra wasn't great with them, but she couldn't help but feel the need to try for him. A bully and cold-hearted was how many saw her, and whilst that was true, she also had a side that was caring to those who earnt it.

Kaegen and Falentra weren't necessarily close in the beginning, but he showed her kindness with his actions and now she wanted to show him her rarer, untouched side. ''Listen to me. I know... I know you aren't all there right now-'' She paused and thought to how she just worded that. A poor choice, but then again when did she ever word things smoothly? ''I mean- I didn't mean you aren't all there but.... What I'm sayin' is I know the Kaegen I remember is listening...somewhere. You just fightin' it.'' After that, she'd have zipped her mouth shut before anything else came out wrong. He had just, what she thought, hinted a warning to attack her and here was her stubborn ass still trying to get through to the new version of Kae. She only hoped this wasn't going to end with blood.

Abilities: Fearless

Oh this was not going to fly. He could feel the storm inside of him bubbling again, threatening to burst forth regardless of how ineffective it was the first time. Was she just going to pretend she didn't hear him? Act as though she didn't understand? His eyes, not so long ago glazed with listless vacancy, were now sharpened, the grey-blue within them almost visibly shifting, as though captured storm clouds were roiling in discomfort.

He was prey, here, but he was also Kaegen Deathmote. He was going to survive because he had decided that he would. His fear was so very tired, it had struggled and struggled and was about to give up. That fear helped keep him in check, it was that fear that had brought him this far. But fear can only last so long, and 3 years of fear took its toll. Falentra was opening herself, showing this little monster her vulnerability, trying to forge a connection. But Kaegen had forgotten vulnerability, he didn't even think to look for it, he wouldn't recognize it even if he did.

Indignation only grew, with the girls next words. A plea for sanity, a call for some calmer self? No, that calmer self was earned, that calmer self was situational. No one got the benefit of the doubt, that was imbecilic, assinine, wrong. The page was still flickering around in his memory, calling him to check, to see, to remember, but it didn't have priority. His anger did, the voice that called to him, screamed for action. He wasn't being taken seriously, this was so very clearly a trick, a trap or deception. She knew exactly what he had said, and she knew exactly what it had meant. There were no two ways about it, this would go as his other encounters had.

Kaegen didn't respond, didn't say a word, just stood there, with one sleeve empty, and one hand by his side, a stoically defiant corpse brimming with enough wrath to cause his shadow to tremble. It was only after a heavy few seconds that a blade came sliding across the floor to falentra's feet. It was a small carving knife, probably pilfered from the great hall at some point or another, but it was sharp, and it was obviously deadly.

Sliding one foot back, away from the girl, Kaegen angled his body just enough to provide less of a target, and crouched just enough to coil his legs under him. He was ready, he was more than ready, the girl in front of him had one move, one play to make, one more action before he would react. He had waited enough, and he would not be patronized, or looked down upon. What was what?nonsense. He knew she had heard him. The kaegen I know is listening somewhere. No. That kaegen was hidden, protected, changed. Words did not earn a listening ear, hollow promises didn't open locks.

@Kaegen Deathmote

We on a roOooll~

The sound of what she thought was metal scrapping along the cobbled stone ground was what she heard next. Her eyes followed the spinning object that stopped against her feet. They just remained there, staring, not really knowing what to do or think about it. Was she to pick it up or was that a sign to him that she wanted to fight? Part of her felt that she needed to have it in her grasp so then at least, if he was to attack her she would be ready. Kind of. A frown soon followed and rested uneasily on her face, finally coming to terms that words really were useless to him.

The Slytherin slowly lifted her head and opened her mouth, as though to say something. Very much how Kaegen had minutes before. She wanted to plead to him that she meant not harm but it would seem that to him, even words were a threat no matter how well she would put it across.

She studied the stance he got himself into, as though he was ready to pounce or charge at her. There was no choice but for her to pick up the knife he had passed to her. She felt he was going to go for her at any given minute. A wand would work wonders but with such a close range between the pair, there was no chance she would be able to draw it in time and that wasn't even including whether she'd hit him or preform it correctly. It was too risky.

Slowly, the girl would lower herself, her eyes still on the Dhampir before her. Her fingers brushed along the ground, feeling for the piece. A quick grasp would form around it as she straightened herself up as quick as she could. She wanted to follow up with telling him that she didn't plan on using it, or making the first move at least. If he was going to attack then she was going to wait for it. Fearless or not, this situation had her on edge a bit but it was mostly down to not being able to read the boy at all.

The best thing to do right now, or the wisest was to just turn around and walk away from it all. But Falentra couldn't do that. It wasn't in her nature to run from things, no matter how dangerous or scary they may have seemed. Since words were no longer any use, she would resolve to actions and if fighting meant being a way to get to him then so be it.
Her hand holding the weapon would stay by her side, a sign, the only sign she could really let off that she didn't intend to aim it his way unless he made a move to her. Her eyes had not left Kae since, not even a blink. Just a now slight-cold stare awaiting his next move.

Abilities: Fearless

ON A ROLL HOURS

The anger dissipated quickly. His emotions weren't exactly stable, or dependable, they made no sense, not even to him, but they did help keep him going. An unstable power supply was better than no power supply, and as hard as it was to maintain, that power supply was also one of his strongest weapons. A weapon that had failed, deflecting off of whatever stealthy shield kept this girl from feeling the fear he knew she should.

If there was one thing about people that Kaegen was very aware of, it was the difference between outcasts, monsters, and people. Outcasts were close to people and monsters, outcasts could sometimes be understood, their reality was close enough to Kaegen's own that he felt that there could be at bare minimum some kind of collaboration. Monsters included himself, and a few others. Monsters died quickly, if they weren't careful, so it made sense that their numbers were rather small. People made up the rest of the population, they were the everybodies, the friend-havers, the judgers, the cover and the escape route for those devious enough to know how to exploit them.

It could be claimed that people were weak, and indeed, most were, but there were a few, Kaegen noticed, that acted like protectors, shields to the flock. This was probably one of them, this girl, not perhaps consciously, but that was the role she almost certainly played. Something Kaegen found especially convenient about this system was how well it displayed to him what people thought of him. This girl thought him a monster, she was scared, and she was wary, and she was nervous. And if those were somehow not the case, held at bay by some kind of insane training or power-difference, she would at least be feeling disgust. He knew the feeling of being looked at with disgust all too well, it had been burned into his mind ever since he had seen it in the eyes of the only soul that had ever laid claim to the title of friend.

But he couldn't be sure, and that memory had been so near the surface of his mind. A memory of a person on a page that sent doubts like shockwaves throughout his limbs. The only option available to the boy at that point was to test, to undoubtedly check to see exactly where the girl, this shield of the people's head was.

The test was unfair. It had been vague, nonsensical, and the premise would have been flagged by twitter's fact check bots for unhealthy amounts of ludicrosity. But it was his test, and she had failed. It was like a bubble being burst, tension being released, crossroads being melded back into one highway. His crouching stance relaxed, some of the sharp edge vanished from his eyes, and the angry clouds stopped moving, returning to a dormant, dull grey.



Well, maybe she could. She probably could. But he was going to survive. Unless he didn't.

It was the voice of exhaustion, the voice of defeat that rung up within kae's mind and took control. There was nothing left here, she wasn't going to attack, not with that stance, not with that knife. The blade would snap if she tried, he knew, he'd filed the tang. She clearly had come for something else, but Kaegen was too tired to deal with it, too tired to be judged, too tired to be reminded of who he was. Too tired to see the disgust he knew was there, too tired to be infuriated at that fact. If she made a move, he would be ready, his adrenaline hadn't simply left.

But for this moment, at least, it was beneath the surface.

@Kaegen Deathmote

The sudden change of approach made the atmosphere alter, as well as her view on this whole...thing. Had he just....what? She was so confused that she didn't even know how to process it, or what to say. The index finger that partly held the knife tapped in annoyance, irritation. Was this all a test to see how she would react. Did he actually remember her? She had no clue and it frustrated her. Not to mention the 'are you done' like she had created these mind games. No, she wasn't having that. ''Huh? What you say? Am I done?'' A scoff left her mouth and followed by shaking her head in disbelief. ''Is this some joke to you Kaegen?'' Falentra had opened up a side she struggled to show and was always weary of letting people see. So now she had no other choice than to shut off and put on her usual cold front.

She would pass the knife back his way, her way of saying she was done with all of this. But rather than sliding it across the ground like he had, she would have flung it off to his side to purposely try and get some damn reaction out of the morbid look he held throughout their whole encounter. ''Fuck off if your gonna mess with me like that.'' Her tone had quickly switched. Her attempt at being nice was replaced with a cold shoulder and a foul mouth. ''I ain't got time for it. Come talk when you are ready.'' She added before turning her back to walk off from him. ''Oh.'' She stopped momentarily and turned her frame to the side so her gaze was able to focus back on him. ''And don't say I can't kill you. You aren't the only one who has changed, you know. You don't know a damn thing about what I'm capable of doin'.'' It wasn't necessarily a threat, but at the same time it was. She wasn't just going to leave without defending herself. The huge change in how she was coming off probably caught him off guard, this time. A taste of his own medicine might do him good.
Now, she had said what she needed to and planned to make a leave before her temper got the better of her and spat more words his way. fightmeifudare

Abilities: Fearless

He didn't react to her confirming what he said. So apparently, yes, she was just that dense. Had to repeat everything he said. He didn't have the energy to deal with this, with her. He had been pinned, before, had felt trapped. But how he simply felt vaguely disappointed. In himself, maybe? But his test had made sense. If she truly saw him as something other than a monster, if they really had met before, and she saw him as a person, then she would have cut herself. She would have bled, and she would have trusted him to not go crazy.

She hadn't, though. She was scared, wary, nervous. Had held the knife close, had been preparing to defend herself should he attack. He knew that stance, he knew what it meant. She hadn't been wanting to come across as aggressive, hadn't wanted to prompt anything, but she was wary, she was expecting an attack. Someone who knew him, and someone who he knew, someone who he would have made a sign for? They would have trusted him, they would have shown him that they saw something good. He had no time to be seen as a monster.

If you were a monster, it was only a matter of time before you were betrayed, before you were found out, before you were hunted. And even your friends looked at your face with nothing but revulsion in their gaze. He knew what that look meant, he hated what that meant. She had been trying to get close to him, he could accept that. But in her mind he knew what she had been trying to get close to. She had been approaching a monster, she had been trying to tame a beast, not a boy.

So he didn't react, didn't care, didn't flinch. He didn't respond when she asked if it was a joke to him, didn't react when her demeanor grew cold. More proof, to him, further evidence that this was what she was like the whole time. She had failed her mission, and had no more need to lie to him, and was making that fact painfully apparent. Painful, maybe that was the word. He had almost remembered something, he had almost been willing to accept that he may have had good in his past. He had just wanted to make sure, and the truth of it all...
Yes. Painful.

But he didn't show that pain, couldn't allow himself to, didn't even know how. His eyes just grew more glazed, unemotional, uncaring, dense. The eyes of a dead fish, of a few lifeless stones placed into a modelled clay head.

When the knife hit the ground, the blade snapped cleanly off. It clearly hadn't been made for combat, the blade was sharp but it was nigh useless now, and Kaegen didn't bother to pick it up. She told him to fuck off as if he'd been the one to rush over to her, lie to her, think she was the monster. No, he was the monster, all right. But there was always a little piece of him that wondered if he was that way to everybody. Maybe not everybody, but definitely to her.

Before she left, she turned, and barked. Barked like a dog, hissed like a frightened cat. If there was anything that utterly failed to impress the boy, it was empty threats, hollow words, scaffolding that promised future pain, but no real material to craft that with. Don't know what I'm capable of? As if anyone did? As if anyone really knew what someone else was capable of? What was that, some weak defense to save a faltering ego? No, he may not have known what she was capable of, personally, but he did know the kinds of things she could do, he did have a general idea of what she was capable of. Because of course he did. She wasn't special, she was predictable, easy to read, easy to outplay. He had thwarted her plans, seen through her lies, exposed her intentions and then watched her walk off all without having to do or say very much at all.

As much as he looked down on snack talk without foundation, he couldn't simply say nothing. So he said one word, obnoxiously devoid of any emotion, any iota of something that would indicate he cared. And as he said it, he, too, turned, and slowly walked away, along the wall, the same way he had arrived.