⤐ alley.

@❛ chanyeol park ᶜˡᵃᵘᵈᵉ ᵖᵘʳᵉˡˡᵉ "I know you can, Chanyeol. I just worry, you know? You're all I have right now." Seonghwa whispered softly, fingers curling around Chanyeol's wrist to pull the cigarette back towards him. He didn't take it from his fingers, simply wrapping his lips around the filter and inhaling before pulling back to let out a long, slow cloud of smoke going upwards.

He hummed quietly and looked over Chanyeol's form before grinning widely, shrugging both shoulders as he squeezed his waist with the one hand. Seonghwa stepped back and let go of Chanyeol entirely, his lips. "Guess we're doing both, if you can handle the pain."

@❛ siyeon lee ᵏⁿᶦᵍʰᵗ the grunt emitted from the vampire as he felt sharp, pin-like nails digging into his cheek and chin resonates in the night air around them, his brows furrowing. the action may have been perceived as violent to anyone else, but he didn’t mind. he was quick to tag along, allowing her to lead him into the deserted alleyway.

“Not particularly,” he murmurs, although that was not entirely the case. in a way, he /did/, though that clearly had no place in the interaction at hand, he didn’t bother clarifying. “But perhaps you would prefer me that way, as I do tend to get a little... out of control when given the freedom to do so.”

@❛ seonghwa park The other’s word had Chanyeol rolling his eyes, a chuckle slipping past slightly chapped, cold-bitten lips. With a shake of his head he watched the other light a cigarette, his head cocking to the side as his eyes narrowed at the sudden flicker of fire, their joined shadows dancing across bricks and rusty metal. Seonghwa smelled like sanitizer and ink, the burn of the smoke tickling the back of Chanyeol’s throat to mix together with the other aromas when the other stepped closer, their gazes locking.

“I had the exact same thought.” He shrugged, looking back up at the gloomy night sky. But staying out was no option either, what with the Death Dealers roaming the streets and starting random fires.
“And what am I supposed with your last weed, hm? You know very well I don’t fancy drugs too much.”

His muscles jumped and tensed when the taste of tobacco invaded his senses, the blue smoke curling at the edge of his vision as a hand s across his waist, a firm but slender hand warm through the denim of his jacket and the thin layer of his cotton shirt underneath, the touch seeping like liquid nicotine into his skin. “Well” he drawled, bending down just a little to meet Seonghwa’s imploring gaze, tongue flicking out across his lips to wet them, tasting blood from where the skin was raw and open. The pause grew longer when Chanyeol’s hand took hold of Seonghwa’s wrist, the pads of his calloused fingers digging into the tender spot of the other lycan’s pulse.
“I’d say you’d be allowed to touch me without those rubber gloves… right about…”

Nimble fingers plucked the cigarette from between his friend’s digits, quickly to be tucked into the corner of his own mouth as he took a drag, exhaling around a mischievous grin.
“When you stop making it seem as if I can’t handle myself, Hwa.” He finished the sentence, blowing a cloud of blue and white poison at Seonghwa, still grinning. “And to answer your other question…”
He nodded over to the backdoor of the shop, one hand patting his own chest right above his heart.
“I’d like to get the raven finished. Or my upper arm. Depends on how quickly you want to get rid of me again.”

@❛ chanyeol park It wasn't as if Seonghwa was planning anything else, but as the last of his artists left the shop, he flipped the closed sign and locked the door before slipping out back into the secluded alley to wait for his friend. He hadn't packed away his things yet, letting his space stay a little bit of a mess as he had a /special/ type of appointment later.

"Well, I'm already giving you a free tattoo, so I guess I'll bet the last of my weed." Seonghwa remarked quietly as he slipped his lighter and cigarette pack out of his pocket so he could light one up. He put the pack and lighter away as he took a long drag of his cigarette, pushing his sunglasses up onto his head and blinking up at Chanyeol with pale yellow eyes that only seemed lighter under the gleam of the moonlight. "Maybe I shouldn't go back home tonight then; there's no need to smell the other lycans tonight if the weather's going to get that bad."

He chuckled softly and pushed off of the wall, tilting his head up and stepping closer to Chanyeol with a smirk on his pink lips. Seonghwa brings his free, tattooed hand up to gently hold onto Chanyeol's waist, skin tingling in the anticipation of getting his hands on the taller male's bare skin so he could add to the canvas that was his body. "What do you have for me to do this time, Yeol? You know I just /love/ getting to add to all the art on that delicious body of yours, mm? When will you let me touch you without those black gloves?"

@❛ jacob kiszka As the male stepped closer to her, Siyeon lifted her chin to look slightly up at him, smirking slightly with her hands at her sides. As soon as he was finished speaking, her hand flew up to grab him by the chin, longer nails digging into his cheek as she narrowed her eyes and looked over his face with a raised eyebrow. After a moment, she hummed to herself and let go, stepping aside towards the alleyway while her lips.

"Excite me that you were on a leash, you ask? It might have, but I don't think you are the type of person to wear a leash, not are you?" Siyeon purred quietly, lips curling upwards into a small smirk before she turned around fully and stepped into the alleyway.

@❛ seonghwa park The world had reverted to hues of blue and shadows of gray fog, a painting created with nothing but the colors of a storm, a moonless night and the steam curling up from the sewers. The beginning of a dreary night, indeed. It reminded him of the black and white movies his parents used to watch together, old horror flicks with heroes of gray and white and dramatic shadows. And horribly cheesy monsters, with even cheesier sound effects. That world seemed desirable to Chanyeol, all of a sudden. The little bit of warmth that was still lingering so shortly after sunset made his skin sticky with the abrupt cold and the beginning of frost, biting away at the tender skin of his nose and cheeks, as he made his way down the street, eyes peeled for the familiar features of the only person Chanyeol would call a friend. These days, people were nothing but comrades in a forgotten, already lost war- a war Chanyeol had never asked for and yet was caught in the middle of, part of the pack that he was after all.

Somewhere to his left someone was blasting old 80’s rock songs from an open window, a baby crying in the background, the flickering of static light illuminating the sidewalk below the balcony, casting Chanyeol’s shadow across the street as a bizarre, twisted version of himself.
Funny, the tall lycan thought with a wry little smile tugging at the corners of his slightly chapped lips. If one would take a closer look, perhaps they’d be able to see his monstrous form, hiding down there on the wet pavement, tucked away into the corners of his shadow. Shaking his head, he chased the thought into maelstrom that was his mind, his teeth grinding.

Thoughts like these were dangerous. And endless abyss that was always ready to devour him whole, atomize his bones until Chanyeol was nothing but dust in the clogs of the ever-turning clock.
They were the reason he had texted Seonghwa earlier, practically begging the other lycan to make an exception and open the shop late. Just for Chanyeol. For the sick, cynical thoughts eating away at this insides as if the giant creature sleeping inside his chest was slowly picking apart his humanity.
Call it superstition, or maybe even masochism, but the grind of the needle beneath his skin, the skin of his bones and the burn of ink as yet another traditional tattoo took form across his body, were the only things able to take his mind away from darker places these days. As if they were putting the beast to sleep, draining excess energy that threatened to spill over until Chanyeol would quite literally burst out of his own body.

It didn’t take long for him to spot Seonghwa at the entrance of an alleyway, their usual meeting spot whenever Chanyeol felt restless enough to bother the other, bugging and begging until Seonghwa would cave and give in to his borderline self-destructive tendencies. Well, Chanyeol thought as he lifted his hand to give his friend a short wave, there were definitely much more damaging ways to scratching that itch.

“Hey mate.” He greeted as soon as he stepped up to Seonghwa’s side, folding himself into the shadows of the tall buildings framing the alley. “I wasn’t sure if you’d show up. ty weather isn’t it?”
Casting a glance up the sky, he grimaced: “Might rain later on. How much should we bet on the Full Moon District smelling like rancid trash later, eh?”

@❛ siyeon lee ᵏⁿᶦᵍʰᵗ the outer corner of his brow twitches ever slightly at her threat, but it only interests him further. “I never assumed anything of the sort, as a matter of fact,” he starts, voice level as he takes a couple more slow yet long strides in her direction. “And say I had thought that, you would no longer interest me. For I am not all but enamored by the thought of a woman unable to care for herself.”

he’s close enough, now, that when she turns under the street lamp, he’s able to get a closer look at her countenance. beautiful, as expected, but something else lurked behind the mask, as if she had plenty of secrets. well, so did he. the modern saying is one that Jake never quite liked, though spilling from her lips sounded raunchy, crude, and he was hooked. what other foul things would she say to him? how would she say them, a breathless moan in his ear, perhaps? “Only if they interest me,” he admits, calmly closing the space between them until his feet are mere inches from hers. “That was the idea, actually. I /wanted/ you to know I was watching you.” for the first time in a while, his lips threaten to curl into a smirk, though it’s one that conceals the demons within. “But you already knew that, and you continued to pull me along behind you, as if I were leashed to you. Did it /excite/ you?”

@❛ jacob kiszka Still not having fully turned around to greet the man behind her, Siyeon smirked slightly and raised an eyebrow to herself, silently mourning the state of her dress as she knew what was coming. "You assume that I am a damsel in distress. Sorry love, but I can bite back just as hard."

She allowed herself to step into the light of the streetlamp before the alleyway before turning around to face the male, arms crossing over her chest and pointy acrylics tapping against the lace sleeves of her dress as she lifted her chin in almost a challenge. "Tell me, do you normally stalk young women in the middle of the night in the hope you'll get your wet? If so, you should try being a little more subtle. I could tell you've been following me since I stepped out of my workplace."

@❛ siyeon lee ᵏⁿᶦᵍʰᵗ even though she was speaking in such a soft tone, the words seemed so loud to the vampire they echo, to which he wastes no time in answering. his footsteps halting only when hers do, his head tilts, looking her over as if in an attempt to read her body language. there was something there, but he couldn’t place exactly what. “Lurking? Have you not stopped to ponder the possibility that my direction may lay in the same direction as your own?” he muses, though his tone mirrored his countenance, flat, unreadable. only the fire in his eyes told the tale of his hunger.

pulling his hands free from the confines of the leather he takes a few, slow steps forward. “However, you don’t seem the type to fall for that cliche excuse. Tell me, why didn’t you stop to ask this blocks before? I know that you sensed me back there. What if I am some sadistic murderer?”

@❛ jacob kiszka It didn't take an expert to figure out that she was being followed—in fact, if Siyeon had been told that the man behind her was trying to be stealthy? She'd take herself out laughing so hard.

However, she kept her back straight and her head high as she made her way down the sidewalk, letting the street lamps guide her way as it was a new moon that evening. She wouldn't say /no/ to the idea of getting pushed up a wall, not having been with anybody since before she had killed her lover during her first shift almost fourteen hundred years ago, but climbing up the ranks of lycans and taking care of her funeral home had been more important than relations with any too pretty man who looked like he couldn't last longer than five minutes (and if she had a specific face in her mind at the thought of that disappointment, she wouldn't admit it).

Once she reached the mouth of an alleyway that was far enough away from her funeral home, Siyeon stopped for a moment to pretend to search her bag, humming quietly to herself. "Are you going to keep lurking behind me, or are you going to come forward like a man and tell me what you want?"

@❛ siyeon lee ᵏⁿᶦᵍʰᵗ perhaps it was fate that had brought him to this moment, hands shoved into the depths of the pockets on his leather coat as he trailed her, his eyes never once leaving her figure. there were two things he knew to be certainties: she knew he was following her for he was not caring to be secretive in the matter, and she hadn’t stopped him yet for whatever reason.

he was still recovering from the last few days, and thus still a little sore, inside and out, but it was his frustration that overwhelmed his better judgement tonight. the need to release some seriously pent up rage in the most base way possible, the only way he knew how without going on a murderous spree. for such a thing, he couldn’t stay in the manor, for ing a vampire with thousands of years to master the art was too monotonous, too predictable. he wanted to be excited, to be surprised, and he wanted her to feel the same. the shock of his grip around , or the power behind his s, he wanted everything to be /fresh/.

he wasn’t even sure if she would be willing, but he could practically feel her frustrations emanating from her body like a heat wave, even from the two-pace distance he kept from her. her back had been to him for the majority of the walk, so he could only admire her from behind, but one thing he found peculiar was her attire, as if she’d stepped out of some Victorian novel. he wouldn’t mind the sound of that fabric ripping against his vice, he pondered the thought, being none too subtle as he tailed her. a bold predator stalking his prey, though he was quite sure if she turned around this moment and told him to leave her alone, he would do so without so much as another look in her direction.

@❛ sangbi lee “If my eyes were plucked out and my ears severed
from my body, I would always feel when you’re near, Sangbi.” he wasn’t supposed to be there, not really. if the other Death Dealers found out that he’d not been scouting, as was his initial purpose, he would be brought before the council and punished. a reoccurring theme for the vampire. still, the elders were never in the mood for mercy. he ponders leaving right then and there, but the devilish and enticing ring of her voice and the visage of those carmine eyes slight in the darkness is enough to keep him firmly planted. resting his forearm on his bent knee, his head raises to see her, though he longed for more than just the sliver of her form that was visible. why did she taunt him so? he’d always been fiercely loyal to his sire, no matter how much it’d cost him. her question is almost laughable, /almost/. he doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t allow his expression to change at all. forgive his eyes, that glow faint, and call out for her.

“You know why.” he murmurs, though it is barely audible over the elements: the engines of passing cars, the gusts of wind, he knows she hears him. his figure shifts, raising to his feet, and as if in a trance, he steps towards her. a puppeteer pulling at his strings, he does so without thinking twice. “Your absence in my life continues to torment me. I feel... Starved.”

@❛ jacob kiszka It's the whisper in the air; the soft cadence of a song unheard by anyone but her. That electrifying feeling that sends her blood into over-drive and the soft hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She revels in this feeling the most... when her wards come home. Freedom is all but given in her hands, allowing them to wander the Earth like mindless drones for however long their little hearts desired. But she knew the consequences of them staying away too long -- madness. They would be driven insane with an insatiable need, an itch that would never be able to be scratch. That mind numbing sensation that drove them up the walls and back into her arms; that is the only place where they would find comfort. She was ecstasy and they were her little druggies. But this one... oh, this one in particular loved the chase. Loved coming and going as he so pleased. She could read his every move like the back of her hand, silently allowing him the pleasure of thinking he had one-upped her. Bless his damned soul... he was so cute when he thought he would win this time around. Alas, fate would resign him to her arms once more, seeking solace from the cotton that filled his head. Right on the brink of insanity he would find himself nestled against her bosom, taking in her spellbinding presence just to be off once more. She did not mind. She had him tethered like a dog; unmuzzled but marked for the rest of his life.

Even in the dark whispers of the shadows of the alleyway he knew she was there. An echo of mellifluent laughter filled the confines of the alley, bouncing off the walls and reverberating into soft lullaby's. "Even in the dark you feel me," she cooed softly, her silkened voice like poisoned honey as two glowing eyes greeted the kneeling male. Clad in leather and looking much stronger as the years passed by, she took him in. "And to what do I owe such an honour for my little Death Dealer to come pay me a visit?" Her voice is teasing, condescending. She knows why he is here and yet she provokes him with the sweetness of her voice, luring him deeper into the shadows as she stares him down from her concealed spot. Her eyes glow crimson in the darkness and the ruby orbs hold more secrets than her lips would ever be able to tell.

@❛ sangbi lee the night air was crisp enough to nip at the exposed flesh of the humans who pass by the alley, though has no effect on the immortal hiding in the shadows. he can hear each heart pounding, feel their body heat wisp around him like fiery spirals as they flee. the moon hangs high in the sky, a pale guardian of the night, a lot like the death dealer who stands beneath it. with the crown of his head pressed against the rough surface of the brick building, tawny eyes turned up to the starless sky, clouds ambushing the sentinel and swallowing her light. he knows /she’s/ here, his blood tied to hers, he seems to always sense when Sangbi is near. then again, it’s clear that he’s come in search of her. that familiar yearning gnawing at the back of his mind for her, regardless of what tortures lie in store for him.

using leather-clad shoulders, the armed vampire pushes himself off of the wall, turning to face the depths of the alley, bathed in shadows that hold more nightmares than any mortal would dare to imagine. he doesn’t know what he could say that she didn’t already know, so instead, he settles for a silent dip of his head, knee bending so that he may kneel before the one that created him.