Post by Ariel Martin on Apr 3, 2014 12:46:29 GMT -8
Ariel finished adjusting the knife that was more conveniently placed up her sleeve. Morris Tobias had finally convinced her that she was probably being summoned a few blocks back, and that was all the excuse she needed to become armed. That was also about the time when they had crossed into Brujah domain, and she relaxed a little. It was always good to be home, even her two weeks out of town made her miss the Emerald domain even more.
As they pulled up to their final destination she paused. It was a perfect Seattle night. The clouds, painted a gray brown by the city, floated in patches to reveal the deep navy blue of the sky. A few stars had managed to battle their way through the clouds and the light to brighten the sky. The gas works loomed dark in front of them, a testament to Seattle's past, now gated up, rusted over, and over grown with blackberries. To the right, illuminated by the city was the hill, the perfect place to fly a kite, especially on a windy night like tonight. In between the two lay Seattle, still standing bright and proud against the night despite how many times people have knocked her down. The familiar sky line was perfectly framed, the light reflecting in the choppy waters of the lake.
The second over, she tried the door and frowned when she found it was locked. It didn't take long for her to turn that frown on her fellow Seattleite. "Morris…" There was a warning in her voice but it was quickly soothed over by his force of presence. One of the first things she learned when she entered the world of the kindred was to respect Mr. Tobias. He had earned that respect from her, her first night by offering her, a ghoul, a seat on the upper deck, and even trying to hit her with a car hadn't done anything to change how she saw him.
"I summoned Riggs, we'll wait here till he gets here." The force of his words and his majesty kept her in her seat for a few seconds, but the siren's call from the hill brought her hand to the lock once more. She managed to get the door unlocked this time, but it didn't matter. The urge to leave the car had been replaced by a need to be near the tall clock maker. As she turned to look at him things began to go wrong.
The hairs on the back of Ariel's neck stood up and she continued to turn as she both felt and heard someone on the back of the car. The shadowy figure hadn’t been there a few seconds earlier, and with the way he was chanting there was only a few seconds to act before what ever magic he had panned started. The world seemed to slow down as the blood that had replaced adrenaline rushed through her preparing for a fight. Even Moris' heartbeat slowed down as she reached up her sleeve to retrieve Jean-Lionel's old boot knife. Before the odd man next to her drew a fresh breath, the knife flew from her hand and smashed through the rear window. The throw had been a good one, even if it wasn't the best, but the thing was better and managed to get out of the way.
There was nothing more she could do, because at that moment she felt the magic wrap around and reach into her. She could hear the breath leaving Moris' lungs as something left her. In that moment, bathed in the lights and shadows of the city that she loved and swore to protect, Ariel Martin vanished, leaving behind only the crumpled remains of the woman who had been Culina "Lin" Harris.
