Hunters and the Hunted

"Whenever you want."

"My apologies, Scarlet, but Jadon and I have not encountered each other in many a year. I wish to rectify that mistake."

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"Rosco and I are engaged to be married," Faye declared, looking up at Rosco shyly.

Kai bristled and snarled, clearly just as protective of Faye as he was of Rachel, but reluctant to leave Rachel's side.

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Death was sat on the edge of the bed, flicking through a notebook almost absently.

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"I don't know about you, but I'm going to have a doze," Tuesday declared.

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"Should we go today?" Jason asked quietly.

"Yeah. We should go ASAP to get it out of the way."

"You can, I'm going to stay awake."
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Jess silently opened her eyes and watch him, before she silently got up and keeping the duvet to her chest, she slid across the bed behind him, pressing a kiss to his neck.
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"Congratulations." She smiled, walking to Faye and hugging her.
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Scarlet sighed. "It's alright."

"Can we come over in three hours?" Jason asked and then nodded at what was heard and then relaxed as he hung up. "I'm going to try and sleep for a bit before we go."

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"You can do what you want. I don't mind." Tuesday moved to curl up on her side.

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"How are you, Jessica?" Death closed the notebook and turned slightly to look at her.

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"Thank you." Faye hugged her back with one arm, keeping her other hand in Rosco's.

Kai edged forward, growling quietly.

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"They'll be here in a few hours." Cain told her as he tucked his phone away. "I can tell you closer to the time in case you choose to leave."

He looked at her, moving to pull the blanket over her.
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"In a bit of pain, but I'll be okay."
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She smiled. "Now I've got something to tell you."
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She nodded, just as Hayden came downstairs.

"Okay, I'll wake you then."

"Thanks," Tuesday mumbled, wriggling down to get herself as covered and as warm as possible.

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"It was not my intention to cause you any pain if it could have been avoided. I'm sorry to hear I have done so." Death turned to her, taking a hold of her hands in his own.

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"And that is?" Faye asked curiously, keeping half of her attention on Kai.

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Cain glanced at Hayden before blinking briefly and letting Ian come forward again who moved to lean against the counter, rubbing his eyes.

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"Will you stay?" Jason mumbled, moving to lethargically dress in the clothes she had laid out for him.

"Yeah... Yeah."

"Don't worry about it."
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"It's okay." She told him, holding his hands.
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"Me and Kai are having a baby."
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Hayden toddled over to his dad. "Cole's upset momma."

Scarlet sighed. "Alright Hayden, you stay with your pappa, I'll go and see to Cole."

"If you don't want to stay the entire time, at least until I fall asleep?" Jason asked weakly, clambering into the bed and making himself as small as possible on his side of the mattress.

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Tuesday just hummed in acquiescence before she started drifting off.

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"If you're quite certain." Death offered her a soft smile. There were still some patches of black skin, some of it grey, but he was already looking a lot better.

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"It's sort of obvious, darling," Faye laughed quietly, but looked happy all the same. "You're already showing."

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"Hey there bud," Ian crouched to his level. "What've you been up to then?"

Indigo lay beside him. "I'll stay the entire time."

When she was fully asleep, he slid from the room going downstairs.
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She gave him a weak smile.
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"I am?" She asked, looking down at her stomach, then she looked at Kai. "I wasn't this noticeable this morning."
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"Playing dadda."

"Don't feel you have to." Jason moved just slightly to tuck himself into her side.

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Alarick was in the living room, fiddling with the locket that had been left on his bedside locker by Tuesday.

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"Perhaps you should rest some more?" Death asked, clearly concerned. "If you had not already noticed, Belle has returned."

As he had said, the kitten was curled up on the bed, almost hidden by the crinkles of the duvet.

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"I can see it easier than most, Rachel. In the way you move, the way you act, the way you walk. I have been close to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. I can see better than others. Don't sound so worried."

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"What were you playing, hmm?"

"I'll stay jay, don't worry."

"I noticed." Jess told him. "But I'm fine really." She told him, then she noticed the time. "You're usually out by now." She said in an off hand manner as if she was talking about the weather.
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Sirius looked at him. "What are you doing?"
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"Faye, I'm on the edge of a panic attack as it is, don't scare me like that."
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"I was playing with my building blocks."

"If you're sure," Jason moved to almost wrap himself around her, arm spreading over her waist, face pressed against her neck.

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"Theodore is taking his time in returning. I have to wait for his return before I dare to make my own move. I can only keep tally while here."

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"Debating whether to open it. Do I want my heart back, or not. Do I want to care, or not. Do I want to love, or not. Tough decisions." He looked up at Sirius almost blankly.

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"I'm sorry. I forget others see less than I do." Faye smiled weakly. "But, if you want to rest, we have others to tell others the news too, and I think Kai is about to attack something."

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"Do you want daddy to come play with you, hmm?"

"Yeah, your fiance." Rachel told her and she walked to Kai. "Give me your hand." She told him.
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Hayden nodded.
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"Think of things you'll miss out on if you don't." Sirius told him. "But you don't need a heart to love and care for people. I'm proof of that."
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Jess nodded. "Okay...Lie with me?"

Kai twitched, moving to take hold of her wrist and not even looking away from Rosco.

Faye tugged at Rosco's hand with a quiet mumble of, "Perhaps we should go?"

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Ian scooped him up off the ground very suddenly and slung him over his shoulder, carrying him from the kitchen like that and tickling his sides.

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"You don't exactly do a perfect job of it now, do you?" Alarick told him blandly. "Caring and loving without a heart, I sometimes wonder if you even know how to."

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"I will have to sit against the headboard, in order to work, but I can be with you if you want."

"That will be fine." She told him.
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"Wow, thank you." He told him sarcastically. "At least I can love Alarick, it's small, but it's there, I could just simply banish all emotion like you're trying to do."
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Hayden started giggleing
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Rachel moved to take his hand and she pressed it to her lips, kissing each of his fingers.
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Rosco nodded and had them appear outside.

Indigo smiled. "Sleep well."

Death nodded quietly, lifting a hand and the notebook, along with several others, were floating in front of him, as well as a few loose pages that he was eyeing almost critically. Then, absently, he murmured, so softly as if he didn't mean to be heard, "Hadrian Carrow."

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"Then what's the point of bothering if you can wipe the slate clean? Why even stay with mom, why even have a family if you can shut it off just like? You don't seem very reliable like that. I don't think I want the weaknesses that are associated with having a loved one."

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"Soon you're going to be grown up and too big for me to do this, buddy." Ian sighed wistfully.

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Kai started to slowly relax, from both her actions and the fact Faye and Rosco were gone, the tightness from his shoulders ebbing away. Quietly, he said, "I don't want strangers in the house again. If he hadn't have been with Faye, I would have attacked first, questioned later. If I hadn't have killed him."

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"Sorry about Kai," Faye mumbled, shoulders hunched slightly as if she was expecting Rosco to be angry. "I forget that he doesn't like strangers. He's...he's different from the others. More instinctive. I'm pretty sure he should have been a werewolf or something equally as territorial." Her hand was loose around Rosco's, as if she were waiting for him to let go, clearly insecure because of the incident.

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"Don't ever change, please," Jason murmured against her skin. "No matter what I do, no matter what he does. Don't change, and decide to hate me for it, please."

Jess watched him.
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Sirius rolled his eyes. "You already have love ones."
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"No I'm not, mummy said that you and Cain will always have time for things like this."
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Rachel looked at him. "He's not entirely a stranger though, I have told you about him."
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Rosco let go of her hand but it was soon covered as his arm wrapped around her waist. "Don't worry it, Kai I can handle, no problem."

"I won't, don't worry jay."

"I'm allowed to tell you now," he murmured. "My name. Hadrian Carrow."

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"Not as close to me as you are to mother." Alarick shrugged, still fiddling with the locket.

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"Well, we'll see, hmm?" Ian dropped him gently to his bedroom floor on his feet.

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"Heard of him. Never seen him or judged him myself."

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Faye slowly relaxed into his side. "I'm sure Scareth and Aria will be nicer...though, Aria will probably be more scared of you than threatening. She's still unsure of new things."

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Jason nodded quietly and slowly his breathing started to even out as he began falling asleep.