Hunters and the Hunted

Cain was trembling violently as he leaned his face into her hand. His pupils were jumping erratically, dilating and then contracting again, though they weren't as jagged as before, which was a sign that the new seals were already working. His eyes were feverish bright, however, because of the pain and he had a sheen of sweat to his skin. His fingers were still tightening and loosening against her hips and when he opened his mouth as if to reply, he whined instead, like a kicked puppy.

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Aria leaned over to dip her fingers in the water, checking the temperature of the water before she started taking her clothes of slowly.

He watched her.
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Scarlet watched him.
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Jess had ended up falling asleep on the sofa, her head on a pillow as she waited for Death to come back.

Aria folded her shirt and placed it the side, moving as if to take of her pants before she froze, staring at her hands. All of a sudden she was rubbing frantically at her hands and arms, breathing coming in short panicked gasps.

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Letting out a shaky, pained breath, Cain licked at the blood on her shoulder he'd caused from biting down before shifting his head and angling his next bite for her neck, sinking his teeth in slowly, in stop-start motions.

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Death silently knelt on the floor next to the sofa, hands on his knees as he watched her sleep before he leaned forward and brushed a kiss against her cheek and forehead.

Scareth looked at her. "Aria, what's wrong?"
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She winced.
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She stirred slightly.

"I-I can't g-get the blood off," she whispered, voice hitching. "I-It's all over m-my arms again and I-I can't get it off."

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Cain made a muffled whimper at her wince, but drank regardless, hands slowly loosening from her sides before his arms fell away and hung by his sides.

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Death leaned away again, not wanting to wake her up as he watched her silently.

Jess stayed asleep.
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Scarlet stayed still.
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"Aria there's no blood on you."

Death watched her quietly and contemplatively, a small smile on his face.

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After a few moments he pulled his teeth from her neck and pressed his forehead to the top of her shoulder, just leaning slightly on her for support.

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Aria froze again, stopping halfway in the motion of scrubbing at her left arm. She was still staring at her arms.

Scareth walked to her.
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Scarlet stayed ever so still. "We need to go and find Hayden Cain."
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Jess eventually stirred enough that she woke herself up and she looked at him in slight surprise. "Oh...Hello...£"

"I-I think I h-had a r-relapse."

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Cain stiffened ever so slightly, voice soft and almost dangerous, "Where is he?"

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"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." Death gave a slight smile.

"Upstairs in the attic, hiding in a trunk."
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"It's ok."
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"It's ok, I woke myself up. I got a bit tired and the sofa was really comfortable."

"Do I need to get him, or will you? Because seeing me covered in blood might not calm him down." Cain twitched.

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Aria took in a slow, quiet breath and then finished undressing, moving to sink into the bath.

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"You can sleep for longer, if you wish. Or would you want to return to your own home?"

Scareth moved to sit on the edge of the bath.
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Scarlet nodded. "Ok." She made him look at her to see if it was Ian or Cain.
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"Would it be too much trouble to ask if I could stay here tonight?" She asked him.

Aria stared at her legs through the water and then closed her eyes, swallowing thickly.

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He looked at her when he realised what she was doing, meeting her eyes silently. His pupils jumped once and then suddenly decided to settle on round, Ian offering her a weak smile.

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"It wouldn't be a problem at all. We have a number of bedrooms. I don't sleep myself, so..." Death absently pressed his hands to his chest. "This body doesn't require much in the ways of maintenance."

"Fair enough." She moved to sit up. "Do you mind showing me where they are?"
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Scarlet hugged him.
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Scareth watched her.

Death stood up in one fluid motion, and silently offered her his hand.

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Ian slowly moved to hug her in return.

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"A-And there's no blood?" she asked, voice breaking slightly.

"Yes, there is no blood."
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She stayed close to him. "I love you so much."
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She took his hand.

"...You're sure?"

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"I love you too." Ian slowly moved to kiss her cheekbone gently.

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Death pulled her carefully to her feet before leading her to the main entrance hallway again.

Jess followed him, a bit sleepily, but she still followed him.
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She smiled.
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"Yes."

Death kept a gentle hold of her hand, staying close to her side but giving a respectful distance as well.

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"Would you want to get Hayden then? While I clean myself up..."

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Aria closed her eyes, shuddering violently, and moved one of her hands to grip onto the edge of his shirt.

Scarlet nodded and she walked to the stairs.
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He moved to gently take her hand.
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Jess kept hold of his hand as they walked.

Ian watched her go before he made his way to the bathroom, leaning over to turn the shower on and climbing in fully clothed.

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"I-I think it's g-going to take me a-a while to get u-used to b-being alive again."

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Death stopped outside of an extravagantly carved oak wooden door. "This is the Master bedroom. Do you want this one?" He pushed the door open with his free hand and showed the room. It had a large, four poster bed and was spacious enough to have a fireplace and a couch and two arm chairs by one of the walls.

Scarlet found Hayden and she picked him up. "Well done sweetie."
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"Wow..." Jess walked around the room and she looked around.
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"Probably."

Ian winced as the water hit his still sore back, hands leaning against the tiled wall to keep himself upright.

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"My followers demand I live in extravagance. I do not understand why, though any attempts at discouraging them doesn't work. I just allow them to do as I wish. If you are uncomfortable here, I can offer you a smaller room."

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"It was a-awful," Aria whispered, hand fluttering weakly in his.

Scarlet appeared sitting by the shower on the edge of the bath and she looked at him. "Does it still hurt?"
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Jess was still in awe.
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"I know, but it will pass soon."

"It's bloody sore. I thought he was going to do the basics, into the skin, into the bone. He carved my soul, the little shit. They're stronger than the last ones, yeah, but he risked my fucking life to carve goddamn seals into my soul. It's gonna be scarred now."

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"Is it too much?" Death sounded almost nervous, though his face was still blank.

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"I'm not sure if I-I can e-ever forget being d-dead."