A New Purpose

The woman was up and out of her seat before Mahlikai could try calming her down, already venturing towards the noises that were too far for her darling sister to hear. The upset feeling in her stomach finally began to morph into what it wanted to be. And the feeling, one she had only felt the night before, decided she was going to follow the stench of blood that was flooding the streets. She needed to know why a woman was screaming out in the middle of the day. To punish whoever decided to harm someone in her hometown. Her body moved on its own instinct, keeping her elegant posture but losing the clearness in her eyes. 

Mahlikai commanded her sister to stay still, moving as fast as he could after her at a human speed. A firm grasp on her upper arm halted any and all movements. Though she was able to get pretty far before she was forced to stop her efforts. The younger Blythe twin was out of sight now and it kind of relieved her. Her hazy eyes looked down at his hold on her then slipped back up to his face. 

"I need to go. To know what is happening. You understand, don't you?"

It wasn't a question, but he slowly nodded his head in response with a distant gaze in his eyes. A smile lifted her expression at the same moment and she turned away from him to continue following the sounds and smells. The screams had begun to quiet, which only made her start moving faster than before. 

It took her a very long moment to get to whatever was distracting her from family time due to the fact that she had to seem reasonably human to passerby's. The longer it took for her, the less responsible she was for her instinctive actions. She couldn't free herself from the pull of her stomach telling her to do as it requested. It was a stomach that was meant to be as dead as her newfound immortal body. Do the same rules that apply to Mahlikai's body even apply to her own? With these new genes, she doubted it. It didn't entirely matter to her at the moment. 

Briar's focus was fully on the woman and stranger demon down the dim alleyway. She took a few steps towards them, only to be stopped by her sire once again. "You don't interrupt another man's meal, my love. We do not know how old he is." She didn't care how old this one was. With a deep breath in, she bathed in the smell of a meal she knew would fill her all over again. 

She turned back to her sire and easily twisted free from his grip. Her mismatched eyes stared back at her suitor while she backed up towards the two strangers. He frowned but couldn't find it in himself to intervene. It seemed like he thought she was learning a lesson here. When the girl realized he was letting her do her own thing, she turned back to analyze what was going on. The victim was pale with blood loss and her face was sweating excessively from the struggle she tried to put up against the superior species. The man on the other hand was difficult to dissect. His head was stuffed into the prey's neck and it was staining his expensive silks. 

The new hybrid didn't miss a beat. Her dainty hand slipped around the strange demon's neck and then yanked him away from his morning meal. The vampire slammed against the wall behind them hard enough to shift the bricks slightly out of place. The human whimpered and slowly slid down to the floor. Far too weak to run like she wanted to. Blood spilt from her exposed shoulder in a rather tempting dance while Briar stared down at her weakness with a pitiful frown. 

Oddly enough, Briar didn't fall victim to the bloodlust. Mahlikai took a place at her side and stared over at his favorite lady. Then she watched in wonder as her suitor bit into his wrist and fed the human from his bleeding wrist. A twinge of jealousy slipped through her body before she turned away towards the groaning demon. "Hello, good sir," she greeted with the tilt of her head. Her steps were quiet as she made her way over to the creature that glared up at her. "How old are you?"

The older they were, she assumed they were more experienced and more control they should have. Perhaps they were even stronger with age. Since every vampire should be older than her at this point, that meant she shouldn't be able to throw him around in the way that she did. Unless she caught him off guard, but - even driven by her instincts - she knew every movement made around her. There was no excuse for her strength. 

This stranger didn't answer her question, choosing instead to spit at her shoes unhelpfully. He realized she was going to stop her sharp stare down at him just because he "made his point" nonverbally. So, since she refused to budge, he pushed himself up from the floor and launched himself at her. Her lips tilted downwards into an annoyed frown as she wasn't fast enough to evade the attack. He hit her down to the floor with a sickening slap and she made sure to roll away before he could do much more damage. Standing, the female demon brushed away the dirt from her dress. Barely addressing the animalistic growling he was giving off. "Shall I start instead with asking for your name?" 

"You don't know who you're dealing with, little girl." He was quick to try harming her again, but she snapped away like lightning. She learned her lesson since her ears were still ringing from the first slam of his dirty hands. 

Her head cocked to the side and she slowly started to circle him, "That is why I asked you for your name, sir." He snarled at her innocent façade and jumped at her again. This time as she sidestepped him, her hand was able to get a firm hold of his greasy blond hair. Using his own momentum, she pushed him down to the floor for the second time. The pavement groaned at the new pressure - as did the demon. Her mismatched eyes stared down at the dizzy, older immortal. 

It was getting harder for her to remember why she decided to follow the scent of blood to this stranger's hunting grounds. If she had to guess, the adrenaline rush was losing its hold on her and allowing her to gain control of her actions again. Yet, still, her hands twitched at her sides and she couldn't find it in herself to leave. 

"You shouldn't be this strong," he growled under his breath, "Mahlikai only turned you the other night." Her brows rose at this new confession, ready to hear every bit of knowledge he could offer her. Speaking of the devil, the man himself sped to her side to show his support. 

This new stranger tried to stand again, likely to run off, but she pressed her foot to the center of his back and pushed down hard. As the lady she was, she made sure he wouldn't be able to see up her skirting because of the way she was holding him. "Oh?" She hummed with peaked interest. "And how would you - a complete stranger - know when I was reborn?" 

If he knew she was recently born again - and by Mahlikai no less - then that meant whoever this was had to be watching one of them. He would have had to be there the night that he changed her. Had to have secured an invite or gotten in undetected. However, she doesn't remember seeing his face anywhere around them. Not even with her newly enhanced senses. She always recognized a face. Well, at least until now apparently. 

The hybrid pressed her heel harder down into his back to force out an answer from the man except was stopped by a small tap to her shoulder. Her sharp gaze slid over to her sire, annoyed at the amount of times he had tried to stop her for the day. Mahlikai crouched down to get a closer look at the man. His hand moved to examine the wiggling creature's face. "I know you," he finally decided. He dropped his grip from the stranger, "You're a spotter for the men I've been running from for decades now. You are rather terrible people, you know?"

A smirk lifted her features at the surprised expression the stalker was sporting as it slowly shifted into a look of anger. "You know nothing of what you talk about!" The man showcased his claws to her suitor, only for them to sink into her skirts. Clawing for anything that was fleshy, so he could inflict pain. She sighed, not wishing for the expensive fabric to be ruined so easily. Briar leaned down, careful not to show any true cleavage, and plucked him off the ground with her hand. Just behind his figure, she could see the human still huddled into the brick wall of the dark alleyway. The intoxicating scent caught her off guard for only a moment. Then she refocused.

"Let me be honest with you." She placed him on his own feet after making him agree to staying put. She helped him dust away the dirt of his suit, her bright eyes without remorse. "Something about these people you work with wormed their way under my skin in the ugliest way possible. And that's only by speaking to you for" --she swiped the watch from his wrist painfully-- "fifteen minutes! I have come to a decision."

The man raised an awfully bushy brow.

"I wish to have a long and hard discussion with whomever you and your slimy coworkers to free my suitor of whatever debt he has. Then, I will decide if I want to kill them or let them live!" The way she said it was like she had just wished to have tea with the queen. The excitement of a young girl who had just got their first dolly. With only a single glance, though, Mahlikai had noticed something was off. It was like she was in a haze of some sort. "Let me know who you work for easily now and I won't maim you."

"You need to mind your business, woman." He snapped, ready to either pounce or take off, so Briar made a quick decision. She could get all the information she needed from Mahlikai anyway, so he was simply a small hindrance in the grand scheme of things. 

Her hand slammed into his chest with speed ten times faster than even a demon. Her nails dug into his tough chest and shattered the protective cage around his heart. He let out a pained groan as the fragments of the bone stuck in every which way in his chest cavity. Though most of his organs were frozen in time, similar to hers and Mahlikai's, he was able to feel a dull pain from every sudden movement. Still, she didn't stop.

She stepped forward and held him still by her shoulder. Adding more pressure to push her hand further the muscle to grip the once-beating organ. Her dainty hand grabbing it with a strong, yet soft, hold. If he decided to rip himself away from her, his heart would stay in her hand. The nail of her thumb dug slightly between the two large ventricles. "Let me ask you one more time. This will be the last so I suggest you pay attention. I need everything and anything you can tell me before I find you less than helpful. Do you understand?"