Neseva Jane Belikov
April 13th
24
Aries
Esper
Russian American
Supernatural Hunter
The Punchline 
Status:
Jason | Ohio | "Small towns don't like new faces."
Dominic | New York | "This was a mistake."
Jett | New York | "Okay, asshole."
Jorah | Lake Hornavan | "You want to see me wat?"
Neseva was your typical girl homebody girl who was born into a family that is practically considered royalty for their status in a hidden government branch. Her mother, Pamela, was passed the honor of running the Hunter Society along with her husband, Deacon Belikov. Pam was in her late twenties when Nes was born. She grew up in a strict and fast environment where she was expected to be top of her class to become a successful asset to her family business; following her parents' footsteps. However, because of this, her story is rather boring and short. It might give one the impression that the power that her family holds had gone to her head. Many thought her the spoiled brat of the leaders. Yet all she wanted to do was live up to honor her parents, and let them see that she was capable of so much more in life than being a glorified lie detector. You can say that she had been very caged. This isn't a bio about some poor girl who wanted to find the key to her cage, it's about a girl who made that path for herself, with no key needed.
It didn't help that while Neseva mentally grew and aged, her body did not. Because of how powerful that she was by a young age, Nes had a block put on her by her parents, which had so happened to stunt her physical growth leaving her looking younger than what she ought to be for a long time until she herself was able to break from it. From the ages of about eleven to eighteen, Nes perpetually looked like a twelve-year-old. This only increased her want to go out and do her own thing in the world and make her own name. Thus began her short rebellion.
It started when she decided that she wanted to become a full-fledged hunter, and not just be enabled to state it because of her parents' status. She wanted to earn her rank and become one. When her parents said no, she did as most teens did and rebelled without a cause. She chopped off all of her hair, proclaimed that she was not a child, and she was glad to say that at 17 she was the youngest ever to be able to join in the Trials to become a hunter.
There were lessons and horrors, but Nes fought through just as well as her mentor, Alice, and fellow pupil Jason did. After nearly dying by the end of the last one, but battling bravely against a Wendigo, she was officially declared a hunter. From it though, she had been changed. Something happened to her on that hunt, and all she knew was that she was reborn.
From an early age, Neseva was gifted. By four she was reading the minds of others. By six she could influence her parents to tell her the truth by touching them alone, by nine she was fully fledged in pulling secrets from people's minds and reading the emotions of others as her own.
She was gifted in the psychic art.
This had alarmed her parents. But one day when she was four, and she didn't wake up for 3 days, they panicked. And upon her coming to, she stated that she had to find her way back to her body. Right then, they knew she was far too powerful. They gathered a coven of witches to put a block on her powers, reducing them to 10%, as well as taking the right precautions so that she was not able to breach the barriers of their own minds. She was, as far as they knew, safe.
This did not help other people, however. The other kids who were raised in the system at the Hunter Society didn't want to socialize with her and she was seen as the black sheep. The girl who already was on top of the game, who had the adoring parents, with teachers who did everything in their power to make sure that she had all the top training... So why would they befriend someone as weird and privileged as that? A girl that would blurt out the thoughts of others and see and tell their feelings unannounced?
She was outcasted for being far too strong. It wasn't that she wasn't likable, but with nicknames like, "the mind reader" or "mind flayer" it gave her the feeling that no one wanted her around, thus she could not help but to keep away from the other hunters and kids. As they should, nobody liked their privacy invaded.
It did not deter Nes by any means, however. She was used to being in her own world and was happy with it. She never thought different was bad or scary, she thought of it as unique and beautiful. So, Neseva always made it a goal in her life to find these strange oddities and outcasted people like herself and she makes the most of it.
She owned up to her black sheep status and implored others to do the same.
Nes has an odd but brilliantly excelling power of being an Esper. A being who is crossed between a psychic: a person who is inexplicable by natural laws, especially involving telepathy or clairvoyance. And a medium: A person in contact with the spirits of the dead; can communicate between the dead and the living. Along those lines, are also magical properties she can use that are still being delved with little by little.
In having these powers she can access more than 70% of her mind after the accident on the hunt that allowed her to fully unlock the powers that had been barred away from her for so long. Little by little she's learning to handle them better. And over the years has grown quite powerful and imperious to failure.
Abilities:
Mental:
•Telepathy: She can read the minds of people within a 10-meter radius. She can pick and choose who she listens to, or how deeply she can pry. She can only hear the current thoughts at the top of their head.
• Tactile Sifting: Upon touching someone she can sift through past thoughts and memories. It takes time, she must concentrate to get what she wants. If one so chooses to fight it they may, but face the pressure of her attacking rather than seeking for it.
• Implant: She now can implant memories, thoughts, and emotions into the minds of other people in order to manipulate them to do or say as she pleases, this also means she can either temporarily or permanently erase memories from someone.
• Inducing: Ability to induce mental hallucinations, causing the person to see and hear something that is not truly there or feel an excruciatingly painful sensation of burning/electricity in the body. She can project the illusion to one or more people. The more complex, amount, or intense the illusion, the more strain it puts on her.
• Clairvoyance: She can gain direct visual information about an object, person, location or physical event through psychic means. This is coupled with Psychic Navigation which is the ability to locate people/objects or create a mental map of an area. All she needs is either a face or an object.
Physical:
•Telekinesis: She possesses the ability to exert a force on physical objects without touching them to move by sensing the atomic frequencies of a given object and altering the gravitational field around it, this allows her to move both animate and inanimate objects, people, ect. Along with this, she can access the molecular level of them, creating shields in the air around herself to deflect bullets or create power fists and kicks, a strike that delivers three times the power of a normal punch, this can all cause a strain on her.
• Biokinesis: She can manipulate the human body to a degree. Be this she can apply painful pressure on people's brains. This can cause ruptures in a person's blood vessels, extreme pain in a person's body by sparking their nerves, or even a pause of bodily functions and forcing someone to pass out. It can cause strain on herself depending on how much effort she puts into it. (This is still being explored.)
• Pyrokinesis: The ability to manipulate and speed up the atomic state to the point of combustion. Generally new and strenuous to her. Her flame manifests from blue to purple at its hottest.
Spiritual:
• Mediumship: She can see ghosts, spirits, entities, demons, ect. She also has the ability to communicate should they so choose, they can sometimes "leave" her line of sight.
• Empath: By being close to a person she can read and sense the current emotions of them.
• Aura Seeking: If she so chooses she can open a 'third eye', in doing so she can peer at one's aura, easily being able to view the color.
Beyond the abilities of her mind and intelligence such as being fluent in Russian, German, Spanish, French, Polish, Japanese, Italian, and Swedish, Nes is not strong in such things as physical power and strength. What she does have, however, is the ability of cunning prowess. Nes does not go into battle without protection; she goes in with tricks up her sleeve. Since a child, she was not able to defend herself with strength but learned other ways of defense. She can do so by throwing knives and using her telekinetic abilities to her advantage. She had been taught the skill of switchblades, and throwing blades by her uncle, and continues to practice the art on her own time. After gaining the ability to unlock herself she can now add on with it.
When throwing her custom-made knives she can use telekinesis to guide where she wishes the blade to go. It proves effective at the best of times. At other times when she runs out of knives, she is also skilled in shooting. Shotguns, handguns, and snipers are her best sets. Not a bullet is wasted by the same ability to be able to guide the bullet.
Weaknesses:
While being mentally strong and mind-tempered, Neseva can still suffer from all ailments that can be put on a normal person. This could be overexertion, sleep deprivation, being drugged, wounded, blood loss, sickness, and everything that could befall anyone else. She may have the mental strength of Professor X, but she is still human. And no matter how much discipline her mind has she can still succumb to normal worldly things.
Neseva had never been much of a looker, or at least that was what she said about herself. She was girlish enough in places, but as a whole, she often described her looks like that of a twelve-year-old boy whose voice hadn't even dropped yet. After she unlocked herself, it transformed her more than she knew. She finally grew out of her baby fat and bloomed into her body. Puberty finally slapped her as she likes to say. She went from a 5ft kid to a 5'8ft bombshell. Her body is lithe, and filled out, giving curves in places and C's in others. No longer does she claim to look like a little boy but now a young lady.
Her natural hair color is a wavy mocha brown that grew rapidly with her body. Currently, it's cut short to her shoulders and adorned with a silver skunk strip at the front of her head. Her face is rounded and girly. Complimented with a button nose sprinkled with freckles across the bridge and her cheeks, and full shapely lips. The only strange thing is the startling golden almond-shaped eyes.
Her clothing could be classified as hipster-ware. Strange sizes or colors speak out to her. Fannel will forever be a go-to for her on a normal day, but if she were out hunting she can often be seen in athletic wear. Tights and jackets with sneakers. She will rarely ever be seen without a pair of chucks.
At the time she only bares one tattoo. A wendigo skull with its antlers encased in a dream catcher on her inner right wrist. The tattoo that she, in time, will be developed into a sleeve showing all her adventures. She also has two piercings, a vertical labret, and a nose ring. Occasionally she'll wear fake jewelry such as a septum pricing or a second nose ring.
~*~
Neseva is all-around goofy, pestering, and fun-loving. She takes her years of having been sheltered by her parents as a sign to be all that she ever can be by showing the world that she was there and screaming for it to know her.
She lacks a filter, curses like a sailor, and holds herself high on her own pedestal in the sense that she doesn't take people's shit. She loves the idea of being the most real her that she possibly can be by living out loud.
Spells of seriousness will at times fall over her. She'll become dignified, calculative, and even cruel with her words if she's making a point to put them out and to be listened to. A trait she picked up from her own mother who had aced this sort of state by being a leader for so many years.
Don't let this scare you though, Nes is sweet all other times. She'll go out of her way to help anyone. It could be her own undoing, however, for she finds broken people and attempts to mend them, not looking over her own shoulder at things that might go bump in the night for doing them.
Pamela and Deacon Belikov: Parents of Neseva. Pamela Duspen took up the presidency of the Hunter Society by the age of eighteen when her father, the previous leader, fell in a hunt. Since then, she's ran it fluidly and without flaw. Her husband, Deacon Belikov joined at her hip when she turned twenty. The two have been a power couple; Nes came along not far after and they had raised her in secrecy because of her unique ability, but weakened body. They love, but serve severely and faithfully to the cause; turning the HS around for the better, and will continue to do so as long as they live.
Jorgan Belikov: Twin brother to Deacon, the males were strong and ruthless in hunting, they were attached at the hip for a long while before Deacon took charge as being the leader. Growing up he grew close to Neseva. He taught her along with her father. She considered him a best friend and grew depressed upon his murder. She will forever mourn him, but she will look up to him as the powerhouse he was. And cry when times were dark for he was an impressionable man who loved nothing more than to see the smile on people. He had an aura of ease but grew tense when the might called for it. Ruthless in battle but sensitive in heart, the man was painful to lose for anyone who knew him and shared his smile.
Alicenne O'Malley: Nes goes a ways back with Alice. Nes was six when Alice came to the HSHQ under the wing of Jorgan, and since she had always looked up to the angry Irish huntress. The two consider each other friends. And when it came time for Neseva to be taken through the Trials to become a full-fledged hunter herself, it was Alice who mentored her. Nes will forever consider herself in debt to Alice. And no matter the pestering she gives the older woman. She will deeply forever be a go-to for Neseva. When she went as far as to go into a ghost and Wendigo infested Asylum to save her sorry ass there is not much that Nes could do but trust the woman with her life.
Jason Hale: Jason was along with Neseva in the Trials to become a hunter. She likes to think of herself as an annoying little sister to him. She was always bugging him or saying too much. More times than not, she got into his head just to poke at him. She's since grown and appreciates his part in both of them becoming hunters together. They might not always get along, but she's thankful to him for many things. Most of all though? For the fact that he's real with her. No matter how much she might get on his nerves, how much she had liked to play "I'm-better-than-you" with him he still seemed to listen to her and to be someone that she looks up to.
Jett Morningstar: Some people might call it meet cute, but to Nes it was a series of unfortunate events that often brought the two of them on each other's trails. He might see it as having helped her, but to Nes, he was someone who kept getting in her way to one-up her. Often ridiculed and spoken down on by him, Nes finds herself easily irritated around the entity of a man. He pushes all her buttons down yet still life finds a way to keep bringing them together. The latest one being where he is finally the target. And Neseva being who she is, can't not help him. He seems to be slipping in some way, and as she does with those in need, she's willing to help him. Not yet realizing exactly what it is she's getting herself into in the process of it.
Nikolas Everett: Nik is a guy that Nes hit it off with very easily. He was a guy who needed help, and Neseva being the type that wanted to fix everyone, she ran in with developed a liking for him. She wanted to help him no matter what it took. Along that way, she found a friend in him. A deep one that she's not scared to be open about. She was willing to do anything and be anyone for him. But life happens, and suddenly he slipped through her fingers without a trace. Nik had gone missing, and Nes is currently losing her mind in an attempt to find him. If she has to turn the world over, she'll do that. Refusing to allow herself to ever stop.
Single | Pansexual | x0 - Greiving
Truth be told, Nes has no idea what she wants in a person. She's new to it, and never much considered the prospect of feelings or that she would even be liked back in the first place. What is known is that she's open to anything. She learned at a young age that she had no preference for gender, she finds attraction equally to men, women, and those with no claim. She would guess that she is looking for someone who will let her be known and seen. What is that exactly? It would be letting her be who she wants to be. She spent her life in a cage, and now she wishes to get that out and be free. She can't have anyone that wants to hold her back from it.
It's easy to say by that that she really does not have a preference in a person either. While she always considered herself a black sheep in her life growing up, it might be easy to say that she is also the type of person that she'll be looking for. Someone who understands what it felt like to live in the dark for the longest time. To be cast out and unwanted because they were a little different. It's those people who she was always drawn to as a child. A person who has a little voice inside of them that told them that they needed to hide. If she herself, along with the other, can find that drive to be free and lively then she and them will get along just fine.
Her parents' reign and the cage in which Neseva grew up in for her entire life. (Not a bad cage, but a lonely one.) There is much good to the place, and people look up to the Hunter Society for protection, help, and a home. Sadly, Nes does not fancy it all too well. She can see, hear, and knows the good and bads of it. A hound dog which her parents occasionally used to help sweep out the bad apples behind those secured walls.
Nes wanted so much to become a hunter because it meant freedom. She could go out, do hunts, and actually do something rather than being trapped inside to be her parents' eyes and ears all day.
Now, Neseva is running around all over the place. She takes the hunts that other people normally don't. The ones that they find are stupid or not at a high level at all to be considered dangerous. Be it fairies keep having orgies in someone's garden, to a witch looking for a difficult ingredient that they themselves might not be able to get to procure a spell or a type of potion. If so? Nes is your girl. She's not physically strong. But she's got a brain of possibilities and a skill set to get into tight places when she needs to. She's the one for those little odd hunts or goose chases. And while she might not be able to take down a bruting ass werewolf, she can be the person to help the little people out there that might need a different angled-minded person the most.
Now that she's free to do as she wants, Neseva is owning the world and is taking names while she does it. She's here to stay, and she wants everyone to know it by either her telling them or merrily running along firing off the best that she can be while she does it. She's not an easy one to take no for an answer and she will fight her happy ass all the way to the top if she must accomplish it. Nothing is going to stop her, and nothing ever will. She is who she is meant to be.
Along the lines of that, Neseva wishes to figure out all of her powers and how she can better use them in both for keeping herself safe and others. She knows that she is a danger to herself and the people around her that she loves. If being away and practicing things on her own and far from where people can be hurt by her she will take that chance.
As for goals, the Huntress wants to find out the truth about herself. Her parents are normal humans with no special powers so why does she have powers that should only be given to those demigods worthy of it. A wise person told her that she should wait, that the truth would come to her. But why wait? She plans on taking that advice by the horns and riding on it for the truth. She isn't going to stop until she knows.
Currently....
Life takes its toll on her in the way someone near and dear to her suddenly goes missing. Her vice, her bestie, her first love, her endless support system is suddenly gone and she has no clue what to do with it. She's asking anyone, looking anywhere. All these powers and she can't even use them to get him back. It doesn't stop her though, and won't for a long while longer.
*****
Comments
August 29th
Sorry, not sorry for the absence. I had a death in the family that took a lot out of me.
However, I'm slowly getting motivation back
I have a four-day weekend coming up for the holiday so I hope I'll have some time to do replies and stuff
I'll be more active with the -Ber months settling in and it's slower at work
Thanks for sticking it out with me <3
Somewhere in Russia | After Midnight
The streets were dimly lit, casting long shadows that gave the area an eerie ambiance. Despite the lack of illumination, there was surprisingly little crime. Those familiar with this part of town knew to stay away. It was the HSHQ's trash pit—a dumping ground for released creatures that didn’t warrant a proper arrest and compromised agents cast aside. While these inhabitants were free to travel, most chose to stay, finding camaraderie among others in similar circumstances. The Russian branch of the Hunter Society was reputed to be far harsher than others. This was Alexander's home for a long time, seventy-four years ago to be exact. Once a compromised agent, his descent into vampirism had driven him away from the society. Returning would only spell trouble for both him and the society. Yet, he still adhered to some semblance of the rules, revisiting the Hunter Society's dumpsite of a city for his needs.
The dim street lights, combined with the blacklight from a nearby bar, cast a dull blue sheen over the vicinity. This wasn't just any lounge—it was a Vampire lounge. A haven for creatures like him, it welcomed them with open arms. It was his go-to spot when hunger gnawed at him. The patrons of this bar were mostly humans, those few who understood the supernatural world and, more importantly, longed to be part of it. The thought was distasteful to Alexander.
Alexander and his willing participant weren't inside the lounge. Fancy settings had never been his taste. His dark eyes studied the woman in the alleyway. She called him "master," a term that made his nose scrunch in response. It was a tradition among the willing participants of the Vampire Lounge, one that had persisted for as long as he could remember. She continued rambling about her fascination and overwhelming love for vampires. Eventually, Alexander cut her off, leaning in closer. The girl blushed, not his intention but a common occurrence in these scenarios. His mouth opened wide, exposing pearly fangs that gleamed with a blue tint from the lighting. In one swift motion, his bite penetrated her neck, sending her into a trance-like state.
His venom was another reason humans were so willing to participate in the feeding events at the lounge. Most vampire venom provided a high like no other. Alexander's eyes closed as his mind drifted back to his first vampire encounter, then to the first and only time he had been bitten. He had died that day, becoming the monster he was now. During feeding, his mind opened, becoming numb—a feral downfall he couldn't prevent. Yet, in a city like this, there were minimal risks, especially around the Vampire Lounge.
Alexander's eyes opened for a moment. What were once dark hues flared to life in crimson beauty. His gaze was blank, glazed over—another common reaction to feeding. His tongue flicked out, swiping the corner of his mouth. A passing car bathed him and his victim in bright light, which eventually faded back to the iridescent blue. His crimson gaze slid to the girl's neck, where a stream of blood flowed. He trailed his tongue up her collarbone and back to his meal. With another bite, Alexander continued feeding.
Black strands of hair fell over his closed eyes, revealing something peculiar. A unique symbol reflected in the blacklight—a mark of old, tattooed onto his neck. It was the symbol the Hunter Society of Russia used to stamp all their agents. Whether they still did so, given Alexander's long absence, was anyone's guess. The symbol appeared more like a stamp one would get when entering a club, glowing with the same blue iridescent sheen as the blacklight. This symbol would reveal his identity to any other hunters lurking about.
Jett stood in the shower, the curtain casting his silhouette against the tile. Though it was doubtful anyone could see him considering someone had slammed the door closed behind him. Jett let out a sound that was somewhere between a chuckle and a 'tsk,' a mildly irritated noise that expressed his exasperation better than words ever could. It was a sharp, quick expulsion of air through his teeth, almost like a scoff, but with a hint of amusement lurking beneath the surface.
He raised his hand, inspecting his fingertips as crimson mixed with the water. After several minutes of his green eyes fixating on the sight, the blood was practically gone. It wasn't his deeds that bothered him; it was the fact that he couldn't remember doing them. The evidence was there, staining his skin red.
His green eyes blinked slowly as a memory of blood clouded his focus. A woman with long raven hair and a sultry voice tinged with a rasp came to mind. It was his mother. "Good, Jett, like that," her voice echoed as a scene unfolded of a much smaller Jett, still wearing a similar black, hooded jacket. The child was gnawing on the neck of an already deceased man. "But I don't like blood, Mother..." As the child spoke, there were no fangs present. Small adolescent hands gripped the fresh kill's neck once again before attempting another chomp.
The scene ended there, as Jett blinked back to reality, his eyes focusing on a single flaw in the paint on the wall. He let out a sigh as the water ran over his back, eventually creeping down his face as his head hung forward.
--
The door opened, and Jett emerged. A large white towel was wrapped around his waist, the corner tucked by his hipbone to keep it from falling. One hand rubbed the back of his head, silently wishing his hair was dry. Jett flopped onto the other bed, his arms behind his head in a resting position. He disregarded the pizza comment as he wasn't actually that hungry. There was a long silence as Jett studied the ceiling, his green gaze shifting between different points.
"What is it you want from me anyway, Pipsqueak?" His tone was much calmer now, almost attempting to match the hushed persona of the room.
She walked and she blabbed. Jett tuned out most of her conversation as the two continued down the street. It was a surprise she hadn't noticed his lack of attention. It only went to show how completely oblivious to her own incessant talking she was. He exhaled a puff of relief from his cigarette as she finally came to a stop and disappeared inside the building. He had to admit, those were the best ten minutes of his life in a long time. Silence at last.
Jett turned, taking a step back and away from the entrance of the hotel. His green eyes scanned through the glass doors, noticing that Pipsqueak was still inside. He leaned back, his gaze darting down the narrow alley that separated the hotel from the next building. It was a small, maybe two-foot-wide crevice. To an ordinary passerby, his actions might have looked like he was making a run for it. Instead, he stooped down, barely entering the alley. "What's up, man," Jett said, pulling another tattered cigarette from his pocket.
A homeless man sat on the ground, wearing a tattered long-sleeved shirt and sporting wildly overgrown gray hair. "Women, right?" Jett remarked rhetorically, tossing the cigarette in the old guy's direction before flopping down beside him and continuing to puff on his own. Perhaps the old bloke was unfazed by the amount of blood on Jett's shirt, or maybe he just didn't care since he'd been given a cigarette. "Oh, need a light?" Jett asked again, fishing into his other pocket and pulling out a green BIC lighter. He tossed it, landing it in the old man's lap. The old man gave it a flick, lighting up the cigarette with a rattly huff but doing little else.
Neseva returned from the building, and Jett sighed. His playtime was over. "I gotta go, bud. See you around," he said, flicking his half-smoked cigarette in the homeless man's direction before pulling himself to his feet and turning to Neseva.
Jett followed her inside, through the hall, and into their room. It was alright, he guessed, but nothing fancy. "Where's the Jacuzzi?" he asked with a hint of distaste, flicking a strand of red hair out of his face. "Demon," Jett retorted, his tone snide. He didn’t elaborate, letting her think what she wanted. Instead, he decided to play along. Pulling the sodden white tank top over his head, he threw it at her feet. His skin was stained in certain places with a red tint, indicating the shirt had indeed been soaked at one point.
"You don't have to worry," he said, working at the buttons of his jeans. The jeans weren't too stained; they were a pair he really liked. "I'm not interested in souls like yours." His pants slid down to his ankles, and the redhead stepped out of them. "Way too annoying," Jett continued, heading toward the bathroom, his feet meeting the cold white tile. His boxers were the last to come off, though he left the door open. "Way too needy, extremely squeaky," his voice echoed between the walls of the basic masoned room. "And besides, I like to have a bit to hold on to. Your soul is severely lacking."
As quickly as he had stopped talking, Jett poked his head out of the bathroom and looked in her direction. Half of his naked body followed, leaning on the open doorframe in all its glory. "Oh, but uh, room service. Pizza sounds great, and a pack of Marlboros... and a light for them, thanks."
Jett stepped back, releasing his grip on her hair. He had indeed felt the sudden tension that had intruded between them. His eyes darted briefly to the right and then to the left. He almost took it as an insult. Sure, he'd faced rejection before, but what more could she possibly want?
"A hunter," Jett scoffed, his laughter tinged with bitterness. "They let anyone play God these days, huh?"
Taking a moment to glance over himself, Jett brushed off his white wife-beater as if it could erase the bloodstains. It was becoming an uncanny coincidence how frequently he crossed paths with Nes. First, she disrupted his threesome, then had the audacity to show up at his coffee shop, and now she had chased him all the way here.
She turned and began to walk away, leaving Jett momentarily alone with his thoughts, still trying to comprehend her insistence on taking him away. As she barked her orders, Jett shuffled his feet, hesitating before reluctantly following her. "You know, I'm not usually one for the demanding type," he remarked, his tone laced with sarcasm.
"What exactly are you hunting me for, anyway?" he prodded, though beneath the sarcasm, Jett was genuinely curious. He wouldn't let her see that, though.
Closing the gap between them, Jett slipped his hands into his pockets. A beat-up cigarette was still tucked in his right pocket, Jett pulled it out and soon ignited it with his lighter. He took a long drag before exhaling the smoke, which caught in the wind and quickly dispersed. "So, are you taking me to jail? A secret headquarters maybe? Do you need me in cuffs?" he coyly questioned, the cigarette dangling from his lips as he continued to follow.
"A motel," he echoed, his voice dripping with distaste. "5-star, I presume? With a jacuzzi tub, no less."
Silence was something the demon had never managed well in the face of others. Let alone the young psychic, whom he’d never known to stay quiet in all their travels. The same wounded dog response was something he’d shown best to Alice over the past years. His eyes drifted toward the road and stayed there. All in all, he understood. Whether he knew how to respond to it or not was a work in progress. A subtle sense of relief crept into his mind when Neseva continued, but it was short-lived. Light blues flickered to the passenger seat once or twice before he looked on ahead to the road.
You’re right.
A silence he expected was one Jason could live with. He settled further into his seat. His driving habits (while technically safe) were something bound to worry anyone unlucky enough to sit in the passenger seat. The rural township greeted them quickly enough. With their heads each full of thoughts, Jason was quick to study the outside world for what might keep them down. Why did people bother to live in a shithole like this? The demon from Queens had never understood the idea of hulling up in the middle of nowhere. He couldn’t help the assessment after a life of partial homelessness and living off forgotten scraps of the city. Still, the fewer the people the far fewer places to search for leads or explanations. Or so he hoped.
Neseva’s chime back to the woman earned the glance of the two older gentlemen, who were still deep in their topic of this year’s crop expectations. One man’s unruly white eyebrows raised and lowered as they went back to their business just as quickly as the two sat down. Jason exhaled a breath and swept a glance over the diner’s knick-knack filled walls.
“At least I’d know what I’m supposed to shoot at,” Jason quipped back. Of all the missed movie culture? Of course that had to be one that he knew. The original, that was. Once or twice more he caught the glance from one of the farmers at the counter. It was bred by lack of familiarity; if they weren’t from town, then who were they here to see? No one passed down the less-traveled highway without a reason.
“-Our man’s name is Owen Sutton, age forty-seven. His daughter Rachel, is age twelve. Both were reported missing a week and a half ago, but Rachel herself hadn’t showed up for school the two weeks prior.” Jason recapped from their hunt’s file, keeping it close to under his breath. “We have a missing man, absent daughter, and a disappeared cop that went to check on the property. From the sound of it, the manhunt for their officer gathered more attention than Sutton’s actual disappearance.” His brow raised briefly. He looked toward the counter. “I have a hunch that Miss Cheerful is the waitress who called us in. It sounds like a cold case if you’d ask me, but she insisted it was up our alley. Apparently, she’s come across Hunters in the past.”
Jason’s train of thought paused at the sound of urgent footsteps that came over Nes’ shoulder. There was a clink as two glasses of water were set in front of both of them at the table. He cast Neseva a pointed look. The name tag matches, Emma Thatcher. We need to find out why she called us. What she knows about the guy. If we drop the right name, maybe you can get a read on those two while we’re at it. They’ve looked over a few times now already.”
Look who was doing his research. Jason, at some point, might have learned the hard way what happens when Alice isn’t around to bear the brunt of it.
“Alright sorry about the wait there Hun! What can I get for you two? Pop, tea, lemonade? Our lunch specials are on the front page of the menu here, so I can give y’all a minute unless you know what you want?”
“Coffee to start,” He answered.
Their waitress Emma looked over to Nes next while splitting the two menus between them, tucking a loose strawberry blonde lock behind her ear. “I don’t think I’ve seen you two in here before, welcome on in! Are you folks in town, or just passing on through?”
“Just passing through. Although, it might be something you can help us with. Your name is… Emma, is it?”
With the menus gone, her hand rest on the curve of her hip. “That’s right sweetheart, what can I help you two with?”
“Bryce,” Dahlia spoke up when the sibling was mentioned. “He still hadn’t heard from him, as far as I knew.” She had heard enough about the mystery boy and the trouble that had pulled the two apart. Even in her hunting, she had failed to find the younger Everett boy’s whereabouts, not that it mattered. I don’t think all of Nik wanted to find his brother. Not with the trouble he carried around with him. The silence put a pit in the blood mage’s chest. The kid was a punk and a hard enough student to teach, but did he deserve all of this?
The other train of thought in the room was less patient and understanding. Dominic looked onward with a stone-cold expression that wouldn’t be wavering for the street kid who meddled with his fate and fell short of what was expected. Nikolas Everett had a choice. He made a decision. Those were two precious things the vampire was never granted in his own fate. Meanwhile, the young man treated them like bargaining chips to throw at what he didn’t understand to begin with. The vampire worked to keep his life intact, despite it. What had Nikolas done other than run?
Dominic could practically feel the tension in the young woman’s body from where he was seated. The unsteady breaths, the tight-jawed remarks that were filled with hope. In some ways, she was right. Demons could be traced. They all had their signatures. Still, in the vampire’s eyes, the creatures that hunted Nikolas proved more telling than whatever had a grip on his soul. "What will you do now?"
“-The demon went by Omega,” Dahlia spoke up, cutting the vampire off. Any little bit could help. “Nik was tampering with a spell that he shouldn’t have been, mind you I warned him. The side effects left him unconscious, it even weakened our wards, for a moment.” Her hand slipped through her hair and pulled it away from her face. “I saw it peek through, just that once. When it spoke through him, I got a sense of reluctance. It felt almost like a power struggle, almost like something was holding it back. In all the time he worked here, that’s all I managed to find. Our walls are meant to hold off the supernatural, after all.” Dahlia could feel the vampire’s eyes divert to her and paid no mind. It was an instance she had never bothered to share, nor had she planned to. If it put a spark of hope in Neseva’s mind, then it was worth the conversation to come.
They both watched Neseva’s shoulders sink further. The energy in the room followed suit. Surprisingly, even Dominic disengaged and bit his tongue behind tight lips. He had little sympathy for Nik’s self-made predicament, but he knew what the loss of a love looked like when he saw it. A part of him even stepped back to think, you may have gone too far.
“Keep in touch, Nes… If I find out anything new I’ll call, I promise,” Dahlia responded quietly. “-take care of yourself, alright?”
Jason listened in tentatively while she explained. In the past months of being on his own, from time to time he felt his shortcoming of skipping out on the classroom portion of becoming a Hunter. If he ever wanted to be more than an on-the-ground grunt handling lesser conflicts, they were things he would need to pick up, one way or another. He could be one snip of information away from death at the hands of a spirit, cryptid, or not ever getting to the bottom of a hunt at all. Close calls could have been resolved, if only Alice were…
No matter how convenient his ‘second chances’ were from the curse, he couldn’t learn the hard way forever. “I’ll put it on the watch list,” He murmured. After their quarrels in Egypt or even Russia, he wouldn’t rule out space as another source of hell to be dealt with. How much else did they have to go on, anyway?
“We can stop in, ask a few questions… see if you can read the room if our waitress doesn’t have more of a tip to give us than what’s written. There’s only so many places to look, worse comes to worst.”
When she changed subjects abruptly, he looked Nes’ way sharply and his brow knit together. He tried to read the lines on her face for what they were worth; all-in-all there was something the cat was missing and no amount of prying right now was going to change it. Forbid he ever had to raise a daughter. Hell knew it was a toss-up if Agnes would have done better or worse with him in the picture.
“...Alright, alright,” Jason responded readily. His hands uncurled from the steering wheel, palms opening for a second like he had signaled a truce on the matter. He seemed to sink a little more relaxed into his seat, shifting to glance out his window briefly at the middle-of-nowhere scenery that enveloped them. “Don’t worry about it, ‘won’t be nagging you.” Still. When was the last time he’d heard her as fragile? “Just- if or when you want to…”
He roped his thoughts back in after the sentiment and took a breath. He thought over the hunt’s details as he drove their last stretch. Barns and outbuildings grew more prominent until the semblance of the edge of town seemed to appear in the distance.
-/-
The township of Shade, Ohio was a blip in the road along the highway. They could have missed it if not for the single-stake sign on the side of the road that marked its beginning. The main road branched off into what was two or three residential streets. The front facade of the township was as simple as it could be. Lodi’s general store to the left doubled as the laundromat and post office. A small single-room church sat empty just beyond it, the concrete steps in disrepair from use over the years. On the right hand of the street, was Amelia’s Diner, home to one or two pickup trucks that were bound to be locals by the treads in the gravel they had parked perfectly within. The sign out front was in a simple inviting cursive, and possibly the newest addition to the town by the looks of the fresh paint.
Their Buick rolled to a stop in front of the diner and Jason threw it in park. As they approached the front windows, a couple of men sat at the counter watching a program on a corner television while the waitress paced back and forth behind the counter. When they walked in, the bell tethered to the door rang.
“-Just seat yourselves wherever you’d like, hun! I’ll be right with’ya,” The woman’s voice chimed in greeting. She appeared in her forties, strawberry ginger hair pulled up in a messy bun, fly-aways contained by a headband below it. She wore jeans with a server’s apron tied atop and a t-shirt donning the diner’s logo.
A sweeping glance caught the attention of the two farmers griping back and forth at the counter. Wouldn’t need to guess we’re not from here, hm? The cat thought, trying to keep the normal resting scowl off his face if he could help it. Jason opted for a booth on the opposite end, sliding into the side that had a view of the door.
Following the thought was an odd silence the cat had never realized was always absent from the girl. There was always a remark, a response, or even a facial expression to be picked up on. In the absence of it all, there was only the creeping feeling that something was off. In the end, even her answer back to Jason wasn’t an answer. The open-endedness of it earned a side glance from Jason that lasted longer than it seemed natural.
Nonetheless, he went on with his synopsis.
Fourth kind? There was a brow raise. The reference flew over the head of the man who certainly hadn’t spent their time apart catching up on pop culture references he’d missed while hulling away in the stuffy old theatre building. Still, he could do his best to imagine where she was headed with it. When the question was posed, he seemed to chew on it for a moment before he shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose we’ll have to ask and see who in this town might have the motive. It would be one helluva revenge case, to have the daughter go missing too.”
Since when was he one to worry about kids? England was the short answer. Emotions or not, the detail stuck out, although not as strangely as the missing officer who was thrown into the obscurity of it all. Speaking of worrying about kids, he cast another wayward glance at the cornered-off psychic in the car that had tucked herself away against the window. Nonetheless, he listened. His brow knitted together at the prospect of vampires, wolves, or cults for hell-knows. He couldn’t decide which sounded worse given their wide-open scenery.
“If we had more information than this, at least we’d know what to plan for. I guess we’ll have to scrape up some information ourselves, starting with the diner. If there’s a cop station around, that ain’t a bad idea either. What do you think?”
It wasn’t just a prompt; at this point, he was poking her in what ways the socially-awkward cat knew how to. Certain silences were enough to make him stir… and if she took even a second or so too long to think?
“-You know, you haven’t said more than a sentence about how things are going since you got in the car. Did… you want to talk about it?”
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